Speeches Made by General David Morrison and Barack Obama - Essay Example

Communication Supervisor] Communication Portfolio A (speech analysis) When analyzing speeches made by Lt. General David Morrison and Barack Obama I paid a great deal of attention not only to the words of speeches but also their body language and their expressions. Being able to understand expressions of an individual helps understand what message the individual is trying to convey (Ribbens & Thompson, 2000). I also paid a great deal of attention to what the two speeches were about and jotted down the major key points of the message that they were trying to convey. By jotting down the main points that the two speakers provided in their speech I was able to understand how they used these main points to deliver the main idea of the speech. Finally I analyzed how clearly did the two men speak and what effect their clarity had on the overall speech and the message they were trying to convey. Analysis: By analyzing the two speeches there were number things that I was able to understand. Analyzing the two speeches required me to utilize my observational skills to assess the type of expressions that president Obama and Lt. General David Morrison portrayed while delivering their respective speeches. A speech has little to do with words and has more to do with the manner in which message of the speech is conducted. The manner in which Morrison delivered his speech was firm, whereas Obama’s manner delivered it in a manner that displayed immense sorrow for individuals that had lost their lives. Such gestures are non-verbal gestures that I learned to quickly pick up. Another thing that I learned from analyzing the two speeches understood the reaction or their emotions from the clarity in their voice and how easily it was for them to speak out words of the speech. Portfolio B (Article analysis) Description: While working on the article analysis I worked on was to gather information regarding the current method that has been employed by airline companies regarding communication systems being used in emergencies. I initially obtained information of the internet, which required a great deal of research skills. Using the internet I was able to obtain a great deal of information, however a great deal of this information was either irrelevant or was outdated. I filtered the information that was needed and then organized it in a presentable manner. In order to obtain information in a greater depth I discussed the article with a number of individuals that had experience with the field. Before contacting these individuals I developed a set of questions that was directed at obtaining information in much greater detail. I later compiled the answers I got from these individuals and formed a complete report that had my findings from the Internet and answers obtained. Analysis: Completing such a task was challenging in the sense that I had never conducted a great deal of research on an existing system of a company before. It took me some time but I was able to develop vast research skills. These skills helped me in filtering out the information that was related to the topic and which was useful in the analysis of the article. While contacting individuals, I knew I had to present my request in a formal manner and address all the queries that they had regarding all the questions. Addressing these questions meant that I had to be patient with each individual and had to listen very attentively. This exercise not only helped me develop my research skills but also taught me how to conduct a questionnaire and obtain information from the questionnaire. Portfolio C (Business Documents) Description: While working on the business document I ensured that I sounded as formal as possible. Writing an e-mail to a professional is by no means an easy task. While composing the e-mail I had to be careful of the language that I was using and the quality of the tone that I was using in the e-mail. The first step that I took was obtaining samples of formal e-mails. There is a certain format that is established for professional e-mails (Bovée, 2011). I obtained a variety of samples off the Internet and was able to use these samples as guidelines to help me write the e-mail. Once I composed the e-mail I checked the e-mail to ensure there were no grammatical mistakes. I also checked the e-mail to ensure that I did not stray off the topic and was able to get my message clearly across to the reader. Analysis: Composing a formal e-mail is much different than composing a normal e-mail. As mentioned above there are a number of considerations that one has to take into account before composing one. By writing a formal e-mail I was able to learn what are the common mistakes that individuals normally make while writing these e-mails and how is one suppose to avoid these mistakes. Secondly this assignment also taught me how to communicate with an individual at a professional level. When communicating with a professional one has to ensure that at no time should the composer of the e-mail stray from the topic nor should they use a language that is confusing. The skills that I learnt from this task are invaluable and would help me when I start my own career and join an organization or even when communicating with someone working at higher level of an organizational structure. Oral presentation: Description: While working on the oral presentation assignment I focused on what was being said. In this assignment I felt that it was important to use the correct words to deliver the message. To make sure that the presentation had the correct words I drafted the presentation and made sure it covered all the main points of the topic. Once completed I checked and rechecked the presentation to ensure nothing was missed out. Once I had the correct words I made sure that the style of delivering the main message of the oral presentation was rectified. Oral presentation has to be delivered in a manner that would ensure that those to whom the presentation is being given remain attentive and feel as if the individual is addressing them. For that I obtained some points that would have ensured that the manner in which I was delivering the speech was correct. Analysis: The oral presentation was based on two main things one was confidence and the second was engagement of the audience. By completing this assignment I learned how to improve my confidence and how to capture the attention of an audience. Confidence that I have gained from this assignment not only would help me with future presentations but would also help me in developing my career. One of the main characteristics that organizations look for in an individual is their confidence. The skill to capturing an audience’s attention is another skill that can be extremely useful in future prospects. The obtainment of an individual’s attention allows that individual to easily be able to transfer his or her message across to those listening. Such a skill can come in use when giving presentation or when holding meeting with a number of individuals present there. Teamwork, interpersonal, gender and intercultural communication: Description: To enhance communication between the team I helped develop a plan that would provide the group with everyone’s point of view regarding a certain matter. The plan was to allow each member to speak one at a time while the rest of the team listened to his or her ideas. In the process the team also jotted down the main ideas that he or she was delivering in their speech. This not only allowed communication to be more effective it also allowed the enhancement of teamwork. In order to address the issue of intercultural communication we ensured that there were no remarks or gestures made that would offend any team member. By communicating with each other what was acceptable and what was not we were able to ensure that intercultural communication was not a problem for any of the team members. Analysis: Form the formation of a communication plan I learned how to be able to communicate effectively with the team and implement a communication plan within a particular team. As mentioned above a communication plan is one of the basis on which an individual is able to enhance teamwork (Seeger et al., 2003). In addition working within a team also enabled me, to ensure that I understand the challenges that an individual faces while working in a multicultural environment and how is one suppose to overcome those challenges (Carroll & Harrison, 2006). The skills that I gained from working in a team help me to work in an environment or an organization which comprises of individuals from different cast and creed. These skills would also ensure that I can easily communicate with such individuals and ensure that they are able to easily understand the message that I am trying to give them. List of References Bovée, C.L., 2011. Business Communication Today. New Dehli: Pearson Education India. Carroll, G. & Harrison, J.R., 2006. Culture and Demography in Organizations. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Ribbens, G. & Thompson, R., 2000. Understanding Body Language. Hauppauge: Barrons Educational Series. Seeger, M.W., Sellnow, T.L. & Ulmer, R.R., 2003. Communication and Organizational Crisis. 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