Communication Skills Development & Training

This assignment delves into the significance of effective communication skills in various contexts. It examines different training methodologies used to enhance communication abilities and analyzes their effectiveness in improving interpersonal interactions within personal and professional settings. The provided resources explore diverse aspects of communication, including patient-physician communication, workplace dynamics, and assertiveness training.

Running head: EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Effective Business Communication
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Contents
Diagnosis and Reflection.................................................................................................................2
Self Perceived Communication Competence Scale(SPCC)........................................................2
Personal Report of Intercultural Communication apprehension(PRICA)...................................3
Non Verbal Immediacy Scale Report(NIS-S).............................................................................3
Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety(PRPSA)...............................................................4
Issues to be addressed..................................................................................................................5
Recent Professional Interaction...................................................................................................5
Literature Review............................................................................................................................6
Action Plan....................................................................................................................................11
References......................................................................................................................................13

2EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Diagnosis and Reflection
Communication is vital because it helps us to understand people in a better way. In an
organization, it can be said be effective communication will help to build trust among the
employees and this will help them to collaborate properly among the employees. It also helps in
reducing misunderstanding between the people (Smith, 2017). This paper will highlight the
different communication style based on five diagnostic tools. It will also highlight the two major
issues in the communication style on the basis of five tests. It will also help to develop an action
plan and thus improve my communication plan in the future.
Self Perceived Communication Competence Scale(SPCC)
The SPCC model is a useful and simple tool that will help in improving mutual
understanding between different groups of individuals and also improve self-awareness among
the individuals. It can also be used to improve and assess the relationship of one group with other
groups. It can be said that SPCC will be beneficial in understanding the relationship among the
employers and the employees who are involved in the contract. The Johari window has four
regions and this four regions depicts the different characteristics of an individual. I have
undergone the SPCC test and this will help me to assess my weakness and strength and this is
depicted in Appendix 1. I have found that some traits that are inherent in myself can be viewed
from the perspective of careness and quietness. The traits that are associated my strength i.e.
careness depicts the concern for other individual. On the other hand, it can be said that I stay
calm in certain situations and thus this has a negative impact on myself. Moreover, I cannot open
up to people in all situations. I am also introvert, sentimental and kind and this is not known to
other people. I am trustworthy and loving and I can easily accept different situations which were

3EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
highlighted by other people. I can say that through proper communication I can improve my
weakness in different areas. Moreover, there are many traits which are not known to others or
myself and this traits are always kept hidden. Thus, it can be said that SPCC is also known as
feedback/disclosure model of measuring an individual’s self-awareness level.
Personal Report of Intercultural Communication apprehension(PRICA)
It is important to become aware of our communication style and help those people who
wants to improve their communication skills in future. Each person has different communication
style and it is vital to understand the body language of the individuals and the way of
communication. In this case. I have undergone a communication test of 37 questions. The scores
were added and this is depicted in the table. It can be said that after undergoing the test I have
found myself that I have no such issues with communication and I communicate more with
people with a specific reason i.e. I may be called a purposeful communicator. I always try to
keep myself away from distracting situations and focus on those areas with which I am
concerned with. This shows that I am deeply concerned for other people and I do not interfere in
useless gossips and talks.
Non Verbal Immediacy Scale Report(NIS-S)
NIS-S also provides possible solutions to the questions and this will help an individual
employee to modify or rectify the communication style. This assessment is vital and adequate
and it is necessary in order to follow the different rules of verbal communication. Moreover, it
will also improve the working perspectives of the individual in which he/she engaged and this is
possible through adequate and efficient communication. This type of questionnaire is used by
people to check that whether they can communicate in a better way (Pipas&Jaradat, 2010). The
test that was undertaken in this case contained 21 questions. I have found that I am concerned

4EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
with those issues that are associated with myself. I do not raise my voice in awkward situations
and try to keep myself away from different situations. In certain cases, if people misbehave with
me, I open up and say them openly. This behavior shows that I am an introvert person and I
communicate with all people in different situations. It can be said that being non-assertive is an
important issue that is faced by all individuals throughout the different phases of communication.
I was also non-assertive in certain cases and this has created difficulty in communicating my
ideas. I never stood up to share my ideas and thus work for the development of the organization.
Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety(PRPSA)
This test is also known as the five-factor model and it is based on common language and
descriptors of personality. This factor analysis model is generally applied to different personality
surveys and there are certain words that describe the characteristics of an individual’s
personality. There are five factors that affects the personality of an individual. It can be said that
these personality characteristics are important in an individual’s life and this will become a part
of an individual’s life. This model is based on modern personality research and it describes the
personality differences of an individual (Tuity, 2018). I have undergone this test and the results
are depicted in Appendix 4. It can be analyzed from the results that I am not open to all people in
all situations. I will try to keep myself away from distraction and thus I always try to focus on
my goals and motives. It also depicts that I am introvert in nature, independent, quiet and
reserved. Thus, it can be said that I do not have self-confidence in myself.
Talkaholic Scale
The results of talkaholic test depicts my communication skill. This test was conducted in
hospital setting and it has depicted my concern towards the patients. It also depicted that the

5EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
patients are caring and I also respect them. This test has also highlighted my active listening skill
and caring personality. In certain cases, it has been found that I often fail to communicate with
people in an effective way. Moreover, I also fail to take important decisions and open up to
different problems in a proper way. In certain cases, it has been found that I can allow the
patients to complete the statements without any interruption and this will also help me to
understand the concern properly. It will also be easier for me to explain or negotiate over a
particular topic and then come to a valid conclusion. I must also have the ability to summarize
the information of the patient’s problems and try to provide them valid solutions. Thus, this will
also improve my concern as well as my communication skill.
Issues to be addressed
From the above mentioned discussion, I can conclude that I can judge and strength and
weakness easily. It has been found that I lack assertiveness and cannot adjust to all situations. It
also becomes challenging and difficult for me to share and express my emotions, experiences
and feelings with other people. Although being introvert has helped me in certain situations, I
can take up any decisions carefully and in a quick span of time. Moreover, I can also
communicate with any people very easily and I do not rely on depend on them. I am only
concerned about myself and not with any issues of my peers or neighbors. This behavior clearly
highlights that I am a self-centered person and people also consider me to be selfish at times .
Recent Professional Interaction
In this section, I will highlight the two main professional interaction that will depict my
communication style. In the first case, I had to sit for an internal job posting for promotion in my
company. The manager along with the director took my final round of the interview. I easily
qualified the first round i.e. the written test and sat for the final round. I did not succeed in this

6EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
round and failed to answer the questions that were asked to me. The problem was I failed to
explain the answers to them correctly although I knew the answers very well. This problem has
occurred because I always fail to communicate with people around myself and stayed aloof from
them.
In another case, an example can be cited of a team project that was carried out by me and
my friends. I was given responsibility of the entire project as I was the senior member in the
company. As my manager was busy with other situations, I had to handle different situations and
take care of the project. The other members did not show much concern because they were not
interested and given the charge of handling the project. Therefore, it depicted that I am a self
centered person and I do not care about other people or show concern towards them.
Literature Review
According to Novik (2015),a person with personality development and low
communication skill in the adolescent stage will affect other individuals in the later stage of life.
It is vital that the communication skills of an individual must be taken care of and given due
importance in the later stage of life. Carr(2012) has highlighted that lack of assertiveness will
directly affect the self-esteem of the individuals and thus it will pressurize an individual to adjust
according to the different situations with which I am not comfortable with. This will lower the
self-confidence of an individual. This will lower the self-confidence of an individual. This is
because the individuals do not speak up openly and this makes it hard for the individuals to face
difficult times. It also leads to frustration and anxiety among the individuals. It can be said that
lack of assertiveness reduces the ability of an individual to behave in a confident manner and to
understand things in a proper way.

7EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
According to Thiels et al. (2016), individuals with ineffective listening skills will fail to
absorb the different content of the subject matter. A proper verbal and written communication
skill is important for the development of an individual. Moreover, a good listener also plays a
vital role for the development of interpersonal relationship of an individual. In certain cases, an
individual fails to respond correctly due to improper verbal ability and thus lands up in problem.
Cenereet al.(2015) has opined that the ability of the individuals to be a good member and the
ability to make good friends will help in the development of intimate relationships and this
depends on the verbal ability to communicate properly and effectively. The co-ordination and
interaction will depend on the behavior of the individual and the adjustments made in a particular
environment. Moreover, self-esteem also affects the relationship that an individual forms with
other individuals.Kuntze, Van der Molen and Born (2016) has opined that having a fluent and
proper conversation skills in both written and oral communication is vital for the development
of all round personality of an individual that are important in professional environment.
According to Epner and Baile (2014), effective communication is an important
component for the success of an organization. Communication is an important thing that is
often considered granted in many cases because it has been found that people do not think
about the different behaviors and habits. In certain cases, individuals with strong
interpersonal relationship, self-esteem , ability and empathy. He also mentioned that there
some individuals who do not have proper verbal communication skills and they lose the
opportunity of becoming a leader. In many companies, the individuals find difficulty in
interacting with the other individuals properly. Porcerelli et al.(2015)opined that
communication is also taken into consideration in many cases because and people do not
think deeply about the different communication habits and individuals.

8EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Fujimori et al.,(2014) hasstated that lack of verbal ability will affect both the parties
in an organiastion. It can be said that non-verbal communication includes the non-verbal
behavior and it includes transmission of information and experiences from person-to-person.
It is also important to notice the body language of the speaker and understand the body
language accordingly. The issues also becomes difficult for the individual to handle if a
person does not respond correctly in different situations. The author has also stated that if an
individual is not assertive, it will reduce the ability of the individuals to react and understand
things in a better way. A person who has low interpersonal skill also lacks positive attitude
and he is regarded as an underperformer in all circumstances. The interpersonal skills are
defined as the ability of an individual to express his thoughts and feelings in a better way and
to express their own skills in a much developed way.
Ingram (2017) has stated that verbal and assertive communication skill will help in
the improvement of the business organization and thus this will be effective in carrying out
team work in a better way. The effectiveness of different communication skills depends both
on the sender as well as the receiver.Gillett, O'Neill and Bloomfield (2016)has opined that the
students also lacks assertiveness many a times and they remain sad and isolated. These
students also feel difficulty when they had to face a crowd or attend nay seminars and
meetings. Moreover, effective communication skill can be assessed by Kalamazoo test
through different survey, oral questionnaire and checklist. Abadel and Hattab (2014) has
predicted that improvement in communication skill involved the action of the sender as well
as the receiver. Communication is regarded as a complex process and this helps in the
breakdown of verbal communication that will lead to blockage in the transfer of knowledge
from one person to another.

9EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Dunbar et al. (2015) has suggested that proper interaction with the individuals can be
proven to be positive or negative depending on the different ways through which they will
carry out the conversation process and it will also help in the fulfillment of the objectives in a
much better way. The author has failed to distinguish between positive and negative skills
without listening the interaction in a proper way. It can be said that people with low
interaction skills will be considered beneficial in those tasks that requires proper thoughts and
processes. Bays et al.(2014)stated that assertive and positive thinking people feel relaxed in
all circumstances and they can share their thoughts freely in all situations and in different
environment. This type of communication will help in maintaining healthy and strong
relationships with the people with whom they are working. The studies that has been
conducted by other researchers also highlights that healthy and long relationships can be
maintained with the people through better communicative skills. The studies conducted by
researcher also indicates that people with positive and assertive thought can attain emotional
welfare. This type of individuals will also remain calm and they can take any important
decisions that will not affect the future. Gamble and Gamble (2014) has stated that effective
communication also plays a vital role in communicating with the patients who are engaged in
the healthcare industry. It allows people to know when to speak and what to speak and thus
improves the self-confidence of the individuals.
Arnold et al.(2015) has carried out a study and tried to find out the effect of
communication failure in the safe care organization. It can be said that lack of effective
communication can lead to harmful effect among the employees who are involved in taking
care of the patient. Moreover, effective team work in these sector is very crucial and the these
results depends on verbal communication skills. The comprehension apprehension is also

10EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
considered to be legitimate and this factor negatively affects communication skills with other
people. It can be said that interpersonal skills is also vital and it plays a dominant role to deal
with any individuals. Therefore, it can be concluded that communication style can help in
strengthening the working environment and administration in an institution. Boissy(2016) has
stated that interaction with the individuals can be considered either as a positive or negative
outcome depending on the way in which people will carry out the conversation. The
interaction can be regarded as either positive or negative. It can be seen that person with low
interactive skills are more beneficial in different tasks and this will improve thoughtful ideas.
Alexandar(2017) has stated that individuals who possesses better ability to make interactions
smooth and thus build better relationships with people. The business organizations will try to
engage those individuals who are considered enthusiastic and thus they can mix up with the
team members for the development.
It can be said that effective communication will also affect the patients and in many
cases, the patients are not paid proper care and attention. The personality of an individual is
also linked with the different communication skills and it has been found that lack of
communication skills will affect the employees who are engaged in the organization. The
leaders who are not assertive in nature or lack proper skills fails to be an effective leader in
the organization. Folkman (2013) has highlighted that people with low assertiveness have
only 4.2% chance of becoming an effective leader in the company. It can therefore be said
that assertiveness is regarded as an important key for the faster development of an individual
where he fits himself in a much better way. It can be said that improvement in
communication depends on the different development strategies that are to be taken by
different individuals. The assertive communication style can be dealt on using the different

11EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
ideas in peer groups, improving self-confidence and giving individual views and opinions in
which the person is involved directly. Therefore, it can be said that these theoretical
suggestions will help in improving the communication skills and minimizing the
communication gaps of an individual.
Action Plan
From the above discussion, it can be clearly stated that I do not have proper verbal ability
and this is considered to be a major drawback of my communication style. I cannot open up or
interact with any people in a quick span of time. Thus, I can say that I take sufficient time to
adapt to any particular situation. Moreover, in certain cases, I am not assertive and this affects
my communication style. I had to take an action plan in order to deal with any situation in a
better way. This action plan will be of five months and I will try to follow it accordingly. I can
assure that if these plan is followed strictly, I can improve my communication skills and
overcome the different issues that are faced by me.
In case of my professional life, in the first month I will try to ensure that I will take
initiative and thus engage and interact with more people who are working on different projects. I
will also understand their problem and provide them proper feedbacks as and when required. In
the second month, I will attend seminars and thus contribute my knowledge in the development
of important projects. This will help me in career development and also to convey my thoughts
and ideas in a better way.
Moreover, I will also interact with my family members and cousins and try to be more
intimate and close with them. I will watch inspirational and motivational video and thus inspire
myself when I stay alone. I will watch the famous speeches given by different speakers and thus

12EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
it will help me to keep myself motivated in my work. I will also watch the online seminars that
are presented by different experts. This will improve my presentation skills and my confidence
level. Moreover, in the third month I will also attend soft skills training and communication
training and thus it will help in enhancing my career. In certain cases, I will attend short crash
courses that will help me to work on and improve my communication skills thus help me in
building professional career.
In the fourth month, I will try to make new friends and interact with them. I will meet
new people, attend different social ceremonies, interact with them, share my feelings and
thoughts accordingly. Moreover, I will also try not to take up criticism in a negative way and try
to remove the negative points. Moreover, I think maintaining a proper body posture, facial
expression and voice modulation is important and this will help me to adapt to any situations in
a better way. In the fifth month, I will go through the different autobiographies of famous
personalities and hope this will keep me to remain motivated and fostered in mu work.
Moreover, this will also help me to be optimistic and look at the positive sides of different
things.
Therefore, I can say that being assertive will be important to improve my self-confidence
and this will also make me less stressed. I will interact with more people and these people will
know my problems and interact with me to solve my problems. They will also understand my
problem and cope with me to solve them. Therefore, building healthy and good relation will help
me to reduce anxiety and stress in my life.

13EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
References
Abadel, F. T., &Hattab, A. S. (2014). Patients’ assessment of professionalism and
communication skills of medical graduates. BMC medical education, 14(1), 28.
Alexander, M., 2017. Why emotional intelligence is key for project success[online] Tech
Republic.Available at http://www.techrepublic.com/article/why-emotional-intelligence-
is-key-for-project-success/ [Accessed 20 January 2018].
Arnold, R. M., Back, A. L., Barnato, A. E., Prendergast, T. J., Emlet, L. L., Karpov, I., ... &
Nelson, J. E. (2015). The critical care communication project: improving fellows'
communication skills. Journal of critical care, 30(2), 250-254.
Bays, A. M., Engelberg, R. A., Back, A. L., Ford, D. W., Downey, L., Shannon, S. E., ... &
O'Connor, K. (2014). Interprofessional communication skills training for serious illness:
evaluation of a small-group, simulated patient intervention. Journal of palliative
medicine, 17(2), 159-166.
Boissy, A., Windover, A. K., Bokar, D., Karafa, M., Neuendorf, K., Frankel, R. M., ...&
Rothberg, M. B. (2016). Communication skills training for physicians improves patient
satisfaction. Journal of general internal medicine, 31(7), 755-761.
Carr, D. L., 2012. Brilliant Assertiveness: What the most assertive people know, do and say.
London:Pearson publication.
Cenere, P., Gill, R., Lawson, C., & Lewis, M. (2015). Communication Skills for Business
Professionals 7. Cambridge University Press.
DLA Piper Win, 2017. Communication Style Questionnaire. [pdf] Available at:
http://www.dlapiperwin.com/export/sites/win/downloads/Communication-Style-
Questionnaire.pdf[Accessed 20 January 2018].
Dunbar, N. E., Jensen, M. L., Burgoon, J. K., Kelley, K. M., Harrison, K. J., Adame, B. J.,
and Bernard, D. R., 2015. Effects of veracity, modality, and sanctioning on credibility

14EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
assessment during mediated and unmediated interviews. Communication Research,
42(5),pp.649-674.
Epner, D. E., &Baile, W. F. (2014). Difficult conversations: teaching medical oncology
trainees communication skills one hour at a time. Academic Medicine, 89(4), 578.
FD 4 Me, 2017. Kalamazoo Essential Elements Communication Checklist (Adapted)*
[online]. Available at:
https://fd4me.osu.edu/lp-preceptors/system/block_resource_items/resources/
000/000/013/original/Kalamazoo_Comm_tool.pdf?1358177368[Accessed 20 January
2018].
Folkman, J. (2013). The 6 secrets of successful assertive leaders. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joefolkman/2013/10/10/the-6-secrets-of-successfully-
assertive-leaders/#666883926668 [Accessed 20 January 2018].
Fujimori, M., Shirai, Y., Asai, M., Kubota, K., Katsumata, N., &Uchitomi, Y. (2014). Effect
of communication skills training program for oncologists based on patient preferences for
communication when receiving bad news: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of
clinical oncology, 32(20), 2166-2172.
Gamble, T. K. and Gamble, M. W., 2014. Interpersonal Communication: Building
Connections Together. Los Angeles: Sage Publication.
Gillett, K., O'Neill, B., & Bloomfield, J. G. (2016). Factors influencing the development of
end-of-life communication skills: a focus group study of nursing and medical
students. Nurse education today, 36, 395-400.
Ingram, D., 2017. How to improve communication skills in the workplace. [online] Chron.
Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/improve-communication-skills-workplace-
10565.html[Accessed 20 January 2018].
Kevan, 2017. User123 Johari Window. [online] Available at:
http://kevan.org/johari.cgi[Accessed 20 January 2018].

15EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Kuntze, J., van der Molen, H. T., & Born, M. P. (2016). Mastery of communication skills.
Does intelligence matter?. Health Professions Education.
Literacy Portal, 2017. Questionnaire of assertiveness. [online]Available at:
http://www.literacyportal.eu/en/everyday-life.html&contentid=81 [Accessed 20 January
2018].
Novik, N. N., 2015. A Model of Developing Communication Skills among Adolescents with
Behavioural Problems. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education.
10(4), pp. 579-587.
Pipas, M.D. and Jaradat. M., 2010. Assertive Communication Skills. [pdf] Available at:
http://www.oeconomica.uab.ro/upload/lucrari/1220102/17.pdf[Accessed 20 January
2018].
Porcerelli, J. H., Brennan, S., Carty, J., Ziadni, M., & Markova, T. (2015). Resident ratings
of communication skills using the Kalamazoo Adapted Checklist. Journal of graduate
medical education, 7(3), 458-461.
Smith, E., 2017. The Importance of Communication in the Organizational Structure [online]
Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-communication-organizational-
structure-24390.html [Accessed 20 January 2018].
Thiels, C. A., Bergquist, J. R., Pandian, T. K., & Heller, S. F. (2016, April). Improving
communication skills and professionalism among general surgery residents, one page at a
time. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 91, No. 4, pp. 539-541). Elsevier.
Truity, 2017. The Big Five Personality Test. [online] Available at:
https://www.truity.com/test/big-five-personality-test[Accessed 20 January 2018].