Communication Skills write up

 Communication

Communication (from Latin commūnicāre, meaning "to share" is the activity of conveying information through the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, visuals, signals, writing, or behavior. It is the meaningful exchange of information between two or a group of people. Pragmatics defines communication as any sign-mediated interaction that follows combinatorial, context-specific and content-coherent rules. Communicative competence designates the capability to install intersubjective interactions, which means that communication is an inherent social interaction.

Verbal & non verbal communication

Verbal communication refers to the use of sounds and language to relay a message.

Non-verbal communication is the process of communication through sending and receiving wordless (mostly visual) cues between people.

Messages can be communicated through gestures and touch, body language or posture, physical distance, facial expression and eye contact, which are all types of nonverbal communication. Speech contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, rate, pitch, volume, and speaking style, as well as prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation, and stress. Likewise, written texts have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words, or the physical layout of a page. However, much of the study of nonverbal communication has focused on face-to-face interaction, where it can be classified into three principal areas: environmental conditions where communication takes place, physical characteristics of the communicators, and behaviors of communicators during interaction.

Barriers to Accurate Comprehension

• Education and Experience.

• Age.

• Culture.

• Gender.

Obstacles to Effective Listening

• Perceived Value of Message.

• Emotions (Fear, Anger, Grief, etc.).

• Physical Distractions

• Poor Delivery of the Message.

• Incomprehensibility of the message and speaker

• Message Overload

• Message Complexity

• Environmental Distractions

• Internal Obstacles

• Preoccupation

• Prejudgment

• Lack of Effort

• Reacting to Emotionally Loaded Language

• Familiarity- not paying attention because you think you know everything- then you miss an important point.

• Attitude- towards speaker/ topic

• Physiological factors

Guidelines for Effective Listening

• Be Mindful

• Control Obstacles You can also minimize distractions. You might shut a window to block out traffic noises or adjust a thermostat so that the room’s temperature is comfortable.

• Ask Questions Asking speakers to clarify their messages or to elaborate allows you to understand information you didn’t grasp at first and to deepen your insight into content you did comprehend

• Organize Information Another technique for increasing your retention is to organize what you hear. When communicating informally, most people don’t order their ideas carefully

• Suspend Judgment

• Remove Internal Barriers. This technique primarily addresses the impediments of preconceived assumptions and prejudicial listening patterns.

• Exert control over your internal belief system and allow yourself to give appropriate value to the communications of others

• Challenge Yourself to Remember What Has Been Said.

• Manage Your Emotions.

• Assume a Listening Posture.

• Take notes.

• Ask appropriate questions.

• Prevent yourself from talking.

• Summarize internally.

• Seek and acknowledge areas of agreement.

• Summarize and restate

How to prepare for an interview

• Prepare: Find out as much as possible about the organization you are going to interview for-e.g. its History; its Philosophy; etc.

• Read and understand the nature of the job  thoroughly, and do your research

• Dress appropriately

• Be on time

• Carry documents in a respectable bag

• Find out before hand the nature of the interview, e.g. if you are expected to make a presentation (a good employer should indicate this in their invitation to interview)

• Prepare your curriculum vitae

WHAT TO DO DURING THE INTERVIEW

• Be courteous

• Be honest

• Keep your answers simple and short

• Engage the interviewer with a thought provoking question based on the subject matter

• Be personable, be original enough to make the interviewer like you

        Be confident but not overconfident

What to do after the interview

• Exchange pleasantries, say thank you

• Contact the interviewer at the specified feedback date.

The Value of Studying communication

Communication: Communication skills are the skills that every individual requires in order to send information to an audience in the most efficient way and receive information from a sender and interpret it correctly.

At the professional level;

Communication skills are first of all important in the workplace as it will enable an employee to know his or her main roles, and if he or she is not sure owing to communication he can find out in clear and ascertainable terms this would increase his productivity as his work roles will be clearly defined.

Good communication skills at the workplace enable an employer to relate well with his employees in terms of role assignment as well as mentorship and issuance of instructions in that they will be clear and easily understood hence enhancing a smooth flow of operations in the workplace

Good communication skills may be very useful to a salesman as it would equip him with skills of marketing his commodity as well as convincing customers to buy commodities from him, he would be able to attract more customers as well as secure them to be lifelong customers as he would maintain healthy customer relations.

Good communication skills are relevant at the professional level as members of a team for example a soccer club will be united and be dedicated towards a common goal as they would all communicate adequately and solve differences between themselves this would bring them together as they woud have let off all steam.

Communication at an organizational level would be very useful in decision making processes because communication is a source of information, this would ensure that well informed and sane decisions will be made within this organization.

Health-care professionals rely on communication skills to talk with patients about medical problems and courses of treatment and to gain cooperation from colleagues, patients, and families for continued care

Even highly technical jobs require communication skills. Specialists have to be able to listen carefully to their clients and customers in order to understand their needs. Specialists also need to be skilled in explaining

technical ideas to people who lack their expertise

At the personal level;

George Herbert Mead (1934) said that humans are talked into humanity. He meant that we gain our personal identities by interacting with others

Daniel Goleman, author of Social Intelligence (2007), says humans are “wired to

connect” (p. 4). And communication—verbal and nonverbal—is the primary way that we connect with others. For that reason,

• We all have sometime or the other, experienced certain roadblocks and voids in our relationships owing to a lack of communication. Lack of communication in relationships result in frustrations, misunderstandings, unrealistic expectations, guilt and can create personal differences. It is difficult for people who share their lives with each other to coexist for long without having regular and smooth communication for oiling the machinery of the relationship. Relationship communication problems can only be solved through active and effective communication.

• With good communication skills one will be able to acquire and maintain many friends as he/she will express their thoughts in a good manner as well as tolerate the others thoughts and ideas hence keeping a symbiotic friendship where both benefit.

• One with good communication skills will be able to win the trust and hearts of many as he would be honest and know how to say the right thing at the right time so as to not disappoint or annoy others

• A person endowed with good communication skills will always be booming with confidence as he would have a high self-esteem owing to the fact that he/she does not have a problem expressing themselves.

• Good communication skills would assist mankind in that it would equip them with not only the ability to solve problems but also prevent them as they would communicate the right information at the right time in the right manner for full and easy understanding.

Effective communication is the heart of personal Relationships. We build connections with Others by revealing our private identities, asking Questions, working out problems, listening,Remembering shared history, and making plans For the future. Marriage counselors have long Emphasized the importance of communication For healthy, enduring relationships

A primary distinction between relationships that endure and those that collapse is the presence of effective communication. Couples who learn how to discuss their thoughts and feelings, adapt to each other, and manage confl ict constructively tend to sustain intimacy over time

Types of visual aids

Power Point Projections

Photos

Models

Diagrams

Charts

Videos

Drawing on blackboard

 Importance of visual aids

• Combination of two senses (Hearing and Seeing) creates a greater impact on the listener– more chances of remembering and retaining than in just hearing (listening)

• The message is clearer

• Visuals make the presentation more interesting

• Visuals more economical (a single graph can be used to discuss lots of information

• visuals help in a multilingual environment? (a ‘Stop’ sign instead of the word ‘stop

How to make effective presentations

• Use 1-2 slides per minute of your presentation

• Write in point form, not complete sentences

• Include 4-5 points per slide

• Avoid wordiness: use key words and phrases only

• Show one point at a time:

Will help audience concentrate on what you are saying

Will prevent audience from reading ahead

Will help you keep your presentation focused

• Do not use distracting animation

• Do not go overboard with the animation

• Be consistent with the animation that you use

Teams

the difference between a team and a group ?

Group: “Two or more individuals interacting to accomplish a common goal” (Ivancevich, 2011)

Team: “A mature group with member interdependence and motivation to achieve a common goal” (Ivancevich, 2011)

FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHILST SELECTING A TEAM?

Commited members

Relevant skills/qualifications

Communication skills

Types of teams

• Problem-Solving Teams - A group of individuals assembled to work on a project that involves resolving one or more issues that have already arisen or to deal effectively with issues as they arise. In a business context, a problem solving team will typically be formed for a limited time frame incorporating staff from different organizational levels with various relevant skill sets.

• Cross-Functional Teams- (A cross-functional team is a group of people with different functional expertise working toward a common goal.[1] It may include people from finance, marketing, operations, and human resources departments. Typically, it includes employees from all levels of an organization. Members may also come from outside an organization (in particular, from suppliers, key customers, or consultants).

• Virtual Teams- (A virtual team (also known as a geographically dispersed team, distributed team, or remote team[1]) is a group of individuals who work across time, space and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technology)

• Research and Development teams

• Self-managed teams(A self-managing team is a group of employees working together who are accountable for all or most aspects of their task.)

Common characteristics between a team & a group

Each is made up of at least two people

Both provide some structure to the work done by the members, e.g. a class group discussion

Members in each can take up specific roles, e.g. researching for information;  calling for meetings and monitoring how each person is doing

They share a common goal/s

Differences between a team and a group

A group doesn't necessarily constitute a team because a team requires a coordinated effort. A team is a more specialized in that it includes common resources and collective effort.

Characteristics of a group are interdependence, interaction, synergy, common goals, shared norms, and cohesiveness. A group can be informal, such as 3-12 people that are in a meeting to discuss a business problem.

 Teams are structured more formally and are sometimes assigned. Teams have a purpose, specific goals, and assigned duties. Teams need to have different members with special roles in order to help achieve a common goal.

Work Groups Teams

Individual accountability Individual and mutual accountability

Come together to share information and perspectives,Frequently come together for discussion, decision making, problem solving, and planning.

Focus on individual goals ,Focuses on teams goals

Produce individual work products,Produce collective team products

Define individual roles, responsibilities, and tasks,Define individual roles, responsibilities, and tasks to help team do its work; often share and rotate them

Concern with one's own outcome and challenges,Concern with outcomes of everyone and challenges the team faces

Purpose, goals, approach to work shaped by manager,Purpose, goals, approach to work shaped by team leader with team members

Types of Groups

Formal- normally formed by the Orgnization and aimed at achieving certain goals

Informal- often formed by individuals, on common interests/ friendships, e.g. study group; swimming practice group

STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT

Also similar to stages of Team development

Forming (Orientation)

Storming (Conflict)

Norming (Brainstorming)

Performing (Emergence

Performing (Reinforcement)

Adjourning (Mourning

In the first stages of team building, the forming of the team takes place. The forming stage of any team is important because, in this stage, the members of the team get to know one another, exchange some personal information, and make new friends.

In the storming stage the team addresses issues such as what problems they are really supposed to solve, how they will function independently and together, and what leadership model they will accept. Team members open up to each other and confront each other's ideas and perspectives.

In the norming stage goals are set and plans are made. All team members take the responsibility and have the ambition to work for the success of the team's goals.

.High-performing teams are able to function as a unit as they find ways to get the job done smoothly and effectively without inappropriate conflict or the need for external supervision.

Five principles of communication

• Communication is Transactional

- it involves an exchange.

• Communication is complex for several reasons.

E.g.:

It is interactive because many processes are involved.

It is symbolic because symbols are open to interpretation.

• Communication is unavoidable because it is impossible to not communicate

• Communication is continuous

 It continues to impact and influence future interactions and shape our relationships

• Communication skills can be learned because they can always be improved.

You may need to work on speaking skills, written communication, listening, relationship skills… there’s always room for improvement

Five Levels of Communication

• Small group

• One-to-group

• Interpersonal communication

• Intra personal communication

• Mass Communication