Communication Skills Flashcards

Flashcards generated from the provided lecture notes on communication skills.

Define Communication

A systemic process in which people interact with and through symbols to create and interpret meaning.

What are the four major functions of communication?

Control, motivation, emotional expression, and information sharing/education.

What is the rhetorical perspective of communication according to Aristotle?

Speaking to the masses to influence them and thus persuade them.

What are the key questions in the Lasswell Model of communication?

Who, Says What, In Which Channel, To Whom, With What Effect?

How are models of communication classified?

Linear or transmission, Interactional, and Transactional.

What are the basic elements of communication?

Sender, message, channel, receiver, noise and feedback.

Define Communication Skills

Skills, abilities and tools that enable individuals to send and receive messages effectively.

What are Communication Barriers?

Any interference in communication between the source or sender and the receiver, leading to distortion or miscommunication.

What are examples of communication barriers?

Physical, psychological, socio-cultural, linguistic (semantic), technical or due to information overload.

What is Filtering (as a barrier to communication)?

Purposely manipulating information so that the receiver will see it more favourably.

What is Selective Perception (as a barrier to communication)?

Occurs when the receiver in the communication process sees and hears things in a selective way based on their needs, motivations, experience/background, and other personal characteristics.

What six nonverbal behaviors are considered universal?

Sadness, Anger, Disgust, Fear, Interest, Surprise, Happiness + Love (SADFISH + L).

What are the categories of nonverbal messages?

Physical appearance, dress, artefacts; Gestures and movements (kinesics); Face and eye behaviour (oculesics); Vocal behaviour (vocalics and paralanguage); Space and distance (proxemics); Touch (Haptics/Tactile); Time (chronemics).

What are the functions of nonverbal messages?

Complementing, Contradicting, Repeating, Regulating, Substituting, Accenting.

What are the five basic types or levels of communication?

Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Group, Public, Mass.

What is listening?

Paying attention to what is being said or interpreting a sound; this process is deliberate or intentional, and deliberate.

What is hearing?

The perception of physical sounds; this activity is involuntary and ongoing; it does not involve interpretation or finding meaning to the sounds received.

What is note taking?

Writing down of key ideas, concepts and issues during a listening activity.

What is Reading?

Decoding written symbols to provide meaning; an interactive process in which the reader's prior knowledge of the world interacts with the message conveyed directly or indirectly by the text.

What are the types of reading skills?

Skimming, scanning, light reading, close reading, and SQ3R/SQ4R.

What is note-making?

The process of writing down main points, arguments and or ideas from written materials.

What is a thesis statement?

The main idea of the text or essay.

What is a topic sentence?

The main idea of a paragraph within a text or essay.

What is determining your purpose?

Knowing the purpose or reason(s) for communicating will help you to decide the tone and presentation strategy, such as to inform, persuade, entertain, and or motivate.

What is Prewriting?

Everything you do before you begin to draft the paper, including research, brainstorming, questioning, and collaboration.

What is Drafting?

The stage when you begin to put the paper in paragraph form.

What is Revising?

Checking to see if the essay fits the thesis, ensuring each paragraph has a topic sentence, smooth transitions, sufficient support, and a clear introduction and conclusion.

What is Editing and Proofreading?

Check your spelling, punctuation, grammar, general writing mechanics and layout.

What are the organizational patterns in writing?

Linear (Chronological Order; Process), Order of Importance (Hierarchical), Spatial Order, Cause and Effect, Comparison and Contrast, Listing/Enumeration, Problem and Solution.

What is a Paragraph?

A group of sentences that work together in unity to explain an idea and to develop a unit of thought.

What are the four main types of paragraphs?

Description paragraphs, narrative paragraphs, persuasive paragraphs and illustration paragraphs.

What is a the Five-Paragraph Essay Structure?

The five paragraph essay format shows you how to organise your writing so that it is clear and logical.

What are the three key elements of an APA in-text citation?

The APA style includes three kinds of information in in-text citations: the author's last name, the work's date of publication, and the page number (when directly quoting).

Why are graphics/visuals used in technical writing?

To increase reader comprehension, provide reference material, facilitate easy comparison of numeric data, summarize numeric data in the text, and add variety to a message.

What 'Words to Define' categories exist?

Familiar words for familiar things; Familiar words for unfamiliar things; Unfamiliar words for familiar things; Unfamiliar words for unfamiliar things.

What types/methods of definition exist?

Informal/parenthetical, Formal/sentence, & Extended/expanded definitions.

What does the expression 'Definition Fallacies' mean?

Where the writer has not explained plainly enough, or the definition may be too broad, where the writer has not focused on what the word means in context.

What is a technical description?

In technical writing, an object or mechanism can be a physical device, used in a procedure, or a procedure itself. Descriptions of objects/mechanisms may be found in user and maintenance manuals, in sales and reference material, and in technical journals.

What should a description of an object and/or mechanism have?

Definition: What is it, and what is its main purpose; Overall appearance; Components; Explanation; Visuals; Conclusion; References.

What is included in technical descriptions?

Technical descriptions broadly include definitions, object/mechanism descriptions and process descriptions.

What does the introduction of a mechanism description include?

The definition, overview, function and components form the introduction of a mechanism description.

What is the operation of an a technical object?

How the object or mechanism works or how it is used.

What questions should be answered to fully describe a process?

What is the process? What is the function of the process/why is it performed?; Where and when does the process take place; Who or what performs the process?; How does the process work?; What are the principal steps of the process?

What are Instructions?

Step by step guidelines/actions of how to do something.

Why are graphics or visuals used in technical writing?

Increase reader comprehension, provide reference material, provide an easy comparison of numeric data, provide numeric data summarised in the text, and add variety to a message.

Give examples of Verbs, Nouns, and Adjectives used in Interpreting/describing data

Verbs: Increased, Rose, Raised, Decreased, Fell, Declined, Dropped, Reduced; Nouns: An increase, A rise, A raise, A decrease, A fall, A decline, A drop; Adjectives: Slight, Gradual/steady, Sharp/dramatic/sudden.

What is Business Writing/Correspondence?

Business writing/correspondence refers to written communication within an organisation, between organisations, and between organisations and customers.

What are the typical parts of a letter?

Sender‘s address, date, receiver‘s address, salutation, subject, body paragraphs, complimentary close, signature and name.

What are the three common types of letter formats?

Fully block format, Modified block format, Semi block format (Indented style).

What is a Memo?

Memo is short for memorandum. A memo is an official document used for internal communication purposes within an organisation.

What does a notice contain?

A notice contains the name of the issuing organisation, the title NOTICE, the date, the subject (heading), the body and the writer‘s name.

What is a meeting?

An assembly of people for a particular purpose.

What is a Notice?

A written announcement of a meeting.

What is an Agenda?

A list of items that a meeting has been called to discuss.

What are Minutes (of a meeting)?

A written official record of resolutions in a meeting.

What is a Meeting?

An assembly of people for a particular purpose. All organisations, groups, and clubs conduct their affairs through meetings.

What are the differnet types of interviews?

A Persuasive interviews, Counselling interviews, Employment interviews, Complaint interviews, Performance Interview/Appraisals, Stress interviews, Exit interviews.

What is a Debate?

a structured argument between two teams of debaters.

What is Persuasive Speaking?

Persuasive techniques utilizing, logos - an appeal to logic; Ethos - appeal based on the character or credibility of the speaker; & Pathos - is an appeal to emotion.