Underneath It All

How can nonverbal aspects of communication NOT be considered an integral part of a political campaign? In my opinion it is the nonverbal aspects of the current presidential election that’s got everyone in a tizzy.

Questions like, “Who’s a better speaker?” are answered by not only looking at speech quality but nonverbal qualities as well. Is the candidate displaying confident body language?

Don’t you think that Obama and McCain have someone to tell them how to sit and stand during a debate? I know that’s what I’m thinking about when I’m watching….perhaps that makes me weird…or a student of sociology. J

I agree that nonverbal aspects of communication can influence a voter’s decision. I won’t get into who I’m voting for but I can tell you three things:

1. I do not know much about political policy.

2. I recognize just how important nonverbal cues are to overall communication.

3. Quality of communication will influence my decision in this election.

Kopacz, M. (2006). Nonverbal communication as a persuasion tool: Current status and future directions. Rocky Mountain Communication Review, 3(1), 1-19.

The X Factor

I am attempting to get a Master’s degree because of Theory X. Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y explains how an organization can be managed in two ways.

Simply stated (and embarrassing to say) I am the employee of a manager who exudes every point in McGregor’s Theory X. McGregor hit the nail on the head for me when he mentioned the following assumption of Theory X:

-Because employees dislike work, they have to be forced, coerced or threatened with punishment to achieve goals.

I share with you an exact quote from my manager which is only part of an email he sent to our Account Management team, “As mentioned in the past, I do not appreciate being blind sided by an issue or filled in after the fact and disciplinary action will be taken should this happen moving forward.”

If this statement does not hit Theory X right on the head, I don’t know what does. I still, to this day have no idea what disciplinary action my manager was talking about. What was he going to do, put us all in “time out?” His statement did not motivate our team, it only lead them to feel discouraged.

This example is only one of the reasons why I am working on achieving my Master’s degree. Then, I can get out of this organization in which I am managed by a stereotypical “Manager X.”

Wow, what a depressing blog. Sorry folks!

Shah, K. & Shah, P. (n.d.) Motivation. Retrieved July 10, 2007, from http://www.laynetworks.com/Motivation.html.

Lu is Loco about Listening!

When I first started in on the article I immediately thought about how I had never really considered the listening aspect of communication. I agree with Lu when she says that listening is a skill. It certainly is a skill I need much work on.

Lu says that failure to listen is probably the cause of more interpersonal problems than any other human behavior. As a remote worker I have several different people contacting me through different mediums all day long. Often times I find myself on our instant messaging system and on the phone at the same time, possibly talking to two people at one time. This does not bode well for being able to pay full attention to whomever I’m trying to communicate with.

The result of my not listening often comes to me asking the person to repeat themselves. I know that this must be pretty annoying to some people. I know that my lack for listening is often a consequence of attempting to multi-task--since you can try when you don't have anyone looking. Lu’s statement about the way a person can be perceived as either an effective or ineffective listener rang true in my thoughts. I am positive that some of my colleagues notice my lack of listening skills when they realize that I am typing and asking them to repeat themselves at the same time. I think that I’m a much better face-to-face listener rather than an on the phone or “online listener”. There are so many outside "noises" or distractions that interfere with virtual communication. This is just something I’m going to have to work on as a remote employee. Not only is Lu’s article relevant in my work situation but also relevant in 21^st century communication for the same reasons. Virtual communication is even more complicated than face-to-face listening.

I suppose that becoming more aware of how I am listening (or not listening) is a start to changing my ways.

Lu, J. (2005). The listening style inventory (LSI) as an instrument for improving listening skills. Sino-US English Teaching, 2 (5), 45-50.

Katz, J. (2007). Mobile media and communication: some important questions. Communicaiton Monographs, 47 (3), 389-394.