Students outside of technical and professional communication do not always fully understand the impacts of communication. They come across so many forms and templates in writing classrooms, that they see it as filling in blanks. This is especially true with business and technical communication classrooms. Writing instructors, on the other hand, know technical and professional communication, by nature, engages with social justice and advocacy. Mundane guidelines regaring word choice and formatting make a world of difference when someone wants to buy a house or see a doctor. Writing instructors know this. The challenge is helping students understand this. 

As Sarah Warren-Riely points out, Technical Professional Communication (TPC) engages with advocacy at a boots-on-ground level. Wording, formatting, design, and other such elements of communication play a vital role in decision-making. They decide who goes to college or sees that specialist physician. They decide who qualifies for grants and how much funding institutions can receive. It all comes down to word choice. However, these words have been chosen by individuals within specific sociocultural ideologies. Those involved in TPC have a responsibility to recognize this, especially in classroom settings. Students interact with various forms on a daily basis. This is especially true in business communication. With resumes,  cover letters, and reports, all of which currently have specific expectations, do students ever really understand the importance of TPC? I say currently because part of our job as writing instructors is to encourage students to break certain patterns that exclude or marginalize people. One way we might begin to do this is through the lens of social media. 

Social media is part of our everyday lives. Students engage with it every day, using it for communication. It appears very mundane, which makes it a great tool for demonstrating the impact TPC has on society! First, we must make clear to students that every like and click is an endorsement whether for or against something. For example, social media often influences what celebrities we like or dislike, what books we like or dislike, etc… For business communication classrooms, this also means social media influences what brands and companies we like or dislike based on their communication strategies. This can be implemented into discussions on resumes, cover letters, PR campaigns, tone, and messaging. 

One thing I find crucial in my classroom is to directly tell students why we are going over these formats in depth. For example, in Unit 3, students are asked to write a research report on a company of their choice. It should focus on how this company establishes goodwill and uses tone and rhetorical awareness. Throughout this section, I repeatedly review research reports and go over their structure. While doing this, I repeatedly state that in the business world they will come across these formats, whether annual reports, marketing reports, or whatever else. It helps get them thinking as if the business they are researching is asking them for this report. In Unit 1  and Unit 2 when discussing resumes, cover letters, and tone I follow similar patterns, emphasizing the importance of word choice. Social media may be a better way into these conversions. Some ways to do this might be:

• Compare and contrast LinkedIn to Facebook to see how social media builds professional identity
• Analyze a company’s social media for word choice and visual messaging
• Follow with a discussion on whether or not students would follow that company 
• Frame likes and clicks on social media as endorsements
• Have students review a company’s social media PR and advertising companies they follow/don’t follow based on their social media presence

While needing development, these ideas open discussion for how the “mundane” is actually incredibly essential. Through using technology students understand and engage with every day, and they can better understand the nuances of TPC. Students can then begin to enact change. Instructors must set the groundwork to define these terms. TPC is centered on advocacy for all people. Social media is just one way we can demonstrate just how important the mundane truly is. After all, if someone with preconceived expectations is going to decide what is correct based on sociocultural ideologies, our students should know. Their futures are on the line too.