CBC1501 2023/2024 Communication Studies PDF

I © 2022 University of South Africa All rights reserved Printed and published by the University of South Africa Muckleneuk, Pretoria CBC1501/1/2023–2024 10036857 MS Word PLEASE NOTE: Although every effort has been made to use open educational resources that are free to us...

I © 2022 University of South Africa All rights reserved Printed and published by the University of South Africa Muckleneuk, Pretoria CBC1501/1/2023–2024 10036857 MS Word PLEASE NOTE: Although every effort has been made to use open educational resources that are free to use and adapt under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, there could be a possibility of error in this regard. Should any infringement have occurred, the publisher apologises and undertakes to amend the omission in the event of a reprint. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND ATTRIBUTIONS Updated version Ms Ashiya Abdool Satar A special thanks to the providers of Open Educational Resources (OERs) that were free to use and adapt under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License: Open Library: Pressbooks: Ontario, Canada University of Minnesota Open Educational Resources (Full references and attributions appear in the list of sources consulted at the end of this resource.)  CBC1501 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE......................................................................................................................... 11 A WORD OF WELCOME............................................................................................................. 11 PURPOSE OF THE MODULE...................................................................................................... 11 LEARNING ASSUMPTIONS........................................................................................................ 12 RANGE STATEMENT FOR THE MODULE................................................................................. 12 SPECIFIC OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA............................................................ 12 Specific outcome 1................................................................................................. 12 Range..................................................................................................................... 12 Assessment criteria................................................................................................ 12 Specific outcome 2................................................................................................. 13 Range..................................................................................................................... 13 Assessment criteria................................................................................................ 13 Specific outcome 3................................................................................................. 13 Range..................................................................................................................... 13 Assessment criteria................................................................................................ 13 Specific outcome 4................................................................................................. 13 Range..................................................................................................................... 13 Assessment criteria................................................................................................ 13 HOW THIS STUDY GUIDE IS ORGANISED FOR LEARNING.................................................... 14 Learning outcomes for this learning unit................................................................. 16 Key questions......................................................................................................... 16 Key concepts.......................................................................................................... 16 1.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................... 16 1.2 DEFINING COMMUNICATION.......................................................................................... 19 Did you find it difficult to define communication?.................................................... 20 ACTIVITY 1.................................................................................................................................. 21 1.3 MODELS OF COMMUNICATION..................................................................................... 21 ACTIVITY 2.................................................................................................................................. 28 1.4 ELEMENTS IN THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS........................................................ 29 1.4.1 The communicator (or sender).................................................................... 29 ACTIVITY 3.................................................................................................................................. 30 1.4.2 The recipient (or receiver)........................................................................... 30 ACTIVITY 4.................................................................................................................................. 31 1.4.3 The message............................................................................................... 31 1.4.4 The channel (or medium)............................................................................ 32 1.4.5 Noise (or communication barriers)............................................................... 33 3  CBC1501 ACTIVITY 5.................................................................................................................................. 38 ACTIVITY 6.................................................................................................................................. 38 1.4.6 Feedback..................................................................................................... 39 ACTIVITY 7.................................................................................................................................. 39 1.4.7 Outcome of communication......................................................................... 40 ACTIVITY 8.................................................................................................................................. 41 1.5 ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION.......................................................................... 41 1.5.1 Organisational communication in context.................................................... 42 1.5.2 Internal and external communication........................................................... 44 ACTIVITY 9.................................................................................................................................. 45 1.5.3 Hierarchies.................................................................................................. 46 ACTIVITY 10................................................................................................................................ 47 1.5.4 Channels of information............................................................................... 47 ACTIVITY 11................................................................................................................................ 48 1.5.4 Flow of communication................................................................................ 49 ACTIVITY 12................................................................................................................................ 51 1.5.5 Virtual teams and networks......................................................................... 52 1.5.6 Communication climate in the organisation................................................. 53 ACTIVITY 13................................................................................................................................ 54 1.5.7 Ethical communication and ethical challenges in the workplace................. 54 ACTIVITY 14................................................................................................................................ 56 ACTIVITY 15................................................................................................................................. 56 1.6 STRENGTHENING YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS................................................... 57 Be an ethical communicator............................................................................. 57 Be trustworthy.................................................................................................. 57 Preparation....................................................................................................... 58 Organisation..................................................................................................... 58 Clarity............................................................................................................... 58 Punctuality........................................................................................................ 58 Be an active listener......................................................................................... 59 ACTIVITY 16................................................................................................................................ 59 1.7 SUMMARY........................................................................................................................ 60 2.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................... 62 2.2 LISTENING AND READING TO UNDERSTAND.............................................................. 63 2.3 READING AT WORD LEVEL............................................................................................ 70 2.3.1 Word recognition......................................................................................... 70 ACTIVITY 1.................................................................................................................................. 71 ACTIVITY 2.................................................................................................................................. 72 ACTIVITY 3.................................................................................................................................. 73 4  CBC1501 2.3.3 Distinguishing between homophones.......................................................... 73 ACTIVITY 4.................................................................................................................................. 74 ACTIVITY 5.................................................................................................................................. 75 2.3.4 Connotation, implication and denotation...................................................... 75 ACTIVITY 6.................................................................................................................................. 77 2.4 READING AT SENTENCE LEVEL.................................................................................... 77 2.4.1 Sentence types............................................................................................ 77 2.4.2 Linking words............................................................................................... 78 Commas........................................................................................................... 79 Quotation marks............................................................................................... 79 Hyphens........................................................................................................... 80 Question mark.................................................................................................. 80 Exclamation mark............................................................................................. 80 Period (or full stop)........................................................................................... 80 ACTIVITY 7.................................................................................................................................. 80 2.5 INCREASING READING SPEED AND EFFICIENCY....................................................... 82 ACTIVITY 8.................................................................................................................................. 82 2.6 SUMMARY........................................................................................................................ 82 3.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................... 84 ACTIVITY 1.................................................................................................................................. 84 3.2 THE BASE WORD AND ITS INFLECTIONS..................................................................... 85 ACTIVITY 2.................................................................................................................................. 85 3.2.1 Plural........................................................................................................... 85 ACTIVITY 3.................................................................................................................................. 85 3.2.2 Possessive.................................................................................................. 86 ACTIVITY 4.................................................................................................................................. 86 3.2.3 Third person singular................................................................................... 86 3.2.4 Past participle.............................................................................................. 88 ACTIVITY 5.................................................................................................................................. 88 3.2.5 Contracted negative..................................................................................... 88 ACTIVITY 6.................................................................................................................................. 88 3.2.6 Objective pronoun....................................................................................... 89 ACTIVITY 7.................................................................................................................................. 89 3.2.7 -ing and -ed form......................................................................................... 90 ACTIVITY 8.................................................................................................................................. 90 ACTIVITY 9.................................................................................................................................. 90 3.2.8 -er and -est comparison............................................................................... 91 ACTIVITY 10................................................................................................................................ 91 3.3 COMPOUND WORDS....................................................................................................... 92 ACTIVITY 11................................................................................................................................ 92 5  CBC1501 3.4 WORD CLASSES............................................................................................................. 92 ACTIVITY 12................................................................................................................................ 92 3.4.1 How dictionaries help................................................................................... 93 ACTIVITY 13................................................................................................................................ 93 3.4.2 Noun and verb pairs.................................................................................... 94 ACTIVITY 14................................................................................................................................ 94 3.4.3 Adverbs that cause trouble.......................................................................... 95 3.4.4 Adjectives that cause trouble....................................................................... 95 ACTIVITY 15................................................................................................................................ 96 ambiguous/ambivalent............................................................................................ 96 3.5 SENTENCES..................................................................................................................... 96 ACTIVITY 16................................................................................................................................ 97 3.6 SENTENCE ELEMENTS................................................................................................... 97 3.7 SUMMARY........................................................................................................................ 98 4.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 100 4.2 LETTER.......................................................................................................................... 100 ACTIVITY 1................................................................................................................................ 100 4.3 MEMO............................................................................................................................. 101 ACTIVITY 2................................................................................................................................ 101 4.4 INSTRUCTIONS AND PROCEDURES........................................................................... 102 ACTIVITY 3................................................................................................................................ 103 4.5 REPORTS....................................................................................................................... 104 4.5.1 Terms of reference.................................................................................... 104 4.5.2 Methodology or procedure......................................................................... 104 4.5.3 Findings and conclusions.......................................................................... 104 4.5.4 Recommendations..................................................................................... 105 4.6 SUMMARY...................................................................................................................... 105 5.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 107 5.2 STARTING TO WRITE.................................................................................................... 107 5.2.1 Task analysis............................................................................................. 107 ACTIVITY 1................................................................................................................................ 108 5.2.2 The planning stage.................................................................................... 108 ACTIVITY 2................................................................................................................................ 109 5.3 WRITING THE BODY...................................................................................................... 110 ACTIVITY 3................................................................................................................................ 110 5.4 FINAL DRAFT................................................................................................................. 111 ACTIVITY 4................................................................................................................................ 112 5.4.1 Correcting poor grammar........................................................................... 112 5.4.2 Examples of unnecessary repetition.......................................................... 113 5.4.3 Revising for clarity..................................................................................... 113 5.5 SUMMARY...................................................................................................................... 114 Learning outcome for this learning unit................................................................. 116 6  CBC1501 Key questions....................................................................................................... 116 Key concepts........................................................................................................ 116 6.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 116 6.2 MILLICENT'S ESSAY..................................................................................................... 116 ACTIVITY 1................................................................................................................................ 117 6.3 MILLICENT'S OPENING SENTENCE............................................................................. 118 ACTIVITY 2................................................................................................................................ 118 6.4 MILLICENT'S CHAIN OF CAUSE AND EFFECT........................................................... 119 ACTIVITY 3................................................................................................................................ 119 6.5 MILLICENT'S APPEAL TO REASON AND EMOTION................................................... 120 ACTIVITY 4................................................................................................................................ 120 6.6 MILLICENT'S CONCLUSION......................................................................................... 121 ACTIVITY 5................................................................................................................................ 122 6.7 SUMMARY...................................................................................................................... 123 Learning outcomes for this learning unit............................................................... 125 Key questions....................................................................................................... 125 Key concepts........................................................................................................ 125 7.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 126 7.2 WHY WE NEED NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS......................................... 126 ACTIVITY 1................................................................................................................................ 126 7.2.1 Problems with the interpretation of non-verbal communication................. 127 ACTIVITY 2................................................................................................................................ 128 7.2.2 Functions of non-verbal communication.................................................... 129 ACTIVITY 3................................................................................................................................ 129 7.2.3 Categories of non-verbal communication.................................................. 130 ACTIVITY 4................................................................................................................................ 132 7.2.4 Improving non-verbal communication........................................................ 133 ACTIVITY 5................................................................................................................................ 133 7.3 NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION IN WRITTEN TEXTS............................................... 134 ACTIVITY 6................................................................................................................................ 135 7.4 LISTENING..................................................................................................................... 135 ACTIVITY 7................................................................................................................................ 135 7.4.1 Types of listening....................................................................................... 136 ACTIVITY 8................................................................................................................................ 136 7.4.2 Barriers to efficient listening....................................................................... 137 ACTIVITY 9................................................................................................................................ 137 7.4.3 Developing efficient listening skills............................................................ 138 ACTIVITY 10.............................................................................................................................. 138 7.5 SUMMARY...................................................................................................................... 139 Learning outcomes for this learning unit............................................................... 141 Key questions....................................................................................................... 141 Key concepts........................................................................................................ 141 7  CBC1501 8.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 141 8.2 SELF-IMAGE.................................................................................................................. 142 ACTIVITY 1................................................................................................................................ 142 8.2.1 Self-fulfilling prophecies............................................................................. 144 ACTIVITY 2................................................................................................................................ 144 8.2.2 Cultural and gender differences................................................................. 144 ACTIVITY 3................................................................................................................................ 145 8.2.3 Improving self-image................................................................................. 146 8.3 SELF-DISCLOSURE....................................................................................................... 146 ACTIVITY 4................................................................................................................................ 147 8.4 ASSERTIVENESS........................................................................................................... 147 ACTIVITY 5................................................................................................................................ 148 8.5 EMPATHY....................................................................................................................... 148 ACTIVITY 6................................................................................................................................ 149 8.6 THE INTERVIEW SITUATION........................................................................................ 149 ACTIVITY 7................................................................................................................................ 149 ACTIVITY 8................................................................................................................................ 150 8.7 SUMMARY...................................................................................................................... 151 Learning outcomes for this learning unit............................................................... 153 Key questions....................................................................................................... 153 Key concepts........................................................................................................ 153 9.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 153 9.2 DEFINING TEAMS.......................................................................................................... 154 ACTIVITY 1................................................................................................................................ 154 9.2.1 Advantages and disadvantages of small groups....................................... 155 9.2.2 Leadership in groups................................................................................. 155 9.3 MEETINGS...................................................................................................................... 156 ACTIVITY 2................................................................................................................................ 156 9.3.1 Problem-solving and decision-making....................................................... 157 ACTIVITY 3................................................................................................................................ 158 9.4 GROUP CONFLICT........................................................................................................ 159 ACTIVITY 4................................................................................................................................ 160 9.4.1 Strategies for conflict resolution................................................................. 161 ACTIVITY 5................................................................................................................................ 161 9.5 SUMMARY...................................................................................................................... 162 Learning outcomes for this learning unit............................................................... 164 Key questions....................................................................................................... 164 Key concepts........................................................................................................ 164 10.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 165 10.2 WHAT AUDIENCES LIKE............................................................................................... 165 ACTIVITY 1................................................................................................................................ 165 10.3 CAPTURING YOUR AUDIENCE..................................................................................... 166 ACTIVITY 2................................................................................................................................ 167 8  CBC1501 10.4 ORGANISING YOUR PRESENTATION.......................................................................... 167 ACTIVITY 3................................................................................................................................ 168 10.5 GIVING SPEECHES ABOUT COMPLEX MATERIAL.................................................... 169 ACTIVITY 4................................................................................................................................ 169 10.6 REHEARSING AND DELIVERING THE SPEECH.......................................................... 170 ACTIVITY 5................................................................................................................................ 170 10.7 MONROE'S MOTIVATED SEQUENCE........................................................................... 171 ACTIVITY 6................................................................................................................................ 172 10.8 SUMMARY...................................................................................................................... 175 11.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 177 11.2 DEFINITION OF CULTURE............................................................................................ 178 11.2.1 Beliefs, attitudes, values and traditions.................................................... 178 11.2.2 Ethnocentrism.......................................................................................... 179 11.2.3 Stereotypes............................................................................................. 179 11.3 INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION........................................................................... 181 11.3.1 Six imperatives of intercultural communication studies............................ 185 o Increased information about people and cultures........................................... 185 o Increased contact with people who are different from us............................... 185 o Increased contact with people who are similar to us and who can provide communities with support..................................................................................... 186 o Identity, culture and technology...................................................................... 186 o Differential access to communication technology........................................... 186 11.3.2 How to understand intercultural communication...................................... 188 11.4 CULTURE IN BUSINESS................................................................................................ 188 11.4.1 Ways to deal with cultural communications in the workplace.................. 189 11.4.3 Communication breakdown..................................................................... 190 i. Recognise the differences in cultural context................................................. 191 ii. Respect the differences in cultural context..................................................... 191 iii. Reconcile the differences in cultural context............................................... 191 i. Use video conferencing when communicating with global teammates........... 192 ii. Ensure that every team member gets an opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas..................................................................................................................... 192 iii. Learn from one another............................................................................... 192 iv. Be empathetic............................................................................................. 192 v. Meet your global colleagues in person........................................................... 192 11.5 DIGITAL COMMUNICATION AND ETHICS.................................................................... 193 11.5.1 Ethics....................................................................................................... 193 11.5.2 Morals...................................................................................................... 194 9  CBC1501 11.5.3 Integrity.................................................................................................... 194 11.5.4 Honesty................................................................................................... 194 11.5.5 Character................................................................................................. 195 11.6 BUSINESS ETHICS........................................................................................................ 195 11.6.1 Recent ethical investigations................................................................... 196 Scandal 1: Bill O'Reilly and 21st Century Fox, 2017............................................. 196 Scandal 2: Equifax's data breaches, 2017............................................................ 197 Scandal 3: Elon Musk, Tesla, 2018...................................................................... 197 11.6.2 Benefits of a professional code of ethics................................................. 197 11.6.3 Successful implementation of a code of ethics........................................ 198 11.6.4 Example of ethical behaviours within a business environment................ 198 11.6.5 Ethical issues at the organisational level................................................. 198 Fraud.............................................................................................................. 199 Sustainability.................................................................................................. 199 Diversity......................................................................................................... 199 Exploitation..................................................................................................... 199 11.7 PRIVATE PERSONA AND PUBLIC PERSONA............................................................. 200 11.8 YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT......................................................................................... 201 11.8.1 Five ways to improve your digital footprint............................................... 202 Edit your posts, including photos, videos and multimedia.............................. 202 Monitor and control sharing of controversial content...................................... 202 Set up professional accounts on one or more platforms, such as LinkedIn.... 202 Keep it positive with future posts and contributions........................................ 202 11.9 NETIQUETTE.................................................................................................................. 203 11.9.1 Rules of netiquette................................................................................... 203 11.9.2 Elements of netiquette in different business contexts.............................. 203 Contacting someone too frequently can border on harassment..................... 204 Unplug yourself occasionally.......................................................................... 204 Do not text and drive...................................................................................... 204 11.10 WORDS AND YOUR LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY........................................................ 206 LIST OF SOURCES CONSULTED................................................................................. 208 10  CBC1501 PREFACE A WORD OF WELCOME Welcome to this course on communication skills for accounting students. We hope that the knowledge and techniques that you will learn in this module will continue to inspire and guide you for many years to come. This course covers all aspects of communication. We start with the basic theory of how we send and receive messages and then proceed to the specific communication skills of reading, writing, speaking and interacting with people. Most importantly, we do this from the point of view of you, the accounting student. This course came into being because your professional body, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), was deeply concerned about the poor communication skills of accounting students. Many accounting students are tested only through multiple-choice questions in their early years of study. Their reading and writing skills are thus not tested until it is too late to intervene. This module steps in at the earliest stage to help you identify and work on your language and people skills to make you the kind of person that other people will like, understand, confide in and be prepared to follow. The profession is crying out for accountants who can speak persuasively; relate well to others; argue for or against decisions and recommendations; produce concise and elegant written documents; and show the world that accountants are brilliant, fun, charming and articulate people. PURPOSE OF THE MODULE Students credited with this module will be aware that communication forms an integral part of the role of the accounting practitioner within a business context. Students are sensitised to the variables influencing communication situations in the accounting environment and know how to respond appropriately. As mentioned above, this module serves as a response to a recent initiative of SAICA that expressed the need for communication training of prospective accounting professionals. Successful completion of the module does not qualify students to be communication professionals or perfect English language users but will provide a basis for further self-development of these competencies by creating an awareness of the need for it. 11  CBC1501 LEARNING ASSUMPTIONS The following levels of learning ought to be in place to ensure the successful completion of this module: Students should have the ability to engage meaningfully with learning materials in an Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) context, particularly in the medium of instruction. Students should have the ability to communicate what they have learned comprehensibly through a variety of different types of written and other media formats. Students should have the ability to take a degree of responsibility for their own progress with guided support. RANGE STATEMENT FOR THE MODULE The following scope and context apply to the whole module: In this module, the students will be introduced to the authentic communication world of accountants. Contextualisation of the study material will be through examples and case studies. Students will furthermore be exposed to authentic texts from the accounting environment and will be guided closely through a structured learning process through the study materials. SPECIFIC OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA Specific outcome 1 Students are sensitive to the importance of communication in accounting practice. Range With guidance, students are exposed to a variety of real-world issues that enable them to understand and create an awareness of why communication as a phenomenon needs to be conscious of in the accounting profession. Assessment criteria Barriers to communication are identified and discounted in accounting communication situations. Sensitivity is shown for differences in the frames of reference in accounting environments. 12  CBC1501 Specific outcome 2 Students can analyse a communication situation in a business context in terms of the target audience, purpose and content. Range With guidance, students will be able to link their self-image and listening to interpersonal communication. They will also be able to analyse communication situations and leadership in the context of meetings, problem-solving, conflict resolution and decision making. Assessment criteria Audience analyses are done based on simulated communication situations. The purpose of communication is expressed clearly in well-formulated proposals. Messages are analysed in relevant texts in terms of the concepts, principles, theories and rules of the relevant discipline. Specific outcome 3 Students can respond appropriately when considering specific characteristics of the target audience, purpose and content. Range With guidance, students will be able to demonstrate that they can properly plan and execute communication strategies as appropriate to NQF level 5. Assessment criteria Reports are written showing information-gathering skills and competence for analysis and synthesis. Written proposals for public presentations are compiled using relevant subject- related material. Reactions on simulated accounting communication scenarios are evaluated following known procedures. Specific outcome 4 Students can apply language appropriately in their communication activities. Range With guidance, students will be able to apply fundamental English language skills in reading and writing activities as contextualised in the accounting profession. Assessment criteria Analysis of texts demonstrating implied relevant reading and listening skills. Use of proper English and unique accounting jargon in written texts. 13  CBC1501 HOW THIS STUDY GUIDE IS ORGANISED FOR LEARNING This is a wrap-around study guide. This means that there are various resources within the different learning units that you will have to work through progressively. We will also refer you to various other resources online and on myUnisa. Each learning unit of the study guide offers explanations, support, guidance and additional activities. The activities within the guide will help you to work through these resources. You must engage with all the instructional materials that we provide for you, particularly those on myUnisa as these resources will assist you in mastering the contents of the course and the application thereof. Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash Free to use image under the Unsplash License 14  CBC1501 LEARNING UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay Pixabay License: Free for commercial use: No attribution required 15  CBC1501 Learning outcomes for this learning unit Recognise the importance of communication. Define communication and the communication process. Identify and describe the essential components of communication. Explore the different contexts affecting communication. Discuss the varying facets of organisational communication. Discuss the responsibilities of a business communicator. Key questions 1. Why should you study communication? 2. Why is communication important for accounting students? 3. What is communication? 4. How does communication work in organisations? Key concepts Shared frame of reference; models of communication; sender; message; recipient; feedback; channel; noise; verbal and non-verbal communication; encode; decode; context; culture; organisational communication; communication climate; and ethical communication. 1.1 INTRODUCTION "Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing." Rollo May "I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realise that what you heard is not what I meant." Robert J McCloskey In this learning unit, we introduce you to the concept of communication and explain the relevance of communication in business contexts. You might wonder why you need to study communication. Therefore, we begin by providing a general overview of communication. Communication is an activity, a skill and an art that incorporates lessons learned across a wide spectrum of human knowledge. Perhaps the most time-honoured form of communication is storytelling. We have told each other stories for ages to help make sense of our world, anticipate the future and entertain ourselves. The art of storytelling draws on your understanding of yourself, your message and how you communicate it to an audience that is simultaneously communicating back to you. Think about how you felt the first time that you met someone who truly understood you. 16  CBC1501 Think about the people in your life who know you so well they can guess what you are thinking; people who surprisingly phone you when you are down or who can send you into fits of laughter with just one look across the room. True communication brings people together in ways that make life worth living. Also consider how often in your relationships you find yourself saying, "You've completely misunderstood me" or "You've taken it the wrong way" or "I did not mean …". Miscommunication, thus, alienates people from one another and causes indescribable unhappiness and strife. Your aim, therefore, is true communication, not miscommunication. In other words, it is not enough to merely communicate. You need to communicate well, or you will end up with conflict, disagreement and disorganisation. Effective communication takes preparation, practice and persistence. Your anticipation, reaction and adaptation to the process will determine how successfully you can communicate. You were not born knowing how to write or even how to talk but in the process of growing up, you have undoubtedly learned how to tell and how not to tell a story out loud and in writing. You did not learn to text in a day and did not learn all the codes – from LOL (laugh out loud) to BRB (be right back) – right away. In the same way, learning to communicate well requires you to read and study how others have expressed themselves, then adapt what you have learned to your present task, whether it is texting a brief message to a friend, presenting your qualifications in a job interview or writing a business report. There are many ways to learn communication skills – the school of experience, or "hard knocks," is one of them. In the business environment, a "knock" (or lesson learned) may come at the expense of your credibility, through an unsatisfactory presentation to a client, for instance. The classroom environment, with a compilation of information and resources, can offer you a trial run where you get to try out new ideas and skills before you have to use them to communicate effectively in the workplace. Listening to yourself, or the comments of others may help you to reflect on new ways to present and/or perceive, thoughts, ideas and concepts that will ultimately enhance your ability to communicate in business contexts. For our purposes, communication is essentially the practice of interacting with others in the workplace and other professional contexts. Absolutely every job – from an accountant to a mechanic – involves dealing with a variety of people all day long. You may deal with various stakeholders, such as clients, managers, co-workers, suppliers, professional organisations, a union perhaps, investors, the public, media, students, and so on, depending on the nature of the job. When dealing with each of those audiences, we adjust the way we communicate according to well-known conventions. You would not talk to a customer or client the same way you would to a long-time friendly co-worker. Also, depending on what kind of relationship you have with your manager, you probably would not speak or write to them in the same way you would to either of the others. Learning those communication conventions is certainly easier and more useful than learning how to interpret a four-hundred-year-old play. If we communicate effectively – that is, clearly, concisely, coherently, correctly and convincingly – by following those conventions, we can do a better job of applying our core technical skills, whether they be in sales, the skilled 17  CBC1501 trades, the service industry, health care, office management, the government, the arts, and so on. Moreover, as an accounting student, your chosen career will involve translating numbers and balance sheets into words and explanations for clients and colleagues. You will need to speak and listen at meetings and interviews; write reports and memos; and negotiate key decisions. A course in Business Communications brings your existing communication skills up to a professional level by focusing on how to follow conventions for interacting with those various audiences in a variety of channels – whether they be speaking in person, by phone, e-mail, text or emojis, for instance. For example, we do not generally communicate by emojis with clients or managers (unless they tell us that they prefer it) as this is a convention that does not occur naturally to some. Indeed, it may come as a surprise to some that you would risk embarrassing yourself and permanently undermining your credibility if you added emojis to a message sent to a manager or a client. As we are not born with an instinct for staying within the bounds of respectable communication, the conventions of professional business communications must be learned and practised. We know that distance education is difficult, so we will take you through each learning unit step-by-step. Try to imagine that we are in a traditional (face-to-face) classroom situation, working together as a team in a focused way for a limited time. Keep your career in mind as you work through this course. Keep thinking: "I am reading about this now, but one day I will actually be doing it". As you learn the material in this text, each part will contribute to the whole. The degree to which you attend to each part will ultimately help give you the skills, confidence and preparation to use communication in furthering your career. 18  CBC1501 1.2 DEFINING COMMUNICATION Do you need to be able to speak and hear to communicate? Do people need to be in the same room or the same country? Do you need a shared language? Do you need language at all? What is communication? Communication is the process of understanding and sharing meaning. It is an activity, a skill and an art that incorporates lessons learned across a wide spectrum of human knowledge. You communicate every day without thinking about the process: from the conversation with your family in the morning, reading a news article on your phone, ordering coffee, participating in class, thinking about your missed deadline at work, texting your friends — communication is a primary skill you have been practising since birth! (Free image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay) 19  CBC1501 Interestingly, most people will tell us they know what communication is but they do not have a clear understanding of what it is that communication scholars study and teach in our academic discipline. In fact, many professors in other departments on our campus also ask us what it is we study and teach. We provide a very simple explanation of communication studies below: Communication is an academic field whose primary focus is who says what, through what channels (media) of communication, to whom, [and] what will be the results. Although this explanation is very generic and dated, to this day it succinctly describes the general focus of communication scholars and professionals. Now that you know how to define communication study, can you develop a simple definition of communication? Try to write a one-sentence definition of communication. Did you find it difficult to define communication? Do not be discouraged. For decades, communication professionals have had difficulty coming to any consensus about how to define the term communication. Even today, there is no single agreed-upon definition of communication. What is interesting, though, is that when we think of communication, we become self-serving and concentrate on ourselves as the source of communication, our message and even the channel we are going to use. In most cases, in our pursuit to foreground our communication efforts, we fail to consider the listener, viewer, and/or reader, thereby only emphasising the "transmission" of our message. However, communication is about more than simply passing on information. Life would be very boring if that were true, and we would not get much done. The term requires an element of success in transmitting or imparting a message, whether information, ideas, and/or emotions. In other words, communication is an active thing: we do something or achieve something by communicating. We complain, instruct, express, inspire, plot, transact, and so forth. We promise to marry or we ask for a divorce. We swear to tell the truth or we lie. Also, think about how a good teacher teaches. A good teacher is lively, asks questions, listens and interacts with the class. The learners give feedback and respond to the material. In a successful classroom, communication goes back and forth. The same is true for successful meetings and conversations. We will explain the communication process to you when we discuss the models of communication in section 1.3. Although we acknowledge that there are many definitions of communication, we feel it is important to provide you with our definition so that you understand how we approach each learning unit in this course. We are not arguing that this definition of communication is the only one you should consider viable but you will understand the content of this text better if you understand how we have come to define communication. Therefore, for this text, we define communication as the dissemination or interchange of information by speaking, writing or using some other medium to facilitate the successful conveying or sharing of information, ideas and/or feelings.  CBC1501 ACTIVITY 1 Let us assume that you telephoned a student counsellor at the university to set up a meeting. What does this example tell us about communication? Communication usually (though this is not always the case) involves more than one person (in this case, you and the counsellor), even if the people are not present in the same physical space. Communication has a purpose (you phoned to arrange a meeting). Communication requires a medium (you used the telephone). Now that you have a basic understanding of communication, how would you define business communication? The purpose of this activity was to help you understand the definition of communication that we provided above. Let us examine the basic models of communication to help you further grasp this definition. 1.3 MODELS OF COMMUNICATION When we think of communication, we often think of two people or two groups of people sitting down to talk. However, if you are sitting alone listening to the radio, reading this study guide, waving to a friend across the street or texting your brother, you are also involved in an act of communication. Therefore, because there are so many different possibilities, we need a model of communication that can help us to understand the communication process. We discuss three basic models of communication in this section, whereafter we will explain the different elements of the communication process. COMMUNICATOR EFFECT (SENDER) MESSAGE MEDIUM RECIPIENT (NOISE) Says In what Who? To whom? With what what? channel? effect? A linear (transmission) model of communication Shannon and Weaver (1949) proposed a mathematical model of communication (often called the linear or transmission model) that serves as a basic model of communication. This model suggests that communication is simply the transmission of a message from one source to another. The linear model of communication is a model that suggests communication moves only in one direction. The sender encodes a message and then uses a certain channel to send it to a receiver who decodes (interprets) the message. Essentially, this model focuses on the sender and message within a communication encounter. Although the receiver is included in the model, this role is viewed as more of a target or end point rather than part of an ongoing process. 22  CBC1501 You are left to presume that the receiver either successfully receives and understands the message or does not. Since this model focuses on the sender and the message, the responsibility is on the sender to help ensure the message is successfully conveyed. This model emphasises clarity and effectiveness but it also acknowledges that there are barriers to effective communication (noise). Noise, which could be semantic or environmental, is anything that interferes with or changes the original encoded message in a communication encounter. Even if a speaker sends a clear message, noise may interfere with a message being accurately received and decoded. Think of how a radio message is sent from a person in the radio studio to you listening in your car. The sender is the radio announcer who encodes a verbal message that is transmitted by a radio tower through electromagnetic waves (the channel) and eventually reaches your (the receiver's) ears via an antenna and speakers to be decoded. The radio announcer does not know if you have received their message or not but if the equipment is working and the channel is free of static, then there is a good chance that the message was successfully received. Watching YouTube videos serves as another example of this model. You act as the receiver when you watch videos, receiving messages from the source (the YouTube video). Television (this includes online streaming services, such as Netflix) is another good example of the linear model. Have you ever talked back to your television screen while you were watching it? Maybe you were watching a sporting event or a dramatic show and you talked to the people on your screen. Did they respond to you? We are sure they did not. Television (or any form of broadcasting service) generally works in one direction. No matter how much you talk to your screen or your digital device, it will not respond to you. Now apply this idea to communication in your workplace. It seems ridiculous to think that this is how we would regularly communicate with each other, considering that organisational success depends on effective communication. Thus, these examples show the limits of the linear model for understanding communication, particularly human-to-human communication. Basically, the major criticism of the linear model of communication is that it suggests communication only occurs in one direction. It also does not show how context or our personal experiences impact communication. Theorists have long noted some of the following limitations of the linear model: The assumption that listeners are passive Only one message is transmitted at a time The context of a communication situation is not taken into account Communication has a beginning and an end. In fact, a source could transmit a confusing or nonsensical message, rather than a meaningful one, and the linear model would work just as well; there is no provision for gauging whether a message has been understood by its receivers. 23  CBC1501 Although the transmission model may seem simple or even underdeveloped to us today, the creation of this model allowed scholars to examine the communication process in new ways, which eventually led to more complex models and theories of communication. The linear model is not quite rich enough to capture dynamic face-to-face interactions but there are instances in which communication is one-way and linear; for example, computer-mediated communication (CMC) and mass media communication. The linear model, thus, introduces helpful concepts and terms that are the basis for understanding the more complex models of communication. Thus, given the limitations of the linear model, Wilbur Schramm (1954) built upon the linear model and developed the interactive (or interaction) model of communication. An interactive (or interaction) model of communication While the linear model focused on how a message was transmitted and whether or not it was received, the interactive (or interaction) model is more concerned with the communication process itself. This model acknowledges that there are so many messages being sent at one time that many of them may not even be received. Some messages are unintentionally sent. Therefore, communication is not judged effective or ineffective in this model based on whether or not a single message was successfully transmitted and received. Hence, the interaction model of communication describes communication as a process in which participants alternate positions as sender and receiver and generate meaning by sending messages and receiving feedback within physical and psychological contexts to keep a communication encounter going. 24  CBC1501 Although this seems like a perceptible and deliberate process, you alternate between the roles of sender and receiver very quickly and often without conscious thought. The interactive model focuses less on the message and more on the interaction. Rather than illustrating communication as a linear, one-way process, the interaction model incorporates feedback, which makes communication a more interactive, two-way process. Feedback includes messages sent in response to other messages. For example, the chairperson at a business meeting may respond to a point you raise during a staff meeting or you may point to the vacant seat next to you when a colleague from a different department asks you where your teammate is. The inclusion of a feedback loop leads to a more complex understanding of the roles of participants in a communication encounter. Rather than having one sender, one message and one receiver, this model has two sender-receivers who exchange various messages. Thus, with Schramm's model, communication moves from a linear to a circular process in which participants are both senders and receivers of messages. Yet, the model portrays communication as a tennis match where one participant serves up a message and the other participant then makes a return. Each one waits in turn, rather passively, for the other. Hence, communication goes back and forth as one person initiates a message and waits until the other one responds. However, if you think about times when you have engaged in conversation, you will recognise how the other person is simultaneously sending messages — often non- verbally — while you are talking. Unlike a tennis match, you do not wait passively until the "ball is in your court" before acting communicatively. The interaction model captures the interactive aspects of communication but still does not account for how communication constructs our realities and is influenced by social and cultural contexts. To demonstrate the simultaneity of communication and the complexity of contextual influences, we move next to a transactional model. The transactional model views communication as integrated into our social realities in such a way that it helps us not only understand them but also create and change them. A transactional model of communication 25  CBC1501 Thus, as the study of communication progressed, models expanded to account for more of the communication process to comprehensively represent what occurs in most human communication exchanges. One such model is the transactional model of communication. The transactional model of communication describes communication as a process in which communicators generate social realities within social, relational and cultural contexts. In this model, we do not just communicate to exchange messages; we communicate to create relationships, form intercultural alliances, shape our self-concepts and engage with others in dialogue to create communities. The transactional model of communication has senders and receivers of messages in interchangeable roles. To keep communication alive, both the communicators of the transaction model need to be interdependent. In short, we not only communicate about our realities; communication helps us to construct our realities. The roles of the sender and receiver in the transaction model of communication differ significantly from the other models. Instead of labelling participants as senders and receivers, the people in a communication encounter are preferably referred to as communicators. This is the case because, unlike the interactional model, which suggests that participants alternate positions as sender and receiver, the transaction model suggests that we are simultaneously senders and receivers, or communicators, and that noise and personal filters always influence the outcomes of every communication exchange. Thus, participants in the communication process create reality through their interactions. For example, in a job interview, as you send verbal messages about your interests and background, your interviewer reacts non-verbally. You do not wait until you are done sending your verbal message to start receiving and decoding the non-verbal messages of your interviewer. Instead, you are simultaneously sending your verbal message and receiving your interviewer's non-verbal messages. This is an important addition to the model because it allows us to understand how we are able to adapt our communication — for example, a verbal message — in the middle of sending it based on the communication we are simultaneously receiving from our communication partner. The transactional model also includes a more complex understanding of context. The interaction model portrays context as physical and psychological influences that enhance or impede communication. While these contexts are important, they focus on message transmission and reception. Since the transactional model of communication views communication as a force that shapes our realities before and after specific interactions occur, it must account for contextual influences outside of a single interaction. To do this, the transactional model considers how social, relational and cultural contexts frame and influence our communication encounters. The ability for both parties to provide a response or return in the process is known as feedback (or verbal or non-verbal messages sent during the communication process of decoding). Additionally, it suggests that meaning is co-constructed between all parties involved in any given communication interaction. 26  CBC1501 This notion of co-constructed meaning is drawn from the relational, social and cultural contexts that make up our communication environments. Personal and professional relationships, for example, have a history of prior interaction that informs present and future interactions. Social norms or rules for behaviour and interaction greatly influence how we relate to one another. For example, if your professor taught the class while sitting down rather than standing up, you and your colleagues would feel awkward because that is not an expected norm for behaviour in a classroom setting. How we negotiate cultural values, beliefs, attitudes and traditions also impacts our communication interactions. We may both be from Johannesburg, South Africa, but our attitudes may differ greatly depending on the neighbourhood we grew up in. Can you think of some of your own communication experiences that were influenced by your background and traditions? The following criticisms are levelled against the transactional model of communication: Because communication is simultaneous in the transactional model of communication, this results in a lot of unnecessary noise. There is a huge possibility of misunderstandings in the communication process. Feedback is a vital element in interpersonal communication models as it provides an opportunity to clear any misconceptions or misunderstandings. Without a clear verbal response between a sender and receiver in the communication models, it will not be possible to determine whether the receiver of the information has received the message as intended, as their non-verbal cues might be misinterpreted, depending on the frames of reference of the participants in the communication encounter. In the transactional models of communication, the reliability and efficiency of messages depend on the medium used. For example, in face-to-face communication, the message is perceived by a person differently compared to the message received over a phone call. In face-to-face interaction, the receiver can gain more information through non-verbal cues but that does not necessarily happen during a phone call. The transactional model of communication includes the role of environment and contexts and talks about simultaneous feedback and encoding and decoding non- verbal communication. People living within similar environments or sharing similar social systems are bound to communicate more easily with each other compared to people belonging to different backgrounds. 27  CBC1501 ACTIVITY 2 Identify the sender, message, recipient, feedback, channel and noise in each of the following examples (note: you will not necessarily find 'noise' in each example): A man whispers into a woman's ear, asking her to marry him. She cannot hear him because his voice is too soft. "What?" she asks. A daughter sends her mother an SMS, asking for a lift home. The mother replies with an SMS saying, "On my way". A pregnant woman gets onto a crowded bus. A man vacates his seat and indicates with his hand that she should sit down. She smiles at him as she sits down. A motorist sees a political poster on an electricity pole. The poster has a picture of a politician and the words "Vote for me". The motorist thinks, "I don't like that politician's face." The purpose of this activity was to fix the terms sender, channel, recipient, message, feedback and noise in your mind. Let us see how you fared: A man (sender) whispers (channel) into a woman's (recipient) ear, asking her to marry him (message). She cannot hear him because his voice is too soft (noise). "What?" she asks (feedback). A daughter (sender) sends her mother (recipient) an SMS (channel), asking for a lift home (message). The mother replies with an SMS saying, "On my way" (feedback). A pregnant woman (recipient) gets onto a crowded bus. A man (sender) vacates his seat and indicates with his hand (channel: hand gesture) that she should sit down (message). She smiles at him (feedback) as she sits down. A motorist (recipient) sees a political poster (channel) on a telephone pole. The poster has a picture of a politician (sender) and the words "Vote for me" (message). The motorist thinks, "I don't like that politician's face" (feedback). We have discussed three of the basic communication models in this section. However, you should take note that communication models are not complex enough to truly capture all that takes place in a communication encounter but they can help us examine the various steps in the process to better understand our communication and the communication of others. Moreover, while these models are overly simplistic representations of communication, they illustrate some of the complexities of defining and studying communication. 28  CBC1501 As communication scholars, we may choose to focus on one, all, or a combination of the following elements in the communication process: senders of communication, receivers of communication, channels of communication, messages, noise, context, and/or the outcome of communication. Hopefully, you recognise that studying communication is simultaneously detail-oriented (looking at small parts of human communication) and far- reaching (examining a broad range of communication exchanges). 1.4 ELEMENTS IN THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS The discussion of the different models of communication made us aware that there are various elements in the communication process. In this section, we discuss each of these elements. 1.4.1 The communicator (or sender) A sender (or the communicator) is someone who encodes and sends a message to a receiver (recipient) through a particular channel. The sender is the initiator or the source of communication. For example, when you text a friend, ask a teacher a question or wave to someone, you are the sender of a message. In other words, we begin the communication encounter through a process of encoding. Encoding is, thus, the process of turning thoughts into communication. This means that when you communicate a message, you have to encode it and as the developer and sender of the message, you become the encoder. Let us say that your message is "I love you". You could encode it in those words, using the English language, encode it in French, by saying: "Je t'aime", or you could encode it in a look or through a gesture (for example, a kiss). You could draw a picture of a heart on a card. Encoding is an active process and involves various actions (whether conscious or subconscious). As such, the encoder must determine how the message will be received by the audience and make adjustments, so the message is received the way they want it to be received. As such, the level of conscious thought that goes into encoding messages may vary. Moreover, the encoder uses a 'medium' to send the message — a phone call, e-mail, text message, face-to-face meeting or another communication tool. 'Noise' that might interfere with their message is also a factor that the encoder should consider. This may include any distractions such as other messages or influences. When encoding a message, the communicator also needs to take note of the purpose of the communication encounter. Communication serves various purposes, such as to do the following: Inform Express feelings Imagine Advise Instruct Influence (or persuade) Implement 29  CBC1501 Meet social expectations Each of these purposes is reflected in a particular form of communication. Moreover, to communicate effectively, we need to know our recipient and try to look at the situation from the recipient's perspective to determine how they might interpret the message. To do this, you should ask yourself the following questions: For whom is this message intended? Why am I sending this message? What do I want the recipient to know? What do I expect the recipient to do? ACTIVITY 3 Provide an example of each communication purpose as listed above. Did you manage to find an example for each of the purposes outlined in the text? Perhaps the examples below will help you to find examples for all the purposes outlined:  An example of conveying or obtaining information would be the question 'When is the exam?'  When you tell someone how to change a tyre, you are instructing your recipient in the correct procedure. The purpose of this activity was to make sure that you could visualise a variety of communication purposes. The activity also checked your understanding of what you had read about how communication is transmitted. 1.4.2 The recipient (or receiver) A receiver is the recipient of a message. The recipient receives the message from the source and analyses and interprets the message in ways both intended and unintended by the source. Receivers must decode (interpret) messages in ways that are meaningful for them. For example, if you see your friend make eye contact, smile, wave and say "hello" as you pass, you are receiving a message intended for you. When this happens, you must decode verbal and non-verbal communication in ways that are meaningful to you. The audience then 'decodes' or interprets the message for themselves. Decoding is the process of turning communication into thoughts. For example, you may realise you are hungry and encode the following message to send to your roommate: "I'm hungry. Do you want to get pizza tonight?" As your roommate receives the message, they decode your communication and turn it back into thoughts to make meaning. Of course, you do not just communicate verbally, you have various options or channels for communication. Encoded messages are sent through a channel or sensory route on which a message travels to the receiver for decoding. While communication can be sent and received using any sensory route (sight, smell, touch, taste or sound), most communication occurs 30  CBC1501 through visual (sight) and/or auditory (sound) channels. If your roommate has headphones on and is engrossed in a video game, you may need to get their attention by waving your hands before you can ask them about dinner. Think of a baby lying in its pram. The baby's mother leans over the pram and greets the baby with a warm tone of voice, a smile and simple words. The baby does not yet understand the words but it gurgles, kicks its little legs with pleasure and maybe even reaches up with its arms asking to be held. Is the baby a recipient – that is, has the baby received a message? Yes! The receiver is active. The receiver – even our baby in its pram – intentionally and consciously decodes the message. The receiver also gives feedback. ACTIVITY 4 Find the words 'encode' and 'decode' and underline them. These are important concepts and you need to pause until you understand them. Envisage a railway boom that comes down at a railway crossing to indicate that a train is about to pass. Who is the recipient of this message? Imagine you are driving to work, and you see a banner hanging from a pedestrian bridge overhead saying, "I love you". Are you still the recipient of the message even though you are alone in your car? Think of additional examples from your own experience to help you remember what the receiver does in different communication encounters The purpose of this activity was to fix the concept of the receiver or recipient in your mind. At a railway boom, the recipient of the message is the pedestrian or motorist who wishes to cross the railway line. In the banner example, you are still the recipient (even if unintended). In each of these instances, the recipient responds to the message. You may laugh at the banner or wonder who it is for. You stop at the railway boom and wait for the train. You react. Your reaction is called feedback. 1.4.3 The message A message is the particular meaning or content the sender wishes the receiver to understand. We can define a message as information conveyed by words (in speech or writing) and/or other signs and symbols. This essentially means that you want to convey, with the aim of getting the recipient to understand the message as you intended it to be understood. The message can be intentional or unintentional, written or spoken, verbal (such as face-to-face communication, telephone calls, voicemails or e-mails), non-verbal (such as body language, pictures, tone of voice or typography) or any combination of these. For example, as you walk across campus, you may see a friend walking towards you. When you make eye contact, wave, smile and say "hello," you are offering a message that is intentional, spoken, verbal and non-verbal. Other examples of messages include the content of a broadcast, an interactive exchange of messages that forms a conversation or a press release (which may vary from a brief report or statement released by a public agency to commercial publicity material). Can you think of examples of 31  CBC1501 different messages in your day-to-day interactions? 1.4.4 The channel (or medium) A channel is a method or route a sender uses to send a message to a receiver. The channel or medium used to communicate a message affects how the audience will receive the message. Communication channels can refer to the methods we use to communicate as well as the specific tools we use in the communication process. The most common channels humans used are verbal and non-verbal communication. Verbal communication relies on language and includes speaking, writing and sign language. Spoken channels include face-to-face conversations, speeches, phone conversations and voicemail messages, radio, public address systems and Skype, for example. Written channels include letters, memoranda, purchase orders, invoices, newspaper and magazine articles, blogs, e-mails, text messages, tweets, and so forth. Non-verbal communication includes elements such as gestures, facial expressions, paralanguage and touch when referring to spoken language; and elements such as typography, style, layout, colour and appearance of text and documents when referring to written communication. We also use communication channels that are mediated (such as your television, computer, tablet and/or smartphone), which may utilise both verbal and non-verbal communication. We often refer to them as digital channels of communication. Digital channels extend from face-to-face to video conferencing, from written memos to e-mails, and from speaking in person to using telephones. The digital channels retain many of the characteristics of the principal channels but influence different aspects of each channel in new ways. Additionally, the choice between analogue and digital can affect the environment, context and interference factors in the communication process. Time, distance, circumstances, purpose and the needs of the recipient are important factors to consider when choosing the most appropriate channel for your message. The key to effective communication is to match the communication channel with the goal of the message. For example, written media is a better choice when the sender: wants a record of the content; has less urgency for a response; is physically separated from the receiver; does not require much feedback from the receiver; or when the message is complicated and may take some time to understand. Spoken communication makes more sense when the sender: is conveying a sensitive or emotional message; needs feedback immediately; and does not need a permanent record of the conversation. When do you think digital communication would be a more appropriate channel to convey 32  CBC1501 a message in your workplace? Why? Write down a few examples of communication channels to remind yourself of how big the range is: radio, television, Skype, hieroglyphics, a wink, a pat on the back, a handshake, a postcard, an e-mail, an art piece, or a poem. 1.4.5 Noise (or communication barriers) Noise is anything that interferes with the sending or receiving of a message and blocks or changes the source's intended meaning of the message Noise could be external (a jackhammer outside your apartment window or loud music in a nightclub) or internal (physical pain, psychological stress or nervousness about an upcoming test). External and internal noise make encoding and decoding messages more difficult. For example, if you are on your way to lunch and listening to music on your phone when your friend greets you, you may not hear your friend say "hello," and you may not wish to chat because you are hungry. In this case, both internal and external noise influenced the communication exchange. Noise is in every communication context, and therefore, NO message is received exactly as it is transmitted by a sender because noise distorts it in one way or another. You are starting to realise that communication is not plain sailing. Recipients do not always get the messages we send and many times they do not interpret them as we intended. Have you experienced the following, for example? Listening to someone speak over a distorted microphone. Trying to speak with a very sore throat. Listening to the explanation of someone whom you no longer trust. Trying to take notes when your lecturer keeps using difficult, unfamiliar terms. Not agreeing with your boss but being too afraid to contradict him/her. Hearing the words "fat" or "diet" from someone who has never had a weight problem when all your life people have teased you about your weight. There are various barriers or common sources of noise, which can affect communication accuracy and effectiveness. Clearly, some degree of noise in communication is unavoidable. The objective of effective communication is to be aware of possible sources of noise and seek to reduce this to a minimum. This includes psychological (including perceptual biases), semantic, physical (environmental), physiological and contextual barriers. 1.4.5.1 Psychological Psychological barriers to communication are related to factors that affect the human mind (such as memory, attention and perception). These barriers refer to opinions, attitudes, status consciousness, emotions, and so forth, of a person that deeply affect the ability to communicate. Psychological barriers could include perceptual biases, such as stereotypes that can impact how we interpret a particular person's message. As a result, 33  CBC1501 we see that people respond to stimuli in the environment in very different ways. An angry person might say things they will regret later. Even when listening to someone else speak, an angry person might easily misinterpret the message. Various other emotions like fear, nervousness, confusion, mistrust and jealousy affect the communication process. Now think back to the first day of classes. Did you plan ahead for what you were going to wear? Did you get the typical school supplies together? Did you try to find your classrooms ahead of time or look for the syllabus online? Did you look up your professors on an online professor evaluation site? Based on your answers to these questions, I could form an impression of who you are as a student. But would that perception be accurate? Would it match up with how you see yourself as a student? Perception is a two-way street. You formed impressions about your professors based on their appearance, dress, organisation, intelligence and approachability. As a professor who teaches others how to teach, I instruct my student-teachers to really take the first day of class seriously. The impressions that both teacher and student make on the first day help set the tone for the rest of the semester. We each have shortcuts that we use to organise information. Invariably, these shortcuts introduce some biases and prejudice into communication. Stereotyping is an example of such a shortcut. Stereotyping is when we assume that the other person has certain characteristics based on the group to which they belong, without checking out to