Business and Professional Communication, 3Rdedition

Business and Professional Communication, 3rdedition

Kelly M. Quintanilla, Shawn T. Wahl

Chapter 1: Business and Professional Excellence in the Workplace

Lecture Notes

Learning Objectives:

1-1Define professional excellence and communication

1-2Identify business and professional communication contexts

1-3Discuss the importance of human communication in business and professional contexts

1-4Identify the four KEYS to communication in the workplace

1-5Explain the components of the communication model

1-6Describe the communication challenges posed by social media and technology

1-7Identify the types and causes of communication apprehension

1-8Discuss communication and professional excellence from an ethical perspective

Outline:

1. Introduction
2. Twitter is a popular social networking website that embodies both communication and professional excellence.
3. Twitter allows users to share content and conversations in real time.
4. Twitter employees feel that the company offers the opportunity to develop a worldwide forum of communication that creates special meaning.
5. Twitter reports enjoying their colleagues and finds the workplace cooperative and fun.
6. Twitter supports employees’ work-life balance and compensates them fairly.
7. What is business and professional communication?
8. Business and professional communication involves interviewing.
9. Business and professional communication involves relational communication.
10. Business and professional communication involves mediated communication.
11. Business and professional communication involves presentational speaking.
12. Business and professional communication involves written documents.
13. Business and professional excellence will be studied in different contexts.
14. We need to understand the importance of human communication.
15. Role-taking and feedback are critical in business and professional communication.
16. Communicators are impacted by their previous communication experiences.
17. Physical surroundings and communication channels influence communicators.
18. Communication is altered by cultural influences.
19. Communicators are influenced by the perceived relationship between them.
20. We need to understand the importance of verbal and nonverbal communication.
21. We need to understand the importance of résumé, interviews, and negotiations.
22. We need to understand the importance of getting to know the diverse workplace.
23. We need to understand the importance of interpersonal communication at work.
24. We need to understand the importance of strengthening teams and conducting meetings.
25. We need to understand the importance of technology in the workplace.
26. We need to understand the importance of business and professional writing.
27. We need to understand the importance of leadership and conflict management.
28. We need to understand the importance of presentations.
29. We need to understand the importance of work-life balance.
30. You will learn to demonstrate professional excellence by using the KEYS communication process.
31. The KEY communication process consists of Knowing yourself.
32. The KEY communication process consists of Evaluating the professional context.
33. The KEY communication process consists of Your communication interactions.
34. The KEY communication process consists of Stepping back and reflecting.
35. It is important to define what communication means.
36. Human communication is the process of understanding others’ and our experiences through messages.
37. Communication bravado is a term used to describe ineffective communicators.
38. It is essential to understand the importance of communication.
39. The vast majority of those surveyed view communication skills as valuable and useful in future careers.
40. Interviewing, teamwork, and presentation skills are among many competencies listed by the U.S. Department of Labor as necessary in the workplace.
41. Social media and technology create new challenges in the communication age.
42. We must decide when to use computer-mediated communication or face-to-face communication.
43. Practicing intercultural sensitivity can be difficult.
44. Intercultural communication involves the communication between and among individuals across national and ethnic boundaries.
45. The lack of cultural awareness can disrupt business negotiations across cultures.
46. Information overload can negatively affect your work and health.
47. Communication is a complex process.
48. There is a sender and a receiver.
49. Sendersencode messages for receivers to decode, thereby co-creating a meaningful message.
50. Sometimes communication does not occur in the sender and receiver format, but rather in a more holistic manner.
51. There is a message and feedback.
52. Since messages have verbal and nonverbal components, some argue that you cannotnot communicate.
53. Feedback from a receiver of a message lets the sender know if the message was communicated properly.
54. There is a channel of communication.
55. The channel is the method by which you send your message.
56. Many different channels to send messages are available.
57. Each channel has strengths and weaknesses.
58. There is a communication context.
59. Context refers to the environment in which the communication occurs.
60. It is helpful to consider the context in which your communication occurs.
61. Noise impacts the communication process.
62. External noise refers to audible sounds that distract from proper communication.
63. Internal noise refers to the other factors such as fatigue and hunger that may hinder communication.
64. Communication apprehension is a problem that stops individuals from achieving professional excellence.
65. There are multiple types of communication apprehension.
66. Trait apprehension refers to the tendency for shy people to feel anxious when in communicative contexts.
67. Context-based apprehension describes fear of communication in certain contexts, such as public speaking.
68. Audience-based apprehension describes fear of communication with certain people or groups of people.
69. Situational apprehension refers to the fear of communication in specific circumstances, such as job interviewing.
70. There are different causes for communication apprehension.
71. Communication scholar Michael Beatty lists eight causes for communication apprehension:novelty, formality, subordinate status, peer evaluation, dissimilarity, conspicuousness, lack of attention, and prior history.
72. Identifying causes of apprehension is important in order to help learn skills that will reduce those fears.
73. Ethical communication behavior must serve as our foundation if our goal is professional excellence.
74. Ethics is the general term for the discussion, determination, and deliberation processes that attempt to decide right or wrong, what you should or should not do, and what is considered appropriate.
75. Ethical considerations in communication include lying, keeping and/or telling secrets, maintaining integrity, engaging in aggressive communication, and cheating.
76. Ethical dilemmas are situations that do not seem to present clear choices between right and wrong or good and evil.
77. Values are moral principles or rules that determine ethical behavior.
78. Organizational values are typically outlined in an organizational mission or goal.
79. Many jobs require the employee to subscribe to the organizational values that are outlined as part of the organization's mission or goal.
80. KEYS to Excellence in the Workplace
81. Know yourself—actively assess your skills as a communicator and then develop strategies to utilize your strengths and weaknesses.
82. Evaluate the professional context—proactively address the needs of your audience and understand the constraints of the communication situation.
83. Your communication interaction occursas you monitor your own verbal and nonverbal cues in addition to the cues from the audience.
84. Step back and reflect—examine the effectiveness of verbal and nonverbal messages you convey to others and the success of the interactions.