CHAPTER 9: THE POLICE LEADER AS A COMMUNICATOR

Question 1

THE POLICE LEADER AS A COMMUNICATOR

With this in mind, it is safe to say that the person doing the communicating must not only concern himself with the message that he wanted and intended to convey, but must be equally concerned with unintentional, supplemental, and perhaps _________ information or feelings that he puts across, as well.

Answer 1

contradictory

Question 2

THE POLICE LEADER AS A COMMUNICATOR

If it holds true that effective communication unites the most remote elements and units of an organization, then it is equally correct that poor communication can create _______ and disunity in the various organizational parts.

Answer 2

disorder

Question 3

THE POLICE LEADER AS A COMMUNICATOR

Once again, communication—poor or good—is the cause or ________ for morale and attitude changes.

Answer 3

treatment

Question 4

THE POLICE LEADER AS A COMMUNICATOR

It is said that a lack of reliable information and a strong personal
interest are the two ingredients necessary for the _________ and passing of rudely constructed and dubious information: rumor.

Answer 4

manufacture

Question 5

THE POLICE LEADER AS A COMMUNICATOR

It would follow logically that the organization or individual supervisor _______ or unable to communicate honestly, openly, and effectively invites active rumor-mongering.

Answer 5

unwilling

Question 6

ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION

These basic elements for good communication include:

1) Clear message,
2) simplified message,
3) openness,
4) ___________,
5) application of good listening/reading habits,
6) calm approach, and
7) proper timing.

Answer 6

4) two-way information flow

Question 7

ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION

It is impossible, for example, to separate totally the communication elements “__________” and “simplified message.” With this in mind, an in-depth examination of each of these elements to good communication skills can begin.

Answer 7

“clear message”

Question 8

ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:

Clear Message:

If the communicator is conveying the message orally, he can help assure that his point is made by not trying to convey ________ too quickly.

Answer 8

too much

Question 9

ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:

Clear Message:

Nonetheless the supervisor should use the best resources _______ to make known his spoken plans. Most of the time, the relative quietness of a squad room or similar facility will be the best place for explaining procedures, dis-cussing plans, or relaying orders and instructions.

Answer 9

available

Question 10

ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:

Clear Message:

If the message is to be in written form, the supervisor should keep
the words, sentences, and paragraphs as short as possible for clarity and understanding.

Clarity is definitely tied to ______ in this respect.

Answer 10

brevity

Question 11

ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:

Clear Message:

A few of these fuzzy, vague, _________ enemies include: sometimes, a few, generally, usually, and many. How often is “sometimes”? How many are “a few”? Do “general-ly” and “usually” mean the same thing? How many is “many”?

Answer 11

misleading

Question 12

ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:

Simplified Message:

Closely allied with message clarity is the importance of a simple,
straightforward message. It makes little sense (and makes for even less understanding) for a supervisor to attempt to convey __________ and perhaps widely divergent messages at one time.

Answer 12

several different

Question 13

ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:

Simplified Message:

The common sense supervisor does not utilize communication
with others to _______ everyone of how clever he is and what wonderfully big words he can use. Rather, his messages—whether spoken or written—get quickly to the point without wasting words to explore trivialities. The messages instead seek to simplify the complex and clarify the muddled.

Answer 13

convince

Question 14

ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:

Openness:

Unfortunately, the reverse is also true: a message from a disliked or distrusted boss may generate derision, even if the news is otherwise favorably regarded by its recipients. Here is yet another reason for a supervisor to build _______ and trust with his subordinates.

Answer 14

credibility

Question 15

ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:

Two-Way Information Flow:

One of the supervisor’s functions is to explain and _______ to his
people the instructions and policies that are handed down to him. To some extent, his role here is that of a translator between management and the work force.

Answer 15

clarify

Question 16

ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:

Two-Way Information Flow:

In other words, he must follow the responsible _________ rule of reporting the facts without editorializing!

Answer 16

journalist’s

Question 17

ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:

Two-Way Information Flow:

Good, two-way communication is also encouraged by the supervisor who asks questions to be sure he is understood. After explaining a particularly complex procedure or operation, he finds it informative to ask a few ______ questions of his audience.

Answer 17

pointed

Question 18

ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:

Two-Way Information Flow:

The second-best alternative—the ________—must then take over as the vehicle carrying the message. While not as effective for two-way communication as the personal encounter, the written message need not fail in its intend-ed purpose of sending information.

Answer 18

written communication

Question 19

ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:

Two-Way Information Flow:

He cannot succeed and advance in his organization without it. A supervisor lacking in _______ will seek to remedy the problem via practice, thorough proofreading and, perhaps, a writing or grammar class or two. It is that critical to his future.

Answer 19

written skills

Question 20

Application of Good Listening/Reading Habits

The supervisor must truly listen to what his subordinate is saying
to him. This means he does not look ______ (and blindly) at his employee while his mind is somewhere else. It means he does not interrupt his employee while that employee is trying to tell him something. It means he does not provoke an argument in lieu of a reasonable discussion.

Answer 20

blandly

Question 21

Application of Good Listening/Reading Habits

A first reading done to get the general idea and a slower and more careful second one intended to bring out the ________ is a good idea.

Answer 21

particulars

Question 22

Application of Good Listening/Reading Habits

Generally, the larger the organization he is a part of, the greater
the individual’s need to maintain his own _______ of printed material.

Answer 22

file system

Question 23

Calm Approach

The point is that all ________ to the information exchange must be in control of their feelings for useful communication to take place.

Answer 23

participants

Question 24

Calm Approach

Interrupting the current speaker to inject an _______ reply is rude. Debate and rudeness are not acceptable companions.

Answer 24

opposing

Question 25

Calm Approach Two-way trust and respect are musts for effective communication. Trust means that the listener knows enough about the speaker and his motives to take for granted that the talker sincerely believes his message is honest and ________.

Answer 25

worthwhile

Question 26

Proper Timing The proper timing of the ______ or _____ exchange can make the difference in the way the message is received by its intended recipient.

Answer 26

idea or Information

Question 27

Proper Timing In this way, he can see to it that communication takes place at the time it can do the most ____.

Answer 27

good

Question 28

HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION Any listing of the _______ of good communication would have to include the following: distractions (physical or mental), prejudices, emotional involvement, inappropriate language, and poor attitudes. Further examination of each will prove useful in avoiding com-munication breakdowns.

Answer 28

enemies

Question 29

HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION Distractions Whether the information being relayed is written or oral, its chances for reaching its intended listener/reader intact are reduced if it is surrounded by other happenings _______ for attention.

Answer 29

competing

Question 30

HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION Prejudices: Despite previous experiences, the effective communicator must put aside any ________ feelings long enough to hear (or read) the cur-rent message through to completion. This does not mean that he must accept it all at face value. But he avoids prejudging the latest commu-nication solely on the basis of prior experience

Answer 30

negative

Question 31

HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION Emotional Involvement The _______ supervisor cools off first, confirms his information, and disciplines later.

Answer 31

smarter

Question 32

HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION Inappropriate Language Rather, the leader should concern himself with making himself ______ understood in the terms he selects to carry his intended thought, idea, or feeling to his audience.

Answer 32

plainly

Question 33

HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION Inappropriate Language A good rule of thumb for the communicator might go something like this: BE BRIEF, BE CONCISE, BE GONE. Put another way, whatever gets the message across in as _____ and as simple words as possible probably does the job best. Complicating a relatively simple issue does not help anyone.

Answer 33

few

Question 34

HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION Poor Attitudes Regardless of the _____, a bad attitude almost always breeds bad results.

Answer 34

cause

Question 35

HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION Poor Attitudes Poor attitude can be combated by some self-evident and largely painless remedies: (1) put ________ to the back of the mind to the fullest extent possible; (2) do not permit emotions to dictate hasty actions or thoughtless words; (3) keep language appropriate to the audience and incident at hand. Although all of these suggestions are easier to state than live by, all can help neutralize one more opponent of good communication. With this much accomplished, the attitudes of all parties to the communication process cannot help but improve

Answer 35

prejudices

Question 36

BENEFITS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION Good communication happens where there is ______ at each level of the organization. A single element where this reliability does not exist will break the whole communicative chain.

Answer 36

mutual trust

Question 37

BENEFITS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION Finally, good communication within the law enforcement agency allows subordinates and supervisors alike to feel better about them-selves, _________, and each other. A by-product of mutual trust and understanding, this good feeling may be something of an intangible.

Answer 37

their agency

Question 38

WRITTEN VERSUS ORAL COMMUNICATION It should be kept in mind that the decision to use written or oral means of communicating is not really an either-or situation. Both types of communication have their own particular values and ________ for the police leader

Answer 38

advantages

Question 39

WRITTEN VERSUS ORAL COMMUNICATION _____ communication is obviously best in the person-to-person, one-on-one situation.

Answer 39

Oral

Question 40

WRITTEN VERSUS ORAL COMMUNICATION Oral communication is best in relatively ______ situations, even if the number of parties to the communication is expanded from the one-on-one scenario. Even patrol roll-call briefings can fall into this category if the number of persons present is not too large.

Answer 40

informal

Question 41

WRITTEN VERSUS ORAL COMMUNICATION Written communication comes into its own in the realm of record keeping. Written messages bring a greatly increased degree of ________ to any task of communication. If the employee is going to have need to refer back to the details of a particular procedure, then the procedure should be available for his future use. If there is a real need to trace accountability and identify responsibility, the directive that does the tracing and identifying needs to be documented for the record.

Answer 41

permanency

Question 42

WRITTEN VERSUS ORAL COMMUNICATION Written communication also can serve as a ____________ from the past and it can allow more thinking time for everyone involved in the communication process.

Answer 42

memory refresher

Question 43

WRITTEN VERSUS ORAL COMMUNICATION Whether written or oral, formal or relaxed, the communication engaged in by the police supervisor is ______ to his ultimate success as a leader.

Answer 43

vital

Question 44

SUMMARY Good communicators must understand others and be understood ______ by them, both orally and in writing.

Answer 44

easily

Question 45

SUMMARY He knows that an agency where ideas and information flow _______ and accurately is an organization of contributing, trusting, and reasonably content employees.

Answer 45

freely

Question 46

POINTS TO REMEMBER 1) It is virtually _______ NOT to communicate.

Answer 46

impossible

Question 47

POINTS TO REMEMBER 2) Good communication requires the full _______ of the message sender and receiver.

Answer 47

attention

Question 48

POINTS TO REMEMBER 3) Good communication must be clear, simple, open, and allow for two-way _______ exchange.

Answer 48

information

Question 49

POINTS TO REMEMBER 4) A good communicator will develop excellent listening as well as speaking and ______ habits.

Answer 49

reading

Question 50

POINTS TO REMEMBER 5) The ability to write well is absolutely _______ for a supervisor.

Answer 50

mandatory

Question 51

POINTS TO REMEMBER 6) To be effective, communication must be calm and largely ______.

Answer 51

unemotional

Question 52

POINTS TO REMEMBER 7) Timing is _____ for effective communication.

Answer 52

important

Question 53

POINTS TO REMEMBER 8) Enemies of effective communication include _______, prejudices, emotional involvement, inappropriate language, and poor attitudes.

Answer 53

distractions

Question 54

POINTS TO REMEMBER 9) Everyone benefits from _____ communication.

Answer 54

good

Question 55

POINTS TO REMEMBER Depending on the ______, either oral or written communication may be more effective than the other.

Answer 55

situation