COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Program Objective
Understand the Process of Communication in Organization
Know the Nature, Function and Scope of Communication in Organization Overcome the barriers to Effective Communication Be effective in Written and Oral Communication

Understand and use Communication Technology effectively.

Course Content
Process of Communication
Communication in Organization- Nature, Function and Scope Management of Written and Oral Communication Barriers to Effective Communication Report Writing Communication Technology and its impact on Office Procedures and Automation

If all my possessions were taken from me with one exception,

I would hope to keep my power of communication --- for by it I would regain all the rest.

Daniel Webster, American Journalist

What is Communication?

Communication is the giving and receiving of feedback between individuals and/or groups for the purpose of exchanging information.

Communication is....

Transactional Complex

Unavoidable
Continuous Learned

The Communication Process

The Communication Process

Sender- Factors that determine how effective the message of the sender is are:

the attitude

communicators symbols

Components of Communication Process

Context Physical Environment Climate Communicator

Message Channel Noise Barrier Feedback

Job Success

15%

85%

People Skills (who you are) Technical Skills (what you know)

Harvard, Carnegie Foundation and Stanford Research Center

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Harvard, Carnegie Foundation and Stanford Research Center

Business Communication

Business communication is the giving and receiving of feedback between individuals and/or groups for the purpose of exchanging information and altering or enhancing performance.

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Communication in Organization- Nature, Function and Scope

Organization-wide communications typically flow in three directions- downward, upward and horizontally.
Managers are responsible for establishing and maintaining formal channels of communication in these three directions. The learning organization emphasizes horizontal communication with people constantly sharing information across departments. All businesses must have effective internal and external communication in order to succeed.

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Upward and Downward Communication

Upward Communication
(interpret)
Problems and exceptions Suggestions for improvement Performance reports Grievances and disputes

Downward Communication
(influence)
Implementation of goals, strategies

Job instructions and rationale

Procedures and practices Performance feedback

Financial and accounting information

Indoctrination

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Horizontal Communication (coordination)

The purpose of horizontal communication is not only to inform but also to request support and coordinate activities. It falls into one of the three categories:
Intradepartmental problem solving Interdepartmental coordination Change initiatives and improvement

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Internal Communication
Day to day exchange of information among employees Performance objectives job instructions financial data

customer orders
inventory data production problems and solutions

employee production reports illustrate the range of internal communication exchanged in the course of doing business.

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External Communication
External communication builds goodwill, brings in orders and ensures continued existence and growth. Day-to- day external communications include sales calls product advertisements news releases employment notices bank transactions and periodic reports to governmental agencies.

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External Communication
External communication that has a long range impact includes:
new product announcements plant expansion plans contribution to community activities and annual reports

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Informal Communication Channels

Management by wandering about (MBWA)
In any organization, both downward and upward communication is enhanced with MBWA. Managers have a chance to describe key ideas and values to employees and in turn learn about the problems and issues confronting the employees.

Grapevine
The grapevine is an informal , person-to-person communication network of employees that is officially not sanctioned by the organization.

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Barriers to Communication
Individual Barriers Interpersonal Dynamics Channels and media Semantics How to overcome Active Listening Selection of appropriate channel

Perception

Knowledgeofothers perspective
Openness and Consideration

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Barriers to Communication
Organizational Barrier Status and power differences How to overcome Climate of trust Development and use of formal channels

Departmental needs and goals

Communication network unsuited to Changing organization or group structure to fit communication needs task

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Language Barrier
Choosing words that are too difficult, too technical can be a communication barrier.
Incorrect grammar and poor sentence structure can hinder the receiversunderstandingofaspokenorwrittenmessage. Punctuation and spelling errors may create barriers to understanding a written message. The errors suggest that the person who sent the message either does not know the basics of the language or is too careless to correct the mistakes. The sender fails to create a positive impression and could also lose credibility.
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Features of Effective Communication

Simple and correct language Active listening Questioning skills Body language and eye contact Posture and gesture
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The 4 Cs of Effective Communication

Clear

Correct
Complete Courteous

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Verbal and nonverbal Communication

Verbal communication is an essential part of business and when it is executed correctly, good things happen.

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Written Communication

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Misconceptions about Writing

Writing is important in Humanities only.
Writing is an art. It is a divine gift. Unless you are born with it, you cannot write well.

Writing a document = giving all required information (i.e. core dump).

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Delivering Relationships
Write so that your readers enjoy it
Writetheentireletterfromthereaderspointofview Be nice Be positive Be natural Be specific Lean heavier on nouns and verbs

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Stages of Effective Business Writing

Brainstorm what the communication must include
Cluster your ideas into topics Outline your topics, including subtopics Write a rough draft Revise by editing your work Proofread carefully Produce the final draft

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Reader Sensitivity
Be reader friendly
Emphasize what readers can do instead of what they cannot do. Statefacts,dontassignblame
Instead of writing, You did not include a check in your recent payment mailing, Write: We did not find a check in your recent payment mailing.

Avoid leading with negative information:

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Readability
Concise Verbs vs. Nominalized Verbs
Nominalizations are created from verbs by the following word endings: -ion, -ment, -ance, and -ence. Please let us know when we can be of assistance to you. Revision: Please let us know when we can assist you.

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Concise Verbs vs. Nominalized Verbs

Nominalized Words make an analysis of take an action make assumptions about Concise Words

give assistance to
make an application

make an appearance
give approval to make an announcement hold the belief that be in a position to reach a conclusion about give consideration to have a discussion of

Concise Verbs vs. Nominalized Verbs

Normalized Verbs make an analysis of take an action make assumptions about act assume Concise Words analyze

give assistance to
make an application

assist
apply

make an appearance
give approval to make an announcement hold the belief that be in a position to reach a conclusion about give consideration to have a discussion of

appear
approve announce believe can conclude consider discuss

Report Writing
A report is a document that provides detailed information about a subject It has a formal style, introduction, body and conclusion. It presents information, not argument. It is meant to be scanned quickly by the reader. Uses numbered headings and subheadings. Uses short paragraphs and dot points as applicable Uses graphics (tables, graphs, illustrations) May need an executive summary.

Does not always need references and bibliography.

Is often followed by recommendations and /or appendices

Report Structure
Title Page

Table of Contents
Glossary (list of abbreviations) Executive Summary Introduction, Body, Conclusion Recommendations Acknowledgements

General Guidelines
Title Page:
The report title which clearly states the purpose of the report. Full details of the person (s) for who the report was prepared. Full details of the person (s) who prepared the report. The date of the presentation of the report

Table of Contents
List of headings and appendices

General Guidelines
Abbreviations and Glossary
If required, you should provide an alphabetical list of abbreviations you have used in the report. If you have used a lot of technical terms, you should also provide a glossary (list of terms with brief explanations of their meanings)

Acknowledgements
This is a short paragraph: thanking any person or organization which may have helped you in collecting the data or preparing the report.

General Guidelines
Executive Summary
It is a summary of the report in which you include one sentence or so for every section of your report. So you can include: Context of research, purpose of report Major findings Main recommendations

Introduction
State the purpose of the report Clarify key terms and indicate the scope of the report

General Guidelines
Body
The content of the body depends on the purpose of the report. Method(summarizes what you did and why).Use past tense. Findings or results. Use past tense.

Conclusion
Sum up the main points of the report. The conclusion should clearly relate to the objectives of your report.

Things I need to know

Who will read my report?

Why do my readers want my reports?

What will my readers understand? How detailed do my readers need it be?

Organizing for Maximum Impact

Tell your reader how the material is organized Write in A-B-C order Keep the number of sections to five or fewer Include each important piece of information only once and in the right place Use Headings Add an executive summary if your report is more than eight pages.

Report Writing
Case: Manager asks you for a short report on most common types of customer complaints for the past one year and the causes:

Audience could be:

Manager

Manager and CEO

Report could be put on intranet for staff Report could also be on your website for staff and public

Therefore, the audience for your report should greatly influence what you write or dont write.

Report Writing
Reports can be informative or persuasive or a combination of both. Persuasive reports fall into two broad categories: a)problem/solution b) feasibility studies. Informative reports include employee evaluations, progress reports and minutes of meetings.

Common Faults
Too many words For e.g. This note is to let you know that we are sponsoring a company picnic next month in Lincoln Grove. If you need directions, please dont hesitate to contact us. Revised: This note is to let you know that We are sponsoring a company picnic next month in Lincoln Grove. If you need directions, please dont hesitate to contact us.

Editing Redundant Expressions

Advance planning At a later date Basic fundamentals Close scrutiny Combine together Exact opposites Thorough investigation On a regular basis My personal opinion True facts

Clichs
E.g. Please be advised that at the present time we have no available job openings. Thank you for your consideration. Revised: Currently we have no job openings. Thank you.

Other clichs: Last but not the least Each and every one
Exercise: As per our telephone conversation, enclosed please find two copies of our agreement. Please read this information at your earliest possible convenience- but before our meeting on Tuesday. After you have an opportunity to review this agreement, please call me. Thank you for your consideration.

Too many big words

E.g. Further notification will follow this correspondence. Revised: Ill keep you informed.

IPerspective
Reports will be more effective if you use you more than I. E.g. Our copier makes the best copies on the market today. OR Your copies will be the best youve seen, when you use our copier.

Avoid Jargon
E.g. Before: The company expanded its medical coverage to include HMOs and PPOs. Revised: The company expanded its medical coverage to include Health Maintenance Organization and Preferred Provider Organization.

Communication Technology

Communication: Past to Present

Technological Innovation

Technological innovation is essential for human development. From the printing press to the computer, people have devised tools for facilitating learning and communication. Technology is not inherently good or bad, the outcome depends on how it is used.

Role of Information and Communication Technology

Information and communications technology may be described as the support of the central nervous system of complex societies, transmitting and processing information and commands among the various parts of such societies.

Telecommunication is a basic infrastructure necessary for economic and social development of a country.

Impacts of Technology on Communication

The Change
One-to-many

Controlled
Sender-driven

Many-to-many

Uncontrolled
Receiver-driven

What has Technology changed?

Immediacy Integration

Access

Collaboration

Immediacy - Speed and Reach

I want it and I want it now

Integration Networks, Content Management, Technology

Access

Collaboration

Blogs, Wikis & Podcasts

Implications for Communication Strategy

The Strategy

Immediacy

Integration

The Vision

Access

Collaboration

Implications for Communication Strategy

Access
Employee involvement Interactive Searchable Self help Remote access

Collaboration
Leadership communication Plans, priorities & performance Searchable knowledge directories E-learning and knowledge sharing Issues and change management

The Vision
Integration
Common content management Common taxonomy Audience segmentation Personalization Opt in capabilities

Immediacy
Customer & employee satisfaction Facility maps and service directories Services locators Referrals and registrations Services and courses