for the Think Tank

Running head: COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION AT THE OFFICE 1

Computer Mediated Communication at the Office

Robert Perry

COM200: Interpersonal Communication

Instructor Sheri Ketchum

February 29, 2016

COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION AT THE OFFICE 2

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has become a central way of communication

in today’s digital world, including in many work places such as by using email and instant

messaging. Many employees today have colleagues and managers located remotely, requiring

the use of CMC to be the primary means of communicating. CMC includes both nonverbal and

verbal communication. For this assignment I kept my CMC chart at work for a day and logged

the use of CMC on my computer, using email and instant messaging. I found that verbal and

nonverbal communication was used in my CMC communication and my responses were based

on how I perceived the communication.

One of the first things I noticed about my CMC use is the amount of time I was using

email. The log I kept was from a day I left work early, so I was only there for about 5 hours. I

logged about 66 minutes of email use, both reading and responding to emails. This was an

important observation for me because it shows that I primarily use email to communicate, and

that I need to be aware of how my verbal and nonverbal communication is being conducted via

email. I also noticed the amount of jargon we use at work and how that can make

communicating difficult.

Paying attention to my CMC will help me to be a better communicator at work. From my

log, I found I use email for my primary communication method. Bevan and Sole (2014) point

out that email communication be helpful, but also provide some challenges when it comes to

nonverbal communication. Sending an email message provides you the time to gather your

thoughts and present a clear message, but email messages also strip out most of the nonverbal

clues. I also noticed that the majority of my communication was formal language, however most

of my instant messaging communication was informal.

Comment [KC1]: Nice introduction! There's not really a thesis here. Work on that for future papers. If you need help, write me. Be sure to establish a specific claim, argument, or analytical position in your thesis. For additional information, please visit the Ashford Writing Center, located at https://awc.ashford/edu. Utilize ‘Writing Resources’, within the main toolbar, to find help in this area.

Comment [KC2]: Good detail.

Comment [KC3]: It depends on how familiar your recipients are with that jargon.

Comment [KC4]: These are both good points. It would have been nice to explain what could be done differently or relate to a “function” of communication.

Comment [KC5]: Different audiences? Different goals? Different functions served? This was an opportunity to relate to Bevan and Sole.

COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION AT THE OFFICE 3

One function of nonverbal communication I noticed was how it regulated interactions.

As Bevan and Sole (2014) stated, we rely on our nonverbal communication to shorten or

lengthen our messages. In one specific email interaction, I noticed some nonverbal clues such as

no greeting to the email and a single one-line sentence. To me this communicated a frustrated

and quickly sent message. This observation led me to reply to the email with more length and

detail. In general I found it important to look for and identify any nonverbal communication in

my CMC interactions. It was helpful to identify any frustrations and to really read between the

lines.

When it came to the functions of language, I noticed the confirming and nonconfirming

messages. Most of my email is about sending and receiving information, many times trying to

explain something to an outside party. I found confirming messages to be useful in my

professional setting, they allowed for me to be a simultaneous sender and receiver and express

concerns in a respectful way (Bevan and Sole, 2014). I also found identifying nonconfirming

messages allowed me to sense any frustrating in the sender and appropriately reply to the

message. Even though most of my communication was via email, I found it still important to

understand verbal communication and the various functions. I work with people from all over

the US and it is helpful to keep in mind the various dialects, as this not only impacts verbal

language but also communication thru CMC.

Bevan and Sole provide many ways to develop and improve our verbal and nonverbal

communication competence. One of the ways I found useful was in analyzing my own

communication thru this exercise. I never took time before to look at the computer-mediated

communication and assess my verbal and nonverbal communication. Additionally, I deal with

many different people via CMC and also will find it useful to observe how others communicate.

Comment [KC6]: Excellent observation. This can be read as a nonverbal cue and you're right, they might read this as you not caring as much.

Comment [KC7]: Good point. I'd liked to have seen you explain how you convey respect.

Comment [KC8]: Good point. This was another opportunity to make a connection to Bevan and Sole as well.

COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION AT THE OFFICE 4

As Bevan and Sole (2014) point out, by developing a habit of observing others in interpersonal

communication, I can match the verbal and nonverbal communication styles of the other

communicator. This approach can help when trying to discussing complex issues or to explain

something.

Overall, I found this exercise to be rewarding and educational. I appreciated the

opportunity to look at my CMC interactions and use the class material to not only identify the

various types of verbal and nonverbal functions, but to find ways of improving my

communication with others.

Time of Day

Total minutes of interactio n

Type of Communicatio n

Receive r

Notes on verbal elements

Notes on nonverbal communicatio n

Functions of verbal/nonverbal communicaton

5:16am 2:00 Email coworke r

Replied to email about a case from a colleague in another department. The tone of the email was professional.

She did send the email "priority" showing it was important

She inquired on a high dollar case I am involved in. She did use bank jargon. In my reply I advised her to let me know if she had any questions

5:24AM 2:00 Email Work

Email from LE following up on info I prevs provided. He seemed frustrated.

The email did not have any greeting and was only about 1 sentence long. He was complaining and I could tell he was frustrated.

I replied with a confirming message that I understood the communication

5:36AM 4:00 Email Work

I replied to the LE and provided the information again. I tried to provide some more details about

I was friendly and professional. I provided detailed information and tried not to use any bank jargon and to explain

Comment [KC9]: Great point. I'd liked to have seen how this could apply to your observed interactions.

Comment [KC10]: A great nonverbal cue! This was "confirming" its importance (verbally) and conveying the “emotion” of anxiety of needing to deal with this.

Comment [KC11]: How was this a nonverbal cue? Also, you do not relate this to a specific function of communication. It sounds like you read this as an emotion (frustration) – which is related to “engaging in and detecting messages of emotion, influence, and deception” (Bevan & Sole, 204, Section 4.2). Later you discuss a function of verbal communication though (confirming messages). So, good work!

COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION AT THE OFFICE 5

the situation in the email and offered to give him a call later today

items.

5:40AM 4:00 Email Work

Email from the same LE person on another matter. He was responding to a question I answered.

He seems confused and hard to follow. His email appears hastly sent

5:46AM 5:00 Email Work

Email from coworker in another dept about a fraud issue. She is asking for my assistance. The email is very lengthy and detailed

Her email was very professional and detailed. She has a greeting, and formatted her email that was easy to understand, even with a large amount of detailed information. She expressed appreciation for any assistance and said thank you.

She used terms like "collaborative partnerships" and "customer service experience" I have never dealt with this person before, but it was a situation I could assist with. Her tone was one where she was really wanting my help and was trying to be nice

5:55AM 5:00 Email/Compute r Work

Email from my boss about a coworker celebrating his 10 year work anniversary and link to "recognition wall" to leave a comment. I left a brief message congratulation g him and expressing my appretiaton for all he does to support our

I selected a picture of a "thumbs up" to be part of my message, it is simple and goofy.

Use verbal and nonverbal communication

Comment [KC12]: Which function? Remember, this line is about functions.

Comment [KC13]: Emotion? Nonverbal cues?

Comment [KC14]: And what did that convey, nonverbally or verbally? Again, I’m looking for functions of each example.

COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION AT THE OFFICE 6

team

6:01AM 3:00 Email Work

Email from LE about a new case. I provided reqeusted info and kept the email professional

The email was professional, I did sense the request was urgent

The email was formal communication, professional. I replied with a confirming message that showed I was engaged in the conversation and understood the communication

6:20AM 2:00 Email Work

Email from my manager as an FYI on a new project. The email was detailed and professional

Formal communication, lots of bank jargon

6:31AM 2:00 Email Work

Email from colleague. This is somewhat a form email that is part of a review process

Form email, very impresonal but straight forward

Authoratitve email, requesting my review and reply ASAP

Comment [KC15]: Good. This is a specific function discussed in Bevan and Sole.

COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION AT THE OFFICE 7

6:51AM 10:00 Email and IM Work

Email frowarded to me from my boss about monthly reviews of some employees, she than sent me an instant message asking for me to take a look at the email and provide my opinion

Receiving an email and than IM from my boss like that tells me right away its urgent. The email was formal, but the IM informal. Both were professional

I could tell from the email and IM that she was concerned about the reviews done by another manager. There was a sense of urgency in her nonverbal communication

7:10AM 2:00 Email Work

Email from Legal dept asking if an issue was taken care of. The email had a friendly gretting and ended with a thank you.

The tone was positive

I replied with a brief "Yes it was, thank you" She replied with a confirming message showing she appreciated and cared by say "great thanks" and "have a great weekend"

7:18AM 2:00 Email Work

Email response from LE with some additional information I requested

I could tell she appreciated my quick response and the info I previously provided.

She provided a greeting in her email "hello" and said "thanks for the quick info"

7:26AM 2:00 Email Work

Send email to follow up on a pending issue to Legal. Formal language, no jargon

I used a greeting and asked how everything was going. My email message was simple and asked for follow up.

I used a confirming message to show that I was focused on the issue and engaged.

7:46AM 2:00 Email Work

Email from my manager with an updated document for employee reviews. The email startes with FYI so I know there is no need to respond right

She used "FYI" which is jargon and let me know I did not need to respond

Comment [KC16]: So, the repeated messages ended up being a nonverbal cue. It feels like this might have been about “regulating flow of interactions.”

Comment [KC17]: Great!

Comment [KC18]: This is another example of regulating flow.

COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION AT THE OFFICE 8

away

7:57AM 1:00 Email Work

Email response from Legal to my follow up email. Formal Communicatio n

She used a greeting and expressed that she assumed the issue was resolved since she never heard back from her origional email

She send a confirming message indicating she understood and will follow up

8:34AM 2:00 Email Work

Email from LE about missing person/elder, formal language

The email is urgent, as the word "urgent" is in red color, the email subject is missing person

I replied with a confirming message that showed I clearly understood what she was looking for and the recognized the urgency

9:22AM 5:00 Email Work

Email from LE asking for information. The email is profession and in formal language.

The email is not urgent, but it was addressed to multiple people, the sender took the time to explain and provide context for the request and background information.

This was a confirming message, it was clear, focused and specificed exactly what the person wanted out of the communication

11:33A M 5:00 IM Work

IM communicatio n with my Manager, advising her of a computer upgrade today and some of the issues we are having.

I was frustrated with the computer update and missing applications

COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION AT THE OFFICE 9

This was more informal language via IM

11:46A M 6:00 IM Work

Received IM from my manager, she was asking about clarification on an issue as she was on a conference call with others discussing the issue

Her tone was frustrated and urgent

References

Bevan, J. L., & Sole, K. (2014). Making connections: Understanding interpersonal

Comment [KC19]: I’m impressed with your notes here! Try to provide details to support your claim. What was her tone? How was this conveyed?

COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION AT THE OFFICE 10

communication (2nd ed.) [Electronic version]. Retrieved from

https://content.ashford.edu/