Aviation Instructor's Handbook (FAA-H-8083-9)
Chapter 4: Effectiv e Communication
Introduction
Carol, a flight instructor, has planned the first tailwheel flight with Jacob, her learner pilot. She begins the preflight briefing with an
explanation of the tendency of tailwheel aircraft to yaw in normal takeoff. This yawing tendency gives the illusion that the
tailwheel aircraft is unstable during the takeoff. Since this yawing tendency occurs on every takeoff, it is predictable and the pilot is
able to compensate for it. Carol then discusses the precession, which causes the noticeable yaw when the tail is raised from a three-
point attitude to a level flight attitude. This change of attitude tilts the horizontal axis of the propeller, and the resulting
precession produces a forward force on the right side (90° ahead in the direction of rotation), yawing the aircraft’s nose to the left. To
demonstrate the yawing tendency, she places a model aircraft prop under a desk lamp. [Figure 4-1] By moving the prop, the shadow
it casts illustrates the pitch change of the propeller when the aircraft is on its tailwheel and when the aircraft is raised to a level flight
attitude.
Figure 4-1. An aviation instructor communicates with her learner using model airplanes to ensure the learner’s understanding of the
principles discussed.
Effective communication is an essential element of instruction. An aviation instructor may possess a high level of technical
knowledge, but he or she needs to cultivate the ability to communicate effectively in order to share this knowledge with learners.
Although communication is a complex process, aviation instructors need to develop a comfortable style of communication that meets
the goal of passing on desired information to learners.
Communicating effectively is based on similarity of the idea transmitted by the source and received by the receiver. Similarly, as the
source, instructors have communicated effectively if the learner has understood the idea/concept/action transmitted in the manner in
which it was intended to be understood.
It is also important to recognize that communication is a two-way process. Each instructor and learner may have a unique
communication style, and bridging the gap between these styles is an important aspect of providing instruction. The elements of
effective communication, the barriers to communication, and the development of communication skills are discussed in this chapter.
Basic Elements of Communication
Communication takes place when one person transmits ideas or feelings to another person or group of people. The effectiveness of
the communication is measured by the similarity between the idea transmitted and the idea received. The process of communication is
composed of three elements:
⦁ Source (sender, speaker, writer, encoder, transmitter, or instructor)
⦁ Symbols used in composing and transmitting the message (words or signs [model prop/desk lamp in Figure 4-1])
⦁ Receiver (listener, reader, decoder, or learner)
The three elements are dynamically interrelated since each element is dependent on the others for effective communication to take
place. The relationship between the source and the receiver is also dynamic and depends on the two-way flow of symbols between the
source and the receiver. The source depends on feedback from the receiver to properly tailor the communication to the situation. The
source also provides feedback to the receiver to reinforce the desired receiver responses.
Source
As indicated, th e source in communication is th e sender, speaker, writer, encoder, transmitter, or instructor. Th e effectiveness of
persons acting in the role of communicators is related to at least three basic factors.
First, their ability to select and use language is essential for transmitting symbols that are meaningful to listeners and readers. It is the
responsibility of the speaker or writer, as the source of communication, to realize that the effectiveness of the communication is
dependent on the receiver’s understanding of the symbols or words being used. For example, if an aviation maintenance instructor
were to use aviation acronyms like ADs, TCDS or STCs or a flight instructor were to use aviation acronyms like ILS, TCAS, or
TAWS with a new maintenance learner or learner pilot respectively, effective communication would be difficult if not impossible.
Second, communicators consciously or unconsciously reveal information about themselves. This includes their self-image, their view
of the ideas being communicated, and their feelings toward the receivers. Communicators need to be confident; they should
illustrate that the message is important, and that the receivers have a need to know the ideas presented.
Third, successful communicators speak or write from accurate, up- to-date, and stimulating material. Communicators should convey
the most current and interesting information available. Doing so holds the receiver’s interest. Out-of-date information causes the
instructor to lose credibility, and uninteresting information may cause the receiver’s attention to be lost.
Symbols
At its basic level, all communication is achieved through symbols, which are simple oral, visual, or tactile codes. The words in the
vocabulary constitute a basic code. Common gestures and facial expressions form another, but codes and symbols alone do not
communicate complex concepts. These are communicated only when symbols are combined in meaningful wholes as ideas,
sentences, paragraphs, speeches, or chapters that mean something to the receiver. When symbols are combined into these units, each
portion becomes important to effective communication.
On a higher level, communication with symbols relies upon different perceptions, sometimes referred to as channels. While man y
theories have been proposed, one popular theory indicates that the symbols are perceived through one of three sensory channels:
visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. As discussed in Chapter 3, visual learners rely on seeing, auditory learners prefer listening and
speaking, while kinesthetic learners process and store information through physical experience such as touching, manipulating, using,
or doing.
The instructor may gain and retain the learner’s attention by using a variety of channels. As an example, instead of telling a learner to
adjust the trim, the instructor can move the trim wheel while the learner tries to maintain a given aircraft attitude. The learner
experiences by feel that the trim wheel affects the amount of control pressure needed to maintain the attitude. At the same time, the
instructor can explain to the learner that what is felt is forward or back pressure on the controls. After that, the learner begins to
understand the correct meaning of control pressure and trim, and when told to adjust the trim to relieve control pressure, the learner
responds in the manner desired by the instructor. Instructors commonly rely on the hearing and seeing channels of communication.
However, using all channels may improve the learning process. For teaching motor skills, the sense of touch, or kinesthetic learning,
is added as the learner practices the skill.
An instructor should constantly monitor feedback from the learner in order to identify misunderstandings and tailor the presentation
of information. Periodically asking the learner to explain his or her understanding of new information while it is being conveyed is
one way to obtain such feedback. The instructor may then modify the symbols he or she uses, as appropriate, to optimize
communication. [Figure 4-2] In addition to feedback received by the instructor, learners also need feedback from the instructor on
how they are doing. The feedback not only informs the learners of their performance, but can also serve as a valuable source of
motivation. An instructor’s praise builds the learner’s self-confidence and reinforces favorable behavior. On the other hand, negative
feedback should be used carefully. To avoid embarrassing a learner, use negative feedback only in private. This information should
be delivered as a description of actual performance and given in a nonjudgmental manner.
Figure 4-2. The instructor realizes from the response of the learner that “stall” has been interpreted by the learner to have something
to do with the engine quitting. Recognizing that the learner has misunderstood, the instructor is able to clarify the information and
help the learner to obtain the desired outcome.
For example, it would be appropriate to tell a maintenance learner that a safety wire installation is not satisfactory. To refer to the
work as careless would not be good and could do harm to the learner’s feeling of self-worth.
The parts of the total idea should be analyzed to determine which are most suited to starting or ending the communication, and which
are best for the purpose of explaining, clarifying, or emphasizing. All of these functions are required for effective transmission of
ideas. The process finally culminates in the determination of the medium best suited for their transmission.
Receiver
The receiver is the listener, reader, decoder, or learner —the individual or individuals to whom the message is directed. Effective
communicators should always keep in mind that communication succeeds only in relation to the reaction of their receivers. When the
receiver reacts with understanding and changes his or her behavior according to the intent of the source, effective communication has
taken place.
In order to understand the process of communication, three characteristics of receivers need to be understood: abilities, attitudes, and
experiences.
First, an instructor needs to determine the abilities of the learner in order to properly communicate. One factor that can have an effect
on learner ability is his or her background. For example, consider how familiar the learner may be with aviation. The familiarity may
range from having grown up around aviation to absolutely no familiarity at all. Some learners may have highly developed motor
skills, and others have not had opportunities to develop these skills. These factors should be taken into consideration when presenting
information to a learner.
The instructor should also understand that the viewpoint and background of people may vary because of cultural differences. The
instructor should be aware of possible differences, but not overreact or make assumptions because of these differences. For example,
just because a learner is a college graduate does not guarantee rapid advancement in aviation training. A learner’s education certainly
affects the instructor’s style of presentation, but that style should be based on the evaluation of the learner’s knowledge of the aviation
subject being taught.
Second, the attitudes learners exhibit may indicate resistance, willingness, or passive neutrality. To gain and hold learner attention,
attitudes should be molded into forms that promote reception of information. A varied communicative approach works best in
reaching most learners since they have different attitudes.
Third, instructors in aviation enjoy a unique advantage over other teachers, in that an aviation learner is usually an adult willing to
expend time and money to further knowledge. The typical aviation learner exhibits a much more developed sense of motivation and
self-concept than a typical school learner. Additionally, he or she usually comes into the learning environment with a significant
amount of prior knowledge, many life experiences, and a number of decision-making skills. The learner's knowledge, abilities, and
attitudes affect the instructor's communication strategy.
Barriers to Effective Communication
It is essential to understand the dynamics of communication, but the instructor also needs to be aware of several barriers to
communication that can inhibit learning. The nature of language and the way it is used often lead to misunderstandings. These
misunderstandings can be identified by four barriers to effective communication: lack of common experience, confusion between the
symbol and the symbolized object, overuse of abstractions, and external factors. [Figure 4-3]
Lack of Common Experience
Lack of common experience between the communicator (instructor) and the receiver (learner) is probably the greatest single barrier to
effective communication. Communication can be effective only to the extent that the experiences (physical, mental, and emotional) of
the participants are similar.
Many people seem to believe that words transport meanings from speaker to listener in the same way that a truck carries bricks from
one location to another. Words, however, rarely carry precisely the same meaning from the mind of the instructor to the mind of the
learner. In fact, words, in themselves, do not transfer meanings at all. Whether spoken or written, words are merely stimuli used to
arouse a response in the learner.
Figure 4-3. Misunderstandings stem primarily from four barriers to effective communication.
The learner’s past experience with the words and things to which they refer determines how the learner responds to what the
instructor says. An instructor’s words cannot communicate the desired meaning to another person unless the learner has had some
experience with the objects or concepts to which these words refer. Since it is the learners’ experience that forms vocabulary, it is also
essential that instructors speak the same language as the learners. When the instructor’s terminology is necessary to convey the idea,
some time needs to be spent making certain the learners understand that terminology.
For example, a maintenance instructor tells a learner to time the magnetos. A learner new to the maintenance field might think a
stopwatch or clock would be necessary to do the requested task. Instruction would be necessary for the learner to understand that the
procedure has nothing to do with the usual concept of time.
The English language abounds in words that mean different things to different people. To a farmer, the word “tractor” means the
machine that pulls the implements to cultivate the soil; to a trucker, it is the vehicle used to pull a semitrailer; in aviation, a tractor
propeller is the opposite of a pusher propeller. Each technical field has its own vocabulary. Technical words might mean something
entirely different to a person outside that field, or perhaps mean nothing at all. In order for communication to be effective, the
learners’ understanding of the meaning of the words needs to be the same as the instructor’s understanding.
When either the instructor, the learner, or both utilize English as a second language, the instructor notes whether this creates a
significant barrier to communication. Except in cases of special accommodation for a medical disability, any learner seeking a
pilot certificate or a maintenance learner seeking to become an AMT with operating privileges in the United States demonstrates the
ability to communicate in English before certification or exercise of privilege. If reasonable doubt exists as to the ability of an
aviation learner to communicate in English at an appropriate level, the instructor should refer to Advisory Circular (AC) 60-28, FAA
English Language Standard for an FAA Certificate Issued Under 14 CFR Parts 61, 63, 65, and 107, for further guidance.
Confusion Between the Symbol and the Symbolized Object
Confusion between the symbol and the symbolized object results when a word is confused with what it is meant to represent.
Although it is obvious that words and the connotations they carry can be different, people sometimes fail to make the distinction. An
aviation maintenance technician (AMT) might be introduced as a mechanic. To many people, the term mechanic conjures up images
of a person laboring over an automobile. Being referred to as an aircraft mechanic might be an improvement in some people’s minds,
but neither really portrays the training and skill of the AMT. Words and symbols do not always represent the same thing to every
person. To communicate effectively, speakers and writers should account for possible misinterpretation. Words and symbols can then
be chosen to represent what the speaker or writer intends.
Overuse of Abstractions
Abstractions are words that are general rather than specific. Concrete words or terms refer to objects people can relate directly to their
own experiences. These words or terms specify an idea that can be perceived or a thing that can be visualized. Abstract words, on the
other hand, stand for ideas that cannot be directly experienced, things that do not call forth mental images in the minds of the learners.
The word aircraft is an abstract word. It does not call to mind a specific aircraft. One learner may visualize an airplane, while another
might visualize a helicopter, and still another learner might visualize an airship. [Figure 4-4] Although the word airplane is more
specific, various learners might envision anything from a Boeing 777 to a Piper Cub.
Figure 4-4. Overuse of abstract terms can interfere with effective communication.