5 Elements of Communication:

1. APPROACH

Timing of communication; choice of medium; tone and point of view (perspective, attitude, and
relationship regarding audience, purpose, and material); recognition of audience (reader vs.
writer orientation); direct vs. indirect presentation (ordering of evidence and conclusions);
persuasive strategies and rhetorical appeals (logos, pathos, ethos)
Checkpoints:
Timing and choice of medium are appropriate to the purpose, audience, and material.
Tone is appropriate to the purpose, audience, and material.
Material is made relevant to the reader (readers interests and concerns are recognized).
Conclusions are presented directly (conclusion first, evidence last) to a sympathetic audience,
indirectly (evidence first, conclusion last) to an unsympathetic or hostile audience.
Persuasive strategy incorporates a mixture of rhetorical approaches (appeals to logic, feelings,
and ethics or credibility).
2. DEVELOPMENT

Organization (logical arrangement and sequence); evidence and support (relevance, specificity,
accuracy and sufficiency of detail); knowledge of subject and material; quality of perception,
analysis, and insight
Checkpoints:
Material is arranged in a logical and coherent sequence.
Conclusion or closing restates the argument and identifies the action to be taken.
Examples are relevant, specific, detailed, sufficient, and persuasive.
Quotations support the argument.
Handling of material demonstrates knowledge and insight.
3. CLARITY

Presentation of thesis or central argument (statement of purpose, delineation or narrowing of

topic, relevance of subordinate or secondary arguments); word choice; technical language and
jargon; structure (sentence, paragraph, document); coherence devices (organizational
statement, repetition of words and phrases, progression from familiar to unfamiliar, topic and
transitional sentences); textual markers (headings, highlighting, formatting features)

Checkpoints:
Purpose or central idea is sufficiently limited for meaningful discussion.
Purpose or central idea is stated clearly, usually in the opening.
Organizational statement is offered, usually at the end of the opening.
Subordinate ideas are effectively identified and related clearly to the main purpose or central
idea.
Language is clear, specific, accurate, and appropriate to the audience, purpose, and material.
Word choice is clear, specific, accurate, unassuming, and free of clichs and misused jargon.
Technical language and terms are defined and explained as needed (depending on knowledge
of the audience).
Sentences are free of ambiguity.
Text is coherent, with new information linked to previously discussed information (ordered
within sentences as something old/something new).
Transitions between paragraphs are clear and helpful.
Text is appropriately highlighted (bullets, paragraphing, boldface, italics, underlining, etc.) to
engage the reader and reinforce the main points.
4. STYLE

Word choice (economy, precision, and specificity of language and detail; abstract vs. concrete
language; action verbs vs. linking or weak verbs with nominalizations; figures of speech:
schemes and tropes); tone (personality and humor); active vs. passive voice; sentence variety
Checkpoints:
Word choice is economical, clear, specific, accurate, unassuming, and free of clichs and
misused jargon.
Action verbs are preferred over weak verbs with nominalizations (as in recommend over make
a recommendation).
Language is appropriately concrete or abstract (signifying or not signifying things that can be
perceived by the senses).
Figurative language (metaphors and similes, as well as other tropes and schemes) enrich and
deepen the argument.

Active voice is preferred over passive voice (active voice is used to emphasize the performer
of the action; passive voice is used to emphasize the receiver of the action).
Sentences are free of wordiness and unnecessarily complex constructions.
Variety in sentence structure and sentence length creates emphasis.
Authors values, personality and when appropriate humor are conveyed in a way that
reinforces the message.
5. CORRECTNESS

Rules and conventions of spelling, grammar, punctuation, usage, and idiom; style
(appropriateness of word choice and level of formality to audience, purpose, and material);
social and cultural appropriateness; accuracy in proofreading
Checkpoints:
Spelling (including technical terms and proper names) is correct.
Correct words are used to convey the intended meaning.
Rules of grammar and syntax are followed, including pronoun-noun agreement, subject-verb
agreement, appropriate verb tense, pronoun case, possessive forms, parallel construction, etc.
Punctuation (particularly comma placement) reflects standard usage.
Copy is free of mechanical errors and lapses in proofreading.

Communication Models

Article about Cultural Diversity

What New Data Reveal About Gender and Race in a Creative Workforce
This entry was coauthored by Leah Krauss, Senior Program Officer for Dance and Special
Projects, Mertz Gilmore Foundation
If you have been following the #OscarsSoWhite and #TonysNotSoWhite campaigns that are
dominating public discussion of this years arts and entertainment awards, then you already
know that when it comes to workforce demographics in the creative sector, the numbers matter.
Developing an inclusive and equitable workforce requires baseline demographic data to guide
action and measure progress over time.
Diversity in the New York City Dance Community, commissioned by the Mertz Gilmore
Foundation and prepared by Ithaka S+R, is the latest in a spate of new research focused on
better understanding the dynamics of nonprofit arts and culture. The discipline-specific report
furthers the movement to create equity by shedding light on the gender and racial makeup of
the dance workforce, both artistic and administrative, as represented by the staffs and boards of
the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs grantees.
The report offers some encouraging news for nonprofit dance: in terms of gender and racial
diversity, dance leads the wider cultural workforce and the major disciplines of theater, music,
and museums among the departments grantees.
At 58%, the percentage of female dance workers significantly outpaces the cultural workforce
(53% female) and even the New York City population as a whole (also 53% female, according
to recent census data).
Using categories from the 2000 U.S. Census, the data show 54% of the dance workforce is nonHispanic white, 17% is black or African American, 10% is Hispanic, 7% is Asian, 3% is two or
more races, 0.5% is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 0.3% is American Indian or
Alaskan Native. These data suggest that dance organizations are less racially homogeneous
than the wider cultural workforce, which is 62% non-Hispanic white, and could play a role in
modeling inclusive practices to colleague disciplines.
But the data also show plenty of room for progress. For instance, while racially diverse relative
to the full arts sample, dance does not come close to reflecting the racial makeup of the New
York City population, which is 33% non-Hispanic white. In general, racial diversity in the
workforce decreases the farther one looks up the ladder of seniority, from junior to senior staff
positions. Approximately 72% of dance board members are non-Hispanic white.
The data also do not get granular enough to show the scarcity of female choreographers and
artistic directors, especially at the largest dance institutions, a fact well known to field insiders.
Above all, the findings make the case for action to help the dance workforce to better mirror the
citys racial diversity. They invite constructive responses for policy and programs to address
racial inequities that exist along the continuum of career readiness and advancement in dance
from enhanced classroom practices to paid internships and leadership and antiracism training
at dance organizations.

While work to increase racial diversity in dance is of clear value, concurrent action is needed to
address workforce demographics that were not a meaningful part of the study and are too often
excluded from discussions about diversity, equity, and inclusionfor instance, disability,
LGBTQ, and socioeconomic status. Recent research by the service organization
Dance/NYC reveals the paucity of disabled artists and the entrenched patterns of exclusion in
our field that need to be addressed.
The opportunity for local government and philanthropic action to create equity in dance is
particularly ripe because the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs is starting work on the citys
first comprehensive cultural plan this year, and is actively identifying and supporting new ways
to promote diversity in the cultural community. The Theater Subdistrict Council has announced a
$2 million funding initiative to train underrepresented theater professionals, a model that we
recommend adapting for dance. Taking an expansive view to this work is critical to ensuring that
dance becomes truly inclusive of the interests of all of New York Citys artists and communities.
We advocate for improving the generation and tracking of demographic data on dance and for
putting this data to work in shaping local policy and practice. At the same time, we offer dance
up as a case study. A data-driven approach to creating equity can and should be applied to
colleague disciplines and in additional geographies.