In this presentation, we will be covering four areas:

First: I will provide a brief introduction and set the scene.

Second: we will conduct an exercise to help us "warm-up" and to explore some of the elements of the communication process.

Third: we will discuss the communication process,and

fourth: we will look at a model of the process.

Communication skills were ranked as the single most important factor when business respondents were asked about the characteristics that should be considered in selecting newly-graduated professionals to work in their company.

Over 90% of respondents gave it a strong or very strong emphasis (Business/Higher Education Round Table in Australia - 1992).

This highlights the importance of communication skills, and helps to give your audience a reason for listening. It is good if you can use your own sources of more relevant data to supplement or replace this slide.

• You come into contact with people from many different cultures.
• Cross cultural differences in norms and patterns(e.g. personal distance and eye contact; norms of expression).
• Not our focus, yet you need to be aware of the fact that what I say is culturally bound.

This is a reminder slide. In today's work environment, we come across a rich diversity of people and cultures. It is important to remember that what ever is done during a workshop like this, will be done within the local, dominant cultural context. So, for example, many of us in Australia and the "West", think that direct eye contact is a sign of respect and attention. I know you are listening to me if you are looking at me. In other cultures, NOT making eye contact is the way to show respect.

Although it is not the focus of this workshop, it is important to take some time to consider these issues and to discuss peoples' relevant experiences.

What is considered polite behaviour and good communication skills by one group of people might not be considered so by another cultural group.

The main point of this conversation is that what is considered polite behaviour and good communication skills by one group of people might not be considered so by another cultural group.

If you are running a workshop on communication skills, your goals are likely to give people some new information about communication and some new skills that they can actually apply. In order to make the skills component happen, you will need to do more than simply talk to them and give them information. You will need to make the workshop experiential by using some forms of interaction (e.g., role-plays, cases, exercises). You can get more information on this topic from the following sources:

• Insights: a collection of incidents for developing managers, by Peter Armstrong and Graham Kelly in 1995. Brookfield, VT: Gower.
• Handbook of management games, by Chris Elgood, 5th edition in 1993. Aldershot, Hampshire, UK: Gower.
• Experiential training: practical guidelines, edited by Tony Hobbs in 1992. London: Tavistock/Routledge.
• Games, strategies, and managers, by John McMillan in 1992. New York: Oxford University Press.
• 50 activities on creativity and problem solving, by Geoff Cox, Chuck Dufault and Walt Hopkins. Brookfield, VT: Gower.
• 100 training games, by ary Kroehnert in 1991. Sydney: McGraw Hill. Still more games trainers play: experiential learning exercises, by Edward E. Scannell and JohnW. Newstrom in 1991. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Guide to business gaming and experiential learning, edited by James W. Gentry in 1990. New York: Nichols.

• Communication and relationship works.
• All people communicate, relate, think and feel the way I do.
• If I say something, and you are in the same room looking at me when I say it, you have heard and understood what I said.
• I say what I mean. People generally say what they mean.
• Communication is natural, easy, almost effortless.

If possible, get people to end the exercise with a discussion of some of our "normal" assumptions about communication

I have listed a few at the left. We "normally" behave as if these assumptions were true, and they frequently get us into trouble.

The following slide reverses these assumptions, and asserts that this newer, reversed set of assumptions are more functional for communication.

• Communication does not work.
• Not all people communicate, interrelate, think or feel the way I do.
• If I say something, and you are in the same room looking at me when I say it, you may not have heard or understood what I said.
• I sometimes don't say what I mean. People generally do not say what they mean.
• Communication is unnatural, difficult and requires a great deal of effort and attention.

This slide suggests that we will be more effective communicators if we take on this newer set of assumptions.

If we assume that communication does not work, we will not take it for granted and we will pay more attention to the process and will to expend effort on it.

If we assume that not all people communicate, interrelate, think or feel the way we do, we will be more likely to attend to how others operate, and we will be more effective.

If we assume that someone may not have heard or understood what we said, even though they were looking at us and nodding, we will check for understanding.

If we assume that we do not always say what we mean, we will continue to look for more evidence and seek further clarification.

If we assume that communication is unnatural, difficult and requires a great deal of effort and attention, we will be more likely to behave in ways that facilitate effective communication.

Implications for:

• Communications?
• Interpersonal Relations?
• Management?

After a discussion regarding new assumptions about communication, it is good to help ground the learning in application.

Ask participants to think through what the likely implications are of the new set of assumptions for the way they communicate, relate to others and manage.

What is communication?

The verbal and/or written expression of ideas and concepts.

What's missing?

After these exercises and your introduction, you should now have peoples' attention and they can very likely see the relevance of communication skills for their situation. You can now get into some more informative material.

With this slide, you try to get people to begin thinking about the process of communication. Most people first think of talking when asked what communication is. They say things like "the written or oral transmission of information." This is, however, only part of the process.

• Sending side(e.g. talking) and a receiving(e.g. listening).
• True communication is when we have both effective sending and receiving.
• Communication necessitates relationship.

There are really two sides to the communication process: sending/talking and receiving/listening. Without both sides, we do not have communication.

The second major point is that communication necessitates relationship. There have to be two people, two sides, in some sort of a relationship, in order for there to be communication.

Whether this is a two-minute conversation while waiting for the lift, or a life-long partnership, we need two sides functioning well in order to communicate effectively.

• Be positive
• Use - point, supporting reason, example
• Come alive- have energy and excitement
• Keep answers short - listen as well as talk
• Communicate to people, to individuals
• Tell a story - use anecdotes, parables, metaphors, personal experience, sayings

When you are on the sending side of the communication process, in order to be effective and to help listeners to pay attention and to remember what you say, you need to:

• be positive
• use a style where you provide a point, some supporting reason, and an example ,
• come alive, show some energy and excitement ,
• keep answers short - listen as much as you talk,
• communicate to people, to individuals not to the floor,
• use anecdotes, stories, metaphors, personal experiences, sayings, etc., they create visual images and meaning in peoples' minds. This helps people remember what you said.

• Space
• Time
• Voice

Although verbal communication is a critical element of the sending side of communication, it is important not to neglect non-verbal communication.

Space - Be aware of peoples' personal space and of the physical work environment. We communicate a great deal of information this way.

Time - We communicate information when we are late and when we keep others waiting.

Voice - Vocal cues provide rich information regarding intent, meaning and feeling.

• Physical contact - the touch, power and problems
• Body posture and movement
• The eyes and face

Other non-verbal ways of communicating are:

Via physical contact. Touching can signal intimacy or power and dominance. Be very careful with touch as there are many cultural and situational norms related to it.

Via body posture and movement. We can use our hands and arms for emphasis, and we can move around to help keep people engaged.

Via our eyes and face. You may not always be aware of it, but we communicate information about how we feel and what we are thinking with our eyes and faces.

Remember that these are all subject to various cultural norms

• Oral persuasion and motivation
• Establish credibility
• Present few ideas - logically, one at a time
• Use emotion
• Listen, listen and listen

Quite frequently, when trying to send a message, our intention is to persuade and motivate. In order to do this effectively, we must:

Establish credibility. If people perceive that we know what we are taking about, we will be more likely to persuade them.

Present few ideas, logically, one at a time. This way we can help people follow our line of reasoning.

Use emotion. PASSION gets attention. Arousing emotion in others activates and excites them to action.

Listen, listen and listen. Although what is said is important, what is heard is critical. This point helps us to make the transition to the next slide.

Successful empowerment, leadership, negotiation, communication, decision-making, motivation, etc. all come from effective listening.

When we are involved in a sale, implementing innovation and technical change, or when we are servicing and helping clients and customers, we will be more successful and effective if we consider ourselves professional listeners, rather than professional speakers.

• Listening and personal power
• Selective perception
• Effects of emotions

Many people believe that it is talking that is a sign of power.

With more thought, however, you might come to the conclusion that real power comes from listening. If you listen, you have more information. People who feel listened to, tend to perceive the listener positively.

The second and third issues are related. It is important to recognise that people tend to listen selectively. We frequently hear only part of the story. This also happens when we are stressed. When we are emotionally overwhelmed, we tend to shut down to reduce the amount of information we receive and we do not listen very well.

• Stop talking
• Make eye contact
• Exhibit appropriate body language
• Avoid distracting actions and gestures
• Ask questions
• Paraphrase
• Avoid interrupting
• Make smooth transitions between the role of speaker and listener
• Do not over-talk

• decode

• check decisions

• clarify "to-do's" & "bywhen's"

• end on a positive

• summarise and asses

This is a simple model of the elements in the communication process. This is a way to summarise the major elements in the presentation. Every communication has a beginning, a middle and an end.

At the start, it is important to encourage communication and to acknowledge, and really listen to, what people have to say. This helps establish rapport.

The core of communication is a process of formulating (encoding) and sending a message that is heard (received) and interpreted (decode). This highlights that there are many points at which the communication process can go wrong.

When ending a communication, remember to clarify any decisions that you think were made and to check for agreement by the other party. It is good to ensure everyone knows who is going to do what, by when. Try to end on a positive note if possible as this will likely carry-over to your next meeting. Finally, be sure to summarise what has happened and assess the communication and meeting process.