Effective Communication Skills for Success

This assignment delves into the crucial role of effective communication in achieving success. It examines various aspects of communication, such as verbal and nonverbal techniques, assertiveness, and the Johari Window model. Students will analyze how these skills contribute to successful interpersonal interactions and professional outcomes. The assignment draws upon a range of sources, including academic articles, books, and online resources, to provide a comprehensive understanding of effective communication principles.

Running head: EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS
Effective Business Communications
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
1.0 Diagnosis and Reflection...........................................................................................................2
1.1 Reflection of Communication Models...................................................................................2
Self-Perceived Communication Competence Scale................................................................2
Personal Report of Intercultural Communication Apprehensive.............................................3
Nonverbal Immediacy Scale-Self Report................................................................................3
Personal Report of public Speaking Anxiety...........................................................................4
Talkaholic Scale.......................................................................................................................5
2.0 Literature Review......................................................................................................................6
2.1 Importance of effective communication................................................................................6
2.2 Lack of verbal communication and its impact.......................................................................7
2.3 Lack of assertive communication and its impact...................................................................9
2.4 Various models for achieving effective communication.....................................................10
3.0 Action Plan..............................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................13

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1.0 Diagnosis and Reflection
Communication is one of the important aspects for any business or in personal context.
Communication is a process that helps an organization or a person to transfer information from
one place to the other. Without effective communication between persons or industry it is
difficult to adjust and handle tasks and crucial decisions of the business. Communication is not
only important for an individual to interact with other; it is also important for them to carry out
business process smoothly. There are various traits that an individual needs to have in order to
develop in every field (Bovee, Thill & Raina 2016). Thus, effective communication is the best
way to carry out easy management of the organization. I will take up five communication tests
such as Kalamazoo Essential Elements Communication Checklist Model, Big Five Personality
Model, Johari Windows, Assertiveness Questionnaire and Communication Style Questionnaire.
The result from these tests will show my communication skills based on various traits.
1.1 Reflection of Communication Models
Self-Perceived Communication Competence Scale
From the test result of Johari Window it can be seen that there are certain things that are
known to others and some traits are not known to others. However, I was also unaware of certain
traits I hold within myself. In the known quadrant I can see that I am caring and happy which is a
positive trait as it helps me to love from others. On the other side from the blind spot it is seen
that some of my traits such as able, extrovert, friendly and helpful are positive traits which were
unknown to me. On the other hand some traits such as shy and tense which is a negative traits.
The negative traits have bad impact on my personality as well as make it difficult for me to talk
to new people easily. Even though I am extrovert, yet I take time to interact with new people.

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People are no aware of certain traits in me such as accepting, adaptable and cheerful. These traits
are positive ones and people should be aware about it. It is still hidden from others because I did
not get much chance to show these skills to others. All the four quadrant shows a mixture of
traits in which some are beneficial and support my communication, while others might have bad
impact on my communication ability (Businessballs, 2017). However, there is a close quadrant
which shows that I need to open up more in front of others and to myself to make them know
about my hidden skills and my strengths. The positive traits in me are my strength, whereas
negative traits such as shyness and tense are my weakness which I need to overcome.
Personal Report of Intercultural Communication Apprehensive
Assertive Questionnaire is yet another important model that decides the communication
traits within me that will be beneficial for my growth in life. It is one of the best models to define
the communicative ability that I have to easily convey things to others. Moreover, it will also
help me to now the pints in which I am lacking and I need to develop in order to succeed in life.
The test was about the ability that I have in order to speak for myself in front of the others. In the
test I scored 44 percent which shows that I lack in interacting with others. The result shows that I
hesitate in many ways to interact and come up with my concerns in front of others. This makes
me lag behind others as others show their problem easily and get rid of it. Moreover, at times
when I see that I deserve respect, it is necessary that I fight for it and be self-assured even though
others are not agreeing with me. Thus, this test showed me that I need to grow my
communication skills even further in order to make my place in life.
Nonverbal Immediacy Scale-Self Report
Big Five Personality test is one of the biggest and well know personality test that
describes each and every traits of a person in details. It describes the personalities of a person

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based on five personality traits such as experience, agreeableness, conscientious, openness and
extraversion. People scoring low in these traits lack the ability of getting mixed in different and
unfamiliar environment. I scored low in openness which shows that I lack the ability to open
myself to others while kept in unfamiliar environment. My openness score was as low as 50
percent. This shows that I cannot think appropriately in complex and difficult situations.
Moreover, the trait also showed that people having low score in openness are more practical,
traditional and love to be surrounded by familiar people. Secondly, I am moderately
conscientious which proves that I have moderately able to respond according to my impulses.
Extraversion is the third trait of the model in which I scored low, showing that I am mainly an
introvert person and is not comfortable in a new environment. The fourth traits shows the quality
of agreeableness in which one sacrifices the need of itself it order to fulfill the needs of others. I
scored moderate in this traits showing that I can easily control my own interest for the interest of
others and can fairly sacrifice for others. I scored 65 percent in agreeableness. Next is
neuroticism in which I scored 50 percent. This shows that I am moderately prone to various
emotions such as anger, sadness, guilt and others. thus according to the test I am strong in most
of the traits and have to work hard to cope up the weakness which I came across within myself
after the test.
Personal Report of public Speaking Anxiety
Communication type questionnaire requires a person to answer certain questions through
which the exact behavior and nature of the person is understood. Respondent needs to take the
communication diagnostic test independently and depending on the result the communication
pattern of the individual is perceived. From the Communication Style Questionnaire result it is
seen that I have a personal and interactive characteristics. This means that I am very much

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interactive and can ix with others easily. However, I also love to keep my life personal and do
not like sharing some of my personal life with others. The style I got in the result shows that I
take time to relate to things. However, I am a good listener and listen to others problems and
issues carefully. From the result it is also seen that as I am personal by nature and interactive, I
take time to interact and get close to new people. I talk and get into discussion with other people
only if I am able to make some connections with them. However, I am very friendly with
someone that also interacts with me in a friendly manner and shares the same feelings and
personal aspects as I do with him/her. This shows that my personal and interactive nature is good
on some way and bad some aspects I need to improve on my weak aspects and make my
communication style even stronger.
Talkaholic Scale
Kalamazoo Essential Elements Communication Checklist Model the last test that I
conducted in order to judge my communication skills and my weaknesses while interacting with
others. The test has been taken so that I can resolve my issues and work on my weakness
effectively. In the first aspect that is building relationship I termed to score fair in most of the
attributes. From the result it is seen that I am a person that is quite concern and think about
others. I love to care for my relationship and keep it intact in some way or the other. In addition
to this in the discussion aspect it is seen that I allow others to start the discussion and convey
their feelings and views freely in front of everyone. Moreover, I also get into interaction and
encourage others if they have anything others to add to the discussion. The meetings and
discussions take place smoothly under my leadership and I am always open to any kind of
discussions. The last aspect is gathering information about various issues and justifying it
correctly. I cam good at communicating with people and gather information on various grounds

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without hesitating and asking open end questions to the people. I always try to be specific with
any details that I need to clarify in order to get the full information. Moreover, I very patience at
collecting information from various places and ask questions in case any gas occur in the
collected information. Thus from the overall test result it can be seen that I am fair and good in
almost all the attributes that I have answered. However, I have to work closely on the places
where I lack or people find it difficult to approach me for something. Kalamazoo test offers a
detailed analysis about my interaction quality and information collecting ability.
2.0 Literature Review
2.1 Importance of effective communication
It has been stated by Ben-Nun (2015) that effective communication plays an important
role in every aspect of life. Communication very necessary in business or in personal life, in
order to convey the right information. It helps in strengthening the administrative environment in
an organization. However, the way a person communicates and deal with a situation largely
depends on its own personality and the nature it holds. This shows that personality of a person is
positively and rightly linked with their communication styles and pattern (Ben-Nun, 2015). It is
important that a person has strong communication skills in order to progress in life and build up
interpersonal relationships. According to Bovee, Thill & Raina (2016) Communication is not
only necessary in personal life; it plays an important role in development of the professional life
of a person as well. thus, the attribute of communication should be kept good in order to put a
positive impact on the professional life of the person. However, a person should be well averse
with both the verbal as well as written communication skills. This will help them to mix-up with
people within groups even though they come from various backgrounds. A person should be

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comfortable I any situation they face in order to be effective in communication skills. Thirdly, it
is seen that in order to build strong inter-personal relationships with others, it is necessary that
one is fluent in both oral and written communication. Bovee, Thill & Raina (2016) has shown
another aspect of communication is interaction. Communication of a person can only be judged
if they can adequately interact with others in any situations. Interacting with a person in a
positive way is not only necessary; it also helps them to achieve the objectives they want. Thus,
positive interactions will not only help in getting positive touch from others, it also helps in
achievement of desired result, however, the interaction is positive or negative largely depends on
the way a person carry out the conversation. An interaction can either be positive or it can be
negative because it cannot be neutral. This is because every interaction reaches to a result which
can also be positive or negative (Quintanilla & Wahl, 2015). However, lack of interaction within
a person also proves to be positive factors in works which needs thoughtful ideas and deep
understanding.
2.2 Lack of verbal communication and its impact
Just like communication, verbal communication has long term impact on the life of a
person. In this context it has been stated by Gamil & Rahman (2018) that verbal communication
with employees in an organization plays a role of delivering the essential information in all work
aspects. However, it has been seen that there are employees that still hesitate to take part in any
of the office activities and discussions. This is due to their lack of communication skills and is
afraid of taking any kind of risk in the organization. It has been discussed by Alexandra (2018)
that an individual seems to be more successful in life and is demanded by a company only if they
have a good interacting and communicating skills. This is because they can be able to interact in
any situation within the organization and take risk without any pressure. Moreover, individual

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with good communication skill seems to be enthusiastic and energetic. This adds to the
development and growth of the organization in a great way. They also have leadership qualities
in them as they can effectively motivate their team with their communication skills. On the
contrary, people with poor communication skills lack in the ability of getting recruited in any of
the good companies. Moreover, they also lack the inability of being a leader in an organization
(Alexandra, 2018). In one of the study it is also seen that lack of effective communication has
crucial and detrimental impact on the patient care organization. In the sector of patient care t is
important tp depend on free communication in order to get better result. Moreover, the sector
demand group work which is only possible if the responsible person interacts with each other
freely. This shows that productivity in any organization directly depends on the type of
communications skills they practice and thus, any gap in the communication directly impacts the
productivity of the organization. However, the communication gap arises due to gaps in the
personality of a person. Personality plays a crucial role while defining the communication
capability one has as it is the one that decides the interacting skills within a person. Thus a lack
in personality or having a reserved personality impacts the communicating skills of a person in a
negative way. It has been stated by Novik (2015) that a person lagging in their personality as
well as communicating skills always lag behind others both in workplace as well as in their
personal life. Thus, it is necessary for every adolescent to have an extrovert personality and
outspoken communication skills. This shows that communication is a very complex process in
every aspect and it has to be dealt carefully in order to grow fruitfully in life (Zamfir, 2017). In
case of any leakage in developing better verbal communication may lead to various drawbacks as
it stops transferring of message from one person to another.

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2.3 Lack of assertive communication and its impact
Assertive nature is seen in people that have the ability to fight for their own rights and
show self-confidence. People that lack assertive nature gives others the chance to rule over them
as they cannot speak for themselves with confidence. This leads to hurting one own self by
allowing taking one for granted. However, it is easy to gain confidence by interacting with others
freely and gaining confidence on their own self. For the purpose they have to share their views
and ideas freely with others in every situation. Maheshwari & Kaur (2015) in its research shows
that lack of assertiveness has been found to be the biggest problem in the international students
which makes them lonely among others. Thus, lack of assertiveness also leads to loneliness and
failure among the students to achieve the desired objectives. In today’s world it is necessary to
be assertive in order to be on top of every activity in the competitive environment. In order to
recognize our own skills it is necessary to know the intrapersonal skills that one holds within
oneself. This is because own realization is the best way to grow and overcome the problems
faced due to lack of assertiveness (Maheshwari & Kaur, 2015). If a person fails to realize their
intrapersonal skills then it becomes difficult for them to deal with their lack of assertive nature.
This reduces the ability in that person to think and act according to their own self. It also reduces
the understanding person has within itself about certain things and lowers the confidence it can
hold while doing certain things. Thus assertiveness makes a person act without using its rains
and understanding. In log run lack of assertiveness affects the self-esteem of a person and makes
them feel uncomfortable in every situation. According to Folkman (2013), people with low
assertiveness cannot be an effective leader ever in life. It is seen that lack of assertiveness only
leaves 4.2 percent chance for the person to be an effective leader.

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2.4 Various models for achieving effective communication
One of the important models that define the behavior of a person such as whether he/she
is an extrovert or an introvert and others is the Personality Traits Model. There are other tests as
well those analyses the communication skills of a person such as Kalamazoo Test. This test
checks the communication capability of a person through three mediums such as checklist,
survey and oral communication test. Thus this test helps the person to know the communication
capability it has from all aspects. The areas in which they are lacking can then be worked on by
giving more importance. Novik (2015) in his research showed a modelling framework on
communication capabilities among the adolescent and the ways they can achieve the desired
communication capabilities. The paper described that both assertive and verbal communication
can be improved if businesses start taking communication training to develop the skill among its
employees. Developing effective communication among the employees help them to gain
appraisals and growth within the organization in a short period (Ingram, 2017). However it has
been argued by Maheshwari & Kaur, (2015) that improving communication of person in every
situation largely depends on the efforts shown by both the sender and the racier. This is because
communication is always two ways. It involves two person in which one speaks and the other
listens and answer accordingly. Thus, in order to be effectively trained in communication skill sit
is necessary that the business keep an interacting environment in which two persons can
effectively talk to each other. This will reduce the gap between two people communicating with
each other and trying to gain an outcome (Simmons, 2017). Thus, it will also increase the
confidence level in a person that lacks assertive behaviour.

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3.0 Action Plan
From the result of the test that I took part in, I realized that I lack in oral communication
skills. This is because of my personal nature and lack of approach to new people. I also lack
assertive nature as I am unable to speak for my own benefit. Thus, I have to plan my activities in
such a way that I get to learn new ways to deal with my communication barriers. The plan should
be the one that will work for both of my issues such as personal nature and lack of assertive
behavior. The action plan will be made for the coming six months and I will try to follow it
strictly to get the best result. There will be various activities which will focus on both the
grounds of my issue. To be proficient with my verbal skills first I need to work on my
vocabulary skills. This will help me to start a conversation with others without much hesitating
about the words to be used. Thus, for the purpose I will engage myself to newspaper reading or
listening to new every day. This will help me learn new words and better sentence building.
Thus, with improvement in vocabulary it will be possible for me to improve my oral
communication skills. This will automatically improve my verbal conversation skills. Secondly, I
will always try to plan out my things before I speak before the audience, in order to reduce the
hesitation that arises while speaking on the spot. This will improve my confidence level to a
great extent because I will always be sure about what I want to share with the audience. While
working on my confidence level I will always try and use honest and strong vocabulary that will
have positive impact on others. In addition to this I can indulge myself in various training
programs that can guide me with my communication skills and help me with few tricks so that I
can face any situation confidently. There are many programs available for short term as well in
which I can indulge myself.

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I can take up self efforts to improve on my assertive skills. Being confident and building
my strength depends on my own wish and will. Thus, before engaging myself in any program I
should first make myself ready about the change and bail up self confidence within me. Mt
behavior and my own efforts is the first thing that I should focus on before any other program.
Thus I can take up certain steps such as valuing my own emotion, avoiding criticism and
negativity, work on my weaknesses and using assertive behavior o the friends and closed ones.
This will help me to open up slowly in front of people without hesitating much about what they
think about me. These tools and guides will be followed by me on a regular basis to get
habituated with proper communication skills. These steps if followed effectively will help me to
develop both assertive communication and verbal communication skills.

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References
Alexander, M. (2018). Why emotional intelligence is key for project success. Retrieved 20
January 2018, from http://www.techrepublic.com/article/why-emotional-intelligence-is-
key-for-project-success/
Ben-Nun. (2015). Verbal communication skills. Israel: B. N Publication House.
Bovee, C. L., Thill, J. V., & Raina, R. L. (2016). Business communication today. Pearson
Education India.
Businessballs. (2018). Johari Window. Retrieved 20 Jaunary 2018, from
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Gamil, Y., & Rahman, I. A. (2018). Identification of Causes and Effects of Poor Communication
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