Communicating Effectively Worksheet
(Week one Assignment one)
Communicating Effectively Worksheet
University of Phoenix
Sharon Hughes
Comm/310
November 9, 2011
University of Phoenix Material
Communicating Effectively Worksheet
Answer the following questions, using information from this week’s readings. Respond to each question in 100 to 200 words.
1. Briefly explain the seven elements of the speech communication process. How do these elements determine a speech’s success or failure?
The seven elements of speech are: speaker, message, channel, listener, feedback, interference, and situation. A speaker is when the person who is presenting an oral message to a listener. A message is whatever a speaker communicates to someone else. A channel is the means by which a message is communicated. A listener is the person who receives the speaker’s message. A feedback is the messages, usually nonverbal, sent from a listener to a speaker. Interference is anything that impedes the communication of a message. Interference can be external or internal to listeners. A situation is the time and place in which speech communication occurs.
These elements determine a speech’s success because it helps you prepare for your presentation. It is imperative to have a plan before you have a presentation. For an example: an actor does not just go on stage without memorizing the materials for his part and film.
2. What is the difference between hearing and listening? What are some techniques you could employ to improve your listening skills?
Hearing is when the vibration of sound waves on the eardrums and the firing of electrochemical impulses in the brain. Listening is paying close attention to, and making sense of, what we hear.
Being a critical thinker can enhance my ability to be a better listener. The four steps of listening can also help too; appreciative listening is listening for pleasure or enjoyment, empathic listening is listening to provide emotional support for the speaker, comprehensive listening is listening to understand the message of a speaker, critical listening is listening to evaluate a message for purposes of accepting or rejecting it.
Taking listening seriously by practicing and having self-discipline, Being an active listener by giving undivided attention to a speaker in a genuine effort to understand the speaker’s point of view, resisting distractions by focusing on the speaker and not letting any distractions occur in your brain, do not be diverted by appearance or delivery be sure to respond to the message, not the package it comes in, suspend judgment by trying to understand their point of view before coming to a final decision.
3. Compare the four methods of delivering oral presentations. What are the benefits and drawbacks of each?
The four methods of delivering oral presentations are: reading verbatim from a manuscript is a speech that is written out word for word ad read to the audience, reciting a memorized text is to memorize the it thoroughly so you will be able to focus and communicate your point to the audience, speaking impromptu is a speech delivered with little or no immediate preparation, and speaking extemporaneously with careful prepared and rehearsed speech that is presented from a brief set of notes. The benefits from reading from a manuscript are that the material is already written for you to present to the audience, some people can make it look realistic when reading from a manuscript. The drawback from reading from a manuscript is that it is not authentic and you did not create the words. There isn’t any
