CHAPTER 1

Career Success Begins With Communication Skills

Instructor Only Version 2010 Thomson South-Western

Communication Skills:
Your ticket to work... OR Your ticket out the door!
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Good communication skills are essential for

Job placement Job performance Career advancement Success in the new world of work

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Writing skills are increasingly significant. "Businesses are crying outthey need to have people who write better.
Gaston Caperton, business executive and president, College Board

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Build Your Career Communication Skills

Textbook Instructor Bonus Resources Your Guide Your Coach See http://www.meguffey.com

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Information as a corporate asset

Flattened management hierarchies

More participatory management

New work environments

Trends in the new workplace

Increased emphasis on teams

Innovative communication technologies

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Heightened global competition

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The Process of Communication

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The Process of Communication

Verbally or nonverbally. By speaking, writing, gesturing.
Letters, e-mail, IM, memos, TV, telephone, voice, body. Others?

How may the sender encode a message?

What kinds of channels carry messages?

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The Process of Communication

How does a receiver decode a message? When is communication successful? Hearing, reading, observing When a message is understood as the sender intended it to be.

How can a Ask questions, check communicator reactions, dont dominate provide for feedback? the exchange.
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Barriers to Effective Listening

Physical barriers Psychological barriers Language problems Nonverbal distractions hearing disabilities, noisy surroundings tuning out ideas that counter our values unfamiliar or charged words clothing, mannerisms, appearance
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Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Barriers to Effective Listening

Thought speed our minds process thoughts faster than speakers say them pretending to listen talking all the time or listening only for the next pause
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Faking attention Grandstanding

Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Ten Misconceptions About Listening

1. Listening is a matter of intelligence. FACT: Careful listening is a learned behavior. 2. Speaking is more important than listening in the communication process. FACT: Speaking and listening are equally important.
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Ten Misconceptions About Listening

3. Listening is easy and requires little energy. FACT: Active listeners undergo the same physiological changes as a person jogging. 4. Listening and hearing are the same process. FACT: Listening is a conscious, selective process. Hearing is an involuntary act.
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Ten Misconceptions About Listening

5. Speakers are able to command listening. FACT: Speakers cannot make a person really listen. 6. Hearing ability determines listening ability. FACT: Listening happens mentally between the ears.

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Ten Misconceptions About Listening

7. Speakers are totally responsible for communication success. FACT: Communication is a two-way street.
8. Listening is only a matter of understanding a speakers words. FACT: Nonverbal signals also help listeners gain understanding.
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Ten Misconceptions About Listening

9. Daily practice eliminates the need for listening training. FACT: Without effective listening training, most practice merely reinforces negative behaviors. 10. Competence in listening develops naturally. FACT: Untrained people listen at only 25 percent efficiency.
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Keys to Building Powerful Listening Skills

Stop talking. Control your surroundings. Establish a receptive mind-set. Keep an open mind. Listen for main points. Capitalize on lag time.
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Keys to Building Powerful Listening Skills

Listen between the lines. Judge ideas, not appearances. Hold your fire. Take selective notes. Provide feedback.

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Nonverbal Communication
Eye contact, facial expression, and posture and gestures send silent messages.

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Nonverbal Communication
Time, space, and territory send silent messages.
Time (punctuality and structure) Space (arrangement of objects) Territory (privacy zones)

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Nonverbal Communication
Appearance sends silent messages.
Appearance of business documents Appearance of people

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Four Space Zones for Social Interaction Among Americans

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Four Space Zones for Social Interaction Among Americans

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Keys to Building Strong Nonverbal Skills

Establish and maintain eye contact. Use posture to show interest. Improve your decoding skills. Probe for more information. Avoid assigning nonverbal meanings out of context.

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Keys to Building Strong Nonverbal Skills

Associate with people from diverse cultures.
Appreciate the power of appearance. Observe yourself on videotape. Enlist friends and family.

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Culture and Communication

Good communication demands special sensitivity and skills when communicators are from different cultures.
2008 Image Source Black/Jupiter Images

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Dimensions of Culture
Context

Time Orientation

Individualism

Culture
Communication Style
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Formality

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Dimensions of Culture
Context
High-context cultures (those in Japan, China, and Arab countries) tend to be relational, collectivist, and contemplative.

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Dimensions of Culture
Context
Low-context cultures (those in North America, Scandinavia, and Germany) tend to be logical, linear, and actionoriented.

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Dimensions of Culture
Individualism
High-context cultures tend to prefer group values, duties, and decisions. Low-context cultures tend to prefer individual initiative, self-assertion, and personal achievement.

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Dimensions of Culture
Formality
North Americans place less emphasis on tradition, ceremony, and social rules. Other cultures prefer more formality.

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Dimensions of Culture
Communication Style
High-context cultures rely on nonverbal cues and the total picture to communicate. Meanings are embedded at many sociocultural levels.

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Dimensions of Culture
Communication Style
Low-context cultures emphasize words, straightforwardness, and openness. People tend to be informal, impatient, and literal.

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Dimensions of Culture
Time Orientation
Time is precious to North Americans. It correlates with productivity, efficiency, and money. In some cultures time is unlimited and never-ending, promoting a relaxed attitude.
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Comparison of High- and Low-Context Cultures

High-Context Cultures
Relational

Low-Context Cultures
Linear

Collectivist
Intuitive Contemplative

Individualistic
Logical Action-oriented
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Mary Ellen Guffey, Essentials of Business Communication, 8e

Proverbs Reflect Culture

What do these U.S. proverbs indicate about this culture and what it values?
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The squeaking wheel gets the grease. Waste not, want not. He who holds the gold makes the rules. If at first you dont succeed, try, try again. The early bird gets the worm.

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Proverbs Reflect Culture

What do these Chinese proverbs indicate about the Chinese culture and what it values?
1. A man who waits for a roast duck to fly into his mouth must wait a very long time. 2. A man who says it cannot be done should not interrupt a man doing it. 3. Give a man a fish, and he will live for a day; give him a net, and he will live for a lifetime.
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Proverbs Reflect Culture

What do these proverbs indicate about their respective cultures and what they value?
1. No one is either rich or poor who has not helped himself to be so. (German) 2. Words do not make flour. (Italian) 3. The nail that sticks up gets pounded down. (Japanese)
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Improving Communication With Multicultural Audiences Oral Messages

Use simple English. Speak slowly and enunciate clearly. Encourage accurate feedback. Check frequently for comprehension.
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Creatas / Photolibrary Group / Index Stock Imagery

Improving Communication With Multicultural Audiences Oral Messages

Creatas / Photolibrary Group / Index Stock Imagery

Observe eye messages. Accept blame. Listen without interrupting. Smile when appropriate. Follow up in writing.

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Improving Communication With Multicultural Audiences Written Messages

Consider local styles. Consider hiring a translator. Use short sentences and short paragraphs. Avoid ambiguous wording. Follow up in writing. Cite numbers carefully.
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Improving Communication Among Diverse Workplace Audiences

Understand the value of differences. Seek training. Learn about your own cultural self. Make fewer workplace assumptions. Build on similarities.

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END
Instructor Only Version 2010 Thomson South-Western