Transcript Summary – Clarity Index Oral communication skills

Effective Business Communication Skills
Presented by:
Phillip Roth
29 September 2009
Contents
Areas we will cover:






Polson Higgs – Business Advisors
Understanding the business context
Business communication skills
Written communication skills
Oral communication skills
Team communication skills
Problem solving strategies
Business information management
Developing your skills
Effective Business Communication
Skills
Written Communication Skills
Objectives

Efficiency

Effectiveness
Effective Business Communication
Skills
Effective Report Writing (continued)
A good report should be:
 Readable
 Interesting
 Well presented
 No longer than necessary
And should have:
 A clear structure
 Clear conclusions
 A summary
Effective Business Communication
Skills
Effective Report Writing (continued)
Advantages of well written reports:
 Communicate more effectively
 Contribute to business success by
improving communication
 Reinforce a good firm image
Effective Business Communication
Skills
Effective Report Writing (continued)
Poorly written reports:
 Waste time of readers
 Frustrate readers if incomplete
 Create misunderstanding through
ambiguity
 Lose the confidence of the reader
 May not be read.

KISS Principle
K
I
S
& S
eep
t
hort
imple
Use of Words
Short, simple, everyday
words.

Be precise.

Use specific terms – avoid
abstracts.

Never try to impress.

Beware of jargon/technical/professional
words.

Some long words for variety and precision.

Below 10%.

Avoid ambiguity.
Use of Words

Be Positive

Turn negatives into positives.

Avoid Jargon and Clichés

Accuracy and Clarity are more important
than brevity.
Use of Words

A paragraph
is
a
group
of
related
sentences.

The first sentence is a signpost.

The average person can only keep 5 to 6
ideas in their head at any time.

Paragraph length – 5 or 6 sentences.
Summary - Paragraphs

W = Number of words.

S = Number of sentences.

X = Number of long words (more than two
syllables).
W
S
+
( X x 100 )
W
The Clarity Index
=
Clarity Index

A yardstick for clear writing used by most
professional writers.

Aim for a Clarity Index of:
-
20 for Notices;
-
25 for Letters and Memos;
-
30 for Reports
Summary – Clarity Index
Oral communication skills

Understand the context

Empathy with your audience

Body language and signals

The art of good listening

Maintaining eye contact

Tips for good listening

Practical appreciation
Oral Communication
Problem Solving Strategies
VISION PROCESSING GRID
PROBLEM
Diagnose
Reasons
Explore
Impact
Open
Control
Confirm
Vision of a Solution
Oral Communication
Visualise
Capabilities
VISION PROCESSING GRID
PROBLEM
Diagnose Reasons
Open
Explore Impact
Tell me about it, what is
causing you to have this . . .
(repeat problem)?
1
Visualise Capabilities
Besides yourself, who else is
impacted by this (repeat
problem), and how are they
impacted?
4
Is it because?
Is this (problem) also causing . .
.? If so, wouldn’t (title) be
concerned?
Control
2
So, the reasons for your
(repeat problem) are . . .?
5
What if there were a way for
you/your people to . . ., would
that help? What if you were
also able to . . .?
8
6
From what I just heard, if you
had the ability to . . . (repeat
capabilities), could YOU
solve (repeat problem)?
9
From what I just heard (repeat
the who and how), this isn’t just
your problem, but a . . . . .
problem?
Confirm
3
Vision of a Solution
Oral Communication
What is it going to take for
you to solve this (repeat
problem)?. Could I run a few
ideas by you?
7
www.ph.co.nz