634602 wk3 how we communicate

8/11/2019 634602 Wk3 How We Communicate

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MIT 634602 MELBOURNE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Communication

Week 3: How We Communicate

MIT 634602



MIT 634602 MELBOURNE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY3

Intercultural communication

• What aspects of your dominantculture do you value most? What aresome of the commonly heldperceptions and misperceptionsabout your culture, and why havethese arisen?





• Identify other cultures

• Consider the class in which you are studying.Identify culturally different groups based onethnicity and/or other characteristics, such asgender, age, religion, education or occupation.





• Identify other cultures

• Consider the differences and how they could bemanaged to facilitate cross-culturalunderstanding

• culture-neutral approach• extra effort – what could you do:

• learn another language (which one?)• study another culture (which one?)




Categories of communication

• personal - intimate• informal - friendly• business - professional• formal - structured

• public – mass audience• academic - scientific




Communication – The

Audience• What are their information needs?

• What is their knowledge level about thetopic




Communication – The

Channel• Various media – television, radio, letter,

telephone, meeting

• Media to suit the message and theaudience

• Context for the message – environment, status, time




Communication – Method

• verbal – conversation, interview, groupmeeting

• written – formal, report• written – informal, note• non-verbal – gesture, mannerism

(unconscious ?)




Non – verbal communication

• Body movement/ kinesic behaviour• physical characteristics

• touching behaviour• vocal qualities/ paralanguage• use of space/ proximity• Dress/ artefacts (props)

• Environment• Silence




Listening

• active listening– help speaker, feedback

• affective listening– focus on speaker, eye contact, posture,

body movement

• encouraging listening– invite speaker to emote, encouraging

words, allow speaker rests, open questions




Graphical communication

• diagrams – flexible, relationships,structure

• photographs – immediate, rich• illustrations – flexible, comprehensive• drawings – technical detail, simplify• maps – location, direction, distance• architect drawings – structure, multi-

view• anatomical models – cut away• musical scores – symbol, richness




Business communicationcreate a specific effect

on particular readers

who want specific information ,

have particular characteristics and

will read under particularcircumstances .




– is accurate– is complete appropriately detailed)

– is written for the intended audience andpurpose

– has good reference aids abstract, table ofcontents, index, cross-referencing)

Good Communication




Ordering communications

Organise communication in ways expectedby readers :

chronological ordermost important to least importantorder of needorder of difficultyquestion / answer ordercompare / contrast

alphabetical order




principles of documentorganisation ctd.

• Chunking - the rule of seven• Consistency – style, voice, emotion• Integrated graphics – appropriate, support text

– points in a text can be emphasised– can increase reader's interest– can replace, clarify or simplify the text

• Accessible detail - access routes to different levels ofdetail– overall/general– specific– fine detail




Specify thedocument

Draft and editthe document

Review thedocument

Publish thedocument

Maintain thedocument

Not OK

OK

The Documentation

Process




Effective documentation

check list• Objective clearly stated• Target audience identified

• Consistent approach used (wording, structure,layout) - templates help• The principles of documentation organisation

and development have been followed

• Maintenance process in place• Put yourself in the users’ position - can youeasily find what you’re looking for?




Reference

• Dwyer, Judith (1993) The BusinessCommunication Handbook.

Australia: Prentice Hall.Chapter 14

634602 wk3 how we communicate

Documents