Communication and Employability
Assignment 1
(P1)
Specific Skills
Technical knowledge
A good technical knowledge in in the specific workplace is very important. Most employers would find this very desirable as it shows that you would be a valuable member of their team as it shows you would be prepared to work and you would be better qualified than someone that has no technical skills for the job in hand. As well as this it is important to have technical knowledge as the employer will not have to train you in advance.
Health and safety
Knowledge of health and safety is very desirable to an employer, this is because health and safety and first aid are very valued attributes as it means that you would be aware and have a greater understanding and be more compliant with it.
Working attitudes
Working attitudes are very important as if you do not have a positive attitude towards the job the employer will think that you are not willing or not giving your all towards the job in hand. With this said the attitudes that are desirable within the workplace would be firstly putting a lot of effort into the work by this I mean if you are told to do a task you should not just do the bare minimal you should put all your effort in and do the job properly and fully. This is a good attribute as in doing so you will gain respect from your employer and also your co-workers. Secondly you must be enthusiastic employers look for this in people this is because it shows that the candidate is willing and is going to have a positive attitude. Thirdly, you must be willing to work efficiently this is extremely important as if you are not efficient it is not a good option for the employer this is because employers hate time wasters they need people who won’t waste their time and will work and get jobs done on time. Finally you must willing to be flexible with your time and be willing to get there on time if you do not turn up on time you will seem like you don’t care and that you’re not a very punctual person. Punctuality is very important either be on time or if possible be early.
General Attributes
Planning skills
Planning skills are a good attribute to have as this means that you will be able to make sure that everything will be done in a specific order and planned out well to suite your time frame for working this would also show that you are going to be reliable to hit the deadline on time and have a job well done.
Organisational skills
Organisation skills are looked for in possible employees, this is because if you are an organised person this shows that you will most likely want to get things done in the correct way and precisely it also shows that you are going to be organised in future planning witch is very useful in a work environment. The main point of this is it shows you will probably also good with time keeping and management.
Time management
Time management is in my opinion one of the most important skills you could have, this is because if you are aware of the time you have to do a task you will know how much time you can do it properly and then check it over which will result in a better piece of work. This also shows that you will meet deadlines and be able to do things to a high standard.
Team working skills
Team Work skills are very good as it shows you can work as part of a team effectively. As well as this it shows that you have the correct communication skills needed to work with various people from different backgrounds. This indicates to the employer that you can handle the responsibilities of others as well as your own.
Verbal skills
Verbal skills show the employer that you are able to talk and communicate to a high standard. There is a chance that this will also show that you have good listening skills which would help when communicating effectively with others.
Written communication
Written communication is important as in certain jobs and businesses you may be asked to write reports and a good understanding of how they need to be written is vital by this I mean you need to know how to write a report in a professional manner such as with correct punctuation and grammar.
Numeracy
This skill is very important in some industry’s but on the other hand not so much in others by this I mean in industry’s such as retail you may only need a minor knowledge of math where as in a management or IT job it would be valued offer most other skills as it is needed in them fields.
Creativity
This shows that you will be able to think and work on your own accord with-out the constant need of help of other workers or your employer. This is important because the employer knows that if you come to a task that cannot be completed in a traditional way you can solve it and compleat it a different way.
Attitudes
Determination
This will show your employer that you want to be there and you want the work to be done at a high standard, this is important as if you do not have determination the employer will think you are just slacking and not willing.
Independence
Working on your own is very important as this means that the employer can leave you to get on with the work and will be able to trust you in doing a correct job.
Tolerance
Being tolerant with people is a very good attribute to have, this is because when working with people from different backgrounds and cultures you may have disagreements and being tolerant with them will be useful in trying to just look past those differences and get on with the job.
Integrity
Integrity shows that you can make honest decisions and be trustworthy and honest. Employers need honest people on their teams that why they look for it in people.
Dependable
Being dependable is a vital skill as this means the employer can trust you and will know s/he can let you get on with a task and now worry that you will do something you shouldn’t.
Problem solving
This will show that your can solve any problem at hand and also this would be useful in many jobs.
Leadership
Leader ship skills shows that you can take charge and communicate effectively with various different types of people.
Confidence and motivation
These skills are highly looked at by employers as if you look confident and motivated you will get the job done properly and in good time as well as this if you don’t look confident or motivated the employer may think your slaking and will not think you’re doing the work properly.
(P2)
Principles of Effective Communication
Cultural differences
Cultural differences can make people feel alone and different from everyone else. As well as this it can sometimes cause clashes and arguments with people in the workplace. To communicate properly and work efficiently with one another a diverse knowledge of different cultures is important. When employers notice that there is a conflict between employers they may move you to a different workstation or even get rid of you compleatly.as well as this there may be a language barrier between you and your employees If translation is commonly used misinterpretation or misunderstanding can occur. To adapt if there is cultural differences in the work place many things could go wrong because of aspects such as language or even body language, by this I mean in different cultures you may offend them with your body language.
Adapting your voice
When in difficult situations you may need to adapt the tone and volume of your voice this is because you don’t want to aggravate things when in a conflict this will only make it worse so you must evaluate the situation and adapt to suite.
Terminology
This is important to improve the understanding and the concept of a conversation. If you have overall good terminology, you have a much better chance of success in life.
Technology
We live in a world where technology is ever adapting and changing this has greatly affected communication in the modern world. We can use technology to overcome language barriers which would help in a diverse working areas. We can also use technology to teach and help employees, presentations are an example of this as they are widely used to help people learn and understand what is going on.
Interpersonal skills
Verbal exchanges
Verbal skills are very Important whether it be just having a quick chat at lunch or even a full meeting factors to consider when talking about verbal exchange are the tone or your voice and also the clarity also being polite is very important as if you are not some people may get offended causing arguments and disagreements within the workplace. Considering what I have said you should communicate differently depending on the person whether it be an employer or close friend.
Signing
This can be a very useful attribute as this is a universal language around the world so even if the person doesn’t speak English for example you may still communicate properly with that individual.
Lip reading
This can help in situations such as hearing loss as it means you may still effectively communicat with. Another factor could be a working environment where you cannot hear properly because of background noise.
Body language
This is very important asset in communication this is because If you have a relaxed body it would show laziness and un willingness people aren't going to take you seriously. You must stand straight, showing that your willing to communicate, and that you can pay attention without seeming ignorant.
The use of intonation
This enables you to alter the tone of your voice in order to get your point across easier in a conversation. By this I mean you can change your physical attitude to make you seem like you understand what they are saying and make you seem like you don’t want to argument, this is important as it meant you can get your opinions across without the possibility of an argument.
Positive and negative language
This can have a very large impact on a person’s opinion of you. A positive communication language can make people see you as a nice person that is being honest and will be able to trust what you are saying. On the other hand negative communication skills can make you seem rude, ignorant, and, uninterested. Your communication language can make a big difference on the outcome on a conversation whether it be good or bad.
Active engagement
Active engagement means social interaction between you and everything else. To be a good communicator first you need to be engaged with whatever you are doing if you are actively engaged in a task it shows you are highly motivated to do that task, in doing so the task will be done properly and to a high standard.
Communicating within writing
Emoticons
Emoticons are sent in informal messages. there are many different types of emoticons for example people may put a sad face showing that they feel upset or down where are they could put a happy face which would show excitement or happiness. This is used may lot of people to provide some insight into how the sender feels about a specific topic.
Letters
These are a form of written communication is used when sending personal hand written or typed letter, these seem more personal as they have been written with theat person in mind when writing to them.
Fax
A fax machine allows the transfer of documents by scanning and coping the document and then printing it at the other end. This allows people to send things much faster than letters also it will be more efficiently in costs as letters cost 63p for the stamp. This preserves the handwritten sentiment of the document appose to sending a computer generated file of printed letters.
E-mails
These are very fast in messaging people as well as this they can be used for sending attached documents that would usually need to be printed out and sent in letters. Finally this would be much faster as it is almost instant.
Spelling and Grammar
This is very important as it shows that you know what you are writing as well as this it looks more proffecianal.
Relevance in written communication is of fair importance as it's the difference between gibberish and understanding. The more relevant to a topic a piece of writing is, the most understandable, organised, and thought through the resulting documentation becomes. If you somehow manage to write irrelevant material, the documentation doesn't just become useless, but it's reflects on your abilities to focus on a task in a bad way.
Note taking
This can additionally be used to ensure that you take in all the information given and able to recall it at will, this is very good as it shows that you are concentrating on what you are doing and you are enthusiastic about what you are doing.
(P3+M1)
Barriers to Effective Communication and how to reduce them
Background noise can be a major barrier to communication. This is because you may not be able to concentrate properly with such noises. If this should happen in the work place the best thing to do would be to go to a different area to talk to one another another way to avoid this is to try different ways to communicate to each other for example you could try using texts or instant messaging to do this.
Distractions can come in all forms from people trying to talk to you as your doing work or looking at emails when work is meant to be done. If someone or something is distracting you it could have a big affect on your personal work. To avoid this you could move to a place with out other people to finish your work, or if you are getting distracted by text, email, phone or other stuff you could try turning your devices off.
Physical barriers are things such as not being able to talk to each other for reasons such as illness or if you are on some form of internet chat you could lose connection. There is not really a way around this as you cannot control if the internet goes down or you become ill. The only thing you may be able to do to overcome this is to re arrange meetings or tasks for when you can communicate properly
The location of you when you need to communicate is very important in the sense of if you are trying to have a conversation with someone that is over the other side of the classroom it will be very difficult to have a polite conversation without shouting at each other. If you cannot physically move closer to each other another way you can communicate would be social networking sites that you can call each other on such as skype.
A lack of concentration can be because of multiple things such as some of them I have mentioned earlier. The only way of getting around this would be to try to focus on the person/s that you are talking to.
Language barriers, these can be a very difficult thing if you do not know any of the language the person you are trying to communicate with. One way you may be able to avoid this is by using technology to translate what they are saying or get an interpreter. The technology would be a better option as it would be cheaper and most smart devises will have this capability already built in.