Topic: Communication Strategies Introduction. It is important to determine whether the objectives of any lesson or course are achieved.

This is done by the use of exercises. The exercises are supposed to be objective to avoid personal biases in interpretation and scoring of responses. They are also supposed to be based on predetermined objectives of the lesson to ensure that all fields are covered. If an exercise does not accomplish what it is intended to, it is not valid to be given to learners. Lesson 4 The reflection exercise for this lesson is very objective. It asks questions such as whether one thinks he is an organized or a disorganized person. The answers to these questions are very precise as they would be either yes or no. Objectivity makes the learner know exactly what he is supposed to do based on the pre-determined objectives. When the learner reflects within himself whether he is organized or disorganized, whether he tries to remember everything in their head or works with lists; he is controlled on what areas he is supposed to understand in the lesson. The reflective exercise is effective in that it tests whether the learner can actually do what he has been taught. This has been done by including a practical work exercise that requires the learner to actually do what he has learnt in the lesson. Practicability of the exercise is crucial to the learners as it is one major proof that the learner has learnt what he is supposed to. Organization and planning have been given the total highlight as the learning points in the exercise. This is effective for testing as the main objectives are based on those fields. It increases on the validity and utility of the exercise.

Lesson 6 Planning is required also in oral communication. It can be uncomfortable for both the audience and the speaker if there was no proper planning before the presentation was initiated. The disorganization starts with the speaker and is reflected by the audience. If the speaker had not planned in advance on what to say and how to say it, he may provoke the audience into violence. The audience may also get bored and lose concentration on what the speaker is saying. This would make the whole process ineffective as the process of communication is never complete without the feedback from the audience. Regardless of how well one speaks, the audience may lose interest in what he is saying in the later stages of the presentation. To keep the audience attentive at all times, it is only safer to have something which they can see be it a model or a chart. This also enhances the chances that the audience will remember what they heard. For example if an advertiser is introducing a new product in the market, it is important for the audience to remember characteristics such as the color, the qualities, form or shape of the product so that they can purchase it in the future. An advertiser in such a case would require every visual aid he can get so as to make their advertisement effective. Having all the planning and resources ready for the presentation is not enough. The action of actually standing up and talking to the people comes with its challenges. One is required to manage bodily responses on the site of presentation. This includes events such as disruption and control of nerves in the case of uncooperative audience. Involving the audience in the presentation and engaging them in comments and questions makes the presentation interesting. It also makes the audience to feel part of the entire process making the presentation effective.

Lesson 7 The reflective exercise in the lesson specifies on what one is required to do. When asked to reflect on his behavior and how it may be interpreted by the audience, it becomes easier for the learner to understand what he is supposed to do. If he has a habit of folding his arms when talking to people, it can be interpreted as lack of confidence in what he is says. The audience as well loses confidence in the quality of information. The reflection on personal space is important to make the learner understand that different people have different amount of personal space. One just needs to determine what his personal space is, so that they can use it during public speaking. This makes it hard for the speaker to get misunderstood by the audience. The personal space may be dictated by personal characteristics or by social background. Understanding various non-verbal communications is very important for the speaker. The audience tells him when to change something he is doing or when to adopt a different approach is his speech. If half of the audience is yawning as the speech is progresses, it is a communication that they are either bored by what the speaker is saying or they are hungry. It is unwise to continue in the same line of presentation in such a circumstance. The reflection is important as one is able to determine what cues to employ during all the stages of his communication. It also helps the speaker to adopt the best listening methods so as to understand what his audience need at different times. This makes his communication effective and free from biases from the audience. The exercises help the learner to determine the best listeners of nonverbal communication and adopt the same techniques. Lesson 8

The exercises are arranged in a logical sequence as the lesson proceeds. They help the learner to move at the same pace as the lesson and pause at some point to determine whether he has learnt the previous part of the lesson. This is important as it avoids filling up the learner with a lot of information before he can understand the basics of the lesson. The exercises seek to find out whether the learner has understood what a team is and what teamwork is. As the learner reflects on the dynamics of teamwork, he is brought into contact with issues involved with people working as a team. These include leadership, intimidation, cooperation, conflicts and decision making within the group. How the issues emerging from the group setting are handled is important information to determine the success of the group. The learner is able to determine whether every member of the team contributes to the goals and objectives of the group. This is important because there is no effective teamwork if all the members are not involved the in the operations of the team. In a group setting, conflicts are bound to arise. How to deal with the conflicts through negotiation is very important. How one negotiates an issue can solve or escalate the problem. Conclusion. The reflection exercises are very effective and help the learner to obtain all the necessary information. They are comprehensive and possess operational validity as the tasks involved in the exercises are sufficient to evaluate the definite activities and qualities. References: 1. http://communicationinc.com/ 2. http://www.unescap.org/stat/disability/census-ws/Session5-Media.pdf 3. http://web.idrc.ca/uploads/user-S/11606746331Sheet01_CommStrategy.pdf