Minimizing Interruptions Facts: Although some interruptions are signs of involvement and interest, and other s are genuine requests for information, interruptions are rarely appreciated. When you cut others off, the speaker thinks that you don’t care about their ideas or that you believe your ideas are better than theirs. When you interrupt, you may be perceived as rude, egocentric and controlling – someone who believes that what you have to say is more important than other’s ideas. Strategies on how to cut back interrupting: Count to three after the speaker seems to be finished. Concentrate on what the speaker is saying then paraphrase it back when he/she is finished. When you catch yourself interrupting, apologize and ask the speaker to continue. Ask another co-worker to count the number of times you interrupt in a day. Opportunistic Listening Look for Main and Supporting Points Sometimes it is appropriate to ask politely for the speaker’s thesis. E.g. “I’m trying to pull together what you’ve been telling me about the problems you’ve been, having meeting your quotas. Could you summarize for me?” At other times, however, it isn’t appropriate to ask the speaker outright. “Over all, then, would you say your division is losing its market share?” Take Notes You are unlikely to remember every deadline, every comment or even every topic in a meeting or conversation unless you jot it down. You don’t have to scribble every word in every setting, but when the topic is important, put it in writing. Repeat what you heard When it is not possible to take notes, repetition works well in these cases. Go over the important parts of the message as soon as possible. Re-state it aloud, to a co-worker or a friend. You can also record the facts that you want to remember through a recording device. *Note-taking works well in recording facts, dates, figures or people to contact. In recalling ideas/plans, however, describing the ideas you’ve heard will help bring in details that don’t seem important when constructing an outline on paper. Evaluative Listening When faced with a speaker who is trying to persuade you, the proper attitude is one of evaluation. What are the speaker’s motives? How accurate are the speaker’s facts? Predictions? Do you need what the speaker is trying to “sell”? Pointers to help you listen effectively as an evaluator: Seek Information before evaluating. Consider the speaker’s motives. Examine the speaker’s supporting data. Is the evidence given true? Are there enough cases cited? Are the cited cases representative of the whole being considered? So these exceptions need to be considered? Consider the speaker’s credentials. Examine Emotional Appeals Listening to Help Advising – An advice is appropriate when someone asks you for help with a problem on which you have particular expertise. Analyzing – Analysis is helpful when you have more experience or insight than the speaker. Questioning – the right questions can help you analyze a problem, offer good advice and help the other person recognize important facts. Supporting - A support can provide a morale boost, giving someone added strength to face a tough situation. Paraphrasing – rephrasing is a useful way to help someone explore the problem. How to Listen to Help Use a variety of response styles Avoid being judgmental Take time Identifying Common Problems Most distracting business writing lapses (accdg. To Leonara and Gilsorf) Run-on sentences Poor use of commas Unclear antecedents Incorrect word choice Spelling errors Checklist of Common Writing Difficulties Sentence Fragments: Subject-Verb Agreement Identify the subject and verb in sentences to make sure that there are no sentence fragments in the material. Check to make sure the subject and the verb agree. E.g. John and Wilma are managers (not “is managers”) Use of Jargon Ask yourself if people outside your area of expertise would be able to understand the words you are using in the document. Be careful about using buzz words that may be commonly used but are trite and vague. E.g. interface, rightsize, paradigm-shift It’s and Its Its is only spelled with an apostrophe if it is a contraction of “it is”. Its is a possessive pronoun. E.g. The plan has its own advantages and pitfalls. I think it’s necessary to call an urgent meeting. Use of i.e and e.g. E.g. means example; i.e. means that is. E.g. Appropriate word choice is the key to effective business writing i.e. selecting the right words to match your thoughts is the essence of quality composition. If you select the incorrect words there can be unpleasant ramifications e.g. loss of department reputation, loss of resources and loss of job. Redundant Construction Be careful to proofread in order to ensure that you haven’t repeated yourself within the same sentence. E.g. Our unit has met its projection for two consecutive quarters ina row. This was clearly an example of acting together in unison. Use of Non-applicable Qualifiers Check to make sure that words like unique or discrete are not modified by adverbs very or unusually. Unique means one of a kind. Discrete means clearly separated. Adding adverbs would just make the words confusing. Misuse of Homonyms Most, if not all, spell check software cannot make usage distinctions between stationary and stationery or their and there or even right and write. E.g. A poem entitled “The Spellchecker’s Nightmare” The Spellchecker’s Nightmare I have a spelling checker. It came with my PC. It plainly marks four my revue. Mistakes I cannot sea. I’ve run this poem threw it. I’m sure you’re pleased to no. The letter perfect in it’s weigh. My checker tolled me sew. Pronoun Reference When using a pronoun, make sure that: The antecedent is clear The pronoun form agrees with the subject. E.g. “When Raffy meets Maverick you know he’s going to be in for a surprise.” (Who’s he?) “The company decided to change their logo.” (The subject is singular but the pronoun is plural) Absence of Transitions Transitions are essential to effectively unfold what you’re writing to the reader. Persuasive Messages When communications try to persuade others they are attempting to do one of the four basic things: Influence others to consider changing attitudes or behavior Change behavior or attitudes Reaffirm existing behavior or attitudes Actuate (i.e. persuade readers to do something or act) Persuasion involves a combination of these goals. Persuasion is not considered such once it did not allow the receiver a genuine perception of choice. (e.g. Blackmail is coercion, not persuasion) Persuasion allows the receiver to comfortably decide whether to agree or disagree with the perspectives of the author. Persuasive Approaches Use Yourself as a Credible Source “Argument of ethos” (the status that receivers attribute to those people who speak/write to them) Maintain good credibility. Any organizational communicator who has eared a reputation for honesty and wisdom can often persuade others by relying heavily on that reputation. Logical Arguments The source should always attempt to explain that there is a logical reason to change one’s attitude or behavior Have the receiver think that it is logical to behave in a certain way. Emotional Arguments Engage emotions of those being persuaded. Persuasive messages that involve sympathy, fear (but with genuine perception of choice), guilt, humor and intimations of physical pleasure are often extremely successful. Use of Reservations The arguments that are arsenal for the opposing side are called reservations. Three ways of using reservation as a persuasive effort: Refute the reservation outright in counter argument is refutable. If the reservation is not refutable, then one should downplay the significance of the reservation. The last resort in dealing with reservations is to ignore the reservation in your persuasion.