Ongoing Crisis Communication - Assignment Example

Reflective Journal B2 The main difference between an informative speech and a persuasive one lies in the intention (Hamilton 221). In the case of an informative speech, the intention of the speaker is to educate the audience. The speaker shares information about a subject with the audience with the main aim of helping the audience understand the issue better. For example, a trainer giving an informative speech tends to stick to the facts and avoids attempting to share his or her point of view with the audience. On the other hand, the intention of a speaker who is giving a persuasive speech is to convince the audience to view the issue from the speaker’s point of view. Thus, the speaker interprets the information and attempts to convince the audience to take his or her point of view. For example, a sales person may have to give a persuasive speech to convince the audience to buy a product. B4 The presentation can be found here. This is a presentation by Steve Jobs, the former founder and CEO of Apple Inc. In this presentation, which is undated, Steve Jobs is making and informative presentation to his internal team. The presentation is about a marketing campaign that the company was planning to run at the time. The marketing campaign, which became very successful, was titled “Think Different”. One of the most important things about the presentation is how the speaker catches and maintains the attention of the audience. The speaker uses an attention statement right at the start to raise the attention and interest of the audience. He does this by referring to his personal taste and preferences. Also, the speaker effectively addresses the key points in the presentation. However, one thing about the presentation that I would improve relates to summarising the key points of the effectiveness of the campaign, which I think the speaker fails to do. B7 I think that the principle of consensus often works. I think that people are likely to be persuaded to buy things because other people own that item or are going to buy them. When viewed from the perspective of the principle of consensus, human behaviour can be described as dependent on what other people are doing (Faculty of Business, Government & Law, University of Canberra 537). In other words, people tend to conform to what their peers are doing. Therefore, when someone learns that others intend to buy an item or that they already own an item, he or she will tend to buy the item so as to be like the rest. This behaviour, which is described as herd mentality, is universal. To some extent, I am affected by it. This behaviour manifests itself in my purchase behaviour when I feel the urge to buy things so that I can ‘go with the trend.’ B9 Discontinuance is a more difficult challenge than deterrence. The essence of discontinuance is that the speaker attempts to convince others to stop doing something that they have been doing for some time (Faculty of Business, Government & Law, University of Canberra540). The problem is that discontinuance involves attempting to convince people to change their habit. Given that the approach is based on convincing people to drop habits or things that they are used to, it is more difficult than deterrence. In the case of deterrence, a speaker should convince people not to start doing something that they intended to do. Therefore, the speaker can successfully convince people not to start doing something by pointing out the dangers associated with the thing. For example, it is possible to convince non-drug users not to try using drugs by pointing out the potential negative effects of drugs rather than trying to convince addicts to quit. B11 Yes, persuasion can be ethical. For persuasion to be ethical, the speaker should watch out for some of the most common mistakes that people commit when they try to persuade others to see things from their point of view, do new things or stop certain habits (Faculty of Business, Government & Law, University of Canberra 563). For example, a speaker should avoid knowingly misrepresenting facts in a bid to convince the audience. In practice, misrepresenting facts amounts to lying and this is unethical. Also, for persuasion to be logical, a speaker should avoid committing any of the common forms of logical fallacies. Logical fallacies are common mistakes that people commit when they argue (Gula 46). For example, people may use circular arguments, base their arguments on unrelated issues, appeal to emotions or base their arguments on false facts (Gula 47). All these forms of fallacies tend to paint a piece of persuasive talk as unethical. B13 The example of an elevator speech is here. This is Jeff Skilling, the then CEO of Enron speaking about the projected performance of the company over the quarter that was to follow. He was giving an interview to a local TV station, attempting to convince shareholders that the company had amazing prospects over the few months that were to follow. The main strength of the speech is that Skilling uses a hook to get the attention of his audience by boldly asserting that Enron’s performance had been amazing at the time. He then explains that the company is well-positioned to perform well because of deregulation that is taking place in various states in the country. The only problem with the speech is that Skilling does not sum it up with a call to action. B14 Viewing nonverbal communication as that which is not verbal communication enhances our understanding of communication. First, nonverbal communication can be used to complement verbal communication (Faculty of Business, Government & Law, University of Canberra416). A person may use body language or other forms of gestures to reinforce what the person is saying using words. Therefore, in this case, nonverbal communication, as a distinct form of communication, enhances what is said. Also, nonverbal communication can be used to contradict what is being said verbally. In this case, a person may be saying one thing but uses gestures that indicate the opposite of what the person is saying. In such a case, nonverbal communication is used to show contradiction. Thirdly, one can communicate entirely using nonverbal forms of communication referred to as emblems. Emblems are generally agreed-upon signs that individuals can use to convey forms of messages. Thus, emblems allow people to communicate nonverbally, in other words, without using words. B16 Time is a very relevant factor in communication in the information age. There are various reasons for this. For example, how people view and use time varies with different cultures (Faculty of Business, Government & Law, University of Canberra 549). In some cultures, people are very time-conscious. This means that people stick to the indicated times for various activities. In such cultures, punctuality is highly valued and taken very seriously. However, in other cultures, individuals tend to be more relaxed and pay less attention to the need to be highly punctual. The problem is that when one is communicating with individuals from different cultures, one should take into consideration the views of the individuals regarding time. Moreover, in the current information age, individuals can get all the information that they need within the shortest possible time. Therefore, when people are communicating in the current age, they need to be not only accurate but also prompt. B17 There are various assumptions (explicit and underlying) about nonverbal communication that are presented in the readings. First, it is assumed that nonverbal communication communicates the ultimate truth about the feelings of individuals. It is based on this assumption that in the readings, it is suggested that a person who is communicating to an audience should focus on reading the nonverbal cues from the members of the audience to determine the real feelings of the audience towards the person and the presentation. Another important assumption about nonverbal communication that is clear from the readings is that an audience focuses on nonverbal communication as much as the audience does regarding verbal communication. What this means is that when a person is speaking, the members of the audience will judge the person based on the body language of the person as much as the content of the person’s presentation. Therefore, this implies that any good communicator should focus on body language as well as what he or she says. B20 When people do not know what to do in a crisis, often, they tend to panic and believe any information that they access. Moreover, confusion reigns supreme in such a situation. If it is within the context of an organisation, employees tend to lose their focus. The public loses its trust in the management of the organisation and tends to believe that the situation is far more serious than what the official communication from the company says. Interestingly, it is possible to avoid this situation. To avoid the mess that develops when people do not know what to do in a crisis, one should develop a crisis contingency plan in general and a crisis communication blueprint (Coombs 5). The crisis communication plan provides guidance on what is to be said during a crisis as well as how and who should communicate to the stakeholders. B21 There are several reasons why self-disclosure is important in business. First, self-disclosure is a prerequisite for trust. It is only when individuals working together begin to share information about themselves that the individuals can start to trust each other. Trust is an important aspect in business because it can determine how well two or more individuals work together and get things done. For example, if two deal makers representing their companies engage in negotiations for a deal, the trust that is developed because of their self-disclosure can help them to seal a deal. Secondly, self-disclosure helps to create a harmonious relationship among individuals working together. When colleagues at a place of work start sharing their personal information, they tend to learn more about each other and this fosters their working relationship at the place of work. Therefore, self-disclosure helps people to learn more about others and get along with each other easily. B23 Empathy is the most effective strategy of managing workplace-related conflict. Here are some of the reasons why empathy is the best approach that can be used to manage crises at the place of work. First, empathy lays the ground for negotiation. When people can empathise with others, they tend to be more open for negotiations than it is the case when they not. Given that negotiation is one of the most effective ways of solving disagreements, it follows that empathy is an important strategy that fosters negotiation. Secondly, empathy helps individuals to understand things from the point of view of the others (Faculty of Business, Government & Law, University of Canberra 637). When people in a workplace environment empathise, they can understand the intentions of those who communicate. Therefore, empathy helps people to understand things at much deeper levels. It helps individuals to identify the root cause of disagreements and this can be helpful in a work environment. B24 I would use Theory Z to manage my workers. The main reason for this choice is that Theory Z is a perfect combination of the aspects of Theory Y and Theory X (Montana and Charnov 34). Theory Y and Theory X represent opposite views. On the one hand, Theory X recommends the use of an authoritarian style of management as the only way that a manager can make people work. The basic assumption under this theory is that people are naturally averse to work and that they need to be forced to work. On the other hand, Theory Y proposes that people are naturally self-driven and inclined to perform. However, for practical purposes, I will use Theory Z. I will provide a sense of responsibility for all the employees so that they can take the initiative and deliver results. However, I would put in place a system to safeguard against failure. The system will cover possible consequences for poor performance. Works Cited Coombs, Timothy. Ongoing crisis communication, London: Sage, 2014. Faculty of Business, Government & Law, University of Canberra. Management Communication. 2017. Gula, Robert J. Nonsense: Red Herrings, Straw Men and Sacred Cows – How We Abuse Logic in Our Everyday Language. Mount Jackson: Axios Press, 2007. Hamilton, Cheryl. Essentials of Public Speaking, Mason: Cengage, 2014. Montana, Patrick J. and Bruce H. Charnov. Management. New York: Barron’s Educational Series, 2008. Read More