In today's energy industry, especially as it relates to policy and communications, you have to be able to explain the issues, understand the context or situation and take a position based on this information. In thinking about this, this old commercial comes to mind, perhaps you will recognize it. It very clearly demonstrates the point that even one word, depending on the context, can influence the meaning and implications associated with it.

Video: Dude - Bud Light (0:51). Only audio is "dude" repeated at intervals.

Although this one singular word, "Dude" is uttered over and over again, the way in which it is delivered, and the situational surroundings provide enough context for the viewer to decipher the meaning. We can put this same type of example to the test in our energy and sustainability field with one word as well ......green.

What does it mean to be green? Has green been defined? How do you tell if something is not green? How do you explain this difference to others?

Some people may seem like they are naturally good communicators; they can frame a message to suit any audience, and the message is always received loud and clear. Chances are, that although they are good communicators now, that wasn't always the case. We all need to continually practice the art of good communication.

Ideas to help you become an effective communicator

1) Gain Competence

Gain competence in oral, written, and presentation skills for conveying information using various media.

Many of your foundation or prerequisite courses focus directly on written and/or spoken communication. Additionally, many of your other ESP courses will provide you with opportunities to demonstrate and hone these skills. The importance of being able to articulate your thoughts and ideas effectively and concisely through words is not to be underestimated. Being able to explain concepts and your ideas related to those concepts both orally and/or visually is a constant requirement for success in any job. Our advice:

• Take every opportunity, while doing course assignments or working outside of class, to exercise your communication skills.
• Take advantage of the resources provided in this class to support your endeavors along the way.
• Take advantage of our in-house writing tutor and the tutor.com services available to you as you fine-tune your communication skills.

Being able to articulate your ideas in words, however, is only part of the communication challenge. A good communicator understands and does more than this.

2) Listen to and Learn from Others

Credit: Listen by B Rosen is licensed under
CC BY-ND 2.0

Being a good communicator doesn't only require saying the right thing at the right time. It also requires truly listening and understanding your audience and then responding appropriately. Good communicators place listening towards the top of their 'radar' as they reach out and try to understand their audiences and themselves.

3) Professionalism

Credit: Team Spirit by Gerd Atmann,
is licensed under CC0

Being considered a professional involves:

• understanding what one is talking about,
• regularly producing high-quality work,
• exhibiting high standards of professional ethics, and
• acting as a positive role model in terms of morale and motivation.

Think about the many ways in which you can or will communicate with clients, coworkers, and your professors. Find ways to incorporate the above-listed attributes into the messages you draft, and look for evidence that confirms the importance of these attributes.

4) Competence in a language other than English

Why is this important?

Credit: © Penn State University is
licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

There are two things that should be learned when studying another language. One is the language itself; the vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure and so forth. The second, and of more importance for the ESP student, is the opportunity to shift outside of your own cultural norms. Learning the French language is very different from speaking with someone from France. Speaking with someone from France involves understanding not just the language, but the culture of the language as well. For example, when people walk into shops in Paris, France, they always, always exchange French greetings with the shopkeeper ("Bonjour madame," "Bonjour monsieur") before proceeding to shop or ask questions. To do otherwise (even in English) is considered extremely rude (if their four-year-old knows this, they would say, why don't you?). Also, walking around with a big smile in Paris? No, no, no. Parisians often interpret this negatively, as A) you are laughing at me as if I have something amiss on my person, or B) you are a simpleton. Are you starting to see why some uninitiated Americans might have a non-optimal experience in the City of Light?

All of this still remains important even as more and more people strive to learn English. Author Joe Carroll wrote an editorial in The Business Journal (2005), pointing out that, "More students in China take English as a second language than there are English-speaking people in the entire world." He also states, "If the world's population totaled 1,000 people, the distribution would be as follows: 564 Asian. 210 European, 86 African, 80 South American, 60 North American — meaning the United States, Canada, and Mexico." If you want to read more, Carroll's article, "What's the importance of learning a foreign language?" is excellent (The Business Journal, 2005). This article is over a decade old; if it was important to learn a foreign language in 2005, can you imagine the impetus now?

In other parts of the world, knowing the culture is more important than knowing the language, and sometimes the language specifies the way in which one can communicate with a superior. As an extreme example, we might look at what Malcolm Gladwell (author of The Tipping Point and Blink) wrote about in a book called Outliers: The Story of Success. In the chapter entitled, "The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes," he describes a number of scenarios and discusses airline safety from the perspective of cultural communication (in this case, the Korean language).

Evidently, in 1997, Korean Air Flight 801 experienced turbulence and trouble in their approach to Guam. Culturally, the co-pilot did not feel it was his role (as subordinate) to contradict the pilot with his judgment that the plane was about to crash—indeed, linguistically it was nearly impossible. The plane did crash, killing 228 of the 254 people aboard. Here, cultural legacy impinged on the safety of everyone aboard the flight! Essentially, "... Boeing and Airbus design modern, complex airplanes to be flown by two equals. That works beautifully in low power-distance cultures [like the U.S., where hierarchies aren't as relevant]. But in cultures that have high power distance, it’s very difficult." The dynamic of the industry was changed when all pilots and crew were required to speak only in English. Most of us know that English has lost much of its formal/informal verb tense for addressing either a child or the president of a company. This change in cultural norms (which is often built into the language) has allowed the company to fly more safely since the change in language.

One of the many reasons that climate change still isn't fully recognized by Americans is that the scientific community has done such a terrible job of communicating the issue. Not to oversimplify, but it could be said that the state of the world hangs in the balance because of ineffective communication! While not every communication experience carries such weight, the importance of effective communication cannot be ignored or taken lightly!

The complexity of climate change has presented challenges in communicating related information to the general public. The following article gives some really great examples of how that happens and makes some great suggestions for scientists to reverse the situation and hopefully not continue to make the same mistakes.

Credit: Screenshot
from Amazon
taken by Haley Sankey,
Retrieved 2019

Have you heard of a book or a documentary called "Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming"? In both, the authors explain how a successful information campaign can trump any real scientific knowledge.

More about the book/movie from Merchants of Doubt:

"...historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway explain how a loose–knit group of high-level scientists, with extensive political connections, ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge over four decades. In seven compelling chapters addressing tobacco, acid rain, the ozone hole, global warming, and DDT, Oreskes and Conway roll back the rug on this dark corner of the American scientific community, showing how the ideology of free market fundamentalism, aided by a too-compliant media, has skewed public understanding of some of the most pressing issues of our era."

The movie is highly entertaining and while not as detailed as the book, it focuses on communication strategies and why messaging can make or break an informational campaign. If you have the opportunity, pick up the book or view the movie; you won't be disappointed.

So much of Communication is context; the context of the participants, the context of the situation, etc. The reading and activities below are optional but strongly encouraged. The workshops bring contextual differences to light and may help you communicate better with others. We will be completing the Power and Privilege workshop in a later lesson, but it is included here as well because it is part of the series.

Penn State's Division of Student Affairs has developed a number of online workshops that target important, challenging, and perhaps controversial aspects of communicating effectively with individuals, organizations, and communities.

Here are brief descriptions of these online workshops (some of which we will cover in a later lesson):

Introduction to Power and Privilege

Credit: State Department
Photo by Freddie Everett,
Public Domain

This workshop focuses on the concepts of power and privilege and how they impact race and ethnic relations. The workshop includes activities that help you to explore your own identity and provide you with opportunities to reflect upon these complex issues. More importantly, how do these ideas impact our efforts as we communicate energy and sustainability issues as we work with individuals, organizations, and communities?

Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

Credit: Gender Stereotypes
by Consuelo

This workshop focuses on understanding and increasing your awareness of a range of stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination, how they differ from each other, and how they influence each other. Rooted within cultural contexts, it is important to get a sense of how our own beliefs come into play as we work to get our messages across to others.

Introduction to the Isms

Credit: National Women’s Party
members protest before the
White House, 1917 by
AP Images from Mashable, 2021.

Learn about the concept of "isms" and more specifically about how racism, sexism, classism, and heterosexism affect communications and community relationships. Taken from the workshop: "...it is believed that our levels of success are a direct result of our dedication, discipline, and hard work." As we work with individuals, organizations, and communities, you begin to see how important it is to ask yourself the question of whether or not everyone actually has the same opportunities to succeed.