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Communication
Skills
Prof. Aparna Kanchan
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Concepts
Words Mean Different Things to Different
People.

The Initiation of a Message Provides No
Assurance It Has Been Received.

Communications Often Become Distorted
as They Are Transmitted.
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Why is Communication Important?
Everything a manager does
involves communication.
Ineffective communication
skills can lead to problems for
the manager.
Communication of content
Supportive communication
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COMMUNICATION -NATURE
Communication is a process by which an idea is
transferred from a source to a receiver with the intention
of changing his behaviour.(interpersonal situations)
It is a mutual exchange of facts , thoughts or perceptions
leading to a common understanding of all parties. It does
not imply agreement.(encompasses organizational
communication.)
Intrapersonal communication-the reasoning, analysis or
debate that a person carries out within its own mind .
NATURE
Communication is Perception- is highly personal and has
a large component of emotions ,values and needs of
individual. Effectiveness of communication thus is limited
to the range of perception of the recipient.
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Communication is Expectation people perceive only
what they expect to-depending upon their own needs,
values, motives, background or even the situational
context. The unexpected is ignored or misunderstood.
Communication makes Demand- are in terms of
emotional selection, preferences or rejection on part of the
receiver. It has been scientifically established that the
words with pleasant association are retained easier and
longer in a persons memory than otherwise.
Communication differs from Information- logic
characterizes information, which is also formal and
impersonal in nature.(perception)Information infact
presupposes communication, because, unless the latter
takes place, the former is of no use to anybody.
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CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION
VOCAL NON-VOCAL
VERBAL SPOKEN WORDS WRITTEN
WORDS
NON-
VERBAL
SIGH FACIAL
EXPRESSION
GRUNT POSTURE
GESTURE
INFLECTION SPATIAL
RELATIONSHIP
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Three sub sciences
Kinesics
Proxemics
Paralinguistic
Have emerged as substantial contributors to the art of
communication.
Kinesics- is dynamics or movement aspect of NVC as related
to gestures, head nods, facial expressions eye movements and
the like.
Proxemics- deals with roles of bodily contact, physical
proximity and body orientation
Paralinguistic-deals with the non linguistics aspect of speech-
pitch, pauses, modulation ,etc.
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Communication-Process
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COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE PROCESSES
To act as a speaker,writer,listener or reader,the
learner must be able to act out a sequence of
skilled actions.
To speak , the learner must be able to :
Plan and organize a message (cognitive skills);
Formulate a linguistic utterance (linguistic skills);
Articulate the utterance (phonetic skills);
To write , the learner must be able to :
Organize and formulate the message (cognitive
and linguistic skills);
Hand-write or type the text (manual skills)




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To listen , the learner must be able to:
Perceive the utterance (auditory phonetic skills);
Identify the linguistic message (linguistic skills);
Understand the message (semantic skills);
Interpret the message (cognitive skills);

To read , the reader must be able to:
Perceive the written text (visual skills);
Recognize the script (orthographic skills);
Identify the message (cognitive skills).
Understand the message (semantic skills);
Interpret the message (cognitive skills).


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COMMUNICATION PROCESS

SOURCE
ENCODING MESSAGE DECODING
RECEIVER
FEEDBACK
Ideas Info Intentions
and Purpose
Necessity of using words, symbols
or forms in a precise manner
Its final shape and form depends on
the channel selected and the speed
Interpreting message in terms of
background experience and
expectation
Understood and
acted in the light
of it
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COMMMUNATING EFFECTIVELY

Internal customers: fellow employees, inside and
outside the department where you work, to whom you
provide services or assistance.

External customers: people outside your organization
who need the product and services, suppliers ,investors.
The goal of the communication process is mutual
understanding.
Interpersonal communication involves senders and
receivers. Take turns being senders and
receivers, otherwise the tension mounts as the tug-of-
war goes on.
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The ways that help to achieve the goal of
mutual understanding are :
ASSERTIVE SPEAKING - or the act of
expressing yourself directly,positively and
with confidence,so that your point comes
across clearly and you maintain respect
towards others.
ACTIVE LISTENING - or the act of
providing non-verbal and verbal feedback to
a speaker that allows his or her message to
be expressed and shows understanding of
the message.
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Barriers to communication
INITIATION OF MESSAGE
Different personalities of sender and receiver
Different perceptions of sender and receiver
Receiver evaluates credibility of sender
Words have different meaning
Receiver hears what he wants to hear
Code not understood
Noise
Distorted message
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HOLDING ASSUMPTIONS
The problem with assumptions is that they can lead
to mistakes, misunderstandings, and strained
relationships.
Jumping to conclusions
Finishing peoples sentences
Interrupting
Tuning out
Dismissing new ideas
Focusing on intentions: focusing on intentions
instead of actions sometimes causes you to interpret
inconsequential actions as destructive or of ill will.



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Thinking you know best: making decisions for
someone else without first checking with the person
who is affected directly by what you do.

Stereotyping: shows your ignorance.
Deal with each other as an individual
Listen first
Avoid generalizations
Communicate first ; act second
Make the safest assumptions of them all: assume that
the other person means well. This assumption allows
you to see and deal with the actions and ideas of others
at face value.




















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FOUR APPROACHES TO SPEAKING
1. MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY: THE AGGRESSIVE
APPROACH
You must
Because I said so
You idiot!
You always/never.
Who screwed this up?
There is nothing subtle to the aggressive approach. The following
are the common behaviours :
Blaming, accusing
Intimidating body language
Demanding, ordering
Raised voice
Harsh, personal language
Verbal browbeating

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2. THE APPEASING WAY: THE NON ASSERTIVE
APPROACH
Uh..if thats the way you want to do it.um, thats fine
with me.
I dont know if I could do that.
Ill talk to him soon about that problem; Ive been really
busy.
I am sorry to ask you.
I hate to bother you.
Maybe thats a good idea
Behaviours:
Soft voice
Overly agreeable, no point of view expressed
Avoidance
Withdrawn body language


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Sounding unsure
Beating around the bush
Sounding hopeless and helpless
3. SUBTLE BUT AGGRAVATING: THE PASSIVE -
AGGRESSIVE APPROACH
I knew that wouldnt work.
If thats the way you want it..
How could you even think of that?
When was the last time you helped me?
The problem with Rahul is.
Behaviours:
Appears to agree but really does not agree
Tells others but not the source of concern
Makes subtle digs and sarcastic remarks

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Keeps score and sets conditions
Nonverbal message contradicts the verbal massage
Holds back expressing concern or providing
assistance
4. STRAIGHT AND POSITIVE: THE ASSERTIVE
APPROACH
Yes that was my mistake.
As I understand your point..
Let me explain why I disagree with that point.
Lets define the issue and then explore some options
to help resolve it.
Please hear me out and then work with me to
resolve my concern.


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Behaviours:
Takes responsibility
Listens actively
Takes initiative
Speaks up, is direct and constructive
Shows sincerity
Is solution focused
Assumes confident voice and body language
Addresses concerns directly to the source
Requests needs


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DO NOT CONFUSE AGGRESSIVE FOR
ASSERTIVE
AGGRESSIVE
Blunt
In conflict situations, a
harsh in tone
In conflict situations,
blame and browbeat the
other person
Push your own way
One way conversation
flow

ASSERTIVE
Direct
In conflict situations, a
firm tone
In conflict situations,
collaborate on the
solutions
Speak up, yet hear what
the others have to say
Two way conversation


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POSITIVE IMPACT OF POSITIVE LISTENING
Accentuate the positives
How do you feel when someone really listens to you?

Respected
Cared for
That youve gained rapport
Rewarded
Satisfied
Sense of achievement
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POSITIVE IMPACT OF POSITIVE LISTENING
Positive feelings:
Increased productivity
Stronger working relationship
Better quality of work
Greater customer satisfaction
Repeat business
Easier and better problem solving
Greater cooperation and team work
Less stress

Listening is a powerful means of communication
that can increase your effectiveness on the job.



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THE THREE STAGES OF THE LISTENING PROCESS

Stage one - Receiving: you take in the speakers
message through your senses, hearing and seeing.

Stage two - Processing: this activity takes place in
your mind and involves analyzing, evaluating, and
synthesizing. Great deal of concentration is needed.
What does the speaker mean?

Stage three - Responding: the speaker sees and
hears what the listener does. The speaker feels
respected and understood by the listener, connection
is made and productivity goes up.

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PUT A POSITIVE SPIN IN THE MESSAGE
Make something sound better than it is: combine tact
and clarity. This decision by the management is really a
good one for you . Remember our jobs are about adapting to
change and keeping this business moving forward . If you
keep this in mind , the new strategies will work just fine.
Emphasize what you can do instead of what you cant. I
will help you,
I will ensure your problems are resolved.
Based on a few other matters I need to handle now, I can
take care of your issue by the end of the day
I can give you a status on that item by the end of
tomorrow. I first need to check on what happened with it.
I can give you an update in two days. Ill know more about
where that issue stands then.

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AVOID LANGUAGE THAT DWELLS ON PROBLEM

Whose fault is this?
Youre wrong about what happened.
You never help when I need you.
Why cant you get this right ?
Why are you causing such problems here ?
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USING LANGUAGE THAT FOCUSES ON SOLUTIONS
Option: Lets explore some options for resolving this
situation.
Idea: I have an idea that can help solve this
problem.
Recommendation: Heres what I recommend we
do.
Suggestion: May I offer you a suggestion or two on
handling that challenge?
Solution: Lets take a look at some possible solutions
that can help us.
Proposal: I have a proposal that can help resolve this
issue.

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Interpersonal communication
The goal of communication process is mutual
understanding (no small feat) .Communication
involves senders and receivers. They may have
differences , but differences arent an excuse to
have a tug - of-war ; rather differences are issues
to work through to reach the desired outcome.

Lack of trust , deceit , self centeredness , non -
cooperation , unhappy atmosphere and the like
have the beginning in distortion or breakdown of
interpersonal communication.
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Components of interpersonal communication
Perception of self-social self,material self and
spiritual self.
Person perception-filters we tend to apply to our
behaviour when relating to others.
Complexities in relationship
Self fulfilling Prophecy
Spirals
Paradoxes
Congruence between being and seeming
Empathy
Positive regard
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There is a scientific basis to understand the dynamics of
communication.

Joseph Luft &Harry Ingham, behavioural scientists,have
developed a model of social interaction known as Johari
Window which facilitates understanding of the basis of
interpersonal communication that in turn determines the quality
of relationship.

This model is a very condensed form states the fact that we as
individuals consciously know some of our strengths and
weaknesses, but are not aware of certain others.

Similarly, other people become aware of our positive qualities
and shortcomings through the type of relationship we develop
with them.
Interpersonal styles and relationship
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Arena
Blind
Spot
Facade Unknown
Known
to self
Unknown
to self
Feed Back
Known
to
Others
Unknown
to
Others
E
X
P
O
S
U
R
E

Communication Johari Window Model
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IT ISNT JUST WHAT YOU SAY BUT HOW YOU
SAY IT
What you say is important, but how you say it often carries more
weight
Most people havent been taught how to truly listen; therefore, you
cant count on them to listen fully and effectively when you speak
to them
Make steady eye contact
Maintain eye contact
Look in the right places
Posture
Facial expressions-tells all or nothing at all
Gestures-use in unison with your speech
Project your voice- vary speed and pitch
Show inflection in your voice
Display sincerity in your tone
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Enunciate your words clearly
Insert pauses occasionally in your message
Match your pace with your listeners pace of
speaking

AVOID:
Staring and glaring
Looking away and all round
Darting glances
Blinking excessively
Focusing on one person, not everyone



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AVOID:

Glazing over
Slouching
Invading space
Hovering over the listener
Looking blank
Looking stern
Folding your arms
Displaying threatening gestures
Exhibiting distracting habits
Sounding uncertain
Being too soft spoken, speaking too slowly 36

AVOID:
Mumbling
Being too loud
Dropping your voice at the end of the sentence
Sounding monotonous
Putting people down with your tone
Having harshness in your tone
Speaking too fast
Slurring words
Using excessive filler sounds.
Sugarcoating
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THANK-YOU