What is Communication?

What does it mean to you?

The process of communication is what allows
us to interact with other people; without it,
we would be unable to share knowledge or
experiences with anything outside of
ourselves. Common forms of communication
include speaking, writing, gestures, touch
and broadcasting.

Wikipedia definition

Four Functions of Communication

Knowledge management

Decision making
Coordinating work activities
Fulfils relatedness needs

Communication Process Model

Sender
Form
message

Transmit
Message

Encode
message

Receiver
Receive
encoded
message

Decode
message

Encode
feedback

Form
feedback

Noise
Decode
feedback

Receive
feedback

Transmit
Feedback

Effective Communication Skills

Eye contact & visible mouth
Some questions

Encouragement
to continue

Body language

Effective
Communication skills

Silence

Smiling face

Summarising
what has been said

Checking
for understanding

Barriers to Effective Communication

Filtering

Language
Perception

Time

Noise

Other people

Distractions
Barriers to
effective
communication
Put downs

Too many questions

Lack of interest

Distance

Discomfort
with the topic

Disability

9-14

The HURIER Model:

Components of Effective Listening
Hearing
(paying careful
attention to what
is being said)

Understanding
(comprehending
the messages
being sent)

Remembering
(being able to
recall the message
being sent)

Effective Listening

Responding
(replying to the
sender, letting
him or her know
you are paying
attention)

Evaluating
(not immediately
passing judgment
on the message
being sent)

Interpreting
(not reading anything
into the message the
sender is communicating)

Mean Percentage of Managers Preferring Media

Oral vs. Written Communication:

Preference for Media Depends on the
Oral media are
Message preferred for
sending ambiguous
messages.

Written media are

preferred for sending
clear messages.

90
80

(88.3)

70
(67.9)

60
50

Written Media

40
30

(32.1)

20
10

Oral Media

(11.3)

Extremely
ambiguous
messages

Extremely
clear
messages

9-5

Communicating Through E-mail

Advantages of E-mail

Messages quickly formed, edited, sent,

and stored
Needs little coordination
Random information access
Fewer social status barriers

Problems with E-mail

Information overload
Flaming
Interpreting emotions
Lacks empathy or social support

Guessing E-Mail Emoticons

:-)
:-}
<:-)
:-X
:-j
{}

Happy
Smirk
Dumb question
OOPS!
Tongue in cheek

Hug

Nonverbal Communication
Actions, gestures, facial expressions,
etc.
Transmits most info in face-to-face
meetings
Influences meaning of verbal and
written symbols
Less rule bound than verbal
communication
Important part of emotional labour

Hierarchy of Media Richness

Rich

Overloaded
Zone

Face-to-face
Telephone

Media
Richness

E-mail
Newsletters

Oversimplified
Zone

Lean
Routine/
Clear

Situation

Nonroutine/
Ambiguous

Communicating in Hierarchies
Workspace design
Employee surveys
Newsletters and e-zines
Management by walking around

Grapevine Characteristics
Transmits information very rapidly in all directions
Relatively accurate, but deletes details and
exaggerates key points
More active in homogeneous groups who easy
communication access
Most active when employees are anxious
Usually follows a cluster chain pattern

Personal Communication Style

The Nobel
(someone who says
whats on his or
her mind)
The Magistrate
(blend between
Noble and Socratic)
The Senator
(sometimes Noble and
sometimes Reflective)

The Socratic
(someone who likes to
argue his or her
points fully)

The Reflective
(someone who would
rather say nothing
than to hurt someone
elses feelings)

The Candidate
(blend between
Socratic and Reflective)

A MEMO THAT LEAVES YOU SCRATCHING YOUR HEAD:

WHAT DID HE SAY?
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:

As per your subject memo; we are researching the history of Price Promotion #18B to
establish why the new price sheets were not received by the sales force in advance of
the effective date of the promotion. It is unclear from your memo how widespread the
problem was or if it was just isolated in certain geographies. Therefore, we will need
additional facts on where you think the problem occurred. As you know, we have
gotten complaints from sales people in the past that they did not receive the promotions
only to find out later that they had lost them due to their own disorganization.
TRANSLATION:

We screwed up but are not going to admit it.

IMPROVED MESSAGE:

Thanks for bringing the problem with this promotion to my attention. It looks like
we screwed up at this end in getting the proofs to the printer on schedule. My staff
and I feel badly about this and will take steps to provide better service.
14

Cross-Cultural Communication
Verbal differences
Language

Nonverbal differences
Voice intonation
Interpreting nonverbal meaning
Importance of verbal versus nonverbal
Silence and conversational overlaps

Gender Communication
Differences
Men
Report talk
Gives advice
quickly and
directly
Avoids asking for
information
Less sensitive
to nonverbal
cues

Women
Rapport talk
Gives advice
indirectly and
reluctantly
Frequently asks for
information
More sensitive to
nonverbal cues

Gender Issues in Leadership

Male and female leaders have
similar task- and people-oriented
leadership.
Participative leadership is used more
often by female leaders.
Women rated less favourably than
equivalent male leaders due to
stereotyping.

Getting Your Message Across

Empathize
Repeat the message
Use timing effectively
Be descriptive

Active Listening Process

and Strategies
SENSING
Postpone evaluation
Avoid interruptions
Maintain interest

ACTIVE
LISTENING
RESPONDING

EVALUATING

Show interest
Clarify the message

Empathize
Organize information

Persuasive Communication
Communicator
Characteristics

Expert
Credibility
Attractive

Communication Medium

Message
Content

Present all sides

Few arguments
Emotional appeals
Inoculation effect

Audience
Characteristics

Self-esteem
Inoculated