Multimodal communication at work - Multimodal and multimedia communication

Practical models for technical communication - Shannon Kelley 2021

Multimodal communication at work
Multimodal and multimedia communication

As always, the relationship between audience, purpose, and message should move the communicator from problem to solution. Let’s examine a student’s transition to the professional world, for example. Prathita recently graduated and accepted a forensic psychologist position at a community health organization that offers mental health access and services to the county’s citizens.

See Chapter 1 for more on the Problem-Solution Framework.

In her new role, Prathita notices her manager doesn’t provide guidelines like her professors did. Her job responsibilities include offering solutions that will provide people with the care they need during a crisis, rather than lead to unnecessary arrests. She is expected to present the data at an upcoming meeting. Where her professor would have offered Prathita detailed instructions and considerable help, Prathita’s boss leaves her to work out solutions by herself. To be successful, Prathita needs to be resourceful and collaborate with her colleagues.

Prathita’s position is funded by a grant, which means her department needs to show a return on investment (ROI) to remain funded in the future. She must report on the number of calls her department receives per month and the type of services provided. Based on her review of previous reports, Prathita understands that her report needs to be presented visually and in writing. In other words, her reports need to be multimodal.

Prathita must also consider her audience: a diverse set of stakeholders, like the health organization that hired her, the county police department, and the funders. The purpose of the report is to convince her manager, funders, and other stakeholders that her work and the work of the health organization remains valuable and allows the county to allocate funds where they are most needed. As a result, her report must be data-driven. Because this particular report must also take a multimodal format, Prathita needs to find a variety of methods to engage her audience.