Culture and Rhetorical Expectations: A Perspective for Technical Communicators

Abstract

In this article, I discuss how individuals who communicate about technical and scientific topics (i.e., technical communicators) can apply ideas from the theory of rhetoric to communicate more effectively with individuals from other cultures. In so doing, I present a question-based strategy technical communicators can use for planning how they will develop different communication products (e.g., written reports, instructions, websites, etc.) for audiences from cultures other than their own.