Communication and Employability
Unit 1
P1 - Personal attributes valued by employers
Specific Skills:
When looking for a job one of the main things that they will look for is if you have general knowledge of the job that they are applying for therefore it will be easier to train the employee. If the employee has a good technical knowledge then they will be able to understand what they are being taught a lot better making sure that they are a valuable asset in the business and not someone who needs help every second of the job.
The employee needs an understanding of the different safety rules and regulations inside the business therefore they will be prepared for possible accidents and will know how to leave the building etc. if the building contains moving machinery, they would need to know how to use the equipment and be able to stop them in case of an emergency.
A good working attitude is required when working as it shows that you are a hard-working, dedicated and a motivated individual who can complete the work without trouble. this will most likely allow you stay in your position at the specific job and even move up in the business. another crucial attitude that is useful in the workplace is being as efficient as you can be this shows that you are capable and competent. this will also boost your position in the workplace.
General attributes:
planning skills allow you to look ahead to future goals for the business and to stop any barriers that may prevent those goals from being reached. planning skills are necessary to make sure every individual aspect of the projects are completed to the best possible quality.
organisational skills are required to make sure that everything is completed on time and to a specific standard is both content and appearance. someone with good organisational skills is good at planning, time keeping, detail orientation and prioritization. these aspects make an employee very efficient and capable in the workplace.
Time management is making the best use of your time when working on specific projects inside your organisation. This allows as much work as possible to be completed in a specific time frame. time management can include the use of schedulers or planners so you know exactly what you're going to work on and at what time of the day.
Team working shows that you are capable of cooperating with other people, solve problems and work in teams to complete work. Jobs can be completed a lot quicker when it is spread out between multiple people in a group. this shows employers that you are flexible in the work that you can do and it shows you can be trustworthy to complete work.
Effective verbal skills shows that you are confident and willing to work together to create a bigger topic of conversation which may benefit the business. asking questions show that you are willing to learn and enthusiastic towards you work. it also gives you extra information which may help in the work that you have been given to complete.
Written communication skills is being able to write effectively and clearly so that your point can be put out so other people are able to understand it. good written skills allow to create better quality pieces of writing which is useful when writing documents that could benefit the company's position to starting to find jobs by making you own CV.
Numeracy skills is using number to make different calculations such as working with money, estimations, analyzing trends, creating budgets and schedules. this skill will give you the chance to do more in the business therefore giving you a better chance at going up in the business.
Attitudes:
Determined shows that you are willing to work in any environment in the workplace so that you are able to be a part of the business. It also shows that you get work done on time without excuses.
Independent shows that you can be left by yourself to complete any task that has been given to you. It also shows that you are confident in your abilities when doing the required work.
integrity shows that you are honest when doing your work and you have good moral principles.
Dependable shows that you can be trusted to do the worked that you have been assigned therefore you will be offered some of the most important jobs in the business.
Problem-solving will allow you to be able to complete jobs which may be difficult for you but you find a way to complete it. this also requires you to think outside of the box.
Leadership shows that you are capable of not only completing a job in the time given but also to lead a group of people who each take an individual aspect of the job and work together to complete it.
Motivation shows that you are ready to get working and you working standard is quite high. It shows that you are also very happy to be working there instead of someone who hates their job.P2 - Principles of effective communication
General communication skills:
Due to a rise in world-wide businesses a main problem that can occur is a mix of different languages working together which can be quite difficult to overcome this boundary. to communicate effectively you will need to find a common way of speaking to each other whether that be in a use of phrases or gestures that are understandable to the other person, or even the use of technology to communicate via messaging each other.
The tone of voice that is used can convey that person's emotions or just to gain the attention of others around them. This allows you to enhance the tone of your to emphasize what you are trying to say. you can also change the terminology that you use which is a group of terms that are used with a specific subject therefore this makes sure that everyone is able to understand what you are trying to say.
The use of technology can help when trying to make a point or even just to gain the attention of the audience. The use of music and videos will help maintain the focus of your audience as it is different to the speaker just talking. The use of interactive apps allows the audience to join into the presentation and will help them focus as they have to concentrate more rather than just listening to the speaker.
Interpersonal skills:
When raising the tone of your voice it will become obvious to the other person that you are conveying strong feeling to them e.g. a raised tone of voice can be conveyed as angry or impatience whereas a lowered tone of voice can be conveyed as fear or insecurity.
Verbal exchanges are a great way to initiate a conversation as they require you to speak to one another which will then lead to other questions. they way you respond will show if you're either willing to communicate or you don't really want to speak to the other person.
lip reading and sign language will be useful for people who have some form of hearing impairment therefore will be unable to communicate verbally which requires the use of different methods. lip reading allows deaf people to look at the way the other person's lips are moving to interpret what they are trying to say.
Body language conveys the emotions that you are feeling to other people. body language includes the way you move, the gestures that you use and facial expressions made during a conversation for example someone who is holding everything close to them so that they can make themselves as small as possible is either really shy or does not have a lot of confidence.
Communication in writing:
Emoticons are used to express what you're feeling using a visual representation when texting someone. However this should not be used to message other members of a business with as they are very informal.
Any piece of writing must be checked for grammar and spelling before it is being sent. by doing this your work will look more professional to others who read it and it will be easy to understand what you are trying to say. However if you don't check your spelling and grammar you may end up with a lot of spelling mistakes which will make it very confusing to understand when reading it and it will look very unprofessional.
You need to make sure that when you are writing something it must be accurate therefore not containing any mistakes that wouldn't make sense when reading it. Proofreading may be difficult for some people to do as what they have wrote is what they think is right therefore they will not be able to see the mistakes which is why it is useful to get another person to proofread it for you so then you got a second opinion on your writing before you send it.
When going over what you have to do for your written communication you should take notes of the key points that will help you when writing your work out. you could even get a copy of what you have to do and underline/highlight keywords on the page therefore if you don't understand you can re-read the piece of paper until you understand exactly what you have to do.P3 - Barriers to effective communication
There are different barriers that can prevent effective communication when speaking to someone in a conversation.
Background noise:
Background noises can be a distraction when trying to concentrate on a conversation especially when the volume of the noise is a lot louder than the conversation you are having e.g. Construction, other people around you or vehicles driving past you. repeating noises such as text notifications and phone calls can become a distraction when concentrating on the conversation. There is also metaphorical noises such as a wall which has a very "loud" colour on it attracts your eyes to it therefore making you concentrate on it more that who is talking to you.
Distractions:
distractions stop you from concentrating on the conversation as they require more concentration than listening to someone speak. electronic devices are a good example e.g. Computers require you to type words on the keyboard and to do that you need to focus on what keys you are pressing rather than the conversation that is happening at the same time.
Physical barriers:
if the person you are talking to is either ill or is in quite a bit of pain they may find it difficult to concentrate or understand what you are trying to say to them as it would require them to try and ignore the pain and pay a lot more attention to understand what is being said in the conversation.
Location:
your location can affect what you hear and understand. e.g. if you are at a music concert then the volume of the noises will be really loud and you will not be able to understand what people are saying to you. another example is if you were in a place where they could not reach you via a phone call or by using the internet would prevent you from speaking to each other.
Lack of concentration:
when we are in a conversation we will start thinking of a reply while the other person is speaking however you concentrate less on what they are saying and more on what your going to reply with. This can result in confusing as the reply may not have anything to do with how the other person finished their sentence.
Emotional responses:
different people may react to conversations differently. some people may find what someone says funny whereas others may find it offensive and will concentrate on that one aspect rather than the rest of the conversation. this could work in a similar way for the way the speaker uses his/hers body language.
Not understanding:
If you don't understand what someone says you might interpret it differently therefore your understanding of the conversation is completely different to what the other person thinks that you are talking about. This will lead to you responding with something that is completely unrelated to the topic of the conversation.