Question

1. The Value of Communication Explain substantively the importance of good communication in your personal life and in the business world. In your answer provide examples of where good communication has paid off and bad communication has had unfortunate consequences.

2. The Audience Discuss substantively and provide an example of why one must consider their audience when communicating.

Are communication skills more important to the successful performance of a supervisor than to the successful performance of a company president?

4. Sentence Length Discuss substantively how sentence length can impact the effect of your intended message.

Answer 1

1. Communication is a vital life skill, developing your communication skills can benefit you in all aspects of your life, from your professional life to social gatherings, in business communicating effectively with clients and colleagues is one of the most essential skills a candidate can have.

Good communication is the oil that keeps the workplace machine running smoothly. Having the ability to listen carefully, speak clearly and put others at ease is valuable in any organisation and can involve a wide range of skills:

• Listening attentively to others and showing interest in everything they say
• Dealing with telephone conversations in an appropriate manner
• Encouraging interest and interaction from others in your team
• Expressing an opinion or asking a question clearly and concisely
• Being able to persuade others of your line of reasoning

If people are good communicators, they listen well and don't overreact. This helps reduce and prevent conflict in the workplace, which otherwise, could create problems. Co-workers can work out a disagreement and still be respectful, and potentially could remain friends. Preventing conflict escalation goes beyond your co-workers. Employees who are able to listen to customer issues and communicate solutions without becoming defensive, accusatory or otherwise negative, are good ambassadors for the company. When consumer conflicts are positively resolved, consumer loyalty goes up.

Toyota Product Recalls. When Toyota finally decided to recall millions of cars due to faulty brakes, it was already too late. After downplaying the problem for as long as possible, their hand was forced when Consumer Reports withdrew their recommendations of 8 Toyota vehicles. Although the situation was eventually fully handled, failing to accept responsibility from the outset affected how customers perceived Toyota's brand.

2. Knowing your purpose and audience helps determine your strategy. If your purpose or audience is unclear, clarify it as best you can, possibly by asking others. For a public thesis defense, for example, the audience is usually strongly heterogeneous. It includes your jury, your colleagues, your friends, and perhaps your family. The purpose depends largely on how your institution sees the event. Some institutions feel that you must primarily address the jury, no matter who else is in the room, as it is your only chance to convince them of your worth. Other institutions see the defense as a way to broaden the visibility of your work and will want you to address a larger audience — including the jury.

Readers might also vary in how familiar they are with the context. When you are writing a document (for example, a letter) to a single person or to a small, well-defined group of people, you might be tempted to jump directly to the heart of the matter, assuming context is unnecessary. This person or group of people, who are your primary readers, may indeed know the context. Still, they may not be mindful of it when they read your document. Moreover, your document might end up being read by people you did not identify, such as those who were forwarded your document by a primary reader or perhaps those who will obtain your document in the future. These people, who are your secondary readers, will not know or remember the context. An effective document makes sense to both primary and secondary readers.

3. Communication skills are important both for supervisor an president but I believe, its more crucial to the company president who is running the whole company, guiding and leading his whole team, managing customer, stakeholders and partners. The communication skills for a supervisor are equally important but the target audience for a supervisor is very much limited as compared to the former.

4. Truncated sentences are often referred to as short sentences, but there is a difference between short sentences and truncated sentences. A truncated sentence has to have been cut short – there need to be words missing. For example:

Create tension, haste or urgency – We talk about a short, sharp shock – when we shorten our communication, we give it power. For example, “Let’s go!” creates a sense of urgency, whereas the longer “Let’s go now because the shops will be shutting in half an hour” doesn’t. When it comes to communicating, sometimes less is more. Think of the importance of sentence structure – short, simple sentences or truncated sentences can create tension, haste or urgency, whereas longer compound or complex sentences are slower, and often feature in formal texts.

Reinforce what’s being said – A truncated sentence can place emphasis on a previous statement or sentence. “Don’t call me any more. I’m serious.”

Make an impact – You can use short, truncated sentences to create punch and make a point. There is a natural pause after a sentence. This gives the other person space in which to consider what is said. Using shorter truncated sentence gives the other person more time to pause and think about what is being said, creating a bigger impact