The human equation in technical communication: A PSYCHOM '72 paper

When engineers and scientists think about communicating technical information to others, they seldom think about the psychology involved in the transfer of that information. They reason that if the subject is technical, the conclusions reached by the scientific method, and the technical language accurate, then there can be no lack of communication. But they are misunderstood: conclusions are misinterpreted, data is misused, and language is incomprehensible. How can the communication fail when they work only with the truth of data obtained in a research laboratory? Communication, like engineering and science, is both a craft and an art It is the disciplined exercise of the mind and an intuitive sense of proportion. It is requires the objectivity of a detached view of the subject matter and the subjectivity of an involvement with the design of the final product.