The WRITE Way of Communicating Online

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The WRITE Way of Communicating Online

• Brad Grabham
• IM 638

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W R I T E

• A process for effectively dealing
• with the dynamics of online
• Communication.

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Online Communication

• Prone to difficulty
• Lack of nonverbal cues
• Needed for interpersonal communication
• Communicators end up filling in the blank
• Misunderstandings lead to anxiety and hostility

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W armth

• Use telephone when necessary.
• Send sensitive information to private mailboxes.
• Incorporate warmth and emotion into written text.
• Family information
• Humor
• Play with language
• Symbols add emotion ?

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Responsiveness

• Set deadlines for responses.
• Be consistent with feedback.
• Reduces anxiety
• Student knows when to expect response
• Return personal messages ASAP.
• Redundancy
• Provide occasional reminders

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Inquisitiveness

• Defensiveness is reduced when people ask
  questions.
• Ask why instead of telling what
• Provides information for
• problem solving
• resolving an issue
• Bringing valid information to online
  communication is good!

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Tentativeness

• Defensiveness is reduced when people hear or
  read
• It appears that
• Frame questions in a tentative manner
• Dont you think itd be better if we
• Use tentative language
• Use I rather than You messages

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Empathy

• Imagine yourself in the shoes of your audience.
• Students experience occasional difficulty.
• Even highly effective students
• misspell words
• use poor grammar
• Consider formal vs. informal assignments

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Reference

• Bock, W. (2003). Some rules for Virtual Teams.
  Journal for Quality Participation, 26(3),
  43-49.
• Carletta, J., Anderson, A., McEwan, R. (2000)
  The effects of multimedia communication
  technology on non-collocated teams a case study.
  Ergonomics, 43(8), 1237-1252.
• Fisher, A. (2004). Get Employees to Brainstorm
  Online. Fortune, 150(11), p72-76
• Leach, D., Wall, T., Rogelberg, S., Jackson, P.
  (2005). Team Autonomy, performance, and Member
  Job Strain Uncovering the Teamwork KSA Link.
  Applied Psychology An International Review,
  54(1), 1-24.
• Preston, P. (2005). Teams as the key to
  organizational communication. Journal of
  Healthcare Management, 50(1), p16-19.
• Rose, M. A. (2004). Comparing productive online
  dialogue in two group styles cooperative and
  collaborative. The American Journal of Distance
  Education, 18(2), 73-88.
• White, K., Weight, B. (2000). The online
  teaching guide. Needham Heights, MA Allyn
  Bacon.