The responsibility of the sender of a message is to make it as easy as possible to understand the intended meaning. If work must be done to get your point across, it is on you as the sender to do all you can to make that happen. (The receiver also has their responsibilities that we\u2019ll examine below but listening and reading are not necessarily as labour-intensive<\/a> as composing a message in either speech or writing.) This is why grammar<\/a>, punctuation<\/a>, and even document design in written materials, as well as excellent conversational and presentation skills<\/a>, are so important: sender errors in these aspects of communication lead to readers\u2019 and audiences\u2019 confusion and frustration, which get in the way of their understanding the meaning you intended. If senders of messages fail to anticipate their audience\u2019s needs and miss the target of writing or saying the right thing in the right way to get their messages across, they bear the responsibility for miscommunication and need to pay close attention to the lessons throughout this textbook to help them get back on target. Errors can also be blamed on the medium of the message such as the technology and the environment\u2014some of which can slide back to choices the sender makes, but others are out of anyone\u2019s control. If you need to work out the terms of a sale with a supplier a few towns over before you draw up the invoice and time is of the essence, sending an email and expecting a quick response would be foolish when you (a) have no idea if anyone\u2019s there to write back right away, and (b) would potentially need to go back and forth over the terms; this exchange could potentially take days, but you only have an hour. The smart move is instead to phone the supplier so that you can have a quick conversation. If you need to, you could also text them to say that you\u2019re calling to hammer out the details before writing it up. Of course, you wouldn\u2019t call using a cellphone from inside a parking garage because blame for problems with the reception (or interference) would slide back on you for not positioning yourself appropriately given the available environments. If phone lines and the internet are down due to equipment malfunction (despite paying your bills and buying trustworthy equipment), however rare that might be, the problem is obviously out of your hands and in the environment. Otherwise, it\u2019s entirely up to you to use the right channels the correct way in the environments best suited to clear communication<\/a> to get the job done.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nIf the sender has any doubt that their message is being understood, it\u2019s also on them to check in to make sure. If you are giving a presentation, for instance, you can employ several techniques to help ensure that your audience stays with you:<\/p>\n\n
Channel-related Miscommunication<\/h3>\n