Public Speaking

"Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in

a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the
listeners."

The art and science of public speaking, especially in a North American

competitive environment, is also known as forensics.

The word "forensic" is an adjective meaning "of public debate or

argument." The word is derived from the Latin forensis, meaning "of the forum."

The sense of the word "forensic" that means "pertaining to legal trials"
dates from the 1600s (Oxford English Dictionary) and led to the use of the word
"forensics" in reference to legal evidence.

In public speaking, as in any form of communication, there are five basic

elements, often expressed as "who is saying what to whom using what medium
with what effects?"

The purpose of public speaking can range from simply transmitting

information, to motivating people to act, to simply telling a story.

Good orators should be able to change the emotions of their listeners, not
just inform them.

Public speaking can also be considered a discourse community. It contains

elements of a discourse community that exist in many mediums and forms that
serve different purposes for society and business among other areas of
communication.

Interpersonal communication and public speaking have several components

that embrace such things as motivational speaking, leadership/personal
development, business, customer service, large group communication, and mass
communication. Public speaking can be a powerful tool to use for purposes such
as motivation, influence, persuasion, informing, translation, or simply entertaining.
HISTORY

The first known work on the subject was written over 2500 years ago, and
the principles elaborated within it were drawn from the practices and experience of
orators in ancient Greece.

These basic principles have undergone modification as societies, and

cultures have changed, yet remained surprisingly uniform.

The history of public speaking has existed for centuries since civilization
has been constructed and has had a major impact on society.

The technology and the methods of this form of communication have

traditionally been through oratory structure and rely on a large or sometimes
somewhat small audience.

However, new advancements in technology have allowed for more

sophisticated communication to occur for speakers and public orators.

The technological and media sources that assist the public speaking
atmosphere include both videoconferencing and telecommunications.

Videoconferencing is among one of the more recent technologies that is in

a way revolutionizing the way that public speakers communicate to the masses.

David M. Fetterman of Stanford University printed in his 1997 article

Videoconferencing over the Internet: "Videoconferencing technology allows
geographically disparate parties to hear and see each other usually through satellite
or telephone communication systems".

This technology is helpful for large conference meetings and face to face
communication context, and is becoming more widespread across the world.

TRAINING

Effective public speaking can be developed by joining a club such Rostrum,

Toastmasters International, Association of Speakers Clubs (ASC) or International
Training in Communication (ITC) in which members are assigned exercises to
improve their speaking skills.

Members learn by observation and practice, and hone their skills by listening
to constructive suggestions followed by new public speaking exercises. These
include:
 • Oratory
• The use of gestures
• Control of the voice (inflection)
• Vocabulary, register, word choice
• Speaking notes
• Using humor
• Developing a relationship with the audience

Professional trainers in public speaking (or presenting) are cautious about

recommending these organizations as they are essentially amateurs commenting
on amateurs.

As such they can reinforce mediocrity or worse, carry on spreading incorrect or

over-simplified ideas. Serious students of public speaking are advised to get
professional training.

Using a forum such as Toastmasters to practice public speaking skills after

receiving professional training is a time-tested approach to developing one's ability
to speak well.

It is difficult to really receive any formal training but, can still be taught and
practiced by those seeking to improve their public communication skills.

The organization is among one of the largest nationally recognized that

specializes in the improvement and networking of effective communication skills
throughout the world.

The new millennium has seen a notable increase in the number of training
solutions offered in the form of video and on-line courses.

Video can provide significant training potential by revealing to the student

actual examples of behaviors to emulate in addition to verbal knowledge transfer.

LEADERSHIP

Effective leadership almost always requires the skill of good public

speaking, and this can often make up for a lack of other skills.

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

The National Communication Association (NCA) exists to assist

professional communicators - both marketplace and academic. There is an annual
convention held with many presentations addressing the concerns central to
effective public speaking.
 Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that
operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping members improve their
communication, public speaking and leadership skills. Through its member clubs,
Toastmasters International helps men and women learn the arts of speaking,
listening, and thinking.

GLOSSOPHOBIA

"The fear of public speaking is called glossophobia (or, informally,

"stage fright")."

It is believed to be the single most common phobia — affecting as much as

75% of the population. Fear of oration is ranked even above that of death.

As Jerry Seinfeld observes, "The average person at a funeral would rather

be in the casket than doing the eulogy." Many careers require some ability in
public speaking, for example presenting information to clients or colleagues.

Public speaking and oration are sometimes considered some of the most
importantly valued skills that an individual can possess. This skill can be used for
almost anything.

Most great speakers have a natural ability to display the skills and
effectiveness that can help to engage and move an audience for whatever purpose.

Language and rhetoric use are among two of the most important aspects of
public speaking and interpersonal communication.

Having knowledge and understanding of the use and purpose of

communication can help to make a more effective speaker communicate their
message in an effectual way.

10 KEY PRINCIPLES TO ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND

#1---Speaking in Public is NOT Inherently Stressful

#2---You Don't Have to be Brilliant or Perfect to Succeed

#3---All You Need is Two or Three Main Points

 #4---You also Need a Purpose That is Right for the Task

#5---The Best Way to Succeed is NOT to Consider Yourself a Public

Speaker!

#6---Humility and Humor Can Go a Long Way

#7---When You Speak in Public, Nothing "Bad" Can Ever Happen!

#8---You Don't Have to Control the Behavior of Your Audience

#9---In General, the More You Prepare, the Worse You Will Do

#10--Your Audience Truly Wants You to Succeed

TYPES OF PUBLIK SPEAKING

1. Informative Speeches.

The purpose of an informative speech is to teach the audience a small but

useful tidbit of information. If your speech is a success, the audience will walk
away with some new knowledge.

Here are some tips to keep in mind for effective informative speaking:

• Don't cram too much information into your speech or you'll lose
your audience. Keep it simple.
• Be careful not to include information your audience does not
understand. Avoid using terms that all or some of the audience will not
recognize. If you do use unfamiliar terms, be sure to define them very
clearly.
• Choose a topic your audience will find interesting and relevant.
• Make sure your speech is not persuasive. You're trying to teach your
audience something, not change their mind.

2. Persuasive Speeches.

The purpose is a persuasive speech is to change people's minds or behavior

about something. This is a very difficult thing to do.
 For a persuasive speech to be truly effective, it's not enough to simply present
your arguments in an eloquent way. You need to actually get the audience to
change their minds.

Here are some tips for how to deliver a persuasive speech:

• Deliver your speech with passion. No one's going to be convinced

unless it's clear that you really care.
• Look for common ground with the people in your audience who
disagree with you. For example, if you're giving a speech on abortion,
include a statement such as, "I know that all of us can agree that preventing
unwanted pregnancies is important." By doing so, you reach out to people
on the other side and demonstrate that you're not the enemy-- and then
they'll be more likely to listen to you.
• Don't choose an impossible task. In your short speech, you won't
change anyone's mind about gun control. However, you might change their
minds about a smaller part of this issue, such as whether a certain type of
weapon should be legal.
• Ask your audience to take a specific action-- and one that they
might actually take. Asking people to call their elected officials will not be
effective.

3. Ceremonial Speeches.

A ceremonial speech is one that is given to mark an important occasion in

someone's life, such as a graduation speech, a wedding toast, or a eulogy at a
funeral. These speeches can be both emotionally moving and fun.

Here are some ceremonial speech tips:

• Tell lots of stories about whomever you're giving the speech about.
Stories are what make the person or people you talk about come alive for
your audience in the speech, so replace generic adjectives with stories. For
example, instead of saying, "She's a very thoughtful person," say, "She
sends birthday and anniversary cards to everyone she knows."
• Tell stories about the people in the audience. This will make them
feel included and special. For example, if you're giving a eulogy, talk about
nice things the departed did with their loved ones.
• Avoid cliches. If you're giving a graduation speech, don't say
"spread your wings and fly." If you're giving a wedding toast, don't say,
"today you marry your best friend." Be original.
 • Be appropriate. Don't make jokes about the groom's ex-wife in the
weeding toast. Don't talk about Aunt Bertha's shoplifting habit in her
eulogy. Use common sense.

SOME OTHER TYPES OF PUBLIK SPEAKING

There are essentially five types of public speaking:

1) Introductions

2) Toasts

3) Informational

4) Persuasive and

5) Demonstration.

Every public speaking topic falls into one of these five categories. Let's review
the essentials of each one.

1. Introductions:

The purpose of an introduction is to allow the audience to remember the

person's name and enough background material to start up a conversation. The
other purpose, when before a group, is to persuade the audience that the speaker is
qualified to speak.

2. Toasts:

Toasts are a specialty speech that has a general format, similar to

introductions. The toast, some background material on the toast, and then the toast
again. Toasts are generally very short speeches.

3. Informational:

These speeches follow the format of opening, purpose, supportive points

and conclusion. They should be packed with facts and figures. This is probably
90% of the speeches that most people are asked to do.

4. Persuasive:
 These speeches are intended to persuade the audience. Often, the most
effective are in the form of stories where the moral is the persuasion. It is the least
structured of the public speaking types.

5. Demonstration:

These speeches include visual aids, they are essentially how to speeches.
Powerpoint is not a demonstrational speaking style, as it is normally just a
reinforcement of your informational or persuasive speech.

Demonstration speech visual aids are normally three dimensional, or active

two dimensional, like a blackboard.

A SHORT GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING

Begin with something to get the attention of the audience.

This might be a startling statement, statistic, or your own story. Listeners

pay close attention when a person begins with, "Two weeks ago as I was driving to
work a car pulled out in front of me...." You could begin with a current event:

"You might have read in the paper this morning about the flood that...."

A question is another way to make people listen. "How many of you feel
our society spends too much on medical care?" might be a way to begin a
presentation about curbing costs.

Whatever technique you use, when you grab the attention of the audience
you are on your way to a successful speech.

Second, be energetic in delivery.

Speak with variety in your voice. Slow down for a dramatic point and speed
up to show excitement. Pause occasionally for effect. Don't just stand behind the
lectern, but move a step away to make a point.

When you are encouraging your audience, take a step toward them. Gesture
to show how big or wide or tall or small an object is that you are describing.

Demonstrate how something works or looks or moves as you tell about it.
Show facial expression as you speak.
 Smile when talking about something pleasant and let your face show other
emotions as you tell about an event or activity. Whatever your movements, they
should have purpose.

Structure your speech.

Don't have more than two or three main points, and preview in the
beginning what those points will be. With each point, have two or three pieces of
support, such as examples, definitions, testimony, or statistics.

Visual aids are important when you want your audience to understand a
process or concept or understand a financial goal. Line graphs are best for trends.

Bar graphs are best for comparisons and pie graphs are best for showing
distribution of percentages.

Tie your points together with transitions.

These could be signposts such as "First," "Second," or "Finally." Use an

internal summary by simply including the point you just made and telling what
you plan to talk about next. "Now that we have talked about structure, let's move
on to the use of stories," would be an example.

When you have an introduction, two or three main points with support for
each, appropriate transitions, and a conclusion, you will have your speech
organized in a way that the audience can follow you easily.

Tell your own story somewhere in the presentation

Include a personal experience that connects to your speech content, and the
audience will connect with you. You want to help the audience link emotionally
with what you are talking about, and the personal experience does that.

With almost any topic you might choose, you have at least one "war story"
to relate to the topic. When you tell the story, simply start at the beginning and
move chronologically through the narrative, including answers to the "W"
questions: "Who," What, "When," "Why," and "Where."

To add interest and understanding to your speech, include a visual aid.

 A visual aid could be an object, a flip chart, a PowerPoint presentation,
overhead projector slides, or a dry erase board. Whatever visual you are using,
make sure everyone can see it.

The best way to insure this is to put the visual where you will be speaking,
and then find the seat farthest from it and determine if you can read the visual
from that seat. Introduce the visual properly rather than simply throwing it at your
audience; explain what the visual will do before you unveil it.

Don't allow the visual to become a silent demonstration. Keep talking as

you show the visual. You are still the main event and your visual is an aid.

Look at your audience, not your visual. When the visual is not in use, hide
it from the audience. Humans are a curious lot, tending to keep looking at the
object and losing track of the speaker-you!

If you are delivering a persuasive speech, in addition to your own stories

include testimony of experts whom the audience respects and whose views
reinforce your points. Add a key statistic when possible to show the seriousness of
what you are discussing.

For example, if I were discussing the need for improved listening to better
serve your customers, I might add that although we spend half of our
communication time in listening, our listening efficiency is only about 25%. By
using stories, testimony, and statistics in your persuasive talk, you add depth to
your evidence.

Look at the audience as you speak.

If it is a small audience, you can look at each person in a short period of

time. If it is a large audience, look at the audience in small "clumps" and move
from one clump to another.

One way to insure good eye contact is to look at your audience before you
start to speak. Go to the lectern and pause, smile, look at the audience, and then
speak. This will help you maintain good eye contact throughout your presentation
as well as commanding immediate attention.

One of the ways to have consistently good eye contact is not to read your
speech. Use note cards that have key words on them. The word or phrase should
trigger the thought in your mind and then you can speak it.
 If you are including a quotation or complex statistics, reading from your
note card actually lends credibility.

If you write out your speech you will tend to read it and lose eye contact
with the audience, as well as not being as enthusiastic in delivery as when you
speak from note cards.

Include a "wow" factor in your speech.

Something in your speech should make your audience think, "Wow!" It

could be a story, a dramatic point, an unusual statistic, or an effective visual that
helps the audience understand immediately.

With a "wow" factor, you then have something to look forward to in the
speech that you know will have an impact on your audience. You'll become a
more enthusiastic speaker because the "wow" factor will get you as well as your
audience pumped for the speech.

Consider using a touch of humor in your speech.

Don't panic at this suggestion; you are not becoming a comedian but rather
lightening up a serious speech so that people will be more accepting and interested
in your ideas.

Humor will help you to be perceived as an amiable person, and it is hard for
people to disagree or be bored if they are smiling at you.

Until you have lots of experience, keep your humor short. Perhaps inject a
one-liner or a quotation. Yogi Berra said a lot of funny things.

"You can observe a lot just by watching" for example. Tell a short
embarrassing moment in your life that you might have thought not funny at the
time.

Now that you can laugh at the experience, you understand the old adage,
"Humor is simply tragedy separated by time and space." Don't poke fun at your
audience; you should be the object of any shortcoming, showing that you can
laugh at yourself. Avoid long stories or jokes.

Even seasoned speakers know that funny stories soon become unfunny if
they go on too long. Probably the least risky use of humor is a cartoon. The
cartoon is separate from you and if people don't laugh, you don't feel responsible.
(Be sure to secure permission to use it.)

Finally, leave the audience with something to think about.

People remember best what you say last. You might summarize your main
points, or you might complete the statement, "What I want you to do as a result of
this presentation is...." But beyond that, make your last words a thought to ponder.
For example, I might end a speech on becoming a better speaker with "As Cicero
said centuries ago, 'The skill to do comes with the doing.'"

A more modern guide to effective public speaking was penned by some

unknown sage: "Know your stuff. Know whom you are stuffing. Know when they
are stuffed."

One never becomes a "perfect" speaker; developing public speaking skills

is a life-long experience. But the points discussed here will get you started in
becoming the speaker you want to be and the speaker your audience wants to hear.

QUICK TIPS FOR USING YOUR VOICE EFFECTIVELY

Here are eight quick tips on using your voice effectively in a speech,
presentation or training session.

• Make sure you speak loud enough for the audience to hear you.
Nothing is worse than having to strain to hear a speaker present. So, before
you begin a presentation, have someone stand at the back of the room and
tell you if you can be heard.
• Don't shout into the microphone. Conversely, if you are using sound
amplification equipment, avoid the temptation to speak loudly. Before you
begin, have the sound technician adjust the amplifacation so that you can be
heard clearly while using your normal voice.
• Avoid speaking in a monotone. The easiest way to put an audience
to sleep is by speaking in the same tone of voice for a long period of time.
Instead use your natural speech patterns with their variations in pitch.
• Change your delivery pace. By speaking at different speech rates for
short periods, you can add energy and animation to your speech pattern.
Observe the way you speak during a normal conversation with a friend or
colleague. You will notice that sometimes you speak quickly and while at
other times you slow down.
• Slow down for important points. By slowing your speech rate while
delievering your key points, you can convey emphasis and importance.
 • Use the pause. Silence is an excellent exclamation point. By slightly
extending a pause, you can add emphasis to a key point in your
presentation. The best presenters plan their pauses to achieve maximum
impact!
• Drink water. Before your presentation, drink a glass of water. This
can help prevent potential voice problems during your presentation. Keep a
glass of water at the podium and take a sip of water as necessary during the
presentation.
• Check out the national news. News anchors provide some of the best
examples of effective voice usage.

TEN CAUSES OF PUBLIC SPEAKING STRESS

Public speaking is a common source of stress in the modern workplace.

Whether you work alone or with large numbers of people, the chances are high
that you will need to speak in public at some point no matter how much you might
wish to avoid the experience.

If your career goals include taking a leadership role in your organization, you
will almost certainly need to speak regularly to groups, large and small, on your
road to achieving them.

Here are ten common causes of public speaking anxiety and some tips for
avoiding them.

1. Believing that public speaking is inherently stressful. Public

speaking need not be stressful at all. If you correctly understand the causes
of public speaking stress and take care to address them, with practice
speaking in public will become an invigorating and satisfying experience
for you.
2. Thinking you need to be perfect in order to succeed. Perfection is a
goal that few, if any, professional public speakers attain. Your audience
will not expect perfection and neither should you.
3. Trying to cover too much material. Don't try to accomplish too
much in the time you are given. Instead, be realistic with your speech
objectives given the time you are alloted.
4. Having the wrong objectives. Public speaking is about having an
effect on your audience - to educate, motivate or peruade them. This is
where your focus and purpose should be. Concentrate on what will benefit
your audience, not yourself.
5. Trying to please everyone. People are diverse. It is likely that each
individual member of will respond differently to your presentation. It is
unrealistic to expect to please all of them and you should not try to.
 6. Trying to emulate other speakers. You've likely attended more than
a few events where you've listened to professional speakers or trainers give
a presentation. Don't make the mistake of trying to copy their style. Instead,
simply be yourself. This will allow you concentrate your full attention on
your material and your audience.
7. Failing to be personally revealing and humble. Telling personal
stories to illustrate your points can have a profound impact on your
audience and their receptiveness to your message. However, few things will
alienate an audience more quickly than arrogance. Instead, be humble when
speaking about yourself and your achievements and experiences.
8. Expecting the worst. Believe that you will succeed and you are
already more than half way there. The negative outcomes you might
imagine will rarely, if ever, occur and even if they do you can use them to
your advantage. Humor is a great tool for turning a minor disaster into a
memorable teaching moment.
9. Being overprepared. The adage that you can never be too prepared
isn't always true. Take time to develop and foster confidence in your self
and your ability to succeed.

10.Thinking your audience will be as critical of you and your performance

as you are of yourself. Your audience will want you to succeed and will give
you every opportunity to do so. Mistakes and hitches which may appear
glaring to you are likelyto pass unnoticed by the majority of your listeners.

Presentation Tips for Public Speaking

1. Body language

It is important. Standing, walking or moving about with appropriate hand

gesture or facial expression is preferred to sitting down or standing still with head
down and reading from a prepared speech.

Use audio-visual aids or props for enhancement if appropriate and

necessary.

Master the use of presentation software such as PowerPoint well before

your presentation.

Do not over-dazzle your audience with excessive use of animation, sound

clips, or gaudy colors which are inappropriate for your topic.

Do not torture your audience by putting a lengthy document in tiny print

on an overhead and reading it out to them.
2. Speak with conviction

Persuade your audience effectively. The material you present orally should
have the same ingredients as that which are required for a written research paper,
i.e. a logical progression from INTRODUCTION (Thesis statement) to BODY
(strong supporting arguments, accurate and up-to-date information) to
CONCLUSION (re-state thesis, summary, and logical conclusion).

3. Do not read from notes

Don't read from notes for any extended length of time although it is quite
acceptable to glance at your notes infrequently. Speak loudly and clearly.

Sound confident. Do not mumble. If you made an error, correct it, and
continue. No need to make excuses or apologize profusely.

4. Eye contact

Maintain sincere eye contact with your audience.

Use the 3-second method, e.g. look straight into the eyes of a person in the
audience for 3 seconds at a time.

Have direct eye contact with a number of people in the audience, and every
now and then glance at the whole audience while speaking.

Use your eye contact to make everyone in your audience feel involved.

5. Speaking to your audience

Speak to your audience, listen to their questions, respond to their reactions,

adjust and adapt. If what you have prepared is obviously not getting across to your
audience, change your strategy mid-stream if you are well prepared to do so.

Remember that communication is the key to a successful presentation. If

you are short of time, know what can be safely left out. If you have extra time,
know what could be effectively added. Always be prepared for the unexpected.
6. Pause.

Allow yourself and your audience a little time to reflect and think.

Don't race through your presentation and leave your audience, as well as
yourself, feeling out of breath.

7. Add humor

Add humor whenever appropriate and possible.

Keep audience interested throughout your entire presentation.

Remember that an interesting speech makes time fly, but a boring speech is
always too long to endure even if the presentation time is the same.

8. Audio-visual aids

When using audio-visual aids to enhance your presentation, be sure all

necessary equipment is set up and in good working order prior to the presentation.

If possible, have an emergency backup system readily available.

Check out the location ahead of time to ensure seating arrangements for
audience, whiteboard, blackboard, lighting, location of projection screen, sound
system, etc. are suitable for your presentation.

9. Handouts

Have handouts ready and give them out at the appropriate time. Tell
audience ahead of time that you will be giving out an outline of your presentation
so that they will not waste time taking unnecessary notes during your presentation.

10. Know when to stop

Know when to STOP talking.

Use a timer or the microwave oven clock to time your presentation when
preparing it at home.
 Just as you don't use unnecessary words in your written paper, you don't
bore your audience with repetitious or unnecessary words in your oral
presentation.

To end your presentation, summarize your main points in the same way as
you normally do in the CONCLUSION of a written paper.

Remember, however, that there is a difference between spoken words

appropriate for the ear and formally written words intended for reading.

Terminate your presentation with an interesting remark or an appropriate

punch line.

Leave your listeners with a positive impression and a sense of completion.

Do not belabor your closing remarks. Thank your audience and sit down.

11. Report submitting

Have the written portion of your assignment or report ready for your
instructor if required.

Effective Communication

Communication is essentially the transfer of ideas, messages or information

from one person to another.

It is effective when it gets the desired action or response.

Basic communication skills are essential for continued success, whether

personal or professional. At the very base one needs to understand the
communication process.

In order to maintain healthy communication, the two must go through this

process, without bringing in other elements of intellectual thoughts and judgments,
as they tend to harm the harmonious process of message passing and receiving.

From the sender's perspective one needs to have the following essential
skills:

1. Skills to compose the message

 2. Skills to send the message

From the receiver's perspective one needs to have the following essential skills:

The skill of receiving a message

1. Without assumptions

2. Placing biases aside

3. Actively listening

THE ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

When one is required to communicate complicated ideas, one needs to first

and foremost work on improving their skills in communicating.

Firstly, one needs to overcome all language related barriers by first seeking
how to learn English speaking. This is essential, because most people find it
difficult to convey their thoughts, because of a strong influence of their national
language, regional language and mother tongue.

Well, to overcome the language barrier, one can attend English speaking
classes. But then thereafter one also needs to be aware of other nuances involved
in improving communication skills.

In fact, one needs to ensure that as when they communicate they should not
be misunderstood, so as to ensure a free flow of thoughts and ideas, doing away
with stumbling roadblocks.

One way of ensuring that one will not be misunderstood is to look into the
use of ‘scope’. ‘Scope’, essentially refers to the words that combine with each
other in order to create a ‘sense unit’, in a sentence.

For instance, which nouns are covered by a particular verb or preposition.

Often poor punctuation or poor sentence construction brings about ineffective
communications.

There are varied grammatical devices that help to indicate ‘scope’. These
devises can be perfected by constantly practicing grammar. In fact, no matter how
eloquent a speaker or communicator one maybe, one should spend sometime, ever
so often in practicing grammar exercises.

One can refer to the various English speaking books that will help them
improve. In fact, parents can improve their own grammar skills by working on
exercises with their children, making it a family activity, rather than a boring
homework lesson.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS

1. Conversation skills

Effective communication skills can be important components of effective self-

advocacy efforts (Wehmeyer, Agran, & Hughes, 1999). Communication skills
include:

• Knowing when to respond to a statement or question with a relevant

statement or answer,
• Knowing when to initiate a conversation,
• Understanding how to take turns in a conversation,
• Showing interest in others conversations with appropriate body
language (e.g., eye-contact, head nods) and interspersing brief support
statements (e.g., yes, right, okay), and
• Using appropriate paralinguistic characteristics (e.g., volume of
speech intonation, inflection, and voice firmness).

Helping a consumer improve their conversation skills should include a review

of potential problems in conversations. Ineffective or problem conversation skills
include:

• Failing to respond to a question or statement from a conversation

partner,
• Responding to questions or statements with short or abrupt
responses,
• Interrupting another speaker frequently,
• Responding to a question with a change in topic,
 • Responding in a manner that makes fun of or belittles a conversation
partner, and
• Mumbling or unintelligible responses.

Conversational skills can be learned using social skills training and role-play
exercises (Wehmeyer, Agran, & Hughes, 1999).

2. Consider body language

Wehmeyer, Agran, & Hughes (1999) provide a short summary of basic

nonverbal communication skills. Consider how eye-contact, facial expressions,
gestures and body movements all influence communication. Each will be
summarized below.

Eye-contact (Banbury & Hebert, 1992) can reflect many things. Eye-contact
that is:

• Frequent indicates approval or acceptance,

• Averting, squinting, or glaring may mean disapproval, and
• Avoided or when the person is staring off into space can indicate
indifference.

Facial expressions communicate emotions and might include:

• A smile of approval or happiness,

• A frown of disapproval or unhappiness, and
• A scowl of anger with clenched teeth and tightly closed teeth.

Body gestures or movements can be used to augment verbal communications.

Gestures that are frequently seen and familiar include:

• Body A head nod that indicates approval;

• orientation towards a speaker that shows interest in a conversation;
• Shaking the head from side-to-side, folded arms, and physical
distance all express disapproval or an unwillingness to consider
alternatives;
 • Pointing or shaking a finger at someone, thrusting out one’s chin,
clinching a fist can indicate aggression; and
• Tapping feet or fingers and leaning away from a speaker suggests
indifference or boredom.

While there are many more subtle and not so subtle gestures and expressions,
these expressions are all familiar. Look at whether body language and words are
consistent in meaning.

Conflicts between words and body language could lead to confusion. Body
language can also be used to emphasize verbal language.

3. Listening skills

Listening skills are another important component of effective communication

skills.

Consumers may need assistance in identifying auditory communication and

then understanding the meaning. Weymeyer, Agran, and Hughes (1999) provide a
strategy that can be employed to enhance listening skills. This includes:

1. Looking at the speaker so that the speaker knows you are interested
and listening,
2. Asking questions to clarify or confirm meaning,
3. Not Interrupting the speaker, and
4. Taking notes to remember what was said.

4. Practice effective communication

Since every situation is different and there are so many ways to communicate,
it is important that people get the chance to practice effective communication
skills. Some ways to practice are:

• Role-play the various ways of communicating. This consists of

identifying a problem, acting out a potential solution, and discussing the
solution that was presented.
• Observe a mentor communicating in a variety of situations and
settings.
• Share experiences in communication, noting the reactions to what
was said or shown.
• Video-tape an interaction and evaluate the interactions with a
checklist or rating sheet. Consider evaluating the interaction with and
 without an audio component and looking at the congruence between verbal
language and body language.
• Examine body language in photographs and discuss what
interpersonal and personal relationships are reflected.

Effective communication will enhance every aspect of a consumer’s career

development including job attainment (e.g., advocating for a specific job during
the interview process), job maintenance (e.g., requesting an increase in pay based
upon a job well done), and job promotion (e.g., demonstrating and stating relevant
skills).
 ETHICS IN COMMUNICATIONS
INTRODUCTION
Great good and great evil come from the use people make .1
of the media of social communication. Although it is typically
said? And we often shall say here? That "media" do this or
that; these are not blind forces of nature beyond human
control. For even though acts of communicating often do
have unintended consequences, nevertheless people choose
whether to use the media for good or evil ends, in a good or
.evil way
These choices, central to the ethical question, are made not
only by those who receive communication. Viewers,
listeners, readers. But especially by those who control the
instruments of social communication and determine their
structures, policies, and content. They include public officials
and corporate executives, members of governing boards,
owners, publishers and station managers, editors, news
directors, producers, writers, correspondents, and others. For
them, the ethical question is particularly acute: Are the
?media being used for good or evil
The impact of social communication can hardly be .2
exaggerated. Here people come into contact with other
people and with events, form their opinions and values. Not
only do they transmit and receive information and ideas
through these instruments but often they experience living
itself as an experience of media (cf. Pontifical Council for
(Social Communications
Technological change rapidly is making the media of
communication even more pervasive and powerful. "The
advent of the information society is a real cultural
revolution" (Pontifical Council for Culture, Toward a Pastoral
Approach To Culture, 9); and the twentieth century's
dazzling innovations may have been only a prologue to what
.this new century will bring
The range and diversity of media accessible to people in
well-to-do countries already are astonishing: books and
periodical, television and radio, films and videos, audio
recordings, electronic communication transmitted over the
airwaves, over cable and satellite, via the Internet. The
contents of this vast outpouring range from hard news to
pure entertainment, prayer to pornography, contemplation
to violence. Depending on how they use media, people can
grow in sympathy and compassion or become isolated in a
narcissistic, self-referential world of stimuli with near-
narcotic effects. Not even those who shun the media can
avoid contact with others who are deeply influenced by
.them
Along with these reasons, the Church has reasons of her .3
own for being interested in the means of social
communication. Viewed in the light of faith, the history of
human communication can be seen as a long journey from
Babel, site and symbol of communication's collapse (cf. Gun
11:4-8), to Pentecost and the gift of tongues (cf. Acts 2:5-
11)?communication restored by the power of the Spirit sent
by the Son. Sent forth into the world to announce the good
news (cf. Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15), the Church has the
mission of proclaiming the Gospel until the end of time.
Today, she knows, that requires using media (cf. Vatican
Council II, Inter Mirifica, 3; Pope Paul VI, Evangelic Nuntiandi,
45; Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio, 37; Pontifical
Council for Social Communications, Communio et Progressio,
.(126-134, Aetatis Novae, 11
The Church also knows herself to be a communio, a
communion of persons and Eucharistic communities, "rooted
in and mirroring the intimate communion of the Trinity"
(Aetatis Novae, 10; cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, Some Aspects of the Church Understood as
Communion). Indeed, all human communication is grounded
in the communication among Father, Son, and Spirit. But
more than that, Trinitarian communion reaches out to
humankind: The Son is the Word, eternally "spoken" by the
Father; and in and through Jesus Christ, Son and Word made
flesh, God communicates himself and his salvation to women
and men. "In many and various ways God spoke of old to our
fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken
to us by a Son" (Heb 1:1-2). Communication in and by the
Church finds it’s starting point in the communion of love
.among the divine Persons and their communication with us
The Church's approach to the means of social .4
communication is fundamentally positive, encouraging. She
does not simply stand in judgment and condemn; rather, she
considers these instruments to be not only products of
human genius but also great gifts of God and true signs of
the times (cf. Inter Mirifica, 1; Evangelii Nuntiandi, 45;
Redemptoris Missio, 37). She desires to support those who
are professionally involved in communication by setting out
positive principles to assist them in their work, while
fostering a dialogue in which all interested parties,today that
means nearly everyone can participate. These purposes
.underlie the present document
We say again: The media do nothing by themselves; they are
instruments, tools, used as people choose to use them. In
reflecting upon the means of social communication, we must
face honestly the "most essential" question raised by
technological progress: whether, as a result of it, the human
person "is becoming truly better, that is to say more mature
spiritually, more aware of the dignity of his humanity, more
responsible, more open to others, especially the neediest
and the weakest, and readier to give and to aid all" (Pope
.(John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis, 15
We take it for granted that the vast majority of people
involved in social communication in any capacity are
conscientious individuals who want to do the right thing.
Public officials, policy-makers, and corporate executives
desire to respect and promote the public interest as they
understand it. Readers and listeners and viewers want to use
their time well for personal growth and development so that
they can lead happier, more productive lives. Parents are
anxious that what enters their homes through media be in
their children's interests. Most professional communicators
desire to use their talents to serve the human family, and
are troubled by the growing economic and ideological
pressures to lower ethical standards present in many sectors
.of the media
The contents of the countless choices made by all these
people concerning the media are different from group to
group and individual to individual, but the choices all have
ethical weight and are subject to ethical evaluation. To
choose rightly, this choosing need to "know the principles of
.(the moral order and apply them faithfully" (Inter Mirifica, 4
.The Church brings several things to this conversation .5
She brings a long tradition of moral wisdom, rooted in divine
revelation and human reflection (cf. Pope John Paul II, Fides
et Ratio, 36-48). Part of this is a substantial and growing
body of social teaching, whose theological orientation is an
important corrective to "the 'atheistic' solution, which
deprives man of one of his basic dimensions, namely the
spiritual one, and to permissive and consumerist solutions,
which under various pretexts seek to convince man that he
is free from every law and from God himself" (Pope John Paul
II, Centesimus Annus, 55). More than simply passing
judgment, this tradition offers itself in service to the media.
For example, "the Church's culture of wisdom can save the
media culture of information from becoming a meaningless
accumulation of facts" (Pope John Paul II, Message for the
.(33rd World Communications Day, 1999
The Church also brings something else to the conversation.
Her special contribution to human affairs, including the world
of social communication, is "precisely her vision of the
dignity of the person revealed in all its fullness in the
mystery of the Incarnate Word" (Centesimus Annus, 47) In
the words of the Second Vatican Council, "Christ the Lord,
Christ the new Adam, in the very revelation of the mystery of
the Father and of his love, fully reveals man to himself and
.(brings to light his most high calling" (Gaudium et Spes, 22

SOCIAL COMMUNICATION
THAT SERVES THE HUMAN PERSON
Following the Council's Pastoral Constitution on the Church .6
in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes (cf. nos. 30-31), the
Pastoral Instruction on Social Communications Communio et
Progressio makes it clear that the media are called to serve
human dignity by helping people live well and function as
persons in community. Media do this by encouraging men
and women to be conscious of their dignity, enter into the
thoughts and feelings of others, cultivate a sense of mutual
responsibility, and grow in personal freedom, in respect for
.others' freedom, and in the capacity for dialogue
Social communication has immense power to promote
human happiness and fulfillment. Without pretending to do
more than give an overview, we note here, as we have done
elsewhere (cf. Pontifical Council for Social Communications,
Ethics in Advertising, 4-8), some economic, political, cultural,
.educational, and religious benefits
Economic. The market is not a norm of morality or a .7
source of moral value, and market economics can be
abused; but the market can serve the person (cf. Centesimus
Annus, 34), and media play an indispensable role in a
market economy. Social communication supports business
and commerce, helps spur economic growth, employment,
and prosperity, encourages improvements in the quality of
existing goods and services and the development of new
ones, fosters responsible competition that serves the public
interest, and enables people to make informed choices by
.telling them about the availability and features of products
In short, today's complex national and international
economic systems could not function without the media.
Remove them, and crucial economic structures would
.collapse, with great harm to countless people and to society
Political. Social communication benefits society by .8
facilitating informed citizen participation in the political
process. The media draw people together for the pursuit of
shared purposes and goals, thus helping to form and sustain
.authentic political communities
Media are indispensable in today's democratic societies.
They supply information about issues and events, office
holders and candidates for office. They enable leaders to
communicate quickly and directly with the public about
urgent matters. They are important instruments of
accountability, turning the spotlight on incompetence,
corruption, and abuses of trust, while also calling attention
to instances of competence, public-spiritedness, and
.devotion to duty
Cultural. The means of social communication offer people .9
access to literature, drama, music, and art otherwise
unavailable to them, and so promote human development in
respect to knowledge and wisdom and beauty. We speak not
only of presentations of classic works and the fruits of
scholarship, but also of wholesome popular entertainment
and useful information that draw families together, help
people solve everyday problems, raise the spirits of the sick,
.shut-ins, and the elderly, and relieve the tedium of life
Media also make it possible for ethnic groups to cherish and
celebrate their cultural traditions, share them with others,
and transmit them to new generations. In particular, they
introduce children and young people to their cultural
heritage. Communicators, like artists, serve the common
good by preserving and enriching the cultural heritage of
nations and peoples (cf. Pope John Paul II, Letter to Artists,
.(4
Educational. The media are important tools of education .10
in many contexts, from school to workplace, and at many
stages in life. Preschoolers being introduced to the
rudiments of reading and mathematics, young people
seeking vocational training or degrees, elderly persons
pursuing new learning in their latter years? These and many
others have access via these means to rich and growing
.panoply of educational resources
Media are standard instructional tools in many classrooms.
And beyond the classroom walls, the instruments of
communication, including the Internet, conquer barriers of
distance and isolation, bringing learning opportunities to
villagers in remote areas, cloistered religious, the home-
.bound, prisoners, and many others
Religious. Many people's religious lives are greatly .11
enriched through the media. They carry news and
information about religious events, ideas, and personalities;
they serve as vehicles for evangelization and catechesis.
Day in and day out, they provide inspiration,
encouragement, and opportunities for worship to persons
.confined to their homes or to institutions
Sometimes, too, media contribute to people's spiritual
enrichment in extraordinary ways. For example, huge
audiences around the world view and, in a sense, participate
in important events in the life of the Church regularly
telecast via satellite from Rome. And, over the years, media
have brought the words and images of the Holy Father's
.pastoral visits to countless millions
In all these settings: Economic, political, cultural, .12
educational, religious, as well as others, the media can be
used to build and sustain human community. And indeed all
communication ought to be open to community among
.persons
In order to become brothers and sisters, it is necessary to "
know one another. To do this, it is...important to
communicate more extensively and more deeply"
(Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and
Societies of Apostolic Life, Fraternal Life in Community, 29).
Communication that serves genuine community is "more
than the expression of ideas and the indication of emotion.
At its most profound level, it is the giving of self in love"
.((Communio et Progressio, 11
Communication like this seeks the well being and fulfillment
of community members in respect to the common good of
all. But consultation and dialogue are needed to discern this
common good. Therefore it is imperative for the parties to
social communication to engage in such dialogue and submit
themselves to the truth about what is good. This is how the
media can meet their obligation to "witness to the truth
about life, about human dignity, about the true meaning of
our freedom and mutual interdependence" (Pope John Paul
.(II, Message for the 33rd World Communications Day, 1999
SOCIAL COMMUNICATION THAT VIOLATES
THE GOOD OF THE PERSON
The media also can be used to block community and .13
injure the integral good of persons: by alienating people or
marginalizing and isolating them; drawing them into
perverse communities organized around false, destructive
values; fostering hostility and conflict, demonizing others
and creating a mentality of "us" against "them"; presenting
what is base and degrading in a glamorous light, while
ignoring or belittling what uplifts and ennobles; spreading
misinformation and disinformation, fostering trivialization
and banality. Stereotyping? Based on race and ethnicity, sex
and age and other factors, including religion? Is distressingly
common in media. Often, too, social communication
overlooks what is genuinely new and important, including
the good news of the Gospel, and concentrates on the
.fashionable or faddish
.Abuses exist in each of the areas just mentioned
Economic. The media sometimes are used to build and .14
sustain economic systems that serve acquisitiveness and
greed. Neoliberals is a case in point: "Based on a purely
economic conception of man", it "considers profit and the
law of the market as its only parameters, to the detriment of
the dignity of and the respect due to individuals and
peoples" (Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia in America, 156). In
such circumstances, means of communication that ought to
.benefit all are exploited for the advantage of the few
The process of globalization "can create unusual
opportunities for greater prosperity" (Centesimus Annus,
58); but side by side with it, and even as part of it, some
nations and peoples suffer exploitation and marginalization,
falling further and further behind in the struggle for
development. These expanding pockets of privation in the
midst of plenty are seedbeds of envy, resentment, tension,
and conflict. This underlines the need for "effective
international agencies which will oversee and direct the
.(economy to the common good" (Centesimus Annus, 58
Faced with grave injustices, it is not enough for
communicators simply to say that their job is to report things
as they are. That undoubtedly is their job. But some
instances of human suffering are largely ignored by media
even as others are reported; and insofar as this reflects a
decision by communicators, it reflects indefensible
selectivity. Even more fundamentally, communication
structures and policies and the allocation of technology are
factors helping to make some people "information rich" and
others "information poor" at a time when prosperity, and
.even survival, depends on information
In such ways, then, media often contribute to the injustices
and imbalances that give rise to suffering they report. "It is
necessary to break down the barriers and monopolies which
leave so many countries on the margins of development,
and to provide all individuals and nations with the basic
conditions which will enable them to share in development"
(Centesimus Annus, 35). Communications and information
technology, along with training in its use, is one such basic
.condition
Political. Unscrupulous politicians use media for .15
demagoguery and deception in support of unjust policies and
oppressive regimes. They misrepresent opponents and
systematically distort and suppress the truth by propaganda
and "spin". Rather than drawing people together, media then
serve to drive them apart, creating tensions and suspicions
.that set the stage for conflict
Even in countries with democratic systems, it is all too
common for political leaders to manipulate public opinion
through the media instead of fostering informed
participation in the political process. The conventions of
democracy are observed, but techniques borrowed from
advertising and public relations are deployed on behalf of
policies that exploit particular groups and violate
fundamental rights, including the right to life (cf. Pope John
.(Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 70
Often, too, the media popularize the ethical relativism and
utilitarianism that underlie today's culture of death. They
participate in the contemporary "conspiracy against life" by
"lending credit to that culture which presents recourse to
contraception, sterilization, abortion and even euthanasia as
a mark of progress and a victory of freedom, while depicting
as enemies of freedom and progress those positions which
.(are unreservedly pro-life" (Evangelium Vitae, 17
Cultural. Critics frequently decry the superficiality and .16
bad taste of media, and although they are not obliged to be
somber and dull, they should not be tawdry and demeaning
either. It is no excuse to say the media reflect popular
standards; for they also powerfully influence popular
standards and so have a serious duty to uplift, not degrade,
.them
The problem takes various forms. Instead of explaining
complex matters carefully and truthfully, news media avoid
or oversimplify them. Entertainment media feature
presentations of a corrupting, dehumanizing kind, including
exploitative treatments of sexuality and violence. It is
grossly irresponsible to ignore or dismiss the fact that
"pornography and sadistic violence debase sexuality,
corrode human relationships, and exploit individuals?
Especially women and young people, undermine marriage
and family life, foster anti-social behavior and weaken the
moral fibre of society itself" (Pontifical Council for Social
Communications, Pornography and Violence in the
.(Communications Media: A Pastoral Response, 10
On the international level, cultural domination imposed
through the means of social communication also is a serious,
growing problem. Traditional cultural expressions are
virtually excluded from access to popular media in some
places and face extinction; meanwhile the values of affluent,
secularized societies increasingly supplant the traditional
values of societies less wealthy and powerful. In considering
these matters, particular attention should go to providing
children and young people with media presentations that put
.them in living contact with their cultural heritage
Communication across cultural lines is desirable. Societies
can and should learn from one another. But transcultural
communication should not be at the expense of the less
powerful. Today "even the least-widespread cultures are no
longer isolated. They benefit from an increase in contacts,
but they also suffer from the pressures of a powerful trend
toward uniformity" (Toward a Pastoral Approach To Culture,
33). That so much communication now flows in one direction
only? From developed nations to the developing and the
poor? Raises serious ethical questions. Have the rich nothing
to learn from the poor? Are the powerful deaf to the voices
?of the weak
Educational. Instead of promoting learning, media can .17
distract people and cause them to waste time. Children and
young people are especially harmed in this way, but adults
also suffer from exposure to banal, trashy presentations.
Among the causes of this abuse of trust by communicators is
.greed that puts profits before persons
Sometimes, too, media are used as tools of indoctrination,
with the aim of controlling what people know and denying
them access to information the authorities do not want them
to have. This is a perversion of genuine education, which
seeks to expand people's knowledge and skills and help
them pursue worthy purposes, not narrow their horizons and
.harness their energies in the service of ideology
Religious. In the relationship between the means of .18
social communication and religion there are temptations on
.both sides
On the side of the media, these include ignoring or
marginalizing religious ideas and experience; treating
religion with incomprehension, perhaps even contempt, as
an object of curiosity that does not merit serious attention;
promoting religious fads at the expense of traditional faith;
treating legitimate religious groups with hostility; weighing
religion and religious experience by secular standards of
what is appropriate, and favoring religious views that
conform to secular tastes over those that do not; trying to
imprison transcendence within the confines of rationalism
and skepticism. Today's media often mirror the post-modern
state of a human spirit "locked within the confines of its own
immanence without reference of any kind to the
.(transcendent" (Fides et Ratio, 81
The temptations on the side of religion include taking an
exclusively judgmental and negative view of media; failing to
understand that reasonable standards of good media
practice like objectivity and even-handedness may preclude
special treatment for religion's institutional interests;
presenting religious messages in an emotional, manipulative
style, as if they were products competing in a glutted
marketplace; using media as instruments for control and
domination; practicing unnecessary secrecy and otherwise
offending against truth; downplaying the Gospel's demand
for conversion, repentance, and amendment of life, while
substituting a bland religiosity that asks little of people;
encouraging fundamentalism, fanaticism, and religious
.exclusivism that foment disdain and hostility toward others
In short, the media can be used for good or for evil? It is a .19
matter of choice. "It can never be forgotten that
communication through the media is not a utilitarian
exercise intended simply to motivate, persuade or sell. Still
less is it a vehicle for ideology. The media can at times
reduce human beings to units of consumption or competing
interest groups, or manipulate viewers and readers and
listeners as mere ciphers from whom some advantage is
sought, whether product sales or political support; and these
things destroy community. It is the task of communication to
bring people together and enrich their lives, not isolate and
exploit them. The means of social communication, properly
used, can help to create and sustain a human community
based on justice and charity; and, in so far as they do that,
they will be signs of hope" (Pope John Paul II, Message for
.(the 32nd World Communications Day, 1998

SOME RELEVANT ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

Ethical principles and norms relevant in other fields also .20
apply to social communication. Principles of social ethics like
solidarity, subsidiary, justice and equity, and accountability
in the use of public resources and the performance of roles
of public trust are always applicable. Communication must
always be truthful, since truth is essential to individual
.liberty and to authentic community among persons
Ethics in social communication is concerned not just with
what appears on cinema and television screens, on radio
broadcasts, on the printed page and the Internet, but with a
great deal else besides. The ethical dimension relates not
just to the content of communication (the message) and the
process of communication (how the communicating is done)
but to fundamental structural and systemic issues, often
involving large questions of policy bearing upon the
distribution of sophisticated technology and product (who
shall be information rich and who shall be information
poor?). These questions point to other questions with
economic and political implications for ownership and
control. At least in open societies with market economies,
the largest ethical question of all may be how to balance
profit against service to the public interest understood
.according to an inclusive conception of the common good
Even to reasonable people of good will it is not always
immediately clear how to apply ethical principles and norms
to particular cases; reflection, discussion, and dialogue are
needed. We offer what follows with the hope of encouraging
such reflection and dialogue? Among communication policy
makers, professional communicators, ethicists and moralists,
.recipients of communication, and others concerned
In all three areas? Message, process, structural and .21
systemic issues? the fundamental ethical principle is this:
The human person and the human community are the end
and measure of the use of the media of social
communication; communication should be by persons to
.persons for the integral development of persons
Integral development requires a sufficiency of material
goods and products, but it also requires attention to the
"inner dimension" (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 29; cf. 46).
Everyone deserves the opportunity to grow and flourish in
respect to the full range of physical, intellectual, emotional,
moral, and spiritual goods. Individuals have irreducible
dignity and importance, and may never be sacrificed to
.collective interests
A second principle is complementary to the first: The .22
good of persons cannot be realized apart from the common
good of the communities to which they belong. This common
good should be understood in inclusive terms, as the sum
total of worthy shared purposes to whose pursuit community
members jointly commit themselves and which the
.community exists to serve
Thus, while social communication rightly looks to the needs
and interests of particular groups, it should not do so in a
way that sets one group against another? For example, in
the name of class conflict, exaggerated nationalism, racial
supremacy, ethnic cleansing, and the like. The virtue of
solidarity, "a firm and persevering determination to commit
oneself to the common good" (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 38),
ought to govern all areas of social life? Economic, political,
.cultural, religious
Communicators and communication policy makers must
serve the real needs and interests both of individuals and of
groups, at all levels and of all kinds. There is a pressing need
for equity at the international level, where the
misdistribution of material goods between North and South
is exacerbated by a misdistribution of communication
resources and information technology upon which
productivity and prosperity greatly depend. Similar problems
also exist within wealthy countries, "where the constant
transformation of the methods of production and
consumption devalues certain acquired skills and
professional expertise" and "those who fail to keep up with
the times can easily be marginalized" (Centesimus Annus,
.(33
Clearly, then, there is a need for broad participation in
making decisions not only about the messages and
processes of social communication but also about systemic
issues and the allocation of resources. The decision makers
have a serious moral duty to recognize the needs and
interests of those who are particularly vulnerable ?the poor,
the elderly and unborn, children and youth, the oppressed
and marginalized, women and minorities, the sick and
disabled,as well as families and religious groups. Today
especially, the international community and international
communications interests should take a generous and
inclusive approach to nations and regions where what the
means of social communication do,or fail to do,bears a share
of the blame for the perpetuation of evils like poverty,
illiteracy, political repression and violations of human rights,
intergroup and interreligious conflicts, and the suppression
.of indigenous cultures
Even so, we continue to believe that "the solution to .23
problems arising from unregulated commercialization and
privatization does not lie in state control of media but in
more regulation according to criteria of public service and in
greater public accountability. It should be noted in this
connection that, although the legal and political frameworks
within which media operate in some countries are currently
changing strikingly for the better, elsewhere government
intervention remains an instrument of oppression and
.(exclusion" (Aetatis Novae, 5
The presumption should always be in favor of freedom of
expression, for "when people follow their natural inclination
to exchange ideas and declare their opinions, they are not
merely making use of a right. They are also performing a
social duty" (Communio et Progressio, 45). Still, considered
from an ethical perspective, this presumption is not an
absolute, indefeasible norm. There are obvious instances.
For example, libel and slander, messages that seek to foster
hatred and conflict among individuals and groups, obscenity
and pornography, the morbid depiction of violence where no
right to communicate exists. Plainly, too, free expression
should always observe principles like truth, fairness, and
.respect for privacy
Professional communicators should be actively involved in
developing and enforcing ethical codes of behavior for their
profession, in cooperation with public representatives.
Religious bodies and other groups likewise deserve to be
.part of this continuing effort
Another relevant principle, already mentioned, concerns .24
public participation in making decisions about
communications policy. At all levels, this participation should
be organized, systematic, and genuinely representative, not
skewed in favor of particular groups. This principle applies
even, and perhaps especially, where media are privately
.owned and operated for profit
In the interests of public participation, communicators "must
seek to communicate with people, and not just speak to
them. This involves learning about people's needs, being
aware of their struggles and presenting all forms of
communication with the sensitivity that human dignity
requires" (Pope John Paul II, Address to Communications
.(Specialists, Los Angeles, September 15, 1987

Circulation, broadcast ratings, and "box office", along with

market research, are sometimes said to be the best
indicators of public sentiment, in fact, the only ones
necessary for the law of the market to operate. No doubt the
market's voice can be heard in these ways. But decisions
about media content and policy should not be left only to the
market and to economic factors, profits. Since these cannot
be counted on to safeguard either the public interest as a
.whole or, especially, the legitimate interests of minorities
To some extent, this objection may be answered by the
concept of the "niche", according to which particular
periodicals, programs, stations, and channels are directed to
particular audiences. The approach is legitimate, up to a
point. But diversification and specialization organizing media
to correspond to audiences broken down into ever-smaller
units based largely on economic factors and patterns of
consumption should not be carried too far. Media of social
communication must remain an 'Areopagus' (cf. Redemptoris
Missio, 37)?a forum for exchanging ideas and information,
drawing individuals and groups together, fostering solidarity
and peace. The Internet in particular raises concerns about
some of the "radically new consequences it brings: a loss of
the intrinsic value of items of information, an
undifferentiated uniformity in messages that are reduced to
pure information, a lack of responsible feedback and a
certain discouragement of interpersonal relationships"
.((Toward a Pastoral Approach To Culture, 9
Professional communicators are not the only ones with .25
ethical duties. Audiences, recipients have obligations, too.
Communicators attempting to meet their responsibilities
.deserve audiences conscientious about theirs
The first duty of recipients of social communication is to be
discerning and selective. They should inform themselves
about media their structures, mode of operation, contents
and make responsible choices, according to ethically sound
criteria, about what to read or watch or listen to. Today
everybody needs some form of continuing media education,
whether by personal study or participation in an organized
program or both. More than just teaching about techniques,
media education helps people form standards of good taste and truthful moral
.judgment, an aspect of conscience formation
Through her schools and formation programs the Church should provide media
education of this kind (cf. Aetatis Novae, 28; Communio et Progressio, 107).
Directed originally to institutes of consecrated life, the following words have a
broader application: "A community, aware of the influence of the media, should
learn to use them for personal and community growth, with the evangelical clarity
and inner freedom of those who have learned to know Christ (cf. Gal 4:17-23).
The media propose, and often impose, a mentality and model of life in constant
contrast with the Gospel. In this connection, in many areas one hears of the desire
for deeper formation in receiving and using the media, both critically and
fruitfully" (Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of
.(Apostolic Life, Fraternal Life in Community, 34
Similarly, parents have a serious duty to help their children learn how to evaluate
and use the media, by forming their consciences correctly and developing their
critical faculties (cf. Familiaris Consortio, 76). For their children's sake, as well as
their own, parents must learn and practice the skills of discerning viewers and
listeners and readers, acting as models of prudent use of media in the home.
According to their age and circumstances, children and young people should be
open to formation regarding media, resisting the easy path of uncritical passivity,
peer pressure, and commercial exploitation. Families, parents and children
together will find it helpful to come together in groups to study and discuss the
.problems and opportunities created by social communication
Besides promoting media education, the institutions, agencies, and programs .26
of the Church have other important responsibilities in regard to social
communication. First and foremost, the Church's practice of communication
should be exemplary, reflecting the highest standards of truthfulness,
accountability, sensitivity to human rights, and other relevant principles and
norms. Beyond that, the Church's own media should be committed to
communicating the fullness of the truth about the meaning of human life and
history, especially as it is contained in God's revealed word and expressed by the
teaching of the Magisterium. Pastors should encourage use of media to spread the
.(Gospel (cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 822.1
Those who represent the Church must be honest and straightforward in their
relations with journalists. Even though the questions they ask are "sometimes
embarrassing or disappointing, especially when they in no way correspond to the
message we have to get across", one must bear in mind that "these disconcerting
questions are often asked by most of our contemporaries" (Towards a Pastoral
Approach to Culture, 34). For the Church to speak credibly to people today, those
who speak for her have to give credible, truthful answers to these seemingly
.awkward questions
Catholics, like other citizens, have the right of free expression, including the right
of access to the media for this purpose. The right of expression includes
expressing opinions about the good of the Church, with due regard for the integrity
of faith and morals, respect for the pastors, and consideration for the common
good and the dignity of persons (cf. Canon 212.3; Canon 227). No one, however,
has a right to speak for the Church, or imply he or she does, unless properly
designated; and personal opinions should not be presented as the Church's
.(teaching (cf. Canon 227
The Church would be well served if more of those who hold offices and perform
functions in her name received communication training. This is true not only of
seminarians, persons in formation in religious communities, and young lay
Catholics, but Church personnel generally. Provided the media are "neutral, open
and honest", they offer well-prepared Christians "a frontline missionary role" and
it is important that the latter be "well-trained and supported". Pastors also should
offer their people guidance regarding media and their sometimes discordant and
.(even destructive messages (cf. Canon 822.2, 3
Similar considerations apply to internal communication in the Church. A two-way
flow of information and views between pastors and faithful, freedom of expression
sensitive to the well being of the community and to the role of the Magisterium in
fostering it, and responsible public opinion all are important expressions of "the
fundamental right of dialogue and information within the Church" (Aetatis Novae,
.(10; cf. Communio et Progressio, 20
The right of expression must be exercised with deference to revealed truth and the
Church's teaching, and with respect for others' ecclesial rights (cf. Canon 212.1, .2,
.3, Canon 220). Like other communities and institutions, the Church sometimes
needs in fact, is sometimes obliged to practice secrecy and confidentiality. But this
should not be for the sake of manipulation and control. Within the communion of
faith, "holders of office, who are invested with a sacred power, are, in fact,
dedicated to promoting the interests of their brethren, so that all who belong to the
People of God, and are consequently endowed with true Christian dignity, may
through their free and well-ordered efforts toward a common good, attain to
salvation" (Lumen Gentium, 18). Right practice in communication is one of the
.ways of realizing this vision
 CONCLUSI
ON
As the third millennium of the Christian era begins, humankind is well along .27
in creating a global network for the instantaneous transmission of information,
ideas, and value judgments in science, commerce, education, entertainment,
.politics, the arts, religion, and every other field
This network already is directly accessible to many people in their homes and
schools and workplaces? Indeed, wherever they may be. It is commonplace to
view events, from sports to wars, happening in real time on the other side of the
planet. People can tap directly into quantities of data beyond the reach of many
scholars and students just a short time ago. An individual can ascend to heights of
human genius and virtue, or plunge to the depths of human degradation, while
sitting alone at a keyboard and screen. Communication technology constantly
achieves new breakthroughs, with enormous potential for good and ill. As
interactivity increases, the distinction between communicators and recipients
blurs. Continuing research is needed into the impact, and especially the ethical
.implications, of new and emerging media
But despite their immense power, the means of communication are, and will .28
remain, only media? That is to say: instruments, tools, available for both good and
evil uses. The choice is ours. The media do not call for a new ethic; they call for
the application of established principles to new circumstances. And this is a task in
which everyone has a role to play. Ethics in the media is not the business only of
specialists, whether they are specialists in social communication or specialists in
moral philosophy; rather, the reflection and dialogue that this document seeks to
.encourage and assist must be broad and inclusive
Social communication can join people in communities of sympathy and shared .29
interest. Will these communities be informed by justice, decency, and respect for
human rights; will they be committed to the common good? Or will they be selfish
and inward-looking, committed to the benefit of particular groups? Economic,
racial, political, even religious? At others' expense? Will new technology serve all
nations and peoples, while respecting the cultural traditions of each; or will it be a
.tool to enrich the rich and empower the powerful? We have to choose
The means of communication also can be used to separate and isolate. More and
more, technology allows people to assemble packages of information and services
uniquely designed for them. There are real advantages in that, but it raises an
inescapable question: Will the audience of the future be a multitude of audiences
of one? While the new technology can enhance individual autonomy, it has other,
less desirable implications. Instead being a global community, might the 'web' of
the future turn out to be a vast, fragmented network of isolated individuals?
Human bees in their cells? Interacting with data instead of with one another? What
?would become of solidarity? What would become of love? In a world like that
In the best of circumstances, human communication has serious limitations, is
more or less imperfect and in danger of failing. It is hard for people consistently to
communicate honestly with one another, in a way that does no harm and serves the
best interests of all. In the world of media, moreover, the inherent difficulties of
communicating often are magnified by ideology, by the desire for profit and
political control, by rivalries and conflicts between groups, and by other social ills.
Today's media vastly increase the outreach of social communication? Its quantity,
its speed; they do not make the reaching out of mind to mind and heart to heart
.any less fragile, less sensitive, less prone to fail

As we have said, the special contributions which the Church brings to the .30
discussion of these matters are a vision of human persons and their incomparable
dignity and inviolable rights, and a vision of human community whose members
are joined by the virtue of solidarity in pursuit of the common good of all. The
need for these two visions is especially pressing "at a time when we are faced with
the patent inadequacy of perspectives in which the ephemeral is affirmed as a
value and the possibility of discovering the real meaning of life is cast into doubt";
lacking them, "many people stumble through life to the very edge of the abyss
.(without knowing where they are going" (Fides et Ratio, 6
In the face of this crisis, the Church stands forth as an "expert in humanity" whose
expertise "leads her necessarily to extend her religious mission to the various
fields" of human endeavor (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 41; cf. Pope Paul VI,
Populorum Progressio, 13). She may not keep the truth about the human person
and the human community to herself; she must share it freely, always aware that
.people can say no to the truth? And to her
Attempting to foster and support high ethical standards in the use of the means of
social communication, the Church seeks dialogue and collaboration with others:
with public officials, who have a particular duty to protect and promote the
common good of the political community; with men and women from the world of
culture and the arts; with scholars and teachers engaged in forming the
communicators and audiences of the future; with members of other churches and
religious groups, who share her desire that media be used for the glory of God and
the service of the human race (cf. Pontifical Council for Social Communications,
Criteria for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Cooperation in Communications); and
especially with professional communicators? Writers, editors, reporters,
correspondents, performers, producers, technical personnel? Together with
.owners, administrators, and policy makers in this field

Along with its limitations, human communication has in it something of God's .31
creative activity. "With loving regard, the divine Artist passes on to the human
artist"? And, we might say, to the communicator as well?"a spark of his own
surpassing wisdom, calling him to share in his creative power"; in coming to
understand this, artists and communicators "come to a full understanding of
.(themselves, their vocation and their mission" (Letter to Artists, 1
The Christian communicator in particular has a prophetic task, a vocation: to
speak out against the false gods and idols of the day? Materialism, hedonism,
consumerism, narrow nationalism, and the rest? holding up for all to see a body of
moral truth based on human dignity and rights, the preferential option for the poor,
the universal destination of goods, love of enemies, and unconditional respect for
all human life from conception to natural death; and seeking the more perfect
realization of the Kingdom in this world while remaining aware that, at the end of
.(time, Jesus will restore all things and return them to the Father (cf. 1 Cor 15:24
While these reflections are addressed to all persons of good will, not just .32
Catholics, it is appropriate, in bringing them to a close, to speak of Jesus as a
model for communicators. "In these last days" God the Father "has spoken to us
by a Son" (Heb 1:2); and this Son communicates to us now and always the Father's
.love and the ultimate meaning of our lives
While he was on earth Christ revealed himself as the perfect communicator."
Through his incarnation, he utterly identified himself with those who were to
receive his communication, and he gave his message not only in words but in the
whole manner of his life. He spoke from within, that is to say, from out of the
press of his people. He preached the divine message without fear or compromise.
He adjusted to his people's way of talking and to their patterns of thought. And he
."spoke out of the predicament of their time

Throughout Jesus' public life crowds flocked to hear him preach and teach (cf. Mt
8:1,18; Mk 2:2,4.1; Lk 5:1, etc.), and he taught them "as one who had authority"
(Mt 7:29; cf. Mk 1:22; Lk 4:32). He told them about the Father and at the same
time referred them to himself, explaining, "I am the way, and the truth, and the
life" (Jn 14:6) and "he who has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn 14:9). He did not
waste time on idle speech or on vindicating himself, not even when he was
accused and condemned (cf. Mt 26:63, 27:12-14; Mk 15:5, 15:61). For his "food"
was to do the will of the Father who sent him (Jn 4:34), and all he said and did was
.spoken and done in reference to that
Often Jesus' teaching took the form of parables and vivid stories expressing
profound truths in simple, everyday terms. Not only his words but his deeds,
especially his miracles, were acts of communication, pointing to his identity and
manifesting the power of God (cf. Evangelic Nuntiandi, 12). In his
communications he showed respect for his listeners, sympathy for their situation
and needs, compassion for their suffering (e.g., Lk 7:13), and resolute
determination to tell them what they needed to hear, in a way that would command
their attention and help them receive the message, without coercion or
compromise, deception or manipulation. He invited others to open their minds and
hearts to him, knowing this was how they would be drawn to him and his Father
.((e.g., Jn 3:1-15, 4:7-26
Jesus taught that communication is a moral act: "For out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaks. The good man out of his good treasure brings forth well,
and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of
judgment men will render an account for every careless word they utter; for by
your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Mt
12:34-37). He cautioned sternly against scandalizing the "little ones", and warned
that for one who did, "it would be better... if a great millstone were hung round his
neck and he were thrown into the sea" (Mk 9:42; cf. Mt 18:6, Lk 17:2). He was
altogether candid, a man of whom it could be said that "no guile was found on his
lips"; and further: "When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he
suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly" (1 Pt 2:22-
23). He insisted on candor and truthfulness in others, while condemning
hypocrisy, dishonesty? Any kind of communication that was bent and perverse:
"Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from
.(evil" (Mt 5:37
Jesus is the model and the standard of our communicating. For those involved .33
in social communication, whether as policy makers or professional communicators
or recipients or in any other role, the conclusion is clear: "Therefore, putting away
falsehood, let everyone speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one
of another... Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for
edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear" (Eph
4:25,29). Serving the human person, building up human community grounded in
solidarity and justice and love, and speaking the truth about human life and its
final fulfillment in God were, are, and will remain at the heart of ethics in the
.media
 Verbal & Non-verbal Skills

Strong verbal and nonverbal skills are needed to promote both personal
success and the health of the organization.

1. VERBAL SKI.LL

"Verbal skill includes all messages composed of words, either

spoken or written."

Perception, the process of creating meaning based on experience, shapes verbal

communication in several ways.

Perception influences the sender’s attitude toward the receiver, and verbal
messages reflect that attitude.

Properties of verbal skills

 Smoothness of delivery (lacks stuttering, awkward

pauses, etc.)
 Intelligible speech (not too loud or soft, not dropping
off the end of sentences)
 Variable tone (avoidance of a monotonous tone)
 Appropriate sense of humor

Examples

o Small talk or conversation

o Sharing jokes
o Sharing and discussing of ideas (politics, religion, sports,
music, technology, internet, current events, fashion, and movies are
all common topics.)
o Teaching or learning

Verbal vs oral communication

 Scholars in this field usually use a strict sense of the term "verbal",
meaning "of or concerned with words," and do not use "verbal communication" as
a synonym for oral or spoken communication. Thus, vocal sounds that are not
considered to be words, such as a grunt, or singing a wordless note, are nonverbal.

Sign languages and writing are generally understood as forms of verbal

communication, as both make use of words — although like speech, both may
contain paralinguistic elements and often occur alongside nonverbal messages.

Nonverbal communication can occur through any sensory channel — sight,

sound, smell, touch or taste. NVC is important as:

"When we speak (or listen), our attention is focused on words rather than
body language. But our judgement includes both. An audience is simultaneously
processing both verbal and nonverbal cues. Body movements are not usually
positive or negative in and of themselves; rather, the situation and the message
will determine the appraisal." (Givens, 2000, p. 4)

2. Nonverbal communication

"Nonverbal communication is any message other than spoken or

written words that attempts to convey meaning. It includes how a
person uses his or her voice, face, dress, body movement and even
how an office is arranged."

Nonverbal communication (NVC) is usually understood as the process of

communication through sending and receiving wordless messages. Such messages
can be communicated through gesture; body language or posture; facial expression
and eye contact; object communication such as clothing, hairstyles or even
architecture; symbols and infographics.

Speech may also contain nonverbal elements known as paralanguage,

including voice quality, emotion and speaking style, as well as prosodic features
such as rhythm, intonation and stress.

Likewise, written texts have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style,

spatial arrangement of words, or the use of emoticons.

A). Clothing and bodily characteristics

 Elements such as physique, height, weight, hair, skin color, gender, odors,
and clothing send nonverbal messages during interaction.

For example, research into height has generally found that taller people are
perceived as being more impressive. Melamed & Bozionelos (1992) studied a
sample of managers in the UK and found that height was a key factor affecting
who was promoted.

Often people try to make themselves taller, for example, standing on a

platform, when they want to make more of an impact with their speaking.

B). Physical environment

Environmental factors such as furniture, architectural style, interior

decorating, lighting conditions, colors, temperature, noise, and music affect the
behavior of communicators during interaction.

Environmental conditions can alter the choices of words or actions that

communicators use to accomplish their communicative objective.

C). Proxemics

"Proxemics is the study of how people use and perceive the physical
space around them".

The space between the sender and the receiver of a message influences the
way the message is interpreted.
 The perception and use of space varies significantly across cultures and
different settings within cultures. Space in nonverbal communication may be
divided into four main categories: intimate, social, personal, and public space. The
distance between communicators will also depend on sex, status, and social role.

Proxemics was first developed by Edward T. Hall during the 1950s and 60s.
Hall's studies were inspired by earlier studies of how animals demonstrate
territoriality.

The term territoriality is still used in the study of proxemics to explain human
behavior regarding personal space. Hargie & Dickson (2004, p. 69) identify 4 such
territories:

1. Primary territory: this refers to an area that is associated with

someone who has exclusive use of it. For example, a house that others
cannot enter without the owner’s permission.

2. Secondary territory: unlike the previous type, there is no “right” to

occupancy, but people may still feel some degree of ownership of a
particular space. For example, someone may sit in the same seat on train
every day and feel aggrieved if someone else sits there.

3. Public territory: this refers to an area that is available to all, but only
for a set period, such as a parking space or a seat in a library. Although
people have only a limited claim over that space, they often exceed that
claim. For example, it was found that people take longer to leave a parking
space when someone is waiting to take that space.

4. Interaction territory: this is space created by others when they are

interacting. For example, when a group is talking to each other on a
footpath, others will walk around the group rather than disturb it.
D). Chronemics

"Chronemics is the study of the use of time in nonverbal

communication."

The way we perceive time, structure our time and react to time is a powerful
communication tool, and helps set the stage for communication.

Time perceptions include punctuality and willingness to wait, the speed of

speech and how long people are willing to listen.

The timing and frequency of an action as well as the tempo and rhythm of
communications within an interaction contributes to the interpretation of
nonverbal messages. Gudykunst & Ting-Toomey (1988) identified 2 dominant
time patterns:

• Monochronic time schedule (M-time): Time is seen as being very

important and it is characterised by a linear pattern where the emphasis is
on the use of time schedules and appointments. Time is viewed as
something that can be controlled or wasted by individuals, and people tend
to do one thing at a time. The M-pattern is typically found in North
America and Northern Europe.

• Polychronic time schedule (P-time): Personal involvement is more

important than schedules where the emphasis lies on personal relationships
rather than keeping appointments on time. This is the usual pattern that is
typically found in Latin America andMiddle East.

E). Movement and body position

a. Kinesics
 "Kinesics is the study of body movements, facial expressions, and
gestures."

It was developed by anthropologist Ray L. Birdwhistell in the 1950s. Kinesic

behaviors include mutual gaze, smiling, facial warmth or pleasantness, childlike
behaviors, direct body orientation, and the like. Birdwhistell proposed the term
kineme to describe a minimal unit of visual expression, in analogy to a phoneme
which is a minimal unit of sound.

b. Posture

"Posture can be used to determine a participant’s degree of

attention or involvement, the difference in status between communicators, and the
level of fondness a person has for the other communicator."

Studies investigating the impact of posture on interpersonal relationships suggest

that mirror-image congruent postures, where one person’s left side is parallel to
the other’s right side, leads to favorable perception of communicators and positive
speech; a person who displays a forward lean or a decrease in a backwards lean
also signify positive sentiment during communication. Posture is understood
through such indicators as direction of lean, body orientation, arm position, and
body openness.

c. Gesture
 "A gesture is a non-vocal bodily movement intended to
express meaning."

They may be articulated with the hands, arms or body, and also include
movements of the head, face and eyes, such as winking, nodding, or rolling one's
eyes. The boundary between language and gesture, or verbal and nonverbal
communication, can be hard to identify.

According to Ottenheimer (2007), psychologists Paul Ekman and Wallace Friesen

suggested that gestures could be categorised into five types: emblems, illustrators,
affect displays, regulators, and adaptors.

• Emblems are gestures with direct verbal translations, such as a

goodbye wave;
• illustrators are gestures that depict what is said verbally, such as
turning an imaginary steering wheel while talking about driving;
• an affect display is a gesture that conveys emotions, like a smile;
• regulators are gestures that control interaction;
• and finally, an adaptor is a gesture that facilitates the release of
bodily tension, such as quickly moving one's leg.

Gestures can be also be categorised as either speech-independent or speech-

related. Speech-independent gestures are dependent upon culturally accepted
interpretation and have a direct verbal translation.

A wave hello or a peace sign are examples of speech-independent gestures.

Speech related gestures are used in parallel with verbal speech; this form of
nonverbal communication is used to emphasize the message that is being
communicated.

Speech related gestures are intended to provide supplemental information

to a verbal message such as pointing to an object of discussion.

Gestures such as Mudra (Sanskrit) encode sophisticated information

accessible to initiates that are privy to the subtlety of elements encoded in their
tradition.
d. Haptics

"Haptics is the study of touching as nonverbal communication."

"Touches that can be defined as communication include handshakes,

holding hands, kissing (cheek, lips, hand), back slapping, high fives, a pat on the
shoulder, and brushing an arm."

Touching of oneself during communication may include licking, picking,

holding, and scratching. These behaviors are referred to as "adaptor" and may send
messages that reveal the intentions or feelings of a communicator.

The meaning conveyed from touch is highly dependent upon the context of
the situation, the relationship between communicators, and the manner of touch.

e. Eye gaze

"The study of the role of eyes in nonverbal communication is

sometimes referred to as "oculesics".
. "Eye contact can indicate interest, attention,
and involvement."

"Gaze is comprised of the actions of looking while talking, looking

while listening, amount of gaze, and frequency of glances, patterns
of fixation, pupil dilation, and blink rate."

E). Paralanguage

"Paralanguage (sometimes called vocalics) is the study of

nonverbal cues of the voice."
 Various acoustic properties of speech such as tone, pitch and accent,
collectively known as prosody, can all give off nonverbal cues. Paralanguage may
change the meaning of words.

The linguist George L. Trager developed a classification system which consists

of the voice set, voice qualities, and vocalization.[15]

• The voice set is the context in which the speaker is speaking. This
can include the situation, gender, mood, age and a person's culture.
• The voice qualities are volume, pitch, tempo, rhythm, articulation,
resonance, nasality, and accent. They give each individual a unique "voice
print".
• Vocalization consists of three subsections: characterizers, qualifiers
and segregates. Characterizers are emotions expressed while speaking, such
as laughing, crying, and yawning. A voice qualifier is the style of delivering
a message - for example, yelling "Hey stop that!", as opposed to whispering
"Hey stop that". Vocal segregates such as "uh-huh" notify the speaker that
the listener is listening.

F). Dance and Nonverbal Communication

Dance is a form of nonverbal communication that requires the same

underlying faculty in the brain for conceptualization, creativity and memory as
does verbal language in speaking and writing.

Means of self-expression, both forms have vocabulary (steps and gestures

in dance), grammar (rules for putting the vocabulary together) and meaning.
Dance, however, assembles (choreographs) these elements in a manner that more
often resembles poetry, with its ambiguity and multiple, symbolic and elusive
meanings.

Properties of non verbal skills

 Confident stance (standing up straight but not at

attention)
 Relaxed manner (not too tense, not falling asleep)
 Body language in sync with the verbal message
 Leans forward while talking
 Open stance (not close hands)
 Touching conversation partner (only in appropriate
situations, as this can be misinterpreted)
 Smile (but not overdoing)
 Remembers names during conversation
  Express emotions
 Express interpersonal attitudes
 To accompany speech in managing the cues of
interaction between speakers and listeners
 Self-presentation of one’s personality
 Rituals (greetings)

Interaction of verbal and nonverbal communication

When communicating, nonverbal messages can interact with verbal

messages in six ways: repeating, conflicting, complementing, substituting,
regulating and accenting/moderating.

1. Repeating

"Repeating" consists of using gestures to strengthen a verbal message, such

as pointing to the object of discussion.

2. Conflicting

Verbal and nonverbal messages within the same interaction can sometimes
send opposing or conflicting messages.

A person verbally expressing a statement of truth while simultaneously

fidgeting or avoiding eye contact may convey a mixed message to the receiver in
the interaction. Conflicting messages may occur for a variety of reasons often
stemming from feelings of uncertainty, ambivalence, or frustration.

When mixed messages occur, nonverbal communication becomes the

primary tool people use to attain additional information to clarify the situation;
great attention is placed on bodily movements and positioning when people
perceive mixed messages during interactions.

3. Complementing

Accurate interpretation of messages is made easier when nonverbal and

verbal communication complement each other.

Nonverbal cues can be used to elaborate on verbal messages to reinforce

the information sent when trying to achieve communicative goals; messages have
been shown to be remembered better when nonverbal signals affirm the verbal
exchange.
4. Substituting

Nonverbal behavior is sometimes used as the sole channel for

communication of a message. People learn to identify facial expressions, body
movements, and body positioning as corresponding with specific feelings and
intentions.

Nonverbal signals can be used without verbal communication to convey

messages; when nonverbal behavior does not effectively communicate a message,
verbal methods are used to enhance understanding.

5. Regulating

Nonverbal behavior also regulates our conversations. For example,

touching someone's arm can signal that you want to talk next or interrupt.

6. Accenting/Moderating

Nonverbal signals are used to alter the interpretation of verbal messages.

Touch, voice pitch, and gestures are some of the tools people use to accent
or amplify the message that is sent; nonverbal behavior can also be used to
moderate or tone down aspects of verbal messages as well.

For example, a person who is verbally expressing anger may accent the
verbal message by shaking a fist.

REFERENCES

Retrieved from
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Communication_technology"
Categories: Communication

Retrieved from
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonverbal_communication"
Categories: Communication

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