Communication and Employability
Personal attributes
attributes valued by employees
There are many different attributes which are used in the work place. Some are valued by employers more than others. These attributes are what make an employee stand out in a business. this means that they would most likely pick you if you had these. Attributes valued by employers include:
· Technical Knowledge
· Time management
· Team working
· Self-motivation
· Confidence
· leadership
· working procedures and systems
Technical Knowledge – Technical Knowledge is valued by employers because it shows them that you understand the software and hardware you are using. This is important because if you specialise in using windows and visual basic, but the software and hardware you are using is mac and java, you will not be able to use it to your fullest. It is also useful if you understand how to use a wide variety of software and hardware, as this will make you a more valued employee.
Time Management – Time Management is valued by employers because it shows them that you have the skills to manage your time effectively. This is important because if you were required to complete a piece of software before a certain deadline, you would be able to manage your time to that set date, so you do not go over your deadline. If you were to go over your deadline for the software it would cost the company a large amount of money, so you need to manage your time so that it does not happen. It is also important to have time management skills, so that you can be trusted to arrive on time to work every day.
Team Working – Team Working is valued by employers because it shows them that you are able to work well in a team. This is important because you will be asked to work with other people, and in these situations it is key to be able to collaborate. If you are not a team worker, you will most likely not be able to complete the work you are assigned in the group, thus making the team fall behind. Communication is also needed when working with a team, as you will need to be able to get your point across to other group members.
Self-Motivation – Self-Motivation is valued by employers because it shows that you can motivate yourself to complete your work. This is important because if you cannot motivate yourself to do the work you are assigned; you will not be able to complete it and will not be a useful employee. If you can self-motivate yourself you will be able to complete the work, and continue contributing as a valued employee. This also shows that you are reliable because if you can complete work without much motivation from others, you can be relied upon to finish it.
Confidence – Confidence is valued by employers because it shows that you are confident in the work you are doing and will complete it. This is important because if you have confidence, you will not be worried that you will be unable to complete the work. This shows that you are a valued employee because if you can complete the work you are assigned with confidence, you will also be reliable. It is also important to be confident because it shows that you are able to perform confidently in front of a group of people when presenting work. This is important because you will sometimes be asked to do a presentation in front of a group of people, and having the confidence to do so will allow you to present it calmly and clearly.
Leadership – Leadership is valued by employers because it shows you are able to confidently keep charge of a large or small group of people and make accurate and sensible decisions for them. This is important because when you are working with a group of people, you may be called upon to take the roll of group leader. In these situations it is best to be prepared, so having good leadership skills will allow you to be ready when it is called upon.
principles of effective communication
general attributes
- Effective communication would be affected by cultural differences, not just different languages but even different accents. If you are presenting an idea to a room of people from all over Britain the audience can range in accents from a programmer from Manchester to a graphic artist from Ireland and one from Liverpool there could even be managers from Newcastle and Scotland.
Adapting your content to suit the audience
- With such a broad range dialects you need to make sure that you can communicate to them all,. this would be improved by adapting your content to suit the audience. By doing this you can make sure that you don't offend anyone and that you can carry your message across and reach all audiences.
Accuracy
- Accuracy can also help communicate with an audience, if you can get what you want across to the audience accurately then you will be able to keep everyone entertained and keep their attention span with you but you will able to make sure your message is understood.
Interpersonal skills
Barriers
- When you are communicating to an audience there are certain barriers that could affect your effectiveness of the how you are communicating these are barriers like the audience looking at their PC's and not at you or if there is a car outside or if there is air conditioning on this could cause misunderstanding in the audience.
Types of questions
-Another way of keeping attention with the audience is using questioning techniques to make sure that they understood fully what you are trying to get across.
Techniques and cues
- There are different methods or skills you can use when communication with an audience like hand gestures and body language. These can help with cultural differences and keeping attention.
Along with questioning you could also change your body language and tone to suit the positive or negative vibe of what you are trying to portray. So if we are telling someone that there is a barrier of them not paying attention we could show this by may be speaking louder and more to the point where as if we are telling someone their work is good you can use a friendlier tone of voice.
Written communication skills
Spelling and grammar
- When you are trying to write a piece of work or trying to send a letter you have to make sure you use the correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. Keeping these in mind can ensure your work looks professional and saves embarrassing re-submissions or e-mails saying you have written something wrong.
‘Smileys’ or Emoticons
- Also knowing when to use 'slang' language or emotions in writing is vital, slang can sound better or be easier to type out but dependent on who you are talking to it can be inappropriate. If you are sending a request to your boss to ask for a raise you would not want to use slang like calling him mate or even worse 'M8' this would look extremely unprofessional and would not help the cause.
Proofreading
- Tied in with this is proofreading, when you have to send something off weather it is an E-mail or a document you should always proofread it as sometimes you can just type what you are thinking or what you would usually say where as this may not make sense on paper. Also you may have covered a point more than once and need to remove some text.
barriers to effective communication and mechanisms that can reduce the impact of commuinication barrioers
Definition of barriers to communication
A barrier is an obstacle that gets in the way when you are trying to talk to someone at work or outside of work which will prevent the exchange of ideas. This can be many things such as gender differences, cultural differences, language barriers and physical barriers.
General Communication Skills
I am now going to pick 3 barriers to effective communication which are general communication skills:
Language used (terminology)
The Language that someone uses is an obvious barrier to effective communication because some people from different countries will not be able to understand what someone else is saying and some words might be offensive which people say. People will also use sign language which is used by deaf people who use hand gestures which other people will not understand. Another barrier when language is being used is the terminology which is being used because people outside for an IT business will not be able to understand technical language.
Age
Age is also another barrier of general communication because different generations will know different things. Younger people will know than older people about texting and shortened messaging like lol which means laugh out loud. Older people might also know more words and phrases than younger people and this may affect communication between these two generations in work.
Cultural Differences
Cultural differences are the last general communication barrier which I am going to write about and different cultures can interpret things in different ways. There are many things that make up to what people refer to as culture but cultural difference is about attitudes and beliefs that come of our life and experience. Cultural differences can also be religious beliefs with their being many different ones which have barriers including Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Some other cultural barriers include age, body language, cultural background and gender.
Interpersonal Skills
In this next section I am going to pick 3 barriers to effective communication which are interpersonal skills:
Body Language (Talking and Listening)
Body language is an example of a barrier to effective communication which is an interpersonal skill for talking and listening. The tone of voice that you use will show the other person what your mood is and it will show if you like them or not. Also your body language will show another person if you are listening to them or not with no eye contact and no attention shows that you are not listening. We also get impressions about people we interact with which can lead us to handle situations differently with communication not only being verbal but it is the most common. One last thing which you can do is to see how people communicate with movement or positioning of their body.
Background Noise
Background noise is another barrier to effective communication which is an interpersonal skill. This is often a major barrier of effective communication, for example verbal communication with large background noises can result in individuals having to shout in order to be heard. It is also harder to hear or understand what is being said, which result in misunderstanding between two individuals and this could cause conflict. If a speaker or listener is not good at the language being used, it may also cause confusion between people.
Negative Emotions
Negative emotions are the last interpersonal skill barrier which I am going to write about and they could be triggered by previous experiences which continue to hurt us. Emotionally excited communicators are unable to organize their message properly; their excited or nervous state of mind does not allow them to think clearly. Negative emotions at work can be formed by work overload, lack of rewards and social relations which appear to be the most stressful work related factors.
Written Communication
In this last section I am going to pick 3 barriers to effective communication which is examples of written communication:
Using an Inappropriate Structure (Format)
Using an inappropriate structure (format) is an example of a barrier of written communication. Using an inappropriate structure is a barrier because it does not go well with the format that is being displayed. Some of the ways that your work can have an inappropriate structure is by not using short paragraphs and sentences which will make the work look bad and people will not want to read long paragraphs. You can also have an inappropriate structure by not having headings to stand out which includes the title of your work.
Identifying Relevance
Identifying relevance is another important barrier of written communication which I am going to write about. Identifying relevance can be used can be used in a presentation or a document such as a report or letter and identifying relevance basically means that you need to produce a document e.g. a letter by explaining the subject to someone. The recipient will try and identify relevant information but if you have hidden relevant information which is with a lot of other details then you may miss the important facts. Finally relevant information can be identified in a number of ways which include a change in font size or highlighting text in a different colour.
Spelling and Grammar
Spelling and Grammar is the last written communication barrier which I am going to write about and you should proof read and spell check all of your work before presenting it. You might also want to get a second opinion on your work before you publish it and all of your key points in your work might not get across if there are spelling and grammar mistakes.
How IT tools and techniques used reduce the impact of the barriers
A IT tool which be used to reduce the impact of background noise when listening to instruction/advice from employer/tutor is a voice recorder which would record the instruction/advice and could be replayed multiple times in order to find the key points.
IT can be used to reduce the amount of distraction by blocking certain web site and by controlling all PCs in a classroom by using software such as vision 8.
IT tools could be used to improve concentration in the same way as reduce the number of distractions which is to block certain web site and by controlling all PCs in a classroom by using software such as vision 8 which mitres the PC use
There are a number of ways to overcome incorrect spelling/grammar; firstly the spell checker is useful for simple spelling and grammar mistakes. A user could use software which reads the text in a document and then play the text thought the PC’s speakers the user would be able hear any grammar/spelling mistakes.
IT tools and techniques could be used to aid communication with people reading and writing problems by using software which identifies spoken word and adds the spoken words in to a document. Also the software can read the text in a document and then play the text thought the PC’s speakers.
IT tools and techniques could be used be to reduce the impact of language difficulties on communication by using program tool such as thesaurus which search for alternative means for words or by using software design to teach languages.
IT tools and techniques could be used be to reduce the impact of jargon in communication by using program tool such as thesaurus which search for alternative means for words