Communication Skills (CO)

Identify sources that provide relevant, valid written material 🟢

• You can use the “REVIEW” concept to do this

  • R: Relevance of source

  • E: Expertise of author

  • V: Viewpoint of author or organization

  • I: Intended audience

  • E: Evidence

  • W: When published

• Check domain (if applicable), peer reviews, author credentials, last modification or publication date, and links to resources or a bibliography 

Extract relevant information from written materials 🟢

• Three segments when reading

  • Pre-read: determine what you need to know as a result of your reading, scan headings and topic titles, and look at graphics to get a general idea

  • Read: Pay attention to main ideas, key details, and supporting ideas, and look for answers to questions you set for yourself

  • Review: Reflect on the content, ensure you have covered everything you needed to gain as a result of your reading

Apply written directions to achieve tasks 🟢

• Read instructions as many times as needed to fully understand

• Follow instructions in the exact order they are written

  • Check after each step to ensure everything is done the exact same way

• Ask questions or refer back to instructions if any concerns or confusion arise

Analyze company resources to ascertain policies and procedures 🟡

• Review current policies/procedures to see how well they are working

  • Identify any weaknesses (using personal opinion, doing evaluations and tests, or soliciting other individuals’ opinions)

  • Conduct analyses of effectiveness 

  • Schedule a meeting to review policies and procedures and gain further input

• Follow up on any changes made by reaching out to all staff

Explain communication techniques that support and encourage a speaker 🟢 

• Active listening

• Taking notes

• Nonverbal cues, like eye contact, to show engagement

Follow oral directions 🟢

• Listening actively, taking short and concise notes if needed

• Ask for clarification if you don’t understand or feel you have forgotten a part

• Nonverbal cues to show engagement

Demonstrate active listening skills 🟢

• Body language, good posture and facing the speaker

• Making good eye contact and nodding to show engagement

• Minimize external and internal distractions, focusing solely on the speaker

• Engaging yourself by responding appropriately and asking questions when needed

  • Make comments like “yes” or “I see” if needed to encourage the speaker

Explain the nature of effective verbal communications 🟢

• Verbal communication is the process of conveying information, thoughts, and ideas using spoken language

  • Phone calls, face-to-face meetings, presentations, discussions, voice memos

• There are four main types

  • Intrapersonal: Internal dialogue and talking to yourself

  • Interpersonal: Two people discussing something

  • Small group communication: Small meetings or a group of friends

  • Public communication: Presentations and announcements

• Language you use is significant to effectiveness (analyze profession, formality, age, and other factors to figure out what jargon, language, and tone to use to effectively deliver a message)

• Visual aids/statistics/powerful sentences can set the mood depending on who you are talking to and in what setting

• Mainly, know your audience: who are you talking to and what are you trying to accomplish by delivering your message?

  • Rhetorical triangle: Ethos (credibility), Pathos (emotion), Logos (logic)

Ask relevant questions 🟢

• State what you know and don’t know

• Frame your question well

• Speak well and sound confident

• Think about what the speaker says in response, and register it

  • Ask for additional clarification if necessary

Interpret others' nonverbal cues 🟢

• Notice the way someone dresses or presents themselves; this is how they want to be perceived and conveys clues about who they are

• Posture, gestures, facial expressions, vocal tone, and eye movement can tell you about personality or just mood and emotion at the moment

  • Straight posture projects confidence, lack of eye contact and shaky hands projects anxiety, and more

Provide legitimate responses to inquiries 🟢

• Always start with an appropriate answer

• Keep a professional, friendly voice

• State your role, name, and the company name

• Listen carefully to what they have to say

• Use knowledge to answer the question as effectively as possible (referring back to how to effectively communicate with an audience)

• Gently take control of the conversation and keep answers concise and focused on the issue at hand

Give verbal directions 🟢

• Tell them what you want them to do in a clear, direct manner

• If something is wrong, correct with further instruction

Employ communication styles appropriate to target audience 🟡

• Identify target audience

• Analyze  message you want to communicate

• Think about what communication channels and styles would be appropriate for that audience and that message

  • For example, youth prefer social media, and seniors prefer literary materials like the newspaper

• Types of communication channels

  • Lean channel of communication : Presents messages/information without allowing for immediate interaction/feedback; goal is just to convey information

    • Voice messages

    • Blogs

    • Brochures

    • Texts

    • Emails

    • Social media

  • Rich channel of communication: More interactive, and provide opportunities for two-way communication and nonverbal cue detection

    • Face-to-face meetings

    • Online conferencing

    • Video meetings

    • Phone calls

• Importance of utilizing the right style for a target audience

  • When a writer takes the time to follow the appropriate writing style and cite sources in a preferred format, it indicates that the writer has taken care to present the facts and findings in a meaningful way

  • As a result, the writer often increases his/her credibility or trustworthiness with the audience

Defend ideas objectively 🟡

• Defend but don’t be defensive

• Present facts and reasoning clearly

• Address concerns in a thoughtful manner

• Keep an open mind and be aware and educated about opposing viewpoints

Handle telephone calls in a businesslike manner 🟡

• Introduce yourself with your name and the company name

• Be polite and professional, have a friendly tone, and use good manners

• Have information on hand to respond to any inquiries

• Keep the discussion flowing but still be concise and clear with answers

• Utilize varying tone

Participate in group discussions 🟡

• Come into the discussion knowledgeable about the topic

• Nonverbal signs

  • Eye contact

  • Smiling or nodding

  • Good posture

• Take note of others’ body languAGE

• Exchange views confidently but disagree politely, don’t dominate

  • Allow others to finish their thoughts or statements

• Encourage active listening and engagement as you make meaningful contributions

• Take notes when needed

Facilitate (lead) group discussions 🔴

• Encourage active participation from all parties

• Stay neutral on the topic, especially in the case that there are conflicts

• Steer the discussion towards a productive and positive outcome

• Ask open-ended questions to keep the discussion flowing

• If the topic goes stale, guide or help further discussion

Make oral presentations 🔴

• Know your content, be well prepared

  • Keep it simple but emphasize key points

• Watch language

• Ensure clarity in voice, speak slow and loud

• Have good body language, posture and use of gestures

• Interact with audience

  • Questions, room for questions to ask them, points for discussion (dependent on who they are and what it is for)

  • Utilize checks for engagement to see if the audience is with you

Utilize note-taking strategies 🟡

• Key points and important phrases, not exact words

• Paraphrase what you hear so it makes sense to you

  • Utilize headings, bullet points, numbered lists and breaks in sections

• See what style works best for you, not everyone likes written notes

  • Visual mapping can help some who learn from images and visuals

  • Flow charts can help people who work logically

• Underline, use colors, add symbols to show emphasis or break into categories

• Ask yourself if you’ve covered the main points and what is important/informative

Organize information 🟡

• Establish an outline of the content

• Divide content into respective units

  • There are various online programs ow that can be utilized for specific needs, like transactions, CRM, contacts, records, accounting, and more)

Select and use appropriate graphic aids 🟡

• Can be helpful if you know it will resonate with your audience or it is necessary

  • Your goal is to make images stand out and show support for the main purpose of the document or presentation

• Readers should be able to use them to grasp the speaker’s ideas

  • Not too detailed to draw away attention, but not too simple that they are unrelated and correlation is unclear

  • Supports the section it is included in well

• You can use tables, graphs/charts, photos, drawings, and diagrams/flow charts depending on individual needs

  • Part-to-whole: Pie chart

  • Values across categories: Bar chart

  • Information over time: Line graph

  • Information by row and column: Table

Explain the nature of effective written communications 🟡

• Clear knowledge of the goal of the communication and purpose

• Complete clarity so there is no confusion on meanings of certain things

  • Active language, good grammar and spelling

  • Being straightforward with the message, cut to the chase

• Visual elements when appropriate to support ideas

• Appropriate formatting for the occasion 

  • Professional and accurate

• Includes all necessary information

Select and utilize appropriate formats for professional writing 🟡

• There are many formats

  • Emails

  • Snail mail 

  • Business letters

  • Papers

  • Proposals

  • Executive summaries

  • Memos

  • Recommendations

• Identify needs based on the situation and adapt to a format based on that

Edit and revise written work consistent with professional standards 🟡

• Re-read your work and ask yourself if you’ve considered personal questions or concerns, included sufficient examples, and other checks based on situation

• Examine that introduction and conclusion are appropriate, that paragraphs flow well

• Check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation

• Make sure what you’ve written aligns with the format you’ve chosen

  • Block format for business letters- single spaced, left justified

Write professional emails 🟡

• Address or copy to all relevant people

• Relevant subject line

• Greeting

• State purpose

• Relevant body information

• Closing remarks and closing, plus a signature

Write business letters 🟡

• Business letter: A form of written communication between businesses or individuals that conveys information, requests action, or discusses a deal

  • Appropriate font and layout with font family, sizing and spacing, and block paragraphs

  • Included company information, data, and recipient information

  • Simple and short, straightforward in a brief, professional tone

  • Salutation and formal closing

Write informational messages 🟡

• Informational message: Concise updates that clearly convey important facts/details

  • Clear subject line

  • Concise introduction

  • Organized body

  • Call to action if necessary

• Maintain a professional tone throughout 

• Internal vs external audiences

  • Internal- People like business employees

  • External- People outside the business, like customers

Write inquiries 🟡

Address and date

• Opening, greeting, and reason for writing

• Questions asking for specific information, be clear and concise with what you need to know and what you already know

• Closing and request for a quick answer as possible, and signature

Write persuasive messages 🔴

• Persuasive message: A message that aims to change or influence a person’s behavior, action, or opinion

  • Know your audience (rhetorical triangle: ethos, pathos, logos)

  • Use confident and strong language, utilize relatability and knowledge 

  • Consider and address concerns or counter arguments

  • Establish a clear purpose to reinforce beliefs

• Mainly, know your goal, your audience, and what would work for them

  • There is a serious need for businesses to pay attention to customer preferences and needs, especially when developing advertisements or persuasive messages geared towards them

Write executive summaries 🔴

• Executive summary: Short document that summarizes a longer report or proposal

  • Introduction that provides context

  • Objectives and goals of the document

  • Key findings and results

  • Recommendations (recommended solution outline)

  • Conclusion of main points

Prepare simple written reports 🔴

• Written report: A document that presents information in a structured format

  • Title page with subject, recipients, and date

  • Abstract, with short information of why it is being read, how the study was undertaken, and the significance of the document

  • Table of contents

  • Introduction

  • Body with main points in a structured format and detailed analysis

  • Conclusion with a summary of main points

Explain how digital communications (e.g., email, text messages, chats) exposes business to risk 🔴

• The tendency of being hacked or data breaches is a risk

  • If information is not safe and encrypted properly, confidential business information can be seen by others

• Additionally, improper handling of those using it can be an issue

Adapt written correspondence to targeted audiences 🔴

• Make sure it is appropriately written in the way the target audience would understand

  • Correctly given context and thoughtful structure for effective communication

  • Be mindful of use of jargon

Use data visualization techniques (e.g., infographics, heat-maps, dynamic model outputs) 🔴

• Data visualization is the easiest way to understand data

• Infographics, charts, and tables are very easy to understand, but adapt for needs

  • Bar or line graphs for profit 

  • Pie chart for budget

• Apply needs of the situation to what fits best

Describe the impact of a person's social media brand on the achievement of organizational objectives 🟡

• Social media brand can market the company

  • Influencers with a certain brand will have a certain category of followers

  • Appropriate selection of who to choose to market a company can allow a company to connect with customers that match them

• Any association of a company with a certain brand creates an image in audiences’ heads, and makes them associate that company with certain values and brands

  • Manipulating this can allow companies to reach their target audiences and max out on profits

Distinguish between using social media for business and personal purposes 🟡

• Business use: Clean record, show confidence and positivity throughout

  • Typically a whole team is managing and figuring out the best ways to shape brand image

  • Focused on maintaining an image or theme

• Personal use: You can use to express yourself in the way you’d like followers to see, no stakes

Explain the nature of staff communication 🟡

• Upwards: From employees to their manager

• Downwards: From a manger to his/her employees

• Lateral/horizontal: To fellow team members or other employees on your level

Choose and use appropriate channel for workplace communication 🟡

• Consider several factors of the message and make the best decision 

  • Urgency (immediate action required, non-urgent)

  • Formality (formal or informal)

  • Intended audience (one-on-one or group)

Participate in a staff meeting 🟡

• Review agenda and understand meeting purpose

• Gather relevant information

• Engage in active listening

• Share thoughts and ideas

• Listen and encourage team members, and ask questions

• Take notes

• Follow up if necessary

Participate in problem-solving groups 🟡

• Focus on active listening, clear communication, and collaborative brainstorming with other members of the group

• Explore solutions and evaluate possible outcomes