Communication And Awareness Raising

I.  WHAT IS EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION? II.  THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS III.  COMMUNICATION BARRIERS IV.  ACTIVE LISTENING V.  COMMUNICATION & RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS VI.  PHASES OF BEHAVIOR CHANGE

PART I WHAT IS EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION?

In a recent survey of recruiters from companies with more than 50,000 employees, communication skills were cited as the single most important decisive factor in choosing managers.

The survey, conducted by the University of Pittsburgh’s Business School, points out that communication skills (including written and oral presentations) and the ability to work with others, are the main factor contributing to job success.

People who possess exceptional communications skills maintain a competitive advantage in securing the best jobs: •  Communication/Interpersonal skills 89.0% •  Ability to work well within a team 86.9% •  Personal ethics and integrity 86.2% •  Analytical and problem solving skills 84.3% •  Work ethic 82.9% •  Fit the corporate culture 74.5% •  Success with past hires 74.0% •  Leadership potential 72.5% •  Strategic thinking 67.1%

In spite of increasing importance placed on communications skills, many individuals continue to struggle, unable to communicate their thoughts eﬀectively, whether in verbal or written format. This inability makes it nearly impossible for them to compete eﬀectively in the workplace, and stands in the way of career progression.

•  Eﬀective communication is all about conveying your messages to other people clearly. •  It is also about receiving information that others are sending to you, with as little distortion as possible. •  Communication is only successful when both the sender and the receiver understand the same information as a result of the communication.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION •  By successfully getting your message across, you convey your thoughts and ideas eﬀectively. •  When communication is unsuccessful, the thoughts and ideas that you send do not necessarily reﬂect what you mean. •  This will cause a communication breakdown and create roadblocks.

Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand. Confucius, circa 450 B.C.

We learn: 1% through taste 1.5% through touch 3.5% through smell 11% through hearing 83% through seeing

10% of what we read 20% of what we hear 30% of what we see 50% of what we see and hear 80% of what we say 90% of what we say and do

•  Eﬀective communicators get their point across without misunderstanding and confusion. •  The goal of the eﬀective communicator should be to lessen the frequency of problems at each stage of the communication process. •  This is only possible with clear, concise, accurate, and well-‐planned communications.

STEP II THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

•  Problems with communication can pop-‐up at every stage of the communication process which consists of: •  Sender •  Message •  Encoding •  Channel •  Decoding •  Receiver •  Feedback •  The context •  At each stage, there is the potential for misunderstanding and confusion.

MESSAGE CONTEXT SENDER ENCODING CHANNEL DECODING RECEIVER FEEDBACK

As the source of the message, you need to be clear about why you're communicating, and what you want to communicate. •  Communications is a two-‐way process that starts with the sender. •  The sender should be conveying information necessary for mission accomplishment. •  The sender must be proactive in making the receiver understand the message. •  Too often, what is said is not always what is heard.

  State one idea at a time.   State ideas simply and clearly.   Explain when appropriate.   Repeat if appropriate.   Encourage feedback.   Read between the lines. Did your choice of words, tone of voice, body language, intentional gestures or subconscious movements-‐ convey the same meaning?

  The message is the information that you want to communicate.   The message is the information the sender wants to communicate to the receiver.   The message is usually verbal, but it can also be non-‐verbal.

  Speak clearly.   Use correct terminology.   Use appropriate vocal tone and volume.   Time the message to be sent when the receiver is able to listen.

•  Be relevant to the receiver, not a distraction. The message needs to be inclusive and informative. •  Inclusive means that it contains everything necessary for the receiver to understand the sender’s point. •  Informational means it is something that the receiver needs to know.

•  This is the process of transferring the information you want to communicate into a form that can be sent and correctly decoded at the other end. •  Your success in encoding depends partly on your ability to convey information clearly and simply. •  Your ability to anticipate and eliminate sources of confusion: Cultural issues, mistaken assumptions, and missing information. •  A key part of this is knowing your audience: Failure to understand who you are communicating with will result in delivering messages that are misunderstood.

Messages are conveyed through diﬀerent channels:   Verbal channels:   Face-‐to-‐face meetings   Seminars   Lectures   Telephone   Videoconferencing   Written channels:   Letters   Emails   Memos   Reports

Different channels have different strengths and weaknesses: •  It is not effective to give a long list of directions verbally. •  You may cause problems if you give someone negative feedback using email.

•  Just as successful encoding is a skill, so is successful decoding. •  For example, taking the time to read a message carefully, or listen actively to it. •  Just as confusion can arise from errors in encoding, it can also arise from decoding errors. •  This is particularly the case if the decoder doesn't have enough knowledge to understand the message.

•  Your message is delivered to individual members of your audience. •  No doubt, you have in mind the actions or reactions you hope your message will get from this audience. •  Each individual enters into the communication process with ideas and feelings that will inﬂuence their understanding of your message, and their response. •  To be a successful communicator, you should consider these feelings and ideas before delivering your message, and act appropriately.

•  Your audience will provide you with feedback, as verbal and non-‐verbal reactions to your communicated message. •  Pay close attention to this feedback, as it is the only thing that can give you conﬁdence that your audience has understood your message. •  If you ﬁnd that there has been a misunderstanding, you still have the opportunity to send the message again

  The situation in which your message is delivered is the context.   This may include the surrounding environment or broader culture.   Context can also include corporate culture or international cultures.

STEP III BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

•  Barriers are inﬂuencing factors which impede or breakdown the continuous communications loop. •  They block, distort, or alter information. •  By identifying barriers and applying counter-‐ measures, speakers can eﬀectively communicate.

 Preoccupation  Anger or frustration  Personal bias  Team diversity  Lack of conﬁdence  Inappropriate priorities  Organizational structure  Distractions  Tunnel vision  Interruptions

  To deliver your messages eﬀectively, you must commit to breaking down the barriers that exist within each of the stages of the communication process.   If your message is too lengthy, disorganized, or contains errors, you can expect the message to be misunderstood and misinterpreted.   Use of poor verbal and body language can also confuse or distort the message.

•  Barriers in context tend to stem from senders oﬀering too much information too quickly. •  When in doubt, less is oftentimes more. It is best to be mindful of the demands on other peoples’ time in today’s ultra-‐busy society. •  You need to understand your audience’s culture, making sure you can converse and deliver your message to people of diﬀerent backgrounds and cultures.

STEP IV ACTIVE LISTENING

•  Active listening is a process used by the receiver to facilitate communication and enhance performance. •  It requires the receiver to be active in the communications process. •  Listening is one of the most important skills you can have. •  How well you listen has a major impact on your job eﬀectiveness, and on the quality of your relationships with others. ▪  Listen more than talk ▪  Listen to obtain information ▪  Listen to understand ▪  Listen for enjoyment ▪  Listen to learn

  Focus attention on the message.   Look at the sender.   Listen and look for the nonverbal message.   Observing non-‐verbal messages provides information regarding what the sender wants to convey.

•  Your perception of the message and the sender’s message may be diﬀerent. •  Word choice, tone of voice, body position, gestures and eye contact reﬂect the feelings behind the spoken word. •  Keep an open mind and suspend judgment. •  Verify what was heard. •  Provide the sender feedback

•  According to the results of research, we remember only 25-‐50% of what we hear. •  That means that when you talk to your boss, colleagues, customers or spouse for 10 minutes, they only really hear 2½-‐5 minutes of the conversation. •  Research also reveals that when you are receiving directions or being presented with information, you are not hearing the whole message either. •  You hope the important parts are captured in your 25-‐ 50%, but what if they are not?

•  Clearly, listening is a skill that we can all benefit from improving. •  By becoming a better listener, you will improve your productivity, as well as your ability to influence, persuade, and negotiate. •  What’s more, you’ll avoid conflict and misunderstandings – all necessary for workplace success.

•  The way to become a better listener is to practice “active listening.” •  Make a conscious eﬀort to hear not only the words that another person is saying but, try to understand the total message being sent. •  In order to do this you must pay attention to the other person very carefully.

•  Don’t become distracted by the things going on around you, or by forming counter arguments that you’ll make when the speaker stops speaking. •  Nor can you allow yourself to lose focus on what the other person is saying. •  All of these barriers contribute to a lack of listening and understanding.

If you're ﬁnding it diﬃcult to concentrate on what someone is saying, try repeating their words mentally as they say it – this will reinforce their message and help you control a mind drift.

•  As a listener you need to let the speaker know that you are listening to what he or she is saying. •  Acknowledgement can be something as simple as a nod of the head or a simple “uh huh.” •  You aren’t necessarily agreeing with the person, you are simply indicating that you are listening. •  Using body language and other signs to acknowledge you are listening also reminds you to pay attention and not let your mind wander.

•  You should try to respond to the speaker in a way that will both encourage him/her to continue speaking, so that you can get the information if you need. •  While nodding and saying “uh huh” if you are interested, an occasional question or comment to recap what has been said communicates that you understand the message as well.

•  There are ﬁve key elements of active listening. •  They all help you ensure that you hear the other person, and that the other person knows you are hearing what they are saying. 1.  Pay attention 2.  Show that you are listening 3.  Provide feedback 4.  Defer judgment 5.  Respond appropriately

Give the speaker your undivided attention and acknowledge the message.   Recognize that what is not said also speaks loudly.   Look at the speaker directly.   Put aside distracting thoughts.   Don’t mentally prepare a rebuttal!   Avoid being distracted by environmental factors.   “Listen” to the speaker’s body language.   Refrain from side conversations when listening in a group setting.

Use your own body language and gestures to convey your attention. •  Nod occasionally. •  Smile and use other facial expressions. •  Note your posture and make sure it is open and inviting. •  Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments like yes, and uh huh.

Our assumptions, judgments, and beliefs can distort what we hear. As a listener, your role is to understand what is being said and provide feedback. •  This may require you to reﬂect what is being said and ask questions. •  Reﬂect what has been said by paraphrasing: “What I’m hearing is…” “Sounds like you are saying…” •  Ask questions to clarify certain points: “What do you mean when you say…” “Is this what you mean?” •  Summarize the speaker’s comments periodically.

Don’t interrupt the speaker. Interrupting is a waste of time. •  It frustrates the speaker and limits full understanding of the message. •  Allow the speaker to ﬁnish. •  Don’t interrupt with counter-‐arguments.

Active listening is a model for respect and understanding. •  You are gaining information and perspective. •  You add nothing by attacking the speaker or otherwise putting him or her down. •  Be candid, open, and honest in your response. •  Assert your opinions respectfully. •  Treat the other person as he or she would want to be treated.

•  It takes a lot of concentration and determination to be an active listener. •  Old habits are hard to break, and if your listening habits are as bad as many people’s are, then there’s a lot of habit-‐breaking to do! •  Be deliberate with your listening and remind yourself constantly that your goal is to truly hear what the other person is saying.

•  Set aside all other thoughts and behaviors and concentrate on the message. •  Ask question, reﬂect, and paraphrase to ensure you understand the message. •  Start using active listening today to become a better communicator and improve your workplace productivity and relationships.

In many parts of the world, children play games that involve passing messages from one child to the next. Wherever these games are played and whatever they are called, they serve as simple yet profound reminders of the diﬃculties associated with human communication.   Try playing this game with stakeholders as an 'ice-‐breaker' activity before brainstorming an awareness-‐raising campaign. The rules are quite simple.   Participants space themselves out so they can whisper to their immediate neighbors to the right, left, in front and behind but not hear anyone seated further away.   The facilitator writes a short message -‐ no more than one sentence -‐ on a small piece of paper and shows it to the ﬁrst participant at the front of the room. The facilitator keeps the paper.

•  As the "Pass-‐it-‐On" game demonstrates, communication is not an easy process. •  The idea of this game is simply to pass or transmit a basic message, from one player to another. •  The fun of the game lies in the subtle alteration of the message as it is passes from the ﬁrst player to the last. •  The critical lesson for observers is just how easily information can be altered through repetitive and careless communication.

  Once something is said or published it cannot be taken back or undone.   The challenge is to avoid or minimize opportunities for misunderstanding and misinterpretation.

  Communication is complicated and the degree of complexity is most often determined by factors or variables that we can anticipate and to some extent control.   The challenge is to manage these variables through eﬀective planning, implementation and monitoring.

  External distractions can cause the message to be missed or misunderstood.   For example, the physical space in which the communication is occurring may have negative effects.   Is the meeting room sufficiently large to accommodate everyone in relative comfort?   The effectiveness of communication may be diminished if people feel crowded, they cannot hear the speaker properly, or if the room is too hot or too cold.

  The credibility of the communicator -‐ can I believe this person?   The listener or reader's level of education and background knowledge of the topic.   The design of the message -‐ is it appropriate to the audience?

•  Cultural differences: The bigger and more diverse your audience, the more likely it is that someone will misunderstand your message. •  Personal differences: Even outwardly homogenous societies or communities are comprised of individuals with different life experiences and opinions. •  Language differences: The language of the Internet for example is English-‐often idiomatic English that is poorly written and heavily abbreviated.

PART V COMMUNICATION & PUBLIC AWARENESS RAISING

A well-‐planned and thoughtfully presented awareness-‐raising campaign is arguably one of the most eﬃcient and eﬀective means of communicating information about a particular issue to a large and geographically dispersed body of people.

•  To raise awareness is to inform and educate people about a topic or issue with the intention of inﬂuencing their attitudes, behaviors and beliefs towards the achievement of a deﬁned purpose or goal. •  Generally, awareness-‐raising is understood to be a constructive and potentially catalytic force that ultimately leads to a positive change in actions and behaviors.

A successful public awareness campaign will typically involve four key actions: 1. Researching the issue 2. Mobilizing support and supporters 3. Informing the public 4. Lobbying decision-‐makers

•  To raise public awareness of a topic or issue is to attempt to inform to influence a community's attitudes, behaviors and beliefs. •  There is a method of influencing behaviors and beliefs positively for the achievement of a defined purpose. •  For example, improving public health or promoting information literacy is a defined purpose.

•  Eﬀective communication forms the basis of all social marketing and public awareness raising. •  Social marketing refers to the practice of communicating or selling “an idea” with the stated object of changing community attitudes and actions •  For example: –  Information literacy –  Public health and education –  Environmental concerns

1. Know your purpose 2. Let your purpose guide and inform your message 3. Know your audience: Be mindful of social, cultural and educational backgrounds 4. Anticipate problems and ﬁnd solutions-‐or manage the risk 5. Ensure credibility with your audience: trust is vital 6. Present information using a variety of approaches and techniques but ensure each is appropriate to your purpose, message and audience 7. Look for practical ways to get useful feedback from your audience

PART VI PHASES OF BEHAVIOR CHANGE

Five distinct phases of behavioral change: 1.  Pre-‐contemplation 2.  Contemplation 3.  Preparation 4.  Action 5.  Maintenance

5. MAINTENANCE 4. ACTION 3. PREPARATION 2. CONTEMPLATION 1. PRE-‐ CONTEMPLATION

1.  Pre-‐contemplation: Knowledge Demonstrating awareness of the desired behavior 2.  Contemplation: Approval Voicing endorsement and support for the behavior 3.  Preparation: Intention Making the decision to adopt the behavior 4.  Action: Practice Committing to the behavior change in a consistent and sustainable way 5.  Maintenance: Advocacy Encouraging others to adopt the behavior with intention and practice

•  To achieve lasting behavioral change, people must be encouraged to move through each successive phase in order to reach a point where new behaviors can be maintained. •  To ensure a successful campaign to raise awareness, it is necessary therefore to know which phase the majority of the target population is in, and develop an appropriate message and communication strategy.

1.  Knowledge: Knowing there is a problem 2.  Desire: Imagining a diﬀerent future 3.  Skills: Knowing what to do to achieve that future 4.  Optimism: Conﬁdence or belief in success 5.  Facilitation: Resources and support infrastructure 6.  Stimulation: A compelling stimulus that promotes action 7.  Reinforcement: Regular communications that reinforce original message

7. REINFORCEMENT 1. KNOWLEDGE THAT WAS A I KNOW SUCCESS I SHOULD 6. STIMULATION 2. DESIRE I AM JOINING IN I WANT TO 5. 3. SKILLS FACILITATION I CAN IT IS EASY 4. OPTIMISM IT IS WORTH IT

  Robinson goes on to identify each step as an obstacle that has to be overcome using appropriate communication and education strategies.   He visualizes each step or obstacle as a door that must be opened in the context of raising awareness in order to achieve lasting social change.

An awareness-‐raising campaign will typically communicate either: 1. One central message, OR 2. Closely related subsidiary messages that are linked by a common theme

There are four key components of an eﬀective awareness raising campaign: 1. Message 2. Audience 3. Strategy 4. Timing

1.  Personal communication with community members through public meetings, presentations, workshops and informal social events 2.  Structured education and training programs in schools, colleges, universities, adult learning centers and libraries 3.  Printed materials: Brochures, billboards, cartoons, comics, pamphlets, posters 4.  Audiovisual resources: Pre-‐recorded cassettes, videos, CDs and DVDs 5.  Websites, email discussion lists and Web Logs (blogs)

6.  Mass media interviews and articles in newspapers, magazines, and electronic publications accessible via the Internet 7.  Mass media interviews/ news items on radio and television 8.  Celebrity spokespeople 9.  Performances of specially composed stories, songs, plays and poems 10.  Strategic partnerships and alliances with other organizations: local libraries, schools and civic society 11.  Public Relations (PR) 12.  Political advocacy and lobbying

An eﬀective awareness-‐raising campaign strategy will employ a variety of diﬀerent communication approaches and techniques to ensure that the central message is received and understood by a diverse audience.

Consider ﬁve challenging issues that require a Public Awareness Campaign in your community: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

•  In groups of three, have participants analyze the communication process. •  One person should serve as the speaker •  One person should serve as the listener •  One person should serve as the observer

•  As the speaker and the listener communicate, the observer should note the qualities of their communication, then provide feedback to both participants. •  Observers should consider the following questions: 1.  Was the message clear? 2.  Was the speaker eﬀective 3.  What kind of communication style did he/she use? 4.  Did the listener use active listening skills? 5.  Were there characteristics of eﬀective communication

Communication And Awareness Raising

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