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Chapter 6 |
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These Ask Yourself... items are designed to suggest situations for which you need to assess your communication options and then select the option you think best. In this they are like all communication situations, each requiring a thorough assessment of options and then a reasoned selection of the option deemed most likely to succeed.
Allow the situations depicted here to suggest alternative situations, perhaps even actual ones in which you participated, and ask yourself what you might do (or might have done) in these other situations as well.
Although these items are grouped into the 12 chapters of Messages and are arranged in about the same order as the topics discussed in the text, don’t restrict your analysis to the concepts and principles of that chapter. As in life, use all the information you have to help you make the more reasonable decision.
ASK YOURSELF... Inviting and Discouraging Conversation
Sometimes you want to encourage people to come into your office and chat and at other times you want to be left alone. Ask yourself: What might you do nonverbally to achieve each goal?
ASK YOURSELF... Touching
Your supervisor is an extremely touchy person and touches just about everyone. You don’t like it and want it to stop—at least as far as you’re concerned. Ask yourself: What are some of the things you can do to help eliminate this unwanted touching?
ASK YOURSELF... Remaining Silent
Your college roommate has developed a small business selling term papers and uses your jointly owned computer to store them. Though you’ve remained silent about this for some time, you’ve become increasingly uncomfortable about this and want to distance yourself from what you feel is unethical. Ask yourself: What might you say to distance yourself from this operation? What might you say to sever your connection entirely from this practice?
ASK YOURSELF... Smelling
Your colleague in the next cubicle wears extremely strong cologne that you find horrendous. You can’t continue smelling this horrible scent any longer. Ask yourself: What options do you have to correct this situation? What option seems the most logical to try first?
ASK YOURSELF... Demonstrating Credibility
At work people just don’t attribute any credibility to you, although you’re probably as competent as anyone else. You need to increase the credibility cues you give off. Ask yourself: What nonverbal cues communicate competence and ability? How might you begin to integrate these into your own communication?
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