Real-Life Communication
You're a pest control worker. You're in the office after spending
much of your day on various jobs around town. At one house you were spraying
some fruit trees against pests. And at another, you were advising a client
on how to reduce the neighborhood mosquito population.
The phone rings.
It's a man who says he's got a termite infestation and wants your advice on
what to do about it. Before you can give any kind of useful information, you
need to know what kind of termites they are.
You pull out one of your
insect identification manuals and turn to the section on termites. There are
two kinds -- the drywood termite and the subterranean termite. This is what
your manual says:
Drywood Termite
Appearance:
Larger than subterranean termites, up to one-half inch long; no worker caste
in the colony.
Habits: Create colonies in wood, with no connection
to the ground necessary; often found in attic wood; need very little moisture.
Diet:
Wood and occasionally other cellulose material.
Details: Cause
serious damage to structures, often long before they are discovered; piles
of sawdust-like pellets are a distinct sign of infestation; not as widespread
as subterranean termite; colonies may contain up to 2,700 members.
Subterranean
Termite
Appearance: There are four types of species, or
"castes," in a subterranean termite colony:
Worker: approximately one-quarter
of an inch long, light colored, wingless.
Soldier: elongated head with
mandibles.
Supplementary Reproductives: wingless or very short, non-functional
wings, light colored.
Primary Reproductives: winged, and darker than
other members, caste most often seen.
Habits: Live in colonies
underground, from which they build tunnels in search of food; able to reach
food above the level of the ground by building mud tubes; dependent on moisture
for survival.
Diet: Wood and other cellulose material.
Details:
Colonies can contain up to one million members.
You need to ask the
customer some questions in order to determine what kind of termites they are.
Write out five questions that will help you figure out what species it is
based on the above descriptions.
Now think of another way to ask every
question based on the information in your manual. For example, you could ask,
"How many termites were there?" Or, you could ask, "Did it look like there
were only a few thousand termites, or closer to a million?"