Download Communication Competence

ACHIEVING COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE (EXCELLENCE)
The best communicators meet their personal and organizational goals by adapting their
communication to accommodate different people and circumstances.
COMPETENCE
MESSAGE
STYLE
LANGUAGE
CULTURE
GENDER
Effective
Content
Powerful
Verbal
Low Context
Masculine
Appropriate
Relationship
Polite
Nonverbal
High Context
Feminine
COMPETENCE
Effective communication is clear and direct – it gets the job done. Appropriate communication is
socially acceptable – nobody is put off, shocked, or offended. (Spitzberg & Cupach)
MESSAGE
Almost all messages contain both content and relationship components. The content is the
information the message contains. Relationship is the context in which the message is
conveyed. (Watzlavick, Beavin, & Jackson)
STYLE
Good communicators can be assertive and direct (powerful) when necessary, even if their
preferred style is to be polite and defer to others. They can also restrain their communication in
the face of a power display, in order to maintain politeness and balance in the interaction.
(Holtgraves)
LANGUAGE
Verbal communication is assumed to be clear and easily understood, but words carry different
meanings for different people. Nonverbal communication cues – face, eyes, gestures, posture,
tone of voice, clothing, body type, touching, space, use of time – assert more influence than
people realize. Good communicators are concerned with what they say and how they say it.
(Hall; McCroskey & Richmond)
CULTURE
Anglo culture is low context – self-expressive, direct, words carry the entire message. Hispanic
and Asian cultures are high context – concern for the group over the individual, complex and
subtle messages involving nonverbal cues, roles, and relationships. African-American culture is
mixed. (Gudykunst & Kim; Hofstede)
GENDER
Masculine communicating style is direct, assertive, and authoritative. Feminine communicating
style is sensitive and relationship-oriented. The best communicators know their preferred style
but can adapt to either style as needed. (Tannen; Wood)