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Business Management Agenda
• Today – Chapter 9 Communication Skills
– Lessons 1 & 2 Today
• Tuesday (5.7) – Chapter 9 –
Communication Skills
– Lesson 3 & 4
– Binder Check
– Review Guide (Chapter 9)
• Thursday – Guest Speaker
(1st half of class)
• Thursday (5.9)
– Professionalism
– Chapter 9 Test (Senior Final)
– Use IPOD touch to
effectively play a game in
answering questions about
interviews, resume writing,
follow up skills, etc.
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Employment Skills Survey
1. Strong verbal and
interpersonal
communication skills
2. Self-motivated/selfmanagement/selfstarter
3. Team player
4. Sound academic
achievement
5. Analytical and
conceptual skills
6. Strong written
communication skills
7. Flexible and adaptable
“Can Do” attitude
8. Problem solving skills
9. Energy and
enthusiasm
10.Professional ethics
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
• Lesson 1 – Axe the Fillers!
• Lesson 2 – Expressions
• Lesson 3 – Are You a Motormouth?
• Lesson 4 – Are You Listening?
GRADING…
• Your grade for this unit will be based on:
– Participation in discussions
– Participation in exercises
– Lesson journals (in binders!)
LESSON 1
Axe the Fillers
The Speech Problem
• Using excessive fillers while you speak is
the most irritating speech habit
• Fillers range from repetitious sounds
through favorite catch words a phrases
• The problem? Fillers distract your
listener – often to the point that he/she
doesn’t hear anything you say.
The Speech Problem
• Speech fillers are dangerous. If you use
fillers, you may not even be aware of the
speech problem yourself!
• Fillers tend to become so embedded into
your speech patterns that even once
you’re aware, you’ll have a very hard time
trying not to say them.
Guard Against Stock Responses
• Even if you don’t use fillers, you may find
yourself falling back on stock responses
that irritate your listeners.
• Stock responses are phrases that we
develop over time to particular
communication situations, such as
statements that call for acknowledgement
and nothing else.
– i.e. “Okey-dokey”
Guard Against Stock Responses
• Try to vary your response to these
standard situations, rather than falling
back on whatever your stock response is
every time.
• Avoid slang and “cute” phrases as you
would avoid the plague.
• If you have trouble varying, pick several
neutral, formal phrases, such as “Right
away”, “I will” and/or “Yes, certainly”
Speech Exercise – The Tell-Me Game
• Test your speech to see if you use fillers
• Identify your favorite filler words and
phrases
• Two Roles –
– Listener: listen for the particular speech
problem being worked on and record all
instances of the speech problem
– Speaker: speak impromptu on one of the
listed speech topics for two minutes. Do NOT
spend time thinking about the topic before you
start!
The Benefits of Eliminating Fillers
• As your speech fillers decrease, your
listeners will:
– Form a better impression of you as your
speak, thinking of you as an educated,
knowledgeable person, more worthy of trust
– Be better able to focus on the message you’re
communicating, rather than being distracted
by the way you’re expressing yourself
JOURNAL
Lesson 1 – Axe the Fillers
Economics
Lecture
LESSON 2
Expressions
The Speech Problem
• Speaking in a monotonous voice is a real
communication killer.
• When the variety of your voice’s pitch
doesn’t vary, it’s impossible for your
listener to maintain any interest in what
you’re saying.
• People with monotonous voices are
perceived as untrustworthy or boring.
Other Speech Problems of
Expression
• A far more common problem is a lack of
appropriate vocal variety…”tired voice”
– Voices that are not suitably expressive
• If you don’t sound interested in, or excited
about, what you are saying, then your
audience certainly won’t be, either!
Speech Exercise
EMOTION SENTENCES
• The purpose of this exercise is to practice
getting more vocal variety into your
speech
Speech Exercise
BELIEF SENTENCES
• The purpose of this exercise is to practice
conveying meaning through expression in
your speech.
Speech Exercise – Drama Queens/Kings
• Role-playing speech exercise to help you
develop a more expressive voice by
exaggerating your normal pitch and
rhythm
Benefits of Improving Speech Expression
• As your voice expression increases, your
listeners will:
– Be more interested in what you’re saying and
more attentive
– Be more likely to be receptive to you and the
message you are communicating
JOURNAL
Lesson 2 - Enthusiasm
LESSON 3
Are You a Motormouth?
The Speech Problem
• Speaking too quickly is one of the most
common speech problems
• Speech typically speeds up when we are
stressed or excited
• Some people, however, are genuine
“motormouths”
The Speech Problem
• We also don’t want to talk too slowly!
• The trick to speaking at an appropriate
pace is remembering that you need to
speak at a rate that allows your listener to
understand what you’re saying.
The Speech Problem
• Listening is not a one-step process; we
have to hear what is said and then
translate that into meaning
• If we speak too quickly, the second step of
the process is lost
• What happens to the listener if you speak
too quickly? Too slowly?
Slowing Your Speech Down
• Focusing on our enunciation when we
speak is one good way to slow down our
speech
• When we focus on enunciating clearly, we
force ourselves to stop slurring and
dropping syllables when we speak
• Another way to slow down is to
concentrate on phrasing and punctuation
Speech Exercise: Five Step How-Tos
• Because the pace of speech and
comprehension are so closely linked, this
exercise focuses on speaking at the
optimum pace for making your message
understood
• Complete the “Five Step How-Tos” with
your partner
The Benefits of Improving Your
Speech Pace
• When you speak at an appropriate pace,
your listeners will:
– Be more interested in what you’re saying and
more attentive
– Be more likely to comprehend the message
you’re communicating
JOURNAL
Lesson 3 – Are You a Motormouth?
Lesson 4
Are You Listening?
The Speech Problem
• Listening is the speech skill that is
practiced the least
• Most of the time, we are thinking about
other things instead of listening to whoever
is speaking to us
• “In one ear and out the other”…or does it
even enter one ear???
• We do it…because we can get away with
it!
The Speech Problem
• Most of the time, the speaker won’t know
we are not listening…Why???
• You’re the one that has to make the
commitment to truly listen…become an
ACTIVE LISTENER!
– Change from being a passive target to being
a contributor to the communication
• Make this one change and you will
improve your communication skills
tremendously
3 Techniques for Active Listening
1. Setting the Stage for Listening
2. Appropriate Advancement
3. Summarizing
Setting the Stage for Listening
• Stop whatever else you are doing
• Turn to face the speaker and make eye
contact
• Do not cross your arms/legs (why??)
• Lean slightly towards the speaker
*You want your body language to send the
message that you are receptive to the
speaker’s message
Appropriate Advancement
• As the speaker speaks, make appropriate
comments that advance the conversation
– Just saying “um” or “ah” won’t do!
– Make statements or ask questions that show
you’ve been paying attention
Summarizing
• Simply restate the speaker’s last point
– “You were saying that…” and then summarize the
speaker’s key points
• Most powerful use is at the end of the conversation,
when it’s “officially” your turn to respond
• Close by adding an action statement. Something
you will do as a result of what the speaker has said
– “You said that you don’t feel that I’ve been listening to
you because I keep facing my computer screen when
you’re talking, and don’t seem to have anything to add to
the conversation. From now on, I’ll give you my full
attention when you speak to me.”
Speech Exercise: Drawing Bugs
• Practice Active Listening
• Materials needed: paper and pen/pencil
• I am going to describe a drawing I have of
a bug. Without seeing the drawing, you
are to draw the bug that I describe.
• You may not ask questions or talk to each
other.
My Bug
Drawing Bugs
• Why don’t all the bugs look like mine?
• What did you think of first when you were told to
draw a bug? What did you see in your mind?
• What could we have done differently so that your
drawings and mine would have looked more
alike?
• What would have been the advantages of
allowing questions to be asked?
• How many of you wanted questions to be
asked?
The Benefits of Active Listening
• When you listen actively, people
communicating with you will:
– Feel more confident that they’ve actually
communicated a message to you
– Feel more positive about you and the
message you’re communicating
JOURNAL
Lesson 4 – Are You Listening?
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Wrap Up
Lessons
• Lesson 1 – Axe the Fillers!
• Lesson 2 – Expressions
• Lesson 3 – Are You a Motormouth?
• Lesson 4 – Are You Listening?
Speech Exercise: Words Alone
• This exercise will demonstrate how important
words are in expressing ideas, and how
important active listening is to receiving the
appropriate message
• Keep in mind all lessons:
– Try to avoid using fillers
– Be expressive with your words to convey your true
meaning
– Don’t speak too quickly (or slowly) that you lose the
listener
– Be an active listener…remember to set the stage, use
appropriate advancements and summarize
Words Alone
• Grab a partner. One person from each pair needs
to get a piece of paper from me that will have a
list of words on it
• The partner with the paper will give a verbal
description (no hands allowed), of what is on the
paper…one word at a time, trying to reveal all
words on the list
• Concentrate on the careful choice of words,
avoiding non-verbal signals as much as possible
– Hint: use descriptive words relating to all five senses
(smell, touch, etc.)
• Switch roles, grab a new sheet and repeat the
process
Words Alone
• How efficient were words alone in
expressing ideas?
• How did you feel doing this activity? (talker
and listener)
• What does this remind us to do in our own
communication?
FINAL JOURNAL
Journal about the entire
Communication Skills Unit