PART 3: MASTERING LISTENING AND NONVERBAL COM SKILLS & COMMUNICATING IN TEAMS VER 09/09 1.0 NOTES 1.

Describe the listening process, and explain how good listeners, overcome barriers at each stage of the process. The listening process involves ve activities: 1) receiving-physically hearing the message 2)decoding- assigning meaning to what you hear 3) remembering-storing the message for future reference 4)evaluating-thinking about the message 5)responding-reacting to the message, taking action, or giving feedback. Several barriers can interfere with the listening process. To improve reception, minimize certain distractions by holding questions until the speaker nishes and avoiding distracting nonverbal behaviors, such as rustling papers, tapping on your PDA, or not looking at the speaker. To improve decoding and interpretation, avoid prejudgement and defensive listening by taking a patient, open-minded approach. To improve remembering, capture information in some physical way, recording it or writing it down. Store information for short term by repeating it to yourself or breaking a long list into several shorter lists. Also, transfer information from short -term into long-term memory through association, categorization, visualization and mnemonics. To improve evaluating, overcome selective listening by focusing on the speaker, taking careful notes, mentally paraphrasing whats being said, and analyzing the speakers argument. To improve responding, react naturally when appropriate and plan out any response to a more complex message. 2. Clarify the importance of nonverbal communication, and describe six categories of nonverbal expression. Nonverbal communication is important because actions peak louder than words, Body language is more difcult to control than words and may reveal a persons true feelings, motivation, or character. Therefore, people believe nonverbal signals over words. In addition nonverbal communication is more efcient; with a wave of your hand or a wink you can streamline your thoughts and do so without much thought.Types of nonverbal expressions include facial expression, gesture and posture, vocal characteristics, personal appearance, touching behavior and use of time and space. 3. Highlight the advantages and disadvantages of working in teams. Teams can achieve a higher level of performance than individuals because of the combined intelligence and energy of the group.Motivation and creativity can ourish in team settings. Moreover, individuals tend to perform better because they achieve a sense of purpose by belonging to a group. Teams also bring more input and greater diversity of views, which tends to result in better decisions. And because the team members participate in the decision process, they are committed to seeing the results succeed. Teams are not without disadvantages, however.Poorly managed teams can be a waste of everyones time. For example, if members are pressured to conform, they may develop groupthink, which can lead to poor quality decisions and ill-advised actions. Some members may let their private motives get in the way. Others may not contribute their fair share, so certain tasks may not be completed. 4. Explain how group dynamics can affect team effectiveness. When group dynamics encourage full participation and constructive resolution of conict, teams communicate more effectively, both internally and externally. In contrast, when group dynamics are negative, communication breaks down within the team- whether from groupthink, too many members assuming dysfunctional self- oriented roles, or excessive levels of conict. As a result, the team is also less able to communicate externally in a clear and coherent manner. 5. Discuss the role of etiquette in team settings, both in the workplace and in social settings. The ability of all members of a team to get along, day in and day out, is vital to
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PART 3: MASTERING LISTENING AND NONVERBAL COM SKILLS & COMMUNICATING IN TEAMS VER 09/09 1.0 the success of every team. Etiquette plays an important part in the process. If team members get on each others nerves through inconsiderate behavior, communication gradually breaks down and vital energy gets diverted away from the teams real mission. In the workplace, team members need to pay attention to factors such as personal appearance, grooming, and phone skills as they affect not only the other team members, but also the people with whom the whole team interacts. Team communication often extends into social settings, and each team member needs to keep in mind that he or she represents the company when out in public. Proper etiquette in these situations helps foster good communication, particularly when new people are introduced to the group. 6. Identify eight guidelines for successful collaborative writing.Collaborative communication is a great opportunity for teams to pool their diverse talents and knowledge to produce messages that are of a higher quality than any single team member could produce on his/her own. However, collaborative writing requires close attention. Select team members carefully to balance talents and viewpoints, and be sure to agree on project goals at the onset to avoid confusion and wasted time. If the team hasnt worked together before, make sure team members have time to get to know one another. Next, make sure that everyone clearly understands one another. Next, make sure everyone clearly understands individual responsibilities, process and tools. Also, resist the temptation to write as a group; research and plan as a group, but assign the actual writing to one person or at least separate sections to individual writers and have one person edit them all. Finally, make sure tools and techniques are compatible across the team. 7. Describe how meeting technologies can help participants communicate more successfully. Communication and groupware technologies sucha s shared workspaces and virtual meetings enhance communication by helping teams break down barriers of time and distance. Shared workspaces give teams instant access to a common set of project resources, including documents, databases, schedules and other materials. Virtual meetings combine several of these technologies with others such as, virtual white boards, to emulate in-person meetings over long distances. 8. Explain how wiki technology can help teams collaborate. Wikis can help teams collaborate by providing teams a fast, easy, and exible way to work together on documents, particularly when the team is geographically dispersed. Wikis provide a much greater degree of organization and centralization than trying to pass around individual word processing documents, for instance, while avoiding the rigid rules and structure of a content management system.

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PART 3: MASTERING LISTENING AND NONVERBAL COM SKILLS & COMMUNICATING IN TEAMS VER 09/09 1.0

EXERCISES 2.1 Listening Skills: Self Assessment How good are your listening skills? Use the following chart to rate yourself on each element of listening. Then examine your rating to identify where you are the strongest and where you can improve. A 1. I look for areas of interest when people speak 2. I focus on content rather than delivery 3. I wait to respond until I understand the content 4. I listen for ideas and themes, not isolated facts 5. I take notes only when needed 6. I really concentrate on what speakers are saying 7. I stay focussed even when the ideas are complex 8. I keep an open mind despite emotionally charged language A= Always F= Frequently O=Occasionally N=Never 2.2 Nonverbal Communication: Analyzing Body language Describe what the following body movements suggest when someone exhibits them during a conversation. How do such movements inuence your interpretation of spoken words? a. Shifting ones body continuously while seated b. Twirling and playing with ones hair c. Sitting in a sprawled position d. Rolling ones eyes e. Extending a weak handshake 2.3 Nonverbal Communication: Analyzing Written Messages Select a business letter and envelope that you have received at home or work. Analyze their appearance. What nonverbal messages do they send. Are these messages consistent with the content of the letter? If not, what could the sender have done to make the nonverbal communication consistent with the verbal communication? F O N

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PART 3: MASTERING LISTENING AND NONVERBAL COM SKILLS & COMMUNICATING IN TEAMS VER 09/09 1.0 2.4 Teamwork With a classmate, attend a meeting where you can observe a group discussion or action. During the meeting, take notes individually and afterward, work together to answer the following questions. a. What is your evaluation of this meeting? In your answer, consider (1) the leaders ability to articulate the meetings goal clearly. (2) the leaders ability to engage the members in a meaningful discussion (3)the groups dynamics, and (4) the groups listening skills b. How did the group members make decisions? Did they vote? Did they reach a consensus? Did those with dissenting opinions get an opportunity to voice their objections? c. How well did the individual participants listen? How can you tell? d. Did any participants change their expressed views or their votes during the meeting? Why might that have happened? e. Did you observe any of the communication barriers? Discuss them. f. Compare the notes you took during the meeting with those of your classmate. What differences do you notice? How can you account for those differences? 2.5 Team Communication: Overcoming Barriers Every month, each employee in your department is expected to give a brief oral presentation on the status of his or her project. However, your department has recently hired an employee with a severe speech impediment that prevents people from understanding most of what he has to say. As department manager, how will you resolve this dilemma? 2.6 Team Development: Resolving Conict Describe a recent conict you had with a team member and explain how it was resolved. Did you nd a solution that was acceptable to you both and to others? 2.7 Ethical Choices During team meetings, one member constantly calls for votes before all members have voiced their views. As the leader, you asked this member privately about his behavior. He replied that he was trying to move the team toward its goals, but you are concerned that he is really trying to take control. How can you deal with this situation without removing the member from the group?

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PART 3: MASTERING LISTENING AND NONVERBAL COM SKILLS & COMMUNICATING IN TEAMS VER 09/09 1.0

2.8 Online Communication: Staying on Track with Blog Replies As the leader of the product development team, you write a daily blog to inform team members of questions, concerns and other developments related to your project. Team members are always encouraged to reply to your online posts, but lately a number of people have been wandering off track with their replies, raising new issues in the middle of a discussion thread or posting on matters unrelated to the item to which theyre replying. As a result, th eblog is becomin less useful for everyone because individual message threads no longer stick to a single topic. Write a blog posting, three or four sentences long, courteously reminding everyone why its important to stick to the subject at hand when replying to blog items. 2.9 Internet Visit the PolyVision website at www. websterboards.com and read about electronic whiteboards. a. What advantages do you see in using this kind of whiteboard during a meeting? b. Draft a short email to your boss outlining the products advantages. 2.10 Telephone and Voice Mail Late on Saturday afternoon, you learn that the facilities department is going to move youand your computer, your desk, and all your les- to another ofce, rst thing Monday morning. However, you have an important client meeting scheduled in your ofce for Monday afternoon, and you need to nalize some contract details on Monday morning. You simply cant lose access to your ofce at this point, and you are more than a little annoyed that your boss didnt ask you before approving your move. He has already left for the day, but you know he usually checks his voicemail over the weekend so you decide to leave a message asking him to cancel the move or at least call you at home as soon as possible. Make an oral presentation of the voicemail you will leave.

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PART 3: MASTERING LISTENING AND NONVERBAL COM SKILLS & COMMUNICATING IN TEAMS VER 09/09 1.0

GRADED ASSIGNMENT 5 points 10 points 5 points --20 points Organizing and restating information Presentation of content in formal agenda format Attendance in class

A project leader has made notes about covering the following items at the quarterly budget meeting. Prepare a formal agenda by putting these items into logical order and rewriting, where necessary, to give phrases a more consistent sound. - Budget Committee Meeting to be held on Dec 12, 2009 at 9:30 a.m. - I will call the meeting to order - Real estate directors report: A closer look at the cost overruns on Hosur site. - The group will review and approve the minutes from last quarters meeting - I will ask the nance director to report on actual versus projected quarterly revenues and expenses. - I will distribute copies of the overall divisional budget and announce the date of the next budget meeting. - Discussion: How can we do a better job of anticipating and preventing cost overruns? - Meeting will take place in Conference Room 3, with Web Ex active for remote employees. - What additional budget issues must be considered during this quarter?

Source: Adapted from Business Communication Today, Bovee/Thill 9e, Pearson

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