Communication Skills

Discussion 5
“Listening” Please respond to the following:
• The CEO of the company you work for just announced that 20 people were terminated due to budget cuts. You find out that one of those people is your co-worker, Kathy, that you have had lunch with every week for 10 years straight. She comes to you to share how she’s feeling, and for advice on what her next steps will be.
• What type of listener would you plan to be and why? Choose one of the following, and provide an explanation of your choice:
• People-Oriented (A friend willing to lend an ear)
• Action-Oriented (Can grow frustrated with a disorganized speaker)
• Content-Oriented (Soaks up many perspectives on an issue)
• Time-Oriented (More concerned about time than the content of the message)

Discussion 6
“Managing Conflict” Please respond to the following:
• Your bags are packed for a family vacation to Jamaica, and you leave in three days. There is no way that you can get a refund since you purchased your airfare and hotel through a special offer on a travel website. Your co-worker calls out of work for one week, saying her child has the flu and she can’t come to work because she has no one to watch her child. Your supervisor says you have to cover that co-worker’s shift AGAIN for the fourth time in two months. Unfortunately, if you cover the shift you will miss your vacation, and you will lose the money you spent on it.
• How would you manage this job conflict, and why? Do you:
• Avoid your supervisor and call out sick
• Collaborate with your supervisor to come up with a solution
• Accommodate your supervisor and skip your vacation
Discussion 7
“Professionalism” Please respond to the following:
• You had lunch with your supervisor on two separate occasions in which she shared some personal issues with you she is facing. However, when you are in the office she speaks to you in a way that you find extremely disrespectful, both in front of other employees and when it’s just the two of you.
• What type of work relationship will allow you to maintain professionalism with her without jeopardizing your job, and why? Choose one of the following:
o Supervisor – Subordinate (involves two people with one person who’s the authority over the other)
o Mentor – Mentee (one person guides and helps the other navigate toward career goals)
o Peer – Co-worker (Two people with no authority over the other)

Discussion 8
“Persuasion” Please respond to the following:
• You hear a very powerful speech delivered by a member of a community-based activist group that advocates for the less fortunate in your town. The community activist delivering the speech is pleading with community members to join the protest of all stores in order to save the community homeless shelter from being torn down to build a new upscale hotel.
• What effective persuasive speech methods do you need to see or hear in order for you to feel convinced that this is a cause worthy of your support, and why? Choose one of the following, and provide an explanation of your choice:
o Promises of change (speaks to wants, needs, and emotions)
o Humor and enthusiasm (influence through attitude and beliefs)
o New solutions and Ideas (provides evidence, results, and ideas)