Effective Communication
Harishwaran ‘Hari’ Hariharan
ECE 400
The University of Tennessee
October 19, 2010
Effective
Communication
•
•
•
•
•
Importance of effective communications
Barriers?
Removing barriers (eliminating noise)
Forms of communication
Homework
July 12, 2016 Slide 2
Effective
Communication
•
•
•
•
•
Importance of effective communications
Barriers?
Removing barriers (eliminating noise)
Forms of communication
Homework
July 12, 2016 Slide 3
Why are communications
skills so important?
•
Recent survey (Katz Business
School), communication skills single
most important factor in choosing
managers.
•
Same survey, written and oral
presentations, as well as ability to
work with others, are the main
factors contributing to job success.
•
Inability to communicate effectively
makes it nearly impossible for you to
compete in the workplace and
stands in the way of your career
progression.
•
Today’s engineering efforts require
multi-disciplinary teams. Teams
require effective communication!
Increase productivity!
July 12, 2016 Slide 4
www.smartprocurement.co.za
The Numbers
•
People in organizations typically spend
over 75% of their time in an
interpersonal situation
•
Somewhere between 42 and 60% of
our total communication time is spent
listening, depending on our specific
careers (Purdy & Borisoff, 1997)
•
Our average listening
comprehension for any given
message is around 25% with only
small changes caused by increases in
speaker effectiveness (Nichols &
Lewis, 1954)
•
We speak at about 100 to 175
words per minute (WPM), but we can
intelligently listen at 600 to 800
WPM!
www.cxc.pitt.edu
July 12, 2016 Slide 5
www.agcasscotland.org.uk
Thoughts to thoughts!
http://www.agcasscotland.org.uk
Sender
(Speaker)
Message
Channel
Receiver
(Listener)
Feedback
Context
The Communications Process
July 12, 2016 Slide 6
No Surprise, then…
Social psychologists estimate that
there is usually a 40-60% loss of
meaning in the transmission of
messages from speaker to listener.
What are some barriers to effective
communication?
July 12, 2016 Slide 7
Effective
Communication
•
•
•
•
•
Importance of effective communications
Barriers?
Removing barriers (eliminating noise)
Forms of communication
Homework
July 12, 2016 Slide 8
Barriers To Effective
Communication
• Language
• Defensiveness, distorted perceptions
• Misreading of body language, tone and other non-verbal
forms of communication
• Noisy transmission (unreliable messages, inconsistency)
• Receiver distortion: selective hearing
• Power struggles, interpersonal relationships, prior
association, subordinate/peer, state of mind of two people
• Self-fulfilling assumptions
• Managers hesitation to be candid
• Distrusted source, erroneous translation and judgment
• Cultural differences
July 12, 2016 Slide 9
Effective
Communication
•
•
•
•
•
Importance of effective communications
Barriers?
Removing barriers (eliminating noise)
Forms of communication
Homework
July 12, 2016 Slide 10
Effective
Communication
• Importance of effective communications
• Barriers?
• Removing barriers (eliminating noise)
– Non-verbal Cues !!
– Listening !!
– Feedback !!
• Forms of communication
• Homework
July 12, 2016 Slide 11
Non-Verbal Cues
Consider Chat
Rooms…
July 12, 2016 Slide 12
Non-Verbal Cues
• Types of Cues
–
–
–
–
Visual
Tactile
Vocal
Use of time, space, and
image
Consider Chat
Rooms…
www.ulyssesgoldcoast.com
• Five Roles
–
–
–
–
–
Repetition
Contradiction
Substitution
Complementing
Accenting
~40% brain
dedicated to
vision
Some studies suggest 90% of meaning is derived from
non-verbal cues.
July 12, 2016 Slide 13
Listening Skills
July 12, 2016 Slide 14
Listening Skills
• Listen openly and
defensiveness)
with
empathy
to
the
other
person
(avoid
• Judge the content, not the messenger or delivery
• Active body state; fight distractions
• Ask the other person for as much detail as he/she can provide
• Paraphrase and check for understanding
• State your position openly; be specific, not global
• Communicate your feelings but don't act them out (e.g.. tell a person
that his behavior really upsets you; don't get angry)
• Be descriptive, not evaluative
• Don't totally control conversation; acknowledge what was said
• Don't react to emotional words, but interpret their purpose
• Practice supportive listening, not one way listening
July 12, 2016 Slide 15
Constructive Feedback
• People want to be competent.
• Feedback, if given properly, is
almost always appreciated and
motivates people to improve.
• Why are people reluctant to give
feedback? (Discussion)
• Both positive and negative
feedback are important.
• Immediate feedback is essential
to constructive feedback.
July 12, 2016 Slide 16
Sports has instant feedback and has high
achievement.
Effective
Communication
•
•
•
•
•
Importance of effective communications
Barriers?
Removing barriers (eliminating noise)
Forms of communication
Homework
July 12, 2016 Slide 17
Effective
Communication
•
•
•
•
Importance of effective communications
Barriers?
Removing barriers (eliminating noise)
Forms of communication
– And how to remove ‘noise’ from some of them?
• Say emails, presentations and meetings!
• Homework
July 12, 2016 Slide 18
Ellen Dowling, PhD
Effective Email
•
Think before you write.
•
Remember that you can always deny that you said
it. But if you write it, you may be held accountable
for many many moons.
•
Keep your message concise.
•
Remember
that
confidential.
•
Don’t attempt to “discipline” your readers.
•
Don’t “spam” your readers.
•
DON’T TYPE IN ALL CAPS! IT LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE
YELLING AT THE READERS!
•
don’t type in all lower case. (unless you’re e.e.
cummings.)
•
Use the “Subject” line to get the readers’ attention.
•
Try to discuss one topic per email.
•
Make sure to include any call to action you desire,
such as a phone call or follow-up appointment.
•
Don’t be a slave to email.
•
Use a signature line with contact info.
July 12, 2016 Slide 19
e-mail
is
not
necessarily
bath.ac.uk
Running a Productive
Meeting
• Generate an agenda
• Avoid more than 12
participants
• Minimize individuals
dominating
• At end of each agenda item,
summarize discussion
• Assign responsibility for action
items
• Issue minutes (best if within
24 hours)
• Include action items and
responsibilities in minutes
July 12, 2016 Slide 20
adelaide.edu.au
Presentations
• You have 4 - 7 seconds in which to
•
•
•
•
make a positive impact and good
opening impression. (Smiling helps,
start on time, etc.)
The use of visual aids (PowerPoint)
generally heightens retention of the
spoken word by up to 70%.
Tony Buzan's figures on the subject of
information retention are:
– Read 10%
– Heard 20%
– Seen 30%
– Heard and Seen 50%
– Said 70%
– Said and Done 90%
Be firm, be confident and be in
control.
Don’t be afraid of silence.
www.businessballs.com
July 12, 2016 Slide 21
Effective
Communication
•
•
•
•
•
Importance of effective communications
Barriers?
Removing barriers (eliminating noise)
Forms of communication
Homework
July 12, 2016 Slide 22
Homework
• Narrate one “life-lesson” you learnt from
either by good or bad communication.
• A bad or good email?
• The absence of cues?
• Misunderstanding a non-verbal
• Any scenario discussed in todays presentation
• 400 pages long and due before next class !
July 12, 2016 Slide 23
Homework
• Narrate one “life-lesson” you learnt from
either by good or bad communication.
• A bad or good email?
• The absence of cues?
• Misunderstanding a non-verbal
• Any scenario discussed in todays presentation
• 400 pages long and due before next class !
July 12, 2016 Slide 24