Communication Studies Midterm Essay

Midterm Study Guide – Communication Studies 334

* There will be 35 questions * The following chapters will be covered on the exam: 1, 4, 6, 7, 10, 13 * 27 multiple choice questions, 8 true/false

Here are some areas that you should focus on:

* Communication and shared meaning; signs and symbols; ambiguity * Defining communication * -communication is an exchange of messages for that purpose of creating or influencing the meaning that others assign to events * -meanings are interpretations we develop for particular experiences * -the meaning we give an event is not carried by the event * -meanings are assigned largely through communication with others

* Meaning exists on a continuum * -shared
meaning: when two people agree in their interpretation of an event -contractual shared meaning: exchange where each party gives up something in order to get something -consensual shared meaning: consensus about basic values and goals * -ambiguity: when a message sender achieves low correspondence between his/her intent and the receiver’s interpretation

* Defining signs & symbols * -signs: involuntary expressions of emotion (usually in the form of nonverbal cues) * -symbols: voluntary expressions that stand for or represent something else

* Why is business communication important? * The importance of communication * -effective communication contributes to: * -employee motivation * -productivity * -organizational change * -individual success

* Power, overt politics, and hidden politics * Power: the ability to mobilize people and resources * Power is partly exerted by leaders and partly given by followers

Overt politics: involves direct communication to influence others
Hidden politics: is the process by which employees decide which issues to raise and how to raise them * * How women and minorities adapt to the politics of the workplace

* The different ways to deal with harassment * stop the harassment * -maintain employment * -manage psychological and emotional well-being

* Formal audience situation analysis (different parts) * Occasion: the purpose and context of the presentation * Purpose: audience expectations about the presentations goal * Context: what happens before and after the presentation? * Paying attention to presentations before you * * Size: the number of people in the audience * * Organizational culture: implicit rules that dictate the way the group or organization operates * Knowing the companies mission statement * Using the proper “language” that your audience can understand * * Physical environment: seating arrangement and the availability of microphones and audiovisual equipment * Sometimes microphones can get overlooked * Take advantage of audio visual equipment * * Time: the amount of time allotted for the presentation * Know how to adapt to how much time you have left * After a certain amount of time people stop listening * Consider the audience and see if they are really interested in listening to what you have to say * * Demographics: qualities over which an audience has relatively little control, such as age, gender, economic status, education, religion, sexual orientation, ethnic background, or culture heritage * Danger to this can be over adapting * Danger to this can be not adapting at all (lack of awareness) * Adapt your speech accordingly

* * Captive/voluntary audiences; role-taking * Captivity: refers to whether the audience is voluntary or captive * Lively material will hold the interest od the captive audience (college classroom) * Make the information you present directly relevant to the lives of the captive audience * Do not assume that a voluntary audience is favorably predisposed to speaker or topic * * Role-taking defined * -role-taking: the act of imagining how others will react to our message * -role-taking allows communicators to adapt to feedback prior to actual interaction

* How to organize speech; introductions, conclusions
Four goals for the introduction 1. gain the audience's attention 2. justify the imporance of the topic to the particulat audience 3. build the speaker's credibility or authority on the subject 4. preview the main points in the body of the speech

*can you think of situations were one or more of these goals need not be included
Two goals for the conclusion * review main ideas * end with a capstone statement that reinforces the specific purpose * use one method of gaining attention in the introduction * refer listeners back to the introduction * make an appeal to action or belief * make it east for the audience to take direct action

* * Know the Matrix of Audiences (e.g. hostile, active), and how to deal with them. * The matrix of audience * * * * * *

* General purpose, specific purpose, and central idea
Develop a specific purpose * The specific purpose state states the audience outcome the speaker desires * phrase as a full infinitive sentence * limit the statement to one distinct idea * word the statement so it is sharp and precise

* Different speech structures (topical, spatial, etc) * Structure: the method by which speakers guide listeners to the desired meaning * chronological structure: follows a time pattern * spatial structure: follows a geographical or directional pattern * cause-effect & effect-cause structures: describe how one event leads to another * problem-solution structure: defines a difficulty and suggests a remedy * topical structure: divides a topic into logical categories

* What are the four different structures used in proposal presentations?
The problem-solution structure
-the speaker articulates the problem and provides a solution to the problem
-explain how a salesperson can persuade audiences to buy his/her product with a problem-solution structure
-can you think of any commercial advertising that uses the problem solution structure?

Monroe’s motivated sequence (can be used for proposals)
-motivated sequence: a modified problem-solution structure that includes visualization and action
Ex.
Introduction
Body
I. need step (state, illustrate. Reinforce, “point”) II. satisfaction step (support, refutation) III. visualization step (positive or negative) (typically positive) conclusion the N-A-R structure (used for crisis proposal)
-a structure named for its three main elements: narrative, arguments, and refutation
-narrative: tells a story that emphasizes the speaker’s meaning
-argument: a line of deductive or inductive reasoning used to support a claim
-refutation: addresses audience objections

The balance structure (good one for sales)
-balance structure: eliminates competing solutions
-mention strengths and highlight weaknesses of each option
-conclude with your proposal
Ex.
Introduction Body i. option a ii.
option b iii. option c iv. option d (the speaker’s preferred option) conclusion * What are the different types of deductive and inductive reasoning (e.g. causal, reasoning from sign, etc). Also, be able to identify examples of the syllogisms. * Causal reasoning(politicians use it) * -a line of argument that connects two events and claims the first produces the second * Ex. Test the following causal arguments * -scores on SAT or ACT exams started dropping because the supreme court outlawed prayer in school * -the divorce rate in new Zealand is low because they have covenant marriage * * Argument from sign * -assumes that when we see something it stands for the occurrence of something else * Ex. Test the following argument from sign: * -When you deposit $10,000 in cash in your local bank the teller must fill out a form and send it to the FBI, who may then investigate your activity * * Categorical syllogism * -an argument that classifies without qualification (e.g. all businesses exist to make money) * Ex. test the following syllogism: * “women are simply not endowed…with the same measures of single-minded ambition and the will to succeed in the fiercely competitive world of western capitalism” (pat
Buchanan) * * Hypothetical syllogism * -a syllogism concerned with uncertain or conditional events * Ex. If employees take precautions….there will be fewer accidents * -test the following syllogism: * If you get a ticket at the scene of an accident then you pare partly responsible for that accident, I did not get a ticket in my accident yesterday, thus I was not responsible * * Disjunctive syllogism * -reasoning that presents alternatives * -we use either recycled newsprint or virgin material * Ex.
test the following syllogism * -Either we cut custodians salaries at the new high school by half or we cut teachers’ salaries * -either you believe in evolution or biblical creation * * Analogies & examples * -analogy: compares two things and suggest that what is true of one is true of the other * Ex. Specific instances that illustrate a larger point

* What is an argument? Claim? * arguments (speakers must support their claims with arguments) * -claim: a particular interpretation you want the audience to accept * -argument: a line of reasoning that supports a particular claim

* What are the image restoration strategies (crisis communication)?

Image restoration messages: communication that explains the incident in a way that restores the organization’s image
Guidelines for effective image
restoration
-use multiple strategies in concert with one another
-support all strategies with strong reasoning and evidence -inductive reasoning -deductive reasoning -credibility appeals

* What are the different audience types in crisis communication? * Four audiences for crisis communication * * High animated audience antagonistic audience (worst to deal with) * Severity * Low bemused audience concerned audience * * Low responsibility high

* What are the different types of crises (rumor, megadamage, etc)? * A typology of crises * -natural disasters * -malevolence (someone intentionally tried hurting company ex. Tylenol) * -technical breakdowns * -human breakdowns (someone did something they weren’t suppose to) * -Challenges * -mega-damage * -organizational misdeeds (ex. Enron) * -workplace violence * -rumors *