Effective Communication and Its Importance - Coursework Example

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION PORTFOLIO Name: Tutor: Subject: Date: Introduction Communication is the process of passing information from one person to another or from one point to the next. In the process of communication, the most important aspect to be considered is message delivery and if the receiver understands the message. There are different methods of passing information from one person to another, but the best and assured means of communication is the face to face communication whereby the person conveying the message and the receiver are both present (McKay, 2009.pg 35). People communicate differently in different aspects regarding the type of information conveyed. An example a preacher and a politician convey their information differently and so as to the teacher or instructor. It is therefore a requirement that depending on the type of information conveyed and also depending on the audience or rather the message receivers, the person communicating should always have their own means of ensuring that the conveyed message is well received and understood. Communication links people together because one cannot live without communicating since human beings are social beings. Take a look at an organization where there is no communication or the means of communication is very poor. This organization will not prosper simply because the subordinates will not work without being given a direction on how to perform tasks. Instead there will be confusion because everyone will tend to do what they think is right and the end result will be the collapse of the organization. What I am emphasizing is the importance of communication in any human social aspect, ranging from giving instructions, and teaching, socializing, preaching and public speech. For one to feel that he or she can convey information or communicate effectively, they must have a communication strategy. Communication strategy is a plan of how one will convey the message to the audience or the receivers. It is simply a guideline that will enable the conveyer to be able to communicate as per the requirement of the information conveyed (Paul, 2008.pg 84). Communication strategy helps one to understand what the information is about, the reason for conveying that information and the people to whom the information will be conveyed to. It also helps the conveyor to plan how to pass the message and when should the message be conveyed to the audience. When developing communication strategy, there are steps considered in order to come up with a communication strategy that is efficient to the receivers. The first step involves understanding the concept of the information. As the conveyor, one should be able to understand what the information is all about. It is crystal clear that one cannot be able to convey information that he or she does not understand. Understanding the concept will help to know the effect the information will have on the receiver. It will also help one to prepare for the questions arising from the audience and thus one will research on the possible questions earlier (Nielsen, 2008.pg 150). Setting up goals is another communication strategy. This involves developing vision, mission and objectives. It is obvious that every information has its objectives, for example a teacher will convey information to the students with the aim of passing knowledge, a manager on the other hand will convey information with an objective of making profit in an organization. Therefore the communication strategy involves developing vision, which describes what the conveyor is aiming at. Mission, which describes the reason as to why you are conveying the message and the objectives which describe the end result of the message being conveyed. Another strategy is having an insight on the type of information to be conveyed. This involves the truth of the information basing on the type of audience. The conveyor should therefore research on the information because it may have an impact on the audience in terms of their beliefs, attitudes, behavior and even their emotions. This is done by researching on the type of audience and understanding their culture. If the information conquers with their culture, it is therefore important to research more on it rather than conveying information that will be rejected by the experienced audience. Having a deep insight of the information will help the conveyor to understand the information well enough to communicate it with courage and conviction, while being ready to tackle any consequence that result (JoCondrill, 1999.pg 45). The final step is that of gathering resources to be used in the process of conveying information. You find that many people fail to convey information because they have not prepared well enough. Gathering resources in advance enables one to be fully equipped with all communication tools. Some convey information through the aid of charts, others through PowerPoint presentation and other orally. It is therefore conveyor’s responsibility to collect enough resources to be used in communicating. The purpose of having a communication strategy helped me realize that it is important the day I encountered a difficulty during one of my public speech presentation. I was not fully equipped with the information and I ended up being confused in the process of conveying the message. Self reflective journal According to the communication skills I have learnt in class and also the experience I have encountered in conveying information, there are personal skills that I have also learnt that help to enhance my communication skills. Encoding and decoding of information is highly dependent on how the conveyer conveys it. If information is passed and people do not understand, the problem lies on either the conveyer or the ability of the audience to interpret and understand the message. In my experience of communicating and sharpening my communication skills, I learnt my strength and weaknesses that have helped me to become an effective conveyor of the message. There are ethics to be considered when communicating. They involve; addressing people by name. This is a very important aspect when communicating. You may not know the audience name but by asking their name will help you avoid pointing at people. This could be embarrassing and the audience will feel not respected. I therefore learnt that it is a good ethic to address people by their name. Smiling at people is another ethic that I found it good when communicating. Take a look at a manager who storms into the subordinates office and without even a greeting, goes straight into passing information, subordinates in this case will feel unwanted and will result to poor interpretation of information. Therefore I think when you put on a smile; it will help clear off the air and make the audience feel at ease. Being audible is also another aspect I consider in communication. I realized that when communicating to a large number of people, one should be audible enough. This is because some people may not get it clear whatever the message being conveyed. They will therefore end up interpreting it the wrong way and the end result will be the failure to achieve the intended objectives. For the experience I encountered trying to deliver a speech, I was not audible enough and I could hear the audience mumbling because they were trying to interpret what I was saying. When you are audible when communicating, people will be keen and they will understand the message. Being friendly is also another aspect that most people do not apply during communication. It is obvious that people will tend to listen to someone who presented herself in a friendly manner than someone who is not willing to socialize. I therefore discovered that when you act friendly, the audience will feel at ease and will be keen on the information you are trying to convey. Another advantage of being friendly will enable the audience to have courage to ask for clarification whenever they feel they do not understand. Being friendly will also boost your courage because you will feel welcomed by the audience. The person conveying a message should also show interest in people. This is obtained when you interact with the audience by asking whether they have understood the information. When you show interest in the audience, they will want to learn more and they will also be willing. It is therefore an important aspect to always try to show interest so that the audience will trust your information. I also learnt that how I present myself to the audience matters a lot. Audiences need someone who is presentable because they will trust your information. Being presentable involves dressing well and being neat on how you have organized your contents. When communicating, I realized that being a great listener also helps in conveying the message. When you find an opportunity to listen from the audience point of view, you are supposed to be keen because you will end up learning a lot from them. They will be able to address their views and it will help you compare them with the intended information. Listening has proved to be effective because it enhance understanding and also having a deeper insight on what the information is all about. When communicating, one should also try to be original, this involves communicating your ideas constructing your own words and not copying other people’s contents. The reason for having a communication strategy will help one to avoid such difficulties. Conclusion In conclusion, having an insight about effective communication helps one to be able to deliver information at any particular place at a particular time because of the courage one has. It is therefore important for anyone to sharpen their communication skills because it will aid them in their careers. Effective communication skills will enable one to develop good qualities and will help one to achieve their objectives. Most people who should have effective communication skills are leaders and managers because they convey information pertaining achievement of organizational goals and this is important in any organization. Communication does not only occur at organizational level but also at the social level. Therefore a person who can communicate effectively can interact with many people because people will always interact with a person who can communicate effectively and bring out the meaning of information. Reference Read More