Chapter 1 Lecture Notes ● 1
Chapter 1 LECTURE NOTES
Communicating in the Digital-Age Workplace
CHAPTER SYNOPSIS
In today’s digital, fast-paced workplace, excellent communication skills matter more than ever. As
electronic and digital channels of communication continue to expand, today’s working professionals
must learn to write and speak effectively in this information-driven workplace. This requires training,
as we are not born with these skills. Moreover, workers need to develop problem-solving and critical-
thinking skills, identified as top priorities among human resource professionals. Employees who
master these skills are better equipped to evaluate critically the avalanche of information that flows at
great speed, across various media, and in many directions.
In this chapter, students will learn how communication and critical thinking skills fuel career success
and understand significant workplace changes including rapidly changing communication
technology, anytime-anywhere availability, global competition, flattened management layers, and
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Describe how solid communication skills will improve your career prospects and help you succeed
in today’s challenging digital-age workplace.
2. Confront barriers to effective listening, and start building your listening skills.
3. Explain the importance of nonverbal communication and of improving your nonverbal
communication skills.
4. Explain five common dimensions of culture, and understand how culture affects communication
and the use of social media and communication technology.
5. Discuss strategies that help communicators overcome negative cultural attitudes and prevent
miscommunication in today’s diverse networked workplace.
Chapter 1 Lecture Notes ● 2
WHAT’S NEW IN THIS CHAPTER
The authors made the following changes and improvements:
• Rewrote sections of the chapter to reflect the pervasive influence of new communication
technology to prepare students for the digital-age workplace.
• Presented recent research arguing the prominence of writing and other communication skills in
the thoroughly networked, hyperconnected workplace awaiting our students.
• Devoted attention to social media to impress upon students that writing is more important than
ever in the digital world because of the global reach and repeatability of digital messages.
• Emphasized the need for professionalism in today’s challenging and competitive workplace.
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. Mastering the Tools for Success in the Twenty-First-Century Workplace (p. 2)
A. Solid Communication Skills: Your Pass to Success
• Communication skills are critical to effective job placement, performance, career
advancement, and organizational success.
B. The Digital Revolution: Why Writing Skills Matter More Than Ever
• Digital media require more written communication, not less.
• A survey of American corporations revealed that two thirds of salaried employees
have some writing responsibility.
• In a poll of recruiters, oral and written communication skills were by a large margin
the top skill set sought.
Figure 1.1 Businesslike, Professional E-Mail Message
Chapter 1 Lecture Notes ● 3
C. What Employers Want: Professionalism
• Soft skills are essential career attributes that include the ability to communicate, work
well with others, solve problems, make ethical decisions, and appreciate diversity.
Figure 1.2 Projecting Professionalism When You Communicate
D. How Your Education Drives Your Income
• College graduates earn more, suffer less unemployment, and can choose from a wider
variety of career options than workers without a college education.
Figure 1.3 The Education Bonus: Higher Income, Lower Unemployment
E. Meeting the Challenges of the Information Age Workplace
• Rapidly changing communication technologies
• “Anytime, anywhere” and nonterritorial offices
• Self-directed work groups and virtual teams
Figure 1.4 Communication and Collaborative Technologies
II. Developing Listening Skills (p. 10)
A. Overcoming Barriers to Effective Listening
• Physical barriers
• Psychological barriers
• Language problems
• Grandstanding
B. Building Powerful Listening Skills
• Stop talking.
• Control your surroundings.
• Establish a receptive mind-set.
• Keep an open mind.
Chapter 1 Lecture Notes ● 4
• Judge ideas, not appearances.
• Hold your fire.
• Take selective notes.
• Provide feedback.
III. Learning Nonverbal Communication Skills (p. 11)
A. What is Nonverbal Communication?
• Nonverbal communication includes all unwritten and unspoken messages, whether
intended or not.
• Researchers believe that the bulk of any message we receive is nonverbal.
B. Your Body Sends Silent Messages
• Eye contact – the best predictor of a speaker’s true feelings
C. Time, Space, and Territory Send Silent Messages
• How we structure our time tells others about our personalities and attitudes.
• How we organize the space around us tells something about ourselves and our objectives.
• How we manage our territory illustrates four zones of social interaction.
Figure 1.5 – Four Space Zones for Social Interaction
D. Appearance Sends Silent Messages
E. Building Strong Nonverbal Skills
• Establish and maintain eye contact.
• Use posture to show interest.
• Reduce or eliminate physical barriers.
• Improve your decoding skills.
Chapter 1 Lecture Notes ● 5
IV. Recognizing How Culture Affects Communication (p. 14)
Culture may be defined as “the complex system of values, traits, morals, and customs shared by
a society, region, or country.”
A. Comparing Key Cultural Values
• Context – refers to the stimuli, environment, or ambience surrounding an event
• Individualism – describes an attitude of freedom from control
• Time orientation – focuses on the perception of time and how it is used
Figure 1.6 Comparing Low- and High-Context Cultures
B. Intercultural Communication, Social Media, and Communication Technology
• Social media have the potential to improve intercultural connectedness.
• To boost intercultural communication, we must be willing to reach out across the
boundaries that separate us.
V. Building Intercultural Workplace Skills (p. 18)
The global economy needs workers who not only master their technical skills but also can thrive
on diverse teams and interact effectively with customers and clients at home and abroad.
A. Curbing Ethnocentrism and Stereotyping
• Ethnocentrism is the belief in the superiority of one’s own culture.
• A stereotype is an oversimplified perception of a behavioral pattern or characteristic
applied to an entire group.
B. Successful Oral Communication With Intercultural Audiences
• Use simple English.
• Speak slowly and enunciate clearly.
• Encourage accurate feedback.
• Check frequently for comprehension.
Chapter 1 Lecture Notes ● 6
• Follow up in writing.
C. Successful Written Communication With Intercultural Audiences
• Consider local styles and conventions.
• Hire a translator.
• Use short sentences and short paragraphs.
• Avoid ambiguous wording.
• Cite numbers carefully.
D. Globalization and Workforce Diversity
• Better understanding of diverse consumer needs
• Fewer discrimination lawsuits and union clashes
E. Tips for Communicating With Diverse Audiences on the Job
• Seek training.
• Understand the value of differences.
• Learn about your cultural self.
• Make fewer assumptions.
• Build on similarities.
Critical Thinking Discussion Guide
11. Do you consider your daily texting, Facebook updates, blog entries, e–mails, and other
informal writing to be “real writing”? How might such writing differ from the writing done
in business? (Obj. 1)
Answers will vary. A Pew Internet & American Life study found that teens and young adults
12. Why do executives and managers spend more time listening than do workers? (Obj. 2)
Before they can make decisions, executives must listen to feedback from supervisors, specialists,