UNIT 1 Communication

"When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen."

— Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961), American writer

STARTING UP

A Think of a good communicator you know. Explain why he/she is good at communicating.
Listens actively, Speaks clearly, Adapts to the audience, Uses positive body language
B What makes a good communicator? Choose the three most important factors from this
list:

 fluency in the language  being a good listener  not being afraid of making
 an extensive vocabulary  physical appearance mistakes
 a sense of humour  an awareness of body  no strong accent
 grammatical accuracy language

C What other factors are important for communication?

Clarity, Empathy, Confidence, Cultural Sensitivity, Adaptability
D Discuss these questions:

1. What forms of written and spoken communication do you like using? Why?
2. What problems can people have with the different forms of communication?
3. How do you think those problems can be solved?
D1 . Face-to-face (immediate feedback), email (documented), video calls (visual clues)
D2 . Misinterpretation, language barriers, distractions
D3 . Active listening, clear language, feedback loops
Reserved "Challenge yourself to share one opinion in every meeting - start with short, prepared contributions."
Hesitant "Record yourself speaking to identify pauses; replace 'ums' with brief silences for confidence"
VOCABULARY: Good communicators
Inhibited "Practice power poses before speaking to reduce self-consciousness about mistakes"
A Which of these words apply to good communicators and which apply to bad
communicators? Add two adjectives of your own to the list. concise (good), monotonous (bad)
Rambling "Use the 30-second rule: If you can't say it in half a minute, it needs refining"
 articulate  coherent  eloquent  extrovert  fluent
 focused  hesitant  inhibited  persuasive  rambling
 reserved  responsive  sensitive  succinct  vague
Vague "Always pair abstract terms with concrete examples ('efficient' -> 'saves 2 hours weekly')."
B Which of the words in Exercise A have these meanings?

1. concise succint 5. clear and easy to understand coherent

2. reluctant to speak inhibited 6. good at influencing people persuasive
3. talking in a confused way rambling 7. outgoing extrovert
4. able to express ideas well articulate 8. eager to react and communicate responsive
C Complete the extract below from a talk by a communication expert with the verbs from
the box:

clarify | confuse | digress | engage | explain | interrupt | listen | ramble

listen 1
"Good communicators really __________ to people and take in what is said. They maintain eye
interrupt 2 and stop people talking. If
contact and have a relaxed body language, but they seldom __________
clarify 3
they don’t understand and want to __________ something, they wait for a suitable opportunity.

When speaking, effective communicators are good at giving information. They do

confuse 4 their listener. They make their points clearly. They will avoid technical terms,
not __________
explain 5 by giving
abbreviations or jargon. If they do need to use unfamiliar terminology, they __________
digress 6
an easy-to-understand example. Furthermore, although they may __________ in order to elaborate
ramble 7
a point and give additional information and details where appropriate, they will not __________ and
lose sight of their main message. Really effective communicators who have the ability
engage 8 with colleagues, employees, customers and suppliers are a valuable asset for any
to __________
business."

D ❌ CD1.1 Listen to the talk and check your answers.

E Think of a poor or bad communicator you know. How could they improve their skills?
What advice would you give them?

F Unfolding Concepts from CD1T1

1. Why is interrupting someone harmful in communication, and what should you do instead
when you need clarification? Disrupts flow; wait for pauses to ask questions.
2. Give an example of a technical term from your field. How would you explain it simply to
someone unfamiliar with the topic? API -> a bridge letting apps share data.
3. When is it appropriate to digress in a conversation, and how can you avoid rambling?
4. How can poor eye contact or body language negatively impact communication, even if your
words are clear? Signals disinterest (e.g., crossed arms)
#3 Digress briefly to clarify; avoid tangents.
 B1. Respect limited action spans; B2. Focus on meaning, not data overload;
B3. Listening is as vital as speaking; B4. Create emotional connections
LISTENING: Improving communications

A ❌ CD1.2 Listen to the first part of an interview with Alastair Dryburgh, an expert on
communication. Does he think technology makes good communication easier?
Alaister thinks technology can help but often makes communication worse.
B ❌ CD1.2 Listen again. What four key points does Alastair make about communication?

C ❌ CD1.3 Listen to the second part of the interview. Alastair gives an example of a
company which has used technology to change the way it communicates with customers.
Give reasons why it communicates well.
Clear order confirmations; Personalized suggestions (listening to costumer behavior).
D ❌ CD1.4 Listen to the final part, where Alastair is describing a bad customer experience.
What mistakes did the company make, and how could they have improved the customer
experience? Mistakes: Overly complext voicemail maze, no human access.
Improvement: Simplify menus, add "speak to agent" option.
E Discuss an example you know of a company which communicates well with its customers
or a company which communicates badly. What advice would you give to the bad
communicator? Bad communicators frustrates; good communication builds trust.
"Put customers in the picutre - don't keep them in the dark!"
Listening Skills: A Strategic Approach

Effective listening is more than just hearing words—it’s about targeted comprehension. Different
situations demand different listening strategies, especially in business contexts where clarity and
precision matter. Below, we break down the specific skills needed to analyze and answer questions
about Tracks 2, 3, and 4, helping you extract key insights, identify patterns, and evaluate real-world
communication examples with confidence.

CD1 Track 2: To analyze Alastair Dryburgh’s interview effectively, employ gist listening first to
capture his core stance on technology’s role -- capture the main idea by focusing on tone,
repetition, and overall message structure. Then, shift to detail listening for his four key principles
by identifying specific facts, examples, and numbered points through organizational cues. This
structured approach ensures you grasp both the big-picture argument and the actionable insights,
mirroring real-world business communication challenges.

CD1 Track 3: To analyze Amazon's communication strategy, use inferential listening to connect
specific examples to their broader business impact, thus uncovering deeper meanings by analyzing
how examples connect to broader concepts.. This approach helps uncover the underlying
principles that make Amazon's model successful beyond surface-level features.

CD1 Track 4: For the voicemail case study, apply critical listening to identify systemic flaws, thus
evaluating strengths/weaknesses to identify problems and potential solutions.=. Focus on the
consequences and infer solutions.

These subskills work together - gist gives the big picture, detail provides specifics, inference reveals deeper
significance, and critical analysis enables improvement. Mastering when to use each approach (whether for
quick understanding, accurate recall, interpretation, or evaluation) creates a complete listening toolkit for
professional communication challenges. The most effective listeners fluidly switch between these modes
based on their immediate needs and goals.
LANGUAGE REVIEW: Idioms

Idioms are expressions with meanings that cannot be deduced from their individual words. For
example:

 "Drive someone round the bend" means to make someone angry or frustrated, even
though the literal words suggest driving a car.

Example in context:
"That noise is driving me round the bend! It’s so annoying!"
→ The context reveals the idiomatic meaning (frustration), not the literal action.

A Complete the idioms below with the words from the box.

bush | grapevine | loop | mouth | nutshell | picture | point | purposes | stick | tail | wall | wavelength

nutshell
a) to put it in a __________ tail
g) can’t make head nor __________ of it
point
b) to get straight to the __________ purposes
h) to talk at cross __________
grapevine
c) to hear it on the __________ bush
i) to beat about the __________
picture
d) to put someone in the __________ mouth
j) to get it straight from the horse’s __________
stick
e) to get the wrong end of the __________ wall
k) to be like talking to a brick __________
wavelength
f) to be on the same __________ loop
l) to keep someone in the __________
B Match the idioms in Exercise A to these definitions.

1. to fail to understand anything G

2. to share similar opinions and ideas F
3. to give the main facts in a short, clear way A
4. to not understand something E
5. to delay talking about something I
6. to give the latest information L
7. to talk about the most important thing B
8. to hear about something because the information has been passed from one person to
another in conversation C
9. to be told something by someone who has direct knowledge of it J
10. to try to communicate with an unresponsive person K
11. to include someone in group communication D
12. to not understand someone H
C Read the text below and think of the word that best fits each gap (1-6). There is an
example at the beginning (0).

Example: (0) beat

Workplace Communication Challenges

beat around
Effective team collaboration requires clear communication. When leaders (0) ______
are
important issues instead of addressing them directly, employees become confused. Many (1) ______
completely confused by vague emails that seem designed to avoid responsibility.

wall for all the response

In meetings, some colleagues might as well be addressing a concrete (2) ______
sources
they get. To prevent this, always verify critical information with primary (3) ______ rather than
relying on office gossip.

Project managers should ensure all remote workers feel included by maintaining continuous (4)
contactwith them. When departments have fundamentally different interpretations of goals, they're
______
contactproperly.
essentially having parallel conversations that never (5) ______

clarify any misunderstandings

The most successful teams establish protocols to immediately (6) ______
before they escalate.

D Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using
the word given. Do not change the word given. Use between 2-5 words.

1. "The consultant summarized the complex regulations very concisely," the director noted.
SUMMARY
put
The director noted how the consultant ______ the complex regulations. in a nutshell

2. "We need to discuss the budget deficit immediately," the CFO insisted.
DELAY
afford to delay talking
The CFO insisted they couldn't ______ about the budget deficit.

3. "I heard about the restructuring from unofficial channels," the employee admitted.
RUMORS
through the grapevine
The employee admitted hearing about the restructuring ______.

4. "The engineering team needs to understand the full context," the manager emphasized.
PICTURE
put
The manager emphasized the need to ______ the engineering team. in the picture

5. "Our departments keep interpreting these guidelines differently," complained the

supervisor.
STICK getting the wrong end of the stick
The supervisor complained that everyone was ______ of the guidelines.

6. "The marketing and design teams always understand each other perfectly," observed the
CEO.
FREQUENCY
on the same
The CEO observed that the teams were ______ wavelength.