Communication

Planted 02023-03-10

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Scales of culture

Communicating: low-context vs. high-context
Evaluating: direct negative feedback vs. indirect negative feedback
Persuading: principles-first vs. applications first
Leading: egalitarian vs. hierarchical
Deciding: consensual vs. top-down
Trusting: task-based vs. relationship-based
Disagreeing: confrontational vs. avoids confrontation
Scheduling: linear-time vs. flexible-time

Scales of communication culture

Good faith vs Bad faith
Wait vs Interrupt (in synchronous communication)
- The Church of Interruption
Asynchronous first vs Synchronous first
Reveal vs Infer
Explicit vs Implicit

Good faith vs Bad faith

Good faith	Bad faith
Humility and curiosity	Hubris and lack of curiosity in opposing views
Update position based on new information	Refuse changes in position based on new information
Disagreements welcomed; group learning valued	Disagreements unwelcomed; consensus overstated
Steelman the position of others	Strawman the position of others
Respectly disagree	Disrespectfully disagree
Sufficient time given to open discussion	Insufficient time given to open discussion
Use careful clarifications and evidence	Avoid or omit careful clarifications and evidence
Attempt to find shared base realities and values	No attempt to find shared base realities and values
Emergence of new positions, integrations, and nuance	Emergence of stalemates, polarization, and simplifications

Wait vs Interrupt

Do not interrupt (vs) Interrupt when you understand
Speak briefly (vs) Speak until I interrupt
Use physical cues to indicate understanding and desire to speak (vs) Use physical cues to indicate when I should continue talking

	I interrupt	I wait for you to finish
I let you interrupt	The Church of Interruption	The Meek
I will say my piece no matter what	Barkers	The Church of Strong Civility

Asynchronous first vs Synchronous first

Do not expect an immediate response (vs) Expect an immediate response
Respond on your own time (vs) Must be present to respond
Respond when it works best for you (vs) Everyone is tied to the same schedule

Reveal vs Infer

When you want something I trust you to ask for it (vs) When you want something I trust you will give me hints to notice and interpret.
If I make a request that doesn’t make sense to you, I trust you to refuse it (vs) I trust you to notice my hints to what I want and provide or offer it if possible.

Explicit vs Implicit

State what may be obvious, but is often not to everyone (vs) Holding back statement that seem obvious to you, but may not be obvious to everyone else
Focus on reducing ambiguity (vs) Do not focus on reducing ambiguity

Confidence level

For expressions of likelihood or probability, use one of the following sets of terms. Source: Intelligence Community Directives 203: Analytic Standards

Probability Term	Synonym	Percentage Range
almost no chance	remote	01-05%
very unlikely	highly improbable	05-20%
unlikely	improbable (improbably)	20-45%
roughly even chance	roughly even odds	45-55%
likely	probable (probably)	55-80%
very likely	highly probable	80-95%
almost certain(ly)	nearly certain	95-99%

Note causes of uncertainty ( e.g., type, currency, and amount of information, knowledge gaps, and the nature of the issue) and explain how uncertainties affect analysis (e.g., to what degree and how a judgment depends on assumptions)

Scales of communication needs

From diátaxis

Acquisition vs Application
Action vs Cognition

need	addressed in	the user	the documentation
learning	tutorials	acquires their craft	informs action
goals	how-to guides	applies their craft	informs action
information	reference	applies their craft	informs cognition
understanding	explanation	acquires their craft	informs cognition