Communication and Interpersonal Skills Summer Business Institute Villanova School of Business

Overview Some key terms Models of communication Issues in communication Improving communication Communication and conflict management Improving conflict management

Some Key Terms Communication –Effective (intended message of the sender is the same as the interpretation by the receiver) vs. efficient (minimum resource usage) Sender –Stimulation; motivation –Message; encoding; channel Receiver –Frame of reference; perception –Decoding; feedback Noise

Models of Communication

Issues in Communication Bad channel choice (written vs. oral) Poor word usage Sending mixed messages Physical distractions Status effects – can lead to filtering Perception issues –Stereotyping –Halo effect –Selective perception (define problems from personal point of view – accounting) –Projection (assign personal attributes to others)

Improving Communication Be an active listener Give constructive feedback Keep lines of communication open Use space effectively (proxemics) Use technology effectively Acquire/increase appreciation for culture and diversity

Good Listening Skills Stop talking Put person at ease Show that you want to listen Remove potential distractions Empathize Don’t respond too quickly Don’t get mad Go easy on argument and criticism Ask questions; paraphrase and restate Note all cues Stop talking

Communication and Conflict Management Is all conflict bad? –Substantive vs. emotional conflicts –Functional vs. dysfunctional conflicts Degree of Cooperativeness Degree of Assertiveness Avoidance – lose/lose Accommodation/ Smoothing – lose/lose Competition/Command – lose win Collaboration/Problem Solving win/win Compromise - lose/win

Improving Conflict Management Recognize importance of norms; use as leverage point Appeal to superordinate goals Expand resources available Alter human variables (i.e. transfers) Alter physical environment Use structure Use HR– reward systems, policies and procedures, training

Learning Points Definitions of communication terms, how they fit together to describe process Issues associated with communication and conflict management How to improve your existing skills