L33T Employment Tips:
Effective Communication and Barriers in Communication
Effective Communication
We break communication into three main categories: General, interpersonal and written.
General Communication: Two examples of general communication is cultural differences and modulating voice to tailor your audience.
Cultural Differences:
Cultural differences may be a change of non verbal communication (Shaking hands or folding arms) and some could be down to the two parties language. We'll be focusing on non verbal in this section. There are a lot of different people and cultures out there. To have effective communication when talking to people of all cultures, you must have an understanding of their back round. If you know that you are going to travel to Japan, understanding their communication is a vital step.
Remember! It's not your fault if you insult of offend someone else's culture that you weren't aware of. Remember for next time and try to open minded.
- Everyone's culture is different
- Don't take it personally
- Accept their culture and understand it
If you know that you are going to be in contact with someone who comes from a different culture, do some research and understand a little bit more about their back round.
Modulating Voice:
Modulating your voice can be a very simple, but effective way of communicating. It all depends on your target audience and the atmosphere you want to convey.
If you are talking to a class of school children you'' want to use a brighter, optimistic tone. Instead of how you'd talk in a business meeting to multiple adults.
Things to remember:
- It doesn't just affect the way you come across, but your message completely.
- If not used correctly you may patronize or embarrass your target audience.
- If used correctly it is an easy way to keep your audience more interested and involved.
Overall it is a very useful tool to use and will make you come across more interesting, and further increase the attention span of your audience.
If you have an interview, try this technique and try to sound as professional as you can.
Interpersonal Communication:
Interpersonal communication can be used when talking with someone face to face. It can be related to how you're perceived as a communicator. It's related to active engagement, language, questions and speed of response.
We will be focusing on Body Language and Active Engagement.
Body language:
Body language can be used effectively, but can also be used as a barrier if you aren't careful. When communicating face to face, you want to look interested and like you're listening to the person you're talking to. A good example of this would be nodding your head to signify that you're listening. A bad example would be folding your arms and avoiding eye contact.
Tips for effective body language:
- Smile
- Have good eye contact
- Stand/sit with a straight back and don't lean on anything.
- Nod to signify that you're listening and interested
- Don't fiddle and keep your hands still
Using body language effectively does not only show the person that you are engaging in the conversion, but also actually increases your concentration and stops you from getting distracted.
Remember, a good conversation is build on body language.
Active Engagement:
Active engagement is a way of reassuring the party you are communicating with that you're interested, and listening to what they are saying.
Active engagement is important as it reflects on the conversation in whole. When the person you are communicating with feels as if that what they are saying is being heard they will be more confident and maybe even friendlier.
Scenario:
A) You are talking with your interviewer. They are going through the job role for what have applied for. You aren't asking questions or showing any signs of interest. You don't get offered the job.
B) You are talking with your interviewer. They are going through the job role for what have applied for. You are asking lots of open questions and engaging them in conversation, you learn more about the role and you catch interest. You get offered the job.
What scenario would you pick?
Written Communication:
Written communication takes several forms, we'll be focusing on using Email and Proof Reading.
Email:
Working in IT, you'll be using IT very often. So it would be wise to understand how to use it to your advantage. Email can be used for many different reasons: Applying for jobs, sending vital information and general information passing.
When using email good punctuation is key. Making sure that your email is readable and free of any common grammar mistakes is very important. If applying for a job role, you aren't going to look professional if you are submitting to basic mistakes and slang. So stay professional.
An email reflects on how people view you. So be sure to spell check and make sure that you are free of basic mistakes. Include a nice title and use the right greetings for each situation (Good morning/Hello for example).
If you can, include a footer with your personal details and contact info for the recipient.
Proof Reading:
Proof reading is a very important step when it comes to written work. You may not realize when you make mistakes. They don't have to be big, but they can completely overcloud the rest of the email.
A good example of where proof reading should have been used: in Missouri University, who ever created the logo didn't proof read the final product and printed logos that read "Missouri Univeristy". Very ironic for an establishment specifically for higher education.
Things to look for:
- Correct Punctuation
- Correct Spelling
- Correct Grammar
Would you take a job application seriously if it had spelling mistakes, punctuation errors and other basic things missing? I doubt anyone would, so be sure to check every paragraph you write.
Unless you want to become a laughing stock due to spelling errors or grammatical errors, proof read your work!