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1: Communication in an Organisation
2. Understand and develop personal interpersonal communications
2.1 Explain interpersonal communications and
communication styles
•Interpersonal communication: people exchange information, feelings, and
meaning through verbal and non-verbal messages. Successful interpersonal
communication is when the message senders and the message receivers
understand the message (Jacobson,2009).
•The key components of interpersonal communication are communicators,
message, noise, feedback, context and channel
• Communicators include both the sender of the communication and the receiver.
• Message not only means the speech used or information conveyed but all the
non-verbal gestures.
• Noise refers to anything that distorts the message
•Feedback is the response of the receiver.
•. All communication is influenced by context such as emotional
climate and expectations of the people, the place of occurrence,
and environmental conditions comprise context
•The channel refers to the physical means by which the message is
transferred from one person to another.
•Styles of communication: Assertive, aggressive, submissive,
manipulative (Arnold, 2015)
• Assertive-individuals clearly state their opinions and feelings,
and firmly advocate for their rights
• Aggressive- express their feelings and opinions and
advocate for their needs in a way that violates the rights of
others
• Submissive-Pleasing other people and avoiding conflict
• Manipulative : Skilled at influencing or controlling others to
their own advantage
2.2 Show awareness of personal interpersonal
communication skills and provide evidence of your
skills including presentation style, meetings
management and networking
•Personnel skills are the abilities an individual possess which are
considered to be his/her strengths whereas Interpersonal skills are
the set of abilities needed by a person to positively and effectively
communicate with others.
• Interpersonnel skills are considered under the soft skills category of
personal skills.
•Strong interpersonal awareness leads to stronger relationships,
better work performance, and a better sense of fulfillment.
• Acceptance of oneself is very important to improve interpersonal
awareness, and it demands that one should believe that they are
good enough to be accepted by oneself and others
• While in a presentation, meeting or in any management network some
interpersonal skills should be considered by own
• Presentations and public speaking skills are important in business, sales
and generally feeling comfortable speaking to a group of people.
• One should be confident and relaxed
• Present information clearly and effectively is a key skill to get your
message or opinion across the audience
• Try to avoid external distractions, stay within time frame, stay focused
• Should be able to prioritise – what absolutely must be covered
• If one is not speaking make sure to listen others
• Choice of words and language, avoid that makes assumptions or
discriminates
•Stay confident, keep agenda
2.3 Apply approaches to improve personal
communication style.
Effective communication in an organisation needs 4 crucial skills:
1. Understanding the barriers in communication
2. Engaged listening- Listening to understand and not to reply
3. Asserting yourself in a respectful way using assertive communication
4. Managing stress in the moment (Robinson, 2017).
Being spontaneous
•While these are learned skills, communication is more effective when it becomes spontaneous rather than
formulaic.
•A speech that is read, for example, rarely has the same impact as a speech that’s delivered (or appears to
be delivered) spontaneously.
•Of course, it takes time and effort to develop these skills.
•The more effort and practice you put in, the more instinctive and effective your communication skills will
become.
Effective communication skill 1: What’s stopping you from communicating effectively?

Common barriers to effective communication include:

• Stress and out-of-control emotion.

o When you’re stressed or emotionally overwhelmed, you misread other people, send confusing

or off-putting nonverbal signals, and lapse into unhealthy knee-jerk patterns of behavior.

o To avoid conflict and misunderstandings, you can learn how to quickly calm down before

continuing a conversation.

• Lack of focus.

o You can’t communicate effectively when you’re multitasking.

o You’re almost certain to miss nonverbal cues in the conversation.

o To communicate effectively, you need to avoid distractions and stay focused.

o Nonverbal communication should reinforce what is being said, not contradict it.

o If you say one thing, but your body language says something else, your listener will likely feel

you’re being dishonest. For example, you can’t say “yes” while shaking your head no.

• Negative body language.

o If you disagree with or dislike what’s being said, you may use negative body language to rebuff

the other person’s message, such as crossing your arms, avoiding eye contact, or tapping your

feet.

o You don’t have to agree, or even like what’s being said, but to communicate effectively and not

make the other person defensive, it’s important to avoid sending negative signals (Robinson,

2017).
Effective communication skill 2: Become an engaged listener

• When communicating with others, we often focus on what we should say.

• However, effective communication is less about talking and

more about listening.

• Listening well means not just understanding the words or the information being communicated, but
also

understanding the emotions the speaker is trying to communicate (Robinson, 2017).

• Focus fully on the speaker. Stay focused on the moment-to-moment experience in order to pick up
the subtle nuances and important nonverbal cues in a conversation.

• Favor your right ear. The left side of the brain contains the primary processing centers for both
speech comprehension and emotions.

o Since the left side of the brain is connected to the right side of the body, favoring your right ear can
help you better detect the emotional nuances of what someone is saying.

• Avoid interrupting . Trying to redirect the conversation to your concerns by saying , “If you think
that’s bad, let me tell you what happened to me.” You can’t concentrate on what someone’s saying
while thinking about your lines (Robinson, 2017).
• Show your interest in what's being said. Nod occasionally, smile at the person, and make sure your
posture is open and inviting. Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments like “yes”
or “uh huh.”

• Try to set aside judgment. You don’t have to like them or agree with their ideas, values, or opinions.

Set aside your judgment and withhold blame and criticism to fully understand them. Successful l
communication can often lead to an unlikely connection with someone.

• Provide feedback. If you don’t understand paraphrase like, "What I'm hearing is…," or "Sounds like
you are saying…," are great ways to reflect back. Express what the speaker’s words mean to you.

• Ask questions to clarify certain points: "What do you mean when you say..." or "Is this what you mean?“
• There’s a big difference between engaged listening and simply hearing.

o When you really engaged with what’s being said—you’ll hear the subtle intonations in someone’s
voice that tell you how that person is feeling and the emotions communicated.

o You’ll also make that person feel heard and understood, which can help build a stronger, deeper
connection between you.

o By communicating in this way, you’ll also experience a process that lowers stress and supports
physical and emotional well-being.

o If the person you’re talking to is calm, for example, listening in an engaged way will help to calm
you, too.

o Similarly, if the person is agitated, you can help calm them by listening in an attentive way and
making the person feel understood.

• If your goal is to fully understand and connect with the other person, listening in an
engaged way will often come naturally.

o If it doesn’t, try the following tips. The more you practice them, the more satisfying and rewarding
your interactions with others will become (Robinson, 2017).
Effective Communication Skill 3:

Using assertive communication to produce interactions that benefit both or all the parties
involved in the discussion (Thompson, 2011).

Tips to improve your assertiveness:

• Value yourself and your options. They are as important as anyone else's.

• Know your needs and wants. Learn to express them without infringing on the rights of
others

• Express negative thoughts in a positive way. It's OK to be angry, but you must be respectful
as well.

• Receive feedback positively. Accept compliments graciously, learn from your mistakes, ask
for help when needed.

• Learn to say "no." Know your limits and don't let others take advantage of you. Look for
alternatives so everyone feels good about the outcome (Thompson (2011).
Skill 4: Keep stress in check

• Stress during disagreements with coworkers leads to losing calmness. Communicate effectively by
staying calm under pressure.

• Quickly relieve stress and return to a calm state to avoid such regrets, and also help to calm the other
person as well., or be silent.

• In interviews, business presentation, high-pressure meeting, or introduction to a loved one’s family, it’s
important to manage your

emotions, think on your feet, and effectively communicate under pressure. (Robinson, 2017).

Use stalling tactics to give yourself time to think. Ask for a question to be repeated or for clarification
of a statement before you

respond.

Pause to collect your thoughts.

• Silence isn’t necessarily a bad thing—pausing can make you seem more in control than rushing your
response.

• Make one point and provide an example or supporting piece of information. If your response is too
long or you waffle about a number of points, you risk losing the listener’s interest.

• Follow one point with an example and then gauge the listener’s reaction to tell if you should make a
second point.
Deliver your words clearly.

• Speak clearly, maintain an even tone, and make eye contact.

• Keep your body language relaxed and open (Robinson, 2017).

• Wrap up with a summary and then stop.

• You don’t have to bother about any silences by continuing to talk.

Quick stress relief for effective communication

• Stretching hands
Heated conversations need something quick and immediate to bring down the emotional intensity.

Learn to quickly reduce stress to safely face any strong emotions and behave appropriately.

Recognize when you're becoming stressed.

• Your body expresses stuff when you are stressed .

• Are your muscles or your stomach tight? Are your hands clenched? Is your breath shallow? Are you
"forgetting" to breathe?

• Take a moment to calm down before deciding to continue a conversation or postpone it.

Bring your senses to the rescue.

• The best way to rapidly and reliably relieve stress is through the senses—sight, sound, touch, taste,

smell—or movement (Robinson, 2017).

• For example, you could pop a peppermint in your mouth, squeeze a stress ball in your pocket, take a
few deep breaths, clench and relax your muscles, or simply recall a soothing, sensory-rich image.

• Each person responds differently to sensory input, so you need to find things that are soothing to
you.
Look for humor in the situation.

• When used appropriately, humor is a great way to relieve stress when communicating.

• When people start taking things too seriously, find a way to lighten the mood by sharing a joke or
amusing story.

Be willing to compromise.

• Compromise to find a happy middle ground that reduces the stress levels for everyone concerned.

• If the other person cares much more about something than you do, compromising is easier for you and
a good investment in the future of the relationship.
References
1. Arnold, E.C. and Boggs, K.U., 2015. Interpersonal Relationships-Professional Communication
Skills for Nurses. USA: John Wiley & Sons Ltd
2. DeVito, J.A. (2015) The interpersonal communication book. UK: Pearson.
3. Neil Thompson (2011) Effective Communication: A Guide for the People Professions. London:
Palgrave Macmillan.
4. Jacobson, S.K.(2009) Communication skills for conservation professionals. USA: Island Press.
5. Robbins, S.P. and Hunsaker, P.L. (2011)Training in interpersonal skills: Tips for managing people
at work.UK: Pearson Higher Ed
6. Robinson, L. Segal,J., and Smith, M. 2017 Effective Communication
7. Improving Communication Skills in Your Work and Personal Relationships, Available at:
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/relationships-communication/effective-communication.html
[Accessed 11 October 2017].