Unit 1: Communication

“Everything that can be said can be said clearly.“

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889 – 1951)Austrian philosopher

What makes a good communicator?

• fluency• accuracy• extensive vocabulary• being a good listener• physical appearance• a sense of humour• not affraid of maiking mistakes• body language

photo courtesy: https://communication54.wikispaces.com/

New vocabulary, pg. 6

Good communicators:articulate, coherent, eloquent, fluent, focussed, extrovert, persuasive, responsive, sensitive, succinct

Bad communicators:hesitant, inhibited, rambling, reserved

Communication verbs:listen, digress, interrupt, explain, engage, clarify, confuse, ramble

Communication idioms, pg. 10

To put it in a nutshell

To get straight to the point

To hear it on the grapevine

To put you in the picture

To be on the same wavelength

To get the wrong end of the stick

Not to make head or tail of it

To talk at cross purposes

To beat about the bush

To get your wires crossed

Listening exercise, pg. 7Reading exercise, pg. 8 – 9

Dealing with communication breakdown, pg. 11

Asking for repetitionSorry, could you repeat that?I didn’t (quite) catch that.Could you speak up, please?Could you say that again, please?

Solving a problemSorry, it’s a bad line. Can I call you back?

Summarising the callLet me go over what we’ve agreed.Let me just summarise...

Asking for clarificationWould/Could you spell that, please?Can I read that back to you?What do you mean by...?What does ... mean?Sorry, I’m not with you.Sorry, I don’t follow you.Could you give me some more details, please?Could you let me have more information?Could you explain that in more detail?Could you clarify that?Could you be more specific, please?

Thank you for listening!