Download The Principles of Effective Communication

BTEC L3 Systems
The Principles of Effective
Communication
What is communication?
• A way of expressing or exchanging ideas and
thoughts between people.
• Effective communication needs three main
elements:
Source
Tool
Recipient
Principles of effective communication
• They fall into 3 main
areas:
– General Communication
Skills
– Interpersonal Skills
– Written Communication
Skills
GENERAL COMMUNICATION
SKILLS...
Cultural Differences
• Show an awareness of the range
of cultures and beliefs in the
workplace, e.g. religious
festivals, dress code, prayer etc.
• What do you think that you
would need to adjust, if the
audience contained eastern and
western people?
• In pairs, discuss what types of
things would need to be adapted
– Make notes and be prepared to
discuss these with the class
Adapting to suit audience needs
• Changing tone of voice can
help keep audience
attentive
• Use of technical language
to technical or nontechnical audiences.
• Type of communication
used – written, images,
video, etc.
Question and Answer
• Q&A can be used to
gather information
from the audience
• Potentially also allows
audience to clear up
misconceptions
• Open and closed
questions to assess
understanding
Q & A Exercise
• If you were interviewing a
new student for this course
and you were trying to find
out if they were really
interested in Computing
and IT, what questions
would you ask?
– Create 2 open questions
– Create 2 closed
questions
– Create 2 probing
questions
• In pairs, try the questions out on
each other
• Make notes about whether the
questions worked
• Would you enrol this student?
Accuracy
• Very important that the
information you
present is accurate to
help provide confidence
to your audience
Unit 1 Communication and
Employability Skills
Techniques for Engaging an
Audience
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
Methods
• Verbal
• Body language
• Signing
• Lip reading
• Etc.
Depending on your
audience needs
Can you think of any
others?
Techniques and Cues
• Use of body language –
the way you stand or
move.
• Tone of voice
Active Engagement
• Ways of showing
engagement:
– Nodding
– Smiling
– Use of hands
Barriers
• Background noise,
distractions, etc.
• What are the barriers in
this room?
• How could you deal
with them?
Types of Question
• Closed Questions:
– Is your favourite colour
blue?
• Open Questions:
– What is your favourite
colour?
• Probing Questions:
– Why is your favourite
colour blue?
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Email, letters & fax
• Common forms of
written communication
in the workplace
Spelling and Grammar
• Correct spelling and
grammar is essential
for the recipient to
understand and have
confidence about the
content of the
documents that you
write
‘Smilies’ or Emoticons
• Ways of expressing
emotions through text
• When would it be
appropriate to use
them?
• When would it not be
appropriate to use
them?
Structure
• Some documents have
or need a particular
structure or layout:
– Business letters
– Management reports
– CV’s
• Some others, less so:
– Emails – but not always
– Blogs, Tweets?
– Texts?
Proofreading
• It is important to check
your written
communication for
errors:
–
–
–
–
Accuracy
Misunderstandings
Reputation
Spelling, grammar,
punctuation, sentence
construction
Reviewing and Editing
• Check through the
content and structure
to ensure it meets the
needs of the audience
• Change (edit) the
content if necessary
Assessment Activity – Task2, P2
• Produce a second leaflet
that explains the
principles of effective
communication.
• It must discuss 3 points
from each of the
following areas:
– General communications
skills
– Interpersonal Skills
– Written Communication
Skills