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Communication Skills
for Success
Goals of Communication
 To inform – you are providing information for use in
decision making
 To persuade – to reinforce or change a belief about a topic
 To build relationships – some messages that you send may
have the goal of building good will between you and the other
person.
Barriers to Communication
 One person has no interest in the conversation.
 You are not able to participate in the discussion due to lack of
knowledge on the subject.
 Jumping to conclusions without waiting for the whole
message.
 Fear of offending the other person by expressing your opinions.
 You not feel comfortable sharing your feelings with the other
person.
Barriers to Communication
 Messages do not come across to the listener in the way
you intended.
 Not listening to the other person by allowing thoughts to wander,
listening only to what you have to, filtering out what is not
important to you, planning a response before the other person
has finished speaking.
 Spending more time arguing or debating along with
put-downs and sarcasm.
Ways to Improve Communication
 Encourage feedback - Listen to what others have to say, good or
bad
 Listen - Make an effort to listen to what the other
person is saying
 Reduce misunderstandings - Meanings are not in words, but in
people – consider the message in relation to its source. Different
words mean different things to people. Keep this in mind
when communicating with others.
 Make Eye contact- Making eye contact with speaker
focuses attention, reduces the chance of distraction and is
encouraging to the speaker.
 Exhibit affirmative Nods and Appropriate Facial Expressions-
The effective listener shows signs of being interested in what
is said through nonverbal sign
 Do Not Talk Too Much: Talking is easier than listening
intently to someone else. An active listener recognizes that it
is impossible to talk and listen acutely at the same time
Ways to Improve Communication
 Understanding is the KEY to communication.
 Understanding requires active listening.
Ways to Improve Communication
Active Listening Skills
 Concentrate on what is being said, not the delivery of
the message.
 Be open to whatever is being said, without judgment - don't
form an opinion, just listen.
 Restate what has been said helps the speaker know that you
understand.
 Summarize the important messages so that you and the
speaker recognize what was important during the conversation.
Active Listening Skills
 Avoiding distractions that pull your attention away from
the speaker.
 Make sure you understand what the speaker means:
 I think what you said was …,
 What I hear you saying is …,
 What did you mean when you said/talked about …,
 Are you saying …
Increase Understanding
Be Specific
Useful – “I think it is good because …”
Not useful – “That is good.”
Focus on Behavior NOT the Person
Useful – “I think this report needs to focus more on …”
Not useful – “You really have done a poor job.”
Focus on the Timeliness of the Feedback
Only give feedback when the person is receptive to hearing it, or is
seeking feedback.
Increase Understanding
Share Information / Experience
Share what, not only why something could have been done differently.
Do Not Overload
Too much information, especially negative, can be overwhelming
Check that the Person Does Understand
Ask…”What did you understand from what was said?”
Remember, Feedback is Given to Help, not Hurt
Balance positive to negative feedback by giving 2 positive comments for 1
negative comment
Increase Understanding
Open and Closed Questions - In order to gain more information, ask questions
that require more than a one word answer.
 An open question keeps the communication going.
 A closed question allows a single word answer, for example YES, NO or OK
Open and Closed Questions - Examples:
Closed Question - Did you enjoy the dinner?
Open Question - What did you enjoy about the meal?
Closed Questions – Are you feeling okay?
Open Questions - You seem a bit tired, what’s up?