Day 2Tuesday, 16th April 2013Effective Communication Skills

FEATURE FILMS ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS

Communication???????

So just what is Communication?What is Communication?What is Verbal and Non-Verbal Communicationactive learning?What is Body Language?What is teaching?What is training?What is facilitating?

Whos who?Match the descriptions with the definitions?Someone explaining how to assemble a rifle.Someone preparing a class of O Level for their GCSEs.Someone preparing a group of athletes to run a race.Someone encouraging workers to find ways to increase their employability.Someone giving prepared lessons to a group of university students.Someone helping a student to prepare for a test.

Lecturer -----Trainer ----- Instructor -----Tutor ----- Teacher ----- Facilitator -----

Becoming a Successful Communicator

Communication

The process of planning, creating, delivering, and interpreting messages

The most important ability in the workplace

INTRODUCTION 1-*

Communication: Why and What

Why Effective Communication?

Why is Effective Communication Challenging?

What Characteristics do Successful Communicators Share?1-*

Effective Communication: Why and What

Why Effective Communication?

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Effective Communicators have a Competitive edge Being an effective communicator helps you stand out in the workplace

Some factsMost job ads specifically cite communication skills as a requirementOne third of companies surveyed say their employees do not write well enoughThe top complaint of companies is graduates poor communication skills1-*

Good communication skills will contribute to your success

Communication skills will make you a valuable employeeGood internal communication can directly affect employee satisfaction and a companys financial successGood external communication improves outside stakeholders satisfaction and expands market outreach

Communication skills can improve your chances of Promotions

Good communication skills can have a positive impact on your life outside of work1-*

Effective Communication: Why and What Why is Effective Communication Challenging?

Barriers and context add to the complexity BarriersPhysiological Receivers physical statePsychologicalReceivers attitudes toward message or sender SemanticLanguage that is ambiguous or difficult to understandLanguageLanguage differences between senders and receiversMixed messages Conflicts between verbal and nonverbal communicationContextCircumstances influencing purpose, medium choice, and interpretation1-*

Multiple audiences pose additional challenges When communication involves multiple people, they all:encode and decode messages differently have different contexts, backgrounds, concerns, and agendas

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The best business communicators are1-*

They plan what and how to communicate to ensure that the message achieves its purposeStrategic communicators are strategic1-*

Being audience-oriented meansTargeting the communication to a specific audienceAnalyzing and actively listening to the audience to understand what they need and wantComposing the message to address audience concerns, questions, and needsMaking the message easy for the audience to understand

Strategic communicators are audience-oriented1-*

They project a business-like image bybeing appropriate, clear and concise, and ethicalEffective communicators are professional1-*

Professional communicators are appropriate to the situationProfessionalism in writing and speakingrequires etiquette and respect without being overly formal

On Next Slide: an ineffective email projecting an immature, unprofessional image and an effective email projecting a professional image1-*

Professional communicators are clear and conciseClaritythe quality of being unambiguous and easy to understand

Concisenessusing no more words than necessary for a message to accomplish its purpose1-*

Professional communicators are clear and concise1-*

1-*Professional communicators are ethicalEthicsa set of principles that guide decision making and leading someone to do the right thing

Following is a discussion forum posting from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, apologizing to customers for his companys inadvertently unethical action surrounding the Kindle version of the novel 1984

adaptable: adj. capable of adapting (of becoming or being made suitable) to a particular situation or use; to succeed one must be adaptable

Professional communicators are adaptable1-*

Adaptable communicators are current with technologyAs technology options and challenges change, business communicators must continually address three issues:

What is the best technology for the task?

How can I use technology to enable more effective communication?

How can I avoid the technology traps that get in my way?

Adaptable communicators are collaborative

CollaborationWorking together to achieve a common goal

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