Business communications chapters 1,2,3,19

Group Problem Solving

1. Define the problem 2. Analyze the problem 3. Establish criteria 4. Consider possible solutions 5. Decide on a solution 6. Implement the solution 7. Follow up on the solution

Thomas Peters and Nancy Austin identify five important traits that produce results:

1. Orientation and education 2. Nurturing and encouragement 3. Assessment and correction 4. Listening and counseling 5. Establishing group emphasis

Life Cycle of Member Roles

1. Potential Member Curiosity and interest 2. New Member Joined the group but still an outsider, and unknown 3. Full Member Knows the "rules" and is looked to for leadership 4. Divergent Member Focuses on differences 5. Marginal member No longer involved 6. Ex-Member No longer considered a member

Eight Essential Components of Communication

1. Source-- imagines, creates, and sends the message. In a public speaking situation, the source is the person giving the speech. 2. Message-- stimulus or meaning produced by the source for the receiver or audience. 3. Channel --way in which a message or messages travel between source and receiver 4. Receiver--receives the message from the source, analyzing and interpreting the message in ways both intended and unintended by the source 5. Feedback--composed of messages the receiver sends back to the source. Verbal or nonverbal, all these feedback signals allow the source to see how well, how accurately (or how poorly and inaccurately) the message was received 6. Environment--atmosphere, physical and psychological, where you send and receive messages; for example the room you are in 7. Context--communication interaction involves the setting, scene, and expectations of the individuals involved; example is business suits 8. Interference—noise; anything that blocks or changes the source's intended meaning of the message

Robert Rosenthal, a professor of social psychology at Harvard, has observed four principles while studying this interaction between expectations and performance:

1. We form certain expectations of people or events. 2. We communicate those expectations with various cues, verbal and nonverbal. 3. People tend to respond to these cues by adjusting their behavior to match the expectations. 4. The outcome is that the original expectation becomes true.

2. Describe five different parts of a message and their functions.

2. Describe five different parts of a message and their functions. 1. Attention statement-- s used to capture the attention of your audience; what's in it for me? 2. Introduction-- clear statement your topic; this is also the time to establish a relationship with your audience 3. Body -- present your message in detail, using any of a variety of organizational structures. 4. Conclusion-- sense of closure by summarizing your main points and relating them to the overall topic 5. Residual message-- message or thought that stays with your audience well after the communication is finished, is an important part of your message. Ask yourself of the following:

Language part 2

: a system of symbols, words, and/or gestures used to communicate meaning; living exchange systems of meaning, and are bound by context.

A group

A group, by definition, includes at least three people. We can categorize groups in terms of their size and complexity

leader-as-technician

A leader-as-technician role often occurs when we have skills that others do not. If you can fix the copy machine at the office, your 616 Business Communication for Success leadership and ability to get it running again are prized and sought-after skills.

microgroup

A microgroup is a small, independent group that has a link, affiliation, or association with a larger group Small groups normally contain between three and eight people

Explain the differences between clichés, jargon, and slang.

Cliché: once-clever word or phrase that has lost its impact through overuse Jargon: occupation-specific language used by people in a given profession. Jargon does not necessarily imply formal education, but instead focuses on the language people in a profession use to communicate with each other. Slang: use of existing or newly invented words to take the place of standard or traditional words with the intent of adding an unconventional, nonstandard, humorous, or rebellious effect

Communication

Communication is defined as the process of understanding and sharing meaning

laissez-faire

Contrasting the autocrat is the laissez-faire, or "live and let live" leader. In a professional setting, such as a university, professors may bristle at the thought of an autocratic leader telling them what to do. They have earned their role through time, effort, and experience and know their job

Conventions

Conventions: customary forms and configurations (of communication) that members expect

Describe three ways to better understand and reach your audience. questions to help guide you in learning more about your audience:

Demographic traits refer to the characteristics that make someone an individual, but that he or she has in common with others. Reciprocity: a relationship of mutual exchange and interdependence. Reciprocity has four main components: mutuality, non-judgmentalism, honesty, and respect. Mutuality means that the speaker searches for common ground and understanding with his or her audience, establishing this space and building on it throughout the speech. This involves examining viewpoints other than your own and taking steps to insure the speech integrates an inclusive, accessible format rather than an ethnocentric one. Non-judgmentalism involves willingness to examine diverse ideas and viewpoints. honesty: stating the truth as you perceive it fairness involves respect for the audience and individual members—recognizing that each person has basic rights and is worthy of courtesy

three different types of messages

Describe three different types of messages and their functions. Primary messages: refer to the intentional content, both verbal and nonverbal. These are the words or ways you choose to express yourself and communicate your message Secondary messages refer to the unintentional content, both verbal and nonverbal. Your audience will form impressions of your intentional messages, both negative and positive, over which you have no control. Perceptions of physical attractiveness, age, gender, or ethnicity or even simple mannerisms and patterns of speech may unintentionally influence the message Auxiliary messages refer to the intentional and unintentional ways a primary message is communicated. This 33 may include vocal inflection, gestures and posture, or rate of speech that influence the interpretation or perception of your message

Negative Roles

Dominator Dominates discussion, not allowing others to take their turn Recognition Seeker Relates discussion to their accomplishments; seeks attention Special-Interest Pleader Relates discussion to special interest or personal agenda Blocker Blocks attempts at consensus consistently Joker or Clown Seeks attention through humor and distracts group members

Describe and define four strategies that can give emphasis to your message

Emphasize your message by using visuals, signposts, internal summaries and foreshadowing, and repetition Signposts (or indicators): key words that alert the audience to a change in topic, a tangential explanation, an example, or a conclusion. Ex: "on the other hand," "the solution to this problem is" Repetition: Saying the same word over and over

Tuckman's Linear Model of Group Development

Forming Members come together, learn about each other, and determine the purpose of the group. Storming Members engage in more direct communication and get to know each other. Conflicts between group members will often arise during this stage. Norming Members establish spoken or unspoken rules about how they communicate and work. Status, rank, and roles in the group are established. Performing Members fulfill their purpose and reach their goal. Adjourning Members leave the group

Group socialization

Group socialization involves how the group members interact with one another and form relationships

Groupthink

Groupthink, or the tendency to accept the group's ideas and actions in spite of individual concerns, can also compromise the process and reduce efficiency. Personalities and competition can play a role in a team's failure to produce

Positive Roles

Initiator-Coordinator Suggests new ideas or new ways of looking at the problem Elaborator Builds on ideas and provides examples Coordinator Brings ideas, information, and suggestions together Evaluator-Critic Evaluates ideas and provides constructive criticism Recorder Records ideas, examples, suggestions, and critiques

Identify and describe five types of communication contexts

Intrapersonal communication involves one person; it is often called "self-talk." Influenced by your culture, native language, and your world view. Interpersonal communication normally involves two people, and can range from intimate and very personal to formal and impersonal Group communication is a dynamic process where a small number of people engage in a conversation; usually 3-8 people. Public communication, one person speaks to a group of people; the same is true of public written communication, where one person writes a message to be read by a small or large group Mass communication involves sending a single message to a group. It allows us to communicate our message to a large number of people, but we are limited in our ability to tailor our message to specific audiences, groups, or individuals

Language

Key Takeaway Language is a system of words used as symbols to convey ideas, and it has rules of syntax, semantics, and context. Words have meaning only when interpreted by the receiver of the message

Identify and describe five key principles of verbal communication. 2. Explain how the rules of syntax, semantics, and context govern language. 3. Describe how language serves to shape our experience of reality

Language is a code, a collection of symbols, letters, or words with arbitrary meanings that are arranged according to the rules of syntax and are used to communicate Syntactic rules govern the order of words in a sentence Semantic rules govern the meaning of words and how to interpret them Contextual rules govern meaning and word choice according to context and social custom Paradigms: clear point of view involving theories, laws, and/or generalizations that provide a framework for understanding, tend to form and become set around key validity claims, or statements of the way things work denotative meaning is the common meaning, often found in the dictionary connotative meaning is often not found in the dictionary but in the community of users itself. It can involve an emotional association with a word, positive or negative, and can be individual or collective, but is not universal Language is abstract not universal

Meaning

Meaning is what we share through communication. The word "bike" represents both a bicycle and a short name for a motorcycle. By looking at the context the word is used in and by asking questions, we can discover the shared meaning of the word and understand the message.

Your Responsibilities as a Communicator

Organization: Aristotle called this logos, or logic, and it involves the steps or points that lead your communication to a conclusion Clarity: have a clear idea in your mind of what you want to say before you can say it clearly to someone else; involves considering your audience, presentation, technology Concise: brief and to the point; expected to "get down to business" right away, state your points clearly and support them with clear evidence in a relatively straightforward, linear way Ethics what Aristotle called ethos: refers to a set of principles or rules for correct conduct. It echoes the communicator's good character and reputation for doing what is right. Egalitarian: from the root "equal." To be egalitarian is to believe in basic equality: that all people should share equally in the benefits and burdens of a society. Emotions, Aristotle named pathos, or passion, enthusiasm and energy as well as logic. Trust is a key component in communication; build a healthy relationship with your audience Golden rule: says to treat others the way you would like to be treated. In all its many forms, the golden rule incorporates human kindness, cooperation, and reciprocity across cultures, languages, backgrounds and interests

Preunderstanding

Preunderstanding: by German philosopher Jürgen Habermas, a set of expectations and assumptions from previous experience that we apply to a new problem or situation. We draw from our experiences to help guide us to our goal, even when the situations may be completely different. We "understand" before we experience because we predict or apply our mental template to what we think is coming.

Primary and Secondary Groups

Primary groups meet most, if not all, of one's needs. Groups that meet some, but not all, needs are called secondary groups. Secondary groups often include work groups, where the goal is to complete a task or solve a problem. If you are a member of the sales department, your purpose is to sell. Secondary groups may meet your need for professional acceptance and celebrate your success, but they may not meet your need for understanding and sharing on a personal level. Family members may understand you in ways that your coworkers cannot, and vice versa.

Selection

Selection: This action of sorting competing messages, or choosing stimuli, and is important for awareness and perception. Selection has three main parts: exposure, attention, and retention Selective exposure is both information we choose to pay attention to and information that we choose to ignore, or that is unavailable to us. Selective attention involves focusing on one stimulus, like the image of an attractive classmate, and tuning out a competing stimulus, like the instructor's voice. Selective retention involves choosing to remember one stimulus over another.

Demonstrate six ways in which language can be an obstacle or barrier to communication

• Damaged relationships • Loss of productivity • Inefficiency and rework • Conflict • Missed opportunities • Schedule slippage (delays, missed deadlines) • Scope creep...or leap (gradual or sudden changes in an assignment that make it more complex and difficult than it was originally understood to be) • Wasted resources • Unclear or unmet requirements

Self-Concept

Self-Concept: your central identity and set of beliefs about who you are and what you are capable of accomplishing Self: defined as one's own sense of individuality, motivations, and personal characteristics self-image: how you see yourself, how you would describe yourself to others. It includes your physical characteristics, knowledge, experience, interests, and relationships looking-glass self: Charles Cooley's concept reinforces how we look to others and how they view us, treat us, and interact with us to gain insight of our identity Physical characteristics: your eye color, hair length, height, and so forth. Attitudes: immediate reactions, learned predispositions to a concept or object; Subject to change; Ex: I enjoyed the writing exercise in class today. Beliefs: based on previous Convictions or expressions of confidence; Can change over time Ex: This course is important because I may use the communication skills I am learning in my career. Values: Ideals that guide our behavior; Generally long lasting; core concepts and ideas of what we consider good or bad, right or wrong, or what is worth the sacrifice. Our values are central to our self-image, what makes us who we are; Ex: Effective communication is important. Pygmalion effect: psychology experiment that has become famous through repeated trials, several public school teachers were told that specific students in their classes were expected to do quite well because of their intelligence. These students unconsciously got special treatment from the teacher so therefore did better and met expectations (Rosenthal & Jacobson, 1968) Self-fulfilling prophecy: someone's behavior comes to match and mirror others' expectations

. Explain the difference between sexist or racist language and legitimate references to gender or race in business communication.

Sexist language: uses gender as a discriminating factor. Referring to adult women as "girls" or using the word "man" to refer to humankind are examples of sexist language. Racist language: discriminates against members of a given race or ethnic group Doublespeak: deliberate use of words to disguise, obscure, or change meaning. Doublespeak is often present in bureaucratic communication

Sharing

Sharing means doing something together with one or more people. You may share a joint activity, as when you share in compiling a report; or you may benefit jointly from a resource, as when you and several coworkers share a pizza

Teamwork

Teamwork allows individuals to share their talents and energy to accomplish goals. An effective leader facilitates this teamwork process.

Two Models of Communication Transactional process

Transactional process with actions often happening at the same time. The distinction between source and receiver is blurred in conversational turn-taking, for example, where both participants play both roles simultaneously constructivist model--the negotiated meaning, or common ground, when trying to describe communication

Describe the factors that contribute to self-concept. 2. Describe how the self-fulfilling prophecy works

You can become a more effective communicator by understanding yourself and how others view you: your attitudes, beliefs, and values; your self-concept; and how the self-fulfilling prophecy may influence your decisions.

autocratic leader

e autocratic leader is self-directed and often establishes norms and conduct for the group. In some settings we can see that this is quite advantageous, such as open-heart surgery or during a military exercise, but it does not apply equally to all leadership opportunities.

leader-as-conductor

e leader-as-conductor involves a central role of bringing people together for a common goal. In the common analogy, a conductor leads an orchestra and integrates the specialized skills and sounds of the various components the musical group comprises

Learning Objective 1. Determine how perception differs between people

individual differences: engaging in selection, or choosing some stimuli while ignoring others; differences in cultural background, characteristics, psychological state

leader-ascoach

leader-ascoach combines many of the talents and skills we've discussed here, serving as a teacher, motivator, and keeper of the goals of the group.

process

process. A process is a dynamic activity that is hard to describe because it changes

semantic triangle

semantic triangle: letters come together to form an arbitrary word that refers to the thought or idea of the thing

definitions continued

stage refers to the setting, scene, and context of the communication interaction, and can be equally applied to written or oral communication Internal stimuli are those that arise from within one's self, such as being hungry. External stimuli involve stimulation from outside one's self Organization is the process of sorting information into logical categories or series. Gestalt Principles of Organization: the German word "Gestalt" referring to the unified whole. According to Gestalt theory, context matters, and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. What you see and how you see it matters, and you yourself play a role in that perception of organization and apply not only to images or objects, but also to ideas and concepts Proximity is the perceptual organization of information based on physical relationship of space to objects. Continuity: things to be orderly, and our brain will see lines and movement where none exist. Similarity is the perceptual organization of information based on perceived points of common characteristics across distinct items closure underscores our tendency to use previous knowledge to fill in the gaps in an incomplete idea or picture Interpretation: From your past experiences combined with your current expectations, you assign meaning to the current stimuli. I

Group communication

t. Group communication may be defined as the exchange of information with those who are alike culturally, linguistically, and/or geographically Groups may be defined by function. They can also be defined, from a developmental viewpoint, by the relationships within them. Groups can also be discussed in terms of their relationship to the individual and the degree to which they meet interpersonal needs.

understanding

understanding: "To understand is to perceive, to interpret, and to relate our perception and interpretation to what we already know

Learning Objective 1. Explain the importance of becoming an active listener and reader.

• Maintain eye contact with the speaker; if reading, keep your eyes on the page. • Don't interrupt; if reading, don't multitask. • Focus your attention on the message, not your internal monologue. • Restate the message in your own words and ask if you understood correctly. • Ask clarifying questions to communicate interest and gain insight. tips that may be helpful: Set aside a special time. To have a difficult conversation or read bad news, set aside a special time when you will not be disturbed. Close the door and turn off the TV, music player, and instant messaging client. • Don't interrupt. Keep silent while you let the other person "speak his piece." If you are reading, make an effort to understand and digest the news without mental interruptions. • Be nonjudgmental. Receive the message without judgment or criticism. Set aside your opinions, attitudes, and beliefs. • Be accepting. Be open to the message being communicated, realizing that acceptance does not necessarily mean you agree with what is being said. • Take turns. Wait until it is your turn to respond, and then measure your response in proportion to the message that was delivered to you. Reciprocal turn-taking allows each person have his say. • Acknowledge. Let the other person know that you have listened to the message or read it attentively. • Understand. Be certain that you understand what your partner is saying. If you don't understand, ask for clarification. Restate the message in your own words. • Keep your cool. Speak your truth without blaming. A calm tone will help prevent the conflict from escalating. Use "I" statements (e.g., "I felt concerned when I learned that my department is going to have a layoff") rather than "you" statements (e.g., "you want to get rid of some of our best people")

. List and explain the use of six strategies for improving verbal communication. 2. Demonstrate the appropriate use of definitions in an oral or written presentation. 3. Understand how to assess the audience, choose an appropriate tone, and check for understanding and results in an oral or written presentation.

• precise words that paint as vivid and accurate a mental picture as possible for your audience. If you use language that is vague or abstract, your meaning may be lost or misinterpreted. • Consider Your Audience • Take Control of Your Tone • Check for Understanding • Be Results Oriented