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part I
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Beginning
Communication
Principles
Chapter 1: Business and Professional
Excellence in the Workplace
Chapter 2: Verbal and Nonverbal
Communication
Chapter 3: Listening
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Chapter Outline
Chapter Objectives
Business and Professional Excellence in
Context 5
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Understanding the KEYS Process
Defining Communication
8
10
The Importance of Communication
Communication Apprehension
Communication Ethics
Discussion Questions
Terms to Remember
11
15
17
Keys for Excellence in the Workplace
Executive Summary
2. Identify business and professional
communication contexts
10
Communication: A Complex Process
22
23
23
1. Define professional excellence and
communication
19
3. Understand the components of the
communication model
4. Identify and explain the four KEYS to
communication in the workplace
5. Discuss communication and professional
excellence from an ethical perspective
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chapter 1
Business and Professional
Excellence in the Workplace
Vicky Oliver believes that new members of the workforce
need some guidance about proper etiquette in a professional
business setting. As a career consultant, Oliver criticizes instances of new
employees’ texting during orientation or playing games on their tablets during business
meetings. Another practice Oliver takes issue with is professional etiquette in the
elevator. Too often, she notices employees wearing headphones or listening to music
in this setting. “‘Wearing earplugs is like putting a Do Not Disturb sign on you,’ she
says. It sends a message to colleagues that you want to be left alone, an unfriendly
gesture at best” (Adams, 2010). Oliver discusses these points as part of the greater
matter of business and professional excellence in the workplace. Effective and socially
appropriate business communication is crucial in presenting yourself as a viable and
wanted member of a professional organization.
Standards of business and professional excellence constantly change with the
times. With the influx of new gadgets such as smartphones, tablets, and other portable
devices, it is important to understand how to use these devices appropriately in a
business setting. Spending too much time on your electronic devices can make you
appear distant or awkward to your coworkers. Even worse, it can create the perception
that you are focusing on something other than the business at hand, leading to labels
such as “lazy” or “unfocused.” Respecting your colleagues’ professional and personal
boundaries is also important; barging into someone’s office or cubicle unannounced
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PART I. BEGINNING COMMUNICATION
PRINCIPLES
Copyright
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can negatively affect that person’s perception of you. Even in an open office, people like
to claim “their” space, and respecting that claim is crucial to gaining the respect and
appreciation of your coworkers.
Business and professional excellence is an idea that most workers will grapple with
throughout their entire careers. There is no concrete formula for achieving workplace
excellence, but there are tools available that can help individuals find out on their
own what is acceptable in their unique workplaces. In this chapter, we will provide an
overview of your study of business and professional excellence, from landing the job to
work–life balance.
R
eading about Vicky Oliver’s experience may have caused you to stop and think for
a moment about your own communication and the role communication can and
will play in your successes and failures in the workplace. You may ask yourself,
“Will I be able to get an interview? Will I be considered for a promotion at work? Will I
fit in at my new job? What’s the best way to run a meeting? What are the qualities of a
professional presentation? How should I respond to negative coworkers?” The preceding
questions are commonly asked by people entering the workplace for the first time, as well
as by people changing job titles, duties, or careers. It seems that regardless of the position
or the industry in which you desire to work, there is one thing that will make or break
the experience: communication. So welcome to the world of business and professional
communication. As you study business and professional communication over the course
of this semester, we encourage you, regardless of your major, to take these principles and
objectives to heart. After all, communication is the key to professional excellence, and
professional excellence is the key to success.
Let us introduce ourselves as your coauthors. We approach this project with years of
experience teaching basic communication courses such as public speaking, business and
professional communication, interviewing, teamwork and leadership, organizational communication, and public relations. Balanced with our teaching experience and expert knowledge in the communication field are years of professional consulting and real-world experience in a variety of industries, including retail, manufacturing, shipping, health care, government, education, and more. We know firsthand the communication challenges you will face
and the communication skills you will need to succeed. Based on our teaching and professional experience, we wrote this book for you, the student as developing professional.
When designing this text, we talked to professors and students alike, trying to get a
sense of their needs. Two themes emerged from those conversations. First, instructors
and professors are frustrated because students do not read their books. As a result, class
discussions, exam scores, and student learning suffer. On the flipside, students are frustrated because they find most books extremely expensive and full of information they
deem unimportant. Repeatedly, students asked, “Why can’t professors just put the stuff I
need to know on a PowerPoint slide?” Our goal when writing this text is to address both
problems/needs. We have tried to develop a text that speaks directly to you as a student
who desires success after graduation. We realize that those of you taking this class and
reading this text are interested in different professions and are in different stages of your
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professional lives. Given the array of professional journeys taking place in the lives of you
the readers, we have included topics that will be valuable to everyone. The topic areas of
the text will focus on beginning communication principles, entering the workplace, developing in the workplace, excelling in the workplace, presenting in the workplace, and surviving challenges in the workplace. We explore the experiences you will face as you transition
from student to professional and, eventually, to leader. You will come to understand the
role of communication in successfully handling situations such as job interviewing, providing feedback to supervisors, and working in teams. As an additional feature, this text not
only discusses the greatest challenges we all will face in the modern workplace but also
provides communication strategies for overcoming those challenges. Issues such as excelling under the pressure of increasingly competitive customer service demands, managing
emotions when dealing with irate customers, overcoming stress and burnout, and managing difficult people are just a few of the topics covered. We hope that this approach will
engage you as both a student and a reader.
Business and Professional Excellence in Context
The text’s driving theme is professional excellence. To demonstrate excellence as a
professional, you must demonstrate excellence as a communicator. Excellence does not
equate to merely communicating a message effectively or simply demonstrating communication competencies. Professional excellence means being recognized for your skills as
a communicator and serving as a role model to others. Before you begin your journey
with this important topic, it is important to
understand some fundamental areas of communication, such as verbal communication,
nonverbal communication, and listening.
Additionally, it’s important to understand
the business and professional contexts that
will receive specific attention in this book.
The business and professional contexts you
will explore are beginning communication
principles (i.e., verbal and nonverbal communication and listening), the job-seeking
process, workplace culture and diversity,
interpersonal communication, team communication, communication and technology, written communication, leadership,
presenting as a professional, and work–life
When you hear the word professional, who or what comes to
balance. These are the contexts that will no
mind? Do a suit and a tie equate to professional excellence, or is it
doubt shape your experience as a professomething more?
sional. Keep in mind that communication is
at the core of the business and professional contexts you will study in this course. Let’s take
a look at each one in more detail.
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Verbal and Nonverbal Communication
Chapter 2 explores the importance of verbal and nonverbal communication as the foundation of beginning
principles needed to guide your study of business and
professional communication across contexts. Verbal
communication is both our words and our verbal fillers
(e.g., um, like). Verbal messages are created through
language. Effective communication involves accurate
interpretations of others’ verbal messages as meaning
is cocreated. Further, nonverbal communication (sometimes referred to as body language) includes all those
ways we communicate without words. Both verbal and
nonverbal communication skills are explored in this
book using the KEYS process.
Listening
Chapter 3 connects listening to your study of business and professional communication. Effective listening is central to fostering interpersonal relationships
with coworkers, leaders, and clients. Effective listening
can impact one’s relationship satisfaction and can be
a determining factor in whether someone is an effective communicator. Listening, in addition to other communication abilities, is a likely predictor of who gets
Where would you begin to search for jobs in the
promoted or who receives other relevant rewards such
industry or profession in which you’re interested?
as status and power. In all, listening is a beginning communication skill or basic principle important to your
study of business and professional communication. You will learn the importance of listening across business and professional contexts using the KEYS process.
Résumés, Interviews, and Negotiations
The context you will study in Chapter 4 is job seeking. Our approach is to provide the
information you’ll need to conduct a comprehensive job search and know yourself in terms
of professional goals and the type of work environment you desire. Job seeking is one
context in which business and professional excellence is critical to your success.
Getting to Know the Diverse Workplace
Once you’ve landed the job, you’ll enter a diverse workplace context. You will no doubt
have coworkers whose views of the world and ways of living are different from yours.
Further, it can take time to learn the organizational culture in terms of your role and how
you fit in. As Chapter 5 explores, getting to know the diverse workplace goes beyond new
employee orientation. The diverse workplace context requires professional excellence
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fostered by careful self-inventory, adjustment, and mutual respect.
Interpersonal Communication
at Work
Central to your personal and professional
growth in any career are the relationships
and overall rapport you’ll have with your
boss, coworkers, and clients. Chapter 6
reviews the importance of interpersonal
communication in common business and
professional encounters. While interpersonal communication (also referred to as
people skills) helps you build relationships
in your personal and professional life, it’s
critical to be aware of the challenges that
these skills can help you survive (e.g., conflict, difficult coworkers and clients).
The handshake is an important example of nonverbal
communication experienced in many business and professional
situations.
Strengthening Teams and Conducting Meetings
Another common experience for professionals across industries is working in a team context. You’ve probably heard other people use terms such as team player, team skills, and
team building in reference to job performance. Working in a team context can be both a
rewarding and exhausting experience for any professional. Chapter 7 pays specific attention to the team context you’ll likely encounter in your professional life, as well as strategies that foster professional excellence in team communication. We will also focus on the
skills needed to run effective meetings, a primary tool for team communication.
Technology in the Workplace
Technology in business and professional contexts is central to communication, planning,
marketing, networking, organization, research, and the like. Technology allows you to
communicate faster than in years past with the use of e-mail, personal digital assistants,
and a host of other devices designed to make the exchange of information in business
instant rather than delayed. Chapter 8 examines the impact of communication and technology on business and professional contexts. As technology enables you to excel at
work with faster information exchange and interaction, it’s important to be aware of the
problems and misunderstandings that can occur as the result of various technology-based
communication channels. Additionally, we will discuss the role of social media as a professional tool and a professional barrier.
Business and Professional Writing
Chapter 9 examines written communication as it connects to professional excellence. As
you enter business and professional contexts that require you to use written communication,
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it is important for you to make decisions that will ensure professional excellence. Written
communication can challenge professionals in a variety of contexts. How do I select the
correct format to get the message out? Is it appropriate for me to send this document via
e-mail? What tone should I strive for in this message? These are only a few of the questions
about written communication that you may encounter in your career.
Leadership and Conflict Management
Chapter 10 reviews the role of leadership in business and professional contexts. In order
to excel as a leader, you must understand what leadership is and get to know what style
of leader you are and if your style works best in the business and professional context in
which you’re working. Further, this chapter explores the challenges leaders experience, as
well as strategies for leading difficult people and managing workplace conflict.
Presentations
As a professional, you will enter situations that require you to give presentations. The presentation context arises in many forms (e.g., informative, persuasive, motivational, and team
presentations). Chapters 11, 12, and 13 explore the presentation skills essential to your
professional success. When you’re faced with an opportunity to give a formal presentation, pitch a product, present research findings, run a meeting, conduct a morning huddle,
acknowledge outstanding employees, or motivate your team in difficult times, view that
speaking situation as a chance to communicate professional excellence.
Work–Life Balance
As much as anyone wants to be successful professionally,
it’s important to think about personal and family life, too.
Unfortunately, maintaining balance can be difficult.
Chapter 14 looks at how the various experiences in your professional and personal life
can be in conflict with one another. This
tension can present quite a challenge, which
can lead to stress and burnout. We emphasize the importance of work–life balance,
explore the triggers that cause imbalance,
and present communication strategies that
enable you to sustain professional excellence and foster meaningful and successful
relationships in your personal life.
Present in each of these contexts is the
KEYS process.
Understandingg the KEYS Process
You will learn to demonstrate professional excellence by using KEYS, a communication process designed to enhance your ability to critically assess and then improve your
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communication skills. By following the KEYS process, you will learn to utilize your communication strengths and develop your weaknesses, deliver audience-centered messages,
understand the communication context, and reflect on your communication with the intention and ability to improve continually.
Effective business and professional communication is central to your success when
entering the workplace for the first time, developing your skills at a job you already have,
excelling in your career, or managing challenges that may come your way. But you may be
wondering, “How can I master this multifaceted, multidimensional skill? How can I make
sense of all this information and really make it useful in my career so I get something
practical out of it, something that can enhance my business and professional communication skills and improve my life?” The “how” you are looking for is available to you in this
course. Studying communication will enhance your skills as a professional. Doing well
in this course will afford you the tools needed for professional excellence. Furthermore,
making the KEYS process a part of your communication interactions will continue your
development long after this course ends.
What is the KEYS process? The KEYS process (see Figure 1.1) is central to your development as a professional, meaning that we encourage you to personalize it as you continue
to expand your understanding of business and professional communication. KEYS is an
acronym for Know yourself, Evaluate the professional context, Your communication interaction occurs, and Step back and reflect.
The organizing feature of this text is the KEYS process, a process designed to develop
critical thinking skills and make you a more reflexive communicator with the ability to
adapt and continually improve. What we strive for in this book is a balance of theory
and practice—an approach that emphasizes skill development based on knowledge and
understanding. Review Figure 1.1 to familiarize yourself with the KEYS process. We will
Figure 1.1 KEYS to Communication in the Workplace
1. Know yourself: Challenging people to assess their skills as communicators actively
and then develop strategies to utilize their strengths and develop their weaknesses
2. Evaluate the professional context: Teaching people to address the needs of their
audience proactively and understand the constraints of the professional
communication context, as well as developing their skills for communicating with a
variety of audiences and contexts
3. Your communication interaction occurs: Asking people to monitor their own
verbal and nonverbal cues in addition to the cues of the audience within each
communication interaction
4. Step back and reflect: Examining the effectiveness of verbal and nonverbal messages
we convey to others and the overall success of various communication interactions
and then taking what we’ve learned and starting the process again; developing the
ability to continually adapt and improve
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PART I. BEGINNING COMMUNICATION
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use this feature to personally engage, prepare, and improve human communication in the
variety of situations we all have encountered or will encounter in our lives as professionals,
regardless of industry.
Definingg Communication
As you begin your study, it’s important to define what communication means. Communication has been defined in many ways, but here’s the definition we prefer: Human
communication is the process of understanding our experiences and the experiences of
others through the use of verbal and nonverbal messages (Beebe, Beebe, & Ivy, 2007; Ivy
& Wahl, 2009; Regenbogen et al., 2012). People come to understand that communication
in everyday experiences is the essential process and skill that helps them make sense of
things in both personal and professional contexts.
Even if you have some reservations about your communication skills, you probably
consider yourself to be a good communicator and good listener. Most people do. After all,
it’s difficult to admit being bad at something you do all day, every day for your entire life.
Because communication is so much a part of our everyday lives, we think of communication as a simple process. Communicating comes so naturally to us that we rarely feel the
need to give communication a second thought. When was the last time you really stopped
and examined your communication skills? Do you stop and examine your communication
regularly? Most people don’t.
In some cases, people who fail to reflect on their communication skills trudge through
life thinking they are great communicators when they are, in actuality, dreadful communicators. They exemplify a behavior called communication bravado—perceiving their
communication as effective, while those around them perceive it as ineffective (Quintanilla
& Mallard, 2008). Ineffective communicators view communication as simply talking—but
truly effective communicators know it is far more complicated than that.
Do you take your communication skills for granted? Are you suffering from communication bravado? Let us assure you that you do indeed have some weaknesses in your communication and listening, simply because everyone does. However, understanding why
communication is important and how the communication process works is the first step in
overcoming those weaknesses and starting on the road to professional excellence.
The Importance
p
of Communication
Regardless of your major or the career path you eventually follow, effective communication will be essential to your success in the workplace (Gray, 2010). Your fellow students understand the value and importance of communication in their careers. Of 116
students surveyed at a southwestern university, 97% agreed that communication is a valuable skill and 88% saw themselves using oral presentation skills in their careers (Mallard &
Quintanilla, 2007). Further support for the importance of communication in your professional careers comes from business and industry focus groups. In 2008, the U.S. Department
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Table 1.1 Communication Competencies List (U.S. Department of Labor/Business and Industry)
Personal
effectiveness
competencies
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Phone interviews—exhibit personality and people skills
Personal appearance—professionalism
Must come to work and be on time
One-on-one people skills—social skills must be sharp
Sensitivity to diversity in the workplace
Must pass criminal background check
Integrity is critical
Avoid inappropriate phone calls/text messages at work
Teamwork
•
•
•
Must be able to work as a team member
Play well with others
Respect others in the workplace
Communication
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Develop and deliver presentations using appropriate media
Conduct meetings
Interpret nonverbal behaviors to enhance communication
Use politically correct/appropriate language
Share information effectively, small-group communication
Be able to deal with the public
Do not use text messaging–type abbreviations in e-mails and
conversation
Phone-answering skills
•
•
•
•
Problem-solving skills
Writing skills
Be willing to work your way to the top
Communication skills
General skills
desired by
employers
of Labor reviewed the results and presented a list of important job skills and communication competencies. Take a moment to review Table 1.1, in which we’ve summarized the
competencies. You’ll notice that all the competencies listed in the table are connected to
your study of business and professional communication in this course.
Communication: A Complex
p Process
Communication is a complex process (see Figure 1.2). You see that the communication
process consists of a number of elements, all of which are in play every time you communicate. Those who demonstrate professional excellence consider these elements every
time they communicate. By the end of this semester, so will you. Let’s examine each of
these elements in more detail.
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Figure 1.2 Communication Model
How Communication Works
Noise
Message
Sender
Channel(s)
Receiver
Feedback
Noise
Context
Source: Adapted from Lucas (2007).
Sender and Receiver
We stated above that, speaking practically, communication involves sending and receiving
messages; so it should be no surprise that you take on the roles of sender and receiver
when you communicate. When you are acting as the sender, you encode your messages
with verbal and nonverbal cues to help others understand what you mean. When the
receivers of your messages respond or decode your message, you find out if your message was successfully transferred. In one sense, this exchange of message and response
is a cocreation of meaning, in that both parties play a role in cocreating a meaningful
exchange. While the person initiating the exchange (the sender) can’t control how the
listener (or receiver) interprets the message, the goal is for the listener to understand the
meaning of the message as the sender intended it.
The respective roles of sender and receiver in communication seem fairly clear-cut, but
in truth, communication is experienced in a more holistic manner—not as senders and
receivers but as communicators. Consider an example: You run into a friend, Pat, while
walking to class. Pat says, “Hey, how’s it going?” You return the greeting and begin to tell
Pat about your plans for the weekend (you are attending a cousin’s wedding). At some
point during the story you are telling (how your cousin met her fiancé), you notice Pat
checking his wristwatch. You cut off your story and say goodbye, and each of you walks
to class. In one view of this example, you and Pat switch off as senders and receivers: Pat
sends you a greeting, which you receive; you send Pat an explanation of your weekend
plans and a story, which Pat receives; then Pat sends you a nonverbal cue that time is short,
which you receive by ending the encounter. In another view of this example, you and Pat
are both communicators, as you simultaneously send and receive messages.
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Message and Feedback
Implicit in the preceding discussion of senders and receivers is that a message is communicated. One principle from the field of
communication suggests you cannot not
communicate.
To say that you cannot not communicate
is not to say that everything is communication. Rather, it means that messages have
both a verbal and nonverbal component. In
the previous example, Pat did not say anything verbally, but he did send a message
nonverbally when he checked his watch.
What was his message? That is not clear. He
Professionals send and receive verbal and nonverbal messages in
may have been giving a nonverbal cue that
a variety of contexts.
your wedding story was too long. He may
have had an appointment and needed to be on his way. Only Pat knows for sure. The
point is, regardless of whether or not Pat intended to provide a message, he did, and you
responded in accordance with the meaning you took from that message.
Also included in the communication model is feedback. In the model, you will see that
feedback is sent from the receiver to the sender. However, since the distinction between
sender and receiver is in many ways arbitrary, feedback is the same as the message. As
communicators, the notion of feedback reminds us to look for cues from the other person
or persons with whom we are communicating.
Channel
The channel is simply the method by which you send your message. With all the technology available today, deciding which channel to use can be a daunting task. When you
advance in your career and move into a leadership position, you’ll have to evaluate the
merits of various communication channels daily. Given the message, should you meet with
members of your team one-on-one or call a meeting? Is it better to send a memo or an
e-mail? Should you call, or should you text? Each communication channel brings with it a
variety of strengths and weaknesses that will be discussed in a later chapter.
Context
Always and everywhere, communication is contextual. Context refers to the location, time,
and occasion where communication occurs. Developing professional excellence means
beginning to assess your communication context and use that information when developing your message. For instance, consider the context of the business and professional communication course. Virtually everyone in the course is there because they have to be. As a
result, if you give a speech in this course, your audience may not be interested or knowledgeable about the topic you select; you might need to educate them and take conscious
steps to capture their interest. However, if you are giving a speech to a group of employees
about their cost of living and merit raises, they will be hanging on your every word.
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Your Communication Interaction Advisory Committee
Read the passage below and then answer the questions. As you read, think about ways the KEYS approach could help you
improve your communication interaction if you were in Bruce’s position.
Bruce had been an executive with the company for almost 10 years. During that time, he had set up many advisory
committees, designed to allow employees on all levels to give feedback regarding important decisions. These
committees had been well received, and employees actively sought opportunities to serve on them.
Most recently, Bruce began some advisory search committees. Those serving on the advisory search committees
reviewed applications and made a list of the top 20 candidates. Then the list was forwarded to Bruce. He then conducted the interviews by himself and did the hiring. At times, as many as 100 applications had to be reviewed for a
single position, so it was a labor-intensive process.
Committee members had asked if they could rank the candidates or give input individually and/or as a group, but
Bruce felt that was not necessary since the committee was only advisory. He wanted to avoid conflict between group
members over who should be hired. He also wanted to eliminate the possibility of a conflict between his decision
and a committee decision. As the executive, he felt it was important for him to make the final decision, so he did
not wish to consider their comments. After 6 months, employees stopped volunteering for the search committees.
Questions to Consider
1. How did eliminating feedback from the communication model impact this interaction?
2. Why are employees not willing to participate anymore?
3. Would you be willing to participate?
4. Using the KEYS process, how should Bruce handle this situation differently?
Noise
Noise is part of the communication context. Noise can be either external or internal. External
noise includes distractions such as audible talking during a meeting, ruffling of papers, or a
cell phone going off in the next cubicle. For our purposes, the definition of external noise
is extended to include any external factor that could interfere with a communicator’s ability
to focus on the message. In a meeting, external noise might also include a team member
sending text messages with the sound on or whispering while your boss is talking.
Internal noise encompasses any internal condition or state that interferes with the
communicator’s ability to focus on the message. If your meeting starts at 11:00 a.m.,
your team members may be looking forward to lunch; if you hold an emergency meeting at 6:00 a.m., your team may be tired. Being tired or hungry creates internal noise.
Developing professional excellence includes learning to consider things such as context
and noise when making decisions about your communication interactions. Remember that
both internal and external noise are doing more than just preventing you from focusing on
the message. That is, both types of noise can also interfere with your understanding of the
message. You can be focused on a message and still not understand.
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Communication Apprehension
pp
Effective communication skills are essential if you want to excel in leadership. Put simply,
to move up the ladder of success, you must develop your communication skills. Unfortunately, communication apprehension is a very real problem that stops many talented
individuals from achieving professional excellence. What is communication apprehension?
Types of Communication Apprehension
According to James C. McCroskey (1982), one of the leading researchers in the communication discipline, communication apprehension is “an individual’s level of fear or
anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or
persons” (p. 137). You can understand your own communication apprehension by thinking
about your communication in particular situations. What types of communication situation increase your apprehension? According
to McCroskey (1984), there are at least four
types of communication apprehension:
1. Trait communication apprehension means that one possesses a
“shy trait.” In general, shy people
tend not to raise their hands in class
a lot, avoid certain social situations,
and feel extremely anxious about
giving a professional presentation.
2. Context-based
communication
apprehension describes a fear of
What experiences have you had speaking into a microphone? Did
communicating in certain contexts.
using a microphone increase your communication apprehension?
A fear of public speaking is a great
example of context communication
apprehension. For example, a student may not be nervous about meeting new
people or participating in small groups, but presenting a speech in front of the class
promotes a high degree of apprehension.
3. Audience-based communication apprehension explains a person’s fear of
speaking to certain people or groups. For example, a person may feel comfortable
speaking in front of friends in his or her social circle, but speaking in front of colleagues at work makes him or her extremely nervous.
4. Situational communication apprehension refers to apprehension to communicate in specific sets of circumstances; everyone at some point in their lives is going
to feel apprehensive about communicating something. Think of a person you might
want to impress, such as a boss or an interviewer. In general, you are an outgoing
person and don’t mind presenting in front of people, but someone you want to
impress may promote an uneasy or anxious feeling.
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PART I. BEGINNING COMMUNICATION
PRINCIPLES
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Know Yourself Personal Report of Communication Apprehension
T following personal report will help you gain a better understanding of your own communication apprehension. Answer
The
each question thoughtfully and then reflect on the results. How can this knowledge help you be a better communicator?
ea
Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24)
The PRCA-24 is the instrument most widely used to measure communication apprehension. The measure permits one to
obtain subscores on the contexts of public speaking, dyadic interaction, small groups, and large groups.
This instrument is composed of 24 statements concerning feelings about communicating with others. Please indicate
the degree to which each statement applies to you by marking whether you strongly disagree = 1; disagree = 2; are
neutral = 3; agree = 4; or strongly agree = 5.
_____1. I dislike participating in group discussions.
_____2. Generally, I am comfortable while participating in group discussions.
_____3. I am tense and nervous while participating in group discussions.
_____4. I like to get involved in group discussions.
_____5. Engaging in a group discussion with new people makes me tense and nervous.
_____6. I am calm and relaxed while participating in group discussions.
_____7. Generally, I am nervous when I have to participate in a meeting.
_____8. Usually, I am comfortable when I have to participate in a meeting.
_____9. I am very calm and relaxed when I am called on to express an opinion at a meeting.
_____10. I am afraid to express myself at meetings.
_____11. Communicating at meetings usually makes me uncomfortable.
_____12. I am very relaxed when answering questions at a meeting.
_____13. While participating in a conversation with a new acquaintance, I feel very nervous.
_____14. I have no fear of speaking up in conversations.
_____15. Ordinarily, I am very tense and nervous in conversations.
_____16. Ordinarily, I am very calm and relaxed in conversations.
_____17. While conversing with a new acquaintance, I feel very relaxed.
_____18. I’m afraid to speak up in conversations.
_____19. I have no fear of giving a speech.
_____20. Certain parts of my body feel very tense and rigid while giving a speech.
_____21. I feel relaxed while giving a speech.
_____22. My thoughts become confused and jumbled when I am giving a speech.
_____23. I face the prospect of giving a speech with confidence.
_____24. While giving a speech, I get so nervous I forget facts I really know.
SCORING:
Group discussion: 18 – (scores for Items 2, 4, and 6) + (scores for Items 1, 3, and 5)
Meetings: 18 – (scores for Items 8, 9, and 12) + (scores for Items 7, 10, and 11)
Interpersonal: 18 – (scores for Items 14, 16, and 17) + (scores for Items 13, 15, and 18)
Public speaking: 18 – (scores for Items 19, 21, and 23) + (scores for Items 20, 22, and 24)
Group discussion score: _____
Interpersonal score: _____
Meetings score: _____
Public speaking score: _____
To obtain your total score for the PRCA, simply add your subscores together. _____
Scores can range from 24 to 120. Scores below 51 represent people who have very low communication apprehension.
Scores between 51 and 80 represent people with average communication apprehension. Scores above 80 represent
people who have high levels of trait communication apprehension.
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Causes of Communication Apprehension
Now that we’ve reviewed the different types of communication apprehension, let’s take a
look at some of the causes. Communication scholar Michael Beatty (1988) lists eight causes
for communication apprehension. Review the list that follows to see if any of the causes
resonate with you personally.
1. Novelty: If the type of communication situation, such as giving a speech or running
a meeting, is not something you do every day, it can create apprehension until you
become familiar with this task or situation.
2. Formality: Preparing and organizing something to be in the spotlight can promote
the feeling of formality that makes you nervous or apprehensive.
3. Subordinate status: If someone in charge of you, such as a manager at work, is evaluating your presentation, his or her higher status and evaluation can cause anxiety.
4. Peer evaluation: How are my coworkers going to respond to me? These questions
hit some concerns you may have about your peers evaluating you. These concerns
can in turn cause apprehension.
5. Dissimilarity: Sometimes you may feel different from the audience. Having nothing
in common with the audience causes anxiety.
6. Conspicuousness: Feeling as though you are in the spotlight and all eyes are on you
can certainly cause anxiety.
7. Lack of attention: When you feel as though a listener or the audience is bored and
uninterested in your message or presentation, you may begin to feel apprehension.
8. Prior history: Many people have had a bad experience during a communication
interaction, such as an interview, presentation, or meeting. This negative experience
can create anxiety the next time you find yourself in a similar situation.
As you can see, there are many different types and causes of communication apprehension. Identifying the types and causes of your communication apprehension is important
but not nearly as important as learning the skills that will reduce those fears.
Communication Ethics
With professional excellence as our goal, we believe that ethical behavior must serve as a
foundation for people to be treated with fairness, dignity, and respect. Central to professional excellence is communication ethics. Ethics is the general term for the discussion,
determination, and deliberation processes that attempt to decide what is right or wrong,
what others should or should not do, and what is considered appropriate in our individual,
communal, and professional lives (By, Burnes, & Oswick, 2012; Japp, Meister, & Japp,
2005; Johannesen, Valde, & Whedbee, 2008). What considerations or factors help shape
our ethical decisions as professionals? Ethical considerations are the variety of factors
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PART I. BEGINNING COMMUNICATION
PRINCIPLES
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Evaluate the Professional Context John’s Presentation Problem
Read the following passage about John and answer the questions that come after.
R
John gave a big presentation today at work. He had spent hours and hours working on his PowerPoint slides. They
were loaded with information—lots of statistics and charts. In fact, he had more than 50 slides in his 20-minute
speech. When he began speaking, he was a little nervous. Because he had spent most of his time working on the
slides, he did not have much time to practice. Still, he had the slides to read, and he thought the presentation went
well. However, his audience seemed uninterested when he was speaking, and no one approached him after the
speech to praise him for a job well done. Why didn’t his preparation pay off for this particular professional presentation context?
Questions to Consider
1. Given the professional context, what would you have done the same and/or different if you were in John’s position?
2. Do you think John accurately evaluated the context? Why or why not?
3. How could the KEYS process help John improve his presentation decision in the future?
Taking part in something as common as
office gossip is an ethical consideration. Is
the gossip true? Does it show respect for
boundaries? What does it say about your
integrity?
important for us to consider in any scenario in which we’re making a decision, conducting an evaluation, or making a selection
(Bok, 1989, 1999; Carter, 1996; Japp et al., 2005; Mathenge, 2011;
Tannen, 1998). Ethical considerations vary from person to person, and it is not always as simple as the black-and-white world
of right and wrong. For example, you may experience ethical
dilemmas, situations that do not seem to present clear choices
between right and wrong or good and evil. If you are asked to do
something illegal, then it may be easy to make a decision. “No, I
will not do something illegal.” But what if it is not illegal? What
if everyone else does it? What if it is just bending the rules a little
bit? What follows are five questions we believe you should always
consider as an ethical communicator.
Many ethical considerations are connected to our values
and virtues. Values are moral principles or rules that determine ethical behaviors. Values are often articulated in should or
should-not statements. Sometimes values are presented as statements of what a group believes or as lists of rules people intend
to honor. Many readers of this text will take jobs in industries that ask all employees to support organizational values, specific principles or guidelines such as safety, teamwork,
integrity, or ownership that are typically outlined in support of
any given organizational mission or goal. For example, some
health care systems and private education institutions ask
employees to support certain religious values. Regardless of
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Step Back and Reflect Ethical Considerations
Throughout this text, you will be given opportunities to step back and reflect on other people’s communication interactions.
But in this first exercise, we would like you to step back and reflect on your own communication. Read the questions below.
When it comes to both your written and verbal communication, can you always answer “yes” to these questions? Can you
think of examples for which you could not answer “yes”?
Lying: Are you telling the truth?
Secrets: Are you respecting the boundary placed around information by avoiding disclosure to others?
Integrity: Are you discerning right from wrong and explaining your reasoning for your decision? In other words, are you
vocal about the ethics driving your decision (e.g., care and love, financial, respect for individual rights, equal for all)?
Aggressive communication: Are you communicating with others void of power abuse and aggression? Are you communicating with others in a dignified and respectful manner? Are you communicating with mutual respect and open
dialogue?
Plagiarism (cheating): Are you communicating information that is authentic and not plagiarized? Is the source of information being credited appropriately?
Step Back and Reflect
1. Have you ever taken part in any of these communication behaviors?
2. If so, did you consider them unethical? Why or why not?
3. Did you consider them unprofessional? Why or why not?
industry, organizational values address both the experience of the people working for
the company and the experience of customers with service and product quality. To
minimize ethical dilemmas in your professional career, seek employment with organizations that share your values.
Once you’ve been promoted or elected into a particular position of leadership, you may
think, “That’s it—job over; I’ve arrived.” We emphasize that leadership is a skill, one that
needs to be developed and maintained throughout life. Think about the qualities of excellent leaders. Ethics should be among those qualities. And like all other leadership skills,
your ethics must be developed and continually maintained. While not every reader of this
book is currently in a leadership position, has the goal of becoming a CEO, or even wants
to become a leader, the KEYS process with communication ethics at the foundation drives
excellence in professional situations.
KEYS for Excellence in the Workplace
p
We opened this chapter with attention to Vicky Oliver’s concerns about the lack of professionalism seen in a variety of business contexts today. In response to Vicky’s call for workplace excellence, we reviewed fundamental information to begin our study of business and
professional communication. We defined human communication and provided a practi-
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PART I. BEGINNING COMMUNICATION
PRINCIPLES
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Ethical Connection
Throughout the text, each chapter will touch on particular issues in ethical communication. The topics covered in each
chapter are directly related to business and professional excellence. Please read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.
Tom is a recent college graduate who recently landed a job as an information technology manager at a computer
manufacturing plant. Tom never really enjoyed talking to new people, so he made sure his degree involved working
with computers so he could minimize his interactions with other coworkers. However, once he began working at
his new company, it became obvious that a great deal of his work involved interacting with other people. Because
Tom disliked communicating with his coworkers, he was often perceived as grumpy and unfriendly. Management
made several attempts to coach Tom on his communication skills, but he still refused to make any effort to work well
with others. His lack of communication led to technical problems going unaddressed and sabotaged the company’s
team-based working environment. Tom was eventually fired from his position and attempted to find another job that
did not require him to interact with other employees.
Questions to Consider
1. What is the ethical issue with Tom refusing to communicate with his coworkers?
2. Is Tom wrong to assume that there are many jobs out there that do not require communication skills?
3. What could Tom have done differently to save his job at that particular company?
4. Using the KEYS process, how could Tom train himself to be a better communicator?
cal communication model. We defined professional
excellence: being recognized for your skills as a comKnow Yourself
municator, serving as a role model to those around
Evaluate the Professional Context
you, recognizing your strengths and developing your
weaknesses, being audience centered, understanding
Your Communication Interaction Occurs
the context, and possessing the ability to adapt and
continually improve.
Step Back and Reflect
Next, we situated our topic of study within the
workplace as a communication context and discussed
communication apprehension as a common obstacle for professionals. We introduced the
KEYS process as a way for professionals to develop their communication. Knowing yourself means actively assessing your skills as a communicator and then developing strategies to utilize your strengths and develop your weaknesses. Evaluating the professional
context entails proactively addressing the needs of your audience and understanding the
constraints of the communication situation, as well as developing your skills for communicating with a variety of audiences and situations. Your communication interaction
requires you to monitor your own verbal and nonverbal cues, in addition to the cues
from the audience within each communication interaction. Stepping back and reflecting encourages you to examine the effectiveness of verbal and nonverbal messages you
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convey to others and the overall success of various communication interactions and then
take what you’ve learned and start the process again, developing the ability to adapt and
improve continually.
This introductory chapter has provided you with an understanding of some of the basic
terminology and the importance of communication excellence. In the second chapter, we
explore some of the most important verbal and nonverbal skills needed to enter the workplace or, put simply, how to put the KEYS process in action.
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PART
BEGINNING
COMMUNICATION
PRINCIPLES
Executive Summary
Now that you have finished reading this chapter, you
can do the following.
Define professional excellence and communication:
• Professional excellence means being recognized for your skills as a communicator and
serving as a role model to others (p. 5).
• Human communication is the process of
understanding our experiences and the
experiences of others through the use of
verbal and nonverbal messages (p. 5).
• Regardless of your major or the career path
you eventually follow, effective communication will be essential to your success in the
workplace (p. 10).
Identify business and professional communication contexts:
• The business and professional contexts you
will explore are the job-seeking process,
workplace culture and diversity, interpersonal communication, team communication,
communication and technology, written
communication, leadership, presenting as
a professional, and work–life balance (p. 5).
Understand the components of the communication model:
• The person initiating the exchange is the
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
sender, while the person listening to the
exchange is the receiver (p. 12).
Generally speaking, the process of sending
and receiving communication is that a message is communicated (p. 13).
When you are acting as the sender, you
encode your messages with verbal and nonverbal cues to help others understand what
you mean (p. 12).
When the receivers of your messages
respond or decode your message, you find
out if your message was successfully transferred (p. 12).
Feedback is communication sent from the
receiver back to the sender (p. 13).
The channel (p. 13) is the method by which
you send your message (voice, phone, e-mail,
etc.).
Context refers to the location, time, and occasion where communication occurs (p. 13).
Noise can be either external or internal.
External noise includes distractions such as
audible talking during a meeting, ruffling of
papers, or a cell phone going off in the next
cubicle. Internal noise encompasses any
internal condition or state that interferes
with the communicator’s ability to focus on
the message (p. 14).
Define verbal and nonverbal communication.
Identify and explain the four KEYS to communication in the workplace:
• Know yourself: challenging people to assess
their skills as communicators actively and
then develop strategies to utilize their
strengths and develop their weaknesses
(p. 9).
• Evaluate the professional context: teaching
people to address the needs of their audience proactively and understand the constraints of the professional communication
context, as well as developing their skills for
communicating with a variety of audiences
and contexts (p. 9).
• Your communication interaction occurs:
asking people to monitor their own verbal
and nonverbal cues in addition to the cues
of the audience within each communication
interaction (p. 9).
• Step back and reflect: examining the effectiveness of verbal and nonverbal messages
we convey to others and the overall success
of various communication interactions and
then taking what we’ve learned and starting
the process again; developing the ability to
adapt and improve continually (p. 9).
Discuss communication and professional excellence from an ethical perspective:
• Ethics is the general term for the discussion, determination, and deliberation processes that attempt to decide what is right
or wrong, what others should or should not
do, and what is considered appropriate in
our individual, communal, and professional
lives (p. 17).
• Ethical considerations are the variety of
factors important for us to consider in any
scenario in which we’re making a decision,
conducting an evaluation, or making a
selection (p. 18).
• Ethical dilemmas are situations that do not
seem to present clear choices between right
and wrong or good and evil (p. 18).
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Discussion Questions
1. What are the contexts for business and professional excellence?
2. Why is it important to study communication?
3. Why must a speaker consider all the elements in the communication model for communication with
excellence?
4. Discuss the KEYS process introduced in this chapter. What are the four KEYS features?
5. Work through a personal example—something you either encountered in the past or are presently
experiencing—to help you make sense of the KEYS process. Does it help you get more familiar with the
situation? Are there changes you need to make considering this particular situation?
Terms to Remember
audience-based communication
apprehension (p. 15)
channel (p. 13)
communication apprehension
(p. 15)
communication bravado (p. 10)
context (p. 13)
context-based communication
apprehension (p. 15)
decode (p. 12)
encode (p. 12)
ethical considerations (p. 17)
ethical dilemmas (p. 18)
ethics (p. 17)
external noise (p. 14)
feedback (p. 13)
human communication (p. 10)
internal noise (p. 14)
interpersonal communication
(p. 7)
message (p. 13)
noise (p. 14)
organizational values (p. 18)
professional excellence (p. 5)
receiver (p. 12)
sender (p. 12)
situational communication
apprehension (p. 15)
trait communication
apprehension (p. 15)
values (p. 18)
Visit the Student Study Site at www.sagepub.com/keys2e to access the following resources:
• SAGE journal articles
• Video links
• Web resources
• Web quizzes
• eflashcards
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Chapter Objectives
Chapter Outline
Verbal Communication
26
Nonverbal Communication
After studying this chapter you should be able to:
29
Codes of Nonverbal Communication
1. Define verbal communication
33
Forming Relationships With Verbal and
Nonverbal Communication 41
KEYS to Excellence in Verbal and Nonverbal
Communication 44
Executive Summary
Discussion Questions
Terms to Remember
46
47
47
2. Define nonverbal communication
3. Develop your verbal and nonverbal
communication skills
4. Explain the importance of both verbal and
nonverbal communication and how they are
related
5. Utilize the KEYS approach to conduct yourself
with professional excellence through verbal and
nonverbal communication in the workplace
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chapter 2
Verbal and Nonverbal
Communication
Nonverbal cues in the workplace can affect much more
than how people perceive one another; they can affect
professional decisions and business relationships as well.
Researchers at the University of Michigan have found that nonverbal behavior
between medical doctors and patients not only impacts how patients view their
relationship with their doctors but also influences the doctors’ medical decisions. Dr.
Stephen Henry, the lead author of the study, noted that both patients and doctors
took nonverbal communication into account when interacting with one another.
Patients who perceived their doctor’s nonverbal communication as aggressive or
hurried reported reduced feelings of comfort and talked less about their illness.
Also, the study revealed that physicians incorporate their patients’ nonverbal
communication, such as body language, eye contact, physical appearance, and
tone of voice, into their medical decisions (Dallas, 2011). The findings of the study
indicated that a better understanding of nonverbal communication can lead to
better interactions between doctors and patients, as well as improve the diagnoses
of illnesses.
Although the previous study focuses on doctor–patient relationships, it is important
to know that nonverbal communication has a significant impact in any professional
working environment. Many of the perceptions that people have of one another can
be influenced without a single word being said. From the job interview to the exit
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PART I. BEGINNING COMMUNICATION
PRINCIPLES
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interview, your employers, coworkers, and employees all make judgments about you
based on your nonverbal cues in communication. However, since many nonverbal
gestures are unconscious or unintentional, it is important to be aware of your nonverbal
communication at all times and to understand that different gestures carry different
meanings to people. What is acceptable in your classroom might not be acceptable in
the workplace.
Using nonverbal communication with excellence in the workplace can be an
intimidating task; there is no concrete strategy that will work in every situation.
However, becoming a critical observer of nonverbal cues in your environment can help
you better assess what nonverbal behavior is acceptable or not. In this chapter, you will
learn different types of nonverbal cues and how they can affect the workplace based
on a variety of factors (e.g., race, gender, environment, ethnicity, etc.).
Verbal Communication
What is verbal communication? Verbal communication encompasses both our words and
our verbal fillers (e.g., um, like). Verbal messages are created through language. Effective
communication involves accurate interpretations of others’ verbal messages as meaning is
cocreated. Otherwise, the meanings of the words you communicate will not be successfully understood. So as a professional, you must make effective use of your language skills
and improve your abilities to interpret other people’s messages. Robinson and Robinson
(1982) concluded that if speakers are to be consistently efficient at conveying verbally their
intended meanings to listeners, they must understand that intended meanings may not be
fully conveyed by a message and that many factors can lead to a listener’s failure to understand what a speaker means.
The symbols communicators use are abstract, vague, and sometimes arbitrary. Because
symbols can make things a bit off or fuzzy, we have to interpret the meaning. So we construct meanings as we interact with other people and by processing the information in our
own heads (Duck, 1994; Keyton & Beck, 2010). This process of meaning construction is
also symbolic, because we use words to think about what things mean (Keyton & Beck,
2010; Wood, 2009).
When you really think about it, it is an absolute miracle that we can communicate with
one another at all. Really, think about it for a moment. We have selected a bunch of arbitrary symbols we call words and gestures to represent “things.” These can be things we
have never seen or never can see, such as feelings. Nevertheless, we use those symbols
to express our thoughts, desires, and emotions, and somehow communication does occur.
Because of the need for interpretation of meaning, being an audience-centered communicator is a must for professional excellence. It is obvious that communication affects how
we are perceived by our audience(s). Still today, some people believe that communication
works like a pipeline (i.e., if you send a message, the target will no doubt be reached);
if you said something and another person heard it, then effective communication has
occurred. We all should know from experience that this simply is not the way it works.
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ChapterInc.
2. Verbal and Nonverbal Communication
Copyright © 2014 by SAGE Publications,
Step Back and Reflect Confident Connie
Read the following passage about Connie and answer the questions that follow.
Connie works in the accounting department of a manufacturing company. She often complains to her family and
friends that her coworkers do not like her and treat her differently than they do the other staff. She is not invited to
lunch outings, and she notices that people walk away when she approaches. She considers herself a friendly, outgoing person and cannot figure out what she is doing wrong. Connie believes her coworkers may resent her because
she is able to work well with all her clients and is skilled in accounts reconciliations, resulting in company savings of
thousands of dollars each month. She is confident in her abilities and speaks proudly in meetings, providing guidance to her teammates about work issues. She enjoys sharing her success stories and has no apprehension about
asking questions in meetings. She has been with the company longer than everyone, including her boss, and she
often reminds him of the history of why things are done a certain way. Connie is confident that even if her coworkers
are jealous of her abilities, her boss recognizes her value as an employee. However, when she receives her performance review, she is shocked by her supervisor’s comments:
“Feedback has been shared with Connie several times on her engagement in team meetings. Connie constantly
repeats points discussed and closed in meetings, which is a distraction for several analysts. It is evident that Connie
is having a hard time following along in meetings, as points and topics are constantly being repeated for her to
understand. Feedback has been shared with Connie on staying on point and not drifting off to other tangents. At
times, Connie’s body language, comments, and tone of voice during meetings seem aggressive and indicate that she
disagrees with her manager. This has been shared with Connie and she has been asked to improve.”
Step Back and Reflect
1. What went wrong?
2. How could Connie utilize the KEYS approach to improve her communication interaction?
With little effort, you could give a dozen examples of times when you said something and
the listener completely misunderstood the message.
Let’s look at an example from the retail industry to illustrate the point. A customer
comes into a grocery store and asks for green beans. Trying to provide good customer
service, a manager explains, “The green beans are on Aisle 8.” Twenty minutes later, the
customer is still wandering around the store frustrated. Why? Because canned green beans
are on Aisle 8, fresh green beans are on Aisle 1, frozen green beans are on Aisle 14, and
the prepared green beans she wanted are in the deli across from Aisle 10. “Green beans”
is an arbitrary symbol with various interpretations of meaning.
Verbal communication concerns communication rules—shared understanding of
what communication means and what constitutes appropriate communication given the
context. Two kinds of rules guide communication (Pearce, Cronen, & Conklin, 1979).
Regulative rules describe when, how, where, and with whom to talk about certain things.
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Building relationships in the workplace is vital to being a successful professional. Effective
communication is part of this process and involves accurate interpretations of both verbal and
nonverbal messages.
These same rules also dictate appropriateness. For instance, it might be appropriate for
your boss to call you at home after hours, but would it be appropriate for you to do the
same if you had a concern about your travel schedule? What’s appropriate for the person
with power or control may not be for those serving in a subordinate role. To demonstrate
professional and workplace excellence, one must be able to monitor his or her own appropriateness when communicating. In addition, constitutive rules define what communication means by prompting us to count certain kinds of communication. In other words, we
learn what counts as paying attention (e.g., eye contact), showing affection (e.g., kissing,
hugging), as well as what counts as being inappropriate (e.g., interrupting conversations,
rolling one’s eyes; Duck, 2007; Wood, 2009).
Being aware of oneself can be the difference between losing one’s job and nurturing a promising career. We see examples of this in the news headlines and front-page
stories of our favorite magazines and newspapers. In early 2012, radio talk show host
and political commentator Rush Limbaugh caused controversy after he made inflammatory remarks about Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke. Despite the fact
that his career is based on sharing his opinions, the words he chose on that fateful day
resulted in public and sponsor backlash. What factors led to such an outcry? If he had
spoken out in disagreement without name calling, would the reaction have been the
same? What are the ethical considerations in this situation? What might you take from
this story when considering your verbal communication in the workplace? Undoubtedly,
the words we say are extremely important. Yet, of equal importance is what we communicate without words.
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Ethical Connection
Read the following passage about Sheila and David, and then answer the questions. As you read, focus on evaluating the
professional context.
Sheila and David work for an advertising firm and are partners assigned to work on a major advertising campaign.
Sheila is a seasoned account manager, while David is a recent college graduate hired as a junior account executive. He is very enthusiastic and has several ideas that he excitedly shares with Sheila via e-mail. Sheila never
responds to the e-mail. In a meeting with management to propose their ideas, however, Sheila takes the lead
on presenting; as a result of her nonverbal and verbal communication, management concludes that she was
responsible for the work. In fact, when commended on the ideas, she accepts the praise and makes no reference
to David. David, on the other hand, is afraid to say anything, and his bosses have no clue that the majority of the
ideas were his.
Questions to Consider
1. What are the ethical considerations and dilemmas in this scenario?
2. What did Sheila communicate or not communicate during her presentation and how?
3. What could David have done differently?
4. How would you have handled the situation?
5. Does communicator intent impact the ethics in situations such as this?
Nonverbal Communication
What is nonverbal communication? Put simply,
nonverbal communication (also referred to
as body language) includes all those ways we
communicate without words. A more technical definition for nonverbal communication is
“communication other than written or spoken
language that creates meaning for someone”
(Ivy & Wahl, 2009, p. 3).
The literature provides considerable support for the effectiveness of nonverbal communication as a tool for conveying thoughts,
attitudes, perceptions, and meaning. Research
indicates that about 55% of interpersonal
messages are conveyed nonverbally (Lavan,
2002). This seems logical, because most
human beings are visually dominant and live
in a society dominated by visual images and
are thus more inclined to believe the evidence
This photo illustrates a few examples of nonverbal
communication—all the ways we communicate without words.
In order to achieve professional excellence, one should become
a critical observer of nonverbal cues in any environment.
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Evaluate the Professional Context A Day With the Chief
R
Read
the following passage about Mark, and then answer the questions. As you read, focus on evaluating the professional
context.
co
Mark is a top-performing salesperson at a pharmaceutical supply company. As a reward for his performance, he is treated
to a trip to the corporate office in California to meet the chief executive officer, Ms. Mills. Ms. Mills is known around the
office as the “Wicked Witch of the West” because of her short and sometimes abrasive demeanor. His coworkers share
“horror stories” of their encounters with her, stating that she rarely makes eye contact, never smiles, and dislikes being
approached unless she initiates the conversation. Although he is excited to travel, he is also nervous about what he and
Ms. Mills might talk about. He prepares by thinking about how he can share his sales strategies and techniques. On
the day of the meeting, he waits patiently for her assistant to call him into her office. When he is escorted in to meet her,
he is shocked to see a petite woman behind the large desk smiling back at him with kind eyes. He approaches, shakes
her hand, and waits for her permission to sit. Ms. Mills is nothing like the horrible person they made her out to be. Ms.
Mills asks Mark several thoughtful questions about why he is successful, ways the staff can be supported, and how the
company fits in with his professional goals. Mark feels more and more comfortable as she leans forward to listen intently
to what he is saying. Mark loosens his tie, crosses his legs, and begins sharing stories of how he feels his immediate
supervisor has dropped the ball on more than one occasion and that the team would be better if more money were allocated toward incentives and bonuses. Mark immediately sees Ms. Mills’ eyes begin to squint and her brow furrow. She
stands up abruptly and says in a gruff voice that their time is up and that her assistant will show him out.
Questions to Consider
1. Given the professional context, what would you have done the same and/or different if you were in Mark’s position?
2. Do you think Mark accurately evaluated the context? Why or why not?
3. What factors led to the change in the chief executive officer’s disposition?
4. How could the KEYS process help Mark improve his communication skills?
of the eyes than that of the other senses (Sampson, 1995). In fact, a widely held viewpoint
among scholars is that communication is optimized when verbal and nonverbal elements
operate in an integrated fashion, producing a coordinated and synchronized effect (Jones
& LeBaron, 2002; Laplante & Ambady, 2003). Harrison and Crouch (1975) suggested that
verbal communication is only the tip of the communication iceberg and that “nonverbal
communication precedes and perhaps structures all subsequent communication” (p. 77).
Nonverbal symbols are everywhere, even though we tend to use verbal forms for our
most formal communications. In fact, the nonverbal system accounts for 65% to 93%
of the total meaning of communication (Birdwhistell, 1970; Mehrabian, 1981). Nolan
(1975) concluded that the many theories of language evolution had one important argument in common: “Nonverbal behavior precedes verbal behavior in the evolution of
communication” (p. 101).
What kinds of behavior are included in the term nonverbal communication? “Your
walk, stance, posture, and footsteps are a form of nonverbal communication. What you
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wear and how you look, move, and gesture, as well as the facial and eye expressions
you make all count as nonverbal communication” (Ivy & Wahl, 2009, p. 3). What are the
purposes of nonverbal communication? Why is nonverbal communication important?
Argyle (1988) suggested that nonverbal behavior serves four purposes. The first function is to express emotion. Consider a moment when you may have had a conflict with
a friend or family member. When that person asked you what was wrong, you probably
responded, “Nothing,” but you could not control your facial expressions, which indicated
otherwise. Displaying appropriate emotion is vital to professional excellence. One should
show passion and drive but also demonstrate resilience and be able to triumph over dayto-day disappointments in the workplace. Could you imagine a classroom environment
where students displayed extreme emotion each time they received a grade that was lower
than expected? How do you think your productivity would be affected?
The second function of nonverbal communication is to convey interpersonal attitudes.
Being skilled in observing and interpreting the nonverbal behavior of others will give you
an edge over other professionals. For example, a young woman competing for a promotion
with another employee noticed that her coworker would always approach their boss with
issues first thing in the morning. The coworker would then complain that he had to repeat
himself and that their supervisor seemed to forget what he had been told. The young woman
observed that her supervisor always seemed rushed and distracted until he had his coffee
and had checked and responded to pressing e-mails. She made sure always to approach
him when he seemed more relaxed and focused. When he offered her the promotion, her
supervisor said he appreciated her timing and how she always kept him in the loop.
The third function is to present one’s personality, such as character, disposition, or temperament. Think about the different work environments you frequent during your week—
the bank, the school library, restaurants, etc. What are the character traits of employees
at each of these establishments? Do you expect that the librarian will be as outgoing as a
server in a crowded bar? Make a list of the top five jobs you have considered, and write
down some of the personality traits that might be expected. How might your verbal and
nonverbal communication vary between the positions?
Finally, the fourth purpose of nonverbal communication is to accompany verbal communication. Ekman (1965) specified the important ways that verbal and nonverbal behaviors interrelate during human communication. Nonverbal communication can simply repeat
what is said verbally. It can also conflict with what is being said. Verbal and nonverbal
communication can be incongruous, or in disagreement. Think of a time at home, work, or
school when you experienced someone saying he or she was being truthful yet could not
look you in the eye. Did you assume that person was being deceptive? Or think of a time
when a loved one said, with a raised voice and tear-filled eyes, that nothing was bothering
him or her. When verbal communication carries one message and body language a conflicting message, the result is likely to be communication failure (Jones & LeBaron, 2002;
Laplante & Ambady, 2003).
Ekman (1965) also found that nonverbal communication can complement or accent a
specific part of the verbal message. This can include placing emphasis on certain words by
slowing down your speech or changing your tone. Nonverbal behavior can also be a substitute for a word or phrase within a verbal message. How many of you have ever nodded
instead of saying “yes” when your professor asked you if you understood the curriculum?
Or perhaps you have looked away to avoid eye contact instead of saying that you do not
want to be called on to answer the question being asked.
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In addition to the above, nonverbal communication may also accent (amplify) or
moderate (tone down) parts of the verbal message. As well, nonverbal communication
is distinct in its ability to regulate verbal behaviors by coordinating our verbal and
nonverbal behavior in the production of our messages or those of our communication
partner (Ekman, 1965). Imagine the last time you had a conversation with a roommate
or friend. How did you determine whose turn it was to speak? Did you use eye contact to end the conversation or to let the other person know you were listening? What
hand gestures or sounds might you have made to show your partner that you wanted
to speak?
Recall the definition of human communication as presented earlier in the text: the process of understanding our experiences and the experiences of others through the use of
verbal and nonverbal messages. In fact, in an effort to categorize the meaning associated
with nonverbal behavior, Mehrabian (1981) identified three dimensions that indicate how
we use nonverbal communication to make sense of things in both personal and professional contexts:
• Immediacy—We react to things by evaluating them as positive or negative, good or
bad.
• Status—We perceive behaviors that indicate various aspects of status to us, for example, rich or poor, strong or weak, superior or subordinate.
• Responsiveness—Our perceptions of activity as being active or passive. This signals
the intensity of our feelings about a person or subject.
Remember that our cultural backgrounds can determine how physically close we get to others
and how close we let others get to us.
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Knapp and Hall (2009) proposed that these three dimensions are basic responses to
our environment and are reflected in the way we assign meaning to both verbal and
nonverbal behavior.
Now that we have explored the value and importance of nonverbal communication
and how we assign meaning, it is crucial that we examine the components of nonverbal
communication to understand it on a deeper level. Although we focus on these nonverbal
communication codes in Western culture, remember that perceptions or reactions to nonverbal communication can vary in other cultures.
Codes of Nonverbal Communication
The primary categories or codes of nonverbal communication include vocal expression;
space, environment, and territory; physical appearance; body movement, gestures, and
posture; facial and eye expressions; and touch (see Table 2.1; Ivy & Wahl, 2009).
Vocal Expression
Vocalics, sometimes referred to as paralanguage, refers to how people use their voices to
communicate and express themselves (Foley & Gentile, 2010; Ivy & Wahl, 2009). Vocalic
cues include tone (quality) of voice, volume, articulation, pitch (highness or lowness),
rate of speech, and use of silence. The voice reveals our emotions, our thoughts, and the
Table 2.1 Nonverbal Communication Codes: Consider the Professional Context
Nonverbal Code
Consider the Professional Context
Kinesics (body movement,
gestures, and posture)
How do you think gestures and body movement
impact professional contexts?
Facial/eye behavior
Can you think of some examples of professional face
and eye behavior? How can face and eye behavior
lead to negative perceptions?
Vocalics (paralanguage)
What vocal qualities do you perceive as professional?
Unprofessional?
Space/territory
How can space and territorial violations impact
business and professional contexts?
Touch
Can you think of positive ways to use touch in
professional contexts? In contrast, can you think of
some negative uses of touch?
Environment
What are the qualities of a professional environment?
Physical appearance
In what ways does physical appearance impact
business and professional communication?
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relationships we have with others. A growing body of evidence from multidisciplinary
research in acoustics, engineering, linguistics, phonetics, and psychology suggests that
an authoritative, expressive voice can make a big difference in one’s professional career.
Scientific studies show that someone with authority characteristically speaks low, slow,
and with vocal intonation (Louet, 2012). Vocalics provide information about our selfconfidence and knowledge and influence how we are perceived by others (Hinkle, 2001).
Think about the direct impact our tone of voice can have in a professional setting. What
does your voice say about you to others?
Space
The impact of space on communication is called proxemics, or how people create and
use space and distance, as well as how they behave to protect and defend that space
(Foley & Gentile, 2010; Hall, 1959, 1966; Ivy & Wahl, 2009). Violations of territory and our
personal space can be detrimental in business and professional settings.
Have you ever been on a crowded elevator and been uncomfortable because it seemed
as though people were invading your personal
space? When you go to the library, how many
of you place your backpacks on the table or
chair next to you to claim your space? What
would happen if someone sat down in that
chair anyway? Violations can be alarming, possibly even threatening. Our relationships with
others, power and status, and our cultural
backgrounds determine how physically close
we get to others and how close we let others
get to us (Burgoon & Jones, 1976).
What preferences do you have related to
space and distance? Edward T. Hall (1963)
identified four zones of space in middle-class
U.S. culture. The first is the intimate zone (0
to 18 inches). This is usually reserved for our
significant others, family members, and closest
friends. It is rare that a stranger can enter this
space without making us feel violated. These
interactions mostly occur in private and signify
a high level of connection, trust, and affection.
This photo demonstrates how people create and use space
The personal zone (18 inches to about 4 feet) is
and distance. What might happen if someone picked up the
reserved for personal relationships with casual
computer and sat down in the seat next to her?
acquaintances and friends. The social zone (4
feet to 12 feet) is the distance at which we usually talk to strangers or conduct business. If you went to your professor’s office to discuss
a grade, for example, you would most likely remain at a distance of 4 to 12 feet. The public zone (more than 12 feet) refers to the distance typical of large, formal, public events.
In large lecture classrooms, campaign rallies, or public speeches, the distance between
speaker and audience is usually more than 12 feet. Understanding these spatial zones is
important to your everyday nonverbal communication competency.
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Know Yourself Nonverbal Communication
T following report will help you gain a better understanding of your own nonverbal immediacy. Complete each item
The
thoughtfully, and then reflect on the results. How can this knowledge help you be a better communicator?
th
Nonverbal Immediacy Scale-Observer Report
This measure will allow you to assess your own nonverbal immediacy behaviors.
Directions: The following statements describe the ways some people behave while talking with or to others. Please
indicate in the space at the left of each item the degree to which you believe the statement applies to [fill in the target
person’s name or description]. Please use the following 5-point scale:
1 = never; 2 = rarely; 3 = occasionally; 4 = often; 5 = very often.
__ 1. I use my hands and arms to gesture while talking to people.
__ 2. I touch others on the shoulder or arm while talking to them.
__ 3. I use a monotone or dull voice while talking to people.
__ 4. I look over or away from others while talking to them.
__ 5. I move away from others when they touch me while we are talking.
__ 6. I have a relaxed body position when I talk to people.
__ 7. I frown while talking to people.
__ 8. I avoid eye contact while talking to people.
__ 9. I have a tense body position while talking to people.
__ 10. I sit close or stand close to people while talking with them.
__ 11. My voice is monotonous or dull when I talk to people.
__ 12. I use a variety of vocal expressions when I talk to people.
__ 13. I gesture when I talk to people.
__ 14. I am animated when I talk to people.
__ 15. I have a bland facial expression when I talk to people.
__ 16. I move closer to people when I talk to them.
__ 17. 1 look directly at people while talking to them.
__ 18. I am stiff when I talk to people.
__ 19. I have a lot of vocal variety when I talk to people.
__ 20. I avoid gesturing while I am talking to people.
__ 21. 1 lean toward people when I talk to them.
__ 22. I maintain eye contact with people when I talk to them.
__ 23. I try not to sit or stand close to people when I talk with them.
__ 24. I lean away from people when I talk to them.
__ 25. I smile when I talk to people.
__ 26. I avoid touching people when I talk to them.
(Continued)
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(Continued)
Scoring for Nonverbal Immediacy Scale-Observer Report:
Step 1. Start with a score of 78. Add the scores from the following items:
1, 2, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, and 25.
Step 2. Add the scores from the following items:
3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 15, 18, 20, 23, 24, and 26.
Total score = Step 1 minus Step 2.
Source: Richmond, McCroskey, and Johnson (2003).
How did you score? What surprised you about your score? You can also try the measure on others. Simply fill out the
measure with another person’s behaviors in mind. For instance, you might find it interesting to fill out the survey for your
least and most favorite professors to determine whether their nonverbal immediacy might play some role in the degree to
which you like them. Do you notice differences in their use of nonverbal immediacy behaviors? Did you learn more in one
class? What class did you enjoy more?
Environment
The constructed or natural surroundings that influence your communicative decisions,
attitude, and mood are termed the environment (Foley & Gentile, 2010; Ivy & Wahl,
2009). People are influenced by environmental factors such as architecture, design, doors,
windows, color, lighting, smell, seating arrangements, temperature, and cleanliness (Harris
& Sachau, 2005; Jackson, 2005). Take a moment to think about what preferences would be
related to your work environment. How does the environment (e.g., temperature, lighting,
color, furniture) impact your communication?
Consider other things in the environment that can serve as nonverbal cues about who
you are. These environmental factors you create and control are what serve as nonverbal
messages to others who enter the space. As one scholar put it, “People cannot be understood outside of their environmental context” (Peterson, 1992, p. 154). The environments
we create for ourselves often speak volumes about those relationships we consider most
important (Lohmann, Arriaga, & Goodfriend, 2003).
Perceptions of Environment
The way we perceive our environment and the environments of others is an important factor in how we respond. Overall, we perceive the environment in six distinct ways
(Knapp & Hall, 2006). The first is formality, which is an understanding people have of
environment that relates to how comfortably they can behave, in light of their expectations.
Sometimes it is more about the atmosphere of a certain place than the place itself. The
second way we can perceive the environment is warmth. This means that the environment
gives off a certain sense of warmth, comfort, or a welcoming context based on our past or
current experience. Think of a favorite smell from your childhood, for example. Smells in
an environment contribute to our perception of warmth.
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Privacy is another way the environment
can be perceived. Do you prefer a crowded
and noisy restaurant or a peaceful and quiet
one? Do you choose a seat in the back of a
movie theater or in the middle next to many
other moviegoers? Another perception we
have is familiarity, which means that we
tend to react cautiously when we meet new
people or are confronted with an unfamiliar
environment. Not knowing where we are
and what to expect makes us feel less comfortable. We like knowing what to expect
and how to behave in the environment.
Another perception of environment is
that of constraint. Think about your living situation. Do you like sharing a room
or home with another person? Whenever
we feel that our personal space is being
invaded, we feel constrained. Most of our
perceptions of constraint are shaped by the
People are influenced by their environments. What are the
amount of privacy and space available to
nonverbal messages in this professional office environment that
us. The final perception of environment is
could impact communication?
distance. Our perceptions of distance in an
environment pertain to physical arrangements. We like to know how far away the closest door is or how many people can fit into
an elevator. We create distance by avoiding eye contact or taking a longer route to avoid
saying hello to a person we find annoying.
Physical Appearance
Physical appearance—“the way our bodies and overall appearance nonverbally communicate to others and impact our view of ourselves in everyday life” (Ivy & Wahl, 2009,
p. 129)—also plays an important role in communication. Making the connection between
physical appearance and nonverbal communication is important for two reasons: (1) The
way we represent ourselves and our physical appearance reveals a lot about who we are,
and (2) the physical appearance of other people influences our perception of them, how
we talk to them, how approachable they are, how attractive or unattractive we think they
are, and so on.
Clothing is also a part of our physical appearance that is often critical to professional
situations. Clothing helps you convey a sense of professionalism. Clothing and other
appearance aspects, termed artifacts (e.g., jewelry, tattoos, piercings, makeup, cologne,
eyeglasses), send nonverbal messages and help others form perceptions of us, both good
and bad (Okoro & Washington, 2011; Roach, 1997). The nonverbal message sent by your
clothing is a powerful part of professional excellence. Appearance is extremely important
in our society. In fact, according to Armour (2005), employers also agree that physical
appearance matters. An Intranet software firm in the Northeast requires formal business
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