ELC650

Week 2: Recognising various

forms of communication AJ/Sem Oct/Feb2021
Objectives
OVERVIEW

• Forms of communication
• Language styles for different forms of
communciation
Professional communication

Refers to the various forms of speaking, listening, writing, and responding carried out both in
and beyond the workplace, whether in person or electronically
Professional communication
WHAT IS GOOD PROFESSIONAL
COMMUNICATION?

Any form of professional communication, whether it’s intended to or not,

reflects your personal brand. If you attend a networking event, how you
present yourself is how people perceive you and your brand."
("Can a Personal Brand Coach Help My Career?" Star Tribune [Minneapolis], May 19, 2014)
WHAT ARE VERBAL
COMMUNICATION SKILLS?

Effective verbal communication skills

include more than just talking. Verbal
communication encompasses both how you
deliver messages and how you receive
them. Communication is a soft skill, and
it’s one that is important to every employer.
 Some Pointers
What constitutes effective verbal communication
on the job depends on the relationships between
communication partners and the work context:

Audience (who message is intended Context (register) Examples of Verbal Communication Skills
to)
Verbal communication occurs in many • for supervisors
Verbal communication in a work setting different contexts including training ⚬ Conveying feedback in a constructive manner emphasizing

takes place between many different specific, changeable behaviors

individuals and groups such as co-
workers, bosses and subordinates,
employees, customers, clients, teachers
and students, and speakers and their
audiences.
sessions, presentations, group meetings,
• for team members
performance appraisals, one-on-one
⚬ Encouraging reluctant group members to share input
discussions, interviews, disciplinary
• with clients/stakeholders
sessions, sales pitches, and consulting ⚬ Calming an agitated customer by recognizing and responding
engagements. to their complaints
• for presenters
⚬ Speaking at a moderate pace, not too fast or too slowly
 (Friend to Friend) (Subordinate to Superior (Superior to Subordinate (Man/woman Speaking
Register • Hi Charlie, can you give me
- for workplace
communications)
- for workplace
communications)
to Stranger)

use
a hand? • Pardon me. Do you think
• Sure Peter. What's up? you could give me the time?
• I can't get this to work. • Certainly, it's twelve thirty.
• Good Morning, Mr. Jones, • Excuse me Peter, we seem to
• Why don't you try to use a • Thank you.
Beare, Kenneth. (2020, August may I ask you a question? be having a problem with the
27). Workplace Communication screwdriver? • Not at all.
• Certainly, how can I help Smith account. We'd better
Skills for ESL Learners. Retrieved
you? get together to discuss the
from
situation.
https://www.thoughtco.com/workp
lace-communication-skills-for-esl- • That's a good idea Ms
learners-1210223 Amons, would 4 o'clock suit
you?
Observation: formality
based on closeness

Notice how the language used becomes more formal as

the relationship becomes less personal. In the last
conversation, the man asks using an indirect question as
a means of making his question more polite.
• Of course, correct for workplace communication
and register use also depends on the situation and
the tone of voice you use.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO

"Intercultural communication can become especially

problematic for business communicators when they begin to
believe that the way people in their dominant culture
communicate is the only or best way, or when they fail to learn
and appreciate the cultural norms of people they do business
with."
("Business and Professional
Communication in a Digital
Age." Wadsworth, 2013)
What about nonverbal communication?
Definition

is the process of sending and receiving messages without using words, either spoken or
written. Similar to the way that italicizing emphasizes written language, nonverbal behavior
may emphasize parts of a verbal message.

Types

"Judee Burgoon (1994) has identified seven different nonverbal dimensions:"

• Kinesics or body movements including facial expressions and eye contact;
• Vocalics or paralanguage that includes volume, rate, pitch, and timbre;
• Personal appearance;
• Our physical environment and the artifacts or objects that compose it;
• Proxemics or personal space;
• Haptics or touch;
• Chronemics or time.

Nordquist, Richard. (2020, August 28). What Is Nonverbal Communication? Retrieved from
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-nonverbal-communication-1691351
Some thoughts to
ponder
Appropriateness in Online English
"In this age of tremendous technological change there is
great uncertainty as to the appropriateness of linguistic
choices in digital writing (Baron 2000: Chap. 9; Crystal
2006: 104–12; Danet 2001: Chap. 2). . . . [N]on-native
speakers of English have a double burden: deciphering
what is culturally appropriate in English, while
contending with the same puzzlement as native
speakers regarding how to respond to the affordances
and constraints of new media.
Writing as more spoken-like
Robin Lakoff (1982) noted that written documents of
all kinds were becoming more speech-like.
Where do you stand on this?
With the advent of the Internet and technological
advancement, how do you find communicating off- and
online? Are there any challenges transitioning from one
to the other?
Workplace
Communication
Quiz

Go on to UFuture and answer the quiz that is uploaded to the Week 2

folder on iDiscuss.

Thanks
for attending!
Don't forget to check your attendance on
UFuture and stay tuned for any updates.
References:
• Nordquist, Richard. (2020, August 27). Appropriateness in
Communication. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-
is-appropriateness-communication-1689000
• Nordquist, Richard. (2020, August 28). What Is Nonverbal
Communication? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-
is-nonverbal-communication-1691351
• Nordquist, Richard. (2020, August 26). Professional Communication
Definition and Issues. Retrieved from
https://www.thoughtco.com/professional-communication-1691542
• Beare, Kenneth. (2020, August 27). Workplace Communication Skills
for ESL Learners. Retrieved from
https://www.thoughtco.com/workplace-communication-skills-for-esl-
learners-1210223
• Doyle, Alison. (2020, September 17). Verbal Communication Skills
List and Examples. Retrieved from
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/verbal-communication-skills-
list-2059698