16.11 Knowledge Check

Tara Lawrence; Wayne Miller

16.11 Knowledge Check

Summary

Communicating your thoughts and ideas so that others can understand them is a critical skill for success in college and the workplace.

Choose the right communication tool for the type of communication required.
Your professors and Fanshawe staff expect you to use your FOL email account regularly to send and review messages. Check your FOL email daily and use your email account for all formal communication.
The communication process is complex and there are many variables that impact how the message is sent and received.
Active listening improves the communication process and includes: asking questions, observing body language to see if it matches the words, making eye contact, nodding to show understanding and really listening for meaning, not just listening to respond.
Communication is not always something active. Logos, signs, TV, social media are all communicating a message and we need to be aware of and critically examine these messages.
Online discussion boards and forums, used in school and workplaces offer an asynchronous way to share ideas, ask questions for clarification and build relationships in a global setting with people you may never meet.
Poor communication is a large contributor to conflict. Working with others will help you practice active listening, written, and spoken communication. Take time to reflect not only on how you communication, but on how others do so that you can adapt to each others’ styles.
Benefits of practicing these skills include reduced conflict, less stress, better workplace opportunities, making new friends and connections among classmates, professors and employers.

Reflective Practice

Answer the reflection questions below in full sentences.

Reflective Practice

Think of what context and what communication tool you would consider in the following situations:

You need to let your professor know you won’t be able to hand in your assignment on time. What will you say, when and where will you say it, and what form of communication will you use and why?
Your roommate wants to have friends over for a party and you aren’t sure you are up for that. What and how do you tell your roommate?
The weekend is full of activities, but you are expected home for a family gathering. How do you let your parents know you aren’t coming?

Check the methods of communication you would most likely use for each of the following. Then write an explanation for why you have chosen the various forms of communication and how your choice had a link to the purpose of communicating with these different people.

Face-to-Face

Email

Letter

Phone

Facebook

Instagram

Snapchat

Parent

Peer

Sibling

Boss

Doctor

Professor

Waitress

Office assistant

Significant other

Take a close look at how you filled out the above chart. Do you find that there were definitely different purposes to how and why you used email instead of the phone, or Snapchat instead of a letter? It is good for you to reflect on your communication choices so that they are always most effective.

Look at the forms of communication you chose for “boss.” Perhaps you chose face-to-face and email as the two forms of communication you would use with your boss. Think through how those might have had an effect on the success of your communication with them. Now select two other forms of communication. Would you have been able to get the same response from your boss?

Reflective Practice

Read through your course presentations and find any guidelines for posting to forums. Create a checklist for yourself based on these guidelines and the rubric above. What do you need to do to create successful forum posts in your course? Keep this checklist, and refer to it regularly as you post to forums.

Download a printable forum posting checklist