Building your career success with communication skills

The Importance of Communication Skills to Your Career Communication skills are critical to job placement, performance, career advancement, and organizational success.

Succeeding in the Changing World of Work Trends in the new world of work emphasize the importance of communication skills. Today’s employees must contribute to improving productivity and profitability.

Business Trends Illustrate the Importance of Excellent Communication Skills Flattened management hierarchies More participatory management Increased emphasis on self-directed work groups and virtual teams Heightened global competition Innovative communication technologies New work environments Focus on information and knowledge as corporate assets

Developing Better Listening Skills

Barriers to Effective Listening Physical barriers Psychological barriers Language problems Nonverbal distractions Thought speed Faking attention Grandstanding

Barriers to Effective Listening Physical barriers: hearing disabilities, poor acoustics, noisy surroundings, illness, tiredness, worry, uncomfortable feeling Psychological barriers Language problems Nonverbal distractions Thought speed Faking attention Grandstanding

Barriers to Effective Listening Physical barriers Psychological barriers: different set of cultural, ethical, and personal values Language problems Nonverbal distractions Thought speed Faking attention Grandstanding

Barriers to Effective Listening Physical barriers Psychological barriers Language problems: unfamiliar words Nonverbal distractions Thought speed Faking attention Grandstanding

Barriers to Effective Listening Physical barriers Psychological barriers Language problems Nonverbal distractions: unusual clothing, speech mannerisms, body twitches, radical hairstyle Thought speed Faking attention Grandstanding

Barriers to Effective Listening Physical barriers Psychological barriers Language problems Nonverbal distractions Thought speed: listeners process thoughts faster than speakers can say them, they can become bored and allow their minds to wander Faking attention Grandstanding

Barriers to Effective Listening Physical barriers Psychological barriers Language problems Nonverbal distractions Thought speed Faking attention Grandstanding

Barriers to Effective Listening Physical barriers Psychological barriers Language problems Nonverbal distractions Thought speed Faking attention Grandstanding: fail to listen carefully because we’re just waiting politely for the next pause, so that we can have our turn to speak

Active Listener Tips Stop talking Control your surroundings Establish a receptive mind-set Keep an open mind Listen for main points Capitalize on lag time: reviewing speaker’s points (keep focusing) and anticipating what’s coming next. Don’t allow yourself to daydream!

Active Listener Tips Listen between the lines: Focus both on what is spoken as well as what is unspoken. Judge ideas, not appearances: concentrate on the content of the message, not on its delivery. Hold your fire: force yourself to listen to the speaker’s entire argument or message before reacting. Take selective notes Provide feedback: let the speaker know that you are listening by using eye contact, nod your head, ask questions

Nonverbal Communication Skills Can Send Silent Messages Eye contact Facial expression Posture and gestures Time: length of time spending in communication Space: furniture arrangement or design around us Territory: zones of privacy in which we feel comfortable Appearance of business document: how neat in paper works Personal appearance

Tips for Improving Nonverbal Skills Establish and maintain eye contact to show your interest, attentiveness, strength, and credibility Use posture to show interest Improve your decoding skills Probe for more information Avoid assigning nonverbal meanings out of context: don’t interpret nonverbal behavior if you don’t understand situation or culture Associate with people from diverse cultures Appreciate the power of appearance Observe yourself on videotape Enlist friends and family: ask them to monitor you

How Culture Affects Communication Comparing Key Cultural Values Individualism Formality Communication Style Time Orientation

Comparing Key Cultural Values: Individualism Group or Team Individual action Self-reliance Personal responsibility Independence Freedom from control Membership in org., group, and team Group values, duties, and decisions While North Americans value individualism and personal responsibility, other cultures emphasize group-and team- oriented values.

Comparing Key Cultural Values: Formality Informality and Directness Tradition and Indirectness Less emphasis on tradition, ceremony, and social rules such as casual dressing or a first name basis w/ others Lack of formality: directness i.e. in business, they will come to the point immediately Emphasis on tradition, ceremony, and social rules Formality Although North Americans value informality and directness, other cultures may value tradition and indirectness.

Comparing Key Cultural Values: Communication Style Straightforwardness Indirectness Straightforward: they tend to suspicious of evasiveness and distrust people who might have hidden agenda. They tend to be uncomfortable with silence and impatient with delays. Indirectness Silence and delays are common North Americans tend to be direct and to understand words literally.

Comparing Key Cultural Values: Time Orientation Patience Consider time a precious commodity to be conserved. Keeping people waiting for business appointments wastes time and is also rude! Punctuality Consider time as unlimited and never ending resource to be enjoyed Being late for an appointment is not a grievous sin North Americans correlate time with productivity, efficiency, and money.

Communication Across Cultures Comparison of Cultural Values Ranked by Priority U.S. American Japanese Arabs 1. Freedom 1. Belonging 1. Family security 2. Independence 2. Group harmony 2. Family harmony 3. Self-reliance 3. Collectiveness 3. Parental guidance 4. Equality 4. Age/Seniority 4. Age 5. Individualism 5. Group consensus 5. Authority 6. Competition 6. Cooperation 6. Compromise 7. Efficiency 7. Quality 7. Devotion 8. Time 8. Patience 9. Directness 9. Indirectness 10. Openness 10. Go-between 10. Hospitality

Controlling Ethnocentrism and Stereotyping Stereotypes Tolerance The belief in the superiority of one’s own culture and group An oversimplified behavioral pattern or characteristic applied to entire group, which may not accurately describe cultural norms Having sympathy for and appreciating beliefs and practices different from our own by practicing empathy, being nonjudgmental, and being patient

Tips for Effective Communication with Diverse Workplace Audiences Understand the value of differences Don’t expect conformity (agreement): differences can be positive Create zero tolerance for bias and stereotypes Practice focused, thoughtful, and open-minded listening Invite, use, and give feedback Make fewer assumptions: don’t think for the others Learn about your cultural self Learn about other cultures and identity groups Seek common ground: mutual goals or similar values

Tips for Minimizing Oral Miscommunication Among Cross-Cultural Audiences Use simple English Speak slowly and enunciate (announce) clearly Encourage accurate feedback: ask probing questions and encourage the listener to paraphrase what you say Check frequently for comprehension: avoid waiting until you finish a long explanation to request feedback. Instead, make one point at a time, pausing to check for comprehension. Accept blame: if a misunderstanding results, graciously accept the blame for not making your meaning clear. Observe eye messages: Be alert to a glazed expression or wandering eyes. These tell you the listener is lost. Listen without interrupting Remember to smile Follow up in writing: After conversations or oral negotiations, confirm the results and agreements with follow up letters. For proposals and contracts, engage a translator to prepare copies in local language.

Tips for Minimizing Written Miscommunication Among Cross-Cultural Audiences Consider local styles: learn how documents are formatted and how letters are addressed in each country Consider hiring translator: if your document is important, or will be distributed to many readers, or must be persuasive Use short sentences and short paragraphs: for most readable (sentences: fewer than 20 words/ paragraphs: fewer than 8 lines) Avoid ambiguous wording: avoid idioms, slang, acronyms, abbreviations, jargon. Instead, use action specific verbs (purchase rather than get). Cite numbers carefully

Reference Essentials of Business Communication, Mary Allen Guffey’s, 2007, Thomson South-Western.