1. Techniques for Highly Effective Communication Professional Year Program - Unit 5: Workplace media and communication channels

2. Purpose The purpose of this session is to consider techniques and strategies that can be used to ensure your communication in the workplace is effective.

3. Overview In this session we will cover the following:  Preparing to communicate  Purpose & desired outcome  Timing  Positive intent  Tips for delivering your message  Direct language  Using facts and figures  Use of repetition  Non-verbal messages  Check for understanding  Avoiding Vague Communication - Activity

4. Techniques for Highly Effective Communication

5. Preparing to Communicate Prepare, Prepare, Prepare! You chances of delivering an effective message are much more likely if you invest some time in thinking about and preparing your message.

6. Preparing to Communicate We will now consider these four areas when preparing to communicate PurposeOutcome Timing Positive Intent

7. Preparing to Communicate The first step in preparing to communicated is to identity the purpose of your conversation. The purpose of most workplace communication is usually one of the following:  Inform or direct  Persuade  Ask a question Purpose

8. Preparing to Communicate To get you thinking about purpose in communication, consider the following statements and decide what is their purpose. Purpose

9. Preparing to Communicate “Fred, we’re expecting about 35% more people than usual with the sale today. Please start putting out extra shopping carts and baskets.” What is the purpose? (Inform or direct, persuade or ask a question). Purpose

10. Preparing to Communicate “Joe, I think that we could be prepared for the sale tomorrow if we make sure that all the cash registers have extra supplies when we open.” What is the purpose? (Inform or direct, persuade or ask a question). Purpose

11. Preparing to Communicate “Mike, is there anything else we need before the sale starts tomorrow?” What is the purpose? (Inform or direct, persuade or ask a question). Purpose

12. Preparing to Communicate The next step is to consider the outcome you are seeking from the communication. What is meant by outcome? Anyone have an example? Outcome

13. Preparing to Communicate The following questions may help you in determining the outcome you are seeking and how to approach the conversation:  What reaction are you looking for from the listener?  What do you need the listener to remember?  What do you need the listener to do after your conversation? Outcome

14. Preparing to Communicate Timing is very important! You need to consider when is the best time to communicate. Consider when your message is most likely to be well received. Can anyone think of a example of poor timing when it comes to communicating? Outcome Timing

15. Preparing to Communicate If you are not sure if someone is ready to talk, try these questions:  Is this a good time to talk?  Can we talk about something I’ve been thinking about?  Would now be a good time to talk, or should I come back later?  Can I have 15 minutes of your time? (Just make sure you stick to only 15 minutes!) Outcome Timing

16. Preparing to Communicate Positive intent means assuming that people have good reasons for saying and doing what they do. The opposite of positive intent is assuming that people have negative intentions behind their actions. Outcome Positive Intent

17. Preparing to Communicate  You will have to practice positive intention yourself and use your communication for good intentions, while assuming that others have that same positive intention.  This ultimately means that we avoid making negative assumptions and statements, that we avoid gossip, and that we focus on the future rather than the past. Outcome Positive Intent

18. Preparing to Communicate Positive Intent in Action – Activity  In pairs consider the following situations  Use positive intent to think of reasons why this has occurred. Remembering that positive intent assumes the other person has good or positive reasons for their behaviour. Outcome Positive Intent

19. Preparing to Communicate Activity - Situation One Your supervisor calls you to say that he has chosen someone else for a project team position that you were hoping for. You love your current job, but you know you would have done a great job on that project team. Your first reaction is to be mad at your boss for being a jerk and not selecting you.  Using positive intent, think of two reasons your boss would have selected someone else. Outcome Positive Intent

20. Preparing to Communicate Activity - Situation Two You are in a team meeting and you suggest a great solution to the problem. Your supervisor says that she cannot go in that direction, and asks the team for other suggestions.  Using positive intent, think of a reason your supervisor would have answered that way. Outcome Positive Intent

21. Tips for Delivering Your Message Now we will consider a few tips for delivering a clear and effective message:  Direct language  Using facts and figures  Use of repetition  Non-verbal messages  Check for understanding Outcome

22. Tips for Delivering Your Message Direct Language  Use direct language and deliver a message that is clear, calm, and direct.  Be confident in your message. This means that your tone of voice, vocabulary, and rate of speech convey your feelings. Be careful not to back down (at least not immediately) if you are discussing something that is important to you.  Be considerate of other people’s ideas, but don’t quickly give up on yours, especially when you have it all well thought out. Outcome

23. Tips for Delivering Your Message Using Facts and Figures  Factual descriptions and relevant details are more likely to be heard.  Look at this generalisation: Joe never gets his work finished.  Compare it to something specific: Joe has not met his goals for an entire month. Outcome

24. Tips for Delivering Your Message Use of Repetition  Use repetition respectfully and to keep things on track.  Conversations can easily get off track, especially if they get emotional or if someone is trying to steer the conversation away from what you felt was important.  Don’t be afraid to restate your purpose during an interaction. However do it respectfully and don’t just repeat the same words. Try saying it another way. Outcome

25. Tips for Delivering Your Message Non-Verbal Messages  Be as aware of your non-verbal messages as you are about your verbal messages.  Also consider other people’s communication style: are they direct or indirect? Passive or assertive?  Make sure to also take into account their filters, assumptions, and beliefs. Outcome

26. Tips for Delivering Your Message Check for understanding  You do not have to wait for the end of a conversation to make sure you and your conversation partner understand each other. You can check for understanding throughout the conversation to make sure that things are on.  Three typical ways to check for understanding  Asking questions  Paraphrasing (restating what took place in their own words)  Summarising (restating in shorter form and using the same words the speaker used) Outcome

27. Tips for Delivering Your Message Check for understanding  Below are some possible questions that could be used to check understanding:  What do you think about what I just said?  Let’s summarize what we have covered so far.  Please tell me what you’re thinking.  Does that make sense?  If you were going to share this with the team, what would you say?  What is not making sense here? Outcome

28. Avoiding Vague Communication Outcome Individual Activity Rewrite the following vague messages to make them clear.  I need that e-mail ASAP.  That’s a ridiculous idea.  Stop behaving like a child; this is work!