HighnessParrotMaster649
Reflect on one of these concepts addressed in this module: Analyze…
Reflect on one of these concepts addressed in this module:
Analyze purpose and audience for communication tasks such as information sharing, public relations and direction
Identify strategies for effective communication with clients and communicate significant data to other staff
Use active listening techniques to elicit information and demonstrate that opinions are valued
Integrate interpersonal communication skills in order to foster rapport and trust
Demonstrate oral communication skills with clients and colleagues
Share a concept or an activity that stood out to you and explain why.
Please post a 3-4 sentence response
Course Concepts:
Communication is one of the most important factors for business success. Regardless of size and industry, organizations depend on effective communication. However, while it seems straightforward, the process of facilitating effective communication can be complex. Because communication promotes better teamwork and collaboration, it contributes to the successful completion of many types of projects and even an organization’s overall goals.
Defining the Components of the Communication Process
Successful communication involves several components that take a message through the process from start to finish, including the following:
The sender: This refers to people with an idea, request or information that they want to share. It is up to the sender to consider the audience and choose a method that conveys the information effectively.
The receiver: The receiver is the person for whom the message is intended. These individuals are responsible for understanding and processing the information they are given.
The message: This refers to the content of the message that the sender wants the receiver to hear.
The medium: The medium is the device or circumstances through which messages are transmitted. This could be a cellphone (text message) or a computer (instant messaging).
The feedback: The communication process typically ends when the message leaves one person and successfully reaches another individual or group. This involves transmitting, receiving and, most importantly, understanding. The receiver should also provide feedback that indicates comprehension when responding to the message.
The external factors: The communication process often goes awry, and external factors are usually the culprit. Examples include “noise” that disrupts transmission or something more complicated, such as lack of context.
Effective Communication Strategies in the Workplace
There are several ways to encourage effective communication in the workplace, many of which involve working from the top down. Entrepreneur magazine suggests that business leaders incorporate strategies such as:
Define What Appropriate Communication Is
The first step in establishing best practices for communication is deciding what is and is not acceptable. Entrepreneur notes that you can ask the following questions to get started: “To what extent should communication be formal, and when? Is casual communication encouraged and permitted, or do you require a business-only approach across the board? What is the proper way to address superiors, associates and customers?”
Eliminate Weak Language
One of the most important ways to establish effective communication strategies is to eliminate weak language. Business leaders should work to ensure they are conveying important points with clarity, and that starts with self-awareness and making subtle changes to your own speaking habits. One example is to avoid using the word “but” because “it can be interpreted to invalidate others’ claims or ideas,” Entrepreneur explains.
Focus on Clarity in Communication
It is also important to be precise in your language, always saying what you mean and asking the receiver if your message is clear. When your language is ambiguous, it’s difficult to set clear expectations and work well with others on projects, presentations and more.
Be Intentional With Digital Communication
As email and instant messaging become increasingly central to workplace communication, leaders should set expectations around how employees use these tools. Discuss what kinds of communication can be carried out digitally, such as quick questions or clarification, and what kinds of conversations require face-to-face interaction.
Other effective communication strategies include the following:
Encourage the receiver to ask questions. This will allow the sender to ascertain whether the receiver has accurately interpreted the message and allows for any required clarification.
Choose non-aggressive phrasing. When the sender gives feedback such as, “I’m not communicating well,” vs. “You don’t understand what I’m saying,” it takes pressure off the receiver.
Become hyper-aware of nonverbal cues. Tone and body language can disrupt a sender’s message. Pay attention to how your body language may be contributing to poor communication outcomes, and work on appearing open and alert.
Understand your audience. The terminology the sender uses should depend on the audience. A group of accountants might understand quarterly projections, while technology teams have a different body of knowledge.
Taking steps like these to facilitate effective communication is critical for successful management, as well as career advancement. Business leaders and managers need strong oral and written communication skills that allow them to communicate with both employees and superiors.
Effective Verbal Communication
Potential Barriers to Effective Verbal Communication
Some common barriers to effective verbal communication include:
Lacking clarity. Avoid abstract, overly-formal language, colloquialisms, and jargon, which obscure your message more than they serve to impress people.
Using stereotypes and generalizations. Speakers who make unqualified generalizations undermine their own clarity and credibility. Be careful not to get stuck in the habit of using stereotypes, or making generalizations about complex systems or situations. Another form of generalization is “polarization” or creating extremes. Try to be sensitive to the complexities of situations, rather than viewing the world in black and white.
Jumping to conclusions. Confusing facts with inferences is a common tendency. Do not assume you know the reasons behind events, or that certain facts necessarily have certain implications. Make sure you have all the information you can get, and then speak clearly about the facts versus the meanings or interpretations you attach to those.
Dysfunctional responses. Ignoring or not responding to a comment or question quickly undermines effective communication. Likewise, responding with an irrelevant comment — one that isn’t connected to the topic at hand — will quash genuine communication. Interrupting others while they are speaking also creates a poor environment for communication.
Lacking confidence. Lacking confidence can be a major barrier to effective communication. Shyness, difficulty being assertive, or low self-worth can hinder your ability to make your needs and opinions known. Also, a lack of awareness of your own rights and opportunities in a given situation can prevent you from expressing your needs openly. See Eison (1990)’s “Confidence in the Classroom: Ten Maxims for New Teachers” for a set of maxims to think about when reflecting on your own confidence as a communicator.
Identify Communication Styles in Others
The first key to understanding others’ preferred style and whether they have a different communication style than you is active listening. You’ll be listening to their language while also attending to their nonverbal communication, including their body language and facial expression.
Imagine you’re having a conversation with a boss or colleague. Start by asking them, “what information could I share that would make this a great use of your time?” Each different type of communicator will answer that question differently. And you need that information to pinpoint each different style.
An Intuitive communicator might say, “What’s the bottom line?,” or “Can you give me the short version of this?,” or, if they’re feeling a bit more patient, “Can we throw some ideas around?” The Intuitive person is an assertive communicator, but it’s not done with ill intent. They have a more aggressive style simply because they’re less patient and tolerant of long-winded communication.
An Analytical communicator will likely ask you questions about numbers or data like, “Where’s your data from?,” or “Are we sure that’s correct?,” or “How do we know?” Like the Intuitive communicator, they might strike some as an aggressive communicator; but it’s merely a different communication style. It’s not intentionally aggressive communication, it’s just a quest for hard data rather than feelings.
A Functional communicator might ask, “What’s the process?,” “What happens first?,” or “Who does what?”
A Personal communicator will use far more feeling words, and might ask, “Who will be involved? ” or “How do they/you feel?” As noted previously, these are not the questions of a passive communicator, rather they’re the interests of someone more focused on emotional intelligence than data.
If for some reason you weren’t able to start your conversation by asking “what can I share with you?,” you can simply watch the other person’s body language. If you start to see eye rolls, boredom, crossing arms, finger tapping etc., those are good signs that of the 4 communication styles, you chose the wrong one. So in that case, choose the opposite style, alter your language, and get your conversation back on track.
Having great communication skill requires interacting and speaking all 4 communication styles. And every leadership team and corporate culture will have a different dominant style. So you’ll want to assess your audience, whether one person or a group, to determine which of the 4 styles of communication you’re dealing with. Depending on which of the different communication styles you’re dealing with, your conversation or presentation will require very different approaches.
It should also be noted that it’s common for leadership communication styles to significantly influence the styles of frontline employees. After all, leaders will often set the tone and culture for their workplace, and that includes the ways in which people communicate.
Example Answers:
Answer 1:
Interpersonal communication skills are essential for building trust and rapport with clients since its process is to exchange information, ideas, and feelings between people.
Strong interpersonal skills can help to complete tasks in a conflict-free and easy manner, some strategies to implement rapport and trust include:
– listening actively
-giving and receiving feedback
– adapting to different communication styles
-expressing appreciation
-managing emotions
– resolving conflicts
-use positive body language
Answer 2:
Use of active listening techniques to elicit information and demonstrate that opinions are valued, really stood out to me in this module. We only obtain 25% of what is being told to us when we are listening, so repeating back to the person of what we have heard helps us retain information. Also taking the time to just listen to what someone is saying instead of formulating thoughts of what we are going to say back. The Ted video showed helpful ways to improve our active listening skills and knowledge.
