Evaluating Effective Communication

This week’s assignment is about communicating effectively in the work place. I am reviewing a multimedia program “The Art of Effective Communication” in this video the same message is delivered in three modalities: text, audio, and as a video. I will evaluate how I interpret each version of the message and the factors that influenced me.


TEXT: As I read the message I thought it was to wordy and lacked professionalism. The apologetic nature could be perceived with various voices depending on the mood of the reader. The indirect nature of the email annoyed me and telling me that my part impacted there part of project was offensive in this format. I felt as if the person were telling me I was not doing job and that I needed to get on the ball and indicated I might not do my job. The line that stated “I might miss my deadline if I don’t get your report soon” was offensive in email.

AUDIO: In the voice mail it was better but still hard to tell if the person was truly sincere or if she was trying to be polite. I still thought the request was wordy in the voicemail and would have annoyed me had I received it. This time the line “Because your report contains data I need to finish my report” seemed unnecessary in a voicemail.

Video of Face-to-Face: When the same message was delivered face-to-face the inflection of Jane’s voice was very different in person than on the voicemail. In the video Jane used a positive body language that was casual and non-confrontational. She maintained appropriate eye contact and gave a pleasing smile at key points in the conversation. Though what was said seemed lengthy in an email and voicemail it was appropriate for face-to-face communication.

I have learned in this scenario that effective communication is all about conveying your message to others clearly and unambiguously. It is also about receiving information that others are sending to you without distorting the message as much as possible. Communication is only successful when both the sender and receiver understand the same information.

Despite the need for effective communication skills many individuals continue to struggle unable to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively. This makes it nearly impossible for them to compete in workplace and stands in the way of career progression.

References:


Ertmer, P., & Quinn, J. (Eds). (2007). The ID casebook: Case studies in instructional design (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Portny, S., Mantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., & Sutton, M. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.