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Tag: communication

  • ‘Effective communication key to diplomacy’

    ‘Effective communication key to diplomacy’

    The Department of Mass Communication of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka the Anambra State capital, has held its maiden lecture on how to promote diplomacy using communication as tool. FRANKLIN ONWUBIKO (400-Level Mass Communication) reports.

    Communication has been described as an indispensable tool in promoting diplomacy and conflict resolution. This was the thrust of arguments at the maiden lecture of the Department of Mass Communication of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Akwa, the Anambra State capital.

    The lecture, held at the Stella Okunna Mass Communication Auditorium, was the first in the series, which would afford staff and students to discuss trendy issues in the practice of communication.

    The guest lecturer and the Secretary to the Anambra State Government, Oseloka Obaze, delivered a paper titled: Grasping the essence of international communication and diplomacy.

    The essence of diplomacy, Obaze said, is to foster mutual understanding among countries and to protect national interests and avert needless conflicts. He said the success of diplomacy depended on the forthrightness and clarity of communication with which it was carried out.

    According to Obaze, who has been to 63 countries, communication could make or mar countries’ relations. “How you communicate, what you say, write, dress, your eye contacts, sitting posture, body language, attitude and the personalities involved count a lot in international diplomacy,” he said.

    Since communication and diplomacy go hand-in-hand, Obaze said it was important that countries select their diplomats meticulously. He proposed what he called “KISS Model” as the best form of communication, which he analysed as “Keeping It Straight and Simple”.

    Obaze said when communication messages were kept straight and simple, it would reduce chances of ambiguity on the part of the receiver of the intended message. He frowned at students’ attitude of abbreviating text messages in communicating, especially on the social media. He said such communication could make messages to be meaningless because social media users commit syntax and grammatical blunders, which could alter the message being conveyed.

    Earlier, the Head of the Department of Mass Communication and coordinator of the lecture, Prof Stella Okunna, described the series as meeting of the towns and gowns, where undergraduates and post-graduate students meet with experienced communicators to learn latest techniques and practice.

    Prof Okunna said it was a privilege for the participants to listen to the guest speaker, who she described as experienced government official.

    In her remark, Deputy Director of UNIZIK 94.1FM, Dr Ifeoma Dunu, described the lecture as enriching and a mind-opener for effective communication. According to her, the lecture was geared towards making students to be exposed and enlightened on trendy issues in communication practice.

    In an interview, president of the Association of Mass Communication Students (ASOMACS), McDonald Ifeme, who spoke on behalf of the students, described the lecture as apt and incisive, adding that the guest lecturer analysed the intricacies of international communication and diplomacy. He praised the head of the department and orgnisers of the lecture, which he said would impart knowledge on students. He urged continuation and sustenance of the series.

    Present at the event included Prof Umaru Pate of Department of Mass Communication of the Bayero University, Kano (BUK), the ASOMACS Staff Adviser, Dr Chinwe Uzochukwu, staff and students of the department.

  • The changing communication landscape

    If we are to understand truly how the Internet shape the way we communicate, it is essential that we seek to understand how different varieties of language are used on the Internet. No doubt, the explosion of social media has completely changed the way we communicate with each other in an era where change is rapid. Whether via laptop computers, advanced mobile devices, Wi-Fi or enhanced 4G wireless networks, we are more connected than ever to the people we know. While those who use to “do things the old way” marvel at how we were able to make progress before this era, others are subtly drawing our attention to areas to look into as the change progresses.

    I interacted with two lectures last week who intimated me with some of the challenges they face in marking and grading seminar and examination papers. They marveled that a substantial number of their students actually write seminar papers and examinations with abbreviations! Some in the extreme even write without punctuations marks or caps. Part of the problem, they believe, lie with the usage of social media. I had to sit down for more than an hour with them to understand what or how deep the problems are and their solutions.

    Even the staunchest critic of the internet and social media – if there really are any – will agree that this communications boom has more positive educational benefits than negatives. The issue now is how we manage some of the negative side effect like “cyber slang” which is suspected of damaging students’ writing acumen like these lecturers identified.

    Writing was once a solitary activity but now it has become a very social way to communicate. Before the Internet, most people wrote to communicate with just one individual. But now we reach hundreds or thousands of people with a single post.

    With the prevalence of smartphones and popularity of texting, chances are you may have been with someone who was there, but not quite there. It’s not uncommon to see people glued to their technology even in social settings. If you can’t recall a time this has happened, you might be the offender yourself. Though we’re no less social, we are more distracted. Putting down our social media connections to focus on the ones right in front of us is something that takes a real effort.

    The lecturers agreed that social media is definitely changing the way we communicate, but in many ways it’s for the better as we expand our social circles and explore new horizons through our online connections. But they are concerned about cyber slang which is a term used to describe shortcuts, alternative words, or even symbols used to convey thoughts in an electronic document.

    Because so many digital media limit the number of characters an author can use at a time, students are becoming more creative to get the most out of their limited space. Common cyber-slang terms that have made their way into popular speech include BFF (best friends forever), LOL (laugh out loud), OMG (oh my God; some say oh my gosh), FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and YOLO (You Only Live Once) and a host of others.

    “I think it makes sense for these social conversations to be lightweight or light-hearted in terms of the syntax,” one of them said. “But ultimately, in the world of academic or business and in the real world the students’ will live in – in terms of their jobs and professional lives – solid reading and writing skills are fundamental. I’m a little worried about where we are in Nigeria with literacy levels dropping. Are these electronic devices helping us, or making it worse? I think they may be going the other way and making it worse.”

    I understood his concerns, but pointed out that words from the social media have found their ways into the English dictionary. Ten years ago, who would have thought the word “trend” will become a verb (on Twitter we read “It’s trending worldwide”). Others still have emerged as we adapt our language to new technologies; how about “crowdfunding,” “selfie,” and “e-cigarette?”

    I guess readers might have noticed how many of these “new” words are actually just appropriated, meaning they are pre-existing words that are combined or given entirely new meanings. For example, “social network” became a word in the Oxford English Dictionary back in 1973, referring to the physical activity of networking in a social atmosphere. In the 1990s, people began using the term to refer to virtual engagement, and that became an official definition in 1998.

    As academics, I challenged them to conduct researches into how and why things are changing. I drew their attention to a research by Jacob Eisenstein and his colleagues at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, USA. Eisenstein conducted a study examining 30 million tweets sent from different locations in the U.S. from December 2009 to May 2011. The purpose of the study was to pinpoint the origin of popular slang words and track how they spread across the country. He came to the realisation that social media networks like Twitter allow linguists accurate and easily searchable records for exchanges.

    One of the banes of our current educational system is the dearth of quality research. Without research we cannot understand the origin or trend of a phenomenon. Eisenstein goal was to pinpoint the origin of popular slang words and track how they spread across the country. A Nigerian researcher can also track things here and see where some of the popular lingoes we use emanate from.

    Because of social media, words are moving around the world within weeks and months, whereas before, it could take a few years. Is it then that language is changing more quickly? I don’t think so, I believe technologies have developed and they allow the transmission of slang terms to pass from one group to another much more quickly.

    According to Fiona McPherson, Senior Editor in the New Words Group at the Oxford English Dictionary, the secret of a new word’s success is its longevity. She said a word must be in use for at least five years to be considered. So, whether we like it or not, when words like “LOL” become common, widespread, well understood, and stick around for more than five years, they’re eligible for a spot in the dictionary.

    As I conducted my own little research into our communication dynamics, I was able to discover that dictionary editors look to what people say when they vote on whether a word should have a place in their dictionary. Dictionaries are a valuable resource material, but they are human and they are not timeless meaning that they also can change just like the King James English changed.

    As a result of the IT revolution, there is a shift in reading practices from the paper page to the screen. This shift is more likely to occur especially among young people who grow up with computers. It will necessitate different psycholinguistic processes related to decoding information from a screen instead of a page, especially when the screen will be decoding words for the reader at the click of a finger or mouse.

    Similar to the changes in reading practices, changes are expected to be made in writing practices as well in pedagogical contexts involving the Internet. With the rapid changes brought about by globalisation and technological development, we have already entered the biggest language/linguistic revolution ever. Many people have learned to meet the demands of the new Internet conditions, such as e-mails, chat groups, Web pages, etc. The e-prefix must have been used in hundreds of expressions of people on a daily basis.

    The Oxford Dictionary of New Words had already noted e-text, e-cash, e-books, e-conferences, e-voting, e-loan, e-newsletters, e-cards, e-shop, etc. However, it is impossible to know how many of these e-expressions which originated with the Internet will remain in long-term use in the English language. We can only recognise and describe language change once it has occurred. Linguists have begun to investigate the linguistic properties of the so-called ‘electronic revolution’. Whether the way in which the English language is being used on the Internet is so different from previous linguistic behaviour, and should it be described as revolutionary.

  • Communication strategies in mergers and acquisitions

    Communication strategies in mergers and acquisitions

    The concept of mergers and acquisitions has long been considered one of the fastest routes to business growth. Yet, experience has shown that most mergers fail to achieve the expected synergy and are more often counterproductive at the end of the day. Post-merger integration challenges are many. Even though nobody expects structural changes occasioned by mergers to be so smooth, there are appropriate strategies that can be put in place to ensure that the integration process is carefully managed to limit disruptions and achieve synergy so as to exceed the expectations of all stakeholders. One of the strategies for achieving successful mergers or acquisitions is effective communication.

     

    Communication role

    Communication needs to begin during the preliminary stage of the merger or acquisition to set the tone for success. Too often, communication does not start until it is too late. Research shows that mergers and acquisitions go through three broad phases. As part of an AT Kearney global survey conducted in 1998 to 1999, the question, “Which phase bears the greatest risk of failure?”, brought the following response: Strategy development, target shortlisting, due diligence – 30%; Negotiation and closing the deal – 17% and Post-merger integration – 53%.

     

    People issues and most prominent time

    This response shows that the most important time for a merger or take-over is when the deal has been formalised and the more difficult stage of “bedding down” the process has started, thus requiring intensive communication. However, there is a case that communication should start early to pave the way for internal acceptance and post-merger integration. Overwhelming experience indicates directly or indirectly that people issues are the main reason for take-over failures. And communication is still central to the people issues. According to McKinsey’s studies, “Management of the human side of the merger is the real key to maximising the value of the deal.” Watson Wyatt Worldwide says cultural incompatibility is consistently the biggest barrier to integration. But Mercer Human Resource Consultants’ discovery is that out of three key merger factors – people, processes and systems – only people issues made a difference to the success of mergers in the decade to 2001.

     

    Employee communication

    Effective employee or internal communication is the first or second most important issue emerging in all studies of mergers. Internal communication and culture changes are identified as the hardest to achieve, but the most important in merger success. Tragically, they are generally under-resourced in post-merger integration, and are often absent before the deal and the due diligence phases. Interestingly, customer issues are also extremely poorly resourced.

    At this analytical juncture, the questions to ask are, “How could management handle the situation?” and “How could highly-paid management consultants let this happen?” The two most important constituencies to look after – customers and employees – have largely been ignored. And the reason for this defies logic. Most of the merger communication budgets around the world have been spent on external communication rather than employee or internal communication.

    Regardless of the brilliance of the vision and the fit in a merger, the subsequent success of the deal depends mostly on the employees. They are the ones whose day-to-day actions can make a merger work or collapse after the deal has been sealed. Sufficient investment in internal communication is the link in keeping the employee attitudes positive towards the changes brought about by the merger.

     

    Early communication

    Even before a formal merger or acquisition is underway, employees often become aware from indirect information or by chance that something is underway. It is human nature to be inquisitive. If they feel management is keeping information from them, quite understandably they start to feel anxious.

    When people are uncertain, they start speculating about the clues in front of them. Invariably this interpretation of clues becomes paranoia as they chat with colleagues and quickly have the impression that the management is conspiring to catch them unawares. The grapevine goes overtime with rumours. Productivity will begin to drop as staff waste time in discussing rumours and losing the steam of their motivation. With well-developed rumours, some staff will actually start leaving the company before the “bad news” is broken to them.

     

    Initial indifference

    Research shows that when a merger is announced, the staff in the acquiring company may not feel concerned initially. They belong to the new parent and do not anticipate much change. This sense of security is not always justified because the process of establishing the new joint organisation can reveal areas of the acquiring company that could be improved upon.  However, if two roughly-equal parties merge, change will hit both sides. Employees will become anxious about their jobs. They will suddenly have to confront loss of status and influence; uncertainty about the employers’ plans; a fight for individual survival as fear of job cuts catches them; increased workloads because some people leave voluntarily or involuntarily; a  spillover effect into individuals’ lives.

     

    Fact

    It is a truism that effective or strategic communication plays a key role in addressing these issues, but it is difficult and complex. This is because communication demands intensive time from senior management at a time when they may be totally devoted to the technical and financial aspects of the deal, and may not have sufficiently considered the impact on others. Often the skill of effective communication requires training because many managers have never received guidance on good interpersonal communication practices.

    • To be continued

  • Veteran CNN journalist for Lagos Communications summit

    Veteran CNN journalist for Lagos Communications summit

    Emmy Award-winning veteran CNN correspondent and communication strategist Gina London is in Lagos, to facilitate a series of strategic communications trainings.
    From media houses to financial institutions, Gina will facilitate training sessions for organizations with high-level communication needs across various industries from June 15 to July 18.
    Her first stop will be at the “Find Your Edge” Strategic Communication Conference from Wednesday, June 18th to Friday, June 20th at The Wheatbaker, Ikoyi from 9 am.
    The three-day conference is designed to drive senior management professionals in media, politics and corporate industries to open their eyes to the emerging opportunities in today’s media cluttered world.
    She will focus on how to leverage on global media to sustain relevance and a global approach to communicating with stakeholders, the media and the entire world.
    Gina London’s experience spans CNN, CNN Radio, CNN International, CONUS Washington and 250
    CNN affiliate stations in the United States and internationally.
    As a trainer, consultant & communication strategist, her client portfolio includes: Hill & Knowlton, Deloitte, Wachovia Bank, M&T Mountain Bank, First Mariner Ban, Wells Fargo Bank, Bank of America, Chase Manhattan; First Savings and Federal of Baltimore, The World Bank, JCPenney Corporation, Walmart Stores Inc., Stanley Black & Decker and The Bradley Group.
    Gina has transformed communications teams over the years, making both their methods and messages more effective.
    For more information on this conference, visit www.findyouredge.com.ng.
    Companies can also benefit from in-house training sessions tailored by Gina to suit individual company needs. “Our expectations of Gina are very high,” says Ayoola Jolayemi, Managing Director of SwiftThink Limited, the idea development and management company spearheading the project.
    “Gina’s vast experience working with CNN and training and consulting for many companies worldwide will support the efforts of Nigerian companies in the areas of reputation management, crisis management, media relations and more. We are looking forward to a rewarding learning experience with her.”

  • Deploying business-analysis tool in effective communication

    One thing that makes intellectual activities interesting is creativity. That is, ability to think outside of the intellectual box and transplant ideas from their original areas for meaningful application elsewhere. To be able to determine potential for success in the face of competition in business, existing and prospective entrepreneurs basically try to assess their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) against competitors. This is simply known as SWOT Analysis.
    It is a system for examining the way a company is run or how someone works, in order to see what the good and bad features are. SWOT Analysis is widely used in strategic planning. It is most effective when you have defined the problem or concern that needs to be addressed and ideally have also developed your goal statement or intended end state for the project. In this way it helps to give clarity between where you are and where you want to be.
    It is interesting to know that this strategy can also be deployed in general and business communication for greatest effectiveness.

    Simplicity
    SWOT Analysis is quite simple in principle, and you should keep the process simple – avoid complexity and over-analysis. “But you need to beware of the danger of being tempted to merely compile a list rather than thinking about what is really important about the parts of that list in achieving the goal of the project,” says Kim Harrison, a public relations authority.
    SWOT Analysis is best undertaken by a cross-functional team of six to eight people who can provide a range of perspectives, especially people from areas relevant to the issue or problem for which you are preparing a communication plan. Therefore, in addition to communicators, you should include people who are broadly in tune with communication, such as people from your marketing section, your market researcher, a representative from operations and human resource departments, etc.

    Mistaken application
    You may also be drawn into presenting the resulting SWOT lists uncritically and without clear prioritisation so that, for example, weak opportunities may appear to balance strong threats. Harrison adds that you can use specialised software to show the SWOT lists graphically, which can help you clarify the factors being considered. A SWOT summary can be useful for strategy development in a communication project or programme as well as in an annual communication plan. It is especially useful for deciding the key points in your message.

    Strength and weakness
    A strength is a resource or capacity that can be used effectively to achieve the project objective. To identify strengths, ask: “What are our advantages in this situation?”, “What do we do well?” or “What do other people see as our strength here?” Obviously you would want to build on your organisation’s perceived strengths in your communication activities.
    A weakness is a limitation, fault or defect in the particular product, service or issue that may be the reason for your communication plan. To identify weaknesses, ask: “What could we improve in this?”, “What do we do badly?”, or “What should we avoid?” Other areas of the organisation may be able to resolve the problem caused by the weak point if, for instance, it is a financial, operational or marketing matter, in order to minimise its impact without you actually having to communicate it. If it needs a communication strategy, then you can tailor all or part of your communication plan, particularly the message, to minimise the weakness, or at least have a communication response in place if it is raised against you by opponents.

    Opportunity and threat
    An opportunity is a favourable situation in your project or organisation’s environment, often a trend or a change of some kind or an overlooked need that increases the relevance or effectiveness of the project in question. You can seek to exploit the perceived opportunity through your message to key stakeholders.
    A threat is a danger or menace in your project or organisation’s environment. Often threats are ignored until they become major problems. Threats can be identified by looking at the obstacles faced, initiatives by competitors, changing technology and changing demand or technical requirements for your products or services.
    As with a weakness, other areas may be able to act to counteract the problem without having a communication response. If it does need a communication response, you should assess the likelihood and extent of the risk or threat so that if it emerges, you are able to quickly implement a communication response.

    X-ray and action
    It is good to work out your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, but what do you actually do with these insights? SWOT Analysis is not much value unless you actually use the key factors identified to contribute to your communication plan. To keep this manageable, the factors should be prioritised. You could note the top three factors from each of the four quadrants to form a total of list of 12 factors, and then reduce the total list to the top five to six factors that would have a bearing on your communication strategy. Be careful to evaluate the factors that are the strongest and focus on them.
    Since resources are always limited, you cannot afford to follow up every SWOT item, so you need to attend to the most important by prioritising the items. The SWOT factors could be prioritised by urgency, importance, strategic advantage, cost, lead-time for completion, duration of actions, etc.

    Parting shot
    One strategy of achieving effective utilisation of SWOT analysis is to cross-link the four quadrants of factors to identify how strengths can be used to take advantage of opportunities and to tackle threats. Similarly, the weaknesses can be examined to ensure they do not compound the threats or stop your organisation from exploiting the opportunities relating to your project.
    PS: For those making inquiries about our Public Speaking, Business Presentation and Professional Writing Skills programme, please visit the website indicated on this page for details. Till we meet on Monday.

    •GOKE ILESANMI, Managing Consultant/CEO of Gokmar Communication Consulting, is an International Platinum Columnist, Certified Public Speaker/MC, Communication Specialist, Motivational Speaker and Career Management Coach. He is also a Book Reviewer, Biographer and Editorial Consultant.

    Tel: 08055068773; 08187499425
    Email: gokeiles2010@gmail.com
    Website: www.gokeilesanmi.com

  • Enhancing business communication with correct tense application(2)

    Last week, we said when we talk about any form of verbal communication, the issue of tenses is very important because tense is any of the verb forms relating time to action. We said there is actually a problem when we cannot accurately relate time to action and use the appropriate tenses in a given business situation.

    We discussed types of tense. We explained that Simple Present Tense refers to habitual or permanent actions, e.g. “I read every day”; “I go to the office every day”, etc. As for Simple Past Tense, we said it is used for expressing an action that took place before the present time, e.g. “I went to school yesterday”; “I saw him in the morning”, etc. We educated that Present Continuous Tense is structurally formed through combination of any of the auxiliary verbs or verb “to be” (is, am, are, etc) and the present participle (-ing) form of the verb involved. We explained that Past Continuous Tense is used in a situation where one past action was completed while another was still in progress.

    Present Perfect Tense

    This is formed through the combination of has or have and the past participle form of the verb involved, e.g. “I have written the note”. This tense tells us about a completed action with present relevance. The past participle form of a verb is its third form. For instance, a verb such as “Go” has “Went” as past tense and “Gone” past participle. For “Write”, we have “Wrote” as past tense and “Written” as past participle.

    Different forms of each verb are written against it in the short forms “pt” and “pp” in the dictionary. You also have these different forms of every verb at the end (or beginning) of any standard dictionary. Present Perfect Tense is a form of present tense, especially that it does not mention the time that the completed action took place but only expresses its relevance to the present time. Note that when you mention a specific date or time in the past, you cannot use present perfect, e.g. “I have seen him in the morning”. This is wrong. The correct form should have been “I saw him in the morning”. However, it is possible to say “I have seen him this morning” if we are still in the morning time.

    Past Perfect Tense

    This is the past form of the present perfect. It is formed through the combination of had and the past participle form of the verb involved. This tense is otherwise called pluperfect, remote past or past before past. It is used for the earlier of two actions that took place in the past, while the simple past is used for the one that happened later, e.g. “I had gone before he came”. Like the present perfect, past perfect tense is not used when a specific date or time is mentioned in the past. However, this rule is broken, especially if two actions took place in the past with one happening earlier, and the speaker wants to emphasise the date or time of the earlier action.

    In this type of situation, commas are usually employed to separate the area of time, to make it look like an intrusive element, that is, something that can be removed. An example of this can be drawn from preface to the first edition of Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Betty K. MA: “…Conceiving that such a compilation might help to supply my own deficiencies, I had, in the year 1805, completed a classified catalogue of words on a small scale, but on the same principle, and nearly in the same form, as Thesaurus now published….”

    Journalism

    It is common in (Nigerian) journalism to misuse past perfect tense. Look at this sentence, for example: “President Goodluck Jonathan had on Tuesday confirmed the matter”. If it is the case that the president confirmed the matter again on Wednesday, it is correct to use past perfect tense like this for that of Tuesday that was earlier. Similarly, if the president denied the matter on Wednesday, then we can use this statement like this, but commas will still be required to separate On Tuesday.

    However, if it is the case that the president only confirmed this on Tuesday alone, without re-confirmation or denial after this day, it is wrong to write the above expression in past perfect tense. Instead, it is more grammatically correct to use simple past tense and change the position of “On Tuesday”, e.g. “President Jonathan confirmed the matter on Tuesday”.

    *Note: it is “You had better do….” not “You had better done”. This is because “Had” here means “Should”.

    Simple Future Tense

    This tense is used to express simple futurity. Here, the first person singular pronoun I and plural “We” make use of the modal auxiliary verb “Shall” to express simple futurity, e.g. “I/We shall go today.” However, second-person singular and plural “You”, third person singular pronouns “He”, “She” and “It” and third person plural pronoun “They” use “Will” to express their simple futurity, e.g. “He/She/It/You/They will go today.”

    In spoken English, it is “Will” that is more commonly used for all persons. But the implication of this indiscriminate use of “Will” is that a listener may not know whether a speaker is expressing simple futurity or expressing a promise, especially when Will is used with “I” and We.

    The reason being that when it comes to expressing a promise, I and We make use of “Will”, while other pronouns employ “Shall”. Another way of expressing futurity is by using “going-to” with an infinitive. This is called Future of Intention, e.g. “I am going to see him tomorrow.”

    Future Perfect Tense

    This tense is formed through the combination of simple future tense and present perfect tense. It tells us about an action that will be completed by a particular future date. Here, the assignment of “Shall” and “Will” is just as applicable in simple future tense. A lot of people wrongly use “Would have” for all persons while using this tense, even in the present-tense case, probably because the phrase is phonetically pleasant. The standard way of using this tense is: “By next month, I/we shall have worked here for five years”; “By next month, they will have worked here for five years”, etc.

    •To be continued

    PS: For those making inquiries about our Public Speaking, Business Presentation and Professional Writing Skills programme, please visit the website indicated on this page for details. Till we meet on Monday.

    •GOKE ILESANMI, Managing Consultant/CEO of Gokmar Communication Consulting, is an International Platinum Columnist, Certified Public Speaker/MC, Communication Specialist, Motivational Speaker and Career Management Coach. He is also a Book Reviewer, Biographer and Editorial Consultant.

     

    Tel: 08055068773; 08187499425

    Email: gokeiles2010@gmail.com

    Website: www.gokeilesanmi.com

     

  • Enhancing business communication with correct tense application

    When we talk about any form of verbal communication, the issue of tenses is very important because tense is any of the verb forms relating time to action. This time is basically divided into past, present and future. There is actually a problem when we cannot accurately relate time to action and use the appropriate tenses in a given business situation.

    Tense and aspect

    Aspect refers to the verb form, which relates activities to the passage of time. In a way, aspect is a restatement of tense. According to the dictionary, there is an aspectual difference between “I saw him cross the road” and “I saw him crossing the road”. What this means is that “cross” used in the first sentence is a simple past tense though without “-ed”. Verbs used in this form are called bare infinitive, that is, infinitive without the preposition “to”. And being an infinitive, “cross” does not need “-ed” to show past.

    It is an intrinsic or implicit past. In the second sentence, “crossing” is a present participle, an -ing form of the verb. At the notional level, the first sentence means that the first person saw the other person complete the action. That is why “cross” is used. But in the second sentence, “crossing” is used to show that the first person only saw the action halfway, he did not see the end of the action of crossing the road by the other person.

    Simple Present Tense

    This tense refers to habitual or permanent actions, e.g. “I read every day”; “I go to the office every day”, etc. The third person singular pronouns (that is, “He”, “She”, “It”) take verb-”s” when used in the simple present tense, e.g. “He/She/It eats every day”. So it is not the case that it is a plural {pro}noun that uses a verb that has an “s” .

    Note: “It”, a pronoun that is used for inanimate objects and non-human creatures, is grouped with third person singular pronouns because it is also used for a baby or child, especially when the sex is unknown, e.g. “This is Bola’s baby, what sex is it?” If you use “He” or “She” in place of “It”, then you do not need to ask about the sex of the baby again since you have already made a conclusion about it.

    Reinforcement

    It is said that the verbs used with the third person singular pronouns take an “s”, but we still hear the expression “God bless you”, despite the fact that the noun “God” is equal to a third person singular pronoun. The reason for not using “Blesses” is that this expression is an elliptical or cut-off one. So at the deep-structure level, what we have is “May God bless you”. But the modal auxiliary verb “May” disappears at the surface-structure level.

    The simple present tense is also used in (football) commentary. It can be used to express certainty in the future time, e.g. “The plane lands in Nigeria tomorrow morning”; “The president arrives the country next week”, etc. The simple present tense is used in place of present continuous tense when an automatic verb describing reflex or involuntary action is involved. Let us explain this area. There are some verbs that are basically not used in the continuous or progressive form. These verbs describe automatic or reflex actions. They are mostly verbs of perception, feeling or sense. So instead of using the progressive or continuous tense form of these verbs, it is the simple present tense that is used, e.g. “I hear what you are saying” (or “I can hear what you are saying”), not “I am hearing what you are saying” or “He is hearing what you are saying”. You also say “I see a snake there, it is looking at me”, not “I am seeing a snake there, it is looking at me” or “He is seeing a snake there, it is looking at him”.

    Note

    Note that we cannot control what we SEE unless we close our eyes, but we can only control the direction at which we are LOOKING, so “Looking” is NOT a reflex action.

    However, we can have some of these automatic verbs in the verbal-noun form technically called Gerund, e.g. “Seeing is believing”; “Sense of seeing”, “Sense of hearing”, “Sense of smelling”, etc. The verbs here are used as nouns; that is why they are called Verbal Nouns.

    But what is being emphasised here is that they are not usually used in the progressive or continuous-tense form (that is, combination of a primary auxiliary verb such as “Is” or “Are” and present participle or –ing form of the verb such as “Seeing”, “Hearing”, etc., to form “Is seeing” or “Is hearing”. Other verbs that are not usually used in the continuous or progressive form are “smell”, “remember”, “recollect”, “forget”, “know”, “understand”, etc.

    Simple Past Tense

    This is used for expressing an action that took place before the present time, e.g. “I went to school yesterday”; “I saw him in the morning”, etc.

    Present Continuous Tense

    Structurally, this tense is formed through combination of any of the auxiliary verb or verb “to be” (is, am, are, etc) and the present participle (-ing) form of the verb involved. This tense is used for expressing actions taking place at the present time, e.g. “I am writing”; “They are singing”; “She is laughing”, etc. It is equally used with other forms of present tense in sport commentary. However, it is not commonly used in the real-life situation for actions that are shortlived, that is, actions that are not happening gradually, but start and end quickly, e.g. fall, drop, break, etc.

    However, this tense can be used for the short-lived actions if they are happening repeatedly. By extension, this tense is equally not always used for involuntary actions as already said. That is, actions that are not within the range of our control. The present continuous tense is also employed to express futurity, e.g. “We are going there tomorrow”.

    Past Continuous Tense

    This is the past form of the last tense. It is used in a situation where one past action was completed while another was still in progress. In this type of situation, it is used for the longer unfinished action while simple past tense is used for the shorter one, e.g. “We saw him when he was going to school”. It is also used in a situation where two actions were taking place at the same time in the past, e.g. “Segun was reading while Gbenga was writing”.

    • To be continued

    PS: For those making inquiries about our Public Speaking, Business Presentation and Professional Writing Skills programme, please visit the website indicated on this page for details. Till we meet on Monday.

    •GOKE ILESANMI, Managing Consultant/CEO of Gokmar Communication Consulting, is an International Platinum Columnist, Certified Public Speaker/MC, Communication Specialist, Motivational Speaker and Career Management Coach. He is also a Book Reviewer, Biographer and Editorial Consultant.

    Tel: 08055068773; 08187499425

    Email: gokeiles2010@gmail.com

    Website: www.gokeilesanmi.com

     

  • Monarch endorses Obiano

    Monarch endorses Obiano

    The traditional ruler of Obosi Kingdom, Anambra State,  Igwe A C Iweka III, has endorsed Chief Willie Obiano, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the November 16 governorship election in the state.

    The traditional ruler said at this year’s Ofala festival at the AfoAdike Stadium, Obosi, that APGA has picked the right candidate, who is capable of expanding the vision of Governor Peter Obi.

    According to James Eze, Head of Media and Communication of Willie Obiano Campaign Organisation, the traditional ruler spoke while receiving the APGA team in his palace. He also pledged the support of his cabinet and the town in the proposed election.

    According to the monarch, although many people want the next governor to come from Anambra North Senatorial Zone, Obiano stands out as the best candidate.

    Earlier in his remarks, the APGA candidate, Obiano had assured Igwe Iweka III that he will ensure that the great work done by Governor Obi would be sustained.

    According to him, it would be unfortunate, if the tremendous progress the state had recorded under Obi is allowed to go down the drain because of lack of continuity in vision and commitment.

  • Varsity hosts dialogue on media and communication

    Varsity hosts dialogue on media and communication

    Arrangements are in top gear for the upcoming to second UNN “Dialogue on media and communication” scheduled for June 13-15 at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

    The event, being organised by the Department of Mass Communication and Information and Public Relations Unit of the University will focus on “Research Methods” as the theme, while papers on Public Relations practice will also be presented.

    The facilitators expected for the event are renowned scholars in the field of Communication and Public Relations from different parts of the world, led by the keynote speaker; Prof. Robert White from the Institute of Peace Studies and International Research, Hekima College, Nairobi, Kenya.

    Other speakers will include; Prof Charles Okigbo, Department of Mass Communication, North Dakota State University, United States; Prof Chris Ogbonndah, University of Northern Iowa, USA, Prof. Kate Omenugha, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Mr Chido Nwakanma, Managing Director of Blueflower, and Mr Ifeanyi Mbanefo, Communication Relations Manager, NLNG, Bonny.

    Speaking on the essence of the event, the Head of Department of Mass Comm., UNN Dr Nnanyelugo Okoro, event that the programme is primarily aimed at equipping postgraduate students in the field of communication and other disciplines with the latest research methods to make their postgraduate studies easier.

    “The dialogue is aimed at building a strong research resource base for Mass Communication in particular and the academia in general. It will help strengthen research ideas, enhance research consciousness and excellence in the University of Nigeria and other sister universities,” he said.

    Dr Okoro said the workshop was not limited to students of communication but was open to other sister departments from any part of the country. He advised intended participants to indicate interest by completing an online registration form using the link www.unn.edu.ng/cms/information-and-public-relations-unit-unn. According to him, certificate of participation would be issued to participants at the end of the workshop.

    Dr Okoro further expressed his appreciation to distinguished alumni of the department and other good spirited individuals who are making effort to ensure that the Dialogue becomes a success.

     

  • Adjustment, communication vital in marriage

    Adjustment and communication are essential for the success of a marriage, says Revd Olufemi Adesina, a marriage counsellor. He spoke in Lagos during a couples programme, Marital Adjustment and Communication. The programme was sponsored by Power and Prosperity Ministries. Adesina said the programme was borne out of a burden for families and also in response to the increasing rate of divorce and the challenges faced by most families arising from lack of understanding of some biblical and common-sense principles. This, he said, is to help heal the cracks in marriages and restore the missing oil and wine in many homes.

    Adesina said every marriage will always require adjustment. “Adjustment is a change you need to make in your life to make you suitable before your spouse,” he said. Citing Philippians 4:13 which says, I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me, the clergy said adjustment is possible in all marriages if both spouses are ready to pay the price.

    He observed that there are no two people that are 100 per cent compatible in marriage, hence adjustment is needed for peace to rule.

    “No single person can make a marriage work and work perfectly. Marriage involves two people working together. Adjustment is dealing with somebody at his/her own level of understanding until the person comes of age.”

    He noted that there may be some thing’s you will not be able to change in the life of your spouse till death do you part, so it is safer to adjust to each other in the maximum way you can so that the marriage will stand.

    “Everybody came into marriage with different expectations, while we all believe that marriage is good and necessary, all of us came into it with different mentalities. A woman has her view of what marriage should be. The man has his own view. If divorce will not come in, then the gap must be bridged.”

    He identified the areas of adjustment in marital relationship to include; background, career, temperament, cultural beliefs, decision making, eating habits, friendship, social attitudes, games, interests and sexual life.

    On communication in the home, Adesina said communication is the bedrock for every fulfilled standing marriage, which means talking to each other and talking sense.

    Explaining the process of communication, he said for communication to be effective, there must be the source, message, receiver and shared understanding.

    According to him, Proverbs 15:1, he said soft answer turns away wrath but grievous words stairs up anger. Also from Proverbs 18:21, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. He noted that communication is not shouting rather it understands, the words you speak in your marital relationship will either build the marriage or kill it.