Unit 1 – Communication and Employability skills
P2 – Explain the principles of effective communication
General Skills
Adapting
content and style to suit audience needs
- This is very important since you need to make sure everyone understands what you are saying or explaining. You could be in front of an audience carrying out a presentation, you need to make sure people take in what you are saying. Some people may not fully understand some words since there may be from different countries who would probably get confused when you are using more vocabulary. This is why speaking clearly would make a huge difference rather than talking low or mumbling, if you did mumble people would not be able to hear you and wouldn't grasp everything that you have said. You would have to explain things in simpler terms to that everyone understands, you would need to give and in depth explanation to make sure people get it. It is important that you ask the audience if they have any questions in case they missed something or do not fully understand the concept. The style of your presentation is also vital, you cannot joke around if you are talking about something serious. This is because people won't think you are being serious, they would think you don't care, whereas if you was doing a fun presentation or speech where you was looking for a positive and energetic audience you would be expected to talk a little less formal so that people feel more relaxed or comfortable.
Accuracy
-When speaking to people in your working environment, you want to show that person that you know what you are talking about. If not they would probably think you do not know what you are doing or talking about. They wouldn't come to you for guidance or help. To avoid this you should make sure you are accurate. Do this by doing your work that you are meant to do, you will learn by doing, you should also research in case you are not sure of something. Especially if you are in an interview or again presenting a speech, you need to make sure all of the information is factual before hand since people will think you are making things up and you do not really know what you are talking about. If you are accurate people are more likely to ask you for help which shows that you would make a difference to the company if you are applying for a job, it shows that your skills can help.
Question
and answer
-If you aren't sure about something or need help you should always ask someone, there is no point sitting there doing nothing when you don't understand something they have told you. They would think you are not listening or you don't care if you do not reply, you should ask questions so that you fully understand what the person wants you to do. Question and answer is important when in a conference or in front of an audience, you should ask if they have any questions in case someone wants to debate or disagrees, also if someone doesn't understand or missed something out.
Interpersonal Skills
Positive
and negative language
-When speaking to people in your work place you may bump into negative vibes. It is important that you work around this negativity and get on with your task. This shows that you are tolerated and can work with people you do not like. It is important to keep positive when speaking to people , this makes the atmosphere much better and makes it easier to get on with the day. The only negativity that should be shown is when you are debating, and even this still must be polite and formal so that you seem more professional and mature.
Barriers
-Barriers are things that stop you or keep you from communicating effectively. For example if you was talking to a class of students and somebody has their back turned, this means that that person is avoiding eye contact which is quite important when trying to explain something or teach something. This is because when people look at you when you are talking they concentrate more on you so they take in what you are saying, it is also classed as being rude if you do not look at the person during communication. Another type of barrier would be sounds or noise, this can easily distract whoever you are talking to . For example a car alarm may go off outside this would make it hard to communicate since there is a loud noise which would probably be louder than your voice making you hard to hear. People talking is very irritating and is a huge barrier since if people see other people talking then they will then talk since they think you can get away with it. It distracts others and people will not listen.
Methods
- When communicating sometimes it is very effective to use different methods. Methods such as hand gestures, when explaining something complicated sometimes it is much easier to get your point across when you use your hands, hand movements help the audience visualise what you are talking about. It also shows that you are confident in what you are talking about. Another type of method would be doing a practical inform of people if you are trying to prove or show something, hands on works shows that you know what you are talking about, it is also an opportunity to involve the audience. It is good to keep moving during a presentation so that people do not get bored, make sure that you make eye contact with as many people as possible to try and make them feel like you are talking directly to them not just everyone else.
Written communication skills
Emails, letters and fax/social media
-When writing emails you should make sure that you include a subject, name and content. The content should be correct, it should also be formal depending on who it is for. If it is an email to your boss or colleague it should be formal whereas if it was an email to your friend it would most probably be informal more than anything. The same apply to Letters, but this time you should include the address correctly in case it send to the wrong address. Letters and Fax's are hardly used any more since social media has become huge all across the world. It would be easier to communicate via a Facebook group or a twitter account. If your company has a twitter account you will be able to see what up to date and not miss out on anything since it would be a great why to keep people up to date by tweeting regularly. The same goes with a Facebook group, it is easier for people to communicate sine it is fast, easy and almost everybody has Facebook account.
Proofreading
- Proof reading is important since your work or writing needs to be correct and punctual. This is because people would judge that you are not very formal and will presume that you do not care about your writing. It will look like you are lazy, another reason is making sure everything that you put is actually correct and makes sense or else you will look like you have no idea what you are talking about. You want to make a good impression depending on who the letter/email is for.
Structure
-The structure of your writing is very important, this is because it makes it harder for people to read if there are hardly any paragraphs. You need to add title so that they know what each paragraph is, or just set it out correctly depending on what the letter/email is for. If somebody opens an email that is a giant block of writing they will probably skim and scan and not read it fully since it seems like allot of writing, whereas if you set it out into paragraphs, they are more likely to take the time and read it. The structure of your writing must be formal if you are writing for someone important, the welcome (Dear Mr Stuart) and intro (I am writing) must be accurate and well formatted.
Barriers
-Barriers are things that stop you or keep you from communicating effectively. For example if you was talking to a class of students and somebody has their back turned, this means that that person is avoiding eye contact which is quite important when trying to explain something or teach something. This is because when people look at you when you are talking they concentrate more on you so they take in what you are saying, it is also classed as being rude if you do not look at the person during communication. Another type of barrier would be sounds or noise, this can easily distract whoever you are talking to . For example a car alarm may go off outside this would make it hard to communicate since there is a loud noise which would probably be louder than your voice making you hard to hear. People talking is very irritating and is a huge barrier since if people see other people talking then they will then talk since they think you can get away with it. It distracts others and people will not listen.
Methods
- When communicating sometimes it is very effective to use different methods. Methods such as hand gestures, when explaining something complicated sometimes it is much easier to get your point across when you use your hands, hand movements help the audience visualise what you are talking about. It also shows that you are confident in what you are talking about. Another type of method would be doing a practical inform of people if you are trying to prove or show something, hands on works shows that you know what you are talking about, it is also an opportunity to involve the audience. It is good to keep moving during a presentation so that people do not get bored, make sure that you make eye contact with as many people as possible to try and make them feel like you are talking directly to them not just everyone else.
Written communication skills
Emails, letters and fax/social media
-When writing emails you should make sure that you include a subject, name and content. The content should be correct, it should also be formal depending on who it is for. If it is an email to your boss or colleague it should be formal whereas if it was an email to your friend it would most probably be informal more than anything. The same apply to Letters, but this time you should include the address correctly in case it send to the wrong address. Letters and Fax's are hardly used any more since social media has become huge all across the world. It would be easier to communicate via a Facebook group or a twitter account. If your company has a twitter account you will be able to see what up to date and not miss out on anything since it would be a great why to keep people up to date by tweeting regularly. The same goes with a Facebook group, it is easier for people to communicate sine it is fast, easy and almost everybody has Facebook account.
Proofreading
- Proof reading is important since your work or writing needs to be correct and punctual. This is because people would judge that you are not very formal and will presume that you do not care about your writing. It will look like you are lazy, another reason is making sure everything that you put is actually correct and makes sense or else you will look like you have no idea what you are talking about. You want to make a good impression depending on who the letter/email is for.
Structure
-The structure of your writing is very important, this is because it makes it harder for people to read if there are hardly any paragraphs. You need to add title so that they know what each paragraph is, or just set it out correctly depending on what the letter/email is for. If somebody opens an email that is a giant block of writing they will probably skim and scan and not read it fully since it seems like allot of writing, whereas if you set it out into paragraphs, they are more likely to take the time and read it. The structure of your writing must be formal if you are writing for someone important, the welcome (Dear Mr Stuart) and intro (I am writing) must be accurate and well formatted.
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