Basic Communication Skills
Basic Communication Skills
ESTABLISHING RAPPORT
Field of Consciousness
Basic Communication Skills
How do you go about Establishing
Rapport?
You
 You
 You
 You
 You

need Self-Confidence
must Understand People
must be Enthusiastic
must make Eye Contact
must be Interested in them
Basic Communication Skills
Communication is a Series of Experiences of
Hearing
Smell
Seeing
Touch
Taste
Basic Communication Skills
PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION
MESSAGE
ENCODING
TRANSMISSION
DECODING
RECEPTION
FEEDBACK
SE
ND
ER
RE
CE
IV
ER
RECEIPT
Basic Communication Skills
Communication - Meaning
com·mu·ni·ca·tion
- Show Spelled Pronunciation[kuh-myoo-ni-key-shuhn]–noun
1.the act or process of communicating; fact of being communicated.
2.the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or
signs.
3.something imparted, interchanged, or transmitted.
4.a document or message imparting news, views, information, etc.
5.passage, or an opportunity or means of passage, between places.
6.communications,
a.means of sending messages, orders, etc., including telephone, telegraph, radio, and
television.
b.routes and transportation for moving troops and supplies from a base to an area of
operations.
7.Biology.
a.activity by one organism that changes or has the potential to change the behavior of
other organisms.
b.transfer of information from one cell or molecule to another, as by chemical or electrical
signals.
Origin: 1375–1425;
Basic Communication Skills
Communication - Meaning




Communication is a dynamic process…
Through this process we convey a
thought or feeling to someone else.
How it is received depends on a set of
events, stimuli, that person is exposed to.
How you say what you say plays an
important role in communication.
Basic Communication Skills
TOTAL COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Writing
9%
Speaking
30%
Reading
16%
Listening
45%
Basic Communication Skills
LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION

VERBAL



NON-VERBAL




Intra verbal: intonation of word and sound
Extra verbal: implication of words and
phrases, semantics
Gestures
Postures
Movements
SYMBOLIC
Basic Communication Skills
VERBAL COMMUNICATION
1. Oral Communication
2. Written Communication
Basic Communication Skills
NON – VERBAL COMMUNICATION
1. Body language
2. Kinesics, Proxemics & Paralanguage
3. Intention
4. Manner: directness,sincerity
5 Dress and clothing (style, color,
appropriateness for situation)
7. Signs & Symbols.
Basic Communication Skills
BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION
Communication Barrier
Psychological
& Human
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Personal Emotion
Biases
Lack of trust
Premature Evaluation.
Expert Language
Sign & symbols
Physical
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Geographical distance
Mechanical failure
Physical obstruction
Technological malfunction
Time lag
Organizational
1.
2.
3.
4.
Rules & Regulations
Policies
Hierarchy
Culture
Basic Communication Skills
Barriers in Communication
(that have to do with the







COMMUNICATOR)
Unwillingness to say things differently
Unwillingness to relate to others
differently
Unwillingness to learn new approaches
Lack of Self-Confidence
Lack of Enthusiasm
Voice quality
Prejudice
Basic Communication Skills
Barriers in Communication
(that have to do with the COMMUNICATOR)
Disagreement between verbal and
non-verbal messages
 Negative Self Image
 Lack of Feedback
 Lack of Motivation and Training
 Language and Vocabulary Level
 Lack of Self Awareness

Basic Communication Skills
Barriers in Communication
(that have to do with the RECEIVER)
Selective Perception
 Unwillingness to Change
 Lack of Interest in the Topic/Subject
 Prejudice & Belief System
 Rebuttal Instincts
 Personal Value System
 Here-and-Now internal & external
factors

Basic Communication Skills
External Barriers in
Communication

Environment
The venue
 The effect of noise
 Temperature in the room

Other People – Status, Education
 Time

Basic Communication Skills
OVERCOMING
COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

ABC of Constructive Communication
A Approach
B
C
Build Bridges
ustomize your
communication
Basic Communication Skills
OVERCOMING
COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
•Approach is the manner of addressing both the
person and the subject
•Building Bridges: Respect, Trust, Commonality
•Customize: Seek first to understand, before
being understood
Basic Communication Skills
7 C’s OF COMMUNICATION
•Credibility
•Capability
•Content
•Context
•Channel
•Consistency
•Clarity
Basic Communication Skills
LISTENING
Basic Communication Skills
BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE
LISTENING




Pre-judgment- Listeners who jump to
conclusions
Self-centeredness – Shift attention from
speaker to themselves
Selective Listening – Tune the speaker
out
Wandering mind – Your mind processes
information four times faster than rate of
speech.
Basic Communication Skills
4 Levels of Listening
The
 The
 The
 The

Non-Listener
Marginal Listener
Evaluative Listener
Active Listener
Basic Communication Skills
Improving Listening Skills
By not being Preoccupied
 Being Open Minded & Non Defensive
 Minimizing Interruptions
 Effective Listening is: Hearing,
interpreting when necessary,
understanding the message and
relating to it.
 By Asking Questions

Basic Communication Skills
LET THE OTHER PERSON
KNOW YOU ARE LISTENING
S:
O:
L:
E:
R:
Stand or sit straight, turn your face
squarely to the other and smile
Have an open body position
Lean towards the other person slightly
Maintain Eye contact and make
Encouraging noises
Relax and be comfortable
Basic Communication Skills
ACTIVE LISTENING




Listen for concepts, key ideas and facts.
Be able to distinguish between evidence
and argument, idea and example, fact
and principle.
Analyze the key points
Look for unspoken messages in the
speaker’s tone of voice or expressions.
Basic Communication Skills
ACTIVE LISTENING
Keep an open mind.
 Ask questions that clarify.
 Reserve judgment until the speaker
has finished
 Take meaningful notes that are brief
and to the point

Basic Communication Skills
COMMUNICATION

7% WORDS


38% PARALINGUISTIC


Words are only labels and the listeners put their
own interpretation on speakers words
The way in which something is said - the
accent, tone and voice modulation is important
to the listener.
55% BODY LANGUAGE

What a speaker looks like while delivering a
message affects the listener’s understanding
most.
Basic Communication Skills
NON VERBAL
COMMUNICATION
Basic Communication Skills
INTERESTING THINGS
ABOUT BODY LANGUAGE

It has no words or sentences, but it does
send bits of information that combine into
messages.

Those messages, which are sometimes
clear and sometimes fuzzy, are mostly
about your feelings.

People can learn to read those messages
with a fair degree of accuracy.
Basic Communication Skills
INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT BODY LANGUAGE

You cannot, not have body language- you are sending
messages nonverbally all the time. Especially when you
are trying not to!

Your preferred body positions and movements do say
something about the kind of person you are.

If your words say one thing and your body another then
people will believe your body, not your words.

You can change how you’re feeling by consciously
changing your body language.
Basic Communication Skills
TYPES OF BODY LANGUAGE
Remember that you are dealing with “PEOPLE”

(P)OSTURES & GESTURES


(E)YE CONTACT



How do you position yourself?
(P)RESENTATION
 How do you deliver your message?
(L)OOKS


How’s your “Lighthouse”?
(O)RIENTATION


How do you use hand gestures? Stance?
Are your looks, appearance, dress important?
(E)PRESSIONS OF EMOTION

Are you using facial expressions to express emotion?
Basic Communication Skills
Written Communication

The ability to convey your message in writing using proper grammar
is a basic requisite for nearly every job. Once you have control of
grammar, you can work to enhance your style. However, written
communication as compared to oral communication is at a
disadvantage because of the absence of non-verbal gestures, voice
variation and physical expressions. This is why the importance of
clarity and accuracy of the content of our written message becomes
all the more critical.






Written Communication can be in the form of:
1. Letters
2. E-mails
3. Notices
4. In-house Magazines
Basic Communication Skills
Steps to ensure effective written
communication







Plan
Like nearly any activity, written communication too requires a plan and
a structure.
Certain things must be clearly ascertained like
Sender: From whom is the communication starting?
Receiver: Who is the end receiver/audience of the written
communication?
Purpose: Why are we making the communication?
What is the expected outcome: what do you expect the receiver to
do?
Basic Communication Skills
Content

The Structure of the content of the message
must be Brief: Brevity and simplicity avoids any
confusion in understanding the message. The
content must be:







Short Sentences

Simple usable words

Facts and Figures

Suit it to the audience
Request feedback
Basic Communication Skills
Write it





Once we have done the above, we could proceed to
actually writing our communication on paper, bearing a
few things in mind.
Double spacing to improve readability, as used on
this page
Use of paragraph to make the communication more
logical and understandable
Neat, uniform handwriting, in case it is not typed or
printed
Avoid jargon, acronyms, technical terms unless
essential
Basic Communication Skills
Writing Business e-mail
Understanding Email and e-mail template
E mail Address
Definition
To
This option is used for the primary recipient of the
message.
Cc
Means carbon copy. This option is used when you
want to send a copy of the message to someone.
Bcc
Means blank/ blind carbon copy. If you want to send
a copy of the message to someone without the
original recipient’s
knowledge.
Basic Communication Skills
Subject

A good subject description makes the
person to whom you’re sending aware of
the nature of your message. So, always
remember to add the subject and keep
the subject line short and relevant, and
not vague
Basic Communication Skills
E mail Template
When formatting the structure for e-mails, there are six basic parts
required in every email.
Opening salutation
 Opening Line
 Body of the email
 Closing Line
 Closing Salutation
 Signature

Basic Communication Skills
Opening salutation

It means a polite expression of greeting,
used to begin a letter or an email. For
example: “Dear Sir/Madam! In opening
salutation “Mr. or Ms” are used either with
the full name or with the last name, as
“Hello Mr. Mehra” and not “hello Mr Amit”
Basic Communication Skills
Opening Line
Opening line in a business letter or e mail is
used to

-


-




-
to inform the recipient about the reason of
writing
to make reference to previous
correspondence.
to acknowledge the previous mail
to inform how you found the recipient’s name
and address
Basic Communication Skills
Some good opening lines
With reference to your letter of 8 June, I ...
 I am writing to enquire about...
 After having seen your advertisement in ..., I
would like...
 Thank you for your letter regarding...
 Thank you for your letter/e-mail about...

Basic Communication Skills
Body of the email

It is usually placed in the middle of the text.
It conveys the message and it consists of two or
more paragraphs, according to the content. The
first word always begins with capital letter. For
each new point to be stressed, a new paragraph
is started. It states the facts, develops the most
important points in logical sequence and gives
further information or details on the subject
matter.
Basic Communication Skills
Closing Line

It concludes a letter, states what the
writer wants to obtain from the recipient
(a telephone call, quick reply, a piece of
information etc), thanks the recipient for
the attention. It also refers to future
action, encourages him/her to establish
future relationship and to offer assistance
to clarify further questions or concerns.
Basic Communication Skills
Some good closing lines
I look forward to your reply
I look forward to hearing from you
Please advice as necessary
We look forward to a successful working
relationship in the future
Should you need any further information,
please do not hesitate to contact me
I would appreciate your immediate attention
to this matter
Basic Communication Skills
Closing Salutation

It is a polite way to bring a letter to a close and it must always be in
agreement with the opening salutation.
When the recipient's name is unknown to you:
Dear Sir ... Yours faithfully
When you know the recipient's name:
Dear Mr Hanson ... Yours sincerely
Dear Ms Hanson ... Yours sincerely
When addressing a good friend or colleague:
Dear Jack ... Best wishes/Best regards
Addressing whole departments:
Dear Sirs ... Yours faithfully
Basic Communication Skills
Signature

The person who is responsible for the
letter always must add the signatures,
followed by designation, company name,
contact number, email address and the
website address of the company.
Basic Communication Skills
Points to Remember while
writing emails









Try to keep the email brief
Check for punctuation, spelling and grammatical errors
Use caps when appropriate
Format the email for plain text rather than HTML.
Use “Arial 8-10” font for professional look.
Try to keep the length of the line at 80 characters or 60 in case message is
likely to be forwarded.
When you are writing directions or want to emphasize something important
bullet your main points.
Avoid sending emails to more than four addresses at once. Instead, create
a mailing list so that readers do not have to scroll too much before getting
to the actual message.
When you are sending an attachment tell your respondent what the name
of the file is, what program it is saved in, and the version of the program.