As a person goes through their lives the amount and importance of different genres that they communicate in can be lost on the average person. The understanding of different genres affects the way a person communicates and their understanding of communication in different scenarios. A person will communicate differently with different people depending on the genre of communication that is expected with the given situation. The reason for this is the genre that is chosen is meant to express the point in the most clear possible form given the particular situation. If a person is writing a love letter they would use a style of writing that the reader would expect to see in a love letter. It would be endearing, persuasive, and emotional. If a person was writing a legal brief they would not choose the same genre that they would for a love letter, it would convey the wrong message. Kerry Dirk states in “Navigating Genres” that “Picking up a text, readers not only classify it and expect a certain form, but also make assumptions about the text’s purposes, its subject matter, its writer, and its expected reader”(Dirk,2010).
In a persons everyday life they will use several different genres to communicate most effectively. During work at The Brewhouse my understanding of the genre of communication used in the workplace is essential to my success as an employee. In order to understand something like our schedule a person would need to understand the genre in which the schedule is written.
Telling the date and time an employee works might be clear to everyone looking at the schedule, however where their shift is, is only clear to employees who understand how the sections are communicated between each other. The genre of communication would be understanding where the backroom, booths, or front room are.
One of the main purposes of developing a specific genre for intercommunication between employees is to speed up the communication process. The Brewhouse has specific terminology that would only be understood by employees in that specific restaurant.
86 is a common term in restaurants for something that the restaurant is currently out of stock. Even more specific to The Brewhouse would be 86 Poppers, referring to the restaurant being out of jalapeno poppers. This type of short hand communication speeds up intercommunication and makes the restaurant more efficient.
Another way The Brewhouse speeds up intercommunication between its’ staff is the use of computer printouts from the waiters to the kitchen staff. This genre allows the wait staff to quickly punch in orders on touch screen computers located throughout the restaurant, and the order is delivered immediately to the kitchen staff.
These tickets tell the kitchen what to make, but they also inform other servers where the food should be delivered. This allows the restaurant to run significantly more efficient and without an understanding of the genre of communication used by the staff a person would not be able to work effectively.
Different genres are used throughout a person’s daily life. An understanding of which genre to use in a particular situation is what makes someone an effective communicator. According to Dirk, “If they encounter a situation new to them, it is the genres they have acquired in the past that they can use to shape their new action. Every genre they acquire, then, expands their genre repertoire and simultaneously shapes how they might view new situations”(Dirk,2010). The understanding of new genres allows a person to expand their ability to communicate properly in different situations.
Lowe, C. (2010). Writing spaces: Readings on writing. West Lafayette, Ind.: Parlor Press.
