Module for Communication Skills

KAMPALA UNIVERSITY MODULE COMMUNICATION SKILLS BY WASAJJA JAMIL And NABUTAYI EDGAR TABLE OF CONTENT Table of Content………………………………………………………………………………………1 Course outline.....................................................................................................2 Introduction to communication…………………………………………………………………4 Literary communication………………………………………………………………………….25 Speech as communication.……………………………………………………………………..66 Listening as communication…………………………………………………………………...73 Internet and communication…………………………………………………………………..78 COMMUNICATION SKILLS COURSE DESCRIPTION This is an introductory course to the study of communication and the dynamics that come into play for the transfer and transmission of information to be successful. The course is based on the rationale that in today’s work environment in whatever career one chooses to pursue, communication skills are important either for entry and/or advancement. It is a multi-disciplinary approach towards the analysis of the concepts and theories of communication. It will be biased towards those aspects; conceptual as well as theoretical frameworks needed of ensuring effective communication professionals in the field of or related to literature. It will explore the conditions and aspects of communication in the literary field and examine the new innovations and trends in the field of communication Course Objectives: The main objectives of this course are: Introduce students to the theories of communication Create awareness of the dynamics and complexities of the process of communication Equip students with the skills for effective communication across a variety of professions Explore the opportunities and challenges associated with ICTs in communication. Mode of Delivery and Evaluation This course will be taught in 45 hours in semester one using lectures, tutorials and seminar presentations. It will be graded out of 100% of which 40% will consist of course work, project or seminar presentation and 60% will be out of the final examination. Course Outline Introduction to communication The nature of communication Basic concepts of communication Forms of communication Models of communication Literary Communication Specialised forms of writing letter writing Editing and Proofreading Writing minutes writing reports writing memos Spoken communication Introduction speaker Message Channel Situation Effective speaking Public speaking persuasive speaking Listening as communication Barriers to listening skills for effective listening Internet and communications Introduction issues to watch out for References Baran S.J and Davis D.K (2003) Mass Communication Theory. Belmont, Wadsworth. Cary W.C (1989) Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. Belmont, Wadsworth. Corner, J and Hawthorn J eds. (1993) Communication Studies: an Introductory Reader. Belmont, Wadsworth. De Boer JJ (1977) Basic Language: Messages and Meanings. New York, Harper and Row. DeFluer, M.L and Dennis, E.E (2002) Understanding Mass Communication: A Liberal Arts Perspective. Boston, Houghton Mafflin. Fiske, J. (1990) Introduction to Communication Studies. New York, Harper and Row Introduction to communication AIMS OF THE UNIT By the end of this section the student should to define communication, debate the different scholarly definitions of communication identify and explain the function of communication and the barriers to communication The student should be able to debate and interrogate the different models and assess how they can be useful in his communication needs Should be able to evaluate and analyse the different forms of communication. Definition of communication Communication using verbal and written language is the single human activity that is at the centre of human activity. It is believed by many scholars as the most important and the only human activity that differentiates human beings from other creatures. Though other creatures can pass to each other different messages, this is at the most rudimental level and not as complicated as it is among human beings when they use language. Given the importance that communication holds among human beings, it has attracted a lot of attention in terms of what it is and what it involves. The starting point of the debate in understanding communication starts with the definition of the concept of communication. The word communication is derived from the Greek word ‘comunicare’ that is literary translated as ‘to make common’ or ‘to share’. This means that communication is essentially a form of interaction. From this root word, communication can be defined as the process of transmitting information in form of data, messages and instructions from one source to another. Besides the rudimental definition of communication above, scholars have provided many different definitions of the concept of communication. This means that no single definition of communication is adequate to explain this phenomenon. This is because different scholars define communication to refer to different notions of the concept. Among the outstanding scholars of communication are (Theodorson and Theodorson 1969) who define communication as the transmission of information, ideas, attitudes or emotions from one person or group of people to another person or group of people. The key concepts in this definition are information which refers to the exchange of knowledge and information. For example if you write to some one a letter telling him/her that on a particular day you are going to pay him/her a visit, you are communicating because you are making them aware of an event or activity that they did not know before. Idea in this definition refers to new concepts and thoughts. For example in an organisation you may have a problem, therefore if you come up with a way of solving that particular problem during a brain storming session, then you have communicated. Attitude and emotions go together and they refer to the feelings-either positive or negative about a situation or a person that the individual has. For example if someone under your supervision does not follow instructions in the execution of a task you have assigned him/her, you are likely to reprimand such a person. When you do reprimand such a person, you have communicated but what has been transmitted is your feeling of dislike towards the person or task that was executed. The other key concept in the above definition is transmission. It is one thing to have ideas, information and emotion, but what is crucial is the transfer of these from one point to the other. This essentially means that for communication to take place there has to be two parties willing or forced by circumstances to participate in the process. There has to be a sender-the one with information and the receiver- one whom the information is meant for. There has to be need for the sender to send and the receiver to receive. In this case communication is any process of getting a message from the source to its intended recipient. Another important scholar to consider is (Osgood 1957) who defines communication as a situation where one system-the source influences another- the destination, by manipulation of alternative symbols which can be transmitted over the channel that connects them. The key concept in this definition of communication is manipulation of symbols, normally of a common language with the purpose of influencing the behaviour of the other party. For example when one winks or writes a note to someone, he/she has manipulated the linguistic resources at his/her disposal to make someone respond to him. The response is the evidence of successful manipulation of the other party. This means that Osgood’s definition brings to communication a clear concept that Theodorson and Theodorson’s definition is lacking. The point of reference is that all communication is purposeful. It is not just a matter of transmitting messages but those messages must influence the party they have been sent to. This means that on the reception of the message, the recipient must change his/her behaviour and attitude as a consequence of the message that is the subject of the communication process. (Garbner 1967) defines communication as a social interaction through messages. Garbner improves upon the definitions and general understanding of communication by introducing the concept of interaction. This means that communication is an end and not a means to an end. Ultimately the function and importance of communication is the facilitation of human interaction. When one makes a speech at a wedding party for example, such a speech is among other reason a manifestation of social interaction. In other words, communication enables human being deal with or relate to other human beings. From the above definitions of communication, the following concepts become very crucial in the understanding of communication. These are sender, channel, message, receiver, effect and context in which communication occurs. To the above six, one could add encoding and decoding as equally important in the understanding of communication. It is important to analyse each of the concepts listed above in terms of its relevancy and importance to the process of communication. In the communication equation, the sender refers to the party from whom the communication is initiated. He/she is the person who starts the communication process. The reasons as to why he/she initiates the process are as varied as the different senders in the communication process. The reason could be passing over information, giving directives, making inquiries or socialising. The channel is another important concept in communication. It refers to the outlet or form through which the message is transmitted. It is good to have a message, but this message is useless unless it can be transferred to the intended party. To ensure that the message reaches the intended audience, it must be transferred through an appropriate channel. The sender must consider the most appropriate channel to use in the sending of the message. The practical issues are always to do with whether the use of verbal or non verbal, oral or written forms in communicating. The message determines the best channel to be used given the message being sent and the reasons why it is being sent. What is important though is the choice of the channel has an impact on the effectiveness of the message. The receiver is another important concept in communication. This refers to the person or a group of people for whom the message is intended. In a lay man’s language, the receiver is the audience that is targeted by the communication intervention. In other words the message is designed and sent to specific person(s). The receiver/audience is important in the communication process because they determine the type of message and the channel to be employed as well as other nuances that are necessary for effective communication. For example, the type of audience determines the language to use. If you are communicating to the unread, rural people in the case of Uganda, using Oxford type of English will be useless because the audience will fail to understand the message. In the communication process, the concepts of encoding and decoding are equally important. Encoding refers to the translation of the message into a language or codes that the sender thinks will transmit the message effectively. For example the English word ‘thanks’ has many equivalents. It could be ‘merci’ in French, ‘dankens’ in German, ‘webale’ in Luganda and ‘asante’ in Swahili. Any of the above expressions does express the emotion of thanks or being grateful. Encoding calls on the sender to choose the most appropriate symbols given the channel available to him/her and the nature of the audience. If the audience is non-French speaking, it is useless to use the French equivalent of the word ‘thanks’ and if they are blind writing it down will be useless as well. Decoding is the concept that is on the reverse side of encoding. It refers to the ability of the audience/receiver to interpret and understand the message that has been sent to him/her. In other words there is need for the principle of double coincidence between the sender and the receiver. In the end what matters is that the receiver should understand exactly what the sender wanted him/her to understand. For this to happen, the receiver must use the linguistic and non-verbal resources at his/her disposal to decipher the message. Forms of communication Introduction Communication can be best analysed in terms of levels or the broad social context in which it occurs or operates. This specifically means that the context-that is the place, the purpose and the people involved in the communication event determine how it is shaped, develops and achieves its specific purpose. For example, two neighbours talking about the weather and an administrator addressing a staff meeting have different aims to achieve, will use varied linguistic resources to achieve these aims and will structure their messages and transmit them through different channels. This means that even if the same people are involved in different communication experiences, the different experience will determine how they communicate. Among the levels of communication is the inter-personal level of communication. This is the type of communication that takes place between two or more people. It is usually face to face and the topics of discussion are drawn from their everyday experiences. The type of communication between work mates at work or husband and wife at home or parents advising their children at home qualify as inter-personal communication. The main characteristic of this type of communication is that it is face to face and as such the communicator is not strained in communicating. The other characteristic is that there is immediate feedback as the responses and reactions of the receiver are there for the sender to see. In other words, the communicator can know for sure whether his/her message has been understood or not. It should be noted that inter-personal communication also uses the verbal channel at most times, though occasionally the written forms are employed. The second level of communication is the small group communication. As the name suggests, it is the communication between small groups. It is hard to define a small group but it could be roughly three to ten people, though even more than ten people could constitute a small group. The main characteristic of this type or level of communication is the limited number. The limitation is normally associated to the aspects of life that unite them. For example, co-workers in a staff meeting qualify as a small group communicating. The other characteristic of small group communication is that all members are equal in status and if there are differences of title and rank, it is minimal and as such all participate equally in the communication. It should be noted that inter-personal communication and small group communication are similar because they employ the two-way communication model where there is interaction between the sender and the receiver of the message through the use of the feedback loop. The other level of communication is the large group communication. As the name suggests, this is the type of communication that takes place among many people. Many people could be hard to quantify, but on average you are looking at more than twenty people engaged in a communication event. Large group communication is characterised by the existence of too many people. Therefore, the speaker is addressing many people normally from different backgrounds. For example a pastor preaching on Sunday, will be talking to rich, poor, women, men adults and children. The other related characteristic of large group communication is that participation is limited. Supposing you have one thousand people in a hall, it is inconceivable that all of them will be allowed to talk. In any case some of the context that brings about large group communication, like church services, political rallies, musical concerts to mention but a few, do not allow for audience participation and feedback. Lack of audience participation also means that this type of communication employs the one-way models of communication that do not allow for feedback. This type of communication assumes that the audience need the information from an expert source and therefore have no input to make in the process. The other level of communication is known as public or mass communication. This is the type that involves one source that communicates to a large audience-hence the name mass communication. The communication takes place through impersonal channels like newspapers, television, radio and of late the internet. It should be noted that the audience for mass communication messages are undefined and anonymous. The concept of Mass communication is best defined by looking at the two words that form the word. These are ‘mass’ and ‘communication’. Mass refers to many and communication is defined as the process of transmitting information, data or knowledge from one party to the other. Therefore in a layman’s language, Mass Communication is the transmission of information for a large, normally of diverse characteristics, group of people. McQuail (2005:17) defines Mass Communication in terms of mass media, which he says is: The term mass media refers to the organised means of communicating openly and at a distance to many receivers within a short time of space. This means that Mass communication is a way or a process of communicating to many within a limited frame of time and space. For example a news broadcast of an international radio station like BBC which can reach millions of listeners instantly is Mass Communication. McQuail’s definition of Mass Communication is to a larger extent in agreement with that of Baran and Davis (2003:10) who define Mass Communication as: When an organisation employs technology as a medium to communicate with a large audience, Mass Communication is said to have occurred. Using the example of professionals at The New York Times, they show that Mass Communication for all purposes and intents-despite a few points of contention like reception of personalised information or generating information out side the organisation, is about the delivery of information to many people unrestricted by distance and time. From the two definitions of Mass Communication by McQuail, Baran and Davis, it is clear that Mass Communication is an important field of social organisation and scholarly pursuit. The other interest in the levels of communication is to do with how the information moves within an organisation or society. To this effect there are three levels of the flow of information in any organisation. These include, up-down flow, down-up flow and lateral flow of information. The up-down flow of information is the situation where information flows from the top of the organisation-for example from the CEO of the company down to the lowest ranked member of the organisation either directly or through other subordinates. It is used by managers of an organisation to: Assign goals and duties to their employees. For example, the CEO will write a memo to the production manager to the effect that having secured a new firm to supply their goods, production must increase and possibly by what units. Such a correspondence comes directly from the top down to someone response. Giving instructions and specifications is also best done using up-down communication flow. For example a foreman can pin a duty rota on the notice board instructing every one what to do and how to do it for the staff’s notice. This is because if people are allowed to debate what they are to do and how they are to do it, nothing will get done. Up-down type of communication is used to inform members of the new policies of the organisation. Management can decide that the cause of low productivity in the organisation is late coming. After their meeting, they can communicate this to the workers in form of a new policy. The channels most used by this type of information flow include memos, letters, notices and bulletins. [These forms of communication are handled in the later section of the book.] The other type of the flow of communication-especially in an organisation- is the down-up ward communication. This is where the information flows from the lower levels of the organisation to the top management. This allows for the lower cadres of the organisation to communicate to the managers of an organisation. It involves the provision of feedback, information on the progress of the tasks and bringing to the notice of management the current problems that the organisation is experiencing. It is also a mechanism through which management is made aware of the current feelings of the employees to the issues that affect their productivity. Down-upward communication employs some of the following techniques in the transfer of information. Attitude surveys are one of the methods used. This involves management sending out a questionnaire or hiring outside consultant to research on the feelings of the employees about the conditions under which they work. It is important to note that an outside consultant is likely to get better results for management to act on than an insider as the employees will feel free and open to an outsider than someone perceived as an extension of management. Reports are another technique employed in the down-upward flow of information. This is when management commissions an official to investigate a problem in one of the sections of or the entire company. For example if the productivity of the workers suddenly dips, management can task the production manager to find out why this is the case. After doing his research, he is expected to write a report. This report is an avenue of information flow from the lower levels to the top managers. The grapevine is another avenue through which information can flow from the bottom to the top. The grapevine is an informal mechanism through which management has eyes and ears among the workers. These confidants of management regularly report to management the mood and attitude among the workers and such information informs the actions and decisions that management takes. It is actually a formalised rumour mill that management depend on. The value of such a form of communication flow is that it filters information for the managers. This because the employees may be intimidated by the bosses and fail to say what the real problem is. But among themselves, they will be open and candid and therefore the boss who uses the grapevine gets the real feelings of the workers. It also acts a feedback mechanism through which the manager gets information on almost everything from office romance to conflict in the organisation. Such information is crucial in the decision making process of the organisation. On the negative side, the grapevine can create conflicts in the organisation. The confidant may be motivated by self interest and ends up spreading misinformation about others or so that he is the good books of the boss. If such malicious and inaccurate information is used to make decisions, then wrong people will be victimised. Related to the above is lack of control on what information the confidant of the boss brings to the attention of the boss and also an atmosphere of fear is created where everyone assumes that the next person is the spy for management. In such an atmosphere, the organisation can not prosper. The third form of information flow is one that is termed as lateral communication. This is the type that takes place among peers in an organisation. For example when the human resource manager directly communicates to the financial officer, such communication is among people of the same rank without passing through the top managers. Such communication flow is useful because it cuts the red tape in an organisation which sometimes hinders performance. For example, if the human resource manager writes a memo to the financial officer about the availability of funds so that he/she can hire more employers, such a measure will be quicker and efficient than when he/she writes to the MD, who in turn writes to the financial officer who responds to the MD and then the MD writes back to the human resource manager. By the time the communication chain is complete, a lot of time and consequently productivity of the organisation will have been lost. This mode of information flow in an organisation is also good because it creates co-ordination among the different heads of section in the organisation. Such co-ordination can improve productive in the organisation and improve on the efficiency among the workers. This is because actions are taken quickly. On the negative side though, lateral communication can create unnecessary conflicts when formal channels are abused. For example when some officers are jumped, they can feel unappreciated and may deliberately slow the process, especially when top management refer to them for implementation. The bosses may feel insecure if certain actions are taken without their input and knowledge which can lead to conflict, malice and intrigue which can affect the productivity and efficiency of the organisation. It could also create conflicts and cliques in an organisation that can have an adverse effect on the productivity of the organisation. Another level or classification of communication has to do with how it is produced. From this perspective there is oral and written communication. Oral communication is that type that depends on the manipulation of vocal organs to produce sounds that have meaning to the intended audiences. The advantages of oral communication are that it is rapid in the sense that the message is delivered instantaneously. That is to say once the communicator speaks, the audience listen, understand and take in the message at the same time. The other related advantage is that there is immediate feedback. That is to say the audience respond to the message there and then. Because of feedback it is easy to make corrections and adjust the structure and content of the message that make the message more effective. This also eliminates any distortions that are associated with transmission and environment in the communication process. Written communication is the type that relies on graphic and graphetic symbols and signs in transmission of the message. Written communication takes many forms. These include, handwritten, typewritten and currently the internet. The advantages of written communication are that the message is tangible in that the receiver can have the message physically in his/her hands as evidence that communication has taken place. The other advantage is that written communication is durable. This means that the message can be stored and retrieved for use at a latter day. Written communication is of advantage because it allows for the communication of complex issues such as legal provisions. It also allows for careful consideration of and correction and arrangement of the message. The shortcomings of written communication are that it is time consuming. The time spent in drafting and sending the message to the recipient is long compared to oral communication. This means that there is no immediacy in the message and sometimes the message can be overtaken by events. For example, if you wrote a letter and posted, it may take a week to reach the recipient when oral communication like a telephone takes less than a minute to transmit the same message. It does not allow for immediate feedback as is the case with oral communication. The other level of communication is the non-verbal. This is the type where no word is used in the communication process but communication takes place through the use of paralinguistic features such as gestures, facial expression and silence to mention but a few. For example when someone asks you for something and you shake your head that signal a negative response and the person will understand you-sometimes better than if you had said no. Likewise when someone keeps quiet during a talk, the silence is communicative feedback that could mean he/she is upset, dissatisfied or thinking about the subject. Types of Non Verbal Communication and Their Use in Communication Non-verbal communication is sometimes referred to as body talk/language. This means that someone can communicate without speaking or writing but by the movement of the body. Non-verbal communication is useful in a communication process because it sometimes arguments or compliments oral communication. For example if someone says yes while nodding the head, the nodding emphasizes the message being transmitted. It also encourages oral communication in the sense that it compliments oral communication for effectiveness. The fact that a non-verbal sign can have different meaning can be a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that the speaker can easily hide meaning from those who are not familiar with the gesture or body language and curse in the sense that difference meanings can lead to misinterpretation of the message sent especially if the audience interprets the message differently from the sender. The following are some of the ways in which body language of kinesics of body communication works. One of the ways of how body language can be used in communication is facsics. This called facial communication to whereby facial actions are coded into messages. For example a gloomy face communicates anger, smiling face happiness, a frowning face surprise or thinking to mention but a few. The other aspect of body language is ocalics. This is communication using the eyes. The eyes can be used to send any message to anyone watching the person. For example a twinkle of an eye would mean that someone is planning something mischievous, laughter in eyes could mean that someone is happy and so on. The third aspect of body language is gestics. Gestics refers to the use of body movement to communicate. The movements of the body can communicate a multitude of messages such as mood, status, affiliation, ethnicity and identity. For example when someone kneels to greet, the kneeling indicates respect, when someone embraces another person, it is a sign of affection and if two people are walking, the one of a higher status walks ahead therefore a demonstration of who is more important than the other. Gestures are the other type of body language. Gestures are defined as the movement of the hands and the head specifically to send a message. The gestures are either speech independent in the sense that they can communicate on their own for example a nod means agreement or speech related in the sense that a gesture is accompanied by words. For example if someone says while nodding, then the nod is a speech related gestures. Gestures are divided into four sub groups. These are emblems the type of gestures that have direct verbal translations for example the language of the deaf where each gesture has a corresponding meaning such as the circular movement of the hand means all. The illustrators are those gestures that are used to aid verbal messages for example if someone says bring it here while the hand is pointing where the item should be put, the point is an illustrative gesture. The regulators is the gesture that is used by the audience to act as a feedback for example when one listens while nodding the head, it means he/she is following, is impressed or agrees with the speaker while the shaking of the head means the listener is not impressed. The adaptors are the other aspect of gestures. This is a type of gesture which shows adaptation to the communication situation. For example if someone has a blank expression on the face during a speech, it will mean that he/she is not bored by the speech or can not follow what the speaking is talking about. Affection displays are the other forms of gestures. This is where a movement of the face communicates a message. For example is someone winks, the person is attracting the attention of someone or indicating that he/she understands what the other person is saying. Haptics is defined as the use of touch to communicate a message. This is a type of body talk where the contact between the sender of the message and the intended audience is physical. For example hugging means affection, love, welcome or happiness and kissing means greeting or love and a handshake means welcome. It should be noted that haptics is culture and gender specific. This is because a hug may mean affection in one culture and intimacy in the other. The physical characteristics of the person communicating play a role in the transmission of the message. This involves the attractiveness in the sense that attractive or good looking people are responded to positively when they communicate in most occasions. The body size of the person is equally effective in communication. Short and small people are not taken as seriously of those with an imposing figure. In fact most effective speakers in history have been people of big statures. The same applies to height. Tall people are likely to be effective communicators. And in a similar way women are in most case considered to be less effective speakers than men. Proxemics is another aspect of body language. It is defined as communication using space. During a speaking occasion, people then to use space to supplement their delivery. The space around the speaker expands and contracts according to ones emotional state, cultural background and intentions. For example if a speaker moves closer to the audience, it makes him closer to them. Therefore, the way the speaker exploits the aspects of social, physical, personal and intimate space can enhance his effectiveness. Paravocalics is the use of vocal effects to accompany the words in oral communication. It involves the tone of voice, the speed of speaking, the volume, pitch, pause and stress in a speech. These aspects have a way in which it reinforces the message of the speaker. This is because they add meaning to the words of the speaker. For example when someone speaks at a high speed, it shows that he/she is either excited or angry. On the other hand people who are angry tend to be loud and a pause will indicate emphasis. Chronemics is the use of time to communicate to ones self or others. Time is conceived as circular, linear, formal or informal. Following circular time means that one is not under pressure to stick to time. Time in this case depends on seasons, day and night. For example at night people in Africa told stories because the stories did not competed with other activities. Linear time is when each activity has got a specific time slot and therefore the speaker ensures that he/she sticks to the time allocated to him/her. Olfactics is the use of smell as a means of communication. The way someone smells can affect whether he/she communicates effective. For example imagine living at close quarters with someone who has a bad body smell or breath. The way someone smells can have an impact on whether people listen to him/her attentively. Artiactics refers to the ornaments that the speaker has on during the speech. Personal items like clothing, jewelry and make up have an impact on the effectiveness of the speaker. A well dressed speaker will most likely draw the audience’s attention than one who is shabbily dressed. Function of Communication As pointed out in the introduction, communication is the most important activity that distinguishes human being from other beings. This is because communication plays very many important functions in society. These functions could accrue to individuals or to a group or to the entire human society. For example, when your friend in another university or town writes you a letter, he/she is communicating and in so doing is adding value to your life by telling you of what you do not know. Like wise when you listen to a public service announcement on how to prevent cholera on a radio, communication is saving your life and probably that of your community. The following are some of the functions that communication plays in a society. The most important function of communication is educational. This means that communication is used to educate. For example when you watch a TV documentary on wildlife or when you read a book from a library, you are qualitatively and quantitatively improving your life. Through communication, people come to learn new things that improve their lives for the better. Communication also enables people to search for and receive information. This could be facts, data or figures. Such information obtained gives satisfaction by creating awareness of and understanding social, political and economical realities. The information received especially from credible sources can be used by the receiver in many different ways to improve his/her life. The other function of communication is that it provides entertainment. Communication tends to be attention arousing and gives pleasure to the people accessing such information. For example, reading a novel or watching a movie is some of the means that people use to get entertained. Therefore, the radio, TV, newspapers, theatre, oral performance, the internet and other forms of communication are used by people to make them happy and avoid boredom. By entertainment we mean, an event, performance, or activity designed to give pleasure or relaxation to an audience (McQuail, 2000). Examples of entertainment include: music, films, movies, sports, soap operas, comedies, cartoons, horoscopes, graphics, colour pictures etc. Entertainment performs various roles in society including motivation where entertainment media provides specific ways to satisfy psychological needs, relaxation by providing users with a variety of opportunities to be amused, to have fun and pleasure, to be enlightened and delighted, in short to be entertained (Vorderer, 2000) and education where entertainment forms of drama, dance or music are used to portray certain messages to achieve a particular causes (Zillmann, 2001). Another function of communication is that it is used to give and receive instructions. The messages sent may give people tips on how to perform a certain task or achieve a certain activity. For example when one reads a map on a journey to unknown place, the map will give him/her the instructions of how to reach his/her destination. Likewise someone who watches or listens to a cooking programme on radio or TV will get tips on how to prepare a particular meal. In this case, communication has not only provided such people with information by also instructed them on how to use that information. Communication also plays a persuasive function in society. According to The Persuasion Handbook: Developments in Theory and Practice, persuasion is a symbolic transaction, which uses reason and/or emotional appeals in an attempt to alter behaviour. Persuasion is thought to fall short of direct coercive force, though the threat of coercion is often present. Both persuasion and coercion attempt to change the behaviour of "others," but they differ in their approach. While coercion actively attempts to apply physical pressures to its targets, persuasion seeks to convince a target to change its behaviour (though persuasive messages may include threats of coercion). Thus persuasive communication seeks to change behaviour without direct force. For example when someone listens to a radio advertisement or attends a political rally, both forms of communication will attempt to influence him/her to change his/her behaviour or attitude towards the objection of the communication Communication is useful to an organisation because it is used to control the behaviour of members in an organisation. The members are informed of their mistakes through communication. At the same time they are praised for their good performance again through communication. Those who do wrong when warned through a letter of warning for example are likely to change and improve on their conduct while those who do well and are complimented, are motivated to do even better through communication. This means that the aims, goals and plans of the organisation will be achieved and efficiency will be realised since feedback is important to the members of an organisation. One of the basic functions of communication is that it fosters social interaction. Whether in a group or individually people are social animals and will always interact with each others. Therefore, when one converses with a friend, asks for direction from a stranger or writes a letter to the editor complaining about the poor social services the government provides to his community, this form of social interaction is made possible through communication. That is why it is believed that without communication human life and existence would loose its meaning. For the case of an organisation and especially those members in that organisation in management positions, communication facilitates the decision making process. Any decision taken means that other alternatives have been discarded. Therefore, to be sure that the decision taken is the right one, the person taking the decision needs information and data about all the alternatives to identify and evaluate the best option to take. Barriers to Communication As it has been pointed out in the introductory parts of this book, communication is usefully when the communication link between the sender and receiver is maintained. If for one reason or another, this link is broken, communication can not take place. Therefore, it is important for all involved in the communication event to ensure that the link between the sender and receiver is maintained. It is good to have ideas and information to pass over to others, but quite frustrating is these can not be passed over effectively. The question then, is what stops the sender reaching his/her intended receiver in a communication event? There are many factors that can lead to the breakdown of the communication link. Some are related to the sender himself and other are outside his control. It is important to identify such obstacles and find ways of minimising their effects and rectifying them or reducing their effects as much as possible. The following are some of the common barriers to communication. One of the common communication barriers that occur without even the knowledge of the communicators themselves is filtering. Filtering refers to the tendency among the communicators to communicate what they perceive their audience want to hear. This means that they edit and restrict what they are going to write or talk about in a given communication scenario. This tends to be common where the relationship between the sender and the receiver is that of a boss-subordinate. The person of the lower rank will tend to say what he/she thinks the boss wants to here. In the process the real message is not delivered. The way forward should be that the speakers or writers should be bold and tell the truths without sugar coating it because in the end their honesty and candour will be appreciated. Another barrier to communication is information over load. This is a situation where the speaker or writer gives to much information. There is a tendency among human being to believe that much is good. Therefore, people will try to impress by giving too much information to their audiences without gauging the ability of their audiences to internalise the information they have been given. For example, there are people who speak for 10 hours or write a one hundred page report. In the case of the speech after one and half hours at the most, the audience will be turned off and if the critical information of the delivery comes at the end, then the bored audience will certainly miss it. In the case of a one hundred page report the intended audience may not read it, especially when they have other responsibilities and if at all they do, they will simply skim or scan through the report. At the end of the day the communicator has failed to communicate because of information overload. The best policy should be moderation. Study your audience and determine how much they can absorb and structure your communication according. The channel that one chooses to transmit his massage can turn out to a barrier to effective communication. Like in the case of information overload, the nature of your audience should determine the channel that you use for the delivery of the message. A channel appropriate to one audience may be inappropriate to another type of audience. For example, with all its advantages, using the written channel to communicate to an illiterate audience is self defeating. This is because they can not read and therefore a message that requires them to read is useless to them. Likewise if you decide to use a TV to communicate health messages to a population that is poor, can not afford a TV set and have no electric poor to operate the TVs, will be useless because the intended audience will not access the information. The communication link can be broken by emotion. The state of emotion that both the sender and the receiver are in determines the effectiveness of the message. The speaker or writer must be in a good frame of mind to effectively communicate. Likewise the audience must be in a good and receptive mood to fully understand the message. If for one reason or the other the parties are not in a good mood the communication exercise will be useless. Take for example a person suspected to be responsible in one way or another for the death of someone to convince the mourners that he/she is wrongly accused of being involved in the deceased’s death.[Professor Nsibambi at Dr. Kiggundu’s funeral] However, good a speaker he/she is, he will not be listened to because the mourners are emotionally charged. Therefore, it is important to gauge the mood of the audience before you address them on controversial subjects. The other barrier to effective communication is source credibility. This refers to the audiences’ perception of the speaker, either as trustworthy or untrustworthy. This comes from the history the audience has with the writer and speaker. If the speaker or writer has consistently exhibited communication behaviours that the audience find untrustworthy, the audience will find it hard to believe him/her even if at this point his/her message is critical. Therefore, it is important that if your job is to deal with the public, try to cultivate a good image of yourself and the organisation you serve. It is only then that the audience will take you seriously. Language is another barrier to effective communication. Language in communication refers to the choice of words to use in a speech or a written text as well as the structures that are employed in the stringing together these words to make the meaning clear. It is important for communicators to gauge their audiences and decide on the type of language that is appropriate to them. It is true that use of ‘big’ and ‘complex’ words and structures is impressive. However, the bottom line is whether your audience can understand these words. It does not matter whether the message is important and of benefit to the audience, if the language used is hard to understand, the audience will not benefit from the message. The advice to communicators is to use simple words and sentence structures to ensure that all the people understand what they are communicating. The other barriers to effective communication are the physiological conditions of the communicator. These are basically the physical and psychological disabilities that the communicator possesses. For example, if someone has got a bad handwriting or poor punctuation as a result of the inability to read and correct his/her mistakes in a written text, these will affect his/her ability to communicate effectively. Likewise someone who lisps or stammers, will create difficulties for the audience to follow his speech and him self to be coherent. Off course, these are natural handicaps that the individual has no power over. In other words you are born with them and there is nothing you can do about them. Nevertheless, if someone is aware of such handicap, he/she should attempt to be relaxed if he/she is giving a speech. This is because these handicaps are pronounced every time they are agitated. Communication is also affected by external factors. The most significant is the environment in which the communication takes place. The atmosphere should be conducive if the communication process is to be effective. One of the factors that do interrupt communication significantly includes noise. If the place in which the speech is taking place is noisy probably because of traffic or rain, the speech will not be wholly understood by the audience. If there is anticipation of natural and environmental disturbances, the speaker and the organisers should plan and employ technological innovations to counter the disruptive effect of nature. The use of public address system could be useful in this case. There are possibly other barriers to communication that have not been discussed in this section. However, the barriers listed above are the most common and frequently challenging ones. Therefore, all communicators should be aware of what can hinder the message reaching the intended audience and devise means to reduce on the impact of these barriers on the effectiveness of their communication. Models of communication Models of Communication After the definition of communication, it is important to look at the models of communication. A model can best be defined as the simplified description in graphic form of a piece of reality. It seeks to show the main elements of any structure or process and the relationship between those elements. For example in communication, models help us understand the relationship say between the sender and the receiver and what other elements that are involved in the communication process such as channel to mention but a few. (Deutsch 1966) notes several advantages of models in the social sciences in general and communication in particular. In the first place a model plays an organising function by ordering and relating the systems to each other thus providing us with the images of the wholes that we might otherwise fail to perceive. It gives a general picture of a range of different particular circumstances. Models also help in explaining, by providing in simplified way information which could otherwise be complicated or ambiguous. This enables us to understand the key points of a process or system of communication. For example communication is complicated to explain but with the use of a model, it is easy to highlight the main components of the process and how they relate to each. The case in point is that when the sender communicates, there has to be a message and a suitable channel for the message to reach the receiver or the audience. The third advantage of a model is that it can enable scholars of communication predict outcomes or the course of events. It is the basis for assigning probabilities to the various outcomes and forming hypothesis of what may or may not occur given a set of conditions. For example models will help us predict if communication has taken or failed to take place in a situation where one gives a speech in a very noisy place. If the noise is an impediment to communication, if a speaker finds himself/herself in such an environment, then what is he/she supposed to do to ensure that he/she communicates effectively. There are two categories of models. These are: those that describe the structure of the phenomenon. These are known as structural models. For example the model may describe how the telephone works and nothing else, by showing the main components of a phone and how these components relate to each other in the communication process. The other types of models are known as functional models. These describe the systems in terms of energy, forces and their direction, the relationship between parts and the influence of one part on the other parts. For example, a model that explains that noise interference affects the effectiveness of communication is a functional model. It is true that models are useful in the study of communication but in using models to explain the process of communication, one should beware that they are sometimes incomplete, oversimplified and involve some concealed assumptions. This means that there is no model that is suitable for all purposes and levels of analysis of communication. Therefore, one should choose a correct model for the purpose he/she is trying to study. Some Basic Models of Communication Below some common models of communication are discussed and analysed. Note, though, that the models discussed below are not exhaustive in any way. The discussion is a sample of some of the common and relevant models in the process of communication that most people are likely to come across or use during their professional or social lives. Lasswell’s Transmission Model Lasswell, an American political scientist put forward a convenient way of describing the communication process by suggesting five key questions to ask and to be answered about the communication process. These are ‘who’ says ‘what’ in which ‘channel’ to ‘whom’ and with what ‘effect’. The questions are graphically represented as This could also been shown as below NOTE: (Braddock 1958) found the Lasswell model useful but somehow simplistic. This prompted him to make adjustments by adding two more aspects. These are: The circumstances under which a message is sent. This includes the conditions under which the communication event takes place. For example the consideration of the physical and emotional conditions in which the communication is to take place. Take for instance an angry mob, is not likely to be reasoned with because it is emotional charged and any attempt to do so will fail. In a similar way if one is to communicate to a crowd in an iron-roofed hall while it is raining, such an activity may not deliver the anticipated results because of the interferences from nature. Therefore, the circumstances under which the message is sent are crucial to the successful delivery of the message. The other aspect that Braddock identifies is the purpose of the communicator. What does the communicator wish to achieve by engaging in the communication process? The purpose or intention of the communicator is crucial to the way the message is structured. For example, a communicator whose intention is to persuade will construct his/her message differently from that who is simply reporting. The purpose determines what is and how it is said. The incorporation of the above aspects improves the model as shown below. The relevancy of the model to the communication process includes the following: The Lasswell (Linear) model of communication assumes that the intention of the communicator is to influence the receiver. Hence the primary function of communication according to Lasswell was persuasion. It should be noted that the model exaggerates the effects of communication which explains its propaganda usage in political communication. The model omits the element of feedback. The assumption that the speaker is central to communication is erroneous since the audience is critical in the process of communication. This means that for the communication process to be fruitful, the audience must put in its input in the process. The Shannon and Weaver Model This model was developed by the mathematician Shannon in collaboration with Weaver, under sponsorship of the Bell Telephone company. The research that these two scholars carried out was supposed to evaluate how the message and communication for that matter was affected by external factors. The central questions that guided the study were what kind of communication channel can bring through the maximum amounts of signals and how much of the transmitted signal can be destroyed by the noise and other interferences between the transmitter and the receiver. Their research concluded that external interferences such as noise had a greater impact on the amount of the message that reached the intended audience and suggested that for communication to be effective there was need to minimise the external interferences. The model that they developed was linear and took communication as a one way process from the speaker to the receiver. The model states five functions to be performed in communication and one dysfunctional factor which is noise. The model is shown in the figure below. The Shannon and Weaver Model MSG SGN SGN MSG As pointed out earlier, the model states five functions to be performed by communication. These are the information source that produces a message or a series of messages to be communicated. After the messages have been created, they are then formed into signals by the transmitter. These should be adapted to the channel leading them to the receiver. The function of the receiver is the opposite of that of the sender. The receiver reconstructs the message from the signal. After this has been done the message then reaches the destination. However, the message is hostage to interference in the process. Shannon and Weaver highlighted noise as the most significant interference to the message. In other words, the less amount of noise in the process the more likely that the message will reach the destination without any distortion and the reverse being true-that is the more noise in the process, the less likely that the message will reach the destination as it was intended by the sender. This practically means that in the process of sending a message, if there is a lot of noise, the message constructed by the sender and reconstructed by the receiver will not have the same meaning. The core assumption of the Shannon and Weaver model is the fact that the message sent and that received are never identical. This means that the communicators should pay attention to those factors like noise that are likely to distort the message to ensure that the effects of these on the message are minimised. Osgood and Schramm Model (Schramm and Osgood 1952) originated a model that countered the existing models that assumed communication was linear. That is to say that the communication process moved in a straight line from the sender to the receiver. Schramm and Osgood came up with a model that was circular since their main assumption was that what were keys in the communication process were the behaviours of the main actors in the process-that is the sender and the receiver. Osgood and Schramm Circular Model of Communication This model treats the sender and the receivers as equals performing identical functions that is decoding, encoding and interpreting the meaning from the information that is transmitted from each end. In other words, what the sender does while sending the message is replicated by the receiver and in turn the receiver sends a feedback that goes through the same process as before. This model breaks with the misleading conception of communication that separated the roles of the sender and receiver and assumed communication was a process that started at a particular point and ended at another particular point. It assumes that communication is an endless activity where senders and receivers act as switchboards handling and re-routing an endless current of information. The importance of this model is that it helps in describing the interpersonal communication which is anchored on the concept of feedback. In cases where the communication is between an individual and another individual or an individual(s) and a group of people, such communication is complete only when there is an interaction between the sender(s) and the receiver(s). The possible short comings of this model are that it assumes equality between the sender and the receiver. In reality communication is unbalanced with one centre having a lot of power, resources and time to communicate. For example when the head of department is talking to those employees under his control, the power he has over them determine how they responding. Sometimes those who assume that they have little power in the communication process may feign understanding and thus send a false feedback because of fear. Newcomb’s ABX Model It is a simple representation of the dynamics of communicative relationships between two individuals but can be applicable to complex relationships such as attitude change, opinion formation and propaganda. (Newcomb 1963) builds on the work of the psychologist Heider who theorised that in case two people had an attitude of like or dislike towards each other and towards an external object or person, some pattern of relationship will exist. Newcomb’s assumption is that communication plays an essential function of enabling two or more people maintain an orientation towards each other or towards an object of an external environment. In other words the model explains who and why we communicate with other people. The model takes the form of a triangle the points of which represent the two parties and the external object where communication is seen as the process that supports their orientation to the structure by transmitting information about and from the external object. In simple words, communication occurs when the two parties relate with each other to the external object. Newcomb’s ABX Model x A B Newcomb further argues that communication is likely to occur under the following conditions. These are a strong attraction between the two persons, when the object is important to at least one of the persons or the object has joint relevancy to both the persons. For example the First Year University Students in any university will meet on the first day as strangers but at the end of the semester they may have become best of friends. What brings them together is the external object, the university (facilities and lecturers) or a liking they have of each other. The relevancy of this model to communication is the assumption that people are likely to engage in communication processes that provide information that is consistency with their views, attitudes and perception of the universe or use the process to seek for information that supports their behaviour and general perceptions. The model also holds that there is always selectivity of what communication process to engage in as the underlying motive are the expectations of the individual person. People will always be biased towards those communication experiences that reinforce their existing opinions, attitudes and behaviours. For example one person will pass by a religious crusade and go to a political rally and the reverse, because each of the communication process reinforces different opinions or attitudes. Note though that it is not good to generalise that the tendency to consensus is the only cause and effect of communication. For example people form new relationships and get in touch with divergent views in the world. In this process they form new alliances and develop new perception of reality. Riley and Riley Sociological Model The (Rileys 1959) criticised the traditional view of communication as a process that took place in a vacuum. They argue that communication is part of the social structures and their model attempts to portray communication as one of the social systems among the many in society. Their criticism of the traditional view of communication was based on the traditional view of communication assuming that the communicator’s intention was to influence the listener and the message acted as stimuli. The assumption that the receiver would react to the message in a vacuum was what they objected to. They reasoned that the receiver reacted to the message using the psychological and sociological reference points in his/her society. Riley and Riley Sociological Model KEY C=Communicator R=Receiver SS=Social Structure They argue that people respond to any communication as a result of the influence of those people who are intimate to them. These, they called the primary groups such as friends and family that help people define attitudes, values and behaviour. For example if one comes from ‘a born again family’, such a person may not be receptive to secular music simply because his realm of socialisation biases him/her against such forms of communication. They further point out that the primary group is part of a large group that like the family or friend influence the person and is in turn influenced by a larger group(s). For example, the family may in turn be influenced by their church. The large influencing group is referred to as the reference group. They further argue that the primary and reference groups do not operate in a vacuum; they are too influenced by the larger society in which they live. This means that both the communicator and the receiver in a communication process are shaped or influenced by the social environment in which they live. The sender is influenced in the way he structures, selects the medium and shapes his message for effectiveness and the receiver is guided by the group in how to select, perceive and react to the messages. This means that the two parties are connect in the communication process to the large/primary societies or groups to which they belong. The significance of this model to the study of communication lies in the fact that it suggests that communication should be seen as a social process and not occurring in a vacuum. It also highlights the point of influence in communication. It is not only the message that has influence. The receivers as well as the communicator are both influenced by the society one in structuring what to send and the other in analysing what has been sent. This model also puts the role of mediating or helping factors of psychology and social norms at the front of analysing communication. These factors have an impact on how individuals and members of groups communicate and react to messages The Katz and Lazarssfeld Two Step Flow Model This model emerged out of the study of communication effects on the public. Prior to the study there was an assumption that communication and most especially the mass media messages were key in shaping the political choices of and the formation of the opinions of the masses. However, the assumed influence of media and communication was found to be limited. This meant that the message of a communication to have an impact had to pass through another source for interpretation. The second centre is composed of the opinion leaders that interpret the message for the masses. The assumption that the message needed to be interpreted to the masses by a source that is knowledgeable, lead to the creation of a two-step flow model of communication and information transmission. This model is based on the following assumptions. The first assumption of the two-step flow model is that individuals are not socially isolated but rather members of a social group and this group has an impact on how they perceive the message that is communicated to them. In other words, the people we interact with have a bearing on how we perceive the messages that we come across. For example if you came across information about contraceptives, your appreciation of such information depends on your priest who is an opinion leader. The Katz and Lazarssfeld Two Step Flow Model KEY Opinion leaders Followers Note That the response and reaction to the message is not immediate but is influenced by the social relationships. That is to say, any opinion that one may hold as a result of the message communicated depends on the people that the person interacts with. These determine whether the message will be taken positively or negatively. That two processes are involved in accessing the message. One process is to do with reception and the other with acceptance or rejection of the message. All these processes depend on the influence that the receiver surrounded with in the process of receiving the information. All of us have at one time or another thought that a specific piece of information was good only to change that opinion after talking to our friends or family. The individuals are not always equal in the communication process. There are those that actively receive the information and pass it over to others and those who receive the information from the first group. The first group are the opinion leaders and the second the influenced group. The opinion leaders are the ones that get the most from a communication process and are usually more knowledgeable. As much as the model emphasises the fact that communication takes place in a social context, it is nevertheless misleading. In reality, the people are not divided into active and passive and sometimes the perceived opinion leaders can equally be influenced by those who they are supposed to influence. The other criticism is the fact that the mediation of the message does sometimes take more than two steps that the model prescribed. The Knowledge Gap Hypothesis Model This model holds that communication and sometimes the media informs some segment of the population in a society, usually those in the high socioeconomic class better than the other classes, especially those of a low socioeconomic status. Over time, the society has two classes of people-one class which is well informed and the other which is less informed. This means that the communication creates a knowledge gap between the two classes. Therefore, a situation arises where this gap grows wider between the two classes. A Closing Knowledge Gap Model This model is credited to Donohue and others in their study of a society in which the media and its use can play an important role. It is based on the role that the media plays in society and this role is to inform the public as a prelude to taking sound decisions that affect their lives and community. The main assumption of the model is that in any society, preferably a small one, there exist knowledge gaps. This essentially means that certain groups in a society are ignorant and others are informed. This assumption is double edged. On one hand it is bad to have ignorant and informed groups, and on the hand it is good. It is bad because a section of the society is not informed enough to participate in the civic and democratic decisions. However it is good because the ignorant have apathy to participation, which leaves the informed to make sound choices that benefit all in the end. The model also postulates that depending on the issue, the gaps can be bridged. This essentially means that if the issue is new, only a few, normally from the upper classes will have information about it. However, over time the other groups catch up. It also argues that the gaps are less obvious over issues that all are interested in or those that affect all the people. For example, during or at the start of campaigns, the informed have more information but later on the assumed ignorant catch up. Therefore, following this model, all segments of the society become informed if the relevancy of that knowledge has been increased by an escalating conflict or increased coverage of the issue. And as the knowledge gaps disappear, so does the society get a solution to the problem. The model has the following strengths. These include the definition and explanation of gaps between groups in society, provision of means of reducing the gaps and an assumption that the public is always involved in the issues that affect them. The critical importance of the model to those involved in the welfare of people in society is that helps in explaining the gaps and calls for such professionals to structure their message in such a way that all are reached and more importantly to create continuity as over time even the ignorant acquire the information especially if it is important. On the other hand, the theory has the following weakness. These include limitation of the gaps to news and political related information, not addressing the cause of the knowledge gaps and an assumption that the gaps are bad in society when sometimes they are not. Uses and Gratifications Model This model comes up as a challenge to communication effects research in terms of how people are influenced by the message. This model looks not at what communication does with people but what people do with the message. It assumes that people consciously seek out and consume communication content because these serve a purpose in their lives. The Uses and Gratification Model It is derived from the work of scholars such as Lazarsfeld, Herzog and Berelson. They argue that people use communication content for obtaining gratifications or to fulfil a need. That is to say, if someone watches TV or reads a newspaper, he/she is using that media to satisfy a need or an interest, which might be a desire to know or to get entertainment. This means that if people did not have use for the media as a way of gratifying their desires, then, possibly they would not consume media content. This model is divided into two camps the classical and the modern uses and gratification theorists. Despite the labels, there is agreement as to what are the main assumptions of the model. The model is concerned with the social and psychological origin of needs that generate expectations of communication to expose them to activities that will satisfy their needs and generate other consequences. That is to say, that if one needs social interaction, he/she is forced to read or watch TV that will give him/her fulfilment to his/her needs but can make him/her dependant on the media that he/she seeks out to gratify his/her needs. The strengths of this model is that it explains how people use communication, describe differences and similarities of different media in terms of their functions as related to the needs and gratification basis, assesses the satisfaction especially of children derived from the media, functions of media to inform, interpret occurrences, ritual and giving prestige. The weaknesses of the theory include the fact that it microscopic in analysis, it is mentalist, assumes that the audience is fairly active, does not take into consideration the content and it is a pretext of producing poor content on the excuse that the content is filling a need. SAMPLE QUESTIONS “ Social interaction through messages” (Garbner1966) Discuss the efficacy of the above quotation. Examine the barriers to effective communication and suggest some remedies you will employ to ensure that you communicate effectively. With your personal educational and management example, discuss the value of communication to a teacher or an administrator in an educational institution. With relevant examples explain why written communication is a preferred mode of communication in an educational institution? “You say it better when you say nothing” Savage Gardens 2002. Discuss the relevancy of the above quotation paying close attention to non-verbal forms of communication. AIMS OF THE UNIT By the end of this unit, the student should be able to define writing as a form of communication identify and explain the causes of poor writing demonstrate how punctuation affects effective writing familiarise him/her self with the writing of different types of correspondences in an educational institution context. What is Writing? Writing-sometimes referred to a literary communication- is one of the most important skills that are employed in the field of communication. It is defined as the art of communicating through written symbols. In this literary world writing is of paramount importance. It eases the transfer and exchange of information from one person or one source to another. It also makes the storing of information without straining one’s memory. It involves the reading, recording and analysing the written material. It is important to note that written communication largely depends on the ability of the communicators to read and write. It involves the use of newspapers, books, letters, reports and journals. With the invention of the printing press during the industrial revolution, literary/written communication has become more available and largely used in public communication. The information that was previously transmitted orally is now transmitted through the written form. For example in medieval Europe, it was the priest who read the bible to the people but today everyone can read the bible for him/herself. This has also been made possible by the increase in literary-especially the UN MDGs of universal primary education access to all children in the world. However, the challenge to writing is the new audio-visual technologies that have attracted people from reading and writing. People write for various reasons. Sometimes we write to ourselves for example note taking and making during lectures or meetings. In such situations we the writers are at the same time the audience. When the writer is his/her own audience the burden of communicating effectively is relatively small. However, in many cases writers write for different audiences and with specific communicative objectives in mind that they want to achieve. To get the desired goals there is need to have the necessary skills in writing. This entails abiding by certain principles to ensure that the communication link between the writer and the reader is not broken. There are a number of things that can break the communication link between the writer and the reader. These include: Poor Punctuation is where the writer may fail to punctuate his text adequately. He/she may use the punctuation marks without any justification, use the wrong punctuation marks and sometimes not use them at all. The scenarios pointed out above makes it difficult for the readers to make sense of the writer’s ideas and consequently the communication link is broken. Ordering of ideas is another area that always leads to the breakage of the communication link between the writer and the reader. The writer may fail to present his/her ideas in a manner that makes sense to the reader. He may start with an idea that would have come last and vice versa. He/she may fail to be precise or straight to the point where it is supposed to be made. Relating idea is another weakness that the writers should look out for. The communication link is broken when the writer fails to relate his/her ideas properly. This is in most cases due to the inappropriate use of linking words and phrases like though, besides, however and many others that show transition within and between ideas. Irrelevancy and repetition is another weakness that writers should watch out for to ensure that the communication link is maintained. When a text contains ideas that are not relevant to what the writer wants to express, it becomes a turn off for the readers. Inadequacy of ideas and improper use of words are the main causes of this problem, therefore, writers are cautioned to prepare and cross check their work before they put pen to paper. Poor choice of words (diction) to use is another frequent cause of the break down of the communication link between the writer and the audience. Always but the audience in mind when choosing words to use and choose those words that are appropriate and those that will be understood by the audience that you are writing for. It does not pay to go for complicated words when a simple one can do. Sometimes some writers fail to get the right terminologies and end up being bombastic for no good reason. The writer needs to know that clarity is more important and unless he/she can not help it, simple words should be preferred to the complicated ones. Spellings are another problem that writers have to watch out if they are to communicate effectively. It is true that the English language authography is very complicated. But then this should call for caution on the part of the writer. This is because a simple change of a letter changes the meaning of the word and hence the entire meaning of what the text intends to communicate. Remember that there is no relationship between the way words are pronounced and the way they are written. Therefore, all writers should take care on how the spell in their writings. For example the words ‘thought’ would not carry its meaning if the write omit the /t/ at the end. Instead it becomes /though/. If this is put in the sentence such as’ I though he came yesterday.’ The meaning is completely lost. Basic Guideline for Effective Writing Effective writing calls upon the writer to be much organised in the process that he/she is engaged in. Always the use of the simplest construction and style to convey the basic facts and ideas is the way forward. According to Graham Hart effective writing should follow the following basic guidelines. Avoid complex words where the simple ones can do. Short common words which are easy to understand and read should form the basis of effective writing. Using complex words makes writing more complicated to understand and may also sound old fashioned and pompous. Long and complex words should be restricted to technical terms or names of places. The guiding principle should therefore be the use of a simple word when a simple word can do. At the level of a sentence, it is better to use simple sentence constructions with the key points coming first. The writer should always aim to get the main point quickly in a sentence and to make the meaning clear as soon as possible. This can be achieved easily by using simple sentence constructions. It is important to make sure that as many sentences as possible are self-contained. This means that each sentence should work alone without needing the preceding or following sentence to set it in context for it to be understood. Writers should avoid the use of passive sentence construction as much as possible where active sentences can do. It is advisable that the writer should always be looking for the most direct and or active form of the verb. Active verbs make the writing more dynamic and easy to understand. To write effectively, one should try as much as possible not to mix the forms. This means that if you are writing; decide on using either the formal or informal types of writing according to the communicative situation. The writer should also attempt not to mix the written and spoken forms of the language. For example, when writing a letter of application, do not use the informal opening of ‘Hi?’ Instead use ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ as the situation may require. The other issue that writers should pay attention to is punctuation. Well punctuated sentences or paragraphs are easy to read and follow. Therefore, if one wants to be an effective writer, he/she must understand the use of at least the common punctuation marks and use them effectively. It is irritating to read a 200 word sentence or a one page paragraph. As it is to you the writer, so it is to your readers. Such readers will decide not to read what you have written, if it is hard to follow. Writing in English is problematic because of the nature of English language spellings. Therefore, whoever wants to be an effective writer must learn how to spell correctly English language words. They should not write words as they are spoken. This is because the English language has queer pronunciations and spellings. For example, the words, ‘though and rough’ all end with /gh/ but this is pronounced /zo/ in ‘though’ and /fu/ in ‘rough’. This means that if one attempts to write them as they are pronounced, he/she will end up with completely different words. All the problems associated with writing arise in most cases because the English language is a foreign language to most of the people who use it to communicate. This means that they are not familiar with the spellings and sentence structures of the English language. On top of that the interjection of the mother tongue spellings and sentence structures make the problem even worse. The way around this problem is that all writers who want to be effective must get familiar with the English language. They should do this through reading widely. If they have access to different type of reading materials, then they can get access to the spellings of different words and a variety of sentence structures that they can use in their own writing. Punctuation and Its Impact on Communication The main purpose of punctuation is to make the writer’s full and exact meaning clear to the reader. This is by helping to show the relationship between groups of written words. In order to ensure that the reader gets the meaning intended for him/her by the writer, these punctuation marks must be used well and according to acceptable standards. The writer must understand the significance of the various symbols of punctuation. He/she must use these symbols in conformity with the practice of reputable and careful modern writers. In general punctuation involves the appropriate use of capital letters or capitalisation, appropriate use of commas-the most frequently used and troublesome, full stop, semi colon, colon, dashes, hyphen, question mark, exclamation marks, parenthesis, quotation marks and paragraphing which involves the separation and arranging of ideas and thoughts in a logical order. Use of Capital Letters The English language alphabet and indeed almost all other alphabets in other languages have got two sets of letters. These are the upper case commonly known as capital letters and lower case letters commonly known as small letters. For effective writing, the writer should use the capital letters well. He/she should note the following. The capital letters should mark the beginning of thoughts or a sentence in a prose type of writing. Capital letters should be used at the beginning of lines in poetry. The other use of capital letters is to indicate the personal names of individual members of a class. In general capitalisation should be governed by the following guidelines or rules. Capitalise the first letter of the word of a sentence except in a parenthetical sentences. A parenthetical sentence is a sentence within another sentence separated from the main sentence by brackets and dashes. Capitalise words and phrase that are understood as sentences. These include words that stand alone as sentences such as Yes. ‘Alright’ ‘Certainly.’ When these are standing independently as sentences in the text, they must be capitalised. Capitalise the first letter of the word of a direct quotation. The reason for doing this is because the direct quotation introduces a new thought or idea quite different from the main sentence which carries it. Capitalise the first word of a formal question or the answer following a formal announcement. This is because both the question and answer introduce a new idea or thought. Capitalise all proper nouns and derived adjectives that come out from them. A proper noun as opposed to a common noun is an individual name of a person or a place. Proper nouns that should be written by an initial capital letter include the name of people, place, races, tribes, citizens, deity, creeds, confessions, the sacred books and names of notable events and periods of history, names of educational institution, departments, courses and planets. Note that the following nouns are not capitalised. These are earth, sun, moon unless they are personified. To personify a noun is when the writer deliberately gives such a noun human qualities. Capitalise the title preceding the names of a person and abbreviation used after the name. The title used as a substitute for a name is also to be capitalised. For example is the person’s name is Mukasa and he has got a PhD, then his name should be written as: Doctor Mukasa. Capitalise the important words in the title of a book, magazine or the title of an article in a book or newspaper. For example the title of this book should be written as: “Communication Skills for Life.” Note that the ‘f’ in ‘for’ is not capitalised because it is not an important word in the title. Capitalise the words denoting family relationship when they precede the name of a person or when they are used alone for an individual person. For example when referring to Musisi who is your uncle: he should be addressed as Uncle Musisi. However if the relationship denoting word is not followed by the name, then it is not capitalised as the case below shows. “I went to visit my uncle.” Capitalise names of specific places and proper adjectives formed from names of special places e.g. “North Avenue, Kampala Road.” Capitalise names of buildings, institutions, monuments, businesses and organisation. For example, “Barclays Bank, Workers House, Makerere University etc.” Capitalise names of months, days of the week, holidays and special events. For example, “Monday, May or Christmas.” Capitalise names of ships, trains, planes, space shuttles, political parties, government agencies, departments and courses offered at universities or colleges. For example, “Literature, The Conservative Party, MV Kaawa etc.” However, under the following cases it is advisable not to capitalise. The direction of the compass unless they denote a political or geographical entity should not be capitalised. For example north, east, south and west are not capitalised unless it is North Korea, East Africa, South Sudan or West Africa. Names of seasons-such as winter, spring, summer and autumn-are also not capitalised as well as names of courses and subjects of study. The Comma Commas are perhaps the most crucial punctuation mark to use. This is because they allow the writer to extend the length and expand the content of the sentence. As much as they are important, they happen to be the most difficult of all punctuation marks to learn to use properly. It has several uses that include the following: It is used to separate items in a list. When used like this the comma provides simple pauses in the sentence often doing the job of ‘and’ or ‘but’. The comma is used to separate parts of dates. For example, “March 14, 1978.” Commas are also used to separate a person’s or company’s name from the degree, title or affiliation that follows it. For example, “Kiggundu Joseph, PHD.” Commas are used after the salutation and the closing of both friendly and official letters. For example, “Dear Betty, or Yours faithfully,” It is used between an adverbial clause and the main clause. An adverbial clause is that clause that adds a description to the main sentence to give it colour or more meaning. For example a comma must be used in the following sentence. “When the sun is shining and the crops are growing, the world seems a happier place.” The main clause or sentence in the above sentence is, “The world seems a happier place.” Whose meaning is improved by the adverbial clause that gives conditions to use when to judge the world as a happy place. The comma can also be used after a verb less phrase or a non- finitive clause at the beginning of a sentence. For example, “To be sure of getting there on time, she left an hour early.” The verbless clause normally acts as an explanation for the action of the main sentence. Like in the example above, the action of the subject is to leave early and the reason for leaving early is not to be late. It is used to separate an introductory or transitional phrase such as however, by the way, for instance, on the other hand and many others from the main ideas or contradictions in the sentence. The comma is also used before an independent clause or phrase that interprets a sentence. For example, “The fire, although it has been burning for several days, it is still blazing fiercely.” The phrase, “although it has been burning for several days” is an independent phrase which is not part of the main sentence but which adds light to the main sentence. Commas are also used before and after a non-defining relative clause or a phrase used purposely to add more information about the noun of the main sentence. For example in the sentence, “The institute, which trains policemen, is situated in Masindi.” The clause, ‘which trains policemen’ adds more information to the institute and as it is not part of the main sentence, this fact is indicated by the use of a comma. It is also used to separate a question tag or a similar word from the rest of the statement. For example, “Mary was here, wasn’t she?” or “Shut up, will you?” When two commas are used in a sentence, they become paired commas. A paired comma is used when a noun of direct address interrupts a sentence. For example, “I think, Paul, that you are wasting your time with that girl.” The paired commas are also used in transitional or parenthetical expressions that interrupt the sentence. For example, “We stayed, nevertheless, until the game had ended.” The paired commas are used with contrasting expressions when they interrupt the sentence. For example, “Obote, not Museveni, fought for Uganda’s independence.” The paired commas are used to enclose non-essential phrases, clauses or non-essential appositives that interrupt a sentence. This are expressions with or without, the sentence still makes sense. For example, “Paul, panting and exhausted, collapsed in the sitting room.” The same sentence written as: “Paul collapsed in the sitting room” would still make sense. The Colon Like the comma, the colon is one of the problematic punctuation marks to use. This is because it almost does the work done by the comma and the semi colon and as such it is hard to know for certain when to use it or the other marks. Nevertheless, the following are some of the exceptional cases when it should be used. It should be used to introduce a list of items in a sentence. For example, “Peter went to the market and bought the following: onions, oil, soap, sugar, salt and soda.” It there fore signals that a list- a fairly long one- is about to follow. It is also used when introducing a fairly long or important quotation. For example in the sentence below the president’s response is not only fairly long but equally import. “When asked about the economy, the president had this to say: ‘The economy has been growing at the rate of 6% for the last twelve years.” It is also used before a clause or a phrase that explains or illustrates the main clause of the sentence. For example, “The garden was neglected for a long time: it was overgrown by weeds.” It is also used to separate chapters from verse numbers in reference to the bible, hours from minutes, and in American English to end the salutation of an official letter. For example, “Matthew 2:10 or 3:30 this afternoon.” The Semi-Colon It is said to belong somewhere between the comma and the full stop. In other words, they are said to be more that commas but less than the full stops. They are used to mark a significant break in a sentence normally separating two but related ideas. For example, “We have been exporting fish to the EU for two years; this year we expect the USA to be our largest importer.” The semi-colon is also used to separate items in a list where it is desirable to show some kind of grouping. For example, “The chief export are; butter, cheese, milk; lamb, beef, pork; oats, barley and wheat.” Note that each group or type that is animal products and cereals is separated by a semi-colon.” It is also used to separate an independent clause not joined by a coordinating conjunction when the clauses are closely related. For example, “Irene never eats fish; she is allergic to it.” It is also used between independent clauses when the second clause begins with a transitional expression such as ‘still, moreover, furthermore, otherwise, therefore, however, besides, in fact and for example.’ For example, “Last night’s storm knocked out the power lines; as a result, the whole of Kampala was in a blackout.” It is also used in an independent clause when commas appear within the clause. For example, “Irene bought books, pencils, rubbers and pens; but forgot books, writing pads and ruled paper.” It is also used to separate items in a series when one or more of the items contain a comma. For example, “The awards read Paul, first place; Kenneth, second place; and Suzan, third place.” The Full Stop/Question Mark/Exclamation Marks Like the capital letter, these punctuation marks are very important in a sentence. This is because a group of words are not considered a sentence, question or an exclamation statement without starting with a capital letter and ending with a full stop or a question mark or an exclamation mark. If these marks are not at the end of the sentence then for all purposes and intents, it is an incomplete sentence. Although it seems obvious, in practise they are always overlooked. When ending a sentence always use: Full stop An exclamation mark to show surprise or to add emphasis to the statement. A question mark which should come the end of an inquiry regardless of whether it is a direct or rhetoric question. The only questions that do not need a question mark are the indirect questions. The full stop is used with many abbreviations such as Dr., Ave., U.S, B.C, i.e., Capt., Mr. Etc. The Hyphen The most important work of a hyphen is to make words easier to read. It does this in two ways. In the first place, it is used to separate a word into two parts between the end of one line of a text and the beginning of the next line. Dividing words in this way is not recommended. Where possible it should be avoided. However, when such divisions are unavoidable it should be made at the most natural point in the structure of the word. For example the word ‘structure’ should never be broken into ‘st’ and ‘ructure’. To ensure that the break is done at the right place two rules must be followed. One of the rules is the American practise where the word is divided into syllables and in this case the word ‘structure’ would have to syllables-‘struc’ and ‘ture. The British practice uses the morphological rule or the etymological rule. For example the word ‘structure’ would be broken at ‘struct’ and ‘ure’. Note that in most words the two rules give the same results. The hyphen is also used to visibly link words that are bound together in their meanings. In this way hyphens are used before prefixes and affixes such as ‘neo-colonialism’ to mention but a few. They are also used in some compound words that need to be brought together for example, ‘an 18-year-old boy’. The hyphen is used to link all prefixes with proper nouns for example, pre-Columbian, pro-American etc. The hyphen is used to link parts if a compound adjective when it precedes a noun. For example, “a well-known writer, a high-paying job etc.” It should also be used to link parts of a fraction that is used as an adjective. For example, “one-half acre of maize, two-thirds of the class.” It is also used to link parts of a compound number. For example, “sixty-three shillings, forty-seven weeks. The Dash and the Parenthesis These are the opposite of the hyphen. This is because while the hyphen helps to pull the words together, these help to clearly separate the words. They are used when one or more words are introduced as an added explanation or as an after thought. For example, “John Milton-not the great English writer has died.” Instead of dashes brackets can be used to serve the same purpose. There are two types of brackets. These are the ordinary –curved brackets and the square brackets. The square brackets are used in quotations to indicate that the words that are put in the brackets are not those of the speaker being quoted but rather of the one doing the quoting. For example, “One MP said, “After the petition had been drafted, Hon. Mukasa for unknown reasons [I think he was bribed] had a change of heart.” The dash is also used to separate an introductory series or thoughts from the explanations that follow. For example, “Lilacs and rose_those are my favourite flowers.” It is also used to separate a sudden change in thought. For example, “Dinner is ready_oh, I left my pen in the taxi.” Use a dash to show omission of words in a dialogue. For example, “It is_don’t worry”, Jack shouted. The Ellipsis It refers to three or more dots put into a sentence. It has got two functions which are to add an after thought to a sentence and to indicate that words have been left out deliberately from the quotation to save on size and space. In the first function, it can be replaced by a dash. In the second function, it enables the writer quote a long passage and at the same time leaves out words that he/she deems not necessary without compromising the essence of the quotation. The Apostrophe It can be described as an inverted comma and it has three main functions in writing. The first function is to show that one or more letters or numbers are omitted from a word or a number. It is also used before or after s’ to show possession and the plural of letters and numbers. For example, 3A’s 2’s or Jane’s book. It is used to show that some numbers have been omitted and possession. For example, “’49, ’60 or John’s pail etc.” Inverted Commas/Quotation Marks These marks are used when the writer finds that the best way of expressing him/her self is to use the exact words of the writer or speaker or the document he/she is referring to. When this is done, those words are placed in inverted commas. However, long quotations and sometimes quotations used for emphasis are usually placed in the middle of the page. When using a computer or typewriter, the quotation should be single spaced without using the inverted commas. Paragraphing A paragraph is the largest unit of a discourse and a discourse may be in form of an essay, composition, report or an article. In all the forms mentioned above, a paragraph provides the principle framework of expressing each of the main points that the writer has got. A paragraph is a section of a text that should contain an idea or point. When paragraphing, it is important to make each paragraph reasonably long. This is because the main work of a paragraph is to make it easy to read and follow the points which the writer is trying to make. Note that the practice of indenting half an inch at the start of each paragraph is becoming old fashioned but a must when you are writing formally in most former British colonies. The new practice-sometimes known as the American version especially when using a typewriter or a computer is to leave a line or double space between the paragraphs. The paragraph unlike a sentence or a word is not a grammatical unit which means that its linguistic description is very difficult. In spite of this, good writers have agreed on some basic principles which need to be following in paragraphing. These include the following: A good paragraphing should deal with one idea or point. This point should be exposed clearly in the topic sentence which has to appear at the start of the paragraph. Since each paragraph deals with one point or idea, a good paragraph should therefore have the capacity to be summarised in only one sentence. In addition, a good paragraph should have at least the qualities of unity and coherence. Unity in a paragraph refers to the degree or extent to which sentences in the paragraph are united or joined in dealing with the central idea of the paragraph. A writer therefore, violates paragraph unity when he puts in materials that are not related to the central idea of the paragraph. It should also be noted that in order to have unity at the paragraph level, one must have unity at the sentence level. This is because of the obvious fact that one can not produce a good paragraph unless the sentences he uses also have this important quality. A sentence lacks unity when it combines unrelated thoughts and has excessive details which can obscure the central thought of the sentence. Coherence as a quality means that there should be a reasonable and orderly relationship between words that make up a sentence and sentences that make up a paragraph. Thus coherence involves having various parts of the paragraph in meaningful or arranging thoughts in a way that makes their logical relationship clear. At the level of a paragraph, coherence mainly comes about in the following ways: By a logical arrangement of sentences in the paragraph. By the use of transition words or expressions. Such words may include some of the following: for example, however, in other words, in spite of, although and many others. The use of pronouns to link up one sentence or idea to another. Through careful repetition of specific ideas in a preceding sentence using different words and phrases. At the level of a sentence coherence refers to the logical ordering of elements in a sentence. Lack of this leads to lack of clarity. Absences of coherence at the level of the sentence can be due to the breaking of he rules of combination. Breaking the rule of combination comes about as a result of two types. The first type comes about as a result of poor ordering of the elements in a sentence. Linguistically a sentence is made up of three major elements. These are the subject phrase, verb phrase and object phrase. These parts cannot appear anyhow as there are grammatical rules that govern their combination. When the rule is broken, the sentence looses coherence. The second way of breaking the rules of combination concerns sentence agreement. Agreement as a term that refers to the description of the relationship between the inflection forms of different forms in a sentence. A sentence lacks coherence if the elements in the sentence do not agree. For example, “As time passes the dressing fashions change.” Or “The teacher said he will see me today.” Sentence agreement arises when two or more singular subjects are connected by and. In this case the plural form of the verb should be used. For example, “A drunkard and his drink are inseparable.” Or “John and his girlfriend have been here.” If the connection is with ‘nor’, then the singular form of the verb is to be used. For example, “Neither him nor his ministers was here.” Or “Not only the teachers but the also headmaster encourage it.” In the case where one subject is singular and is connected by or, nor to a plural subject, then the plural form of the verb should be used. For example, “The president as well as the ministers needs advice.” Or “The Nile hotel together with UCB were sold.” It should be noted that singular subjects followed by words such as: as well as, and many others require a singular verb. In the case of relative clauses the verb must agree with the representative of the pronoun. For example, “He is one of the men who act as an adviser.” Or “This is one of those women who has got two husbands.” It is important to note that plural numbers take a singular verb when used in a phrase to indicate a sum or a unit. For example, “Twelve years in office are too long.” The rule of proximity holds that for sentences to have coherence, all words that modify the others in the sentence must be placed as close as possible to the words that they modify. Adverbs such as almost, only, even just, hardly, nearly, merely are regularly placed immediately before the words they modify. If this is not done the intended meaning may not come out clearly and the sentence may loose coherence. Use of Figures in Writing Frequently a writer has to make a choice as to whether he/she should use figures or words in a text. Like in many other writing situations, the decision may depend on many other factors such as subject, audience and purpose of the communication. However, there are a few general guidelines which help when in doubt as whether to use words or figures. These are: The numerals from one to ten look better when spelt than when written in figures. The only exception is where figures are linked to units like ‘2 kgs’ or ‘5 ls’. One is free to use figures for everything else apart from generalisations. For example, ‘thousands of people’ or ‘millions of shillings’. One should never start a sentence with a figure. In the situation where the number is to start a sentence, spelt it. For example, ‘Twelve boys went to Mbale last week.’ Fractions always look better when spelt out rather than when expressed in figures. For example, ‘I use two thirds of my salary on food.’ Dates should be written with the name of the month spelt out. For example, ‘I was born on 3rd November, 2008.’ It is advisable to leave out commas when you are writing figures below ten thousand and use commas for figures above ten thousand. For example: 1000 or 100,000. Where possible avoid ending a sentence with a figure. For example, ‘I personally counted all the bottles and they were thirty. Listing Items Lists are very important because they break down information into units that are easy to read and understand. There are several ways of listing items when writing and these include numbered lists used when one wants to make reference to listed information else where in the document. They are also useful when the amount of information to be listed is big and diverse. When numbering it is advisable to keep the numbering simple and consistent throughout the document. If there are sub list in the document use letters or Roman figure if Arabic numeral have already been used in the document. Remember to use brackets with the figures so that they stand out clearly. Apart from numbers, bullets, arrows, dashes pointing fingers and boxes can be used. These are ideal when one is dealing with small amounts of information. The following should be observed when using lists: use a colon before a list, use small letters not capital letters to start each point, avoid repetition at the start of each point, keep the sentence structure consistent in each point and the full stop should appear at the end of the last item of the list unless a complete sentence is used in each item or point. Letter writing Introduction Many people believe that letter writing is an art and a talent that either one has or does not. The facts that support this assertion is the general observation that some people write good letters and others do not. In fact it is common for those who are not good at letter writing to consult and employ the services of those who are good at it. The truth of the matter is that letter writing in neither an art nor a talent. It is all about knowledge of the aspects and characteristics of letter writing and constant practice to perfect the process. But before we get at the tips of writing good letters, it is important to define what a letter is. The Oxford International Dictionary defines letter as, “a message that is written down or printed on paper and usually sent to somebody.” A piece of communication or a message or a missive through which one party communicates to the other would be an apt definition of a letter. There are basically two types of letters and these are differentiated by the social distance between the writer of the letter and the addressee or the person he/she is writing to on one hand, and the purpose of the writing on the other hand. Generally there are two types of letters and these are: Informal Letters Informal letters are sometimes referred to as personal letters or friendly letters. This is a type of correspondence or communication between two parties or partners whose social distance is close. The relationship between the two parties is informal or personal. The purpose of writing is equally personal and informal. This is because the people that the writer writes to are close to him/her. Such people may include the following: members of one’s family, friends and acquaintances. The main characteristic of this type of letter is the informality of the language and expressions used. This is based on the premise that the writer is known to these people and therefore there is no need for him/her to stand at ceremony with them so to speak. Another distinguishing feature of personal letters is the subject of these letters. Normally, the assumption is that the writer’s purpose of writing is of a personal nature. Basically what this means is that you are either informing or requesting for something that the person can grant personally. NOTE: Will look at the nature of informal language later on. Formal / Official letters These are sometimes also referred to as business letters. They are letters, which are written to persons whose main relationship or connection with the addressee is an official one. Such instances include: writing to a head of an institutions asking for a vacancy, making a formal apology, or a requisition and as many cases as will be described later. The main characteristic of formal letters is the adherence to formal language. The assumption is that there is zero social distance between the writer and his/her correspondent and as such, it calls for utmost respect and the need to ensure that there is less familiarity. Therefore the language ought to be neutral. The other main characteristic of a formal letter is it adherence to a formulaic formant. This means that a formal letter must at all times follow a specific arrangement, and with specific aspects. Any divergence from this accepted formant means that the letter is wrong. It is important to be aware of these aspects, so that when one writes-and there is no doubt that in one’s professional life time, he/she will write many of such letters- does it according to accepted standards and thus saves him/her self embarrassments. Differences between Formal and Informal Language The English Language is quite uniform in the sense that the words, their meanings and spellings rarely change. However, as a language, English has strict rules governing its usage. One of these has to do with choosing either to use the formal or informal option of the language. It should be noted that the differences between formal and informal English is not in the grammar, nor the vocabulary, but in the context of usage in terms of the content of the expression. This gives raise two types of English Language namely: the formal and the informal. A formal piece of writing refers to that piece that is meant for non-personal audiences. In other words when the piece of communication is meant for officially transacted business, it is said to be formal. This means that all official or formal letters make use of the formal variety of the English Language. On the other hand informal writing is that piece that involves unofficial business between the communicator and the audience. It is meant for the people with whom the writer is familiar. All letters to friends, members of one’s family and all acquaintances use a variety of the English Language that is informal. The differences between formal and informal language is in the context of use of the English Language. This means that there are things that are acceptable in informal language that are not acceptable in formal language. These include the following: 1. Abbreviations are acceptable in informal writing and not in formal writing. Therefore, when writing a formal letter, try as much as possible to avoid abbreviation, unless those that are acceptable like c.c which is the abbreviation for copy to: used in a situation where the letter is copied to several people though it is addressed to someone specific, or p.s which is the abbreviation for post script: that is to say providing further information after completing the letter, in case you are writing a formal letter. 2. Clips are not accepted in formal pieces of writing. Clips are the shortened form of words such as can’t for cannot or don’t for do not. These clips are acceptable in informal pieces of writing because they reflect laxity that is associated with familiarity. 3. Slangs are not accepted in formal pieces of writing, while they could be accepted in an informal piece of writing. Slang is a word whose meaning is restricted to a social group and normally used as a form of identification to that group. Therefore, using it in a formal piece of writing is assuming that everyone knows it meaning, which in most cases is wrong. However, in informal writing, given the closeness of the audience and the writer, it is a right assumption that the meaning of such a word is known to both parties. 4. Colloquialism is not accepted in formal pieces of writing, whereas it could be accepted in informal writing. Colloquialisms are expressions that are considered rude in polite society. Therefore, given the fact that in official pieces of communication, the relationship between the writer and the intended audience is not a close relationship, colloquialism an aspect of informal language is unacceptable. 5. Jargons which are technical language normally associated to a particular profession are sometimes accepted in both formal and informal letters. The point to be noted here, is that if one is writing about a professional or technical subject, it is sometimes hard to get synonyms of some key technical terms, which means that these jargons can be used in all the types of letters Personal, Unofficial, Informal or Friendly Letters As stated earlier a personal or unofficial or an informal letter is the type of letter that is a piece of communication between parties whose social distance is minimal or people who are close to each other. These may include letters to friends, family and acquaintances. As it has also been stated, the main characteristic of the personal letter is the informality of the language. The assumption is that since you are writing to someone personally known to you or in most cases someone you are close to, you need not to be very formal. The case in point is when you are writing to a friend or a relative, these are people you are familiar with. The truth of the matter is that there are different types of informal letters as has been hinted upon earlier. However, different kinds of informal letters follow almost similar style, though with some minor modifications and differences. An informal letter: like the one written to a brother, sister, father, mother or a friend, will be similar in as far as the style is concerned. Note, though that there will be similarities in the two examples of letters mentioned above; there will also be degrees of differences. This is because informality itself has different degrees and shades, that a letter to a friend or a brother may not look exactly like that to one’s parent. Nevertheless, there are aspects that these will share. And these aspects that all informal letters share are what constitute the informal style of letter writing. Aspects of an Informal Letter The following are some of the elements or aspect of style that make an informal letter different from the other types. 1. The Address and Date is the most visible and in fact the start of an pointing when writing an informal letter. It is written in the top-right hand corner of the page. There are two styles of writing the address. One is known as the Standard English Version and the other is the American version. When using the Standard version, the writer should slant the address up to the point of the city or town of the address. When using the American Version, the address is written as a block. The following are some of the components that are to be found in the address. The physical address, the postal address and the location or place. Remember that this is or acts as a description of or the location of the writer. The address should appear, depending on the formant that one has chosen, as shown below: Standard English Version Note that the address is written using the title heading formant: that is only the initial letters are capitalised and the post office box direction. Make sure that the date is not slanted. American English Version In case the postal box that you are using is not yours or belongs to an institution that you are an employee or a student in, it is important to specify that you are using it as a reference to you. In this case indicate this by using the abbreviation c/o as indicated below: Standard English Version when the address is not personal but rather of an institution. American English Version when the address is not personal but rather of an institution. The purpose of c/o (care off) is for prudence, that is to say, the reply if any to your letter, not getting lost in the company or institutional correspondence. That is to say when ‘care off’ is used, it clearly shows that this letter is for a particular person in the company and not for the company. 2. Salutation is the second aspect or element of an informal letter. Like in the army, a salutation is a kind of call or acknowledgement of the presence of the person being addressed. It is literary the call for attention. This should comes two lines below the address on the margin on the left hand side of the page. The salutation involves the use of the words of endearment like Dear, Hullo, My Dear John and many other formations depending on the writer. However, care should be taken in choosing the right phrase of salutation in relationship to the degree of formality between the writer and the addressee. For example the level of intimacy between the writer and a friend is not the same between him/her and an uncle. Try choosing the neutral if there is need to show a degree of social distance or respect to the addressee. The salutation is to be shown as below: Dear John, Remember to punctuate the salutation properly with a comma and start it with a capital letter. This is to indicate that the thought pattern is still going on after the salutation. 3. Introduction is the first part of the letter. This, as all introductions, does set the pace of the letter. This is when the writer gives information about him/her self and asks for information about the one he/she is writing to. Expressions like: How are you? How is the family? Such expressions are valuable. The next step is to inform your addressee what you think he/she needs to know about you. This could include personal life information, new developments and if the letter is a reply, the acknowledgement of receipt of the letter that was written to you as well as measures taken to address the issues that he/she had asked of you. 4. The Body is the largest part of the informal letter. It is in this part that the writer says what he/she intended to say to the addressee. Note that each paragraph of this section should contain one reason. Therefore, the number of paragraphs that this section must have depends on the number of issues or reasons that the writer intends to communicate to the addressee. Remember to indent the paragraphs if you are using the Standard English Version. 5. Conclusion is the last part of an informal letter. This is when the writer concludes the letter. Indicate that you are about to end the letter. Expressions like “Let me end here” or “I think I have covered enough” or any other phrase could do. However, it is important to wish him/her well and ask him/her to greet or pass on good wishes to the people that you two have or know in common, where he/she is. End with a formulaic phrases like “Yours faithfully, sincerely your brother” and any phrase that is appropriate in the situation. Lastly sign your self. This could be at the left hand bottom of the page if you are using the American version or the centre or the right hand bottom of the page if you are using the Standard English Version as shown below: Finally below is a sample personal letter that shows how the different parts can be put together to write a good personal letter. Note that this may not be the best of all personal letters ever written or to be written. However, it gives one a perspective of what is involved in writing a personal letter, the arrangement of the different parts and the style commonly associated with this type of letter. Aspect of an Official Letter An official letter is different from an informal letter both in content and lay out. The differences between the two types of letters are in terms of their purpose, and it is the purpose which determines what form of letter to be written. The main components of a formal letter include: address, which is the physical, postal and cyber location of the writer of the letter. It is usually placed in the right hand corner of the page. When writing an address, try to be consistent in punctuation and lettering. Each line should be separated from the next by a comma and at the end of the address; there should be a full stop. Note that if you choose to use upper case lettering in the address, then this should be used consistently. However, it is advisable to use heading capitalisation-where only the initial letter of each word is capitalised. With the advances in technology, the formal letter has adopted new features that were not included twenty years ago. These are the email address and the mobile phone number which are mandatory when writing an official letter. As stated earlier about the informal letter, the address should be determined by what type or version of English you want to use. The choice of either style is a decision that the writer must take depending on what version will appear normal to his/her addressee. The point to focus on is that if you are writing to an American company, the American version is preferable and to a British audience the alternative version is recommended. There are commonly two types to choose from and these are: The next aspect or component of an official letter is the Addressee, which comes just below the address starting at the left hand side margin of the page. This is where title and person to whom the letter is intended is written. This is standard for all types and variations of English language. The example below could suffice to illustrate the the addressee is followed by the Salutation. This is a formal greeting which takes the neutral, ‘Dear sir or Madam’. Note: however, if you are aware of the gender of the person you a writing to. It’s advisable to choose the right title, but when in doubt use Dear Sir/Madam. Reference (Re or Ref) is the next component of an official letter. It is the title or the heading of the letter, which indicates the subject of communication. It should be capitalized or written as a typical heading. However, it’s so important to underline it. The introduction is the first sentence of an official letter which summarizes what and why you are writing at that particular moment to that person or organisation. It is advisable that you make this one sentence and of not more than 20 words that clearly and precisely states what and why you are writing. If you are applying for a job, say so as clearly as possible. Body is the most important component of an official letter. What is included in the body varies from one type of the letter to the other. However, this is a section in which we give the details about your topic. The illustration that will come later on will clearly demonstrate this. It should be noted that the body of an official letter should not exceed four paragraphs. The rationale is based on the fact that the addressee is normally busy people who do not have the time to read a length missive. Conclusion is the last component of the formal letter. Usually use one sentence that concludes your letter by recouping on your message. You should try to be courteous. Then sign yourself and attach your name and title where applicable as will be demonstrated in the examples later. If there are attachments to the letter, these should come at the end of the letter. Types of Official Letters A Letter of Application The purpose of the letter of application is to impress a prospective employer of your suitability for the post that he/she wants to fill. This means that you must give him or her all the necessary details of the skills and competences that you have. It is also useful to provide information of what would apparently be your weaknesses. By nature of time constraints attached to many official positions, the employer normally does not have the time to read and internalize an exhaustive autobiography of yourself, which means that the letter should highlight the most important and essentials aspects of your personality that is relevant to the post you are applying for. In order to save the employer from being duped (deceived) by an insincere employee or to stop an employee exaggerating his or her qualities in a letter of application; it has become mandatory that the writer provides independent sources that should provide a cross referencing mechanism. This verification mechanism will reduce on the details you provide in the letter certainly deliver you from temptation of exaggerating your abilities. The verification mechanism is attached at the end of the letter (PS) that is placed on the left hand side of the page immediately after the signature. (PS) is translated as post script from Latin meaning after the letter. And it is under this section that you provide the references- the people that can verify what you have said (given in the letter). It normally starts with a statement: “For further information, you may contact the following “ The references are normally 3 and must include the following categories of people An academic mentor Spiritual leader Anyone However, none of your reference should be a close friend or a relative because of any question of objectivity. Sometimes the employer will specify to you what references he/she wants. The format below is what should be followed when presenting the referees, Full name and title, Dr. Nabutanyi Edgar or Prof. Nambi Rebecca. Their physical addresses e.g. the Faculty Education, Kampala University, and P.O.Box 25454, Kampala. Telephone numbers both mobile and office telephone. Email address Note: if the letter is hand written, it’s preferable to write this in block letters not a must but prudent for purposes of clarity. However, if the letter is type set, use the title format. 2. The other likely attached on the letter of application is the curriculum vitae (CV). This is an elaborate presentation of yourself. The sections in a CV vary from 4 to as many as you want to provide but the most key are; Bio data (personal data) where you have the name, sex, date of birth, marital status, number of dependants (children), contact address (like the one above) Academic qualification (record) (P1- degree certificates) Employment/professional record; the year, title or position you held and institution in which you were working. The skills you have; this may include the languages spoken (used), hobbies and then the 3 referees. The application letter above is an example of a standard application in which the applicant states the purpose of his/her application and the qualities that make him/her suitable for the post. The second example goes a step further by providing the addressee with possible sources of cross-referencing the information he/she has given. From an employer’s point of view, the second applicant is quite serious when compared to the first. Therefore, the ball is in your court, do you want the addressee to consider you serious and treat you so? Letters of Apology It is believed that sorry is one of the most powerful words in any language. Since to err is human, in our professional lives we are bound to err and if we do it is human to say sorry and acknowledge our fault. In a professional environment sorry is expressed through letters of apology. A letter of apology is like any other official letter in terms of formant. It has the address, the addressee, salutation and reference. The only difference is that it is addressed to the person one wronged and the heading is categorically stated as an apology and expressly stating the wrong done. The other common feature of a letter of apology is the C.C-copy to section in which the writer gives copies to other people who either know about his mistake or those hurt indirectly by his action. Below are some samples of letters of apology. In the letter above, the writer apologies for not fulfilling his obligations to the guild president and it should be assumed that since they are colleagues, there was no need to copy the letter to some one else. The next letter of apology demonstrates when such a letter needs to be copied to other officials. Letters of Invitation Another type of official letter is the letter of invitation. As the name suggests, the purpose of this letter is to formally invite a person or a group of people to a function or an activity. Of recent, invitation cards have in a way replaced the invitation letter. Nevertheless, an invitation letter is quite crucial if you are inviting key officials to a function. In formant terms, it is no different from any other type of official letter. It is different in terms of content. The reference of such letters should clearly spell out that the person is being invited and for what he is being invited. If possible the heading of the letter should specify where and when the function or the activity is going to take place. The introductory statement reinforces the heading of the letter by again stating that the person or people have been invited for a specific function at a particular place and time. This should be done in a sentence of not more than 20 words. The body paragraph should give details of the function/activity to which someone is being invited. Indicate to the person clearly the place, how to get to it and what time the function is starting and ending. Such information is crucial if someone is to either attend or decline the invitation. End courteously by requesting the person or people to attend and indicate how or what a honour it would be to have them present at the function or activity. In other words, you are inviting them because they are important, therefore, make them feel important. Please always attach a copy of the programme of the function/activity. Below are some samples of invitation letters. Below is another sample of a letter of invitation: Note that there is no noticeable difference between the two samples provided. They both clearly and precisely stress the purpose of the invitation and this is done courteously but in a firm manner. The only difference between the two is that the first letter, the writer writes directly to her counterpart, while in the second, she writes through the head teacher. It is important if you are a junior officer to write through a senior officer, as this lends credence to your communication. Good letters of invitation should provide a sample programme for the expected invitees. A sample is provided below. Requisition Letters This is another type of letter, and as the name suggest it is that letter in which you the writer writes for the express purpose of asking for something from someone. What can be said about letters of requisition is that like any other form of asking, the one doing the asking must be very courteous. Otherwise the formant is like that of any other official letter. The next letter of requisition is in all parts similar to the first letter. The only difference is that the second letter lists the items requested for. Listing items works to help achieve clarity and brevity of the letter and the request. It is advisable to list the items you are requesting for, because this makes them clear to your addressee. Open Letters Open letters are by definition, those letters addressed to no specific person. By this we mean that an official letter is written, but without anticipating the official going to read it. In fact these are letters we write in anticipation that they will be required. Open letters include letters of introduction and letters of recommendation. In the two cases listed above, the writer is not sure who is going to read the letter but is quite sure that that letter will be requested for. When writing an open letter, we specify the writer’s address and position in the address and the signature and we make the person being recommended or introduced the subject of the letter. At the same time the addressee is left open with the statement, “To Whom It May Concern.” For further assessment, examine the samples below: At state above, most introductory and recommendation letters have no specific addressees. Nevertheless, there are times when the addressee is known before hand. In this case when writing such a letter, it is advisable to address it to those specific officers. The sample of a recommendation letter below could be useful to illustrate the point below. Letters of Appointment After your University education, you will apply for many vacancies that you come across and for sure you will be given a job. If an organisation offers you a job, it is a standard practice that they will write to you informing you of the good news that they have decided to give you a job. The letter that is written to formally offer you employment is called an appointment letter. The other scenario is that as by your training some of you will become Human Resource managers of your organisations. In this position, one of your responsibilities is to hire the competent manpower for your organisation. On deciding who among the normally many applicants, you are expected to offer them a letter of appointment. This means that one must be familiar with the formant and content of a letter of appointment. Like any other type of letter, an appointment letter is no different in terms of structure and formant. It must have the address, which in this case it is the organisation that is offering employment, the addressee in this case the person to whom employment is being offered and the reference is the job being offered. Remember it is prudent to state exactly the post or opening that is being offered to the person. The introduction of an appointment letter expresses happiness and pleasure in offering the job to the person and the date when the appointment goes into effect must be clearly specified. If it is an initial offer of employment, it is standard that a certain period is probationary and this fact must be clearly stated. If it is not, the possibility that the person who under performs and therefore, must be let go will legally demand for dismissal or retirement benefits that he/she does not qualify for. In the body of the letter, state exactly the remuneration that the addressee must expected from the organisation. This should include the basic pay and all other allowances and entitlements. It is normal that an entrant in an organisation starts at a lower salary compared to older employees. This fact should be specified and so should the class/scale in which the employee falls in. In the body of the appointment letter, you must specify the immediate boss of the employee. In other words tell him/her to whom and where to report for deployment. It is one thing to give some one a job and quite another if you do not direct him/her to whom she/he should report. In this section also specify the documentation needed to make the employment formal. These will include and not limited to terms and conditions of services, the job acceptance form, medical report as well as identity. As you conclude the letter, be courteous and wish him/her a pleasant stay in the organisation and success in his/her career. Sign the letter and indicate the position that gives you the power to hire him/her and as a post script copy the letter to relevant officers that will participate in the deployment or integration of the officer in the organisation. Sample I Appointment Letter. Sample II Appointment Letter- Standardised Form. Confirmation Letters Most forms of employment are contractual and even those that permanent and pensionable, there is always a probation period that the employ must fulfil before the temporality terms are changed. The period of probation varies from one institution to the other. In some, the period is 3 month, in others it is 6 months but the standard is two years. After successfully serving the company or institution for the mandatory period of probation, the Human Resource Manager on behalf of the institution or company must let the employee know whether he/she has satisfied the company or institution. This is through a confirmation letter. This spells out whether the employee is being given permanent status in the company or institution acknowledging that the company or institution is pleased with his/her services. Like it is the case with all other types of letters, the confirmation letter has the usual aspects like the address which in this case is that of the company, the addressee who is the employee being confirmed and the different parts like the introduction, the body and the conclusion. Where the confirmation letter differs from other types of letters is in its content and the language used. Like it is the case with the appointment letter, the writer should express happiness in communicating to the addressee on this subject in the first paragraph or introduction which should follow the heading which in this case is confirmation in a particular position in the organisation. In the body of the letter refer to the instrument that warranted the current communication and specify what the candidate must fulfil if he is interested in the position being offered. Refer the said candidate to any legal and contractual obligations that he/she should be aware off. In conclusion, be courteous and which the appointee a happy and prosperous stays in the organisation. Note that not all people employed in an organisation impress the management and do their work well. This means that as others are confirmed, others are let go. To many people, letting someone go is the hardest thing to do. Hard as it may be, some one has to do it. This means that a dismissal letter has to be written. In case the person has been incompetent or indiscipline meaning he/she has been warned several times the writing of the letter and the actual action is not hard. For someone who despite he/her commitment does not fit in the profile of the organisation, the letter and the action can be very difficult. Therefore, when writing a dismissal letter have the following points in mind. Let the letter be short but to the point. Do not outline what you assume are his weakness or shortcomings. Be courteous and apologetic to the person and wish him a successful career else where. Below is a sample confirmation and dismissal letter. Use them as a reference when you get need to write one. SAMPLE CONFIRMATION LETTER SAMPLE OF A DISMISSAL LETTER Writing Agreements and Other Legal Documents Most of you will be expected to transact business on behalf of the organisations that you work for. In the good old past people would keep they word and what they promised to do, they would do so. The concept of shaking hands after concluding a deal comes from this period when ones word was his/her bond. Currently though people will say one thing and in a blink of an eye will say the opposite of what he had promised. Assuming that you will deal with honest and upright kind of people, you should know that human life is transient. Yes you could make a deal with someone and fifteen minutes after, this person may pass away. In his/her death, so vanishes the agreement you made. Sometimes you may transact business with someone and after inquiry, he/she will be influenced to change his/her mind and so doing the understanding that you thought you had goes up in smoke. It is the scenarios listed above that calls upon any one to al least have a rudimental understanding of and ability to write some of the common legal documents. It is true that some of the organisations that you will work for will have a legal secretary whose job description will be drawing some of these documents, but there will be times when he/she is not available and you will need to draw these documents. Therefore, it is important to know how they are drawn. Below are some samples of common legal documents. AGREEMENTS SAMPLE I AGREEMENTS SAMPLE II Certificates Some of you will be involved in the training of the people in a bid to give them specific skills and knowledge for purposes of improve their own lives and those of the people they live among. In such case, knowledge of how a certificate is written is very important. This is because many trainees value the certificate given after the training than the training itself because it is a physical evidence that they trained. Using the sample below, the main components of a certificate can be analysed and put you in position to produce yours whenever the need arises. Sample of a Certificate Below is a sample of a Transcript which is another type of a certificate. Writing Press Statements and Releases No organisation is immune to the media. In its lifespan at one point any organisation will have to deal with the media. This could be voluntarily or forcefully. This is because the media is very influential in people’s perception of the organisation. The media informs people of the activities that an organisation performs as well as helping to form people’s opinions and perceptions of an organisation. Because of these and other important roles that the media plays, any organisation and especially people who work in these organisation should have a working knowledge of how the media works and how they write. Like all professions, the media is guided by strong ethical guidelines on what to publish-more specifically the ideal that they should publish the truth and should always go to all length to establish the truth. In real life, sometimes the media gets it wrong and when they do it is hard for them to admit that they got it wrong. In cases when they do admit culpability, the correction is hidden in the inner pages and in tiny font and print that it essentially does not correct the harm done. If the media, because of the laziness or the unprofessionalism of a reporter does not write false hoods about an organisation, it may completely ignore the good work that the organisation is doing. This is because media is a business and may decide that writing about an NGO fighting for people’s human rights may jeopardise its relationship with the government from whom they get advertising revenue and ignore the stories about the company. In both the case above, the organisation has a way out and this is through the publication in the media either a press release or statement. The name, release and statement really do not differentiate from or in the content of each text. Under whatever name, it is a paid for communication by the organisation either to report its achievement or refute allegations made about it. Of course the organisation can hire a media consultant to write this text for them, but the problem with outsiders, is that they are not familiar with the work of the organisation and as such may not capture the reality of the company or organisation. Therefore, the people in the organisation must give a hand and this is possible if they have a clue on how it is written. Below is a sample of a standard press release. SAMPLE OF A PRESS RELEASE Public Notice Some times the press release could take another name and this could be a public notice. In form and content the two are similar. A press release and public notice have the same features. These are clear address and location of the firm clearly at the top of the page. This should include the symbol/seal of the organisation. This should be followed by the clear heading entitled press release or public notice. Then, a brief communication that clearly states the issue and the organisations perspective. Lastly it should be signed by a competent official that the public can believe. Below is a sample of a public notice. Writing an Affidavit Am affidavit is a legal document in which a person makes a bidding legal oath that is taken or administered before the commissioner of oaths or a magistrate. The purpose of the affidavit is to legally state the truth to the best recollection of the despondent. It is in effect the traditional telling the truth by swearing before something sacred. It is assumed that a person is telling the truth about the subject if he/she takes the affidavit. As much as an affidavit is a legal document that must be drawn and administered by legal professionals, everyone ought to have knowledge of how it is drawn and below is a sample standard affidavit. Editing and Proofreading Writing minutes writing reports writing memos Writing Minutes Minutes are defined as a record of what transpires during a formal meeting of any organisation. They are sometimes defined as a report kept about the meeting. Whatever, name they are given, what is important is that minutes record what happens or what is discussed in the meeting with the express purpose of having a record for reference in implementing the activities of the organisation. As the organisation meets, it sets out plan and to check whether these plans have been implemented, the surest way is to check the minutes. The other purpose of minutes is for attribution. In this case they are a record of what said what and when. For purpose of this document, our interest is not necessarily the merits of keeping minutes, but rather how they can be properly kept. The following are some of the main components of minutes. Title or the heading is the first component of minutes. When writing the heading of minutes, make sure that they are stated as minutes. In addition, name the organisation, they type of meeting, the date on which it was held, the venue and last the time of the meeting. The time could either be reflected from when it started or from when it started to when it ended. Agenda is the next component. This specifies the general topics that guided the discussion. There are some mandatory items like: prayer, communication from the chair, reading of minutes and matters arising that must always be there. Other items will depend on what the meeting is set to discuss. Attendance is a list of members present, absent with apology and those absent without apology. In other words, you should have an attendance list that lists all those who are supposed to attend whether they attend or not. Always start with the chair person and end with the secretary, following the formant of name and position or title. Minutes are the main section of the minutes. For each item of the agenda, create a minute. This should have a heading with an abbreviation of the minute, the name of the item and the number of the minute. You can start with number one and number consecutively to the last item or you can number cumulatively from the last meeting. For example if the last minute in the last meeting was 10, then the first minute in the next meeting is 11. Signature comes at the end of the items of the agenda and the closing prayer. Provide a space for signing the minutes after they have been read and accepted as a true record of what was discussed. The minutes are signed by the chair person and the secretary. Below are two samples of minutes. Below is a second sample of minutes: Writing a Speech A speech is a form of communication delivered to an audience through the oral form of communication. In any language, there are two productive skills and these are writing and speaking. Speeches are mainly a form of the productive skills and as such mainly use the oral function to communicate. As much a speech as a form of communication is oral, it is prudent that if one is delivering a speech in a formal setting or to a large audience, he/she needs to write it done. This is mainly because a written speech is more effective and is not subjected to venue or time interruptions that can distort the message. It is not practical to cram your speech, because a slight interference can make you forget the whole speech and hence look a fool to your audience. Therefore, the importance of a written speech is that it is a reference that the speaker constantly refers to while making a speech. There are two ways of writing a speech. The first type is the less structured formant. This is when the speaker lists down the main points of his speech and expounds on them as he delivers the speech. If one has access to the computer, then the programme PowerPoint can be useful in providing a lay out of making these notes for the speech. This type is recommended in a situation where the speech is delivered to a less formal situation. The second type is the written speech. This is a must when you are delivering a speech in a formal situation. Sometimes a copy of a speech is required to be given to the key members beforehand. And sometimes a copy is given to the audience and they follow your presentation from their own copies. It is prudent that in such situations the speech must be written in advance. Though is not part of this document, it must be emphasised that even when the speech is written, it should never be read. Below are some samples of written speeches of the different types. From the sample above, it is important to highlight the following aspects of a thanksgiving speech. One of the main aspects is the heading or title of the speech. The tile should specify the type of speech, the address and the speaker must observe protocol. Protocol is very important in formal speech and should be treated with a lot of care. The rationale is that you should acknowledge every important person present. This should take the following formant. Mention the person’s name and his title and where possible his/her position. One should be aware of how certain people are addressed. For example a Minister is honourable and a President or Ambassador is His/Her Excellency. Another thing to note is start with the most important and end with the least important. Below is an example of a vote of thanks, yet another type of a written speech. Ideally a vote of thanks is supposed to be an impromptu speech given immediately after the main speaker has delivered his/her speech. But for prudence sake, if you have a copy of the speech in advance, it is advisable to write your thanks in advance as well. In a vote of thanks, give it a title specifying that it is a vote of thanks and to a specify person or group of people presented to them on a particular date and place. This should be followed by the observance of protocol, an introduction and the thanks. The tone of the speech should reflect thanks and you can thank for as many things that you think are relevant. But most importantly a vote of thanks should be short; if possible it should not take more than 5 minutes. SAMPLE I OF A VOTE OF THANKS SAMPLE II OF A VOTE OF THANKS Another type of speech is the introductory speech. This is a speech given when introducing someone to an audience. In formant, it is like any other speech. The variation is in the content. When introducing someone, state the person’s name and qualifications as accurately and briefly as possible. Endeavour to provide a simple background of the person being introduced. Below is a sample of an introductory speech. Lastly is an example of a typical structured speech. As the example below reflects, there is no much difference between the general speech and the other forms discussed above. Perhaps for emphasis, it should be noted that a speech must have a title/heading, which should be followed by a protocol section, an introduction and the main body of the speech should include all the issues or points the speaker wants to pass over to his/her audience. This is illustrated in the sample below. Writing a Report A report is document written from one official to giving information about a specific issue to another official. Normally it is from a junior official to a senior official about a task that is assigned to him/her. For example a senior marketing officer may task his/her junior to finding out why the company’s new product is not doing well as anticipated. The junior officer will carry out a research and at the end of the day will find out why the product is doing badly. This information is to presented as a report to the senior officer. Reports are crucial documents in a day to day running of any organisation that it is important to know how they are written. Any action to be taken must always be based on information and this information is best presented in reports. In fact without reports, neither action nor decision can be taken. Reports vary in as far as their purposes are concerned. There are what can be referred to as simple and less structured reports and very structured reports. Whether it is simple or highly structure, their formant remains the sample. A report must have the following components. These include the title of the report, which specifically state that it is a report, must indicate to whom and from whom the report is to and from, it must have an introduction. The introduction briefly explains what the report is about and how or why it was conceived, including the mode of research used. The main body of the report specifies the different issues that the report communicates. For prudence’s sake, if your report is long-that is more than five pages, always cover it with an executive summary of not more than one page. As stated earlier, officials that are written to, normally do not have the time to read the whole report. Therefore, an executive summary will highlight the key issues of the report for the audience and if need be it can direct the officer to the necessary sections of the report for further scrutiny. Below is a sample of a report. SAMPLE QUESTIONS In your opinions what are the factors that effect effective writing and suggest ways how these can be addressed. With examples, explain the proper use of three frequently misused question marks. Describe and explain the main components of a good paragraph and explain how figures can be used correctly in a document. Distinguish between a formal and informal letter. With examples explain the different parts of a formal letter. Prepare an end of year report that you will present to the Parents Annual General meeting of your school. Discuss the main components of minutes. Suggest how as a secretary to the Board of your school you will present minutes that are easy to read and understand. You have been given powers by your BOG to employ the critically needed staff. Write two samples of possible letters of appointment that you would write and explain the different components of each. You have been empowered to buy land annexed to your school to build a classroom block. The school has no lawyer draw a proper agreement for this purchase and explain the key areas you would emphases in the document. Speech as Communication AIMS OF THE UNIT The student by the end of this unit should be able to distinguish speech from other forms of communication evaluate and discuss the determinants of a speech write and make appropriate speeches according to context and situations discuss and evaluate factors that affect effective speeches. acquire skills for effective public speech making Introduction Speech is one of the most important and frequently used medium of communication. It should be noted that everyone uses speech to communicate. And because of its popularity, it is one of those terms that everyone knows but can not define. Speech is a productive skill of a language where the speaker uses vocal symbols to pass over a message to his audience. Speech is defined by Mulgrave as the faculty of uttering articulate sounds or words to express thoughts. This means that when we speak, the aim of doing so is to express or send a message. If this is the reason for speaking, then it follows that we have to be articulate that is to say be able to say want we want to say and be able to transmit this message to our audience. The speaker must then utilise the audible and visible signs involving the physical component s of the body to communicate ideas. It should be noted that speech is a form of human behaviour which utilizes the physical, psychological, semantic, neurological and linguistic facts to transmit a message. This means that speech is one of the most important instruments of social control and for that matter it should never be conceived just as the utterance of sounds and words. Therefore in the process of making a speech the speaker must note the following: That it is a means of communicating ideas. This means that whenever we speak, we must have ideas, information or feelings we want to exchange with the other party. In other words one can not speak for the sake of speaking; he/she must have a message that they want to pass over to the audience. Speech is also important in the sense that it helps human beings to effectively relate to one another in a social environment. That is to say whether it is a public speech or a conversation, a speech helps one relate to other human beings in a given context. For example, if one asks for directions from a stranger, the act of asking ultimately creates a relationship between them. To communicate effectively, it is imperative that the speaker has a proper understanding of what he/she wants to convey to the audience. This means that the speaker must organise what he/she want to say. It has to do with basic questions such as ‘do you greet first, do you start with the main point or not, do you use local examples or hard language?’ when the speaker considers every aspect of his/her speech, the possibility that they will be effective is high. It is not only important to consider the message you are delivering while speaking, it is equally important to evaluate the effectiveness of your message on the audience. It is important for the speaker to evaluate and analyse feedback from the audience because this will help him/her to adjust his mode of delivery for effectiveness. Watch out for signs of incomprehension, fatigue, uneasiness, attention, agreement and so on from the audience. These will guide you to know whether as a speaker, you are effective or not. To be an effective speaker, one must be aware of the principles and concepts underlying effective speaking in various situations in both the public and private arenas. There are a number of these principles that the speaker can utilize. These include adjustment of the voice to suit the occasion, tone and intonation, use of gesture and many others. It should be noted that an audible and pleasant voice as well as good speech techniques are an asset that one can utilize to make a living. For example, some people are hired and given good jobs on the basis of how they can articulate themselves. On the other hand public speakers are regularly hired to perform at functions. Related to the above is the fact that good speaking skills are an absolute necessity for advancement in a career. In professions like education, law and mass communication, good speech skills is an essential in the career advancement of an individual. To be an effective speaker, one should be able to adjust and adapt to the social and physical surroundings of the speech context. A good speaker is that who analyses the situation and changes accordingly. If the speech is late in the night and the assumption is that people are tired, a good speaker is that who adjust say the duration of his/her speech to fit in the context. In spite of the many differences among and the many different skills and techniques that speakers given their different social, economic and educational backgrounds, there exists a fundamental process of oral communication. This is because every time a person speaks the same set of elements come into play, interacting with each other to produce a communicative event. This is because a communicative event involves different people with unique needs and interests as speech extends both in time and space. Therefore, it is important to examine each aspect separately and then putting them together because all the elements interact dynamically to produce the total effect of the speech event. That is to say each element in someway affects all the elements in what should be called the speech transaction process. These elements are the following. The Speaker Each speech transactions are shaped by four factors according to the speaker. It is worth noting that it is the speaker who initiates the speech transaction. And because of this fact the onus is on him/her to make his/her message to the audience clear. Therefore, the speaker as a factor in a speech transaction process must be analysed on the following. The speaker’s purpose in the starting point of any analysis of a speech event. It should be noted that each speaker has a purpose of why he/she engages in a speech event. The purpose may be simple as the wish to socialise or to put across a complicated theory about life. It could be a desire to advocate a course of action or to alter cherished customs. It may be the need to entertain or all attention to a problem or for a number of personal or public ends. What is important to note is that public speaking is a purposeful action. And the purpose of the speech controls what and how it is said. Therefore, before one embarks on a speech, such a person should be clear of what his/her purpose is in the process. Speaker knowledge is also important in the speech event. The difference between an excellent speech and a bad one is the level of mastery that the speaker has over his subject. It is not just the desire to speak, but the quality of the information that the speaker passes over to the audience. If the speaker has masterly of content, he/she will take the audience along. If he/she has surface knowledge of the content, the audience will feel cheated. Coherence of the speech depends on what is said, the supporting material, the logical arguments and the ability by the speaker to weave these into a spellbinding speech. The speaker’s attitude to self is also important in the speech transaction process. If the speaker rates him/herself highly, he/she is likely to come off as arrogant and proud. If the audience perceive such an attitude from the speaker, they will be turned off, which will affect their reception of the message. On the other hand, if he/she rates himself lowly, he will make him/herself appear ill at ease and lacking confidence. This will make the audience non-receptive of the message. The key to effective speaking is the ability for the speaker to project him/herself as someone who has to be listened to. The speaker’s attitude to the audience also has an impact on the effectiveness of the speech. This is because his/her attitude to the listeners determines how and what he/she says. If the speaker is patronising to the listeners, the listeners will resent being treated like children and will develop a negative attitude to the speaker and the message. If he/she treats them with respect, they will accept him and take in what he is telling them. However good your message is, the attitude that the listeners think the speaker has towards them, determines how the speech is received. The attitude of the speaker to the subject is also important in determining the effectiveness of the speech. If the speaker is interested in the subject, this passion will be reflected in how he handles him/herself. The enthusiasm will be passed over to the audience making them interested in the message. If the speaker is not interested in the subject, the speech will be boring. For example, a Literature scholar talking about his/her favourite writer will giving an interesting speech that will be enjoyed by even technology majors. But the same speaker will fail miserable if he was to speak on architecture to the same audience. Therefore, to speak effectively, choose a topic that you are interested in. Another factor that has an impact on the effectiveness of a speech is the degree of credibility of the speaker. The question in the minds of the audience is always: ‘does the speaker qualify to speak to them about that topic,’ related to that is the question of whether the speaker has a sound track record that can make the audience believe in him. In simple words, if a speaker has a history of lying, this history will have an impact on how his message is received. For example, many people distrust politicians and do not believe what they say because they always tell lies. Likewise, if the speaker had a bad record, this record will have an impact on the effectiveness of his speech. The Message In all speech-communication processes the message plays an important role in the effectiveness of the message. The message is evaluated in terms of the appropriateness of the content, structure and style to the audience. The following are some of the issues to consider in the message in terms of how the message can lead to the effectiveness of the speech event. It is obvious that every message that is transmitted to an audience has content or is about something. The content of a message includes information, data, ideas and your feelings, attitudes and interpretations of the same ideas, information and ideas to the audience. This means that different kinds of meanings, interpretations and analysis make up the content of the speech. Therefore, effective content is that which addresses the needs of the audience. It should be a kind of content that is acceptable to the audience, in terms of a course of action you want them to pursue or an attempt to challenge the beliefs that they have. This means that the choice of what to talk about is very important if the speaker is to be effective. It is true that content is important in a speech transaction process. But equally important is the way the content is structured. Actually there is a saying that ‘it is not what is said but how it is said’ that makes a speech effective. Structure of a speech refers to how it is organised. The speaker must provide a pattern that the speech will follow if the audience is to understand him. He should organise his speech in terms of what he/she will say first, secondly and possibly last. He/she could number his/her points or use transitional phrases like firstly, next etc. The pattern could be simple or complex as the speaker may deem necessary. Nevertheless, what is important is for the speaker to provide a recognisable pattern for the benefit of the listeners. Style in speech refers to the selecting and arrangement of words to be used in a speech. It also involves the labelling of the speaker as a certain type of person. The speaker can choose to use a style that is personal, impersonal, liberal, plain or philosophical. This will affect the vocabulary, the sentence structure, the imagery etc. used to convey the impression of the speaker’s emotions, ideas, attitudes about the subject. Note that the type of audience determines or should have an input in what style is chosen by the speaker. It is useless to use a philosophical style on peasant and a simple style when talking to university dons. The Listener Like the speaker, the listener is an important component in a speech transaction process. Listeners come to a speech event with expectations, goals and purposes to be fulfilled by the speech. These always determine how they receive and respond to the massage. It is important to consider the following when analysing a speech from the point of view of the listener. The purpose of the listener to attend or to be part of the communication event must always be put into consideration. The listener gets into a transaction in search for rewards. These could be a wish to be entertained, informed, advised or guided. These constitute the expectations which in turn control how they respond to the speech. If the speaker violates the expectations of the listeners, such a speaker stands the chance of being ineffective. For example, if people have come to be entertained at a concert, and someone starts telling them about salvation, as much as salvation is good, he/she will be booed because such an audience is not expecting such a message. The other case can be an anti-government crowd being told that the government is actually very good. Such a speaker risks being pelted with stones because the purpose of the audience was not to be told that the government is good. Therefore, to be an effective speaker, know what your audience expect and give it to them. The listener’s knowledge and interest in the subject has an influence on how the message will be received. The speaker should always endeavour to address the listener where ‘they are’. Where the listeners’ are is determined by their interest and knowledge about the subject. An audience with little knowledge about the subject is confused with technical terms, while a highly knowledgeable audience is bored with an elementary speech. This calls for audience analysis of the audience by the speaker to know exactly what they know and what they can appreciate. It also calls upon the speaker to gauge the sophistication of the audience and choose the appropriate content to suit them. The speaker is also at task to estimate the listening skills of the audience if he/she is to be effective in his speech delivery process. The speaker must constantly survey the audience for signs of understanding, puzzlement, of acceptance or rejection of the message. These are called feedback reactions. At all times the speaker must ensure that the listeners are with him. This means that he/she must be ware of the listener’s ability to listen to him/her effectively. The speaker must be creative and mindful of what must be done to enhance effective listening. Variation of tone, voice and use of humour can be effective. But more importantly be ware of the length time a particular audience can endure to listen effectively. The attitude of the listener towards him/herself, the speaker and the subject has a significant impact on the effectiveness of the message. This is because people seek messages and speakers are in agreement with their point of view. Such messages and speakers will be listened to effectively and the messages will be retained for longer that messages on subjects or speakers they do not like. The Channel All speech communication events are affected for better or worse by the channel through which the speech is transmitted. The speech transaction process links the speaker and the listener through a particular channel. Therefore, it is upon the speaker to choose the best channel to carry his message to the listeners depending on the message and the audience that is targeted. The following are the most appropriate channels that the speaker can choose from. The verbal channel is that which uses the vocal chords and the manipulation of lips, mouth and teach to produce sounds that carry the message to the listeners. This carries the words, phrases and sentences that the message is encoded in. when using this channel the speaker can use the spoken or the written form. At the speaker should also put in mind is that he/she should always choose the best words to pass over his message and also either spell or pronounce them properly. The other channel that the speaker can choose to use is the visual. This involves the use of pictorial forms such as diagrams, charts, graphs and pictures. This is in line with the old Chinese saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. Any speaker should utilise the visual forms of communication to enhance his message. The third channel that a speaker can choose to transmit his/her message in the aural. In linguistic terms this is called the paralinguistic medium. It involves the variation of the voice, the tone and other voice modulations by the speaker to drive home his message. In other words it is not what is said but how it is said that determines the message that the listener gets. For example, if someone says you are stupid while laughing, he may not mean that you are daft and you the listener may also not take it as an insult. This is because the aural quality of the statement gives it a different meaning. Note that an effective speech is one in which the speaker manages to integrate the three channels discussed about in the transmission of the message. This is desirable because then, the different channels reinforce and complement each other in making the message effective. The Communicative Situation All speech communication events to a larger extent are affected by the physical and social settings or context in which they take place. In other words, where and atmosphere in which the speech is conducted matters a lot in determining whether the message is effective or not. The communicative situation involves the physical and social contexts. The physical setting is believed influence the expectancy as well as the readiness of the listeners to listen and respond to the speech. For example people waiting for the service in church have different expectations from those in a theatre, so are those at a political rally. Whereas those at a political rally do not mind external influence of noise, those in church and theatre will be put off if there is a lot of noise interferences. In speech delivered at the road side does not give the speaker the same levels of effectiveness as on that is delivered in a sound proof five star hotel conference room. It is upon the speaker to choose a good physical location to deliver his/her speech if he /she is to be effective. The social context refers the distinguishing features between the audience and the speaker. These features could be educational, class, age, power or etiquette. The assumption that is to large extent true is that if the speaker and the listener have certain things in common such a education, class or race, them the listeners are more receptive to the speaker. Skills for Effective Speech Making Some people believe that speaking and oratory is a talent and people are born with the ability to speak well while others are not. The truth though, is that as much as different people have different abilities, even though who are not good at making speeches can improve on their abilities through practice and knowledge of those elements that contribute to a good speech. Therefore, like it is possible to develop the writing skill, the speaking skill can also be improved when attention is given to the following points. Modulation of the voice is the first point that any speaker must take into consideration if his/her speech is to be effective. Any speaker who wants to be effective must use his/her voice very well depending on the venue of the speech and the audience he /she is addressing. The voice should not be too soft and not too loud. If it is soft people will strain to follow what is being said and this will mean that the speech is not effective. If it is too loud, they will be irritated and will channel the energy they have used to understand what you were said to hate you. If you are going to use a public address system, be careful for wind interferences that can be irritating to the listeners. In short use the right volume of voice that is suitable to the audience and venue of the speech. The choice of words is also important in effective speaking. The words that are to be used in a speech should convey the message as simply and effectively as possible without any distortions. It is advisable to use simply words that are understandable to all. Avoid words that have double meaning or those whose pronunciations are complicated. For example be ware of words like ‘hurt’ and ‘hut’. When you are to sue such words be careful that it is the right pronunciation, otherwise the meaning will be lost. Calmness and confidence is another important factor in successful and effective speech making. No listener will take seriously a panicking and nervous speaker. So it pays to be calm, collected and confident while giving a speech. Confidence comes with preparation of what you are going to say as well as adequate knowledge of the content of the subject of the speech. If possible rehearse and revise the speech before actually presenting it. The other important factor that should be taken into consideration is the choice of an appropriate tone suitable to the topic of discussion. The tone you adopt should be in line with the subject and context of the speech. For example if you are talking at a funeral attempt to be calm, mournful, respectful and serious. If you are a farewell party of a friend, be relaxed and humorous and not serious as if you where in church or at a funeral. To get endeared to the audience requires that you present yourself as simple and not pompous. It is better to use simple language and sentence structures in the delivery of your speech. Try to appear like you are one of them and avoid showing then audience that you are different from them. In fact try to make the audience like and accept you as one of them. Show respect to your audience despite their educational and social class they belong to. Whatever provocation never hurt the feelings of the audience by insulting or humiliating them in any way. Make your speech coherent and as accurate as possible. Your points should be accurate, precise and to the point. Do not beat about the bush. Avoid generalisations and structure your message in a simple and logical sequence that the audience can follow easily. To ensure that your meaning is grasped by the audience, use visual, aural and other extra linguistic features to drive home your points. It is pays to be smart and presentable when giving a speech. Being smart and presentable does not mean dressing fashionably and expensively. It means dressing in a way that reflects seriousness and responsibility on your part. It should be a model of dressing that communicates to the audience that you respect and take them seriously. Never dress provocatively as this diverts the attention from the speech to your body and it is worse when you are woman. Public Speaking One of the many types of speaking is public speaking. This is a type of speech or speech context where the speaking addresses a large audience. The term ‘large audiences’ is hard to define, but it essentially means a group of people totalling over 20 and composed of different categories and characteristics. The limit is infinitive for example a radio present can effectively speak to millions of people. In public speaking it is easy to conceive the idea but very hard to deliver. One writer has said that: “speeches are like babies; easy to conceive but difficult to deliver.” Basing on the above quotation, public speakers must consider the following to ease the difficulty of delivering speeches. To be an effective public speaker it is important for one to have the art of persuasion. This means that you should be able to get people not only to listen to you but also to accept what you are telling them and consequently modify their behaviour or way of thinking about issues being communicated. The other strategy that the speaker must adapt is to use techniques that can enable him capture and retain the attention of the audience from the start to finish during the speech. It is of no use to continue talking if the audience is not paying attention. To capture and retain the attention of the audience, the speaker can use both verbal and non-verbal dynamics such as gestures, telling stories, use of humour to mention but a few in his speech. The speaker must also know his audience. Knowledge of the audience will help him choose and arrange the content of his/her speech in a manner that is effective. It also involves choice of appropriate language and other speech techniques. The speaker must be aware of the general tendency among people to resist change. This means that he/she must be careful in cultivating them to believe or agree with his point of view. This involves the use of the basics of persuasion such as appeal to authority, presentation of a scaring alternative if they do not change to mention but a few. There are cases when a speaker is faced with a hostile audience. For example if you were to give a speech to staunch Catholics about contraceptives, it is plausible to assume that such an audience will be hostile to your message. In such a situation a good speaker should gain entry by using something that is popular and from there persuade the listeners to take on his point of view. Factor to Consider in Public Speeches For a speaker to give a good speech, he/she must be aware of the following components that inform the speech. These are the following: The Speaker The speaker must be aware of and take care of the following factors to ensure that his/her speech is effective: He/she should know the audience. This is in terms of the composition of and the characteristics of the audience. For example, what is the dominant religion, tribe, are they educated or not and many other issues. This will help him/her in the choice of the content, the language to use and the angle he/she is to take during the speech. The speaker must have effective command of the language. It is true that not everyone has the same command of language. But it is important that a speaker has a good grasp of the language. This is because the message is delivered through language and therefore, if one can not use the language effectively then his/her message will fail to reach the audience. The speaker must be aware of the techniques of public speaking. This may include the use of intonation, gestures, using stories and many others. Acquisition of these techniques makes it very easy for the speaker to pass over his/her message effectively. The speaker must equally have a sense of organisation. This is both physical and mental. This has to do with how he organises and structures his message. For example, what will come first, next and last. It involves how he/she dresses, uses the stage and so forth. A well organised person motivates people to listen to unlike someone who is disorganised. The good speaker is that who has a sense of purpose. In other words the speech should clearly indicate that is taking the audience to some place. Therefore, the speaker must clearly show the benefits that the audience are going to gain in listening to him/her given that they have alternatives that they have foregone. For example the speech may provide them with information, skills, and techniques or for pure entertainment. Whatever, the reason the audience must clearly see the benefit of listening to the speaker. The Audience Like the speaker, the audience is very important in the effectiveness of a speech. This means that the audience must be evaluated by the speaker in terms of the following if his/her communication is to be effective. The special interests of the audience must be put into consideration. In other words, the speaker must ask him/herself is the speech is going to satisfy the interests of the audiences. This is accomplished when the speakers ask questions such as: ‘why are they listening, what they want to achieve, how I can give them what they want?’ Such questions will help the speaker understand the motivation of the audience in the speech. The speaker must also consider the level of formal education of the audience. This is important in the sense that it helps him/her choose the most appropriate language and content as well as the sequencing of this content for effective delivery of the message. The size of the audience must also be taken into consideration. The speaker must measure the audience and determine the best voice volume to use. For example if the audience is large- probably more than 1000 people in the hall, the speaker must speak loudly otherwise some will not hear. In the case were the audience is small shouting at the top of one’s voice may instead irritate the audience. Therefore, the size of the audience and the venue of the speech are important if the speech is to be effective. The speaker must find out the cultural background of the audience. This is because cultural background has an impact on the reception of the message. For example, if the audience was predominantly Muslim, using images of dogs and pigs may offend them, and therefore, make them hostile to the speaker. The other issue to consider are the interests of the audience. The speaker must ask him/herself what it is that the audience what to hear, why they have foregone other activities to be in the meeting? These will give the speaker an idea of what he/she should talk about and probably how. People who have a valid reason to listen to the speaker are mostly likely to be attentive. The Speech The goal of public speaking is to impart knowledge. In this sense public speaking should be considered as a ‘teaching event’ where the audience has come to receive new, interesting and useful information. Therefore, the speech itself is very important. The speaker must evaluate the speech in terms of: The purpose of the speech. One should ask him/herself what it is that he/she wants to pass over to the audience. Is he/she interested in providing information, changing attitudes and behaviour or entertain the audience. It should be noted that the purpose determines whether the speech is effective or not and to a larger extent how it is presented. The content of the speech is equally important. It should be noted that there are many topics that one can talk about. But ultimately want is talked about during the speech should be determined by the purpose, the nature of the audience and other facts deemed necessary for the speech to be effective. Language is the most important aspect in speech delivery. For this matter the language that the speaker is to use should be evaluated in terms of content, purpose and nature of the audience. If this is not done, the speaker may deliver a wonderful speech which unfortunately his/her audience can not understand. The organisation and the structure of the speech is another critical area. This involves the manner of how ideas are arranged and presented. The guiding principle in this case should be logic. The different parts must be organised in such a way that one leads into the other. The way the purpose, content, language and structure of a speech are conceived determine to a larger extent the effectiveness of the speech. It does not matter whether it is a demonstrational speech in which the audience is show how to do something to the audience, a description speech where the speaker is describing the properties or characteristics of an object or an explanatory speech where a new and often abstract concept is being explained to the audience, the above issues must be addressed. Structuring a Persuasive Speech Persuasive speeches are probably the most lively and emotional speeches that any one can give. This is because a good speech can convince the audience of a belief or a concept and in the process motivate them into action as this new belief inspires and encourages them to change. For this to happen, the speaker must establish credibility by careful use of language in the delivery of the speech. This is in the sense that the speech must show respect to the audience, language and the purpose of speaking. For a persuasive speech to be effective it must be designed using the following formants. The problem-solution design is that where the speaker identifies a problem that the audience are not aware of. After which the speech is structured in such a way that the speaker after introducing a problem proceeds to give a solution to the problem The statement-of-reason design is where it expected that the audience are aware of and agree with a topic. However, they need more justification to change their minds or behaviour or perform the required action. The speaker in this case introduce the fact that they agree on and then systematically give reasons to support whatever course of action he/she wants. The comparative –advantages design is where the audience is not clear of the many alternatives or options they are to take. What the speaker does to facilitate their choices, is to compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of the two possibilities. SAMPLE QUESTIONS Discuss Mulgrave's determinants of a good speech How does the speaker, listener, channel and content determine the effectiveness of a speech? Discuss how you can improve your public speaking performance. Give examples of how you can do this. You have a colleague who is poor at making public speeches. Explain how you would coach such a person to become an effective speaker? AIMS OF THE UNIT By the end of this unit, the student should be able to discuss and evaluate the barriers to effective listening interrogate good listening practices Introduction Listening is a receptive skill of any language that is very important in communication. It is the process through which people acquire information, knowledge and data from the speakers. The importance of listening is two fold. On one hand, it enables people acquire information that they can later use in writing and speaking. On the other hand they enable the audience participate fully in a communication event. However, listening is useful only if people listen carefully and creatively; picking out positive aspects, problems, difficulties and tensions, is the most fundamental skills in communication and therefore we should try to understand what can hinder listening, so as to improve our listening skills. Listening Barriers On-off listening is the first barrier to effective listening. This comes from the fact that most people think four times faster than the average person can speak. Thus the listener has about ¾ minute “space thinking time” in each minute of listening. Sometimes she/he uses this extra time to think about her/his own personal affairs and troubles instead of listening, relating and summarizing what the speaker has to say. This can be overcome by paying attention to more than just the speech, but also watching body language like gestures, hesitation and other extra linguistic aspects demonstrated by the speaker. The second barrier to effective listening is red-Flag listening. To some people, certain words are like a red flag to a bull. When they hear them, they get upset and stop listening. Some words are so “loaded” that they tune out the speaker immediately. The listener loses contact with the speaker and fails to develop an understanding that with the speaker. Open ears – closed mind listening is another barrier to effective listening. Sometimes “listeners” look at people intently, and seem to be listening although their minds may be on other things or far away. They drop back into the comfort of their own thoughts. They get glassy-eyed, and often a dreamy or absent-minded expression appears in their faces. If we notice many participants looking glassy-eyed in sessions, we have to find an appropriate moment to suggest a break or change in pace. Too-deep-for me listening is a situation when listening to ideas that are too complex and complicated, we often need to force ourselves to follow the discussion and make a real effort to understand it. Listening and understanding what the person is saying, might result in us finding the subject and the speaker quite interesting. Often if one person does not understand, others do not either and it can help the group to ask for clarification or an example if possible. Don’t-rock-the-boat listening is another barrier to effective listening. People do not like to have their favourite ideas, prejudices, and points of view overturned; many do not like to have their opinions challenged. So, when a speaker says something that clashes either with what they think or believe as right or acceptable, they may unconsciously stop listening or even become defensive. Even if this is done unconsciously, it is better to listen and find out what the speaker thinks, in order to get the other side of the question. Therefore, when people are listening they should try to avoid the pitfalls to effective listening that are discussed above. They should adopt the following good listening behaviour and minimise the negative listening behaviour listed below. A positive listener will show interest in the speaker and subject of discussion. He/she will try to be understanding and express empathy to the speaker. If there is anything you do not agree with note it down and bring it up during the time of question. And lastly try to cultivate the ability to be silent when silence is necessary On the negative side avoid the following bad behaviours of listening. These are: do not rush the speaker, argue with the speaker in the course of the speaker, and interrupt as he/she speaks as this will derail him/her from the speech. Never pass judgment too quickly in advance and give advice unless it is requested by the other person and never jump to conclusions about the speech. Absorb all the speaker has to say and if there is anything to challenge, do it at the end. This is because at the end of the speech you are in a better position to challenge what the speaker said from an informed position. Facilitative Listening Skills Paraphrasing is one of the positive listening skills. Paraphrasing is a fundamental listening skill. It is the foundation for many other facilitative listening skills, including mirroring, gathering, and drawing people out. This is when the speakers message is transferred into the listeners own words or understanding. Preface your paraphrase with a comment that will make the paraphrase your own later on. When you have completed the paraphrase, look for the speaker’s reaction to find out if you have actually got his message When listening to hard to comprehend subjects try using the ‘drawing people out’ skill. Drawing people out is a way of supporting people to take the next step in clarifying and refining their ideas. It sends the speaker this message, I am with you; I understand you so far. Now tell me a little more. Drawing people out is most effectively used along with paraphrasing, not instead of paraphrasing. There is nothing rewarding to a speaker than the perception that people are listening to what he/she is saying. Mirroring is another important listening skill. Mirroring captures people’s exact words. It is highly formal version of paraphrasing, in which the listener repeats the speaker’s exact words. Some people need this degree of precision in order to feel that they are truly being heard. When used well, it enables the listener to move at the same pace as the speaker and in doing so; the listener gets a lot out of the speech communication process. Stacking is another important listening skill. Stacking is a procedure for helping people take turns when several want to speak at once. Stacking is a four-step procedure. First, the speaker asks those who want to speak or to ask a question in response to his/her speech to raise their hands. Then she/he creates a speaking order by assigning a number to each person. Third, she/he calls on people when their turn to speak or ask questions arrives. When the last person has spoken, the speaker checks to see if anyone else wants to speak. If so the speaker does another round of stacking. This is of benefit to both the speaker and the listener because it gives immediate feedback. The speaker’s points which were not clear can be addressed immediately. For the listener any doubt is cleared for him/her immediately. Tracking is another important listening skill. Tracking means keeping track of the various lines of thought that are going on simultaneously within a single discussion. It is a three-step process. For example, suppose a group is discussing a plan to hire a new employee. Two people are talking about roles and responsibilities. Two others are discussing financial implications, and another two are reviewing their experiences with previous employee. In such cases, people need help keeping track of all that’s going on, because they are focused primarily on clarifying their own ideas. Encouraging can equally lead to effective listening. Encouraging is the art of creating an opening for people to participate, without putting any one individual on the spot on one hand. On the other hand it encourages the speaker to continue speaking as it shows the listener’s interest in what he/she is saying. Body reactions like nodding the head and silence are some of encouraging gestures that can do wonders in a listening situation. Though intentional silence is highly underrated, it is quite effective in listening. It consists of a pause, usually lasting no more than few seconds, and it is done to give the speaker that brief extra “quiet time” to discover what they want to say. With eye contact and body language, stay focused on the speaker Say nothing not even “hmm” or “uh huh.” Do not even nod or shake your head. Just stay relaxed and pay attention. If necessary, hold up a hand to keep others from breaking the silence. Sometimes everyone in the group is confused or agitated or having trouble focusing. At such times, silence may be very helpful. Say, “let us take a minute to think what this means to each of us”. Listening for common ground is another important listening skill. Listening for common ground is a powerful intervention when group members are polarized. It validates the group’s areas of disagreement and focuses the group on their areas of agreement. It is a four-step process. First, indicate that you are going to summarise the group’s differences and similarities. Second, summarise the differences. Third, note areas of common ground. Lastly, check for accuracy. For speakers developing and employing the skill of active listening helps create an atmosphere in which members feel they are an important part of the group. When people experience active listening they are more inclined to bring their skills, experiences, expertise and ideas into the group relationship. Active listening is more than simply listening to someone. It is absorbing what is being said and letting the speaker know that she or he has been heard. It is about ensuring that the speaker feels “listened to. The following are some of the things that the listener must do and the speaker must watch out for to ensure that the communication situation is effective. Facial expression gives clues on the speaker. Our faces express our emotions. Allow it to do so during a session. The speaker needs to be able to quickly decide which emotions she/he will/won’t express, always keeping in mind the safety of the group. The listener should use his/her face as a means of communication to provide the speaker with a feedback. Establish eye contact with the speaker shows that the listener is interested in what the speaker is saying. In other words it encourages a speaker to continue because it makes him/her to feel appreciated and the speech an important transaction. In this way the listener offers support to the speaker. This establishes mutual respect and understanding between the two parties. Watch for the body language of the speaker. The way a listener or speaker stands, sits, and holds her/his body, transmits a message of interest or boredom. When listening to someone, the listener should lean towards that person slightly, turning her/his body towards the speaker, indicating a relaxed and attentive stance Pay attention to the speaker’s gestures because these are supplementary to the speaker’s message. Helpful gestures include open handed circular actions which encourage participation; an open hand while questioning or clarifying; a reaching-out gesture supports a speaker; an open hand or palm towards the speaker says “over to you” Give the speaker some personal space. Leave a comfortable distance between the speaker and the listener. Lack of space or intrusion into someone’s personal space can cause discomfort. Some people who feel that they are being intruded upon, may begin to move back to maintain her/his personal safe space and many people get distracted and nervous when non-intimate enters their personal space Timing is also important. Do not interrupt a speaker unnecessarily. By using a combination of verbal and non-verbal active listening skills a listener can judge when best to interject. Otherwise, unnecessary interventions will put the speaker on defensive and interrupt the flow of his/her message. If there is a point you feel strongly about, note it down and raise it during the time of question. Never cat call, jeer or whistle when someone is talking. It is not only uncultured, but also unnecessary because there is always chance to disagree with the speaker in a more constructive manner. There are cultural and gender variations in how non-verbal language is used and in the meaning assigned to different movements. Watch women and men operating in groups, to learn the gender variations (for example, women more so than men tend to reach over and touch someone when they are engaged in dialogue). When working with people from different cultural backgrounds take extra care about getting these messages accurately (for example, some age groups or ethnic groups may find mixed sex groups difficult). Body language message may be clarified with the sender for example, “you are sitting with arms folded and look very cross are you okay?” SAMPLE QUESTIONS What are some of the barriers to effective listening. Illustrate with examples from your professional experience. With relevant examples explain how a person's listening skills can be improved. AIMS OF THE UNIT By the end of this unit, the student should be able to evaluate the values and advantages of internet communication discuss the bottlenecks of using the internet as a communication tool interrogate the methodologies of utilising the internet a communication tool evaluate and discuss the different forms of internet communication Introduction The internet is the new rage of communication in the world. Its importance and impact is so wide spread that already pundits are predicting that the future of human interaction, development and actually the future of the globe depends on how the Internet will be harnessed to solve current and future problems of the world. It is true that the Internet is the technology of the future and its impact is so much seen in its application in the world of communication. The Internet is synonymous to the World Wide Web commonly referred to as http://www. It is a connection of computers through the use of software known as a browser and a computer special language known as hyper text marker language (html) that enables the computers to receive and send data amongst them. Wimmer and Dominick (2003:428-429) trace the origin of the Internet to the 1962 memo written by an MIT scientist discussing “a galactic network”. This was picked up by the RAND Corporation which by 1964 had come up with a simple concept of having several computers linked with the ability to send, route and receive messages. By 1969 ARPANET had been developed and when the scientific community decided to link computers at various US universities through the NSFNET, the term Internet was created. In 1989 various corporations joined the net and with the invention of the hypertext language in 1990 and the browser in 1993 a world wide web was created. The new form of communication came with several benefits and applications across all fields of human activities and has consequently been utilised. However, it impact has been tremendous in the field of communication. It has changed the way communication practitioners transmit their messages to their audiences. This is proved by the fact that every newspaper and broadcast entity; academic institution and business has an online version along side the mainstream mediums of communication. This is true to all other organisations both non governmental and public that have websites at which information about them is provided to the public. It arrived in Africa and Uganda in the 1990’s. South Africa was the first country among Africa’s 54 countries to get connected to the Internet. It was followed by Zambia in 1993, Ghana in 1994 and Uganda in 1995. It was so popular that by the end of the 1990s 45 out of 54 countries had some form of internet. The growing demand for the new media technologies in Uganda were recognized in 1997 when Parliament passed the Uganda communications Act. In 2002 the ICT framework was put in place. The Internet as a tool of communication is now available in almost all the countries in Africa. However, the question is whether the Internet has had an impact on the way Africans in general and Ugandans in particular communicate? Related to the above question is whether availability and easy access to information that it entails can have an impact on the easy of communication and particularly the use of communication and information in the improvement of the lives and welfare of the Ugandans? The Internet as a new medium of communication and given its characteristics: namely; less control, easy access and the fact that it is open to anyone who has the soft and hard ware, becomes crucial in the communication process. This is because it mitigates the weakness of the other mediums of communication, for example radio, that are easy prey to government control and interference. Tettey observes that, “…the political space for unfettered operation of the media continues to be non-existent in so many so called democratic countries.” That the main stream media is constrained to provide a free public forum for the discussion of political issues, gives credence to the Internet as an alternative public space through which the masses can access information and debate issues. The Internet can play this role in communication through the creation of list servers/mailing lists through which like-minded people can exchange views online and thereby inform their participation. Another method the Internet can be used is through web casts, pod casts and blogs. These are on-line versions of television, radio and print media. Unlike their mainstream cousins, these are not easily controlled. This means that through such transmission of information, the masses can get information that informs their decision in almost any field of human activity. The use of websites is another way through which the Internet can be used to foster communication. Dedicated sites for discussion of the political, economic and human rights issues have been set up by the civil society with the aim of sensitizing and raising the consciousness of the masses to seek accountability from their leaders and take decisions from an informed point of view. The other likely way the internet can be used for purposes of communication is through the email and messaging. The social worker who wishes to change the welfare of the people can send information to the people through these mediums and in so doing shape the opinions and improve the lives of the people. It is true that the Internet has the potential of advancing the communication abilities of people. The question is whether this has been attempted in Africa and with what success? It has played a role in the communication process because it allows plurality of view points and multiplicity of actors to engage in social, economical and political debates. Related to that, is the fact that the Internet is interactive by nature and therefore allows people to comment on the issues, get feed back to their inquires and most importantly provide a forum at which issues can be discussed. The other role that the Internet plays in communication is that it facilitates free flow of information. Through the use of chat rooms, mailing lists and websites, people are free to exchange information without any hindrance. This is because regulation online is not as easy as in the main stream media. The other reason is that online communication does not have obstacles that other types of communication have. For example to have a face to face conversation there is need for the two parties to be present. In the case of internet physical presence is not required for communication to take place. As it has already been pointed out above, the value of the Internet is the fact that by it nature and technology, is it reduces government interference. That there is no physical address that the police storm and capture equipment, means that it is hard to crack down on. For example, if the state does not like the message or the deliverer of the message, all it has to do is use force by any means to curtail the communication of that message. This is impossible with the use of the internet which the government can not control. The other importance of Internet in communication lies in its sense of convenience to the public. This includes both the audience and the communicator. Convenience means that the information will reach the audience in a timely manner. For example someone in a remote area that is hard to access, need not to worry about the inaccessibility of his area. This is because through the use of the Internet and the email, he/she can easily transmit the information to anyone in any corner of the globe. For the case of the audience, they can also get the information as it becomes available. For example international news agencies such as www.bbc.com or www.cnn.com update their information every minute. This means that one can get the information literary hot. The internet allows participatory equality and reduces the information dualism and the disparities based on gender, class and education. According to Mwesige (2004), the internet is a valuable tool in the improvement of education, health and generally the quality of life of the people. This recognition informed for example Uganda’s ICT policy 2002 and the communication acts of 1996 and 1997. An educated and informed public is crucial to development and makes it easy to mobilize the population to demand for accountability and developmental projects from its leaders. The rosy picture of what the Internet can do to facilitate communication can belie the hardships associated with it. One of the serious constraints is access and infrastructure in Africa. For example in Uganda by the year 2000, there were only an estimated 60,000 internet users which improved to 200,000. For a country with a population of about 30 million people, such coverage is too small. In fact over 90% of the population in the country has no access to the Internet. Another problem is to do with the fact that the default language of the Internet is English. This means that with a very high rate of illiteracy, the majority of the population can not benefit from the Internet. Mwesige (2004) argues that the prices of and speed Internet access in Uganda are too high and too low respectively for most people to afford considering that around 90% of the population lives on less than 2 dollars a day. He acknowledges the initiatives such as cyber cafes have brought the internet and ICT closer to the people in developing countries; the bad news though, is that these initiatives especially when they are commercially based may be only increasing the digital divide within poor countries and therefore, their impact on communication is contestable. The use of the Internet and the demographics of Internet use are the other hindrances it faces in as far as its communication role is concerned. Most of the people, who use the Internet as a source of information, use it for social and economic reasons and not in search of development oriented data. At the same time, according to Mwesige (2004), the users are stereotypical and come from predominantly a class that is either not interested in developmental discussion. The class/group that uses the Internet frequently is the under 25s, who use the Internet to send/read emails or to chat and basically socialize in cyberspace. This means that as much as the Internet is being used, it is used for other reasons and not developmental sensitization, thus limiting its role in meaningful communication. In conclusion, one can argue that since the Internet is the future of communication and given that technology is changing very fast, its potential in democracy can not be underestimated. As Africa gets connect and use saturates the continent as well as prices go down and speeds increase, the Internet will become a vital tool for ensuring democracy. However, at the moment its impact is limited despite its potential. It so far has not been exploited to the maximum. Issues to Watch Out For in Internet Communication The new form of communication has come with several benefits and applications across all fields of human activities. One such area where the Internet offered several benefits and applications has been communication and research. Since the most outstanding constraint of communication and research has been the cost, the Internet was embraced by many researchers and communicators because it was quite inexpensive compared to the traditional methods of data collection. Wimmer and Dominick (2003:430) argue that a 20 minute telephone interview when studying 400 respondents could cost about $15,000. The same is applicable to other types of communicators using the same medium. Such an amount is out of reach of many researchers and communicators. They argue that because of cost most researches and communications are planned around the costs, until the Internet came on board. It does not only substantially reduce the cost of doing research and communication, but in some cases eliminates the cost all together. Despite the issue of low cost in using the Internet as a data collection tools, is the fact that using the Internet does not require skills and expertise and can be tailored to any project. Also important to note, is the fact that it has created the possibility of accessing a variety of materials as most university libraries and research institutions are online. To be taken into consideration also is the fact that using the Internet can enable the researcher or communicator reach a population that would be impossible to reach due to geographical and natural barriers. As advantageous as it may seem, the Internet is not foolproof as a tool of communication. It inherently has weakness and obstacles that any one intending to use ought to be aware of and guard against. Cutting costs may be admirable but at the end of the day serious issues are raised about Internet research and communication. Among the many questions that come to mind are issues of validity and reliability- in other words is the data collected correct? The other issue is to do with the respondents and audiences, raising the question of whether the right population has been used or reached by the message and how this fact can be verified. Because of the critical issues pointed out above, the quotation, “Online research requires a critical eye. ‘Best advise is on-line researcher beware”, is a timely advice to any potential on-line researcher and communicator. The low cost, convenience and accessibility of Internet research and communication may be tempting, but some element of caution is demanded from the researchers and communicators if they are to get the best out of using the Internet as a tool of data collection and communication. If they get into Internet research and communication with open eyes, some of the potential obstacles and hardship associated with this new method of data collection and communication can be minimised or controlled. Therefore, the following are some of the issues that an on-line research communicator must watch out for. One of the critical issues that Internet researchers and communicators should watch out for is the credibility of the source. In most cases the communicator does not exactly know who he/she is communicating to and more importantly whether they have the authority, knowledge and expertise in the subject of communication. That it is difficult to assess the sources and audiences on the above points creates a scenario where one collects data from impostors. This means that the validity, credibility and reliability of the study is compromised. Since it is difficult to verify the subjects of the study, the communicator according to Wimmer and Dominick (2003:439) must: Look at the data to search for outliers. In other words, if respondents are asked how many hours they watch TV each day and the average shows 3.5 hours (that is hypothetical) and a few respondents “more than 15 hours” or something significantly different from the other respondents, the outlier can be dropped from the data. The point that Wimmer and Dominick make is that the communicators must develop mechanisms that weed out the impostors. If the impostors are removed from the information, then the credibility of the information is restored. That is why an online communicator must be cautious; least he/she uses contaminated data or information. The online communicator must be wry of the purpose of the information he/she gets on the Internet. The Internet communicator must always question the motives and purpose of the information that he/she comes across on the Internet. The truth of the matter is whoever gives out information has a purpose for this transaction. For example information about HIV on www.unaids.org and the information on the same subject at www.ministryofhealth.gov.ug may be posted for different reasons. A government sponsored site may try to projected the country’s fight against HIV as positive and as such ignore or put less emphasis of the negative issues of the campaign. This means that the data is contaminated or manipulated to suit the purposes or intention of the sponsor of the data. Another issues to watch out when using the Internet as a communication tool, is the issue of bias. The point here is that different sites have different motives of posting their data on the Internet. For example if one visited a site like www.bmw.com in search for data about the safety of cars, he/she is likely to get data that praises the BMW company brands. As Smith (2000:1) states that, “It’s a great media land grab-corporate mergers are dominating the Internet landscape, affecting what and how you read.” Smith’s observation may be about News Corporation, but it is applicable to all online information on the Internet. The interest of the parent company always has a bearing on what data is posted on the Internet. And this data in most cases is designed to spruce the company in an effort to make more money. To mitigate or reduce of the bias, the communicator must among many things assess the URL addresses of the sites. For example a .gov indicates that a site is a government department and a .com is a private company. The communicator should be careful when accessing data say from a government site of the propaganda nature of the information and the inherent bias to make the government look better. Many commentators argue that the Internet has given the words ‘media jungle’ a new dimension. This is because there are many on-line sources of news and information on the Internet. Smith (2000:1) observes that, “The sheer number of current web sites dedicated to news is staggering: 6000 and counting.” This implies that there are many online sources of not only news, but also any other kind of information that may be of interest to any communicator. For example a simple www.google.com search of the key word research could yield over 1,000,000 results. With literary a ‘jungle’ of information, the online communicator should be wry of getting credible information from the Internet. The simple truth is that the online communicator is overwhelmed by the information returned from the search. Paul (1999:38) gives suggestions that can make any Internet search sensible. These tips include knowing the difference between the search tools-the human indexed such as www.yahoo.com and search engines such as www.google.com . Choice of each depends on what the communicator is searching for on one hand, and can be helpful to strategies his/her search on the other hand. Other issues to consider include; thinking through the task of the search, the tool to use, logical search parameters or protocols and more importantly knowing when to stop. Internet communication is problematic because of the too much information available and therefore, the communicator should be careful to search for relevant information. Using search strategies like Boolean, Host, Domain, Title, Link and URL searches limit and refine the search and consequently enable the communicator get reliable information from a lot of information on the web. An online communicator ought to have a critical eye because of the ethical issues of consent. Wimmer and Dominick (2003:440) raise the issue of informed consent of the participants before participation and through debriefing sessions before use of information generated from such discussions. Such safeguards are not readily available to an on-line communicator. For example in the case of sending a standard email questionnaire, such ethical problems may be addressed. The problem is more complicated when dealing with and using data obtained from bulletin boards, newsgroups, list servers or chat rooms. The ethical question is whether these discussions are in the public domain and hence require no consent from the subjects or are they private and hence need informed consent. The differences between public and private are fuzzy in cyberspace and the communicator must be wry of such conflicts. Another important point to watch out for when using the Internet as a communication tool is the representation of the sources and audiences. It is true that the Internet has been able to conquer obstacles of space and time. What is not true is that in many parts of the world many potential sources and audiences do not have access to the Internet due to infrastructural and cost constraints. This means that the information collected or transmitted using the Internet will in most case be from people who have access and therefore, the representativeness of the information and audiences will be compromised. In such a case, the on-line communicator ought to compliment his/her on-line strategies of information collection with more mainstream ones that can access those that can not be reached by the Internet. One of the handicaps of a communicator is information overload. This is when the communication process generates a lot of data to the extent that it becomes very difficult to analyse such data. Wimmer and Dominick (2003:440) observe: A researcher who decides to post a questionnaire on the web should keep in mind that there is a potential audience of many millions of people who might respond. The potential of a million participants in a discussion points to the fact that on-line data collection can result into information overload and consequently information fatigue. These are the issues that call upon the on-line communicator to be careful while conducting on-line communication. In other words, there are many things to consider and take care of before and after using the Internet as a communication tool that any oversight can prove to be catastrophic to the communication process. The related problem of Internet communication is the time that the process of communication can take. Ideally the process can take as long as the communicator wants it to. This is because there is no time limit on how long the communication process can take on the Internet. Wimmer and Dominick (2003:439) argue that, “telephone interviews should have a maximum length of about 20 minutes, but this information is not available for Internet communicator.” The problem of lack of an indicator as to how long the communication process can take means that potentially it can go on and on. The communicator should be cautious of the time schedule in which he/she must complete the communication process, least they are tempted to conduct unending communication. Many people are scared of communicating using the Internet because of the questions of security on the Internet. Wimmer and Dominick (2003:439) observe that the fears of the possible users are: People think their answers will be available to anyone in the world; and their identity will be used for the sales of products or services; or they will receive unsolicited emails from the researcher or other companies This is a problem that an on-line communicator must address, since such fears are real and are hindrance to the possible users in participating in on-line communication. What the Internet communicator ought to do is assure the users of how he/she will ensure their identity is kept secret and promise them of utmost confidentiality. In the final analysis, it is important to point out that the Internet has revolutionarized how communication is conducted. This is mainly due to the advantages that the Internet offers to the on-line communicator. These include reduced costs, easy access to subjects and convenience to the subjects to mention but a few. Nevertheless there are problems that the new tool of communication has as shown in the preceding discussion. These problems should not discourage the on-line communicator and drive him away from the Internet as a communication tool. However, he/she should be aware of the problems associated with the Internet as a communication tool and must employ caution in using the Internet for communication. Caution on the part of the communicator, means that he/she will be able to mitigate the problems discussed above and thus get the best out of the Internet as a communication collection tool. SAMPLE QUESTIONS Define internet communication and explain how it can be used in communication Assess the advantages of internet communication With examples explain and evaluate the problems that are associated with internet communication How can a novice use the internet effectively? Note: Compiled by Nabutayi Edgar Edited by Wasajja Jamil 1 Message Primary Group Primary Group Primary Group Primary Group C R Larger SS Larger SS OVER-ALL SOCIAL SYSTEM Less Privileged Privileged TIME Access to Information & Knowledge Differential patterns of message exposure Expectations of communication messages which lead Needs which generate There are social and psychological origins WHO WHOM WHAT CHANNEL EFFECT COM RECIEVER MESSAGE MEDIUM EFFECT Under What Circumstance? For What Purpose? With What Effect? WHO WHAT MEDIUM WHOM Information source Transmitter Receiver Destination Noise Source Encoder Interpreter Decoder Message Decoder Interpreter Encoder Communication /Message Access to Knowledge & Information Privileged Less Privileged Resulting in need gratifications And other consequences TIME PROTONS INCORPORATED P.O BOX 12357, KAMPALA. 31ST JULY, 2023. MR. KANGULI DEO, Dear Sir/Madam, RE: CONFIRMATION IN APPOINTMENT AS COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR I’m pleased to inform you that the Board of Director during their fifteenth annual sitting reviewed the performance of your probation period and in minute 23/BOD/23[34] directed that you be confirmed in your appointment as a communication director and be admitted to the mid-level management with all benefits related to this category of employees. Your attention is drawn to the conditions and terms of service and specifically to the company official secrets and disclosure expectation as outlined in chapter 1 sub-section a-d paragraph 5-8. If you are ready to take the appointment and abided by the expectations referred to above, inform this office in writing in a period not exceeding 14 days from the reception of this letter. Yours faith fully, …………………. Gordon Gideon HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER. PROTONS INCORPORATED P.O BOX 12357, KAMPALA. 31ST JULY, 2023. MR. KIGULI ALEX, Dear Sir/Madam, RE: TERMINATION OF SERVICE I hereby regret to inform you that the Board of Directors during their fifteenth sitting on the 23rd of July, 2034 directed that your services with the company be terminated immediately. It has revoked article 12 sub-section a-f in your contract that specifies that your annual salary and gratuity will be paid to you immediately and holds the indemnity of paying half your current salary if you are not employed two years from the date of your termination. The company is restructuring its core operations as a result of the Financial Markets meltdown and it regrettably feels that your core competencies are not what it requires at this critical time. We wish you a prosperous career. Yours faithfully ………………………. Gordon Gideon HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER. King’s College Masaka, Nyendo Masaka, P.O Box 8976, Masaka. Date……………………………………. Ref: SA/08/G TO: Mr./Mrs./Miss……………………………………………. APPOINTMENT LETTER Dear Sir/Madam I am pleased to inform you that King’s College Masaka Board of Governors have directed me to offer you appointment as …………………….. Teaching………………………………………and…………………………………… The appointment is subject to the terms and conditions of King’s College Masaka, and may be amended from time to time. In addition, your appointment will include the following terms: Salary scale ……………………………………………………………. Starting salary…………………………………………………………. Date of appointment…………………………………………………. Incremental date………………………………………………………… Probation period……………………………………………………… I have to request you to inform me in writing if you are prepared to accept this offer on the stated terms and if so report to the nearest Doctor for a medical examination. Wishing all the best in your career at King’s College Masaka. Yours faithfully …………………………………. ……………………………………. HEADMASTER CC Chairman B.OG School Bursar Chairman P.T.A School File S-Communication Initiatives, P.O Box 2345, Kampala. www.s-communicationinitiatve.com 24/10/2008 Our Ref: HR/D/O8 Mr. Okello Boniface, P.O Box 6789, Kampala. Dear Sir, RE: APPOINTMENT AS CREATIVE DIRECTOR I am pleased to inform you that following the interviews held on the 4/5/2008 held at our company head quarters, plot 234 Lumumba Avenue, the Human Resource Department decided to appoint you as a Creative Director effective 1/11/2008. This offer is on a two year contract renewable depending on satisfactory performance and mutual consent. Initially you will serve on a six (6) months probation after which the offer of a permanent appointment will be given depending on the review of your performance. If your performance is below the company’s expectation, the company reserves the right to terminate your services with no liabilities even before the end of the probation period if it is deemed to be in the interest of the company. The salary attached to this post is S-C/3 starting from 5.405.129 Uganda shillings to 10.342.240 Uganda shillings per month including housing and utilities allowances before taxes. The entry point in your case is 5.405.129 Uganda shillings You will be reporting to the Vice President-Marketing and Advertising who will provide you with a copy or the terms and conditions of services as well as your job description. Study the two documents carefully, after which submit a written acceptance and a comprehensive medical examination report from a registered physician in 14 days. Wishing you God’s blessing for success in your work with S-Communications. Yours Sincerely Archie Burton ARCHIE BURTON HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER CC. CEO Financial Controller VP Marketing and Advertising TENANCY AGREEMENT I Nakiwanuka Prossy hereby accept to let my house which is at Nansana West Zone I to Mr. Kawuki Boniface of Kampala. THE CONDITIONS OF TENANCY ARE AS FOLLOWS The tenant will be required to pay a monthly rent of 200,000 (shilling) per month. The tenant shall pay twelve month’s rent in advance totalling to 2.400.000shillings) after which the tenancy agreement shall be renewed on terms that will be agreed upon by both parties. The tenant will pay all utility bills for the duration of his/her tenancy. The landlord will periodically renovate the building to accepted standard. The tenant will be required to care for the house and maintain it to reasonable standard approximate to the state it was found in. This agreement is made this day 7th of December, 2009 between the afore mention person, Nakiwanuka Prossy and Kawuki Boniface and is effective from the above stated date. If the above terms and conditions are acceptable to both parties indicate by affixation of their respective hands and seals. TENANT SIGNATURE ……………………………... ……………………………. LAND LORDS: …………………………… …………………………. WITNESSED 1. ……………………… …………………………. 2…………………………… …………………………. NO TO HIV LUWERO UNIVERSITY Certificate of Attendance This is to certify that …………………………………………………………… Has satisfactorily completed the Luwero University’s anti-HIV sensitisation programme, held at the Department of Communication and Media Studies, Luwero University, Luwero between 13th and 31st July 2010. ………………………….. ……………………………. Ivan Musoke Dr. Kawala Jocye Club Chair person Head of Department NO TO HIV Communications and Media Studies Luwero University THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA CAR SALE AGREEMENT THIS CAR SALE AGREEMENT made this 17th day of March 2013 BETWEEN HOOD BALILUNO of P.O Box 2341, Kampala [Hereinafter referred to as the ‘vendor’] which expression shall where the context so admits include her assignees and successors in title of one part AND GUMA GUMISIRIZA OF P.O Box 9087 Masaka [Herein referred to as the buyer/purchaser] which expression shall where the context so admits include his/her assignees or successors in title of the other part. WITNESSTH that WHEREAS the vendor is the owner of car TOYOTA CORONA ST190, registration number UAJ231K he is desirous of selling. AND WHEREAS the buyer/purchaser is desirous of purchasing the said car. It is now hereby agreed as hereunder: That the vendor has agreed to sell the said car to the purchaser for the total amount of Uganda shillings Ten Millions [10,000,000] That the purchaser has agreed to purchase the said car at the above stated price. That the money will be paid in cash to the vendor at which he will hand over the log book of the car and sign the transfer forms signalling transfer of ownership. That the purchaser will take the “as it is” and is liable to any malefactions not noticed at the sale. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the vendor and the buyer have hereunto set their respective hands the day and month and year first above-mentioned SIGNED by the said HOOD BALILUNO ………………………. VENDOR In the presence of: ……………………… WITNESS SIGNED by the said GUMA GUMISIRIZA ………………………PURCHASER All in the presence of: ……………………..L.C.I CHAIRMAN KAZO DRAWN BY AKIKI & CO. ADVOCATES P.O BOX 6784, KAMPALA. STAR ENTERPRISES UGANDA LIMITED P.O BOX 12312 KAMPALA TEL:0392345987 0412324567 EMAIL:con@starenterprise.co.ug PRESS RELEASE This is to inform the general public that the allegation made in the story entitled, “MD FLEES WITH COMPANY FUNDS” in The Nation Star of July 2nd 2009 on page 14was false and should be disregarded. This is to inform our clients and the general public that we do not have the person named in the story in our management team and that no funds or the organization are missing. The story if it is not a concoction of the reporter, it might be about another company in another country and the reporter would have known this had he attempted to cross check with our company. We regret any inconveniences such information might have caused to our investors and clients. Amos Wejuli Public Relations Officer. CAA CONSTITUTIONAL ACADEMIC AGENCY PROTECTING YOUR RIGHTS AND FUTURE PUBLIC NOTICE CONSTITUTIONAL ACADEMIC AGENCY HAS FULL CONFIDENCE IN THE UGANDAN COURTS We refer to the article in The Courier of 23rd may, 2009 entitled “Agency Condemns Judiciary.” This is to clarify that the CONSTITUTIONAL ACADEMIC AGENCY has not drafted or issues a statement raising concern or commenting on the state of the judiciary in Uganda. This article was misleading and malicious and we distance ourselves from it. CONSTITUTIONAL ACADEMIC AGENCY would like to reassure the public that it has confidence in the Ugandan Judiciary and by large is satisfied with its work and will continue working with it to achieve acceptable levels of constitutionalism in the country. Ddungu Katoma CHAIRMAN THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA IN THE MATTERS OF THE OATHS ACT CHAPTER 52 AND IN THE MATTER OF AN AFFIDAVIT IN LIEU OF OWNERSHIPS AFFIDAVIT I, KIGUNDUDU PIUS, OF KAWEMPE KAMPALA, P.O BOX 7865, do solemnly make oath and swear as follows: 1. THAT I am a male adult of sane mind, a Ugandan by descent and therefore competent to depone the contents of this affidavit. 2. THAT on the 23rd of June, 2006 I purchased from Gunga Bosco a motor car Honda CRV registration number UAK234L at a cost of twelve million shillings that I paid in cash. 3. THAT the said Gunga Bosco acknowledged receipt of the money in the presence of three witnesses attached in the agreement and surrendered the car key and log book to me. 4. THAT I assumed legal ownership of the said car and would now wish to transfer it into my names. 5. THAT what I have stated herein above is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. Sworn by the said Gunga Bosco …………………………….. At Kampala on this 28th day of June, 2006 DEPONENT BEFOR ME ……………………. COMMISIONER OF OATH INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING Registrar’s Office P.O BOX 1231 KAMPALA DATE ………………………….. ACADEMIC TRANSCRIPT NAMES……………………………… REGIDTRATION NO ……………………………………….YEAR………………. TYPE OF ENTRY……………………………COURSE……………… DURATION……….. YEAR OF COMPLETION……………….. DEPARTMENT …………………………. YEAR I YEAR II SUBJECTS GRADE GRADE CUSTOMER RELATIONS A A ELECTRONICS I A A ELECTRONICS II A A+ GEOTRONICS B- A ECOTRONICS A B PRACTICALS A A AWARD:………………………… CLASS ……………………………… KEYS A=70-100, B=60-69, B-=50-59, C=40-49, D=35-39, F=00-34 …………………….. REGISTRAR Kampala University, P.O BOX 25454, Kampala 23rd October, 2007 Kampala University, P.O BOX 25454, Kampala. 23rd October, 2007 c/o Wasajja Jamil, Kampala University, P.O BOX 25454, Kampala 23rd October, 2007 C/o Wasajja Jamil Kampala University, P.O BOX 25454, Kampala 23rd October, 2007 Yours truly, Khamis Ahmed. OR Yours truly, Khamis Ahmed. OR Yours truly, Khamis Ahmed. C/o Kibuuka Nicholas Kirega, Entebbe Secondary School, P.O BOX 1235, Kampala. 13th September, 2006 Dear Patrick, I do hope you are fine and the family is doing well. How is your new wife and Mamma Brian? How is work and I was told you are expecting a promotion at the end of the year. Let’s pray that you get it because you deserve it. On my part there is nothing to complain about. Yes, our last born had a fever two weeks ago but she is now fine. Gladys is preparing for the annually women’s conference in Nairobi and I guess soon I will be a bachelor for a week. Gladys told me about the conversation she had with Miriam over the weekend when they met upcountry during the burial of my late uncle Ssemakula. You know they have always been close since our days at the University and therefore, Miriam would not lie to her. So I took what she told Gladys and Gladys later told me seriously and hence this missive now. My point is that it is well to take a second wife and I know that how gracious the second wife is, naturally she will feel envious. Let me hope my candour and openness does not offend you. You know that under no circumstance will I not be forthright with you. You have gone through a lot with Miriam and if you have decided to take a second wife, so be it. But make sure that you treat her with the utmost respect she deserves. I have to confess that I have hastened to rebuke you without hearing your side of the story. Off course there are always two sides to any story and I look forward to your reassurance over the issue. Let me end here eagerly expecting your reply that will put to rest this issue that has greatly perturbed me. Kibuuka Nick.K Standard English Version Kampala University, P.O BOX 25454, Kampala Email:kugs2009@yahoo.com Tel:+256784286628 23rd October, 2007 OR The American English Version Kampala University, P.O BOX 25454, Kampala. Email:kugs2009@yahoo.com Tel:+256784286628 23rd October, 2007 The Managing Director, Oxymoronic Investments, P.O BOX 297845, Kampala. KAMPALA UNIVERSITY, P.O BOX 25454, KAMPALA. 28th FEBRUARY 2007 Tel: 0784286628 E-MAIL:maziwa@yahoo.Com THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER RURAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING KIGADI P.O.BOX 298 KARUGUZA Dear Sir, RE: APPLICATION FOR A TEACHING POST I humbly apply for the above mentioned post in reference to your advertisement that appeared in The New vision of 19th January 2007. I am a Ugandan male aged 25 years, currently pursuing a Bachelors degree at Kampala University majoring in English and Literature. Currently I am in my last semester and my graduation is set for June 22nd 2007. I will be in position to teach and perform duties allocated to me effectively, since I will have completed the course. I will be very grateful if my application meets your utmost consideration. I remain yours faithfully, Wasajja Jamil. WASAJJA JAMIL KAMPALA UNIVERSITY P.O.BOX 25454 KAMPALA 25th MARCH 2007 THE GUILD PRESIDENT KAMPALA UNIVERSITY P.O.BOX 25454 MUTUNDWE CAMPUS Dear Madam, RE: APOLOGY FOR MISSING THE LAST TWO CABINET MEETINGS I humbly apologize for missing the above-mentioned meetings and consequently not fulfilling my obligations that I swore to. It was due to sickness that had rendered me incapable of attending. I contracted malaria on 18th March 2007 and from then to date, I have been down at Mulago Hospital. That now I am steadily recovering, I hope to resume my full service in a few days to come. I will be very thankful if my sincere apology is put under you at most consideration I remain Yours Faithfully Kakuru Jackson KAKURU JACKSON Guild Minister of Education. MANI MARTHA C/O KAMPALA UNIVERSITY P.O.BOX 25454 KAMPALA 19th MARCH 2007 THE VICE CHANCELLOR KAMPALA UNIVERSITY P.O.BOX 25454 KAMPALA Dear Sir, RE: APOLOGY FOR A FORDGED A BANK SLIP I hereby tender in my apology to your office for having forged a bank slip for my tuition fees for the second semester of the academic year2006/07. I am a third year Bachelor of Arts students offering English and Literature. This was because I had financial constraints and we were drawing nearer to the end of second semester examinations, and failure to pay meant that I would miss the examinations. It is this fear that drove me to do something that is wrong and I promise never to do it again. I am looking forward for your positive consideration Yours faith fully, Mani martha MANI MARTHA THE HEAD TEACHER, KAKUNGULU HIGH SCHOOL, P.O.BOX 20, BOMBO. 28th FEBRUARY 2007 TO THE HEAD TEACHER, NAMALIGA SECONDARY SCHOOL, P.O.BOX 168, BOMBO. Dear Sir RE: INVITATION FOR A NETBALL MATCH I humbly invite your school netball team to a friendly netball championship to be held at our school sports ground on the 9th April 2007. The purpose of the championship is to prepare our respective teams before the National Championships later in the year. Five more schools have been invited and these are: Bombo Senior Secondary School, Nalinya Lwantale Girls, Shanamu High School, Ndejje Senior Secondary School and Ndejje High school. The programme of the day is attached to this letter. Your presence is highly appreciated Yours Faithfully mibei agnes MIBEI AGNES HEADTEACHER KAKUNGULU HIGH SCHOOL ST. THOMAS SEN. SEC. SCHOOL, P.O.BOX 1119, GABA. 19th MARCH 2007 TO THE HEAD TEACHER, BOMBO ARMY SCHOOL, P.O.BOX 1723, BOMBO. THRU THE HEADMASTER, ST THOMAS SEN. SEC. SCHOOL P.O.BOX 1119 GABA Dear Sir RE: INVITATION FOR A DEBATE I humbly wish to invite your school debating club for a friendly debate to be held on 19th April 2007 in my school. The debate will begin at 10:00 Am till in the afternoon. It is purposely to improve the student’s capability in attempt to prepare for the debating champions league, next year. Invited schools include Ndejje Sec. School, Nalinya Lwantale, Bombo and Ndejje High School. The programme of the day shall be followed as it is attached to this letter. Your presence will make the debate a reasonable competition Yours Faithfully Nambi Tinah NAMBI TINAH Sports Teacher, St. Thomas Sec. School KIBIBI DEBATING CLUB PROGRAMME FOR A FRIENDLY DEBATE TO BE HELD ON 14th MARCH 2007 STARING AT 2:00Pm IN THE SCHOOL MAIN HALL TIME ACTIVITY VENUE 1:30 – 1:50 Arrival of Guests at School MH 1:50 - 2:00 Take their seats MH 2:00 - 2:10 Anthems and then Introduction MH 2:10 – 4:00 Debate Starts MH 4:00-5:00 Refreshments DH Departure C/O NAKALANZI MARTHA, MINISTER OF INFORMATION, KAMPALA UNIVERSITY, P.O.BOX 25454, KAMPALA.. 19th MARCH 2007 THE GUILD PRESIDENT KAMPALA UNIVERSITY, P.O.BOX 25454, KAMPALA Dear Sir, RE: REQUEST FOR STATIONERY FOR GUILD AFFAIRS OFFICE I hereby humbly request for stationery to be used in guild affairs. The items needed are; twenty counter books for office use, eight file folders for keeping records, three reams of paper for office use like writing minutes in a meeting, one box of ball point pens for writing or recording down information, filing cabins for keeping records, punching machine which helps in filing, one stapling machine for putting papers together for easy keeping, furniture like the chairs, tables and cupboard and the computer for data processing and storage as well. I will be very grateful if the request is granted Yours in service Nakalanzi Martha NAKALANZI MARTHA c.c University Bursar c.c Financial Minister c.c Dean of students KAMPALA UNIVERSITY, P.O.BOX 25454, KAMPALA 1st JUNE, 2007 THE DEAN OF STUDENTS KAMPALA UNIVERSITY, P.O.BOX 25454, KAMPALA Dear Sir, RE: REQUEST FOR STATIONERY I am hereby writing to request for stationery to be used for the distribution of information about the forth-coming meeting of the guild cabinet to take place on the 10th of June. I would like to be given the following items; 1. Four markers: one blue, two black and one red, 2. Six manila papers, green in colour, 3. One bottle of office glue, office pins. I would be grateful if my request is put into consideration. Yours Faithfully Lawino Rebecca LAWINO REBECCA Information Minister Kampala University c.c Guild Secretary, Kampala University KAMPALA UNIVERSITY, P.O.BOX 25454, KAMPALA 19th MARCH 2007 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN Dear Sir/Madam, RE: NATALIE NORIS This is to notify you that the above mentioned is a bon fide student of Kampala University. She is a third year female student and resides in Kateregga hall at the Mutundwe Campus. The above student has lost her identity card. It has been missing since the sixth of June 2007. Please render her services required Yours faithfully, lawino rebecca LAWINO REBECCA DEAN OF STUDENTS KAMPALA UNIVERSITY NAKALANZI MARTHA, KAMPALA SCHOOL OF NURSING, P.O BOX 30363 KAMPALA. 10th MARCH 2007 THE HEADMISTRESS, MARY HILL HIGH SCHOOL, P.O.BOX 26, MBARARA. Dear Madam, REF: RECOMMENDATION OF NAMBI RACHEAL FOR A VACANCY IN YOUR SCHOOL I hereby write this letter in reference to your letter, which was dated on the 8th March 2007 seeking recommendation of Nambi Rachael to your school. Nambi Rachael is a well behaved student and has been a student in Saint Joseph’s Nagalama S.S for the last four years. She is a good sports lady who successfully excelled in volleyball, netball and academics as well. She is also a very disciplined and hardworking student. She left her former school because her parents are no longer living in Mukono but shifted to Mbarara Town and it is prudent that she goes to a school that is near to her new home. Looking forward to your assistance. Yours Faithfully, Nakalanzi Martha NAKALANZI MARTHA HEADMISTRESS MINUTES OF THE KAMPALA UNIVERSITY FOREIGN STUDENTS ASSOCIATION 3RD GENERAL HELD ON 24TH MARCH 2007 AT KAMPALA CAMPUS AT 11:00 AM AGENDA Opening prayer Introduction Communication from the chair Reading of the previous minutes Reaction to matters arising About launching of Association Nomination of the speaker Closing prayer ATTENDANCE Present members Ms. Brumen Alice Mr. Onze Charles Ms. Dough Pete Ms. Kroges Rebecca Ms. Kips Agnes Mr. Matt Oga Mr. Joe Fida Absent With Apology Ms. Cox Peters Mr. Cowford Acham Mr. Bendict Gonen Absent with out apologies Ms. Justin Inka Ms. Amelia Akol Min 1/3/06: Opening Prayer There was an opening prayer from Mr. Onze Charles Min 2/3/06: Introduction All members introduced them selves. Min 3/3/06: Communication from the Chair The chairperson welcomed every one to the meeting and apologized for the delay. Expressed appreciation to Mr. and Mrs. Matt oga, Ms Kips Agnes for the production of the constitution. Informed members of the registration of the Association. Suggested that flags to all countries should be raised during the launching. Min 4/03/06: Reading of Previous Minutes The general secretary read the previous minutes and members responded Min 5/03/06: Reactions From Matters Arising It was suggested that the information system should be re-arranged. One of the members suggested that one flag should be used to represent all countries Min 6/03/06: Launching of the Association It was agreed that the launching should be on 8th April 2006 at Gaba Campus at 2:00 Pm Min 7/03/06: Nomination of the Speaker Mr. Giten Kinde was nominated as the speaker for Mutundwe and Keiza Brandy as speaker of Gaba Campus Min 8/03/06: Closing Prayer There was a closing prayer said by Ms. Krugen Rebecca Sign……………… Sign…………………. Chair Person Secretary MINUTES OF END OF YEAR 2007 STAFF MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY 24th NOVEMBER 2007 AT 10:00 AM IN THE PHYSICS LABARATORY AGENDA Devotion/prayers Head teachers report Minutes of the previous meeting Reports i.e. Discipline and Academic committee Matters arising 2, 3, and 4 above End of term and holiday arrangement A.O.B Members Present Mr. Sesanga Medi Mr. Lukwago Cyrus Mr. Katula Steven Mr. Senyuzi Richard Min 1/11/2007: Opening prayer CALLED: The meeting to order at 10:00 am REQUESTED: Mr. Senyuzi Richard led the opening prayer. Min 2/11/2007: Chairperson Remarks EXTENDED: Extended sympathies to those who had lost their dear ones. THANKED: The lord for his Devine Protection, members for their in put. CONGRATULATED: Members on the successful completion of the year. OBSERVED: Spiritually growth among students Teacher – student relation ship has been good Increase in commodity prices had curtailed the schools capacity to carry out all the programmes Min 3/11/2007: Minutes of Previous Meeting The minutes were read and approved after a few corrections Min 4/11/2007: Committee Reports The discipline committee REPORTED: There were a few theft cases compared to previous terms Other offences include, trespassing and insubordination Muwonge Tony was suspended for two weeks for sneaking out of school The academic committee REPORTED: Reference to be made to the recommendation of the meeting held in the middle of the term Min 5/11/2007: Matters Arising Matters arising from chairman’s remarks NOTED Matters arising from the chairman’s communication Matters Arising from the Previous Minutes NOTED All members were called upon to abide by the domestic regulation The administration asked to provide plates and cups to students Students who tress pass to bring a roll of barbed wires Min 6/11/2007: End of Term arrangements NOTED End of term on 24th November 2007 at 8:00 Am Min 7/11/2007: A.O.B RAISED Food rations to be dished out Staff excursion to be in foreign countries ------------------------------ ---------------- Secretary Chairman A THANKSGIVING SPEECH Kasunga A Village Kibiito Sub County Kabalore District 29th March 2007 The area member of Parliament Hon Tanka Bern Guest of Honour The Chairman LC III Kibiito Sub County The chief priest Yerya Catholic Parish The chair person LC 1 Kadindima Village Ladies and Gentlemen It’s by the grace of the almighty God that we have gathered to join in spirit and passion to celebrate with our brother and Sister Joseph and Jennifer for having achieved the best of the achievements among the achievers and those known in our area. Today we are celebrating various things achieved in a number of years; Mr. Magezi Joseph was awarded a Doctorate degree in 2005 he highest level indeed, to be achieved in our area, Madam Jennifer was crowned the best investor of the year 2006 – 2007 in Uganda. Their two illustrious children; Jack and Diana passed their advanced level examinations in flying colours in what’s known as Government scholarship scheme at University. All these victories among the very many other achievements, we should. In respect to the above achievement s, we should always fall on our knees and thank God for what ever we get from above. Down in my memory, when I was still young, I could not tell the difference between my biological father and mother from the family of Joseph and Jennifer because they brought me up as immaculate as a crystal! I think, the best achieved are the rewards from God for the Good things done by the family: The chief guest, invited guests ladies and gentlemen; thank you: Kakuru Jackson Family Friend. A VOTE OF THANKS (SPEECH) PRESENTED TO THE AUDIENCE ON 20th JANUARY 2006 AT PAUL’S GRADUATION The District Education Officer, Mr. John Ssekaddu, the Chairman Local Council, Five Lubaga Division the head of this family Mr. Ssekamatte Denis, together with his wife, the grandaunts around and all ladies and gentlemen. You are warmly welcome for this special function in this home and I would love to greet you all in the lord’s name. I am Nambi Tinah, a second year student of Kampala University. I am the grandaunts closest friend and I would like to thank all of your for having come to make this a very special day. Your presence has really made the function a meaningful one. I would like to thank every one for every thing. I really don’t know how to express this but am so delighted and happy. Let me leave God to pay you back for all your contributions. May God bless you all. Thank you so much for having listened to me. Nambi Tinah Kampala University Below is another of a vote of thanks speech. A VOTE OF THANKS PRESENTED TO THE PARENTS, STAFF MEMBERS AND STUDENTS OF IGANGA GIRLS SECONDARY SCHOOL AT 3.15 PM ON THE SCHOOL OPEN DAY I recognize the presence of the Guest of honour, Honourable Nimulod Enoch, The chairman Board of Governors, The chairman parents` teachers` Association, our dear Head mistress, parents, ladies and Gentlemen. On behalf of the school administration, I thank you all for responding to our call and thank you for making this day a success. Special thanks go to the guest of honour, honourable Nimulod Enoch who has greatly contributed to the academic performance of the students. He personally opened two newly constructed chemistry and Biology laboratories. He is a man behind their construction. Thank you Honourable Nimulod Enoch. I wish to express our heart-felt gratitude to our parents with out which this day would never have been. We thank the parents for their support and for paying up their children’s school materials. Our disciplinary measures taken and for taking good care of the students while on holidays. Thank you. There is a special group of people, who normally take control guide and protect the children while they are here. We have not forgotten the teaching staff who wok as hard to see to it that our school stays at the top. Teachers have done good work. Thank you very much Lastly but not least, we thank the students whose duty it is to work hard and achieve the set aims and goals. Students have been disciplined and there have been no cases of suspension or expulsion. Keep this up and e shall stay at the top. I thank you all for the individual attention, for sacrificing your time to share with us this occasion. Thank you ladies and gentlemen. Good day. Lawino Rebecca Head of Department English literature SPEECH OF INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW UNIVERSITY CHANCELLOR NKUMBA UNIVERISTY AT NKUMBA UNIVERSITY GROUND ON 13th DECEMBER 2006. Our Guest of Honour, The University Chancellor, The University Vice-Chancellor. The University Secretary, University Academic Registrar, Dean Faculties, Dean Students, lecturers, grandaunts, parents, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to introduce our new University Chancellor. Most of you might not know him and may be hearing about him today. Professor W.Senteza Kajubi PHD, MA BA Hons as I have said is our University Chancellor. He has been a Professor in most of the East African Universities. He was at one time a lecturer of Makerere University before he went for his higher Education at the University of California in the USA. He has become a Professor for the past six years at the University at Makerere, university of Nairobi, Kenya and the University of Kenyatta also in Nairobi, Kenya. Professor W. Senteza Kajubi his long term work of experience in his profession and the establishment of the school of Education, Humanities and sciences as result of a great demand from the public for a strong teacher Education Institutions in Uganda. Professor. W. Senteza Kajubi we are happy to have you as our University Chancellor to award degrees to the grandaunts today. Thank you. Nambi Tina A SPEECH PRESENTED TO THE NDEJJE UNIVERSITY GUILD ON THE 20TH OF MARCH 2007 AT THE HAND OVER CEREMONY OF THE YOUTH ALIVE CLUB IN MAIN HALL I would like to recognize the presence of the vice Chancellor, the University Secretary, the Dean Faculty of Education, The Dean of Students, the Chaplain, The Guild President with his Minister5s, The President of Youth alive Club, all the Students, Ladies and Gentlemen. I would also like to appreciate my invitation today as a guest of honour, ore to this, let me appreciate the efforts of the organizing committee Youth alive club which has worked so hard to organize this day. Let me thank the out- going office bearers especially the president of the club Mr. Ochen Louis and all his ministers who have worked so tirelessly for the academic year 2007. They have worked so tirelessly for the academic year 2006-2007. They have done good work like opening up a debating youth club alive where all the Youth students go to share ideas amongst themselves thus proving morally up right and through sharing ideas, they end up becoming good citizens of the country. Today, let me welcome the in coming cabinet and tell them that there are too many challenges to where there heading but should only work hard so as to achieve successfully their goals like the out going cabinet. For example one of the challenges in such a club could be, one of the ministers not being in good terms with the president of the club, so you as a member of the youth alive club, find means by reconciling and loving one another to avoid conflicts. I thank and appreciate all of you ladies and gentlemen for having listened To me and sacrificed all your time here. Nakalanzi Martha Head of English Department Ndejje University. REPORT ON STAFF UNREST AND LOW MORALE FROM: EKANYA JOHN, DEPUTY HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER, WARID TELECOM, UGANDA. TO: DVAND ALI, SENIOR HUMAN MANAGER, WARID TELECOM, INTERNATIONAL. 1.0 INTRODUCTION This report is in response to your memo dated 19th May, 2007 that hinted on the general unrest, unexplained resignation and low morale of the work force in Warid, Uganda. According to your specifications and advice, I conduct a research to ascertain the root cause of this phenomenon. Below are the findings of the study carried out. 1.1 METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURE The research used mainly to methods of data collection. These were the questionnaire and interviews. A total of 100 workers were used in the study. Of these 60 were given questionnaires and 40 were interviewed. For triangulation purposes, the grapevine was used especially in respect to those views that people were hesitant to air out. The study took a maximum of 4 weeks, of which two were for the collection of views and opinions and 1 for the analysis of the data collected and 1 for writing the report. 1.2 FINDINGS The study in the analysis of the data collected discovered three main patterns that explain the low morale, unrest and unexplained resignation of the key staff members in the company. These were: 1.2.1 LACK OF PROMOTIONS The study observes that the main explanation for the de-motivation and constant resignations is the apparent lack of promotional channels for the staff. It was noted that any opening in the company is filled by expatriate staff, normally of low quality compared to the current staff. To most, their jobs were dead end from which for purposes of professional growth, they should leave. 1.2.2 PAY PACKAGE The research found out that the staff members are not satisfied with the total take home package their receive. The discontent is two fold. In the first place, they are discontented because of the reductions instituted last year across the board. They believe this was done arbitrary and without their input. Secondly they feel that they are paid less than what other people in the industry are getting. 1.2.3 POOR RELATIONS WITH MANAGEMENT Most members of staff feel that they are badly treated by management. In all staff meetings they are addressed with disrespected and constantly referred to as lazy and thieves. They also complained that their views, especially about their welfare are not listened to. 1.3 CONCLUSIONS This report draws the following conclusions in regards to the task given and the conditions on the ground. i. That there is a serious morale and employee dissatisfaction amongst the workers in the company. ii. There is poor communication link between top management and the workers. iii. That there is no policy and an attempt to address the problems and interests of the local workers. 1.4 RECOMMENDATIONS The report recommends that to avert the deplorable labour relations in the company, serious reforms should be undertaken on promotions, payments and communication. The report also recommends that more worker-management dialogue is instituted and this should be done regularly. Non-Closing Knowledge Gap Model Literary Communication Listening As Communication The Internet and Communication: The Value and Bottlenecks of the Internet in Communication