Transcript 8-Communicate Clearly-PP

COMMUNICATE
CLEARLY
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“Your ability to communicate is an important
tool in your pursuit of your goals, whether it is
with your family, your co-workers or your
clients and customers.”
Les Brown 1945-, American Speaker, Author, Trainer, Motivator, Lecturer
IT TAKES TWO TO COMMUNICATE!
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Effective communication takes two people
working together.
Many people approach communication as
though it were the simple process of one
person telling something to another person.
However….
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—

Is the person paying attention?
Did they understand or gain meaning from the
words used?
“Both” Sender and Listener need to be
actively involved.
Formal Channels of Communication
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Downward communication
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Upward communication
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Follows formal lines of authority prescribed by the
chain of command.
Follows UP the organization from employees to
supervisors and managers.
Horizontal communication
—
Messages following between persons at the same
level of the organization.
The “ART” of Active-Two-Way
Communication

Speaker can verify the listener’s
understanding by asking questions.
—

“What is your understanding of what we’ve been
talking about?
This process also makes it easy for listener to
get involved and clarify what the speaker is
trying to communicate.
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“Could you give me an example of that?” or
“Is this what you mean?”
Removing the Filters of Communication
Do Not Assume Anything

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Assumptions limit conversation and therefore limit
understanding.
Because something is assumed, it is never discussed.
Check out your assumptions. If they are right, move
ahead with confidence. If they are wrong, correct them.
Watch Your Words
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Understanding requires that both the speaker and listener
have common experiences with the words being used.
The speaker must think about the background and ability
of the person (i.e. education, age, work experience, area
of country they are from).
Use words the listener is familiar with.
Removing Filters, cont’d.

Build a Positive Climate
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Pick the Right Place
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The climate or feeling two people share when talking
determines how much communication takes place.
The most important part of a positive climate is the amount
of trust between the two people.
All conversations should be held where they can easily be
heard by the listener.
If the conversation is personal, find a private place.
Learn to Listen
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Listening is an active, engaging process of working with the
speaker to develop ideas and achieve understanding.
It requires concentration and a focus of attention and
energy.
Removing Filters, cont’d.

Distractions in the Environment
—

Distractions Within Yourself
—
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
These include noise and activity that make it hard to
concentrate.
Daydreaming rather than listening.
Not agreeing with what the speaker is saying, you begin
thinking about arguments.
Concentrating on listening is the only way to overcome
these distractions.
Distractions From the Speaker
—
—
Use of too many words such as “Uh” or “Okay” or “Like”
and “Um.”
Concentration and active involvement in the conversation
will help avoid these distractions.
“I know you believe you
understand what you think I
said, but I am not sure you
realize that what you heard is
not what I meant.”
Humpty Dumpty explaining his philosophy of life to Alice
Go Beyond the Words
“Much of a message’s meaning is carried by the
speaker’s tone of voice and actions. An effective
communicator observes these signs and gains
understanding of them.” Stepping Up To Supervisor, Marion E. Hanes
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Tone of Voice
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Represents the easiest clue to a speaker’s feelings.
(Excitement, anger, joy, and frustration can be easily
observed.)
When tuning in to voice tone, listen for:
 Feelings being expressed.
 Marked inconsistency between words and tone. (Example:
someone is speaking very slowly while agreeing with you is
probably reflecting lack of agreement.)
Going Beyond Words, cont’d.

Nonverbal Communication
—
Observe what people are doing with their eyes,
hands, arms, legs, and face.

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Direct eye contact generally communicates sincerity,
confidence, and interest.
Open, smooth gestures usually reflect an open
attitude.
Jingling or thumping something usually indicates
nervousness or boredom.
Folded arms may reflect suspicion or closedmindedness.
Communication Retention
READING
10
%
20%
HEARING
RETENTION
30%
RETENTION
SEEING
HEARING & SEEING
50%
RETENTION
Barriers to Organizational
Communication
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Personal Characteristics
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People have attitudes about work-related matters.
Credibility/Source credibility: Receivers
confidence and trust in the source of a message.
Personal characteristics
Poor listening habits
Predispositions
Personal biases due to age, gender, looks or
some other factor.
Barriers cont’d.
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Frame Reference
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Selective Perception: Occurs when people
screen out information that is not consistent with
their beliefs or backgrounds.
Resistance to Change
—
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People fear the loss of something they value.
They mistrust management.
They view the change different from those
initiating it.
They have low tolerance for change.
Think about the people you
know.
• Which of them would you
call successful
communicators?
• What do these people
have in common?
Chances are, the individuals
share the five following
traits…
How to Improve COMMUNICATION
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Perception
—
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Precision
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People are able to predict how you will receive
their message.
They create a “meeting of the minds.” When they
finish expressing themselves, you share the same
mental picture.
Credibility
—
They are believable. You have faith in the
substance of their message. You trust their
information and their intentions.
Improving COMMUNICATION,
cont’d.
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Control
—
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They shape your response. Depending on their
purpose, they can make you laugh or cry, calm
you down, change your mind, or take action.
Congeniality
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They maintain friendly, pleasant relations with
you. Regardless of whether you agree with them,
good communicators command your respect and
goodwill. You are willing to work with them again,
despite your differences.
“There are four ways, and only
four ways, in which we have
contact with the world. We are
evaluated and classified by these
four contacts: what we do, how
we look, what we say, and how
we say it.”
Dale Carnegie 1888-1955, American Author, Trainer