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Effective Communication
 Human Resources Management and Supervision
OH 2-1
2-1
Communication
 Define communication Process by which information is exchanged
 Forms of communication: talking, listening, body
language, writing
 Supervisors need to be good at communication in
order to be effective
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Effective Communication
 Verbal
 The message itself, the words you say
 Vocal
 Element of your voice: the intonation, projection and
resonance of the voice that carries those words.
 Visual
 What people see: your face and your body
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Verbal-Vocal-Visual
Most effective communication:
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Verbal
7%
Vocal
38%
Visual
55%
Total
100%
Nine Behavioral Skills
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1.
Eye Communication
2.
Posture/Movement
3.
Gestures/Facial Expression
4.
Dress/Appearance
5.
Voice/Vocal Variety
6.
Language/Non-Words
7.
Listener-Involvement
8.
Humor
9.
The Natural Self
Types of Business Communication
 Downward communication: the passage of
information from an organization’s higher levels to
its lower levels.
 Upward communication: the passage of information
from an organization’s lower levels to its higher
levels.
 Lateral communication – the passage of information
between peers, or members of the same level.
 Customer communication – the passage of
information from the organization to customers and
client
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Types of Business Communication continued
 Downward communication:
 Necessary to execute decisions and to give
employees information about the organization
 Examples: company and department newsletters
 Email
 Recorded messages
 Reports
 Booklets
 Meetings
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Types of Business Communication continued
 Upward communication:
 Initiated by employees who seek to inform or
influence those who are higher up in the
organizations hierarchy.
 When supervisors have a good relationship with
their employees, and when two-way communication
between levels of the organization flows freely,
upward communication is very powerful.
 Examples: employee suggestion boxes, open
employee meetings, focus groups, one on one
sessions with supervisors/management
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Types of Business Communication continued
 Lateral communication:
 Occurs daily in all operations between employees and
managers, before and after the employee is ‘on the clock’
 Predominantly informal
 Examples include:
 Business conversation to achieve the requirements
of their positions
 Mentoring or ‘on the job’ training between employees
 Friendly exchange of information: conversations,
breaks, etc.
 Gossip, rumors and ‘grapevine’ communication
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Types of Business Communication continued
 Customer communication:
 Occurs continuously
 The customer can be internal or external
 Internal customers are people you work with
 Examples include: department meetings, across
department lines (back of the house to front of
the hours), phone, email
 External customers are your guests or clients
 Examples include: Customer service, phone,
email, annual reports, marketing, menu
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Communication Myths
Often create misconceptions and misunderstandings and become
obstacles to communicating effectively.
 “We communicate only when we want to communicate.”
 “Words mean the same to me and to you.”
 “We communicate chiefly with words.”
 “Nonverbal communication is silent communication.”
 “The best communication is a one-way message—from me to you.”
 “The message I communicate is the message that you receive.”
 “There is no such thing as too much information.”
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Some facts about Communication
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
You need feedback

It can be formal or informal (i.e. grapevine)

It needs to be meaningful, and have a purpose if it is to be remembered

You need to understand the role of emotion, appearance, and prejudice

You need to understand the role of the “status quo”

You need to concentrate in order to truly listen

You need to use language that is appropriate and understood

Listening and writing skills can be improved
continued
Facts
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continued

Timing is important

Listening and writing skills can be improved

If the communication is fact finding (i.e. an interview) you need to
use open ended questions

You need to summarize long discussions

You need to understand body language overrules talk
Barriers to Effective Communication
In addition to misconceptions about the communication process, there
exist barriers that can decrease your ability to communication
effectively.
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
Distractions

Cultural differences

Poor timing

Emotions

Personality differences

Prejudices and perceptions

Differences in knowledge and assumptions

Stress
A Model of Interpersonal Communications
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Speaker begins by:
Thinking about the
message her or she
is about to send
The speaker sorts
and selects from:
Knowledge,
Past Experience,
Feelings, Attitudes
Emotions
The speaker puts the
message into:
Words, Actions,
Signs, & Symbols
The speaker sends
the message to the
listener by:
Speaking, Acting
Writing
The listener:
Receives the
message
The speaker:
Receives feedback
from the listener
The listener sends
feedback to the
speaker by:
Speaking, Acting
Writing
The listener puts the
message and his or
her reaction into:
Words, Actions,
Signs, & Symbols
The listener sorts &
selects from:
Knowledge,
Past Experience,
Feelings, Attitudes
Emotions
The listener begins
by:
Thinking about the
message and
reacting to it
Speaker begins again
by: Thinking about the
message her or she
receives from the
listener
The speaker sorts and
selects from:
Knowledge,
Past Experience,
Feelings, Attitudes
Emotions
The speaker responds
to feedback from the
listener by putting a
message into:
Words, Actions,
Signs, & Symbols
The speaker sends the
message to the listener
by:
Speaking, Acting
Writing
The listener:
Receives the response
from the sender
The speaker:
Receives the
listener’s response
The listener responds
to the speaker by:
Speaking, Acting
Writing
The listener responds
to feedback from the
speaker by putting
his or her reaction
into:
Words, Actions,
Signs, & Symbols
The listener sorts &
selects from:
Knowledge,
Past Experience,
Feelings, Attitudes
Emotions
The listener again
begins by:
Thinking about the
response to his or
her feedback
Speaking Skills
Effective speaking, whether before a group or in a
conversation with an individual, generally
contains an introduction, main body and
conclusion.
 The introduction should:
 Get the listeners attention
 Obtain the listener’s interest
 Communicate your purpose for speaking
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Speaking Skills continued
 Main body:
 Present key points in a logical manner
 Use spoken cues to tell your listener what’s
important
 Ask questions of listener to make sure they
understand
 Conclusion
 Summarize your message
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Speaking Skills continued
Other things can also impact how your message is
heard and perceived:
 Volume, pitch, tone and pace all impact your
speaking skills
 You should try to vary your speech
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Listening Skills
 Daily we face sounds and communication of every
kind, coming from all directions
 To decipher the sounds, we hear selectively (we
notice some sounds while tuning others out)
 Hearing is largely passive, in other words we don’t
have to work at it.
 Listening is not the same as hearing, we have to
become involved.
 Learning to listen well will enhance your
communication with others.
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Obstacles to Listening
Obstacles to listening are created by many of the listener’s
own bad habits.
 Mind wanders
 Tuning out
 Distractions
 Prejudices
 Too many notes
You must become actively involved in listening.
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Four Stages in Active Listening
1. Focusing
2. Interpreting
3. Evaluating
4. Responding
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Active Listening Skills
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·
Mirroring—repeating exactly some of the speaker’s key
words
·
Paraphrasing—using your own words to restate the
speaker’s feelings or meaning
·
Summarizing—condensing and stressing the speaker’s
important points
·
Self-disclosure—showing how you feel about what the
speaker said
·
Questioning/clarifying—asking questions to ensure
understanding
Open-Ended Questions
Ask open-ended questions to:
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·
Begin a discussion—“What do you think about …”
·
Understand the speaker’s ideas—“Can you tell me …”
·
Examine a touchy subject—“How do you feel about …”
·
Avoid influencing an answer—“Tell me more about …”
Specific Questions – Information Seeking
Ask specific (or closed-ended) questions to get details:
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·
Who
·
What
·
Where
·
When
·
Why
·
Which
·
How many
Keeping the Speaker Speaking
· “I understand.”
· “Tell me more.”
· “Let’s talk about it.”
· “I see.”
· “This seems very important to you.”
· “I’d like to hear your point of view.”
· “Really.”
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Non-Verbal Communication
Nonverbal communication, or body language, is also important in dayto-day interactions. As a supervisor, you will interpret the physical
signals that employees, peers, and managers send when
interacting with you or with others. The spoken word is not the only
means of human expression! We communicate with:
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
Facial expression

Eyes

Posture

Gestures

Body movement
Forms of Business Communication

Management-by-walking-around (MBWA)


Upward communication:


memos, reports, suggestion boxes, employee newsletters or bulletin boards
Employee Grapevine: rumors and gossip


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Information that begins at some point in the organizational structure and cascades
down the chain of command to inform or influence others
Formal communication:


Originates with the organization’s lower levels and filters to its higher levels.
Downward communication:


Hands on approach; listening, observing, learning, communicating
Provides useful, off-the-record feedback from employees
Managers must be prepared to listen, understand and interpret the information
Business Writing Tips
Good writing clearly communicates information or ideas, as
briefly as possible, to intended readers. At the same
time, it obeys certain rules of grammar, spelling,
sentence structure, and punctuation.
Before you begin to write:
 Have a specific reader or audience in mind
 Know your objective
 Decide which essential information to include
 Determine how to present the information
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Business Writing Tips continued
Use an Outline:
 Introduce your topic
 List significant points
 Keep to your objective and sort all points into logical
order that supports your objective
 Use plain English and short sentences
 Summarize and Conclusion
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Business Writing Tips continued
Before you distribute your written communication, take a
final look:
 Is it organized well?
 Is it clear?
 Is it concise?
 Is it accurate?
 Is it courteous, friendly, professional?
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Business Writing Tips continued
Today’s communication includes substantial written communication in email.
Remember these simple tips:
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
Mind Your Manners: Think of the basic rules you learned growing up, like
saying please and thank you. Address people you don't know as Mr., Mrs.,
or Dr. Only address someone by first name if they imply it's okay to do so.

Watch Your Tone: It is very difficult to express tone in writing. You want to
come across as respectful, friendly, and approachable. You don't want to
sound curt or demanding. Never type in CAPITALS – this generally
denotes SHOUTING!

Be Concise: Get to the point of your email as quickly as possible, but don't
leave out important details that will help your recipient answer your query.

Be Professional: This means, stay away from abbreviations and don't use
emoticons (those little smiley faces). Don't use a cute or suggestive email
address for business communications.
Business Writing Tips continued
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
Use Correct Spelling and Proper Grammar: Use a dictionary or a spell
checker — whichever works better for you. While you can write in a
conversational tone (contractions are okay), pay attention to basic rules of
grammar.

Add disclaimers to your emails. It is important to add disclaimers to your
internal and external mails, since this can help protect your company from
liability.

Read the email before you send it. A lot of people don't bother to read
an email before they send it out, as can be seen from the many spelling
and grammar mistakes contained in emails. Apart from this, reading your
email through the eyes of the recipient will help you send a more effective
message and avoid misunderstandings and inappropriate comments.

Do not use an email to discuss confidential information. Sending an
email is like sending a postcard. If you don’t want the information to be
displayed on a bulletin board, don’t send it. An email can altered, copied,
and forwarded. Be careful what you email!
Key Terms
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
Downward communication: The passage of information from an organization’s higher
levels to lower levels

Empathy: The ability to see circumstances from the other’s viewpoint or to understand the
other’s feelings

Feedback: The reaction of a listener or reader to the verbal or non-verbal communication
of a speaker or writer. Feedback may evaluate something the speaker/writer said or did,
and may provide corrective information.

Lateral communication: The passage of information between peers or members within the
same organizational level.

Mirroring: Exactly repeating a speaker’s key words to show the speaker how a key word or
phrase sounds. It indicates the listeners' interest in the speakers’ words and desire to
understand them. Mirroring helps both you and the speaker determine the importance of
any words the speaker uses. Also called ‘restating’.

Nonverbal Communication: The gestures and body movements a person uses, including
facial expression, eye contact or movement, and posture. Our body language may
contradict our words or reveal information we don’t intend to reveal. We can hear certain
types of nonverbal communication, such as laughter, weeping, whistling or tone of voice.
Key Terms continued
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
Open-ended questions: Questions that permit the applicant to respond in a free,
unstructured way. Such questions are broad and ask for responses of more than just a
few words.

Outline: a list of significant points someone makes before starting to write a memo, letter,
or report. It helps the writer organize his or her thoughts before actually starting to write.

Paraphrasing: Using your own words to restate what a speaker is saying, or to reflect the
content of the sender’s message as well as the feelings behind the content. Paraphrasing
helps to clarify what the speaker is saying. It also helps the speaker, because a
paraphrase reveals how the speaker's message sounds to others.

Summarizing statements: Statements that condense parts of what the speaker said and
stress important points. Use them to focus attention on a certain topic, to show that you
agree on specific points, to guide the speaker to another part of the subject, and to reach
agreement on specific points in order to end the conversation.

Topic sentence: A sentence that contains the main point of a paragraph and shows what
a paragraph is about. Using a topic sentence as a guideline, the writer logically developes
the rest of the paragraph.

Upward communication: The passage of information from an organization’s lower levels to
its higher levels.