LESSON 4: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS

When you send information to a person, either face0to-face or through some other means, how do you know that your message
was received and understood? Let’s hear this meaning of communication.

In your book, it stated there that “Communication is a two-way process”

What do you mean by two-way communication?

(ACTING) “Can you hear me now? How about now?” Who can forget that iconic commercial for wireless phone service where
the hapless signal tester is wandering the countryside looking for feedback? His quest for a response to his message is an attempt
to engage in two-way communication with the person on the other end. Let’s look at this simple model for two-way
communication.

Two-way communication is when one person is the sender and he/she transmits a message to another person, who is the
receiver. When the receiver gets the message, they send back a response, acknowledging the message was received.

In short, in a two-way communication process, there is a sender who transmits the message to the receiver, and when the
receiver gets the message, he/she will send a feedback to the sender. In that way, there is a two-way process of communication.

(Memorize in the book – but it is more than) It’s not just about sending the message or receiving the message, it’s all about
understanding what is the message?, what is the content of the message, what is the message all about and the emotions behind
that message so that you, as the receiver will be able to send back a response to the sender, acknowledging the message was
received. And that is where the EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION ENTERS.

WHAT IS EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION? An effective communication is a communication between two or more persons
wherein the intended message is successfully delivered, received, and understood.

In other words, the communication is said to be effective when all the parties (sender and the receiver) in the communication,
assign similar meanings to the message and listen carefully to what all have been said and make the sender feel heard and
understood.

There are 2 components of effective communication, first, Effective communication begins with ENCODING, or the skill of
relaying a message in a clear, direct way that allows the receiver to correctly decode your message. DECODING, another essential
component of effective communication, is a skill as well as it requires the receiver to ensure that he properly heard and
understood the message being sent. Someone stated that the key to properly encoding a message is knowing your audience,
while active listening is required to correctly decode a sent message.

In the book, it stated that (MEMORIZE IN THE BOOK)

To have effective communication, you need not only words but also a combination of this set of skills: (a) (b) (c) (d)

Skill 1: Becoming an engaged listener

Listening is one of the most important skills you can have. How well you listen has a major impact on your job effectiveness, and
on the quality of your relationship with others. For instance:

1. We listen to obtain information, we listen to understand, we listen for enjoyment, we listen to learn.

Clearly, listening is a skill we can all benefit from improving. By becoming a better listener, you can improve your productivity,
as well as your ability to influence, persuade, and negotiate. What more, you’ll avoid conflict and misunderstandings. All of these
are necessary when communicating.

(MEMORIZE IN THE BOOK)

To become an engaged listener, there are five key active listening techniques to help you become a more effective listener:

1. Concentrate on the speaker – Pay attention. Give the speaker your undivided attention. Look at the speaker directly and
focus. Put aside distracting thoughts. Avoid being distracted by environmental factors. For example, side conversations.
2. Avoid interrupting – interrupting is a waste of time. It frustrates the speaker and limits full understanding of the
message.
3. Set aside judgment or bias – allow the speaker to finish each point before asking questions. Don’t interrupt with counter
arguments.
4. Show your interest in what is being said – show that you’re listening. Use your own body language and gestures to show
that you are engaged. For example, nod occasionally, smile and use other facial expressions, make sure that your posture
is open and interested. Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments like yes, and “uh huh”
5. Provide feedback – our personal filters, judgments, and beliefs can distort what we hear. As a listener, your role is to
understand what is being said. This may acquire you to reflect on what is being said and to ask questions and clarify
certain point. “What do you mean when you say…” “Is that what you mean?”