Participate in Workplace Communication
Participate in Workplace Communication
UNIT 1
PARTICIPATE IN WORKPLACE
COMMUNICATION
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this unit, you are expected to:
• Obtain and convey workplace information
• Discuss about the workplace meetings and discussions
• Identify appropriate sources for specific and relevant workplace communication
• Explain suitable medium used to exchange information and ideas
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INTRODUCTION
Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place to another.
Although this is a simple definition, when we think about how we may communicate the
subject becomes a lot more complex. Workplace communication refers to the process of
exchanging information, both verbal and non-verbal, within an organization. An organization
may consist of employees from different parts of the society. In order to unite the activities
of all employees, communication is crucial. Communicating necessary information to the
entire workforce becomes necessary. Effective workplace communication ensures that all the
organizational objectives are achieved.
KEY WORD
Workplace communication
is the process of exchanging
information and ideas,
both verbal and non-verbal,
within an organization.
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Effective Questioning
Effective questions are questions that are powerful and thought provoking. Effective questions
are open-ended and not leading questions. They are not “why” questions, but rather “what”
or “how” questions. “Why” questions are good for soliciting information, but can make
people defensive so be thoughtful in your use of them. When asking effective questions, it
is important to wait for the answer and not provide the answer.
When working with people to solve a problem, it is not enough to tell them what the
problem is. They need to find out or understand it for themselves. You help them do this
by asking them thought provoking questions. Rather than make assumptions find out what
the person you are talking to knows about the problem.
Articulating
Attention and awareness result in articulation and succinctly describing what we have learned
from our client. Sharing our observation clearly but without judgment does this. We can
repeat back to our clients just what they said. We can expand on this by articulating back
to them what we believe they mean. This helps a person feel heard. For example: “What I
hear you saying is . . .”
Clarifying
Clarifying is a combination of asking and clearly articulating what we have heard. By asking
questions our client knows we are listening and filling in the gaps. When our client is being
vague, it is important for us to clarify the circumstances. We can assist them to see what
they can’t see themselves by making a suggestion. For example: “Here’s what I hear you
saying. Is that right? “
Being Curious
Do not assume you know the answer or what your client is going to tell you. Wait and be
curious about what brings them to see you. What motivates them? What is really behind
the meeting? Use your curiosity so that your next question can go deeper.
Silence Giving the person we are listening to time to answer questions is an important
aspect of listening. Waiting for the client to talk rather than talking for them is imperative
for an effective listener.
Active Listening
The way to improve your listening skills is to practice “active listening.” This is where
you make a conscious effort to hear not only the words that another person is saying but,
more importantly, try to understand the complete message being sent. Active listening is a
structured form of listening and responding that improves overall understanding.
Of all the skill sets you can bring into the workplace, active listening is by far the most
important. Whether it is engaging in one-on-one conversations, participating in meetings or
even interviewing a potential candidate, people who master active listening skills will be
more effective in everything they do. Why?
It forces attentiveness. It minimizes defensiveness. Active listening is the foundation
of crystal clear understanding. It lends clarity to the conversation and ensures that you
understand the message the way that it was intended. It focuses on the speaker, so rather
than planning your next remark, you are forced to listen and reflect on the speaker’s remark.
Step 1: Clear your mind of distractions when you need to listen actively. Make a conscious
effort to focus only on listening to the person speaking to you.
Step 2: Sit or stand so you face the speaker. Make your body language communicate
your interest to the speaker. Establish eye contact to communicate your active listening.
Step 3: Remove distractions as much as possible. Eliminate background activity and
noise to enable you to concentrate on listening. Put electronic devices away and silence
music if you can.
Step 4: Encourage the speaker with nods and affirmations, as appropriate, so the speaker
knows you are listening.
Step 5: Stay focused on listening without turning your mind to your response. If you are
formulating a response in your mind, you stop listening actively and you may miss important
information. Instead, continue to listen while the speaker speaks. When the speaker finishes,
take the time you need to formulate your response.
Step 6: Notice nonverbal communication from the speaker. You can gain clues about how
a speaker feels by observing body language. Wringing hands or flailing arms can indicate
high emotion or stress.
Step 7: Resist the urge to interrupt. When the speaker finishes or pauses, ask questions
or make comments, if appropriate. Look for something to validate about what you just heard
because this can help the speaker know that you were actively listening. Another response
to active listening may be to reflect or paraphrase what you think you heard to ensure that
you understand.
Step 8: Continue listening as the speaker responds to your questions or comments.
A conversation with an employee might involve asking questions to get additional
information. As you ask careful questions, you gain understanding, which can enable you
to offer advice, if appropriate.
A conversation with an unhappy customer may include paraphrasing what you think
you understand so you can help solve a problem. When you paraphrase what the customer
stated, you help the customer feel validated and understood. This often diffuses a situation.
• “Step into the shoes of others”, i.e., put yourself in the position of the speaker and
observe things from his view point.
This will help creating an atmosphere of mutual understanding and improve the exchange
of ideas in communication process.
Focus fully on the speaker, his or her body language, and other nonverbal cues. If you are
day-dreaming, checking text messages, or doodling, you are almost certain to miss nonverbal
cues in the conversation. If you find it hard to concentrate on some speakers, try repeating
their words over in your head it will reinforce their message and help you stay focused.
Avoid interrupting or trying to redirect the conversation to your concerns, by saying
something like,
“If you think that’s bad, let me tell you what happened to me.”
Listening is not the same as waiting for your turn to talk. You cannot concentrate on what
someone’s saying if you are forming what you are going to say next. Often, the speaker can
read your facial expressions and know that your mind’s elsewhere. Avoid seeming judgmental.
In order to communicate effectively with someone, you do not have to like them or agree
with their ideas, values, or opinions. However, you do need to set aside your judgment
and withhold blame and criticism in order to fully understand a person. The most difficult
communication, when successfully executed, can lead to the most unlikely and profound
connection with someone.
Show your interest in what’s being said. Nod occasionally, smile at the person, and make
sure your posture is open and inviting. Encourage the speaker to continue Encourage the
speaker to continue with small verbal comments like “yes” or “uh huh.”
Speaking Skills
People often think that the ability to speak a language is the product of language learning,
but speaking is also a crucial part of the language learning process. Effective instructors teach
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There are some appropriate medium is used to transfer information and ideas:
• Memorandum
• Circular
• Notice
• Information discussion
• Follow-up or verbal instructions
• Face to face communication
Transfer information and ideas the communication is a critical component of success in
an office atmosphere. As such, it is necessary to learn as much as possible about the different
methods and channels available for transmitting information in the workplace. Technology
and etiquette protocol provide a variety of options when you are trying to get your point
across. The communication media that helps transfer information and ideas in a workplace
these are:
Email
One of the most popular forms of inter-office communication is email. There are a couple of
reasons for its popularity. First, it allows for information to be sent at lightning-fast speeds,
whereas paper communication may take time to deliver. Second, it provides a record of all
communications between different parties that can be referenced or used for support in
times of conflict. Third, it allows for the transfer of large files without having to rely on
discs, thumb drives or hard copies.
Presentations
Perhaps one of the most dreaded forms of office communication is the formal presentation.
Formal presentations are usually utilized for communication when an idea needs to be “sold.”
For this reason, they are usually persuasive in nature and executed under high pressure.
However, presentations have high utility as a form of communication.
Meetings
Meetings are an age-old form of interoffice communication. These usually involve a group
Participate in Workplace Communication
Hand Gestures
This area of nonverbal communication depends on the person. Not everyone “talks” with
their hands, but integrating hand gestures into communication is a good way to get your
point across.
Examples to avoid would be pointing at the listener as this feels confrontational or wild
hand gestures that take away from what you are saying. Speakers often use hand gestures
to help solidify a point they are making, with a subtle downward hand movement for an
emphatic point or expansive gestures when making a large point.
Body Positioning
Body positioning is subtly different from actual body movements. For example, even if you
are sitting perfectly still but are leaning backwards, this gives the impression of disinterest
or even downright disagreement. Inclining towards your listeners or the person who is
speaking to you gives them the impression that you are engaged in the conversation. When
people do not get along, they may give off subtle cues in their body positioning by turning
slightly away, giving the impression that they want to leave the conversation. Open and
engaged body positioning is important in a conversation.
Personal Interaction
There are tons of rules in society, some written and some implicit;
a red light means stop and most people obey. In the workplace
there are established rules of respect as well. For example, if you
physically assault someone, steal, or don’t show up for work,
it’s likely you will be fired. For the most part, most employees
have grasped those rules, but it tends to be the unspoken, often
unwritten rules of behavior that cause the most problems in
the workplace.
Here are five guidelines for creating respectful interaction
in the workplace. These Rules of Respect are primarily used
in our workshops but these rules are so universal they could
be adopted and used in a multitude of workplace scenarios to
ensure respectful interactions among employees.
• Show curiosity for the views of others: Science has
shown us that mirror neurons work to create empathy
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among individuals. By taking the point of view of the people we work with we can
better understand their motivations.
• Seek ways to grow, stretch and change: Sometimes we tend to think that our view is
the correct one, because it’s all we know. But there are many sources of knowledge
that exist within the workplace and all we have to do is take the time to explore
them. Learn about that new co-worker or have lunch with someone in another
department.
• Look for opportunities to connect with and support others: When we interact with
others in the workplace, it’s easier to conquer our differences by finding ways to
connect first. Does that co-worker with the different political beliefs also value family
as much as you? This allows you to create a connection with the person based on
commonality.
• Allow yourself to be wrong on occasion: Often when we assume we are right, we
reduce the amount of new information that we take in, because obviously we know
it all already! A better approach would be to accept that you may not be right all
the time and allow yourself to learn from your co-workers’ differences.
• Engage others in ways that build their self-esteem: Discussions of difference or
diversity in the workplace can sometimes get ugly with people hurling personal
insults at one another. Instead, try to boost the self-esteem of others when discussing
such hotly contested topics. Building self-esteem is a major step toward creating a
respectful workplace.
By practicing these simple guidelines on a regular basis, you can ensure that respect is not
just another corporate slogan in the workplace but an action that all employees participate in.
Opening Statements
Starting a conversation can be one of the most stressful things in
life, but also one of the most rewarding. Being good at starting
conversations is essential in your career and many other aspects
of life. The following are examples of opening statements that
can help you get the ball rolling.
Examples:
• How are you?
• How did your shift go?
• How’s the weather today?
• Anything new today?
• Are you busy?
• What time do you finish work?
• Good morning.
• Good to see you.
• Nice to meet you.
• Where are you from?
Confirm Understanding
You should use short responses and body language to confirm
that you understand instructions.
of a request. When English is not your native language, you may feel shy about your level
of comprehension.
Polite forms
There are many different ways of making polite requests in English. Like many other
languages, degrees of politeness exist in English, and you must understand which one to use
depending on the circumstances and the person you are addressing. Also take into account
what you are asking for. If it is a big request, it will require more formal language.
Sequence Markers
Use sequence markers while giving instructions to indicate an order of the tasks to be
performed
must be able to describe these exceptions in a professional manner and instruct co-workers
how to deal with them.
Adverbs of frequency
Use adverbs of frequency to talk about how often certain actions occur
POINTS TO REMEMBER
• When you express gratitude you evoke feelings of warmth and solidarity. When
you fail to express gratitude it can result in negative feelings and consequences.
• Asking for clarification if you have misunderstood or could not hear all that was
said, will limit mistakes made due to lack of understanding.
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As with any other aspect, you need to be careful about using informal expressions with
people who you do not know well or whose work rank or status is higher than yours.
Formal Expressions
Formal English is a way of speaking that you use when you don’t know the people listening
to you very well. You also tend to use it more with people who are higher status and who
you want to impress. English learners are usually taught formal English in school, and native
English speakers are taught to use it in writing and for speeches and interviews.
In formal English, people usually:
• Pronounce words more carefully. For example, in casual speech, people sometimes
don’t pronounce the “g” sound at the end of words ending in “-ing”. In formal
speech, people are more careful to pronounce this
• Use more words that originally came from french and latin. For example, in formal
english you use words like “intelligent” instead of “smart”, or “arrive” instead of
“come”
• Don’t use as many contractions (“it’s”, “they’re”, “i’m”, etc.)
• Use more modal verbs to show formality.
Informal Expressions
When and where are informal expressions appropriate? There are many situations in everyday
life where informal English is allowed, even preferred. Some examples include chatting with
a co-worker, talking on the phone to a friend, and watching television with your family.
Participate in Workplace Communication
layout of workplace documents, it is certainly common for you to be required to fill in the
documents in a satisfactory way.
Forms
In every workplace you will be required to complete forms. Each workplace will have forms
specific to their requirements. You must make sure that you know which forms to fill in,
when you need to use forms and where to find the necessary forms.
When filling in a form:
• Read the form carefully
• Fill in all the required details
• Only include necessary information
• Write clearly and simply
• Check that you have completed it properly
• Send or give it to the appropriate person, or file in the appropriate place
The other main form of written communication in your job will be work instructions
or work procedures Work instructions are the most basic tool used in every business or
organization to help workers follow a sequence of steps. Inadequate work instructions are
likely to result in a variety of problems in the workplace that could range from:
• Returned products
• Loss of materials
• Customer complaints
• Liability issues
• Poor work performance
Work instructions can have a major impact on the effectiveness and productivity of a
workplace. If instructions are difficult to follow, workers will make errors in implementing
the steps. A good work instruction is a detailed sequence of steps that workers need to follow
each time they perform a task. The purpose of a work instruction is to organize steps in a
logical and systematic way so that workers can easily follow it independently. This means a
consistent format for your work instructions is important. Workers can read the information
Participate in Workplace Communication
• Testing instructions
• Product specifications
Work instructions can also be the verbal passing of
information from one or more persons to the following shift
worker or workers. These are called “handovers” and are
common in the health industries as well as in industrial
factory situations. Handovers may also be spoken into a
tape which is then played to the next group of workers
outlining events of the previous shift or of any information
that it is considered important for them to know.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
When doing handovers:
• Make sure that all relevant information is passed on
• Check that the next person has understood everything by asking and answe
questions
• If using a tape recorder, speak clearly and check the recording
• Don’t rush your sentences