Chapter 1

1) Why is it important for business and professional students to develop good

communication skills and why are writing skills especially essential?

Because the better people can communicate with each other the quicker and easier
things can be accomplished. If you have to struggle to understand what the other
person is trying to say, or you're having trouble expressing your thoughts/posing your
questions, things are going to be slowed down and it'll be difficult to get stuff done.

1) Recall a time when you experienced a problem as a result of poor

communication. What were the causes of and possible remedies for the problems?
I was meeting a friend and because my friend felt that they knew where they
was going that they got lost now if they would have took the time to hear me out and
follow the directions I gave they would not have gotten lost

2) How are listening skills important to employees, supervisors, and executives?

Who should have the best listening skills?

Listening skills are important because one of the biggest causes of mistakes and
problems in the workplace is the lack of communication from it's supervisors to the
employees and a colleague in a workplace where communication is vital.

3) What arguments could you give for or against the idea that body language is a
science with principles that can be interpreted accurately by specialists?

4) Because English is becoming the international language of business and because

the united states is a dominant military and trading force, why should Americans
bother to learn about other cultures? Well I feel it’s good to know more about
others cultures for one it helps you to understand them better and it shows them
that you are willing to learn more about their life styles
 Chapter Review

5) What percentages of new jobs require postsecondary education?

Two thirds of all new jobs require some kind of postsecondary education

6) Are communication skills acquired by nature or by nurture? Explain

When it comes to communication it is more nurture than nature good
communicators are not born they are made

7) List seven trends in the workplace that affect business communicators. Be

prepared to discuss how they might affect you in your future career.

8) Give a brief definition of the following words:

a) Encode – convert into a coded form

b) Channel- direct toward a particular end or object
c) Decode- convert ( a coded message) into intelligible language

9) List 11 techniques for improving your listening skills. Be prepared to discuss

each. To be a good listener is to stop talking , control your surroundings, establish
a receptive mind-set, keep an open mind, listen for main points, capitalize on lag
time, listen between the lines, judge ideas not appearnces, hold your life, take
selective notes, provide feedback

10) When verbal and nonverbal messages conflict, which are receivers more likely to
believe? Give an original example. Receivers put more faith in nonverbal cue. In
one study speakers sent a positive message but their eyes as they spoke . listeners
perceived the total message to be negative

11) Would your culture be classified as high –or low- context? Why?
Low context cultures because we depend little on context of a situation to
convey their meanings

12) What is ethnocentrism, and how can it be reduced?

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group is
centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own

13) List seven or more suggestions for enhancing comprehension when you are
talking with nonnative speakers of English. Be prepared to discuss each.

14) List five suggestions for improving communication among diverse workplace
audiences. Be prepared to discuss each. Understanding the value of differences,
seek training, learn about your cultural self, make fewer assumptions, build on
similarities