IT 1
Communication & Employability Skills for I
Specific skills, general attributes and attitudes
Task 1
Specific skills
Technical knowledge
For some jobs in the world, technical skills might be necessary as it refers the ability to complete complex tasks. Technical knowledge is different from general knowledge as you'll need to know about the history or philosophy. The exact skills are dependant on the line of work you choose. In an office setting, technical knowledge refers to the skills going around computers. Technical knowledge is mainly theory for example a mechanic or engineer will list a detailed understanding of physics as their technical knowledge. Not all technical knowledge is theory though, simply being able to operate a computer is technical, even if you don't know how they work. Technical knowledge is extremely diverse.Work attitudes
All employees work for wages however an employees attitude to that work is a vital importance and from the employers point of view, a good work ethic is required from all the employees who are working.
General attributes
Planning skills
Planning skills involve thinking ahead so you can decide on what you need to actually achieve a certain goal you have been given or given yourself within a certain time frame set by yourself or someone else. Writing a plan isn't necessary but things could go wrong if you don't, if you write a plan you give yourself a cushion. Having a plan will allow you to look at factors which are what you're going to do and what could go wrong, helping you get the most success from whatever you're doing.
Organisational skills
A system or routine will help you complete everyday tasks. For example, organising your workspace by putting all of your pens, text book, essentially all the things you need the most are tidy and are within reach, you will cut a lot of time which you would spend searching for these items. You'll still need to order other things such as books. folders etc.
Time management
With time management you will be able to get everything set on a deadline and everything will be set to a routine. To do this you'll need to:
-Take control of the time you have by either having a diary or using a mobile device.
-Make sure you're not distracted, protecting your time, getting rid of distractions fairly quickly.
-By toughening up on together time, cutting down personal time so your meetings can actually work.
-Getting rid of useless trash, such as paper shuffling. Getting on top of these things will save you a lot of time.
Some people have certain careers that rely around a time diary entirely, like a personal fitness instructor. They will keep a log which details which clients they are expecting and when they are expecting them and to sometimes identify if they can fit more people in. These people also need to blank out entire days they cannot work or simply aren't working and need to be extra careful to not double book themselves as it could be a disaster. These people also have to be ready if a client decides to change their time slot, having to move several things around carefully to make sure the diary stays intact.
Verbal and written communicational skills
Communication is a vital part of a team as it revolves around communication. If someone isn't communicating properly then some data could be mishandled and the entire project ruined. Communication can be passed verbally, such as a group meeting where around nine people will sit and discuss several parts of a project or written, such as a letter to each member of the project.
Attitudes
Independent
Independent workers will often by sought after by employers who are looking for independent thinkers, people who can do stuff themselves and not rely on a team. These employers will hope that these workers can take the initiative to work without the guidance of the employer. However, these workers should still consult the employer and other employees before acting to see what's normally done.
Integrity
Integrity is searched by a lot of employers, people who can be trusted and relied on. Integrity is a huge part when it comes to handling money or important documents however, weirdly enough, you may be more likely to be hired if you can smudge the truth a little and twist certain points, so that people hear what they want to rather than the colder version which is the truth. In the management area, the manager will have to be kinder and more compassionate when giving bad news that a project if failing rather than outright telling them that they're doing bad as it could really impact the employee's morale negatively.
Dependability
Reliability revolved around dependability, people who are dependable often turn up to work on time and are able to do things to the most of their abilities. Employers will search for dependable works for their ability to turn up to work on time and follow orders without making little commotion.
Task 2
General communicational skills
Cultural differences
Cultural differences can impact work greatly, the cultural differences will have to be addressed by the employer. Certain words and signs may be fine in one culture but completely taboo in another, seen as offensive or discrimination. A proper fix would be to simply not use these words and/or signs within the work place and to use substitute words and signs.
Questioning and answering
Questioning and answering sessions be very helpful when it comes to clarifying points or other things you've said, you can't be sure how much of what you've said people have understood. These sessions will allow people to clarify what you've said and give room for improvement.
Engaging the audience
You will need to maintain interest with the audience, should they be reading a report that has been written by you or listening to something you're saying. You can do this by varying your tone while speaking, keeping the audience member more enticed in what's being said and done. When it's a report or any other written piece, pauses help greatly or simply changing up the sentence length so that there's varied sentences to keep the reader enticed.
Interpersonal skills
Positive language
The word 'yes' is a positive response if a question was asked. There are other verbal words which are positive but body language can also be positive, nodding your head or smiling is a positive reaction. Leaning into the speaker and nodding often mean that you're agreeing with what the speaker is saying and that you're engaged in the current conversation.
Negative language
A negative word is 'no' which is denying something most often. Other verbal language which is negative is cutting someone off in the midst of them speaking, it shows that you have no regard for what they're saying. The same can be said if you start finishing other people's sentences for them. Showing no response at all may be seen as too passive and that you're bored of listening to the speaker. Body language can also be negative, such as slouching or having an aggressive body stance.
Active engagement
Communication doesn't revolve around speaking, your body language and movements play a vital part. Such as nodding or frowning or just reacting to what someone is saying all together shows that you're paying attention, that you're communicating and you're taking in what they're saying.
Communication in writing
Emoticons
Emoticons are used as a response which reflects your state of mine or reaction. They are used in text messages or online messaging as a whole. Emoticons in the work place will often be frowned upon as they simply aren't serious and seem to be a mock like response which isn't suitable for the workplace.
Spelling and grammar
Regardless of whatever you're writing about, spelling and grammar make a massive impression. If the writer writes properly, using the correct spelling and grammar the odds are the reader will take them a lot more seriously. Should the writer be making basic spelling and grammatical mistakes, they don't look professional at all and make the reading just overall hard to read and understand. Some programs offer grammar/spell checks but these can sometimes make things worse.
Proofreading
You should proofread every bit of work you send, be it a letter, text or email, you should re-read everything you have said and do it again. Not only does this allow you to look for spelling and grammatical errors but you could also come up with better things to write about and extend and improve your work. Sometimes you won't see your mistakes the first time around so you should go through them at least three times over to find the most mistakes you can.
Task 3
Barriers to effective communication
Background noise
People may not see background noise a major nuisance but don't underestimate it. The slightest continuous noise can put a worker off, such as a ticking clock or the noise of the air filters. There's simple ways to avoid these such as getting in a digital clock to stop the ticking and simply replacing the current air filters with newer ones which don't let out noise.
Distractions
Distractions can be a big nuisance, such as someone dropping a glass onto the floor or someone disturbing a meeting can disrupt everything and make people loose attention. This may result in things being said over and over again till people fully hear what was said, slowing the flow down drastically. The ways to avoid this is to simply put up a sign warning people to not enter certain rooms and to make sure you're not as clumsy.
Physical barriers
Physical barriers can simply be other people in your way or some object blocking your vision and it makes it extremely hard to focus on the person speaking and result in you losing your attention. To stop these physical barriers you can ask the person in front to move out of the way to allow you to see or to request a different seat.
Location
The location of where something is taking place can be a nuisance as it can cause too many distractions be it by noise or something else. Should it be taking place near a construction site, you wouldn't be able to effectively communicate due to the noise being generated from that construction site. The simple solution to this is to move. Move the entire thing to a different location.
Lack of concentration
Maintaining concentration is vital, you have to ignore all the distractions as only so much can be listened to before you loose concentration. The ways to fix this is to simply change things up and keep the listening enticed, if you often change your tempo and voice levels people will remain enticed and will want to listen to more.
The use of jargon
Over-complicating what you're saying is a barrier as people will not be able to understand the points you're trying to get through, however, you can simple solve this by not over-saying what you're trying to get through. Keeping things simple and straight to the point can help a lot.