{"id":1089,"date":"2020-08-14T13:57:36","date_gmt":"2020-08-14T17:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=1089"},"modified":"2020-09-09T17:04:15","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T21:04:15","slug":"chapter-18","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials\/chapter\/chapter-18\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 15: Business Communication in Person","rendered":"Chapter 15: Business Communication in Person"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Learning Objectives<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\" style=\"text-align: justify\">\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Identify the five parts of a conversation<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Examine how communication skills are affected by technology<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Learn how to improve conversation skills<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Understand how to communicate on the phone<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Your professional success depends on having advanced people or soft skills because most jobs require you to talk to people. Key among these is skill in speaking to and conversing with others in person. Retail sales, for instance, requires the ability to listen carefully to what a customer says they want and \u201cread\u201d their nonverbal cue to determine what exactly to say and how to say it in order to close the deal with a purchase. Aside from a handful of jobs with minimal human interaction, the vast majority require advanced soft skills to deal effectively with customers or clients, coworkers, managers, and other stakeholders. Though we\u2019re not born with them, everyone has the capacity to learn, develop, practise, and apply verbal and nonverbal skills to benefit those audiences, their company as a whole, and themselves.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">You\u2019ve certainly participated in countless conversations throughout your life, and the process of how to conduct a conversation may seem so obvious that it needs no explanation. Still, you can tell that some are better than others at conversation and some argue that technology is preventing many from developing these skills, so it\u2019s worth breaking down how an effective communicator approaches the art of conversation. A skilled professional knows when to speak, when to go silent and listen, as well as when to stop speaking before the audience stops listening. Conversations may differ depending on the field, level, knowledge, and experience, but they generally follow five steps.<b><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\">The Five Parts of Conversations<\/h2>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Conversation is one of the main ways we interact in the business environment and yet it\u2019s highly susceptible to miscommunication and misunderstandings. Our everyday familiarity with conversations often makes us blind to the subtle changes that take place during the course of a conversation. Examining it will help you to consider its components, predict the next turn, anticipate an opening or closing, and make you a better conversationalist. Steven Beebe, Susan Beebe, and Mark Redmond (2002) break conversation down into five stages that we will adapt here for our discussion.<b><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">1. Initiation<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">As the first stage of conversation, initiation requires you to be open to interact and perhaps use small talk to prime yourselves for the intended topic. You may communicate openness with nonverbal signals such as approaching someone, stopping four feet away, facing them, making eye contact, and smiling. When a degree of unfamiliarity comes between the two speakers, small talk helps \u201cbreak the ice\u201d to clear a path toward the topic at hand. Asking how they\u2019re doing, a casual reference to the weather (\u201cNice day, eh?\u201d) or a brief back-and-forth about the weekend requires someone to begin the exchange. For the very shy, this may trigger some anxiety whereas extraverts delight in this stage, and \u201cambiverts\u201d (e.g., natural introverts who have learned to play the extravert game) do it in recognition of its necessity <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/travisbradberry\/2016\/04\/26\/9-signs-that-youre-an-ambivert\/#3fb7b9753145\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(Bradberry, 2016)<\/a>. If status and hierarchical relationships are a factor, cultural norms may determine who speaks when. Usually, however, initiation just requires a willingness to engage in conversation and a purpose\u2014something to talk about after clearing the small-talk hurdle.<b><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">2. Preview<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">The preview verbally or nonverbally indicates the conversation topic. A word or two in the subject line of an email performs the same job, but in conversation this can be done as easily as just summarizing the topic in a few words (e.g., <em>Can I ask you about how I can minimize my tax liability?<\/em> or <em>Let\u2019s talk about some basic heavy-equipment safety guidelines before we get started<\/em>). People are naturally curious and also seek certainty, so a preview conveniently reduces uncertainty by taking a direct approach to signal the speaker\u2019s intent.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">A general reference to a topic may also approach a topic indirectly, allowing the recipient to either pick up on the topic and to engage in the discussion or to redirect the conversation away from a topic they aren\u2019t ready to talk about. For instance, a manager needing to talk to an employee about being late for work too often might start off by saying, \u201cThat was some nightmare traffic on the highway this morning, eh?\u201d Depending on the employee\u2019s response, the manager could then say what they do to get to work on time, suggesting that the employee should do the same. To reinforce the point, the manager could finally explain that continuing to arrive late will affect the employee\u2019s job security. The savvy communicator would be able to infer from the initial question about traffic where the manager\u2019s going with this line of questioning and may even begin to offer up a convincing excuse for why they\u2019re late and suggest a compromise such as a plan to stay later or make up the lost hours by working from home on the weekend.<b><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">3. Business<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">You get down to business when you reinforce the goal orientation of the conversation. In workplace communication, we often have a specific goal or series of points to address, but we can\u2019t lose sight of the messages\u00a0within the discussion of content. You may signal to your conversation partner that you have three points you need to cover, much like outlining an agenda at a meeting. This may sound formal at first, but in listening to casual conversations, you\u2019ll often find a natural but unacknowledged list of subtopics leading to a central point where the conversational partners arrive. By clearly articulating the main points, however, you outline the conversation\u2019s parameters to keep it efficiently on track rather than prone to digress from the main point.<b><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">4. Feedback<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Similar to the preview stage, this feedback allows speakers to clarify, restate, or discuss the talking points to arrive at mutual understanding. In some cultures, the points and their feedback may recycle several times, which may sound repetitious in the West where speakers typically prefer to get to the point and move quickly to the conclusion once they\u2019ve achieved understanding. If so, then a simple \u201cAre we good?\u201d might be all that\u2019s necessary at the feedback stage. Communication across cultures, on the other hand, may require additional cycles of statement and restatement to ensure understanding, as well as reinforcement of the speakers\u2019 relationship. Time may be money in some cultures, but spending time is a sign of respect in cultures with rigid social hierarchies. The feedback stage offers an opportunity to make sure the information exchange was successful the first time. Failure to attend to this stage can lead to the need for additional interactions, reducing efficiency over time.<b><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">5. Closing<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Accepting feedback on both sides of the conversation often signals the transition to the conversation\u2019s conclusion. Closings mirror the initiation stage in that they can be signalled verbally (e.g., \u201cOkay, thanks! Bye\u201d) or nonverbally, such as stepping back and turning your feet and body in the direction of where you\u2019re about to go next in preparation to disengage while still facing and speaking with the other.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Sometimes a speaker introduces new information in the conclusion, which can start the process all over again. If words like \u201cin conclusion\u201d or \u201cokay, one last thing\u201d are used, a set of expectations is now at play and the listener expects a conclusion in the very near future. If the speaker continues to recycle at this point, the listener\u2019s patience will be stretched and frustration may set in. They will have mentally shifted to the next order of business, so this transition must be negotiated successfully to maintain good relations between speakers. Mentioning a time, date, or place for future communication clearly signals that the conversation, although currently concluded, will continue later. \u201cI\u2019m just heading to a meeting right now but I\u2019ll catch you back on the fifth floor tomorrow afternoon, K?\u201d for instance, allows you to respectfully disengage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\">The Smartphone Era and Communication Skills<\/h2>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">If you prefer to text rather than talk to people most of the time because that\u2019s how you\u2019ve (and everyone else has) been doing it throughout high school and even in college, you\u2019ll probably find yourself at a disadvantage when entering the workforce. The reason is twofold: (1) When you enter the working world, you join several generations of adults who grew up without smartphones and therefore tend to prefer talking over texting because it\u2019s a tried, tested, and true way to efficiently communicate understanding. Managers, coworkers, customers, and other stakeholders come with high expectations for the quality of conversational skill in the people they interact with, and have little patience for those who are years behind where they should be in basic oracy. (2) You could be addicted to technology, which negatively affects your ability to interact with people in person according to a growing body of research (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/technology\/your-smartphone-is-making-you-stupid\/article37511900\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrew-Gee, 2018<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.helpguide.org\/articles\/addictions\/smartphone-addiction.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Smith, Robinson, &amp; Segal, 2018<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inc.com\/john-brandon\/forget-smartphone-addiction-heres-what-experts-are-really-worried-about.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brandon, 2018<\/a>). Why talk to people when sending a text is just so easy and comfortable?<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">In her book <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.reclaimingconversationbook.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age<\/a><\/em> (2015), psychologist Sherry Turkle draws on clinical research to show how profoundly dissatisfied with ourselves and each other technology has made us. Smartphones and social media apps promise to connect us more but effectively isolate us. After a decade of smartphone use, teenagers whose 10-hour-per-day addiction to screens, preference for texting over talking, and habit of filling every idle moment with media consumption arrive at college with under-developed skills in conversation, empathy, patience, and self-reflection. When teens use technology to shield themselves from the countless awkward, embarrassing, and regrettable in-person interactions that lead eventually to social competence and confidence, they enter the workforce in a state of arrested development. \u201cAdulting\u201d becomes a terrifying prospect compared with the protective comfort zone of the screen. Turkle\u2019s guide offers an antidote to the socially stunting effects of technology.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Motivational speaker Simon Sinek presents similar advice to Millennials while sympathizing with them for the \u201cbad hand\u201d they were dealt by a \u201cfailed parenting strategy\u201d that raised unrealistic expectations of fulfillment in a whole generation. He similarly points the blame at mobile devices for the short-term dopamine-hit micro-reward feedback-loop pleasures they offer at the expense of the long-term development of soft skills. The enchantment of social media is that it offers users an easy out from the difficult learning experiences that develop the social coping mechanisms helping them through the trials of adolescence. The devices hook you with instant gratification: \u201cEverything you want you can have instantaneously,\u201d he says, except job satisfaction and strength of relationships. There ain\u2019t no app for that. They are slow, meandering, uncomfortable, messy processes. . . . What this young generation needs to learn is patience\u2014that some things that really matter like love or job fulfillment, joy, love of life, self-confidence, a skill set\u2014all of these things take time. . . . The overall journey is arduous and long and difficult. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU&amp;t=488s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(8:08 - 9:25)<\/a><\/p>\r\n[embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU&amp;t=488s[\/embed]\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Sinek advocates for better leadership in business and industry to teach Millennials the social skills they were robbed of by constant access to addictive technology.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">One practical solution Sinek offers is banning cell phones in meeting rooms to remove the temptation of using them rather than conversing with colleagues. He argues that relationships and trust are built especially through small talk about work and life before and after meetings. Additionally, innovation happens in idle moments when you notice opportunities in the world\u2014opportunities you\u2019re blind to when your attention is absorbed by a little screen. \u201cWe have to create mechanisms where we allow for those little innocuous interactions to happen\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU&amp;t=720s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(12:00 \u2013 13:05)<\/a>. Rather than a quick fix, steady consistency in developing social skills is necessary to bring Millennials up to speed in oracy.<\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU&amp;t=720s[\/embed]\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">Improving Your Conversation Skills<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">If anything in the above paragraphs sounds true to life, the onus rests largely on you to improve your conversation skills with all the advice that is available (ironically) on the very devices in question. For instance, Celeste Headlee, a talk-radio host and author of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harpercollins.com\/9780062669001\/we-need-to-talk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter<\/a> (2017) provides insight with her well-viewed\u00a0TEDtalk <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation<\/a> (2016). Headlee's main points have been summarised below.<\/p>\r\n[embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4[\/embed]\r\n<ol style=\"text-align: justify\">\r\n \t<li><strong>Be Present<\/strong>: Devote your undivided attention to the person you\u2019re speaking with and don\u2019t multitask. You won\u2019t have to pretend to pay attention by nodding and making eye contact if you\u2019re doing that anyway by actually paying attention. The worst offenders are those to whip out their phone and engage with it rather than the people around them, called \u201cphubbing\u201d (for \u201cphone snubbing\u201d) <a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/5216853\/what-is-phubbing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(Ducharme, 2018)<\/a>. Though you may feel that you can get away with phubbing by discreetly hiding your smartphone under the table, your conversation partners know exactly what you\u2019re doing when all your attention is on your lap.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Be prepared to learn<\/strong>: A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue where you simply unload your opinion on someone and receive nothing in return except for the satisfaction of dominating them with it. In certain situations, such as a TEDtalk itself, you give up your right to speak because of the faith that you\u2019ll learn much more by listening to a wise speaker who needs time to get their points across.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Ask open-ended questions<\/strong>: The more vague your questions are (starting with the 5 Ws + H), the more freedom you give your conversation partner to answer on their own terms, whereas very specific questions limit the possible answers. If you ask \u201cHow did that make you feel?\u201d for instance, you\u2019ll get a more expressive answer than if you limited your speaker to a yes or no answer with a question like \u201cDid that make you happy?\u201d<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Go with the flow<\/strong>: Respond to your conversation partner\u2019s main points rather than with some digressive story you were reminded of by one of their minor points. When you respond in that way, it reveals that you haven\u2019t been listening past the part that inspired the barely relevant thing you feel contributes to the conversation, though it really doesn\u2019t move the conversation along so much as derail it.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Admit to not knowing<\/strong>: Make your confession of ignorance an opportunity to learn rather than claim to know something you don\u2019t.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Honour the uniqueness of their experience<\/strong>: When the speaker relates something that happened to them, resist the urge to make it about you by equating their experience with yours. If they\u2019re talking about grieving a death in the family, for instance, don\u2019t dishonour that information share by responding with how you felt when your dog died. It\u2019s not the same.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Cut yourself off before repeating yourself<\/strong>: If you have only one point to make, \u201chit it and quit it\u201d rather than spin your wheels saying the same thing over and over, even if you change the words.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Stay out of the weeds<\/strong>: Rather than struggle to offer up all the details (the names, places, dates, etc.) and digress on minutiae, focus on your main points.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Listen<\/strong>: A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue, and therefore requires that you actively pay attention to what the speaker says in order to understand it rather than to merely reply to it.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Be brief<\/strong>: People are busy and have things to do, so if your conversation detains them for longer than they have time for, you will stretch their patience. As Headlee says, \u201cA good conversation is like a miniskirt: short enough to retain interest, but long enough to cover the subject.\u201d<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Headlee concludes that these tips are all variations on being interested in what people have to teach you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(TED, 2016)<\/a>. If you add the following to Headlee\u2019s advice, you stand a good chance of improving your conversation skills.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">Mirror the Speaker<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">You may have occasionally caught yourself automatically imitating your conversation partner\u2019s posture, facial expression, and manner of speaking. When they look relaxed or lean in, talk slowly because they\u2019re calm or speak quickly because they\u2019re in a rush, or widen their eyes with excitement, you follow suit in every case. Coined the \u201cchameleon effect\u201d by psychologists, mirroring is unconscious physical behaviour motivated by our desire to fit in so our conversation partner identifies with and likes us <a href=\"https:\/\/faculty.fuqua.duke.edu\/~tlc10\/bio\/TLC_articles\/1999\/Chartrand_Bargh_1999.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(Chartrand &amp; Bargh, 1999)<\/a>. It supports the clich\u00e9 that imitation is the highest form of flattery.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Though it happens unconsciously, mirroring deliberately has been found to be especially effective as a sales technique and in job interviews, though only if the person being imitated doesn\u2019t notice the imitator doing it. If you can be subtle and natural about it, intentional mirroring forces you to read your conversation partner\u2019s verbal and nonverbal messages closely. Done effectively, mirroring benefits both speakers by building the trust and rapport necessary to collaborate effectively or close a deal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/use-mirroring-to-connect-with-others-1474394329\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(Shellenbarger, 2016)<\/a>.<b><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">Correctly Pronounce Words and Names<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><del><\/del> Speakers should be careful with pronunciation, especially with words they rarely hear, if ever. Mispronunciation can negatively impact your reputation or perceived credibility. Instead of using complicated words that may trip you up, choose a simple phrase if you can, or learn to pronounce the word correctly before using it in a formal interactive setting. If you think you\u2019ll stumble over a word like archipelago, for instance, just use a synonymous phrase such as <em>island chain<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">The importance of pronunciation is nowhere more important than with people\u2019s names. Some take offence to their name being mispronounced, and especially with their name being confused with a different but similar name. If someone\u2019s name looks unpronounceable on paper, simply asking them how they prefer their name to be pronounced is better than confidently mispronouncing it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">Treat Conversations Like Volley Sports<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">A conversation isn\u2019t a monologue where you fire words at a wall until you have nothing left to say. It\u2019s more like a game of volleyball, tennis, or table tennis where possession of the speech right is exchanged back and forth. If it\u2019s a friendly game, the objective is to volley words for as long as it\u2019s fun or productive. This may mean asking a good question, which lobs the speech over the net to your conversation partner. They answer and can either ask you a feedback question in return or you can respond to their answer with a statement. Every time you speak, you must set up your conversation partner to be able to respond with either a statement or question, and expect them to do the same. Conversations would be frustrating if all the other person did was either spike the ball repeatedly to score points against you so that you could never touch it (i.e., delivered a monologue where you couldn\u2019t get a word in edgewise), or just bounced the ball out of bounds every time you volleyed it straight to them\u2014i.e., answered in a way that stalled the conversation, such as with one-word answers to your questions or bizarre statements you don\u2019t know how to respond to. A conversation must be a dynamic process where both sides make a determined, concerted effort to keep it going until the objective has been reached or the clock runs down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\">Telephone and Voicemail<\/h2>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">The simplest form of audio-only conversation\u2014i.e., talk stripped of all nonverbals\u2014is a telephone call. A phone call is advantageous whenever you need the live volley of conversation with someone to sort out details in a timely manner, but are too distant from them physically to do it in person. Some make the mistake of choosing written channels like email or text, drawing out the communication process over hours or days, to discuss matters that would take mere seconds or minutes by phone. As long as you don\u2019t need details permanently recorded in writing, the phone is an expedient channel to discuss details for any busy professional.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Though you\u2019ve probably talked on the phone countless times throughout your life, you may not yet have had the chance to do so professionally where the expectations for competence are much higher than in social or family contexts\u2014so much so that some executives hire professional voice coaches to help them increase their effectiveness in phone communication. The importance of audio communication in business and industry has increased with the availability of conference calls, voice over internet protocol (VoIP), voice-activated electronic menus, and voice-to-text dictation software available on most smartphones. It is important to improve your telephone skills in an age where many prefer to text rather than call.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\"><del><\/del>Communicating on the Phone<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">When you lack the nonverbal context of your conversation partner being able to see how you say what you say, take pains to ensure that your voice accurately communicates your message. Without nonverbals, your choice of words and how you say them, including spacing or pausing, pace, rhythm, articulation, and pronunciation are more relevant than when you communicate in person. Consider these five points:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ol style=\"text-align: justify\">\r\n \t<li><strong>Speak slowly<\/strong> and <strong>articulate your words clearly<\/strong>. You don\u2019t have to slow down your normal pattern of speech much, but each word needs time and space to be understood or else the listener may hear words running together, losing meaning and creating opportunities for misunderstanding. For instance, numbers such as \u201c18\u201d may sound like \u201c80\u201d and vice versa if you\u2019re speaking too quickly and have an accent, which could lead to disaster if you\u2019re, say, discussing price in a six-figure real estate deal.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Use <strong>vivid terms<\/strong> to create interest and communicate descriptions. Communicating on the phone or producing an audio recording lacks an interpersonal context with the accompanying nonverbal messages. Unless you use vivid language and crisp, clear descriptions, your audience will be left to sort it out for themselves. They may create mental images that don\u2019t reflect your intended meanings and lead to miscommunication.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Be <strong>specific<\/strong>. Don\u2019t assume that they will catch your specific information the first time. <strong>Repeat as necessary<\/strong>, especially addresses and phone numbers.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Show consideration for others by keeping your phone conversations<strong> private<\/strong>. Avoid calls in a crowded elevator, for instance.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Silence cell phones<\/strong> and other devices when in a meeting or eating with colleagues. Recall Simon Sinek\u2019s explanation for why this is important <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU&amp;t=720s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(Crossman, 2016, 12:00 \u2013 13:05)<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">As the response from the receiver to the sender, feedback is also an essential element of phone conversations. Taking turns in the conversation can sometimes be awkward when you can\u2019t see when your conversation partner is about to speak. With time and practice, each \u201cspeaker\u2019s own natural, comfortable, expressive repertoire will surface\u201d\r\n(Mayer, 1980, p. 21).<b><\/b><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">Leaving and Receiving Voicemail<\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">When you phone someone but are sent to voicemail because they don\u2019t pick up, switching to monologue mode means that you can only get as far as the preview stage of the conversation structure outlined above. You\u2019d still open by saying hello, your full name, and company. The limit on how much recording time you have (30 seconds? 60?\u2014you may not know) and absence of feedback from the listener, however, means that you can really only say what the call is about in concise, clear terms. A long, rambling voice mail message may be cut off and you may not even know it. In addition, it increases the possibility for misunderstandings as you are not present to clarify based on your listener\u2019s responses. Anything that needs discussion must be saved for the actual conversation, especially anything of a sensitive nature. Recording confidential information is potentially dangerous to you and others.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Add your contact information, even if you think the person already knows your phone number, and say it twice slowly so that the listener has additional time to get a pen and paper if they\u2019re still looking for them the first time you say it. Imagining you were writing down your phone number. As you recite, it will help you deliver it at a listener-friendly speed. Precise pronunciation is crucial because \u201c60\u201d and \u201c16\u201d or \u201c90\u201d and \u201c19\u201d may sound the same if the rate of speech is quick or if the speaker has a strong accent.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Be prepared to receive voicemail by recording a professional-sounding call-back message that begins after about 4-5 rings. When you receive a voicemail, return the call as soon as possible. The 24-hour rule of email doesn\u2019t apply with voicemail because the person who called you chose this channel deliberately expecting to discuss something with you \u201clive\u201d in a timely manner. With so many channels available, using the phone implies a sense of urgency.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\">Summary<\/h2>\r\n<p class=\"c1\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Conversations have universal aspects we can predict and improve. Honing your conversation skills will help you to project a professional business image.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"color: #333333\"><strong>End of Chapter Activities<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>15a. Thinking About the Content<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"color: #333333\">What are your key takeaways from this chapter? What is something you have learned or something you would like to add from your experience?<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>15b. Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\" style=\"text-align: justify\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Discussion Questions<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n<ol id=\"mclean-ch06_s02_s06_l02\" class=\"orderedlist\">\r\n \t<li>Reflect on your personal use of technology after reading and watching the videos linked there. Would you consider your relationship with your smartphone an addiction? Do you feel that it erodes your people skills and ability to engage meaningfully with other people? Write a one-page response and defend your position with evidence.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How comfortable are you with speaking on the phone? Are you more likely to text someone than call them, even if calling would be quicker, you\u2019re both available, and there\u2019s no reason why either of you couldn\u2019t just talk? Reflect honestly on why you prefer to text rather than to talk (if that\u2019s the case).<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>15c. Applying chapter concepts to a situation<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\" style=\"text-align: justify\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff\">Communicating at Work<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n\r\nSamantha is the Sales and Marketing Director at Phoenix Cars, a luxury car dealership in Vancouver. She recently decided to expand her team and hired Dan as a junior sales associate. Dan is twenty-five years old and has minimal experience but completed his bachelor\u2019s degree a year ago. He is dedicated and hardworking so, despite his lack of experience, he was able to master the main tasks of the job within a few weeks.\r\n\r\nA few months after hiring Dan, Samantha noticed the following communication issues:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">He uses his phone in team meetings and missing crucial information which affects his performance<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">He talks over clients during calls instead of listening to what they have to say<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">He uses slangs while communicating with clients face-to-face and on the phone<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nSamantha doesn\u2019t want to fire Dan because he is talented, but she is worried about the impact on clients, the company as a whole and opportunities for advancement in Dan\u2019s career.\r\n\r\n<strong><em>What advice would you give Samantha on how to solve the issues she has been facing with Dan?<\/em><\/strong>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>15d. Writing Activity<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"color: #333333\">Read this article form LinkedIn on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/what-millennials-lacking-soft-skills-anatoly-denisov\/\">What Millenials are lacking: Soft Skills<\/a>. Summarize the video. Do you agree with the author? Why or why not?<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\">Attribution<\/h2>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: justify\">\r\n\r\nThis chapter contains information from <em>Business Communication for Success <\/em>which\u00a0is adapted from a work produced and distributed under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA) in 2010 by a publisher who has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution. This adapted edition is produced by the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lib.umn.edu\/publishing\">University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing<\/a>\u00a0through the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lib.umn.edu\/elearning\">eLearning Support Initiative<\/a> and <em>Communication\u00a0at Work<\/em>\u00a0by\u00a0Jordan Smith\u00a0is licensed under a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\" rel=\"license\">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">References<\/h3>\r\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Beebe, S. [Steven]., Beebe, S. [Susan], &amp; Redmond, M. (2002). <em>Interpersonal communication relating to others<\/em> (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn &amp; Bacon.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Bradberry, T. (2016, April 26). 9 signs that you\u2019re an ambivert. <em>Forbes.<\/em> Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/travisbradberry\/2016\/04\/26\/9-signs-that-youre-an-ambivert\/#3fb7b9753145\">https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/travisbradberry\/2016\/04\/26\/9-signs-that-youre-an-ambivert\/#3fb7b9753145<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Brandon, J. (2018, April 21). Forget cell phone addiction. Here\u2019s what experts are really worried about. <em>Inc<\/em>. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inc.com\/john-brandon\/forget-smartphone-addiction-heres-what-experts-are-really-worried-about.html\">https:\/\/www.inc.com\/john-brandon\/forget-smartphone-addiction-heres-what-experts-are-really-worried-about.html<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Chartrand, T. L., &amp; Bargh, J. A. (1999). The chameleon effect: The perception-behavior link and social interaction. <em>Journal of Personality and Social Psychology<\/em>, 76(6), 893-910. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/faculty.fuqua.duke.edu\/~tlc10\/bio\/TLC_articles\/1999\/Chartrand_Bargh_1999.pdf\">https:\/\/faculty.fuqua.duke.edu\/~tlc10\/bio\/TLC_articles\/1999\/Chartrand_Bargh_1999.pdf<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Crossman, D. (2016, October 29). Simon Sinek on Millennials in the workplace [Video File]. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU&amp;t=488s\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU&amp;t=488s<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">DeVito, J. (2003). <em>Messages: Building interpersonal skills<\/em>. Boston: Allyn &amp; Bacon.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Ducharme, J. (2018, March 29). \u2018Phubbing\u2019 is hurting your relationships. Here\u2019s what it is. Time. Retrieved from <a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/5216853\/what-is-phubbing\/\">http:\/\/time.com\/5216853\/what-is-phubbing\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Andrew-Gee, E. (2018, April 10). Your smartphone is making you? stupid, antisocial ? and unhealthy ?. So why can't you put it down\u2754\u2049\ufe0f <em>The Globe and Mail<\/em>. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/technology\/your-smartphone-is-making-you-stupid\/article37511900\/\">https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/technology\/your-smartphone-is-making-you-stupid\/article37511900\/<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Mayer, K. R. (1980). Developing delivery skills in oral business communications. <em>Business Communication Quarterly<\/em>, 43(3), 21-24. Retrieved from <a href=\"http:\/\/citeseerx.ist.psu.edu\/viewdoc\/download?doi=10.1.1.856.2828&amp;rep=rep1&amp;type=pdf\">http:\/\/citeseerx.ist.psu.edu\/viewdoc\/download?doi=10.1.1.856.2828&amp;rep=rep1&amp;type=pdf<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Shellenbarger, S. (2016, September 20). Use mirroring to connect with others. <em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em>. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/use-mirroring-to-connect-with-others-1474394329\">https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/use-mirroring-to-connect-with-others-1474394329<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Smith, M., Robinson, L., &amp; Segal, J. (2018, July). Smartphone addiction: Tips for breaking free of compulsive smartphone use. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.helpguide.org\/articles\/addictions\/smartphone-addiction.htm\">https:\/\/www.helpguide.org\/articles\/addictions\/smartphone-addiction.htm<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">TED. (2016, March 8). 10 ways to have a better conversation | Celeste Headlee [Video File]. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Turkle, S. (2015). Reclaiming conversation: The power of talk in a digital age. Retrieved from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.reclaimingconversationbook.com\/books\/reclaiming-conversation-tr\/reclaiming-conversation-hc\">http:\/\/www.reclaimingconversationbook.com\/books\/reclaiming-conversation-tr\/reclaiming-conversation-hc<\/a><\/p>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Learning Objectives<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\" style=\"text-align: justify\">\n<ul>\n<li>Identify the five parts of a conversation<\/li>\n<li>Examine how communication skills are affected by technology<\/li>\n<li>Learn how to improve conversation skills<\/li>\n<li>Understand how to communicate on the phone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Your professional success depends on having advanced people or soft skills because most jobs require you to talk to people. Key among these is skill in speaking to and conversing with others in person. Retail sales, for instance, requires the ability to listen carefully to what a customer says they want and \u201cread\u201d their nonverbal cue to determine what exactly to say and how to say it in order to close the deal with a purchase. Aside from a handful of jobs with minimal human interaction, the vast majority require advanced soft skills to deal effectively with customers or clients, coworkers, managers, and other stakeholders. Though we\u2019re not born with them, everyone has the capacity to learn, develop, practise, and apply verbal and nonverbal skills to benefit those audiences, their company as a whole, and themselves.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">You\u2019ve certainly participated in countless conversations throughout your life, and the process of how to conduct a conversation may seem so obvious that it needs no explanation. Still, you can tell that some are better than others at conversation and some argue that technology is preventing many from developing these skills, so it\u2019s worth breaking down how an effective communicator approaches the art of conversation. A skilled professional knows when to speak, when to go silent and listen, as well as when to stop speaking before the audience stops listening. Conversations may differ depending on the field, level, knowledge, and experience, but they generally follow five steps.<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\">The Five Parts of Conversations<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Conversation is one of the main ways we interact in the business environment and yet it\u2019s highly susceptible to miscommunication and misunderstandings. Our everyday familiarity with conversations often makes us blind to the subtle changes that take place during the course of a conversation. Examining it will help you to consider its components, predict the next turn, anticipate an opening or closing, and make you a better conversationalist. Steven Beebe, Susan Beebe, and Mark Redmond (2002) break conversation down into five stages that we will adapt here for our discussion.<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">1. Initiation<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">As the first stage of conversation, initiation requires you to be open to interact and perhaps use small talk to prime yourselves for the intended topic. You may communicate openness with nonverbal signals such as approaching someone, stopping four feet away, facing them, making eye contact, and smiling. When a degree of unfamiliarity comes between the two speakers, small talk helps \u201cbreak the ice\u201d to clear a path toward the topic at hand. Asking how they\u2019re doing, a casual reference to the weather (\u201cNice day, eh?\u201d) or a brief back-and-forth about the weekend requires someone to begin the exchange. For the very shy, this may trigger some anxiety whereas extraverts delight in this stage, and \u201cambiverts\u201d (e.g., natural introverts who have learned to play the extravert game) do it in recognition of its necessity <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/travisbradberry\/2016\/04\/26\/9-signs-that-youre-an-ambivert\/#3fb7b9753145\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(Bradberry, 2016)<\/a>. If status and hierarchical relationships are a factor, cultural norms may determine who speaks when. Usually, however, initiation just requires a willingness to engage in conversation and a purpose\u2014something to talk about after clearing the small-talk hurdle.<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">2. Preview<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">The preview verbally or nonverbally indicates the conversation topic. A word or two in the subject line of an email performs the same job, but in conversation this can be done as easily as just summarizing the topic in a few words (e.g., <em>Can I ask you about how I can minimize my tax liability?<\/em> or <em>Let\u2019s talk about some basic heavy-equipment safety guidelines before we get started<\/em>). People are naturally curious and also seek certainty, so a preview conveniently reduces uncertainty by taking a direct approach to signal the speaker\u2019s intent.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">A general reference to a topic may also approach a topic indirectly, allowing the recipient to either pick up on the topic and to engage in the discussion or to redirect the conversation away from a topic they aren\u2019t ready to talk about. For instance, a manager needing to talk to an employee about being late for work too often might start off by saying, \u201cThat was some nightmare traffic on the highway this morning, eh?\u201d Depending on the employee\u2019s response, the manager could then say what they do to get to work on time, suggesting that the employee should do the same. To reinforce the point, the manager could finally explain that continuing to arrive late will affect the employee\u2019s job security. The savvy communicator would be able to infer from the initial question about traffic where the manager\u2019s going with this line of questioning and may even begin to offer up a convincing excuse for why they\u2019re late and suggest a compromise such as a plan to stay later or make up the lost hours by working from home on the weekend.<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">3. Business<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">You get down to business when you reinforce the goal orientation of the conversation. In workplace communication, we often have a specific goal or series of points to address, but we can\u2019t lose sight of the messages\u00a0within the discussion of content. You may signal to your conversation partner that you have three points you need to cover, much like outlining an agenda at a meeting. This may sound formal at first, but in listening to casual conversations, you\u2019ll often find a natural but unacknowledged list of subtopics leading to a central point where the conversational partners arrive. By clearly articulating the main points, however, you outline the conversation\u2019s parameters to keep it efficiently on track rather than prone to digress from the main point.<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">4. Feedback<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Similar to the preview stage, this feedback allows speakers to clarify, restate, or discuss the talking points to arrive at mutual understanding. In some cultures, the points and their feedback may recycle several times, which may sound repetitious in the West where speakers typically prefer to get to the point and move quickly to the conclusion once they\u2019ve achieved understanding. If so, then a simple \u201cAre we good?\u201d might be all that\u2019s necessary at the feedback stage. Communication across cultures, on the other hand, may require additional cycles of statement and restatement to ensure understanding, as well as reinforcement of the speakers\u2019 relationship. Time may be money in some cultures, but spending time is a sign of respect in cultures with rigid social hierarchies. The feedback stage offers an opportunity to make sure the information exchange was successful the first time. Failure to attend to this stage can lead to the need for additional interactions, reducing efficiency over time.<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">5. Closing<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Accepting feedback on both sides of the conversation often signals the transition to the conversation\u2019s conclusion. Closings mirror the initiation stage in that they can be signalled verbally (e.g., \u201cOkay, thanks! Bye\u201d) or nonverbally, such as stepping back and turning your feet and body in the direction of where you\u2019re about to go next in preparation to disengage while still facing and speaking with the other.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Sometimes a speaker introduces new information in the conclusion, which can start the process all over again. If words like \u201cin conclusion\u201d or \u201cokay, one last thing\u201d are used, a set of expectations is now at play and the listener expects a conclusion in the very near future. If the speaker continues to recycle at this point, the listener\u2019s patience will be stretched and frustration may set in. They will have mentally shifted to the next order of business, so this transition must be negotiated successfully to maintain good relations between speakers. Mentioning a time, date, or place for future communication clearly signals that the conversation, although currently concluded, will continue later. \u201cI\u2019m just heading to a meeting right now but I\u2019ll catch you back on the fifth floor tomorrow afternoon, K?\u201d for instance, allows you to respectfully disengage.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\">The Smartphone Era and Communication Skills<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">If you prefer to text rather than talk to people most of the time because that\u2019s how you\u2019ve (and everyone else has) been doing it throughout high school and even in college, you\u2019ll probably find yourself at a disadvantage when entering the workforce. The reason is twofold: (1) When you enter the working world, you join several generations of adults who grew up without smartphones and therefore tend to prefer talking over texting because it\u2019s a tried, tested, and true way to efficiently communicate understanding. Managers, coworkers, customers, and other stakeholders come with high expectations for the quality of conversational skill in the people they interact with, and have little patience for those who are years behind where they should be in basic oracy. (2) You could be addicted to technology, which negatively affects your ability to interact with people in person according to a growing body of research (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/technology\/your-smartphone-is-making-you-stupid\/article37511900\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrew-Gee, 2018<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.helpguide.org\/articles\/addictions\/smartphone-addiction.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Smith, Robinson, &amp; Segal, 2018<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inc.com\/john-brandon\/forget-smartphone-addiction-heres-what-experts-are-really-worried-about.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brandon, 2018<\/a>). Why talk to people when sending a text is just so easy and comfortable?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">In her book <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.reclaimingconversationbook.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age<\/a><\/em> (2015), psychologist Sherry Turkle draws on clinical research to show how profoundly dissatisfied with ourselves and each other technology has made us. Smartphones and social media apps promise to connect us more but effectively isolate us. After a decade of smartphone use, teenagers whose 10-hour-per-day addiction to screens, preference for texting over talking, and habit of filling every idle moment with media consumption arrive at college with under-developed skills in conversation, empathy, patience, and self-reflection. When teens use technology to shield themselves from the countless awkward, embarrassing, and regrettable in-person interactions that lead eventually to social competence and confidence, they enter the workforce in a state of arrested development. \u201cAdulting\u201d becomes a terrifying prospect compared with the protective comfort zone of the screen. Turkle\u2019s guide offers an antidote to the socially stunting effects of technology.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Motivational speaker Simon Sinek presents similar advice to Millennials while sympathizing with them for the \u201cbad hand\u201d they were dealt by a \u201cfailed parenting strategy\u201d that raised unrealistic expectations of fulfillment in a whole generation. He similarly points the blame at mobile devices for the short-term dopamine-hit micro-reward feedback-loop pleasures they offer at the expense of the long-term development of soft skills. The enchantment of social media is that it offers users an easy out from the difficult learning experiences that develop the social coping mechanisms helping them through the trials of adolescence. The devices hook you with instant gratification: \u201cEverything you want you can have instantaneously,\u201d he says, except job satisfaction and strength of relationships. There ain\u2019t no app for that. They are slow, meandering, uncomfortable, messy processes. . . . What this young generation needs to learn is patience\u2014that some things that really matter like love or job fulfillment, joy, love of life, self-confidence, a skill set\u2014all of these things take time. . . . The overall journey is arduous and long and difficult. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU&amp;t=488s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(8:08 &#8211; 9:25)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-1\" title=\"Simon Sinek on Millennials in the Workplace\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hER0Qp6QJNU?start=488&#38;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Sinek advocates for better leadership in business and industry to teach Millennials the social skills they were robbed of by constant access to addictive technology.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">One practical solution Sinek offers is banning cell phones in meeting rooms to remove the temptation of using them rather than conversing with colleagues. He argues that relationships and trust are built especially through small talk about work and life before and after meetings. Additionally, innovation happens in idle moments when you notice opportunities in the world\u2014opportunities you\u2019re blind to when your attention is absorbed by a little screen. \u201cWe have to create mechanisms where we allow for those little innocuous interactions to happen\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU&amp;t=720s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(12:00 \u2013 13:05)<\/a>. Rather than a quick fix, steady consistency in developing social skills is necessary to bring Millennials up to speed in oracy.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-2\" title=\"Simon Sinek on Millennials in the Workplace\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hER0Qp6QJNU?start=720&#38;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">Improving Your Conversation Skills<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">If anything in the above paragraphs sounds true to life, the onus rests largely on you to improve your conversation skills with all the advice that is available (ironically) on the very devices in question. For instance, Celeste Headlee, a talk-radio host and author of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harpercollins.com\/9780062669001\/we-need-to-talk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations That Matter<\/a> (2017) provides insight with her well-viewed\u00a0TEDtalk <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation<\/a> (2016). Headlee&#8217;s main points have been summarised below.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"oembed-3\" title=\"Celeste Headlee: 10 ways to have a better conversation | TED\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/R1vskiVDwl4?feature=oembed&#38;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ol style=\"text-align: justify\">\n<li><strong>Be Present<\/strong>: Devote your undivided attention to the person you\u2019re speaking with and don\u2019t multitask. You won\u2019t have to pretend to pay attention by nodding and making eye contact if you\u2019re doing that anyway by actually paying attention. The worst offenders are those to whip out their phone and engage with it rather than the people around them, called \u201cphubbing\u201d (for \u201cphone snubbing\u201d) <a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/5216853\/what-is-phubbing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(Ducharme, 2018)<\/a>. Though you may feel that you can get away with phubbing by discreetly hiding your smartphone under the table, your conversation partners know exactly what you\u2019re doing when all your attention is on your lap.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be prepared to learn<\/strong>: A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue where you simply unload your opinion on someone and receive nothing in return except for the satisfaction of dominating them with it. In certain situations, such as a TEDtalk itself, you give up your right to speak because of the faith that you\u2019ll learn much more by listening to a wise speaker who needs time to get their points across.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ask open-ended questions<\/strong>: The more vague your questions are (starting with the 5 Ws + H), the more freedom you give your conversation partner to answer on their own terms, whereas very specific questions limit the possible answers. If you ask \u201cHow did that make you feel?\u201d for instance, you\u2019ll get a more expressive answer than if you limited your speaker to a yes or no answer with a question like \u201cDid that make you happy?\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Go with the flow<\/strong>: Respond to your conversation partner\u2019s main points rather than with some digressive story you were reminded of by one of their minor points. When you respond in that way, it reveals that you haven\u2019t been listening past the part that inspired the barely relevant thing you feel contributes to the conversation, though it really doesn\u2019t move the conversation along so much as derail it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Admit to not knowing<\/strong>: Make your confession of ignorance an opportunity to learn rather than claim to know something you don\u2019t.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Honour the uniqueness of their experience<\/strong>: When the speaker relates something that happened to them, resist the urge to make it about you by equating their experience with yours. If they\u2019re talking about grieving a death in the family, for instance, don\u2019t dishonour that information share by responding with how you felt when your dog died. It\u2019s not the same.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cut yourself off before repeating yourself<\/strong>: If you have only one point to make, \u201chit it and quit it\u201d rather than spin your wheels saying the same thing over and over, even if you change the words.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Stay out of the weeds<\/strong>: Rather than struggle to offer up all the details (the names, places, dates, etc.) and digress on minutiae, focus on your main points.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Listen<\/strong>: A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue, and therefore requires that you actively pay attention to what the speaker says in order to understand it rather than to merely reply to it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be brief<\/strong>: People are busy and have things to do, so if your conversation detains them for longer than they have time for, you will stretch their patience. As Headlee says, \u201cA good conversation is like a miniskirt: short enough to retain interest, but long enough to cover the subject.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Headlee concludes that these tips are all variations on being interested in what people have to teach you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(TED, 2016)<\/a>. If you add the following to Headlee\u2019s advice, you stand a good chance of improving your conversation skills.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">Mirror the Speaker<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">You may have occasionally caught yourself automatically imitating your conversation partner\u2019s posture, facial expression, and manner of speaking. When they look relaxed or lean in, talk slowly because they\u2019re calm or speak quickly because they\u2019re in a rush, or widen their eyes with excitement, you follow suit in every case. Coined the \u201cchameleon effect\u201d by psychologists, mirroring is unconscious physical behaviour motivated by our desire to fit in so our conversation partner identifies with and likes us <a href=\"https:\/\/faculty.fuqua.duke.edu\/~tlc10\/bio\/TLC_articles\/1999\/Chartrand_Bargh_1999.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(Chartrand &amp; Bargh, 1999)<\/a>. It supports the clich\u00e9 that imitation is the highest form of flattery.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Though it happens unconsciously, mirroring deliberately has been found to be especially effective as a sales technique and in job interviews, though only if the person being imitated doesn\u2019t notice the imitator doing it. If you can be subtle and natural about it, intentional mirroring forces you to read your conversation partner\u2019s verbal and nonverbal messages closely. Done effectively, mirroring benefits both speakers by building the trust and rapport necessary to collaborate effectively or close a deal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/use-mirroring-to-connect-with-others-1474394329\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(Shellenbarger, 2016)<\/a>.<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">Correctly Pronounce Words and Names<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><del><\/del> Speakers should be careful with pronunciation, especially with words they rarely hear, if ever. Mispronunciation can negatively impact your reputation or perceived credibility. Instead of using complicated words that may trip you up, choose a simple phrase if you can, or learn to pronounce the word correctly before using it in a formal interactive setting. If you think you\u2019ll stumble over a word like archipelago, for instance, just use a synonymous phrase such as <em>island chain<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">The importance of pronunciation is nowhere more important than with people\u2019s names. Some take offence to their name being mispronounced, and especially with their name being confused with a different but similar name. If someone\u2019s name looks unpronounceable on paper, simply asking them how they prefer their name to be pronounced is better than confidently mispronouncing it.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">Treat Conversations Like Volley Sports<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">A conversation isn\u2019t a monologue where you fire words at a wall until you have nothing left to say. It\u2019s more like a game of volleyball, tennis, or table tennis where possession of the speech right is exchanged back and forth. If it\u2019s a friendly game, the objective is to volley words for as long as it\u2019s fun or productive. This may mean asking a good question, which lobs the speech over the net to your conversation partner. They answer and can either ask you a feedback question in return or you can respond to their answer with a statement. Every time you speak, you must set up your conversation partner to be able to respond with either a statement or question, and expect them to do the same. Conversations would be frustrating if all the other person did was either spike the ball repeatedly to score points against you so that you could never touch it (i.e., delivered a monologue where you couldn\u2019t get a word in edgewise), or just bounced the ball out of bounds every time you volleyed it straight to them\u2014i.e., answered in a way that stalled the conversation, such as with one-word answers to your questions or bizarre statements you don\u2019t know how to respond to. A conversation must be a dynamic process where both sides make a determined, concerted effort to keep it going until the objective has been reached or the clock runs down.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\">Telephone and Voicemail<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">The simplest form of audio-only conversation\u2014i.e., talk stripped of all nonverbals\u2014is a telephone call. A phone call is advantageous whenever you need the live volley of conversation with someone to sort out details in a timely manner, but are too distant from them physically to do it in person. Some make the mistake of choosing written channels like email or text, drawing out the communication process over hours or days, to discuss matters that would take mere seconds or minutes by phone. As long as you don\u2019t need details permanently recorded in writing, the phone is an expedient channel to discuss details for any busy professional.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Though you\u2019ve probably talked on the phone countless times throughout your life, you may not yet have had the chance to do so professionally where the expectations for competence are much higher than in social or family contexts\u2014so much so that some executives hire professional voice coaches to help them increase their effectiveness in phone communication. The importance of audio communication in business and industry has increased with the availability of conference calls, voice over internet protocol (VoIP), voice-activated electronic menus, and voice-to-text dictation software available on most smartphones. It is important to improve your telephone skills in an age where many prefer to text rather than call.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\"><del><\/del>Communicating on the Phone<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">When you lack the nonverbal context of your conversation partner being able to see how you say what you say, take pains to ensure that your voice accurately communicates your message. Without nonverbals, your choice of words and how you say them, including spacing or pausing, pace, rhythm, articulation, and pronunciation are more relevant than when you communicate in person. Consider these five points:<\/p>\n<ol style=\"text-align: justify\">\n<li><strong>Speak slowly<\/strong> and <strong>articulate your words clearly<\/strong>. You don\u2019t have to slow down your normal pattern of speech much, but each word needs time and space to be understood or else the listener may hear words running together, losing meaning and creating opportunities for misunderstanding. For instance, numbers such as \u201c18\u201d may sound like \u201c80\u201d and vice versa if you\u2019re speaking too quickly and have an accent, which could lead to disaster if you\u2019re, say, discussing price in a six-figure real estate deal.<\/li>\n<li>Use <strong>vivid terms<\/strong> to create interest and communicate descriptions. Communicating on the phone or producing an audio recording lacks an interpersonal context with the accompanying nonverbal messages. Unless you use vivid language and crisp, clear descriptions, your audience will be left to sort it out for themselves. They may create mental images that don\u2019t reflect your intended meanings and lead to miscommunication.<\/li>\n<li>Be <strong>specific<\/strong>. Don\u2019t assume that they will catch your specific information the first time. <strong>Repeat as necessary<\/strong>, especially addresses and phone numbers.<\/li>\n<li>Show consideration for others by keeping your phone conversations<strong> private<\/strong>. Avoid calls in a crowded elevator, for instance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Silence cell phones<\/strong> and other devices when in a meeting or eating with colleagues. Recall Simon Sinek\u2019s explanation for why this is important <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU&amp;t=720s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(Crossman, 2016, 12:00 \u2013 13:05)<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">As the response from the receiver to the sender, feedback is also an essential element of phone conversations. Taking turns in the conversation can sometimes be awkward when you can\u2019t see when your conversation partner is about to speak. With time and practice, each \u201cspeaker\u2019s own natural, comfortable, expressive repertoire will surface\u201d<br \/>\n(Mayer, 1980, p. 21).<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">Leaving and Receiving Voicemail<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">When you phone someone but are sent to voicemail because they don\u2019t pick up, switching to monologue mode means that you can only get as far as the preview stage of the conversation structure outlined above. You\u2019d still open by saying hello, your full name, and company. The limit on how much recording time you have (30 seconds? 60?\u2014you may not know) and absence of feedback from the listener, however, means that you can really only say what the call is about in concise, clear terms. A long, rambling voice mail message may be cut off and you may not even know it. In addition, it increases the possibility for misunderstandings as you are not present to clarify based on your listener\u2019s responses. Anything that needs discussion must be saved for the actual conversation, especially anything of a sensitive nature. Recording confidential information is potentially dangerous to you and others.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Add your contact information, even if you think the person already knows your phone number, and say it twice slowly so that the listener has additional time to get a pen and paper if they\u2019re still looking for them the first time you say it. Imagining you were writing down your phone number. As you recite, it will help you deliver it at a listener-friendly speed. Precise pronunciation is crucial because \u201c60\u201d and \u201c16\u201d or \u201c90\u201d and \u201c19\u201d may sound the same if the rate of speech is quick or if the speaker has a strong accent.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Be prepared to receive voicemail by recording a professional-sounding call-back message that begins after about 4-5 rings. When you receive a voicemail, return the call as soon as possible. The 24-hour rule of email doesn\u2019t apply with voicemail because the person who called you chose this channel deliberately expecting to discuss something with you \u201clive\u201d in a timely manner. With so many channels available, using the phone implies a sense of urgency.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\">Summary<\/h2>\n<p class=\"c1\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Conversations have universal aspects we can predict and improve. Honing your conversation skills will help you to project a professional business image.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"color: #333333\"><strong>End of Chapter Activities<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>15a. Thinking About the Content<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"color: #333333\">What are your key takeaways from this chapter? What is something you have learned or something you would like to add from your experience?<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>15b. Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\" style=\"text-align: justify\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Discussion Questions<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<ol id=\"mclean-ch06_s02_s06_l02\" class=\"orderedlist\">\n<li>Reflect on your personal use of technology after reading and watching the videos linked there. Would you consider your relationship with your smartphone an addiction? Do you feel that it erodes your people skills and ability to engage meaningfully with other people? Write a one-page response and defend your position with evidence.<\/li>\n<li>How comfortable are you with speaking on the phone? Are you more likely to text someone than call them, even if calling would be quicker, you\u2019re both available, and there\u2019s no reason why either of you couldn\u2019t just talk? Reflect honestly on why you prefer to text rather than to talk (if that\u2019s the case).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>15c. Applying chapter concepts to a situation<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\" style=\"text-align: justify\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff\">Communicating at Work<\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p>Samantha is the Sales and Marketing Director at Phoenix Cars, a luxury car dealership in Vancouver. She recently decided to expand her team and hired Dan as a junior sales associate. Dan is twenty-five years old and has minimal experience but completed his bachelor\u2019s degree a year ago. He is dedicated and hardworking so, despite his lack of experience, he was able to master the main tasks of the job within a few weeks.<\/p>\n<p>A few months after hiring Dan, Samantha noticed the following communication issues:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">He uses his phone in team meetings and missing crucial information which affects his performance<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">He talks over clients during calls instead of listening to what they have to say<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">He uses slangs while communicating with clients face-to-face and on the phone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Samantha doesn\u2019t want to fire Dan because he is talented, but she is worried about the impact on clients, the company as a whole and opportunities for advancement in Dan\u2019s career.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>What advice would you give Samantha on how to solve the issues she has been facing with Dan?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"color: #800000\"><strong>15d. Writing Activity<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"color: #333333\">Read this article form LinkedIn on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/what-millennials-lacking-soft-skills-anatoly-denisov\/\">What Millenials are lacking: Soft Skills<\/a>. Summarize the video. Do you agree with the author? Why or why not?<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify\">Attribution<\/h2>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify\">\n<p>This chapter contains information from <em>Business Communication for Success <\/em>which\u00a0is adapted from a work produced and distributed under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA) in 2010 by a publisher who has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution. This adapted edition is produced by the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lib.umn.edu\/publishing\">University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing<\/a>\u00a0through the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lib.umn.edu\/elearning\">eLearning Support Initiative<\/a> and <em>Communication\u00a0at Work<\/em>\u00a0by\u00a0Jordan Smith\u00a0is licensed under a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\" rel=\"license\">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\">References<\/h3>\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Beebe, S. [Steven]., Beebe, S. [Susan], &amp; Redmond, M. (2002). <em>Interpersonal communication relating to others<\/em> (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn &amp; Bacon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Bradberry, T. (2016, April 26). 9 signs that you\u2019re an ambivert. <em>Forbes.<\/em> Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/travisbradberry\/2016\/04\/26\/9-signs-that-youre-an-ambivert\/#3fb7b9753145\">https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/travisbradberry\/2016\/04\/26\/9-signs-that-youre-an-ambivert\/#3fb7b9753145<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Brandon, J. (2018, April 21). Forget cell phone addiction. Here\u2019s what experts are really worried about. <em>Inc<\/em>. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inc.com\/john-brandon\/forget-smartphone-addiction-heres-what-experts-are-really-worried-about.html\">https:\/\/www.inc.com\/john-brandon\/forget-smartphone-addiction-heres-what-experts-are-really-worried-about.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Chartrand, T. L., &amp; Bargh, J. A. (1999). The chameleon effect: The perception-behavior link and social interaction. <em>Journal of Personality and Social Psychology<\/em>, 76(6), 893-910. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/faculty.fuqua.duke.edu\/~tlc10\/bio\/TLC_articles\/1999\/Chartrand_Bargh_1999.pdf\">https:\/\/faculty.fuqua.duke.edu\/~tlc10\/bio\/TLC_articles\/1999\/Chartrand_Bargh_1999.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Crossman, D. (2016, October 29). Simon Sinek on Millennials in the workplace [Video File]. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU&amp;t=488s\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU&amp;t=488s<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">DeVito, J. (2003). <em>Messages: Building interpersonal skills<\/em>. Boston: Allyn &amp; Bacon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Ducharme, J. (2018, March 29). \u2018Phubbing\u2019 is hurting your relationships. Here\u2019s what it is. Time. Retrieved from <a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/5216853\/what-is-phubbing\/\">http:\/\/time.com\/5216853\/what-is-phubbing\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Andrew-Gee, E. (2018, April 10). Your smartphone is making you? stupid, antisocial ? and unhealthy ?. So why can&#8217;t you put it down\u2754\u2049\ufe0f <em>The Globe and Mail<\/em>. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/technology\/your-smartphone-is-making-you-stupid\/article37511900\/\">https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/technology\/your-smartphone-is-making-you-stupid\/article37511900\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Mayer, K. R. (1980). Developing delivery skills in oral business communications. <em>Business Communication Quarterly<\/em>, 43(3), 21-24. Retrieved from <a href=\"http:\/\/citeseerx.ist.psu.edu\/viewdoc\/download?doi=10.1.1.856.2828&amp;rep=rep1&amp;type=pdf\">http:\/\/citeseerx.ist.psu.edu\/viewdoc\/download?doi=10.1.1.856.2828&amp;rep=rep1&amp;type=pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Shellenbarger, S. (2016, September 20). Use mirroring to connect with others. <em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em>. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/use-mirroring-to-connect-with-others-1474394329\">https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/use-mirroring-to-connect-with-others-1474394329<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Smith, M., Robinson, L., &amp; Segal, J. (2018, July). Smartphone addiction: Tips for breaking free of compulsive smartphone use. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.helpguide.org\/articles\/addictions\/smartphone-addiction.htm\">https:\/\/www.helpguide.org\/articles\/addictions\/smartphone-addiction.htm<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">TED. (2016, March 8). 10 ways to have a better conversation | Celeste Headlee [Video File]. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"hangingindent\" style=\"text-align: justify\">Turkle, S. (2015). Reclaiming conversation: The power of talk in a digital age. Retrieved from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.reclaimingconversationbook.com\/books\/reclaiming-conversation-tr\/reclaiming-conversation-hc\">http:\/\/www.reclaimingconversationbook.com\/books\/reclaiming-conversation-tr\/reclaiming-conversation-hc<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":847,"menu_order":15,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":["jordan-smith","venecia-williams"],"pb_section_license":"cc-by-nc-sa"},"chapter-type":[48],"contributor":[61,59],"license":[56],"class_list":["post-1089","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless","contributor-jordan-smith","contributor-venecia-williams","license-cc-by-nc-sa"],"part":24,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/847"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1264,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1089\/revisions\/1264"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/24"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1089\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=1089"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=1089"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/businesswritingessentials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=1089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}