Communication Skills at Work

Coverage Communication: 1) Defining 2) Communicating Effectively 3) Types 4) Process 5) Barriers 6) Overcoming Barriers

Lets define Communication Communication defined in the Webster's Dictionary "Sending, giving, or exchanging information and ideas," which is often expressed verbally and nonverbally.

Communicating effectively.
Is one of the most important life skill. Needs to follow a process. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood. Requires that channels of feedback are kept open. Involves Listening as one of the most critical part of Communication

Communicating effectively.

To get your message across to others clearly and unambiguously. Transferring information from one side to the other, that leads to some outcome/ changed behaviour or changed practice For both the sender and the receiver to understand the information communicated in the same essence

Types of communication.
communication verbal Non-verbal

Formal

Informal

Kinesic

Downward

Lateral

Upward

Diagonal

Grapevine

Verbal Communication
Act of saying what's on your mind with words.

Words can hurt or they can heal

Become aware of what words you choose to use when communicating with others as well as to yourself.

Non-Verbal Communication
Act of saying what's on your mind without speaking words. (Louder than words) Body language Tone of your voice Appearance

A man stands inside a closed glass phone booth. You cannot hear a word he says, but you see his postures, gestures, and facial expressions.

PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION (MISCOMMUNICATION)

Factors affecting Communication

Context Sender Encoder Message Medium Receiver Decoder Feedback

Source.
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The sender is an individual, group, or organization who initiates the communication. The source is initially responsible for the success of the message. The sender's experiences, attitudes, knowledge, skill, perceptions, and culture influences the message. "The written words, spoken words, and nonverbal language selected are paramount in ensuring the receiver interprets the message as intended by the sender

Senders Responsibility

What are you Communicating ? Why ? Accuracy ? Usefulness ?

Encoding..
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Translating information/message to be sent, into a form that appropriately represents ideas or concepts to be communicated. The symbols can take numerous forms such as languages, words, or gestures, to encode ideas into messages that others can understand.

Channel...
Verbal - face-to-face meetings Telephone and Video-conferencing Written - letters, emails, memos and reports.

Choosing the right channel

To give a long list of directions?? (which channel) Criticize someone strongly??

Choice of Channel
Need

for record Direction of the information flow Number of people to be reached Confidentiality Nature of the information length, complexity, speed of transfer Cost of the medium

Decoding...
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To understand the message, stimulus is sent to the brain for interpreting, in order to assign some type of meaning to it. It is this processing stage that constitutes decoding. The receiver translates the message to their own set of experiences. Taking note of errors/ Lack of information/ knowledge

Receiver..
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The receiver is the individual or individuals to whom the message is directed. The extent to which the message is comprehended will depend on number of factors: o How much the individual or individuals know about the topic o Their receptivity to the message o The relationship and trust that exists between sender and receiver.

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All interpretations by the receiver are influenced by their experiences, attitudes, knowledge, skills, perceptions, and culture. It is similar to the sender's relationship with encoding

Feedback.
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Key component in the communication process Allows the sender to evaluate the effectiveness of the message. Provides an opportunity for the sender to take corrective action to clarify a misunderstood message.

Context...
Context is the environmental & cultural aspects of the situation in which your message is delivered.

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It has been proven, that individuals who understand the communication process will blossom into more effective communicators, and effective communicators have a greater opportunity for becoming successful.

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

Communication Myths

The best communication is a oneway messagefrom me to you. The message I communicate is the message that you receive. There is no such thing as too much information. Communicating is easy, after all it is something we've done all our lives.

Do you know.. 60% of Miscommunication happens because of the Communicator

What is a Barrier?

Any difficulty which partly or fully prevents any activity to reach its objective is called a barrier. Any condition that makes it difficult to make progress or to achieve an objective; "intolerance is a barrier to understanding"

Communication Barriers
Anything that interferes with any of the elements in the communication process is a barrier to communication. Communication can be broken, when the senders intended message is unclear, or the receiver perceives it differently than the sender intended

Communication Barriers

7 Barriers to Effective Communication

1) 2) 3)

4)
5) 6) 7)

Physical Perceptual Emotional /Psychological Cultural Language Gender Inter- Personal

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Physical Barrier
Types Environmental Disturbances o Noise-Traffic nuisances, loud speakers, cell phones o Distance /Non-availability of proper machines or presence of defective machines. o Climate Personal Health o Poor Hearing/Listening o Poor verbal skills due to speech defects like stammering etc. Choosing inappropriate /Wrong channels or medium

Perceptual Barrier
What is Perception? Perception is our sensory experience of the world around us, and involves both the recognition of environmental stimuli and actions in response to these stimuli. It allows us to act within our environment. Perception includes the five senses; touch, sight, taste smell and taste.

Perceptions vary from person to person Different people perceive different things about the same situation. We assign different meanings to what we perceive. Change in perspective changes the meaning. We change them to what we prefer them to be !!

Perceptual Biases

Perceptual bias is the lens we automatically filter all of our experiences through. It makes some things seem more noteworthy than others. It guides our reactions and thoughts about what we experience, see, or feel Given precisely the same data, people see, interpret, or respond to them differently.

Emotional /Psychological Barrier

Psychological barriers include emotional or attitudinal impediments, such as fear, mistrust, suspicion, or feelings of vulnerability Emotional barriers may inhibit the ability of the sender & the receiver, to communicate effectively. The emotional state, influences the capacity to understand and to be understood.

Cultural Barrier

Effective communication with audience of different cultures is challenging. The cultures provides the people with the way of seeing things, thinking, hearing and interpreting the world, so the same words could have different meanings to people from different culture. If the language is different, the process of translation leads to a greater potential misunderstanding

Types
According to Stella Ting-Toomey, a communication specialist, there are 3 types of Cultural Barriers:1) Cognitive Constraints Cognitive constraints are created by the way people's minds give meaning to the world around them, based on the knowledge and perceptions they have obtained. These differ from culture to culture.

2) Behavior Constraints Behavior constraints are the ways people behave from different cultures. This can be as simple as eye contact or the distance to be maintained while communicating. 3) Emotional Constraints Emotional Constraint are the rules laid down by each culture that determine the emotional levels of its people under various situations. Different cultures regulate the display of emotion differently.

Gender Barrier
Reasons Difference between male and female communication patterns. Lack of understanding on how to compliment the strengths and styles of both the genders, to bring the best to the table.

Communication Patterns & Traits

Women Nurturing Respectful/Polite Feeling/Empathy Harmony Closeness/Relationships Sharing/Cooperation Long conversations for rapport building Are more likely to compliment

Men

Honest, Direct, report type. Reason/Logic/Problem Solving Power/ Rank/Status Compete/Winning Call attention to their accomplishments View conversation as a means to exchange information Discuss topics like events, sports, news, and facts. Get straight to work on a task Tend to dominate discussions during meeting

Inter- Personal Barrier

"Why are people so difficult to communicate with?" ..Because We are all Different People with different personalities, emotions, priorities, and feelings.

How effectively we are able to communicate with these differences at our work, with our friends, and in our family??

Types of IP Barriers
1 ) Emotional- Feelings and emotions are powerful influences on our decision making and the strongest and most difficult to break through. 2) Desire to Participate -The lack of desire to participate in the communication process from both or one communicator. 3) Desire to Explore -Unwillingness to explore different ideas & opinions.

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Overcoming Communication Barriers

Sender Message oClarity-Include the necessary information to make your message understood o Ensure its not lengthy, disorganized, have errors. oUse crisp & simple language. oMake it visually appealing oOwn your message, by using terms such as 'I' and 'my Maintain right Eye Contact

Receiver Listen carefully / attentively Have trust in the speaker Dont create interruptions & distractions Avoid jumping to conclusions Concentrate on the message Ask for Clarifications, wherever required

Repeat- if required
Avoid Jumping to Conclusions Feedback - Ask questions, be precise and to the point

Listen Listen---Listen
Listen for Body Language Make Notes if required

Overcoming the Barriers

Have clarity on the purpose of the message Stay Focused Watch your Non-Verbal Communication Use right Voice/ Tone Use multiple channels based on the message needs Tailor the message

Refer to your listener by name. If some action is required from the audienceduring/after listening, inform them clearly about the same Control your emotions- Extreme emotions are likely to hinder effective communication Dont play the Blame Game Respond to criticism with empathy Try to see others point of view Think WinWin

The Power of Listening

Why Listen??
Research has found that by listening effectively, YOU: Get more information Increase others' trust in you Reduce conflict Understand how to motivate others Inspire a higher level of commitment

Effective Listening
Effective listening is: Actively absorbing the information given by the speaker Showing that you are listening and interested Providing feedback to the speaker, so that he/she knows the message was received. Show speaker that the message is heard and understood.

Barriers to Listening
1. Knowing the Answer

You already know what the speaker wants to say, before she actually finishes saying it. You listen to yourself as you prepare in your mind what you are going to say, the questions you are going to ask, etc.

Overcoming the Barrier Wait for three seconds after the speaker finishes, before beginning your reply.

2. Messiah Complex

You step in and heroically offer your solution You imply that you are more capable of seeing the solution than the speaker.
Overcoming the Barrier If you believe you have valuable advice, then first politely ask, if you may offer, what you seem as a possible solution. Wait for the speaker to clearly invite you to go ahead before you offer your advice.

3. Treating discussion as competition

Some people feel that agreeing with the speaker during a heated discussion is a sign of weakness. Treating discussion as competition is one of the most serious barriers to good listening
Overcoming the Barrier Try to voice active agreement, whenever you agree, and be very specific with what you disagree.

Become an effective Listener

Face the speaker- Sit up straight / lean forward slightly to show your attentiveness through body language. Maintain eye contact Minimize external distractions- Turn off the TV. keep other work on side. Respond appropriately to show that you understand.
o o o o

Huh ,hmm, nod, raise your eyebrows. Say words such as Really, Interesting, What did you do then? What did she say?

Focus solely on what the speaker is saying & try not to think about what you are going to say next. Minimize internal distractions- If your own thoughts keep horning in, simply let them go and continuously re-focus your attention on the speaker. Keep an open mind- Wait until the speaker is finished before deciding that you disagree.

Dont start advising the speaker on how you handled a similar situation He/she maybe just needs to talk it out. Even if the speaker is complaining about you, wait until he/she has finished, before defending yourself.

Active Listening Skills

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MirroringRepeating exactly some of the speakers key words ParaphrasingUsing your own words to restate the speakers feelings or meaning
Summing- "What I'm hearing is." and "Sounds like you are saying." are great ways to reflect back.

Summarizingcondensing and stressing the speakers important points

Open-Ended Questions
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To begin a discussionWhat do you think about To understand the speakers ideas Can you tell me To examine a touchy subjectHow do you feel about To avoid influencing an answerTell me more about

Specific Questions
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To get specific details: Who? What ? Where ? When ? Why ? Which ? How many ?

Keeping the Speaker Speaking

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I understand. Tell me more. Lets talk about it. I see. This seems very important to you... Id like to hear your point of view... Really ?

Non-Verbal Communication
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Facial expression

Eyes
Posture Gestures Body movement