COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Presented By Dr. Tarek Diab

tarekdiab@Hotmail.com
01110110367
Social interaction
Objectives

Identify common communication problems that may be holding you back.

Develop skills to ask questions that give you information you need.

Learn what your non-verbal messages are telling others.

Develop skills to listen actively and empathetically to others.

Enhance your ability to handle difficult situations.

Deal with situations assertively

Problems in organizations
Mistrustful, alienated & less motivated.

Damaged relationships.

Poor decision making.

Ineffective behavior.

Serious consequences.
Communicating confidently
Advantages of Communicating Confidently

More focused on whats being communicated.

More satisfying.

More likely to get what you want.

Contributes to the success of your organization.

 Communicating Confidently

1. Trust.

2. Credibility.

3. Confident Behavior.
 Exercise

Which characteristics demonstrate the essential elements for communicating

confidently?

Appropriate eye contact with people you are communicating with.

Making only statements that you know other people agree with.

Sharing only accurate, factual info rather than theories or assumptions.

Making only commitments that you can fulfill.

Being open to feedback from others.

 Trust
High Trust
Environment

Redundancy

Bureaucracy

Politics

Disengagement

Turnover

Churn

Fraud
 How to build trust

Communicate productively.

Freely share information.

Be candid and truthful.

Accept constructive criticism.

Respect other parties needs and interests.

 Exercise

Donna is a third-party auditor who has been brought to audit processes at a factory.
Which actions will help Donna foster trust among the factorys employees?

Sharing audit information to help employees correct their mistakes before auditing
the activities theyre involved in.
Acknowledging the factorys employees busy schedules and avoiding disrupting their
works without good cause.
Accepting corrections from the employees regarding her understanding of the
factory processes.
Explaining what her goals are, whose interests she represents, and why she is
conducting her audit.
Freely sharing faults in the processes with the employees concerned and recording
this information.
Communicating with employees only for the purpose of gaining an understanding
of the factory processes.
 Credibility
1. Background:
Previous positions.
Successes.
Expertise.

2. Extrinsic behaviors:
Your knowledge of the subject matter.
Good body language.
Tone of voice.
State clearly what you mean.
Keep promises.
Avoid using jargon.
 Exercise
Max led an environmental research team investigating pollution and possible
contamination of water tables in the area. Previous research efforts failed to produce
useful results and his own teams results were delayed. He has been asked to present his
findings to a group of stakeholders.

What should Max do to enhance his credibility during the presentation?

Name all pollution suspects, although the team is not yet sure who these may be.
Research the subject, taking care not to get caught up in technical jargon.
Ignore any criticisms leveled at him and his team for the delay in getting the needed
results.
Focus on areas he know will interest his audience, like methods to ensure the
water table remains pollution-free.
Admit the mistakes that occurred during the previous research and explain what he
learned from them.
Ensure that his full credentials are mentioned when he is introduced to the group.
 Confident Communication Behavior

Develop your personal image.

Know what you want to say.

Address fears and self talk.

 Exercise

Which techniques will help you prepare for confident communication?

Creating the personal image you want to project.

Being clear on what you want to communicate.

Not letting yourself think about what could possibly go wrong.

Addressing your fears and changing negative self-talk to positive self-talk.

Dressing the same way that people you admire dress.

Vocal Variety
Inflection

Volume

Tone

Speed
 Body Language

1. Posture.

2. Eye Contact.

3. Gestures & Facial Expressions.

 Concentrate On Your Present

Replace negative thoughts with positive ones.

Focus on the present.

Pay attention to how your body feels.

 Exercise
What statements about the effectiveness of Sallys communication are true?

Her smile when she spoke about the teams excellent performance makes her
statement seem more authentic.
Sally conveys respect and interest by maintaining good eye contact.
Smiling as she tells the team about the lack of bonus softens the blow for the team.
The way she delivered her speech conveys authoritative certainty about her message.
Standing tall with her hands loosely at her side conveys that she is not interested in
what she is saying.

What confident communication behaviors does Sally need to improve?

She needs to use gestures to enhance the meaning of her message.

She needs to ensure that her vocal tone matches the tone of her message.
She needs to work on projecting her voice so that its fully audible.
She needs to speak with less hesitation.
Targeting Your Message

Joseph Baker

About Tuesdays deadline

The client keeps delaying, but we cant do any further work without the CBG.
Im afraid were going to miss Tuesdays deadline unless we get this.

Joseph Baker

About Tuesdays deadline

For the hospital web site project, were still missing the clients Corporate
Branding Graphics although weve been asking for them daily. Could you
perhaps speak to the hospitals marketing director about this? If we dont
get the graphics, were going to miss our Tuesday deadline for the project.
Planning & Delivering a Targeted Message
 Medium

Importance

Practicality

Preferences

Receivers communication style

Feedback
 Contextual Factors

Body Language

Timing

Environment/Setting
 Message

Inform

Persuade

Inspire

Stimulate

Entertain

Instructing/Warning/Greeting/
Requesting info
 Feedback

Response

Could be positive or negative.

Its important DURING communication.

And vital AFTER communication.

 Case Study

Please highlight the 5 components of communication in the following situation, and

explain how they could be improved:

Engineer: Please make sure there is no red lights on the upper panel in the control
room are ON.
Worker: I have no idea where the upper panel is?
Engineer: It is very obvious when you just enter the room, it is facing the door.
Worker: Ok
Engineer (after 15 minutes): did you check the lights ?
Worker: yes but there is no red lights on the panel ON
Engineer: why didnt you come over and report that to me
Worked: I was working on the x equipment and I want to finish that, and I didnt see
any red lights so I though every thing is ok
Engineer: Yes, but how could I know that every thing is Ok if you never report it!!!!
 Exercise
Mario is too ill to go to work. He wants to inform his manager, Sam.

Match each of the components of the communication model to an example of it in this

situation.
A. Feedback 1. The time is 08:00 AM

B. Sender 2. Mario

C. Contextual Factor
3. Sam

D. Medium
4. Thanks for letting me know. Get well soon.
E. Receiver
5. Im really ill, so Im afraid I wont be coming in to work
F. Message today.
6. Telephone call
 Planning Your Communication
1. What are the receivers responsibilities & interests?

2. What is the receivers current knowledge level?

3. What preferences does the receiver have regarding the medium/context & strategy?
 The Receivers Knowledge Level

John, the managing editor of a newspaper, is disappointed with a draft article that Todd
submitted. Todd used to be the newspaper ITs technician, and is now trying his hand at
writing. Follow along as John and Todd discuss problems with the article.

Which basic questions has John failed to ask?

What information does the receiver require?

What jargon is the receiver familiar with?

What information does the receiver have?

 Receiver Has Preferences Regarding The Medium/Context & Strategy
You want to ask one of your busiest clients for feedback regarding your companys performance. Before sending
your message, you analyze the receiver.

Match the questions to the information they can draw out. Each answer may match with more than one question.

A. What information does the The receiver is a middle manager at

receiver require? this company.

B. What information does the

receiver have?
C. What are the receivers interests?
D. Which presentation style makes
the most effective impact on the
receiver?
The receiver has liaised with
throughout the year and has access to
all the information about projects that
youve done for his company this year.
The reader responds best to
predesigned formats, such as surveys.
 Receiver Has Preferences Regarding The Medium/Context & Strategy

Required impact of the message.

Most appropriate presentation style.

Need for interactivity.

Importance of information retention.

More Contextual Factors
 Case Study

Youre a process engineer at a natural gas field and you have been asked to explain the new
Safety procedures to your team that will be implemented in six months time. The project is
critical to your company, so you want to make your best effort to convince the team with the
benefits of the new system.

Which medium is best for the situation?

A telephone call
A DVD that combines a written report with full color graphics and animation
A formal in-person presentation
An e-mailed proposal

Which plan of action outlines the best setting and timing for the communication?

Schedule a meeting at your offices one month before the start of the new system.
Schedule a meeting at the training room for the following week.
Schedule a lunch time meeting at the restaurant for the following day.
 Delivering Your Message & Getting Feedback
A new employee, who is a technical novice, is having trouble with job specific software.
He has requested assistance from the companys computer technician. To learn more
about the case before visiting the employee, the technician writes the employee an e-
mail.
Which message is appropriate for the receiver?

Schott has had the same problem before. Ask him to help you get a list of the missing
dynamics link library (DLL) files, as well as the programs installation log. It shouldnt take
more than five minutes.

Weve had this kind of trouble before. Please send me a list of the missing DLLs, as well
as the installation log.

This has happened before. What DLLs are missing? What does the installation log say?
Get me the information by 3:00 pm today. I dont work on these issues without the
background information.
 Delivering Your Message & Getting Feedback

Most to least critical.

Outlining a problem then its solution.

Big to small picture.

Comparing or contrasting points.

 Delivering Your Message & Getting Feedback
Match each strategy for structuring a message to the situation in which its use is most
appropriate.
1. You have a suggestion of a safety procedure
A. Most to least critical followed by one of your companys
competitors
B. Compare or contrast
2. You want to suggest a strategy for
C. Problem to solution improving poor performance to a team of
technicians
D. Big to small picture

3. You need to outline procedure steps to a

product department team

4. You want to propose a change in a refining

process to company executives
 Delivering Your Message & Getting Feedback

1. Pay attention to the receivers initial response.

2. Ask follow-up questions.

3. Ask for a summary of your message to confirm.

 Why Listening Is Important?

1. Show the customer that you care about him more than the sale.

2. Show that you are interested in solving his problem though you heard the same
requests before from previous customers.

3. Listen. Dont wait for the pause to talk. Maybe you can find something you can use to
close the sale.

4. It makes finding the solution easier.

 3 Types of Listening

1. Competitive Listening
It happens when we want to talk about ourselves more than listening to the
other person.
It happens when we want to prove that we are right and you are wrong.

2. Negative Listening
We care about listening to him but we do nothing to show that we are
interested.

3. Active Listening
We care about listening to him and understand his point of view. Also we
try to know his feelings and to be sure that we know everything about his
needs. Then we try to help him.
Active Listening

Non-judgmental
Emphasis on listening
Attentive and respectful
Listening closely/Paraphrasing back/Clarifying what you heard

x Not planning your response

x Not day dreaming
x Not solving their problems
x Not giving advice
 Communicating Assertively

1. When you are disagreeing with or confronting someone.

2. When someone asks something from you and saying no politely is a challenge.

3. When you are asking for help you need from others.

4. When you are standing up for yourself because you feel you have been unfairly
treated or someone has placed unreasonable expectations on you.
 Assertive Behavior
Expressing yourself confidently and positively.

Speaking directly and honestly, not waiting for others to infer.

Showing respect for others while expressing your views.

Communicating in a way that ensures you will be heard and understood.

 Assertive Behavior

Begin, change & end a topic of conversation without being rude or overriding others.

Express your opinions and feelings honestly so that others can take these into account.

Ask for cooperation and help of others without feeling guilty or anxious.

Decline requests politely and confidently if you feel they are too demanding or that
you wont be able to meet them.

Question rules and guidelines that you feel are unfair and stand up for your own
rights.

Accept compliments and constructive criticism from others.

 Exercise

What are typical characteristics of assertive behavior?

Ensuring that others agree with your points.

Express yourself confidently and positively.

Speaking directly and honestly.

Controlling emotions by communicating only facts.

Ensuring that youre heard and understood.

Demonstrating respect for others at all times.

 Benefits of Behaving Assertively

You get what you want or need more often.

You gain respect from others or yourself and your position.

You feel less powerless and so reduce your stress in workplace situations.

You solve problems more efficiently.

You feel more productive and positive.

You develop more open, honest relationships.

 Not Being Assertive
Aggressive

Passive-Aggressive

Passive (Indirect Giving in)

 Case Study
Simon, Beth, Carl, and Jackie are on their coffee break. Simon and Beth are talking, and
Jackie interrupts them. This irritates Simon and Beth. After Jackie has finished speaking,
Simon and Beth continue their conversation.
Carl really wants to share what he thinks but is scared to interrupt. He can see how
Jackie's interrupting is affecting others negatively and wants people to perceive him as
friendly and accommodating, unlike her. Again, Jackie interrupts Simon and Beth and
speaks over them. Simon rolls his eyes for Beth to see and then slips into silence, clearly
irritated.
Beth calmly and politely asks Jackie if they can take turns talking instead of speaking over
one another, because the interruptions are interfering with her ability to focus on the
problem. Carl feels he's missed his opportunity to speak and remains quiet.

Jackie Assertive
Beth Passive
Carl Aggressive
Simon Passive-Aggressive
 What You Need For Assertive Communication

Being honest and straightforward and using direct language to get your message
across.

Being respectful for others needs and feelings so that you create an open platform for
communication.

Using assertive body language and tone to match the style of the verbal message you
convey.
 Exercise

Take the example of asking for a raise.

How do you think you should frame your statement or question to convey your meaning
directly?

Im doing a lot more around here than I used to do, dont you think?

With the new responsibilities Ive taken on, Id like to ask for a raise.

I deserve a raise.

Most employees who take on the responsibilities that I have are eligible for a raise.
 Guideline To Be Straightforward & Honest

1. Using I statements to take ownership of your opinions.

2. Using accurate descriptions instead of exaggerations or judgments.

3. Using direct language to convey meaning.

 True I Statement

Do you think the following sentence is a good example of an assertive I statement?

I feel that you dont spend enough time checking the quality of your reports.

No

Yes
 Exercise

Select each You statement for an assertive I statement alternative:

A. You always interrupt me. 1. I get angry when you dont get your
reports done on time.

B. You make me so mad. 2. Im concerned that if the reports arent

complete by next week, the whole
project will be threatened.

C. If you dont hurry up with the reports,

3. I would like to be able to finish my
this project is going to fail. points without being interrupted.
 Using Accurate Descriptions & Direct Language

Consider the statement You fail at everything you try because of your bad attitude.

Which is the best assertive replacement for the statement?

You fail at everything you try, and I feel you have a bad attitude.

Your bad attitude is the cause of your frequent failure.

Havent you noticed you fail more often when you have a negative attitude?

I believe you frequently fail at things you try and that your attitude is the cause.

I think you fail at everything you try because of your bad attitude.
 Being Respectful For Others Needs & Feelings

Start with a positive to make communication less confrontational.

Show respect for the others position by acknowledging what it means to that person.

Present your opinion neutrally and without being harsh.

 Exercise

Which statements demonstrate respect for the needs and feelings of the listener?

We both agree that environmentally friendly transportation is the way to go, but I dont
see myself riding a scooter.

Im glad youve found your new scooter to be a great fuel-saving option! Unfortunately, it
wouldnt work well for me because I have to take my son to daycare each day.

I believe we should be more environmentally aware, but riding a scooter to work everyday
is just crazy.

I agree that cars arent environmentally friendly, but I believe that scooter also produce a
fair amount of pollution.

Thats ridiculous! Everyone knows that riding a bicycle to work is the environmentally
friendly choice.
Using Assertive Body Language & Tone
 Case Study (1/2)

Which is the FIRST honest and straightforward statement in the conversation?

In my opinion, we offer competitive rates.

Its ridiculous.

Youre emptying my bank account.

I thought we had closure on this a week ago.

Ive been going over the details of your companys contract, and frankly, it isnt good
enough.
 Case Study (2/2)

Which statements demonstrate respect for the others persons feelings and porsitions?

Ive been going over the details of your companys contract, and frankly, it isnt good
enough.
Youre emptying my bank account with a single mouse click!
In my opinion, we offer competitive rates, but if you break down the costs and point
out problem areas, we may be able to offer you a discount on any further runs.
Yes, our rates are higher, but theyre appropriate considering our readership.

Was Alexs body language assertive?

No. it was aggressive.

Yes, it was assertive.
No, it was passive.
 What IF

1. Repeat what you have said to ensure youve been understood.

2. Reframe your request or statement as a directive to make it clear that its imperative
for the listener to respond in the way youve requested.

3. Add emotion to what you say so that the listener knows youre serious.

4. Add consequences if the listener still doesnt respond in the way youve requested.
 Exercise

Youre in a meeting with a team member about how to make improvements to office
communications. You have an idea to propose.
You say: I was thinking could we develop a notice board that is updated everyday?
Your colleague doesnt respond.

Sequence the examples of statements in order of increasing power of assertiveness.

A. Please tell me what you think of my idea about a notice board.

B. Its important that all ideas are acknowledged in a planning meeting. If you dont respond
and tell me what you think of the idea of a notice board, well need to end this meeting.

C. Could we develop a notice board that is updated everyday?

D. Im getting irritated that youre not responding. Please tell me what you think of my idea
about a notice board.
Being Approachable
 Being More Approachable

How to reach out to others.

How to invite others in.

How to put others at ease and build rapport.

 Advantages of Being Approachable

You give people permission to share their thoughts and feelings with you.

Youll enjoy improved relationships.

Others will be willing to give you a lot of information.

You may win more business for your company.

You get more opportunities.

 How Approachable Are You?

How often do other come to me to discuss issues?

How often do they offer feedback, and how often is that feedback negative?

Are people comfortable enough to disagree with me?

How do I typically deal with conflict?

Do I tend to talk more than I listen?

Am I curious about what others have to say?

 How To Become Approachable?

Outreach

Availability

Reception
 Exercise
Match each domain of approachability to its key function. Not all functions will be used.

A. Outreach 1. To maintain your contacts

B. Reception 2. To make your contacts more available

C. Availability 3. To make contacts

4. To invite or attract contacts

Barriers
 Being Exercise

Which examples illustrate barriers to approachability?

Sitting with people you dont know.

Keeping your office door shut.

Taking detailed notes, which requires continuous typing on your laptop, during a
meeting.

Habitually taking your coffee and lunch breaks in a quiet area where nobody else goes.

Keeping your arms folded in social situations.

Listening, rather than talking, in social situations.

 Techniques For Reaching Out
Walk through office
Take different routes in building
Have coffee in unusual places
Visit colleagues instead of emailing them

Ask for names

Greet & smile
Sit next to people you dont know at meetings and coffee breaks

Chat after meetings

Walk up to groups & individuals during events
When in group ask questions and make people involved

Offering help to others but be ware not for your time to be consumed
Use appropriate personal information to reach out : birthdays/anniversaries/concerns
at work/ambitions
Techniques To Show Availability
Smile
 Exercise

Youve just walked into a conference breakroom. Who is the most approachable person
in the room?
 Reception

Stop what you are doing and pay attention.

If you are so busy, ask to postpone the conversation.

Use appropriate compliments.

Show genuine interest / Be patient / Be pleasant and polite.

Ask questions to give them opportunity to share information.

 Exercise

Which statements are likely to put someone else at ease and therefore help to facilitate
conversation?

What beautiful flowers you have on your desk. Then brighten the whole room.

I loved your new marketing idea. Im such a fan of dogs What was you inspiration?

Thats quite alright. We all make mistakes, believe me!

Please, take a seat. I have time.

I landed this job right after I completed my Ph.D. at Yale.

You have such gorgeous, long eyelashes.

 Rapport
Listen

Harmonize

Share
 Exercise

Which examples are possible ways of building rapport?

Leaning against a wall to chat with others who are also doing so.

Laughing when your companion laughs during a conversation.

Turning your back to your computer when holding a discussion with a colleague.

Helping a colleague express himself better by saying something that hes struggling to
articulate.

Shaking someones hand when youre introduced.

Mentioning how proud you are that your child won an award at school.
Gallup
Extraordinary Impact Through Analytics and Advice
Glossophobia
 Different Types of Presentation
Using PowerPoint with a group.

One to one demonstration.

Talking while holding a brochure or a flyer.

Giving a speech in front of an audience.

Explaining a point to a colleague.

Cold calling over the phone.

Reason of Fear
 Prepare The Presentation in 5 Steps

Clarify your objective.

Define the audience.

Create a strong message.

Build a structure.

Develop content.
 Define The Audience

Demographic factors.

Corporate factors.

Knowledge & attitude factors.

Miscellaneous factors.
 Create Your Message
Link your objective to the audience and create a message with impact that the
audience will recall.

Subjects / purposes objectives.

What is your point? What are you trying to say?

If someone asked an audience member after your presentation So, what did he say?
what should the audience member reply?

If you have several points to make, what is umbrella message that brings them all
together?

MESSAGE: How can you formulate the above answers into 1 phrase, that is short,
punchy and easy to remember?
 Build A Structure
Help your audience follow the message.

Keep audience attention.

Improve recall of your message.

 Develop Content

Let the creative process take over.

17 minutes.

A presentation is not restricted to spoken and visual words.

Use Mind Map to brainstorm your ideas.

Develop Content Mind Map
 Develop Content

Get a rough structure before you write the presentation.

Subject categories.

Rule of 3.

Practice it !
 Voice / Eye / Body / Space

Posture.

Gestures & Movement.

Facial Expressions.

Dress.
 Voice / Eye / Body / Space

Posture.
Gestures.
Facial Expressions.
Dress.
Movement
Layout

Cabaret Style
Layout

Boardroom
Layout

U-Shape