2. Agenda
• Scope of this training
• Some facts
• Why, What and How’s of communication
• Process in Communicating
• Tips for effective communication
• Self assessment of your communication
• Role Plays/Assignments
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3. What is and not covered ?
• Written and Oral communication
– Slides here will only guide this workshop
– Participants involvement and experience
sharing
• Body language
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4. Facts
• 75% of time we communicate
• 70% of the mistakes at workplace are due
to poor communication
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5. Why do we communicate ?
• Get the job done • Gain credibility
• Complain • Warn
• Give advice • Command
• Give help • Direct
• Help each other • Fool around
• Praise • Motivate
• Get help • Cheat
• Get information • Make friends
• Tell/inform • Purchase
• Learn • Entertain
• Make money • Socialize
• Gain respect • Abuse
• Greet • Reassure
• Make arrangements • Sell
• Express over selves • Time pass
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6. What are the reasons for
communication failures ?
• Not sufficient listening, understanding
• Unclear priorities, objectives, situation
• Poor insight into topic
• Rigidness, stubbornness, preconceived
ideas
• Bad mood, loosing patience, narrow
minded view
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7. Process in Communicating
• Gather good Information
– Explore by asking questions
• Ask open questions
– Affirm to show you are
listening/understanding
– Reflect your understanding
– Silence and Listen more
• Provide good information
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8. What are the outcomes of poor
communication ?
• Organization - Loss of business, goodwill,
team spirit, damaged image, employee
turnover
• Projects - Mistakes, delays, poor
coordination
• Individuals - Gossip, rumors,
misunderstanding, loss of enthusiasm,
frustrations, absenteeism, tension, low
confidence, loss of relationships
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9. Relevant Proverbs
• Behavior breeds behavior
• You catch more flies with honey than with
vinegar
• If you are patient in one moment of anger, you
will escape 100 days of sorrow
• You never really understand a person until you
consider things from their point of view
• The Greatest problem in communicating is the
illusion that it has been accomplished
• Better to ask twice than to lose your way once
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10. Tips for effective communication
• Beginning of the message decides
outcome of the communication
– Hi Susan,
I have decided to hire Mr. Ravi to my
team. ..<justify the reason for hiring>….
– Hi Susan,
We have found a suitable candidate for the
open position. I would like to know what would
be a good date to get him on board. ..<justify
the reason for hiring>….
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11. Tips for effective communication
• Message delivery affects the way message is
received
– Say the sentence “I never said that was a bug”
emphasizing one word at a time
• Real message is the message received not
intended
• Communication is a bi-directional
– “It takes two for tango”
• Avoid premature evaluation/conclusion
• Approach with calm and focus mind
• Avoid extremes, Stereotyping to Generalization
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12. Simple Tips for self assessing your
•
communication skills
Spend 25% composing an email and 75% reviewing it. If
required seek others view
• Observe the number of round trips that your emails
(communication) makes
• Ask “Do I..
– let my mind wander ?
– interrupt speakers ?
– finish speaker sentences for them ?
– talk while others are still speaking ?
– jump to conclusions ?
– hear what I want to hear ?’
• Run a spell check every time
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14. Role Play/Assignments
• You are in a Chinese town where none understand your language. How do you find your way to
the nearest Restaurant ?
• Team will agree on an object which has to be spotted by a participant. Team can communicate
only by clapping hands louder if the individual approaches the object and lower when he moves
away from the object
– Team game
• Pictionary
• Assignments (State your assumptions)
– Compose an email to get a task done by your team member in 5 days when it is estimated for 10 days – 5
minutes
– Compose an email – There is a need to procure QTP license for your team – 5 minutes
– Compose an email to communicate successful completion of your product release to your management – 5
minutes
– Compose an email to welcome a new joinee to your team – 5 minutes
– Compose an email to pass on your product architecture diagram to your colleague in another EDC – 5
minutes
– Compose an email to communicate how you achieved a complex technical problem which required inputs
from various sources – 5 minutes
– Enact performance feedback – 15 minutes
– Enact a situation where you want to communicate a habit change (disturbing every now and then) to your
colleague
• Preparation: What factors need to be kept in mind, eg. Empathy, tone, etc.. ?
– QA tester and Developer agreed for process change, what next ?
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15. Open Questions
• Convert the below closed questions to
open questions
– Who do you work for ?
– Was your trip successful ?
– Did you like that candidate ?
– Do you have any problem ?
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