Community
Capacity Building
Program
Interpersonal Communications
Agenda
• Icebreaker
• Welcome and Overview
• Communication Process
• Types of Communication
• Verbal
• Non-verbal
• Listening
• Factors Influencing Communication
• Parking Lot
• Discussion/Evaluation
Interpersonal Communications Skills
Exercise 1
• Pair participants with someone they
don’t know, if possible
• Take five minutes to interview each
other to learn enough to introduce
your partner to the group
• Each person introduces their partner
to the group
Interpersonal Communication Skills
• What is communication?
• A process in which a person, through
language,signs and symbols, conveys a
message to another person
• Comprised of
• Sender
• Message
• Channel
• Receiver
• Feedback
• Barriers
Interpersonal Communication Skills
• Sender
•Language and how you use it
•Credibility
•Knowledge of content, audience and context
•Experience, attitudes and values
• Message
•Written – words, sentences, paragraphs
•Oral – use of voice – tone and pitch
•Non-verbal – gestures, facial expressions,
eye contact, environment (office set up)
Interpersonal Communication Skills
• Channel
•Verbal – face to face meetings, telephone,
video
•Written – reports, letters
• Receiver
•Abilities
•Attitudes
•Experience
• Feedback
•Receiver responds in some way
•Sender can evaluate effectiveness of
message
Interpersonal Communication Skills
• Barriers
• Inappropriate medium or channel
• Incorrect grammar, inflammatory words, words
that conflict with body language
• Technical jargon
• Noise
•Can occur at any stage
•Can be interference from various sources –
radio, chatter, etc.
Interpersonal Communication Skills Exercise 2
• Discuss barriers to communication
process
• Brainstorm and discuss some barriers
in your workplace or volunteer group
Interpersonal Communication Skills Exercise 3
Identify strategies to deal with common
communication problems
Types of Communication
• Verbal
• Non-verbal
• Listening
Types of Communication - Exercise 4
• How we communicate
• Role Play
How we communicate
• Verbal – 7%
• Quality and tone of voice – 38%
• Visual (non-verbal) – 55%
Verbal Communication
• Speech
•Range
•Pitch
•Volume
•Enunciation
•Pronunciation
•Infliction
•Tone
Non-verbal communication
• Body language
• Written communication
Non-verbal communication
• Appearance/Image
• Environment
Interpreting Non-verbal Behaviour
Exercise 5
• Discover what you know about nonverbal language
• Think about some non-verbal
behaviours that have not been
discussed
Listening - Exercise 6
• Complete the listening skills exercise
• Rate your listening skills
Types of Listening
• Pseudo
• Listen to meet some other need
• Make people think you are interested
• Keep alert to see if you are being rejected
• Get some time before your next comment
• Pretend to be listening to be polite
• Natural to be pseudo listening some times
Types of Listening
• Active
• Listen without barriers (time, emotional)
• Listen to the entire message by focusing on
verbal and non-verbal message
• Listen using your non-verbal communication
skills
• Listen to the person without interrupting,
judging or arguing
• Clarify and ask questions or paraphrase
Improving Listening through Feedback
• Paraphrasing
• Perception checking
• Describing behaviour
• Making “I” statements
Paraphrasing
• Tests your understanding of
communicator’s message
• Allows communicator to clarify a
misunderstanding
• Provides climate where communicator
can feel understood
• Provides communicator with sense that
what they are saying is important
Perception Checking
• Describe other's feelings or behavior
• Indicates to person that you want to
understand their feelings
• State interpretation of behavior
• Ask if interpretations are accurate
Describing Behaviour
• State what has been observed
• Does not judge behaviour
• Use it to indicate negative behaviour
• Provides non-threatening opening to
further communication
Making “I” Statements
• Use when you want to explain your
feelings
• Use to reduce level of tension in conflict
situation
Making “I” Statements
• How to make an I statement
• When (description of behaviour, not person),
• I feel (description of the feeling,
• Because (tangible or real effect) or how about if
(suggestion for change) pushes speaker to
define what disturbs him/her
Paraphrasing - Exercise 7
• Discuss some ways to provide
feedback through paraphrasing
• Discuss the exercises in manual
Giving and Receiving Feedback
Exercise 8
• Assign groups
• Write your responses
• Share responses with group
• Select one response to share with
large group
Ways We Communicate
Public Speaking - Exercise 9
• Discuss public speaking fears
• Discuss some strategies to improve
public speaking fears
Ways We Communicate
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Speeches
Presentations
Correspondence/office communication
Telephone
Voice mail
Email
Websites
Blogs
Others?
Email Practices - Exercise 10
• Discuss advantages and disadvantages of
email
Factors Influencing Effective
Communication
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Special needs/accessibility
Environment/setting
Literacy skills
Cultural factors
Email etiquette
Tone
Respect and appropriateness
Gender neutrality
Jargon
Others
Communication Blockers
• Responses that can block effective
communication
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Evaluation response
Advise giving response
Topping response
Diagnosing, psychoanalytic response
Prying-questioning response
STRATEGY & PLANNING
RELATIONSHIP
BUILDING
ORGANIZATIONAL SKILLS &
MANAGEMENT
CO-OPERATIVE
DEVELOPMENT
Strategic Planning
Community
Development
Organizational Governance
Basics of a
Co-operative
Proposal Writing
Public Participation
Board Orientation
Co-operatives and
the Community
Development
Process I
Project Management
Alternative Dispute
Resolution
Meeting Management
Co-operative and
the Community
Development
Process II
Opportunity
Identification
Group Dynamics
Leadership and Motivation
Opportunity
Management
Interpersonal
Communications
Communications
Planning
Legal Issues
Conclusion and Evaluation
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Review objectives
Review any additional expectations
Review Parking Lot
Point out Certificates of Participation
Complete evaluation
Thank you!
Community Capacity Building Program
www.intrd.gov.nl.ca/intrd/regionaldev/capacitybuilding.html