Communication in professional contexts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communication in professional contexts - Essay Example Clarity enhances consistency in conveying written information. Consistency leads to the writing of effective sentences as the words therein are interlinked and well planned. Consistency in writing avoids the use of unnecessary phrases and presents precise ideas. A consistent sentence has positive effects on the reader since its simple and has a clear meaning. Writing clearly promotes conciseness in the sentences written and the brevity presents one’s wit. Clear, concise and consistent work reduces unnecessary correspondence from the reader; as such, Smith-Worthington& Jefferson (2011) argued that all correspondence, which is brief, gets the goodwill of the reader and creates admiration. According to Sant (2008), the success of a firm is based on ability to communicate effectively to other stakeholders and this is promoted by clarity in writing. To enhance one’s ability to write clearly one should avoid using unnecessary words and lengthy statements lacking a clear meaning, and they should express a single idea in each sentence. Additionally, the words in the sentences should be arranged logically, the writer should avoid the use of passive voice and use only active since it is easy to understand and finally ambiguous sentences should not be used as they limit the clarity (Tyagi & Misra, 2011). In conclusion, a writer should give much attention to ensure clarity of his work as it contributes to consistency, conciseness and good flow of logic. This in turns promotes admiration and goodwill to the reader. Very often, an employee’s personal beliefs are at odds with the ethics at the work place and attention should be given on the best solution when such situations arise. Work ethics are because of the agreed professional codes of organizations while the personal beliefs and opinions are a blend of the upbringing in the family environment, one’s

Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Movie Review Example Moreover, they can be personal as well as professional. To maintain interpersonal relationships, it is necessary that people use effective communication. For that, not only is it necessary for people to be able to send an intelligible message, but for the other person, for whom the message is intended, to be able to receive and decipher it clearly as well. Lacking clear communication, the relationship can be complicated by creating conflict therein. An excellent way to illustrate interpersonal relationships and the communication they involve would be through the movie The Hours, where many such interpersonal relationships along with the intricacies thereof have been portrayed. Stephen Daldry’s The Hours is based on the novel by the same name by Michael Cunningham, and relates three different stories, set in three different times and settings about three different women and their lives, the only thing similar between them being the novel Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. The mov ie relates a day in the lives of these three women and those around them, and is a good illustration of various interpersonal relationships as well as the dynamics thereof. ... It is clear that Virginia has a very loving relationship with her husband. The concern that Leonard has for her is clear, and what is more, he expresses it clearly, too. In the beginning, after the doctor’s visit, when Virginia comes down, he expresses her concern clearly when he insists that she eat something. Furthermore, towards the end of the movie, when they are at the train station, Leonard tells her how he lives in constant fear that she would kill herself, and that the reason they moved to the suburbs is because of her health. It is easy to see just how much concern and love Leonard has for Virginia, and what is more he also expresses it to her clearly as well. This love is clearly reciprocated, through words as well as gestures, by Virginia as well. Right down to her suicide note, whereby she says that he has given her the greatest possible happiness, and that she does not think two people could be any happier than them. When it comes to her sister, Vanessa, however, there is a distinct lack of open interpersonal communication. While Virginia tries to talk about her illness and her absence from London, Vanessa seems intent on changing the topic and not talking openly. Vanessa does not express her fears and her trepidations about Virginia’s health, nor does she openly inquire after them to allay them, and perhaps because of that reason she tends to be â€Å"scared† of her sister. It is clear that Virginia does not like that, and she tries to communicate her dissatisfaction to her sister, but as it is necessary for interpersonal communication for the other person to be receptive to one’s message, which clearly Vanessa is not, it has not effect. In the second story arc there is Laura, who lives with

Hazardous And Industrial Waste Disposal Issues Environmental Sciences Essay

Hazardous And Industrial Waste Disposal Issues Environmental Sciences Essay The handling of the hazardous materials is complicated by the increasing magnitude of waste generated each year, the variety of materials that become refuse, the vast array of chemicals that may eventually leak from containers and burial sites; the difficulty of monitoring landfill sites for leachates, the difficulty of adequately sequestering waste to inhibit leaching, the variability of soils and their sorption capacities for leachates, the variability of soil permeability, and the cost of safe disposal versus that of assessing real or imaginary risk (Chian, E.S.K., and DeWalle, F. B., 2001). Due to these complexities, the removal of the hazard from hazardous wastes requires a systems approach (Brunner, D. R., and Carnes, R. A., 2004). For example, the least cost of an activated sludge and carbon adsorption system is a function of both processes operating simultaneously. The optimal design range for the least-cost system could not be ascertained by assessing the performance of the two processes independently. Background of the Study An important consideration over the next several years will be the impact of the toxic effluent limitations which should be discussed in the Philippine Government. A rational approach to defining toxic and hazardous wastes is to view a biological entity in equilibrium with its environment and attempt to quantify those insults on the biological entity that causes a disequilibrium or negative response. In the study of hazardous substances, two parameters of importance are dose and time (Atkins, P. R., 1998). An important point to note about the tests for acute and chronic toxicity is that, although the tests might isolate the relative toxicity of a substance, they are virtually useless for predicting levels at which no toxic effects will occur. The decision to incinerate depends on the type of hazardous solid waste, moisture content, organic fraction, heat content, economics, and the availability of land (Fennelly, P. F., et al., 1999). Whenever feasible, incineration should be considered. This process significantly reduces the volume, generally will also detoxify the waste, and gives a product amenable to compaction and containerization resulting in enhanced ease of handling. Incineration processes include the stationary hearth incinerator, the multiple hearth furnaces, the rotary kiln, the fluidized bed reactor, and the open pit incinerator. Each type of incinerator operates properly only within a limited range of temperatures. Generally speaking, for efficient operation, the materials burned must have a fairly uniform BTU value. This may require the blending and mixing of wastes to be burned and the addition of auxiliary fuel. Capital costs for incinerators are high, particularly for the smaller units. In some cases, com plete elimination of the hazardous agent may be obtained through incineration. The result is that potentially toxic and hazardous substances can be identified, but criteria for safe exposure are lacking; therefore, these wastes have a special stigma imposed on them because of the possibility of unknown effects (Farb, D., 2007). This psychological stigma can often impede rational implementation of treatment and ultimate disposal schemes for these toxic and hazardous wastes. No matter what treatment or ultimate disposal scheme is selected, man-made residuals will eventually reside in the atmosphere, lithosphere, or hydrosphere. Objective of the study An understanding of the reactions and forces controlling the movement of a pollutant in the environment is essential if effective treatment and ultimate disposal of toxic and hazardous wastes is to be attained. For example, decisions involving chemical waste disposal will be based on knowledge of chemical form, persistence, acute or chronic toxicity, genetic effect, flammability and reactivity. Hypothesis (Null Hypothesis) There is no environmental effect from hazardous and industrial wastes. Significance of the study A study of the natural environmental forces and reactions which maintain equilibrium of systems illustrates quite well the basic principles of handling toxic and hazardous substances by transforming them into less harmful substances or isolating them in a repository such that release into the dynamic parts of the environment occurs at such a low rate that toxic effects are not realized. Literature Review The greatest fallacy with the environmental crisis and residuals disposal is that acceptable environment can be obtained by reducing or even abolishing our dependence on technology or by neglecting cost considerations. The fact is that residual wastes and their ultimate disposal will require technological solutions-and many of them. Finally the cost to support waste treatment, recycle, reuse, collection and disposal must be borne by the consumer in the form of higher prices and by the taxpayer in the form of higher taxes. The handling and disposal of toxic and hazardous wastes is a multipronged problem that involves: (a) separation and waste partitioning, including process control through technological improvement, waste stream separation, and recycling; (b) inplant waste treatment, including chemical, physical, and biological treatment; (c) in-plant waste disposal, involving recycling, containerization, and incineration; (d) volume reduction through drying, incineration, and compaction of end-of-pipe residuals; (e) translocation involving storage, containment, and transportation; and (f) ultimate disposal considering isolation through minimization of water movement, and maximization of passive barriers through which migration of hazardous materials might take place. Separation and waste partitioning have the distinct advantage of reducing the volume of solid wastes to be handled. Process control entails separating the hazardous agents at the source. The initiation of control on the toxic wastes at this point is the most cost effective with respect to minimizing the volume and segregating the hazardous wastes. Chemical treatment schemes involving techniques based on chemical precipitation, oxidation, photochemical degradation, and pH adjustment can be employed to isolate or detoxify certain hazardous agents. Toxic heavy metals such as lead and cadmium can be isolated by hydroxide precipitation (Rouse, J. V., 2004). In liquid waste streams, numerous physical treatment schemes are possible for separation and partitioning of the hazardous agents. The bulk form of the solid wastes limits the implementation of most physical treatment techniques. Biodegradation of hazardous substances such as certain hydrocarbons, pesticides, and heavy metals (cyanide, for example), has been the subject of a number of studies. Soils, particularly the surface horizon to a depth of 1-3 ft (0.3-0.9 m), contain large numbers and varieties of aerobic, facultative, and obligate anaerobic organisms which singly or together can provide an effective biological detoxification of certain hazardous agents. Two techniques are usually employed to achieve this component of the multiple barrier concepts. These are containment and encasement. Encasement is usually combined with one or more storage methods. The burial site itself, with proper use of clays or other liner materials, can become a container. This aspect of the multiple barrier concepts is more effective in reducing water movement than maintenance of physical integrity. A method of improving the passive barrier is encasement. The use of concrete as an encasement material is widespread. More recently, an interest in developing technology for encasement in plastics and vitreous materials has been expressed. Various encasement materials include: polyethylene, asphalt, lime/fly ash, portland cement, plaster of Paris, metal silicate, bentonite, and vermiculite. Data Treatment and statistical Tools The study is a quantitative study that will focus on data that presents environmental effects of hazardous and industrial waste. They will get the data from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources from year 1988-2008, to uphold consistency and prevent bias. The researcher will be using T-test to be able to test the significance of the variables. Summary and Conclusion Ultimately, residuals must be returned to air, land, or the oceans. The cost of disposal will be borne by the consumer, because residual wastes are generated when natural resources are processed for mans benefit. There is a large and growing body of technical literature on waste management. Hazardous agents can be removed from wastes, although under some circumstances it is more economical to modify the manufacturing process rather than modify sections of the treatment train. Recommendations The removal of hazardous agents is not simply a process that occurs at any one step in a well engineered system. The materials and design of the disposal site itself afford mechanisms for detoxifying and rendering innocuous the hazardous agents in the waste. Through the use of properly engineered treatment systems and passive but multiple barriers between residuals and the biosphere, it is possible to reduce the transport of potential pollutants to environmentally acceptable levels.

My First Computer :: essays research papers

Running Head: My First Computer My First Computer Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I began working with computers about 3 years ago. Needless to say it was a shocking experience sitting in front of a picture tube and not knowing how it worked or where to begin. I began by hitting buttons and asking question at the same time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first computer that I bought was a new Packard Bell 486 with windows 3.1 and a Cannon bubble jet. It was more troublesome to use and I was not computer literate and I had no ideal what I had but I had a computer in my home. I was asked prior to buying the computer what I wanted put on it my answer was whatever it comes with and I had no idea what to use so the guy put some programs on it and I took it home and was in business. I would do little things at first just to try and get a feel for this thing but it would amaze me or frustrate me. I had this thing and did not know what to do with it at times I felt like throwing it out the window. The more I tried reading the book the more I got confused and I had no patience with this technology. I looked through several different computer books and that did not help. So I finally gave up on computers and left them alone for several years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After five years I found myself in the need of a computer because I had moved up in position and it required the use of a computer and everything was becoming electronic including the forms. I when out and brought a new up to date computer for that time. It came with all this fancy software and hardware. I was happy to have it but could only do so much work on it. I could do PowerPoint slides that was my biggie I would pull up a blank screen input what I wanted print it out and head for the next slide. But PowerPoint was not the only thing the bosses wanted they wanted Excel spreadsheet, graphs, memos, and all this other stuff that I had no ideal of doing. I sat down with a friend and told him of my dilemma and he kind of put me on the right track and lost me at the same time.

Facial Kinesics, Oculesics, and Kinesics Essay

1. Discuss how emotions are expressed through facial expressions. Emotion is one of the most controversial topics in psychology, a source of intense discussion and disagreement from the earliest philosophers and other thinkers to the present day. Most psychologists can probably agree on a description of emotion or what phenomena to include in a discussion of emotion. The list of these parts of emotion is called the components of emotion. These components are distinguished based on physiological or psychological factors and include emotion faces, emotion elicitors, and emotion neural processes. Neither emotion nor their expressions are concepts universally embraced by psychologists. The term expression implies the existence of something that is expressed. The behaviors referenced by expression are part of an organized emotional response, and thus, the term expression captures the behaviors’ role less adequately than a reference to it as an aspect of the emotion reaction. In addition, facial expressions have primarily a communicative function and convey something about intentions or internal state, and I find the connotation of the word expression useful. Facial expressions and emotions are directly linked to each other. Many times, we subconsciously exhibit looks and expressions on our faces that are directly linked to how we are feeling at the time. Though people regularly recognize many distinct emotions, for the most part, research studies have been limited to six basic categories and they are happiness, surprise, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust. The reason for this is grounded in the assumption that only these six categories are differentially represented by our cognitive and social systems. (Knapp, Hall & Horgan, 2014, p.261) 2. Discuss pupil dilation and constriction. Early research determined that pupil dilation and interest in the stimulus are linked. Researchers currently utilize video-based eye-tracking tools that measure where people are looking, how long they are looking at something, and how their pupils respond to what they are looking at and  doing. People’s pupils can dilate and constrict, and these eye movements signal their interest level, attitudes, memory, decision-making processes, as well as various disorders. When people are intrigued by or interested in something, they tend to look harder and focus deeper in on that particular thing. There has been so much more additional research on this topic, and many different results and ideas have been added to the causes and reasoning behind pupil dilation and constriction. Our pupils may dilate or constrict based on our attitudes. Pupils dilate for positive attitudes and constrict for negative ones. This can even include times when we receive compliments or praise for doing a goo d job. Our pupils dilate for excitement and things that feel good to us. Another study found that recognition and memory were also linked to the change in pupil size. If people saw or recognized something they have seen before, or something that brings back a fond memory, pupils tend to dilate. We link certain events to certain stimuli and research showed that this linkage created a change in eye size. Eyes may also dilate when we have reached a decision or how we are processing information. When we are in deep thought or going through the process of trying to make a difficult decision, our eyes may dilate or constrict depending on our emotions and feelings toward that particular decision or topic we are thinking over. Research shows that many different things can cause these variations in pupil size. It is hard to narrow it down to just a few things because there are so many and people react differently in every situation. Tightening muscles anywhere on the body, anticipation of a loud noise, drugs, eyelid closure, and mental effort all alter pupil size. While the visual cortex in the back of the brain assembles the images we see, a different, older part of our nervous system manages the continuous tuning of our pupil size, alongside other functions like heart rate and perspiration that operate mostly outside our conscious control. This autonomic nervous system dictates the movement of the iris, like the lens of a camera, to regulate the amount of light that enters the pupil. The iris is made of two types of muscle: in a brightly lit environment, a ring of sphincter muscles that encircle and constrict the pupil down to as little as a couple of millimeters across; in the dark, a set of dilator muscles laid out like bicycle spokes, which can expand the pupil up to 8 millimeters approximately the diameter of a chickpea. Cognitive and emotional events can also dictate pupil constriction and expansion, though such events occur on a smaller scale than the light reflex, causing changes generally less than half a millimeter. However, that is enough. By recording subjects’ eyes with infrared cameras and controlling for other factors that might affect pupil size, like brightness, color, and distance, scientists can use pupil movements as a proxy for other processes, like mental strain. (Knapp, Hall & Horgan, 2014, p.318-319) 3. Describe when we gaze more and when we gaze less. Every day we use non-verbal signals to communicate a wide range of emotions, feelings and desires. One of the most important of these signals is the gaze. I am sure that everyone has had the experience of being on a bus or a train and suddenly feeling quite uncomfortable because you feel that another person is staring at you, even though they may just be staring at a dot on the wall and you happen to be in the same direction. In our everyday interactions, we look at many people, yet we look at them in a specific way in order to avoid discomfort and disagreements. We are never really taught how to look at people, apart from a parent telling us to stop staring when we are very young, but we still manage to understand the way this process works. It may be because we use glances, looks and gazes so much in our routine communications that it has become second nature to us. There are a number of factors that influence the amount of time we spend looking at someone when we are engaged in conversation; the person who is listening gazes more than the person who is talking, we look more at people that we like and less at people that we do not and we gaze more when we are interested in the topic, than when we are bored. Gaze refers to an individual looking at another person. There are four main functions of gazing. Regulatory is when responses may be demanded or suppressed by looking. Monitoring is looking at the partner to indicate the conclusions of thought units and to check the partner’s attentiveness and reaction. Cognitive is looking away when having difficulty processing information or deciding what to say. Expressive is revealing the nature or degree of involvement and emotional arousal by looking. We gaze more when we are in deep conversations. In each of these functions, we gaze and look at the individual we are conversing with in various de grees of interest. Each of these has a different level of gazing. (Knapp, Hall & Horgan, 2014,  p.296-298) 4. How are the eyes used to determine deception? This question may require outside research. The eyes are the windows to the soul. The eyes are the most expressive area of a person’s entire body. A very important rule in the interpretation of non-verbal behavior, it is to look for breaks in eye contact. Breaks in eye contact, at the point of the answer, are considered deceptive. Breaks in eye contact indicating deception is generally accompanied by additional deceptive body behavior. A break in eye contact is when the interviewee is not, more or less, looking directly at the interviewer’s face and eyes, with the eyes open. Truthful people generally look at the interviewer when they are answering a question. Deceptive people will break eye contact at the instance of the answer. The process of detecting deception, by the use of breaks in eye contact, is used when the investigator is asking a series of questions, directed at the subject. In a question and answer session, the subject will generally maintain eye contact wi th the investigator, as the investigator is speaking. You should start with questions that are not relevant to the investigation at hand. Observe the person’s eye contact as you are speaking and they are answering. This will give you a norm for their behavior, what they normally do. Normally, a person will maintain eye contact during the question. You are looking for breaks in eye contact when the subject is answering the question. A truthful subject will maintain good eye contact while listening and will break eye contact to think or to gather thoughts and reestablish eye contact during the answer. For example, you ask a person where they were two nights ago at 10 pm. The subject will probably break eye contact while they are thinking and mentally gathering the information for the answer. This should not be considered a deceptive break in eye contact. The person is merely getting the information for the answer. In a truthful response, the person will regain eye contact and deliver the answer. The deceptive person will not maintain eye contact when they answer the question. They break eye contact, however briefl y, while answering the question. After the question is answered, the subject will resume eye contact. The deceptive break in eye contact occurs at the instance of the answer. These breaks may be subtle, looking away, blinking, rolling eyes, covering their eyes or diverting their attention to another task as they answer and coming back to eye contact after the answer. The break in eye contact is where the subject  is mentally running away from you. In some cultures and in some people, they will not make eye contact, constantly looking down or away from you. This process will not work until the person makes eye contact during the conversation. The techniques to gain their eye contact are not addressed in this article. Do not challenge the subject to look you in the eye. This creates false eye contact and obscures your ability to read the true breaks in eye contact. Another variation of breaking eye contact to gather and deliver information is where the subject is telling a story. For instance, a subject was assaulted and robbed. While telling the story, the person may not look at the investigator as they are presenting the story. In this instance, the person is replaying the incident in their head and narrating the story as they recall. During the story, the person may periodically make direct eye contact when a specific point is made. After the story has been delivered, the subject should regain eye contact, waiting for the investigator to respond. (Givens, 2013) 5. Discuss the different types of gestures. Speech-independent gestures depend upon culturally accepted interpretation. A wave or two fingers for a peace sign are examples of speech-independent gestures. Speech-independent gestures are nonverbal acts that have a direct verbal translation or dictionary definition, usually consisting of a word or two or a phrase. These gestures are the least dependent on speech for their meaning and most commonly occur as a single gesture. Speech independent gestures consist of nodding, shaking of head, using the middle finger, shrugging, hugs, or thumbs up. Speech-related gestures are used in parallel with verbal speech. This form of nonverbal communication is used to emphasize the message. Speech-related gestures are intended to provide supplemental information to a verbal message such as pointing to an object of discussion. Speech-related gestures are sometimes called illustrators, or co-speech gestures, are directly tied to or accompany speech. The meanings and functions of these gestures are revealed as we examine how they relate to the attendant spoken language. Speech-related gestures resemble the movements elicited by long-train stimulation of the primate motor cortex. Speech-related hand gestures have their evolutionary origins in functional hand movements of ancestral non-primate and primate species and  may be constrained by the neural substrate for those movements. (Knapp, Hall, Horgan, 2014, p. 201-215) 6. Discuss how people use kinesics to persuade others. The use of kinesics and in everyday life is the most prominent use of persuasion we use without even knowing. They are used unknowing because you may not know what they mean. This can cause cultural tension if you do something that may seem harmless to you but may be a great insult to another culture. Kinesics has many forms, which can be used by many people in the American culture to pursue people daily for various reasons. This use of persuasion is used today in everyday life. Kinesics is articulation of the body, or movement resulting from muscular and skeletal shift. This includes all actions, physical or physiological, automatic reflexes, posture, facial expressions, gestures, and other body movements. Kinesics may substitute for language, accompany it, or modify it. Kinesics may be verbal or informative and directive in nature, or they may be emotive or empathic movements. Posture is one of the components of kinesics. Posture is broken down into three basic positions, bent knee s, lying down, and standing. Artists and mimes have always been aware of the range of communication possible through body stance. However, there are some cultural differences in posture positions. Eye contact helps beggars get more money. Frequent but not prolonged eye contact leads to more persuasion. The lack of eye contact causes the person being spoken to not to trust the speaker. Open body poses are more persuasive. An audience that is standing is more likely to be persuaded than an audience sitting. Another use of kinesics would be proxemics and distance, being closer to a person can be more persuasive. In addition, dressing appropriately is persuasive. Everyone knows if dress well for an interview then you are persuading the interviewer that you are the person for the job. People that are more attractive are more persuasive. (Fisher, 2011) 7. Describe how cultural diversity affects kinesics and eye behaviors. Kinesics is body motions such as shrugs, foot tapping, drumming fingers, clicking pens, winking, facial expressions, and gestures. Nonverbal behavior or kinesics using observational skills or reading body language to understand a patient’s underlying feelings. Many people reveal more through their facial expressions part of kinesics than they may wish to convey. They  may sit alone and frown at what appears to be nothing at all. Others may exhibit a faint pleasant smile or offer a nearly vacant blank stare. Just by observations, you can begin to formulate opinions about others and react according to your impressions. Good kinesics give positive, self-confident, professional, nonverbal messages to people, being especially sensitive to gender or cultural differences. We as Americans may wish to be touched during difficult times or by close friends but generally stand 30 inches apart. Americans do shake hands. Young Americans do demonstrate affection publicly. Americans are taught to make eye contact. In terms of general kinesics, Americans use hand gestures to indicate when something is okay or give a thumbs up for a good job, and use head nodding to affirm a speaker’s message. African Americans most commonly exhibit behaviors typical of all Americans, but this group tends to touch more, especially around other African Americans. Further, as a group, they stand closer to each other and display more emotion through laughter and touching than is typical of Euro-Americans. Nonverbal communication skills serve various cultures well as you learn to observe and interpret the behavior of others. That which is non-neutral has some meaning. When nonverbal behavior contradicts verbal behavior, your attention must be focused there. Nonverbal interpretations also help you in establishing communication with those who cannot or will not talk. The nonverbal is often more revealing than the spoken word. The key elements of nonverbal language are kinesics, proxemics, haptics, oculesics, chronemics, olfactics, appearance and adornment, posture, locomotion, sound symbols, silence, and vocalics. You must be aware of what specific physical positions, such as encountering a patient with arms crossed who is staring at the floor, might mean. You must always check your perceptions rather than assuming the meaning of nonverbal behavior, especially when cultural differences may exist. Good observational skills are an important component of the nonverbal process. (O’neil, 2009) 8. Analyze your nonverbal communication using the material in the texts. Nonverbal communication is a broad term used to describe any method of transferring information without words. My nonverbal communication is intentional, and based on many things. Some of my nonverbal communication includes my body language, facial cues, attire, personal grooming, and hand gestures. Many of the facial expressions I use for example are relatively  universal. Most of the time I am communicating fear, joy, or anger when I use nonverbal communication. Other times I use nonverbal cues like bowing, shaking hands, or nodding my head. I use body language as nonverbal communication very often. For example, you may see me turning towards a person when seated and speaking to them is a nonverbal cue by nodding my head. When I tilt my head slightly is a form of nonverbal communication to show curiosity or express that I am listening closely. I may tend to look away to show a lack of attention. Sometime I may position myself far away from whomever I am talking to can show disinterest, disgust, or fear of the person. When I position myself slightly closer that means I am showing interest. When I position myself extremely close that means I am trying to communicate either aggression or a very high level of interest. My attire is another form of nonverbal communication. My clothing can communicate how I am feeling. It also often acts as a marker for social class. Designer clothing, custom tailored suits or shoes denotes wealth. It can even act as a nonverbal cue for religion or politics as well. My gestures also act as a form of nonverbal communication. I use wide range of hand gestures on a daily basis, such as a wave goodbye, thumbs up to demonstrate everything is okay, a wink to show that something is being left unsaid, or my personal favorite, elbowing someone to let them know that something is wrong, or shrugging my shoulders when I am unsure. References Fisher, J. (2001). Knowing body language saves embarrassment and improves understanding and clarity. Retrieved from http://www.livingbetter.org/livingbetter/articles/bodylanguage.htm Givens, J. (2013). Deception Cue. Retrieved from http://center-for-nonverbal-studies.org/deceive.htm Knapp, M. L., Hall, J. A., & Horgan, T. G. (2014) Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. O’neil, D. (2009). Hidden Aspects of Communication. Retrieved from http://anthro.palomar.edu/language/language_6.htm Pfeuffer, K., Vidal, M., Turner, J., Bulling, A., & Gellersen, H. (2013). Pursuit Calibration: Making Gaze Calibration Less Tedious and More Flexible. Retrieved from http://www.d2.mpi-inf.mpg.de/content/pursuit-calibration-making-gaze-calibration-less-tedious-and-more-flexible

Remarks by the First Lady at Education Event Essay

The speech was held by the First Lady, Michelle Obama, at the DC High School as an educational event for the sophomores. The overriding subject of the speech is education which is an area Michelle Obama and her husband, Barack Obama, has spent a lot of time and resources on. After the introduction of the speech she speaks of a goal that her husband has set for America. She tells that it should be the goal of the entire country to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world in 2020. She explains that it is very important because America was number one in college graduates a generation ago and now they are 12th. After that she changes the point of view on the subject from what it means for USA as a country, to what it means for every single student as an individual and points out that they should do it for their own sake. She mentions that two-thirds of all jobs in the country will be requiring some sort of education or training beyond high school in the future. She u ses her own story as an example and motivation for the students because she faced a lot of obstacles when she was at their age. The sender of the speech is Michelle Obama who is the First Lady of the United States. The fact that she is the First Lady gives her a lot of ethos, which makes her points and opinions more reliable and convincing. Even if she got a lot of ethos as the First Lady her husband, the president, has even more ethos, and when she speaks on behalf of him and his opinions she sort of â€Å"borrows† that ethos. Apart from the ethos Michelle Obama also uses the two other appeal forms in her speech. She uses pathos when she mentions the audience and even the country as â€Å"we.† It appeals to their feelings for the community and even their patriotic feelings towards their country. It also shows the students that she is no different from them, when she says â€Å"we† instead of â€Å"you† and â€Å"I† which makes her story about her education much more inspiring. She also uses pathos when she says â€Å"†¦you all are going to need some form of higher education in order to build the kind of lives that you want for yourselves, good careers, to be able to provide for your family.† By saying that she both appeals to their individual, egoistic feelings and objectives in order to get a prestigious, lucrative career, which appeals to some people, while the part about providing for  your family appeals to the familial feelings which is important for other people. Lastly she uses logos when she says that two-thirds of all jobs will require some training or education in the future because it is obvious for a rationally thinking person that you will have greater chances of getting a job if you have a great education. The audience of the speech is the sophomores of the DC High School. That means that she needs to keep the speech relatively simple, as her audience isn’t very old. As mentioned earlier the speech was held during an educational event. That is the circumstance of the speech and under that she addresses the topic education. The purpose of the speech is to motivate the students to continue their education when they have finished high school in order to succeed later in life. Other than the appeal forms she also uses rhetorical language or rhetorical tricks to motivate and convince the students to continue their education. One of the most important parts of the text is the goal for 2020 which Barack Obama mentions as the North Sta r goal. This is especially important because Michelle Obama mentions it twice in her speech. She mentions it in the start when she tells about the goal for 2020 and refers to it as the North Star goal. Later on, at the conclusion of the speech, she tells that her college diploma from Princeton University were her personal North Star goal. North Star is a simile which shows that people should walk towards their North Star goal even though it seemed to be out of reach, like the wise men did when they were looking for Jesus. The North Star goal is the connection between the objective for the entire nation and the objective for each individual student, as every student would have to fight to reach their personal North Star goal, like Michelle Obama did, to make it possible for the nation to reach the big North Star goal. Another trick that Michelle Obama uses is anaphora. She says â€Å"Plus, I knew I couldn’t afford to go on a bunch of college visits. I couldn’t hire a personal tutor. I couldn’t enroll in SAT prep classes.† She uses this anaphora where she repeats the words â€Å"I couldn’t† to point out how many obstacles she fought through in order to reach her North Star goal. This should make the students realize that it is possible for everybody to get an education no matter their social background, if just they fight hard for it. Another example of anaphora is when she says â€Å"That’s how me, that’s how Menbere, that’s how so many other students have overcome adversities to reach our goals.† That once again  makes it clear that everyone can get an education and that it is very important to get an education that goes beyond high school. Even though the speech is relatively short, it is easy to see that Michelle Obama is an excellent speaker. She uses a wide range of rhetorical tricks and appeal forms to make her messages and opinions about education clear and convincing. She both appeals to the feelings of the individual and the society by using logos, pathos and ethos which makes the speech appealing to as many people as possible. She connects the start and end of the speech with the reference to the North Star goal which makes the speech more impactful and gives the students something that is easy to remember from the speech.