Communicating Effectively in the Workforce

Chapter 2Verbal Communication

Learning objectives

• Recognize the significance of our words and their meanings:
  • Arbitrary symbols
  • Ambiguous symbols
  • Abstract symbols
• Differentiate the components of the verbal competence model:
  • Knowledge: content and procedural
  • Skills: alter centrism, composure, coordination, and expressiveness
  • Motivation: approach and avoidance
  • Context: setting and culture
• Apply the concept of Verbal Judo.

Recognize the significance of words and their meanings

Steven Pinker praises language in his book Words and Rules: The Ingredient of Language, where he writes: “Language comes so naturally to us that it is easy to forget what a strange and miraculous gift it is.” He considers language “as a window to human nature.”

We begin this chapter by pointing out that language is seemingly miraculous in its possibilities and powerful. Each and every word we use can take on a different “spin,” especially in critical situations. For example, in addressing a family in a hospital waiting room, each word chosen by a surgeon to describe death can take on a different connotation: “died,” “passed away,” “went to her reward,” “fought the good fight,” or “failed to respond to treatment.”

Remember being on the playground as a child and chanting, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me?” What do you think about this axiom as an adult? Is it true? Ask a teenager and they will probably tell you that being teased is very painful. For many of us, the ...