Bicol University

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LETTERS

Legazpi City

Module 5

COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGY
 CHAPTER FIVE
The application of technology to further your cause is a challenging undertaking
to begin with. Living in a digital climate requires us to become more sensitive to their
uses to be able to say on track.
In communication, one is now given an array of options by which messages are
conveyed. Several sites and applications can help anyone who would want to present
an output in a more dynamic way by virtue of colors, images, animations, templates and
so on.

OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. Identify the positive and negative dimensions of the use of technology in

communication;
2. Demonstrate your knowledge about the use of social media in Asia and in the rest of
the world;
3. Convey an idea or deliver a message for a variety of audiences using the most
appropriate technological tool;
4. Determine the applications/software that aid one in developing materials for
communication;
5. Apply the techniques in manipulating the applications;
6. Evaluate the impact of technology upon various modes of communication;
7. Create materials through applications/software identified; and
8. Deliver a message for a variety of audiences using the most appropriate
technological tool.

LESSON 1: MEDIATED COMMUNICATION

MEDIATED COMMUNICATION
In contrary to face-to-face communication, Mediated Communication refers to a
communications that happens using the technological tools of Information and
Communication Technology as a mode of exchanging information to one person or
another. These include the following;
Video communication is achieved by using Web cameras to connect two or more
parties. This is the next- best communication option after face-to-face, as you get most
of the same benefits. However, there is always the possibility of bad connections or
other technical issues that hinder the communication. If there are no technical glitches
encountered, this could be very effective mode of communication especially for people
separated by distance. For example, you may engage in a conversation via Skype with
you loved ones especially during significant, meaningful or memorable occasions. This is
a convenient communication mode for people how want to reach-out to each other
despite distance.
 Audio Communication is a
voice-only form of
communication, such as a
conversation on a telephone.
This is a good instant
communication tool if you
catch the person instead of
getting an answering
machine or voice mail, but it
does not have the benefit of
allowing you to see the other
person. It is also more
difficult to include more than
two parties. An obvious down
side of this mode is not being
able to see the body
language or cues of the person
you are talking to. However, if good listening skills is applied, one may detect the tone
and rising of intonation or pitch of the voice which may indicate the feeling or mood of
the speaker or listener.
The last mode is text-based communication. Although it can be linked or traced back
to the traditional mode of communication, however, because of the evolution of our
communication we learned to adapt and integrate it to our daily living to address such
necessities. Like e-mail, text messaging and instant messaging and social networking
site such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram likewise offer text-based interaction. Text
communication includes Internet communication, such as email, instant messaging and
forums, text messaging and printed papers. Text communication does not have the
benefits of audio and video, but it is much easier to distribute information to a large
group of people and save records of the communication.

LESSON 2: COMMUNICATION IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media can be described as the collection of

online platforms that involve sharing and
collaborating with an online community by posting,
commenting, and interacting with one another. The
most commonly used social media platforms today
are Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,
LinkedIn, and Snapchat.In the past there are various
modes through which we communicate. These
modes took the form of hand written messages, type
written messages, short telegrams, computer
encoded text, as well as the audio and video
conversations. Each mode of communication is
distinct form the other, the ways in which you craft our messages differ.
Now people can use email, social media, chat messengers, video conferencing, video
calls, images, videos, symbols, diagrams, charts, and emoticons, etc. for the
communication. Many things are wasting our time and we‘re becoming more busy than
productive. The debates, questions, viral communications are not achieving the desired
results and conclusions. There are even newer topics to communicate the next day and
we start looking for the next conclusions.If we follow good communication skills we can
use many tools and platform for research and development of nature including a
synergistic development of humans, our environment and natural sources. Technology
has affected communication tremendously, but it is entirely dependent on us how we use
it.
Today with the rapid rise and spread of internet connectivity, they old forms of
communication have given way to new forms that make communication easier and
faster. The emergence of social media has created a new avenue for facilitating daily
information and communication needs. As technology grows and expands our range of
communication, social media is becoming a vital tool for daily social interaction. It
creates opportunity for people to interact with each other in a way that is both helpful and
essential to socially motivate people. The rapid fire quick communication style that
captivates the millennial and other generation has shifted our conversations from “face-
to-face” instances to “through –the-screen” ones.
Social media and online communication is believed to be having adverse effect on social
skills and communication among adolescents. When social media did not exist and
social communication and interaction were the only way of communication. In the era of
technology, social media interactions now dominates both online and offline
conversations. In a society where interacting and over-sharing is the norm, you are
probably more likely to speak to friends and family through electronic devices than face-
to-face. As more generations are born into the social age, social media will continue to
be the favoured communication form among young people. Being able to reach
customers, co-workers and vendors quickly helps improve the efficiency of any business
operation. Mobile technology makes it easy to get or to keep contact information in a
mobile device. You can reach out with questions or updates from anywhere. For
example, a manager in the field trying to determine why an order hasn't arrived can
quickly contact his office, supplier and delivery courier within a few minutes from the
offsite location.
Furthermore, technology has reduced the amount of face-to-face interaction or the
number of actual telephone conversations that people have. It is much easier to send a
quick text rather than to engage in a phone call. Although this efficiency is certainly a
benefit, there is value to the chit-chat that's now becoming lost. Relationships are built
when a business knows its customer and discovers opportunities to serve them more
effectively through personal interactions.
When the message you convey are not communicated properly and felt guilty of not
conveying the message as it wants to be conveyed feels worse. It is because the
effective communication is being hindered by noise or in other reference, barriers. Some
of the barriers that obstructs effective communication include noise, inappropriate
medium, assumptions, emotion, and use of jargons or technical terms, and poor listening
skills. These barriers are categorized into five. Physical, Psychological, Cultural,
Language Used, and Personal.
LESSON 3: SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECTS ON
COMMUNICATION

It’s no surprise that the widespread use of social media for communicating ideas,
personal and professional stories and experiences has had a profound effect on the
overall way people communicate today. Just how has social media affected
communication, you ask? In more ways than you may think! But not all are bad — just
look at our list of social media effects on communication.

Around 3 billion people use social media today, which means that 40% of the world uses
social media for communication. It’s no surprise that this widespread use has social
media effects on communication.

11% of adults reported preferring staying home on Facebook than going out on the
weekend. Communication is affected in ways such as personal expression, our
expectations of others, and the way companies communicate with customers.

Exposure to Messaging

• Information Overload - Many people tend to binge on social media, spending

hours and hours scrolling though sites. Ultimately, this may lead to a constant
craving of more internet and more social media consumption. The more people
get, the more they want — and it’s hard to stop the cycle.
• Young People Read News - Social media has made reading the news cool
again. According to Wibbitz, 23% of young users get news from social media,
and a whopping 61% get political news from Facebook. On social media, people
share interesting news they read, and they can follow various news sources’
pages.
• Getting the Full Picture - Stories — a part of Instagram, Snapchat, and
Facebook — mean that people get the full picture of an event, activity, or
occurrence in someone’s life. We no longer just get a snapshot of a home-
cooked meal, we might see the entire process from start to finish.This has
changed the way people think about what to post — there is much less thought
put into a post when it is a story that will be erased after 24 hours.
• Boredom in Conversation - Here’s a sad social media effect on communication.
We are becoming bored when we have real, in-person conversations. People
have such a need for social media consumption and that instant, colorful
feedback only social media can give, they will often become bored during real
conversations, resorting to their phones. This can lead to a decrease in the
quality and number of meaningful conversations.
• Reactions to Non-Verbal, Emotional, and Social Cues - In-person reactions to
non-verbal, emotional, or social cues are changing in that people don’t need to
respond to these types of communication when they are online. This leads to
less experience and awareness of others’ needs based on these types of cues
that can only be received from in-person communication.

Self-Expression

• Sense of Urgency - No one has to wait for longer than a few hours for a
response, and people have come to expect that timeline for conversations. There
is so much of a sense of urgency that people are often anxious if they haven’t
heard back from a family member, friend, or partner in a number of hours.
• Need to Share - Social media has created a feeling among users that they must
share whatever they are doing — from restaurant orders, to concerts, to the
books they are reading. This can be a social media positive effect because
people are getting more exposure to things they might not otherwise, such as
new reads. But it can also be a negative effect as it can urge people to become
 dependent on posting anything occurring in their own lives and painting those
occurrences as rosier than they truly are.
• How We Value Ourselves - When people see others having a wonderful life, as
represented on social media, they tend to have a negative self-image, and start
to devalue their own ways of life. In addition, there is a feeling of needing to paint
an inaccurately positive and ‘fun’ version of one’s own life which leads to feelings
of negativity about one’s ‘real’ life.
• Inside Perspective of Afar - One of the positive effects of social media is the
ability to get an intimate view of other cultures and places. With social media,
especially on Instagram, users are able to see what others are doing around the
world. People are exposed to travel ideas, new cultures, and ways of life unlike
before.
• Broadcasting Live - Broadcasting live started as a fun, innocent idea to share
life’s moments, but it’s transformed to become a large part of political
movements, sharing some dark aspects of today’s society. The option to post live
videos has created an important platform for serious issues that need to be
spoken about.
• Personalized Digital Messages - Both Instagram and Snapchat have
popularized the highly personalized message. People can now completely
change their own faces with selfie filters, or draw pictures to send to friends, and
more. Creativity soars, which is a great thing, but people can start to spend too
much time personalizing picture messages.

Communication Style

• Summarized Writing - Starting with the limited character text messaging of the
2000s, and nowadays with the 140-character tweet, messages have been getting
shorter and more concise. Other areas of communication have adapted for
summarized writing as well, such as in shortened work memos, shortened
academic communication between students and professors, and shortened
messages in advertising.
• Abbreviations - The abbreviated style of communicating that became popular
when text messaging started in the 00’s has continued into online conversations.
It has also made its way into traditionally non-abbreviated forms of
communication such as spoken language, email communication, and even
academic forms of writing.This has caused concern among some academics,
citing studies that show a causation between “textese” and negative effects on
literacy skills such as writing skills and reading accuracy. Other studies show that
using “textese” has no effect on spelling ability, or correct grammar use.
• Unfiltered Interactions - Social media and internet interactions offer a veil
between the person sending and the person receiving the message. These
interactions are no longer face to face, and this can lead to some unfiltered
conversations as people feel they can say anything with no repercussions.
• GIFs and Emojis - The introduction of using emojis to illustrate a written
message or a GIF to express a reaction may seem fun and innocent, but it is also
interfering with our ability to properly craft a written response. It ends up being
too tempting to respond with a small picture, or a funny moving photo than to use
the mind to create a response with words from scratch.
• Viral Messages - That quick and easy “share” button on so many social media
platforms has led to the phenomenon of “going viral.” Messages, videos, and
other content can be easily shared between platforms with millions of people in a
matter of days.

In Business

• Building a Community - By utilizing social media, brands are able to create an

entire community based on their products or services. The use of a particular
brand can be integral to being a part of a certain lifestyle, and social media
perpetuates that idea. By being involved with the right communities, or making
 your own community out of a brand (such as Disney), companies are creating the
most loyal of customers.
• Brands Are Speaking Directly to Audiences - Companies no longer need to
go through media such as TV stations, magazines, or newspapers to reach
consumers. Brands now have direct access to customers by way of social media
— they can now find out exactly the needs of the customer much faster and
respond accordingly.
• Social Media is Changing Traditional Media - Traditional media was such that
a brand would just post an article and it would reach audiences. With social
media and the way information reaches consumers today makes it so that it’s
important who is posting or writing about a product. Influencers, bloggers, and
YouTube celebrities can all have a much bigger impact on getting a product
successful in the market.
• Brands Can Have a More Personal Connection with the Media - With social
media, brands have a more personal and long-term connection with journalists.
Instead of a one-time phone call or email for a story or new product information,
brands can create relationships with journalists and get them interested in
sharing their stories.

• There’s an Opportunity to Coordinate with PR Efforts - Brands can create

some important PR campaigns through social media. Through social
media, companies have an easier time finding influencers to work with,
other brands to collaborate with, and news sources to feed stories to.
LESSON 4: FIVE CATEGORIES OF BARRIERS

There are many reasons

why interpersonal
communications may fail.
In many communications,
the message may not be
received exactly the way
the sender intended and
hence it is important that
the communicator seeks
feedback to check that
their message is clearly
understood. There exist
many barriers to
communication and these may occur at any stage in the communication process.
Barriers may lead to your message becoming distorted and you therefore risk wasting
both time and/or money by causing confusion and misunderstanding. Effective
communication involves overcoming these barriers and conveying a clear and concise
message.
Physical Barrier- this barrier includes the defects in media or the medium for
communication, environment or geographical location, and physical disability like in
hearing, vision, or speaking.
Psychological Barrier- it is the manifestations of human behaviour and attitude when
communicating. These are emotions, past experiences or trauma, lacks retention of
attention or simply inattentive, status, and temperament.
Cultural Barrier- include the age and gender of the person, educational background,
economic status quo, popularity, religion, political views, and ethics.
Language Used- as the word posits, it refers to the contributory factor of the diverse
language across the world, dialect, and even its accent or the way the word is uttered.
Nonetheless, colloquial term adds the situation.
Personal Barrier- refers to the poor listening skills, egoistic, interpersonal trust, and
ability to communicate effectively.
For us to be a good communicator, one must develop the effective communications and
be able to identify the barriers in communication. Thus, identifying the purpose of the
message and target audience will give a solid framework and will determine the success
of the communication. However, this cannot be done in just one try, constant practice
and developing good communications skills will improve the way we convey the
message to and equip us to converse with the people surrounding us without any
interferences or misunderstanding to both parties.
“Communication may be broadly defined as the process of meaningful interaction among
human beings. More specifically, it is the process by which meanings are perceived and
understandings are reached among human beings.” (D.E. McFarland, 1994).
LESSON 5:
TIPS FOR MAKING EFFECTIVE POWERPOINT
PRESENTATIONS

§ Use the slide master feature to create a consistent and simple design template. It
is fine to vary the content presentation (i.e., bulleted list, 2-column text, text & image),
but be consistent with other elements such as font, colors, and background.
§ Simplify and limit the number of words on each screen. Use key phrases and include
only essential information.
§ Limit punctuation and avoid putting words in all capital letters. Empty space on the slide
will enhance readability.
§ Use contrasting colors for text and background. Light text on a dark background is best.
Patterned backgrounds can reduce readability of text.
§ Avoid the use of flashy transitions such as text fly-ins. These features may seem
impressive at first, but are distracting and get old quickly.
§ Overuse of special effects such as animation and sounds may make your presentation
“cutesy” and could negatively impact your credibility.

§ Use good quality images that reinforce and complement your message. Ensure that your
image maintains its impact and resolution when projected on a larger screen.
§ If you use builds (lines of text appearing each time you click the mouse), have content
appear on the screen in a consistent, simple manner; from the top or left is best. Only
“build” screens when necessary to make your point because builds can slow your
presentation.

§ Limit the number of slides. Presenters who constantly “flip” to the next slide are likely to
lose their audience. A good rule of thumb is one slide per minute.

§ Learn to navigate your presentation in a non-linear fashion. PowerPoint allows the

presenter to jump ahead or back without having to page through all the interim slides.
§ Know how to and practice moving forward AND backward within your presentation.
Audiences often ask to see the previous screen again.
§ If possible, view your slides on the screen you’ll be using for your presentation. Make
sure slides are readable from the back row seats. Text and graphical images should be
large enough to read, but not so large as to appear “loud.”
§ Have a Plan B in the event of technical difficulties. Remember that transparencies and
handouts will not show animation or other special effects.
§ Practice with someone who has never seen your presentation. Ask them for honest
feedback about colors, content, and any effects or graphical images you’ve included.
§ Do not read from your slides. The content of your slides is for the audience, not for the
presenter.
§ Do not speak to your slides. Many presenters face the direction of their presentation
rather than their audience.
§ Do not apologize for anything in your presentation. If you believe something will be hard
to read or understand, don’t use it.
The Seven Deadly Sins of PowerPoint Presentations (By Joseph Sommerville)
It’s not surprising PowerPoint© slideshows have become the norm for visuals in most
business presentations. Slideshows are quick to produce, easy to update and effective to
inject visual interest into the presentation. However, slideshows can also spell disaster even
for experienced presenters. The key to success is to make certain your slide show is a
visual aid and not a visual distraction. For the best results, avoid these common “seven
deadly sins” of PowerPoint© presentations.
1. Slide Transitions and Sound Effects: Transitions and sound effects can become the
focus of attention, which in turn distracts the audience. Worse yet, when a presentation
containing several effects and transitions runs on a computer much slower than the one
on which it was created, the result is a sluggish, almost comical when viewed. Such
gimmicks rarely enhance the message you’re trying to communicate. Unless you are
presenting at a science fiction convention, leave out the laser-guided text! Leave the
fade-ins, fade-outs, wipes, blinds, dissolves, checkerboards, cuts, covers and splits to
Hollywood filmmakers. Even “builds” (lines of text appearing each time you click the
mouse) can be distracting. Focus on your message, not the technology.
2. Standard Clipart: Death to screen beans! PowerPoint© is now so widely used the
clipart included with it has become a “visual cliché.” It shows a lack of creativity and a
tired adherence to a standard form. First, make certain that you need graphical images
to enhance your message. If you do, use your own scanned photographs or better-
quality graphics from companies such as PhotoDisc (www.photodisc.com) or Hemera’s
Photo Objects (www.hemera.com). Screen captures can add realism when presenting
information about a Website or computer program. Two popular screen capture
programs are Snagit (www.techsmith.com) for Windows and Snapz Pro
(www.ambrosiasw.com) for Macintosh. Both are available as shareware.
3. Presentation Templates: Another visual cliché. Templates force you to fit your original
ideas into someone else’s pre-packaged mold. The templates often contain distracting
backgrounds and poor color combinations. Select a good book on Web graphics and
apply the same principles to your slides. Create your own distinctive look or use your
company logo in a corner of the screen.
4. Text-Heavy Slides: Projected slides are a good medium for depicting an idea
graphically or providing an overview. Slides are a poor medium for detail and reading.
Avoid paragraphs, quotations and even complete sentences. Limit your slides to five
lines of text and use words and phrases to make your points. The audience will be able
to digest and retain key points more easily. Don’t use your slides as speaker’s notes or
to simply project an outline of your presentation.

5. The “Me” Paradigm: Presenters often scan a table or graphical image directly from
their existing print corporate material and include it in their slide show presentations. The
results are almost always sub-optimal. Print visuals are usually meant to be seen from 8-
12 inches rather than viewed from several feet. Typically, these images are too small,
too detailed and too textual for an effective visual presentation. The same is true for font
size; 12 point font is adequate when the text is in front of you. In a slideshow, aim for a
minimum of 40 point font. Remember the audience and move the circle from “me” to
“we.” Make certain all elements of any particular slide are large enough to be seen
easily. Size really does matter.
6. Reading: A verbal presentation should focus on interactive speaking and listening, not
reading by the speaker or the audience. The demands of spoken and written language
differ significantly. Spoken language is shorter, less formal and more direct. Reading text
ruins a presentation. A related point has to do with handouts for the audience. One of
your goals as a presenter is to capture and hold the audience’s attention. If you
distribute materials before your presentation, your audience will be reading the handouts
rather than listening to you. Often, parts of an effective presentation depend on creating
 suspense to engage the audience. If the audience can read everything you’re going to
say, that element is lost.
7. Faith in Technology: You never know when an equipment malfunction or incompatible
interfaces will force you to give your presentation on another computer. Be prepared by
having a back-up! With it, you can still make last-minute changes. It’s also a good idea to
prepare a few color transparencies of your key slides. In the worst-case scenario, none
of the technology works and you have no visuals to present. You should still be able to
give an excellent presentation if you focus on the message. Always familiarize yourself
with the presentation, practice it and be ready to engage the audience regardless of the
technology that is available. It’s almost a lost art.

Fonts

• Select a single sans-serif fonts such as Arial or Helvetica. Avoid serif fonts such
as Times New Roman or Palatino because these fonts are sometimes more
difficult to read.
• Use no font size smaller than 24 point.
• Use the same font for all your headlines.
• Select a font for body copy and another for headlines.
• Use bold and different sizes of those fonts for captions and subheadings.
• Add a fourth font for page numbers or as a secondary body font for sidebars.
• Don’t use more than four fonts in any one publication.
• Clearly label each screen. Use a larger font (35-45 points) or different color for
the title.
• Use larger fonts to indicate importance.
• Use different colors, sizes and styles (e.g., bold) for impact.
• Avoid italicized fonts as these are difficult to read quickly.
• Avoid long sentences.
• Avoid abbreviations and acronyms.
• Limit punctuation marks.
• No more than 6-8 words per line
• For bullet points, use the 6 x 6 Rule. One thought per line with no more than 6
words per line and no more than 6 lines per slide
• Use dark text on light background or light text on dark background. However,
dark backgrounds sometimes make it difficult for some people to read the text.
• Do not use all caps except for titles.
• Put repeating elements (like page numbers) in the same location on each page
of a multi-page document.
• To test the font, stand six feet from the monitor and see if you can read the slide.

Design and Graphical Images

• Use design templates.

• Standardize position, colors, and styles.
• Include only necessary information.
• Limit the information to essentials.
• Content should be self-evident
• Use colors that contrast and compliment.
• Too many slides can lose your audience.
• Keep the background consistent and subtle.
• Limit the number of transitions used. It is often better to use only one so the audience
knows what to expect.
• Use a single style of dingbat for bullets throughout the page.
• Use the same graphical rule at the top of all pages in a multi-page document.
• Use one or two large images rather than several small images.
• Prioritize images instead of a barrage of images for competing attention.
• Make images all the same size.
• Use the same border.
• Arrange images vertically or horizontally.
• Use only enough text when using charts or graphical images to explain the chart or
graph and clearly label the image.
• Keep the design clean and uncluttered. Leave empty space around the text and
graphical images.
• Use quality clipart and use it sparingly. A graphical image should relate to and enhance
the topic of the slide.
• Try to use the same style graphical image throughout the presentation (e.g., cartoon,
photographs)
• Limit the number of graphical images on each slide.
• Repetition of an image reinforces the message. Tie the number of copies of an image to
the numbers in your text.
• Resize, recolor, and reverse to turn one image into many. Use duplicates of varying
sizes, colors, and orientations to multiply the usefulness of a single clip art image.
• Make a single image stand out with dramatic contrast. Use color to make a dramatic
change to a single copy of your clip art.
• Check all images on a projection screen before the actual presentation.
• Avoid flashy images and noisy animation effects unless it relates directly to the slide.

Color

• Limit the number of colors on a single screen.

• Bright colors make small objects and thin lines stand out. However, some vibrant colors
are difficult to read when projected.
• Use no more than four colors on one chart.
• Check all colors on a projection screen before the actual presentation. Colors may
project differently than what appears on the monitor.

General Presentation

• Plan carefully.
• Do your research.
• Know your audience.
• Time your presentation.
• Speak comfortably and clearly.
• Check the spelling and grammar.
• Do not read the presentation. Practice the presentation so you can speak from bullet
points. The text should be a cue for the presenter rather than a message for the viewer.
• Give a brief overview at the start. Then present the information. Finally review important
points.
• It is often more effective to have bulleted points appear one at a time so the audience
listens to the presenter rather than reading the screen.
• Use a wireless mouse or pick up the wired mouse so you can move around as you
speak.
• If sound effects are used, wait until the sound has finished to speak.
• If the content is complex, print the slides so the audience can take notes.
• Do not turn your back on the audience. Try to position the monitor so you can speak
from it.
LESSON 6: COMMUNICATION AIDS AND TOOLS

Technology has taken over the world in these past decades. Its rapid development has
made a huge impact on each aspect of life — and, yes, communication. But how huge is
its impact...in communication?

What is a Communication Aid?

A communication aid helps an individual to communicate more effectively with people
around them. Communication aids are also referred to as AAC devices. AAC refers to
Augmentative and Alternative Communication, which is defined as,
… A huge range of techniques which support or replace spoken communication. These
include gesture, signing, symbols, word boards, communication boards and books, as
well as Voice Output Communication Aids (VOCAs).

There are two main types of AAC system:

Unaided Communication and Aided Communication.

• Unaided communication does not use additional equipment. Body language, gesture,
vocalization, signing are typically used.
• Aided communication uses equipment, but this ranges from low-tech to high-tech
methods, with pictures and symbols often used instead of, or together with words and
with alternative hardware options available to provide access. Whilst a low-tech method
of communication like a simple, laminated communication book to carry around with a
few pages of pictures or symbols would be a communication aid, the term ‘device’ would
only describe a more high-tech solution. An electronic communication aid can be a
dedicated device built for that job, which does nothing else, or it can be a standard
computer running specialist communication aid software as well – this includes Apple
tablets which are increasingly being used to help people communicate.

What Are Communication Strategies?

Communication is the exchange of information between a sender and a receiver. It used
to be that you only had to worry about the way you communicated face-to-face or on
paper. Technology has changed this completely. It is important for people to take into
account every aspect of how they are relaying information. This is where communication
strategies come into play. Communication strategies are the blueprints for how this
information will be exchanged.

Types of Communication Strategies

Communication strategies can be verbal, nonverbal, or visual. Integrating all the
strategies together will allow you to see the most success. This allows a business to
meet employee needs and increase workplace knowledge.
• Verbal communication strategies can be broken down into the two categories of
written and oral communication. Written strategies consist of avenues such as e-
mail, text, and chat. Examples that fall into the oral category are phone calls, video
chats, and face-to-face conversation.
• Nonverbal communication strategies consist of mostly visual cues, such as body
language, facial expressions, physical distance between communicators, or the tone
of your voice. These cues are typically not intended. However, it is important to
realize the message you are sending. Otherwise, you may be saying one thing, yet
the receiver is hearing another.
• Visual communication strategies can be seen through signs, web pages, and
illustrations. These strategies are used in the workplace to draw attention and
 provide documentation. Human resources is required to post certain visuals
throughout the workplace to comply with safety laws.

Using Tools of Technology

Multimedia is content that uses a combination of different content forms such as text,
audio, images, animations, video and interactive content. Multimedia contrasts with
media that use only rudimentary computer displays such as text-only or traditional forms
of printed or hand-produced material.
• A transparency, also known variously as a view foil, foil, or view graph, is a thin
sheet of transparent flexible material, typically cellulose acetate, onto which figures
can be drawn. These are then placed on an overhead projector for display to an
audience. Many companies and small organizations use a system of projectors and
transparencies in meetings and other groupings of people, though this system is
being largely replaced by video projectors and interactive whiteboards.
• Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting,
and display of moving visual media.
• Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical, mechanical, electronic, or
digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing,
instrumental music, or sound effects.
 Look for an existing Powerpoint or web-based
TASK #1
presentations. Use the following table as a guide for your
evaluation.

DESCRIPTION COMMENTS
Number of slides
Use of font size
Use of font style
Use of texts
Use of art
Use of labels for charts and graphs
(if available)
Use of slide backgrounds or design
Use of background color and text color
Text spelling an grammar
 TASK #2

Using any of the tools for communication, create a presentation that promotes cultural
values.