Principles of Architecture and Construction Professionalism: Communication, Speaking, and Listening Skills One of the greatest downfalls from the latest technology is the breakdown of formal communication skills.

Interpersonal Communication Transmission of thoughts and ideas to another person that results in a response from that person The ultimate goal of effective communication is to garner a response from the receiver of the message.

The Communication Process Source or sender-seek to communicate with another (chooses the message and the message channel) Encoding-putting the message into some form (words, symbols, or pictures that someone else can recognize and understand) Decoding-process of converting the encoded message into concepts The communication process can be easily disrupted. Communication breakdown can result from physical, personal, technological, and other barriers.

Challenges in Interpersonal Communication Direction or flow of communication Conflict with personality traits Perceptual errors Noise in the communication channel Meaning of the communication Business terminology Deception and distortion in messaging The nightly news and newspapers present one person’s or organization’s viewpoint. Individuals must sort through the millions of messages they receive each day to find the intended meaning.

How to Become a Better Communicator Be a great listener Ask questions Keep it simple Focus on the objective Continually assess your own communication skills Listening will resolve many of the communication breakdown problems. All individuals can become better communicators.

Interpersonal Communication Networks Star Network Circle Network All-Member Network Different work environments and professional organizations have a variety of communication networks. Some organizations have more than one type of communication network.

Star Network All information flows through a central person—the center of the star Greatest individual satisfaction Drawback-only one person decides whether or not information is relevant for the network One individual communicates everything in the star network. Some individuals do not like this autocratic type of leadership.

Circle Network All information flows in a circle Any member of the network may be the starting point of information Rated higher for overall effectiveness but lower for individual satisfaction One may not see the end result of the communication Sometimes communication breakdown results from many individuals communicating a message.

All-Member Network Information may flow in any direction or pattern without going through a central person Communication may spread more rapidly with this form of network Rated higher for overall effectiveness but lower for individual satisfaction for the same reasons Many organizations have chosen an all-member network to get the information to the intended audience. Sometimes communication becomes distorted with information flowing any direction.

Tips for Effective Presentations Open with an Attention-Getting Question or Quote Keep it Simple Make Eye Contact Use Visuals Involve the Audience Use a Form of Note Cards Summarize Personal attention spans are very short. Presentations must be to the point and interesting. A presentation must involve much more than sharing information with the audience.