Communication inter alia LO8336

Robert Bacal (dbt359@freenet.mb.ca)
Fri, 5 Jul 1996 21:34:05 +0000

Replying to LO8329 --

On 5 Jul 96 at 13:56, PBparallax@aol.com wrote:

> The issue of communication depending on the listener not the sender
> is real. Recent research says that nearly 2/3 of employees don't
> believe management about a host of items. If I don't believe what
> you say, it really doesn't matter much what you say, how you say it,
> why you say it's important etc.

What you haven't mentioned above is that prior experience exists, and that
prior experience is based on communication. If you communicate in a way
(and with content) that calls your credbility into question, then I will
not trust you. Is it me or you? Credibility is built by the sender through
certain communication methods and constancy and consistency. And, yes, it
is a function of the listener also.

> I believe that the answer lies in
> an even more complex issue...trust. For communications to be
> effective (or influential) according to Ashe (1950's researcher)
> there are psychological aspects which must be present and when they
> are, in combination, they produce trust. Without trust, no
> communication. Sounds simple but it isn't. (Anyone interested in
> the specifics of the Ashe research can contact me directly for
> details.)

Our work takes a different approach, and does not use the construct of
trust. We think that one can learn to communicate at the macro level, in
ways that promote cooperative action (and, as a by product, promote what
you refer to as trust).

> I have been working on a model for effective organizational
> communications which combines trust with the old standbys of
> targeted messages delivered in a timely way. If the issue of trust
> can be succesfully addressed, and then maintained, I submit that
> communication becomes much quicker and easier, no matter what the
> topic.

I agree, but what is of more interest to me is the nature of
language/communication that creates trust, on an everyday, macro level.

Robert Bacal, CEO, Institute For Cooperative Communication
dbt359@freenet.mb.ca, Located in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
(204 888-9290.

-- 

"Robert Bacal" <dbt359@freenet.mb.ca>

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>