Communication Management, Contemporary Public Speaking - Assignment Example

Communication Management Name Institution Course Date Communication Management: Reflective Journal B1: Bill O’Reilly is a senior commentator at the Fox News. After watching his presentation style in the 'The O'Reilly Factor,” I hope to begin expressing my viewpoints in a similar style. This is because O’Reilly uses facts and figures, including examples to inform and explain his point. For instance, in this video based on President Obama’s Last Stand, O’Reilly feels that Obama has a naive view of the world. When he disagrees with Obama on his stand on “Islamist Terrorist,” he does not just disagree, but proceeds to provide evidence to show that most Muslims are terrorists and that most Muslim nations support citing countries Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and many African Muslim nations. I find this kind of presentation a good way of informing that I want to immolate by ensuring that I use statistics and examples to stress a point of view. http://video.foxnews.com/v/5148006957001/president-obamas-last-stand/?#sp=show-clips B2: There are basically two types of speech purposes namely informative and persuasive speech. The differences between the two types of speeches lies in the goal or purpose they intend to achieve. On one hand, informative presentation aims at providing the audience with knowledge and facts (Bell & Smith 1999, p. 380). The information or knowledge may be provided in the form of facts, statistics or any other evidence that the person presenting the speech might deem fit. A good example of informative presentation is that provided during academic lecture since the professor seeks to provide students with the information and facts as they are so that they can understand them (Bell & Smith 1999, p. 380). Using the earlier example, when the professor tells the students that obesity is a common health problem and that people should eat healthily and do regular exercise to prevent obesity, the professor here now moves from just informing to persuading the audience to take action. B3: CSI: New York and Bones are the two television programs that I truly enjoy watching over and over again. The two programs are similar in most aspects as both are based on forensic investigations to address crime in the society. In both programs, the characters are involved in collection of evidence and analysis, as well as autopsies to be able to profile the criminal. Other than the words and conversation that are involved, the meaning is communicated using visual evidences, such as dead bodies, which the forensic investigators perform autopsy. The investigators also use blood samples as visual evidence to communicate meaning. B4: An informative speech is a speech or presentation that aims to provide the audience with knowledge or facts. In this speech that appeared in The Guardian Newspaper in February 24, 2010, the President of Toyota Motor Corporation, Akio Toyoda delivered a speech to the Congress detailing the company philosophy about quality control, the reasons the company recalled some of its cars and the strategies that Toyota had intended to adopt in managing quality in the future. After reading this speech, Toyota president did a good job in detailing the philosophy of the company regarding quality control. On the contrary, I feel that Toyota CEO did not do a good job in detailing the real cause of the issues that resulted in the recall. Instead, president Toyoda only cited pursuit for faster growth as being the main cause. Therefore, personally I would do this part differently by detailing factual information of the actual cause of the recall so that the audience can know what exactly happened. At the same time, I would provide details of the number of cars that were affected by the recall. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/feb/24/akio-toyoda-statement-to-congress B5: Junk food eating culture has grown significantly across the globe. However, eating too much junk posses a number of health risks. Therefore, the following are the list of points that I would address in a two minute informative speech. 1. What constitutes junk foods 2. Examples of junk foods 3. The origin of junk foods 4. Health problems associated with junk foods 5. How to prevent health problems associated with junk foods The points have been ranked in that manner because to inform people about junk foods and related health problems, it is important to begin by explaining what junk foods are, providing examples and explaining their origin. B6: Racism is one of the social issues in the Australian society that I would wish to see addressed. Current statistics show that one in every five people in Australia has been subjected to racist abuse. Although Australia and most countries in the world have made remarkable gains in the fight against racism, this problem since persist in Australia and needs to be changed. To realize the change and make Australia a free racist society, the kind of persuasion that is needed is to persuade Aussies to embrace the uniqueness of every person living in Australia. This requires making Australians appreciate that every person is unique in terms of culture and should be accorded respect. B7: The principle of consensus implies making decisions under the influence of others (Bell & Smith 1999, p. 537). Personally, a strongly believe that consensus principle actually work. In life, people experiences different situations where people are not sure or certain of what to do. As such, a person may be influenced to do something because he/he has seen another person do it. For instance, it is common in life to find people buy an item because some people own the same item. For instance, whenever a new fashion arrives in the market, it is common to find many people buying the new fashion because they have seen others with the item and developed an interest in the product. Besides, I am an example of people who are susceptible to this kind of persuasion. As much as I am independent minded and makes most decisions independently, in some situations, especially when am not sure or certain of what to do, I end up following what others do. B8: Eating snails will probably be the last thing I would do in this world. However, in this commercial titled, “Eating Snails,” the commentator explains why he introduced his child to eating snails which is a delicacy in France and why people should consider eating them. However, evidence from the commercial indicates that only the principle of social proof was used. The commercial uses the people of France who eat snails as a delicacy as a social proof to persuade his audience to consider eating snails. However, as an audience, the principle of authority would be effective on me as an audience; this is because I make my buying decisions, especially food based on expert advice. Therefore, given opportunity, I would change the commercial by introducing the principle of authority. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBhnGgyhEcc B9: Discontinuance and deterrence are some of the most important roles of persuasion. Discontinuance is that persuasion that seeks to convince someone to stop doing something that he has already been doing (Bell & Smith 1999, p. 540). Deterrence, on the other hand, is a form of persuasion that seeks to discourage someone from starting doing something (Bell & Smith 1999, p. 540). Personally, I think that discontinuance is the most challenging form of persuasion. This is because once someone has started behaving in a certain manner or doing something, it requires a lot to persuade or convince someone to stop. For instance, evidences have shown that it is not easy to convince a smoker, a drunkard or a thief to stop the habit. On the other hand, deterrence appears relatively easier to me compared to discontinuance because I find it easy to model the behavior of a person is a certain direction when he or she has not started. B10: Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory states that individuals seek the satisfaction of higher level needs once the lower level needs have been fulfilled. The needs include physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualization. Personally, I feel that I have attained physiological, safety, and belongings needs and now seeks the attainment of esteem needs. This is because I have enough food to eat, live and work in a safe and secure place and have friends besides being in an intimate relationship. The current position that I am in has not changed over the last three years, but I hope to change it by ensuring that I become independent and respected by others through high achievement. B11: Persuasion is an important part of communication as it is designed to influence the actions, behaviors and judgments of others. However, because persuasion often co-habits with propaganda, persuasion sometimes raise ethical issues. Persuasion is only considered ethical when it is truthful. In this respect, there must be truthfulness in the persuasion both in terms of intention and action so as to ensure that the audience being persuaded to take a certain cause of action does not misled, deceived or misinformed (Bell & Smith 1999, p. 574). Persuasion is ethical when the following elements are present namely truthfulness, persuader authenticity, respect for audience and fairness of the persuasive appeal. On contrary, persuasion is considered unethical if the presenter or persuader deceives, mislead or provide misleading information to the audience. In fact, there are a number of persuasive actions that are considered unethical. These include persuading the audience through coercion, torture and brainwashing. B12: If you are looking for accounting and auditing firm in town, look no further than me. I own an accounting and audit firm that has a solid track record of balancing the books of accounts and auditing company books and records. This is made possible by a team of qualified and experienced accounting and audit team and our track record spans over 7 years. Besides, our charges are affordable compared our competitors in the market. B13: An elevator speech is a brief, clear and concise speech about a person or a company (Bell & Smith 1999, p. 569). An example of an elevator speech is presented by Coopman and Lull (2014, p. 353) involving a job seeker named Samantha Atcheson who has a major in Environmental Science. In the speech, Atcheson is inquiring for a position that can allow her to exploit her research and analytical skills at a company. Atchenson details her previous work experience at local watershed council and she reveals that she has been prompted to inquire for a position at the company after learning that the company is involved in water-quality projects. The major strengths I find with this elevator speech are that it is brief and to the point, and the author provides details about herself and how she hopes to contribute to the company if offered a position. However, only weakness I find with this elevator speech is that it lacks conclusion and call for action. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=Jz4aCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT381&lpg=PT381&dq=Hi,+my+name+is+Samantha+Atcheson,+and+I+am+a+senior+Environmental+Sciences+major&source=bl&ots=yBy6Ze5Lfu&sig=0SMCATacsxLhLYollUlbzm01jmI&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Hi%2C%20my%20name%20is%20Samantha%20Atcheson%2C%20and%20I%20am%20a%20senior%20Environmental%20Sciences%20major&f=false B14: Nonverbal communication is very difficult to discern and often confuses many. Nonverbal communication is that communication relaying information or message without the use of words (Bell & Smith 1999, p. 410). Example of nonverbal communication is the use of facial expression, gestures, voice tone, posture, and timing among others. Personally, I think that considering nonverbal communication as that communication which is not verbal communication helps in enhancing people’s understanding of communication. In reality, communication can be verbal or not verbal. Therefore, when people consider nonverbal communication as communication that is not verbal communication, this enhances people’s understanding of nonverbal communication as it makes it easy for a person to know that nonverbal communication is that communication that does not involve the use of words as opposed to when it is referred to as nonverbal, which makes the meaning difficult to discern. B15: To me, time is an important resource. In fact, I equate time to money to the extent that every second lost equate to money lost. Therefore, I plan everything that I do to ensure that time is properly spent and that not even a single second is wasted. The following is a list of things that I spend time on: reading, doing class coursework and assignments, time for my family, time for work and time for my friends. However, personally all things this matters to me, though time for my family, work, and class work are the most valuable. B16: Time play a very important role in communication, especially in today’s information age. In all cultures, times are considered a critical source and are considered money across all cultures that this shows the extent to which time is valued (Bovée 2003, p. 411). As such, time is an important factor in the communication and the best way for a person to show respect for his/her audience is to honor time expectation linked with the speech. In this regard, a person presenting a speech should always provide the audience with time to digest the information and the speech need to be precise, short and to the point. This is because, if the audience considers the speech to have gone overtime, they will lose interest in the speech and stop listening and this can have an adverse impact on the presenter’s ability to pass the message. B17: Nonverbal communication involves passenger of information or message without the use of words. Examples include the use of facial expression, gestures, voice tone, posture, and timing among others (Bell & Smith 1999, p. 410). However, based on the reading, a number of assumptions about nonverbal communication can be deduced. The assumptions include: No use of words in communication Communication involves use body language The use of body language can influence others Movements of the body have meaning in communicative context Behavior can be understood based on patterns and repetitions B18: Agenda: Meeting to Discuss Quarterly Sales Report and Results from the Latest Marketing Campaign 1. Confirmation of members present 2. Results achieved by the marketing campaign 3. Challenges faced in implementing the marketing campaign 4. Improvements recommended 5. Any other business 6. B19: Building a positive working relationship with the local media is important for business success, especially in a market where the business is new. Building good relations with the local media is important as it helps in enhancing the brand image by sending the good news about the company that help instill trust on the local government and attract customers to the new brand. Therefore, in building a good relations with the local media, I would ensure that the local media is provided with factual, accurate and quality information that the that they can count on as this would help build trust and good relations, which is good for business success in the new city. B20: A crisis can happen anytime and anywhere from natural or man-made causes. As such, Bovée (2003, p. 235) it is important for individuals and organizations to put in place effective risk management plans to address any risk that might occur. When people are not aware of what to do in a crisis situation, this might result in lives being lost, property damaged and a company suffering reputation damage due to negative media publicity that might follow. To address these challenges, I would ensure that I put in place an effective communication plan in place to help guide me on the vulnerable information that might be lost or ignored in a crisis situation. Other than creating a communication framework, I would also ensure that I respond to the crisis by evacuating the affected and providing assistance to the victims with material and non-material support. B21: Self-disclosure is a communication process involving individuals providing information about themselves to another person (Bell & Smith 1999, p. 619). Self-disclosure is particularly important in business settings. The success of a business depends largely on the relationship that a business builds with customers. It has been noted that businesses that are able to build positive relationships with customers succeed than those that are not able to build good relationship with customers. Self-disclosure is therefore important in business setting because being open and self-disclosing helps build trust from the customers and company stakeholders, which promote interpersonal communication. As interpersonal communication begins, relationship between a company and customers grow, which results in customer loyalty and company success in the long run. B22: An interview is the first step to getting hired for a job. An interview, however, serves interviewee and the interviewer in different ways. To the interviewee, an interview serves the purposes of enabling the interviewee know the employer in person, actual business location and details of what the employer would expect when offered the job. To the interviewer, an interview serves the purpose of helping the interviewer know the interviewee in details beyond what is presented in the resume, such as attitude, physical appearance and interpersonal abilities, such as verbal communication skills that helps in ensuring that the right candidate is hired for the job. B23: Conflict is normal part of life. Conflict results when two or more people disagree over something. However, what matter most is the ability of the conflicting parties to manage the conflicts in the best way possible so that it does not result in adverse consequences. In this chapter, a number of conflict management strategies have been proposed, which include avoidance, defensiveness versus supportiveness, face-detracting and face-saving, empathy, gunnysacking and managing emotions (Bell & Smith 1999, p. 635). However, personally, I feel that managing emotions is the most effective conflict management strategy out of all the strategies highlighted. People often make a lot of mistakes when they make decisions when their emotions are high. Therefore, the best way to manage a conflict is to wait until such a time that the emotions have passed to address the issue. http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/an-introduction-to-group-communication/s12-managing-conflict.html B24: Different leaders adopt different management styles to keep their employees motivated. Douglas McGregor came up with Theory X and Y that describes how human being is motivated (Bell & Smith 1999, p. 707). Personally, I would prefer to rely on Theory Y as my management style. This is because I strongly believe in a participative management as opposed to an authoritarian leadership where employees are seen merely as cogs. I believe that, as a leader, I need to work closely with my followers by allowing them to participate in decision making instead of just dictating to them what to do. Therefore, as a manager who believes in Theory Y, I would ensure that employees are consulted before the final decision is made on how best to run the company. I will also delegate some responsibilities to the employees to empower and give them a chance to participate in the running of the company. B25: Being sent on an expatriate assignment is a dream for most employees, including myself. However, undertaking an overseas assignment has many challenges. For me, the greatest challenge that I would face in an overseas assignment is the culture shock. Adapting to a different culture, such as language, foods, dress codes and business culture will be the hardest thing for me. By contrast, the easiest part of an overseas assignment would be performing the job for which I am sent that I have knowledge and experience as this is not affected by culture, legal or political issues in a foreign country References Bell, A. H., & Smith, D. M 1999, Management communication. Wiley: Hoboken. Bovée, C. L 2003, Contemporary public speaking. Rowman & Littlefield, London. Read More