Communication skills ppt @ bec doms mba

1. Communication Skills

2. Communication Skills
Overview:
Communication skills are a
critical element in delivering
effective training.
Trainers must be able to use a
variety of communication
techniques in order to create an
environment that enables
participants to engage actively
in the learning process.
2 July 23, 2003

3. Session Objectives
By the end of the session, the participant will be able to:
 Describe reasons that communication fails
 List and discuss strategies to enhance communication
 Paraphrase and summarize conversations
 Use appropriate questioning techniques to lead discussions
and to assist learning
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4. What are the most common ways
we communicate?
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en Word V
Spo k
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Written Word ngu
age
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5. All communication methods are important
in training but our emphasis will be upon
the spoken word... since
70 % or all our communication efforts are:
misunderstood, misinterpreted, rejected,
disliked, distorted, or not heard (in the
same language, same culture)!

6. Group facilitation requires frequent and
high quality communication with others
A skilled facilitator
must be a
successful communicator
Trainers are facilitators
of learning and
communicating new
ideas is the main point
of training
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7. The Goals of Training Communications:
To change behavior
To get and give
To get action
Information
To persuade To ensure understanding
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8. Communication is the process of sending
and receiving information among people…
Feedback
receiver sender
SENDER RECEIVER
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9. All messages do not reach the
receiver due to “distortion”
Feedback
Sender Receiver
Distortion
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10. What causes distortion or the barriers
to understanding/listening?
 Perceptions Environment – noise
 Language Preconceived
notions/expectations
 Semantics
Wordiness
 Personal Interests
Attention span
 Emotions Physical hearing problem
 Inflections Speed of thought
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11. How can we improve our listening skills?
Eliminate distractions
Concentrate
Focus on the speaker
Maintain an open mind
Look for nonverbal cues
Do not react to emotive
words
Ask questions
Sit so you can see & hear
Avoid prejudices
Take notes
Ask for clarification
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12. Listening…the other side of communication
Too many people see communication as merely speaking.
Messages must be received as well as sent.
A good question to ask yourself is, are you
really listening or simply waiting for your turn
to talk?
If you are thinking about your reply before the
other person has finished, then you are not
listening!
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13. How can we improve our listening
& facilitation skills as trainers?
SUMMARIZIN
PARAPHRASING G
Restating what
Pulling together
another has said
the main points
in your own
of a speaker
words
QUESTIONING
Challenging
participants to
tackle & solve
problems
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14. Paraphrasing…try it out!
Use initial phrases such as:
Paraphrasing is simply
restating what another
person has said in your own  In other words…
words.  I gather that…
The best way to paraphrase  If I understand what you are
saying…
is to listen carefully to what
the other person is saying.  What I hear you saying is…
 Pardon my interruption, but let
Paraphrase often so you me see if I understand you
develop the habit of doing correctly…
so.
Practice some of the
following techniques on your
colleagues.
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15. Summarizing…try it out!
Summarizing pulls
important ideas, facts or
data together to establish
a basis for further
discussion and/or review
progress.
The person summarizing
Try out these summarizing phrases: must listen carefully in
order to organize the
“If I understand you correctly, information
your main concerns are…” systematically.
“These seem to be the key It is useful for
ideas you have expressed…”
emphasizing key points.
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16. Questioning…a critical facilitation skill
There are two basic types of questions:
Closed questions
generally result in short yes/no or other one
word answers. They should be used only
when you want precise, quick answers.
Otherwise, they inhibit thought.
2. Open-ended questions
invite an actual explanation for a response.
Questions that begin with “how”, “what” and
“why” are typical.
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17. Practice your questioning skills…
Rephrase the following closed questions to
make them open-ended:
2. Are you feeling tired now?
3. Isn’t today a nice day?
4. Was the last activity useful?
5. Is there anything bothering
you?
6. So everything in thefine, then?
(Compare your answers with those is notes below)
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18. Other questioning techniques include:
 Direct questions: asked of a particular individual – allows
you to initiate control – good for re-directing discussion
from excessive talkers.
 Return questions: puts the question back to the
questioner or group – “What do you think about that?”
 General overview questions: used to initiate a
discussion or set up a thoughtful exercise – “How would
you respond to the situation?”
 Hypothetical questions: tests the responder’s problem-
solving ability by posing a hypothetical situation – “If you
had an unlimited budget, what would you fund?”
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19. Other helpful techniques to foster
communication (both verbal and non-verbal)…
Repeat the last
Nod Your Head word or two of the
prior speaker
Maintain eye Keep an open
contact body position
Repeat a sentence
Make encouraging
or part of one
statements
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20. Ask yourself…
 Which of the skills
covered in this
module was most
useful as you think
about conducting a
training event?
 Which was the Write down three things
easiest to employ? you want to do to improve
your communication skills…
 Which was the most and practice them
prior to your next training event
difficult for you?
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