Transcript THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

Communication Skills
PURPOSES OF ORGANISATIONAL
COMMUNICATION
Why we communicate

We communicate to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Share our ideas and opinions
Provide feedback to others
Get information from others
Gain power and influence
Develop social relationships
Maintain self-expression and our culture
PEOPLE DO NOT GET ALONG
BECAUSE THEY FEAR EACH OTHER.
THEY FEAR EACH OTHER
BECAUSE THEY DO NOT KNOW EACH OTHER.
THEY DO NOT KNOW EACH OTHER
BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT
COMMUNICATED WITH EACH OTHER.
--- DR MARTIN LUTHER KING
Your effectiveness depends on your
ability to reach others through the
spoken or written word.
-- Peter Drucker
exercise
One-Way Communication
Original Message
(100%)
Shannon’s Law
Every additional node in a communication
chain reduces the meaning by half
and doubles the noise.
Barriers to communication

What are barriers to communication
that exist in any work setting?
Barriers to communication

Some common barriers to interpersonal
communication include:
– Unclear process: The receiver and sender may not share
the same language, slang, jargon, vocabulary, symbols
– Chain of command: There may be too many layers that
a message passes through between sender and receiver
– Large size of an organization, geographic
distance: Large numbers of receivers require good
message sending methods
– Personal limitations: Physical and mental disabilities,
and differences in intelligence and education may interfere
with mutual understanding
Barriers to communication

Additional common barriers to
interpersonal communication include:
– Human nature: Peoples’ egos, prejudices, and
traditions can get in the way
– Conflicting feelings, goals, opinions:
If
people feel on opposite sides of an issue they may not share
– Power: The idea that knowledge is power can lead to
information hoarding
WAYS TO COMMUNICATE WITH OTHERS
 Speech
 Gestures
 Facial
expressions
 Silence
 Written words
 Pictures, diagrams, graphs
 Way of dressing
 Manner, posture, behaviour
MEANS OF COMMUNICATION











Telephone
Letters
Fax
Memos
Minutes
Meetings
Briefings
Appraisals
Interviews
Electronic data interchange
Computer printouts
FORMAL & INFORMAL COMMUNICATION
VERTICAL COMMUNICATION
DOWNWARD COMMUNICATION
UPWARD COMMUNICATION
HORIZONTAL COMMUNICATION
GRAPEWINE
HOW TO OVERCOME BARRIERS:
1. LISTENING SKILLS
2. READING SKILLS
3. USE EMPATHY
4. USE FEEDBACK
5. CONSTRAIN EMOTIONS
6. OBSERVATION
verbal communication

WORDS - spoken OR written must have the following
three critical elements

Language (familiarity - terminology/jargon)
Precise
Simple


BODY LANGUAGE







Facial expressions
Gestures
Body movements
Posture
Visual orientation
Physical contacts
Appearance
Factors Affecting Communication
• Age
• Gender
• Language
• Culture
• Status/Position
• Perception
• Trustful Relationship
•
EFFECTIVE USE OF MEDIA AND CHANNELS
OF COMMUNICATION
CHARACTERISTICS
MEDIA
Best for
Communications that
Feedback
Cues and
are:
CHANNELS
Face-to-face
Immediate Audio and
visual
Telephone
Rapid
Audio
Addressed
documents
Slow
Limited
Visual
Unaddressed Slowest
documents
Limited
visual
Ambiguous, emotional,
divergent in
background
Clear, rational, similar
in background
There are three basic communication styles:
*
Aggressive
*
Passive
*
Assertive
LISTENING SKILLS

Maintain eye contact with the instructor
 Focus on content, not delivery
 Avoid emotional involvement
 Avoid distractions
 Treat listening as a challenging mental task
 Stay active by asking mental questions
 Use the gap between the rate of speech and your
rate of thought