COMMUNICATION SKILLS

1. COMMUNICATION SKILLS

2. Think of a time when somebody has completely misunderstood what you were trying to convey WHAT WENT WRONG?

3. The Goal of This Workshop

4. What is the Purpose of Communication? • To get your message across to others clearly and unambiguously • It is only successful when both the sender and the receiver understand the same information as a result of the communication

5. THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS Source Message Channel Receiver Feedback Context

6. Context in Communication • Context may include the surrounding environment or broader culture -- power dynamics, departmental and university culture, international cultures etc. • It can also include your frame of mind at the time of the interaction – are you stressed, happy etc.

7. Effective communicators use the KISS ("Keep It Simple and Straightforward") principle. • They understand that less is often more, and that good communication should be efficient as well as effective.

8. Someone Should Have Told Donald…… “There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know.” Donald Rumsfeld, United States Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense News Briefing, 2002

9. Effective Communication: • Depends partly on your ability to convey information clearly and simply, but also on your ability to anticipate and eliminate sources of confusion • Requires that you know your audience and are aware of possible sources of miscommunication

10. The 7 C’s of Effective Communication Communication should be: • Clear • Concise • Concrete • Correct • Coherent • Complete • Courteous

11. WHY IS IT SOMETIMES SO DIFFICULT TO GET YOUR MESSAGE ACROSS???

12. Conversations Styles and Dynamics Can Differ Dramatically, Leading to Miscommunication One example: Direct vs Indirect Communication

13. Direct Communicators Indirect Communicators: All about respecting others- they value courtesy highly   Always seek out the polite response.   Hesitant to give bad news  Find ways to avoid directly answering a question Will change the subject  To indicate disagreement, will say “It will be difficult” Leave sentences unfinished • Get to the “bottom line” quickly.   • Don’t have much patience with those who “beat around the bush” • Frequently perceived as being “brutally honest” • Will look you in the eye and if you do not return the eye contact, will assume that you are hiding something or that you are not to be “trusted”

14. Direct Communicators have great difficulty in comprehending Indirect Communicators. Often, they miss the messages entirely

15. To Communicate Effectively With Indirect Communicators, Direct Communicators Need To: • Slow down • Learn how to be gentler when they communicate, and to discover the power of story telling to convey meaning   • Send written documents covering issues in advance of face to face encounters   • Carefully spell out goals and expectations in writing ahead of time - avoid creating surprises   • Allow Indirect Communicators the necessary time to process and craft their responses prior to face-to-face encounters • When they are face to face, direct communicators need to learn how to listen

16. Can you come up with some strategies that Indirect Communicators could utilize when Communicating with Direct Communicators?

17. Linear Circular Discussion is conducted in a circular manner, telling stories and developing a context around the main point, which is often unstated because the listener will get the point after I give them all the information. There is a high reliance on context Discussion is conducted in a straight line, almost like an outline, with the connections among the points stated as you move towards an end point, which is stated explicitly

18. Conversation Dynamics • American conversation resembles a tennis or volleyball match. You can either serve a new idea, or aim for the ball another player just hit. You have to move quickly; someone else may get there first. • In contrast, Japanese conversation is like bowling. Everybody watches respectfully and quietly and takes turns. You are not expected to respond to the previous statement, but to aim at the conversation goals.

19. The same words can mean different things to different people, even when they talk the "same" language because their frames of reference differ People interpret everything around them through the lens of their personal experiences

20. It’s Even More Complicated When there are Language Barriers • A Scandinavian advertising campaign was developed for the vacuum cleaner manufacturer, Electrolux. • The same campaign was later used, without modification, in the company’s American market

22. Cultural Differences Encompass More Than Just Language

23. Communication Across Cultures • Cultures provide people with ways of thinking, seeing, hearing, and interpreting the world • Members of any culture often perceive their own behavior as logical, since that behavior works for them • People tend to accept the values of the culture around them as absolute values

24. Each Culture Has Its Own Rules About Proper Behavior For example: • Eye contact • Shaking hands • Personal Space • Say what they mean overtly or talk around the issue • Displays of emotion

25. Culture Encompasses More Than Just Race • Age – Millennial vs Gen X • Gender – Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars • Power differentials – non-tenure track faculty/chair • Dis/ability • Sexual identity • Socioeconomic circumstance • Education level • Religion and spiritual beliefs • Personality • Upbringing and life experiences

26. One Size Does NOT Fit All

27. Be aware of how past experience (both yours and the individual you are talking to) may color the interpretation of the message you are trying to convey • In other words – strive to be culturally competent in your interactions with other

28. Learning Objectives of Cultural Competency • Increase understanding of unconscious bias and cultural programming. • Examine how our cultural programming impacts how we engage with others. • Heighten awareness of one’s own attitudes, perceptions and feelings regarding various aspects of diversity. • Work on action steps toward enacting this learning in your work environment. @DrRNhapman

29. Understanding Bias • Neuroscientists have shown that the conscious mind provides 5% or less of our cognitive (conscious) activity during the day – and 5% they say is for the more aware people, • Many people operate at just 1% consciousness.

30. How Your Brain Processes Information • The unconscious mind operates at 40 million bits of data per second, whereas the conscious mind processes at only 40 bits per second • The unconscious mind is MUCH more powerful than the conscious mind, and it is the unconscious mind that shapes how we live our life • Studies have shown that most of our decisions, actions, emotions and behavior depend on the unconscious mind, which means that 95 – 99% of our life comes from the programming in our subconscious mind

31. But…… The unconscious mind can process vastly more information than our conscious mind because it uses short cuts based on our background, cultural environment and personal experiences to make almost instantaneous decisions about everything around us

32. The unconscious mind is often wrong, particularly on matters that require rational thinking • It uses instinct not analysis when making decisions

33. How Bias Works Controlled Thinking Evaluation and Judgment UNINTENDED IMPACT YOUR INTENT INTENDED IMPACT Filtering Your Actions YOUR UNCONSCIOUS BIASES @DrRNhapman

34. Goal of Cultural Competency • To move from automatic (unconscious) mode to intentional (conscious) mode and begin to value differences • To do this we need to develop: • Awareness • Knowledge • Skills

35. Awareness of your Own Biases Project Implicit was developed as a tool to understand attitudes, stereotypes and other hidden biases that influence perception, judgment, and action around numerous topics from political issues, ethnic groups and sexual orientation to sports teams, entertainers and styles of music https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/education.html

36. Communication Across Cultures Scenario: Expectations of Gender

37. Exercise For private reflection: • What kinds of people do you find it most difficult to communicate with? For group sharing: • What do you suppose are the barriers to effective communication with these people, on your part and on theirs? @DrRNhapman

38. Other Things to Consider When Communicating 55% of what we communicate is based on non-verbal behavior 38% is based on voice inflections 7% is based on vocabulary

39. Work on Your Body Language and Non Verbal Cues How NOT to use non-verbal behaviors to get your message across

40. The Power of Inflection • Iknow the answer [no one else does] • "I know the answer!” [all that studying paid off] • "I know the answer?" [no, I don't] • "I know the answer… [but what's the question?]" These sentences have vastly different meanings, but the words are the same – only your voice inflection has changed

42. Make sure you are willing to LISTENas much as you are open to SPEAK

43. Listening • Listening is one of the most important skills you can acquire • How well you listen has a major impact on your job effectiveness, and on the quality of your relationships with others

44. A Sobering Thought……. • We forget 50% of what we hear immediately • We forget 75% of what we hear within two months • Of the 25% we do remember, only 60% is correct, plus we add things that were never said in the first place

45. Active Listening Hearing What People are Actually Saying

46. Active Listening Exercise

47. Instructions Draw a triangle on top of a circle inside a rectangle. Below and to the left of the circle draw a square and divide the square into two parts. Draw a diamond above the rectangle and divide it into four. Shade in two of the four sections. To the right of the square draw two circles.

48. Becoming an Active Listener • There are five key elements of active listening • Incorporating these elements into your communication tool kit will help to ensure that you hearthe other person, and that the other personknows you are hearing what they say

49. Key Elements to Active Listening • Pay Attention • Show that you are Listening • Provide Feedback • Defer Judgment • Respond Appropriately

50. 1. Pay Attention • Give the speaker your undivided attention, and acknowledge the message • Look at the speaker directly. • Put aside distracting thoughts. • Don't mentally prepare a rebuttal! • Avoid being distracted by environmental factors e.g. side conversations • Recognize that non-verbal communication also "speaks" loudly • "Listen" to the speaker's body language