Chapter 6 , Designing Message with Words ,Summary

Designing Message with Words

In the chapter six the author explain about the words and the way we use them to create messages . Words have power , so words should be chosen to give message clarity and avoid misunderstanding .Verbal communication is the use of any linguistic symbols spoken, sign, or written language to accomplish message goals, while verbal style is a set of behaviors that reflect aspects of our individual personality, it also varies depending on the context in which the verbal interaction occurs.There are nine primary verbal communications styles, all of which are used for different purposes. .There are four rules for speaking, : Grammatical rules which include sentence construction, word arrangements, syntax, and language fluidity, talking and interaction rules include topic relevance, length of talking time, clarity, and silence, social rules include greetings, correct word usage, expression styles, and ambiguity, and finally semantic rules include denotative and connotative meanings. Physicians, attorneys, and engineers sometimes use a specialized language known as jargon. Speech rules are a set of verbal speech conventions in message exchange, they includes rules of grammar, interaction, social style and semantics to accomplish. Individuals who are members of a specific community use jargon to describe concepts and tools used in their particular field. social groups and cultures sometimes use slang to informally describe or imply meaning about a subject. The verbal problems may make your message less powerful and more vague like abstraction which is the use of complicated rather than concrete language, bypassing which happens when different meanings are associated with the same word symbol or when different symbols are used to identify the same idea or project, fact inference, this problem arises from insufficient information, misused words which means that words are misapplied, overgeneralization is the use of sweeping statements that do not provide enough information, extremism that means to see the world simplistically. The fear we experience when faced with a certain type of communication interaction called communication apprehension and the key to reduce this is done by preparation. Both persuasion and argumentation come into play often in our role as business communicators to influence behavior, the process of making connections between ideas and evidence is called reasoning , while the reasons are a statement of evidence, support used in an argument. The arguments like one sided and two sided are also clearly defined in this chapter ,One sided argument involves the presentation of only one point of view or one side of an issue, while the two-sided argument presents both sides of an issue- not only the speaker’s position but also opposing views.

The English language is full of words that have different meanings. If you use the word "Crazy " to describe someone's behavior , it can be compliment or a serious perhaps libelous statement . In a social context , describing someone as crazy typically means they are lots of fun, unpredictable and a joy be around . In a clinical context describing someone as crazy implies impairment of mental ability , mental illness or perhaps lack of emotional control. Hence same word can give different meaning depending upon its use to create message .

Creating and Using Meaning

In chapter five the author states the definition of meaning.“Meaning is a difficult concept to define or describe.”We assume when we create and transmit messages to others our meanings are always understood.What means one thing to one person may mean something very different to another person, hence, the meaning we say may not be accepted in the way we intend it to be, and this is caused by the differences on our personal histories ,our sets of experience, and ideas.Differences in meaning can often lead to miscommunication. We assume when we create and transmit messages to others our meanings are always understood. We forget that other people see the world through their own eyes, just as we see it through our own eyes. My understanding of a meaning might completely different from someone else’s understanding of the same meaning. Conveyor-belt flaw is what this flaw is called. We assume when we transmit a message to another person they will automatically understand our message. They will physically get our message but that doesn’t guarantee our meaning will be accepted the way we intended it to beThe messages contain both intended and interpreted meaning. Intended meaning is the meaning the sender has in mind when designing his message, interpreted meaning is the meaning the receiver interprets from the message, when intended and interpreted meaning match, shared meaning created.In order to create meaning the author advice us to come up with a perception, organizing, interpretation, to become aware of what we have received, to ordering and categorizing the information we received like a story, and to analyzing what our experience may mean.
The main lesson of this chapter is just sending the physical message doesn't gurantee the listener can interpret as it would be , the context and the condition really matters .

Listening : A Silent Hero

In the chapter four , the auther is mainly focused on the listening skill that is most frequently used. The auther try to differentiate hearing with listening.Listening is needed for more than just learning and remembering. It is also needed to make important decisions and to understand your fellow employee and client needs.Hearing is defined as, the involuntary physiological process of receiving sound waves through receptors in the ear that transmit them to the brain. Hearing is not the same as listening. You can hear sounds without actually listening to them. When you listen, you are hearing, selecting, attending, interpreting, and remembering sounds.There are several different types of listening processes. Active listening is intrapersonal and interactive. You actively focus on, interpret, and respond verbally and nonverbally to messages. Critical listening requires the listener to comprehend information, make assessments, and decisions about the information they are hearing. Sensitive listening is a supportive process. The listener demonstrates empathy towards the speaker, when the speaker is sharing their thoughts and feelings. This process requires full attention from the listener, and judgment making towards the speaker is out of the question. You must allow the speaker to vent and pay attention to their point of view. When a group discussion is taking place, and people are sharing, identifying, and exploring each other’s meanings and perspectives, it is called dialogue listening. Listening to the sound of waves, or leaves rustling in the wind is called pleasure listening. The sounds are enjoyable, comforting, and relaxing. Casual listening is an informal process of listening. During conversational casual listening, the listener has to listen and speak, but they don’t listen effectively and they don’t concentrate on all the messages or respond to all of them. Polite casual listening is applied when an uninterested listener has to listen to a speaker. The listener appears to be paying attention but is really not, they are just doing it to be polite. It is important to hone one’s listening skills since it’s used more frequently than any other skill in the business world. Hearing a person talk is not the same as listening to them speak. Being a good listener is highly beneficial in the business world.
The human brain is built for conversation, but we achieve better results when we think strategically about listening and make a few simple, deliberate choices that support our conversational goals. Your skill as a listener can make or break your success in leadership, teams, customer relationships, and negotiation.

Mohan Ghimire
Date :01 feb 2009

Assignment 1

Business communication

(Letter of introduction)

I am Mohan Ghimire , currently studying MBA with specialization in Management information System. I did my bachelor degree in computer science from Nepal. It has just four monnth that i have been to US.

I chose this course for the master degree because it is both the combination of the business and the computer technology . I have keen interest particularly in the field of business and information technology. Studying the books related to business and technology, travelling to different places , listening to music , moving through the different internet website with the intent of finding something new in the fielf of technology are the main of hobbies of me .

My family consist of six members . My father is the vice -president and mother is the house wife. My brother has the strong determination in the business field , he has owened his own cloth store.

After completion of the Degree , I have planned to go back to my country and contribute the knowledge that i gained in the business and technolokgy field.

With regards ,

Mohan Ghimire