Introduction to Basic Communication Skills

1. Aun Ali Shamsi

2. The ability to communicate effectively with
superiors, colleagues, and staff is essential,
no matter what industry you work in.
Workers in the digital age must know how
to effectively convey and receive messages
in person as well as via phone, email and
social media

3. Communication (from Latin commūnicāre,
meaning "to share“
Communication is simply the act of
transferring information from one place to
another

4. Context - Communication is affected by the context in
which it takes place. This context may be physical, social,
chronological or cultural
Sender / Encoder - is a person who sends the message
Message - key idea that the sender wants to communicate
Medium - means used to exchange / transmit the message
Recipient / Decoder - is a person for whom the message is
intended / aimed / targeted
Feedback - main component of communication process as
it permits the sender to analyze the efficacy of the
message.

6. Listening Being a good listener is one of the best ways to
be a good communicator
Nonverbal body language, eye contact, hand gestures, and
tone all color the message you are trying to convey
Clarity and Concision Try to convey your message in as few
words as possible. Think about what you want to say
before you say it; this will help you to avoid talking
excessively and/or confusing your audience.

7. Friendliness Through a friendly tone, a personal question,
or simply a smile, you will encourage your coworkers to
engage in open and honest communication with you
Confidence It is important to be confident in all of your
interactions with others. Confidence ensures your
coworkers that you believe in and will follow through with
what you are saying
Empathy Even when you disagree with an employer,
coworker, or employee, it is important for you to
understand and respect their point of view

8. Open-Mindedness Be open to listening to and
understanding the other person's point of view, rather than
simply getting your message across
Respect People will be more open to communicating with
you if you convey respect for them and their ideas
Feedback Being able to appropriately give and receive
feedback is an important communication skill. Managers
and supervisors should continuously look for ways to
provide employees with constructive feedback, be it
through email, phone calls, or weekly status updates

9. Picking the Right Medium An important communication
skill is to know what form of communication to use. For
example, some serious conversations (layoffs, changes in
salary, etc.) are almost always best done in person. You
should also think about the person with whom you wish to
speak - if they are very busy people (such as your boss,
perhaps), you might want to convey your message through
email. People will appreciate your thoughtful means of
communication, and will be more likely to respond
positively to you.

10. 7 Cs of communication
 Clear
 Concise
 Concrete
 Correct
 Coherent
 Complete
 Courteous

11. Clearness / Clarity
Be clear about your goal or message. What is your
purpose in communicating with this person? If you're
not sure, then your audience won't be sure either
To be clear, try to minimize the number of ideas in
each sentence
Make sure that it's easy for your reader to understand
your meaning.
People shouldn't have to "read between the lines" and
make assumptions on their own to understand what
you're trying to say

12. Conciseness
Stick to the point and keep it brief. Your audience
doesn't want to read six sentences when you could
communicate your message in three
Concreteness
When your message is concrete, then your
audience has a clear picture of what you're telling
them. There are details (but not too many!) and
vivid facts, and there's laser-like focus. Your
message is solid

13. Correctness
When your communication is correct, it fits your
audience. And correct communication is also
error-free communication.
Do the technical terms you use fit your audience's level of
education or knowledge?
Have you checked your writing for grammatical errors?
Remember, spell checkers won't catch everything.
Are all names and titles spelled correctly?

14. Complete
In a complete message, the audience has
everything they need to be informed and, if
applicable, take action.
Does your message include a "call to action," so that your
audience clearly knows what you want them to do?
Have you included all relevant information – contact
names, dates, times, locations, and so on?

15. Coherent / Consideration
Stepping into others shoes. Must consider
education level, view point, background, mind-set,
and emotions
Courteous
Courteous communication is friendly, open, and
honest. There are no hidden insults or passive-
aggressive tones. You keep your reader's viewpoint
in mind, and you're empathetic to their needs

17. Netiquettes
Internet etiquettes are termed Netiquettes
The correct and acceptable way of using Internet
is especially when sending electronic mail via
internet, social media, groups or chatting over
internet

18. Choosing – email address
Always use appropriate and neutral email address
aunshamsi@email.com
imthegreat@email.com
Using non serious email address will given no
consideration when sending an official email

19. Include a subject line
Give a descriptive phrase in the subject line of the
message header that tells the topic of the message
(not just "Hi, there!")
Subject should not be too large nor should be too
small
This email is written to confirm shipment from the vendor
on time on 10 February 2017 and shipment No is: SH0-211
Shipment Confirmation – SH0-211 Dated 10/02/17

20. Salutation
Addressing the recipient by name is preferred
Use the person's title (Mr. Mrs. Ms. or Dr.) with
their last name, followed by a comma or a colon
Optionally, you can precede with "Dear..."
If you don't know the name of the person you're
writing to use "Dear Sir/Madam" or "Dear Sir or
Madam" followed by a colon.

21. Introduce yourself
Also include why you're writing, and how you
found that person's Email address, or the
opportunity you're writing about
My name is Earl Rivers. I'm contacting you to apply
for the administrative assistant position listed on
CareerXYZ.com.

22. Be concise
Keep messages concise—about one screen, as a
rule of thumb
Try to break up the message into paragraphs by
topic to make your message more logical
The email should be no more than 5 paragraphs
long and each paragraph should be no more than
5 sentences long.

23. Use appropriate language
Avoid coarse, rough, or rude language
Observe good grammar and spelling
Don not use unofficial language; like slangs and
bad words
What the hell they think?
Why are you lying to us?

24. Avoid sarcasm
People who don't know you may misinterpret its
meaning or your writing may look biased and
ineffective
Respect others' privacy
Do not open others email inbox and read their
emails
Do not quote or forward personal email without
the original

25. Use appropriate intensifiers to help convey
meaning
Avoid "flaming" (online "screaming") or sentences
typed in all caps
Use asterisks surrounding words to indicate italics
used for emphasis (*at last*).
Use words in brackets, such as (grin), to show a
state of mind
Use common acronyms (e.g., LOL for "laugh out
loud")

26. Proof-Reading
Always proof read what you have typed carefully
before sending and if u are not sure ask your peer
or colleague for the content
Verify attachment
Check and verify your annexures/attachment
It is better to mention in message body about
enclosed/attached files and document

27. Leave-taking/ Closing
This will depend on level of intimacy with the
recipient
Examples
Yours sincerely,
Yours cordially,
Respectfully,
Best Regards,
Your student,

28. Your supplier is continuously delivering bad quality
despite of your several intimations and he is
cheating – Write an email to your manager for his
action
What do you understand by Salutation
How many Cs of Communication you can recall?