EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS STEPHEN NJUGUNA. Objectives After going through this unit you should be able to: Understand the process of communication;

EFFECTIVE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION

SKILLSSKILLS

STEPHEN NJUGUNASTEPHEN NJUGUNA

ObjectivesAfter going through this unit you should be able

to:• Understand the process of communication;• Identify different styles of communication and

use them in appropriate situations;• Develop your presentation skills and listening

skills;• Improve your communication skills when you

communicate with your peers, colleagues, customers and social circle.

Communication• Transferring information from one part of the business

to another that leads to some outcome, changed behaviour or changed practice

• “the social glue … that continues to keep the organization tied together”

• A transactional process that involves an exchange of ideas, information, feelings, attitudes or beliefs and impressions.

Communication • A cultural interaction with people in groups for

conversing and sharing ideas in social gatherings.

• A disseminating process that involves passing on information to the masses through media.

• Formal Communication – established and agreed procedures

• Informal Communication – channels not formally recognised – ‘the grapevine’

Communication Process

• The communication process for business organizations is much like the communication process between other individuals and groups.

Steps in Communication Process• Idea-Information exists in the mind of the sender

• Encoding- Putting the idea (thought) in a form that the receiver will understand.

• The channel- medium that the sender uses to transmit the message to the receiver

• Decoding-Interpreting the message by the receiver

• Feedback- to show that the message has been understood

Flow of Communication• Downward- from management to the

employees • Upward- from employees to the

management

• Horizontal-same levels of hierarchy in an organization

Flow of Communication

• Diagonal- between a manager and employees of other workgroups

• External- between a manager and external groups such as - suppliers, vendors, banks, financial institutes

Styles of Communication• Aggressive

• Passive

• Assertive

Aggressive Style:• One always stands up for own’s rights. Sometimes in

violation of other’s rights.• They give the impression of being superior in attitude,

domineering and self-important. • They think their feelings are more important than

those of other people. • They ignore or dismiss the needs, wants and opinions,

feelings or beliefs of others. • These types of communicators often face disrespect

from others.

Styles of Communication

Passive Style:• Communicator put others’ rights before his and thus

reduce his own self-worth.• They always consider themselves to be inferior to

others. • They fail to express their needs, wants, feelings,

opinions and beliefs and express them apologetically. • They have an overly soft voice with an apologetic

demeanor. • They suffer from poor self-esteem and are heavily

dependent on others for support and recognition.


Assertive Style• Communicator stands up for owns rights while having

respect for other people’s rights.• They give equal importance to both others’ as well as to

their own rights. They deal with people on equal terms. • They exude confidence in whatever they do and always

own up responsibility for their actions. • These people are positive with a high self-esteem. As

they give respect to all they also get it back in abundance.


Good Communication Skills For A Manager

• Acknowledge others communicating with you verbally and non-verbally.

• Give examples: Using personal experiences is a helpful way to communicate your ideas.

• Maintain a positive attitude: communicate with a positive attitude whenever you speak. People will be more interested in what you say.

Good Communication Skills For A Manager

• Listen actively: Listening is the key in developing any type of relationship.

• Interpret: Read between the lines of what is being said. Some people have a hard time expressing themselves. You can help them by trying to interpret what they mean.

How to communicate in different situations

Face-to-face: • Be simple and direct in your responses. • Match your non verbal cues with what you are

saying. Use hand gestures or other body language to give a positive impression about your intent.

• Even if you disagree about something, say so in clear terms but use appropriate language without getting too personal.

• Stay focused on the topic, not on the person.

Public Speaking: • Prepare, if you have the time, with good

research and mentally organize your thoughts.

• Use audio-visual aids to support what you want to say.

• Make eye contact with different members of the audience but do not stay focused on one person.


• Avoid long winded sentences.

• Do not show impatience even if the audience asks simple questions to issues that you may have discussed in your speech.

• Treat the audience with respect.



Meetings: •Whether you are chairing a meeting or participating in it, follow certain protocol to ensure that the meeting achieves its objective.

•First understand the objective of the meeting.

•If chairing, it is your responsibility to ensure that the objective is clearly articulated.


Meetings:• Explain why the participants are present and

their role in the meeting.

• As a participant, you must use active listening skills and demonstrate your interest in the topic with appropriate body language.

• Do not get too personal.

Effective communication helps the business in:

• Saving time

• Efficient utilization of Resources

• Effective coordination and issuing instructions

Barriers to effective communication

• Ability of the sender to understand the message.

• Content – including technicalities and jargon

• Method of communication – including style and body language where appropriate

• Skills and attitude of the receiver

Barriers to effective communication

• Organisational factors – complexity of the organisation, scope of the organisation

• Inappropriate target for the message

• Technical capabilities – ICT

Class Exercise

Personal Experience • Share with the class instances

where ineffective communication has been a cost to your business.

• From this experience what have you started doing differently to avoid the same experience?

THANK YOU

Documents

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS STEPHEN NJUGUNA. Objectives After going through this unit you should be able to: Understand the process of communication;