SPCH 1321: Business and Professional Communication (Chapters 1–5)

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key communication models, intercultural competence, active listening, verbal and nonverbal messaging, and conflict resolution techniques from SPCH 1321.

Instrumental Communication

Messages aimed at accomplishing a task or getting a job done.

Identity Management

The practice of presenting an image of oneself that shapes how others perceive and view them.

Downward Communication

Formal communication that flows from superiors to subordinates, consisting of job instructions, job rationale, feedback, and indoctrination.

Upward Communication

Formal messages flowing from subordinates to superiors concerning job activities, unsolved work problems, improvement suggestions, and feelings about the job or colleagues.

Horizontal Communication

Communication between members of an organization at the same hierarchical level used for task coordination, problem-solving, sharing information, conflict resolution, and rapport building.

Utilitarian Approach

An ethical framework that evaluates actions based on achieving the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Culture

A learned set of shared interpretations about beliefs, values, and norms that affect the behaviors of a relatively large group of people.

Co-cultures

Groups that have a clear identity within the majority culture, such as groups based on race/ethnicity, social class, generation, region, or disability.

Totalizing

The act of using one single label to represent the totality of a person.

Monochronic Time

A concrete cultural orientation that treats time as a linear commodity to be saved, spent, and budgeted.

Polychronic Time

An elastic cultural orientation toward time that embraces multiple simultaneous activities and flexible schedules.

High Context Culture

A culture where very little meaning is expressed directly in words, requiring communicators to deduce meaning from contextual cues, nonverbal communication, and situational background.

Low Context Culture

A culture where thoughts and ideas are expressed directly through explicit verbal statements rather than subtle situational context.

Ethnocentrism

The inclination to see all events from the perspective of one's own culture and to evaluate one's own culture as superior.

Organizational Culture

A relatively stable, shared set of rules about how to behave and a set of values about what is important for an organization.

Herzberg's Theory of Hygiene vs. Motivation

A workplace theory establishing that hygiene factors like pay and working conditions prevent dissatisfaction but are insufficient to motivate, which requires challenge, autonomy, and inherently rewarding tasks.

Rapid Thought

A physiological listening barrier occurring because listeners can process speech at approximately $500\,\text{wpm}$ while people speak at only about $125\,\text{wpm}$.

Relational Listening Style

A people-focused listening style primarily concerned with connecting with others and understanding their emotions and relationships.

Analytical Listening Style

A process-focused listening style emphasizing the withholding of judgment until all details and perspectives of a message are examined.

Task-Oriented Listening Style

A time- and action-focused listening style focused on efficiency, clarity, and getting straight to the point.

Critical Listening Style

A content-focused listening style that analyzes messages for evidence, accuracy, and logical consistency.

Counterfeit Questions

Disguised statements or manipulative prompts designed to trap a speaker or give advice rather than genuinely seek information.

Basic Communication Fidelity (BCF)

The degree or extent to which the message sent by the sender matches the message received by the listener.

Low-Level Abstractions

Specific, concrete statements that refer directly to observable objects, dates, or events.

High-Level Abstractions

Broad statements that cover a wide range of possible objects or events without providing descriptive details.

Relative Words

Ambiguous terms that derive their precise meaning only in relation to other reference points, such as "soon."

Strategic Ambiguity

The intentional use of ambiguous language to reach a desired communicative or organizational goal.

Trigger Words

Terms that set off intense, automatic, and defensive emotional reactions in listeners.

Rapport-talk

A characteristically feminine language style oriented toward establishing connections, maintaining relationships, and showing support.

Report-talk

A characteristically masculine language style focused on delivering information, asserting authority, solving problems, and demonstrating expertise.

Paralanguage

Nonverbal vocal cues accompanying speech, including tone, pitch, volume, and pauses.

Workplace Dignity

A person's ability to gain a sense of self-respect and self-esteem from their job and to be treated respectfully by others at work.

Communication Climate

The underlying nature of interpersonal relationships in work groups, describing the prevailing emotional tone of an organization or relationship.

Incivility

The exchange of seemingly inconsequential, inconsiderate words and deeds that violate conventional workplace conduct standards.

Negotiation

The interactive process where two or more parties discuss specific proposals to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.

PEACE Technique

A five-step conflict resolution method: Problem (describe it), Effects (describe results), Analysis (identify causes), Collaborate (find a solution), and Evaluate (review progress later).