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Class 1

COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT

Communication

1. Provide at least 10 definitions of Management

2. Provide at least 5 definitions of Communication

3. Translate the following text. Make a vocabulary of unknown words (min 50 words and 30 words expressions).

The goal of communication is to convey information—and the understanding of that information - from one person or group to another person or group. This communication process is divided into three basic components: A sender transmits a message through a channel to the receiver. The sender first develops an idea, which is composed into a message and then transmitted to the other party, who interprets the message and receives meaning. Information theorists have added somewhat more complicated language. Developing a message is known as encoding. Interpreting the message is referred to as decoding.

The other important feature is the feedback cycle. When two people interact, communication is rarely one-way only. When a person receives a message, she responds to it by giving a reply. The feedback cycle is the same as the sender-receiver feedback noted in Figure 1 . Otherwise, the sender can't know whether the other parties properly interpreted the message or how they reacted to it. Feedback is especially significant in management because a supervisor has to know how subordinates respond to directives and plans. The manager also needs to know how work is progressing and how employees feel about the general work situation.

The critical factor in measuring the effectiveness of communication is common understanding. Understanding exists when all parties involved have a mutual agreement as to not only the information, but also the meaning of the information. Effective communication, therefore, occurs when the intended message of the sender and the interpreted message of the receiver are one and the same. Although this should be the goal in any communication, it is not always achieved.

The most efficient communication occurs at a minimum cost in terms of resources expended. Time, in particular, is an important resource in the communication process. For example, it would be virtually impossible for an instructor to take the time to communicate individually with each student in a class about every specific topic covered. Even if it were possible, it would be costly. This is why managers often leave voice mail messages and interact by e-mail rather than visit their subordinates personally.

However, efficient time-saving communications are not always effective. A low-cost approach such as an e-mail note to a distribution list may save time, but it does not always result in everyone getting the same meaning from the message. Without opportunities to ask questions and clarify the message, erroneous interpretations are possible. In addition to a poor choice of communication method, other barriers to effective communication include noise and other physical distractions, language problems, and failure to recognize nonverbal signals.

Sometimes communication is effective, but not efficient. A work team leader visiting each team member individually to explain a new change in procedures may guarantee that everyone truly understands the change, but this method may be very costly on the leader's time. A team meeting would be more efficient. In these and other ways, potential tradeoffs between effectiveness and efficiency occur.

Communications Management Process

This helps you undertake Communications Management for your team.

It does this by taking you through the Communication Process, step-by-step.

If you want to keep the right people informed with the right information, at the right time, then this process will help you.

Communication Process will help you to:

• Identify the messages that need to be sent

• Determine your target audience for communication

• Decide on your message format and timing

• Draft your message and gain approval where required

• Communicate your message, through communications events

• Gather feedback and improve your communication processes

By using this Communication Process, you can:

• Clearly identify your project stakeholders

• Identify your stakeholders communications needs

• Run any type of communications event to send out your message

• Ensure the right people receive the right information at the right time

Keeping your stakeholders regularly informed is a critical activity for any team. Whether it's through status reports, regular meetings or informal email, you can ensure that the right messages are distributed about the progress of your project. This will help your project team and external stakeholders to remain focused on delivery and to provide you with all of the support you need to deliver your project successfully.

A Communication Process, or Communications Management Process, is a set of steps that are taken every time formal communications are undertaken in an organization. A Communications Process is undertaken as part of Communications Management and helps to ensure that your stakeholders are kept regularly informed. For example as part of the project life cycle, the team implement a Communication Process to make sure that the entire team is kept informed of the status of the project.

When do I use a Communication Process?

A Communication Process should be used when you wish to communicate formally within an organization. By using the Communication Process, you can ensure that no miscommunication occurs. As part of the Communication Process, you can also receive feedback on the communications which have taken place to date and ensure that future communications are improved. Communications Management is a fundamental part of any organization and needs to be treated with care. Using this Communications Process, you can communicate effectively at all times.

Class 2

THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION

1. Give your own definition of Communication Management

2. What is Communication Management Process?

3. Translate the following text. Make a vocabulary (min 50 words and word expressions).

As such there are three steps involved in the communication process. It is the origin of a thought or an idea by a sender which is properly planned and then passed on to the receiver in a manner in which it can be properly understood.

The Communication Process.

• The message sender

Communication begins when the sender comes across a thought or an idea. The sender then encodes it in a way in which it can be understood by the receiving channel members. Encoding is not simply translation or to put forward an idea, but includes additions, deletions and simplifications in the line of thought and conversion and the same in the form of a message to be transfered further down the line. It also may include technical details such as encoding the message in a programmed language as an input for computer.

• Transmission of Message

There needs to be a link between the sender of the message and receiver of the message. These links or mediums may be written or oral. The messages are transmitted through a letter, a telegram, telephone, computer, etc. Sometimes, more than one link also may be used for the transmission of messages.

• The message receiver

The message has to reach the receiver in a form in which it is understandable. The message received has to be decoded. It is to be converted into the original thought or idea. Accurate communication can occur only when both, the sender and the receiver attach similar meanings to the symbols that compose the message. The crux is in the message being understood. The emphasis is not simply in the transfer of the message but such a transfer where facts remain intact and the real message does not get distorted. It is necessary to receive a message with an open mind because if the information is contrary to the value system of the individual, a closed mind will normally not accept it.

To verify the effectiveness of communication, feedback is necessary. Whether or not a message has been clearly transmitted and understood can be confirmed by feedback. Feedback helps in analyzing whether the objective has been achieved or not.

BARRIERS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Breakdowns of communication channels, is a frequent challenge that managers face. Communication problems signify more deep-rooted problems than those that appear prima facie. The barriers may exist either at the transmission stage or at the feedback stage. It may so happen that the sender is unable to properly channelise the message, or it may also be wrongly received. The important point is to understand the barriers that a manager faces at various stages so that they can be properly dealt with.

1. Faulty Planning :  The prerequisite of effective communication is accurate planning. The message should be properly planned and then delivered. Which channel links are to be adopted needs to be planned out in advance. The contents of the message should be drawn after considering all the aspects. A poorly designed message looses all its worthiness. Besides, the purpose of the message also needs to be clearly stated. Hence, faulty planning leads to breaking up of communication lines.

2. Vague Presumptions : The non-communicated assumptions that underline the message are extremely dangerous. The sender presumes a certain part and accordingly forwards the message. It is not necessary that the receiver shall also presume things in the same manner. This may lead to confusion and chaos. Unclarified and vague presumptions lead to greater dangers. For example, a senior officer gives a call to the junior stating that on certain days he will be out of town assuming that the junior shall make necessary staying arrangements for him. The junior receives this message assuming that senior manager is simply informing him of his absence so that he can take over the responsibility and that all staying arrangements were already taken care of by the senior.

• Semantic Distortion :

A single word conveys lots of different meanings. Each word is understood in reference to the context of the sentence as well as place and situation it is used at. Semantic Distortion can be deliberate or accidental. When it is deliberate, it is intended so but the one that is accidental hinders the progress of communication. It renders ambiguity to the message and every different individual may come to his own conclusion in the end.

• Status Effect :

This occurs when one person is considerably higher in the hierarchy than another. The person at the top gives the message. People at the bottom take it literally and follow it as an order. The top people may not have intended to pass it on literally. This leads to confusion.

• Poorly Expressed Contents :

The sender of the message may be clear about the thought in his mind but poorly chosen words or omission of important links, leads to misunderstandings in the group. The message that is simple and straightforward tends to be easily accepted and interpreted in the team. But the simplicity should not be achieved at the cost of misrepresentation of the crux.

• Loss during transmission and poor retention :

When the message moves from one person to the other, it becomes less accurate. Different individuals tend to add their perception to it. Besides, the message may not be retained thoroughly in the memory. Hence it is advisable to repeat the message and also use more than one channel to communicate the same message.

• Poor listening and instant interpretations :

Listening requires patience. It demands full attention and self-discipline. It also requires that the listener avoid premature evaluation of what another person has to say. Usually, people have a tendency to judge what is said, whether they agree to it or disagree. This is a common notion. There are hardly few people who are good listeners. Besides, when the message is long, after a while people start-loosing interest and hence stop listening. Due to this tendency, the message transmission gets hindered. Hence, listening with empathy should be practiced in the organization to have effective communication.

• Threat, fear and distrust :

In an environment of threat, fear and distrust, effective communication cannot be expected. People become defensive and close-minded. They remain always on their guard, which hinders the movement of communication. People acting under threat or fear, do not take the decisions rationally but rather, the decisions are made under pressure. Moreover, they do not actually care about the consequence of a faulty message as they are always under the grip of some fear. For making communication effective, a climate of trust, honesty and integrity is needed.

• Insufficient time period :

Whenever the communication is made, sufficient time period, to understand and digest the message needs to be given. Moreover, communication may bring in changes. These changes affect different people in different manner. Besides, realization of the whole implication of the message is time consuming. However, managers are usually pressed for time. This leads to breakage in the communication channel.

•  Physical distractions :

In the organization that is filled with people all around, a lot of noise, improper lighting, frequent physical movements of people, the messages that come-get distracted. People are not relaxed in such climate and tend to receive the communication haphazardly.

•  Improper feedback :

Though one way communication is quick, two way communication is more accurate. It is always advisable to have some interactions between the receiver and the sender. This clears the doubts and misconceptions of both the parties. If a proper feedback system is not installed, then in such a case two way communication becomes difficult.

•  Other barriers :

  • People tend to have selective percetion as far as information is concerned. They hear that part of the information, which they like best and tend to ignore other parts. This does not allow the whole message to get through.

  • Attitude and reactions to different situations, by individuals as unit and by individuals collectively or in group vary. Hence, different individuals react differently to the same message.

IMPROVING COMMUNICATION Effective communication is the responsibility of each and every individual in the organization. The intended results cannot be achieved if there occurs any lapse at any stage. At each stage, breakdowns can occur – in the encoding of the message, in the transmission of the message, in the decoding state or at the time of understanding by the receiver. Besides, there are a lot of disturbances that affect the movement of communication. To avoid this some simple guidelines can be adopted.

• The sender of the message must be clear regarding the message to be communicated. Clarity of thought is essential. If there are any faults in the beginning itself, the entire process would fail.

• For better control, encoding and decoding should be done with those symbols, which are popularly used by the group members and are familiar to all. It is better to avoid technical jargon unless the communication is to be done with experts on the particular subject.

• At the stage of planning of the message, every individual who is directly or indirectly affected by the said message should be involved. To build up a healthy environment and to avoid unnecessary speculation, whenever possible, people should be involved. Because of this nobody feels that the message was given abruptly or that enough time for information was not given. Besides, nobody would feel leftout.

• While making the communication, the need of the receiver is of prime importance. If the receiver is not interested in the information that is provided, it has no value for him. The purpose of communication is not only to get the message understood, but also accepted by the receiver. And hence, while communicating the viewpoint of the receiver is equally important.

• Communication is not simply passing of a flat message. There has to be harmony between the choice of words, tone of voice, what is to be said and the manner in which it is to be said. There needs to be congruency in the words being said and the body language expressed.

• A continuous feedback by the receiver should be given to the sender. If this fails, though the information may be transmitted, there are chances that it may not be understood and accepted. So if the sender keeps on receiving the feedback, the lapses if any can be easily identified.

• Control is an essential part of communication. The passing of information takes place; not only from top to bottom but also from bottom to top with a view to achieve the stated objectives. Hence care should be taken that the passing of information should be such that it does not deviate from the original course.

• Communication is not only the responsibility of a sender alone, but the receiver is also equally responsible. A receiver needs to be fully attentive, listen actively and ask for clarification, repetition, wherever required.

• It is advisable to test the understanding of the message. Both, the sender and receiver can discuss it out. It is good to share opinions, feelings and perceptions that are generated after the message is passed. The acceptability of the communication can be known only after the message has settled down.

TEN WORDS EFFECTIVE MANAGERS NEVER USE

1. NO

Saying no to customers is as good as sending them somewhere else. Say : YES

2. CAN’T

It means though you could do something you are unable to do it. Say : CAN.

3. IMPOSSIBLE

Believe there is always a solution. Say : POSSIBLE.

4. WHY

Why carries a suspicious tone. It implies mistrust. Say : MAKE ME UNDERSTAND…

5. WHAT

It makes people repeat themselves and implies doubt. Say : EXCUSE ME.

6. POLICY

People see it as dodge. It seems a trap. Say : MISSION.

7. LISTEN

Interrupting people is not an effective way to get them to listen to you. Say : I UNDERSTAND.

8. WAIT

Nobody likes to wait. Things should always be going. Say: LET’S MOVE FORWARD.

9. WRONG

Blaming someone never leads to solutions. Say : OUR SOLUTION IS …..,

10. SHOULD’VE

Deal with the present. No use cribbing over the past. Say : NOW.

The total process of communication is dependent upon the activation of different senses of human beings. The reception of the message as well as reaction to this message depends upon the combined perception of the senses. The most utilized senses in communication are sight and hearing. People build their attitude, preferences likes and dislikes on the basis of the stimulus to these senses.

Class 3

HINTS AND TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE PUBLIC SPEAKING

Here are just a few hints, public speaking tips and techniques to help you develop your skills and become far more effective as a public speaker.

Mistakes

Mistakes are all right. Recovering from mistakes makes you appear more human. Good recovery puts your audience at ease - they identify with you more.

Humour

Tell jokes if you're good at telling jokes. If you aren't good, best to leave the jokes behind. There's nothing worse than a punch line that has no punch. Gentle humour is good in place of jokes. Self-deprecation is good, but try not to lay it on too thick.

Tell stories

Stories make you a real person not just a deliverer of information. Use personal experiences to bring your material to life. No matter how dry your material is, you can always find a way to humanise it.

How to use the public speaking environment

Try not to get stuck in one place. Use all the space that's available to you. Move around. One way to do this is to leave your notes in one place and move to another. If your space is confined (say a meeting room or even presenting at a table) use stronger body language to convey your message.

Technology

Speak to your audience not your slides. Your slides are there to support you not the other way around. Ideally, slides should be graphics and not words (people read faster than they hear and will be impatient for you to get to the next point). If all the technology on offer fails, it's still you they've come to hear.

Enthusiasm is never a halfway activity. It demands a person’s complete attention, his devotion, and his willingness to share his complete self with humanity. But the rewards are surely worth the effort. What advantage or satisfaction is there in half giving, holding back, or only half living? Surely the purpose of life is to live it completely, to share it freely, and to use it as effectively as the Creator intended. So in daily conversations, when you speak in public, or in any human relationship, give yourself completely, and you will find that the enthusiasm you give to others will be reflected back to you many fold!

Here are 12 ideas to help develop your own enthusiasm and be more enthusiastic:

1. Make a three to five minute speech on a subject which is of great interest to you. Deliver this talk as enthusiastically as you can.

2. Give yourself an occasional “pep” talk on the advantages of being enthusiastic. This is a laboratory type talk. Talk out loud to yourself for about a minute. Be fully animated and highly enthusiastic as you talk.

3. List all the negative forces which may be causing you to lack enthusiasm. How can you free yourself from these forces?

4. Make a two to three minute talk about “The Most Enthusiastic Person I Know.” (Yourself excluded,of course!)

5. Interview two or three highly enthusiastic people. Try to find out why they are so enthusiastic. Exchange knowledge and ideas in a class discussion about these people.

6. Cite an illustration of how enthusiasm was misused.

7. Distinguish between fanaticism and enthusiasm.

8. Why do some people refuse to be enthusiastic?

9. During your next conversation see how attentive you can be. Did you observe the effect on the person with whom you talked?

10. Sincerely act enthusiastically all day tomorrow. Report the results.

11. In a conversation with a child about a toy, or something else that interests him, see how enthusiastic you can be. Notice the effect on the child.

12. List all the personal qualities that contribute to enthusiastic speaking. How can you attain these qualities?

Enthusiasm on its own can be a powerful technique to possess. But combined with other public speaking skills it can help you to be more persuasive and effective public speaking. If you are looking for more ideas and hints on how to improve your public speaking effectiveness, check out our free e-course by entering your details in the box to the right.

Here are some ways to develop them:

1. By closely observing human nature and trying to determine what makes people ‘”tick.”

2. Liking people, and showing an active interest in them at all times.

3. Being active with ideas and people to a point where one has no time for aloofness or indifference.

4. By having a positive, optimistic nature and attitude.

5. By being super-earnest in everything, but pleasant and happy at the same time.

6. By putting the whole heart, mind, body, and spirit into everything one does.

7. Getting the “I-can” attitude. Thoughts of quitting or indulgences in self-pity kill enthusiasm.

8. By not permitting any type of criticism to dampen the spirits.

9. By thinking about your subject, and living it, until a burning, almost obsessional desire to communicate your ideas and feelings is acquired.

10. By being in love with every minute of life and living it completely.