Communication is essential for organizations to function effectively. The communication process involves ideating, encoding, transmitting, receiving, decoding, and acting on messages. Non-verbal communication and barriers like semantics, filtering, and different frames of reference can interfere with effective communication. Overcoming barriers requires techniques like empathy, understanding, feedback, listening, and addressing different communication preferences.

1. Communication Excellence!
Dr. Paul L. Gerhardt
The Organizational Doctor

2. • Why is communication
important in organizations?
• What are the steps in the
Important communication process?
Questions: • How can I identify how to best
get effective communication
across?
• What is my preferred
communication style?
• What tips for success can I
come up with?

3. Today We Will Explore Communication:
• What role does non-verbal communication
play in the process?
• What are the barriers to effective
communication?
• What are some techniques we can use to
overcome these barriers?
• How to identify communication preferences
• Navigating Conflict Successful

4. Ego States—Berne
Critical Parent—Control conversation, autocratic style,
judgmental, opinionated, demanding, disapproving, disciplining
Sympathetic Parent—Protecting, permitting, consoling,
caring, nurturing, consultative, participative
Natural Child—Curious, intimacy, fun, joyfulness, fantasy,
impulsive (not very managerial)
Adapted Child—Rebelliousness, pouting, angry, fear, anxiety,
inadequacy, procrastination, finger-pointing, aggressive.
Adult Ego—Gather information; rational thinking, calculating,
factual, unemotional, cool, calm behavior

5. Sample Transactions
Complementary Behavior Sample (Child-Parent)
• Employee (Child) “I just dropped the thing when I was almost done. Now I
have to do it all over again.”
• Supervisor Response (Parent) “It happens to all of us; don’t worry about
it.”
Complementary Behavior Sample (Adult-Adult)
• Employee (Adult) “I’ll have it done before tow o’clock, no problem.”
• Supervisor (Adult) “Please get this order ready for me by two o’clock.”
Crossed Transaction (Child-Child)
• Employee (Child) “I just dropped the thing when I was almost done. Now I
have to do it all over again.”
• Supervisor (Child) “You are so clumsy”
Crossed Transaction (Parent-Child)
• Supervisor (Parent) “Please get this order ready for me by two o’clock.”
• Employee (Child) “Why do I have to do it? Why don’t you do it yourself?
I’m busy.”

6. Applying Effective Criticism/Feedback
• Give more praise than criticism.
• Criticize immediately.
• Criticism should be performance-oriented.
• Give specific and accurate criticism.
• Open on a positive note and close by repeating
what action is needed.

7. Steps of Assertive Behavior
• Set an objective.
• Determine how to create a win-win
situation.
• Develop assertive phrases.
• Implement your plan persistently.

8. Habit 4: Think Win-Win
• The Habit of Interpersonal Leadership
• A belief in the Third Alternative
• It’s not your way or my way: it’s a better way
• Balance courage and consideration in seeing
mutual benefit
• Persist in looking for win-win outcomes
despite past win-lose conditioning
Think Win-Win

9. Steps to a Successful Outcome
Remember to breathe, stay centered, and monitor your emotions.
Step 1: Use a soft entry.
Step 2: Introduce the problem or challenge from your
perspective. If this is difficult for you - say so. If not, don’t.
Step 3: Cultivate an attitude of inquiry, discovery and curiosity. Let
them express their perspective - fully.
Step 4: Acknowledge their perspective.
Step 5: Problem-Solving. Now you’re ready to begin building solutions.
Brainstorming and continued inquiry are useful. Ask your
opponent/partner what they think would work. Whatever they
say, find something that you like and build on it (reframing).
If the conversation becomes adversarial, go back to Step 3.
Asking for the other’s point of view usually creates safety, and
they’ll be more willing to engage.

10. MBTI Activity- Review
1. Divide the team into Dominant groups:
S, N, T, and F
2. Answer the following questions:
If someone were trying to persuade you
to support a policy in the workplace,
• What would you want to hear about first?
• What would you need to hear about?
• What could be left out?
• What might offend you or cause you
to work against the policy?
3. Discuss your answers with others in your group
and record these answers on flipchart paper.

11. The Steps Involved in the
Communication Process:
Ideating—developing an idea or message – information to
be transmitted
Encoding—symbols, words, non verbal cues, pictures or
diagrams
Transmitting—memos, letters, telephone, e-mail,
policies, face-to-face verbal communication
Receiving—listening, reading, observing
Decoding—translating a received transmission into an
interpreted meaning
Acting, the final step—the receiver has a choice at this
point to either ignore the transmission, save it for a
later response, or do something else with it.

12. Communication Process
MEMOS
Oral message
requires good
listening skills
POLICY
PHONE
STATEMENT
RECEIVING
TRANSMITTING
CLOSED Written messages
LETTERS
CIRCUIT
require attention to
stated and implied
EMAIL
meanings requires
good listening skills
The way we communicate with others and with
ourselves ultimately
determines the quality of our lives. ~

13. DECODING
Meaning cannot
be transmitted
Receiver must translate
to perceived or
interpreted meaning
BARRIERS can occur anywhere but most likely in DECODING

14. Non-Verbal Communication
Facial
Expressions
Use of
How We Hands
Stand
KENESIS
Use of
Posture
Arms
Use of
Legs

15. Voice
Quality
Laughing Pitch
PARALANGUAGE
Speech
Volume
Rate

16. Must know them intimately Well acquainted
INTIMATE ZONE PERSONAL ZONE
Zero - two feet Two – four feet
PROXEMICS
(physical environment)
PUBLIC ZONE
SOCIAL ZONE
More than
Four – twelve feet
twelve feet
Acquaintance with a purpose Usually treat them as if they don’t exist

17. Barriers to Communication
Frames of Information
Reference Overload
Filtering Semantics
Status
Structure Differences

18. ACTING
The Final Step
in Communication Process
SENDER
Store
Can
for
Ignore
Later
OR
Do Something
Else With It

19. Frames of Reference
People communicate differently due to:
• Learning
• Culture
• Experiences
• If participants have a common frame of
reference, have effective communication
• If frames of reference are different,
communication may be distorted

20. FILTERING
(can occur either direction)
Can be intentional OR unintentional
Managers
withhold negative Errors in Encoding
information and Decoding
Employees Learning
manipulate
Due to different
information in Culture
frames of
order to avoid the
reference Experience
appearance of
having a problem

21. Semantics
Different words Sender cannot Concrete words
have different transmit have little
meaning to understanding or difference from
different people meaning sender to receiver
Love Abstract words Computer
Happiness may cause Typewriter
Liberal decoding problems Book
Conservative (semantics) Office

22. • Repetition
Elements • Empathy
That Can • Understanding
Help With • Feedback
Overcoming • Listening
Communication
Barriers

23. Guidelines for Effective Listening
 Stop talking. It is impossible to listen and talk at the same time.
 Listen for main ideas.
 Be sensitive to emotional deaf spots that make your mind wander.
 Fight off distractions.
 Take notes.
 Be patient. Let others tell their stories first.
 Empathize with other people’s points of view.
 Withhold judgment.
 React to the message, not the person.
 Appreciate the emotion behind the speaker’s words.
 Use feedback to check your understanding.
 Relax and put the sender at ease.
 Be attentive.
 Create positive listening environment.
 Ask questions.

24. Levels of Listening
How can you tell when someone is listening to you at each of these levels?
Ignoring—Making no effort to listen
Pretend Listening—Making believe or giving the
appearance you are listening
Selective Listening—Hearing only the parts of the
conversation that interest you
Attentive Listening—Paying attention and focusing on
what the speaker says and comparing that to your
own experiences
Empathic Listening—Listening and responding with both
the heart and mind to understand the speaker’s
words, intent and feelings.

25. Empathy
A technique to Sender should The greater the
understand the put themselves gap in learning,
receiver’s frame in the receiver’s culture, and
of reference shoes when experiences, the
composing the greater the
message effort must be
“When you listen with empathy to
another person, you give that person
psychological air.” ~ Stephen R. Covey

26. Feedback
Feedback is a must to Studies show that schools
ensure that messages have that use downward
been understood and communication need
received and helps the effective upward
sender and receiver obtain communication to have
mutual understanding effective communication

27. Two-way communication takes more time but
provides more satisfaction and is
recommended in all but the simplest and
routine transmissions of information.
To solicit feedback, try these questions:
• How do you feel about my statement?
• What do you think?
• What did you hear me say?
• Do you see any problems with what we
have talked about?

28. • Promote and cultivate feedback
Suggestions but don’t force it
• Reward those who provide
Regarding
feedback and use it
Feedback • When possible, go straight to
the source and observe the
results – don’t wait for
feedback
• Give feedback to subordinates
on the output of feedback
received

29. • Stop talking
Suggestions • Put the talker at ease
for • Show the talker you want to
listen
Improving
• Remove distractions
Listening
• Empathize with the talker
Skills
• Be patient
• Hold your temper
• Go easy on argument and
criticism
• Stop talking

30. Thank you for your
participation!