Communication patterns of technical writers and electrical engineers during meetings

Communication patterns between technical writers and electrical engineers during information-gathering meetings are discussed. The communication patterns of both writers and engineers were analyzed using interaction profiles, a type of analysis created by R.F. Bales (1976). The results concerning writers suggest that they give as much information as they receive during an interaction, and that writers avoid showing tension and/or antagonism. The results concerning engineers suggest that they give more information, opinions, and suggestions than they are asked for, and that they, too, avoid showing tension or antagonism.<>