
That's the thing with filters in communication. My frustration became a filter that further broke down the conversation. He had a filter in place that was preventing him from really hearing what I was saying, let alone recognizing the importance the topic had for me. In my frustration, I snapped, "This is important to me and you're not even listening!" He apologized and then shared with me that he had just had a very unsettling conversation with one of his co-workers. In fact, in my opinion, he was completely checked out. As I was sharing my thoughts and concerns, I could tell by his response or, better yet, his lack of response that he was not tuned in. I was recently talking with my husband about a work-related issue that was very important to me. Doing so exemplifies and models for staff how effective communication can be achieved in a thoughtful and encouraging way. Additionally, successful leaders have the ability to recognize how to use all three styles when necessary. However, in a successful and thriving staff setting, leaders can weave their way through all of these communication styles in one conversation and empower their staff to do the same. If the communication style seems to be only a modified version of cooperative or nondirective, staff may question leadership and the direction of their work and overall mission of the organization. In organizations that are not as successful and positive, the communication style may only be directive, leaving staff feeling isolated. This style can be confusing if the goals and objectives are not clearly communicated. The competent or veteran employees pursue the set of objectives in a solution-focused manner. Nondirective: This communication style delegates a broad task to employees.The goal here is to work toward aligning team members' values and getting agreement through a cooperative communication style. Cooperative: The leader approaches communication as an equal among his or her staff, seeking collaborative solutions with experienced or veteran employees.The leader is interested in the employee's opinion so that decisions can be made on the selective integration basis of that information. This form of communication is useful with immature or less-experienced employees and when implementing deliberate decisions. Directive: The leader makes decisions and notifies the staff accordingly.For example, does the situation call for a directive, a cooperative, or a nondirective communication style?

How you approach communication will be affected by the task at hand and the needs of employees. The most positive way to ensure good communication is by recognizing what each situation calls for and the best way to convey the information to your staff. Our role as a leader, based on the origin of the word, means that we "set in motion," therefore, as leaders of our staff, it's up to us to model the expectations of communication. Ideally, that control should be positive. We can elicit that control simply by the position we hold within an organization, or we can bring about that control in the communication style or tactic we choose to model with individuals. In every situation there is an element of control in communication. Or it can be a frustrating experience leaving us to wonder "What language do I need to be speaking so they get it?" The best way to answer that question is to identify where the communication process is breaking down - is it in the control, the filters, or the perceptions? Understanding those key factors will help you facilitate a successful communication practice for yourself and your staff. With our staff, communication can be positive and productive and help us move our ideas and plans forward. This book will prove useful to applied psychologists, behaviorists, and researchers.Communication in a personal setting can be a tricky thing, but in the workplace it can be downright complicated. These chapters also provide a summary of principles of perception and communication. The closing chapters consider the problems of multi-channeling listening and the selective nature of learning.


These topics are followed by discussions of the role of communication channels in listening the effects of noise on behavior the general nature of vigilance some data on individual differences related to extraversion and decrement in non-vigilance tasks and the nature of extinction. The next chapters deal with the theoretical interpretation of the experiments concerning selective listening to speech and some of the distinctive features of human verbal behavior.

This book is composed of 12 chapters and starts with an overview of the value of auditory studies and the basic principles of perception and behavior theory. Perception and Communication covers the significant advances in understanding the association between perception and communication.
