BUSI 3650 Test 1 Review (Dr. Insley)
Explain the difference between the following elements of style: clarity, concision, cohesion, and coherence.
→ clarity: your audience can easily understand your intended meaning → concision: short and to the point expressing ideas clearly in the fewest possible words → cohesion: connection of ideas at the sentence level → coherence: connection of ideas throughout the entire document
Culture
- "the learned and shared attitudes, values, and behaviors that characterize a group of people" - the way you do business with a Chinese person (heavy on hierarchical) might be different from how you do business with a British person (everyone treated equal)
Importance of Collaborative skills in workplace
- many projects are team-based - requires you to adapt to the working styles of many different people, coordinate, compromise, negotiate, and manage conflict
In addition to slides, what other communication tools can you use during a presentation?
flip-charts, whiteboards, video, audio, podcasts, document cameras, props, handouts
passive listening:
hearing but not paying attention to ensure understanding
What are three things you should do when answering a question in a presentation?
→ decide how and when you will handle Q&A ex: save for the end or invite audience to ask questions as they arise throughout presentation → Anticipate questions and plan short answers ex: plan out possible questions and short answers to avoid rambling at time of the question → decide how your team will handle questions ex: assign a team member to facilitate the Q&A or allow team members to decide whether a question falls under their designated area
What are the main goals of a presentation opening?
→ establish rapport → capture the audience's attention → motivate your audience to care about your presentation and goal → provide a map or framework for the rest of the presentation
Why should you leave time between the composing and evaluating stages?
→ helps you review the content more objectively → allows you to clear your thoughts and lets you proofread with a more objective and fresh perspective
Drafting the Content
→ if you are speaking then drafting means saying your message aloud or in your head → if you are writing then drafting means getting the info on paper or computer screen → Perfectionist syndrome can hinder drafting process, ignore the editor in your brain
Describe the difference between a persuasive presentation and a collaborative presentation.
→ persuasive: primarily want the audience to believe something or do something → collaborative: primarily want the audience to work with you to reach an answer
Explain the difference between the primary audience and the secondary audience?
→ primary audience: the direct recipient of your message- to whom your message is addressed → secondary audience: anyone else who may receive a copy of your message (or hear about it)
What is the difference between primary research and secondary research?
→ primary research: involves collecting your own original data ex: you calling HR departments of other companies to ask about their policies → secondary research: information that other people have collected ex: libraries or other local companies
What are verbal tics? Provide two examples.
→ using certain words as fillers ex: "like", "okay", "you know"
What are the differences among a webinar, a webcast, and a podcast?
→ webinar: live-broadcast with an audience, intended to be interactive → webcast: audience might log-in or register for that event, typically not interactive → podcast: recorded without an audience, can be streamed or downloaded
Three types of contexts that influence communication
- types: physical, psychological, social, relational, cultural → physical: physical distance between people communicating → psychological: someone who fears losing their job might interpret their bosses comment differently → social: talking freely with your group of friends vs in class waiting to be acknowledged before speaking → relational: if you have a difficult relationship with someone you might choose to email them rather than talk face-to-face → cultural: coming from a culture that is direct and straightforward vs a culture where people imply negative messages rather than communicate them directly
What does it mean to Encode and Decode Messages
-encode: to translate the meaning of a message into words, images, or actions -decode: to interpret the words, images, and actions of a message and attach meaning to them
Three Barriers to communication
-physiological ex: hearing loss -psychological ex: complimenting someone who doesn't trust you -semantic ex: colleague rushes into a meeting and says, "I was held up at the train station" you might respond "did the robber have a gun?" (ambiguous) -language barriers ex: Spanish speaker to english speaker or also people being new to a company or industry and not knowing the jargon yet
In what ways can communication skills save money or make money
-writing: clear, effective writing can save organizations hundreds of thousands of dollars, while ineffective communication can cost time and money - listening and speaking: you can bring in more money if you know how to listen effectively to customers' needs or as a customer service representative you can retain customers and attract new ones by answering their questions efficiently and communicating solutions to their problems -developing communication strategy: research by a global consulting firm found that companies that are highly effective at communicating also experience greater employee satisfaction, greater productivity, and greater investor confidence...these companies are 3.5 times more likely to financially outperform their peers who communicate ineffectively - implementing social media: increases brand awareness and improves employee satisfaction
comprehend and interpret more effectively by
1. "Listen" to nonverbal communication, 2. Ask questions and paraphrase to ensure understanding, 3. Be aware of gender-specific communication styles
Six ways to improve team performance
1. Assemble an effective team 2. Agree on team goals and standards 3. Pay attention to team development and dynamics 4. Develop good leadership practices 5. Plan for effective meetings 6. Be a good team member1. Assemble an effective team 2. Agree on team goals and standards 3. Pay attention to team development and dynamics 4. Develop good leadership practices 5. Plan for effective meetings 6. Be a good team member
Six Speaking Strategies
1. Focus on your audience, 2. Share the conversation, 3. Use clear, concrete, unambiguous language, 4. Support your message with good nonverbal communication, 5. Avoid language that triggers a negative response, 6. Frame negative comments positively
Research
1. Investigate existing company information 2. Survey people's opinions or perceptions 3. Research external sources of information
Composing
Coordinate the writing responsibilities- draft an outline together, assign each person a section of the outline or supporting duties, maintain consistent communication, share drafts frequently
Working with others
Establish and maintain a vision of the future, create a supportive climate, delegate responsibility and assign tasks equitably, establish a timeline, keep the project on track, manage meetings and encourage positive collaboration, ensure effective decision making, resolve differences - Create an agenda, distribute the agenda sufficiently in advance, assign someone to serve as a timekeeper during the meeting
Explain how reviewing feedback helps you improve your communication strategy.
Explain how reviewing feedback helps you improve your communication strategy. → feedback indicates how effectively you have communicated → allows you to make better decisions the next time you communicate
Analyzing
Make joint decisions- agree on the purpose and outcome of the document or project, spend time collectively defining the audience and their needs, identify team members' skills and roles in the collaboration, determine the best medium to share drafts and support frequent feedback throughout the collaboration, agree on the important elements of writing style that lead to a consistent voice
Decision-making framework 1
Medium richness model: categorizes medium options according to the level of richness in the information they provide. Rank mediums from richest to leanest: face-to-face, video-based, audio-only, and text.
Evaluating
Plan an effective review and revision process- create a consistent voice, create a consistent flow throughout the document, involve each team member in the evaluation process, determine an effective process for sharing feedback
What is Professional Presence
Three Elements: Competence, Credibility and Confidence. - "wow" factor that allows you to make a great first impression -emanates from within, reflecting your comfort with yourself and the rapport you develop with people around you -"the state of being attuned to and able to comfortably express your true thoughts, feedings, values, and potentials"
Active Listening
a learned skill that requires you to attentively focus on the speaker's communication, interpret the meaning of the content, and respond with feedback to ensure understanding
What is the main difference between a visual aid presentation and a stand-alone presentation?
a stand-alone presentation can be understood without the benefit of a speaker presenting the ideas but the visual aid presentation might rely on the speaker's words to carry the main idea, and the slides provide illustration and backup
emotional intelligence
ability to perceive and understand emotions to guide their own behavior and response
ACE Process
analyze, compose, evaluate → team members should work together in the analyzing and evaluating phases of the ACE process
How to manage collaborative writing
analyzing: make joint decisions, composing: coordinate the writing responsibilities, evaluating: plan an effective review and revision process
Decision-making framework 2
categorizes communication as interactive, push, or pull. Interactive: for when you need an immediate answer or discussion ex: meetings, phone calls, video conferencing
two categories of conflict
cognitive conflict: results from differences in understanding content or tasks vs affective conflict: results from differences in personalities and relationships
How does being concise differ from simply reducing the length of your communication?
conciseness focuses on the ability to use no more words than are necessary to accomplish its purpose
Verbal communication do's
do be clear and concise, do listen carefully, do request feedback to ensure understanding
Both verbal and nonverbal do's
do exhibit formality and respect, do apologize sincerely if you inadvertently offend or confuse your audience
Nonverbal communication do's
do pay attention to the other person's nonverbal communication and, when appropriate, mirror it. Do smile.
Mediums
face-to-face, meeting, telephone, text message, email, letter, newsletter, website, social media (all have advantages and disadvantages) -Analyzing the medium helps you choose the best delivery option
two-step process for managing conflict
identify cause of conflict then decide how to respond
Pull
info stored in a convenient location so it can be accessed ex: websites
interpersonal communication
interacting with others, exchanging info with others, coming to an understanding
responding has two roles
let the speaker know you understand and initiate the next step in conversation
The active listening process
listener to speaker- hearing accurately, comprehending and interpreting, evaluating, then responding.
Extroverts and introverts
making the most of your differences: 1. Accept the alien 2. Bring on the battles 3. Cast the character 4. Destroy the dislike 5. Each can't offer everything
Push
one-way communication ex: letters, memos, blogs, newsletter, email
Context
the external circumstances and forces that influence communication
Writers Block
the inability to start to write or continue writing → ways to overcome writer's block: become for flexible about rules for writing, use mental imagery, do other types of creative work to stimulate creative thinking, think aloud, write the easiest parts first, free write, take a break
non-verbal communication
tone, facial expressions, body language, posture, gestures, behavior
Why is it important to consider your audience when analyzing your medium options?
understanding who your audience is will allow you to choose the medium that will best express your message
synchronous communication
where all the communicators are present at the same time
What are two elements of "setting" that affect how you plan to present?
→ "where" and "for how long" → standing up with a screen behind you speaking to an audience arranged in rows or tables vs. sitting at a conference table presenting to key decision-makers
Why is analyzing your purpose important to composing an effective message?
→ analyzing includes thinking critically about four elements: purpose and outcome, audience, content, and medium. → 'why?' 1. What is the purpose of the communication 2. What outcome would you like to achieve? → analyzing both your purpose and desired outcome helps determine how persuasive you need to be
Why is direct organization usually the better choice for business communication?
→ audiences will become impatient if they don't know why you are communicating with them and how the details support your message → provides a framework for understanding the details
How does business use of social media differ from personal use?
→ business uses social media to reach customers, provide customer support and education, find new employees, engage existing employees and improve productivity → personal use: share pictures, connect with friends, play games, broadcast current activities
Name three recognizable patterns that you can use to organize a presentation.
→ categorization ex: four reasons, five steps, or three options → component parts ex: Southeast, Northeast, Midwest, and Southwest regions → chronological order ex: timeline for a project or phases to implement → conceptual order ex: organize it by the three elements presented in a diagram → problem/solution or Monroe's Motivated sequence- 5 step process (1. attention, 2. need, 3. satisfaction, 4. visualization, and 5. action) → opportunity/ action ex: instead of focusing on the problem, focus on how an opportunity can benefit the audience → questions/ answers ex: question then answer
Name three guidelines to follow when choosing or designing a slide template.
→ contrast- ensure the audience can see the difference between elements such as headline vs body text → repetition- keep a recognizable pattern → alignment- align elements with other elements at the top, bottom, center, left or right → proximity- allow audience to see the connection
How do the following types of errors differ, spelling errors, typographical errors, usage errors, grammatical errors, and format errors?
→ spelling errors: result from lack of knowledge about how to spell words or from typing quickly → typographical errors: double-check addresses, telephone numbers, and spellings of names → usage errors: errors in the way language is used ex: "imply" instead of "infer" → grammatical errors: violations of grammar rules, such as sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and incorrect subject-verb agreement (to name a few) → format errors: inconsistencies in design technique within a document, such as including both indented and block-style paragraphs, bullets that do not align correctly, and differences in font and font sizes
Compose a sentence that uses passive voice. Revise the sentence to use an active voice.
→ voice refers to the relationship between the subject and verb in a sentence → passive: The project was completed early by the employees. (in passive, the subject does not act, instead the subject receives the action expressed by the verb) → active: The employees completed the project early. (in active, the subject is the actor, performing the action of the verbs) *Good business communication relies on active voice because it represents the natural language order, with the actor coming before the action
