Communication Skills

Communication Skills
INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SKILLS
The purpose of communication is to get your message across to others clearly

and unambiguously.
Doing this involves effort from both the sender of the message and the receiver.
And it's a process that can be fraught with error, with messages often
misinterpreted by the recipient. When this isn't detected, it can cause
tremendous confusion, wasted effort and missed opportunity.
In fact, communication is only successful when both the sender and the
receiver understand the same information as a result of the communication.
By successfully getting your message across, you convey your thoughts and
ideas effectively. When not successful, the thoughts and ideas that you convey
do not necessarily reflect your own, causing a communications breakdown and
creating roadblocks that stand in the way of your goals – both personally and
professionally.
In a recent survey of recruiters from companies with more than 50,000

employees, communication skills were cited as the single more important
decisive factor in choosing managers. The survey, conducted by the University
of Pittsburgh's Katz Business School, points out that communication skills,
including written and oral presentations, as well as an ability to work with
others, are the main factor contributing to job success.
In spite of the increasing importance placed on communication skills, many

individuals continue to struggle with this, unable to communicate their
thoughts and ideas effectively – whether in verbal or written format. This
inability makes it nearly impossible for them to compete effectively in the
workplace, and stands in the way of career progression.
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Getting your message across is paramount to progressing. To do this, you must

understand what your message is, what audience you are sending it to, and how
it will be perceived. You must also weigh-in the circumstances surrounding
your communications, such as situational and cultural context.
Communications Skills – The Importance of Removing Barriers:

Communication barriers can pop-up at every stage of the communication
process (which consists of sender, message, channel, receiver, feedback and
context – see the diagram below) and have the potential to create
misunderstanding and confusion.
To be an effective communicator and to get your point across without

misunderstanding and confusion, your goal should be to lessen the frequency of
these barriers at each stage of this process with clear, concise, accurate, well-
planned communications.
You can find out which barriers your communications tend to stuck at by
taking our How Good Are Your Communication Skills? self-test. But in
summary, here's some more information about each stage of the
communication process:
Source...
As the source of the message, you need to be clear about why you're
communicating, and what you want to communicate. You also need to be
confident that the information you're communicating is useful and accurate.
Message...
The message is the information that you want to communicate.
Encoding...
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This is the process of transferring the information you want to communicate

into a form that can be sent and correctly decoded at the other end. Your
success in encoding depends partly on your ability to convey information
clearly and simply, but also on your ability to anticipate and eliminate sources
of confusion (for example, cultural issues, mistaken assumptions, and missing
information.) A key part of this is knowing your audience: Failure to
understand who you are communicating with will result in delivering messages
that are misunderstood.
Channel...
Messages are conveyed through channels, with verbal including face-to-face
meetings, telephone and videoconferencing; and written including letters,
emails, memos and reports.
Different channels have different strengths and weaknesses. For example, it's
not particularly effective to give a long list of directions verbally, while you'll
quickly cause problems if you criticize someone strongly by email.
Decoding...
Just as successful encoding is a skill, so is successful decoding (involving, for
example, taking the time to read a message carefully, or listen actively to it.)
Just as confusion can arise from errors in encoding, it can also arise from
decoding errors. This is particularly the case if the decoder doesn't have enough
knowledge to understand the message.
Receiver...
Your message is delivered to individual members of your audience. No doubt,
you have in mind the actions or reactions you hope your message will get from
this audience. Keep in mind, though, that each of these individuals enters into
the communication process with ideas and feelings that will undoubtedly
influence their understanding of your message, and their response. To be a
successful communicator, you should consider these before delivering your
message, and act appropriately.
Feedback...
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Your audience will provide you with feedback, verbal and nonverbal reactions
to your communicated message. Pay close attention to this feedback, as it is the
only thing that allows you to be confident that your audience has understood
your message. If you find that there has been a misunderstanding, at least you
have the opportunity to send the message a second time.
Context...
The situation in which your message is delivered is the context. This may
include the surrounding environment or broader culture (i.e. corporate culture,
international cultures, etc.).
Communication skills simply do not refer to the way in which we communicate

with another person. It includes many other things - the way in which we
respond to the person we are speaking, body gestures including the facial ones,
pitch and tone of our voice and a lot of other things. And the importance of
communication skills is not just limited to the management world, since
effective communication skills are now required in each and every aspect of
our life.
First, let us concentrate on the importance of communication in business. We

can measure the importance of communication skills in the business sector
when we take a look at job advertisements. There is little chance that you will
come across an advertisement which does not mention that candidates should
have good communication skills. Perhaps this is the only criteria which creates
a positive impact when a person goes for a job interview. This is because
technical qualifications are likely to be more or less the same for the
candidates.
Without effective communication skills, a person may find it impossible to

climb up the corporate ladder. Promotions come to those who can communicate
effectively at all levels, from senior management level to the lowest employee.
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As for communication within relationships, it should be remembered that

maintaining good relationships is a way to a healthy lifestyle, and a good
relationship can only be maintained by maintaining healthy communication
with our near and dear ones. They are the ones we stay with on a regular basis.
They are also the ones who see us at our best as well as our worst. Good
communication skills help the relationships to develop along good lines, and
ensure that arguments and disagreements are kept to a minimum. Good
communication will avoid arguments and insults.
Another important part of communication in relationships is taking the
initiative yourself. Do not wait for your best friend to call you after a long
break. Instead take the phone and also take initiative to start the conversation.
Often people have this problem while communicating, which comes from fear.
They always think a thousand times whether to approach a person or not. But a
person with good communication skills is always the first to start a
conversation. Given the importance of communication skills in both the
personal and the corporate world, any individual who want to make progress
with their life should develop this important skill.
1.Stay Focused: Sometimes it’s tempting to bring up past seemingly related

conflicts when dealing with current ones. Unfortunately, this often clouds the
issue and makes finding mutual understanding and a solution to the current
issue less likely, and makes the whole discussion more taxing and even
confusing. Try not to bring up past hurts or other topics. Stay focused on the
present, your feelings, understanding one another and finding a solution.
2.Listen Carefully: People often think they’re listening, but are really thinking
about what they’re going to say next when the other person stops talking. Truly
effective communication goes both ways. While it might be difficult, try really
listening to what your partner is saying. Don’t interrupt. Don’t get defensive.
Just hear them and reflect back what they’re saying so they know you’ve heard.
Then you’ll understand them better and they’ll be more willing to listen to you.
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3.Try To See Their Point of View: In a conflict, most of us primarily want to

feel heard and understood. We talk a lot about our point of view to get the other
person to see things our way. Ironically, if we all do this all the time, there’s
little focus on the other person’s point of view, and nobody feels understood.
Try to really see the other side, and then you can better explain yours. (If you
don't 'get it', ask more questions until you do.) Others will more likely be
willing to listen if they feel heard.
4.Respond to Criticism with Empathy: When someone comes at you with

criticism, it’s easy to feel that they’re wrong, and get defensive. While criticism
is hard to hear, and often exaggerated or colored by the other person’s
emotions, it’s important to listen for the other person’s pain and respond with
empathy for their feelings. Also, look for what’s true in what they’re saying;
that can be valuable information for you.
5.Own What’s Yours: Realize that personal responsibility is a strength, not a

weakness. Effective communication involves admitting when you’re wrong. If
you both share some responsibility in a conflict (which is usually the case),
look for and admit to what’s yours. It diffuses the situation, sets a good
example, and shows maturity. It also often inspires the other person to respond
in kind, leading you both closer to mutual understanding and a solution.
6.Use “I” Messages: Rather than saying things like, “You really messed up
here,” begin statements with “I”, and make them about yourself and your
feelings, like, “I feel frustrated when this happens.” It’s less accusatory, sparks
less defensiveness, and helps the other person understand your point of view
rather than feeling attacked.
7.Look for Compromise Instead of trying to ‘win’ the argument, look for
solutions that meet everybody’s needs. Either through compromise, or a new
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solution that gives you both what you want most, this focus is much more
effective than one person getting what they want at the other’s expense.
Healthy communication involves finding a resolution that both sides can be
happy with.
8.Take a Time-Out: Sometimes tempers get heated and it’s just too difficult to
continue a discussion without it becoming an argument or a fight. If you feel
yourself or your partner starting to get too angry to be constructive, or showing
some destructive communication patterns, it’s okay to take a break from the
discussion until you both cool off. Sometimes good communication means
knowing when to take a break.
9.Don’t Give Up: While taking a break from the discussion is sometimes a
good idea, always come back to it. If you both approach the situation with a
constructive attitude, mutual respect, and a willingness to see the other’s point
of view or at least find a solution, you can make progress toward the goal of a
resolution to the conflict. Unless it’s time to give up on the relationship, don’t
give up on communication.
10.Ask For Help If You Need It: If one or both of you has trouble staying
respectful during conflict, or if you’ve tried resolving conflict with your partner
on your own and the situation just doesn’t seem to be improving, you might
benefit from a few sessions with a therapist. Couples counseling or family
therapy can provide help with altercations and teach skills to resolve future
conflict. If your partner doesn’t want to go, you can still often benefit from
going alone.

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Communication Skills

INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SKILLS

The purpose of communication is to get your message across to others clearly

In a recent survey of recruiters from companies with more than 50,000

In spite of the increasing importance placed on communication skills, many

Getting your message across is paramount to progressing. To do this, you must

Communications Skills – The Importance of Removing Barriers:

To be an effective communicator and to get your point across without

This is the process of transferring the information you want to communicate

Communication skills simply do not refer to the way in which we communicate

First, let us concentrate on the importance of communication in business. We

Without effective communication skills, a person may find it impossible to

As for communication within relationships, it should be remembered that

1.Stay Focused: Sometimes it’s tempting to bring up past seemingly related

3.Try To See Their Point of View: In a conflict, most of us primarily want to

4.Respond to Criticism with Empathy: When someone comes at you with

5.Own What’s Yours: Realize that personal responsibility is a strength, not a

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