Effective communication amongst teams is what promotes innovation, makes management simpler and eventually helps the organisation grow bigger and better. This presentation looks at what effective communication is, the significances, barriers and various tips for mastering verbal/non-verbal communication. As well as managing team and client communications.
It was presented to the software engineering team at work. You can adapt it to fit your needs.
3. WHY COMMUNICATE
EFFECTIVELY
Makes room for innovations
Builds an effective team
Makes way for effective management
Pushes overall organisational growth
Builds & Fosters Productive Relationships
4. Barriers to Effective Communication
From Source
Knowledge, attitude, channel,
skills, timing, prejudice, feedback
In Transmission
distortion, noise, information
overflow, language usage
In Reception
Channels, technicalities, language,
semantics, listening skills
In Decoding
distractions, knowledge,
information overload, disinterest
5. Practice active listening
Articulate properly
Know your listener(s)
Mind the context
End with feedback
Choose the right location
Ask relevant questions
Mastering Oral
Communication
Important factors:
- Body Language
- Tone of voice
- Choice of words/phrases
- Communication style
- Clarity of message
6. Mastering Written
Communication
Mediums
- E-mails
- Brochures
- Slack
- Speeches
- Reports
- Presentations
Clarify and know your message
Know your audience/recipient
Use easily understood language
Avoid grammatical errors
Use slangs/jargons sparingly
Be concise in presentation
Be sincere in expression
14. Mastering Non-Verbal Communication
• Watch your posture
• Watch your eye and hand contact
• Watch your facial expressions
• Watch your hand gestures
• Be considerate of personal space
• Mind your voice, tone, sounds, etc.
16. Effective Team Communication Tips
• Define expectations
• Build your listening skills
• Be consistent
• Encourage team strengthening events
• Have one-on-one interactions
• Encourage two-way feedback
• Show appreciation
• Use down time wisely
• Use appropriate communication forms
• Be humorous and articulate
• Promote frequent collaboration
18. Effective Client Communication
• Exercise lots of patience
• Communicate accurate info always
• Be proactive & attentive
• Know your product/service inside out
• Use examples/analogies
• Mind your body language
• Prepare before meetings
• Don’t assume
• Be sensitive
• Follow up promptly and frequently
• Don’t rely on memory alone
19. – George Bernard Shaw
“The single biggest problem in
communication is the illusion that
it has taken place.”
Editor's Notes
The responsibility of effective communication falls on both the sender and the receiver. It’s important that the sender encodes the message properly - ie
defines clearly the objective/purpose for communication
Chooses the right channel for disseminating the message (oral/written)
Speaks in a language the receiver can easily understand
Pays attention to context in delivering the message
Effective communication happens when there’s synchronisation in the message sent - ie the sender and receiver all interpret the message as intended.
Ultimately, effective communication can only bring great cohesion within teams and organisations, thus creating the space for innovation and growth.
The knowledge level of the particular subject for both sender/receiver determines the effectiveness of what is being communicated
Prejudice on both sides has a way of colouring the communication without the intended purpose being achieved.
Wrong channels, technical issues like internet services, poor cell phone services, voice variations all affect the accomplishment of a communication goal.
Your body posture is subconscious and could communicate information you don’t intend to communicate. Thus its great practice to make it a conscious effort at controlling your body posture in communication with others or in being communicated to.
Too much eye contact is taken to be aggressive, the lack thereof usually also shows submission/insecurity.
As a trick, try drawing an inverted triangle on the person’s face and move your eyes in that direction. That way, you avoid too much or too little eye contact.
Your hand touches communicate a lot to the person you’re speaking with. A firm handshake communicates confidence, fist bumps usually communicate camaraderie, a slight touch on the arms communicates comfort. All of these touches are subject to culture and context. It’s thus important to ensure you are aware of both in communicating, for your communication to be effective.
You don’t always have a mirror in front of you all day. It’s thus difficult to actually always know your facial expressions. But more often than not, you can tell how your face looks from how you feel. And to communicate effectively, you need to keep your thoughts in sync with your face, in order not to end up mis-communicating.
The pitch of your voice has to do with the relative highness of lowness of voice as perceived by the ear.
The volume has to do with the loudness or softness of your voice.
The pace is how slow or fast you speakThe timbre of your voice has to do with the emotions carried in your voice.
All these factors need to be varied when speaking in order to properly communicate orally with your audience.
Noting personal space can make your communication effective or not. How people respond to you is largely based on how comfortable they are with you in their space. It’s advisable to keep as much space as possible with people you’re meeting for the first time.
A team that has consistently practiced effective communication over time has the tendency to grow and thus let the organisation grow. But in an environment where team members aren’t so sure whether their voices will be heard or not, there’s a likelihood that effective communication has been missing. Either the team leader or the team members have been misunderstood.
Client communications are an important part of the overall growth of an organisation. For Non Profits, these could be the beneficiaries and investors. It’s important to speak in the language of the client and to exercise patience even when the client wants something they don’t know. Your ability to teach and direct will make you more friendly with the client.
Before you say you have communicated, make sure you’ve actually done it. Don’t assume you have communicated, assumptions aren’t a part of effective communication.