ETHIO-ITALY POLY TECHNIC COLLEGE

Departement Of Structural Construction

Teaching-Training Learning Material (TTLM)

OF

Receive and Respond to Workplace Communication

Prepared By: Geleta Bekele

2015 GC

Dire Dawa
What is communication?
Communication is not just about talking to someone.

Identify the items in the list below that you think are examples of communication.

Talking Listening

Holding hands Giving the thumbs up

Body language Sending a fax

Posters Using the telephone

Communication

. . . Is an active process in which information (including ideas, specifications, goals, feelings, work orders,
and so on) is exchanged among two or more people.

. . . Is any verbal or non-verbal behavior which gives people an opportunity to send their thoughts and
feelings, and to have these thoughts and feelings received by someone else.

Elements of Communication

• listening

• seeking clarification

• body language

• blocking and barriers

• general attitude

Communicating With Others

• Communication needs to be clear and effective in order to achieve its aim. When it is not, all
kinds of problems can result.
Ineffective Communication

• If people working together are not able to communicate well, it can lead to confusion,
unhappiness, frustration and annoyance. It can also mean that an organization’s goals will not
be met.

Poor communication may lead to:

• time being lost because work needs to be redone

• accidents

• poor quality service and/or products

• wastage

• people feeling “left out”

• mistakes being made because instructions are not clear

• teams not working well

CONCEPTS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

• Gives choices regarding communication style to adopt

• Involves creation and exchange of understanding

• Effective communication is achieved when the message received is close in meaning to the
message sent

FACTORS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
At any workplace where people are able to communicate clearly tends to be a more efficient working
environment.

Effective communication leads to:

 • clear instructions so people know exactly what they are expected to do and do it properly

• people feeling involved because they are well informed

• higher morale and job satisfaction

• people working better as a team

• time and effort saved as people are clear on what to do

To communicate with people effectively you need to:

• make sure it is not too noisy to hear what is being said

• sit or stand so that you directly face the person who you are talking or listening to

• maintain eye contact

• use polite opening and closing greetings

• speak clearly and at a medium pace

• speak in an open and neutral tone

• be straight forward and to the point

• keep the message simple

• be patient

• show interest

• use the words that the people you are talking to can understand

• listen carefully to the conversation so that you get the right message

COMMUNICATION STYLES
Communication style – means overall approach to sending and answering messages

* Voice and Speech Pattern

* Gestures, Use of Space and Time

* Eye Contact

Styles Reflecting Behaviors and Professional Values

* Aggressive
 * Passive

* Assertive

ELEMENTS OFTHE AGGRESSIVE STYLE

1. Beliefs – “Everyone should be like me”

2. Communication Style – Closed mined, poor listener, interrupts, and monopolizing

3. Characteristics and Behaviors – Achieve goals at others’ expenses, puts others down, bossy type,
know-it-all-attitude, doesn’t show appreciation, impatience & anger

4. Nonverbal cues – “Don’t ask why, just do it”

5. Effects – Provokes counter aggression, ill health, wastes time and energy over supervising
others, pay high price in human relationships, fosters resistance, defiance, sabotaging,
striking back, and lying.

ELEMENTS OF THE PASSIVE STYLE

1. Beliefs – “Don’t express true feelings”, “ Others have more rights than I do”

2. Communication Style – Indirect, always agree, doesn’t speak up, hesitant

3. Characteristics and Behaviors – Apologetic, self-conscious, trust others, doesn’t express own
wants and feelings, tries to sit on both sides to avoid conflict, asks permission unnecessarily,
complains instead of taking actions.

4. Non verbal cues – Smiles and nods in agreement, downcast eyes

5. Effects – Gives up being him/her, builds dependency relationships, doesn’t know where he/she
stands, slowly loses self esteem, is not well liked.

ELEMENTS OFTHE ASSERTIVE STYLE

1. Beliefs – “Believes self and others are valuable”, “ I have rights and so do others”

2. Communication Style – Effective, active listener, states limits, expectations, express self directly,
honestly, checks on others feelings.

3. Characteristics and Behaviors – trusts self and others, confident, consistent, open flexible,
versatile, operates from choice action, oriented, firm, fair, just.

4. Nonverbal cues – “I choose to……”, “ What alternatives do we have”

5. Effects – Increased self-esteem and self-confidence, increased self-esteem if others, feels

motivated and understood, others know where they stand.
The need to communicate
In the work environment, you need to communicate with:

• people who belong to your organization

• People who belong outside your organization and wish to do business with you.

You communicate with people at work for several reasons, example to:
• take a part in friendly conversations

• assist customers

• receive or pass on information and instructions

• discuss problems

• ask for information or ask questions

• get help

The Communication Process

• a sender who has a message or idea which they wish to send

• a message which is sent between the sender and the receiver

• a method (face-to-face, telephone, letter, form) by which the message is sent

• a receiver who receives and understands the message

• Feedback passed from the receiver to the sender showing that the message has been received
and understood.

Barriers to Good Communication

Barriers to good communication can make things difficult and cause misunderstandings. Good
communication is affected when the sender and the receiver do not understand the message in the
same way.

Good communication can be affected by:

1. Non verbal communication which sends the opposite message to what is being said.
 2. Poor listening.

3. Use of slang

4. Ambiguity.

5. People who think they know everything and don’t listen

6. Making assumptions about what people do or don’t know.

7. Poor expression

Listening

Many people think that being a good communicator means being a good talker. In order to
communicate well, a person does need to be able to speak clearly and present ideas in a logical, well
ordered manner. However, another factor is also extremely important if communication is to be
effective.

A good communicator is a good listener. Unless a person listens to what is being said, no communication
actually takes place.

In the workplace, effective listening helps you to:

• understand instructions clearly

• learn from others

• convey clear messages

• promote good listening in others (if you are prepared to listen to others, they will be prepared
to listen to you)

• offer ideas and take part in discussions

• co-operate with others and work well in a team

• understand the ideas and suggestions of others

• respond in an appropriate manner

The Difference between Listening and Hearing

• People are not often aware that there is a difference between listening and hearing. It is
commonly assumed that because people can hear they can also listen.

• Unless people have a physical disability they are able to hear. At any one time, a person is able
to hear many different sounds. Hearing is something which just happens.
Processing Sounds

• Listening involves far more than hearing all these sounds. It requires you to translate them, to
make sense out of them, to sort out what is important from what is irrelevant.

Interference with Effective Listening

• Noise - it is very hard to listen in a noisy environment.

• Temperature - if you are feeling uncomfortably hot it is hard to concentrate on listening.

• Closeness - when a speaker is too close to you, your mind may be on the invasion of your space
rather than what is being said.

• Time - When people are tired or hurried they are less able to fully concentrate on what is
being said

• Impatience - if you are feeling impatient and want to get away to do other things your mind will
not be concentrating on the speaker.

• Distractions - any type of distraction whether it be something going on outside, work or

personal worries tends to stop you from paying full attention to what a speaker says.

• Attitude - if you do not like a speaker or do not like what they are saying you may quickly tune
out.

• Lack of interest - when you are not interested in a topic it is difficult to pay full attention.

• Personal Perception - often people think they already know what is about to be said and so they
don’t bother to listen.

Ways to improve your listening skills are:

• always give your full attention to the speaker

• React by using positive body language such as:

› looking at the speaker

› sitting up straight

› slightly leaning towards the speaker

› nodding as the speaker talks

› responding with appropriate facial expressions

• don’t think about what you want to say while the speaker is speaking – listen first
 • try not to interrupt the speaker and start talking yourself - concentrate on listening

› give the speaker feedback so they know that you are listening, for example: you may ask
questions to get more information

› ask questions to check that you have understood

• you may repeat back what the speaker has been saying, e.g. “So what you’re
saying is ……”

› Keep an open mind about what the speaker is saying – you do not need to agree with
everything but it is important to listen first and then make decisions.

› Empathize with the speaker – this means trying to see the situation from their point of
view.

Questioning
At work we need to ask questions for many reasons like:

• we need to find out what to do

• we need to get information

• we need to check that we have understood correctly

Questions can be divided into two main categories:

• closed questions

• open questions

Closed Questions

Closed questions are used to find out quite particular information. They are questions which can be
answered with a simple yes, no or one word. Such questions do not need a long and detailed response.
They are very useful if you need to find out simple information or need to check specific details.

Examples of closed questions are:

• Is this where I can store the boxes?

• Can I use this tool?

 • Is it lunch time?

Open Questions
Open questions are used to find out detailed information. These questions encourage the receiver to
explain a longer answer. Open questions start with words like “What, When, Where, Why, and How”.
They are used to open up a discussion or conversation. You cannot give one word answer to these
questions.

Examples of open questions are:

• How should I sort this cabinet full of different paints?

• What training will I need to use this equipment?

• What did you mean when you asked me to check the supplies?

INTENTIONS OF ASKING QUESTION

• Asking questions to clarify understanding

• Asking questions shows interest, not ignorance

You will always need to ask questions to clarify information and check instructions. Remember you have
a responsibility to make sure you have understood the information correctly.

It is much better to ask questions to make sure you are doing the job right than to muddle on and make
a mistake. You will feel upset if you make a mistake, especially if it could have been avoided by asking a
simple question.

Someone who is giving you some information or instructions may not

do it very well because they:
• think you already know more about the subject than you actually do now

• assume that you understand their abbreviations and jargons

• have not planned the instructions or thought about how to give you the information or
instructions

• are too rushed or hurried, they may leave out important pieces of detail
If a person is giving you information or instructions and you are not clear what they mean, always ask
questions:

• Do you mean ……?

• Where is that exactly?

• The large ones or the small ones?

• Do you want me to do right away or when I have finished this?

When you ask a question, it is often a good idea to repeat back the answer to make sure you have
heard it correctly.

To check that you have heard and interpreted the message properly, put the message into your own
words and ask whether that is what they meant.

For example:

• So you want me to ………

• Can I just check the details? I need to ………

• Let me see if I’ve understood properly, this goes…

• Reconfirming that you would like me to ………

Sometimes the instructions you are being given are quite long. In this situation you might need to
interrupt to seek clarification before the speaker moves onto the next instruction. For example:

• Excuse me. I don’t understand where the boxes are.

• Could you repeat that please?

• I didn’t catch the name of the item you want me to move.

Sometimes people give vague instructions that you may want to clarify:

• How far down there do you want me to put it?

• How many of them do you want me to bring?

• What time this afternoon do you want that done by?

Receiving and Following Instructions
Receiving Instructions

When you are receiving instructions from someone else, especially if they are speaking to you:

 stop whatever else you are doing

 focus on the person speaking

 if you can, make notes about the details

 when the person has finished, tell them what you understood from their instructions to
make sure you have understood them correctly

Receiving Instructions

the instructions were not heard correctly due to:

 too much noise around – ask to move to a quieter place

 the person not speaking loudly or clearly enough – ask them to speak up

not enough detail was given:

 ask for more information – don’t assume you know what they mean

the meaning was unclear:

 check the outcome and the purpose of the task

 repeat back what you have heard and understood to check that it is correct.

Written Information Sources

In the workplace, written information can take the form of:

 letters

 memos

 informal notes

 faxes
  emails

 text messages

 workplace signs

 instruction manuals

Following Written Instructions

The following points should help you to follow written instructions in a more effective way.

 Read through all the instructions or steps before beginning the task. This will give a clear picture
of what the whole tasks involves

 If diagrams are provided take the time to look at them carefully. As you work through the task
check the diagrams to make sure that your work matches the example given.

 If you are not sure of the meaning of any words or terms take the time to find out the correct
meaning. Ask your workplace supervisor if you guess correctly you may find that you cannot
complete the task or that the finished task is not done properly.

 Avoid the temptation to try to complete the task before reading all the instructions. Although
the job may take a little longer, it will save time in the long run as you may avoid mistakes.

Following Spoken Instructions

 Spoken instructions are generally received face to face or via the telephone. The following
points should help you follow spoken instructions in a more effective way.

 When following spoken instructions, it is absolutely essential that you listen. Avoid jumping to
conclusions or assuming that you know how to complete the task. Use all your listening skills to
ensure that you receive the message accurately.

 Ask questions if you are uncertain about particular steps. Sometimes people are afraid to ask
questions because they think they will look stupid. Remember questioning shows that you are
keen and interested and it is always better to ask questions rather than make a mistake.

Following Spoken Instructions

 Be sure that you understand all he words or terms being used.

 If you are receiving instructions over the telephone, always write down the information
accurately.
 Repeat the instructions back to the instructor to be sure that you have fully understood all the
details.

 It often helps if you can complete the task once with the instructor. This will give you a chance
to ask questions and check other things as you work through the job.

THE END!