Chapter 8
jargon
specialized words and phrases for specific occupations or groups—is usually designed to improve communication efficiency. -Barrier to effective communication -a source of communication noise when transmitted to people who do not possess the jargon codebook. Furthermore, people who use jargon excessively put themselves in an unflattering light.
True or false? According to media richness theory, rich media are better than lean media when the communication situation is nonroutine and ambiguous.
true
True or false? If any part of the communication process is distorted or broken, the sender and receiver will not have a common understanding of the message.
true
What are the 4 communication channels?
-Synchronicity -Social presence -Social acceptance -Media richness
summarizing
involves digesting a condensed version of the complete communication, such as reading an executive summary rather than the full report.
active listening
a process of mindfully sensing the sender's signals, evaluating them accurately, and responding appropriately. -three components of listening—sensing, evaluating, and responding—reflect the listener's side of the communication model described at the beginning of this chapter -constantly cycle through sensing, evaluating, and responding during the conversation and engage in various activities to improve these processes.
persuasion
changing another person's beliefs and attitudes. -Studies support the long-held view that spoken communication, particularly face-to-face interaction, is more persuasive than emails, websites, and other forms of written communication
True or false? According to the communication process model, effective communication depends on the sender's and receiver's ability, motivation, role clarity, and situational support to efficiently and accurately encode and decode information.
true
What are three organizational communication strategies?
-Workspace design -Internet based communication -Direct communication with top mgmt
When is synchronous vs asynchronous communication better?
-synchronous communication is better when the information is required quickly (high immediacy) or where the issue is complex and therefore requires the parties to address several related decisions. -Asynchronous communication is better when the issue is simple, the issue has low time urgency, getting both parties together at the same time is costly, and/or the receiver would benefit from time to reflect on the message before responding.
Describe internet based organizational communication:
-the advantage of these e-zines is that company news can be prepared and distributed quickly. -Employees are increasingly skeptical of information that has been screened and packaged by management, so a few companies such as IBM are encouraging employees to post their own news on internal blogs and wikis -Use of wikis
Why is ambiguity of language not always dysfunctional noise?
-corporate leaders sometimes purposively use obscure language to reflect the ambiguity of the topic or to avoid unwanted emotional responses produced by more specific words. -They might use metaphors to represent an abstract vision of the company's future, or use obtuse phrases such as "rightsizing" and "restructuring" to obscure the underlying message that people will be fired or laid off. -Studies report that effective communicators also use more abstract words and symbols when addressing diverse or distant (not well known to the speaker) audiences because abstraction increases the likelihood that the message is understood across a broader range of listeners.
How to get your message across:
-you first need to empathize with the receiver, such as being sensitive to words that may be ambiguous or trigger the wrong emotional response. -Second, be sure that you repeat the message, such as by rephrasing the key points a couple of times. T -third, your message competes with other messages and noise, so find a time when the receiver is less likely to be distracted by these other matters. -Finally, if you are communicating bad news or criticism, focus on the problem, not the person.
What are the exceptions to richness theory ?
Ability to multi communicate -It is usually difficult (as well as rude) to communicate face-to-face with someone while simultaneously transmitting messages to another person using another medium. Most digital communication channels, on the other hand, require less social etiquette and attention, so employees can easily engage in two or more communication events at the same time. In other words, they can multicommunicate.48 For example, employees tap out text messages to a client while simultaneously listening to a discussion at a large meeting. Research consistently finds that people multitask less efficiently than they assume,49 but the volume of information transmitted simultaneously through two digital communication channels is sometimes greater than through one high media richness channel. Communication proficiency -Earlier in this chapter we explained that communication effectiveness is partially determined by the sender's ability and motivation to use the selected communication channel. People with higher proficiency can "push" more information through the channel, thereby increasing the channel's information flow. Experienced smartphone users, for instance, can whip through messages in a flash, whereas new users struggle to type notes and organize incoming messages. In contrast, there is less variation in the ability to communicate through casual conversation and other natural channels because most of us develop good levels of proficiency throughout life and possibly through hardwired evolutionary development. Social presence effects -Channels with high media richness tend to have more social presence.51 This improves empathy, but it also sensitizes both parties to their relative status and self-presentation, which can distort or divert attention away from the message.52 During a personal meeting with the company's CEO, for example, you might become more focused on the CEO's evaluation of you than on what the CEO is saying to you. In other words, the benefits of channels with high media richness may be offset by more social presence distractions, whereas lean media have much less social presence to distract or distort the transmitted information.
wikis
are collaborative web spaces in which anyone in a group can write, edit, or remove material from the website. -Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia, is a massive public example of a wiki. -The accuracy of wikis depends on the quality of participants, but IBM experts say that errors are quickly identified by IBM's online community. -Another concern is that wikis have failed to gain employee support, likely because wiki involvement takes time and the company does not reward or recognize those who provide this time to wiki development.
nonverbal communication
includes facial gestures, voice intonation, physical distance, and even silence -is necessary where noise or physical distance prevents effective verbal exchanges and where the need for immediate feedback precludes written communication. -nonverbal cues signal subtle information to both parties, such as reinforcing their interest in the verbal conversation or demonstrating their relative status in the relationship
buffering
involves having incoming communication filtered, usually by an assistant.
information load
the amount of information to be processed per unit of time. Information overload creates noise in the communication system because information gets overlooked or misinterpreted when people can't process it fast enough
emotional contagion
which is the automatic process of "catching" or sharing another person's emotions by mimicking that person's facial expressions and other nonverbal behavior. -Technically, human beings have brain receptors that cause them to mirror what they observe. In other words, to some degree our brain causes us to act as though we are the person we are watching -emotional contagion represents nonconscious behavior—we automatically mimic and synchronize our nonverbal behaviors with other people.
What are the three ways emotional contagion influences communication and social relationships?
-First, mimicry provides continuous feedback, communicating that we understand and empathize with the sender. To consider the significance of this, imagine employees remaining expressionless after watching a coworker bang his or her head! The lack of parallel behavior conveys a lack of understanding or caring. -A second function is that mimicking the nonverbal behaviors of other people seems to be a way of receiving emotional meaning from those people. If a coworker is angry with a client, your tendency to frown and show anger while listening helps you experience that emotion more fully. In other words, we receive meaning by expressing the sender's emotions as well as by listening to the sender's words. -The third function of emotional contagion is to fulfill the drive to bond. Bonding develops through each person's awareness of a collective sentiment. Through nonverbal expressions of emotional contagion, people see others share the same emotions that they feel. This strengthens relations among team members as well as between leaders and followers by providing evidence of their similarity.
What are the three main reasons for the persuasive effect?
-First, spoken communication is typically accompanied by nonverbal communication. People are persuaded more when they receive both emotional and logical messages, and the combination of spoken with nonverbal communication provides this dual punch. A lengthy pause, raised voice tone, and (in face-to-face interaction) animated hand gestures can amplify the emotional tone of the message, thereby signaling the vitality of the issue. -A second reason why conversations are more persuasive is that spoken communication offers the sender high-quality, immediate feedback about whether the receiver understands and accepts the message (i.e., is being persuaded). This feedback allows the sender to adjust the content and emotional tone of the message more quickly than with written communication. -A third reason is that people are persuaded more under conditions of high social presence than low social presence. Listeners have higher motivation to pay attention and consider the sender's ideas in face-to-face conversations (high social presence). In contrast, persuasive communication through a website, email, and other low social presence channels are less effective due to the higher degree of anonymity and psychological distance from the persuader.
Explain why rich media are better than lean media when the communication situation is nonroutine and ambiguous.
-In nonroutine situations (such as an unexpected and unusual emergency), the sender and receiver have little common experience, so they need to transmit a large volume of information with immediate feedback. -Lean media work well in routine situations because the sender and receiver have common expectations through shared mental models. -Ambiguous situations also require rich media because the parties must share large amounts of information with immediate feedback to resolve multiple and conflicting interpretations of their observations and experience -Choosing the wrong medium reduces communication effectiveness. When the situation is routine or clear, using a rich medium—such as holding a special meeting—would be a waste of time.46 On the other hand, if a unique and ambiguous issue is handled through email or another lean medium, then issues take longer to resolve and misunderstandings are more likely to occur.
Describe nonverbal differences across cultures:
-Many nonconscious or involuntary nonverbal cues (such as smiling) have the same meaning around the world, but deliberate gestures often have different interpretations. For example, most of us shake our head from side to side to say, "No," but a variation of head shaking means "I understand" to many people in India. -Filipinos raise their eyebrows to give an affirmative answer, yet Arabs interpret this expression (along with clicking one's tongue) as a negative response. Most Americans are taught to maintain eye contact with the speaker to show interest and respect, whereas some North American native groups learn at an early age to show respect by looking down when an older or more senior person is talking to them
What are some barriers (Called noise) that inhibit the effective exchange of info?
-One barrier is that both sender and receiver have imperfect perceptual processes. --As receivers, we don't listen as well as senders assume, and our needs and expectations influence what signals get noticed and ignored.We aren't any better as senders, either. --Some studies suggest that we have difficulty stepping out of our own perspectives and stepping into the perspectives of others, so we overestimate how well other people understand the message we are communicating -language issues can be huge sources of communication noise because sender and receiver might not have the same codebook. They might not speak the same language, or might have different meanings for particular words and phrases. -The use of jargon -Another source of noise in the communication process is the tendency to filter messages. Filtering may involve deleting or delaying negative information or using less harsh words so the message sounds more favorable.58 Filtering is less likely to occur when corporate leaders create a "culture of candor." This culture develops when leaders themselves communicate truthfully, seek out diverse sources for information, and protect and reward those who speak openly and with honesty
Describe workplace communication through social media:
-Social media are "social" because they encourage formation of communities through links, interactive conversations, and (for some platforms) common space for collaborative content development. The audience can become participants in the conversation by contributing feedback and by linking someone else's content to their own social media spaces. Some social media platforms also enable users the right to develop a public identity. -Each type of social media serves a unique combination of functions, such as presenting the individual's identity, enabling conversations, sharing information, sensing the presence of others in the virtual space, maintaining relationships, revealing reputation or status, and supporting communities -There is increasing evidence that enterprise social media platforms such as Yammer, IBM Connections, Facebook at Work, and Slack can improve knowledge sharing and socializing among employees under some conditions. -Millennials are the strongest advocates of social media in the workplace, whereas one recent study reported that older employees remain skeptical. Most corporate leaders are in the latter age cohort, which may explain why companies have been slow to adopt enterprise social media
Describe workspace design:
-To improve information sharing and create a more sociable work environment, many organizations have torn down the cubicle walls. In addition, they have incorporated informal spaces for small teams and happenstance gatherings.71 The location and design of hallways, offices, cubicles, and communal areas (cafeterias, elevators) all shape to whom we speak as well as the frequency of that communication. Although these open-space arrangements increase the amount of face-to-face communication, they also potentially produce more noise, distractions, and loss of privacy -Open workspaces can potentially have minimal noise problems because employees tend to speak more softly and white noise technology blocks out most voices. Still, the challenge is to increase social interaction without raising noise and distraction levels. -Another workspace strategy is to cloister employees into team spaces, but also encourage sufficient interaction with people from other teams
Describe the model of communication:
-communication flows through one or more channels (also called media) between the sender and receiver. -The sender forms a message and encodes it into words, gestures, voice intonations, and other symbols or signs. -Next, the encoded message is transmitted to the intended receiver through voice, text, nonverbal cues, or other channels. -The receiver senses and decodes the incoming message into something meaningful. Ideally, the decoded meaning is what the sender had intended. -In most situations, the sender looks for evidence that the other person received and understood the transmitted message. This feedback may involve the receiver repeating the message back to the sender or demonstrating awareness of the message indirectly through the receiver's subsequent actions.
Describe direct communication with top management:
-effective organizational communication includes regular interaction directly between senior executives and employees further down the hierarchy. -One form of direct communication is through town hall meetings, where executives brief a large gathering of staff on the company's current strategy and results\ -More personal and credible -Less formal approach is management by walking around
Describe the cross cultural and gender communication problems:
-voice intonation is one form of cross-cultural communication barrier. How loudly, deeply, and quickly people speak vary across cultures, and these voice intonations send secondary messages that have different meanings in different societies. -Language is an obvious cross-cultural communication challenge. Words are easily misunderstood in verbal communication, because either the receiver has a limited vocabulary or the sender's accent distorts the usual sound of some words. -how people interpret conversational gaps (silence) and overlaps. Silence is revered in Japan because it symbolizes respect, indicates that the listener is thoughtfully contemplating what has just been said, and is a way of avoiding overt conflict. -Conversational overlaps are considered rude in Japan, but people in Brazil, France, and a few other countries tend to view them favorably as an indication of the other person's interest and involvement in the conversation. Meetings in countries that expect overlapping conversations can seem like a chaotic cacophony to those from other cultures.
What are the benefits and limitations of the grapevine?
Benefits: -that employees rely on the grapevine when information is not available through formal channels. -It is also the main conduit through which organizational stories and other symbols of the organization's culture are communicated. -this social interaction relieves anxiety. -This explains why rumor mills are most active during times of uncertainty.81 -Finally, the grapevine is associated with the drive to bond. Being a recipient of gossip is a sign of inclusion, according to evolutionary psychologists. -Trying to quash the grapevine is, in some respects, an attempt to undermine the natural human drive for social interaction limitations -information is sometimes so distorted that it escalates rather than reduces employee anxiety. -employees develop more negative attitudes toward the organization when management is slower than the grapevine in communicating information. -Some companies also listen to the grapevine and step in to correct blatant errors and fabrications. Most important, corporate leaders need to view the grapevine as a competitor and meet this challenge by directly informing employees of news before it spreads throughout the grapevine.
Describe the three components of active listening:
Sensing. -Sensing is the process of receiving signals from the sender and paying attention to them. Active listeners improve sensing in three ways. First, they postpone evaluation by not forming an opinion until the speaker has finished. Second, they avoid interrupting the speaker's conversation. Third, they remain motivated to listen to the speaker. Evaluating. -This component of listening includes understanding the message meaning, evaluating the message, and remembering the message. To improve their evaluation of the conversation, active listeners empathize with the speaker—they try to understand and be sensitive to the speaker's feelings, thoughts, and situation. Evaluation also improves by organizing the speaker's ideas during the communication episode. Responding. -This third component of listening involves providing feedback to the sender, which motivates and directs the speaker's communication. Active listeners accomplish this by maintaining sufficient eye contact and sending back channel signals (e.g., "I see"), both of which show interest. They also respond by clarifying the message—rephrasing the speaker's ideas at appropriate breaks ("So you're saying that . . . ?").
Management by walking around (MBWA)-
a communication practice in which executives get out of their offices and learn from others in the organization through face-to-face dialogue -These direct communication strategies potentially minimize filtering because executives listen directly to employees. -They also help executives acquire a deeper meaning and quicker understanding of internal organizational problems. -A third benefit of direct communication is that employees might have more empathy for decisions made further up the corporate hierarchy.
grapevine
an unstructured and informal communication network founded on social relationships rather than organizational charts or job descriptions -Surveys have found that almost all employees use the grapevine, but very few of them prefer this source of information. -grapevine transmits information very rapidly in all directions throughout the organization. The typical pattern is a cluster chain, whereby a few people actively transmit information to many others. The grapevine works through informal social networks, so it is more active where employees have similar backgrounds and are able to communicate easily. -distorts information by deleting fine details and exaggerating key points of the story
social media
are Internet- or mobile-based channels that allow users to generate and interactively share information. -They cover a wide range of categories, including social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+), microblogs (Twitter), blogs and blog communities (Typepad, BlogHer), site comments and forums (FlyerTalk, Whirlpool), multimedia sharing (YouTube, Pinterest), and shared publishing (Wikipedia).
What are ways in which information overload can be reduced?
can be minimized by increasing our information-processing capacity, by reducing the job's information load, or through a combination of both. -Studies suggest that employees often increase their information-processing capacity by temporarily reading faster, scanning through documents more efficiently, and removing distractions that slow information-processing speed. Time management also increases information-processing capacity. -When information overload is temporary, employees can increase their information-processing capacity by working longer hours. can be reduced by buffering, omitting, and summarizing.
information overload
occurs whenever the job's information load exceeds the individual's capacity to get through it. -Results in poor decision making and higher levels of stress
filtering (communication)
may involve deleting or delaying negative information or using less harsh words so the message sounds more favorable.58 -Filtering is less likely to occur when corporate leaders create a "culture of candor." -This culture develops when leaders themselves communicate truthfully, seek out diverse sources for information, and protect and reward those who speak openly and with honesty -Source of noise in communication process
communication
refers to the process by which information is transmitted and understood between two or more people
noise
the psychological, social, and structural barriers that distort and obscure the sender's intended message. -Hampers communication
certain information processing capacity
the amount of information that they are able to process in a fixed unit of time.
Synchronicity
the extent to which they require or allow both sender and receiver to be actively involved in the conversation at the same time\ -face-to-face conversations are almost always synchronous, whereas email communication exchanges allow each party to participate at different times (asynchronous). -Online texting can be asynchronous, but it often occurs as a synchronous conversation
How does nonverbal communication differ from verbal communication?
-First, it is less rule-bound than verbal communication. We receive considerable formal training on how to understand spoken words, but very little on how to understand the nonverbal signals that accompany those words. Consequently, nonverbal cues are generally more ambiguous and susceptible to misinterpretation. At the same time, many facial expressions (such as smiling) are hardwired and universal, thereby providing the only reliable means of communicating across cultures. -The other difference between verbal and nonverbal communication is that the former is typically conscious, whereas most nonverbal communication is automatic and nonconscious. We normally plan the words we say or write, but we rarely plan every blink, smile, or other gesture during a conversation. Indeed, as we just mentioned, many of these facial expressions communicate the same meaning across cultures because they are hardwired, nonconscious responses to human emotions.
What are the 4 factors that influence the effectiveness of this encoding-decoding process?
-First, the sender and receiver encode and decode more effectively when they have similar "codebooks," which are dictionaries of symbols, language, gestures, idioms, and other tools used to convey information. With similar codebooks, the communication participants are able to encode and decode more accurately because they assign the same or similar meaning to the transmitted symbols and signs. Communication efficiency also improves because there is less need for redundancy (repeating the message in different ways) and less need for confirmation feedback -Second, the encoding-decoding process improves with experience because the sender learns which words, symbols, voice intonations, and other features transmit the message more clearly and persuasively to others. -Third, the encoding-decoding process is better when the sender and receiver are skilled and motivated to use the selected communication channel(s). Some people prefer face-to-face conversations, others prefer tweets and text messages, and still others prefer writing and receiving detailed reports. Even when the sender and receiver have the same codebooks, the message can get lost in translation when one or both parties use a channel that they dislike or don't know how to use very well. -Fourth, the encoding-decoding process depends on the sender's and receiver's shared mental models of the communication context. Mental models are visual or relational images of the communication setting, whereas codebooks are symbols used to convey message content (see Chapter 3)
Describe gender differences in communication:
-One distinction is that men are more likely than women to view conversations as negotiations of relative status and power. They assert their power by directly giving advice to others (e.g., "You should do the following") and using combative language. There is also evidence that men dominate the talk time in conversations with women, as well as interrupt more and adjust their speaking style less than do women. -Men engage in more "report talk," in which the primary function of the conversation is impersonal and efficient information exchange. Women also do report talk, particularly when conversing with men, but conversations among women have a higher incidence of relationship building through "rapport talk."68 Women use more tentative speech patterns, including modifiers ("It might be a good idea . . ."), disclaimers ("I'm not certain, but . . ."), and tag questions ("This works, doesn't it?"). They also make more use of indirect requests ("Do you think you should . . . ?"), apologize more often, and seek advice from others more quickly than do men
How can written communication persuade others?
-Written messages have the advantage of presenting more technical detail than can occur through conversation. This factual information is valuable when the issue is important to the receiver. -Also, people experience a moderate degree of social presence in written communication with friends and coworkers, so written messages can be persuasive when sent and received with close associates.
How is communication important?
-organizations are defined as groups of people who work interdependently toward some purpose. People work interdependently only when they can communicate with each other. Although organizations rely on a variety of coordinating mechanisms (which we discuss in Chapter 12), frequent, timely, and accurate communication remains the primary means through which employees and work units effectively synchronize their work -communication is critical for organizational learning. It is the means through which knowledge enters the organization and is distributed to employees.3 -A third function of communication is decision making. Imagine the challenge of making a decision without any information about the decision context, the alternatives available, the likely outcomes of those options, or the extent to which the decision is achieving its objectives. All of these ingredients require communication from coworkers and stakeholders in the external environment. For example, airline cockpit crews make much better decisions—and thereby cause far fewer accidents—when the captain encourages the other pilots to openly share information.4 -A fourth function of communication is to change behavior.5 When conveying information to others, we are often trying to alter their beliefs, feelings, and ultimately their behavior. This influence process might be passive, such as merely describing the situation more clearly and fully. But communication is often a deliberate attempt to change someone's thoughts and actions. We will discuss the topic of persuasion later in this chapter. -A fifth function of communication is to support employee well-being.6 One way communication minimizes stress is by conveying knowledge that helps employees better manage their work environment. For instance, research shows that new employees adjust much better to the organization when coworkers communicate subtle nuggets of wisdom, such as how to complete work procedures correctly, find useful resources, handle difficult customers, and avoid office politics.7 The second way communication minimizes stress is emotionally; talking with others can be a soothing balm during difficult times. Indeed, people are less susceptible to colds, cardiovascular disease, and other physical and mental illnesses when they have regular social interaction.8 In essence, people have an inherent drive to bond, to validate their self-worth, and to maintain their social identity. Communication is the means through which these drives and needs are fulfilled.
messages can be written, edited, and transmitted quickly. Information can be effortlessly appended and conveyed to many people. -Email is also asynchronous (messages are sent and received at different times), so there is no need to coordinate a communication session -preferred medium for sending well-defined information for decision making. It is also the first choice for coordinating work, although text messages may soon overtake email for this objective. -as substantially altered the directional flow of information as well as increased the volume and speed of those messages throughout the organization --email has reduced face-to-face and telephone communication but increased communication with people further up the hierarchy. Email potentially improves employee-manager relations, except where these messages are used by the manager to control employee behavior. -reduces social and organizational status differences between sender and receiver, mainly because there are fewer cues to indicate these differences than in face-to-face interactions. However, status differences still exist to some extent in written digital communication -email and other forms of written digital communication potentially reduce stereotyping and prejudice because age, race, and other features of the participants are unknown or less noticeable.16 Text messages and emails allow more time to craft diplomatic messages than in face-to-face interactions. However, diplomatic writing mainly occurs when there is potential conflict or perceived prejudice. In other situations, the lack of face-to-face contact may increase reliance on stereotypes and produce messages that reflect those biases.
omitting
occurs when we decide to overlook messages, such as using software rules to redirect emails from distribution lists to folders that we rarely look at.
What are the problems with email and other digital message channels?
poor communication of emotions -People rely on facial expressions and other nonverbal cues to interpret the emotional meaning of words; email and text messages lack this parallel communication channel. Indeed, people consistently and significantly overestimate the degree to which they understand the emotional tone of digital messages.17 Senders try to clarify the emotional tone of their messages by using expressive language ("Wonderful to hear from you!"), highlighting phrases in boldface or quotation marks, and inserting graphic faces (called emojis or "smileys") representing the desired emotion. Studies suggest that writers are getting better at using these emotion symbols. Less politeness and respectfulness -Receivers are partly to blame because they tend to infer more negative emotional meaning to the digital message than was intended by the sender.19 Even so, flame wars occur mostly because senders tend to send disparaging messages digitally more often than by other communication channels. One reason is that individuals can post digital messages before their emotions subside, whereas the sender of a traditional memo or letter would have time for sober second thoughts. A second reason why employees are more likely to send disrespectful messages digitally than in face-to-face conversation is that digital messages have low social presence (they are impersonal), which reduces the sender's empathy and sensitivity. Cumbersome medium for ambiguous, complex, and novel situations -Digital messages are incredibly efficient for well-defined situations, such as confirming the location of a meeting or giving basic instructions for a routine activity. But this form of communication can be cumbersome and dysfunctional in ambiguous, complex, and novel situations. -when the issue gets messy, stop emailing or texting and start talking, preferably face-to-face. Contributes to information overload -Digital messages contribute to information overload -The email glut occurs because messages are created and copied to many people without much effort
social presence
refers to how much the communication channel creates psychological closeness to others, awareness of their humanness, and appreciation of the interpersonal relationship -Face-to-face interactions almost always have the highest social presence, whereas low social presence would typically occur when sending an email to a large distribution list. Social presence is also stronger in synchronous communication because immediate responses by the other party to our messages increase the sense of connectedness with that person. -For example, social presence is affected by how casually or formally the message is conveyed and by how much personal information about the sender is included in the message. -A communication channel is valued for its social presence effect when the purpose of the dialogue is to understand and empathize with the other person or group. People are also more willing to listen and help others when there is a degree of interpersonal relationship or feeling of human connectedness. Therefore, channels with high social presence are better when the sender wants to influence the receiver.
social acceptance
refers to how well the communication medium is approved and supported by those involved in the exchange -One social acceptance factor is the set of norms held by the team, organization, and society. Norms explain why face-to-face meetings are daily events among staff in some firms, whereas computer-based videoconferencing (such as Skype) and Twitter tweets are the media of choice in other organizations. Studies report that national culture plays an important role in preferences for specific communication channels. -A second social acceptance factor is the sender's and receiver's preferences for specific communication channels.40 You may have noticed that some coworkers ignore (or rarely check) voice mail, yet they quickly respond to text messages or Twitter tweets. These preferences are due to personality traits as well as previous experience and reinforcement with particular channels. -A third social acceptance factor is the symbolic meaning of a channel.41 Some communication channels are viewed as impersonal whereas others are more personal; some are considered professional whereas others are casual; some are "cool" whereas others are old-fashioned. For instance, phone calls and other synchronous communication channels convey a greater sense of urgency than do text messages and other asynchronous channels. The importance of a channel's symbolic meaning is perhaps most apparent in stories about managers who use emails or text messages to inform employees that they are fired or laid off. These communication events make headlines because email and text messages have low social presence and therefore are considered inappropriate (too impersonal) for transmission of that particular information.
media richness
refers to the communication channel's data-carrying capacity—the volume and variety of information that can be transmitted during a specific time -communication channels arranged in a hierarchy of richness, with face-to-face interaction at the top and lean data-only reports at the bottom. -A communication channel has high richness when it is able to convey multiple cues (such as both verbal and nonverbal information), allows timely feedback from receiver to sender, allows the sender to customize the message to the receiver, and makes use of complex symbols (such as words and phrases with multiple meanings). -Face-to-face communication has very high media richness because it allows us to communicate both verbally and nonverbally at the same time, to get feedback almost immediately from the receiver, to quickly adjust our message and style, and to use complex language such as metaphors and idioms
