Topic 1.2.3 Miscommunication
Communication or Miscommunication?
“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak” – Epictetus, a Greek Philosopher
1.Discussion questions
Discuss the following questions:
- What does the quote mean? Do you agree?
- When we communicate, what is more important: listening or speaking?
- Have you ever had a problem understanding someone in English? What happened?
- Has anyone ever had a problem understanding you? What happened?
- What problems might occur when communicating with someone?
2.Vocabulary
animosity confusion feedback ideas meaning message
miscommunication misunderstanding thoughts
3.Synonyms in context
Look at the following words and underline the synonym in the sentence next to it.
Discussion
- In what situations have you felt utter panic?
- What parts of your ethnicity do you like the most?
- In what situations do you enjoy being a passive observer?
- What are the main elements of your job? What do you like/dislike about them?
- What happened in the last personal or business transaction that you made?
- What do you facilitate in your job?
4.Video 1
You are going to watch a video titled “How miscommunication happens (and how to avoid it)” by Katherine Hampsten. First, say why you think the following things are mentioned.
- confusion
- a game of catch
- a lump of clay
- culture, community and family
Now watch the video. Were your predictions correct?
5.Understanding vocabulary
6.Discussion
- Has anyone shown animosity towards you? What happened?
- What subject stimulates your interest?
- How did you perceive your company before you joined it?
- In what situations can a subjective viewpoint be useful?
- What products do you think are going to see exponential growth in the future?
7.Optional Comprehension Questions
8.Practice
Discussion
- Discuss the four rules above. What do they mean? How easy do you think it is to follow these rules?
- Do you think that people tend to use too many words to communicate their ideas?
- What can we do to be better communicators?
- In what situations do you have to ask someone to rephrase what they have said?
- What is the main way you communicate with other people in your company? What dangers of miscommunication are there? What personal ’perceptual filters’ do you have that affect the way you communicate? How could someone misunderstand you?
- What advice would you give to someone who was joining your company for the first time about communication?
- Think about the ways your company communicates with its employees. What does it do well? What could be improved?
9.Useful phrases for improving communication
Homework
Prepare a dialogue using the vocabulary and useful expressions from this topic.