Principles of Effective

Communication
Why is
communication
important ?
• Inspires confidence
• Builds respect
• Helps make friends
• Reveals your ability to others
• Develops a distinct personality
2
 Presentation Layout

Communication and its components

Barriers to communication
7 C’s of effective communication
Listening comprehension
Non verbal communication and
body languaue
What is
communicatio
n?
Communication is
defined

asthe interchange of
thoughts or opinions
through shared
symbols; e.g. language,
words, phrases
Why Study
Communication?
 The Only Completely Portable Skill
 You will use it in every relationship
 You will need it regardless of your career
path
 The “Information Age”
 The history of civilization is the history of
information
 Language and written documents facilitate
the transfer of information and knowledge
through time and space
 Why Study
Communication?
 YourQuality of Life Depends Primarily on
Your Communication Skills

 You
Cannot Be Too Good at
Communication

 People
Overestimate Their Own
Communication Skills
Four facets of
communication
There are four facets in all
types of communication:
Sender
Receiver
Information
Behavior
Four facets of
communication
 In any communication:
 The Sender is the person trying to
communicate a message
 The Receiver is the person at
whom the message is directed
A message is sent to convey
information
 Information is meant to change
behavior
Why we communicate
• We communicate to:
• Share our ideas and opinions
• Provide feedback to others
• Get information from others
• Gain power and influence
• Develop social relationships
• Maintain self-expression and our
culture
• and other ideas you may have
thought of
How we communicate
 We communicate and build
interpersonal relationships through:
 Speech
 Writing
 Listening
 Non-verbal language
 Music, art, and crafts
Choosing your medium

 Depending upon the situation, one method

of communication may be better than
another.
 In person: one-to-one
 In person: meetings, small groups
 In person: presentations, large groups
 Letter
 Memo
 Note
 Email
 Voice mail
Choosing your medium

 To determine the best medium for your message determine:

 What you as the sender need to achieve
 What the receiver needs to know. What the receiver wants to
know
 How detailed, important, and or personal the information in the
message is
 Which behavior you want to influence and how
Choosing your medium

 How would you communicate…

 an organizational change in your unit
 the introduction of a new employee
 a change in someone’s job duties
 a reprimand
 notice of a meeting

Take a few moments to write down some

of your thoughts…
Choosing your medium

 The best way to communicate…

 an organizational change in your unit by memo and small group
meetings
 the introduction of a new employee by group and one-on-one
meetings
 a change in someone’s job duties by memo and one-on-one meeting
 a reprimand in a one-on-one private meeting
 notice of a meeting by memo and email
Barriers to communication

 Somecommon barriers to interpersonal

communication include:
 Unclear process: The receiver and sender may not
share the same language, slang, jargon, vocabulary,
symbols
 Chain of command: There may be too many layers
that a message passes through between sender and
receiver
 Large size of an organization, geographic
distance: Large numbers of receivers require good
message sending methods
 Personal limitations: Physical and mental
disabilities, and differences in intelligence and education
may interfere with mutual understanding
Barriers to communication

 Additional common barriers to interpersonal communication

include:
 Human nature:Peoples’ egos, prejudices, and traditions
can get in the way
 If people feel on opposite
Conflicting feelings, goals, opinions:
sides of an issue they may not share
 Power:The idea that knowledge is power can lead to
information hoarding and other ideas you may have
thought of
Share your ideas to…

 State an opinion or position

 Give instructions or directions
 Announce a change
 Make presentations
 Participate in meetings
 Give information in emergencies
 Communicate the organizational mission,
vision, and values
 and other ideas you may have thought of
Obstacles to sharing
ideas…
 Your own shyness
 Fear of rejection
 Peer pressure
 Unorganized thinking
 Others possibly becoming defensive
 Physical disabilities (impaired sight, hearing, speech)
 Having to deal with aggressive people
 and others you may have thought of
Speak for yourself…

 To ensure your messages are clear, speak for yourself, not for
others:
 Speaking for yourself sounds like:
 I, me, my…
 I think, I feel, I want to know that…
 Speaking for no one sounds like:
 It, some people, everyone, they decided…
 Speaking for others sounds like:
 We, you, John, Mary said…
SHARE your ideas – a
model
 State the main point of your message
 Highlight other important points
 Assure the receiver’s understanding
 React to how the receiver responds
 Emphasize/summarize your main ideas
 SHARE – an example

State the main point of your message

“I’d like to talk to you about the new employee welcome program”.
Highlight other important points
“We need to discuss the new schedule, locations, and presenters”.
Assure the receiver’s understanding
“Do you need me to further clarify how we are making invitations”?
React to how the receiver responds
“I understand your concern about parking”.
Emphasize/summarize your main ideas
“To wrap-up, I’ll develop the schedule and make the room
reservations, if you can line up the guest speakers”.
 More & Less Effective Listening
Skills
Active, focused Passive, laid back

Pays attention Easily distracted

Asks questions Asks no question

Keeps open mind Has preconceptions

Assimilates Disregards
information information
 Some Tips for Improving Written
Communication

Use simple words & phrases.

Use short & familiar words
Use personal pronouns (such as “you”)
whenever appropriate.
Give illustrations & examples; use charts.
Use short sentences & paragraphs.
Use active verbs, as in “Mgr plan…”
Avoid unnecessary words.
 7 C’s of Effective
communication
 For transmitting effective written or oral messages,
Certain principles must be followed. These are
sometimes called 7C,s.

1.Completeness
2.Conciseness
3.Clarity
4.Correctness
5.Consideration
6.Courtesy
7.Concreteness
 1.Completeness
 Every communication must be complete and adequate.

 Incomplete messages keep the receiver guessing, create

misunderstanding and delay actions.

 Every person should, therefore, be provided with all the required

facts and figures.
 For example, when factory supervisor instructs workers to produce, he must
specify the exact size, shape, quality and cost of the product. Any assumptions
behind the messages should also be clarified.
While answering a letter, all the questions raised in the letter must be replied.
 Tips
 Provide all necessary information
 Answer all questions asked
 Give something extra when desirable
 2.Conciseness

 Be brief and be able to say whatever you have to say in

fewest possible words without sacrificing the other C
qualities.
 Conciseness is desired because of the following benefits:
 A concise message saves time and expense for both sender and
receiver.
 Conciseness contributes to emphasis; by eliminating unnecessary
words, you let important ideas stand out.
 When combined with a “you-view”, concise messages are
inherently more interesting to recipients as they avoid
unnecessary information.
 Tips:
 Eliminate wordy expressions
 Include only relevant material
 Avoid unnecessary repetition
 3. Clarity

 Clarity means getting your message across so the

receiver will understand what you are trying to convey.
 You want that person to interpret your words with the
same meaning you have in mind.
 Accomplishing that goal is difficult because, as you
know, individual experiences are never identical, and
words have different meanings to different persons.
 Tips:
 Choose short, familiar, conversational words
 Construct effective sentences and paragraphs.
 Achieve appropriate readability (and listenability).
 Include examples, illustrations, and other visual aids, when
desirable.
 4. Correctness
 1Right level of language and accuracy of facts, figures and
words.
 If the information is not correctly conveyed, the sender will lose
credibility.
 Transmission of incorrect information to outsiders will spoil the
public image of the firm.
 To convey correct messages, grammatical errors should also be
avoided.
 You should not transmit any message unless you are absolutely
sure of its correctness
 Tips
 Use the right level of language
 Check accuracy of figures facts and words
 Maintain acceptable writing mechanics
 5.Consideration

 Consideration means that you prepare every message with

the recipient in mind and try to put yourself in his or her
place.
 Try to visualize your readers (or listeners)—with their
desires, problems, circumstances, emotions, and probable
reactions to your request.
 Then handle the matter from their point of view
 This thoughtful consideration is also called "you-attitude,"
empathy, the human touch, and understanding of human
nature.
 Tips:
 Focus on You instead of I and We
 Show audience benefits
 Emphasize positive pleasant facts
 6. Courtesy

 Courtesy stems from sincere you-attitude.

 To be courteous, considerate communicators
should
follow these suggestions regarding tone of the
communications.

• Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful, and

appreciative.
• Omit expressions that irritate, hurt, or belittle.
• Grant and apologize good-naturedly.
 7. Concreteness

 Communicating concretely means being

specific, definite, and vivid rather than vague
and general.
 The following guidelines should help you
compose concrete, convincing messages
 Tips
 Use specific facts and figures.
 Put action in your verbs.
 Choose vivid, image-building words.
 Getting good information

 Why is it necessary to get good information from others?

Take a few moments to write down some of

your thoughts…
The power of listening

The philosopher Epictetus stressed the power of listening in

this quote:

“Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could hear

twice as much as we speak.”
Listen actively

 Prepare to listen by focusing on the speaker

 Control and eliminate distractions so that
you can focus on the message. Don’t do
anything else (writing, reading, email) but
listen
 Establish appropriate eye contact to show
interest
 See listening as an opportunity to get
information, share another’s views, and
broaden your own knowledge
Listen actively

 Create a need to listen by thinking about what

you can learn from the speaker
 Set aside the time to listen so that you won’t feel
rushed or become distracted by other responsibilities
 Don’t prejudge the message based on who is
delivering it. Focus instead on the content of the
message.
 Monitor the way you listen by asking yourself
questions such as “Did I really pay attention or was I
thinking about what I was going to say next”? “Was
there information I missed because I allowed myself
to become distracted”?
Obstacles to giving
constructive feedback
 Separating the person from the problem
 Others becoming defensive or angry
 Fear of negative consequences (especially if the
other person is a supervisor)
 Dealing with potential conflict (especially if the
other person is aggressive)
 Avoiding hurt feelings
 Preserving relationships
 Not having all the facts and jumping to conclusions
 Choosing the right time so that the other person is
most receptive
 and other ideas you may have thought of
Body language

 Nonverbal communication, known as

“body language” sends strong positive
and negative signals. This is how much
it influences any message:

Words 8%
Tone of voice 34%
Non-verbal cues 58%
Message 100%
Body language includes…

 Face
 Figure
 Focus
 Territory
 Tone
 Time

Each of these is described in the

following slides…
Body language - face

 Face includes:
 Your expressions
 Your smile or lack thereof
 Tilt of the head; e.g., if your head is tilted to one side, it usually
indicates you are interested in what someone is saying

What message are you sending if someone

is presenting a new idea and you are
frowning?
Body language - figure

 Figure includes:
 Your posture
 Your demeanor and gestures
 Your clothes and accessories such as jewelry

What message are you sending if you are

dressed casually at an important meeting?
Body language - focus

 Focus is your eye contact with others

 The perception of eye contact differs by
culture. For most Americans…
 Staring makes other people uncomfortable
 Lack of eye contact can make you appear weak
or not trustworthy
 Glasses may interfere or enhance eye contact

What message are you sending if you are looking

at other things and people in a room when
someone is speaking to you?
Body language - territory

 Territory focuses on how you use space. It is also called

proxemics.
 The perception of territory differs by
culture. Most Americans are comfortable
with an individual space that is about an
arm’s length in diameter, Muslims feel
warmth when they embrace.

What message are you sending if you keep

moving closer to a person who is backing
away from you?
Body language - tone

 Tone is a factor of your voice

 Pitch is the highness or lowness of voice
 Volume is how loud your voice is
 Emphasis is your inflection

What message are you sending if during a

disagreement you start speaking very
loudly?
Missed communication

As the Manager As Purchasing As Marketing

Requested it. ordered it. wrote it up.

As the Art Dept. As the Supervisor What the Employee

designed it. implemented it. really wanted!
 REACTION PAPER
 INSTRUCTIONS;
 1. LOOK AT THE PICTURE.
 2. ANALYZE IT.
 3. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MESSAGE?
 4. AND IF YOU ARE THE MANAGER, WHAT
WILL YOU DO WITH YOUR EMPLOYEE ?

 IN A PARAGRAPH FORM ANSWER THE

GIVEN QUESTION FROM 1-4