Masters_part_1_2013

		Unit 1
	Further, within the above categories, there are the
	receivers of the messages. For every writer there must
	be a reader, for every speaker a listener, and for every
	artist a viewer.
7.	We have explained that a communication is not
When does	made until it is received and understood. The prime
communication	essential in any form of communication is therefore
take place?	to know the audience. It is important to accept the
	concept that people tend to receive – to hear, to read,
	to see – very largely only what they want to receive.
	They seek out what is expected and what is familiar
	while trying to ignore or reject what is new. Every
	communication should be made with that thought in
	mind. The answer is to ensure that every message is
	clear, simple andas far as possible – unambiguous.
	However, no matter how much the sender of the message
	may try, the taking of that message depends on the past
	experience(the training) of the recipient. This characteristic
	can be partially allowed for in the communication process –
	by departing from the well known and moving in short,
	simple steps towards the really new.
8.	It is very important to know that for any
The Purpose of	communication to be worth while, it must have a purpose-
Communication	and that purpose is always persuasion. This is not to say
	that there are no purposeless communications: there are
	too many, but they are usually of little value to anyone.
	Every genuine communication seeks to influence the
	recipient. It may seek to persuade him to take some course
	of action, to make a decision one way or another, or merely
	to apply his mind to accepting more information.
	If we think about persuasion it is clear that we are most
	likely to succeed if acceptance of the persuasion is made
	easy.
9.	We have identified the fundamental principle of communi-
	cation as: transmit all communications in the manner
	best suited to the recipient’s understanding. This rather
	ponderous phrase could itself be better communicated as :
	write or speak clearly and simply so that the reader or listener
	can easily understand.
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Unit 1

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING.

1.In what form should a message ideally be sent?

2.Why should you summarise your argument in order to present a recommendation?

3.How can you save the time of senior management?

4.What must a manager do, as well as thinking and initiating actions?

5.What happens to organizations in which communications are poor?

6.Are formal communications the only route by which information spreads?

7.How is ‘interesting’ information defined?

8.Is such information always complementary to the manager?

9.After a message has been sent, what is still required before communication

may be said to have taken place? 10.Is it best always to write things down?

11.On what factors does the style of communication depend? 12.Name the five modes of communication used by man. 13.What is the prime need if communication is to be effective? 14.What do people tend to read or hear?

15.What is the essential purpose of any communication?

16.What should be done in order to make a communication acceptable?

SCAN READING.

TEXT 2. Read the information below about communication (some tips) and decide which tips are good advice and which tips you disagree with.

Do to others as you would be done by.

1.Communicate only when you have something worth while to say.

2.Don’t write or speak at greater length than is necessary to convey the message.

3.Write in such a way that the reader will find it easy to read.

4.Read carefully, concentrating on absorbing and understanding the writer’s message.

5.Speak in ‘the language’ of you listeners – but never talk down.

6.Listen attentively to a speaker and avoid mind-wandering.

7.Help a speaker to feel at ease; encourage him to speak.

8.Where helpful, supplement words with pictures.

9.Watch speakers and listeners for “non-verbal” signals.

10.Explain mathematical information with summaries, words and pictures.

WRITING.

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Unit 1

1. Read paragraphs 1 to 9 of the first text again and complete the table.

What do you think is:

a)the most important about communication ………………...………………

……………………………………………………………………….……..

…………………………………………………………………..………….

b)the least important about communication modes ………………………….

……………………………………………………………………….……..

…………………………………………………………………..………….

c)a “golden rule” for a good communicator …………………………………

……………………………………………………………………….…….

…………………………………………………………………..…………

2. Write a summary of the texts you have read (the Russian language is preferable.)

WAYS OF COMMUNICATION

THE MAIN METHODS OF BUSSINESS COMMUNICATIONS.

Read the following text about communication modes. It can help you to understand the TABLE below better.

The first major communication mode is the written word. In writing, the prime rule is to keep everything short and simple: the words, the sentences, and the ideas. It is never right to impress. Too many aspiring managers seem to feel a need to pepper their prose with long, little-understood words. If everyone wrote the way they spoke, management reports would be brighter and probably clearer, even though they would sometimes be less polite or less grammatical.

Simple punctuation too should be the aim: good punctuation aids understanding, incorrect punctuation usually makes bad writing worse. Given clearer and simpler writing, the manager will be able to read. Better, our lives become easier and our decisions potentially wiser, because our information will be more complete.

The other main communication mode is the spoken word. Most of us find little difficulty in talking to each other. It is only when talking becomes «speaking» that it becomes difficult. But speaking in public is unnecessarily feared. As long as we recognize the large amount of preparation needed and have something to say, these fears can be allayed.

Anyone can learn to speak at least adequately in public. To be a brilliant speaker is a big problem. The best way of getting a message across in speech is to be natural; not to read a script, but to speak just from notes.

«Thinking on the feet» is the recommended approach, but to speak without any notes at all is folly. A speaker must watch his audience – a thing no writer can do – and adjust the presentation of his message to the visible reactions of the audience.

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Unit 1

But written and spoken words are not the only ones. A newspaper picture can often speak louder than any commentary. And what about diagrams, numbers and different visual aids?

Look at the TABLE below. Try to describe all the forms of written and spoken communication in the table.

			1. TV
	External	Advertising	2. radio
			3. newspapers
			4. posters, leaflets, brochures
			5.personal contacts
COMMUNICATIONS			6.telephone/mobile phones
		Verbal	7. negotiations
		(spoken word)	8. meetings
	Internal		9. interviews
	and		10. presentations
	External		11. memos
		Verbal	12. minutes
			13. notices
		(written word)
			14. reports
			15. letters
			16. telephone
		Telecommunications	17. telex
	External	and Post Office	18. computers
		Services	19. letters
			20. postal services

A.Discuss these questions

1.What forms of written and spoken communication can you think of?

2.Which of the above (mentioned in the table) do you like using? Why?

3.What problems can people have with them?

4.How can these problems be solved?

A GOOD COMMUNICATOR

B. What makes a good communicator? Choose the three most important factors.

1.	fluency in the language	5. a sense of humour
2.	an extensive vocabulary	6. grammatical accuracy
3.	being a good listener	7. not being afraid of making mistakes
4.	physical appearance	8. an awareness of body language
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Unit 1

C.Which words below apply to good communicators? Which apply to bad ones? Use a dictionary to know the meaning of the words.

articulate		coherent		hesitant	eloquent		fluent
focused		inhibited		extrovert	persuasive		rambling
	responsible		sensitive		succinct	reserved
D. Which of the words in Ex. C have the same meanings?
1.	concise			5. clear and easy to understand
2.	reluctant to speak			6. good at influencing people
3.	talking in a confused way			7. outgoing
4.	able to express ideas well			8. reacting in a positive way

E. Complete this talk by a communication expert with the verbs from the box.

Listen	digress	interrupt	explain	engage
clarify		confuse	ramble

Good communicators really …(1)… to people and take in what is said.

They maintain eye contact and have a relaxed body language, but they seldom

…(2)… and stop people talking. If they don’t understand and want to …(3)…. something they wait for s suitable opportunity.

When speaking, effective communicators are good at giving information. They do not …(4)… their listener. They make their points clearly. They will avoid technical terms, abbreviations or jargon, if they do need to use unfamiliar terminology they …(5)… by giving an easy to understand example. Furthermore, although they may …(6)… and leave the main point to give additional information and details where appropriate, they will not …(7)… and lose sight of their main message. Really effective communicators who have the ability to …(8)… with colleagues, employees, customers and suppliers are a valuable asset for any business.

Task 1. For a good communicator the following characteristics might be important. Read the following word combinations and give their translation. The definitions below can help you do the task.

1. articulate speech	a ………………………………………………………
2. coherent answer	b ……………………………….………………….…..
3. eloquent silence	c ………………………………..………...……………
4. fluent language	d ………………..…………………………...…………
5. focused person	e ..………………………………………………...……
6. hesitant voice	f ..………………………………………………………
7. inhibited person	g .……………………………………………………….
8. lucid mind	h ...……………………………………………….……..
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							Unit 1
9. persuasive document					i ...……………………………………………...………
10. rambling monologue					j ..…………………………………..………….……….
11. responsive person					k ...……………………………………………………..
12. sensitive person					l. ……………………….………………………………
13. succinct style					m ………………………………………………………
14. tongue-tied person					n ………...……………………………………………..
1.	articulate (adj)	a.			able to talk easily, clearly and effectively about
					things, especially difficult subjects
		b.		writing or speech that is articulate is very clear and easy
					to understand even if the subject is difficult
2.	coherent (adj)	easy to understand because the information is presented in an
		orderly and reasonable way.
3.	eloquent (adj)	a.			able to express your ideas and opinions well, especially in
					a way that influences people
		b.		showing a feeling or meaning without words;
						e.g. an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war
4.	fluent (adj)	able to speak a language very well
5.	focused (adj)	paying careful attention to what you are doing in a way that
		shows you are determined to succeed
6.	hesitant (adj)	uncertain about what to do or say because you are nervous or
		unwilling
7.	inhibited (adj)	not confident or relaxed enough to do or say what you want
						to;
		e.g. to feel inhibited
8.	lucid (adj)	expressed in a way that is clear and easy to understand
9.	persuasive (adj)	good at influencing other people to believe or do what
		you want
10.	rambling (adj)		a.			a building that is rambling has an irregular shape and
						covers a large area
			b.			speech or writing that is rambling is very long and does
						not seem to have any clear organization or purpose
11.	responsive (adj)		a.			ready to react in a useful or helpful way
			b.			willing to give answers or show your feelings about
						something
12.	sensitive (adj)		a.			able to understand other people’s feelings and problems
			b.			easily hurt, upset or offended by things that people say
			c.			able to understand or express yourself through art,
						music, literature etc
			d.			a situation or subject that is sensitive needs to be dealt
						with very carefully because it may offend people or
						make them angry.
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			Unit 1
13.	succint (adj)	clearly expressed in a few words
14.	tongue-tied (adj)	unable to speak easily to other people, especially because
		you feel embarrassed

Task 2. After suggesting your own ideas, compare your translation with the one in the Skills Checklist below and decide whether they are:

a)	different	----	partially different ----	more different ----	absolutely different
b)	the same	----	partially alike -----	more alike ----	absolutely the same

SKILLS CHECKLIST.

1.членораздельная, отчетливо произнесенная, четко сформулированная речь

2.связный, последовательный ответ

3.красноречивое молчание

4.беглый язык

5.сосредоточенный человек

6.нерешительный голос

7.замкнутый, заторможенный, скованный человек

8.ясный ум

9.убедительный документ

10.бессвязный монолог

11.отзывчивый человек

12.чувствительный, отзывчивый человек

13.краткий, сжатый стиль

14.косноязычный человек, лишившийся дара речи человек

17

UNIT 2.

IMPROVING COMMUNICATION

TEXT 1.

1.Read the text about «a breakdown» in communication and choose the best title. Write it at the top of the text.

1.The impact of culture on business.

2.The process of communication between companies.

3.Communication problems in our life and how to solve them.

4.Communication as a two-way process.

5.Breakdowns in communication in business.

TITLE: __________________________________________________________

A breakdown in communication is quite likely to happen if there is some kind of “social distance” between people. In organizations, people may have difficulty communicating if they are different in status, or if one person has a much higher position than the other. For example, two production workers will probably speak frankly to each other about things that are going wrong in their department. But if the

Chief Executive of the company passes by and asks how thing are going, they’ll probably say, “Just fine, thank you.” It is risky to tell the truth to someone higher up in the hierarchy – they may not like what they hear and hold it against you.

For this reason, staff often “filter” information. They deliberately alter the facts, telling the boss what he/she wants to hear. They do not want to give bad news, so they give their superior too good an impression of the situation.

There is nothing new about all this. One thinks of Cleopatra and the problem she had in her military campaigns. She used to give gold to messengers bringing good news, but executed those bringing bad news. It is not surprising; therefore, that the information she received was unreliable.

One way of reducing social distance – and improving communications – is to cut down on status symbols. It is possible, for example, to have a common dining room for all staff. It is worth noting, that in Japanese companies, it is common for all the staff to wear uniforms.

Physical surroundings and physical distance limit or encourage communication. Studies show that the further away a person is, the less he/she communicates. The physical layout of an office must be carefully planned. Open-plan offices are designed to make communication easier and quicker. However, it is interesting to note that employees in such offices will often move furniture and other objects to create mini-offices.

Excellent companies use space to create good communications. The Corning Glass Company in the United States installed escalators rather than lifts in their engineering buildings because they wanted to increase the chances of employees meeting face-face.

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Unit 2

Another important barrier to communication is selective perception. Put simply, this means that people perceive things in different ways. The world of the sender is not the same as the world of the receiver. (see text 1). Because their knowledge and experience is different, sender and receiver are always on slightly different wavelengths. Therefore, a manager will say something, but the employee will interpret his meaning incorrectly. The message become distorted.

Communication problems will arise from time to time. To minimize these problems managers must remember one thing. Communication should be a two-way process. Managers should encourage staff to ask questions and to react to what the managers are saying. Feedback is essential.

2.Read the text again and answer the questions.

1.What does “a breakdown” mean?

2.What are the reasons for a breakdown in business communication? Name all of them in the order of appearance.

3.Do the staff speak frankly with their Chief Executive? Why? Why not?

4.How do the employees of a company behave with their top managers? How can this problem be solved?

5.What are the advantages and disadvantages of having open-plan offices?

6.What must managers remember if they wish to improve communication?

TEXT 2.

1.Read the text below and answer the question: “Why are the manager and subordinate not communicating properly?

2.Before reading look at the following words and word combinations. They are all taken from the text below. Read them and supply the translation.

	N	word and word	meaning	translation
		combination		……/…….
	1.	look into	examine, investigate,
			consider (a matter)
	2.	tied up	very busy
	3.	below par	not as good as usual
	4.	screw up	make a mistake (US slang)
	5.	you’re out	you’re fired
	6.	rush order	goods required in a hurry
	7.	Match	offer as much as
	8.	credentials	qualifications
	9.	just your cup of tea	exactly what you want,
			very suitable for you
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					Unit 2
10.	look it over	inspect, examine
11.	straighten it out	solve a problem,
		deal with a problem
	HOW COMMUNICATIONS BREAK DOWN
What the manager said		What the manager meant	What the subordinate heard
1. I’ll look into hiring		We’ll start interviewing	I’m tied up with more impor-
another person for your		for that job in about three	tant things. Let’s forget about
department as soon as		week.	hiring for the indefinite
I complete my budget			future.
review.
2. Your performance was		You are going to have to	If you screw up one more
below par last quarter. I		try harder, but I know	time, you’re out.
really expected more out		you can do it.
of you.
3. I’d like that report as		I need that report within	Drop that rush order you are
soon as you can get it.		the week.	working on and fill out that
			report today.
4. I talked to the boss but		We can give you 95% of	If I were you, I’d take that
now, due to budget		that offer, and I know	competitive offer. We’re
problems, we’ll be unable		we’ll be able to even	certainly not going to pay that
to fully match your		more for you next year.	kind of salary to a person
competitive salary offer.			with your credentials.
5. We have a job opening		If you‘d like that job, it’s	You don’t have to go out to
in Los Angeles that we		yours. If not, you can	LA, if you don’t want to.
think would be just your		stay here in Denver. You	However, if you don’t, you
cup of tea. We’d like you		be the judge.	can kiss goodbye to your
to go out there and look it			career with this firm.
out.
6. Your people seem to be		Talk to your people and	I don’t care how many heads
having some problems		find out what the	you bust, just get me that out.
getting work out on time.		problem is. Then get with	I’ve got enough problems
I want you to look into		them and jointly solve it.	around here without yours.
this situation and
straighten it out.
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