Marinita Schumacher

Key Principles of Effective Communication

Effective Communication

• is crucial for working successfully with others• enables to maintain relationships• accomplishes tasks with both individuals and

groups• motivates • helps to overcome obstacles• creates a relaxed, comfortable, trustful and

psychologically safe feeling

What is Communication?

• „Communication is a dynamic process that individuals use to exchange ideas, relate experiences and share desires through speaking, writing, gestures or sign language.“

Glenn & Smith, 1998

Components of Communication

• anthropological component–

• social component–

• signal component–

• process component–

Krallmann/ Ziemann, 2001

communication happens between at least two humanbeings

participants have certain intensions when communicating and understanding each other

during communication participants refer to a socially adapted set of signs in order to transmit a message

there are continuous changes during communication

One can't not communicate!

• Any kind of behaviour is communication• Communication is an interactive process of

sending and receiving messages• Communication can be seen as the link between

the sender’s and receiver’s internal experiences

!

The effectiveness of any communication depends on how closely the receiver’s understanding matches the sender’s intent

Watzlawick, 1996

Sender and Receiver SIGNAL

SENDER RECEIVER

The only message that matters is the one the other person receives

!

Schulz von Thun, 2001

encodes the meaning in his mind to a signal

deciphers this signal so that a similar meaning is stimulated in his mind

= a recognisable term, the sum of the messages in interpersonal communication

Verbal and non-verbal signals

• Verbal signals– transmit the content – are the words of the

message– deal with speech,

intonation, pitch, rhythm, etc.

• Non-verbal signals     – transmit the relational

dimension – postures, body

movements, touches, tone of voice, eye contact, pauses, rate of speech and volume

!Each message consists of verbal and non-verbal signals

Birkenbihl, 2005

A simple example from daily life

• Verbal example„I am amused“

– The sentence is spoken, the sense can be recognised by the different words and letters used

• Non-verbal example Somebody is laughing

– In this case laughing is body language which can indicate the fact, that the person is amused

Congruent and incongruent messages

• congruent message– Verbal and non-verbal

signals endorse each other

– Example: Somebody who says that he is unhappy and weeps

• incongruent message – Verbal and non-verbal

expressed are contradictory

– Example: Somebodywho says that he is happy but weeps

!Non-verbal signals have stronger impact than verbal signals

Steiger, 2002

Implicit and explicit message

• Explicit message– expresses

the information directly

• Implicit message – expresses

the information indirectly

!There is a great danger of misunderstanding in the field of implicit messages

Adams, 2003

Filters

• The two sets of filters of the sender and the receiver double the chance for misunderstanding– The sender’s filters influence how he expresses the

message-which words, gestures and voice tones he uses.

– The receiver’s filters define how he understands the message.

Standke, 1993

Meta-Level

• One of the basic abilities in successful communication is to determine which is the true major message of a signal

• Is it factual information which has been expressed or is the real request hidden in the implicit message?

!Meta-Level– the "this-is-what-is-meant"

part of the messageWatzlawick, 1996

Four sides of a message

SENDER RECEIVER

SIGNAL

Factual information

Relationship

Self-revelation

App

eal

SIGNAL

Schulz von Thun, 2001

• Factual information – explains the fact

• Self-revelation – expresses the sender himself and his feelings

• Relationship – expresses what the sender expects from the receiver

and what kind of relationship (contact) exists between the parties

• Appeal – seeks to have an influence on the other

Explanations of the four sides

Schulz von Thun, 2001

A simple example from daily life

MOTHER SON

Relationship “You don‘t visit me enough“

Self-revelation

“I am lonely”

App

eal

“Vis

it m

e m

ore

ofte

n”

Factual information“Your presence is nice“

“It‘s nice that you are here again“

Schulz von Thun, 2001

Translations of the message

• Factual information – The fact that the son is there is good.

• Self-revelation – The mother missed her son, she wanted to see him and

she is pleased to see him again now.

• Relationship – The unmistakably critical undertone implies the

closeness and the trust of the relationship between the mother and her son.

• Appeal – The mother uses the message to express her clear wish.

"Your presence is nice."

"I am so lonely."

"You don’t visit me enough."

"You should visit me more often!"

Schulz von Thun, 2001

“Four ears" of the receiver

• the correct decoding of the message by the receiver means that he has to have a particular ear for each of the messages

SIGNAL

SIGNAL

Factual information

App

eal

RelationshipS

elf-revelation

Schulz von Thun, 2001

Four questions to grasp all messages

• Factual information ear –

• Self-revelation ear –

• Relationship ear–

• Appeal ear–

Schulz von Thun, 2001

What is the factual content of the report?

What is this telling me about the other person?

What does the other person want me to know about myself and about our relationship?

What does he want to achieve?

Check-list for the receiver

• What are the messages in the signal? • Which was the main message? • Does the signal also contain implicit messages? • Was the signal congruent or incongruent?• What was expressed on the level of

metacommunication? • Have you picked up the signal with four ears or

with only one ear?

Barriers of Effective Communication

• inaccurate interpretation –

• selective perception –

• linguistic impact language–

• semantics–

ignoring or misunderstanding non-verbal signals or implicit messages

by selecting only certain elements from a message,hearing an expected message

style, tone, speed

different perceptions, meanings that different people attach to the same word

Conclusion

• Communication consists of several models and elements

• This presentation gives an overview and guideline to help the reader understanding the meaning and impact of communication

• Many of these elements are already used unconsciously

• Communication can be learned and improved by taking care of these aspects!

Bibliographie

• Adams, 2003 • Birkenbihl, 2005• Goodwin/ Duranti, 1992• Krallmann/ Ziemann, 2001• Martin/ Nakayama, 2000• Schulz von Thun, 2001• Standke, 1993• Watzlawick, 1996

• Learning Menu developed by Leonardo Project MENS available atwww.idec.gr./mens