Task: Critical Analysis of Communication Styles and Skills
Objectives
The purpose of this assignment is to enable students to evaluate professional communication aspects in relation to the communication styles, skills and effectiveness, and to demonstrate the ability to critically analyse and communicate the key issues through a written report.
Background
A critique or critical analysis is a review or appraisal based on careful analytical evaluation. Writing a critical analysis requires you to explore various types of sources in detail, and to read other related materials so that you can present a fair and reasonable evaluation on the selected theme/scenarios.
In this assignment, you are required to undertake a critical analysis of communication styles, skills and effectiveness after carefully examining selected YouTube videos on speeches/talks by a famous leader or politician or Business Professional.
Critical thinking is an important component of being a professional researcher and communicator. It helps you develop a deeper understanding of ideas and theories. To be a successful professional researcher and communicator you need to able to identify key issues pertaining to any given communication, sort out what is accurate, and what is not, and critically analyse a solid, factual base for addressing these issues in relation to theories and practices of principles of communication.
Requirements
1. You are required to select only one famous (current or past) person from one of the following category lists of either Leaders or Academics or Business Professionals:
Leaders
• Tony Abbott (Australia)
• Bill Shorten (Australia)
• Al Gore (USA)
• Hillary Clinton (USA)
• Margaret Thatcher (UK)
Academics
• Noam Chomsky (USA)
• Milton Friedman (USA)
• Lawrence Krauss (USA)
• Karl Kruszelnicki (Australia)
Business Professionals
• Donald Trump (Trump Organization)
• Andrew Forrest (Fortescue Metals Group, Minara Resources)
• Tim Cook (Apple)
• Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook)
2. You are then required to search and watch YouTube videos on speeches/talks by the person you have selected and analyse their communication styles, skills and effectiveness in terms of conveying their messages.
Hints: For the state leader/politician, look at campaign speeches, inaugural speeches, election debates, and interviews etc. For academics, look at speeches at seminars/workshops/interviews or significant lectures. For business professionals, look at seminar/workshops, speeches to staff/employees, and speeches at product launch or interviews etc. Note that you need to record all the links on the videos that you selected to watch towards completing this task and include in the report.
3. You are then required to carefully note issues on their communication styles, skills and effectiveness. You need to perform a critical analysis on the individual, highlighting the positive and negative aspects of their communication styles, skills and effectiveness. For example, such things may include verbal and non-verbal communication, level of animation, logical sequence of statements, how they deal with criticism (if applicable), depth of lectures/answers/rebuttals, ability to convey their message etc. In any case, you must support your analysis with theories and concepts from other authenticated sources of information (books, journal articles, other online materials etc.) on communication styles, skills and effectiveness.
4. Finally, you are required to present a written critical analysis of 1000-1500 words in report format.
The critical analysis report should primarily include-
a) A Cover page and a TOC (Table of Contents)
b) An introductory statement, in your own words, that introduces what your report is about;
c) Identification of the communication styles, skills and effectiveness of the selected person;
d) Critical analysis of the communication styles, skills and effectiveness of the selected person;
e) Conclusion that draws together your critical analysis of the overall investigation.
f) Referencing using APA style.