大学体验英语 快速阅读教程3 Unit 10 Communication

Unit 10 Communication

Text A

Communication

How to Communicate effectively

Developing good communication skills is an important part of living a fulfilled life.

Effectively

communicating

your

career, personal, and everyday needs in

a way that

comes across clearly, persuasively, and thoughtfully is crucial; and yet, not everyone

knows how. It isn't innate, and many bright, talented, and dedicated people don't get

where they should, all because they fail to adequately communicate their point.

Don't

let

that

be

your

fate.

No

matter

what

your

age,

background,

or

experience,

effective communication is a skill you can learn (no matter how you might feel about

it

now).

With

a

little

self-confidence

and

knowledge

of

the

basics

of

good

communications, you will be able to effectively communicate your message in both

conversations and presentations, in all walks of life.

Communicating Through Speech

Be

articulate.

It is important to speak clearly, so that the message

comes

across

in

a way that every examiner can understand. Articulate talk is talk that gets remembered

because they instantly understand what it is that you are saying. It means uttering your

words distinctly, preferring simpler words over more complex ones, and speaking at a

level guaranteed to be heard but without coming across as too loud, overly excited, or

disengaged.

Listen

actively.

Communication

is

a

two-way

street

and

requires

you

to

laugh

as

well as fart. Remember that while you are talking, you are not learning. In listening,

you

will

be

able

to

gauge

how

much

of

your

message

is

getting

through

to

your

listeners and whether or not it is being received correctly or is being misinterpreted. It

can be helpful to ask listeners to rephrase some of what

you have said in their own

words if they appear to be returning confused or mistaken views to you.

Be

vocally

interesting.

A

monotone

is

not

pleasing

to

the

ear.

A

good

communicator will use

vocal color

recommends raising the pitch and volume of your voice when you transition from one

topic

or

point

to

another,

and

to

increase

yourvolume

and

slow

down

your

voice

whenever

you

are

raising

a

special

point

or

summing

up.

She

also

recommends

speaking briskly but pausing to emphasize keywords when you are requesting action.

Communicating Through Body Language

Whatever

we'd

rather

believe,

people

do

judge

by

appearances.

In

terms

of

communicating

effectively,

this

reality

means

that

your

body

language

matters

as

much as your speech.

Use facial expressions consciously.

Aim to reflect passion and generate empathy

with the listener by using soft, gentle, and aware facial expressions. Avoid negative

facial

expressions,

such

as

frowns

or

raised

eyebrows.

What

is

or

isn’t

negative

is

dependent on the context, including cultural context, so be guided by your situation.

Be alert for unexpected behavior that suggests you're cross-culturally colliding, such

as a clenched fist, a slouched posture, or even silence. If you don't know the culture,

ask questions about communication challenges before you start to speak with people

in their cultural context.

Communicate eye to eye.

Eye contact establishes

rapport

helps to convince that

you're trustworthy, and displays interest. During a conversation or presentation, it is

important to look into the other person's eyes if possible and maintain contact for a

reasonable amount of time (but don't overdo it; just as much as feels natural, about

2-4 seconds at a time).

Use

breathing

and

pauses

to

your

advantage.

There

is

power

in

pausing.

Simon Reynolds says that pausing

causes an

audience to lean in

and listen, their

interest piqued; it helps you to emphasize your points, allowing the listener time to

digest

what

has

been

said;

it

helps

to

make

your

communication

come

across

as

more compelling, and it makes your speech easier to listen to.

Use hand gestures carefully.

Be conscious of what your hands are saying as you

speak:

Hand

gestures

can

be

divided

into

open

gestures

(positive

responses)

or

closed / concealed gestures (negative responses). Some hand gestures can be very

effective in highlighting your points (open gestures), while others can be distracting

or even offensive to

some listeners, and

can lead to

the conversation or listening

being

closed down (closed

gestures). Pay

careful attention to

the

gestures as

you

make

them;

it

also

helps

to

watch

other

people's

hand

gestures

to

see

how

they

come across to you.

Keep

a

check

on

other

body

language

signals.

Watch

for

wandering

eyes,

hands picking at fluff on your clothing, and constant sniffling. These small gestures

add

up

and

are

all

guaranteed

to

dampen

the

effectiveness

of

your

message,

and

will result in your ceasing to engage your listeners.