oVERVlEWv 3 Everything that can

n Vocabu[ary
Good communicators
can be

philosopher
D Listening
lmproving
communications
Reading

I
lnternal communication
Language review
ldioms

D Skitls
Dealing with
ę|-.§s,
communication
breakdown
Case study
HCPS

§ wtlat makes a good communicator? Choose the three most important factors.
o fluency in the language . a sense ofhumour
o an extensive vocabutary r grammatlcat accuracy
o being a good listener . not being afraid of making mistakes
. physicat appearance . an awareness ofbody language

S Wtrat other factors are important for communication?

§ Oiscuss these questions.

r what forms of written and spoken communication can you think op For
example: e-mails, interv i ews
z Which of the above do you tike using? Why?
3 What problems can people have with them?
4 How can these problems be solved?
f

§ wtricłr words below applyto good communicators? Which applyto bad

communicators?
Good
communicators
articulate coherent eloquent fluent focussed
hesitant inhibited extrovert persuasive rambling
responsive sensitive succinct reserved

Vocabutary file page 171

?

3
 t communication

S wtricn of the words in Exercise A have the fottowing meanings?

t concise 5 clear and easy to understand
z reluctant to speak 6 good at influencing people

3 tatking in a confusedway 7 outgoing

4 able to express ideas well 8 reacting in a positive way

S Comptete this tatk by a communication expert with the verbs from the box.

{łsten* dil ss rru pt ln engage clariĄl con ramble

v
'Good communicators reatty .. ,l.iPlP.ry.. . to people lf they do need to use unfami[iar terminology they
and take in what is said. They maintain eye contact by giving an easy to understand
and have a relaxed body language, but they seldom examp[e. Furthermore, atthough they may
and stop people talking. lf they don't and leave the main point to give
understand and wantto... " ..'something additional information and details where
they wait for a suitab[e opportunity. appropriate,theywitl not... ... 6and_[o5e

sight of their main message. Real[y effective

communicators who have the abitity to
with colleagues, employees, customers and
suppliers are a valuable asset for any business.'

@n 1"1 Listen to the tatk and check your answers.

§ rnint of a good communicator you know. Explain why they are good at
communicating'
filepage 17l
l
* Vocat,utary

ą} 1,? Listen to the first part of an interview with Anuj Khanna, Marketing
1 \\S Manager of Netsize, a marketing agency for mobile media, and answer the
lmproving questions.
communications
t According to Anuj Khanna:
a) why have communications improved in recent years?
b) how can they improve in the future?
z What example does he give of banks improving communications with
customers?
|. ! _

ffi \ i 1.3 Listen to the second part of the interview.

r What are the consequences of the following communication breakdowns?
a) problems in air traffic controI systems
A Anui Khanna b) detays in fixing communication systems
c) faults in cash machines
z Which of the following deve[opments in communication does Anuj Khanna

e
,j
r\
y, expect to see in the future?
a) more privacy for customers
Y3 b) more freedom for companies to communicate with custorners
c) more controlby customers over the messages they receive
d) more communication between machines

S now do you think business communication will change in the future?

L
L
r communication

s wtrat are the advantages and disadvantages for companies of using e-mait?
InternaI
communication (§ Setect three of the items below which, in your opinion, best contribute to
im proving com munication.

truSt flexi-time
open plan offices sma[[teams
voice mail strong corporate identity
e-mait frequent meetings
mobi[e phones staff parties

communication - it's much easier said than done

,
",
By Clare Gascoigne ;;; ;;;;;;; ;;; ;; ;;;;;;
l PRFFERP§D lT WfiEN HĘ zs you about work flow.'
Trust is key in an H lD BB{IND r"łl§ coMflJTFą
Information overload also means
people stop listening. But there may
open organisation Śsł§,NĘ §l,rY §-IV\A,L5 be a deeper reason why a message
fails to get through, according to
Getting staff to talk to each other so Alex Haslam, Professor of
ought to be the least of your Psychology at Exeter Unive,rsity.
problems, but internal 'Everyone thinks a failure to
commrrnication can be one of the communicate is just an individual's
i hardest nuts to crack in business. ' error of judgment, but it's not
'Commuńcation ccimes up in si about the person: it's about the
every department. The group and the group dynamics,'he
repercussions of not says.' Just training people to be
commrrnicating are vast,' says - good commrrnicators isn't the
tc Theo Theobald, co-author of Shut issue.'
up and Listen! The Truth About . 90 The problem is that emplovees
How to communicate at work. develop common ]oyalties that are
poor communication can be a
far sironger than the need to share
purely practical problem. information. This can even extend
brave new world of high-tech can
li Gearbulk, a global shipping 45 ueate barriers senior managers to questions of safety.
business with branches around the hide behind their computers, staff 95 In the mid-1990s there were a lot
world, faced language and use voice mail to screen calls, and of light air crashes in Australia
geographical difficutties, as well as because the two government
employees sitting next to each
a huge amount of paperwork. With departments responsible for air
other will send e-mails rather than
:o up to 60 docurnents per cargo, it speak. safety weren't communicating,'
5o
was a logistical nightmare to track 'Managers should get up, walk 100 says Has}am. 'The government was
and monitor jobs, while tighter round the office and talk to people,' trying to save money and both
security regulations after 9/11 says Matt Rogan, Head of groups felt threatened. The
, meant customs documents had to
Marketing atLane4, a leadership individuals were highly identified
zi be ready before a ship was al]owed 55 and communications consultancy. with their own organisation and
to sail. ' Face-to-face communication roi urrwilling to commrrnicate with the
can't
Instaliing an automated system be beaten.' other department.'
means data is now entered only A company is particularly at risk
Theobold recommends checking
once but can be accessed by anvone when cost-cutting is in the air.
e-mail only three times a day,
.lo in the compan},, wherever they are, Individuals withdraw into
co allocating a set period of time to
'Reporting is faster by a matter t to departmentai loyalties out of fear.
deal with it. 'If you leave the sound
of months,' sa_vs Ramon Ferrer, Sending such people on yet another
on, the temptation is as great as a
Vice President of Global IT at ringing phone. People will interrupt 'how to communicate'course will
Gearbulk. An operational team meetings to check their e-mails.' be pointless. Instead, Haslam
:; carrying a voyage a}l the way .

across the world doesn't always

65 Another problem is simply believes that identifying the sub-
hitting the 'reply all' button. 1 15 groups within an organisation and
have to be talking to each other making sure each group feels
bombarding people with
and we don't rvaste time duplicating . information. 'we had unstructured valued and respected can do far
the same information.' data coming at staff from left, more to encourage the sharing of
40 _ Given today's r,ariet_l, of :o right and centre, leaving it up to information. The key to
communication tools. it seems individuals to sort out,' says t:o commurrication, he says. i,
stlange that rve sti11 have a Gearbulk's Ferrer. 'Our new system '.l.rr'.
problem commrinicathg, But the FIom the Finallcial Times
has reduced e-mails and changed

FINANCIAL TIMES

_3
 r communication

& neaa the articte and complete the chart below.

A High Tech

Consequences Consequence Consequence

7 4
2

# Read the article again and answer these questions.

r What communication prob[ems did Gearbulk have?
z How did Gearbutk overcome the problems?
3 What solutions does Theoba[d recommend for the above problems?
4 According to the author, why do staff often receive too many e-mai[s?
s Why weren't the two government departments (responsible for air safety)
communicating?
6 What does the author think about sending people on communication courses?

ffi Wtriclr word in each group does not form a word partnership with the word
in bold?

time
trouble
3 duplicate information time work
4 install syStems factories equipment
5 save money time experience
6 develop truth loyatty motivation
7 share support information ideas
time
e-mai[s

these questions.
-to-face communication can't be beaten.' Do you agree?
How cou[d communication be improved in yourorganisation?
t

3 How willcommunication change in the office of the future?

§\ Vocabulaty file page 173

d

t,

§\_
 r communication

§ Comptete these idioms with the missingwords from the box.

ldioms
point bush grapevine stick wavelength wires
nutshell picture tail purposes
lćAN,f /vlĄ}<E
HfAD oR-rĄlL
You a) to put it in a .........
b) to get straight to the
c) to hear it on the
d) to put you in the ..................
e) to get the wrong end of the ...........,.
,f) to be on the same ..................
g) can't make head or .................. of it
h) to talk at cross
ŁFT- ĄE i) to beat about the
PuT YCItl
lN THE i) to get our..............,.,. crossed
PlcfuR§
@ Wtriclr of the idioms in ExerciseA mean the following?
r to failto understand anything
2 to share similar opinions and ideas

,3 to summarise briefty
Ptl]' lT lrł fi ła to misunderstand
FłOTsł{EtJ.
5 to delay tatking about something
6 to give the latest information

7 to talk about the most important thing

8 to hear about something passed from one person to another

Complete the sentences with the idioms from Exercise A.

aĄ oase
ęd, 130
r OK, l'll .................. l'm afraid we're going to have to let you go.
2 'You and your boss seem to agree on most things.''Yes, we are .......,
3 Some important decisions were taken at yesterday's meeting. Let me

4 lthinkwe are , l mean next month, not this month.

5 He never gives you a straight answer. He's always
6l that he's been fired. ls it true?
7 |t's a very complicated system, but to it works exactly tike a big
kettle.
8 |f you think our biggest problem is market share then you have

9 This report makes no sense at all. l

ro Everyone arrived for the meeting at different times.We must have

ffi nst your partner the fottowing questions.

r What have you heard on the grapevine recently?
z When was the last time you got the wrong end of the stick?
3 When is it necessary to put someone in the picture?
4 ln what situations is it good to beat about the bush?
5 ln what situations is it good to get straight to the point?
6 Can you give an example of when you were talking at cross purposes?
7 ls there anything you can't make head or tail of?