Professional Communication Terms & Definitions - UTHS Sociology

attitude

values and beliefs that the reciever and sender bring to conversation

relationships

your feelings toward the receiver and vice versa

situation

location of conversation

in a resume the contact info should include

name address email and phone number

in a resume the objective states

the position you want

what is synergy

the interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect that's greater than the sum of the individual elements

innovator

thinks outside the box

information guru

fact checker and reliable expert

consensus seeker

gets everyone's opinion

connector

The person who functions in this role takes ideas that others have shared and builds upon them. This person also functions in the role of taking ideas and pulling them together.

gatekeeper

The person who functions in this role is the one who keeps the group on task, summarizes salient points often, and finds ways to steer members who try to veer from the discussion.

devil's advocate

a person who has the job of criticizing ideas to ensure that their downsides are fully explored

scribe

takes notes, keeps track of time and progress

what is systems theory

organization composed of independent parts coming together to function as one

authoritarian

controlling, works well in a crisis, can achieve results quickly, can be thought of as bullying

democratic

persuasive, leaders ask for team opinion first, moves slower, members feel part of the team

Laissez-faire

observing, team is left on their own, known for delegation, may be less effective in terms of quality and productivity

Microsoft Office 365

collection of office-related applications

Salesforce

Customer Management System

Amazon Web Services

provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments

Box

brings secure content management and collaboration services together

Slack

a chat room for the office

SAP Concur

connects all your expense, travel and invoice spending in one system

Jira

tracks issues and bugs related to your software and Mobile apps

Zoom

a web-based video conferencing tool that allows users to meet online, with or without video

Cisco Meraki

provides unified management of mobile devices, Macs, PCs, and the entire network from a centralized dashboard

One benefit of using Microsoft Office 365 over Microsoft Office package is⏤

the subscription ensures your system is always up to date

A file management system is⏤

a type of software that manages your data files in a computer system

An example of a customer management system is⏤

Salesforce

An example of a chat room for your office is⏤

slack

An example of a web-based video conferencing tool that allows users to meet online, with or without video is⏤

zoom

An example of an app that provides unified management of mobile devices, Macs, PCs, and the entire network from a centralized dashboard⏤

Cisco Meraki

An example of an app that tracks issues and bugs related to your software and Mobile apps is⏤

Jira

An example of an app that connects all your expense, travel and invoice spending in one system is⏤

SAP Concur

An example of an app that brings secure content management and collaboration services together is⏤

box

An example of an app that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments⏤

Amazon Web Services

technical documentation

any type of document that describes the handling, functions, and construction of a technical product

leading

describes the distance between each line of text

kerning

the adjustment of space between pairs of letters to improve its appearance or alter its fit

widows

word or sentence left hanging at the top of the next page

orphans

word or sentence of a paragraph left on the first page

text wrap

the words wrap around a graphic

contrast

arrangement of opposite elements

A consideration when creating and posting technical documentation is ⏤

keeping the corporate branding consistent

The process of adjusting the spacing between characters in a proportional font, usually to achieve a visually pleasing result is called⏤

Kerning

In typography, which term refers to the space between lines?

leading

What is a problem that can occur when correcting orphans and widows?

too much blank space at the bottom of the page

Which of the following is not a consideration when trying to vary font sizes and styles?

creating undue attention to unimportant text

Contrast may be achieved through⏤

font shifts from bold to italics

Comparison

contrast/compares two or more data sets

Relationship

shows connection between two or more variables

Distribution

shows how variables are distributed over time

Composition

displays parts of a whole or change over time

If your goal is to contrast two or more sets of data, you would likely choose a⏤

Comparison chart

If your goal is to show connection between two or more variables, you would likely choose a⏤

Relational Chart

If your goal is to show how variables are dispersed over time, you would likely choose a⏤

Distribution Chart

If your goal is to display change over time, you would likely choose a⏤

Composition Chart

Essential to creating a line graph is (are)⏤

an X and Y axes

If you use a pie graph and find that the slices are about the same size, consider changing to a⏤

bar graph

When using a bar graph, it is best to start with the y-axis at zero because using a mid-number may cause⏤

a skewed narrative

When constructing a table, most experts advise using shading rather than⏤

Gridlines

Encode

convert message into form that can be communicated to others

decode

the interpretation of a message by the receiver

feedback

message sent back to sender

open area

what is known by the person about him/herself and is also known by others

blind area

what is unknown by the person about him/herself but which others know

hidden area

what the person knows about him/herself that others do not know

unknown area

what is unknown by the person about him/herself and is also unknown by others

If you are working in a group and you are setting the timelines for starting a new initiative, at what stage in the decision-making process would you likely be?

Implement the solution

If you are working honing out the details of the problem especially exploring the causes, at what stage of the decision-making process would you likely be?

examine the issue

If you are working collecting as many potential solutions as possible, at what stage of the decision-making process would you likely be?

Brainstorming possible solutions

If you are working to identify pros and cons of each idea, at what stage of the decision-making process would you likely be?

evaluating ideas

The Alpha team was conducting its third meeting when the issue of the date for the prom came up. Michael was adamant the prom had to be in May and it could not conflict with Mother's Day or graduation. Suggestions were made by other team members, but Michael quickly rebutted each idea and re-emphasized his point.

Which role during this heated group discussion did Michael take?

standing your ground

The Alpha team was conducting its third meeting when the issue of the date for the prom came up. The opposition was high between the faction who wanted a May date and the faction that wanted an April date. Joaquin suggested a compromise in which the last weekend in April (April 30th) would be the date. This would allow for pro-April people to get April and the pro-May people to get the date in April next to the first of May.

Which role during this heated group discussion did Joaquin take?

finding the middle ground

The Alpha team was conducting its third meeting when the issue of the date for the prom came up. The opposition was high between the faction who wanted a May date and the faction that wanted an April date. Rachel wanted to have the prom in March but quickly saw that no one else felt the same way. She really did not care which of the other dates were chosen, so she did not say anything for the rest of the meeting.

Which role during this heated group discussion did Rachel take?

sidestepping the issue

The Alpha team was conducting its third meeting when the issue of the date for the prom came up. The opposition was high between the faction who wanted a May date and the faction that wanted an April date. Merrill wasn't sure which date would be best and he was not pleased with the arguing going on. Merrill suggested that each person be allowed to speak for 30 seconds on the reasons he/she felt one way or the other. Another team member wrote notes on the board for a handy reference.

Which role during this heated group discussion did Merrill take?

working together

Using the conflict management model, which step most clearly describes the importance of having a complete understanding of the conflict.

Be clear about all factions and positions are represented

Voting

method of paring down ideas generated by the group into a manageable pool from which to work

Six Thinking Hats

Tool designed to encourage team members to view issues through multiple perspectives.

force field analysis

technique for looking at pros and cons of solution or decision

affinity diagrams

Tool designed to garner as many ideas as possible. These ideas will appear to be random at first.

In building consensus, whose responsibility is it to identify and write out the challenge/problem/issue?

chair

Whose responsibility is it to brainstorm ideas for solutions to the problem?

team member

If an audience had gone to lunch before your presentation in the afternoon, what aspect of audience behavior would most likely be impacted?

motivation

If the audience had strong feelings about the topic on which you were speaking, what aspect of audience behavior might that impact?

attitude

If the audience had little or no experience with the topic on which you were speaking, what characteristic of audiences might be described?

ability

If you as the presenter were trying to convince the audience that recycling was essential to improving the environment, which primary purpose might you be using?

persuade

If you as the presenter were trying to build understanding of a concept, which primary purpose might you be using?

to educate

If you as the presenter were trying to teach your audience a new skill, which primary purpose might you be using?

train