Lesikar−Flatley−Rentz: V. Other Forms of Business 14.

Informal Oral © The McGraw−Hill

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chapter fourteen

Informal Oral Communication

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completing this chapter, you will be able to understand and
use good talking techniques, lead and participate in meetings,
communicate effectively by telephone, dictate messages effectively,
listen well, and understand nonverbal communication. To reach
these goals, you should be able to

1 Discuss talking and its key elements.

2 Explain the techniques for conducting and participating in
meetings.
3 Describe good telephone and voice mail techniques.
4 Describe the techniques of good voice input.
5 Explain the listening problem and how to solve it.
6 Describe the nature and role of nonverbal communication.
Lesikar−Flatley−Rentz: V. Other Forms of Business 14. Informal Oral © The McGraw−Hill
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I N T R O D U C TO RY S I T U AT I O N

Informal Oral Communication on the Job

Your job as assistant director in the Public Relations Department at Mastadon Chemicals, Inc., seems somewhat
different from what you expected. It makes full use of your specialized college training, as you expected; but it also
involves duties for which you did not train because you did not expect them. Most of these duties seem to involve
some form of oral communication. In fact, you probably spend more of your work time in talking and listening than
in any other activity.
To illustrate, take today’s activities. Early this morning, you discussed a morale problem with some of your super-
visors. You don’t think they understood what you said. After that, you conducted a meeting of the special committee
to plan the department’s annual picnic. As chairperson, you ran the meeting. It was a disaster, you felt—everybody
talking at once, interrupting, arguing. It was a wonder that the committee made any progress. It seemed that every-
body wanted to talk but nobody wanted to listen.
In the afternoon, you had other job duties involving oral communication. After you returned from lunch, you must
have had a phone conversation every 20 minutes or so. You felt comfortable with most of these calls, but you thought
some of the callers needed a lesson or two in phone etiquette. Also, using speech recognition in Word, you dictated
a few messages and emails between phone calls.
You most certainly do a lot of talking (and listening) on your job, as do most of the people at Mastadon and just
about everywhere else. Oral communication is a vital part of your work. Perhaps you can become better at it by
studying the following review of oral communication techniques.

As you know, your work will involve oral as well as written communication. The • You will spend more time
talking than writing in
written communication will probably give you more problems, but the oral communi-
business.
cation will take up more of your time. In fact, you are likely to spend more time in oral
communication than in any other work activity.
Much of the oral communication that goes on in business is the informal, person- • Most of your oral
communication will be
to-person communication that occurs whenever people get together. Obviously, we
informal.
all have experience with this form of communication, and most of us do it reasonably
well. But all of us can improve our informal speaking and listening with practice.
In addition to informal talking and listening, various kinds of other more formal • But some of it will be
formal, as in meetings,
oral communication take place in business. Sometimes businesspeople conduct and
phone calls, dictation,
participate in committee meetings, conferences, and group discussions. Often they call speeches, and oral
one another on the phone. Even their messages and reports may begin orally as spoken reports.
dictation. And frequently, they are called upon to make formal presentations: speeches,
lectures, oral reports, and the like. All these kinds of oral communication are a part of
the work that businesspeople do.
This and the following chapter cover these kinds of oral communication. This chap- • This and the following
chapter cover
ter reviews the somewhat less formal kinds: informal talking, listening, participating in
these types of oral
meetings, talking by phone, and dictating. The following chapter presents the two most communication.
formal kinds: public speaking and oral reporting. Together, the two chapters should
give you an understanding of the types of oral communication situations you will
encounter in business.

INFORMAL TALKING
As noted previously, most of us do a reasonably good job of informal talking. In fact, • Most of us talk
reasonably well, but
we do such a good job that we often take talking for granted and overlook the need
probably we can do
for improving our talking ability. Most of us could stand to improve. To improve our better.
talking ability, we need to be aware of its nature and qualities. We need to assess our
abilities. Then we need to work to overcome our shortcomings.

CHAPTER 14 Informal Oral Communication 441

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Business Communication: Communication Communication Companies, 2008
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TECHNOLOGY IN BRIEF

Voice Input Saves Writers Time Creating Documents

Created with Dragon Naturally Speaking. Used with permission.

Definition of Talking
• Think about having no
words to speak. If you
Imagine for a few moments what it would be like to have no words. All that you have
to express your thoughts are grunts, groans, and other such utterances. Of course, you
try to express yourself,
you probably become have various nonverbal symbols such as pointing your fingers, nodding your head, and
frustrated. the like. As you find yourself increasingly in need of expressing yourself, you prob-
ably become more and more emotional and frustrated—to the point of exaggerating
the nonverbal symbols and experiencing many physical symptoms such as redness of
the face, heavy breathing, and an increased heartbeat.
• Thus, we learn words to
control ourselves and the
More than likely, the foregoing analogy describes the way you learned to talk. As a
dependent child, you expressed yourself with screams, cries, and nonverbal symbols.
world about us.
But as you matured, you learned words, and the words greatly reduced the frustrations
• Talking, then, is the oral
expression of knowledge,
of the past. They enabled you to communicate with others more exactly. They enabled
you to relate better to the world about you and to some extent to control it.
viewpoints, and emotions
through words. The foregoing review of how you learned to talk gives us the basis for defining
talking. From it we can derive this definition: Talking is the oral expression of knowl-
• Think about the best and
worst speakers you can
edge, viewpoints, and emotions through words. Also, from this review we can see that
imagine. This contrast talking replaces many of the body movements we made before we were able to talk.
should give you the And as we will see, it is supplemented by various body movements we have acquired
qualities of good talking: as we learned to talk: gestures, facial expressions, body positions, and such.
voice quality, speaking
style, word choice, As a first step in improving your talking ability, think for a moment about the quali-
adaptation. ties you like in a good talker—one with whom you would enjoy talking in ordinary
conversation. Then think about the opposite—the worst conversationalist you can
imagine. If you will get these two images in mind, you can form a good picture of
the characteristics of good talking. Probably this mental picture includes good voice

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C O M M U N I C AT I O N M AT T E R S

Words of Wisdom

Oral communication was consistently identified as the most important competency in evaluating entry-level candidates. The four
oral communication skills identified as most important for entry-level jobs are following instructions, listening, conversing, and
giving feedback.

Jeanne D. Maes, University of South Alabama

Teresa G. Weldy, University of South Alabama
Marjorie L. Icenogle, University of South Alabama

Jeanne D. Maes, Teresa G. Weldy, Marjorie L. Icenogle, “A Managerial Perspective: Oral Communication Is Most Important for Business Students in the
Workplace,” Journal of Business Communication 34 (1997): 78.

quality, excellence in talking style, accuracy of word choice, and adaptation. As these
elements control the overall quality of oral expression, we will now review them.

Elements of Good Talking

The techniques of good talking use four basic elements: (1) voice quality, (2) style,
(3) word choice, and (4) adaptation.

Voice Quality. It should be obvious that good voice quality is central to good • Good voice quality helps
talking. By voice quality we mean the vocal sounds one hears when another speaks. one communicate. It
involves pitch, delivery
Primarily voice quality refers to the pitch and resonance of the sounds made. But for speed, and volume.
our purposes, speed and volume are included. Because we cover these topics in Chap-
ter 15, our review here is brief. We need only to say that voices vary widely—from the
unpleasant to the melodious. Each of us is saddled with the voice given us. But we can
work for improvement.
Perhaps the best way of improving voice quality is first to refer to your life ex- • Study the quality of your
voice and compare it with
periences. From your life experiences you know good voice quality when you hear
what experience tells you
it. You know bad voice quality when you hear it. You know the effect received from is good. Then correct the
talking that is too fast or too slow. You know the effect of talking in a monotone. You shortcomings.
know the effect of a high-pitched voice, a guttural voice, a melodious voice. With this
knowledge in mind, you should analyze your own voice, perhaps with the assistance
of a recorder. Listen carefully to you. Fit what you hear into impressions you have
gained from your life experiences. Then do what you can to improve. It will take
conscious effort.

Style. Talking style refers to how the three parts of voice quality—pitch, speed, and • Style is the blending of
volume—blend together. It is the unique way these parts combine to give personal- pitch, speed, and volume
to form a unique talking
ity to one’s oral expression. As such, style refers to a set of voice behaviors that give personality.
uniqueness to a person.
From the self-analysis described in our review of voice quality, you also should have • A self-analysis of your
talking should show you
a good idea of your talking style. What is the image your talking projects? Does it pro-
your talking style and the
ject sincerity? Is it polished? Smooth? Rough? Dull? After your honest assessment, you image it projects.
should be able to determine your style deficiencies. Then you should work to improve.

Word Choice. A third quality of talking is word choice. Of course, word choice is • Choose words in your
listener’s vocabulary.
related to one’s vocabulary. The larger the vocabulary, the more choices one has. Even Select those that
so, you should keep in mind the need for the recipient to understand the words you appropriately convey the
morality and courtesy
choose. You should choose words you know are in his or her vocabulary. In addition, you intend and respect
the words you choose should be appropriate. They should convey the morality and the listener’s knowledge.

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Good talking is the

foundation for other
types of discourse—
from dictating to
personal meetings to
conducting online and
face-to-face meetings.

courtesy you desire. And they should respect the listener’s knowledge of the subject
matter—that is, they should not talk down to or above the listener.

• Adaptation is fitting Adaptation. Adaptation is the fourth quality of good talking. It is an extension of
the message to the our discussion in the paragraphs above. Adaptation means fitting the message to the
listener. It includes word
selection, but here we intended listener. Primarily this means fitting the words to the listener’s mind. But it
refer to the combined also can include voice and style. To illustrate, the voice, style, and words in an oral
effect of words, voice, message aimed at children would be different for the same message aimed at adults.
and style.
Similarly, these qualities might vary in messages delivered in different cultures as well
as different social situations, work situations, and classrooms.

Courtesy in Talking
• Good talkers are
courteous. They don’t
Our review of talking would not be complete without a comment about the need for
courtesy. Good relations between human beings require courtesy. We all know talkers
attempt to dominate.
who drown out others with their loud voices, who butt in while others are talking, who
attempt to dominate others in conversation. They are universally disliked. Do not be
one of them. Good talkers encourage others to make their voices heard. They practice
courtesy in their conversations.
This emphasis on courtesy does not suggest that you should be submissive in your
conversations—that you should not be aggressive in pressing your points. It means
that you should accord others the courtesy that you expect of them. What we are sug-
• They are assertive, but
they treat others as they gesting is simply the Golden Rule applied to conversation.
want to be treated.

CONDUCTING AND PARTICIPATING

IN MEETINGS
• Meetings involve oral
communication.
From time to time, you will participate in business meetings. They will range from
extreme formality to extreme informality. On the formal end will be conferences and
committee meetings. On the informal end will be discussions with groups of fellow
workers. Whether formal or informal, the meetings will involve communication. In
fact, the quality of the communication will determine their success. As noted in Chap-
ter 10, collaborative report-writing groups should use the suggestions for conducting
effective meetings.

444 PART 5 Other Forms of Business Communication

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TECHNOLOGY IN BRIEF

Collaborative Tools Support Virtual Meetings

sophisticated teleconferencing equipment to work together

from different locations. A typical desktop or laptop with an
Internet connection will work nicely. With the proper system
configuration, meeting participants can both see and hear
others as well as see and work with various software
applications.
Businesses are using this technology with their employ-
ees, their suppliers, and their customers. Some of the uses
include training, sales presentations, review meetings, prod-
uct demonstrations, and much more—sometimes even just-
in-time meetings. All uses help the businesspeople do their
jobs while saving both time and travel costs.
One such meeting tool is GoTo Meeting, a web-based
application, which has won awards for its technology.
Because the technology is scalable, meeting size can vary
Virtual meetings are becoming common in small and widely. And its cost and ease-of-use make it readily avail-
large business alike. No longer do businesses need able to large and small businesses alike.

Your role in a meeting will be that of either leader or participant. Of course, the • In a meeting you will
be either a leader or a
leader’s role is the primary one, but good participation is also vital. The following
participant.
paragraphs review the techniques of performing well in either role.

Techniques of Conducting Meetings

How you conduct a meeting depends on the formality of the occasion. Meetings of such • To lead some formal
meetings, you should
groups as formal committees, boards of directors, and professional organizations usu-
know parliamentary
ally follow generally accepted rules of conduct called parliamentary procedure. These procedure. So study the
very specific rules are too detailed for review here. When you are involved in a formal subject.
meeting, you would do well to study one of the many books covering parliamentary
procedure before the meeting. In addition, you should know and practice the following
techniques. For less formal meetings, you can depart somewhat from parliamentary
procedure and those techniques. But you should keep in mind that every meeting has
goals and that such departures should never hinder you from reaching them.

Plan the Meeting. A key to conducting a successful meeting is to plan it thorough- • In addition, you should
ly. That is, you develop an agenda (a list of topics to be covered) by selecting the items do the following: (1) plan
the items to be covered
that need to be covered to achieve the goals of the meeting. Then arrange these items (the agenda),
in the most logical order. Items that explain or lead to other items should come before
the items that they explain or lead to. After preparing the agenda, make it available to
those who will attend if the meeting is formal. For informal meetings, you may find
keeping the agenda in mind satisfactory.

Follow the Plan. You should follow the plan for the meeting item by item. In most • (2) follow the plan item
meetings the discussion tends to stray and new items tend to come up. As leader, you by item,
should keep the discussion on track. If new items come up during the meeting, you can
take them up at the end—or perhaps postpone them to a future meeting.

Move the Discussion Along. As leader, you should control the agenda. When • (3) move the discussion
one item has been covered, bring up the next item. When the discussion moves off along,

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subject, move it back on subject. In general, do what is needed to proceed through the
items efficiently. But you should not cut off discussion before all the important points
have been made. Thus, you will have to use your good judgment. Your goal is to permit
complete discussion on the one hand and to avoid repetition, excessive details, and
useless comments on the other.

• (4) allow no one to talk Control Those Who Talk Too Much. Keeping certain people from talking too
too much, much is likely to be one of your harder tasks. A few people usually tend to dominate
the discussion. Your task as leader is to control them. Of course, you want the meeting
to be democratic, so you will need to let these people talk as long as they are contribut-
ing to the goals of the meeting. However, when they begin to stray, duplicate, or bring
in useless matter, you should step in. You can do this tactfully and with all the decorum
of business etiquette by asking for other viewpoints or by summarizing the discussion
and moving on to the next topic.

• (5) encourage everybody Encourage Participation from Those Who Talk Too Little. Just as some
to take part, people talk too much, some talk too little. In business groups, those who say little
are often in positions lower than those of other group members. Your job as leader is
to encourage these people to participate by asking them for their viewpoints and by
showing respect for the comments they make.

• (6) control time when Control Time. When your meeting time is limited, you need to determine in ad-
time is limited, and vance how much time will be needed to cover each item. Then, at the appropriate
times, you should end discussion of the items. You may find it helpful to announce the
time goals at the beginning of the meeting and to remind the group members of
the time status during the meeting.

• (7) at appropriate places, Summarize at Appropriate Places. After a key item has been discussed, you
summarize what the should summarize what the group has covered and concluded. If a group decision is
group has covered and
concluded. needed, the group’s vote will be the conclusion. In any event, you should formally
conclude each point and then move on to the next one. At the end of the meeting, you
can summarize the progress made. You also should summarize whenever a review will
help the group members understand their accomplishments. For some formal meet-
ings, minutes kept by a secretary provide this summary.

Techniques for Participating in a Meeting

• As a participant in a
meeting you should
From the preceding discussion of the techniques that a leader should use, you know
something about the things that a participant should do. The following review empha-
sizes them.

• (1) follow the agenda, Follow the Agenda. When an agenda exists, you should follow it. Specifically,
you should not bring up items not on the agenda or comment on such items if others
bring them up. When there is no agenda, you should stay within the general limits of
the goal for the meeting.

• (2) participate in the Participate. The purpose of meetings is to get the input of everybody concerned.
meeting, Thus, you should participate. Your participation, however, should be meaningful. You
should talk only when you have something to contribute, and you should talk when-
ever you have something to contribute. Practice professional etiquette as you work
courteously and cooperatively with others in the group.

• (3) avoid talking too Do Not Talk Too Much. As you participate in the meeting, be aware that other
much, people are attending. You should speak up whenever you have something to say, but
do not get carried away. As in all matters of etiquette, always respect the rights of
others. As you speak, ask yourself whether what you are saying really contributes
to the discussion. Not only is the meeting costing you time, but it is costing other

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people’s time and salaries as well as the opportunity costs of other work they might
be doing.

Cooperate. A meeting by its very nature requires cooperation from all the participants. • (4) cooperate with all
So keep this in mind as you participate. Respect the leader and her or his efforts to make concerned, and
progress. Respect the other participants, and work with them in every practical way.

Be Courteous. Perhaps being courteous is a part of being cooperative. In any event, • (5) practice courtesy.
you should be courteous to the other group members. Specifically, you should respect
their rights and opinions, and you should permit them to speak.

USING THE PHONE

A discussion of business phone techniques may appear trivial at first thought. After all, • Many businesspeople
are discourteous and
most of us have had long experience in using the phone and may feel that we have little
inefficient in phone
to learn about it. No doubt, some of us have excellent phone skills. But you have only communication.
to call a few randomly selected businesses to learn that not everyone who talks on the
phone is proficient in its use. You will get some gruff, cold greetings, and you will be
subjected to a variety of discourtesies. And you will find instances of inefficient use of
time (which, of course, is costly). This is not to say that the problem is major, for most
progressive businesses are aware of the need for good phone habits and do something
about it. But poor phone techniques are found often enough to justify reviewing the
subject of phone use in a business communication textbook.

Need for Favorable Voice Quality

In reviewing good phone techniques, keep in mind that a phone conversation is a • Because only sound is
involved, friendly voices
unique form of oral communication. Only voices are heard; the speakers are not seen.
are important.
Impressions are received only from the words and the quality of the voices. Thus,
when speaking by phone, it is extremely important that you work to make your voice
sound pleasant and friendly.
One often-suggested way of improving your phone voice is to talk as if you were • So talk as if you were
in a face-to-face
face to face with the other person—even smiling and gesturing as you talk if this helps
conversation.
you be more natural. In addition, you would do well to put into practice the suggestions
given earlier in this chapter concerning the use of the voice in speaking (voice quality,
variation in pitch, and speed). Perhaps the best instructional device for this problem
is to record one of your phone conversations. Then judge for yourself how you come
across and what you need to do to improve.

Techniques of Courtesy
If you have worked in business for any length of time, you have probably experienced • Be courteous.
most of the common phone discourtesies. You probably know that most of them are
not intended as discourtesies but result from ignorance or unconcern. The following
review should help you avoid them and incorporate business etiquette into your phone
conversations.
The recommended procedure when you are calling is to introduce yourself immedi- • When calling,
immediately introduce
ately and then to ask for the person with whom you want to talk:
yourself and ask for the
“This is Wanda Tidwell of Tioga Milling Company. May I speak with Mr. José person you want (or
explain your purpose).
Martinez?”

If you are not certain with whom you should talk, explain the purpose of your call:
“This is Wanda Tidwell of Tioga Milling Company. We have a question about your
service warranty. May I talk with the proper executive about it?”

When a secretary or someone else who is screening calls answers the phone, the • When receiving a call,
identify your company
recommended procedure is to first identify the company or office and then to make an or office; then offer
offer of assistance: assistance.

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“Rowan Insurance Company. How may I help you?”

“Ms. Santo’s office. May I help you?”
When a call goes directly into the office of the executive, the procedure is much the
same, except that the executive identifies herself or himself:
“Bartosh Realty. Toby Bartosh speaking. May I help you?”

• Assistants should
avoid offending callers
When an assistant answers for an executive (the usual case), special care should be
taken not to offend the caller. Following a question like “Who is calling?” by “I am
by asking misleading
questions, by making sorry, but Mr. Gordon is not in” leaves the impression that Gordon may be in but does
misleading comments, or not want to talk with this particular caller. A better procedure would be to state directly
“Mr. Gordon is not in right now. May I ask him to return your call?” Or perhaps “May
I tell him who called?” or “Can someone else help you?” could be substituted for the
latter sentence.
• by being inconsiderate in
placing callers on hold.
Especially irritating to callers is being put on hold for unreasonable periods of time.
If the person being called is on another line or involved in some other activity, it may
Let the callers choose,
and check on the hold be desirable to place the caller on hold or ask if the caller would like to leave a mes-
status continually. sage. But good business etiquette dictates that the choice should be the caller’s. If the
hold continues for a period longer than anticipated, the assistant should check back
with the caller periodically showing concern and offering assistance. Equally irritat-
ing is the practice of having an assistant place a call for an executive and then put the
person called on hold until the executive is free to talk. Although it may be efficient to
use assistants for such work, as a matter of courtesy and etiquette the executive should
be ready to talk the moment the call goes through.
• Assistants often screen
calls. They should do this
Assistants to busy executives often screen incoming calls. In doing so, they should
courteously ask the purpose of the calls. The response might prompt the assistant to re-
courteously and honestly.
fer the caller to a more appropriate person in the company. It also might reveal that the
executive has no interest in the subject of the call, in which case the assistant should
courteously yet clearly explain this to the caller. If the executive is busy at the moment,
the assistant should explain this and either suggest a more appropriate time for a call
or promise a callback by the executive. But in no case should the assistant promise a
callback that will not be made. Such a breach of etiquette would likely destroy any
goodwill between the caller and the company.

Effective Phone Procedures

• When calling, state
your purpose early.
At the beginning of a phone conversation that you have initiated, it is good practice
to state the purpose of the call. Then you should cover systematically all the points
Then cover your points
systematically. Plan involved. For really important calls, you should plan your call, even to the point of
important calls. making notes of the points to cover. Then you should follow your notes to make certain
you cover them all.
• Be considerate, listen,
and do not dominate.
Courteous procedure is much the same in a telephone conversation as in a face-to-
face conversation. You listen when the other person is talking. You refrain from inter-
Use time efficiently.
rupting. You avoid dominating the conversation. And perhaps most important of all,
you cover your message quickly, saving time (and money) for all concerned.

Effective Voice Mail Techniques

• Voice mail is becoming
common in business.
Sometimes when the person you are calling is not available, you will be able to leave
a voice message in an electronic voice mailbox. Not only does this save you the time
involved in calling back the person you are trying to reach, but it also allows you to
leave a more detailed message than you might leave with an assistant. However, you
need to be prepared for this to be sure your message is both complete and concise.
• Use it much as you
would any other
You begin the message nearly the same way you would a telephone call. Be as cour-
teous as you would on the telephone and speak as clearly and distinctly as you can. Tell
telephone call.
the listener in a natural way your name and affiliation. Begin with an overview of the
message and continue with details. If you want the listener to take action, call for it at

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the end. If you want the listener to return your call, state that precisely, including when
you can be reached. Slowly give the number where your call can be returned. Close
with a brief goodwill message. For example, as a program coordinator for a profes-
sional training organization, you might leave this message in the voice mailbox of one
of your participants:
This is Ron Ivy from Metroplex Development Institute. I’m calling to remind Ms.
Melanie Wilson about the Chief Executive Round Table (CERT) meeting next week
(Wednesday, July 20) at the Crescent Hotel in Dallas. Dr. Ken Cooper of the Dallas
Aerobics Center will present the program on Executive Health in the 21st Century.
We will begin with breakfast at 7:30 AM and conclude with lunch at noon. Some of the
CERT members will play golf in the afternoon at Dallas Country Club. If Ms. Wilson
would like to join them, I will be glad to make a tee time for her. She can contact me
at 940-240-1003 before 5:00 PM this Friday. We look forward to our Chief Executive
Round Table meeting next Wednesday.

Cell Phones and Their Courteous Use

In recent years the use of cell phones has become ubiquitous. In fact, according to the • Cell phones are widely
used. Their use can be
Yankee Group, 70 percent of all Americans have a cell phone. To say the least, the
annoying.
benefits of this technology have greatly expanded our ability to communicate. Even so,
their use has become an annoyance to 82 percent of Americans and 87 percent of cell
phone users.1 Each of us should be aware of these annoyances and do what we can to
reduce them. We can do this by following these suggestions, any one of which can be
broken in cases of emergency:
1. Turn off the ringer in meetings and other places where it would be disruptive. • You can reduce these
annoyances by following
2. Do not use the cell phone at social gatherings. these suggestions.
3. Do not place the phone on the table while eating.
4. Avoid talking whenever it will annoy others. Usually this means when within
earshot of others.
5. Avoid discussing personal or confidential matters when others can hear you.
6. Do not talk in an excessively loud voice.
7. Preferably call from a quiet place, away from other people.
8. If you must talk while around people, be conscious of them. Don’t hold up lines,
obstruct the movements of others, or such.
9. Avoid using the phone while driving (the law in some states).

USING SPEECH RECOGNITION FOR MESSAGES

AND REPORTS
Dictating messages and reports is probably one of the most underutilized input methods • Dictation is an
underutilized input
for writers today. Speech recognition software has been improved to allow continuous
method.
speech and short setup periods with little training. Additionally, it works with most
standard software applications, and it is inexpensive compared to the value it offers
writers. Not only does such technology spell correctly, it can quickly learn specialized • Today’s software make
the process easy . . .
vocabularies. And it is generally faster for most people than writing by hand or keying
information because most people can speak 140 to 160 words per minute. Although
proofreading dictated documents is a bit different because it involves looking for
homophones (words that sound alike) rather than misspelled or misused words, most
programs offer users the ability to play back the dictation, which will help them catch
other errors.
If you haven’t started dictating documents yet, one of the best ways to learn is to use • and inexpensive.
voice recognition software to handle your email. If you are using Office XP or higher,
you already have the software; you simply need a microphone and a few minutes
1Lee Rainie and Scott Keeter, “Cell Phone Use,” Pew Internet Project, April 2006, 21 June 2006 <http://www.
pewinternet.org/Pds/PIP_cell_phone_study.pdf>.

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for training. Two other excellent programs are Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Simply
Speaking. Once you have the tools, following the steps below will help you become
proficient at dictating.

Techniques of Dictating
• You should (1) get all the Gather the Facts. Your first logical step in dictating is to get all the information you
information you need to need for the message. This step involves such activities as getting past correspondence
avoid interruption later;
from files, consulting with other employees, and ascertaining company policy. Unless
you get all the information you need, you will be unable to work without interruption.

• (2) plan the message Plan the Message. With the facts of the case before you, you next plan the mes-
following the procedures sage. You may prefer to do this step in your mind or to jot down a few notes or an out-
described in preceding
chapters; line. Whatever your preference, your goal in this step is to decide what your message
will be and how you will present it. In this step, you apply the procedures covered in
our earlier review of message and report writing.

• (3) talk through the Make the Words Flow. Your next step is to talk through the message. Simple as
message, this step appears, you are likely to have problems with it. Thinking out loud even to
the computer frightens most of us at first. The result is likely to be slow and awkward
dictation.
• forcing the words to flow
if necessary (you can
Overcoming this problem requires self-discipline and practice. You should force
yourself to concentrate and to make the words flow. Your goal should be to get the
revise later);
words out—to talk through the message. You need not be too concerned about pro-
ducing a polished work on the first effort. You will probably need to revise, perhaps
several times. After you have forced your way through several messages, your need to
revise will decrease and the speed and quality of your dictation will improve.

• (4) speak distinctly for

improved accuracy;
Speak Clearly. Because your dictation must be heard clearly by your system, you
should speak as distinctly as you can. Even small improvements in accuracy—say
from 95 percent to 99 percent—will have big payoffs in the time it takes you to com-
plete documents.

• (5) give the paragraphing, Give Paragraphing, Punctuation, and Other Instructions as Needed. How
punctuation, and other much of the paragraphing, spelling, punctuation, and other mechanics you dictate
instructions as the
system needs; depends on how well trained your system is. The more often you use the software,
the more it knows your dictation style and the fewer instructions it will need. If you
take care to spell out words unknown to your system in addition to training your sys-
tem, it will serve you better. You can see how to dictate effectively in the following
illustration.

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Play Back Intelligently. Although you should try to talk through the message with- • (6) play back when
out interruption, you will sometimes need to stop and get a playback of what you have necessary; and
dictated. But do this only when necessary. More than likely, the need for a playback
results from confused thinking. When you are learning to dictate, however, some confused
thinking is normal. And until you gain experience, you may profit from playbacks.

Proofread for Accuracy. You will find a playback especially helpful at the end of • (7) play back to
the message to give you a check on the overall effect of your words. Additionally, con- proofread for accuracy,
especially checking for
ducting playbacks while visually reading your final document will help you proofread homophone errors.
your document for homophone errors (for example, using “there” for “their”).

Illustration
Many of the preceding techniques are illustrated in the following transcript of a dic- • Here is the exact
transcript of a short
tated routine email message. This example shows all the dictator’s words, including
confirmation message.
punctuation, paragraphing, and corrections, that were spoken after the microphone
was activated. Note that the dictator spells out words that might not be in the program’s
vocabulary. However, if the word were the name of a client one expected to have for
a long time, the name could be added to the program for future use. Also, note that
the program attempts to learn your usage patterns, even the usage of homophones. For
example, if most of the time you used the word sweet rather than suite, the program
would first supply sweet. As the software improves and as your dictation speed im-
proves, the program may be able to select the correct word forms based on context. At
first, though, careful proofreading is essential.
Dear Payton spell that p-a-y-t-o-n cap that comma new paragraph Three crates of
orchard hyphen fresh Florida oranges should be in your store sometime Wednesday
morning as they were shipped today by Greene spell that g-r-e-e-n-e cap that motor
cap that freight cap that period new paragraph As you requested in your August 29
order comma the three hundred sixty-one dollars and sixty cents left paren invoice
cap that 14721 right paren was credited to your account period new paragraph Your
customers will go for these large comma tasty oranges comma I am sure period
They are the best we have handled in months period new paragraph Thanks comma
Payton comma for another opportunity to serve you period new paragraph Sincerely
comma new line Alex

LISTENING
Up to this point, our review of oral communication has been about sending information • Poor listening is
a major cause of
(talking). Certainly, this is an area in which businesspeople need help. But evidence
miscommunication.
shows that the receiving side (listening) causes more problems.

The Nature of Listening

When listening is mentioned, we think primarily of the act of sensing sounds. In human • Listening involves
sensing, filtering, and
communication, of course, the sounds are mainly spoken words. Viewed from a com-
remembering.
munication standpoint, however, the listening process involves the addition of filtering
and remembering.

Sensing. How well we sense the words around us is determined by two factors. One • How well we sense
factor is our ability to sense sounds—how well our ears can pick them up. As you spoken words is
determined by (1) our
know, we do not all hear equally well, although mechanical devices (hearing aids) can ability to sense sounds
reduce our differences in this respect. and
The other factor is our attentiveness to listening. More specifically, this is our mental
concentration—our will to listen. Our mental concentration on the communication • (2) our attentiveness.

symbols that our senses can detect varies from moment to moment. It can range from
almost totally blocking out those symbols to concentrating on them very intensely. From
your own experience, you can recall moments when you were oblivious to the words

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C O M M U N I C AT I O N M AT T E R S

Listening Error in a Chain of Communication

Colonel to the executive officer: “As the general feels the soldiers are unaware of the dangers of drinking impure
water, he wishes to explain the matter to them. Have all personnel fall out in
fatigues at 1400 hours in the battalion area, where the general will address them.
In the event of rain, assemble them in the theater.”
Executive officer to company commander: “By order of the colonel, tomorrow at 1400 hours all personnel will fall out in
fatigues in the battalion area if it rains to march to the theater. There the general
will talk about their unawareness of the dangers of drinking.”
Company commander to lieutenant: “By order of the colonel, in fatigues the personnel will assemble at the theater
at 1400 hours. The general will appear if it rains to talk about the dangers of the
unawareness of drinking.”
Lieutenant to sergeant: “Tomorrow at 1400 hours the troops will assemble at the theater to hear the
general talk about unawareness of drinking dangerously.”
Sergeant to the enlisted personnel: “Tomorrow at 1400 hours the drunken general will be at the theater in his
underwear talking dangerously. We have to go and hear him.”

spoken around you and moments when you listened with all the intensity you could
muster. Most of the time, your listening fell somewhere between these extremes.

• Filtering is the process Filtering. From your study of the communication process in Chapter 1, you know that
of giving symbols interpretation enables you to give meanings to the symbols you sense. In this process,
meanings through the
unique contents of each the contents of your mind serve as a sort of filter through which you give meaning to
person’s mind. incoming messages. This filter is formed by the unique contents of your mind: your
knowledge, emotions, beliefs, biases, experiences, expectations, and such. Thus, you
sometimes give messages meanings different from the meanings that others give them.

• Remembering what we
hear is a part of listening.
Remembering. Remembering what we hear is the third activity involved in
listening. Unfortunately, we retain little of what we hear. We remember many of the
comments we hear in casual conversation for only a short time—perhaps for only a
few minutes or hours. Some we forget almost as we hear them. According to authori-
ties, we even quickly forget most of the message in formal oral communications (such
as speeches), remembering only a fourth after two days.

Improving Your Listening Ability

• To improve your
listening, you must want
Improving your listening is largely a matter of mental conditioning—of concentrating
on the activity of sensing. You have to want to improve it, for listening is a willful act.
to improve it.
If you are like most of us, you are often tempted not to listen or you just find it easier
not to listen. We human beings tend to avoid work, and listening may be work.
• Be alert. Force yourself
to pay attention.
After you have decided that you want to listen better, you must make an effort to pay
attention. How you do this will depend on your mental makeup, for the effort requires
disciplining the mind. You must force yourself to be alert, to pay attention to the word
spoken. Active listening is one technique individuals can use successfully. It involves
focusing on what is being said and reserving judgment. Other components include
sitting forward and acknowledging with “um-hm” and nodding. Back-channeling is
a variation of this technique that groups can use. Users leverage technologies such
as chat and blogs to comment on and enhance presentations in real time, which helps
keep a sharp focus on what is being said. Whatever technique you choose, improve-
ment requires hard work.

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Improve your listening

skills by focusing
your attention on the
speaker and listening
actively.

In addition to working on the improvement of your sensing, you should work on the • Concentrate on
improving your mental
accuracy of your filtering. To do this, you will need to think in terms of what words mean
filtering.
to the speakers who use them rather than what the dictionary says they mean or what they
mean in your mind. You must try to think as the speaker thinks—judging the speaker’s • Think from the speaker’s
viewpoint.
words by the speaker’s knowledge, experiences, viewpoints, and such. Like improving
your sensing, improving your ability to hear what is being said requires conscious effort.
Remembering what you hear also requires conscious effort. Certainly, there are • Consciously try to
remember.
limits to what the mind can retain, but authorities agree that few of us come close to
them. By taking care to hear what is said and by working to make your filtering process
give more accurate meanings to the words you hear, you add strength to the messages
you receive. The result should be improved retention.
In addition to the foregoing advice, various practical steps may prove helpful. • In addition, follow these
Assembled in a classic document titled, “The Ten Commandments of Listening,”2 the practical guidelines
(summarized in italics).
following list summarizes the most useful of them:
1. Stop talking. Unfortunately, most of us prefer talking to listening. Even when we
are not talking, we are inclined to concentrate on what to say next rather than on
listening to others. So you must stop talking before you can listen.
2. Put the talker at ease. If you make the talker feel at ease, he or she will do a
better job of talking. Then you will have better input to work with.
3. Show the talker you want to listen. If you can convince the talker that you are
listening to understand rather than oppose, you will help create a climate for
information exchange. You should look and act interested. Doing things like
reading, looking at your watch, and looking away distracts the talker.
4. Remove distractions. The things you do also can distract the talker. So don’t
doodle, tap with your pencil, shuffle papers, or the like.
5. Empathize with the talker. If you place yourself in the talker’s position and
look at things from the talker’s point of view, you will help create a climate of
understanding that can result in a true exchange of information.
6. Be patient. You will need to allow the talker plenty of time. Remember that not
everyone can get to the point as quickly and clearly as you. And do not interrupt.
Interruptions are barriers to the exchange of information.
2 To some anonymous author goes a debt of gratitude for these classic and often-quoted comments about listening.

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Voice input systems

allow writers to
concentrate on word
choice and message
composition, freeing
them from typing and
spelling concerns. But
careful proofreading
is still essential,
especially for easily
confused words and
sound-alikes.

7. Hold your temper. From our knowledge of the workings of our minds, we know
that anger impedes communication. Angry people build walls between each
other. They harden their positions and block their minds to the words of others.
8. Go easy on argument and criticism. Argument and criticism tend to put the
talker on the defensive. He or she then tends to “clam up” or get angry. Thus,
even if you win the argument, you lose. Rarely does either party benefit from
argument and criticism.
9. Ask questions. By frequently asking questions, you display an open mind and
show that you are listening. And you assist the talker in developing his or her
message and in improving the correctness of meaning.
10. Stop talking! The last commandment is to stop talking. It was also the first. All
the other commandments depend on it.
From the preceding review it should be clear that to improve your listening ability,
you must set your mind to the task. Poor listening habits are ingrained in our makeup.
We can alter these habits only through conscious effort.

THE REINFORCING ROLE OF NONVERBAL

COMMUNICATION
• Nonverbal
communication accounts
In your role of either speaker or listener in oral communication, you will need to be
aware of the nonverbal—nonword—part of your communication. In both roles, non-
for more of a total
message than words do. verbal communication accounts for a larger part of the total message than do the words
you send or receive. Usually, we use nonverbal communication to supplement and
reinforce our words. Sometimes, nonverbal communication communicates by itself.
Because it is so important to our communication, we will look at the nature of nonver-
bal communication and some types of it.

Nature of Nonverbal Communication

• Nonverbal (nonword)
communication means all
Nonverbal or nonword communication means all communication that occurs without
words. As you can see, the subject is a broad one. And because it is so broad, nonver-
communication without
words. It is broad and bal communication is quite vague and imprecise. For instance, a frown on someone’s
imprecise. forehead is sometimes interpreted to mean worry. But could it be that the person has a

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headache? Or is the person in deep thought? No doubt, there could be numerous mean-
ings given to the facial expression.
The number of possible meanings is multiplied even more when we consider the • Cross-cultural
aspects give many
cross-cultural side of communication. As noted in Chapter 16, culture teaches us about
meanings to nonverbal
body positions, movements, and various factors that affect human relationships (inti- communication.
macy, space, time, and such). Thus, the meanings we give to nonverbal symbols will
vary depending on how our culture has conditioned us.
Because of these numerous meanings, you need to be sensitive to what others intend • Be sensitive to intended
nonverbal meanings. Go
with nonverbal communication. And you need to make some allowance for error in the
beyond the obvious.
meanings you receive from nonverbal symbols. As a listener, you need to go beyond
the obvious to determine what nonword symbols mean. As we have said about word
symbols, you need to see what people intend with their nonverbal symbols as well.
Perhaps one good way to grasp the intent of this suggestion is to look at the intended
meanings you have for the nonverbal symbols you use.
Think for a few moments about the smile on your face, a gesture, or such. What do • Realize that nonverbal
symbols can have many
you mean by it? What could it mean to others? Is it exactly as you intend? Could it be
meanings.
interpreted differently? Could someone from a different culture give a different mean-
ing to it? Only if you look at nonverbal symbols through the prism of self-analysis and
realize their multiple meaning potential can you get some idea of how they might be
interpreted differently. And when you become aware of the many differences, you then
can become sensitive to the meaning intended by the nonverbal communication.
In order to become sensitive to the myriad of nonverbal symbols, we will look at
some types of nonverbal communication. Specifically, we will study four types of
communication that occur without words.

Types of Nonverbal Communication

Although there are many ways to classify nonverbal communication, we will examine • Four common
types of nonverbal
four of the more common types: body language, space, time, and paralanguage. These
communication are
four types are especially important to our discussion of speaking and listening. (1) body language,
(2) space, (3) time, and
Body Language. Much of what we say to others without using words is sent through (4) paralanguage.
the physical movements of our bodies. When we wave our arms and fingers, wrinkle • Our bodies send
our foreheads, stand erect, smile, gaze at another, wear a coat and tie, and so on, we nonword messages—
convey certain meanings; and others convey meanings to us in return. In particular, the through arms, fingers,
expressions, posture,
face and eyes, gestures, posture, and physical appearance reflect the inner workings of and so on.
emotions in our bodies.
The face and eyes are by far the most important features of body language. We look • The face and eyes are
the most important.
to the face and eyes to determine much of the meaning behind body language and
nonverbal communication. For example, happiness, surprise, fear, anger, and sadness
usually are accompanied by definite facial expressions and eye patterns. You should be
aware of these two aspects of body language as you speak and listen to others.
Gestures are another way we send nonword messages through our body parts. • Gestures (physical
movements of the
Gestures are physical movements of our arms, legs, hands, torsos, and heads.
arms, legs, torso, and
Through the movement of each of these body parts, we can accent and reinforce head) send nonword
our verbal messages. And we can observe how others punctuate their verbal efforts messages.
with gestures. For example, observe the hand movements of another person while he
or she is talking. As you observe these gestures, you will get a good picture of the
internal emotional state of the person. Moreover, speaking and gestures appear to be
linked. In general, the louder someone speaks, the more emphatic the gestures used,
and vice versa.
Another area of body language is physical appearance—our clothing, hair, and • Physical appearance—
clothing, hair, jewelry,
adornments (jewelry, cosmetics, and such). The appearance of our bodies can affect cosmetics, and so
how our body movements are seen. Consider, for example, how you might perceive on—also communicates.
a speaker at a formal banquet dressed in faded blue jeans. No doubt, the speaker’s
gestures, facial features, posture, and such would be perceived in relation to attire.
Accordingly, you want to make sure that your appearance fits the situation. And you

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want to remember that appearance is an important part of the body messages that are
sent and received in oral communication.

• Space is another type of Space. Another type of nonverbal communication involves space and how it com-
nonverbal language. municates meaning in speaking and listening. How we use space and what we do in
certain spaces we create tell much about us. Thus, each of us has a space language just
as we do a body language. This space language is crafted by our culture.
• Four types of space
exist: (1) intimate,
Authorities tell us that we create four different types of space: intimate (physical
contact to 18 inches); personal (18 inches to 4 feet); social (4 to 12 feet); and public
(2) personal, (3)
social, and (4) public. (12 feet to range of seeing and hearing). In each of these spaces, our communication
Communication behavior behaviors differ and convey different meanings. For example, consider the volume of
differs in each. your voice when someone is 18 inches from you. Do you shout? Whisper? Now con-
trast the tone of your voice when someone is 12 feet away. Unquestionably, there is a
difference, just because of the distance involved.
• Communication
behaviors are learned
Our behaviors in each type of space are learned from our cultures. Thus, you will
need to be sensitive to the spaces of others—especially those from different cultures.
from cultures.
As noted in Chapter 16, when people’s attitudes toward space are different, their ac-
tions are likely to be misinterpreted.

• Time is a third Time. A third type of nonverbal communication involves time. Just as there are body
type of nonverbal language and space language, there is also a time language. That is, how we give
communication.
meaning to time communicates to others. To illustrate, think about how you manage
your daily schedule. Do you arrive early for most appointments? Do you prioritize
phone calls? Do you prepare agendas for meetings? Your response to time in these
ways communicates to others and, of course, others’ use of time communicates to you.
In terms of nonverbal communication, you should recognize that time orientations are
not always the same—especially in the cross-cultural arena—but they do communi-
cate. For Americans, Canadians, and many others from English-speaking countries,
time values are monochronic. Monochronic people tend to view time as linear and
always moving ahead. They expect events to happen at scheduled times. Polychronic
people—such as those from Asian, Arabic, and Spanish-speaking countries—have a
more indefinite view of time. Unlike the monochronic person who expects a meeting
to start precisely at 9:00 AM, the polychronic person sees a 9:00 AM meeting as an
objective to be accomplished if possible. Nevertheless, time orientations become parts
of the messages we send to and receive from one another.

• Paralanguage involves
how we say something.
Paralanguage. Paralanguage, meaning “like language,” is a fourth type of non-
verbal communication. Of all the types, it is the closest to communication with word
symbols. It has to do with the sound of a speaker’s voice, the “how” of it—those hints
and signals in the way words are delivered.
To illustrate, read the following series of statements, emphasizing the underscored
word in each.
I am a good communicator.
I am a good communicator.
I am a good communicator.
I am a good communicator.
I am a good communicator.

• You can change the By emphasizing the underscored word in each statement, you change the mean-
meaning of spoken ing of that statement from the others even though you used the same words. You do
sentences by accenting
different words in each.
so by the way in which the word sequence sounds. As another example, try counting
from 1 to 10 a number of times, each time expressing a different emotional state—say
anxiety, anger, or happiness. The way you state each sequence of numbers will show
• Paralanguage creates
meanings because of
what you intend quite accurately.
speed, pitch, volume, Paralanguage is the communication effect of the speed, pitch, volume, and connec-
and connection of words. tivity of spoken words. Are they fast or slow? Are they high pitched or deep? Are they

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loud and forceful or barely audible? Are they smooth or disjointed? These questions are
examples of the types you would ask to analyze the nonverbal symbols of paralanguage.
The symbols become a part of the meaning that is filtered from a spoken message.
Paralanguage meanings also are conveyed by consistencies and inconsistencies in • Degrees of consistency
between what and how
what is said and how it is said. Depending on the circumstance, a person’s voice may
someone says something
or may not be consistent with the intended word meanings. But you should make convey meaning.
every effort to avoid inconsistencies that will send a confusing message. Consistency
between the words you choose and how you deliver them to create clear meaning
should be your goal.
Senders and receivers have certain expectancies about how a message should • Expectancies about
background, appearance,
sound. Whether real or imagined, people infer background factors (race, occupation,
and personality are part
etc.); physical appearance (age, height, gender); and personality (introversion, social of paralanguage.
orientation, etc.) when they receive and filter voice patterns. When you speak, you
should do whatever you can to influence these expectancies positively. Many of the
suggestions in this chapter and the following one should help you deliver a consistent
and effective message. Active listeners will also want to listen between the lines of a
spoken message to determine the true meaning a speaker is sending.

Other Types of Nonverbal Communication. Other types of nonverbal com- • Two other nonverbal
munication exist. But the preceding four types are the primary forms. For example, types exist, but they are
minor. One is color.
color communicates different meanings to us. Artists, interior decorators, and “image
consultants” believe that different colors project different meanings. What meanings
do you get from red, yellow, black, blue? That you can answer at all should prove that
colors produce meanings in our minds. Applications of the idea to speaking and listen-
ing include visual-aid construction, wardrobe, office decor, and the like. Thus, you
should give more than casual attention to color as a type of nonverbal communication.
Indeed, you will want to create a specific and intended meaning with it.
Still another type of nonverbal communication involves the structure of our physi- • Another is physical
context—office,
cal context—its layout and design. In an office, the physical arrangements—furniture,
carpeting, decorations,
carpeting, size, location, and decorations—all communicate meaning to us and to oth- and such.
ers. These elements provide the context for many of our speaking and listening activi-
ties. As such, we should consider them as part of the messages we send and receive.

SUMMARY BY LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Talking is the oral expression of our knowledge, viewpoints, and emotions. It
depends on four critical factors:
• Voice quality—talking with variations in pitch, delivery, and volume.
1 Discuss talking and its
key elements.

• Speaking style—blending voice quality and personality.

• Word choice—finding the right word or words for the listener.
• Adaptation—fitting a message to the mind of a unique listener.

2
2. In business, you are likely to participate in meetings, some formal and some
informal. Explain the techniques
for conducting and
• If you are in charge of a meeting, follow these guidelines. participating in meetings.
— Know parliamentary procedure for formal meetings.
— Plan the meeting; develop an agenda and circulate it in advance.
— Follow the plan.
— Keep the discussion moving.
— Control those who talk too much.
— Encourage participation from those who talk too little.
— Control time, making sure the agenda is covered.
— Summarize at appropriate times.

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• If you are a participant at a meeting, follow these guidelines:

— Stay with the agenda; do not stray.
— Participate fully.
— But do not talk too much.
— Cooperate.
— Be courteous.

3 Describe good
phone and voice mail
techniques.
3. To improve your phone and voice mail techniques, consider the following:
• Cultivate a pleasant voice.
• Talk as if in a face-to-face conversation.
• Follow courteous procedures.
— When calling, introduce yourself and ask for the person you want.
— State your purpose early.
— Cover points systematically.
— When receiving a call, identify your company or office and offer
assistance.
— When answering for the boss, do not offend by asking questions or making
comments that might give a wrong impression; and do not neglect callers
placed on hold.
— When screening calls for the boss, be courteous and honest.
— Listen when the other person is talking.
— Do not interrupt or dominate.
— Plan long conversations, and follow the plan.
• For good voice mail messages, follow these suggestions:
— Identify yourself by name and affiliation.
— Deliver a complete and accurate message.
— Speak naturally and clearly.
— Give important information slowly.
— Close with a brief goodwill message.
• Demonstrate courtesy when using cell phones by following these general
guidelines:
— Turn off the ringer where it could disrupt others.
— Avoid use at social gatherings.
— Keep the phone off the table during meals.
— Talk only in places where others won’t be in earshot.
— Avoid talking about confidential or private business.
— Keep voice volume down.
— Initiate calls in quiet places away from others.
— Be conscious of others when you talk.
— Avoid talking while driving, especially if it is against the law.

4
4. In dictating messages and reports, follow these suggestions.
Describe the techniques • First, gather all the information you will need so you will not have to interrupt
of good voice input.
your dictating to get it.
• Next, plan (think through) the message.
• Until you are experienced, force the words to flow—then revise.
• Remember, also, to speak in a strong, clear voice.
• Give punctuation and paragraphing in the dictation.

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Lesikar−Flatley−Rentz: V. Other Forms of Business 14. Informal Oral © The McGraw−Hill
Business Communication: Communication Communication Companies, 2008
Making Connections in a
Digital World, 11th Edition

• Play back only when necessary.

• Proofread for accuracy.
5. Listening is just as important as talking in oral communication, but it causes more
problems.
• Listening involves how we sense, filter, and retain incoming messages.
5 Explain the listening
problem and how to
solve it.
• Most of us do not listen well because we tend to avoid the hard work that good
listening requires.
• You can improve your listening with effort.
• Put your mind to it and discipline yourself to be attentive.
• Make a conscious effort to improve your mental filtering of incoming
messages; strive to retain what you hear.
• Follow the practical suggestions offered in “ The Ten Commandments of
Listening.”
6. Nonverbal (nonword) communication is the communication that occurs without
words.
• One major type is body language—the movements of our arms, fingers, facial
muscles, and such.
6 Describe the nature
and role of nonverbal
communication.

— Our face and eyes are the most expressive parts of body language.
— Gestures also send messages.
— Our physical appearance (clothing, cosmetics, jewelry, hairstyle)
communicates about us.
• Space is a second major type of nonverbal communication.
— We create four unique types of spaces: (1) intimate, (2) physical, (3) social,
and (4) public.
— We communicate differently in each space, as determined by our culture.
• How we give meaning to time is a third type of nonverbal communication.
• Meanings the sounds of our voices convey (paralanguage) are a fourth type.
• Color and physical context are minor nonverbal forms.
• In our speaking, we should use nonverbal communication to accent our words.
• In listening, we need to “hear” the nonverbal communication of others.

CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS

1 Talking is a natural occurrence, so we should give it 6 Describe an annoying phone practice that you have
little attention. Discuss. experienced or know about (other than the ones dis-
cussed in the chapter). Explain and/or demonstrate how
2 How do the elements of talking help us communicate it should be corrected.
better?
7 Describe the strengths and weaknesses of voice mail
3 Being able to start a conversation is especially important systems with which you are familiar.
when meeting clients in social settings. Discuss the types
of topics that would and would not be appropriate. 8 Use the Internet to gather information and present a re-
port on recent developments in voice recognition.
4 The people attending a meeting—not the leader—
should determine the agenda. Discuss. 9 Discuss why we have difficulty in listening.

5 As meetings should be democratic, everyone present

10 What can you do to improve your listening?
should be permitted to talk as much as he or she wants 11 Explain how each type of nonverbal communication
without interference from the leader. Discuss. relates to speaking and to listening.

CHAPTER 14 Informal Oral Communication 459

 Lesikar−Flatley−Rentz: V. Other Forms of Business 14. Informal Oral © The McGraw−Hill
Business Communication: Communication Communication Companies, 2008
Making Connections in a
Digital World, 11th Edition

CRITICAL THINKING EXERCISES

Meetings Phoning
Because group meetings are meaningful only when they Make a list of bad phone practices that you have experienced
concern problems that the participants know about and or heard about. With a classmate, first demonstrate the bad
understand, the following topics for meetings involve practice and then demonstrate how you would handle it.
campus situations. For one of these topics, develop a Some possibilities: putting a caller on hold tactlessly, harsh
specific problem that would warrant a group meeting. greeting, unfriendly voice quality, insulting comments (un-
(Example: For student government, the problem might be intended), attitude of unconcern, cold and formal treatment.
“To determine the weaknesses of student government on
this campus and what should be done to correct them.”) Dictating
Then lead the class (or participate) in a meeting on the
Working with the voice recognition feature in Office XP or
topic. Class discussion following the meeting should
higher (or any other your instructor specifies) select a writ-
reinforce the text material and bring out the effective and
ing case from the problems following the chapters on mes-
ineffective parts of the meeting.
sages, Chapters 6, 7, and 8. Then dictate a message. You may
a. Student drinking need to train the software before using it. After you have fin-
b. Scholastic dishonesty ished your dictation, proofread it carefully. Then play back
c. Housing regulations the message for, review one final time.
d. Student–faculty relations
Listening
e. Student government
After the class has been divided into two (or more) teams,
f. Library
the instructor reads some factual information (newspaper
g. Grading standards article, short story, or the like) to only one member of each
h. Attendance policies team. Each of these team members tells what he or she has
i. Varsity athletics heard to a second team member, who in turn tells it to a third
team member—and so on until the last member of each team
j. Intramural athletics
has heard the information. The last person receiving the in-
k. Degree requirements formation reports what she or he has heard to the instructor,
l. Parking who checks it against the original message. The team able to
m. Examination scheduling report the information with the greatest accuracy wins.
n. Administrative policies
Nonverbal
o. University calendar
Using a digital camera or pictures from magazines, get three
p. Homework requirements
to five pictures of men and women with different facial ex-
q. Tuition and fees pressions (happiness, sadness, anger, etc.) or gestures. Ask
r. Student evaluation of faculty those native to your area to identify the emotions or the
s. Community–college relations meanings of the gestures the pictures convey. Then ask at
least three others from different countries (preferably differ-
t. Maintaining files of old examinations for students
ent continents) to identify the emotions. Report your results
u. Wireless Internet availability to the class.

460 PART 5 Other Forms of Business Communication