Is there any such thing as perfect communication?

Or are there merely varying degrees of MIScommunication?

Words don’t have meaning . . .

And sometimes they don’t

either!

- only people do

Some Wisdom on Words

MLCP: Supervisory Skills for Business & IndustryMODULE 7: LINES OF COMMUNICATION -

VERBAL

On successful completion of this module, participants will:

Have a sharpened awareness of the flow of communications within the organization, and of associated barriers and gateways.

Have a heightened understanding of the nature of active listening, and be prepped to continue practicing the basic skills involved;

Have examined the processes of making presentations and conducting interviews, and have learned tools and techniques for increasing individual effectiveness in these important communication skill areas.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Study by Dr. Paul Rankin - Ohio State University.(65-member study group; every 15 mins; 2-mth study period)

What’s your guess at the percentages?

Our ‘Upside-Down’ Educational Priorities!

Study by Dr. Paul Rankin - Ohio State University.(65-member study group; every 15 mins; 2-mth study period)

Findings by Dr Albert Mehrabian – U Cal-LA- How We Deliver Meaning

Words

When we communicate, we convey meaning as follows:

Tone & FacialsTone & Facials

BodyLanguage

“Wow! Hardly worth bothering with

the words!”

38% through tone and facials

7% through the spoken words

55% through body language)

Lawrence Appley, a former President of the American Management Association, defined the management function as,

“Simply, the business of getting others to do the things that must be done”

“Simply, the business of getting others to do the things that must be done”

If this is the management task, then communication must be the very heart and soul of managing any enterprise.

But if we can’t communicate effectively, then how are we to get others to do those things that must be done?

- Poor communication is a handicap we just can’t afford!

STRUCTURES:STRUCTURES:

Rigid Departmentalization

Clear Chain of Command

High Specialization

Narrow Spans of Control

Centralization

High Formalization

Hierarchical

Cross-Functional Teams

Cross Hierarchical Teams

Free Information Flow

Wide Spans of Control

Decentralization

Low Formalization

Organic

100%

67%

53%

40%

30%

20%Employees

Managers

Directors

VPs

Sr. VPs

Chief Exec

Board

Communication Loss by Transmission and Poor RetentionCommunication Loss by Transmission and Poor Retention

Findings from 100 Organizations

Savage-Lewis Corp., Minneapolis

Peer Intercommunication: 90%

How can organizations expect to survive with only 20% information efficiency?

Every year, more than 5% of North American companies go bankrupt!Every year, more than 5% of North American companies go bankrupt!

New businesses have only a 40% chance of lasting their 1st Year

90% of North American businesses have disappeared after 25 years!

The Communication ‘Grapevine’The Communication ‘Grapevine’

Grapevines flourish . . .

When the subjects are critical - or fascinating – to employees

When there is ambiguity

Under conditions that arouse anxiety

An unstructured & informal network, founded on social relationships

The oldest of the communication channels – and still often the fastest

Fuelled by rumour – but more often than not having at least a kernel of truth.

The Communication ‘Grapevine’The Communication ‘Grapevine’

E-mail and the wwweb have carried the grapevine far beyond the watercooler

e.g., www.vault.com

Pros and Cons:Pros and Cons:Helps employees make sense of situations when more formal information not available.

Affords social interaction; helps relieve anxiety; satisfies drive to bond; a sign of inclusion.

Can undermine morale when mgmt is slower than grapevine on important matters – suggests lack of concern

Info may become distorted enough to escalate anxieties

Walking the Talk:Walking the Talk:

- but actions talk louder than words! - but actions talk louder than words!

while others judge us by our actions.while others judge us by our actions.

And if you can’t say it . . .

. . . Don’t play it!. . . Don’t play it!

. . . Unless you live by them.. . . Unless you live by them.

YOU MUST WALK THE TALK!YOU MUST WALK THE TALK!

We judge ourselves by our intentions,We judge ourselves by our intentions,

People hear what we say; they see what we do…

If you can’t do it, don’t say it!If you can’t do it, don’t say it!

Words to live by are just words . . .

Facilitator ‘Primes the Pump’ with an opening

review of subject

Participants complete individual assignment

on the subject

Sub-teams brainstorm, consensus-reach, and

prepare summaries

Sub-team speakers report back to main

group

For a full text version, visit the MLCP

Supplemental Materials Website

MLCP: Supervisory Skills for Business & IndustryMODULE 7: LINES OF COMMUNICATION -

VERBAL

F= Statement is FalseT= Statement is True

?= Not Specified

INTERPRETING INFORMATION

Please jot down 2 or more factors that contribute to inaccurate interpretation

Please think of a workplace example involving inaccurate interpretation; note it down.

Please jot down 3 or more prescriptions

for improving interpretation

accuracy.

“I have a pet”

“It’s a dog”

“St Bernard”

“Full-grown”

“Tan & white”

“Colour?”

“What kind?”

“Why didn’t you just sayyou have a grown tan &white St Bernard pet?”

“What kind?”

“Pup or old?”

Wow! I see what you mean!

ACTIVE LISTENING

Components of Active Listening

Based on Steven L. McShaneCanadian Organizational Behaviour 5th Edition – McGraw-Hill Ryerson

ACTIVE LISTENING

Postponing Evaluation:

Avoiding Interruptions:

Two adverse effects of interruptions:

SENSING:

ACTIVE LISTENING

Avoid first impressions about the subject; keep an open mind.

Withhold evaluation until the speaker finishes.

When speaker’s train disrupted, receiver gets a broken or incomplete message.

Interruptions tend to result from second-guessing the speaker, contributing to problem of premature evaluation.

SENSING:

Maintaining Interest:

Active interest requires motivation:

We so often call a subject uninteresting or boring

Try the position, “There’s usually something of value in a conversation: It’s just a case of actively looking (listening) for it”

“In all this world, there’s no such thing as an uninteresting subject – only uninterested people!”

- G. K. Chesterton, Writer / Philosopher

ACTIVE LISTENING

EVALUATING:

Empathizing:

This component includes:

- Remembering the message

- Understanding the meaning of the message;

- Evaluating the message; and

ACTIVE LISTENING

Active listeners try to be sensitive to the speaker’s feelings, thoughts & situation, so can more accurately interpret the speaker’s verbal and non-verbal cues.

Empathizing includes listening from speaker’s point of view, and making efforts to ‘synchronize’ with the speaker.

EVALUATING:

Organizing Information:First we’ll explore perhaps the biggest and least-recognized listening trap of all:

- The differential between speech speed and thought speed

Typically in every 60 seconds:

ACTIVE LISTENING

Normal talking: 100 – 120 words/minuteThought speed: 400 – 800 words/minute

10 seconds of attention;50 seconds of ‘Out’;

EVALUATING:

Organizing Information:

Harnessing the differential between speech speed and thought speed is at the very heart of listening skills development:

ACTIVE LISTENING

Listen carefully to what the speaker has to say, - and what he AVOIDS saying;

1

Anticipate what his next point is going to be;2

Throw in mental summaries every few minutes as though preparing to make a speech-end report.

3

Responding:

Responding deals with the listener’s development and behaviours that support the communication process,

Showing Interest:

ACTIVE LISTENING

Active listeners show interest in such ways as:

maintaining good eye contact;

‘mirroring’;

‘matching’.

ACTIVE LISTENING

‘Mirroring’ (Signalling Similarity)

‘Matching’ (Synchronizing)

Responding:

Show commonality;

Reflect posture

People like it when they sense empathy

Matching others’ movements makes people feel in synch

Nod when they emphasize key points

But Remember: Subtlety is paramount!

Smile when the words indicate pleasure

Aim to maintain eye contact about 60% of the time

Imagine a small triangle on the forehead, just above the nose, and between the eyebrows

Looking at the triangle creates the impression of maintaining eye contact without experiencing the feeling of discomfort that that can come from staring into a person’s eyes

Eye Contact and the ‘Business Triangle’

ACTIVE LISTENING

Responding:

Clarifying the Message:Active listeners provide feedback by rephrasing the speaker’s ideas at appropriate breaks

“So you’re saying that . . .”

Provides three important benefits:

Further demonstrates your interest’

Helps consolidate what you’ve heard;

Enables speaker to gauge your level of understanding.

Now it’s time for your Active Listening Self-Assessment!

“Oh boy! Time to

confess!”

Working individually, please fill out the questionnaire.

Scoring and interpretation info will follow.

ACTIVE LISTENING

The sheet won’t be collected in - ‘Say it the way you see it’

ACTIVE LISTENING

Developing and Delivering PresentationsDeveloping and Delivering Presentations

People’s Greatest Fears:People’s Greatest Fears:

Death - 19%Death - 19%

Sickness - 19%Sickness - 19%

Drowning - 21%Drowning - 21%

Money problems - 22%Money problems - 22%

Insects & bugs - 22%Insects & bugs - 22%

Heights- 32%Heights- 32%

Public speaking - 41%Public speaking - 41%

Developing and Delivering PresentationsDeveloping and Delivering Presentations

Start with the end in mind!Start with the end in mind!- Get clear on the mission:

- What’s your objective?

- What’s the desired outcome?

If you don’t know where you’re going. . .If you don’t know where you’re going. . .

Consider this:Consider this:

- How would you even know if you got there?- How would you even know if you got there?

- How would you know if you strayed off-course?- How would you know if you strayed off-course?

- How can you reasonably expect to get there?- How can you reasonably expect to get there?

Developing and Delivering PresentationsDeveloping and Delivering Presentations

Consider Your AudienceConsider Your Audience

The success of a presentation can only be measured from the audience’s perspective.

“The meaning of a communication is the response it elicits”

R. Bandler & J. Grinder

Knowing something well and being able to communicate it are two different things!

Cater to your audience’s composition, disposition, subject matter grasp, language level.

Rapport provides the essential context for successful communication.

Developing and Delivering PresentationsDeveloping and Delivering Presentations

Concentration and RecallConcentration and Recall

TIMESTART END

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

RecencyPrimacy

CO

NC

EN

TR

AT

ION

/ R

EC

AL

L

Developing and Delivering PresentationsDeveloping and Delivering Presentations

A Simple Three-Part Presentation Plan:A Simple Three-Part Presentation Plan:

1.The Opening:1.The Opening:

2. The Body:2. The Body:

3. The Close:3. The Close:

‘TELL THEM WHAT YOU’LL TELL THEM’

‘TELL THEM’

‘TELL THEM WHAT YOU’VE TOLD THEM’

Your case; keypoints; data; arguments

Keypoint summary; action statement

Key concepts; WII-FM; timing; ‘rules of play’

Meet the ‘Phantom Critic’

He’s the toughest, most critical audience I can think of, and he reads over my shoulder while I write, challenging me at will.

He’s intolerant of . . .

- Long sentences

- Other long words

- Ambiguities

- Lack-of-Clarities

He’s Mr. K.I.S.S. personified, and he holds me accountablefor my every word!

Communication Self-Appraisal

Do I assume that if an idea is clear to me, it will also be clear to the receiver?

- Fifteen tough questions to ponder . .

1.

2.

Do I listen to understand, rather than spending my thought-power preparing my next remark?

3.

Am I tolerant of other peoples’ feelings, realizing that their feelings - which may be different from mine- affect their communication?

Communication Self-Appraisal

Do I really try to listen from the point of view of the sender before evaluating the message from my point of view?

- Fifteen tough questions to ponder . .

4.

5.

Do I check my understanding of what the other person has told me before I reply?

6.

Do I make a conscious effort to determine my own bias, if any, and try to make allowances for it?

Communication Self-Appraisal

Do I listen primarily for ideas and underlying feelings, or do I concern myself mainly with the detailed ‘facts’?

- Fifteen tough questions to ponder . .

7.

8.

Do I make a conscious effort to use the ‘feedback’ process to advantage both as a speaker and as a listener?

9.

How skilful am I at being brief, concise, and ‘to the point’ in my communications?

Communication Self-Appraisal

In my face-to-face communications, am I alert to the expressions, gestures, or mannerisms -the “Non-verbals” - that might indicate a conflict or breakdown in understanding?

- Fifteen tough questions to ponder . .

10.

11.

How easy is it for people to disagree with me when they have evidence or the experience to support their position?

12.

Do I make it comfortable for others to tell me what’s really on their minds - or do I tend to encourage them to tell me what I like to hear?

Communication Self-Appraisal

Do I always have to have the ‘last word’?

. . and now the last three closing questions . .

13.

14. How willing am I to let others know when I don’t understand, particularly in situations where, by doing so, I might be considered ‘dumb’?

When a point at issue is under discussion, do I tend to make it so strongly that other people yield too rapidly, despite their convictions to the contrary?

15.

“In the final analysis, WHAT we are communicates far more eloquently

than anything we say or do”

Stephen R. Covey, Author- Principle-Centred Leadership- The ‘7 Habits’ Series, and More.

Take Care, Folks!

See You Next Week.

tsi&@execulink.com