Improving Communication Skills: Process, Types & Workplace Application

This presentation provides a comprehensive overview of communication and its importance in both personal and professional settings. It begins by defining communication and explaining its significance in building relationships, enhancing self-perception, and facilitating problem-solving and career advancement. The presentation delves into the communication process, highlighting essential components such as the sender, message, encoding, channel, decoding, receiver, and feedback, while also addressing potential barriers like emotional factors, jargon, lack of confidence, and noisy environments. Furthermore, it explores the functions of communication, including regulation, motivation, interaction, and information dissemination, as well as different types of communication such as verbal, nonverbal, visual, and written. The presentation emphasizes the importance of communication skills in the workplace, providing practical tips for improvement, such as being clear and concise, preparing ahead of time, being mindful of nonverbal cues, watching tone, practicing active listening, and building emotional intelligence. It also includes interesting facts and statistics on communication skills, highlighting their impact on employee engagement, teamwork, and overall business success.

IMPROVING
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Marielle Buscato

CONTENT
01
02
INTRODUCTION
A brief discussion of the overview of
communication and its importance in
life in general
COMMUNICATION
PROCESS & BARRIERS
A discussion on the etymology,
definition, process, and barriers of
communication
03
04
A brief discussion of the functions and types
of communication
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
IN THE WORKPLACE
A discussion on the importance of
communication skills and how to improve
communication skils in the workplace
FUNCTIONS & TYPES OF
COMMUNICATION

01 INTRODUCTION

Listening and talking, or giving and receiving,
are both important parts of good
communication. The goal is to make sure that
everyone understands what is being said.
INTERACTION
For your career to go well, you need to be
able to talk to people. Having good
communication skills can help you move up
in your career.
SUCCESS
One important life skill is the ability to
communicate. Communication helps you get to
know other people and get along well with
them.
RELATIONSHIP
Communication is a big part of how you
see yourself, and it also helps you solve
problems, learn new things, and build your
career.
SELF
HOW DOES COMMUNICATION HELP?

COMMUNICATION AS
PROCESS
COMMUNICATION AS
INTERACTION
COMMUNICATION AS
SOCIAL CONTEXT
The communication that takes
place amongst the people is
active. They communicate in a
way that is original and
convenient for them in order to
accomplish a particular aim or
purpose.
Listening and talking, or giving
and receiving, are both
important parts of good
communication. The goal is to
make sure that everyone
understands what is being said.
Communication is the process
of producing, delivering, and
receiving significant symbolic
messages in a setting such as a
school, a church, or any other
social gathering.

02 COMMUNICATION
PROCESS AND
BARRIERS

COMMUNICATION
Communication is the process of
understanding and sharing meaning
(Pearson & Nelson, 2000).
Communication comes from the Latin word
'communicare', which means “to share”
(Weekley, 1967).

COMMUNICATION
PROCESS
The communication process refers to a series of actions
or steps taken in order to successfully communicate.
SENDER MESSAGE CHANNEL
RECEIVER
FEEDBACKDECODING
ENCODING

COMMUNICATION PROCESS

8 ESSENTIAL
COMPONENTS
Sender: This is the person that is delivering a
message to a recipient.
Message: This refers to the information that the
sender is relaying to the receiver.
Encoding: This is the transmission of the message
performed by the sender.
Channel of communication: This is the transmission
or method of delivering the message.
Decoding: This is the interpretation of the message.
Decoding is performed by the receiver.
Receiver: The receiver is the person who is getting
or receiving the message.
Feedback: In some instances, the receiver might
have feedback or a response for the sender. This
starts an interaction.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

You are having a bad
day or you feel
frustrated
You are a scientist
discussing a weather
phenomenon to a
clueless neighbor.
You are asked to
share something
about your day, but
you are hesitant
because you are shy.
You are having a
conversation with
some friends when a
song was played
loudly.
Emotional
Barriers Use of
Jargons Lack of
Confidence Noisy
Environment
Barriers that May Cause Communicat
Breakdown

03 FUNCTIONS &
TYPES OF
COMMUNICATION

One uses communication to control one's
actions or behavior.
REGULATION
Communication is a tool that can be used
to inspire or urge other people to lead
better lives.
MOTIVATION
Communication is used to make social
connections; it is used to build bonds,
intimacy, and relationships.
INTERACTION
One uses communication to convey useful
information.
INFORMATION
4 FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION

Verbal communication is the use of language
to transfer information. encompasses speech
and verbal interactions like speaking and
listening to messages.
VERBAL
Nonverbal communication is the use of
body language, gestures and facial
expressions to convey information to
others.
NONVERBAL
Visual communication is the act of using
photographs, art, drawings, sketches, charts
and graphs to convey information.
VISUAL
Written communication is the act of
writing, typing or printing symbols like
letters and numbers to convey
information.
WRITTEN
4 TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

04 COMMUNICATION
SKILLS IN THE
WORKPLACE

COMMUNICATION
SKILLS
Communication skills are abilities you use when
giving and receiving different kinds of information.
While these skills may be a regular part of your
day-to-day work life, communicating in a clear,
effective and efficient way is an extremely special
and useful skill.
Learning from great communicators around you
and actively practicing ways to improve your
communications over time will certainly support
your efforts to achieve various personal and
professional goals.

COMMUNICATION
SKILLS
Communication skills are a set of activities that
ultimately make a quality public performance.
Communication today is very important both in the
business world and in private life.
Successful communication helps us better
understand people and situations. It helps us
overcome diversities, build trust and respect, and
create conditions for sharing creative ideas and
solving problems.

LET US TEST YOUR COMMUNICATION
SKILLS KNOWLEDGE

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING IS POSITIVE BODY
LANGUAGE TO USE WHEN SPEAKING?
A. Fold your arms or cross your legs
B. Stand behind a lectern and keep your
body hidden
C. Keep arms open and use open gestures
D. Don't make eye contact

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING IS POSITIVE BODY
LANGUAGE TO USE WHEN SPEAKING?
A. Fold your arms or cross your legs
B. Stand behind a lectern and keep your
body hidden
C. Keep arms open and use open gestures
D. Don't make eye contact

YOU'RE GIVING SOMEONE VERBAL FEEDBACK ABO
SOME WORK THEY HAVE COMPLETED THAT ISN'T U
TO STANDARD: WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
A. Point out everything that they did wro
B. Base your feedback on what you have
heard from others
C. Criticise them for their poor work
D.Suggest where improvements can be m
and agree on a plan

YOU'RE GIVING SOMEONE VERBAL FEEDBACK ABO
SOME WORK THEY HAVE COMPLETED THAT ISN'T U
TO STANDARD: WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
A. Point out everything that they did wro
B. Base your feedback on what you have
heard from others
C. Criticise them for their poor work
D. Suggest where improvements can be
made and agree on a plan

WHICH OF THESE IS THE BEST WAY TO ASK A
QUESTION?
A. Only offer a yes/no response
B. Use open questions that encourage a fu
response
C. Use leading words to suggest the respon
you require
D. Ask something that you wouldn't want t
answer yourself

WHICH OF THESE IS THE BEST WAY TO ASK A
QUESTION?
A. Only offer a yes/no response
B. Use open questions that encourage a fu
response
C. Use leading words to suggest the respon
you require
D. Ask something that you wouldn't want t
answer yourself

YOU DISAGREE WITH WHAT SOMEONE HAS
SAID: HOW SHOULD YOU REACT?
A. Ask questions to learn more about their
opinion
B. Be unreasonable and refuse to listen
C. Get emotionally involved and have a he
discussion
D. Stick with your one-sided view on the
situation

YOU DISAGREE WITH WHAT SOMEONE HAS
SAID: HOW SHOULD YOU REACT?
A. Ask questions to learn more about their
opinion
B. Be unreasonable and refuse to listen
C. Get emotionally involved and have a he
discussion
D. Stick with your one-sided view on the
situation

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WILL NOT HELP Y
TO BE MORE PERSUASIVE?
A. Mirror body language and tone
B. Use words that the other person agrees
C. Talk about your own interests and goals
D. Make your aims appear to put the other
person at an advantage

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WILL NOT HELP Y
TO BE MORE PERSUASIVE?
A. Mirror body language and tone
B. Use words that the other person agrees
C. Talk about your own interests and goals
D. Make your aims appear to put the other
person at an advantage

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOP 3
WINNERS!!!

WHY ARE
COMMUNICATION
SKILLS
IMPORTANT?
Clear expectations
Collaboration with coworkers
Career opportunities

EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION

Developing strong
communication is one
of the leaders’ top
priorities

THE POWER OF
STRONG
COMMUNICATION
SKILLS IN THE
WORKPLACE
With strong communication skills, you c
clearly impact your business. Great
communicators are the ones who bring
solutions, drive change, motivate and
inspire their colleagues.
By improving communication skills, we
improve employee engagement, teamw
decision-making, and interdepartmenta
communication in the workplace.

Good communication skills
enable managers to receive and
send negative or heavy messages
without creating frustration and
disruption of trust. This is
important to keep employees
motivated and engaged.

of employees have the
feeling they are missing
out on important
information at work
74%

MORE INTERESTING FACTS AND STATS O
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Research says 7% of communication is verbal, 55% is body language, and 38
and inflection.
More than 80% of Americans think that with effective employee communicat
employers can have a trustworthy relationship with their employees (Slidesh
98% of top salespeople believe a relationship is an essential factor in genera
business. (Salesforece.com, 2021)
57% of recruiters say there will be a growth in demand for interpersonal skill
next five years (MBA.com, 2021)
Companies lose an average of $62.4 million per year because of miscommun
among employees. (SHRM, 2020)

10 BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION IN THE
WORKPLACE

Mitigated conflict
Increased
employee
engagement
Improved
productivity
Improved
client relations

Healthy
workplace culture
Improved direction
for employees
Boosted employee
job satisfaction
Increased innovation

Strengthened
team building
Improved
public impression

8 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO
IMPROVE YOUR COMMUNICATION
SKILLS
According to Harvard Division of Continuing Education

Tip 1: Before engaging in any form of communication, define yo
and your audience.
Tip 2: Avoid unnecessary words and overly flowery language, w
distract from your message.
Tip 3: Use repetition carefully and sparingly. Repeating your me
ensure that your audience receives it, but too much repetition c
them to tune you out entirely.
BE CLEAR AND CONCISE1

Tip 1: Think about the entirety of the communication, from star
finish. Know what you are going to say and how you are going t
before you begin any type of communication.
Tip 2: Research the information you may need to support your m
Tip 3: Consider how you will respond to questions and criticisms
anticipate the unexpected.
PREPARE AHEAD OF TIME2

Tip 1: Be adept at reading nonverbal cues. If you are aware of o
body language, you may be able to adjust your communication
appropriately.
Tip 2: Be able to control your own nonverbal communications. Y
nonverbal cues must, at all times, support your message.
BE MINDFUL OF NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION3

Tip 1: Be mindful of your tone to enable you to alter it appropria
communication seems to be going in the wrong direction. When
tone includes volume, projection, and intonation as well as word
Tip 2: Tone can be easier to control when writing. Be sure to rea
communication once, even twice, while thinking about tone as w
message.
Tip 3: When engaging in a heated dialogue over email or other w
medium, don’t be too hasty in your replies. Write out your respo
then wait for a day or two to send it.
WATCH YOUR TONE4

Tip 1: Listening carefully shows other people that they matter. N
cues like eye contact, engaged facial expression, and attentive
demonstrate you are lslitenning.
Tip 2: Listening to others demonstrates you have an open mind.
ways that show you are willing to learn from others.
Tip 3: Listening demonstrates that you are following other peop
messages. Ask good questions and make short affirmative state
that show you are trackig them.
PRACTICE ACTIVE LISTENING5

Tip 1: Self-awareness is the cornerstone of emotional intelligenc
the other components of EI depend on this self-awareness. Iden
understand your own emotions and the impact we have on othe
Tip 2: Self-awareness opens the door to self-regulation, which is
ability to manage these emotions and behaviors. Once we’re aw
emotions, we can begin to manage them and keep the disruptiv
and impulses under control.
Tip 3: Social awareness is our ability to understand the emotion
others and a key component of this is empathy - identifying wha
feel, sharing this emotion, and wishing to improve their experien
BUILD YOUR EMOTIONAL
INTELLIGENCE6

Tip 1: Use technology to facilitate communication
Tip 2: Create an open environment
Tip 3: Provide opportunities for feedback
Tip 4: Get specific with instructions
Tip 5: Celebrate achievements and milestone
Tip 6: Open multiple lines of communication
Tip 7: Connect across departments
DEVELOP A WORKPLACE
COMMUNICATION STRATEGY7

Tip 1: Take a genuine interest in other people. Ask them appro[r
questions about their work, where they are from, and about the
outside of work.
Tip 2: Be easy to get along with. Be approachable, patient and k
about your life outside of work occasionally.
Tip 3: Be generous with envouragement. A specific word of
envouragement is a valuable gift and builds positive connection
CREATE A POSITIVE
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE8

Step 1: Look at your weekly calendar and pick one meeting or im
conversation each day.
Step 2: Set a skill goal for each upcoming interaction. For exam
may choose "clear communication" for your Tuesday one-on-on
your supervisor.
Step 3: Practice one specific tip for that interaction (e.g. a clear
"headline"). Try a different tip next time. Cycle through the list.
Step 4: Make notes beforehand to remind you to practice that s
during interaction.
UP FOR A CHALLENGE?
YOUR COMMUNICATION PLAN

THANK YOU