Communications Merit Badge

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Communications Merit Badge
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Skills youll learn

• How to plan
• How to speak with adults you dont know
• Taking notes
• Different ways we communicate
• Career opportunities in communications
• Teaching skills
• Speaking skills
• Thinking on your feet

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Communication

• What is it?
• Message transmission - reception
• How much is verbal?
• Very little
• Communication problems
• Clarity of words
• Intent
• Efficiency

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Communications Requirements

1. How We Communicate
2. Describe yourself/ Sell Something
3. Public Speaking
4. Conduct an Interview
5. Public Meeting
6. Teaching
7. Explore Publishing
8. Plan a program
9. Investigate Careers

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1. How We Communicate

• Do ONE of the following
• a. For one day, keep a log in which you describe
  your communication activities. Keep track of the
  time and different ways you spend communicating,
  such as talking person-to-person, listening to
  your teachers or the radio, watching television,
  reading books, and other print media, and
  communicating online. Discuss with your counselor
  what your log reveals about the importance of
  communication in your life. Think of ways to
  improve your communications skills.
• b. For three days, keep a journal of your
  listening experiences. Identify one example of
  each of the following, and discuss with your
  counselor when you have listened to
• Obtain information
• A persuasive argument
• Appreciate or enjoy something
• Understand someone's feelings
• c. In a small-group setting, meet with other
  scouts or with friends. Have them share personal
  stories about significant events in their lives
  that affected them in some way. Take note of how
  each scout participates in the group discussion
  and how effective each one is in telling his
  story. Report what you have learned to your
  counselor about the differences you observed in
  effective communication.
• d. List as many ways as you can think of to
  communicate with others (face-to-face, by
  telephone, letter, e-mail, fax). For each type of
  communication discuss with your counselor an
  instance when that method might not be
  appropriate or effective.

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How To

• Ask your patrol to meet with you before a troop
  meeting.
• Remind them by phone the night before
• Take notes
• Use the logs for the other items.
• Meet with your counselor

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Describe Yourself/ Sell Something

• Do ONE of the following
• a. Think of a creative way to describe yourself,
  using, for example, a collage, short story or
  autobiography, drawing or series of photographs,
  or a song or skit. Using the aid you created,
  make a presentation to your counselor about
  yourself.
• b. Choose a concept, product, or service in which
  you have great confidence. Build a sales plan
  based on its good points. Try to persuade the
  counselor to agree with, use, or buy your
  concept, product or service. After your sales
  talk, discuss with your counselor how persuasive
  you were.

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How To

• Self Description
• Define who you are likes, dislikes, favorite
  things, most important, strengths/weaknesses
• Next construct an outline, concept, or prototype
• Build on this by constructing the finished
  product
• Remember youre the expert on you

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How To (continued)

• Selling
• Define the value of the product in the eyes of
  the customer
• Make eye contact with the buyer, smile, talk
  slowly and respectfully
• Highlight emotional items (color, look, feel,
  taste, smell)
• Sell the sizzle not the steak
• Complete your presentation, ask for the order and
  stop talking (this is a closing question)
• Handle any objection by restating it, then
  answering it in the eyes of the customer
• Ask for the order again and stop talking
• Repeat this cycle (closing question, objection,
  closing question) until the buyer says yes. This
  typically takes five tries.
• Remember, price is the one object you can not
  overcome. When a customer objects to the price,
  sell the value

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Public Speaking

• Write a five-minute speech. Give it at a meeting
  of a group.

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How To

• Outline what you are going to say
• Plan the time (speaking always takes longer than
  you think)
• Pick a subject that you know well
• Begin with an introduction
• Add some light humor (an icebreaker)
• This doesnt always work, but dont let it bother
  you
• Explain what your going to speak about
• Speak about it
• Summarize
• End
• Rehearse at least three times
• Speak up project your voice
• Look your audience in the eye
• Smile
• Keep hands out of your pockets (put on your hips
  or cross them)
• Try to be yourself

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Conduct an Interview

• Interview someone you know fairly well, like, or
  respect because of his or her position, talent,
  career or life experiences. Listen actively to
  learn as much as you can about the person. Then
  prepare and deliver to your counselor an
  introduction of the person as though this person
  were to be a guest speaker, and include reasons
  why the audience would want to hear this person
  speak. Show how you would call to invite this
  person to speak.

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How To

• Pick an adult that you know, but not your parents
• Prepare a list of ten questions
• Tell me about your job?
• What other jobs have you done in life?
• Whats the most important thing you learned in
  life?
• Use follow-up questions as you listen
• Take notes
• After the interview, copy your notes and expand
  them

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Public Meeting

• Attend a public meeting (city council, school
  board, debate) approved by your counselor where
  several points of view are given on a single
  issue.
• Practice active listening skills and take careful
  notes of each point of view.
• Present an objective report that includes all
  points of view that were expressed, and share
  this with your counselor.

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How To

• Visit a public hearing at Montgomery County
• Visit the courthouse and attend a trial
• Attend a community meeting (check the library for
  notices
• Listen to a debate on TV, the Radio, or the
  Internet
• Half hour is long enough so long as you listen to
  two points of view

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Teaching

• With your counselor's approval, develop a plan to
  teach a skill or inform someone about something.
  Prepare teaching aids for your plan. Carry out
  your plan. With your counselor, determine whether
  the person has learned what you intended.

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How To

• Teach someone how sink a basket
• Teach someone how to pitch a tent
• Teach someone how to tie scout knots
• Write a plan
• Write an objective statement
• List the main topics/steps
• Prepare teaching aids (drawings, examples, model)
• Construct a test for the student

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Publishing

• Do ONE of the following
• a. Write to the editor of a magazine or your
  local newspaper to express your opinion or share
  information on any subject you choose. Send your
  message by fax, email or regular mail.
• b. Create a Web page for your scout troop,
  school, or other organization. Include at least
  one article and one photograph or illustration,
  and one link to some other web page that would be
  helpful to someone who visits the web page you
  have created. It is not necessary to post your
  web page to the internet, but if you decide to do
  so, you must first share it with your parents and
  counselor and get their permission.
• c. Use desktop publishing to produce a
  newsletter, brochure, flier or other printed
  material for your scout troop, class at school,
  or other group. Include at least one article and
  one photograph or illustration.

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Plan a program

• Plan a troop court of honor or campfire program.
  Have the patrol leaders' council approve it, then
  write the script and prepare the program. Serve
  as master of ceremonies.

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How To

• Court of Honor
• Opening ceremony
• Awards
• Special Recognition
• Closing ceremony
• Campfire
• Skits
• Songs
• Stories

Look on the web for suggestions and ideas
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Careers

• Learn about opportunities in the field of
  communication. Choose one career in which you are
  interested and discuss with your counselor the
  major responsibilities of that position and the
  qualifications, education, and preparation it
  requires.

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Communications Careers

• Journalism Careers
• Public Office
• Radio/TV Broadcasting
• Acting (Movies, TV, Stage)
• Audio/Sound technicians
• Teaching
• Sales/Selling
• Web site development
• Advertising

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How To

• Identify Jobs (at least five)
• Look in the Sunday Classified Ads
• Call companies that are hiring
• Look Online
• For each job find out
• Education requirements
• Experience requirements
• Pay range
• How much travel required
• Specialized training needed
• Other aspects of that job

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Practice

• Introductions
• Taking notes
• Interviewing
• Selling
• Types of communication