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Effective Communication Chapter 11. Communication is the transfer of a message that is both received and understood. Effective communication is a higher order of communication. It means the message is received, understood, and being acted on in the desired manner.
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Communication is the transfer of a message that is both received and understood. • Effective communication is a higher order of communication. It means the message is received, understood, and being acted on in the desired manner.
Communication is the oil that keeps the total quality engine running. Without it, total quality breaks down. • Communication plays the role of facilitation in a total quality setting.
Effective Communication • Communication is a process that involves a message, sender, receiver, and medium. • The message is what is being transmitted (information, emotion, intent, or something else). • The sender is the originator of the message • The receiver is the person to whom it goes. • The medium is the vehicle used to transfer the message.
four levels of communication. • One-On-One-Level Communication - One-one level communication involves one person communicating within a peer group. • Team-Level Communication -The primary difference between one-on-one and team-level communication is that, with the latter, all team members are involved in the process at once. A team meeting called to solve a problem or to set goals would be an opportunity for team-level communication. • Company-Level Communication - Company-level communication is communication among groups. A meeting involving various different departments within a company is an opportunity for company level communication. • Community-Led Communication - Community-led communication occurs when groups inside of a company and groups outside the company. The most common examples of community- level communication are a company's sales force communicating with clients and the purchasing department communicating with vendors.
Inhibiting Effective Communication • Various factors can inhibit communication. Prominent among these are: • Differences in meaning • A lack of trust • Information overload • Interference • Premature judgments • “Kill the Messenger” syndrome • Condescending tone • Inaccurate assumptions • Listening problems.
Various factors can inhibit communication • Differences in Meaning - People have different backgrounds, levels of education, and cultures. • words, gestures, and facial expressions can have altogether different means to different people. • This is why managers should invest time getting to know employees. • Lack of Trust - If receivers do not trust senders, they may be overly sensitive and guarded. • They might concentrate so hard on reading between the lines and looking for hidden agendas that they miss the message. • Information Overload - Information overload is more of an inhibitor than it has ever been. • Computers, modems, satellite communication, facsimile machines, electronic mail, and the many other technological devices developed to promote and enhance communications can actually cause breakdowns in communication.
Various factors can inhibit communication • Interference - Interference is any external distraction that inhibits effective communication. • Condescending Tone - A condescending tone when conveying information can inhibit effective communication. • People do not like being talked down to and typically respond to tone of voice as much as or more than the content of a message. • Poor Listening Skills - Poor listening skills can seriously inhibit effective communication. • Premature Judgement - Premature judgments by either the sender or the receiver can inhibit effective communication.
Various factors can inhibit communication • Inaccurate Assumptions - Our perceptions are influenced by our assumptions. • Consequently, inaccurate assumptions tend to shut down communication before it has a change to get started. • Kill-the-Messenger Syndrome - In the days when gladiators dueled in Rome's Coliseum, it was common practice to kill the bearer of bad news. • Managers who kill the manager when an employee tells the hard truth will eventually hear only what employees think they want to hear. • This dangerous situation quickly leads to uninformed ill-advised managers.
Good listening • Good listening means receiving the message, correctly decoding it, and accurately perceiving what it means. • Inhibitors • Lack of Concentration • Preconceived Ideas • Thinking Ahead • Interruptions • Tuning Out • Interference
Good Listening Inhibitors • Lack of Concentration - Concentration requires the listener to eliminate as many extraneous distractions as possible and shut out the rest mentally. • Preconceived Ideas - Managers who jump to preconceived notions don't give themselves a chance to listen effectively. • Preconceived ideas can cause them to make premature judgment that turn out to be wrong. • Thinking Ahead - Managers who jump ahead to where they think the conversation is going often get there only to find they are alone. • Managers will find that it takes less time to hear an employee out than it does to start over after jumping ahead to the wrong conclusion.
Good Listening Inhibitors • Interruptions - Interruptions not only inhibit effective listening, they can frustrate and confuse the speaker. • If clarification is needed during a conversation, it is best to make a mental note and wait for the speaker to reach an interim stopping point • Tuning Out - Some people become skilled at using body language to make it appear they are listening while, in reality, their mind is focused on other areas of concern. • Interference - Interference is anything that distracts the listener, thereby impeding either hearing or perception or both. • Background noises, a telephone ringing, and people walking in and out of the office are all examples of interference.
Improving Written Communication • Plan before you write - Planning before writing is a matter of deciding who you are writing to, why, and what you want to say before beginning to write. • Be brief - Reading takes time and effort. Keep this in mind in writing. Be brief. In as few words as possible, explain your purpose, state your points, and tell recipients what you want them to do. • Be direct - Directness is an extension of brevity. It means getting to the point without beating around the bush. • Be accurate - Accuracy is important in written communication. Be exact. Avoid vague phrases and terms such as some time ago, approximately and as soon as possible. • Practice self-editing - In your first draft, concentrate on what you are saying. In the second draft, concentrate on how you say it. These are two different processes that should not be mixed. Even professional writers find it difficult to edit for content and edit for grammar, sentence structure, and spelling simultaneously.
Improving Written Reports • Define the problem - Before beginning to write a report, managers should finish the following sentence: "The purpose of this report is to...." The problem statement for a report should be brief, to the point, descriptive, and accurate. • Develop a workplan - A workplan is a list of the tasks to be completed and a projected date of completion for each task. • Gather relevant data - This step involves collecting all data pertaining to the problem in question. This is the research step. It might involve searching through files, reading other reports, interviewing employees and/or customers, running tests, or any other action step that will yield useful data. • Process findings - Information is simply data that have been converted into a useful form. Processing findings means converting the raw data collected in the previous step into information upon which recommendations can be based. This involves both analysis and synthesis. • Develop conclusions. - The conclusions explain what caused the problem. Conclusions should be based on hard facts, stated objectively, and free of personal opinions or editorializing. • Make recommendations - Recommendations should grow out of the conclusions. Arrange recommendations sequentially in order of priority. Give options whenever possible. Recommendations should be specific and detailed, indicating time frames, the people responsible for carrying them out, costs, and any other pertinent information
Five personality traits and how they can affect communication. • Introversion versus extroversion. An introvert is not likely to volunteer much information because they are more likely to be silent and reclusive. • When trying to communicate with an extrovert, it might be difficult to get a word in because they are talkative, sociable, and enthusiastic. • Neuroticism versus emotional stability. When trying to communicate with neurotic people, it is necessary to be patient, understated, and calm because they tend to see the bad side of any situation. • When trying to communicate with emotionally stable people, they tend to have a more realistic perspective. • Agreeable versus stubborn. With stubborn people, it is wise to first invest some time earning their trust so as to overcome their inherent suspiciousness. • Agreeable people are friendly and easy to communicate with.
Five personality traits and how they can affect communication. • Conscientious versus undependable. When trying to communicate with undependable people, it is wise to summarize and repeat what has been agreed to and be confident enough in what you are saying to offset the other person’s tendency toward faint-heartedness. • Open to experience versus prefer the familiar. When trying to communicate with open people, rein them in and keep them focused and on task. When trying to communicate with familiar oriented people, take time to get them to think outside the box.
Guidelines to Improved Communication • Keep up-to-date - Managers should make an effort to stay up-to-date with new information relating to the workplace. • Prioritize and determine the time constraints - Communicating does not mean simply passing on everything you learn to your employees. Analyze your information and decide what your employees need to have. Then prioritize it from urgent to when time permits and share the information accordingly. • Decide who to inform - After you have prioritized your information, decide who needs to have it. Employees have enough to keep up with without receiving information they don't need.
Guidelines to Improved Communication • Determine how to communicate - A combination of communicating orally, in writing, one-on-one, in groups, and others will probably be more effective than any one method taken by itself. • Communicate and follow up - Don’t just tell employees what you want them to know, follow up. Encourage employees to ask you questions for clarification. • Check understanding and obtain feedback - Check to see that your communication was understood. Is the employee undertaking the correct next steps? Get feedback from employees to ensure that their understanding has not changed and that progress is being made.
