Communication skill

1. COMMUNICATION
PURPOSE:
How to recognise and apply best
practice in communication and be
aware of barriers to Communication
and how these may adversely affect
situational awareness. Recognition of
interpersonal style and the
appropriate development of
assertiveness in a bridge
environment.

2. Communication is an essential
part of human interaction. The
benefits of effective
communication are many and
obvious as they enhance all
aspects of our personal and
professional lives..

3. Ineffective or misunderstood
communications in our personal
lives may give rise to problems or
embarrassment but in our
professional lives the results of
misunderstandings may have
much more serious results

4.  In the world of international shipping, with
seafarers from many countries sailing on
ships trading to all parts of the world,
effective communication between those on
board and between ship and shore is
vitally important.

5. ‘Careless talk costs lives’. That may be
over-dramatic in most cases where
communications between seafarers or
between ship and shore go awry but it
does illustrate the importance of effective
communications and the real dangers if
they go badly wrong.

6. 1. Tanker Mooring Accident
a 56,000 GT Bahamian flag tanker was berthing at an
oil terminal in the UK when a mooring line parted and
struck the crew of a mooring boat causing serious
injuries. Because all verbal communications between
the master and crew were in Korean, a language he did
not understand, the pilot did not know that his
intentions had been mistaken until the accident
occurred. The accident was caused because of the
breakdown of communications between the pilot and
the ship’s master.

7. 2. Bulk carrier grounding
A 36,000 gt Panama flag bulk carrier was leaving
port under pilotage when it ran aground. The pilot
was conning the vessel and giving instructions to the
helmsman but his attention was distracted and he
failed to properly monitor the actions of the
helmsman. The result was that he failed to hear the
helmsman’s replies and the ship swung out of the
channel and aground. The accident was caused
because of the poor communications between the
helmsman and pilot.

8. Communication is the exchange and the transfer of
information between at least two persons.
Effective communication is all about
conveying your messages to other team
members clearly and unambiguously. It's also
about receiving information that others are
sending to you, with as little distortion as
possible.

9. For effective communications, when the
sender of a message communicates with
the intended recipient, there has to be a
correlation between what the sender is
thinking about and what the receiver is
thinking about. Text or words must
therefore be used in a consistent way,
and the first requirement for
communication is a set of messages that
are used consistently.

11. INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Interpersonal communication is the
process by which people exchange
information, feelings, and meaning
through verbal and non-verbal
messages: it is face-to-face
communication.

12. Elements of Interpersonal Communication
1. The Communicators
2. The Message
3. Noise
4. Feedback
5. Context
6. Channel

13. COMMON BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION :
1. The use of jargon
2. Emotional barriers and taboos
3. Lack of attention, interest, distractions, or
irrelevance to the receiver
4. Differences in perception and viewpoint
5. Physical disabilities such as hearing problems or
speech difficulties
6. Physical barriers to non-verbal communication
7. Language differences and the difficulty in
understanding unfamiliar accents.
8. Expectations and prejudices which may lead to false
assumptions or stereotyping
9. Cultural differences.

14. ASSERTIVENESS
 Assertiveness means encouraging others to be open
and honest about their views, wishes and feelings, so
that both parties act appropriately.
 standing up for your personal rights - expressing
thoughts, feelings and beliefs in direct, honest and
appropriate ways.
 Often wrongly confused with aggression, assertive
individuals aim to be neither passive nor aggressive in
their interactions with other people

15. BEING ASSERTIVE
 Being open in expressing wishes, thoughts and feelings and
encouraging others to do likewise.
 Listening to the views of others and responding
appropriately, whether in agreement with those views or
not.
 Accepting responsibilities and being able to delegate to
others
 Regularly expressing appreciation of others for what they
have done or are doing.
 Being able to admit to mistakes and apologise
 Maintaining self-control.
 Behaving as an equal to others.

17. ON-BOARD COMMUNICATION PHRASES
1. Operative Shiphandling
Eg. We are entering / we entered area ... .
Speed over ground / through water is ... knots.
A vessel is overtaking ... (cardinal points) of us.
2. Safety on Board
Eg. This is your Captain speaking, for safety reasons I request all crew members
to go to their assembly stations.
Evacuate all rooms / spaces / decks / ... and report.
3. Cargo and Cargo Handling
Eg. Unlock the hatch covers.
Check the hold(s) / hatch cover(s) / derrick(s) / ... for damage and report.

18. 4. Passenger Care
Eg. Attention please! Attention please!
This is your captain with an important announcement.
I repeat, this is your captain with an important
announcement. We have grounded/ a minor flooding (in ... )/
a minor fire (in ... ).