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Communication and Interpersonal Skills - Coggle Diagram
Communication and Interpersonal Skills
Brief Introduction of Communication
Communications take place every day in every organization, in every area of it, and by all members.
Most of that communication tends to be work-related, but sometimes that communication does not lead to positive outcomes.
The importance of effective communication for managers can not be overemphasized for one specific reason:
Everything a manager does involves communicating!
A manager can not formulate a strategy or make a decision without information. That information has to be communicated.
Once a decision is made, communication must again take place. Otherwise, no one will know that a decision has been made.
The best idea, the most creative suggestion, or even the greatest plan can not take form without communication.
Therefore, managers need effective communication skills.
Communication skills alone do not make a successful manager.
However, ineffective communication skills can lead to a continuous stream of problems for a manager.
A manager’s total
communication skills
should cover the following areas:
Speaking
Reading
Listening
Reasoning
Affecting these skills is attitude, behavior, and one’s position in the social-cultural system (place in society).
Communication can be thought of as a process or flow.
Before communication can take place, a purpose – expressed as a message to be conveyed – is needed.
This message passes from the sender (the source) to the receiver.
The message is encoded (converted into symbolic form) and is passed by way of some medium (channel) to the receiver, who retranslates (decodes) the initiated by the sender.
Thus, understanding and meaning is transferred from one person to another.
communication process model
The communication process model has
seven parts
:
Source or sender
Encoding
The message
The channel
Decoding
Receiver
Feedback
Encoding
is taking a thought and changing it into a message.
Four conditions affect the encoded message:
Skill
Attitude
Knowledge
Social-cultural system
The
message
is the actual physical product from the source/sender that conveys some purpose.
For example, when someone speaks, the words spoken are the message. When someone writes, the writing is the message.
The message is affected by the code or group of symbols used to transfer meaning, the content of the message itself, and the decisions that are made in selecting and arranging both codes and content.
The
channel
is the medium through which a message travels. It is selected by the source/sender, who must determine which channel is formal and which is informal.
All organizations have established formal channels of communication. They traditionally follow the authority network/structure of the organization. Non-work related communication usually is conveyed through informal channels.
The
receiver
is the person to whom the message is directed. Before a message can be received though, the message’s symbols must be translated into a form that can be understood by the receiver. This act is decoding a message.
Just as a source/sender is limited by his or her skills, attitudes, knowledge, and social culture system, the receiver has the same restrictions.
The final link in the communication process is a
feedback
loop.
Feedback is the check on how successful a person has been in transferring their messages as originally intended. It determines whether understanding has been achieved.
It is expressed by the communication of the receiver after receiving and decoding the original message. It can be verbal or non-verbal.
Are written communications more effective than verbal ones?
Definition:
Written communications include: memos, letters, emails, organizational periodicals, bulletin boards, and any other device that transfers written words or symbols.
Definition:
Written communications have many benefits, but also a few drawbacks.
In organizations, many managers like using written communications, because…
They are tangible,
They are verifiable,
More permanent than oral communications.
With
written communication
, both the sender and receiver have a record of the communication. The message can be can be stored indefinitely.
If questions arise about the content of the message, it is physically available for later reference. This feature is particularly important for complex or lengthy communications.
A final benefit of written communication comes from the process itself.
More care usually is taken with the written word than with the spoken word. Having to put something into writing forces a person to think more carefully about what he or she wishes to convey. Therefore, written communications are more likely to be well thought out, logical, and clear.