Purposive Communication: Multimodal Communication and Communication for Work Purposes

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering multimodal communication, oral presentations, email etiquette, professional cover letters, workplace communication directions, and job interview frameworks.

Digital communication

Communication mediated by electronic and networked technologies, such as email, social media, video calls, and learning platforms.

Media

The forms or channels through which information is carried, such as print, sound recordings, video, or digital platforms.

Mode

A socially developed resource for making meaning, such as language, images, sound, gesture, or spatial arrangement.

Medium

A material or technological means of creating and delivering communication, such as a printed poster, smartphone, podcast feed, or presentation application.

Affordance

A useful possibility offered by a communication mode or tool (for example, a map showing geographical relationships faster than a paragraph).

Multimodal text

A text that combines two or more meaning-making modes (such as linguistic, visual, audio, gestural, or spatial) to communicate meaning.

Multiliteracies

A broader concept of literacy introduced by the New London Group (1996) that accounts for expanding media channels and linguistic and cultural diversity, defining reading as interpreting images, layout, symbols, sound, and cultural contexts rather than merely decoding words.

Linguistic mode

The meaning-making mode that contributes spoken or written language, vocabulary, grammar, and tone (e.g., headlines, labels, narration, captions, scripts).

Visual mode

The meaning-making mode contributing image, color, shape, perspective, symbols, and charts (e.g., photographs, icons, maps, diagrams).

Audio / aural mode

The meaning-making mode contributing voice, sound effects, silence, tempo, and music (e.g., podcast voice-over, alarms, jingles).

Gestural mode

The meaning-making mode contributing facial expression, posture, movement, and eye contact (e.g., signaling, demonstrations, presenter delivery).

Spatial mode

The meaning-making mode contributing position, distance, grouping, size, and sequence (e.g., poster layout, slide hierarchy, scene composition).

Visual text

A communication product where meaning is principally communicated through visual resources, such as a chart showing yearly rainfall.

Multimedia

A communication product that incorporates more than one media form, such as a narrated slideshow with photos and video clips.

Audio-visual presentation

A presentation format that specifically coordinates audible information with visible information.

Interactive media

Media formats where the audience can make choices that affect navigation or response, such as a clickable data dashboard or branching lesson.

Transmedia storytelling

Related story elements distributed across multiple platforms, with each platform contributing something different to the campaign or narrative.

SIFT habit

A four-step source verification routine consisting of: Stop; Investigate the source; Find better coverage; and Trace to the original context.

Local communication

Communication that addresses the specific circumstances, culture, language, practices, and needs of a particular community.

Global communication

Communication designed for diverse international audiences who may differ in geography, language, cultural expectations, background knowledge, and technological access.

Coherence principle

A multimedia learning principle stating that elements unrelated to the learning goal—such as decorative animations and irrelevant music—should be removed.

Signaling principle

A multimedia learning principle that emphasizes highlighting important structure or relationships using headings, arrows, emphasis, and narrated cues.

Spatial contiguity principle

A multimedia learning principle recommending that related explanations be placed physically near their corresponding visuals, such as positioning a label beside a chart feature.

Temporal contiguity principle

A multimedia learning principle stating that related words and visuals should be presented simultaneously or at compatible times rather than successively.

Segmenting principle

A multimedia learning principle that involves breaking complex instructional content into short, meaningful, learner-paced units or stages.

Modality principle

A multimedia design principle where spoken explanations complement visuals rather than crowding the screen with dense written paragraphs.

Redundancy principle

A context-dependent multimedia principle advising against forcing viewers to process long duplicated on-screen text and narration unnecessarily, while retaining concise labels and necessary accessibility captions.

Pre-training principle

A multimedia principle suggesting that unfamiliar terms or concepts (e.g., 'storyboard') be taught before presenting a complex demonstration.

Personalization principle

A multimedia learning principle stating that clear, direct, and conversational wording supports understanding better than needlessly formal phrasing.

TASL

The standard Creative Commons attribution framework consisting of Title, Author, Source, and License.

Misinformation

False or inaccurate information that is shared without necessarily intending to mislead or deceive.

Disinformation

False information that is deliberately produced and spread with the specific intention to deceive.

Malinformation

Genuine, factual information that is shared out of context or leaked maliciously with the intention to cause harm.

Deepfake / synthetic media

Digitally generated or altered imagery, audio, or video that convincingly depicts people or events that did not occur.

Purposive communication

Communicating with a deliberate goal while adapting the message to the intended audience, situation, and medium.

Noise (Communication)

Anything that interferes with message transmission and understanding, categorized as physical, technical, semantic, psychological, or cultural.

Asynchronous communication

A communication exchange where the sender and receiver do not interact simultaneously in real time (e.g., email, recorded messages, project boards).

Synchronous communication

Communication that takes place in real time, requiring simultaneous participation (e.g., face-to-face dialogue, phone calls, live video conferences).

CC (Carbon Copy)

An email field for secondary recipients who need to be kept informed of the communication but are not primary actors responsible for action.

BCC (Blind Carbon Copy)

An email field where recipient addresses are concealed from all other recipients, used to safeguard privacy in mass mailings.

Digital permanence

The practical reality that electronic messages, posts, and files can be stored, duplicated, forwarded, or recovered indefinitely beyond the creator's control.

Netiquette

The broader standards and conventions of appropriate, polite, and respectful conduct across digital and online environments.

Tone Formula

The standard equation for professional communication: Respect + Specificity + Action.

Cover letter

A targeted professional document submitted alongside a résumé that interprets selected qualifications and argues specific candidate fit for a designated employer and role.

Need (Cover Letter Blueprint)

The specific competency, qualification, or skill an employer is actively seeking in a candidate (e.g., teamwork, technical proficiency, customer service).

Evidence (Cover Letter Blueprint)

A concrete, verifiable example drawn from coursework, internships, employment, volunteer work, or projects demonstrating past behavior and capabilities.

Fit (Cover Letter Blueprint)

The logical reasoning that explicitly connects an applicant's evidence to how they can meet organizational needs and contribute to the target position.

Downward communication

Workplace communication flowing from higher management levels down to subordinate staff, including policies, operational guidelines, instructions, and performance feedback.

Upward communication

Workplace communication flowing from employees up to leadership or supervisors, such as status reports, suggestions, requests, and reported concerns.

Horizontal / Lateral communication

Workplace communication occurring among peers or departments at the same organizational level to coordinate operations and share information.

Diagonal communication

Interdepartmental communication that cuts across both functional units and hierarchical chains of command (e.g., a project specialist working directly with another unit's director).

External communication

Organizational messaging directed toward outside entities, including clients, suppliers, regulatory bodies, media outlets, and the general public.

PCC Framework

A core workplace planning structure consisting of Purpose (why the message occurs), Content (what facts and instructions it includes), and Context (the shaping circumstances, relations, and channels).

Job interview

A purposeful professional conversation where an employer assesses an applicant's evidence, capabilities, communication, judgment, and fit, while the applicant assesses the organization.

Behavioral questions

Interview questions that ask candidates to describe past actions and experiences as concrete evidence of future work performance.

Situational questions

Interview questions that present hypothetical workplace dilemmas or scenarios to assess an applicant's problem-solving approach and judgment.

STAR Method

A four-part answering framework for behavioral interview questions consisting of Situation (context), Task (challenge/objective), Action (specific behaviors taken), and Result (quantifiable impact or outcome).