BRM Ch06 Communications

Technical questions Name the different forms of communication. List factors that make verbal communications better than written communications. List factors that make written communi-cations better than verbal communications. List factors that limit all/any communications. What is “feedback” in relation to verbal communications? List technical/mechanical devices designed to improve communications.

Case study: Bulk carrier BRIGHT FIELD in New Orleans in December 1996.

Communication fundamentals The successful exchange or transfer of information from one human being to another. Verbal (talking to each other) Nonverbal (nod, flip) Electronic (radio, telephone, e-mail) Written (page) Visual (drawing or photo) Any

Communication fundamentals Barriers to communication Physical :intervening objects, great distances, extraneous noises. Technical: Psychological:

Overcoming barriers Engage in direct face-to-face communications in a low-ambient-noise environment. Inflection (emphasizing certain syllables) Tone of voice Volume Facial expression gestures

Communication fundamentals Less than 40%of our meaning is conveyed by words. The rest is conveyed by tone, body language, gestures, and so forth. The process of feedback.

Failed face-to-face communication 3/O acknowledged the lookout’s report in a “calm, routine manner.” (Exxon Valdez)

Non face-to-face communication Phone or radio conversations, still allow tone, inflection, and volume to be transmitted. Written communications are better than no communications. Written guidance will be consistent. An individual can always refer back to a written instruction. But the value of written communication will be lost if they are ignored.

External communication One barrier to external communication: Language. People have accents, and who speak more than one language often carry accents from one language into a different language. The captain’s limited English vocabulary, and his perhaps less than comprehensive knowledge of local geography, prevented him from making himself clear.

No communication If incomplete or unclear or one-side external communications can cause problems, then no communications can lead to disaster as well.

Incomplete communication Language barrier are not restricted to inter-ship communications. M/V Bright Field, pilot spoke English, crew spoke Chinese.

Internal language barriers Dutch officers, Indonesian crew. Did language barriers affect the interpersonal contacts and thus internal communications on the bridge.

Same language, failed communication Even people who speak the same language can have great misunderstandings. To give the same word different meanings depending on the context in which it is used.

Summary Always keep in mind that communication will only be successful when the information is exchanged and comprehended by everyone concerned with it.

Discussion questions Take the list you made in answering question no. 6 (technical questions) and show how those same devices impede communications. Do you think the Exxon Valdez’s third mate understood the importance of the reports he got from the lookout? Why or why not? Do you think Bright Field’s captain failed to tell the pilot about the ship’s ongoing propulsion problems because of language difficulties or for some other reason? We have all had miscommunications aboard ship. Talk about some of yours and their consequences.