Over the last 2 decades, the nations that once comprised the Soviet Union have begun to play an increasingly important role in the global economy. As a result, today's technical and professional communicators could find themselves interacting with co-workers, colleagues, and clients in these nations. Being successful in such contexts, however,…

Analyses concepts from speech act theory to clarify the most effective use of first and second person pronouns in two types of structures frequently found in professional communication: commissives and directives. (KEH)