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Communication is your door to financial wealth, loving relationships, and all that is good in life. Communication is the most talked about and least understood area of human behavior. Our ability to communicate in so many modes is unique to humans on earth. People who do not have the ability to speak can be wonderful communicators. The loss of one or two senses certainly can impair communication, but it does not have to stop communication. Effective communication is rarely taught and even more rarely learned in our society. What follows is an outline of a few of the many keys to mastering the art of communication. Superior communication skills are unquestionably vital to living a life by design.
Listen to the recording about communication and fill in the gaps. Listen again and check your answers. Indicate which of the words you would stress and where you would make pauses. In pairs read and compare your versions.
We live in the .…..….1……… age with a billion signals, ……….2………. and meanings all competing for our ……….3………. at any one time. The ……….4………. from the boss, the phone call from home, the traffic news, the ……….5………. in today’s newspaper, the ……….6………. on your computer screen and the ……….7………. of the magazine you’ve just bought – are few ……….8………. of the communications you may ……….9………. at any one moment, on any one day.
Communication is like a ……….10………. place where communicators are ……….11………. with other communicators for buyers or ……….12………., just like traders are competing against one another to sell their products.
With so much communication around how can you be sure that the ……….13………. you’re sending out are being ……….14………. . The answer is that you can’t. But one thing is ……….15……….: you are sending messages ……….16……….. The two basic laws in communication ……….17………. say, first, that you are ……….18………. all the time and, secondly, that you cannot not communicate. If you speak, people ……….19………. you. If you don’t speak, people interpret that too. If you are ……….20………., people interpret that. But if you remain……….21………. or if you are not even there, people will interpret your silence or your ……….22………. just as surely as they interpret what you say.
If we do not want to be ……….23………., we need to make sure we are communicating ……….24………. what we mean.
A
Quotations on communication
Give your comments on the quotations below.
Communication works for those who work at it.
Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so he is.
When all other means of communication fail, try words.
We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.
To speak and to speak well are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks.
The older I grow the more I listen to people who don't talk much.
Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.
The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
Talk to people about themselves and they will listen for hours.
The difference between a smart man and a wise man is that a smart man knows
what to say, a wise man knows whether or not to say it.
B
Read the facts about different types of communication; choose the most impressive ones and discuss them in small groups of 3-4 students
Did you know?
According to research, the total impact of our communication consists of words (7%), tone of voice (38%) and body language (55%).
In a survey carried out in the USA, over 82% of people said their opinion of a company was influenced by the way the telephone was answered.
In work situation men talk more than women do, whereas women talk more than men do in a home environment. At work women are generally better listeners than men.
The most widely spoken language in the world is Mandarin with nearly 1 billion speakers. English has nearly half a billion native speakers.
The average person speaks for a total of about 10 minutes a day, and the average sentence lasts about 2.5 seconds.
Americans say ‘hello’ when answering the phone, the French ‘allo’, some British say their phone number, Germans often their last name, Italians ‘pronto’ (I’m ready), Spaniards ‘digame’ (tell me), Japanese ‘moshi’ (hello), and Chinese ‘wei’ (hello).
The habit of shaking hands may have been introduced by cave men. They would show that they were not hostile by dropping their club and offering their hand.
The top 5 American fears are: public speaking, heights, insects and bugs, financial problems and deep water.
Separate studies have shown that professionals consider communication skills more important than technical skills, and that effective speaking before a group is considered to be the main indicator of likely career advancement.
It has been estimated that an audience will forget more than 75% of what they hear within 24 hours.
Thomas Jefferson suggested that ‘the most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do’. Concise language reflects the principle of KISS – ‘Keep It Short and Simple’.
Of all the information the mind stores, 75% is received visually, 13% through hearing, and 12% through smell, taste, and touch. Visual aids improve learning by 200%, retention by 38%, and understanding complex subjects by 25% to 40%. Visual aids in colour get an 85% higher attention span.
Most people speak at a speed of 120-200 words per minute. But the mind can absorb information at 600 words per minute.
C
Discuss the questions below with your partner. Then compare your answers with the answers of other students
1. Which of these forms of communication will be most used and least used in the
future?
a) mobile phones b) video phones c) Internet d) faxes
e) video conferencing f) letters
2. How much time a day do you spend on the phone and on written communication?
a) 10 min. or less b) 20-30 min. c) 30-60 min. d) over an hour
3. Who do you find is the most and least difficult to communicate with?
a) your boss b) the opposite sex c) foreign clients d) children
e) relations outside your immediate family
4. When you’re talking, how much of the time do you use gestures? And on the
phone?
a) 0-10% b) 20-40% c) 50-70% d) 80-90% e) 100%
5. Which form of communication with clients and suppliers do you prefer?
a) face-to-face b) telephone c) written
6. When communicating face-to-face with someone, how often do you touch that
person?
a) never b) occasionally c) quite often d) frequently
D
1. Think of a good communicator you know. Explain why they are good at
communicating?
2. What makes a good communicator? Choose the three most important factors
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What other factors are important for communication?
E
Discuss these questions:
Which of the forms of written and spoken communication below do you use most:
a) in your language? b) in English?
Written |
Spoken |
e-mails faxes letters memos minutes reports |
conversations interviews meetings negotiations phone calls presentations |
Which do you feel you do best? Which do you like least?
Do you use any other forms of communication?
Which words below apply to good communicators and which apply to bad communicators? Add some adjectives of your own to the list.
articulate coherent eloquent fluent focused hesitant inhibited lucid persuasive rambling responsive sensitive succinct tongue-tied |
5. Which of the words above have the following meanings?
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d) able to express ideas well e) clear and easy to understand f) good at influencing people |
How well are you communicating?
Check out what kind of relationship you have with your partner by choosing one answer for each of the questions below. Then look at your score.
Your partner asks your opinion of a meal he/she has prepared for you. What do you say?
a. Say it is delicious and praise his/her efforts.
b. Tell the truth at all costs.
c. Say it would probably have been cheaper to eat out
If you have been watching a TV play or documentary together, what happens afterwards?
a. You both voice your opinions even if you don’t agree.
b. You try to avoid a discussion since you already know his/her view point.
c. You seldom enjoy watching the same type of programme.
Your partner has a habit, such as smoking, which you hate.
a. Tell him/her how happy it would make you if he/she could give it up.
b. Threaten him/her with dire consequences if he/she continues.
c. Flush his/her cigarettes down the toilet.
What are most of your disagreements about?
a. Small matters easily resolved.
b. Basic misunderstandings.
c. Money.
Navigating new territory, your partner, who is driving, takes a wrong turn. What do you do?
a. Get out the map and trace a new route.
b. Pretend not to notice you are going the wrong way.
c. Sit back smugly, and tell him/her what a fool he/she is.
On your birthday, your lover buys you something you don’t like. What do you say?
a. Thank him/her for the gift and comment on his/her general kindness.
b. Tell him/her honestly the damaging truth.
c. Say it’s about time he/she knew what you wanted.
Score: two points for every (a), one point for (b), and no points for (c).
10-12
Excellent. You appear to have a very warm and effective level of communication with your partner and the betting is that your relationship is a very happy and comfortable one.
7-9
Reasonable. Yours is a fairly typical relationship, for the most part you understand and empathize with each other, but there are occasional lapses (probably on both sides) and these lead to slight misunderstandings.
4-6
Less than satisfactory. You are not giving as much time to communicating effectively as you should. You should consider ways of improving it!
0-3
Disastrous. Oh dear! It appears that your ability to communicate is not all it might be. Time to take action!
Improving Communications
1. Listen to the interview with Penny Logier, Retail Director at the London-based communications agency MediaCom TMB, and answer these questions.
What two factors have improved communication between companies and their customers?
What does she say about e-mail?
What is an Intranet? How has an intranet helped her company to communicate with the Volkswagen group?
What can happen to client relations if communication is unclear?
2. Penny says it is not possible to be a good manager but a poor communicator. Complete this extract of what Penny then goes on to say.
Communication is key. People have to …..1….. what you’re trying to tell them to do. They have to have a long …..2….. in terms of their career …..3….. . You must make it clear, as a manager, what those …..4….. are …..5….. is more important than written. People can talk to you on a …..6….. . You actually encourage …..7….. then and you actually get a …..8….. and a …..9….. with the individual.
Communication Basics
Read the text and answer the questions below:
What are the main reasons for communication?
How do people communicate?
What is the most common means of communication and where does it take place?
Which is more difficult: speaking face-to-face or over the telephone? Why?
What is the main problem with oral communication?
What are the main types of written communication?
What are the requirements for written communication?
What are the communication barriers?
How can you describe the communication process?
Is it possible to remove some barriers in communication? How?
Can you pass on some tips on how to improve communication skills?
People communicate at work for a variety of reasons by means of the spoken word, the written word, non-verbal communication, numbers, drawings and graphics, using a wide range of media including the telephone, face-to-face meetings, videoconferencing, e-mail, letters and memos.
It's always easier to criticize other people's communication skills rather than our own. Most of us probably think we are good communicators - it's other people who are the problem! However, managers, in particular, need to evaluate critically their own skills and work on improving them.
We communicate in order to understand and be understood; this is therefore a two-way process. It requires a message to be sent to a recipient, and that message to be received and understood. In order to discover if it has been received and, if so, whether it has been properly understood, you also need feedback.
Most of the time we give and receive feedback naturally, without thinking about it, using a range of verbal and non-verbal signs and signals to show that we are participating in the communication process.
Oral communications
Whenever you speak to somebody, or somebody speaks to you, you are communicating orally. Oral means spoken and speech is the most common method of communication. It includes face-to-face conversations, speech, telephonic conversation, video, radio, television, voice over internet. In oral communication, communication is influenced by pitch, volume, speed and clarity of speaking. Most oral communications take place either face to face or over the telephone.
Although we talk to people every day, being able to communicate orally is a skill that must be learned and practiced. Using the telephone is more difficult than speaking face to face, and many people are uncomfortable about making telephone calls.
One of the main problems with telephone communications is that when you talk to someone on the telephone, you cannot see their response or facial expressions. It is especially important, therefore to listen carefully to what the other person is saying and the way they say it – their tone of voice and the words they use. However, technological developments such as videophones are overcoming this problem.
Advantages of oral communication are: It brings quick feedback. In a face-to-face conversation, by reading facial expression and body language one can guess whether he/she should trust what’s being said or not. Oral communications are quick and direct between the person communicating the message and the person receiving it. They also offer an opportunity for discussion and for instant feedback to check that the content of the communication has been understood.
Disadvantage of oral communication: In face-to-face discussion, user is unable to deeply think about what he is delivering. The main problem with oral communications is that there is no permanent record.
While most oral communications are between individuals on a one-to-one basis, either face to face or at a distance (e.g. by telephone), there are times when it is appropriate for several people to communicate with each other at a meeting. Modern telephone conferencing facilities also mean that it is possible for several people who may be at different locations to discuss matters over the telephone.