Lecture Notes Business Communication Unit IV BBA

Business Communication
Oral Communication
Unit IV BBA N202

UNIT IV
Oral communication implies communication through mouth. It includes individuals conversing with each other, be it direct conversation or telephonic conversation. Speeches, presentations, discussions are all forms of oral communication. Oral communication is generally recommended when the communication matter is of temporary kind or where a direct interaction is required. Face to face communication (meetings, lectures, conferences, interviews, etc.) is significant so as to build a rapport and trust. Advantages of Oral Communication There is high level of understanding and transparency in oral communication as it is interpersonal.There is no element of rigidity in oral communication. There is flexibility for allowing changes in the decisions previously taken.The feedback is spontaneous in case of oral communication. Thus, decisions can be made quickly without any delay.Oral communication is not only time saving, but it also saves upon money and efforts.Oral communication is best in case of problem resolution. The conflicts, disputes and many issues/differences can be put to an end by talking them over. Oral communication is an essential for teamwork and group energy. Oral communication promotes a receptive and encouraging morale among organizational employees.Oral communication can be best used to transfer private and confidential information/matter. Disadvantages/Limitations of Oral Communication Relying only on oral communication may not be sufficient as business communication is formal and very organized. Oral communication is less authentic than written communication as they are informal and not as organized as written communication. Oral communication is time-saving as far as daily interactions are concerned, but in case of meetings, long speeches consume lot of time and are unproductive at times. Oral communications are not easy to maintain and thus they are unsteady. There may be misunderstandings as the information is not complete and may lack essentials. It requires attentiveness and great receptivity on part of the receivers/audience. Oral communication (such as speeches) is not frequently used as legal records except in investigation work. Non Verbal Communication It is communication of feelings, emotions, attitudes, and thoughts through body movements / gestures / eye contact, etc. The components of Non Verbal Communication are: Kinesics: It is the study of facial expressions, postures & gestures. Did you know that while in Argentina to raise a fist in the air with knuckles pointing outwards expresses victory, in Lebanon, raising a closed fist is considered rude? Oculesics: It is the study of the role of eye contact in non verbal communication. Did you know that in the first 90 sec - 4 min you decide that you are interested in someone or not. Studies
By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com
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reveal that 50% of this first impression comes from non-verbal communication which includes oculesics. Only 7% of comes from words - that we actually say. Haptics: It is the study of touching. Did you know that acceptable level of touching vary from one culture to another? In Thailand, touching someone's head may be considered as rude. Proxemics: It is the study of measurable distance between people as they interact. Did you know that the amount of personal space when having an informal conversation should vary between 18 inches - 4 feet while, the personal distance needed when speaking to a crowd of people should be around 10-12 feet? Chronemics: It is the study of use of time in non verbal communication. Have you ever observed that while AN employee will not worry about running a few minutes late to meet a colleague, a manager who has a meeting with the CEO, a late arrival will be considered as a nonverbal cue that he / she does not give adequate respect to his superior? Paralinguistics: It is the study of variations in pitch, speed, volume, and pauses to convey meaning. Interestingly, when the speaker is making a presentation and is looking for a response, he will pause. However, when no response is desired, he will talk faster with minimal pause. Physical Appearance: Your physical appearance always contributes towards how people perceive you. Neatly combed hair, ironed clothes and a lively smile will always carry more weight than words. Basic Principles of Oral Presentation KNOW YOUR LISTENERS AND ADAPT YOUR MESSAGE TO THEM Think about your audience's demographicsage, gender, occupation, race or ethnicity, religion, cultural heritage, etc. Consider what your audience already knows about your topic, how familiar they are with the terminology, how closely their views match yours, and how committed they are to existing attitudes and beliefs. The best communicators are those who understand their listeners and adjust their message in order to "reach them where they are." SPEAKING IS FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT FROM WRITING BECAUSE LISTENING IS FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT FROM READING. A reader chooses when and where to focus attention; a speaker must focus a listener's attention on what he or she is saying at this moment. A reader controls how fast he or she will move through a text; a speaker controls how fast listeners will move through an oral presentation. Readers have the option of going back and re-reading; listeners must grasp material as the speaker presents it. Readers have lots of graphic cues about order and importance of points and about the relationship among ideas; listeners rely on the speaker to be their guide and interpreter.
Unit IV BBA N202

UNDERSTAND YOUR NERVOUSNESS It's normal: 3 out of 4 people say they feel nervous about speaking in public. It's like getting up for an athletic contest: you want to do well, you've prepared, and you're ready to go! Your performance is important, but it's not the main thing. The main thing is sharing your messagethe ideas, feelings, information. It's about learning together. Nobody expects perfection. If you mess up something, just fix it and go on. Your audience is your partner: they want to learn from you; they want you to succeed. Some nervousness is a good thing. Heightened activation can energize your presentation, enhance your alertness and animation, and boost audience engagement. Use relaxation techniques if you think you're too wound up. Before your presentation, sit quietly, focus on letting the tension go out of your body, breathe deeply from your abdomen (in for a 4 count, hold for 4, out for a 4 count). Do this for several cycles with normal breaths between so you don't hyperventilate. Smile. It's a mood elevator. If you think you are unusually nervous about speaking in front of people, contact the Oral Communication Center. We have methods for helping you understand and manage your anxiety. Effective Presentation Skills Presentation can be defined as a formal event characterized by teamwork and use of audio-visual aids. The main purpose of presentation is to give information, to persuade the audience to act and to create goodwill. A good presentation should have a good subject matter, should match with the objective, should best fit the audience, and should be well organized. Characteristics of a Good/Effective Presentation The presentation ideas should be well adapted to your audience. Relate your presentation message/idea to the interests of the audience. A detailed audience analysis must be made before the presentation, i.e., an analysis of the needs, age, educational background, language, and culture of the target audience. Their body language instantly gives the speaker the required feedback. A good presentation should be concise and should be focused on the topic. It should not move off-track. A good presentation should have the potential to convey the required information. The fear should be transformed into positive energy during the presentation. Be calm and relaxed while giving a presentation. Before beginning, wait and develop an eye contact with the audience. Focus on conveying your message well and use a positive body language. To communicate the desired information, the speaker should use more of visual aids such as transparencies, diagrams, pictures, charts, etc. Each transparency/slide should contain limited and essential information only. No slide should be kept on for a longer time. Try facing the audience, rather than the screen. The speaker should not block the view. Turn on the room lights else the audience might fall asleep and loose interest. Organize all the visuals for making a logical and sound presentation.
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6. A good presentation must be planned. The speaker must plan how to begin the presentation, what to speak in the middle of presentation and how to end the presentation without losing audience interests at any point of time. 7. Rehearse and practice the presentation. This will help the speaker to be more confident and self-assured. The more the speaker rehearses the better the presentation turns to be. 8. The speaker should encourage more questions from the audience. He should be honest enough to answer those questions. If any biased question is put forth by the audience, rearticulate it before answering. 9. Summarize the presentation at the end. Give final comments. Leave a positive impact upon the audience. 10. The speaker must have a presentable appearance while giving a presentation. The speaker should stand with feet far apart maintaining a good balance. He must use confident gestures. He must use short and simple words. 11. Try to gain and maintain audience interest by using positive quotes, humour, or remarkable fact. 12. The speaker must be affirmative and optimistic before giving presentation. He should ensure all tools and equipments to be used in presentation are working well. 13. The speaker must state the objectives of the presentation at beginning of the presentation. What is a effective presentation? A effective presentation makes the best use of the relationship between the presenter and the audience. It takes full consideration of the audiences needs in order to capture their interest, develop their understanding, inspire their confidence and achieve the presenters objectives. Careful planning is essential. Seven stages in planning a presentation 1. Preparation Many factors affect the design of your presentation. A powerful presenter will acknowledge and address each of the following: objectives; audience; venue; remit. Objectives Why you are making your presentation? Bear in mind what you want to achieve and what you want your audience to take away with them. Once you have decided upon your objectives, you are in a much better position to make strategic decisions about the design and tone of your presentation. For example, a presentation to a seminar group might require a balanced argument, whereas a charity appeal might require a more creative approach. Ask yourself: what do you want your audience to have understood? what action do you want your audience to take following your presentation? how can you best design your presentation to meet your objectives?
Unit IV BBA N202

Audience Your audience will have a variety of different experiences, interests and levels of knowledge. A powerful presenter will need to acknowledge these and prepare for and respond to them accordingly. Ask yourself: how much will your audience already know about your topic? how can you link new material to things they might already understand? will you need to win them over to a particular point of view? You may not be able to answer these questions for each member of your audience but you should have enough information to ensure that you have targeted your material at the right level for their needs. This might involve avoiding technical jargon or explaining abstract concepts with clear practical examples. If you fail to consider your audiences needs, you will fail to appeal to their interest and imagination. Venue Where will you be making your presentation? What will the room be like? What atmosphere will the physical conditions create? A large lecture theatre might create a formal atmosphere. Similarly, a seminar room might create a less formal tone. Ask yourself: what kind of atmosphere do you wish to create? how might the room arrangement affect your relationship with the audience? can you do anything to change the arrangement of the room to suit your objectives? what audio-visual aids can you use? Remit You may well have been given a remit for your presentation; you will need to stick to this. For example, you may have been asked to present a paper at a conference in a certain style or meet certain assessment criteria on your course. Ask yourself: how much time have you been allocated? are you required to stick to a common format or style? have any guidelines been set regarding the content of your presentation (i.e. a predetermined title, or a fixed number of overhead transparencies)? 2. Choosing your main points Once you have thought about the design of your presentation, you can define your main points. Try presenting no more than three main points in a ten minute presentation. Always allow time for an adequate introduction and conclusion. It is difficult for an audience to follow a more complex argument without significant help from the presenter. A powerful presentation delivers information in a logical, structured manner, building on the previous point and avoiding large jumps in sequence. Ask yourself: what are the main points you wish to make? are these points structured in a logical, coherent way? do these main points reflect your own objectives and take account of the needs of your audience?
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3. Choosing your supporting information The supporting information helps your audience understand, believe in and agree with your main points. This evidence might take the form of factual data, points of detail or an explanation of process. It might be presented in imaginative ways using diagrams, pictures or video segments. Think about: what will add clarity to your argument (explaining complex terms, reminding your audience of any supporting theories)? what will add authority to your argument (making connections with other people's work, quoting experts, offering evidence from your own research)? what will add colour to your argument (showing a video clip or a slide, using a practical example or a vibrant analogy)? 4. Establishing linking statements The next stage is to develop the linear flow of your presentation. This can be achieved by using linking statements to show clearly how your main points fit together. Common linking statements include: The next stage in our project was to ; Another important issue of consideration was ; By following this argument we can now see that . Linking statements send signals to your audience, highlighting the next point in your argument, linking to earlier ideas or clarifying the stage you have reached in your argument overall. This may be of particular importance in a lengthy presentation where even the most effective presenter has to work hard to keep an audience involved. 5. Developing an opening The introduction to your presentation is crucial. It is your first point of contact with your audience; you can either capture or lose your audiences interest in a matter of seconds. Use your introduction to lay a clear foundation for the presentation to follow. Try using the following structure: introduce yourself; state what you will be talking about (a title or subject area); state how you will be talking about it (e.g. by comparing test results or reviewing the supporting literature); state what you intend to be the outcome of your presentation (an informed group, a lively discussion); state what you expect your audience to do (listen, take notes, read a handout, ask questions before/during/after). Always give your audience a moment to absorb this information before moving into your first main point. 6. Developing a conclusion Your conclusion is another important stage in your presentation. You can use it to remind your audience of your main points, draw these points to a stimulating conclusion and leave your audience with a lasting impression of the quality of your presentation. The following structure provides a powerful conclusion:
Unit IV BBA N202

a review of your title or subject area In this presentation I wanted to explore the relationship between X and Y.; a summary of your main points We have discussed the following points; a summary of the process you have been through By looking at X we have found that Y ; a conclusion clearly drawn from your main points (this must be supported by the detail of your presentation) It is clear that there can be no substantive relationship between X and Y; a parting statement to stimulate your audiences thoughts (this might be a question or a bold comment). 7. Reviewing your presentation Once you have written your presentation make sure that you review its content. Ask yourself: does the presentation meet your objectives? is it logically structured? have you targeted the material at the right level for your audience? is the presentation too long or too short? Factors Affecting Presentation Following factors affect the effectiveness of the presentation: 1) Audience Analysis: If the speaker has analyzed the audience in a proper way before presentation, his presentation will be more effective. On the other hand, poor or improper audience analysis leads to ineffective presentation. The style of the presentation is largely dependent upon the type and size of the audience. If audi-ence is large, presentation should be more formal whereas informal presentation can work in small audience. 2) Communication Environment: Communication environment affects the effectiveness of the presentations. Much of the audience notices the physical things surrounding the speaker, the stage, lighting arrangement, background, etc. Proper arrangement of these things can enhance the impact of the presentation. If there is noise in the surrounding environment, it detracts the audience from listening and consequently leaves unhealthy messages. 3) Personal Appearance: Personal appearance of the speaker has great impact on the audience. Well dressed up person can deliver good presentation. Therefore, the speaker should wear neat and clean clothes and take time to check his appearance just before starting presentation. 4) Use of Visuals: Visuals can enhance the professional image of the presentation. Different research studies demonstrate that presenters using latest visual techniques are perceived as better prepared, more persuasive, more credible and more interesting than speakers who do not use visuals. But visuals work only if
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the technology on which they depend works well. Therefore, presenter should check the equipment in advance before presenting. 5) Opening and Closing of Presentation: The beginning and closing of a presentation are the positions of emphasis. Those presenters who can open the presentation with interesting remarks which are likely to create more interest and enthusiasm for listening the presentation. On the other hand, presenters with poor opening are likely to leave the audience bored. Similarly, the ending of the presentation has profound impact on the audience. Endings, with vivid and positive pictures are more likely to have profound impact on the audience. 6) Organization of Presentation: Clarity in presentation is essential that comes with proper organization of the information. Organizing the information in a proper manner can make the message more understandable, keep the audience happy and boost the image of the speaker. Proper organization of presentation enhances the effectiveness of the presentation. On the other hand, improper organization of the presentation will not influence the audience. Improper organization of presentation is reflected as follows: i) Taking a long time to get to the point. ii) Inclusion of irrelevant material. iii) Leaving out necessary information. iv) Mixing up of ideas. To overcome these problems, presentation can be organized in one of the five standard patterns: i) Chronological: It starts with past, moves to the present and ends by looking ahead. ii) Problem-Causes-Solution: It explains the symptoms of the problem, identifies its causes and suggests the remedial measures. iii) Excluding Alternatives: It shows the symptoms of the problem, suggests possible solutions, explains the reasons why these don't work and ends the discussion with a solution that will work. iv) Pros-Cons: It explains the advantages and disadvantages of problem(s). v) 1-2-3: It discusses three aspects of a topic: introduction, body and conclusion. 7) Language and Words: The quality of presentation is affected by the language and words. To make the audience understand the message, the speaker has to talk in the language known to the audience. To enhance the impact of presentation, he should choose the catchy words that appeal to the heart and emotions of the audience. If the language spoken by presentator is different from audience's language, and words used are stereotyped, it is likely to have least impact on the audience. 8) Quality of Voice: Quality of voice of the presenter affects the effectiveness of the presentation. Voice modu-lation is likely to have greater impact upon the audience whereas monotonous voice will bore the audience.
Unit IV BBA N202
9) Body Language: The effectiveness of the presentation is also affected by the body language of the speaker. A speaker having eye contact with audience is likely to impress more than a speaker reading out the hand outs. A speaker who looked more at the audience is judged as better informed, more experienced, more honest and friendliest than a speaker who delivers the speech with less eye contact. With eye contact members of audience feel that speaker is talking to them. Similarly, confidently moving speakers are likely to have more impact than nervous speakers. To calm one's nervousness, one should be well-prepared, take several deep breaths, relax one's muscles, pause and look at the audience and use body energy in strong gestures and movement. 10) Answering Questions: The effectiveness of presentation is also affected by presenter's skill in handling questions asked at the end of presentation. A speaker who answers the audience's questions and handles hostile questions with tact is likely to influence the audience more. On the other hand, a speaker who answers rudely will leave negative impact upon the audience.
Effective Listening Skills - An essential for good communication Listening is a significant part of communication process. Communication cannot take place until and unless a message is heard and retained thoroughly and positively by the receivers/listeners. Listening is a dynamic process. Listening means attentiveness and interest perceptible in the posture as well as expressions. Listening implies decoding (i.e., translating the symbols into meaning) and interpreting the messages correctly in communication process. Listening differs from hearing in sense that: Hearing implies just perceiving the sounds while listening means listening with understanding whatever you are listening. Both the body as well as mind is involved in listening process. Listening is an active process while hearing is a passive activity. Hearing is an effortless activity while listening is an act requiring conscious efforts, concentration and interest. Listening involves both physical and psychological efforts. Effective listening requires both deliberate efforts and a keen mind. Effective listeners appreciate flow of new ideas and information. Organizations that follow the principles of effective listening are always informed timely, updated with the changes and implementations, and are always out of crisis situation. Effective listening promotes organizational relationships, encourages product delivery and innovation, as well as helps organization to deal with the diversity in employees and customers it serves. To improve your communication skills, you must learn to listen effectively. Effective listening gives you an advantage and
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makes you more impressive when you speak. It also boosts your performance. Effective Listening Skills 1. Discover your interests field. 2. Grasp and understand the matter/content. 3. Remain calm. Do not loose your temper. Anger hampers and inhibits communication. Angry people jam their minds to the words of others. 4. Be open to accept new ideas and information. 5. Jot down and take a note of important points. 6. Work upon listening. Analyze and evaluate the speech in spare time. 7. Rephrase and summarize the speakers ideas. 8. Keep on asking questions. This demonstrates that how well you understand the speakers ideas and also that you are listening. 9. Avoid distractions. 10. Step into the shoes of others, i.e., put yourself in the position of the speaker and observe things from his view point. This will help creating an atmosphere of mutual understanding and improve the exchange of ideas in communication process. Characteristics of Good and Effective Listener Good and effective listener tries to give maximum amount of thought to the speakers ideas being communicated, leaving a minimum amount of time for mental exercises to go off track. A good listener: 1. Is attentive- Good listener must pay attention to the key points. He should be alert. He should avoid any kind of distraction. 2. Do not assume- Good listener does not ignore the information he considers is unnecessary. He should always summarize the speakers ideas so that there is no misunderstanding of thoughts of speakers. He avoids premature judgements about the speakers message. 3. Listen for feelings and facts- Good listener deliberately listens for the feelings of the speaker. He concentrates totally on the facts. He evaluates the facts objectively. His listening is sympathetic, active and alert. He keenly observes the gestures, facial expression and body language of the speaker. In short, a good listener should be projective (i.e. one who tries to understand the views of the speaker) and empathic (i.e. one who concentrates not only on the surface meaning of the message but tries to probe the feelings and emotions of the speaker). 4. Concentrate on the other speakers kindly and generously- A good listener makes deliberate efforts to give a chance to other speakers also to express their thoughts and views. He tries to learn from every speaker. He evaluates the speakers ideas in spare time. He focuses on the content of the speakers message and not on the speakers personality and looks. 5. Opportunizes- A good listener tries to take benefit from the opportunities arising. He asks Whats in it for me?
Unit IV BBA N202

A resume is also known as CV or curriculum vitae. Resume is an influential and credible summary of an individuals employment qualifications. There is no standard format for a resume. It gives an idea to the reader that how you can be an asset to their organization. A resume should be: - Neat - Have factual and relevant information - Self describing - Clearly indicate why you are best suited for this job - Up to date Resumes should be written not for yourself but for the reader. A good resume must be properly planned, drafted and finally revised. Regard your resume as work in progress and give it a polish every couple of months. You never know when you will be asked for it. Your resume needs to recap and capture the spirit of our competency/whats best about you. Resumes are of two types: i. Chronological Resume- These resume gives a quick brief up of what the candidate has done in a timeline-beginning with the latest events and moving back in reverse chronology. It stresses upon the degrees, job headings and the dates. Such a resume demonstrates steady development/movement to the current time. ii. Skills Resume- These resume stresses upon the skills and competencies possessed and used by the candidate, rather than the job and the date in which those skills have been used. It is generally prepared when the candidate frequently changes his job or when his education and experience do not harmonize/match with the position for which the candidate is applying. Dos and Donts in your Resume
Effective Resume Writing
1. Shouldnt be too long. It should not exceed two pages generally. 2. CV should be true and factual. 3. The first page should contain enough personal details for a recruitment consultant or potential employer to contact you easily. 4. Choose a format that highlights key skills, key competencies, key achievements or key attributes. 5. Your employment background should begin with your current job and work backwards. 6. List all relevant qualifications. 7. Do not include negative or irrelevant information. 8. Include details of training or skills development events attended. 9. Include personal details. 10. Use a very good quality paper. 11. Do not use a type size less than 11pt. 12. Typefaces such as Times New Roman or Arial should be used. 13. CV should be carefully typed. No spelling errors should be there.
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14. Use bulleted paragraphs. This will save space and make the CV more effective. 15. Emphasize achievements that are recent, and are most relevant for the position for which the candidate is applying. 16. Items in resume must be concise and parallel. 17. While submitting a resume, it must be accompanied with a cover letter to make the readers aware of what is being send, and how can it be beneficial to the readers. 18. Include references if possible in a resume. If giving references, use three to five. Include at least one lecturer, and at least one employer. 19. To stress upon the key points in a resume, put them in appropriate headings, list them vertically, and provide details. Planning & Conducting Effective Surveys Conducting Surveys What are surveys? A survey is a way of collecting information that you hope represents the views of the whole community or group in which you are interested. There are three main ways of going about this: 1) Case study surveys, which collect information from a part of a group or community, without trying to choose them for overall representation of the larger population. You may need to conduct several of these before you get a sense of how the larger community would respond to your survey. Case study surveys only provide specific information about the community studied. 2) Sampled surveys, which are the type we'll be focusing on in this section, ask a sample portion of a group to answer your questions. If done well, the results for the sample will reflect the results you would have gotten by surveying the entire group. For example, let's say you want to know what percentage of people in your county would make use of an adult literacy program. Getting every person in a county with 10,000 people to fill out a survey would be a huge task. Instead you decide to survey a sample of 500 people and find out what they think. For the sample to accurately represent the larger group, it must be carefully chosen. We'll speak to that later in this section. 3) Census surveys, in which you give your survey questionnaire to every member of the population you want to learn about. This will give you the most accurate information about the group, but it may not be very practical for large groups. A census is best done with smaller groups -- all of the clients of a particular agency, for example, as opposed to all of the citizens of a city. Surveys are usually written, although sometimes the surveyor reads the questions aloud and writes down the answers for another person; they can be distributed by mail, fax, e-mail, through a web page, or the questions can be asked over the phone or in person. Surveys collect information in as uniform a manner as possible - asking each respondent the same questions in the same way so as to insure that the answers are most influenced by the
Unit IV BBA N202

respondents' experiences, not due to how the interviewer words the questions.
Why should you conduct a survey? You can collect information about the behaviors, needs, and opinions using surveys. Surveys can be used to find out attitudes and reactions, to measure client satisfaction, to gauge opinions about various issues, and to add credibility to your research. Surveys are a primary source of information -- that is, you directly ask someone for a response to a question, rather than using any secondary sources like written records. When should you conduct a survey? A survey may be your best choice when: You need a quick and efficient way of getting information. You need to reach a large number of people. You need statistically valid information about a large number of people. The information you need isn't readily available through other means. Written surveys: Pros and Cons Advantages of written surveys: Large numbers of people can give their input Low cost People can respond at their convenience Avoids interviewer bias Provides a written record Easy to list or tabulate responses Wide range of respondents No training needed as with interviewing Disadvantages of written surveys: Often has low return rate Limited alternative expression of respondent's reaction Depends on the selected sample May not truly represent of the whole group Respondent may skip sections
If you have decided that what you need is a large-scale, formal survey, hiring someone to do it for you or working with local colleagues or a nearby university may be your best bet. If you're going to do it on your own, keep in mind that some people you present your report to may not give much credit to a survey you did on your own. How do you prepare a survey? 1. Decide on the purpose of the survey. If you have decided to do a survey, you must first be sure exactly why you're doing it. What questions do you want to answer? Is it to get a general idea of the demographics of your area? To find out what people think about a particular issue or idea? Or is there another reason you're considering a survey?
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In any case, you will need to keep the purpose of the survey in mind throughout the process, as it will influence the choice of questions, the survey population, and even the way the survey is delivered (e.g., a computer-savvy population can be surveyed over the Internet; a population that is largely illiterate shouldn't be asked to take a written survey, and so forth). Example: 1997 Youth Risk Behavioral Survey purpose The Youth Risk Behavioral Survey (or YRBS) is done annually by the Centers for Disease Control to identify behaviors that pose health risks among young people in America. We will be using the 1997 and 1999 YRBS for examples in this section. The CDC decided its purpose in this survey was to track the health risk behaviors that cause the most deaths among youth. Also, many of those behaviors are included in the survey because they begin in youth and continue into adulthood, having significant impact on adult health later on. Here are some of the behaviors the YRBS attempts to measure: Behaviors that contribute to unintentional and intentional injuries (like not using a safety belt when driving) Tobacco use Alcohol and other drug use Sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV Unhealthy dietary behaviors Physical inactivity 2. Decide whom you will survey. The next step is finding out who has the answers to your question or questions. In other words, it's time for you to determine your audience -- the people who can best answer the questions your initiative needs to ask. Who will you survey? Is it the general public? The current program beneficiaries? People in a specific neighborhood or segment of the community? Potential members? Sampling Almost all surveys rely on sampling -- that is, identifying a section of your population that satisfies the characteristics you're trying to survey, rather than trying to do a census. To have a truly representative sample, you must be sure that every member of the group you want to survey has an equal chance of being in the sample, and/or you must have a fairly large sample. It's important to make sure that the sample size you choose is adequate and not excessively large or small. If too large, it may be impossible to survey everybody effectively and within your budget; if too small, your credibility may suffer. A general rule to keep in mind is that the larger the sample size, the more accurate a reflection of the whole it will be. You can figure out how big your sample should be by using a sample size calculator, several of which can be found online. Here are where a few of these calculators are located: The Sample Size Calculator at ResearchInfo.com allows you to decide whether you want to calculate for 95% or 99% confidence level (the statistical term for the amount of certainty you have about the accuracy of your results).
Unit IV BBA N202

The Sample Size Calculator from UCLA's online statistics textbook is a bit more advanced. Sample Design Issues You might also need to give some thought to the design of your sample, especially if you are hoping to get representative responses from two or more groups. For example, let's say you are doing a survey on youth violence and you want to get responses from youth, parents, and educators; this means that you'll need to come up with separate population counts for each of these groups and then select a sample from each. The samples should be large enough to represent the group it is drawn from, but the sample sizes should be proportional to the groups they represent. For example, you might design a sample that comes out like this: Population Youth Parents Educators Sample 65 20 50
650 200 500
Sampling is a big topic; there are many different kinds of sampling and we could easily devote an entire section to sampling methods and practices. Rather than do that, we'll direct you to some sites on the Internet with more detailed information on sampling to get you started. You don't have to be a professional statistician to understand sampling, but knowing some of the terminology and concepts on the following pages will help you better understand what you're doing: Potential pitfalls Sampling is a challenge to conducting good surveys, but there are other pitfalls. For example, when people volunteer to respond to a survey, we say they are self-selected. These people may have a special interest in answering your survey, so their answers may not be truly representative of the group you're interested in. There are ways of dealing with self-selected audiences, such as only using a random selection of their surveys when only self-selection is involved. For example, if you get back 300 completed surveys, you might decide to only use every third one in order to randomize the results. 3. Decide what method you will use to collect your survey data. Will your survey be written or oral? Is there going to be a number where people can call to register their results? Are you going to have a post office box to which completed surveys should be mailed? You need to decide whether it's going to be administered by people known to the audience and whether it will be done in person, by phone, or by mail. Remember that the more personal you make it, the higher the return rate will be. Surveys that are delivered cold have a return rate of only two to three percent, unless they're on a very hot topic for the community you're surveying. Keep in mind whom you want to survey. Does your public feel more comfortable writing or speaking? Will it be efficient to leave surveys somewhere for people to pick up at their will, or should you do something to make sure they get one? If your
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survey is to be administered orally, will people feel honored or annoyed about being asked for their opinions? Mailed questionnaires are a very useful tool in your information-gathering bag of tools. It's a much cheaper alternative to other types of information gathering and it allows you to get information from many people across long distances without paying extremely high phone bills. If you're considering doing a mailed survey, be sure to check with your local post office for information on mailing regulations, bulk mail rates, and so on. Some advantages of mailed questionnaires are: The respondent can fill out the survey at his or her convenience -- it can be filled out whenever the respondent has time. You can make it anonymous, which is much more comfortable for some respondents. All respondents will have read the same questions, eliminating any interviewer bias. The respondent will have time to check his or her records before answering -- if he or she needs to verify information, he or she will have the chance to be accurate. Some disadvantages of mailed questionnaires are: They're not very flexible; there is no interviewer present to probe for answers, so you can only read what the respondent has written, with no opportunity to look at facial expressions or body language. The return rate is generally low Respondents may leave answers blank You can't control when respondents will send the survey back You may not be able to tell the difference between those who simply didn't return the survey and those for whom you had an incorrect address. How long should your survey be? When determining the length of your survey, remember that less is more. The longer it is, the less likely it is that people will take the time to do it. People get bored with long surveys, and usually won't even bother to look at a survey that is more than a page and a half long. Also, requiring long answers may lose your audience. Through editing and condensing, you should try to keep your survey down to one page. What it is you want to know and the method of survey (e.g., phone survey, mailed survey) will also influence the length of your survey. Phone surveys, for example, can take a little longer to complete. Once you've decided on your method, you can go on to write your questions. We'll talk in more detail about distributing your survey later on. Example: 1997 Youth Risk Behavioral Survey sampling The 1997 YRBS used a type of sampling called cluster sampling. In cluster sampling, the entire population is divided into groups, or clusters, and a random sample of these clusters are selected. For example, age group or geographical location determined the YRBS's clusters. All observations in the selected
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clusters are included in the sample. This technique is used in large-scale surveys where it may be more convenient to sample clusters than to do a pure random sample. 4. Write your questions. When preparing the questions, bear in mind that they can take many forms. Questions might be: Open-ended: Designed to prompt the respondent to provide you with more than just one or two word responses. These are often "how" or "why" questions. For example: "Why is it important to use condoms?" These questions are used when you want to find out what leads people to specific behaviors, what their attitudes are towards different things, or how much they know about a given topic; they provide good anecdotal evidence. The drawback to using open-ended questions is that it's hard to compile their results. Closed-ended (also sometimes referred to as forced choice questions): Specific questions that prompt yes or no answers. For example: "Do you use condoms?" These are used when the information you need is fairly clear-cut, i.e., if you need to know whether people use a particular service or have ever heard of a specific local resource. Multiple choice: Allow the respondent to select one answer from a few possible choices. For example: "When I have sex, I use condoms... a) every time, b) most times, c) sometimes, d) rarely, e) never." These allow you to find out more detailed information than closed-ended questions, and the results can be compiled more easily than open-ended questions. Likert scale: Each respondent is asked to rate items on a response scale. For instance, they could rate each item on a 1-to5 response scale where: 1 = strongly disagree 2 = disagree 3 = undecided 4 = agree 5 = strongly agree If you want to weed out neutral and undecided responses you can use an even-numbered scale with no middle "neutral" or "undecided" choice. In this situation, the respondent is forced to decide whether he or she leans more towards the "agree" or "disagree" end of the scale for each item. The final score for the respondent on the scale might be the sum of his or her ratings for all of the items. Example: Using the Likert scale Here are a few sample survey questions in Likert scale format, done without a neutral category: Please check the answer indicating your reaction to the questions listed below. Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 1. Violent crime is a significant problem in my neighborhood 2. The police have done enough to prevent crime in my neighborhood.
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3. If a citizens watch program were implemented in my neighborhood, I would participate in it. 4. I would be supportive of organized activities for youth in my neighborhood.
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community might need an adult education program and what kind of program it might need, and that the results of the survey will be presented to possible funders. Your cover letter should be individually typed or laser printed and signed personally with a blue ballpoint pen (survey participants pay more attention to real letters with real signatures). 7) Typing the recipient's name directly on the envelope, instead of using mailing labels, will bring a higher response rate. Using first class postage -- especially commemorative, colorful stamps -- will increase your response rate even more. 8) Follow up with those who haven't responded after a week with a postcard, politely reminding them about the survey. After the second week, send a new cover letter and questionnaire to those who have not yet responded. After the fourth week, send yet another questionnaire, this time by certified mail, along with a letter reminding the recipient that you haven't yet received his or her survey and that his or her response is very important. Questions should be worded carefully in order to yield exactly the information you're looking for. To make sure your survey works the way you want it to, try it out on a few members of the population you're aiming at before you actually distribute it. Some guidelines for writing your survey questions: Place easier questions first Address sensitive issues as discreetly and sensitively as possible Avoid words that provoke bias or emotional responses Use a logical order and place similar questions together Example: 1999 Youth Risk Behavioral Survey questions Here are a few examples of questions from the 1999 YRBS. 10. During the past 30 days, how many times did you ride in a car or other vehicle driven by someone who had been drinking alcohol? A. 0 times B. 1 time C. 2 or 3 times D. 4 or 5 times E. 6 or more times During the past 12 months, did you ever seriously consider attempting suicide? A. Yes B. No How old were you when you smoked a whole cigarette for the first time? A. I have never smoked a whole cigarette B. 8 years old or younger C. 9 or 10 years old D. 11 or 12 years old E. 13 or 14 years old F. 15 or 16 years old G. 17 years old or older During your life, how many times have you sniffed glue, breathed the contents of aerosol spray cans, or inhaled any paints or sprays to get high?
The questions you ask depend on the audience you're trying to reach and the information you're trying to obtain. For example, for demographic information (e.g., questions that determine where people are from, their ages, and their incomes), you should make the survey all check-offs, yes/no questions, and fill-in-the-blank questions so that it?s as easy as possible to complete. Creating surveys people will answer with the Total Design Method Low response rates are a major problem with surveys; it's common for the response rate to be as low as 30%. One way of avoiding low response rate is to use the Total Design Method, which was developed by Don Dillman of Washington State University. Dillman's method has been shown to yield an average return rate of 73%. 1) Mailed questionnaires should be printed on standard letter paper (8.5 x 11"), then folded in half into a booklet. This size of envelope is less likely to be viewed as advertisement or "junk" mail by the recipient, so more people will open your survey. 2) There should be no questions on the front or back of the folded booklet. 3) The first question should be directly related to the overall topic of the survey, and it should be something that is easy to answer. Any questions that may be threatening to the reader should appear later in the survey, but not grouped together. Demographic questions should come towards the end; having them at the beginning often puts people off and prevents them from completing the survey at all, but they will be more likely to complete them if they are asked after responding to other questions. 4) In layout, avoid cramming too much type onto a single page. It's better to use more pages with a good amount of white space than to try to save on paper by crowding the pages, because overly-dense type is intimidating to a potential survey participant. You should also make sure you don't break any questions up over a page break -- the entire question and its possible answers should appear on the same page. 5) Your questionnaire should be no more than 125 questions or 12 pages long -- anything longer is going to reduce your response rate. 6) Including a well-written cover letter is extremely important. It needs to be clear about what you're looking for, why you're looking for it, what member of the household should complete the survey, and what will be done with the results. For instance, if you're doing a literacy program survey, you may want to explain that the answers will help determine whether the
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A. 0 times B. 1 or 2 times C. 3 to 9 times D. 10 to 19 times E. 20 to 39 times F. 40 or more times During your life, with how many people have you had sexual intercourse? A. I have never had sexual intercourse B. 1 person C. 2 people D. 3 people E. 4 people F. 5 people G. 6 or more people This should give you some idea of the types of questions asked on this survey. How do you distribute your survey? There are several strategies for distributing surveys. We'll talk about the most common one -- direct mail -- in the most detail, but there are many methods to choose from and there is no one perfect method. You may want to use a combination of methods. Here are a few thoughts to help you decide on your method: Self-administered questionnaires are better than interviews when you're dealing with respondents who can read and write and the questions you're asking don't require any visual aids like charts, graphs, etc. that might need explanation. Phone surveys work well in the place of self-administered questionnaires if at least 80% of the population you're working with have phones in their homes. They also work better if the questions are of a nature that respondents might be uncomfortable or embarrassed to give their answers to an interviewer. For example, if you are doing a survey on sexual risk behaviors, people may be uneasy telling an interviewer how many partners they've had or other such details. Drop boxes work best if you have limited human resources or if you are in a place where the mail and phone systems aren't adequate. Direct mail Direct mailing your survey to people whose addresses are known is the most common strategy. Distributing a survey by mail has a high percentage of non-responders (you're lucky if 30% respond, although it tends to be higher in small communities), but it's a lot easier than many other methods and takes less staff hours. 1. Gather the items you'll need to do a direct mailing: Mailing labels or a mailing list: If you're mailing the survey to everyone in town, the city's billing lists for water bills might be a good source of a mailing list. The mailing list of relevant agencies can also be useful. Good resources might be the public health department, the Salvation Army, relevant United Way agencies, emergency medical services, or
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companies that develop phone books. If you're using an agency's mailing list, be sure to get permission from the agency's director before doing the mailing. Give the director a sample survey and a copy of the cover letter to review and invite him or her to suggest any changes that might further protect his or her clients. Two business envelopes and two stamps for each participant: One set to send the survey to the participant and one for it to be returned in. The return envelope should be prestamped and pre-addressed. One copy of the survey, demographics sheet, and cover letter for each participant. 2. Complete the cover letter. A sample cover letter you may want to use as a guide appears in the Examples section. 3. Make enough copies of the survey, demographic sheet, and cover letter for each survey recipient. 4. Prepare the two business-size envelopes for each person. One should have the agency's return address and a mailing label for the survey participant; the other should have the agency's address listed as both the mailing and the return addresses. Stamp both envelopes. 5. Stuff the envelopes that have the recipient's mailing address with all the survey materials -- the survey, the demographic sheet, the cover letter, and the return envelope. 6. If you want to track the surveys in any way -- trying to see what sort of answers you get from different parts of town, for example -- you may wish to code the envelopes in some way. One way you can do this is by numbering each return envelope and keeping a copy of the mailing list with matching numbers -for example, if John Doe at 123 Main Street is assigned number 007, then the number 007 will also be on his return envelope. Another option is to color code the surveys by zip code. 7. Mail them out! Try to get a bulk rate to reduce costs. 8. If less than 10% of the distributed surveys are returned, try one or more of the following strategies: Send a reminder to all or a random sample of people on the mailing list. Contact the local newspaper and request an article on the survey, submit a letter to the editor about it, or publish an announcement about the survey. This is something you should do before you send out the survey. Contact radio stations to run announcements inviting people to take part in the survey. Invite citizens to participate in the survey through announcements in local agency newsletters, consumer group meetings, and public community events. Post announcements of the survey in public places, like the library or grocery stores. Interviews and phone surveys For those who have difficulty reading or using printed materials, or for surveys that require more in-depth answers, interviews might be the most appropriate thing for you to do. Phone
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surveys work similarly to face-to-face interviews, so we've grouped these two methods together. 1. Put together a team of interviewers. The people you choose should be able to answer any questions respondents might have, and if necessary they should be people who can handle meeting diverse respondents. People who work in the social sciences often have interviewing experience. 2. Train the interviewers to act as a team. They should all be given the same information about the survey, its purpose, and your organization or initiative to make sure that the information they pass on to respondents is uniform. 3. For a phone survey, your sample can be as simple as every fifth phone number in the white pages of your local phone book, or you may need to work with a survey consultant to get a phone list of a more specific sample group. 4. Phone interviewers should be polite, call during reasonable hours (not at meal time and not too late at night or early in the morning, etc.), and they should all be consistently asking the same questions. Drop boxes Agencies that have relatively frequent contact with clients -such as once a month -- you may find that setting up a drop box in their offices are a good source point for distributing surveys. This may also be a good option for agencies that have an incomplete mailing list. It can also be a good way to contact clients of other agencies who have little contact with your group or agency. However, if you use this method of distributing surveys, consider using it along with at least one other method of distribution, because only those already using the services can respond. Media distribution For general distribution, publishing a survey in the local paper or attaching a survey to your newsletter might be a good idea. Convenience sampling Taking surveys in a public place -- setting up a booth or table in the parking lot at a local discount store, on the sidewalk in the shopping district, etc. -- provides an opportunity to get some exposure for your organization. Group administration If your group or organization tends to have large group gatherings, providing surveys to everyone who attends a particular gathering might be a really efficient way for you to gather information. Examples of gatherings where you might want to distribute your survey would include: immunization clinics, commodity food distribution sites, health fairs, and meal sites for older adults. If you want to give your survey out at some sort of group meeting or gathering, get the group's director to put you on the agenda. At the meeting, introduce yourself and explain the purpose of the survey. Then distribute the survey, answer any questions, and collect completed surveys. Don't forget to thank everyone for their participation! Using multiple methods of distribution: You can combine or adapt two or more of the above methods to suit your own purposes, if you'd like. If more than one method is used, each survey should include instructions that each citizen
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should complete only one survey. So, for example, if you're having people complete surveys at a booth at the county fair, they should not complete the survey if they've already completed one that came in the mail to their homes.
Collecting the surveys Soon after the surveys are distributed, some of them will begin to arrive at the sponsoring organization. Here are the steps you should take to collect your surveys: 1. Gather incoming surveys collected at participating sites. A representative of your organization should collect incoming surveys as they arrive in the mail or your drop box. He or she should also call or stop by collection sites from time to time to pick up any surveys that have been dropped off. 2. Review returned surveys, checking for any that are incomplete. If any surveys were returned for having an improper mailing address, try to find the correct address and mail it out again, if you can. 3. Secure a larger return, if necessary. This may mean distributing surveys again or expanding your sample size. Example: Administering and collecting the 1997 Youth Risk Behavioral Survey The CDC wanted to do everything it could to protect the students' privacy and insure that questions would be answered honestly while completing the YRBS. In order for the survey to be administered voluntarily and anonymously, it was done in a self -administered written questionnaire containing 84 multiplechoice questions. Before the surveys were administered, parental permission was obtained through whatever methods those local schools used. Students recorded their responses to the questionnaires on computer-scan able answer sheets, further allowing for anonymity. How do you analyze and compile the results of your survey? Now that you've gathered the completed surveys, you'll need to figure out the results. Sometimes all you have to do is tabulate the results -- that is, add them up and display in a table. For instance, if 100 questionnaires were returned in a survey about problems in the neighborhood, you just need to count the answers. Let's say that there was a question asking what people felt was the biggest challenge facing the neighborhood; 70 people mentioned law enforcement, 10 cited transportation, 15 marked potholes, and 5 said noise. The result in cases like this is clear. However, analysis can be far more complicated than that. If you're looking, for instance, at how people feel about a service or problem, you may end up with a lot of answers to open-ended questions that are apparently unrelated. In this case, you will need to try to find patterns. Once you've done that, what do these numbers mean? Well, you will need to look at the overall survey to see how each percentage compares to the others. For example, what questions had the highest proportions of similar responses?
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We suggest that you write up a brief report -- one page is sufficient -- summarizing the results of the survey. In your report, look for any patterns -- do people in a particular part of town feel more strongly about a particular issue than those in other areas? Share this information with your staff. Get their feedback and discuss whether any further surveying needs to be done before completing. Now that you've figured out what the results mean, you need to decide what to do with them. To whom are you going to communicate them, and how? In case of a community initiative, the results should be made public as soon as possible so that members in the community and community leaders can be made aware of a problem or potential problem and start working to solve it. If other similar surveys have done in the same area, you may want to compare your results with the other surveys' results. An organization conducting a survey about its' services might want to use results to provide a better service or to change a current policy to a more efficient one. In a situation where funding is at stake, the results would need to go to the funder to convince the funder of the need for new or continued support. The results could also be used by the organization itself to determine where and what kinds of services are needed. Body language is a form of mental and physical ability of human non-verbal communication, consisting of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously. (Body language, in this sense, should be distinguished from sign language.) James Borg states that human communication consists of 93 percent body language and paralinguistic cues, while only 7% of communication consists of words themselves Body language may provide clues as to the attitude or state of mind of a person. For example, it may indicate aggression, attentiveness, boredom, relaxed state, pleasure, amusement, and intoxication. Body language is significant to communication and relationships. It is important to note that some markers of emotion (e.g. smiling/laughing when happy, frowning/crying when sad) are largely universal. The newly included emotions are: 1. Amusement 2. Contempt 3. Contentment 4. Embarrassment 5. Excitement 6. Guilt 7. Pride in achievement 8. Relief 9. Satisfaction 10. Sensory pleasure 11. Shame Body language signals may have a goal other than communication. Physical expression
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Physical expressions like waving, pointing, touching and slouching are all forms of nonverbal communication. The study of body movement and expression is known as kinesics. Humans move their bodies when communicating because, as research has shown, it helps "ease the mental effort when communication is difficult." Physical expressions reveal many things about the person using them. For example, gestures can emphasize a point or relay a message, posture can reveal boredom or great interest, and touch can convey encouragement or caution. Prevalence of non-verbal communication in humans Different studies have found differing amounts, with some studies showing that facial communication is believed 4.3 times more often than verbal meaning, and another finding that verbal communication in a flat tone is 4 times more likely to be understood than a pure facial expression. Albert Mehrabian is noted for finding a 7%-38%-55% rule, supposedly denoting how much communication was conferred by words, tone, and non-verbal language (facial expression in this case). However he was only referring to cases of expressing feelings or attitudes.
Introduced by Edward T. Hall in 1966, proxemics is the study of measurable distances between people as they interact with one another. The distance between people in a social situation often discloses information about the type of relationship between the people involved. Proximity may also reveal the type of social setting taking place. 1. Intimate distance ranges from touching to about 18 inches (46 cm) apart, and is reserved for lovers, children, as well as close family members and friends, and also pet animals. 2. Personal distance begins about an arm's length away; starting around 18 inches (46 cm) from the person and ending about 4 feet (122 cm) away. This space is used in conversations with friends, to chat with associates, and in group discussions. 3. Social distance ranges from 4 to 8 feet (1.2 m - 2.4 m) away from the person and is reserved for strangers, newly formed groups, and new acquaintances. 4. Public distance includes anything more than 8 feet (2.4 m) away, and is used for speeches, lectures, and theater. Public distance is essentially that range reserved for larger audiences. Proximity range varies with culture. Beginning in the 1960s, there has been huge interest in studying human behavioral clues that could be useful for developing an interactive and adaptive human-machine system. Unintentional human gestures such as making an eye rub, a chin rest, a lip touch, a nose itch, a head scratch, an ear scratch, crossing arms, and a finger lock have been found conveying some useful information in specific contexts. Some researchers have tried to extract such gestures in a specific context for educational applications. In poker games, such gestures are referred to as "tells" and are useful to players for detecting deception clues or behavioral patterns in opponents.
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There is also a huge interest in learning to avoid any unintentional gesture that might leave a negative impression on the onlookers. A large number of people are starting to attend special sessions on controlled body behaviour and take advice from expert sociologists. Learning good body language, such as living styles of foreign people, is important during interaction in any sort of global community.
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When the blink rate is infrequent it usually means boredom if the eyes are not focused or it can mean concentration if they eyes are focused. Arms Arms can indicate many things to a person, when they are across you body it can be a defensive barrier and when they are by your side it can mean you feel open and secure. Arms signals are reliable indicators of your mood, more so when combined with other body language symbols. Here are some signals: Crossed arms: Crossed arms usually are associated with protective barrier. This could be due to a number of things like concern, boredom or feeling threatened. If the person is cold they will also cross their arms sometimes, which can give off mixed signals. Gripping own upper arms: This can be seen as insecurity in some males and females. It is a way of self hugging, and attempt to reassure one self. Another from of self hugging is when you take your one arm across body clasping other arm by side, which is typical in females only. Arms held behind body with hands clasped: This is a signal of authority or confidence. It is seen in authoritative figures like police men, and armed forces officers. Many of the arm signals have to do with nervousness and are done to create a barrier between oneself and the outside world here are some typical barrier signals: handbag held in front of body, papers in front of your chest, adjusting cuff, watchstrap, tie, etc., using an arm across the body, arms/hands covering genital region, holding a drink in front of body with both hands seated, holding drink on one side with hand from other side, touching or scratching shoulder using arm across body Legs and Feet Legs and feet body language is known for being more authentic than the other signals due to the fact it is harder to fake or do consciously. This makes it a good indicator of peoples feelings. When looking at leg and feet signals we must remember that women and men sit differently, men tend have a more open leg position while women do not, so therefore when a women sits with open legs it has a different meaning then when a men does. Leg signals are supported by the corresponding arm signals they go along with them. Here are some signals: Leg Direction, sitting-general: When a person is seated they usually have their leg direction pointed in the direction of their point of interest. When they are uninterested in a conversation or a person their legs will point away from them. When legs are crossed the upper knee dictates what the they are interested in or disinterested in. Uncrossed legs, sitting-general: When legs are uncrossed that generally means they have an open attitude no matter if it is male or female. Crossed legs, sitting-general: This usually means they are cautious or disinterested in what is going on, there is a degree of uncertainty. They may feel threaten or insecure.
Eyes Eyes, although not first thought of when talking about body language, can revel a lot about how someone feels or how they are thinking about a certain topic. Our eyes are highly aware of what we see in other peoples eyes. For example you can recognize that you have made eye contact with someone that is 100 or 130 feet away with out actually being able to see the detail of a persons eye. We usually understand a glazed over look or a blank stare, moistened eye that indicated tears would come or a secret glance. Here are some of the signals the eye gives away: Looking right (generally): Usually indicates the person is creating, fabricating, lying or story telling. In some cases this may mean that the person is making up something, but other cases (like telling a story to a child) it can be perfectly normal to be creating something. Looking down and right indicates feelings that can be genuine or not depending on the context of what the person is doing. Looking left (generally): Usually indicates the person is recalling facts, remembering. This includes recalling and stating facts from memory, usually the truth. But facts can be incorrect, which is another matter all together. Direct eye contact: When speaking to someone this can be an indication of honesty by that person, although trained liars have practiced this skill and can copy it well. When you are listening to someone and have eye contact that generally means you have interest, attentiveness and some kind of attraction to the person. Widening eyes: This indicates appeal, interest and invitation. Usually interest in someone or something you are looking at, and a positive response. The exception is when widening eyes are paired with raised eyebrows, which can be a shock response. Women tend to widen their eyes to try and increase their attractiveness. Rubbing eyes: Can be associated with disbelief about something (as in checking your vision) or something that is related to crying or tiredness. Usually if paired with long blinks then it means the person is tired or bored. Eye shrug/roll: When an eye has an upward roll, it usually means it is a sign of frustration or annoyance. Pupils dilated: The black center of a persons eye gets larger to let in light and smaller to let in less light. When it is dark that is one of the reasons pupils are dilated. Another reason pupils dilate is when someone sees something that is appealing to them or attractive. Blinking: When blinking is frequent it is a sing of excitement or pressure, but it is not a reliable way to tell if someone is lying.
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Parallel legs: Legs together generally mean properness when it is concerning a female, this is a very unusual stance in males. This can be due to the females upbringing. Open legs, sitting: This is mainly a male posture; this can be associated with arrogance, sexual posturing or combative feelings. This is not usually seen in women, especially when in skirts. This is considered to be combative because it makes the person look bigger than they really are. Confidence signals are increased when arms are open and wide. Ankle lock: This is considered to be a negative signal and may mean defensiveness in both men and women. Standing at attention: this means someone is standing upright with their shoulders back and arms by side. This is a military position and considered to be a signal of respect and subservience when in the presence of someone in authority. Legs intertwined, sitting: This is usually a female stance. Depending on what is going on this can mean insecurity or sexual posing. This would be considered sexual posing because the tight crossed leg would tend to emphasize the muscle and tone of the leg. This should be assessed while also interpreting other body signals. Legs crossed, standing: This is different than when legs are crossed when sitting. This may mean insecurity or/submission or engagement. When legs and arms are crossed it usually means less confident and insecure when just the legs are crossed but arms are open it can mean a committed agreement to stand and engage with the other person. Shoe-play: Usually seen in females, this can mean relaxation, flirting and sexual feelings. In more case then one playing with a shoe and slipping it on and off can have sexual overtones. Body Language - Para Language How words are pronounced is most important than their literal meaning. Theres strong relation between vocal and physical expressions - condition. We cannot pronounce words the way we want until everything required for same is perfectly combined or arranged - consciously or unconsciously. This is what we call as science of PARA LANGUAGE. As like paying keen attention to visual clues while reading body language, listening to voice also gives insight of persons emotional and physical state. Like making gestures by hand, we also modulate our voices depending upon different circumstances, conditions, and needs. The emotional and homeostatic processes are deciding factors for same. Humans have very well developed system for creating different sounds and vary tone, volume and speed of pronunciation. Torso, throat, oral cavity, lips, jaws, tongue, rate of breathing and facial muscles play different roles altogether. Physical movements, level of energy, body mass and hormones also add to them. Kind of sound we create while talking is like a signature. We can roughly co-relate the physical and mental state of persons shown in following images with kind of voices they would be interacting with.
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Domination - A police officer talking in firm tone and uniform pitch would be standing upright, bluffing his chest, stiffening neck and perhaps putting hands on hips or holding them on back. Exhaustion - A lady speaking in monotonous and sluggish voice (on telephone) might be physical exhausted, feeling sad or nervous, sitting alone and consoling herself. Play time - A laughing, twittering and singing boy in joyous tone would be surelymaking merry, playing, jumping and dancing. Gossip - Two colleagues whispering (behind your back) would be sitting close to each other and may not be making any gestures and meeting gaze with other. Conflict - Yelling and shouting couple (at neighborhood) would be making aggressivegestures, clenching fists, bearing teeth, crossing hands on chests and fiercely gazing towards each other. Convincing - A salesman buttering up your boss to place an order or sign a contract would be slightly leaning forward, titling his neck at once side and smiling. Study of PARA LANGUAGE is most useful when we cannot observe somebody face-to-face. Interview Skills
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A job interview can be an extremely stressful social encounter. All interviews may appear similar, but they differ in terms of what the interviewer is seeking and the skill level the interviewer brings to the process. Situations may differ, but there are certain skills that will increase the odds of a successful interview or at least reduce some of the stress. Preparation Prepare for the interview as soon as it is scheduled. Immediately place yourself or someone who is better suited into the role of the interviewer. Make a list of questions you would ask if you were the interviewer. Recall questions you have been asked in similar job interviews. There are certain topics that you know will come up, such as your job history, education, goals and your positive and negative qualities. Conduct an entire interview with yourself no matter how ridiculous it seems. Attire Dress appropriately. If you are unsure whether the company dress code is casual or demands strict business attire, play it safe by wearing formal business clothing. You must also appear comfortable in business attire. To accomplish this, wear these clothes as often as possible before the interview. This is especially useful if you've only worn suits to weddings and funerals. Exude Confidence One of the quickest ways to kill an interview is to appear frightened or unsure of yourself. You scored the interview, so there must be something about you that makes the company confident that you are up to the job. Make sure that confidence is not lost. Maintain eye contact with the interviewer. Think before you speak so you don't stumble over words. Sit up straight and resist the urge to fidget, scratch, run your fingers through your hair or engage in any other body language that suggests you are not totally in control of yourself. Converse The typical job interview is constructed in the form of question followed by answer. Don't allow the interview to become a game of verbal ping-pong. Elaborate on your answers and ask your own follow-up questions. Turn the interview into a conversation between equals. This allows you to express your interest in the position, to let some of your personality come through and to illustrate your people skills. It also makes the interview less daunting. Honesty You may have heard that everybody fudges a little during interviews--and that interviewers expect it. This is simply not true. Resist any temptation to lie about yourself, your education, your experience or your qualifications because chances are those lies will catch up to you. Even if your dishonesty isn't caught during the hiring process, it will probably come out later. It is easier to remember the truth, so stick to it. Research Arriving at a job interview with a strong knowledge of the company for whom you'd like to work instills several qualities
Unit IV BBA N202

that will impress the interviewer. You will able to speak intelligently about the company's operations, you will demonstrate that you are serious about your career and you will illustrate your initiative. Surprises You never know what is going to be asked during an interview, and some interviewers like to toss in wild cards just to see how you react. If you don't know the answer, admit it. As long as you retain your poise, you've done the job. Don't try to overtalk your way out of tough or tricky question. Address it to the best of your ability and move on. How to Teach Interviewing Skills Job interviews can be stressful for both the interviewer and the interviewee. Preparation on both accounts takes some of the edge off. While there are subtle differences in each person's interviewing style, there are some basic components that can be taught to get a new interviewer started. Here is a suggested plan for basic interviewing. Instructions o 1 Be prepared. An interviewer must be prepared going into the interview. He should have received and read the applicant's cover letter and resume (or CV) as well as any prescreening notes from previous conversations or interviews with other staff. This eliminates duplicate questioning and saves both parties time. o 2 Start by asking any questions related to the applicant's resume that have not been previously asked. This is not required and should only be done based on questions that have some merit in the hiring process. o 3 Continue with a basic line of questioning. Develop three to five questions related to the job specifically (i.e., Are you familiar with spreadsheet creation and editing? Do you have any direct experience with program development?). o 4 Close by giving the applicant an opportunity to selfpromote. Asking a question like "How would your experience be an asset to our organization?" is a great way to prompt the discussion. o 5 Give the applicant an opportunity to ask you questions about the position, the department or team or the organization. Applicants who don't ask questions are a red flag - asking questions signals interest. o 6 Provide contact information for additional correspondence. If there are no further questions on either side, offer your card in case the applicant has further questions. How to Improve Interview Skills An interview can be intimidating for anyone. Whether you are interviewing for a position in a university's program or a company, you will need to keep some things in mind that will improve your interview skills and help you land the position for which you are applying. Read on to learn how to improve interview skills.
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Instructions o 1 Dress the role. Know the type of job or school you are interviewing for, and always dress better than the average candidate. Being neat and well put together will help you give a great first impression--the hardest type to overcome. o 2 Be prepared. Study as much as you can about the company or program before you go in for the interview. Being knowledgeable and informed you will show a zeal for the position. Asking informed questions will also show that you did your homework and aren't walking into the interview blind. o 3 Look them in the eye. Exuding confidence in the interview will build their trust in you. Whether you are nervous or not, give a firm handshake, and speak honestly and directly about yourself and your goals. To improve interview skills it may take practice with friends and family. Going over your main points and questions before hand can help you feel more confident. o 4 Close the interview well. You will need to prepare for the entire interview to improve your skills. Not only do you want to begin the interview on the right foot, you should try and end it on the right foot as well. End the interview with an overview of the questions and points made in your discussion, and let them know that you are looking forward to hearing from them regarding their decision. o 5 Follow up. Send a thank you letter via mail or electronically. Let them know that you appreciate their time. Thank them again for the interview. Make sure to mention specific discussions made in the interview.
Unit IV BBA N202
Page 17

Lecture Notes Business Communication Unit IV BBA

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Business Communication

Unit IV BBA N202

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

Effective Resume Writing

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

650 200 500

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

Unit IV BBA N202

By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions amit040985@gmail.com

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