Pharos University In Alexandria Faculty of Mass communication Communication Skills

1. Pharos University In Alexandria Faculty of Mass communication Communication Skills Dr. EnjyMahmoud Week #:2 Lecture #:2 Fall 2013-2014 By Dr EnjyMahmoud

2. Communication skills • Communication skills can be learned because they can always be improved. • You may need to work on speaking skills, written communication, listening, relationship skills… there’s always room for improvement!

3. Definition • The ability to use language (receptive) and express (expressive) information. The set of skills that enables a person to convey information so that it is received and understood

4. Characteristics to facilitate effective communication : • Focus on what you know. • Focus on the issue, not the person. • Be genuine rather than manipulative. • Empathize rather than remain detached. • Be flexible towards others. • Value yourself and your own experiences. • Present yourself as an equal rather than a superior. • Use confirming responses. • Be consistent between verbal and non-verbal cues.

5. Why do we use communication? • To warn others {e.g- road safety signs or a warning shout) • • to inform others (e-g teletextor a fact sheet) • • to explain something (e.g. a manual or the write up for an experiment) • • to entertain (e.g, a film) • • to describe (e.g. a TV' documentary or telling someone about a holiday) • • to persuade (e.g. a trailer for a radio programme or a poster for Charity)

6. Communication Process The communication process is a simple model that demonstrates all the factors that can affect communication.

7. The Communication Process • Sender – person wishing to share information with some other person • Message – what information to communicate • Encoding – sender translates the message into symbols or language • Noise – refers to anything that hampers any stage of the communication process • Receiver – person or group for which the message is intended • Medium – pathway through which an encoded message is transmitted to a receiver • Decoding - critical point where the receiver interprets and tries to make sense of the message

8. 1-Messages • Messages are the signals and symbols that we use to convey what we want to transmit. • They can occur in various ways, including visual (non-verbal, written), auditory (verbal and sub-vocal speech), tactile (touch, bodily contact) and olfactory (perfumes, aftershaves) formats. • In order to send the message, it must be encoded into words, as well as tone, inflection, facial expression, and other non-verbal language.

9. 2. The Channel: • This refers to the means used to deliver messages and the related formats. Means used to communicate can include face to face, telephone, pager, written, radio and video communication. • In face to face communication, which is most often preferred for communication of more important matters, communication occurs through visual, auditory and olfactory formats, while • The tactile medium may or may not be used. Skilled communicators will choose the channel most appropriate to the specific goals sought at that time

10. 3-Encoding... This is the process of transferring the information you want to communicate into a form that can be sent and correctly decoded at the other end. Your success in encoding depends partly on your ability to conveyinformationclearly and simply, but also on your ability to anticipate and eliminate sources of confusion (for example, cultural issues, mistaken assumptions, and missing information.)

11. A key part of this is knowing your audience: Failure to understand who you are communicating with will result in delivering messages that are misunderstood.

12. 4-Decoding... • Just as successful encoding is a skill, so is successful decoding • (involving, for example, taking the time to read a message carefully, or listen actively to it.) Just as confusion can arise from errors in encoding, it can also arise from decoding errors. • This is particularly the case if the decoder doesn't have enough knowledge to understand the message.

13. 5-Receiver... • The receiver is the individual or individuals to whom the message is directed. • The extent to which this person comprehends the message will depend on a number of factors: 1-How much the individual or individuals know about the topic • 2- Their receptivity to the message • 3-The relationship and trust that exists between sender and receiver. • 4-All interpretations by the receiver are influenced by their experiences, attitudes, knowledge, skills, perceptions, and culture

14. 6-Feedback: • feedback comprises both the verbal and non-verbal messages of others, and allows us to evaluate how the message has been understood and the response to it. Actively listening to feedback is a key skill in effective communication • We can also get feedback from our own responses through a process known as ‘self-monitoring’ (Hargie et al 2004). Self-monitoring involves staying aware of what we are saying and doing in social encounters and how this is impacting on others. This type of feedback can then be used to alter or adapt our behavior in the light of the responses from others. • People who are skilled communicators are high self-monitors, who continuously analyze and regulate their own behavior according to the way in which the other person is responding With feedback as with other forms of message, the information received must be interpreted by us.

15. Pay close attention to this feedback, as it is the only thing that can give you confidence that your audience has understood your message. If you find that there has been a misunderstanding, at least you have the opportunity to send the message a second time.

16. Feedback phase is initiated by the receiver • Receiver decides what message to send to the original sender • Feedback eliminates misunderstandings, ensures that messages are correctly interpreted

17. 7-Context... • The situation in which your message is delivered is the context. This may include the surroundingenvironment or broader culture (corporate culture, international cultures, and so on).

18. Common Communication Errors: • Finishing others’ sentences • Preparing our response before someone has completed speaking • Multitasking while ‘listening’ • Filtering content or meaning based on the speaker • Speaking for others (we…)