One of the things that interests me as an organizational communication professor is communication competence. There are a lot of definitions of what makes a competent communicator, and a lot of research goes into trying to determine what leads to such competence. I read an article a few weeks ago that really made me think. One of the things that previous research has considered is that communication competence is made up of being effective and also being appropriate. Inherent in both of those (especially effectiveness) is accomplishing your goals for a conversation. However, Lakey and Canary (2002) also found that communicating competently means being sensitive to the other person’s goals. So if you are trying to get someone to do something, communicating competently means demonstrating that you understand that person’s goals as well as your own. I think this is a very interesting way of thinking about competence. It seems many people think communication is important in organizations. This is one way to be better at it.
Reference:
Lakey, S. G., & Canary, D. J. (2002). Actor goal achievement and sensitivity to partner as critical factors in understanding interpersonal communication competence and conflict strategies. Communication Monographs, 69, 217-235.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: being sensitive to others, business communication, communication competence, communication effectiveness, workplace goals
