CHAPTER 9: THE POLICE LEADER AS A COMMUNICATOR Flashcards
THE POLICE LEADER AS A COMMUNICATOR
With this in mind, it is safe to say that the person doing the communicating must not only concern himself with the message that he wanted and intended to convey, but must be equally concerned with unintentional, supplemental, and perhaps _________ information or feelings that he puts across, as well.
contradictory
THE POLICE LEADER AS A COMMUNICATOR
If it holds true that effective communication unites the most remote elements and units of an organization, then it is equally correct that poor communication can create _______ and disunity in the various organizational parts.
disorder
THE POLICE LEADER AS A COMMUNICATOR
Once again, communication—poor or good—is the cause or ________ for morale and attitude changes.
treatment
THE POLICE LEADER AS A COMMUNICATOR
It is said that a lack of reliable information and a strong personal
interest are the two ingredients necessary for the _________ and passing of rudely constructed and dubious information: rumor.
manufacture
THE POLICE LEADER AS A COMMUNICATOR
It would follow logically that the organization or individual supervisor _______ or unable to communicate honestly, openly, and effectively invites active rumor-mongering.
unwilling
ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION
These basic elements for good communication include:
1) Clear message,
2) simplified message,
3) openness,
4) ___________,
5) application of good listening/reading habits,
6) calm approach, and
7) proper timing.
4) two-way information flow
ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION
It is impossible, for example, to separate totally the communication elements “__________” and “simplified message.” With this in mind, an in-depth examination of each of these elements to good communication skills can begin.
“clear message”
ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:
Clear Message:
If the communicator is conveying the message orally, he can help assure that his point is made by not trying to convey ________ too quickly.
too much
ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:
Clear Message:
Nonetheless the supervisor should use the best resources _______ to make known his spoken plans. Most of the time, the relative quietness of a squad room or similar facility will be the best place for explaining procedures, dis-cussing plans, or relaying orders and instructions.
available
ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:
Clear Message:
If the message is to be in written form, the supervisor should keep
the words, sentences, and paragraphs as short as possible for clarity and understanding.
Clarity is definitely tied to ______ in this respect.
brevity
ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:
Clear Message:
A few of these fuzzy, vague, _________ enemies include: sometimes, a few, generally, usually, and many. How often is “sometimes”? How many are “a few”? Do “general-ly” and “usually” mean the same thing? How many is “many”?
misleading
ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:
Simplified Message:
Closely allied with message clarity is the importance of a simple,
straightforward message. It makes little sense (and makes for even less understanding) for a supervisor to attempt to convey __________ and perhaps widely divergent messages at one time.
several different
ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:
Simplified Message:
The common sense supervisor does not utilize communication
with others to _______ everyone of how clever he is and what wonderfully big words he can use. Rather, his messages—whether spoken or written—get quickly to the point without wasting words to explore trivialities. The messages instead seek to simplify the complex and clarify the muddled.
convince
ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:
Openness:
Unfortunately, the reverse is also true: a message from a disliked or distrusted boss may generate derision, even if the news is otherwise favorably regarded by its recipients. Here is yet another reason for a supervisor to build _______ and trust with his subordinates.
credibility
ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:
Two-Way Information Flow:
One of the supervisor’s functions is to explain and _______ to his
people the instructions and policies that are handed down to him. To some extent, his role here is that of a translator between management and the work force.
clarify
ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:
Two-Way Information Flow:
In other words, he must follow the responsible _________ rule of reporting the facts without editorializing!
journalist’s
ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:
Two-Way Information Flow:
Good, two-way communication is also encouraged by the supervisor who asks questions to be sure he is understood. After explaining a particularly complex procedure or operation, he finds it informative to ask a few ______ questions of his audience.
pointed
ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:
Two-Way Information Flow:
The second-best alternative—the ________—must then take over as the vehicle carrying the message. While not as effective for two-way communication as the personal encounter, the written message need not fail in its intend-ed purpose of sending information.
written communication
ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION:
Two-Way Information Flow:
He cannot succeed and advance in his organization without it. A supervisor lacking in _______ will seek to remedy the problem via practice, thorough proofreading and, perhaps, a writing or grammar class or two. It is that critical to his future.
written skills
Application of Good Listening/Reading Habits
The supervisor must truly listen to what his subordinate is saying
to him. This means he does not look ______ (and blindly) at his employee while his mind is somewhere else. It means he does not interrupt his employee while that employee is trying to tell him something. It means he does not provoke an argument in lieu of a reasonable discussion.
blandly
Application of Good Listening/Reading Habits
A first reading done to get the general idea and a slower and more careful second one intended to bring out the ________ is a good idea.
particulars
Application of Good Listening/Reading Habits
Generally, the larger the organization he is a part of, the greater
the individual’s need to maintain his own _______ of printed material.
file system
Calm Approach
The point is that all ________ to the information exchange must be in control of their feelings for useful communication to take place.
participants
Calm Approach
Interrupting the current speaker to inject an _______ reply is rude. Debate and rudeness are not acceptable companions.
opposing
Calm Approach
Two-way trust and respect are musts for effective communication. Trust means that the listener knows enough about the speaker and his motives to take for granted that the talker sincerely believes his message is honest and ________.
worthwhile
Proper Timing
The proper timing of the ______ or _____ exchange can make the difference in the way the message is received by its intended recipient.
idea or Information
Proper Timing
In this way, he can see to it that communication takes place at the time it can do the most ____.
good
HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION
Any listing of the _______ of good communication would have to include the following: distractions (physical or mental), prejudices, emotional involvement, inappropriate language, and poor attitudes. Further examination of each will prove useful in avoiding com-munication breakdowns.
enemies
HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION
Distractions
Whether the information being relayed is written or oral, its chances for reaching its intended listener/reader intact are reduced if it is surrounded by other happenings _______ for attention.
competing
HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION
Prejudices:
Despite previous experiences, the effective communicator must
put aside any ________ feelings long enough to hear (or read) the cur-rent message through to completion. This does not mean that he must accept it all at face value. But he avoids prejudging the latest commu-nication solely on the basis of prior experience
negative
HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION
Emotional Involvement
The _______ supervisor cools off first, confirms his information, and disciplines later.
smarter
HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION
Inappropriate Language
Rather, the leader should concern himself with making himself ______ understood in the terms he selects to carry his intended thought, idea, or feeling to his audience.
plainly
HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION
Inappropriate Language
A good rule of thumb for the communicator might go something
like this: BE BRIEF, BE CONCISE, BE GONE. Put another way, whatever gets the message across in as _____ and as simple words as possible probably does the job best. Complicating a relatively simple issue does not help anyone.
few
HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION
Poor Attitudes
Regardless of the _____, a bad attitude almost always breeds bad results.
cause
HAZARDS TO GOOD COMMUNICATION
Poor Attitudes
Poor attitude can be combated by some self-evident and largely
painless remedies:
(1) put ________ to the back of the mind to the fullest extent possible;
(2) do not permit emotions to dictate hasty actions or thoughtless words;
(3) keep language appropriate to the audience and incident at hand.
Although all of these suggestions are easier to state than live by, all can help neutralize one more opponent of good communication. With this much accomplished, the attitudes of all parties to the communication process cannot help but improve
prejudices
BENEFITS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION
Good communication happens where there is ______ at each
level of the organization. A single element where this reliability does not exist will break the whole communicative chain.
mutual trust
BENEFITS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION
Finally, good communication within the law enforcement agency
allows subordinates and supervisors alike to feel better about them-selves, _________, and each other. A by-product of mutual trust and understanding, this good feeling may be something of an intangible.
their agency
WRITTEN VERSUS ORAL COMMUNICATION
It should be kept in mind that the decision to use written or oral means of communicating is not really an either-or situation. Both types of communication have their own particular values and ________ for the police leader
advantages
WRITTEN VERSUS ORAL COMMUNICATION
_____ communication is obviously best in the person-to-person, one-on-one situation.
Oral
WRITTEN VERSUS ORAL COMMUNICATION
Oral communication is best in relatively ______ situations, even
if the number of parties to the communication is expanded from the one-on-one scenario. Even patrol roll-call briefings can fall into this category if the number of persons present is not too large.
informal
WRITTEN VERSUS ORAL COMMUNICATION
Written communication comes into its own in the realm of record
keeping. Written messages bring a greatly increased degree of ________ to any task of communication. If the employee is going to have need to refer back to the details of a particular procedure, then the procedure should be available for his future use. If there is a real need to trace accountability and identify responsibility, the directive that does the tracing and identifying needs to be documented for the record.
permanency
WRITTEN VERSUS ORAL COMMUNICATION
Written communication also can serve as a ____________ from
the past and it can allow more thinking time for everyone involved in the communication process.
memory refresher
WRITTEN VERSUS ORAL COMMUNICATION
Whether written or oral, formal or relaxed, the communication
engaged in by the police supervisor is ______ to his ultimate success as a leader.
vital
SUMMARY
Good communicators must understand others and be understood
______ by them, both orally and in writing.
easily
SUMMARY
He knows that an agency where ideas and information flow _______ and accurately is an organization of contributing, trusting, and reasonably content employees.
freely
POINTS TO REMEMBER
1) It is virtually _______ NOT to communicate.
impossible
POINTS TO REMEMBER
2) Good communication requires the full _______ of the message sender and receiver.
attention
POINTS TO REMEMBER
3) Good communication must be clear, simple, open, and allow for two-way _______ exchange.
information
POINTS TO REMEMBER
4) A good communicator will develop excellent listening as well as speaking and ______ habits.
reading
POINTS TO REMEMBER
5) The ability to write well is absolutely _______ for a supervisor.
mandatory
POINTS TO REMEMBER
6) To be effective, communication must be calm and largely ______.
unemotional
POINTS TO REMEMBER
7) Timing is _____ for effective communication.
important
POINTS TO REMEMBER
8) Enemies of effective communication include _______, prejudices, emotional involvement, inappropriate language, and poor attitudes.
distractions
POINTS TO REMEMBER
9) Everyone benefits from _____ communication.
good
POINTS TO REMEMBER
Depending on the ______, either oral or written communication may be more effective than the other.
situation
