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Amahara Region
Ethiopian TVET-System
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
DATABASE ADMINISATRATOR
NTQF Level IV
Unit of Competence: Utilize Specialized Communication Skills

Module Title: Utilizing Specialized Communication Skills

NOMINAL DURATION: 60hrs

MODULE CODE: ICT DBA4 14 0811

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LO1: Meet common and specific communication needs of clients

and colleagues
1.1 Introduction to Communication
Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place to another.
There are various categories of communication and more than one may occur at any time.
N.B: The desired outcome or goal of any communication process is understanding.
In face-to-face communication the roles of the sender and receiver are not distinct as both parties
communicate with each other.

In written communication the sender and receiver are more distinct. Until recent times, relatively
few writers and publishers were very powerful when it came to communicating the written word.
Today we can all write and publish our ideas on the Internet, which has led to an explosion of
information and communication possibilities.

1.2 The Communication Process and Network

Communication process is the set of some sequential steps involved in transferring message as
well as feedback. The process requires a sender who transmits message through a channel to the
receiver. Then the receiver decodes the message and sends back some type of signal or feedback.
The process of communication begins when the sender wants to transmit a fact, idea, opinion or
other information to the receiver and ends with receiver’s feedback to the sender.
Steps or elements of communication process
The communication process refers to the steps through which communication takes place
between the sender and the receiver. This process starts with conceptualizing an idea or message
by the sender and ends with the feedback from the receiver. In details, communication process
consists of the following eight steps:
1. Developing idea by the sender: The communicator or sender is the person who is sending
the message. In the first step, the communicator develops or conceptualizes an idea to be
sent. It is also known as the planning stage since in this stage the communicator plans the
subject matter of communication.

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2. Encoding: Encoding means converting or translation the idea into a perceivable form that
can be communicated to others. Or which means translating information into a message in
the form of symbols that represent ideas or concepts.
3. Developing the message: After encoding the sender gets a message that can be transmitted
to the receiver. The message can be oral, written, symbolic or nonverbal. For example,
when people talk, speech is the message; when people write a letter, the words and
sentences are the message; when people cries, the crying is the message.
4. Selecting the medium: Medium is the channel or means of transmitting the message to the
receiver. Once the sender has encoded his into a message, the next step is to select a suitable
medium for transmitting it to the receiver.
5. Transmission of message: In this step, the sender actually transmits the message through
chosen medium. In the communication cycle, the tasks of the sender end with the
transmission of the message.
6. Receiving the message by receiver: The receiver is simply the person receiving the
message, making sense of it, or understanding and translating it into meaning. This stage
simply involves the reception of sender’s message by the receiver. The message can be
received in the form of hearing, seeing, feeling and so on.
7. Decoding: Decoding is the receiver’s interpretation of the sender’s message. Here the
receiver converts the message into thoughts and tries to analyze and understand it. Effective
communication can occur only when both the sender and the receiver assign the same or
similar meanings to the message. Decoding is conducted by the receiver. Once the message
is received and examined, the stimulus is sent to the brain for interpreting, in order to assign
some type of meaning to it. It is this processing stage that constitutes decoding. The receiver
begins to interpret the symbols sent by the sender, translating the message to their own set
of experiences in order to make the symbols meaningful. Successful communication takes
place when the receiver correctly interprets the sender's message.
8. Feedback: The final step of communication process is feedback. Feedback means
receiver’s response to sender’s message. It increases the effectiveness of communication. It
ensures that the receiver has correctly understood the message. Feedback is the essence of
two-way communication.

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An effective communicator understands their audience, chooses an appropriate communication

channel, hones their message to this channel and encodes the message to reduce
misunderstanding by the receiver(s).

1.3 Introduction to Good English Communication

5 Ways to Immediately Improve Your English Communication Skills
I would like to give you a few tips to help overcome the difficulties you might be experiencing,
using some of the simplest methods to improve your English communication skills.

1. Slow Down Your Speaking Speed

Especially, if you’re at the early stages of learning, Learners are often told not to worry about the
mistakes they’re making, however, it is easy to understand why you would like to make a good
impression on your audience.

To overcome this difficulty, you may try slowing down your speaking speed.

Nobody will hold it against you if you speak more slowly and clearly. Great speakers do the
same to get their message across. Selecting your words carefully may also be seen as a sign of
respect towards your audience. It shows that you want to give them the best possible answer.

2. Give Yourself Time to Think

You may be worried that the people you’re talking to are impatient and would like you to say
what you want as quickly as possible. People often prefer a well-thought-out answer to a rushed
one.

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So just relax.
Another practical thing you can do is equipping yourself with fixed phrases you can use when
remaining silent doesn’t seem to be an option

3. Learn Sentences, Not Only Words

In a way, this will take the pressure off too. When you learn a new word, try to memorize a
couple of sentences that contain it.

There might come a time when you can use one particular sentence with little, or no alteration at
all. Unfortunately, many people learn words by heart, but have no idea how to use them in a
sentence.

It will be such a relief not having to worry about whether the sentence is correct grammatically
or not. Let’s look at an example:
4. Learn to Listen
When speaking in a foreign language, you might be so focused on what you are saying and
whether it’s correct or not, that you forget to listen to what others are saying.

Pay attention to what’s being said around you, it’s your most important resource at the time of
speaking to someone.

5. Practice Your Interrogative

We also need to keep in mind the fact that communication is a two-way process. Not only does it
make you seem uninterested – even rude – if you don’t ask questions, you might also end up
being the one who has to do all the talking. So, when you’ve run out of ideas about what to say
next, remember: others might have something to add.
 What are your views on that?
 How about you? What do you think?
 Why do you think there’s so much violence on TV?
Questions like this will keep the conversation going and will show your interest in other
people’s opinion. They will also give you time to relax a little and start enjoying yourself.
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Interrogatives can be quite tricky, so make sure you spend enough time learning the correct ways
of asking questions.

1.3 Ethics of Communication

Any company that aims to be socially and ethically responsible must make a priority of ethical
communication both inside the company and in its interactions with the public. In theory, many
consumers prefer to do business with companies they believe are ethical which gives those
ethical businesses an advantage in the market. Ethical issues of business communication are
one such issue.

Ethical communication implies keeping privacy of other party during communication.

Communication ethics concerns not only the individual, but is of great concern to businesses,
corporations, and professional entities. A business with unethical communication practices is not
as effective as one with ethical communication practices. For example, a business with unethical
communication practices may withhold evidence that it is harming the environment or breaking a
law through a lack of transparence; while a business with ethical communication practices will
immediately press a release to the affected parties. In this example, transparency makes the
business more effective because it notifies its clients, prospective or established,
providers/suppliers, or other affiliates of the potential environmental hazard or law violation. In
other words, in this example, transparency will encourage trust and good faith, that the effective
business will not conceal what is in the interest of its audience.
The following are the three guides for ethical communication:
1. Be honest;
2. Be respectful;
3. Show sensitivity to cultural differences.

Some of the vital characteristics of ethical communication are discussed below.

 Conveying the point without offending the audience:
While communicating to the audience, conveying the desired message to them in a significant
manner is of primary importance. For instance, the employees in a company can be asked to

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increase their efficiency in a demanding manner whereas managers and executives will feel
offended if the same tone is used on them. There are different ways to explain the exact things to
them in a much smoother manner.
 Maintain a relationship with the audience:
Maintaining the same wavelength with the audience is very important for a communicator to
ensure the audiences feel at home. Experienced communicators immediately build a relationship
based on trust with the audience as soon as they start speaking. Great orators such as Winston
Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi always were able to maintain a relationship with their audience
because they were masters at striking the same wavelength of the audience.
 Avoid preserving crucial information:
In the modern era, information is vital for all decisions. Hence, it is vital for any organization to
be cautious when communicating with the public. The communicated information should be
absolute and all vital information must be conveyed appropriately. Purposely withholding crucial
information might result in the public conceiving a bad image.
 Well organized value system:
In order to ensure that this concept is successfully practiced and understood in an organization, a
well-organized value system must be established throughout the organization by the top
management. If an organization functions on the base of value systems common to both the top
management and the employees, mutual respect between them will be present. A sound and
healthy value system can make way for ethical communication.
 Accuracy of information is necessary:
Any information that is to be passed on must be true and accurate. Communicating without
checking the truth of the information can be highly dangerous for the organization. Identification
of the source and testing the information is necessary before communicating it.
Conflict of interest, avoid promising unrealistic results or benefits to clients or customers and
practice honesty with both self and others.

1.4 Techniques in Effective Group Interaction

Communication means transferring thoughts and ideas with an intention of delivering
information. It is important to employ certain tactics that will help you communicate in the right
manner - put forth your ideas and exchange information precisely. The paragraphs to follow

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articulate some of the techniques for effective communication, which will not only help you at
your workplace, but will also help you become a well-rounded human being.

Listening
you have to listen to the other party. Do not commit the mistake of thinking that communication
is only a one-way street. Apart from speaking your mind out, communication is also about
listening very carefully. Focus on what they are saying, and reflect on that conversation later.
This will send out a message to them that you are grasping their point, and they should do the
same when you are speaking.

Expression
Honesty is very important here. Whenever you are expressing yourself, speaking truthfully and
honestly will send out a signal that you trust your audience. Speak clearly and properly. Also, try
to be precise about the subject that you are speaking on. Do not beat around the bush.

Taking Criticism Positively

If someone comes to you with criticism, it's just a natural human response to defend your stance.
But, try to take criticism positively and constructively. If the criticism is very hard to take and
emotional, then the chances are that the person you are communicating with is in distress. Try to
empathize with the person, and resonate your words in a very mild language.

Avoiding Arguments
Most often than not, whenever you are trying to have a healthy conversation, it turns into an
argument. Arguing is not going to help you any. Try to avoid getting into such situations.
And, even if you get into such a situation, instead of trying to win the argument, find an amicable
solution in a constructive way.

Understanding the Audience

You need to be able to understand your audience, as they are the ones for whom you are
speaking. Do not send out your message before you are absolutely sure that they will grasp what
you are saying.

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Feedback
It's one of the most common occurrence at the workplace, that a colleague does exactly opposite
to what you want him to do, and you keep wondering why has he done so. You keep thinking of
many reasons for the same. Maybe the colleague did not listen to you, or maybe he did not
understand what you said. But the worst possibility could be the deliberate inaction. What do you
do in that scenario? Well, you take a feedback. Without taking proper feedback, you wouldn't
know the perspective of the person in front of you. Only through feedback you will know why he
or she did or did not do what they were asked to do. Communication does not simply refer to
merely articulating words. Body languages, hand gestures, along with other factors, play an
important role for communicating your point.

Observation
This is a good tactic if you have really poor verbal or non-verbal communication skills. Find a
way to place yourself in or around a large crowd of people. These don’t have to be people that
you know, and in many cases it may be better to use people that you are unfamiliar with. The
only requirement is that these individuals need to be skilled communicators.
Once you’ve selected your group, the purpose of this exercise is to observe. Use your eyes and
ears to learn how these skilled people communicate. Once you’ve gathered enough information,
you should try to implement some of the tactics you have learned via your observation.

Ask Questions
No matter how much information is readily volunteered, you will never learn everything you
need to know without asking a few questions. What type of questions should you be asking?
 Closed-ended questions are designed to get a simple yes or no response. This can be a
good tool if you need to gather basic information quickly, or want to obtain an answer
without a long or drawn out explanation.
 Open-ended questions will provide you with a broader and more comprehensive answer.
Instead of asking “Can I help you?”(Which is a closed ended question because it can be
answered with a yes or no) ask “What brings you to our store today?”

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Enthusiasm
One of the easiest ways to get someone to respond to you in a positive manner when you are
communicating is to appear enthusiastic in regards to what they are telling you. No one is going
to want to talk to you if you sigh, roll your eyes, or seem otherwise impatient or bored while they
are trying to convey their information.
This can actually be as simple as maintaining eye contact, and modifying your body language to
appear attentive and interested. Emphatic positive responses can help to magnify this feeling of
enthusiasm. As a result, your speaker will be more interested in talking to you and will end the
conversation with an overall positive outlook.

Language Choices
The words you choose to use to describe yourself or your coworkers can have a dramatic effect
on their overall receptiveness to your communication skills. If you are trying to foster a sense
of solidarity and cooperation, use pronouns like “we” and “us” to refer to the group. This
will help them to consider themselves part of a team, rather than as an individual. “We need to
come up with a plan to tackle this project,” implies that everyone is equal and can contribute to
the group.

Keep a Sense of Humor

Keeping your sense of humor, even when things are looking bad, can be a great way to augment
your communicative skills. Everyone likes to laugh, and laughing relives stress and releases
endorphins, which can help to improve the overall mood of the conversation.
Make sure your humor is appropriate to the situation, though. No one should be cracking jokes at
a funeral, after all, and not everyone will appreciate that dirty joke you picked up at the bar the
other night.

Smile
Nothing sets a nervous team member at ease better than a friendly smile. A smile is your best
tool and your best weapon rolled into one. A genuine smile can often entice an otherwise quiet
or reserved person to be more open and willing to communicate.

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Honesty
Effective communication is largely based on trust. You have to trust the person you are speaking
with to provide the correct information in an easy to understand manner. You put your absolute
trust in this person not to lead you astray. Honesty should be paramount in every single thing you
do. In this case, it really is the best policy.

1.5 Facilitating Effective Group Discussions

Discussion is a powerful mechanism for active learning; a well-facilitated discussion allows the
participant to explore new ideas while recognizing and valuing the contributions of others.
Roles of Discussion Leaders
1. Create an inclusive environment
Opportunities for reflection:
 What do the participants bring to the group? (“Characteristics that may give you a unique
perspective”)
 Self-awareness; awareness of others:
o What do I bring to the group? What surprises or challenges me?
o What behaviors am I most familiar or comfortable with?
o What behaviors challenge me?
Dos and Don’ts:
Do:
 Allow participants to introduce themselves
 Be clear up front about expectations and intentions amongst participants and the
facilitator.
 Use inclusive language.
 Ask for clarification if unclear about a participant’s intent or question.
 Treat participants with respect and consideration.
 Develop an awareness for barriers for learning (cultural; social; experiential, etc).
 Provide sufficient time and space for participants to gather their thoughts and contribute
to discussions.
 Provide opportunities for participants to pair-share.

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Don’t:
 Use certain conventions or language that will exclude certain groups from understanding
the context of the discussion, or make them feel uncomfortable.
 Assume participants all have the same expectations when the group first convenes.
 Convey a sense of self-importance or superiority.
 Allow only the dominant or more verbal participants to take over the conversation.
 Discourage alternate views or counter-arguments.
 Try to be someone else- be yourself.
2. Keep discussions constructive and positive
 Make the discussion functional by clarifying the goals of each session to the group.
 Establish ground rules:
– Share personal experiences rather than make general statements about groups of people
(stereotyping).
– Ask dominant participants to allow others to speak.
– Give all participants a voice- at the start highlight the value of a diversity of perspectives as
an essential part of the process.
– Go over constructive and destructive group behaviors at the start of the course / workshop.
3. Encouraging participants
Encouraging participation can be accomplished by:
 Writing participants’ comments on the whiteboard.
 Asking follow-up questions, and paraphrasing the comments for everyone to consider.
 Asking the contributor for further clarification and/or elaboration.
 Re-visiting past contributions and incorporating them into subsequent discussions.
 Encouraging others to add their reactions or ideas to build on someone’s comment.
 Discomfort and silence are ok, but balance with a clearly stated context and purpose.

Potential Problems in Discussions

Maintaining discussions often means dealing as smoothly as possible with the problems that
arise. Here are some common problems with suggestions for how to deal with them.

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The participant who talks too much:

A way to approach the dominant participant and pull in non-participants is to redirect the
discussion to another person or another topic. Alternatively, you may wish to reframe their
comments, making them viable additions to the discussion. Facilitators might also ask one or
more members of the group to act as observers for a few sessions, reporting back their
observations to the group. Perhaps assigning the avid talker to the observer role would help the
person develop sensitivity. Another approach is to break down the group into still smaller task
groups.

The member who will not talk:

A way to approach non-participants is to provide opportunities for smaller group discussions or
pair-share discussions. Smaller groups may help put some students at ease. A second strategy is
to ask opinion questions occasionally (e.g., “How do you feel about this?”). This may encourage
participation by reducing participants’ fear of answering incorrectly. Another strategy is to have
participants write out their answers to a question. Having the words written out may make it
easier for a shy or fearful person to speak up.

The discussion that turns into an argument:

In good discussions, conflicts will sometimes arise. If such conflicts are left ambiguous, they
may cause continuing trouble. Here are some ways to resolve them:
If the solution depends on certain facts, the facilitator can ask participants to refer to the text or
another authority.
If there is an experimentally verified answer, the facilitator can use the opportunity to review the
method by which the answer could be determined.
If the question is one of values, the facilitator may use the occasion to help participants become
aware of the values involved.

The facilitator can list both sides of the argument on the board. The facilitator can take a strong
position as moderator, preventing participants from interrupting each other or speaking
simultaneously. She or he can play ground rules for discussion, such as asking participants to
focus conflict on ideas rather than people and to resist being judgmental.

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Unclear or hesitant comments:

The facilitator can encourage participants making unclear contributions to give examples and
factual evidence of their points. The facilitator can also restate points for verification or rejection
by the participants, or give enthusiastic nonverbal cues and patience.

The discussion that goes off track:

Some facilitators keep discussions on track by listing the questions or issues they want to cover
on the board or summarizing the discussion on the board as it proceeds. Stopping and asking a
participant to summarize where the discussion is at the point it appears to go off track may also
help.

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LO2: Contribute to the development of communication strategies

2.1 Conflict resolution strategies
In the world of business, the presence of conflict can be a serious issue that needs immediate
attention. If workers in your small business appear not to be interacting as cooperatively as you
would like, engage in some conflict resolution to remedy this problem. By suggesting an
assortment of simple strategies, you can aid your workers in putting these periods of conflict
behind them.
Discussion
Often, conflict arises simply due to a lack of communication. If you feel that your employees are
having conflict because they are not talking with each other, set up time for a discussion.
Encourage the employees to talk through the problem, particularly if you suspect that it simply
stems from the fact that they have failed to communicate effectively up to this point.
Written Communication
If an issue has escalated or one of the employees has a hot temper, written communication may
be a more effective way of breaking down the wall and resolving conflict. Ask each employee to
write a letter to the other, outlining the problem. By writing letters instead of talking face to face
they benefit from the opportunity to more carefully select their words. They can also make sure
that the exchange doesn't erupt into a yelling match. Additionally, letter writing provides a means
to document this communication easily.

Mediation
Sometimes, two individuals in a conflict simply can't work it out together without the aid of third
party. If your workers' conflict has escalated to the point where outside intervention is necessary,
set up a mediation session. Train a staff member in the art of mediation. Allow this staffer to sit
down with the feuding individuals and assist them in working through their problems in a
productive manner.

Compromise
Ask each person to give a little and take a little by arranging a compromise between the two. Ask
both of the members to come to your offer and talk the problem through with them, presenting

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potential compromises and allowing them to mull these options over. By arranging a
compromise instead of just selecting one member's interests over the other, you can reduce the
likelihood that one staff member feels slighted by the way in which the conflict was resolved.

Voting
If you simply must put a conflict to bed, voting can be an effective method. If, for example, two
employees are arguing over a potential advertising campaign or other business endeavor, set up a
vote and allow other employees to weigh in. The numbers will solve the conflict and serve as a
once-and-for-all answer.

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LO3: Represent the organization

3.1 Developing a Presentation
Twelve Tips for Creating Effective Presentations
Communication is at the core of what institutional research is all about, whether it be data in a
fact book or a presentation at professional development venues

PowerPoint has become the de facto presentation tool for most of us. However, when used
improperly, PowerPoint slides can actually interfere with communication, rather than promote it.
Communications researchers have identified concepts that have substantial implications for how
we can create the most effective presentations:
1. People learn better from visuals and narrative than from words alone. This is because the
brain has separate channels for processing visual and verbal materials, resulting in a higher
level of understanding. (Mayer, 2009)
2. Communication is actually inhibited when the same words are spoken and displayed on the
screen because people cannot listen and read at the same time. (Paivio, 2007)
3. People are capable of holding only a few pieces of information in their short‐term memory at
a time. Our job as presenters is to make the message clear, memorable, and entertaining.

These three concepts should inspire you, as a presenter, to abandon slide after slide of bullet
points and replace them with slides that use visuals in an engaging and meaningful way. These
research results should also encourage you to identify your key message and ensure that it is
delivered effectively.
The following are some tips with good and bad visual examples to help presenters identify and
avoid bad PowerPoint habits, and to promote awareness of how best to use PowerPoint to create
effective, meaningful presentations.

Note: The icon in the corner indicates the slide is an example of bad design with good content.
1. Design a template that is free from distracting items.
 Exclude distracting items
Strive for simplicity and readability. Most PowerPoint templates contain distracting elements
such as borders or shading that can detract from your message. It’s best to create a template of
your own that has a solid background and is free from non‐essential items, such as footers and

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logos. When creating your template, keep in mind the advice of French writer Antoine de Saint-
Exupéry, “A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but
when there is nothing left to take away.”
2. Ensure your template promotes readability.
 Design a template that promotes readability
Choose color combinations that make it easy for the audience to read your slides. If your
audience is unable to read your slides, then your message has been compromised. Consider the
following advice from Reynolds (n.d.). If you will be presenting in a darkened room, then light
text on a dark background works well. But if you will be in a room with the lights on or
considerable ambient light, then dark text on a light background works better.

3. Select a sans serif font. Limit your fonts to two, at most.

Serif fonts, such as Garamond, Times New Roman or Century Schoolbook, have protruding
“feet” (called serifs) that extend beyond the main shape of the letters. The serifs are beneficial in
printed documents with a lot of text, but they will produce a blurred look on the screen. Sans
serif fonts (translated as “without serifs”), such as Calibri, Arial and Trebuchet, produce a
cleaner, less cluttered, easier to read look.

4. Always use fonts that are 24 point or larger.

 Use fonts that are 24 point or larger
Displaying, text that is too small to read compromises your message and frustrates your
audiences. If you have more text than can reasonably fit on a screen using at least 24 point fonts,
then either: (a) create another slide or (b) shorten your text. As noted in tip #11, let your handout
contain the detailed information and use your presentation to highlight your most significant
points.

5. Incorporate high quality photos, images, or diagrams that reinforce your verbal message
 Use high quality photos and incorporate text into photo
Research has shown that communication is enhanced when a verbal message is combined with a
powerful image on the screen. Many free high quality photos are available on‐line (but pay
attention to copyrights) and a plethora of professional photos are available at very reasonable
costs (such as at iStockphoto.com). Avoid clip art, since it can make your presentation look dated
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and unprofessional. Incorporating your text into the photo presents a more unified and visually
pleasing message than having them completely separate.

6. Use phrases or abbreviated sentences, rather than full sentences

When preparing the content of your slides,
 Use phrases rather than full sentences.
With the possible exception of short direct quotes, keep full sentences in your oral presentation
and off the screen. “Humans are incapable of reading and comprehending text on a screen and
listening to a speaker at the same time. Therefore, lots of text (almost any text!), and long,
complete sentences are bad, Bad, BAD” (Reynolds, 2010, p. 57).

7. Use bullet points carefully. If using bullet points, be sure they are less than six words long.
The most effective slides are often those with the least text. “Your presentation is for the benefit
of the audience. But boring an audience with bullet point after bullet point is of little benefit to
them” (Reynolds, n.d.). If you want to use an outline to organize your talk, keep it on paper
rather than putting it on screen as bullets.

8. Eliminate the use of headings or titles unless they communicate the main message.
Headings should not be used to introduce or identify the topic of the slide, though they may be
useful to call attention to the main finding in a chart or graph. Otherwise, headings tend to be
redundant and should be eliminated.

9. Use animation, slide transitions, audio, and video sparingly

If used, do so only to reinforce a key concept. No examples are provided because they would be
difficult to illustrate in this written format. Research has shown that when there is movement on
the screen, the audience’s attention is immediately drawn to the movement, thus breaking their
concentration on the presentation content. Audiences judge presentations on their interest in the
content, not on how many fancy features are used in the slides.

10. Highlight the most important information in tables and graphs. If needed, use builds to
present data in a series of bite-sizes pieces.

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There are many resources about how to create effective tables and graphs (e.g., Few, 2004;
Sanders & Filkins, 2009). The rules of good design will be the same as for printed documents,
but you need to consider the pace when presenting tables/graphs on screen. By highlighting the
most important information and presenting only as much data as can be readily understood
(perhaps by presenting it incrementally), the audience will easily be able to discern the main
message.

11. Create a handout to accompany your presentation.

Many presenters try to make their slides function as both a handout and a presentation and end
up failing at both attempts. Slides should be designed to visually enhance (not summarize) your
presentation. Handouts should be well‐written comprehensive reports, containing detailed
information such as (depending on your content) complex charts, data, analyses, and references.
Your audience will be grateful to take a well‐written document with them, rather than just their
scribbled notes on your printed slides. This approach takes a significant investment of time, but
will serve both you and your audience well.

12. Be passionate about your topic.

Regardless of how well designed your slides are, the success or failure of your presentation will
hinge on how effectively you engage your audience. If the audience can’t tell that the topic
you’re presenting is interesting to you, it won’t be interesting to them. The slides should serve to
enhance your oral presentation, let them help you. Bullet points are not passionate, not even
when they’re highly decorated.

Top 5 Presentation Tools and Software

1. Microsoft Office PowerPoint
2. Prezi
3. SlideDog
4. Keynote
5. ClearSlide/SlideRocket

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LO4: Conduct interview

4.1Prepare for interview
Interviews: An interview is a planned meeting during which you obtain
information from another person. The personal interview is often the
preferred information gathering technique when developing business and

user requirements.

The interviewer can contextualise the response by observing body language.

Now let’s look at the most common steps that take place during the
interviewing process.
1. Determining the people to interview- You need to determine the
people that can best satisfy the answers to your questions. Organisational
charts and job specifications can help to identify appropriate people to
interview.

2. Establishing objectives for the interview- you should determine the

general areas to be discussed, then list the facts that you want to gather.

3. Developing the interview questions- Creating a list of questions

include open and closed questions, helps you keep on track during the
interview.

4. Preparing for the interview- Preparation is the key to a successful

interview of goals or subject matters.

5. Conducting the interview- An interview can be characterised as having

three phases: the opening, the body and the conclusion.
Opening, the interviewer should explain the reason for the interview, what
the interviewer expects to get out of the interview, and motivate the
interviewee to contribute to the interview.

Body represents the most time-consuming phase where you obtain the
interviewee's responses.

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Conclusion allows you to summarise your understanding of the data

gathered during the interview. You should express your appreciation for the
interviewee's valuable time.

6. Documenting the interview- It is important that you transcribe your notes

into a format that allows you to understand the information gained at the interview.
7. Evaluating the interview- It is important to review your notes and transcript
to identify any areas of problem, bias or errors.

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