The Art of Communication

THE ART OF COMMUNICATION
Copyright Spearhead Training Ltd & Velag Norbert Muler GbmH

Communication - An Important Skill

Definitions of the word communication, are many. One of the most comprehensive is: "The interchange of thoughts, opinions, ideas or information by speech, writing and gestures, communication is also an exchange of feelings and attitudes". (Handbook of Sales Training and Development), Pat Weymes, Cogan Page Publication).

When there is a breakdown in communication between people, time is wasted and the communication has to be repeated. That is the simple solution. Most times, however, it is not that simple. Breakdowns in communication can lead to conflict, and worse. Costly mistakes are made, frustration builds up leading to anger, which in turn leads to demotivation and a rapid decline in productivity.

If you do not want to waste your and other peoples' time by continually repeating your messages, clearing up the mess and solving the problems that bad communication generates, whether it is through the spoken word, written word or gestures, then you must resolve to be the very best in all aspects of human communication in your environment. Being the best will enable you to concentrate on organising and planning the tasks and activities that will produce the results.

Let us look at the skills we need to develop:

Speaking
Listening
Observing
Writing

The Art of Speaking

You should always aim for clarity and brevity. Always be aware of the difficulties that can be encountered when talking to people of a different age group, differing levels of education and different languages. Take health factors into consideration - is the message not getting through because the listener is hard of hearing? It is your responsibility, as the communicator of the message, to see that it is understood. It is essential that you obtain feedback to check that your message has been received and understood. Use the tried and tested method of asking questions open questions. Structure your questions to contain one of the seven interrogatives which can be used to elicit information: who, what, where, why, when, which, and how.

Starting a question with a verb will lead you to a conversational dead end, as these are known as closed questions; they will bring forth yes and no answers but very little information. "Open" and "Closed" questions are two types of question techniques which can be used. There are others: leading questions, which result in obtaining the answer you wanted to give little useful information; control questions, used to keep the subject under discussion; probing questions, which seek additional information, to add to that previously obtained; reflecting questions used to check understanding.

Skilful use of your voice is the key to successful speaking. You must learn to use the variables that make your voice interesting and make people want to hear you speak (and more importantly, listen to you). Use the variations of volume, speed and tone. Do not neglect the use of the pause, invaluable in gaining unsolicited information.

For a course on speaking in public see our Presentation Skills training programme

The Art of Listening

Having spoken your message, and asked open questions to gather feedback and to check understanding, you now have to listen.

So how important is listening to us as good communicators? Surveys show that we spend 70% of our waking time in communication. Of that 70% we spend 45% of it listening - badly. Of all the communication skills that you need, listening is the most important.

Many people believe that listening is a natural function, such as tasting, smelling, or seeing. It is not! It is a skill that can be learnt, just as reading and writing was.

What is the secret of better listening?

On no account should you interrupt the speaker. Having asked questions to establish understanding, you must listen, by giving your undivided attention to the speaker. You should not interrupt under any circumstances. You must allow the speaker to say what he/she has to say until it is clear that they have finished. Nor must you finish what they are saying even if you think you know what they are going to say. Interrupting and finishing sentences for others is a classic sign of someone who is decidedly short on listening skills. Speakers who are interrupted and have statements finished for them quickly indicate their desire not to communicate.

However, it is not sufficient just to avoid interrupting and finishing sentences, you must be seen by the speaker to be listening actively. Active listening is giving the speaker your full attention, and not letting outside distractions divert your attention from the speaker. Face him/her, maintain good eye contact and make appropriate comments.

Always listen carefully. Iistening mistakes are extremely costly. Instructions and information are easily distorted as they are passed up and down and sideways throughout the organisation. The correction of any work done badly as a result of poor communication is a huge drain on a business resource.

Here are some pointers to better listening.

Use the time to think carefully about what is being said.
Identify the speakers, evidence and arguments.
Do not let your feelings interfere with the message that you are receiving.
Keep an open mind.
Do not let physical aspects of the speaker distract you.

The Art of Observation (non verbal communication)

The next area of communication to look at is that of observing, or non verbal communication. In communication it is said that only a small percentage of the impression that you make on other people comes from the verbal communication - the figures given are 7-10% and that is from the words that you use. The communication that makes the greatest impression on others is that of the non verbal aspect.

Never underestimate the power of non verbal communication. It is said that the non verbal element of communication can account for over 50% of the influence which a speaker has. These non verbal signs that carry so much weight are:- posture, bearing and gait, facial expressions, eye contact, eye movements, distance between speaker and listener, gestures, particularly hand to face gestures, and your appearance (dress).

Non verbal communication, or body language, has been described as the language we all speak but very few of us understand. Put simply, body language is the message you receive when you watch a silent film or the television with the sound turned off. Body language conveys more about what people really mean than all the words ever spoken. Words can lie - body language does not! Many of the signals which have been generated in the brain are sent out by the body and communicated subconsciously.

The power for you in non verbal communication is in your ability to read and understand the other persons signs, signals and movements. You also learn to control the non verbal signs and signals emanating from your own body.

Your posture, for example. Are you aware of how you are sitting? Are you creating an "I am interested" posture by sitting forward, head slightly inclined, good eye contact with the speaker/listener, back straight, hands unclenched, on your lap, or just resting on the table. Or is it the opposite? Are you slouched down in your chair with arms folded, looking down avoiding eye contact.

What was your bearing and gait like when you came into the presence of the person you were meeting? Were you walking upright, with a spring in your step; without shoulder stoop, head up ready to meet the other person's eyes? Had you a smile on your face, giving the impression that you are very pleased to be in that person's presence. Or was it the opposite? A shuffle of the feet, shoulders down, a frown replacing a smile, head down, avoiding any form of eye contact.

Who would you prefer to be talking to? And whose message is going to be accepted, understood and acted upon?

The importance of eye contact was stressed in the section on listening. Eye contact is without a doubt the most powerful element of non-verbal communication. Other important facial expressions come from the position of the eyebrows; are they up or down? Down is more likely to result in a frown, which will be perceived as negative.

The mouth also has an important role to play; are the corners up or down? If the corners of the mouth are down, it will almost certainly indicate that the person is serious or possibly angry.

When you are communicating with people, the way in which they accept your communication depends to a degree on how close to them you are. We are very guarded about our personal space. You should understand that how close you stand or sit next to other people will depend upon how well you know them. Stand or sit too close to someone you have just met and your message will go unnoticed. The other person will not listen to your message as you will be perceived as being a threat.

Most important of all is the gesture. Clenched fists and finger waving will only generate resistance and appear threatening. Use the open palm gesture to create trust and confidence. The body language that is very important to you and which you need to learn or train yourself to control is the hand and face gestures which you are involuntarily making while speaking. Continually touching the nose, mouth, eyes and ears creates a feeling of uncertainty in the person observing you; they will be more mistrustful of you. This reaction is, of course, subconscious, but nevertheless, has a powerful influence on the feelings of people when making a judgement about the honesty of the person with whom they are in communication.

Creating a feeling of safety, security and confidence will be aided by dressing appropriately, relating your dress to the circumstances of your environment or the people with whom you are communicating. It is important to co-ordinate your colours to convey the best possible image.

The Power of the Written Word

Today, the true average cost to a large organisation of writing a letter is between £25-£35. Banks are charging private customers £25 if they are required to write to them, when customers exceed their credit limit.

Good communication results when the message is read and understood the first time. It is essential, therefore, to get the message right first time. The expense involved in writing another letter to explain the first does not bear thinking about, in cost terms. Badly written communication also generate unwanted telephone calls, usually asking for an explanation of the written communication. What a waste of time this is!

What is your objective in communicating in writing? It is usually to deal with something too complex to be handled by a telephone call, or someone requiring proof of something.

Does your correspondence conform to the Fog Index formula? The prime objective is to write in a manner that will be read immediately, and understood. This is known in communication jargon as the "readability" factor. This factor is expressed by a simple formula. This formula which was devised by Flesch & Gunning in the USA was to check the ease with which written material can be read and understood. The method was based mainly on sentence length and the extent to which multi-syllable words are used. The formula is usually referred to as the Fog Index.

The ideal sentence pattern should be of 8-11 words, anything over 15 tends to be too elaborate. You can obtain your fog index by dividing the total number of words in the letter/memo/report by the total number of sentences in the letter/memo/report. Also as a guide, only 25% of the words in the letter/memo/report should contain more than two syllables.

For a course on business writing see our Improve Your Business Writing Skills training programm.

Course Directory

Tailored Training

Spearhead Training

Announcements

Tel: +44 (0)1608 644 144
Fax: +44 (0)1608 649 680

Testimonials

I feel that I will take away great knowledge from attending this course.
J. T. - Jun 2007
Rationel Windows (U.K.) Ltd.