Communication N5 Comprehensive Syllabus and Study Guide

General and Specific Aims of Communication N5

Equipping students with technical and practical knowledge of verbal and non-verbal communication is essential for functioning efficiently and professionally in the business world. This involves the mastery of acceptable norms and ethics applicable to self-development, interpersonal relationships, and social interaction.

Specific objectives include:

• Acquiring in-depth knowledge of basic communication principles.
• Promoting emotional, intellectual, and social development.
• Understanding verbal and non-verbal factors within an organization.
• Setting aims, goals, and objectives while managing time effectively.
• Mastering mass media strategies and advertising techniques relevant to the working environment.
• Contributing effectively to meetings and attaining fluency in speech and reading.
• Drafting concise communications, business letters, reports, meeting correspondence, graphic communications, letters of goodwill, and advertising correspondence.
• Evaluating situations and facts to draw logical conclusions and act with confidence.
• Listening analytically to provide sound feedback.

Prerequisites, Duration, and Evaluation Structure

A student must have passed Communication N4 to enroll. The course duration for full-time students is 6 hours per week (including 5 lecturer contact hours) for one semester. Part-time offerings are also available.

Evaluation is conducted continuously through assignments, case studies, class tests, and oral work. Passing requirements include a minimum of $40\%$ for the semester mark and $40\%$ for the examination mark. These are combined in a ratio of $40:60$ to determine the promotion mark.

Examination Format and Weighting

The examination consists of two papers based on case studies and scenarios.

Paper 1: Correspondence

• Focus: Modules 6 to 11.
• Marks: 100.
• Duration: 3 hours.
• Type: Open Book (Two references and two dictionaries allowed; no external exam papers or memoranda).

Paper 2: Theory

• Focus: Modules 1 to 5.
• Marks: 100.
• Duration: 2 hours.
• Type: Closed Book (Maximum of two dictionaries allowed).

Cognitive Weighting and Language Rules

Memorized theoretical background (Modules 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6) counts for approximately $\pm 25\%$. Applied and evaluated theoretical background (Modules 1 to 11) counts for approximately $\pm 75\%$. Papers are set in English, though provision for other languages like Afrikaans (Kommunikasie N5) may be made if requested by industry. Students may use one bilingual and/or one explanatory dictionary.

Cognitive categories are weighted as follows:

• Paper 1: Knowledge ($10-20\%$), Application/Format/Language ($40-50\%$), and Analysis/Synthesis/Evaluation ($20-40\%$ ).
• Paper 2: Knowledge ($20-30\%$), Application/Comprehension ($20-30\%$), and Analysis/Synthesis/Evaluation ($20-40\%$ ).

Module 1: Organisational Communication

Corporate culture is defined by unique aspects of an organization that influence productivity and management. Leadership types significantly impact this culture and the resulting communication styles.

Leadership and Change Management

• Change management involves understanding the purpose and reasons (internal and external) for organizational shifts.
• Methods of communication must keep stakeholders informed throughout the change process.

Communication Channels

• External Communication: Defined as communication with outside stakeholders for marketing and public relations. It includes electronic (video calling, conferencing), interpersonal, and mass media channels.
• Internal Communication: Serves command, relational, and ambiguity-management functions. Channels are categorized into:
  • Formal: Vertical, horizontal, and diagonal/cross-wise.
  • Informal: The grapevine, phatic communication, meta-communication, job/social discussions, and non-verbal cues.
• Hierarchical Structures: Includes Line, Line and Staff, Functional, and Matrix structures.

Management Terminology

• Unity of Command: A subordinate should report to only one supervisor.
• Span of Control: The number of subordinates a manager can effectively supervise.
• Hierarchy of Authority: The established ranking of positions within the organization.
• Briefing, Intervention, and Negotiation: Systematic processes for providing instructions, solving problems, and reaching agreements.

Work Ethics

Professionalism is maintained through punctuality, neatness, confidentiality, integrity, responsibility, and teamwork. There is a strong relationship between ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Module 2: Formulation of Aims, Goals, and Objectives

Planning requires a clear distinction between three concepts:

• Aims: Broad, long-term intentions.
• Goals: Specific targets within a time frame.
• Objectives: Concrete, measurable steps to achieve goals.

Evaluation via SMART Guidelines

Objectives must be:

• Specific.
• Measurable.
• Attainable.
• Relevant.
• Traceable.

Time Management and Productivity

Time management is the correlation between effective time utilization and organizational productivity. Techniques include:

• Time-logs and the 4D system.
• To-do lists, diaries, and planners.
• The Pomodoro technique and the Pareto principle (the $80/20$ rule).
• Delegation and identifying time-wasters like inefficient social media use or phone calls.

Module 3: Social and Mass Media Communication and Advertising

Mass media serves to inform, interpret, educate, entertain, advertise, and act as a "moral watchdog."

Categories and Functions

• Categories: Print, audio (radio), audio-visual (TV), electronic (e-mail, messaging), and outdoor (billboards).
• Social Media: Digital platforms for interaction and content sharing.

Manipulative Reporting and Propaganda

• Manipulative techniques: Selective reporting, taking facts out of context, and using supportive photographs to bias a report.
• Elements of Propaganda: Ethos (ethics/credibility), Logos (logic), and Pathos (emotion).
• Propaganda Techniques: Stereotyping, name-calling, card-stacking (selection of facts), glittering generalities, testimonials (appeal to authority), scapegoating, and the bandwagon effect.

Advertising Principles

• Purpose: To inform, remind, and persuade.
• AIDA Formula: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.
• Consumer Behavior: Influenced by culture, subculture, social class (marketing bands), and social mobility.
• Consumer Information Processing: Exposure, Attention, Comprehension, and Retention.
• Presentation Styles: Factual (hard sell), Imaginative (soft sell), Negative, or Humorous presentations.

Module 4: Presentation Communication

Speeches are made to interest, amuse, inform, teach, stimulate, impress, motivate, manipulate, or persuade. Preparation must consider the aim, audience, occasion, and physical surroundings.

Speech Structure and Delivery

• Structure: Introduction, Body, and Conclusion.
• Nervous Tension: Coping mechanisms include adequate preparation, rehearsal, appropriate dress, and breathing/relaxation exercises.
• Non-verbal Factors: Appearance, deportment, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and voice control (tempo, pitch, pause, emphasis, volume, and quality).

Visual and Audio Aids

• Guidelines: Use one idea per visual; keep text/diagrams clear; avoid clutter; use high-quality images.
• Tools: PowerPoint, data projectors, flipcharts, smartboards, and microphones.

Occasional Speeches

Examples include speeches of welcome, farewell, presentation, acceptance, thanks, making announcements, proposing toasts, and after-dinner speeches.

Module 5: Multicultural Communication

Culture consists of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and norms. Subcultures are defined by ethnicity, religion, language, age, gender, and level of education.

Barriers to Successful Group Interaction

• Ethnocentrism: Evaluating other cultures based on one's own standards.
• Psychological Barriers: Lack of trust, lack of empathy, stereotyping, prejudice, and bullying.
• Language Barriers: Pronunciation issues, vocal inflections, and unfamiliar jargon or idiomatic expressions.
• Non-verbal Barriers: Differences in proximity, body language, and concepts of time.

Skills Development

Successful communication requires identifying the target audience's culture, maintaining a correct attitude, active listening, and avoiding slang, acronyms, or ambiguous abbreviations.

Module 6: Language Usage in Documentation

Effective communication requires simple, to-the-point English. Key areas of focus include:

• Concord: Agreement between subject and verb in number.
• Correct Pronoun Usage: Ensuring clear connections between pronouns and antecedents.
• Avoiding Redundancy: Eliminating tautology (unnecessary repetition), pleonasm (wordiness), verbosity (pompous language), and circumlocution (roundabout phrasing).
• Voice and Style: Using active vs. passive voice and distinguishing between subjective (emotional) and objective (factual) language.
• Core Notes: Taking notes during meetings and extending them into meaningful correspondence.
• Précis and Summaries: Reducing passages to essential facts in paragraph or point form.

Module 7: Concise Communication

Short-form media requires adherence to professional standards and clarity. Key documents include:

• Telephone messages and Fax cover pages.
• Memorandums (internal) and Formal $3^{rd}$ person invitations.
• Forms and Questionnaires: Designing and completing documents like job applications (Z83) or waybills.
• E-mails and WhatsApp: Maintaining professional etiquette.
• Graphic Material: Tables, graphs (pie, bar, line), charts, and maps.

Module 8: Business Letters

Students must draft letters that maintain the company image, including:

• Guest Speaker Invitations: Including positive and negative replies.
• Letters to the Press: Presenting logic on topics of public interest.
• Sales Letters: Applying the AIDA principle to persuade a target audience.
• Circulars: For external communication using a correct format.
• Employment Letters: Tactfully informing applicants of recruitment results.

Module 9: Advertising Correspondence

This involves drafting specific materials for public consumption:

• Classified Advertisements: Brief, clear info such as contact details.
• Display Advertisements: Using headings and the AIDA principle for vacant positions, products, or services.
• Notices: Attractive and understandable visual/written information for notice boards.

Module 10: Meeting Correspondence

Secretarial duties for committees, clubs, or associations include:

• Notice of Meeting: Including venue, date, and time.
• Agenda: A logical list of items to be discussed.
• Minutes: An accurate record of proceedings based on core notes taken during the meeting.
• Distinction: General meetings (regular) vs. Special meetings (extraordinary reasons).

Module 11: Reports

Reports must be clear, exact, and logically structured in formal, informal, or memorandum formats.

• Investigation Reports: Inquiring into a problem or crisis.
• Feedback Reports: Summarizing information after a seminar or event.
• Progress Reports: Updating the status of a project.
• Incident/Accident Reports: Documenting theft, injuries, or bomb threats.

Module 12: Critical Evaluation of Material

Evaluation involves editing written and visual materials for style, punctuation, and content errors. It requires:

• Judging the reasoning of the communicator.
• Identifying omissions that lead to unsuccessful communication.
• Eliminating emotive language in favor of an objective style.
• Utilizing reference works and proofreading symbols.

Module 13: Auditive and Oral Communication

Development of oral skills is vital for interviews and presentations.

• Telephone Technique: Mastering relaxation, pitch, volume, and resonance.
• Listening Skills: Distinguishing between hearing and listening; practicing pleasurable, discriminative, and empathic listening.
• Interviewing: Both as an interviewer and as an interviewee in employment contexts.
• Oral Presentations: Verbally presenting findings from reports or submissions with conviction and appropriate gestures.