Communication Competence
An important theme throughout this course has been communication competence, which is the ability to choose a communication behavior that is both effective and appropriate for a given situation. Take some time to reflect on your improved communication skills by taking the following quiz: How Good Are Your Communication Skills? Then, using our text, identify some key competencies on which you think you’ve improved or identify some areas for further improvement. How do you think these skills will enhance your relationships?
Prepare: As you prepare to write this discussion post, take a few moments to do the following:
Reflect: Take time to reflect on the various ways we can be competent communicators. Think generally about the role of communication in a satisfying life and rewarding career. Reflect on how improving your competencies can change your personal and professional relationships.
Write: Based on the information in Chapters 1, 2, and 11:
Thoroughly address all three elements of this prompt by writing at least two to three sentences on each element. Use the course readings at least once to help you make your points. Consider copying and pasting these tasks into a word file and addressing each of them separately.
MUST be 200words ++ MUST BE ORGINIAL WORK NO PLAGRIASIM.
SCORED 47 ON QUIZ ( RESULTS BELOW)
You’re a capable communicator, but you sometimes experience communication problems. Take the time to think about your approach to communication, and focus on receiving messages effectively, as much as sending them.
56-75 |
Excellent! You understand your role as a communicator, both when you send messages, and when you receive them. You anticipate problems, and you choose the right ways of communicating. People respect you for your ability to communicate clearly, and they appreciate your listening skills. (Read below for more.) |
Whenever you communicate with someone else, you and the other person follow the steps of the communication process shown below.
Here, the person who is the source of the communication encodes it into a message, and transmits it through a channel. The receiver decodes the message, and, in one way or another, feeds back understanding or a lack of understanding to the source.
By understanding the steps in the process, you can become more aware of your role in it, recognize what you need to do to communicate effectively, anticipate problems before they happen, and improve your overall ability to communicate effectively.
The sections below help you do this, and help you improve the way you communicate at each stage of the process.
(Questions 2, 11)
Your score is 6 out of 10
Before you start communicating, take a moment to figure out what you want to say, and why. Don’t waste your time conveying information that isn’t necessary – and don’t waste the listener or reader’s time either. Too often, people just keep talking or keep writing – because they think that by saying more, they’ll surely cover all the points. Often, however, all they do is confuse the people they’re talking to.
When you do this, you’ll be able to craft a message that will be received positively by your audience.
Good communicators use the KISS (“Keep It Simple and Straightforward”) principle. They know that less is often more, and that good communication should be efficient as well as effective.
(Questions 1, 5, 8, 10, 15)
Your score is 11 out of 25
When you know what you want to say, decide exactly how you’ll say it. You’re responsible for sending a message that’s clear and concise. To achieve this, you need to consider not only what you’ll say, but also how you think the recipient will perceive it.
We often focus on the message that we want to send, and the way in which we’ll send it. But if our message is delivered without considering the other person’s perspective, it’s likely that part of that message will be lost. To communicate more effectively:
With written communication , make sure that what you write will be perceived the way you intend. Words on a page generally have no emotion – they don’t “smile” or “frown” at you while you’re reading them (unless you’re a very talented writer, of course!)
When writing, take time to do the following:
Another important consideration is to use pictures, charts, and diagrams wherever possible. As the saying goes, “a picture speaks a thousand words.” Our article on charts and graphs has some great tips that help you to use these to communicate clearly.
Also, whether you speak or write your message, consider the cultural context . If there’s potential for miscommunication or misunderstanding due to cultural or language barriers, address these issues in advance. Consult with people who are familiar with these, and do your research so that you’re aware of problems you may face. See our article on Effective Cross-Culture Communication
for more help.
(Questions 7, 11, 13)
Your score is 15 out of 15
Along with encoding the message, you need to choose the best communication channel to use to send it. You want to be efficient, and yet make the most of your communication opportunity.
Using email to send simple directions is practical. However, if you want to delegate a complex task, an email will probably just lead to more questions, so it may be best to arrange a time to speak in person. And if your communication has any negative emotional content, stay well away from email! Make sure that you communicate face to face or by phone, so that you can judge the impact of your words and adjust these appropriately.
When you determine the best way to send a message, consider the following:
(Questions 3, 6, 12, 14)
Your score is 12 out of 20
It can be easy to focus on speaking; we want to get our points out there, because we usually have lots to say. However, to be a great communicator, you also need to step back, let the other person talk, and just listen.
This doesn’t mean that you should be passive. Listening is hard work, which is why effective listening is called active listening . To listen actively, give your undivided attention to the speaker:
Empathic listening also helps you decode a message accurately. To understand a message fully, you have to understand the emotions and underlying feelings the speaker is expressing. This is where an understanding of body language
can be useful.
(Questions 4, 9)
Your score is 8 out of 10
You need feedback, because without it, you can’t be sure that people have understood your message. Sometimes feedback is verbal, and sometimes it’s not. We’ve looked at the importance of asking questions and listening carefully. However, feedback through body language is perhaps the most important source of clues to the effectiveness of your communication. By watching the facial expressions, gestures, and posture of the person you’re communicating with, you can spot:
As a speaker, understanding your listener’s body language can give you an opportunity to adjust your message and make it more understandable, appealing, or interesting. As a listener, body language can show you more about what the other person is saying. You can then ask questions to ensure that you have, indeed, understood each other. In both situations, you can better avoid miscommunication if it happens.
Feedback can also be formal. If you’re communicating something really important, it can often be worth asking questions of the person you’re talking to to make sure that they’ve understood fully. And if you’re receiving this sort of communication, repeat it in your own words to check your understanding.
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