This document discusses good communication skills, including interpersonal communication, communication acts like questioning, listening, and reflecting. Interpersonal communication takes place between individuals or small groups, and is shaped by their roles, relationships, and personal qualities. Communication is a transactional, inevitable, purposeful, multi-dimensional process. Questioning can obtain information, encourage participation, and express interest. Listening focuses the message, gains understanding, and conveys attention. Reflecting guides discussions to focus on the partner rather than leading. Developing communication skills through questioning, listening, and reflecting is important for work and life success.

1. Uncovering the Meaning of
Good Communication Skills
Presented by:
Katrina Plourde, SPHR, MLHR
Westerville Public Library

3. Interpersonal Communication
• Takes place in a one-to-one or small group
setting
• Is made up of different communication acts
• Is shaped by and conveys the personal
qualities of the interactors as well as their
social roles and relationships
• Is a process
• Can be developed

4. Communication Is…
• Transactional
• Inevitable
• Purposeful
• Multi-dimensional
• Irreversible

5. Communication Acts
• Questioning
• Listening
• Reflecting

6. Why Question?
• Obtain information
• Maintain control of the interaction
• Arouse interest and curiosity
• Diagnose specific difficulties
• Express interest
• Encourage maximum participation
• Encourage critical thought and evaluation

7. Questioning
• Closed Questions: has a correct answer or a
short response
• Open Questions: can be answered in a
number of ways
• Recall Questions: simple recall of information

8. Questioning
• Process Questions: requires some higher
mental process in order to respond
• Affective Questions: relates to emotions,
attitudes, feelings or preferences of respondent
• Leading Questions: assumption-laden;
anticipated answer is implied.
• Rhetorical Questions: do not expect a
response or question is equivalent of a
statement.

9. Listening
Listening is the complex, learned human process
of sensing, interpreting, evaluating, storing and
responding to oral messages.

10. Why Listen?
• Focus on the message
• Gain full and accurate insight
• Monitor non-verbal signals
• Convey interest, concern, attention
• Reach a shared understanding and acceptance

11. Listening
• Discriminative listening
• Comprehensive listening
• Evaluative listening
• Appreciative listening
• Empathic listening
• Dialogic listening

12. Reflecting
Reflecting is the practice of guiding a
conversation in ways that facilitate a discussion
of issues that are important to the conversation
partner, rather than leading.
–Mirroring
–Restating

13. Why Reflect?
• Demonstrate interest
• Indicate close attention
• Check perception and accuracy
• Encourage further exploration
• Place emphasis on another
• Involve feelings
• To help scrutinize reasons/motives

14. Communication Inventory
• Where do your biggest problems lie in the
workplace?
• What techniques have your found useful to
overcome some of the challenges in
interpersonal communication?

15. Communication Inventory
• There are many tools you could use to
determine where you might focus your
personal development in communication.
• One helpful tool is the “Interpersonal
Communication Skills Inventory” available on
the U.S. Department of Agriculture website.
• (http://www.nal.usda.gov/wicworks/Sharing_Center/CT/Inven
tory.pdf)

16. Communication Inventory
• Some example questions are:
– When you are trying to explain something, do others
tend to put words in your mouth, or finish your
sentences for you?
– Do you find yourself not paying attention while in
conversation with others?
– Do you refrain from saying something that you think
will upset someone or make matters worse?
– Do you have a tendency to change the subject when
the other person’s feelings enter into the discussion?

17. Conclusion
• The ability to communicate is imperative to
your success at work and life.
• Communication involves knowing when and
how to best communicate in any given
situation.
• Communication acts such as questioning,
listening and reflecting are skills that can be
developed and improved.

18. Resources
Hargie, O. & Dickson, D. (2004). Skilled Interpersonal
Communication: Research, theory, and practice.
Routledge.