You are on page 1of 13

unit 1

the importance of communication skills

DICTIONARIES Longman: http://www.ldoceonline.com/ Oxford: http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/ Macmillan: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/ Cambridge: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/ Cobuild: http://www.mycobuild.com/free-search.aspx Merriam-Websters (American English): http://www.learnersdictionary.com/

EXTRAS British English / grammar (BBC ENGLISH): http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/askaboutenglish/ British English / reading, listening and vocabulary (BBC ENGLISH): http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/ British English (news, BBC): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ American English (news, VOA): http://www.voanews.com/ American English (learning English, VOA): http://learningenglish.voanews.com/

Input texts adapted from Margareta Petru, Eugenia Irimia, STEPS TO EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION, Argonaut, Cluj-Napca, 2008. All questions by Adrian Ciupe, 2013.

module A: lecture
class activities (speaking / writing)
#1 COMMUNICATION AS A COMPLEX PROCESS Communication is: learned / acquired the oldest form of academic study originally known as rhetoric

1. Do you think you are a good communicator? What are the reasons? What are the qualities of an effective communicator? 2. What would you consider a truly educated person? Does this apply to you? Why (not)? 3. Do you tend to get angry when other people tell you something you dont accept? How could that affect your communication with them in the long term? #2 COMMUNICATION AS A COMPLEX PROCESS (2) Because we live in a world of constant change, communication involves the fact that jobs are no longer long-term is made faster by communication technology turns business leaders into facilitators, coaches and directors is a two-way interaction is not static but dynamic is not the same as information

4. How is a job different from a career? How many jobs / careers would you expect to have in your lifetime and why? 5. Do you think you have a substantial knowledge base? Do you feel it lacks anything? How do you think your current background can help you in your future job(s)? 6. Describe your ideal boss explain your reasons. 7. The text above tells you that communication is not the same thing as information. How do you see this relationship?

#3 FORMS OF COMMUNICATION Communication can be: formal / informal spoken / written verbal / non-verbal aided by technology person-to-person

All communication is conditioned by time! 8. How is a business presentation different from talking to a close acquaintance or a friend? 9. Do you think that websites like FACEBOOK or TWITTER can improve communication or not? How is this kind of communication different from face-to-face communication? Which would you prefer and why? 10. Do you think you have interpersonal communication skills? What are they? 11. What can happen when you want to send out information in the most expedient way (e.g. using email) perhaps because you are pressed for time? What responses could you expect? #4 BARRIERS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION Communication can be hampered by: faulty information insufficient information ineffectiveness language / culture issues deficient listening skills lack of thinking ahead by interaction

Communication = everything we do! 12. As a non-native speaker of English, do you think you could use English effectively in a multinational company / organisation? What makes you think so? 13. What communication problems can non-native speakers of English be faced with in an international business environment? 14. When engaged in communication with someone else, how can you anticipate whats coming next?

#5 CONTENT AND RELATIONSHIP Every message has two levels: content (= WHAT): words, message, information relationship (= HOW): non-verbal behaviour

According to researchers people would rather believe their eyes than their ears 75%-95% of a perceived message is non-verbal any speaker has 1-3 minutes to leave an impression long-term relationships are important

15. When communicating with another person, what counts more for you? What s/he says, or how s/he says it? Why? 16. Have you ever been aware of the nonverbal messages you are conveying? If so, in what sense? How did other people perceive you based on your own nonverbal behaviour? How do you perceive and interpret other people in this sense? 17. Have you ever believed in first impressions in the company of strangers? Why (not)? 18. What counts more for you when communicating with another person achieving your desired outcome / result or maintaining a good relationship with that person? Or if both how can that be achieved? #6 CONTENT AND RELATIONSHIP (2) Past and present: 19. 20. 21. 22. in the past employees were left out of decision-making nowadays they are included in this process through the enhancement in good communication How could you plan your communication strategies? What rights do employees have nowadays, as compared to the past? Do you think you can be a more productive employee if you have more responsibilities? How do you see mutual respect in the workplace?

#7 LANGUAGE AND DISCRIMINATION General types of discrimination: direct (we know we do it) indirect (we do it unknowingly, by overgeneralisation)

Particular types of discrimination: language and age > ageism language and race / skin colour > racism language and gender > sexism language and nationality / ethnicity > xenophobia etc. 23. Give more examples of indirect discrimination. 24. How can discrimination be avoided? 25. What is positive discrimination? Do you agree with it? #8 LANGUAGE AND AGE Ageism Potentially ageist terms: pensioner, senior citizen Preferred term: older people

26. What would you consider the right age for retirement and why? Do you think it should be the same for both men and women? 27. Do you think seniority is important in the workplace? What implications are there? 28. Describe your general attitude to older people. #9 LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY Racism Potentially racist terms: coloured, Negro, Nigger, black, ethnic minority group Preferred terms: Afro-American, Afro-Caribbean, of South Asian origin, of African origin, minority ethnic group

29. As you well know, Romania (and the EU) has had a number of problems related to the integration of gypsies socially, economically, politically, culturally etc. What is your view on this issue? 30. Why do you think some gypsies would like to be called Rom(a)? Which term would you prefer and why? 31. What do you know about racism and anti-racism in the USA?

#10 LANGUAGE AND DISABILITY Impairments Potentially discriminatory terms: handicapped, disabled, blind etc. Preferred terms: differently-abled, visually impaired etc.

32. Consider the following situation: you are a recruiter / interviewer and one of the applicants scheduled for an interview has locomotive problems that prevent him / her from arriving at the venue designated for the interview. However, after reviewing his / her application and CV, you think s/he could be a potential asset to your company. What would you do? 33. Lets assume that the type of candidate mentioned in the above question emerges as the best prepared, at the end of the recruitment process. Would you give him / her the job (knowing you would have to accommodate his / her special needs while working for your company) or would you give the job to a less-prepared candidate (who has no special needs) just to spare yourself the extra trouble? How can you motivate your choice? #11 LANGUAGE AND GENDER Sexism Potentially sexist terms: (generic) he / him / his / himself; man / men / woman / women (generically or in compounds); Mrs, Miss; stewardess; policeman / policewoman; businessman / businesswoman; postman / postwoman; fireman etc. Preferred terms: (generic) they, them, their, themselves; -person (in compounds); Ms; flight attendant; police officer; businessperson / entrepreneur; postal worker; firefighter etc.

34. You are a male manager, outgoing, always liking a good joke. One of your employees is a very goodlooking blond woman and also very efficient as a co-worker. You keep hearing jokes about blondes going round your office. However, the woman never complains. Would you take a stand or not? Why? 35. You are a female manager, (same question as above). 36. Youre an unemployed man looking for a job (youre not desperate and can afford to wait till you think you find your dream job). A vacancy turns up your skills will be used to their full potential; however, you learn that your boss will be a woman. Moreover, youd be working for a lingerie company. Would you give it a go? 37. Youre an unemployed woman looking for a job (youre not desperate and can afford to wait till you think you find your dream job). A vacancy turns up your skills will be used to their full potential; however, you learn that your boss will be a man. Moreover, youd be working for a mining company. Would you give it a go? #12 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION A classification of an organizations communication activities: internal operational (within the company) external operational (company > outside) personal (or interpersonal, within the company)

38. Describe a possible situation in which you might have to make a business telephone call (or answer one), send out a fax or write a business letter / email. What skills would you need? 39. Supposing you wanted to draft a letter of resignation from your current job (you have found a much better position and possibly, a much friendlier boss), how would you go about it? 6

module B: seminar
practice tests
#1 COMMUNICATION AS A COMPLEX PROCESS practice, purpose, vision Our ability to articulate ideas and to create ways of communication so that other people can understand us and believe in our 01 ____ is, 02 ____ certain, the number one way to be successful in our lives. Communication is not 03 ____ born / original / innate / started that is, we were not necessarily born with this skill. It is a learned process, 04 ____ other words it is acquired. Although it 05 ____ LIE all our daily 06 ____ ACT with others, most of us rarely study it. Basically, communication is the oldest form of academic study, 07 ____ ORIGINAL known 08 ____ `rhetoric`. According to the Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary, one of the meanings of `rhetoric` today refers 09 ____ the formal study of the ways of using language 10 ____ EFFECT . In ancient times, 11 ____ the other hand, rhetoric was built around the view that a person was not considered to be truly educated without a good 12 ____ KNOW of their traditions, customs and cultural 13 ____ . Most of us today pick 14 ____ our communication styles from others even when we abhor those styles for their 15 ____ DESTROY impact 16 ____ our self-esteem. We may hate it when this type of communication is used on us but 17 ____ IRONY, we often turn around and use that exact way of communicating on others, simply because that is what we know! One of the 18 ____ of this course is to break that vicious 19 ____ chain / roundabout / cycle / sequence by learning how to communicate with and not against each other. #2 COMMUNICATION AS A COMPLEX PROCESS (2) change, leave, pace, take We live in a world of constant 01 ____ . One of the biggest changes 02 ____ place has to 03 ____ make / do / deal / cope with our careers. Jobs used to be long-04 ____ period / length / term / ago. They brought a level of 05 ____ safety / security / discretion / maintenance and stability to our lives. However, that is no longer 06 ____ the / this / a / another case. Todays university graduates can expect to have six to ten careers in their lifetimes and thus they will need to add 07 ____ CONTINUE to their knowledge base and adapt their communication styles 08 ____ one career to another. Another change involves communication technology. In todays world, communication is fast-09 ____ . We have to adapt our tactics and strategies 10 ____ ACCORD and we also have to become more efficient and effective in order to avoid being 11 ____ behind. A third change involves 12 ____ LEAD . Business leaders now need to be facilitators, coaches and directors, which means that the number one most important skill required 13 ____ a leader is the 14 ____ ABLE to communicate effectively so as to be able to get other people on board, that is, to get their ideas, to sort 15 ____ information and to facilitate and foster progress.

send, static Communication demands a two-way 16 ____ RELATE , given that it is not 17 ____ , but dynamic. It pushes forwards through 18 ____ ACT with one or more persons. Also, there is a 19 ____ SIGNIFY difference between communication and information. Communication as a term, 20 ____ its very definition, demands at least a two-way interaction and not just a one-way 21 ____ of information. Todays organisations need to be open 22 ____ dialogue with their 23 ____ EMPLOY if they want to 24 ____ boost / boom / boast / brag morale, productivity, quality and, not 25 ____ least / last / finally / eventually, customer satisfaction. Ultimately, they need a constant flow of information and communication. If we are to make sense 26 ____ our ideas, we need to understand the fact that communication is not only a complex art, but also a science. #3 FORMS OF COMMUNICATION body, channel, come, do Communication 01 ____ in various forms. It can be formal, such 02 ____ a business presentation, or informal, such as talking to a friend or close 03 ____ ACQUAINT . It can also be verbal or 04 ____ VERB . Verbally, we use words, in speech or in writing. Otherwise, we use gestures, signs and other forms of 05 ____ language. Similarly, communication can use different 06 ____ , such as a fax, an email, a memo or a report. But 07 ____ WHAT the form, it involves finding the right symbol to 08 ____ convey / measure / assess / estimate an idea so that other people can understand. Although technology may speed 09 ____ communication 10 ____ a great extent, many of todays 11 ____ EXECUTE believe that person-to-person communication is essential to 12 ____ business. This is heavily 13 ____ DEPEND on someones interpersonal communication skills. Finally, time is a crucial factor in effective communication but 14 ____ FORTUNE , most people use it incorrectly. Sometimes we must be warned of the dangers of trying to save time by transmitting complicated information in the most 15 ____ fast / quick / rapid / expedient way! #4 BARRIERS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION achieve, engage, think Communication can 01 ____ OCCASION be hampered by 02 ____ FAULT or insufficient information, by 03 ____ EFFECT , by poor proficiency in a foreign language, by lack of 04 ____ CULTURE awareness, by deficient listening skills or by a lack of 05 ____ ahead. Consequently, for best results while 06 ____ in communication, we must be able to plan and anticipate the 07 ____ COME we expect from our interaction with others by choosing the right tactics and strategies that we intend to assist us in 08 ____ our goals. After all, we cannot avoid communicating everything we do sends a message about ourselves!

#5 CONTENT AND RELATIONSHIP achieve, give There are two basic levels 01 ____ every message we get 02 ____ : the content is the `what` of a message, together 03 ____ the words we use to convey it. Relationship mostly has to do with our attitudes or feelings towards the other person. `Relationship` as a concept is 04 ____ PRACTICE revealed by our nonverbal behaviour. Researchers have pointed 05 ____ that when 06 ____ the choice of believing their ears or their eyes, people will almost always believe their eyes. While its easy to use words in order to lie, its 07 ____ COMPARE difficult to be 08 ____ HONEST in our nonverbal messages. It is estimated that between 75 to 95 per cent of a message we receive from someone else is nonverbal. This refers to the way we look, the manner in which we offer information or, simply, the way we say things all these matter much more 09 ____ what we actually say! 10 ____ effect, no matter how important we think the information we want to transmit is, if we dont 11 ____ give / pay / transmit / have due attention to our body language or intonation or tone of voice, that information may well fall 12 ____ deaf ears. Basically, we wont have 13 ____ our communication goal! condition, nurture By the same token, we should not 14 ____ LOOK the fact that we have one to three minutes at our 15 ____ DISPOSE to create a certain impression 16 ____ other people. After that very short time, they will decide if they like or 17 ____ LIKE us, respect or 18 ____ RESPECT us and, not the least important, what we stand 19 ____ . In business the first impression always counts! What makes communication so complex is that our desired 20 ____ COME involve more than just shared meaning and 21 ____ UNDERSTAND . These are 22 ____ by long-term relationships as well. It has been clearly proved that its just as important to 23 ____ and maintain relationships as it is to achieve our immediate desired results. #6 CONTENT AND RELATIONSHIP (2) assert, display, drive, nutshell 01 ____ HISTORY , employees were left out of the decision-02 ____ taking / making / doing / performing process and they usually suspected that their contribution to the workplace was rather 03 ____ SIGNIFY . 04 ____ contrast, todays 05 ____ PROFESSION who have more 06 ____ RESPOND are usually more productive, make a larger contribution to their organisations and also work better as a group. When people can see that they can really bring 07 ____ change, this amounts to an 08 ____ VALUE asset to a business. The greatest plans are practically 09 ____ USE unless everyone in a company is pulling in the same direction and knows what the common goals are the 10 ____ factor is, without doubt, good communication. Good communication skills are mutual respect skills. Ideally, each person will show respect for another, as well as respect for him or herself. You show respect for the other person by listening 11 ____ intentionally / intently / intendedly / unintentionally and demonstrating that you really get what the other person means. You respect yourself or 12 ____ selfesteem, 13 ____ that matter when you 14 ____ or give your own legitimate self-interest without aggression. 15 ____ communication to be complete, each person must `give` and `take` concomitantly. In a 16 ____ , technology alone does not fulfill the need 17 ____ basic communication skills. What could 18 ____ SEEM be the most expedient way of communicating is not 19 ____ NECESSARY the most effective as well. And that, because the most effective communication is always planned! 9

#7 LANGUAGE AND DISCRIMINATION perform, record, right, trade, treat, upshot Discrimination can be direct or indirect. Direct discrimination involves 01 ____ one person less 02 ____ FAVOUR than another 03 ____ account of particular attributes, such as race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, age, 04 ____ ABLE , medical record, 05 ____ IMPAIR , marital 06 ____ status / statute / situation / context, pregnancy or potential pregnancy, family responsibilities, criminal 07 ____ , 08 ____ union activity, political views, religious 09 ____ CONVINCE , national extraction or social background. An example of direct discrimination would be deciding not to give 10 ____ EMPLOY to a person based on their particular 11 ____ ETHNIC . Indirect discrimination boils 12 ____ to treating everyone the same way, which may end 13 ____ as being unfair to a specific potential group of people. An example of this is where the design of a workplace prevents a person with a disability 14 ____ accessing the equipment needed to 15 ____ their job. It is 16 ____ LAW to discriminate, even if it was not your intention to do so. For example, if you set conditions that 17 ____ practice will favour one gender 18 ____ another, the decision may be 19 ____ QUESTION , even though you did not intend this to be the outcome in the first place! You should also try to 20 ____ raise / rise / arise / arouse awareness of the ways in which language use can discriminate 21 ____ particular social groups and thus affect the quality of the working relationships we are building in our everyday lives. The 22 ____ is that people should be seen as individuals in their own 23 ____ and valued beyond considerations such as the above. Peoples own views on how they would like to be referred 24 ____ should be uppermost!

10

module C: self-study
supplementary testing material 1
Carefully read the rest of the information for this unit and see how words work together in context, in terms of collocations, fixed expressions (dependent prepositions, idioms, phrasal verbs) and word formation. Use the online LDOCE (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English see the cover page of this unit for the web-link) to clarify meanings and find more examples that illustrate typical usage. #8 LANGUAGE AND AGE Aging is something which affects all of us. However, there can be negative attitudes towards older people who are often seen as rigid in their views, unable to learn new things and, in the case of the very old, a burden upon society. Attitudes towards age are, in part, conditioned by the rapid technological changes taking place in our society. Increasingly, people past the age of forty are deemed to be no longer employable. Actually, the vast majority of older people around us are fit, active, independent and just as capable of responding to the dictates of a technologically advanced society as those much younger than themselves. The term preferred by most older people is `older people`. A term such as `elderly` is no longer felt to be acceptable. Similarly, many would object to being referred to as `pensioners` or `senior citizens`. #9 LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY Participating in day-to-day life in a multicultural community brings a host of possible benefits: not only does this provide greater knowledge and awareness of the world at large, but it also puts people in tune with what others think and believe is important. However, we are all aware that racism and ethnocentrism can find expression in a culturally diverse community. We are particularly concerned with uses of language which can be interpreted as racist or ethnocentric regardless of the intentions of the speaker or writer. In a multicultural community such as ours we should aim to be inclusive and ensure that, as far as possible, we do take account of the cultural diversity in the wider society, particularly when we make linguistic choices and select visual images. Stereotyping in speaking and writing means attributing particular characteristics to all members of an assumed group, in terms of temperament, academic potential, linguistic abilities or cultural practices. Take, for example, an appellation like `coloured`, specifically alluding to skin colour. An alternative approach would be to emphasise geographical origin or cultural background, if and when necessary, and to use terms such as `Afro-Caribbean`, `of South Asian origin` or `of African origin`. The term `ethnic group` is quite commonly used in public discourse, but often to refer only to people from minority groups. Ethnicity refers to the sense of identity which derives from membership of a group with a shared history, language, religion and geographical location or at least, some combination of these characteristics. By this definition, everyone is associated with an ethnic group, whether they are members of the ethnic majority or an ethnic minority. To stress this point, the term `minority ethnic group` currently tends to be used in preference to `ethnic minority group`. Putting the word `minority` first foregrounds the fact that the majority group is also an ethnic group with its own characteristics. #10 LANGUAGE AND DISABILITY When speaking or writing to or about people with disabilities, their possible attributes are all too often overlooked. Words and phrases such as `handicapped`, `mentally deficient` or `slow learner` tend to predominate. People with disabilities do not necessarily suffer, except as a result of societys approach to them. For example, a wheelchair user is not `confined to` or `bound to` their wheelchair the wheelchair is an aid to their mobility and freedom!

11

#11 LANGUAGE AND GENDER The so-called generic terms `he` and `man` are still heard and read across an entire range of workplace settings. For example, some people still use `chairman` instead of `chair` or `chairperson`, or `businessmen` instead of `business people`. To sound grammatically correct, some people still use the generic `he`, `him` and `his` instead of `they`, `them`, `their` and so on. Despite cautions from certain language purists, there is an increasing preference for using `they`, `them`, `their` to refer to the singular. Consider these two sentences: (1) `Every employee should make sure that his or her desk is tidy and he or she should always be courteous to colleagues addressing him or her.` (2) `Every employee should make sure that their desk is tidy and they should always be courteous to colleagues addressing them.` Obviously, the second sentence is much more natural and non-sexist, despite the apparent grammatical inaccuracy. A language usage like in the second sentence is not only common in speech, but is also gaining currency in written language. An alternative would be to use only plurals. Consider sentence number (3) as an option: `All employees should make sure that their desks are tidy and they should always be courteous to colleagues addressing them.` Regarding titles, should it be felt necessary to use them, and if a womans marital status is not known or considered unimportant for that matter, `Ms` is the obvious solution. It is a title for a woman which is an alternative to `Mrs` or `Miss` and a perfect equivalent for `Mr`, since the title `Mr`, just like `Ms`, does not indicate marital status. At the same time, a womans own wishes with regard to her title need to be respected. In effect, we all have to examine our own language and make it more accessible and inclusive. All groups should be treated with equality, for to do otherwise is to demean both men and women. When we demean with language, we surely become less worthy human beings ourselves. #12 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Businesses need people with adequate communication skills. Whatever position you hold in business, your performance will be judged largely by your ability to communicate. To understand how important communication is to business you should look at how much communication business requires. Throughout any given organisation, employees send and receive messages, give and receive orders, talk over the telephone or fill out official forms. Executives use letters and telephone calls to initiate and conduct business with suppliers and customers and also respond to incoming letters and calls. Communication enables all these people to work together. It is also the vehicle through which management performs its basic function. The communication activities of an organisation have been classified as follows: first, `internal operational` - this refers to work-related communication inside a business organisation, such as giving orders, assembling reports, writing memorandums and communicating by using computers. Second, external operational`- these activities involve work-related communication with people outside the business, like personal selling, telephoning, advertising or letter writing. Third, `personal`: these communication activities amount to non-business-related exchanges of information and feelings among the people inside an organisation. They can affect worker attitudes, which, in their turn, will affect worker performance.

12

module C: self-study
supplementary testing material 2
Using the online LDOCE (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English see the cover page of this unit for the web-link), look up the following words and pay attention to their meanings in context (c.f. the examples given) in terms of collocations, fixed expressions (dependent prepositions, idioms, phrasal verbs) and word formation: ability account activity advice agreement aim analysis answer application approach background beginning belief benefit business call career case chance change choice communication comparison conclusion condition

WORD FORMATION ABLE: unable, ability, inability, disable, disabled, disability ACCOUNT: accounting, accountancy, accountant, unaccounted, accountable, unaccountable ACT: action, activity, inaction, inactivity, active(ly), inactive(ly), react, reaction, interact, interaction, interactive(ly), interactivity ADVISE: advice, adviser / advisor, advisory AGREE: disagree, agreement, disagreement, agreeable, disagreeable AIM: aimless(ly) ANALYSE: analysis, analytical(ly), analyst ANSWER: answerable, unanswered APPLY: application, misapplication, applicant, applicable, inapplicable, appliance APPROACH: approachable, unapproachable BELIEVE: belief, disbelieve, disbelief, believable, unbelievable, believably, unbelievably BENEFIT: beneficial(ly), benefactor BUSINESS: businesslike CALL: uncalled (for), calling, caller, recall CAREER: careerist, careerism CHANGE: unchanged, changeable, unchangeable, exchange CHOOSE: choice, choosy, chooser COMMUNICATE: communication, miscommunication, communicative, uncommunicative, communicator COMPARE: comparison, comparative(ly), comparable, incomparable, comparably, incomparably CONCLUDE: conclusion, conclusive(ly), inconclusive(ly) CONDITION: conditional(ly), unconditional(ly), conditioned, unconditioned, recondition, reconditioned, reconditioning

13

You might also like