Notes Communication in Organizations
Basic communication skills
In every organization where people work together, communication is essential. In communication a
general distinction can be made between the sender, the person who sends out a message, and the
receiver, the person who receives the message.
The same distinction can be made between sender and receiver (or listener) skills. With regard to
sender skills we can make a distinction between regulating skills and assertive skills. Regulating skills
are those with which one influences the structure and direction of the conversation; these are
necessary to monitor the meaningful progress of the conversation. Assertive skills are those whose
purpose is to reveal as clearly as possible what one thinks and wants.
CH1 Regulating skills
Purpose of regulating skills is to protect the order and clarity of the conversation
- Opening the conversation, setting goals
When you take the initiative in a conversation, for efficient continuation it is usually important to supply
your conversational partner with your intentions fairly soon after beginning. How exactly you open the
conversation is naturally dependent upon the situation. In order to create a relaxed atmosphere, one
often begins a conversation by discussing some generalities. This can work well, but we must realize
that there are many people who do not feel at ease when discussing such generalities. These feelings
of unease are on the one hand brought about because one has the idea that time is not being
efficiently used, and on the other because one does not know exactly how to end the generalities.
Such people only begin to feel at ease when you get to the point, namely when the conversation about
the important subjects begins.
Whether you start formally or informally, in both cases clarity of your intentions promotes the smooth
progression of the conversation. When you have the opportunity to prepare yourself for a
conversation, you can try to devise a global structure for it. You should try not to stick to this structure
too rigidly in case other turns in the conversation turn out to be more useful, bearing in mind its
purpose. In general, we can state that a clear conversational structure, upon which the conversational
partners have agreed at the beginning, promotes efficiency. Make inventory of subjects to be
discussed.
- Goal evaluation
Conversations are often based on a goal. Often, the goal is the solving of problems. In order to check
that you are still busy with the goals that were originally set, it is useful to ask ‘goal evaluating
questions’ from time to time. These are questions such as: ‘What was it exactly we wanted to
achieve?’ ‘Are the goals attainable?’ ‘Are the methods employed adequate in relation to the goal?’
- Closing the conversation
In order to keep a check on the time it is generally wiser to make known the time available at the
beginning of the conversation. Then a clear agreement has been made about the length of the
conversation. If such an agreement is made, it is important to keep an eye on this time too: that is to
say, you must decide whether the goals set can be reached within the limited time available. If the time
has almost expired, you can refer to the agreement. After this summary you can discuss with your
conversational partner how you will continue. In many cases it is useful to close with a summary,
where the concrete arrangements can be lined up.
CH2 Listening skills
Let the conversation partner know that he is being listened to. First of all, it is stimulating for the
partner, and second, one can avoid the problems that occur when one does not listen well.
- Non-selective listening skills; attentive behaviour
Listener has only little influence on the conversation. He gives other people all the time to explain their
story and only responds by giving attention. These skills are necessary to stimulate the conversation
partner into talking. You don’t just use non-selective listening skills.
o Nonverbal behaviour
Facial expression: whether you are interested or elsewhere with your
thoughts. Facial expression is often directly related to your feelings. By
smiling you can show interest, kindness, and sympathy, which have
, stimulating effects on the speaker. However, providing the correct dose of
smiling is essential: too much can lead to speakers feeling they are not being
taken seriously, or it can show your own insecurity. On the other hand too
much frowning can be interpreted as disapproval. Sometimes frowning means
that you are trying to understand what the speaker is saying. In that case
frowning is an expression of involvement, which stimulates speakers to be
more clear and explicit in what they are saying.
Eye contact: your eyes should meet the speaker’s eyes once in a while. You
should neither have a fixed stare, nor should you avoid the speaker’s eyes
altogether. Staring can make the other person feel uncomfortable. They may
get the feeling that they are being studied. Avoiding eye contact often stems
from personal insecurity. It is obvious that in such a case you are not making
a self-conscious impression. Lack of attention is also manifested by avoiding
eye contact.
Body posture: the interest you have in the other person can also be shown by
a relaxed and friendly body posture. By assuming a comfortable body position
you can make it easy for you to listen. A relaxed conversation partner often
evokes more trust than a restless and constantly gesturing one. Making
exaggerated gestures is also associated with nervousness. Although not
showing any nervousness is not very natural, it is usually more pleasant to
talk to someone who expresses a certain stability and calmness. However, a
slumped, too relaxed listener will mostly not give the impression of being very
interested.
Encouraging gestures: by nodding and making supportive gestures with the
hands and by avoiding nervous and distracting movements, you can show
your attention, which will stimulate the speaker to continue talking.
o Verbal following: the comments you make should be in line with what the speaker is
saying and that you do not start any new subjects. If you follow closely what the
speaker is saying, the speaker will be able to finish his train of thought. To understand
the speaker fully, it is necessary to put aside your own opinions and thoughts about
the subject.
Minimal encourages: short verbal reactions intended to stimulate the speaker
to talk by showing him that he is being listened to. Examples are: hemming
(uh-huh), yes . . . yes, and then?, go on, or even the repetition of one of the
words in a questioning tone of voice. These small utterances may not seem of
great influence, but their stimulating effect is of importance to the speaker.
- Selective listening skills
Are used by the listener to find out and select certain aspects of the conversation that he finds
important. Selectivity here is related to the fact that in your reactions you give certain aspects of the
speaker’s conversation more attention than others. You can do that on purpose in order to find out
more about the contents of the subject or to get more involved in the feelings expressed. Another way
is to give a certain subject in the conversation more attention.
o Asking questions: During many conversations it is often necessary to clarify what
speakers are saying exactly and what they really want. We have to deal here with
‘problem clarification’. In this phase asking questions will help the speaker to put his
thoughts in clear and understandable words.
Open-ended questions: these questions leave speakers much freedom in
formulating answers to them. They can respond in own words in accordance
with their wishes or opinions. ‘How?’ , ‘What?’, ‘Why?’. ‘ Why’ questions can
be regarded as threatening when placed at the beginning of a conversation.
When speakers feel they have to justify their actions to the listener right at the
beginning, they will feel obliged to give explanations about things they are not
ready to answer yet. The chance exists that they will get defensive and
confused.
Closed questions: can be answered with yes/no. The questions have several
negative aspects. First, the speaker is restricted to answering the question.
Second, they are often suggestive because these questions stem from
preconceived ideas. The degree of suggestiveness depends heavily on the
tone in which he asks the question. The disadvantageous effect that this kind
, of question has on the conversation is that the speaker will start to give short
and maybe defensive answers. However, it is useful to ask closed questions
when you want to find out factual and specific information, or when open-
ended questions do not result in much information.
o Paraphrasing of content: briefly stating in your own words what the speaker has
said. The chief characteristic of paraphrasing is that it is based on factual
information. This skill serves several functions:
Listeners can check whether they have understood everything correctly.
This is particularly important when the speaker has given a lot of complex
and confusing information.
The speaker experiences understanding and it might be stimulating to
hear their thoughts expressed in other words. Listeners should be very
flexible in the way they express themselves.
When applying this skill it is important for listeners not to confuse their own opinions
with what the speaker is actually saying. It is therefore important that the paraphrase
is expressed in a questioning way. This gives the speaker the chance for correction.
o Reflection of feelings: reflections can be regarded as statements in the interviewer’s
own words that encapsulate and re-present the essence of the interviewee’s previous
message. The goal of this skill is to show that you are trying to understand how the
speaker feels here and now in the conversation. The first function of reflecting is that
speakers notice that their feelings, regardless of their nature, are being understood,
accepted and getting attention. Often the intensity of the feelings (e.g. anger) then
diminishes. The reflection of them has a soothing effect. The second function of
reflection of feelings is a controlling one. You are checking whether you have
estimated the feelings of the speaker correctly.
Feelings can be divided into single or complex feelings. Single feelings can either be
positive (‘I am happy’) or negative (‘I am sad’). Complex feelings, in particular, are
often confusing and especially arise in emotional situations. Feelings of stress and
tension can be both positive and negative. When these kinds of feelings occur it is
important that you show consideration for them.
When applying this skill it is important to be on the same wavelength as the speaker.
This means that you reflect the other person’s feelings with the same intensity as they
express them. When someone says ‘I feel so listless’, then the reaction ‘You don’t
want to live anymore’ would be too strong a reflection, and the reaction ‘You’re a little
bored’ too weak a reflection.
The application of this skill is especially important in situations that are highly
emotional. An example of a situation in which negative emotions play a part is one in
which bad news needs to be conveyed.
o Concreteness: you let speakers tell their story as concretely and precisely as possible.
This is a task that consists of several skills. The skills already mentioned, such as
listening, minimal encouragers, asking open and closed questions, paraphrasing and
reflecting, all contribute to the concreteness of the conversation. By listening and
encouraging you can stimulate speakers to give a detailed expression of the case
they want to discuss. When that is not enough, more specific information can be
gained by asking open-ended and closed questions. Finally, paraphrasing and
detailed descriptions also help to get a clearer picture.
How far should you go with concreteness? In general, it depends on the goal you
have in mind. If, for example, you want to find out why an employee is performing his
tasks in a certain manner, you will have to go deeply into the subject and get a very
concrete answer. In a first orientating meeting with a client you will have to tolerate
more vagueness and lack of clarity.
o Summarizing: to give structure to the conversation by ordering the main points. A
distinction is made between the summarizing of contents and the summarizing of
emotions. With the first the accent lies on the contents (cognitive) aspects of the story,
whereas with the second it is more with the aspects of feeling. Usually summaries
contain both and the relationship between them is made. The basic difference
between summarizing contents and paraphrasing/reflection of feelings is that the
summarizing covers a longer time span in the conversation.
You can check whether you have understood the speaker correctly
You can order the different subthemes and vocalize them
