Read the following information.

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 389.

Unit 4. ADAPTATION AND THE SELECTION OF WORDS.

Topics for individual study

Exercises

Terms

Field of experience

Background

Abstract word

Context

Sending

Receiving

Message

Channel

Decode

Encode

Meaning

Noise

Linear model

Interactional model

Transactional model

Paper-processing office

Channel credibility

Celebrity

Transmit

Perceive

Feedback

Shared space

1. Notice some occurrences of non-verbal communication around you.
2. Notice in an actual conversation between two other people how they exchange

symbols, but each maintain different associations to those symbols.

· Components of nonverbal communication in different cultures.

· Barriers to communication and how to overcome them.

· Barriers to international communication.

· Peculiarities of non-verbal communication in various cultures.

The study of the business writing begins with adaptation. By adaptation we mean fitting the message to the specific reader. Readers don't have the same ability to understand a message as they don't have:

a) the same vocabulary;

b) the same knowledge of the subject;

c) the same mentality.

To write clearly you have to:

a) know the person with whom you communicate or write to;

b) form a message to fit that person's mind.

Adaptation begins with visualizing your reader. Visualizing is forming a mental picture of what your reader is like. You have to imagine:

a) what the reader knows about the subject of your letter;

b) what his or her education level is;

c) how he, she feels.

You have to consider everything you believe could have an effect on your reader's understanding of your message. Then you can start forming the message. In many business situations, adapting to your reader means writing on a level lower than the one you would normally use, because:

a) you may communicate with people whose education level is lower than yours;

b) you may communicate with people of the same level of education but who simply don't know much about the subject of your message.

For example, you will have to write memorandum to the less educated workers of the firm, whose education is lower than yours and who have a limited vocabulary. If you have to teach them you will certainly use simpler words. If you don't, you will not communicate. On the other hand, if you have to write the same message to a group of highly-educated people, you will have a wider choice of words. These people have a wider vocabulary than the first group. In either case, you will select words that the intended readers understand.

These factors will certainly differ from a memo to highly-educated managers, where you can use a wider choice of words.

Adapting to a single reader is much easier than adapting to more readers who may vary in education and knowledge of the subject. Your message may miss some of the readers of the group. On the contrary, if you adapt to the lowest level, you may insult the intelligence of those with higher level. The answer is to communicate at lower level but take care not to talk down. You can do this by using such phrases as “As you know,” that implies that your readers know what your are writing about.

Adaptation techniques include: using the words that communicate best – correct, short, familiar, and concise words with special caution to technical terms, acronyms and idiomatic expressions; using the Active Voice rather than the Passive Voice. Selecting the right words depends on one's ability to use language, the knowledge of the reader and one's good judgment. Most of the approaches emphasize the simplicity of writing, for the reason that most people tend to become stiff and cold in formal writing rather than being friendly, normal people. Winston Churchill referred to this tendency when he said: “Little men use big words; big men use little words.” Technical terms and acronyms are useful when we communicate with people in one field of business, but these words do not communicate with outsiders. Initials and acronyms have to be spelled out and defined at the beginning.