Communication and Employability Skills

Good Communication

Communication is a group of people can interact with each other both verbally and written. An example of verbal is face to face or by telephone. An example of written is Email or letter.

Good communication is all participants are understood. This is effective as it has worked and nobody is confused and knows what to do. It can only be understood if all the key factors are taken into account.

Different types of communication

There are different methods of communication and some are more effective than others. By this I mean if talking on a telephone you can't actually see the other person’s body language so you don't actually know if they are paying attention so you may not go into great detail. If you can see the other person you can see there facial expressions and know if they are paying attention so you will go into great detail with them.

With written communication the other participant may not be able to understand and therefore not acknowledge it because they can not ask you questions and get an instant answer. Email is the most common in the workplace as it is instant and it is easy to access and use.

The following are examples of written communication.......................

Email
Letter
Text
Chat Rooms
Signs and Symbols

The following are examples of verbal communication..............................

Telephone
Speeches
Face to Face
Potential Barriers

Poor spelling can lead to misunderstanding. Homophones are part of grammar and if the context is wrong it makes it all look unprofessional and make others not want to read it. If for example I used sea instead of see if someone was to skim read it they might see that and think I am not interested in sea and they might not read any further. To improve this you could try using the BBC on the internet to self teach yourself. You could try reading more as this will teach you spelling and grammar.

When talking it is important to use clear plain language. It is important to maintain eye contact with the participants as this shows they are interested in the discussion and keeps there attention. If none of these are maintained then it will soon make the participants loose concentration which could lead to misunderstanding. Other participants may have had a dispute which could also lead to broken down communication. The other participant may have personal problems and not pay attention. Other participants may not be motivated and stop paying attention or may not be in the correct frame of mind.

Barriers that can occur

Noise can play a part in misunderstanding as it may stop people from hearing each other properly which would lead to misunderstanding.

If using electronic communication if there is a power cut it would mean there would be no power to use the PC or printer.

Other participants may have a disability and only be able to understand sign language. If you are not able to do sign language then that would mean no communication at all.
How to Reduce Potential Communication Barriers

Reducing the barriers

To reduce the barriers you can try to improve your spelling and grammar this will prevent any misunderstanding. To improve this you could try to attend classes or self teaching yourself by using internet facilities.

If you are having a discussion you could try finding a quiet area were background noise is minimum so that all participants can hear each other this also prevents any misunderstanding. If any participants are not in the correct frame of mind they will not be as easy to interact with as others so it may be worth postponing it to another time when they will understand and take note.

If you come across an obstacle such as a disabled person you could try learning sign language. There are many books that can teach the basics. You could also try attending some sort of course that would teach you how to communicate with that sort of disabled person.