Download Article Review - Week 5 - My Talladega

Article Review
Week 5
Submitted by: Debra Simmons
Mrs. Kathy Wells
Talladega College
Business Communications
BUS 368
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Introduction
This article gives a lot of useful information to help a person improve on their efforts of
becoming an effective communicator. It includes valuable information compiled from an
analysis from over 100,000 presentations from corporate executives, politicians, and keynote
speakers. There are several important concepts to consider when a person is striving to become
an effective communicator. Four of the main concepts are discussed in this summary. Whether
it is an oral or written communication, all concepts must be applied to deliver a good, solid
message that is clear and concise. Effective communicators are not usually born overnight, they
are people who have studied the concepts and trained well.
Abrahams, Matt. “A Big Data Approach to Public Speaking”, Graduate
School of Stanford Business, April 4, 2016
Article Summary
This article deals with big data tools and machine-learning techniques to examine the core
characteristics of effective communicators. It is based on the findings of Noah Zandan, founder
and CEO of Quantified Communications, which offers one of the first analytics platforms to
measure, evaluate, and improve corporate executives’ communication skills. Zandan’s team of
data scientists analyzed more than 100,000 presentations from corporate executives, politicians,
and keynote speakers, examining behaviors ranging from word choices and vocal cues to facial
expressions and gesture frequency. Zandan grounded his team’s work in a communication
scheme by psychologist Albert Mehrabian, which included the three “V’s” – verbal, vocal, and
visual choices made by communicators. Zandan’s team expanded to include another “V” – the
vital elements of communication. This article contains the final analysis of Dr. Noah Zandan’s
findings along with the concepts Dr. Matt Abrahams cover in his classes.
Relevance to the Material
The first “V” listed in the article to examine the core characteristics of an effective
communicator was for verbal. Verbal in this context refers to the actual words you use, whether
spoken or written, matter (Abrahams, Matt, 2016).
There are three types of rules that govern or control our use of words (www.saylor.org/books,
2.3 Principles of Verbal Communication, Chapter 2, page 47). Syntactic rules govern the order
of words in a sentence. This basically refers to the use of word combinations that are correct and
incorrect in English. It is always important to use correct English when speaking or writing.
“A Big Data Approach to Public Speaking”
Page 2
Semantic rules govern the meaning of words and how to interpret them. Semantics considers
what words mean, or are intended to mean, as opposed to their sound, spelling, and grammatical
function. Semantics rules cover questions regarding if the statement is true or false, does it
carry a certain intent, and what does the sender or receiver need to know in order to understand
its meaning. Contextual rules govern meaning and word choice according to context and social
custom (www.saylor.org/books, 2.3 Principles of Verbal Communication, Chapter 2, page 48).
Miscommunication can still occur when we follow linguistic rules because of our different
cultural context or community can have different meanings for the words used than the source
intended.
The second “V” listed in the article to examine the core characteristics of an effective
communicator was for vocal. Vocal in this context refers to elements including volume, rate,
and cadence (Abrahams, Matt, 2016). Part of being prepared is being clear. If your message is
unclear, the audience will lose interest and tune you out, bringing an end to effective
communication (www.saylor.org/books, The Prepared Communicator Is Clear, Chapter 1, page
28). An effective communicator should have a clear idea of what they want to say before
speaking. They should also choose words and phrases that they are familiar with.
The third “V” listed in the article to examine the core characteristics of an effective
communicator was for visual. Visual in this context refers to what you do with your body
(Abrahams, Matt, 2016).
Nonverbal behaviors such as stance, eye contact, and gestures are
very important when conveying and adding more force to your message. Verbal communication
involves the words you say, nonverbal
“A Big Data Approach to Public Speaking”
Page 3
communication involves how you say them—your tone of voice, your facial expression, body
language, and so forth (www.saylor.org/books, 4.1 Oral versus Written Communication, Chapter
4, p. 121). Nonverbal communication involves how you display the words in your message.
The fourth and final “V”, which was added to Zandan’s findings by Dr. Matt Abrahams,
listed in the article to examine the core characteristics of an effective communicator was for
vitals. Vital elements capture a speaker’s true nature—it is what some refer to an authenticity.
(Abrahams, Matt, 2016). Authentic speaker are considered to be more trustworthy and
persuasive. Your goal as communicator is to build a healthy relationship with your audience,
and to do that you must show them why they can trust your and why the information you are
about to give them is believable. (www.saylor.org/books, The Ethical Communicator Is
Trustworthy, Chapter 1, page 31).
In summary, there were four important concepts discussed that could be beneficial for a
person that is striving to become an effective communicator. Effective communicators are not
usually born overnight, they are people who have studied the concepts and trained well.
“A Big Data Approach to Public Speaking”
Page 4
References
Abrahams, Matt, 2016, April 4. “A Big Data Approach to Public Speaking”, Insights by Stanford
Business, Graduate School of Stanford Business, retrieved from google, July 27, 2016
www.saylor.org/books, Business Communication for Success, (2014). retrieved July 27, 2016