Strategic communication

Faroha Suhrawardy
Becoming an strategic thinker
Why?

Fully specified problem vs Partially specified

problem
 Y+Z=24
6+18=
Fully Specified Problem Partially Specified Problem
RESOLVING PROBLEMS
 Types of Partially Specified
Problem
 There is no one clearly best answer; like selecting
a restaurant for dinner.

 The second type of partially specified problem is

– incomplete process; there are steps missing that
are needed to arrive at the specific solution. Like
detective stories.
 Information Saturation
 We live in an environment that is far different
from any environment humans have ever
experienced before.
 And the environment changes at an ever
increasing pace.
 Information Vehicles
Medium United States World
Book- per year 64,711 968,735
Radio Station 12,600 43,973
TV Station 1,884 43,973
Newspaper 2,386 22,643
Scholarly Journal 10,500 40,000
Archived Office Pages 3X109 7.5X109
Information-- 2001
 Amount of Information
 In 1984 more information had been produced in the 30-year
period after 1954 than in the 5,000 years before that date.
 It is impossible for an individual to keep up with all this
information.
 For example if you were try to read only the new books of
this year, you would have to read a book in every 8 minutes
for 24 hours each day with no breaks over the entire year.
 If you wanted to watch all the television programming
broadcast in this year alone, it would take you about 550
centuries– if you took no breaks!
 Is this a hopeless situation?
 For a strategic thinker– this is challenging but
full of opportunity.
 How?

› Filter information
› Use it to solve problem
Automatic Pilot:

Let’s say you spend 20 minutes in the store and buy 50 items.

How many decision did you make while shopping 50 items?

- 50?
-100?
- 200?
 Knowledge
 Information– messages– facts, are like raw
materials.
 Knowledge requires structure.
 The structure displays what is most important
and how facts are related to one another.
 Strategic thinking helps people build knowledge
structure that are accurate and useful.
 Type of knowledge styles
 Information avoiders– They do not avoid all
information but they keep their minds on
autopilot almost all the time.
 Consumer– they have stronger base for learning
than the information avoiders and they are very
good at memorization.
 The strategic learner– They are strongest
knowledge style both cognitive and emotional.
 Qualities of strategic thinkers
 When encountering information, they quickly
and accurately distinguish the signal from the
noise.
 Able to memorize lots of details.
 Able to find creative solutions.
 Strong vertical and lateral thinking.
 High emotional intelligence.
 High tolerance for ambiguity.