1. Supervision in Organizations
Chapter 10
Communicating Effectively

2. Learning Outcomes After reading this chapter, I will be able to:
Define communication and the communication process.
Contrast formal and informal communication.
Explain how electronic communication affects the supervisor’s job.
List the barriers to effective communication.
Describe techniques for overcoming communication barriers
List the requirements for active listening.
Explain the behaviors necessary for providing effective feedback.

3. Communication defined…
Communication is the process by which people send and receive information:
It involves the transfer of meaning which must be understood to be successful
70 % or all our communication efforts are:
misunderstood, misinterpreted, rejected, disliked, distorted, or not heard (in the same language, same culture)!
70%

4. What are the most common ways we communicate?
Visual Images
Spoken Word
Written Word
Body Language

5. The Goals of Communications:

6. Message Channels The five message channels Face-to-Face Face-to-group
Telephone
Written
Third Party

7. The Communication Process
The transferring and understanding of meaning
Everything that a manager does involves communication. Once a decision is made, for example, it must be communicated. The best idea, suggestion, or plan cannot take form without communication. For meaning to be transferred and understood, a sender must transmit a message and a receiver must understand the message.
Before communication can occur, a sender must have a purpose (message). This message is converted to symbolic form (encoding) and is passed from the sender to a receiver via some medium (channel). The receiver translates the message (decoding) and the result is the transfer of meaning from one person to another. The feedback loop completes this process.

8. Communication Process Terms
Encoding
Selecting words and their order for a message by a sender
Message
A purpose to be conveyed
Channel
The medium by which a message travels
Decoding
The translation of a message by a receiver
Feedback
A verbal or nonverbal response by a receiver to the sender’s message
Noise
literally, or figuratively, anything that interferes with a message
The communication process is a seven-part model: (1) the communication source, (2) the message, (3) encoding, (4) the channel, (5) decoding, (6) the receiver, and (7) feedback.
The source is the sender who converts (encodes) a thought or message into symbolic form.
The message is the physical product from the source coding.
The channel is the medium through which the message travels.
The message is directed to a receiver.
The message must be translated (decoded) into a form that the receiver can understand.
Then, the receiver provides feedback to the sender that indicates whether the intended message was received.
This entire process is susceptible to noise, that is, disturbances that interfere with the transmission of the message.

9. Formal vs. Informal Communication
Communication that addresses task-related issues and tends to follow the organization’s authority chain
Examples:
Speech
Written documents
Electronic behavior
Informal communication (grapevine)
Communication moving in any direction, skips authority levels, and is likely to satisfy social needs

10. Written Versus Verbal Communications
Tangible
Verifiable
More permanent
More precise
More care is taken with the written word
Verbal
Less secure
Known receipt
Quicker response
Consumes less time
Quicker feedback
Advantages of written communication:
Written communications are tangible, verifiable, and permanent. Typically, both the sender and the receiver have a copy of the document.
And the written word can be more concise, logical, and relevant than the spoken word.
Written messages, however, are time consuming to create.
Feedback may be delayed, if it is forthcoming at all.
Furthermore, sending a written message does not guarantee that it will be received, read, or understood.
The advantages of communicating orally are quick transmission and immediate feedback. Since an oral message often passes through a number of people, however, this method is subject to distortion.

11. Nonverbal Communications
Body language
Nonverbal communication cues such as facial expressions, gestures, and other body movements
Verbal intonation
An emphasis given to word or phrases that conveys meaning
Even though it is neither spoken nor written, nonverbal communication can be powerful. The best known areas of nonverbal communication are body language and verbal intonation.
Body language refers to gestures, facial expressions, and other movements of the body.
Verbal intonation refers to the emphasis someone gives to words or phrases. Oral communication also has a nonverbal component that is likely to carry the greatest impact.
As one researcher observed, 55 percent of an oral message is derived from facial expression and physical posture, 38 percent from verbal intonation, and only 7 percent from the actual words used.

12. The Grapevine
“The grapevine motto: Good information passes among people fairly rapidly—bad information, even faster!”
Grapevine
An unofficial channel of communication that is neither authorized nor supported by the organization.
We want to share what we know with others, so good news passes between us fairly fast—bad news, even faster.
The unofficial communication channel in many organizations, the grapevine, has four characteristics:
1. It is not controlled by management.
2. It is perceived to be a more reliable information source than formal communication channels
3. It is used to serve the self-interests of those people within it.
In an open organization, the grapevine can be quite accurate; in an authoritative culture, it may not be accurate, even though it contains some truth. Because the grapevine cannot be stopped, many managers try to use it to their advantage.

13. Grapevine: Rumors Why Rumors Emerge Four purposes of Rumors
Ambiguity being present
As a response to situations that are important to us
Under conditions that arouse anxiety
Four purposes of Rumors
Reduce anxiety
Make sense of fragmented information
Serve as a vehicle to organize groups
To signal sender’s status (power)

14. Barriers to Effective Communication
Overcoming Barriers to Effective Communication
Lack of Honesty (lying)
Credibility gap
Language
Emotions
Listening Habits
Lack of Feedback
Perception
Information Medium
Thinking First
Use Feedback
Taylor Language to the receiver
Listen actively
Constrain Emotions
Watch Nonverbal Cues
In addition to the noise that can derail the communication process, there are other communication barriers.
Filtering is the deliberate manipulation of information to make it appear more favorable to the receiver.
Selective perception, another barrier, occurs when a person selectively sees or hears communications according to his or her needs, motivations, experiences, background, and personal characteristics.
Information overload occurs when a person is exposed to more information than he or she can process.
A person’s emotional state when either sending or receiving a message can also cause a barrier to communication.
Since the meaning that words carry is dependent on a person’s age, education, and culture, even the words of the message can be a barrier to communication.
Finally, communication apprehension can occur when one is required to interact face-to-face.

15. How to Improve Your Communication Effectiveness
Steps for effective Communication:
Think First
Constrain Emotions
Learn to Listen
Taylor Language to the Listener
Match Words & Actions
Use Feedback

16. Improving Your Communication Effectiveness
Step #1: Think First (Focus your message)
Plan before you speak
Clarify your intent/goals of the communication
Inform, persuade, direct, decide…
Be specific
Be courteous and objective

17. Focus Your Message: Example
Unfocused Message
I need it soon.
Why are you always late?
You need to improve your productivity.
Focused Message
I need it by 3 p.m. today.
I noticed you came to work 10 minutes late everyday this week.
I expect you to complete all assigned tasks by the end of the day today.

18. Improving Your Communication Effectiveness
Step #2: Constrain Emotions
Emotions can cloud and distort transference of meaning
Tip:
If emotional, discontinue communication until you have regained composure

19. Improving Your Communication Effectiveness
Step #3: Learn to Listen Actively
RECEIVE – concentrate on what is being said (verbally and non verbally)
PERCEIVE – paraphrase your understanding
DECODE – analyze and explore the situation to gain further understanding
RESPOND - Last – not first! Plan before you speak!

20. Improving Your Communication Effectiveness
Step #4: Tailor Language to the Receiver
Consider the person/audience to whom the message is directed
Simplify language
Be specific, use concrete terms
Use positive language
Use analogies

21. Improving Your Communication Effectiveness
Step #5: Match Words & Action
Do what you say you’re going to do
Ensure that nonverbal cues match words
Nonverbal
Eyes
Gestures
Posture
Face indicators

22. Improving Your Communication Effectiveness
Step #6: Use Feedback
Ask questions to prevent misunderstanding
Example:
When you thing that something is missing, ask simple, direct questions to get necessary information

23. Suggestions for Effective Feedback
Focus on specific behavior
Keep feedback impersonal
Keep feedback goal oriented
Make feedback well-timed
Ensure understanding
Direct negative feedback towards behavior that the receiver can control
The following six suggestions can promote more effective feedback.
1. Focus on specific behaviors. Feedback should be specific rather than general.
2. Keep feedback impersonal. Feedback should be descriptive rather than judgmental or evaluative. Focus on the job-related behavior, not the person.
3. Keep feedback goal-oriented. Avoid “dumping” on someone. Keep feedback positive. If you have something negative to say, make sure it is directed toward the receiver’s goals.
4. Make feedback well-timed. Follow behavior with appropriate feedback as soon as possible. But, avoid making feedback prompt for the sake of “promptness” if you have insufficient information or if you are upset. In such cases, “well timed” could mean “somewhat delayed.”
5. Ensure understanding. Keep feedback clear and concise. Remember that successful communication requires that meaning must be not only transferred but also understood.
6. Direct negative feedback toward behavior the recipient can control. Keep feedback relevant and directed to behavior that the receiver can do something about..