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Visual Communication Sample Essay

The first chart clearly shows the recommended nutrient intake volumes. Amounts of nutrients intake decrease from the lowest part of the pyramid so that the highest part contains the nutrients that less important (MGMg, 2014). From the images, it easy to deduce the food nutrients represented in every category of the pyramid. The pyramid clearly indicates which food types should be consumed in large proportions as well as those that should be consumed in small amounts. In addition, the message on the pyramid matches the information provided along with the images. The color and design used on the pyramid is appropriate since it enhances clarity. From the chart the harmony of colors, which is a significant feature in visual communication, is clearly visible (Thalassinos, 2009) In addition to clarity of images, there are no signs of chart junk or alteration on the data.

The second chart represents a comparison of the mortality rate caused by malaria in the Sub-Saharan Africa and the world. Difference in color and the key makes the message on the chart clear. With this chart design, it is easy to make comparisons between the death rate caused by malaria in the Sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the world. The visual clearly communicates the intended message since it does not contain unnecessary visuals that would distract the viewer. Furthermore, there are no alterations on the data through the design or the nature of the chart.

The third chart is a comparison between the fatalities caused by accidents and those that are caused by chronic diseases. On the chart, the similar colors are used to represent different causes of deaths which make the message on the chart unclear. The pyramid is not a suitable chart to represent such bulky data. In addition, there is numerous use of chart junk which makes the chart congested. On the chart, two different forms of visuals are used. There is considerable alteration on the data, which would mislead a viewer.

The message on the fourth chart deviates from the assumption given in the chart title. According to the title of the chart, minority communities experience low employment rates even in good economic times. However, the line graph depicts the minorities as the communities with high employment rates. The difference between the title and the data representation makes the message unclear (MGMg, 2014). With correct representation of the data, the chart would have been appropriate. In addition, the colors used to represent black, Hispanic and white communities to not bring out the actual meaning of the words. Alternatively, a lighter color could have been used to represent the whites and a darker one for the black communities. Apart from the contradictory information, there is much use chart junk which affects the clarity of the visual.

On the fifth chart there is information on the use broadband services at work and at home. The visual message is unclear owing to the use of unnecessary visuals. The grey color makes it difficult for a viewer to identify the section that represents rate at which people access broad band at work and at home. With the exclusion of the chart junk, the representation is highly suitable for the data. Different scales are used on the two charts. This may confuse the viewer when he/she is making comparisons.

The sixth visual represents two charts; one on environmental risk factors and the other on energy consumption by fuel. Information on the two charts is clearly represented through the use of different colors for the various types of fuel. The use of gas emission chimney models to represent the rate at which gas emissions increase makes the chart appropriate. In addition, alterations on the data aid in increasing clarity.

The last chart is a representation of the burden of disease caused by overconsumption of alcohol. Different colors are used to mark areas on the world map where alcohol related diseases are prevalent. Much clarity has been achieved through the chart since it does not require high inferential analysis. The chart is suitable for the representation of the data. Using another form of chart for range data would make the interpretation difficult. In addition the use of distinct colors on the chart makes it easy for the viewer to extract information from the chart. This chart is an example of good visual communication as it does not include unnecessary visuals that would distract the viewer (MGMg, 2014).

References

MGMg. (2014). Evaluating visuals. DOC
Thalassinos, S. (2009). The important principles of visual communication. Retrieved on 22july 2014 from: http://makeyourideasart.com/design/the-important-principles-of-visual-co...

Active Listening Sample Essay & Outline

One area of active communication that has always been a struggle is avoiding interruptions. When one avoids interrupting the speaker, it becomes easier for them to comprehend what was being said, and this should be followed by a brief pause before any response is made. It is an indication that the listener is thinking carefully about what is being said, while also avoiding the error of second-guessing the speaker’s message. When individuals avoid unnecessary interruptions, it not only puts the speakers at ease, it is also expands their capacity for empathy. This is especially critical when dealing with classmates on projects such as group work.

It helps in understanding the point of view of other people by viewing issues from varying perspectives. When people avoid interruptions, it becomes easier to disregard preconceived ideas because the mind becomes receptive to new ideas. Conversations unfold in a sequence of turns. If cues are misread, unintentional interruptions may occur, and this could also effective communication. Interruptions are known to overlap with the message of the speaker, and can create a negative impression between speaker and listener. It is a frustrating habit that can be interpreted to mean disinterest. By following these suggestions, the impact of communication effectiveness will be improved.

One form of non-verbal communication that has been of great impact on a personal level is motivated movements. Motivated movements equal confidence, and this has often been perceived as being more critical than experience, knowledge or even skills. This consequently brings about competence. Employment interviews provide a good example of this. Showing motivated movements has always been my strongest point in interviews and other work-related situations. Although some individuals possess all the necessary skills and experience, their confidence level are not convincing enough, and they fall just short.

When it comes to pursuing both professional and personal goals, one quickly learns that confidence creates trust, and failure to show that one believes in his capabilities will rub off on others. Confidence represents a state of mind, and as such, cannot be learned. It has to be built upon through things like knowledge, positive thinking, training and practice. It comes from feelings of beliefs in one’s ability, acceptance of self, and well-being. For personal growth, low confidence is, therefore, that has to be addressed urgently. Previous failures, poor-time management, low self-esteem and criticism are examples of factors that can hinder this. Being assertive is one way of sticking to one’s principles and comes in handy both at the work place, and at a personal level.

One form of non-verbal communication that can impact interactions with an individual from a different culture is using eye contact. This remains a controversial issue that has generated different views from various quarters. There are those who view as being more sincere and open, while some cultures perceive it as a sign of disrespect. In the U.S for instance, eye-contact signifies interest in what the speaker is saying, and as such is considered proper. In other cultures like Asia, it could be interpreted to mean challenging the speaker’s authority. In such a culture, it does not necessarily show lack of confidence or interest. It is, therefore, important to alter this non-verbal communication form when dealing with individuals from different cultures because its meaning could be interpreted in a manner that is totally different.

Barriers To Effective Communication Sample Essay & Outline

Communication can be termed as the transfer of thoughts, ideas or feelings through the use of sounds, words or signs. Communication is important for the running of our day-to-day lives and it needs to be effective to achieve maximum benefits. Proper communication channels make it easy for people to relate; therefore making working easier. Effective communication makes it easy for individuals to understand each other and resolve any possible differences. Effective communication also helps in problem solving, building respect and trust, and avoids conflicts.

Effective communication entails more than simply understanding the message being conveyed. It involves understanding the different types of emotions related with different messages. However, there are a couple of barriers which limit effective communication taking place. The common communication barriers include language, distance, emotional barriers, physical disabilities, cultural differences and stereotyping. In this essay, the focus is on two major barriers of effective communication; ethnocentrism and stereotyping.

Stereotyping refers to situations where individuals hear what they expected to hear, rather than what has been communicated. The result of these is that such individuals make up incorrect conclusions since the information they have received is not same as the information being communicated. Within stereotyping, one individual views the other individual’s message with bias and prejudice (Hurn & Tomalin, 2013). The most common types of stereotypes include gender, race and religion. It is not a wonder, that even in this century some individuals still judge other due to their skin color.

Racial stereotyping is still very common in many parts of the globe and creates a way for racism. A good example is that one might consider themselves to be superior to another individual due to their skin color. Gender stereotyping is also quite common, especially in a world where women are viewed as subjects to men. However, with time, such barbaric thoughts have been abandoned and now, women are offered same opportunities as their male counterparts. Religious stereotyping occurs due to the various religions; however, it is not as common as racial and gender stereotyping.

Ethnocentrism refers to the social belief that one’s ethnic group or culture is superior to others. In other cases, ethnocentrism manifests an attitude of hostility rather than superiority. Ethnocentrism may be established through discrimination, verbal aggressiveness and violence. Therefore, for an individual who exhibits ethnocentrism it becomes hard for them to have effective cross-cultural communication. The individual will possibly look down at the other individual and not pay concern to whatever is being told to them (Samovar, Porter, McDaniel & Roy, 2013). In some cases, ethnocentrism can be related to racism due to one considering himself or herself better compared to other people. Individual with this habit do not even try to listen to any individual who among their view is below them.

In conclusion, stereotyping and ethnocentrism clearly prove to be barriers of effective communication. Today’s world does not allow encouraging some habits like racial, gender or religious stereotyping. Despite the differences in our views or even skin color, this should not be used as an arena to feel superior to others. Ethnocentrism, on the other hand, is discriminating to individuals of a difference ethnic group or culture. The consideration of one’s culture to be superior to others makes them think that no one needs to correct them. Therefore, communication with such an individual considering you are from another ethnic community is close to impossible. Such barriers to communication should be avoided since they are based on myths, which are not true.

Reference

Hurn, B. J., & Tomalin, B. (2013). Cross-cultural communication: Theory and practice. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., McDaniel, E. R., & Roy, C. S. (2013). Communication between cultures. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Audience Analysis Essay & Outline

Analyzing an audience or audience analysis is a task that is usually carried out by speakers as well as technical writers in the early stages of a project or presentation. It involves the assessment of the audience so as to ensure that the information provided is at an appropriate level. All communications, therefore, are usually targeted towards the intended and defined audience. There are many factors to consider when defining and analyzing an audience. This paper seeks to determine and explore audience analysis, the areas to consider as well as the desired outcome.

Among the most important elements of effective communication is the understanding of the audience that one is addressing. Audience analysis can aid one in gaining valuable insight about the readers or listeners. This can help one in choosing as well as developing a meaningful as well as a relevant topic for the present or targeted audience. It can also help one to create a plan that is appropriately tailored to suit the audience complete with the appropriate style, tone, language, as well as content effectively. Looking at audience analysis from the interpersonal communication point of view, the process can be discussed in relation to a speaker’s audience. From a speaker’s perspective, audience analysis is usually done in three phases. These are adaptation before the speech, during the speech and finally after the speech. Before the speech, audience analysis can be done in three ways; demographic analysis, attitudinal analysis, as well as environmental analysis.

Demographic analysis

The demographic analysis entails analyzing the gender, age, ethnicity, culture, educational level, religion as well as race. It is quite notable that very few things affect one's outlook on matters more than age. For instance, college students engage in almost similar activities and listen to similar types of music as well as movies. In the event that a speaker has to address such an audience, there will be some information that will need no definition or explanation to such an audience being that they already relate to such information. Age is, therefore, a crucial factor in choosing a topic to present to an audience. Apart from the age, there is the gender factor. It is quite important that a speaker finds out the ration of women to men in an audience before delivering the speech. Additionally, it is quite vital that stereotypes, jokes about gender as well as sexist language are avoided. This is because such remarks can cause a certain part of the audience to lose their interest in the speech and thereby causing the speaker to lose credibility. The issue of culture also plays a crucial role. Culture is a group’s shared knowledge, attitudes, behavior, beliefs, norms and values. Ethnicity and race are very sensitive subjects to most people, and a slight show of disregard can lead to loss of an audience. Religion is also a touchy issue since many people have very strong feelings about their religious beliefs. Finally on the demographics analysis is the audience educational background. This can be important in helping the speaker choose the style of language, vocabulary, and use of examples.

Attitudinal analysis

Attitudinal analysis deals with the listener’s beliefs, attitudes as well as values. When choosing a topic to present to an audience, the speaker must consider the audience’s attitude by finding out what the audience likes or dislikes. Take rap for instance; does the audience appreciate rap music? Looking at beliefs, this deals entirely with what the audience believes to be false or true. An audience can have certain belief about the influence and effects of rap to the young population in the society. Finally, there is the issue of values. Value can be defined as a person’s beliefs or standards. These two have to be considered so as to avoid compromising an audience’s values. Once a speaker considers finding out these three factors before delivering the speech then it becomes much easier to bring an audience to the desired responses.

Environmental analysis

Finally, there is the environmental analysis. This deals entirely with issues of sitting arrangement, room lighting, as well as the number of people attending. Seat arrangement, as well as room lighting, will affect the responses given by the audience. All these factors directly affect speech. For example, a well-lit room will lead to more response from the audience as opposed to a darker room. The sitting arrangements, as well as the number of people attending, are directly related since one affects the other. Other ways to gather information about the audience can be through the use of questionnaires as well as the use of interviews. This can be done using open-ended as well as closed-ended questions.

Adapting to the audience as one speaks includes examining aspects such as eye contact, facial expressions, restless movements, fidgeting, shuffling, and general body movements, verbal, and non-verbal responsiveness. In the event that the speaker is not getting the desired response from the audience then the speaker can improve the situation by trying to talk to the audience more, use examples, tell short stories, use appropriate humor, eliminate boring statistics and facts as well as ask questions or ask for feedback.
After speaking, the speaker can analyze the audience by examining the verbal, survey, non-verbal as well as behavioral responses. Following these steps will ensure a good delivery of the intended material and the speaker will have achieved a positive result in his/her bid to involve the audience in delivering the message.

Reference

Beebe, Steven A., Susan J. Beebe, and Mark V. Redmond. Interpersonal communication. Allyn & Bacon, 2011.
Knapp, Mark L., Anita L. Vangelisti, and John P. Caughlin. Interpersonal Communication & Human Relationships. Pearson Higher Ed, 2014.
Wood, Julia. Interpersonal Communication: Everyday Encounters. Cengage Learning, 2015.

Effective Visual Aids Essay & Outline

Abstract

This paper analyses the different types of visual aid techniques and gauges their relevance in disseminating information to viewers. If assess each techniques’ ability to transform a set of raw numbers, statistics, and data into engaging and practical visual aid, that also manages to place emphasis on the key points. Finally, it explores the various settings in criminal justice systems where these aid can be put to use and how they are specifically adapted for such settings.

Introduction

There are several ways in which information is passed from one person to the other. Depending the audience size, the urgency with which the information should be passed, and to whom it should be passed, one of the most common ways is the use of visual aid. There are several types of visual aid techniques namely;

a)Presentation software e.g. PowerPoint or Visual Basic applications
b)Blackboards and whiteboards
c)Hand-outs
d)Overhead transparencies

PowerPoint presentation is one of the most commonly used visual aid technique world over. This is because PowerPoint is very flexible and allows the creation of multimedia slideshows, is readily available and comes with Microsoft Office, and is in-built with a wide range of design options (Types and Uses of Study Aids, 2016). From the two students’ presentations, an audience would most likely identify with Student Two presentation. He employs good use some of the aspects that constitute good visual presentation. For instance, he uses diagrams (graph) to elaborate a point. He also uses color to pique the interest of his audience as he explains his concepts. Student One however doesn’t use much of these features and concentrates purely on explaining her points verbally. The content in her presentation would not be visible to a part of her audience sitting farther away from her, say at the back of a large lecture hall. She might not hold the attention of her audience for long since her presentation is too one dimensional.

Gallup Poll and National Survey did a research and came up with statistics on gun ownership in the United States in 2013 (Gun Control, 2017). Several visual aid platforms can be created to represent this data as follows.

A table can be used to show the reasons enumerated by the surveyed population segment for gun ownership
Reason portion
Protection from crime
Hunting
Recreation

This is a form of visual aid techniques that displays data in tables. It can however be limiting.
The same data can be presented in a chart format to overcome some of these limitations.
At a glance, an audience can visualize the major variable among a surveyed population segment.

The advantages of using visual aid get clearer as different platforms are exploited.

The use of visual aid finds useful applications in several settings of criminal justice. One, they can be used to present evidence in court, for example, a prosecutor can use pictures to show the specifics of a crime scene to the jury. In training Identification Officers, visual aid reduces the teaching time because students can observe what the instructor is explaining simultaneously. Finally, visual aid has been found to be impactful in interviews and interrogations (Babcock, 2013)

Conclusion

It is evident that visual aids help a lot not only in information dissemination but also in getting information from sources. They will have their shortcomings as is wont of any technological platform, but in the final analysis, their use in various criminal justice settings make work easier for those who use them. A probable disadvantage with using some visual aids platforms lies in the fact that the user must have some form of training regarding its use e.g. being able to make a presentation in PowerPoint requires the user to be knowledgeable in basic computer skills. This, in a way, limits the possibility of its use.

Reference

Babcock, T. (2013). Visual Aids in the Court Room - Evidence Presentation. Education,Health & Medicine Technology.
Gun Control. (2017, January 2). Retrieved from JUST FACTS: http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol
Types and Uses of Study Aids. (2016). Retrieved from Western Sydney University: http://www.westernsydney.edu.au/studysmart