Importance of Communication

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Importance of Communication

• The five most important skills recruiters look
  for when hiring college and university students.
• 5 Teamwork
• 4 Critical thinking leadership
• 3 Interpersonal/social
• 2 Computer literacy
• 1 Oral and written communication

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Learning Objectives slide 1 of 2

• Explain the role of communication in the
  organization and why it is so complex for
  managers to understand.
• Define communication and explain how to achieve
  high-quality communication.
• Describe the components of the communications
  process.
• Identify the primary categories of interpersonal
  communication.
• Discuss the role of technological communication
  and information use in the workplace.

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Learning Objectives slide 2 of 2

• Address the primary reasons why managers
  communicate.
• Explain the barriers that interfere with
  effective communication.
• Discuss the types of formal communication
  channels.
• Describe the principles for effective feedback.
• Specify the guidelines for becoming a good
  listener.

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Communication Complexity

• Communication is complicated and dynamic with
  many factors influencing its effectiveness.
• Senders, messages, channels, and receivers do not
  remain constant or static.
• Even a simple two-person interactions involving
  multiple variables.
• Communication is symbolic with the meaning of
  most of our words and signs changing over time.

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Communication Defined

• Communication stems from the Latin root word
  communicare, which means to make common.
• A process in which one person or group evokes an
  identical meaning in a second person or group.
• Defining communication is relatively simple, but
  achieving high-quality communication is both
  complicated and difficult.

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Communication Process Components Context /Sender
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Social Context and Sender

• Social Context
• The setting in which the communication takes
  place.
• Sender
• The sender initiates the communication process by
  encoding his or her meaning and sending the
  message through a channel.
• Encoding translates the senders ideas into a
  systematic set of symbols or a language
  expressing the communicators purpose.

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Communication Process Components Message/Channel
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Messages and Channel

• Messages
• The tangible forms of coded symbols that are
  intended to give a particular meaning to the
  information or data.
• Channel
• The carrier of the message or the means by which
  the message is sent.

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Communication Process Components Receiver/Feedback
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Receiver and Feedback

• Receiver
• The receiving person or group must make sense of
  the information received.
• Decoding the translation of received messages
  into interpreted meanings.
• Feedback
• The process of verifying messages and the
  receivers attempts to ensure that the message he
  or she decoded is what the sender really meant
  to convey.

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Communication Process Components Noise
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Noise

• Any internal or external interference or
  distraction with the intended message that can
  cause distortion in the sending and receiving of
  messages.

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Interpersonal Communication Categories

• Oral Communication .
• Written Communication
• Nonverbal Communication ..
• Technological Communication

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Oral and Written Communication

• Oral Communication
• All forms of spoken information by far the most
  preferred type of communication used by managers.
• Written Communication
• Letters, memos, policy manuals, reports, forms,
  and other documents used to share information in
  an organization.

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Nonverbal Communication

• Kinesic behavior, or body motion, such as
  gestures, facial expressions, and eye behavior.
• Physical characteristics, such as body shape,
  physique, posture, height, and weight.
• Paralanguage, such as voice quality, speech rate,
  pitch, and laughing.
• Environment, such as building and room design,
  furniture, light, noise, and cleanliness.
• Time, such as being late or early, keeping others
  waiting.
• Proxemics, such as the way people perceive space,
  seating arrangements, and conversational distance.

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Technological Communication

• Telecommuting or telework
• The practice of working at a remote site by using
  a computer linked to a central office or other
  employment location.
• Electronic mail (e-mail)
• Sending messages through computerized
  text-processing and communication networks.
• Video conferencing
• An umbrella term for technologies that use live
  video to unite widely dispersed company
  operations.
• The Internet
• Essentially, everything can be done on the
  internet.

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Why Managers Communicate

• To motivate
• To inform
• To control
• To satisfy social needs

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Sources of Communication Barriers

• Cross-cultural diversity
• Trust and credibility
• Information overload
• Language characteristics
• Gender differences
• Other factors

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Communication Channels

• Formal Communication Channels
• Formal communication follows the chain of command
  and is recognized as official.
• Direction of Flow
• One way to view formal communication within
  organizations is to examine how it flows -
  vertically and horizontally.

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Formal CommunicationFlows
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Spontaneous Communication Channels

• Opportunistic and informal paths for
  communication that arise from the social
  relationships that evolve in the organization.
• The Grapevine
• An informal method of transmitting information
  depicted as the wandering of messages throughout
  the organization

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Communication Competency Challenges

• Expect to be misunderstood by at least some
  listeners and readers.
• Expect to misunderstand others.
• Strive to reduce the degree of such
  misunderstandings, but never expect total
  elimination of them or the ability to anticipate
  all possible outcomes.

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Principles of Effective Feedback

• Give feedback that is specific rather than
  general.
• Give feedback when the receiver appears ready to
  accept it.
• Focus feedback on behavior rather than the
  person, and focus it on behavior that can be
  changed.
• Provide feedback using descriptive information
  about what the person said or did.
• Avoid feedback using evaluative inferences about
  motives, intent, or feelings.

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Advanced Listening Skills

• Listen for message content.
• Listen for feelings.
• Respond to feelings.
• Be sensitive to both the nonverbal
  and the verbal content of messages.
• Reflect back to the sender, in your own words,
  what you think you are hearing.
• Be attentive and listen to understand, not to
  reply.
• Be patient. Dont interrupt the speaker. Take
  time to digest what has been said before
  responding.

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Implications for LeadersCommunication Points
slide 1 of 2

• You spend most of your time at work
  communicating.
• Your success is based on strong communication
  skills.
• Communication is becoming increasingly important
  in view of recent trends, such as increased
  globalization, diversity, and workplace
  specialization.