EMBA Program

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS
Quarter: Winter 2015,
Deadline for Submission of Assignment: February 5,
2015
Attempt all questions given below. Your answers should not be copied, word-forword, from the textbook. You may use the terms, concepts, examples from the
textbook, but these must be written as your own, independent expression.

1.

Briefly explain the three theories of communication suggested

by Mary Munter.

2.

Explain the psychological, semantic and physical barriers to

communication.

3.

Write the most common pitfalls of the following channels of

communication:
a. Downward Communication
b. Upward Communication
c. Lateral Communication
d. Writing Communication

4.

What are four Cs of character traits? With the help of a model,

provide a brief description of each.

5.

Describe techniques of motivating your audience.

6.

What is the difference between thinking and structuring? What

three guidelines should underline the thinking process?

7.

What is feedback? What are the keys to giving and receiving the
feedback effectively?

8.

Analyze the elements of nonverbal communication

9.

Write a note on the structure of a presentation.

10.

What are the task functions and process functions of chairing a

meeting? Explain.

Question # 1: briefly explain the three theories of communication

suggested by Mary Munter?
Answer:
Definition:
1. the imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or
using some other medium
2. the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to
express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts,
feelings, etc., to someone else. R1
3. By and large, Communication (from Latin commnicre, meaning
"to
share")
is
a
purposeful
activity
of
exchanging informationand meaning across space and time using
various technical or natural means, whichever is available or
preferred. R2
Need & Importance of communication:
By considering all the definition on must think that why there is the need
& importance of communication. Though it is very vital for anyone to have
a proper communication for his/her needs. It help us to develop a
knowledge based civilized society that can transmit from one generation
to another. And to be a social organization one must be the part of proper
communication.
In general communication gets more importance to human society and
organizations and to business specifically. People are hired, their services
are rendered. Policies are prepared implemented learned and performed.
There is no practical way which makes these happening possible without
proper communication.
Theories of communication:
The theories of communication defined by Mary Munter are as follows;
1. Electronic Theory
2. Social Environment Theory
3. Rhetorical Theory
Electronic Theory:
One
very influential theory is called the mathematical or
electronic theory of communication.
This idea emphasized the technical probelsms of trnamistting a
message for a sender to a receiver
It is based on uses the languages , electronics.

 The message begins with the information sources , the mind of the
sender, who speaks a message encodes it into words or action and
sentences.
The message can be anything a written note or saying of words, a mark
on piece of paper or sound waves that travel through a proper channel.
Where it is distorted by either typing or noise and in the end it reaches the
receiver and receiver decodes the message.

Communicator

Audience

As

As

Sender

Message

receiver

Figure # 1.
As you can see the figure it simply define this theory, a sender who
encode and message and message travel through any mean and reach
the receiver and in the end receiver decode that message.
The introduction of term and idea i.e. sender & receiver in
communication given by this theory, and the possible interference. And
also the accuracy aspect of communication is emphasized by this theory.
The usefulness of electronic theory is limited as people are not machines.
But one can possibly design a perfect accurate electronic communication
system.
1. Preoccupation
2. New technique for improving our writing and speaking skill
3. The accuracy of idea and thoughts
These all should be done by considering the pre-planned policy and
structure, that it should comply with those and those which the policy
forbids, or there is the possibility of rejection to your idea and thoughts,
the receiver can considerably ignores your message as he/she can think
you do not have a right to discuss or the you might not be able to express
your idea accurately to convince other.

And if we consider this in context with business, one must be known to

every aspect, pros and cons to interpret his/ her message, e.g.
Do you have you right or authority to have what you are proposing?
Does your idea comply with the company/ business policy?
If you have the authority and the company policy allow you to go;
Are you able to interpret properly to your audience your idea?
So for these all one must not fully focus on only electronic theory of
communication at all , one must consider other theories of
communication.
Social Theory:
Social environment theory attempts to understand how social
environments and the individuals who compose them are interrelated.
Social environments can include social groups, institutions, social
hierarchies or even entire societies and cultures. The role of individuals
within such systems and how the collective actions of individuals create
and maintain them are of special interest to social theorists.
One must consider social environment thory of the sicail and
behavioral aspects.
One must consider the situation and the context in which we will
look
When we work and communicate together , we all paractise in a
social situation
Certain roles must be assumed and agreed like
Compromiser
Initiator
Encourager
Based on our art as job title.
Everyone has a defined roles and jobs and under such role and jobs one
must communicate within a certain social environment. And one can
practice policies.
And to any unwritten or pre-described rules like who, how, when and
what, it is appropriate for us to communicate with in a certain
organization.
Figure
#
2.
Wit in
Communicator

Message

Audience

Certain Environment

The helpfulness of social theory extends when it add important

dimensions of the specific social situation.
Social Communication - Situations

Speech acts
Phone conversation
Face to face conversation
Gender specific

Common ground Individuals engaged in conversation must share

knowledge in order to be understood and have a meaningful conversation.
(Clark, 1985)
E.g. a fabulous letter fail to achieve the desired result if it is written to
wrong person and at wrong time, similarly a worthy presentation face to
same kind of response if the audience of that presentation is totally
unaware to the contents of presentation.
Some of the problems need to be highlighted
Communication is in general complicated
Individuals might have different expectations when they start a
conversation no matter what context
Missing common ground makes it sometimes difficult to
communicate with each othe
Some people break the rules, e.g. ignore nonverbal clues or
intercultural communication principles deliberately R3
Rhetorical theory:
The last theory which is defined by Mary Munter, which defines that
communication is not a one sided process is multidimensional and multi
responsive.
One can be a sender can also be a receiver and vice versa. And message
can also be response and response can also be a message.
Rhetorical theory provides an important addition to communication
process for any business organization. One can be so involves in the
accuracy of the message ad forget the other influencing and crucial
variable, which can produce the desired response.

The importance of response which incorporates the idea from electronic

theory and situation form social theory the below model shows that the
communication if circular not linear.
To differentiate the business communication with other communication
you should consider the circular quality of your communication, and the
effectiveness depends on the quality of result you achieve

Message
Communicator

Audience
Response

Environment
Aristotle was the first who addressed the problem of communication and
attempted to work out a theory that is known as Rhetorical theory. In which
emphasis is placed on both parties clearly understanding the message in the
communication after the circular communication process R4
Why is it more important than two other theories of communication?
Third set of theorists add more dimensions to our understanding of the
communication
process:
Communication is not linear, but circular; not just sending a message to be
received,
but
producing
a
response;
not
static,
but
dynamic.
Rhetorical theorists provide an important addition to a communication model for
business
communicators
Many people caught up in the accuracy forget third crucial variable, producing
the
desired
response
form their audience. R6

Refernece
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

R1=( http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communication )
R2= (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication)
R3= (www.inf.ed.ac.uk/teaching/courses/hc1/slides1011/slides27.pdf)
R4= (http://communicationtheory.org)
R5= (http://references-definitions.blurtit.com/98665/what-is-rhetoricaltheory)
6. R6= (http://references-definitions.blurtit.com/98665/what-is-rhetoricaltheory )

Question # 2: Explain the psychological, Semantic & Physical barriers to

Communication?
Answer:
Communication is a complete process and it requires all the possibilities
that the loop between and sender and receiver flows freely.
Flows freely means that the message that is encodes by sender and is un
intrepidly transferred to the receiver and the similarly the relevant
response from the receiver get back to the sender with no interference.
Even one work hard to convey a proper message with all the requirements
and speak effectively no one be sure the meaning and the objective of the
message is deliver and the response is achieved.
Misunderstanding, Irrelevant response and undesirable reactions are the
consequences of a failed communication exercise. Failure of effective
communication results in loss of valuable time, resource and material.
The loss of meaning which may block the communication process is often
termed as noise. As the same term is used in electronic theory, loss of
power, or other condition that can distort the signal as it travels from one
point to another.
Barriers to communications range from the simple distracting noises to
the most complex psychological factors. These barriers may cause a
simple communication gap or a total failure of communication. A
communication gap can be bridged but retrieval of a situation, damaged
by miscommunication would be rather difficult.
Moods
Moods

Psychological
Psychological
Barriers
Barriers

Relationships
Relationships

Attitude
Attitude

Sematic
Sematic

Barrier
Barrier

Communication
Communication
Barriers
Barriers

Varied
Varied
Connotatiive
Connotatiive
Meanings
Meanings
Time
Time

Place
Place

space
space
Physical
barrier
Physical barrier
Climate
Climate

Nose
Nose

Choise
Of
Choise Of
Mediium
Mediium

PSYCHOLOGIAL BARRIERS
The barriers fall under this category includes the following
1. Emotional
2. Perceptions
3. Selectivity
Emotional:
One of the possible psychological block is emotional. E.g. one must be
emotion al blocked if he /she are going to announce a new policy and
he/she knows that the policy cannot be accepted in general and refused.
Or one is asked to be prepare for the most worthy and shift-up
presentation of his/her carrier, and the most demanding when you are
writing to someone whom you dislike.
Emotional barriers are considered very important for the personality of a
person. A person is not professional in communication if he is facing such
barriers during communication. He must overcome this problem because
it is considered as gap in communication. Fear, empathy and vulnerability
are emotional barriers and can be overcome with determination.
Emotional barriers become active when a person ignores the suggestion
or idea of other one. Such person feels that he is alone in this world and
no one is here to respect his ideas. His emotions become the barrier for
his communication. Besides this, fear also plays an important role as
barrier in communication. The fear of talking to higher authority person is
very common in people. They become confuse and feel difficulty in
sending their message to him. R1

Emotional barriers create the possibility of biasness against you, perhaps

because of your youth, sex, race, relatives, friends or even your clothes.
Perceptual:
Communication can be broken when the senders intended message is
unclear or the receiver perceives it differently than the sender intended.
R2
One can ignore the possibility of emotional barrier/block , must cannot
deny the perceptual barrier. Every person has different type and way to
perceive things. Even the theories of communication work and we all live
in same objective world, but where its comes to subjective part there are
lot of difference among every individual.
We all see the world differently. We all have our own preferences, values,
attitudes, origins and life experiences. Seeing things after filtering our own
unique life experiences leads to assumptions which creates perception for
our own and other as well.
One can perceive thing different and other differently, the same bunch of
book has different thought to ne audience and different to other.
A message that is conveyed or send by sender may have different
meaning according to sender but the receiver can get and perceive it
differently.
e.g. when a specific type of organizational form that si distributed among
different audience to fill. Each one has different answer to the question
written in that form because everyone has different school of thought,
though we are in same working area and condition but we perceive thing
differently.
And to the most important and the major contributor that lead to be a
perceptional barrier to communication is, how we use to perceive things,
despite of facts actual happenings. This cause the generation of certain
filters in our mind that leads us to perceive thing differently.
Selectivity:
The final set of psychological barrier exists because of competition for
peoples time and attention. We all are bombarded with information
sources , such as newspaper, magazine, internet, TV, meeting, tutorials,
electronic mails etc. so here we cannot simple absorb all the information
directly in to us , here comes the section or selectivity.

One factor is timing, that some message that are effective at one time are
not effective at other or even useless at other, kind of just for information.
Any message that address a specific happening like a letter of
congratulation and letter of condolence address a specific happening of
event, and are effective only at that time.
e.g. a call of meeting on the concern of safety issue in construction
company has more value and attraction when there an incident because
of safety lack.
Similarly there are a lot of selectiveness that can be a barrier to a
communication.
A receiver gets the message, selectively and encodes what benefit
him/her or in her/his interest and forget the rest of the message. It can be
due to experience, need and motivation that drive him/her to do so.
Here the thinking tendency, knowledge and information of the people also
involves that some of the people already knows about the issues, context
and the topic of the message.
Semantic Barrier:
Semantics is related to meanings of words. To be more exact, it is related
to connotative and denotative meanings of words and its study. Every
word has a direct meaning called the denotative meaning. In addition to
its exact or lexical meaning, words also acquire implied meanings called
connotative meanings. Connotations are understood based only on an
individuals experience and knowledge.
Words are of course are symbols, and therefore limited because they
cannot have precisely the same meaning for everyone.
The study of word choice is called semantic and thus these can a barrier
to a communication that the listener or audience to a massage interprets
the message wrongly.
If the encoder and decoder do not share the same connotative meaning of
words, misunderstanding occurs. e.g. you will enjoy a cheap holiday or
factories requires cheap labor to reduce the cost of production. The
connotation of cheap is different here.
The second thing that leads to the semantic barrier is the fluency of
language. Communication with someone whose native language is is not
the same as yours may block the communication and result in the choice
of irrelevant and inappropriate words.

Professionals often use industry jargon to communicate, and that jargon is

all but foreign to those outside the industry. A web designer, for instance,
may ask his non-Internet-savvy client for a list of meta tags. The client can
become confused and resentful, damaging efforts at communication.
Slang is also a frequent communication barrier. It regularly either invents
new meanings for common words or just new words. R3
Physical Barriers:
Physical noise interferes with a speaker's ability to send messages and with an
audience's ability to receive them. Other physical blocks include mumbling,
speaking too fast, distracting gestures, noise inside the room such a ringing
telephones etc - or outside the building such as traffic or aero planes. Your
message may be blocked because people in your audience are uncomfortable;
they cannot hear because of bad sound system and cannot see because of
inadequate lighting. R4
Communication does not consist of words alone. Another set of barrier is caused
by your physical appearance, the audience, the topic the context of document or
presentation.
For writing there is a bunch of barriers that can influence the communication. No
matter how well you have drafted, for example a document may be illegible for
various reasons like, jammed, jagged margins, finger prints, faulty printer ink,
unclear photocopies, other spots, or messy corrections
For speaking, similar to writing number of barrier lead to inappropriate
communication and leads to be a barrier to effective communication, beside lack
of skill , mumbling, speaking too fast, using distracted gestures, noise to your
surroundings, which result in distraction of your message not completely
conveyed, like telephone ringing, outside traffic, sound of AC or fans. The same
effect the your message audience as they did not get it properly once the
message is distracted.
For Listening & reading; As it turn you it to the audience but all the other
prospective are same as to writing and speaking, those factor which can
influence and be a part of barrier to effective communication as for writing can
be the same for reading and to what effect the effective speaking can also
effects the listening.

References
1. R1=
http://www.wannareadyou.com/emotional-barriers-ofcommunication-know-the-reasons-of-emotionalbarriers.html#axzz3PqOhOAHj
2. R2=
http://www.ehow.com/list_6756817_perceptual-barrierscommunication.html

3. R3=http://www.ehow.com/info_8120612_semantic-barriers-effectivecommunication.html

4. R4= https://www.scribd.com/doc/98799734/Physical-Barriers
Question # 3: Write the most common pitfalls of the following channels of
communications:
a.
b.
c.
d.

Downward Communication
Upward Communication
Lateral Communication
Writing Communication

Answer:
A
medium
through
which
a message is
transmitted
to
its
intended audience, such as print media or broadcast (electronic) media.
Communication channels are the means through which people in an
organization communicate. Thought must be given to what channels are
used to complete various tasks, because using an inappropriate channel
for a task or interaction can lead to negative consequences. Complex
messages require richer channels of communication that facilitate
interaction to ensure clarity.
Importance of Communication
A breakdown in the communication channel leads to an inefficient flow in
information. For example, if employees are unaware of what the
organization expects of them, this could cause employees to become
suspicious of motives and changes in the company. This could negatively
affect productivity in the workplace. If productivity decreases, eventually
this will harm the organization as a whole.

Formal
Communicat
ion Channels

Informal

Unofficial
Once you have considered the organization itself. The channels of
communication are open to you
Directional Flow.
The directional flow in which you send a message, whether it is, say being
sent within the organization or outside of it, whether it is being sent up or
down the hierarchy also effects the communication. For example some
researcher says that the message and information get distorted as it flows
upward in an organization and some other says that the information get
distorted as it flows downward. There can be lot of reason which involves
in the distortion of information on either side. Other research shows that
in lateral communication block by some common reason as rivalry and
jealous among peers.
Download Communication:
Downward communication is the flow of information and messages from a
higher level inside an organization to a lower one. Effective downward
communication is crucial to an organization's success.
Possible Pitfalls of download Communication:
1. Download communication is time consuming because it moves
along the line of command of hierarchy. It results in the waste of
time as the line communication is long.
2. Download communication has to pass through the level of authority
so delay as well as distortion of the message and information.

3. In download communication there is too much concentration of

authority at the higher level. As people in the lower level are merely
receivers of decisions.
4. It can also face the overstatement and understatement of
communication
5. Also in downward communication the impact of priorities distorts
the information.
6. By name as it is downward communication does not mean it is one
way, in some situation you will be conveying information, such as
when you are defining are specific instruction or announcing a
meeting. In this situation you might insure two way communications
by requesting that the instruction sheet be initialed and returned or
by asking subordinate to call and confirm.
7. One must be aware of his/ her suburbanite. Of the greatest pitfall of
the download communication is that they try to tell you what you
want to hear. Also in download communication your tone is crucial.
On one hand you want to avoid the over bearing and patronizing
attitude towards the people who work for you. On the other hand
you want to avoid an artificial warmth or friendship.
8. If the downward communication is not clear, clarity means the
message that conveyed downward which has some objective and
that objective and motive behind that message must be clear. If the
basic motive of the downward message is not clear you cannot
convey or implement what you want as a desired result.
9. Every type of communication requires a mutual trust and
understanding on both parts, if either of the side seems to be
hanging then this could indulge and influence the communication
procedure.
Upward Communication:
Upward Communication is the process of information flowing from the
lower levels of a hierarchy to the upper levels. This type of
communication is becoming more and more popular in organizations as
traditional forms of communication are becoming less popular. R2
One of the most noticeable changes in the business communication in the
past few year has increased the emphasis on upward communication the
flow of information from subordinates to their supervisors. The most
typical form of upward communication is reports memos meetings and
interviews. Upward communication is typical used to achieve three results
1. Reports on activities
2. Accomplishment of person or a division.
3. Offers suggestion and opinions to Increase participation
management function such as planning and controlling.

in

Employees rarely initiate upward communication as they are afraid of

being ignored. Such communication meets with improper recognition so
they hesitate to initiate.
The biggest draw back in the effective upward communication is trust.
Various studies have shown that the employees tend to conceal their
opinion views, idea and problems form their supervisors, another school of
thought and study shows that people try to avoid because they are afraid
of get into a trouble even if they were honest with their supervisors.
Another study shows that employee feel of being penalized for honesty.
And the last school of thought where employee personally consider that
the mangers are not interested in solving their problems.
Lateral Communication:
According to the businessdictionary.com horizontal communication is:
"Information exchange between departments or functional units as
means of coordinating their activities."
Communication between people at same hierarchical rank, but in different
functional area is called lateral or horizontal communication. The flow of
communication gets more importance when business become large and
has diversity, complexity and specialized. Even in small companies lateral
communication has its importance for the better coordination among
peers.
1. Due to the fact both departments may be of equal powers
decisions
are
hard
to
come
to
2.
Nobody
has
the
overall
say
and
final
decision
3. It can cause in-house fighting if differing opinions boil over
4.One department may always have to check with another
department before pushing anything through
In horizontal communication there may be unhealthy competition among
various departments in an organization. Conflicts or rivalries may disrupt
the work of the organization. Therefore, an organization prefers vertical
communication so that there is an effective line of authority.
In spite of this, there is always a tendency towards more of horizontal
communication.
Despite of conflicts and issues, there is lack of control in lateral
communication , as it is same level communication which lead to

employees communicate freely and it can be difficult for management to

control.
Writing Communication:
In addition to a communication with in a company has its own importance.
Beside this the business has outward communication with suppliers,
dealers, vendors, manufacturers, customers bth current and former, Govt
Agencies. These includes memos, reports and mostly letters
One of the major form of outward communication is advertisement , in
either form, like commercial advertisement, newsletter, email, blogs.
These all directly hit your external audience.
1. Written communication is comparatively expensive. For this
communication paper, pen, ink, typewriter, computer and a large
number of employees are needed.
2. Written communication takes time to communicate with others. It is
a time consuming media. It costs the valuable time of both the
writer and the reader.
3. Red-Taoism is one of the most disadvantages of written
communication. It means to take time for approval of a project.
4. It messages receiver is illiterate, written communication is quite
impossible. This is major disadvantage written communication.
5. It is an unexpected medium to keep business secrecy. Secrecy is not
always possible to maintain through written communication.
Because here needs to discuss everything in black and white.
6. Since writing documents cannot be changed easily at any time. Lack
of flexibility is one of the most important limitations of written
communication.
7. It takes much time to get a response from the message receiver;
prompt response is not possible in case of written communication
that is possible in oral communication.
8. Written communication takes much time to communicate with all
the parties concerned. So the decision maker cannot take decisions
quickly.
9. It is very difficult and expensive to keep all the records in written
communication.
10.
If there is no direct relation between the writer and the reader,
writer communication cannot help to establish a direct relation
between them.
Reference
1. R1= http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/communication-channel.html#ixzz3PrS7EObU
2. R2= en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upward_communication

3. R3=
http://thebusinesscommunication.com/advantages-anddisadvantages-of-written-communication/

Question # 4: What are four Cs of character traits?

model provide a brief description of each.

With the help of

4Cs Model helps in analyzing character trait of people of the business

world. This model is described in two dimensions. In 1 st dimension, these
are the people who are interested in changing status quo (either to
accomplish their dreams or acquiring their results) versus people believe
in maintaining status quo (either through procedure or through affiliation).
Those people come under 2nd dimension who believe in working alone
(either competitively or carefully) versus those people who desire to work
in a group (either maintaining status quo or changing).

Each of the 4 Cs is as follow:

1. Comptroller/Bureaucratic (audience 1)
Comptrollers are those people who believe on facts and consistency.
They prefer to work alone and carefully. They maintain the status
quo for acquiring their task. Their aim is to be accurate and factual.
They follow organizational traditions and perform well to achieve
their tasks accurately.

2. Crusader/ idealistic (audience 2)

Crusaders tend to work in a group with change in status quo to
accomplish their dreams. They prefer to adopt new ideas and
innovative ways to complete their tasks. They are enthusiastic and
informative which help them to achieve their goals precisely.
3. Collaborator/Socialite (audience 3)
Collaborators are considered people person. They prefer working
in a group but dont change status quo. They avoid risks and never
get into conflicts. They believe in teamwork, loyalty and
trustworthiness.
4. Commander/efficient achiever (audience 4)
Commanders are also called efficient achieve. They like actions
and results, and prefer change in procedures for achieving results.
They take decision and act confidently to accomplish their task
efficiently. They tend to work alone. Their focus is to get results in
minimum time and cost. Their actions are result-oriented actions.

Question # 5: Describe the techniques of motivating your audience.

There is no questioning that the old saying "You do not get a second
chance to make that first impression" is very true here. From the very first
moment you step out in front of your audience to begin your presentation,
you have, on the average, between one and two minutes at the most to
set the tone of your presentation. Many say you have even less time to
capture their attention, motivate and hold it. R1
No matter your communication objective may be, having your audience to
buy a product, pay bill , approve your plan or promote you, it involves
motivating someone to respond you in such a way that help your needs
and desire. To accomplish this all one must have audience as a focus
center. Rhetorical theory refers to his ability as becoming a reader or
listener. The theory emphasizes and to being persuasive by aiming your
message toward your audiences needs and desires. The most important
strategy one must have, the ability to analyze and motive audience in
such a way that leads to the success of your business.
Communication is complete only when the receiver understands the
message in the same sense and spirit that sender intends to convey.
However, communication does not take place completely because of the
illusion that it has been accomplished. The great cause of illusion is
sender's inability to understand the audience. Without analysing audience,
the chances of effectiveness of the communication decrease.
Before going to the techniques of motivating audience one must be aware
of following then he can only have a strong motivating push for his
audience.
Analyze your Audience:
Audience analysis is the process of learning who your audience is, what
they are thinking, and how you can best reach them.
Thoughtful audience analysis is one of the best habits you can develop as
a speaker. It will help you understand your audiences perspective and
provide maximum value for them. If done well, your audience analysis will
provide insights that will help you focus your message, select the most
effective content and visuals, and tailor your delivery to suit this particular
target audience.
Audience analysis studies your audience along three primary dimensions:
1.

Who is in your audience? What are their individual and group

characteristics?

2.

What does your audience know? What do they believe? What do

they think about your topic?

3.

When and where are you presenting? Why is this audience

listening to you? R2

WHO ARE YOUR AUDIENCE?

Understanding the audience is fundamental to the success of any
message. The sender needs to analyze the audience and then adapt the
message to their goals, interests and needs. Audience likes to listen the
message that suits their interests, familiar with their level of knowledge
and understanding, and seems true and credible. R3
Types of Audience:
1. Primary Audience
2. Secondary Audience
3. Initial Audience
4. Key Decision Maker

Primary Audience: The primary audience is the audience who has to

decide whether to accept the sender's message and his
recommendations and to act on the basis of that message. For
example - in case of advertisement campaign of interior decoration,
the primary audience is prospective customers.

Secondary Audience: The secondary audience consists of people

who may be asked to comment on the message after it has been
approved. For example - in case of advertisement campaign of
interior decoration, the existing users are the secondary audience as
the potential buyers ask them about their opinion.

Initial Audience: is the audience that receives the message first and
routs it to other audiences. Sometimes, the initial audience guides
the sender regarding designing of the message.

Key Decision Maker: Besides having a primary audience and

secondary audience one cannot neglect the key decision makers
those also influence the communication and they can influence the
result of message.

Importance of audience analysis:

An audience analysis is essential before designing the message.
Communication can take place only when the message is received in the
same sense and spirit that sender intends to carry. Therefore, the sender

has to devise some common ground between him and the audience. He
has to choose the information that audience needs and finds interesting.
He should encode the message in words and other symbols that audience
will understand easily
"Understanding your audience is fundamental to the success of any
message. You need to adapt your message to fit the audience's goals,
interests and needs." ~ Kitty O. Locker and Stephen Kyo Kaczmark R4
In order to communicate effectively the communicator should have
information about the audience:
1. How much the audience knows about the topic, i.e., their
knowledge?
2. Demographic factors, i.e. age, income, number of children, etc.
3. Personality.
4. Values and beliefs.
5. Past behavior.

Knowledge: The Communicator should be very tactful and careful

about the knowledge of the audience.

Demographic Factors:

Demographic factors should be measured objectively before

approaching the audience. Demographic factors are
measurable features that can be counted objectively i.e., age,
sex, race, religion, educational level, income and so on.
Personality:
Personality of the dominating individual(s) of the audience
should be properly judged.
Values and benefits:

Past Behavior: R5

Motivating your Audience

Communication is the use of language to inform, to persuade, or to
change someone.
Using an intelligent audience strategy is the key to successful
communication, whether in job-search documents, in academic papers, or
on-the-job writing and professional presentations.

Howard Gardner, author of Leading

communication is the key to leadership.

Minds,

says

that

effective

According to the book, The Guru Guide, CEOs overwhelming say that in
managing change you can never do enough to get your message across
to your people. R6
WHAT MAKES PEOPLE LISTEN?
Paying attention is a gift from the audience to the speaker, a momentary
surrender of control. An audience will respond, either purposely or
unconsciously: 1. if the message is in their self-interest 2. if they trust and
believe the person delivering the message 3. if they like the message
itself. Understanding and addressing audience motivations is the first step
in making your connection.
HOW CAN YOU GET THIS ATTENTION?
The next step in grabbing the audiences attention is to manage
intentionally the audience perceptions of you, as well as their
expectations: literally, you must explain your relationship to your
audience and establish your professional identity.
As after getting your audience inventory, you need to figure out how best
to motivate the people you have just analyzed. One must try to increase
credibility and also try to structure message persuasively.
Understanding psychological theories of motivation is very important for
the success of business communication. Without the basic neither one can
keep things running nor can fix when they break down.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Punish or reward them

Appeal to their growth needs
Use peoples need for balance
Perform a cost benefit analysis
Be sensitive to character traits.

Punish or Reward them

Business communication especially to your subordinates requires specific
dimension, you cannot drive any one to a specific direction unless you
know the better. You cannot punish any one or threat any one e.g.
One of your employee spend too much time talking on phone and you call
him and threat him to stop doing this otherwise he will lose his job.
1. Threat will only work when you have eye on them.

2. Threat can only effects one side of picture but the desired outcome,
that is expected from it is still zero.
3. Threat can produce to the working environment and lead to tension
and distress.
4. Threat lead to make people dislike you
5. Threat can also lead to counter aggressive reply.
Consider a reward a way to change behavior, as the rewards are
considered as effective way to shape behavior. Rewarding certain
behaviors is an extremely powerful tool to get desired results. Reward
must be important for the person who is going to get it. Different
people react differently, some like to have recognition of achievement,
some to money.
Appeal to their growth needs:
In most of the cases you cannot reward your audience with tangible things
or prizes. Here you have to reward the effectively by appealing to their
growth.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Personal growth; let them to work independently

Self-esteem; have their advancement motive and encouragement
Group affiliation; build their working relations
Safety; secure their working conditions
Survival; build them to survive on their own.

Use people need for balance:

Most of the people prefer psychological balance, when they have some
conflicting situation t their ideas and beliefs they lose the state of balance.
The anxiety helps them to restore their balance. As you should consider
that they can deny to new ideas as they are living in their own way and
scheme of thought. Second there can be a complete denial to your ideas.
Perform a cost/benefit Analysis:
Another way to thinking about what motivates people is to apply
economical ides, e.g. money goods and services can be offered for
exchange. Both parties should take into account the cost and the benefit
of the behavior, a strong benefit you encourages someone and on the
other hand a high cost can have an opposite effect. So one must have a
cost/benefit analysis.
For example you have a great plan for new advertising brochure. The
benefit seems obvious to you and your company will sell of its products.
However the cost and the time for printing and the waste of throwing old
brochure can hurt the feeling of the person who designed the old one. And
addition al time and bother to your boss to consider this new idea when
the old one has seemed to work well.
Using this approach you can try following

1. Analyze cost and benefit of the idea itself; as many of us only have
a view on ony advantages not on disadvantages.
2. Analyze cost and benefit in favor of audience; advantages we only
look to the potential reward that result for us only without thinking
about the acceptance of our audience.
3. Specify the benefit that audience is going to have with your idea.
Naturally, people are not like the numbers and figure of any financial cost/
benefit analysis. So one should assume audience the same way, when
confronted by the same situation.
Be Sensitive to character Traits:
Generalization about ourselves or other peoples can be dangerous.
Perceiving the behavior is a character trait and we may perceive
incorrectly, and it can be worst when the categorized people based on
incorrect inference. So everyones character is more complex than on
simple trait.
Taking these into mind, that the effective communication can only be
possible by considering what will motivate and persuade your audience.
E.g. one has a differenet conversation method and motive with sales
manager than to an accountant.
Different people are convinced by different things. Just as engineers use
electrical theory to predict how machines work, communicators must use
psychological theory to predict how people work. Effective communicators
analyze what will motivate the people with whom they are communicating
There are so many way that can be devised to have an analysis, instead f
discuss the personality theories.
In summary there are as many possible means and ways that one can use
to motivate the audience, analyzing who they are, how they feel, and the
cost/benefit and one can use different techniques by keep these things in
mind and achieve the desired results.Reference
1. R1= http://www.tlcsem.com/pmotivate.htm
2. R2= http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/audience-analysis/
3. R3=
http://debo10199businesscommunication.blogspot.com/2012/02/
audience-analysis-part.html
4. R4=
http://debo10199businesscommunication.blogspot.com/2012/02/
audience-analysis-part.html
5. R5=
http://debo10199businesscommunication.blogspot.com/2012/02/
audience-analysis-part-b.html
6. R6= mgt.ncsu.edu/pdfs/career_resources/Audience%20Strategy.pdf

Question # 6: what is the difference between thinking and

structuring? What three guidelines should underline the thinking
process?
Answer:
In business communication many people simply write or speak in the
order that ideas occur to them but not in the order that would be most
persuasive. Thinking an structuring are two different processes.
When you think all different ideas occur to you, some are good and some
are bad, some are complete that you can have a firm grim and some are
scattered you need to rejoin them and polish them to plot to others.
On the other hand your audience can not be the part of all your thinking ,
where an incomplete idea utter and to the final glimpse. So the process of
plotting is called as structuring.
Thinking according to Wikipedia, Thought can refer to the ideas or
arrangements of ideas that result from thinking, the act of producing
thoughts, or the process of producing thoughts. Although thought is a
fundamental human activity familiar to everyone, there is no generally
accepted agreement as to what thought is or how it is created. Thoughts
are the result or product of either spontaneous or willed acts of thinking
Structuring is creating a product based on base components. E.g. create a
structured note for a client which will pay some coupon depending on the
level of the S&P 500. The note is basically unsecured funding + some kind
of derivative. You price the note based on the components.
Thinking Process
1. Be Aware of your Assumptions:
a. Assumptions are basis for all the rest of your thinking.
b. In business communication you make assumptions.
Here are three cases:
Case 1: This program will increase our profits.
Case 2: I better finish this report tonight or I will get fired
Case 3: In this letter, I am going to try to calm down this, irate
customer
2. Draw Valid Conclusion:

a. Assumptions and facts are what you start out with when you
are thinking; conclusion is what you end up with.
b. There are two valid method to draw conclusion: 1.
i. Deduction
ii. Induction
Deduction: Starting with a main principle or assumption, applying it to a
specific case, and drawing a conclusion.
Example: Start with a main principle, such as Business
Communication is important
Apply a specific case, such as writing is a part of communication;
and come up with a conclusion, Therefore, writing is important
Induction: This only other valid way to draw conclusion is by induction.
Induction means starting with specifics and generalizing to the main
principle.
Example: Start with a series of specific such as, I will be spending
a lot of time in business meetings I will be spending a lot of time
writing business letters I will be spending a lot of time writing
memos to the people within the organization
Avoid either/or defect: this occurs when you setup two alternatives
and do not allow any other. Example: if you dont like your boss,
than quit!(ignores other alternatives such as changing the situation
Avoid the catchall explanation: This oversimplification occurs when
you isolate one factor and treat it as if it were the sole cause.
Example: The Edsel failed because consumers werent ready for
push button gear shift. (This idea ignores other possible reasons
or combination of reasons for the Edsels failure)
Structuring of Ideas
When you think, naturally, all different kinds of ideas occur to you some
good, some bad, some complete, and some fragmented.
The result of thinking process is your conclusion.
When you communicate you dont want your audience to wade through;
instead, you want to structure your ideas, to make your conclusion clear.
An effective structure is based on: 1) Providing a hierarchy for your ideas
2) Choosing the appropriate order for those ideas.

Provide a hierarchy for your ideas. An effective structure is based on your

providing the hierarchy of ideas for your audience dividing ideas into
groups and differentiating among these groups as follow:
Stress your conclusion (for first level idea)
Divide you writing or speaking into main points (or second level
ideas)
Subdivide into supporting points.
1. Stress your Conclusion (first level idea)
You conclusion is the most important idea of your
communication.
It is the result of all your time, effort analysis, and thinking.
Since your conclusion is the top level idea, you need to stress
it in your message structure at the beginning.
Never bury your conclusion in the middle m your audience is
likely to miss it, skip it, or at best have to work hard to find
it.
2. Divide into Second Level Points (Second Level idea)
If you think of your conclusion as the top level idea, then next
level down is made up of your second level idea.
In two or three sentences in a nutshell try to lay out the whole
substance of your communication.
The purpose of nutshelling is to help you get your points to
the listeners.
3. Subdivide into Lower Level Points (Third level idea)
Your second level idea is, in turn, supported by your lower
level points.
4. Put Your Idea in Order
Putting ideas in order depend on objective of communication.
There are two possible objectives:
Explain your idea to your audience
Persuade your audience for action

Question # 7: What is feedback? What are the keys to giving and

receiving the feedback effectively?
Answer:
Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are "fed back" as inputs as
part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop.[2]The
system can then be said to "feedback" into itself. The notion of 'causeand-effect' has to be handled carefully when applied to feedback systems:
"Simple causal reasoning about a feedback system is difficult
because the first system influences the second and second system
influences the first, leading to a circular argument. This makes
reasoning based upon cause and effect tricky, and it is necessary to
analyze the system as a whole."
One of the central purposes of group experience in a Managerial Grid or
sensitivity training lab is to help the participant become more clearly aware
of the impact he has on others. That is, during the laboratory experience,
the participant has an opportunity to talk with others, solve problems with
others, and in general interact with others, in ways that are characteristic
for him. The image he projects, then -- the impression that others have of
his behaviour -- is communicated back to him by other group members.
And this sort of exchange is usually a good deal more open than what is
common in everyday life. The intent, at least so far as the objectives of the
program are concerned, is that this feedback will be helpful to the recipient
- that he may see, for example, some discrepancies between the effect he
wished to create (and, in fact thought he was creating), and what actually
took place, with the hope that he will be able to use this information in
making a more intelligent choice of behaviour with which to deal with
similar situations in the future.
Unfortunately, such feedback (for reasons of content, timing, and the way it
is given) does not always turn out to be useful to the recipient. And,
although the very large majority of managers who participate in public
sensitivity or Grid training labs return saying that overall the experience
was a very helpful one for them personally, still many have felt that, "This
is a kind of thing you sure couldn't do with people you work next to all the
time!" The fear is that if the members of a work team did attempt to enter
into an experience of this kind together, either:
They would not dare to be open and candid with one another and the
result, therefore, would be a superficial and useless experience; or

 They would dare to be open with one another, and the result would
be one of disruption in team working relationships, escalation of bad
feelings carried over from old grievances, etc.
Giving and Receiving Feedback
The way in which feedback is given and received during microteaching
contributes to the learning process. Feedback that is vague, judgmental,
ill-timed, or unusable is not as valuable as feedback that
is specific, descriptive, timely, and practical.
Similarly, although
being criticized is often not pleasant, being open to well-intentioned, wellcrafted feedback can only further professional development.
Presented below (and in a handout) is a series of suggestions for how to
give and receive feedback in a microteaching workshop.
Giving Feedback
When giving feedback, try to:
Be specific rather than general. The more concrete the feedback is,
the more useful it will be to the person receiving it. Thus, rather than
saying, Mike sometimes you weren't clear in your explanations . . .," tell
Mike exactly where he was vague and describe why you had trouble
understanding
him.
Similarly, it is nice but not very helpful to say, Joan, I thought you did an
excellent job. Rather, list the specific things that Joan did well. For
example, she might have motivated the problem effectively, used
transitions advantageously, or communicated interest and enthusiasm.
Tell her how these techniques contributed to the success of her
performance.
Be descriptive, not evaluative. Focus on the effect the performance
had on you, rather than on how good or bad you perceive it to be. For
example, saying, Its wrong to call on students when they dont have
their hands up, is a generalization that may or may not be true in all
cases. However, saying I felt uncomfortable because you called on me
when I didnt have my hand up, can help the person realize that students
may
have
the
same
reaction.
Remember, too, that some of your responses will come from your own
perceptions (for example, not everyone feels uncomfortable when called
on). Thus it is good practice to begin most feedback with, In my
opinion . . . or, In my experience . . . .

Describe something the person can act upon. Commenting on the

vocal quality of someone whose voice is naturally high pitched is only
likely to discourage him/her. However, if the persons voice had a squeaky
quality to it because he/she was nervous, you might say, Barbara, you
might want to breath more deeply to relax yourself, and that will help
lower the pitch of your voice as well.
Choose one or two things the person can concentrate on. People
can usually act on only a few pieces of feedback at any one time. If they
are overwhelmed with too many suggestions, they are likely to become
frustrated. When giving feedback, call attention to those areas that need
the most improvement.
Avoid inferences about motives, intentions or feelings. To say, You
dont seem very enthusiastic about this lesson is to imply something
about the person her/himself. A better comment might be, Varying your
rate and volume of speaking would give you a more animated style.
Receiving Feedback
When you receive feedback, try to:
Be open to what you are hearing. Being told that you need to improve
yourself is not always easy, but, as we have pointed out, it is an important
part of the learning process. Although you might feel hurt in response to
criticism, try not to let those feelings deter you from using the feedback to
your best advantage.
If possible, take notes. If you can, take notes as you are hearing the
other peoples comments. Then you will have a record to refer to, and you
might discover that the comments you thought were the harshest were
actually the most insightful and useful.
Ask for specific examples, if you need to. If the critique you are
receiving is vague or unfocused, ask the person to give you several
specific examples of the point he/she is trying to make.
Judge the feedback by the person who is giving it. You dont have
to agree with every comment. Think about the persons credibility when
assessing the validity of her/his statements. Ask other people if they
agree with the persons critique.

Question # 8:Analyze the elements of nonverbal communication

Answer:
Overview
Nonverbal communication involves numerous elements, such as gestures,
intonation, proximity, volume, word choice, eye contact and many others.
Andrews University says that nonverbal messages serve to repeat, accent,
complement, regulate or substitute for a verbal message. Different
cultures rely on disparate systems of nonverbal communication, making
misunderstandings and faux pas common.
Facial Expressions
The facial expressions you use during communication affect how the
listener interprets your meaning. Extreme facial expressions, such as
those that indicate anger or happiness, indicate that you have obvious
feelings about your subject matter. Less obvious facial expressions, such
as raising one eyebrow slightly or scrunching your face, may impart a
variety of meanings, depending on context. For example, if you scrunch
your face during a conversation, the other person might think you find
something displeasing about the subject matter. If you scrunch your face
when there is no conversation going on, an observer might think you are
displeased about something nearby, such as a smell.
Body Posture
How and where you stand is an important element of nonverbal
communication. For example, leaning toward a speaker indicates intense
interest. Frequently looking away from the speaker indicates disinterest or
impatience. The meaning of different body stances and positions varies
among cultures, according to Andrews University. For example, in
Thailand, showing someone the soles of your feet is offensive. Slouching
or hunching over is disrespectful in Northern European cultures. In Turkey,
putting your hands in your pockets is rude.
Gestures
Every culture has hand movements and gestures that convey specific
meanings, according to Andrews University. Some hand movements are
innocuous in one culture but aggressive or insulting in another. For
example, people in some cultures, such as the United States, use their
index fingers to point. But in many Asian cultures, pointing with the
fingers is rude.
Paralanguage
Paralanguage is the culture-specific stylistic element that people use while
speaking. Andrews University breaks paralanguage down into three
groups: vocal characterizers, vocal qualifiers and vocal segregates. Vocal
characterizers include things like yawning, laughing, crying and moaning,

which convey meanings to an audience. Vocal qualifiers include such

elements as tone, tempo, rhythm, pitch and volume. For example,
speaking rapidly and in a high pitch indicates excitement in many
cultures. Vocal segregates include such sounds as uh-uh or mmmm,
noises which convey messages about internal feelings, such as dissent or
pleasure.

Question # 9: Write a note on the structure of a presentation?

Answer:
Presentations need to be very straightforward and logical. It is important
that you avoid complex structures and focus on the need to explain and
discuss your work clearly. An ideal structure for a presentation includes:
a welcoming and informative introduction;
a coherent series of main points presented in a logical sequence;
a lucid and purposeful conclusion.
The introduction of a talk is an opportunity to get your audience interested
in your talk as well as prepare them for the journey. Youll want to use the
brief time that you devote to the introduction wisely. Here are some key
components of effective introductions:
1. Entry point. What is the best way to begin the talk? Your entry point
should cultivate the audiences interest in your topic so that they
will want to pay attention to your upcoming presentation. Often, the
entry point can be a chance for you to establish the importance of
your topic or provide a big picture view of its significance. You
might consider sharing a story from your research experience or
providing an example. There are many strategies that can be
employed, but the important thing to remember is that your entry
point should be purposeful and help you begin to get the audience
invested in your talk.
2. Establish credibility. Although your credibility will be established in
large part from your content, it is a good idea to briefly mention
your credentials as they relate to the topic. You might mention who
has sponsored your work. Or, you might discuss why are interested
in this area and feel it is important. This can take many different
forms, but you should consider sharing some information that will
increase your credibility with the audience.
3. Preview the development of the talk. Let the audience know the
purpose of the talk and how you plan on covering the material.
Audiences appreciate hearing a map of the presentation.
Steps for preparing Effective Presentations
1. Determine the purpose
We communicate to produce result.
We wish something to occur as a result of our words.
One macro level these overall goals are to inform, to persuade, to
entertain.
2. Analyze the audience
The message whether written or oral must be adapted to the
audience.
You will have an idea if you are talking with your organization.

You will have less idea if speaking the outside groups. Get the idea
from the person who invited you to speak to the outside group
If audience members have the same occupation, you can form an
idea about your audience.
3. Select the main idea for message
Selecting the main theme or your core idea should be done first.
Gather additional information for supporting your core idea.
Initially, core ideas or supporting information may be haphazard,
which is quite normal.
Do not rush this stage of preparation.
Do not presume this initial structure will be your final version.
4. Research the topic
It is obvious that you would not possess complete information about
your central theme.
Collect facts, data and information.
Your research may cause you to drop some initial ideas and add new
ones.
New facts, new views are constantly appearing.
5. Organize data and write the draft
In this step initial outline is structured into deliverable presentation.
A good oral presentation has three part: Introduction, a body (Text,
discussion), and a conclusion or summary)
1. Introduction: Introduction seeks to do several things: Getting
attention, include an aim or purpose, and layout the direction
of speech.
2. Body (Text, discussion):
This is the heart of the presentation; here you include data
and evidence in support of your central theme.
3. Summary or Conclusion: It reminds the audience of the main
ideas covered in the body of the talk, whereas conclusion
draws inference from the data.
6. Create Visual Aids
Some presentations do not require visuals , for some visuals are
indispensable part.
But the most important is answering the question: Would visual ass
to understanding and support of your message?
7. Rehearse the talk
By rehearsing you will become more comfortable with your material.
When rehearsing, stand and deliver your talk out loud.
Rehearsing three times is enough to have confidence. If rehearsed
too much, the statement sounds.

Question # 10: What are the task and functions of chairing a

meeting? Explain.
Answer:

Introduction
Meetings are an extremely common form of
communication.
They range from large and formal to small and formal.
They include:
Regular staff meetings.
Project team meetings.
Special or ongoing committee meetings.

business

Therefore meeting can be defined as a chance primarily to confer

with, that is, to work with audience as opposed to speeches or
presentations, Where you primary speak to your audience.
How Do Decide Whether You Want to Impart Information Or to Hold a
Meeting?
In general you should make presentations when you:
When you should make presentations when you:
You have the power authority, and credibility to implement your
ideas or decision.
You are pressed for time.
On the other hand call a meeting when:
You need more information from other people.
You lack the power, authority, or credibility to implement your
ideas and decision yourself and need your audience to buy in and
You want to increase your audience sense of moral or
participation in the decision making process.

GUIDELINES ON CHAIRING COMMITTEES

1.

How to Chair a Meeting Effectively

Effective chairing will ensure that a meeting achieves its aims and objectives.
Chairs should facilitate, encourage, focus and clarify
2.

What Makes a Good Chair?

An understanding of the issues and topics being discussed and
keenly listening to the discussions;

 Being able to prevent discussions wandering, prevent those without

anything new to add repeating the same point, being able to move
on when a point is discussed as far as possible;
Ensuring that all members have an equal opportunity to express
their point of view;
Showing respect for the views and actions of others
Encouraging all members to take equal responsibility for the
meeting proceeding smoothly;
Being impartial;
Being able to sum-up the points made in discussion

3. Before the Meeting

Chairs should meet with the Officer to the Committee in good time to
agree and order the agenda. Any member can request an item to be put
on the agenda and normally the Officer to the Committee will set
deadlines for the receipt of an item and any accompanying papers.
Important business should not get put to the end of the agenda or there
wont be enough time to discuss it.
4. At the Meeting
Chairs need to lead the meeting so that all those involved can make
useful contributions and unhelpful digressions and arguments are
discouraged. Chairs should present information and summaries clearly
and at the most effective times. They need to ensure that the meetings
objectives are achieved in the time available and that decisions are
communicated to all those who need to know. Discussion time should be
allocated to each agenda item in a way which is consistent with their
importance and complexity.
Chairs should, through their own behaviour and body language, model
good meeting behavior and accept nothing less from colleagues. They
should be careful not to generate antagonism. A healthy professional
discussion where diversity of ideas and approaches are constructively
used to create the best solution and not as personal attacks is the ideal. If
colleagues are going to give of their best they need to know that all
contributions are valued, that they will get credit for their ideas and that
the committee is strengthened by their collective success rather than
scoring points off one another. It is the Chair who sets the tone and
manages the process.
Meetings should be run in ways that are as inclusive as possible. You
should always be aware that not all people are familiar or comfortable
with formal meeting procedure and that it can alienate and intimidate
people, creating barriers to participation. People who do not know or

understand what is going on around them are less likely to take the risk of
speaking up. Chairs must ensure that there is real democracy and that
everyone is involved and encouraged to take part.
Other points to successful and effective chairing:
Start the meeting on time. This respects those who turned up on
time and reminds late-comers that the scheduling is serious. Start
late to accommodate late-comers and they will assume it is ok to
come late.
Introduce yourself and welcome all, especially new members and
thank them for their time. If it is the first meeting of the committee
(or the first of the academic year), it is good practice for all
members to introduce themselves.
At the start of the meeting, review the overall agenda briefly and
involve members in committing to the agenda. This will give
participants a chance to understand all proposed major items and to
indicate any adjustments you may need to make to the agenda for
new problems or priorities.
Review what has previously been done, congratulating members
when things have been accomplished
At the start of each major agenda item, there should be a short
introduction to develop a common understanding and to encourage
participation. Clarify at the outset the type of action needed, the
outcome expected (decision, information point, action assigned to
someone).
Remind members what preparation was expected of them and if
colleagues were expected to read papers before the meeting don't
read them out. The next time you ask them to read beforehand they
will assume it is not worth the effort.
Keep the meeting focused, on time and encourage equal
participation and contribution from members.
Summarize key
points afterwards if lengthy. If discussions are side-tracked, take
appropriate action to get back on track.
Ensure that all members understand any jargon, initials or acronyms
you should not assume that everyone has equal knowledge or
understanding.
Ensure that all the key points are agreed and minuted and actions
assigned to individuals where appropriate with the proposed timeframe and feedback required.
Ensure unresolved items or non-agenda items raised during the
meeting are parked for later attention and it is agreed how they will

be followed-up, eg agenda item for next meeting, sub-group to

address outside of meeting etc.

5.

Closing the Meeting

Wherever possible, end the meeting on a positive, up-beat note;
Clarify that minutes and actions will be reported back to members within
the normal university timescale;
End the meeting on time. This shows respect for the participants and will
encourage people to commit to staying to the end.