[ESP2] KEY TERMS U1-8

Superior communication skills

will make you marketable in the workplace of the future regardless of the economic climate 

time spent answering emails

• average 12 hours at office

• 5 hours at home

Soft skills, people skills, or emotional intelligence

powerful social skills employers expect. 

Interpersonal skills or professional skills

a combination of communication, logical reasoning, critical-thinking, teamwork, and management skills. 

Smartphone apps

programs or software designed for mobile devices, have contributed to the development of the sharing economy

sharing economy

an economic model in which individuals rent or borrow assets owned by others (think Uber or Lyft). 

Ad hoc teams

are project-based teams that disband once they have accomplished their objectives.

Our future gig economy

may rely on free agents who will be hired on a project basis > traditional full-time, relatively steady jobs.

Active, empathic listening

the most effective form of listening, researchers tell us. 

• when we sincerely strive to understand other’s viewpoints

When we are mindful

meaning fully present

• we build trust and gain respect.  

speech-thought differential. 

The difference between our rate of speaking and our rate of listening/thinking

• listener process 450 words per minute

• speakers talk 125-175 words per minute

Nonverbal communication

includes all unwritten and unspoken messages, whether intended or not

• eye contact, facial expression, body movements, time, space, territory, and appearance and affects how a receiver interprets, or decodes, a message 

culture

the complex system of values, traits, morals, and customs shared by a society

• context: most important dimension, difficult to define

• individualism

• time orientation

• power distance

• communication style.

context

stimuli, environment, or ambience surrounding an event

• low-context cultures: north america, scandinavia, germany)

• high-context cultures: china, japan, middle eastern

Individualism

attitude of independence and freedom from control

• members of low-context cultures

Collectivism

emphasizes membership in organizations, groups, and teams; it encourages acceptance of group values, duties, and decisions.

• members of high-context cultures

cultural convergence

a lessening of group differences and a trend toward greater global similarity particularly in higher individualism and lower power distance.

Monochronic time (M-time)

time perceived as if it were running on a single, linear track

• a precious commodity associated with productivity, efficiency, and money

Polychronic time (P-time)

is viewed as abundant and nonlinear

• an unlimited resource to be enjoyed; it is open and flexible

power distance

measures how people in different societies cope with inequality—in other words, how they relate to more powerful individuals

loneliness epidemic

widespread feeling of loneliness and depression felt by a large portion of the population

digital nationalism

restricted access to the Internet in authoritarian countries around the world.

Splinternet

a fragmentation of the Internet

Ethnocentrism

the belief in the superiority of one’s own ethnic group.

stereotype

an oversimplified, rigid perception of a behavioral pattern or characteristic applied uncritically to groups

tolerance

learning about those who are not like us and being open-minded and receptive to new experiences

empathy

the ability to share sb else’s feelings

understanding our emotional impact on others and making change as a result

• trying to see the world through another’s eyes

• being less judgmental

• seek common ground.

groupthink

Sameness fosters an absence of critical thinking

communication

the transmission of information and meaning from a sender to a receiver.

meaning

the idea, as the sender intended it.

• mood, frame of reference, background, culture, and physical makeup, context

• experiences and assumptions

process of communication achieve its purpose

both the sender and receiver understand the process and how to make it work

beginning of communication process

when the sender has an idea.

encoding

converting the idea into words or gestures that will convey meaning

senders’ alert

receiver’s communication skills, attitudes, background, experiences, and culture

channel

the medium over which the message travels.

noise

anything that interrupts the transmission of a message in the communication process.

receiver

the individual for whom the message is intended

decoding

process of translating the message from its symbol form into meaning

• receptive attitude

• minimizing distractions

feedback

the verbal and nonverbal responses of the receiver

SENDER

• timing the delivery

• provide suitable amount of in4

informational messages

explain procedures, announce meetings, answer questions, and transmit findings

persuasive messages

sell products, convince managers, motivate employees, and win over customers

• indirectly

richness of a channel/ media richness

the extent to which a channel or medium recreates or represents all the information available in the original message

• richer medium: more interactivity and feedback (f2f, live video chat)

• leaner medium: flat, 1 dimensional message (letter, email)

jargon

technical or specialized terms within a field

• use only when the audience (primary and secondary) will understand

research

collecting information about a topic

primary data

come from firsthand experience.

• surveys, interviews, observation, experimentation

secondary data

from reading what others have experienced or observed and written about

• books, magazines, journals, online resources

brainstorming

the spontaneous contribution of ideas by team members

mind mapping

a process for generating and sorting ideas.

• emphasize visual concepts, a single one in the center of a blank page

• associated words and images branch out

outline

organize ideas into a hierarchy

• organize thoughts → word choice, sentence structure

freewriting

a writing technique that involves

• getting your thoughts down quickly

• refining them in later versions.

fragment

a broken-off part of a complex sentence

• can be identified by the words that introduce them such as: "although," "as," "because," "even," "except," "for example," "if," "instead of," "since," "such as," "that," "which," and "when.

run-on sentence ~ fused sentence

a sentence error that results when two independent clauses are incorrectly joined (fused) together without a conjunction (and, or, nor, but) or a semicolon (;)

comma splice

a sentence error that results when a writer joins two independent clauses with a comma

achieve emphasis through mechanics

• underline, italic, bold

• font changes, all caps, dashes, tabulation

• space, color, lines, boxes, columns, titles

achieve emphasis through stylistic

• vivid words

• label main ideas → place first or last, in simple sentence or independent clause

parallelism

a writing technique that produces balanced writing.

dangling modifier

word or phrase it describes is missing from its sentence

• ex: Driving through Malibu Canyon, the ocean came into view.

misplaced modifier

word or phrase it describes is not close enough to be clear.

• ex: Firefighters rescued a dog from a burning car that had a broken leg

paragraph

a group of sentences about one idea.

topic sentence

Expresses the primary idea of the paragraph; often, but not always, comes first in a paragraph

supporting sentences

Illustrate, explain, or strengthen the primary idea/ topic sentence.

paragraphs are coherent

when ideas stick together, and one idea leads logically to the next.

transitional expressions

enable the receiver to anticipate what’s coming, reduce uncertainty, and speed comprehension.

• They signal that a train of thought is moving forward, being developed, possibly detouring, or ending

editing

improving the content and sentence structure of a message

proofreading

correcting its grammar, spelling, punctuation, format, and mechanics of a message

evaluating

analyzing whether a message achieves its purpose

long lead-ins

• sentence introductions that contain unnecessary words

• unnecessary introductory words

unnecessary fillers

expressions such as “there is/are” or “it is/was” that often delay getting to the point of the sentence.

microblogging

short messages exchanged on social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr

trite expressions

stale overused phrases that have lost their vigor

Clichés

expressions that have become exhausted by overuse

slang

composed of informal words with arbitrary and extravagantly changed meanings

• snarky

• lousy

• blowing the budget

• bombed

• b/c, FOMO

buzzwords

technical but often empty expressions that have become fashionable and often are meant to impress > express

• optimize

• impactful

• leveraging

• cost effective

• solutions-oriented

buried verbs

those that are needlessly converted to wordy noun expressions—nominalizations

• "acquire," "establish," and "develop" are made into nouns such as "acquisition," "establishment," and "development." ~ zombie nouns

exuberance

over-the-top intensity or enthusiasm (very, definitely, quite, completely,…)

white space

empty space on a printed page

margins

white space on the left, right, top, and bottom of a block of type → reading area, visual relief, enhance readability

justified margins

When letter and word-spacing are adjusted so that lines are aligned at both left and right margins

>< ragged right

serif typefaces

have small features at the ends of strokes (i.e., Times New Roman, Cambria, Georgia)

• tradition, maturity, formality → body text, longer documents

sans serif typefaces

clean typeface than excludes small features at the ends of strokes (i.e., Arial, Calibri, Gothic, Tahoma, Helvetica, and Univers)

• headings, signs, material that does not require continuous reading

font

a specific style (such as italic) within a typeface family (such as Times New Roman).

• most comfortable: 10-12 point type for body

high skim value

a document design that allows readers to browse quickly and grasp main ideas

• numbered, bulleted lists

• capitalization

• punctuation

• parallelism

Virtual private networks (VPNs)

offer secure access to organizations’ information from any location in the world that provides an Internet connection

Instant messaging (IM)

enables two or more individuals to communicate in real time by exchanging brief text-based messages.

Text messaging, or texting

popular means for exchanging brief messages in real time, usually exchanged via smartphone.

short message service

SMS supplied by a wireless service provider.

Rich communication services (RCS)

promises advanced features such as multimedia-enhanced texts that can be customized for more appealing opt-in text alerts and mobile marketing.

presence functionality

led by IM, texting → helps employees save time by locating coworkers online

phishing

fraudulent schemes

malware

malicious software programs

discovery, disclosure

Any type of message and all other electronic records are subject to discovery (disclosure) and become evidence in lawsuits.

podcasts

digital audio programs distributed over the Internet and usually downloaded on smart electronic devices.

blog

a website or social media platform

• journal entries usually written by one person/ well-crafted articles

• comments added by others/ commentaries on topics

influencers

• loyal fans with a large social media following → create pro5 and blog

• influential plugged-in opinion leaders who boast large online audiences and followers, are invited by retailers to create a profile and blog on its platform.

brand ambassadors

influential online opinion-leaders who are powerful product champions

→ evangelize (~advocate) for brands and services in exchange for compensation and perks

dark web

the black market of the Internet, a mostly illicit network of websites that cannot be accessed by standard search engines and browsers

echo chambers

online communities of like-minded people who embrace narratives confirming their existing views → polarization

disinformation

false news stories, doctored narratives, and propaganda spread on social media to confuse and incite the public → confuse the public.

post-truth era

circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief

deepfakes

doctored video footage that makes people seem to say or do something they did not do