"'Intermediate-Level' Communication: A Model of Communication for Multiple Cultures"

 About the Author

Travis Daniel Griffin attended New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and graduated with a B.S. in Technical Communication in May of 2013. Prior to receiving his degree, Mr. Griffin spent ten years working in an international company, addressing the inherent challenges associated with working with multiple cultures. After receiving his degree, Mr. Griffin and his wife moved to Austin, Texas, where he accepted employment h a growing social media management software company. Mr. Griffin works daily with customers from around the world who use his company's software to manage relationships built through social media.

Contents

    Introduction

    Literature Review

    Literature Review (cont.)

    Literature Review (cont.)

    Methods

    Methods (cont.)

    Discussion

    Discussion (cont.)

    Conclusion

    References

    Appendix A

    Appendix B

Discussion (Cont.)

Recommendations for Further Study

Because this paper was written after only a short exploration into the potential of a new communication model, a more detailed study conducted from a larger pool of participants would be initially recommended. To create a pilot study, refinement of the features of this exploration and application to multiple documents to be studied would indicate whether or not this method of communication is indeed effective when reaching out to multiple cultures.

It could potentially be important to study non-verbal cues as the next step in developing a new model of communication. Wang and Wang’s work with online classrooms used by members of other cultures would be a good starting place to learn about the specific non-verbal cues needed by Eastern readers to properly understand documents. It would be beneficial for research to be performed collaboratively between technical communicators and ESL/ESP professionals in the development of research into possible methods of effective international communication.

In addition to the benefits of collaboration between technical communicators and ESL/ESP professionals in the design of the Intermediate-Level style of communication, ESL/ESP professionals could and should be used to help design a study that takes into mind the language proficiency of the study participants. This could assist in the design of a study that effectively demonstrates how successful or unsuccessful the Intermediate-Level model of communication is based on the varying degrees of linguistic understanding amongst participants. By taking these variables into consideration, the study would be more effective and perhaps lead to better practices of communication when the target audience of documents would have the language proficiency best suited for the new model of communication.

Further study is also necessary into the application of High-Context concepts that may lead to the development of trust between reader and writer. The types of respectful overtones and adjectives that are effective could be studied. It would also be beneficial to study exactly how to build trust between Western writers and Eastern readers. Adding trust building content into the model would be a logical step into the development of an effective Intermediate model of communication.