Communication
happens by many different means. The way we communicate can show complete
attention and engagement in the conversation. It can also indicate that a
participant is not paying attention or is not fully engaged in the conversation.
There can also be mixed signals sent. A few aspects of effective communication
are:
- Knowing your topic
Knowledge competency is the ability to “understand
the…communication environment,” ( Shockley-Zalabak, 2012, p. 7). To not know your topic is to invite
misinterpretation and miscommunication. In our business, we have to take time
to ensure that everyone is knows their topics and that we are all communicating
about the same topics. This makes a
great deal of difference in the quality of messages that are sent and received.
- Earning trust
This is important in our business. Everyone is getting used to each other. Learning
to trust everyone in their given roles can be a challenge, but it makes
communication a smoother process. It seems as if there is less talking “at” and
more talking “to” our partner and co-workers if we are working to build trust.
- Communicating
during conflicts.
How we handle conflict determines how
further communications are handled. Effectively navigating communication during
conflict means that we respond to conflict situations in a way that diffuses
the potential for destructive behaviors and words (Abigail & Cahn, 2011).
- Changing tactics.
“When communication stops, what is the best way to repair it?
Communicate!” advises an article by Arthur and Kim Nowlin (2011). Stopping
communication does not resolve conflict. My husband and I have learned that
when we are not communicating in a way that is positively seeking a resolution,
we change tactics. If I am angry and attempt to stop communicating, my husband makes
me laugh. I am disarmed by laughter and humor. It diffuses anger with me. My
husband understands when this tactic is best or when he should try something
else.
References
Abigail, R. & Cahn,
D. (2011). Managing conflict through communication
(4TH edition). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Nowlin, A. & Nowlin,
K. (2011). What to do when we’re not talking. Michigan Chronicle (74) (39).
Shockley-Zalabek, P.
(2012). Fundamentals of organizational
communication: knowledge, sensitivity, skills, values (8th
edition). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Great look to your blog. As a friendly suggeustion I would add some additional gagets and content.But it looks great and the content you have is well done.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your "Communication Theory" post. I especially liked your thoughts on communication during conflicts.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments, William! I am still playing around with the features of the Blogger format and have found that I like the Dynamic views better. They just look more professional.
ReplyDeleteIf you like my view in this post regarding communicating during conflict, please view my "Anatomy of Conflict" page. I will also be posting some more previous assignments that deal with conflict, as I think this is an area of communication that everyone could learn how to navigate a little better.
Great blog Chassity! I really like how clean this blog looks, and it looks very professional. I also like the drop down options under the “Sidebar” tab to customize the view to the readers’ personal taste. Personally, I like the “Magazine” view but I found that not all of the views work (such as “Snapshot”) so that would be something you may want to update in the future. Also, I found the right hand menu not to be very user friendly. I actually found it by accident when I moused over it looking for information about the author and I think if it was more visible on the page it may make the blog a bit easier to navigate, but that may just be me.
ReplyDelete