The principles of effective communications

The principles of effective communications (P2)

Introduction

I have been asked by Rainbow Light charity to create a blog on the principles of effective communications. That includes general communications, interpersonal communications and written communications.  There are skills for each type of communication which I will discuss.

 

General Communications

Introduction

I have been asked by rainbow light charity to create a blog on the principles of effective communications. That includes general communications, cultural communications and interpersonal communications.

General Communications

Introduction

General communication is the transmission or a message that is passed from one person to another using various channels. General communication skills apply to all type of communication.

General communication is necessary in the rainbow light because if you do not communicate effectively problems will be created, for example when something goes wrong with the CD’s they are using and the person using it does not inform the other volunteers – all of the recorded CD’s could be affected.

It can be used among clients so they can find out what the client wants and they can find out if something is wrong. They can use email or telephone to be able to keep in contact with the client. Rainbow can use forms to hand out to clients that allows them to be kept up to date or rainbow could set up a fundraiser to talk to clients about the organisation

General communication can be used between the rainbow organization and staff. They can communicate over email or by using phone if they are going to be having a team meeting or they are going to organise any team buildings or start a fund raiser.

General Communication Skills

Cultural Differences

Cultural differences in communications can be a challenge. Cultures provide different ways of thinking. The way of seeing, hearing, and interpreting the world. The language barrier can be tough and a translator may be needed but it could cause misunderstandings when translating. Another challenge is the way we speak how we show our actions because some words and actions may not be acceptable to them. You could say a word but to them it might have a different meaning.  Also our body language can be offensive to other cultures.  In some cultures it is not acceptable to shake hands but more suitable to hug each other.

Accuracy

 

When speaking you will want to accurate in what you say. For example you are talking about your favourite football team and everything you say about that team untrue people will start to notice that so it best to stick to the truth and not to try to stretch it out. When having adapted the content and style to meet the expectations on the needs of the audience you will want to focus on the message that you are trying to convey. The consequences for in accurate work within an organisation are not good.  If you have a reputation of being inaccurate, then others will think you are not trustworthy and feel that they have to check up on you.  It is important to always be accurate when communicating either face to face or in writing so that you do not give yourself or Rainbow a bad reputation for being untrustworthy.

Interpersonal Communications

Interpersonal communication is when people exchange information, their feelings and meaning through verbal communication, meaning it is face to face. So it is not written communication. Without speech, an observer may be using cues of:

·         posture,

·         facial expression,

·         And dress to form an impression of the other's role, emotional state, personality and/or intentions.

Interpersonal communication is necessary for giving and collecting information, to maintain contacts from other people.  Interpersonal communication is a good way to get to know someone either in work, or the clients and it is the best way to build relationships and friendships.

It can be used in the rainbow organisation to make sure that they are all up to date if any problems appear so they are clear on what needs to be done.

Interpersonal Communication Skills

 

Methods of interpersonal communications

Verbal

Verbal exchanges are what most people use to speak to each other but sometimes that does not always work. This method is how people communicate to each other by speaking. The other way it is used is people listening to what is being said. This is important in rainbow organisation because you will be talking to other people on the team.  Verbal skills are very important in businesses.  Volunteer’s verbal skills will be tested in the interview.  The employer will be able to see if the person being interviewed is comfortable talking and also if they are able to listen to the questions and give the right answer.

Sign Language

Sign Language is another method of communication; it is a language that uses manual communication and body language that shows what they mean. Each pattern they use for sign language has a different meaning to what they are saying. It is used instead of the spoken language we speak.  We use our voices and mouths to make different sounds and the person listening can hear what we are saying.  However people who are deaf cannot hear these spoken words.  They need to use sign language to communicate with others and respond to conversations.  Deaf people use their hands to communicate by sign.  In the rainbow organisation, if a client was deaf, a person who is trained in sign language would need to visit the client.

Lip Reading

The third method of communication is lip reading.  This is where the person is reading the movements of the lips and the tongue to understand what is being said, along with the facial expression and body language are all clues for them.  An employee of Rainbow would need to speak clearly and slowly if a client was lip reading what they were saying.

Positive language

Positive language is a very important Interpersonal Communication Skill.  Positive language is used by positive people who are problem solvers.  Positive language is used to motivate and encourage help the people involved.   An example of positive language is saying things like "that's really interesting" or “I am looking to find out more".

Another way of demonstrating positive language is how you act in situations where you can show confidence to people and lift their spirits when things do not go well in a team. It is important because it shows that you are ready to get the job done and not looking to sit back and to do nothing.

If things go wrong in Rainbow, using positive language will be used to make plans to sort it out.  The opposite is negative language – which should not be used as it causes more problems.

 

Written communication

Written communication is different from the other communications that are used today. When using written communication it requires a good amount of skill involved because you will need to know grammar and have knowledge of the English language. The key to having written communication is to make sure that It is  structured so that it makes sense to the person who receives the email or letter. The different kinds of written communications are:

·         email,

·         letters,

·         flyers,

·         blogs

·         and websites.

They each have their own specific purpose for example you will not have a whole document on a flyer when it should be on a blog or a letter.

Rainbow employees should be careful when sending written communication, as they are representing Rainbow.  Therefore the document should be accurate and well presented or else Rainbow will look unprofessional.

Written communication skills

Document Structure

Structure is very important when it comes to written communications because you will want to present the letter or email in a well-mannered way. You want it to make sense.

When writing letters the best way to present a letter in a document is to have a template in a logical order.  You should always start off with an introduction about who the letter is from and always include the date and even a reference.  The letter should be signed and include details of who to contact if there is anything else they need.

In a report or email using headings and sub headings will give the document structure and make it easy for the reader to understand.

Using bullet points or numbered lists is useful if you want to summarise what you are saying.

To make words stand out and attract the reader’s eye to certain areas the text could be changed to bold, italic or underline to make them stand out.

Using the correct fonts is also important – professional document should use fonts like Calibri, Arial and Times new roman.  Wingdings and handwriting fonts should not be used when writing communications to people outside of Rainbow.  Fonts should be the same throughout – you should not use different fonts in different parts of the same document or letter.

An email should be well structure and include a signature with the name, email address, job title and telephone number of the sender.

Proofreading

Proofing reading is very important skill to have because you do not want to write out a letter, email or a memo that does not make any sense.  It will end up looking unprofessional for anyone going to read it. It is necessary within the organisation because you the volunteer could have to write out a letter to someone.

When you are proofreading you will want to read through it slowly and carefully to make sure that it makes sense and that it communicates what you are trying to say.

You will want to make sure that you have searched through to make sure that there are not any spelling errors in the message. Proofreading shows that what you mean and to make sure that you are getting your point across. The best thing is that you take a break after you have written the letter so you can go back to it and check it makes sense. 

Proofreading might also allow you to see if you have made some errors with grammar and punctuation.  Proofreading allows you to check the accuracy of what you have written – for example if dates or times are correct.