INTRODUCTION

TO
COMMUNICATIVE
SKILLS

Lesson # CW9Z62

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“The mistaken notion that this
is an English class upsets people
early on, and some never
recover.”

-Anonymous

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 COMMUNICATION

• COMMUNICATION IS THE
EXCHANGE OR FLOW OF
INFORMATION OR IDEAS FROM
THE SENDER TO THE RECEIVER.

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 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

• OCCURS WHEN THE RECEIVER

UNDERSTANDS THE SAME
MESSAGE THE SENDER INTENDS
TO TRANSMIT.
• THE SUCCESSFUL EXCHANGE OF
INFORMATION.

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 "If communication is not
accurate, then what is said is not
what is meant; if what is said is
not what is meant, then what
ought to be done remains
undone."

Confucius
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 HOW WE COMMUNICATE

FACE TO FACE
80%

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TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
• VERBAL
• NON-VERBAL

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COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
• LANGUAGE BARRIERS
• DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION STYLES
• PHYSICAL BARRIERS
• PERCEPTUAL BARRIERS
• NOISE

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 HOW WE COMMUNICATE

FACE TO FACE
80%

TELEPHONIC/RADIO
60%

WRITING
40%

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 IN THE FIRST
SIX MONTHS...(ON AVERAGE)
2 REPORTS OF SURVEY
12 COUNSELING STATEMENTS
4 EFFICIENCY REPORTS
2 SOPS
6 OPERATIONS ORDERS
10 MEMORANDUMS

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 WHY WRITE WELL?

• SOLDIERS
• CREDIBILITY
• EXPRESSION
• VISIBILITY
• CONVEY COMMANDER’S INTENT
• TIME MANAGEMENT

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 ARMY WRITING
“THE STANDARD”

EFFECTIVE ARMY WRITING IS

WRITING THE READER CAN
UNDERSTAND IN A SINGLE, RAPID
READING. IT IS GENERALLY FREE
OF ERRORS IN SUBSTANCE,
ORGANIZATION, STYLE AND
CORRECTNESS.
AR 25-50
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 ONE IN THE SAME
• Definition of Effective Communication:
The receiver understands the same
message the sender intends to
transmit. The successful exchange of
information.
• The Army Standard: Effective Army
writing is writing the reader can
understand in a single, rapid reading.

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 MAKE THESE TWO
CHANGES NOW:

1. PUT THE BOTTOM LINE UP

FRONT.

2. USE THE ACTIVE VOICE INSTEAD

OF THE PASSIVE VOICE.
AR 25-50

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 THE “OLD” WRITING PROCESS

• RESEARCH
• PLAN
• DRAFT
• REVISE
• PROOF

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 THE “NEW” WRITING PROCESS
Information
WRITING Dump

Check SOSC
Organization

PREWRITING REWRITING
Substance
Analyze Bottom Line
Audience

Purpose To Direct Edit

To Inform
To Persuade
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THE FOUR ELEMENTS OF
COMMUNICATION

SUBSTANCE

ORGANIZATION

STYLE

CORRECTNESS
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 SUBSTANCE

MAIN IDEA (BOTTOM LINE)

ALL SUPPORTING IDEAS

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Everyone will now be mobilized, and
all boys old enough to carry a spear
will go to Addis Ababa. Married men
will take wives to carry food and
cook. Those without wives will take
any woman without a husband.
Women with small babies need not
go. The blind, those who cannot walk
or for any reason cannot carry a
spear are exempted. Anyone else
found at home after receipt of this
order will be hanged.
Haile Selassie,
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 ORGANIZATION

• BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT

• SUPPORTING FACTS IN LOGICAL
ORDER

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There are many reasons why I chose to become an
officer. The most important reason is the increased
pay that an officer receives. In addition, an officer
has a better love life than soldiers. The night life is
great in Columbus. However, it is also good in
Minneapolis. The lakes in Minneapolis make the
the city an enjoyable place in the summer. But the
Minneapolis winters are as harsh as those in
Alaska. They are building a pipeline across the
state of Alaska. The pipeline will carry oil. Of
course, if the pipeline breaks, the entire state will
become polluted. The pollution is really bad in the
Great Lakes. Something must be done about it. 21
 STYLE

• USE THE ACTIVE VOICE

• ELIMINATE JARGON

• KEEP CLARITY INDEX BELOW 40

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“The Commander desires that
measures employing chemical
defoliant dispersal and/or mechanical
means be implemented to facilitate a
reduction in the growth of non-
cultivated vegetation adjacent to this
facility.”

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“KILL THE WEEDS AROUND
THE BUILDING.”

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 CORRECTNESS

• SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION

• SPELLING

• PUNCTUATION

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 CLOSING

• THINK OF WRITING AS A
PROCESS INSTEAD OF AN EVENT.
• ENSURE YOUR INTENT WILL BE
UNDERSTOOD BY THE RECEIVER.

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