Download COMMUNICATION Effective Communications

MODULE 17
COMMUNICATION
“Listening can be the
key to
understanding”
• What is communication and when is it effective?
• How can we improve communication with people at work?
COMMUNICATION
Effective Communications
MODULE GUIDE 17.1
 Communication is a process of sending and
receiving messages with meanings attached.
 Communication is effective when the receiver
understands the sender’s message.
 Communication is persuasive when the receiver
acts as the sender intends.
 Poor use of communication channels makes it hard
to communicate effectively.
 Information filtering can bias communication
between lower and higher levels.
COMMUNICATION
Effective Communications
 Communication
 is the process of sending and receiving symbols
with meanings attached.
COMMUNICATION
Effective Communications
 Effective Communication
 occurs when the receiver fully understands the sender’s
intended message
 Efficient Communications
 occurs at minimum costs
 Persuasion
 Presenting a message in a manner that causes others to
support it
 Noise
 Anything that interferes with the communication process
 Communication Channel
 The medium used to carry a message
COMMUNICATION
Effective Communications
COMMUNICATION
Effective Communications
 Nonverbal Communications
 Takes place through gestures and body language
 Mixed Message
 Results when words communicate one message
while actions, body language or appearance
communicate another.
 Filtering
 Is the intentional distortion of information to make it
more favorable to the recipient.
COMMUNICATION
Improving Communications At Work
MODULE GUIDE 17.2
 Active listening helps people say what they really
mean.
 Constructive feedback is specific, timely, and
relevant.
 Open communication channels build trust and
improve upward communication.
 Office spaces can be designed to encourage
interaction and communication.
 Appropriate technology can facilitate more and
better communication.
 Sensitivity and etiquette can improve cross-cultural
communication.
COMMUNICATION
Improving Communications At Work

Active Listening
 is the process of taking action to help someone say what he or she
really means.
Carl Rogers’s five rules for active listening
1. Listen for message content
—Try to hear exactly what content the message is conveying.
2. Listen for feelings
—Try to identify how the source feels about the content in the
message.
3. Respond to feelings
—Let the source know that you recognize her or his feelings.
4. Note all cues
—Be sensitive to nonverbal and verbal messages; be alert for mixed
messages.
5. Paraphrase and restate
—State back to the source what you think you are hearing.
COMMUNICATION
Improving Communications At Work
 Feedback
 is the process of telling someone else how you feel about
something that person did or said.
Criteria for Giving Constructive Feedback
 Specific
 Be precise, use good, clear, and recent examples to make your
points.
 Timely
 Choose a time when the receiver seems most willing or able to
accept it.
 Valid
 Limit feedback to things the receiver can do something about.
 Small doses
 Never give more than the receiver can handle at one time.
COMMUNICATION
Improving Communications At Work
 Management By Walking Around
 Managers spend time out of office meeting employees at all
levels
 Channel Richness
 The quantity and quality of the communication channel
COMMUNICATION
Improving Communications At Work
Proxemics
The study of the way we use space
COMMUNICATION
Improving Communications At Work
Electronic Communications
Electronic monitoring by employers (as reported by
American Management Association):
• 39% track telephone calls.
• 27% store and review e-mail.
• 21% store and review computer files.
• 11% record and review telephone conversations.
• 6% store and review voice mail.
MANAGEMENT TIPS
How to manage your e-mail
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Read items only once.
Take action immediately to answer, move to folders, or delete.
Purge folders regularly of useless messages.
Send group mail and use “Reply to all” only when really
necessary.
Get off distribution lists without value to your work.
Send short messages in subject line, avoiding a full-text
message.
Put large files on websites, instead of sending as attachments.
Use Instant Messaging as an e-mail alternative.
Double-check everything before hitting the “Send” button.
Don’t hit the “Send” button when angry; wait, take time to
revise and rethink.
Remember the iron rule of e-mail privacy: There isn’t any.
COMMUNICATION
Improving Communications At Work
Cross-Cultural Communication
Ethnocentrism
The tendency to consider one’s culture superior
to any and all others
Cultural Etiquette
the use of appropriate manners and behaviors in
cross-cultural situations.