Effective Communication Skills

Effective communication skills are essential

Being an effective communicator takes real skill.

Effective communication skills have to be developed, honed and added to on an ongoing basis.

They are the heart of your interpersonal skills and the greater your awareness of how it all works,
the more effective your communication will become.

To be effective in business, you have to communicate well.

To be a good manager, you have to communicate exceptionally well.

We could write a book about the importance of communication key skills.

But, for now, we will start with some essentials for becoming a more effective communicator.

Communication core skills

Communication is always individual

Communication happens whether you think about it or not

A lot of stuff will get in the way of effective communication

Good communication can lead to conflict resolution

Slowly and incrementally you can improve your communication skills

We're not all the same

Everyone communicates differently and sees the world differently

Change yourself to change others

When we start to look at effective communication skills and techniques, it becomes immediately
apparent that the way you present yourself is not all there is to it.

The greatest skill you can have in order to instantly and significantly improve your
communications skills is to understand the other person's point of view and how they see the
world.

If you understand their point of view then you can adjust your own communication to take their
point of view into account.

The only person you can be sure of changing in any communication is you.

Therefore, the most effective way to be in charge of what happens in any communication
dynamic is changing what you do.
When you can do this you are well on the way to promoting better relationships.

You are the only one of you

There's never one right way to communicate.

Authentic effective communication always happens when we rely on those things we know to be
true about or for ourselves.

Remember your personal style probably says more for you that all the words you use can.

What's already working?

Most people tend to look at what's wrong with themselves and other people rather than focusing
on what already works.

Remember, something (more than one thing, of course) has to be working well for you to have
got this far already!

How communication happens

Verbal and non-verbal communication

Everything communicates. Remember!

If you aren't clear about what you mean and what your intention is, the other person (or people)
could easily (and sometimes deliberately), misinterpret what you mean.

What you do matters as much as what you say.

The words that you use account for only a small part of your communication.

Your behaviour will 'read' unconsciously to other people.

Giving some thought to what you do while you speak or listen will have a large effect on the
message the communication delivers!

Language is one of the most powerful indicators of how we think and feel about ourselves and
others.

You need to be aware of the padding, justifications and excuses you use and whether they are
appropriate.

You can make a big impact simply by changing some of your language and developing your
verbal skills.

This way you can significantly improve your communication skills.

Communication cycle

There is a neat communication cycle we've come across that can help you understand how to
make communication work better.
It means that you can take responsibility for every stage of the Communication Cycle:

Spoken - Heard - Understood - Agreed To - Acted On - Implemented.

Be aware of where you or others tend to fall off the cycle.

What can get in the way of effective communication?

Here are some common barriers to effective communication.

We all make too many assumptions

Be aware of the assumptions you make, especially making something up and then acting as
though what you made up was true.

Notice if you alter your behaviour with certain people because of the assumptions you make
about them.

Also be aware of the assumptions you think other people make about you.

Assumptions aren't necessarily bad.

Sometimes it's important to let people keep their assumptions (or some of them at least!) about
you.

One effective way to deal with assumptions is to say to the other person, 'I've assumed such and
such. 'Is that true?' or 'I'm making an assumption here about... Do you agree?'

Good communication in the workplace is often sabotaged by too many unconfirmed

assumptions.

Patterns/reverting to type

We are pattern-making beings, which is good.

However, sometimes we get so used to behaving and responding in certain ways that it's hard to
see that there's any other way of doing things.

When the pressure is on or we are under stress, even our best intentions may go out the window
as we revert to type.

Habits, patterns, routine ways of thinking and behaving are difficult to change.

Noticing your patterns at least gets you aware of them!

One way to practise this is to see how many communication habits and patterns have crept into
your workplace.

Try not to judge them. You can always decide if you want to change them or not.

Needing to be right
This is one area we all know about - the need to be right and in turn for the other person to be
wrong.

One skill that does need practice is to let go of needing to be right.

Think of it as presenting information or a point of view rather than having to bludgeon someone
else with your arguments.

If you want to promote effective relationships, this is one of the greatest communication key skills
you can have is to be able to change what you want from a communication.

You may have started out wanting the other person to agree with you, but by giving that up you
can change your want to letting them know you understand their point of view.

Conflict resolution

One of the purposes of conflict is to arrive at a resolution, so if you avoid conflict, the problem
usually (though not always) gets worse.

The earlier you can identify that there is a problem and intervene, the better it will be.

Good communication skills require you to be able to resolve conflict.

Agreement

Find something (anything will do) in the other person's argument which you can genuinely agree
with.

This is a great way to take the wind out of someone's sails and ensure you don't get drawn into
an insoluble argument.

People usually won't listen until they feel heard.

Bridge building

Really listen to what the other person is saying - they usually give a lot of information without
realising it.

Building bridges by making an offer can help enormously, as can changing what you want.

'I', not 'you'

Use 'I' statements, not 'You' statements to avoid blaming.

This also means that you take responsibility for how you feel, rather than making the other
person responsible for making things all right for you.

Attitude

You can change the direction of communication if you change your attitude.

There is no one attitude that's the 'right' one to have, though being direct and clear certainly
helps.
Effective listening and responding

You can have a tremendous influence on communication as the listener and the responder.

When we get little or no response from the listener, we often project our assumptions onto them
about what they are thinking (and usually we assume they aren't thinking good things about us!).

Be positive

Use affirmation and encouragement to get the best out of people.

Notice when others do things well (even if it's part of their daily routine).

This shows you're being attentive; most people respond well when they know that others are
aware of what they do.

Quite simply, the workplace can be a far better place to be if you consciously sprinkle your
communication with positive feedback.

A final thought

Don't leave the business of communication to chance.

Raise your awareness, develop your skills and practice every day.

Preparation and Planning

First, you should take some time to prepare and plan for your report. Before you start
writing, identify the audience. Your report should be written and tailored to the readers'
needs and expectations. When planning, ask yourself several questions to better
understand the goal of the report. Some questions to consider include:
 Who are the readers?
 What is the purpose of the report?
 Why is this report needed?
 What information should be included in the report?
Once you identify the basics of your report, you can begin to collect supporting
information, then sort and evaluate that information. The next step is to organize your
information and begin putting it together in an outline. With proper planning, it will be
easier to write your report and stay organized.

Formatting the Report Elements

To keep your report organized and easy to understand, there is a certain format to
follow. This report writing format will make it easier for the reader to find what he is
looking for. Remember to write all the sections in plain English, except the body, which
can be as technical as you need it to be.
The main sections of a standard report are as follows.

Title
If the report is short, the front cover can include any information that you feel is
necessary, such as the author(s) and the date prepared. In a longer report, you may
want to include a table of contents and a definition of terms.

Summary
The summary consists of the major points, conclusions, and recommendations. It needs
to be short, as it is a general overview of the report. Some people will read the summary
and only skim the report, so make sure you include all of the relevant information. It
would be best to write this when the report is finished so you will include everything,
even points that might be added at the last minute.

Introduction
The first page of the report needs to have an introduction. Here you will explain the
problem and inform the reader why the report is being made. You need to give a
definition of terms if you did not include these in the title section, and explain how the
details of the report are arranged.

Body
This is the main section of the report. The previous sections needed to be written in plain
English, but this section can include technical terms or jargon from your industry. There
should be several sections, each clearly labeled, making it easy for readers to find the
information they seek. Information in a report is usually arranged in order of importance
with the most important information coming first. Alternatively, you might choose to order
your points by complexity or time.

Discussion
If you wish, this optional section can be included at the end of the main body to go over
your findings and their significance.

Conclusion
This is where everything comes together. Keep this section free of jargon as many
people will just read the summary and conclusion.

Recommendations
This is where you discuss any actions that need to be taken. In plain English, explain
your recommendations, putting them in order of priority.

Appendices
This includes information that the experts in the field will read. It has all the technical
details that support your conclusions.

Report Presentation
You will want to present your report in a simple and concise style that is easy to read
and navigate. Readers want to be able to look through a report and get to the
information they need as quickly as possible. That way the report has a greater impact
on the reader.
There are simple formatting styles that can be used throughout your report that will make
it easy to read and look organized and