Communication strategies

Communication Strategies
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© 2012 Taylor Mason Training & Development Training Materials

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Session One: Course
Introduction
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course you will be able to:
1. Identify common communication problems that may be
holding you back
2. Develop skills to ask questions that give you information
you need
3. Learn what your non-verbal messages are telling others
4. Develop skills to listen actively and empathetically to
others
5. Enhance your ability to handle difficult situations
6. Deal with situations assertively

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The Programme
9.00 am Course Introduction
Introduction to Communication Skills
How We Communicate
11.00 am Coffee
Communication Barriers
Listening Skills
1.00 pm Lunch
Questioning Skills
How to Build Rapport
2.45 pm Tea
Assertiveness
Techniques for the Workplace
Module Wrap-Up and Personal Action Plans
5.00 pm Finish

Delegate Introduction
Page 3
2 minutes
Your name
What your job is
One interesting fact
about yourself
Personal Objectives
for today
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Session Two: Introduction
to Communication Skills
Defining a Skilled Communicator Exercise Page 4
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Session Two: The Definition
of Communication
Definition
‘A two way process of reaching mutual understanding, in
which participants not only exchange (encode-decode)
information but also create and show meaning’.
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Session Two: A Winning
Communication Strategy
Always Develop Positive Relationships
1. Speak to people
2. Smile at people
3. Call people by name
4. Be friendly and helpful
5. Be cordial
6. Be genuinely interested in people
7. Be generous with praise, cautious with criticism
8. Be considerate with the feelings of others
9. Be alert to give service
10. Practice your positive sense of humor

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Session Three: How We
Communicate
How we communicate
Albert Mehrabian’s Research
 When discussing emotions:
 7% of speaker’s message communicated by words
 38% communicated by tone of voice
 55% communicated by body language
 Even in other conversations, we know that tone of voice
and body language have a large impact on those
messages, too

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Session Three: Body
Language
What Do Our Bodies Say?
1. Your eyes, eyebrows, and mouth send out the signals that can
make a world of difference
2. People who smile are happier
3. Eye contact helps you carry your message
4. Learn to speak with your hands
5. Work on appearing sincere and comfortable
6. Let your hands do what they want to do (mostly)
7. Your body posture affects your emotions and how you feel
determines your posture

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Session Three: Body
Language
What Do Our Bodies Say?
 Pick up cues from people that you are making them
uncomfortable
 Adjust your approach: Take one step back or get the
other person to talk instead
 Result: People will be more at ease and open with you

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Session Three: Body
Language
Gestures
 We all interpret body language differently and we can also feel
differently about images
 We are influenced by past experiences, background, culture, and
so on
 A gesture is a type of non-verbal communication that is
communicated through body language, with or without speech
 If you travel around the world or work with people from different
cultures, you need to be aware of the multiple meanings to some
gestures

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Session Three: Body
Language
Gestures Exercise page 13

Session Three: Tone of
Voice
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Session Three: Words
Words Exercise Page 16
Negative Words or Phrases
 There is nothing we can do.
 They won’t allow that.
 I can’t…
 I must…
 If only…
Positive Words or Phrases
 Let’s look at the choices.
 We can try something new.
 I will…
 We can…
 From here on…

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Session Three: Body
Language
Emotions Exercise (Optional)

Session Three: Written
Communication
 Think about the objective of what you are trying to say
 Draft your written communication
 Check for:
 Clarity
 Spelling
 Grammar
 Layout
 Get someone to check it
 Use K.I.S.S – Keep It Simple Stupid
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Session Three: Advantages and
Disadvantages of Different
Methods of Communication
 Face to Face
 Telephone
 Letters
 Email
 Notice Boards
 Meetings
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Session Four:
Case Study: Page 19

Session Four:
Group Exercise Page 19
Experience
Emotions
Attitudes
Culture
Subject Knowledge
Mood
Wording
Education
Noise Level
Ambiguity
Non-Verbal
messages
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Session Four:
Applying the Answers
Exercise Page 23
1. What are some of the things that can be done in your
organisation/department to communicate better?
2. Are these physical or mental activities?
3. Are these individual or team activities?
4. If your organisation/department were a zoo, what kind
of inhabitants would it have?
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Session Four:
Being Mindful
Exercise Page 25
1. What work-related resources do we take for granted?
2. What are the dangers if we take resources (including
people) for granted?
3. What can we gain by paying attention to these things?
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Session Five:
Listening Skills
How Do You Rate Your Listening Ability?
Exercise page 26

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Session Five:
Listening Skills
Scoring
 Give yourself 2 points if you answered “Yes” for question 1.
 Give yourself 2 points if you answered “No” to questions 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, and 10.
 Give yourself 2 points if you answered “Yes” to questions 2, 3, 11,
and 12.

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Session Five:
Listening Skills
Interpretation
 20+: Strong communication skills; use them to help
others.
 10-18: Average range; identify where you’re doing well
and where you would like to do better.
 10-0: It’s time to start learning! Use this quiz to help you
set some goals.

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Session Five: Listening
Skills
What is Said and What is Heard

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Session Five:
Listening Skills
Active Listening Skills
 Most of us were fortunate to be born with hearing, but
listening is a skill that must be learned and practiced in
order to use it successfully
 When you hear something, sound enters your eardrum,
passes through your ear canal, and registers in your
brain
 Listening is what you do with that sound and how you
interpret it

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Session Five: Listening
Skills
Tips for Successful Listening
 Listen intentionally for people’s names
 Listen with interest
 Try to get rid of your assumptions
 Listen for what isn’t said

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Session Five:
Listening Skills
 Listening is hard work!
 Active listening means that we try to understand things from the
speaker’s point of view
 It includes letting the speaker know that we are listening and that
we have understood what was said
 This is not the same as hearing, which is a physical process
 Active listening can be described as an attitude that leads to
listening for shared understanding

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Session Five:
Listening Skills
 Responding to feelings
 Reading cues
 Demonstration cues
 Physical indicators
 Verbal cues
 Questions
 Summarising statements

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Session Five:
Listening Skills
Tips for Becoming a Better Listener
 Make a decision to listen
 Don’t interrupt people
 Keep your eyes focused on the speaker and your ears tuned to their
voice
 Carry a notebook or start a conversation file on your computer
 Ask a few questions throughout the conversation
 When you demonstrate good listening skills, they tend to be
infectious

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Session Six:
Questioning Skills
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Session Six:
Asking Questions
Closed Questions
Closed Questions
 Can be answered by either “yes” or “no,” or with a specific bit of
data
 Restrict responses
 Require very little effort on either person’s part
 Can be used to close down a conversation
 Tend to get over-used
 Can lead us to make assumptions (=barriers)

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Session Six:
Asking Questions
Open Questions
Open Questions
 Encourage people to talk.
 Cannot be answered with yes/no
 Begin with a variation of the five W’s (who, what, when,
where, why) or ask how

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Session Six:
Asking Questions
Open Questions
Open Questions
Can be used to:
 Get information
 Focus conversations
 Get opinions
 Gain agreement

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Session Six:
Asking Questions
Asking Questions
Other Types of Questions
 Leading: Don’t you just love the way vanilla ice cream
smells?
 Rhetorical: Do I look like I care?
 Probing: On the following slides

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Session Six:
Asking Questions
Probing
When you probe, you:
 Get others involved and participating
 Get important information on the table
 Force yourself to listen
 Help improve communication on both sides of the table

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Session Six:
Asking Questions
Probing
Five Ways to Probe
 Open question
 Pause
 Reflective or mirroring question
 Paraphrasing
 Summary question

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Session Six:
Asking Questions
Pushing My Buttons Exercise Page 36
 I’m really nervous about speaking in public
 I am looking for a new car, and I hate car shopping
 I think this room is too hot
 I really dislike cooking
 Your new hair cut is really flattering
 I wish I didn’t have to go to that meeting tomorrow

Session Seven:
What is Rapport?
 You appear to be on the
same wavelength
 You trust each other
 You speak the same
‘Language’
 You feel comfortable
with each other
 Your body language
synchronises with
theirs
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Session Seven:
1. Mirror
2. Match
3. Pace and Lead
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Session Eight:
Assertiveness
Self-Attitude
Your Inner Self Talk
 Be aware of the internal messages you give yourself
 Can be a self-fulfilling prophecy
 The more you replace your self-talk with positive, confident
words, the more confident you become
 We know that is easily said, and more difficult to realise, but it’s
worth the results!

Session Eight:
Feelings in Different ‘Life
Positions’

Session Eight:
Assertiveness
Aggressive, Submissive, Assertive Exercise - Page 42
In three groups you have ten minutes to discuss and list
up on flip chart the types of words and phrases you
would hear from someone who is:
Group One: Aggressive
Group Two: Submissive
Group Three: Assertive
Please select a spokesperson to present on your behalf.
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Session Eight:
Thirty Ways to Persuade
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Session Eight:
Case Study: Marlene’s
Promotion
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Page 45

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Session Eight:
Assertive Formula
The Assertive Formula
Step Goal Example
Step 1 Non-judgmentally describe a specific behavior of the other
person.
When you…
Step 2 Describe as specifically as possible the effect or practical
problems this behavior is causing in your life.
The effects are…
Step 3 Describe how you feel as a result, without using the
expression, “you make me...”
I feel…
Step 4 You describe what you want, preferably after you give the
other person a chance to state what he or she thinks might be
done.
I prefer/would like…

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Session Eight:
Assertiveness
Expressing Your No
 Say no firmly and calmly
 Say no, followed by a straightforward explanation of what you are
feeling or what you are willing to do
 Say no and then give a choice or alternative
 Say no and then clarify your reasons
 Use your natural no
 Make an empathetic listening statement and then say no
 Say yes, and then give your reasons for not doing it or your
alternative solution

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Session Eight:
Assertiveness
Expressing Your No
The Persistent Response
 Select a concise, one-sentence statement and repeat it no matter
what the other person says or does
 “I understand how you feel, but I’m not willing…”
 “I’m not interested…”
 “I don’t want to…”’
 “I’m uncomfortable doing that, so I don’t want to…”
 “You might be right, but I’m not interested.”
 After each statement by the other person, say your persistent
response sentence

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Session eight:
Assertiveness
Expressing Your No
Guidelines for Saying No
 Say your statement firmly, calmly, and as unemotionally
as possible
 Be aware of your nonverbal behaviour
 Be persistent

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Session Nine:
Techniques for the
Workplace
Prepare, Prepare, Prepare
Have a purpose
Have an outcome
Make sure the receiver is ready
Apply positive intent

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Session Nine: Techniques
for the Workplace
Testing Our Theories
Situation One
Your supervisor calls you to say that he has chosen
someone else for a project team position that you were
hoping for. You love your current job, but you know you
would have done a great job on that project team. Your
first reaction is to be mad at your boss for being a jerk
and not selecting you.

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Session Nine: Techniques
for the Workplace
Testing Our Theories
Situation Two
You are in a team meeting and you suggest a great
solution to the problem. Your supervisor says that she
cannot go in that direction, and asks the team for other
suggestions.

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Session Nine:
Techniques for the
Workplace
Delivering Your Message
 Use direct language and deliver a message that is clear, calm,
and direct
 Factual descriptions and relevant details are more likely to be
heard
 Use repetition respectfully and to keep things on track
 Be aware of your nonverbal messages as clearly as you are
about your verbal messages
 Check for understanding

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Session Nine:
Techniques for the
Workplace
Developing Confidence
 Be well prepared
 Learn how to relax
 Be consistent

Action Plan
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