Essay on Interpersonal Communication Skills
Added on 2020-04-07
6 Pages1784 Words53 Views
Leadership Management
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Student NumberCommunication SkillsStudent NameInstitution NameWord Count: 1290Reference style: APA 6th EditionEssay Question: Communication skills are essential to excel in any discipline or field. Explain the three interpersonal communication skills of listening, feedback and questioning, and critically discuss the benefits of applying these skills within your particular discipline or field.1
Student NumberCommunication SkillsPossessing and applying effective communication skills is essential for professional success and development. The way professionals use the three essential communication skillsof listening, feedback and questioning define their competency. Currently, employers are concerned about the ability of their workers to communicate effectively. These demands by current employers are justified by the spread of globalization effects. The present globalized business environment requires individuals who can listen, query and provide sufficient feedback on the issues at hand. Particularly, effective communication skills are mandatory foroccupational health and safety officers. Occupation health and safety officers require effective listening, questioning, and feedback competencies to monitor and control workplacerisks and hazards. Communication is central to human life. People utilize communication to convey theirinterests and obtain the views of others. According to Littlejohn, Foss, and Oetzel (2017), communication is the verbal and nonverbal interchange of ideas or thoughts. From this definition, it is apparent that communication is not simply a process of conveying information. Instead, it entails the interchange of ideologies and opinion from individuals. Precisely, communication is a two-way process which involves sending information and receiving feedback. Listening is the capability to correctly receive and construe messages during communication process[ CITATION McC17 \l 1033 ]. As Littlejohn, Foss, and Oetzel (2016) elaborate, the ability to listen effectively eliminates the chances misunderstanding the conveyed message. Poor listening abilities result in communication breakdown and loss of potential clients in business. Listening affects the other communication skills such as questioning and feedback since one cannot question or provide feedback to information they have not comprehended. Moreover, listening does not signify keeping quiet when another person is talking. Instead, it entails understanding and showing interest in the information being provided by the speaker. According to Battel (2006), research confirms that 75% of oral communication is ignored, misunderstood or forgotten due to poor listening skills. In thisrespect, listening requires discipline and commitment. Feedback is the reaction of the receiver after interpreting the message. As earlier indicated, communication is a two-way process. In this view, it entails sending messages and receiving feedback. Without feedback, the communication process is considered incomplete. 2
Student NumberMoreover, Wooten and Ulrich (2017) point out that the quality of feedback defines the level of success of a communication process. The ability to provide timely and accurate feedback indicates that both the sender and receiver of the message possess effective communication skills. Feedback is important in maintaining communication and improving performance. Without feedback, it can be assumed that the message was never received. Apart from listening and feedback, questioning is another vital element of interpersonal communication. According to Butterfield (2012), asking questions assists in clarifying information, improving communication, and resolving problems. The aim of asking questions is to gain insight on a specific component of a received message. However, it is vital to ask objective and relevant questions. According to Hargie (2006), the relevance and objectivity of questioning are influenced by listening abilities of individuals. Individuals with poor listening skills ask irrelevant questions which can irritate the respondents. As a result, Butterfiels (2013) advises that it is important to apply effective questioning during the communication process. Effective questioning implies knowing which questions to ask, whento ask them, and how to phrase them[ CITATION But12 \l 1033 ]. This position illustrates the connection the exist between listening, feedback, and questioning skills in interpersonal communication. These skills are utilized as a package and deficiency of one can result in communication breakdownAs an occupational health and safety officer, one needs to illustrate excellent comprehension and application of listening, questioning and feedback skills. The profession entails sourcing for health information within an organization set-up and conveying it to relevant officials. In this respect, effective communication is vital for one to succeed as an occupational health and safety officer. According to Leitão and Greiner (2017), the objective of occupational health and safety officers is to prevent or minimize accidents, injuries, and illness in the workplace. They attain this objective by assisting in creating and implementing health and safety policies. Furthermore, occupation health and safety officers ensure that the management of organizations effects these policies. To achieve these responsibilities, occupational health and safety officer must interact and communicate effectively with the different stakeholders within and outside their organizations. Collecting information on workplace risks and hazards require an occupational health and officer to utilize active listening skills. The officer collects this information from different individuals within the workplace. In this respect, the officer must carefully listen to 3
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