Being an incoherent jerk is not my goal! I often find my message is lost in translation between my thoughts and my actual words. I think the most important point made by Jianying Lu was regarding "encoding" (Lu, 46). I am constantly catching myself shifting from speaking with a coworker about a case to speaking with a client. Written communication in my field is also very different between coworkers versus with clients. Social workers abbreviate everything and it gets to be easy and quick to do so.
Example:
Have your ICCA form completed and tell FM that PGM will pick up at 12. Your CP for the TOPS case is due to be time stamped please take a new CW with you to the court house.
Translation:
Have your Individual Child Care Agreement form completed and tell Foster Mother that Paternal Grandmother with pick up at 12. Your Case Plan for the Temporary Order of Protective Services case is due to be time stamped, please take a new Case Worker with you to the court house.
Overall, I did not like the Lu article. I believe the information was not groundbreaking. People know when they actively listen, they better understand the speaker’s message. There were several good points that made me specifically think about communication at my job. I especially related to the paragraph on encoding.
Lu, J. (2005). The listening style inventory (LSI) as an instrument for improving listening skill. Sino-US English Teaching, 2 (5), 45-50.
I like this song to illustrate how we communicate. If you did not know The singers are Australian many of the things they say could be interpreted differently.
1 comment:
Rachel,
I think you make a great point that there is a big difference between communicating with co-workers versus clients.
In the legal field, I am constantly trying to rid our marketing materials of the "legal jargon" our attorneys use when communicating with one another. It's a challenge reminding them (and myself!) that our clients don't want to "de-code" that type of communication.
Liz
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