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Pre-Class Survey
Running Head: PRE-CLASS SURVEY
Pre-Class Survey
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Axia College of Phoenix
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Pre-Class Survey
It is important that individuals understand why communication matters, in a number of
ways. Communication is not only the words that you choose to speak or the way that you
choose to speak them, but it is more complicated than most people understand.
Communication involves understanding a person's actions in the past, their current actions, and
the way that they expect to act in the future. Communication affects how a person deals with
their goals or the goals put in place by that person's friends, family members, and other people
who interact with that person. Communication needs support and teamwork to help people
express their feelings on personal or emotional issues, and it can help a person learn how to act,
react, and control and shape their feelings in different situations. In order to understand why
communication is important, we will discuss the meaning of communication, the purposes that
it can be put to, what makes up good communication, what is different about verbal and
nonverbal communication, communication in groups, and written forms of communication.
Communication
Communication can be explained as a means to try to make an understanding that is shared
with other people. To communicate effectively you need inter-and-intrapersonal skills like
listening, observing, speaking, evaluating, questioning, and analyzing (Absolute Astronomy,
2009). People learn the skills that they need to communicate by watching how people
communicate and then modeling their own behavior on what they observe. Absolute
Astronomy (2007) says “Although there is such a thing as one-way communication,
communication can be perceived better as a two-way process in which there is an exchange and
progression of thoughts, feelings, or ideas (energy) towards a mutually accepted goal or
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direction (information)” (para 1). Communication can be used for a number of reasons, but it is
how people share and receive information with each other.
The Purpose of Communication
There are two primary reasons to communicate with other people – either to tell them
necessary information or to cause something to happen. A crying baby, for example, is
communicating that they need something, and when a person tells someone else that they love
them, they are sharing this information because they believe that the other person needs to
know about their feelings. If a person cannot use good communication, they cannot clearly
express their views or opinions, talk with their loved ones, or connect effectively with another
person. Most communications happen in order to disperse information and to tell people about
a problem that needs solving, there are other reasons to communicate. People also
communicate in order to create and nurture relationships with other people, to entertain others
and themselves, to persuade, or to educate. Communication is a valuable skill and it must be
practiced every day, and communication skills determine how well you can interact with the
people around you.
Good Communication
Effective communication is necessary in order to share some potentially upsetting
information with other people without causing offense. It allows people to work together, share
information, and how they can complete a task. Good communication is how people succeed
in life. Everyone learns to communicate when they are very young, but not everyone is able to
communicate well. This can cause miscommunications, anger, confusion, or the desire to
actively shut out information from other people. Effective communication requires patience,
the effort to communicate accurately and clearly, empathy, simplicity, responses and feedback,
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and a number of positive, generous, supportive messages to other people. To communicate
with other people, a person must ask themselves exactly what they are trying to say, and how
they would like the person they are talking to to interpret what they are saying. These steps
allow a person to develop their communication abilities, both verbal and nonverbal, and
improve how they communicate with others.
Verbal and Nonverbal Communication
Verbal and nonverbal communication are two different forms of communication.
Verbal communication occurs in forms like speech, song, and the use of sound to
communicate. Nonverbal communication forms express information without using words, such
as through the use of gesture. For example, nonverbal communication forms might occur as
eye contact, smiling or frowning, body language like posture, touching, sign language, or a
shift in the tone of voice when engaging in verbal communication. Verbal communication
includes things like asking a person a question, the coos of a mother to a child, a toddler's
laugh, or the singing of an opera star. Nonverbal communication could be the message of a
raised tone of voice, standing with a stiff back and crossed arms, or an affectionate hug from
one person to another. Gestures and eye contact are ways that people can add nonverbal
communication to verbal communication to strengthen the message conveyed verbally, and a
person can use these forms of communication to transmit their emotions, for instance if they are
irritated, interested, angry, happy, or confused. Both verbal and nonverbal communication, and
how exactly a person communicates, are of vital importance in a group situation.
Team or Group Communication
Team and group communication relates to how people interact with each other in
groups larger than two. Team and group communication can face some problems, because not
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every person in the group will have the same thoughts. The opinions, values, and feelings of
every person in a group are worthy of respect. To communicate effectively in a group or team
situation, a person needs to provide communication that is descriptive, specific, timely, honest,
and continuing. This can improve the way that people work together, help to solve problems,
clear up confusion, and improve the group's work quality. In a group, a person must be openminded to the feedback from their group members, listen to it and analyze it, try to avoid
becoming defensive, and apply the information correctly in order to use it effectively in the
group's project. A team and a group relies on effective communication, especially when the
communication is written.
Written Communication
Formal written communication involves mediums like a handwritten letter, a cellphone
text, or an email message. There are some rules in formal written communication, though. A
written communication must give information that flows in a defined structure, emphasizing
the important information to the necessary extent, and truly addressing the concerns of the
reader. The purpose of a formal communication is to communicate information to an audience
without confusing, offending, or boring them. A formal written communication might be used
to write a memo, to finish notes on a nursing class, to establish an organizational mission
statement, fill out an incident report, resolve team issues, or simply inform someone about
something important.
Conclusion
Communication is the way in which a person can share an understanding with another
person. It is not only spoken words that create communication, or the gestures that they use, but
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the total history, present, and future of an individual's interactions, expectations, and dealings
with another person (Absolute Astronomy, 2009). Communication is a big part of a person's
life, and the way that a person communicates enhances their experience with other people,
whether the communication is verbal, non-verbal, with a group, or written. Not everyone
communicates or interprets information in exactly the same way, and so when communicating
with other people, it is necessary to respect their feelings, exhibit patience, and listen to their
opinions and ethical beliefs. Knowing about how to communicate and the different methods
for communication will help a person develop their effectiveness. Knowing how to
communicate effectively lets a person know how their audience is likely to interpret the
information they are trying to share, and increases the odds that they will get their message
across.
Pre-Class Survey
References
Absolute Astronomy. (2009). Communication. Retrieved on January 22, 2009, from
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Communication
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