The Art and Science of Communication

The Art and Science of Communication shows you a new way to understand and use communication in the workplace. Revealing the seven types of communication we all use every day, the book shows you how to increase your communication effectiveness in any setting with practical techniques, analogies, and models that clearly explain the formulas for successful communication. Combining the science and art of communication into one effective formula, this book offers a straightforward and easy to understand plan for a more successful career.

Foreword Les Brown xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xv

The Communication Staircase xvii

In the Beginning Is Your Word . . . xviii

Jill’s Professional Destiny? xxii

Chapter 1 Step One: Intrapersonal Communication 1

Self-Sabotage or Self-Fulfillment? 2

Discipline of the Mind 3

Dive into Your Life! 5

Where Did That Thought Come From? 7

Creating Our Self-Image at Work 8

Growing Up “Different” 10

Writing a New Script 13

Taking Ownership 14

Jill’s Day 18

Waking Up to YOUR Day! 19

Conquering the First Step 20

First Things First! 20

Chapter 2 Step Two: Nonverbal Communication 29

The Functions of Nonverbal Communication 29

Your Professional Appearance 32

Your Professional Voice 37

Actions Do Speak Louder Than Words! 40

It’s about Time! 42

Keep Your Distance! 45

Sometimes When We Touch 48

Do You Smell Something? 50

Chapter 3 Step Three: Interpersonal Communication 55

Five Keys to Positive, Healthy Work Relationships 55

Interpersonal Conflict 73

Supportive versus Defensive Communication 75

Chapter 4 Step Four: Small-Group/Organizational Communication 91

To Group or Not to Group . . . That Is the Question 91

Jill’s Day 92

I versus We: The Cultural Paradox 93

Co-Opetition Model of Advancement 95

Making Room for the Group Reality 97

Leadership Communication 98

Constructive Conflict 101

The Communication Climate 102

Small-Group Membership and Facilitation 106

Chapter 5 Step Five: Public Communication 111

The Common Denominator 111

Moving beyond the Fear! 112

Communication Apprehension 114

Confidence and Composure 115

Your Language 119

Don’t Make Excuses 120

Your Public Presentational Style 121

You and Your Audience 125

The Art of Impromptu/Conversational Speaking 127

Chapter 6 Step Six: Mass Communication 135

Influencing the Masses 135

Persuasion Is about Perspective 136

Are You a Walking Billboard? 138

Persuasion and the World of Work 140

Jill’s Day 142

Using Persuasion as a Tool of Influence 143

As Simple as One, Two, Three 144

Persuasive Messages and You 148

Chapter 7 Step Seven: Intercultural Communication 155

We CAN All Get Along! 155

What Makes Us Unique 156

We Are ALL Prejudiced! 159

Understanding Perception 160

Culture and Values That Impact the Workplace 162

Nonverbal Communication Is Culturally Bound 169

Global Community 169

Diversity and the Workplace 170

The “Other” in the Workplace 172

Jill’s Day 174

Inclusion in the Workplace 175

Becoming a Cross-Cultural Bridge through Cultural Competency 175

Epilogue New Beginnings 181

Index 185

"...a new slant on communications that is readily accessible to new and more seasoned readers alike." (Edge, October, 2008)

P.S. PERKINS is founder and CEO of the Human Communication Institute, LLC, and a graduate of the communication schools of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and New York University. She has been training, lecturing, and developing communications curricula for more than twenty years. She is currently a featured writer for the magazines Personal Development and Diversity Works!, talk show host of InWORD OutWORD: Conversations About Communication, and a featured practitioner in the motivational film, Pass It On!

Effective communication is the foundation of personal and professional success. The better you are at expressing yourself and understanding others determines where you'll go in life. The Art and Science of Communication introduces you to a new way of understanding and using communication in the workplace to achieve better results and greater professional success.

Communication specialist P.S. Perkins uses her exclusive Communication Staircase Model^™ to bring together the seven arenas of communication that everyone engages in on a daily basis—intrapersonal, nonverbal, interpersonal, group, public, mass, and intercultural communications. Using this model, as well as practical techniques, analogies, and formulas, Perkins teaches you how to become a more effective communicator in any setting, circumstance, or situation.

Mental preparation is an extremely important part of effective communication. Here you'll learn to improve and regulate your own messages and more accurately interpret the messages of others. In addition, you'll learn how to think and talk to yourself in a positive manner, enabling you to both convey the same positivity to others and receive it back from them.

Perkins merges the science of communication with practical, everyday communication occurrences within the workplace in an understandable, useful, and inspiring way. You'll master effective communication practices that achieve real results—the results you want. Mastering the correct rules of effective communication among employees, employers, and coworkers will create success professionally and personally.

Everything we do or gain in life and all of our successes are, in reality, based on the quality and kind of communication we engage in with ourselves and others. Good communication creates a good life. Inspiring and motivational, The Art and Science of Communication holds the ultimate key to true success. This is an invaluable guide for anyone who wants to master the art and science of communication for a more passionate, positive, and successful life.