1. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES
Mostly all people interact with others on a daily basis, whether in person or through all the digital platforms that we now use in this digitalised world. However, how much of our communication actually succeeds in reaching the target group or individual as we had hoped? We must be precise and comprehensive in our communication if we want it to be effective. Learning the ability/skill/techniques to exchange information with clarity, empathy, and understanding is a necessary part of becoming an effective communicator in both our professional and personal life. This module will describe what effective communication means, then go through its advantages, and provide tips on how to get better at it/ provide the reader with relevant techniques. In order for the message to be heard and comprehended with clarity and purpose, effective communication involves communicating ideas, thoughts, views, information, and facts. Both sender and receiver of information in a conversation must experience satisfaction when they communicate efficiently through all channels, like verbal, nonverbal, written, visual, and listening which are the main ways that people communicate put not all. Effective communication has advantages that may be seen in the job, in the classroom, and in your personal life but for that to happen the communicator must learn effective communication techniques. Having excellent workplace communication can: Organize personnel, create teams, increase growth while keeping personnel (low turnover), gain from increased innovation and creativity, create lasting connections that can lead to the creation of new openings and options for your operating business. Also, on an interpersonal level, effective communication can result in: social, emotional, and mental health improvements, deeper connections, new alliances built on openness and trust, improved capacity for problem-solving and resolving disputes. There are a lot of skills and techniques that someone can work on, learn and become a better communicator. Some of them that were identified are the following: Consider your audience Who are you speaking with? Make sure you are aware of your audience—people you aim to communicate with may not be the same as those who actually get your messages. To effectively deliver the proper messages, it can be helpful to understand your audience. Their age, race, ethnicity, gender, marital status, income, education level, subject knowledge, and professional experience can all affect how they will interpret your message. Make time for team building exercises or icebreakers. Knowing how to interact with your team requires getting to know them. Making time to get to know your colleagues outside of the office is very crucial. Icebreaker questions may help add personality and excitement to any meeting, so start with a light talk before digging into your meeting agenda . Demonstrate your attentiveness It's crucial that you come across as attentive. To demonstrate that you are paying attention, use your gestures and body language: Keep your posture open and engaged by avoiding crossing your arms or legs. Try not to distract the speaker by fidgeting or playing with your phone. Combine eye contact with smiles to encourage the speaker. Make your message as clear as possible. Once you have successfully identified your audience and listened to their intentions, needs, and desires, you may have something to communicate. To do this effectively, turn to the five main indicators of communication to ensure your message is: Direct and comprehensible Through Brief and to the point Accurate Compassionate Recognize team communication styles Asking your team how they want to communicate is another excellent technique to have a better interaction with them. Communication preferences should not be something that people should be afraid to tell or if they tell their preference to be ridiculed. By knowing whether your team members prefer video conferences or phone conversations, early morning meetings or afternoon sessions will help your organisation improve its processes, raise its market value and in the meantime create a healthy workspace and establish an atmosphere in which staff members can thrive as professionals but also improve their interpersonal skills. Always check up As it was told before every supervisor/manager must always remember that how you communicate and cooperate affects your entire team. It is the managers responsibility to set the tone for open and straightforward communication in the workplace and demand by his/her team, something that must be shown by themselves first of all. In that way your team will follow suit if you create and promote this norm.