LESSON 2

Question 1

Define Communicative Competence

Answer 1

It refers to a language user’s abilities, including his grammatical knowledge and social knowledge of knowing how and when to use utterances properly.

Question 2

Who coined the term Communicative Competence and when?

Answer 2

Dell Hymes; 1966

Question 3

Communicative competence was a response to this person’s distinction that he proposed in 1965.

Answer 3

Noam Chomsky’s distinction of competence vs performance

Question 4

This approach examined communicative competence and the integral relation between communicative form and function.

Answer 4

Ethnography of communication

Question 5

What are the different models of the Components of Communicative Competence?

Answer 5

• Canale and Swain’s model (most widely used)
• Sociocultural competence model by Celce-Murcia, Dornyei, and Thurrell (1995)
• Bachman and Palmer’s model (widely used in federal training in Canada)

Question 6

What are the 4 Communicative Competence?

Answer 6

• Linguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Discourse
• Strategic competence

Question 7

It is the scientific study of language and its components.

Answer 7

Linguistics

Question 8

It is the study of language in relation to social factors.

Answer 8

Sociolinguistics

Question 9

It is a communication of thought through words, talk, and conversation; a formal discussion of a subject in speech or writing.

Answer 9

Discourse

Question 10

It is the knowledge of how to use language to convey intended meaning and important in developing communicative competence.

Answer 10

Strategic competence

Question 11

What are the components of communicative competence?

Answer 11

• self-awareness
• adaptability
• empathy
• cognitive complexity
• ethics

Question 12

How to achieve communicative competence?

Answer 12

It requires knowledge, skills, and motivation. Competent communicators apply their knowledge through behavior (attitude) and skills.

Question 13

What are the 14 ways to improve your communication skills in order to become a more effective leader?

Answer 13

• Learn the basics of non-verbal communication
• You have to over-communicate just to communicate
• Avoid relying on visual aids
• Ask for honest feedback
• Engage the audience in discussion
• Start and end with keypoints
• Use the PIP (Purpose, Importance, Preview) Approach
• Record important presentations for posterity
• Master the art of timing
• Get comfortable speaking extemporaneously
• Get to know your audience
• Add novelty to improve audience retention
• Focus on earning respect instead of laughs
• Be a listener

Question 14

One study found that nonverbal communication accounted for ____% of how an audience perceived a presenter. That means that the majority of what you say is communicated not through words, but through ____.

To communicate clearly and confidently, adopt proper posture. Avoid slouching, folding your arms or making yourself appear smaller than you are. Instead, fill up the space you are given, maintain eye contact and (if appropriate) move around the space.

Answer 14

• 55%
• physical cues

Learn the basics of non-verbal communication

Question 15

In 1990, a graduate student at Stanford University was able to prove that presenters overestimate how much listeners understand. In a study that became known as “____,” one set of participants was asked to take the melody of 120 famous songs. The other participants were asked to guess what song was being tapped. Tappers estimated that 50% of the songs tapped would be correctly identified. In reality, only ____% of songs were correctly identified.

This study shows that it is important to communicate clearly and to ____ when sharing new ideas. As this study indicates, the audience will likely fail to absorb as much as you expect.

Answer 15

• The Tappers and The Listeners
• 2.5%
• Over-communicate

You have to over-communicate just to communicate

Question 16

Steve Jobs instituted a rule at Apple that banned all PowerPoint presentations. Similarly, ____ instituted a PowerPoint ban on Facebook. Both leaders realized that PowerPoint presentations can hinder rather than help communication.

Be prepared to use words, compelling storytelling and nonverbal cues to communicate your point with the audience. ____ unless absolutely necessary.

Answer 16

• Sheryl Sandberg

Avoid relying on visual aids

Question 17

As with most leadership skills, ____ from peers, managers and members of your team is critical to becoming a better communicator. If you regularly ____ ____, others will help you to discover areas for improvement that you might have otherwise overlooked.

Answer 17

• receiving honest feedback
• solicit feedback

Ask for honest feedback

Question 18

Regardless of how compelling the speaker is, all audiences have limited attention spans. To become a more effective communicator, make presentations and discussions interactive. Ask the audience a question, encourage people to call out their thoughts during a brainstorming session or at the very least ask hypothetical questions to stimulate the audience.

Answer 18

Engage the audience in discussion

Question 19

Think back to the “tappers and listeners” study mentioned earlier. Clear communication is of paramount importance. To ensure that the audience understands the key takeaways from a presentation, reiterate key points at the start and finish. This can also be accomplished by providing attendees with a one-pager that includes key points the audience should consider throughout the presentation.

Answer 19

Start and end with key points

Question 20

A common framework used by business experts like those at McKinsey is the PIP approach to presentation introductions. Following this approach, the speaker first states the purpose of the presentation, and then shares why presentation is important by reviewing implications and possible outcomes. Finally, the presenter gives a preview of the topics that will be discussed.

This framework is a useful way to get audiences excited about the presentation, helping them to focus on your message and on key takeaways.

Answer 20

Use the PIP (PURPOSE, IMPORTANCE, PREVIEW) approach

Question 21

It can take a good deal of time and energy to communicate effectively. In cases where you may need to give the same presentation multiple times, consider recording it and sharing it in the future. Platforms like Wistia and Zoom allow speakers to record themselves delivering a presentation. These video-recording platforms allow presenters to edit the video to make it more engaging and helpful. They also provide admins with metrics about viewer engagement. Recorded presentations can be especially helpful for communicators who need to regularly provide training in a company that is hiring employees quickly.

Answer 21

Record important presentations for posterity

Question 22

While some of their jokes might not be appropriate for the workplace, standup comedians are certainly effective communicators. Comedians like Louis CK, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle are able to host compelling 90-minute comedy shows, in part because they have mastered the art of timing. Great comedians, like all great communicators, are able to feel out their audience to determine when to move on to a new topic or when to reiterate an idea.

Answer 22

Master the art of timing

Question 23

When lawyers present a case in front of the United States Supreme Court, they typically speak extemporaneously. That is to say, the lawyers write down a series of topics they intend to discuss, but they do not memorize what they would say word for word. This method of communicating allows the lawyers presenting a case to cover all of the necessary points, while giving them flexibility as to how to communicate based on audience reaction or questions.

Business communicators should consider adopting an extemporaneous speaking style. It takes practice, but it will allow for more natural communication, and can help with audience engagement.

Answer 23

Get comfortable speaking extemporaneously

Question 24

To communicate effectively, it is important to get to know your audience first. Each audience is different, and will have different preferences and cultural norms that should be considered when communicating. A good way tound erstand expectations is to ask members of the audience for examples of good communicators within the organization.

Answer 24

Get to know your audience

Question 25

A recent study revealed that people generally retain more information when presented with novel, as opposed to routine, situations. To help audience members retain information, consider injecting some sort of novel event into a presentation. This might be something funny, or something that simply catches people by surprise.

Answer 25

Add novelty to improve audience retention

Question 26

It can be tempting to communicate with others in a lighthearted way; after all, this can be a good way to make friends in a professional setting. But remember that the most successful communicators are those who have earned respect, rather than laughs. While telling a joke or two to warm up an audience can be effective, avoid ending a presentation with a laugh.

Answer 26

Focus on earning respect instead of laughs

Question 27

What are the core values of communicative competence?

Answer 27

Communication
Competency
Customer focus
Continual Improvement
Creativity

Question 28

It claimed that language was interaction-based, unpredictable, contextual, purposeful…

Answer 28

Communicative approach (
Widdowson, 1978)