ENG 301_ MIDTERM SHORT QUESTIONS

 

ENG 301_ MIDTERM   SHORT QUESTIONS  

Cultural nonverbal communication, by contrast, is characteristics of, or common to, a group of people.

 

Universal nonverbal communication is behavior that is common to humankind.

 

Unrelated nonverbal communication, such as a sneeze, is unrelated to the verbal message.

 

Analyzing Nonverbal Communication

Seven different aspects

• Theoretical writings and research classify nonverbal communication into seven main areas:

 

1. Body movement, or kinesics behavior, includes movement of the hands, head, feet and legs, posture, eye

movements and facial expressions – all these affect the message

 

2. Physical characteristics such as body shape, general attractiveness, body and breathe odors, weight, hair

and skin color are important parts of nonverbal communication.

 

3. Paralanguage is that part of language associated with but not involving the word system. It consists of the

voice qualities and vocalizations that affect how something is said rather than what is said.

The tones of voice, rate of speaking and voice inflection are an important part of the total message

 

4. Proximity means nearness, in terms of physical space. How people use their personal space and that of

others communicates a message. This response to spatial relationships in formal, informal and intimate setting

indicates how that person perceives and feels in that space

Personal space varies according to:

• Gender

• Status

• Roles

• Culture

 

5. Artifacts are objects used to convey nonverbal messages about self-concept, image, mood, feeling or style.

For example, perfume, clothes, lipstick, glasses and hairpieces project the style or mood of the wearer

 

6. The environment can influence the outcome of communication. For this reason, organization gives careful

consideration to office space, factory layout, the sales area and conference venues. The environment should put

people at ease and match their expectations; an unsuitable environment can produce ‘noise’ that causes

communication barriers and interferes with the communication process.

 

Following are the traits of good communicators:

 

Perception: They are able to predict how you will receive their message. They anticipate your reaction and shape

the message accordingly. They read your response correctly and constantly adjust to correct any misunderstanding.

 

Precision: They create a ‘meeting of the minds’. When they finish expressing themselves, they share the same  mental picture.

 

Credibility: They are believable. They have faith in the substance of their message. You trust their information and  their intentions.

Control: They shape your response. Depending on their purpose, they can make you laugh or cry, calm down,  change your mind or take action.

 

Congeniality: They maintain friendly, pleasure relations with you

Feedback

Make feedback more useful by:

• Planning how and when to accept it.

• Being receptive to your audience’s responses.

• Encouraging frankness.

• Using it to improve communication

 

To communicate easily and effectively with your readers, you should apply the following Seven ‘C’

principles:

1. Clarity

2. Conciseness

3. Consideration

4. Concreteness

5. Correctness

6. Courtesy

7. Completeness

 

Clarity

• Clarity means getting your message across so that the receiver will understand what you are trying to convey.

Choose precise, concrete and familiar words.

 

Construct effective sentences and paragraphs.

• At the core of clarity is the sentence. A sentence moves thought clearly within a paragraph.

Important characteristics are as follows:

• Length

• Unity

• Coherence

• Vague: Being the chief executive, we can expect help from you.

• Clear: Being the chief executive, you can surely help us.

 

• Emphasis

• Little Emphasis: The order was received and the manager started preparing for it.

• Better Emphasis: As the letter was received, the manager started preparing for it.

 

Correctness

The correctness principle is more than proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. Though mistakes are never

intentional, they spoil our image. Errors in the messages fall in the following categories:

Mistakes in names, figures, facts, and words

Mistakes in punctuation and capitalization

Mistakes in the level of Language

 

There are two types of writings:

In formal writing, our style is un conversational

 

In informal writing, we use words that are short, familiar and conversational.

• A formal style is characterized by more complex sentences.

• An informal style is characterized by Short words and sentences (Thanks a lot for your letter).

• Contraction & Abbreviations (I haven’t, there’s) simple words.

 

Conciseness

Eliminate wordy expressions

• To avoid wordy expressions, use single words whenever possible. Here are some examples of how word

economy saves the reader’s time and effort.

Avoid unnecessary repetition.

• Avoid repetition by using pronouns, short names or acronyms, etc

• Stick to the purpose of the message.

• Writing concisely means using only necessary, meaningful words.

 

Courtesy

Courtesy does not mean the use of old-fashioned expressions such as ‘your kind enquiry’, ‘thank you’ and

‘please’. Rather, it is politeness that grows out of respect and concern for others. Courtesy is a quality that

enables a request to be refused without killing all hope of future business. Courtesy also means replying

promptly to all letters. If you feel your correspondent’s comments are unfair, try to answer tactfully. In short,

the whole letter should have a courteous tone. It is not what you say, it is how you say it.

The following are suggestions for producing a courteous tone:

Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful, and appreciative

Use expressions that show respect

Choose nondiscriminatory expressions

Courtesy also requires use of nondiscriminatory expressions that refer to any particular, gender, race, ethnic

and Origin, etc.

 

Consideration

Consideration means writing every letter with your reader in mind. It also means acting on the ‘you attitude’.

When we put ourselves in our reader’s place, we are considerate. We can understand our reader’s desires,

problems, circumstances and emotions. This thoughtful consideration is exactly ‘you attitude’.

 Three specific  ways to indicate consideration are:

Focus on ‘you’ instead of ‘I’ and ‘we’

Show audience benefits or interest

Emphasize positive, pleasant facts

 

Completeness

• A business message is complete when it contains all facts that the reader or listener needs for the reaction you  desire. Senders and receivers are influenced by their background, viewpoint, needs, experience, attitude, status  and emotions. Because of their difference, the receiver needs to be sure that he has included all relevant  information. Completeness is closely related to clarity.

• A complete message brings desired result. It does a better job of building goodwill. It helps remove costly  lawsuits that may result if important information is missing. Moreover, the communication that seems  unimportant can be surprisingly important if the information is complete and effective.

For completeness, keep the following guideline in mind:

Provide all necessary information

Answer all questions asked

Give something extra when desirable