#397: Read, View, and Do: Mastering the Means of Communication

Introduction

In today's "People Skills" newsletter, we're showcasing another one of our Professional Development Programme (PDP) presentations. And the topic today is "The Means of Communication".

The workplace can be described as a dynamic communications entity. It lives and thrives by the exchange of information at all levels and in different forms.

So, the more methods of communication you have and the more skilled you are in using them, the more successful you will be as a communicator.

So, here are 7 of the most important methods...

01. One-To-One Contact

Direct one-to-one contact is still the most favoured way for managers and staff to keep in touch with what's going on...

02. Close Encounters

Meeting people informally accounts for the vast majority of day-to-day communications. It can take place in offices, lifts, corridors, washrooms, car parks; anywhere where people meet. The body language ritual of these encounters tends to be remarkably similar from one meeting to another...

03. Group Meetings

Group meetings can be notorious time-wasters if they are poorly prepared, badly run, and fail to follow up. To avoid this, always take time to think through why you are meeting, who needs to attend, and what people should get out of it...

04. Group Meetings: Pros and Cons

Group meetings have several pros and cons, including, in favour, real-time interaction, teambuilding, accountability, and involvement...

05. The Written Word

The written word is still an important feature of workplace communication, particularly where we want to present information that needs study...

06. Sexy Communication

An average person can be bombarded with more than 2000 advertisement messages each day from the streets, the pages of newspapers and the television screen...

07. The Phone

The phone is the predominant means of modern workplace communication. Charles Handy calls it "the new mobile office". It allows us to work without being together...

08. Phoney Tricks

If you want to be heard clearly on the phone, speak a little slower and deeper than normal...

09. The Formal Interview

The formal interview is a uniquely workplace form of communication. We use it for recruitment, discipline, counselling, grievances, negotiating, and performance reviews...

10. Interview Structures

Like all other forms of formal communication, interviews have a beginning, middle and end...

11. The Grapevine

The grapevine is the unofficial communications network that exists in every organisation. While officially ignored by those in charge, astute managers use it when they want to ensure that information gets around the organisation quickly...

12. Talking Shop

The grapevine is the unofficial talking shop of the organisation. It has a number of key players...

13. Email and the Internet

The rise of email and the Internet as a means of communicating at work has been astonishing. Billions of emails are now exchanged each day. The use of social media on the Internet suggests that this rise will continue...

14. All In a Day's Work

According to a study by Pitney Bowes, the average working person has 171 messages each day. Contrary to opinion, new technology hasn't eased the burden of communications; it’s added to it...

15. Video: "Be Comfortable and Confident on Camera" with Alexa Fischer

Video is one of the most powerful tools to connect with your audience. The thought of putting yourself on camera might seem intimidating at first, but when you know how to do it with ease + confidence - people notice.

And why is this so important? Because people do business from individuals they like and trust. And when they can connect with them - by seeing them on camera - they become fans for life.

16. Exercise: "The Means of Communication"

Jot down your answers to the following questions:

1. Rate your current organisation and/or team on its effectiveness at communicating on a one-to-one basis. Explain your rating.

2. Describe examples of good and bad team meetings. What would you change?

3. Describe examples of good and bad written communication, including emails.

4. What would you advise somebody to do to make their phone communications more effective?

5. Describe the use of modern communications media in your organisation. How well does it work?

What Next?

If you have worked through each step in this newsletter, you will now have access to an invaluable resource to add to your e-learning store.

And, with this as your starting point, you can now move ahead by using the learning resources on Manage Train Learn to develop your knowledge and skills.

With over 22,000 learning resources on our 6 websites, with 2 sites offering free downloads, you can now take charge of your own learning.

Simply commit yourself each day to learning something new from MTL and then, - when you fully understand it, - reflect upon it, practise it, apply it, and review it, and in no time at all, you will have mastered the skill with confidence.

Thanks for reading this edition of the "People Skills" newsletter and good luck with your ongoing learning.

Oh, and one last thing.

In the spirit of making the world a freer, happier and more enlightened place...

...please pass this newsletter on.

Thankyou!

Manage Train Learn Is Now Selling it's Business - Find Out More Below

Are You Interested in Acquiring a Highly Profitable and Successful E-Learning Business?

Due to Eric's forthcoming retirement, we have now decided to put KSA Training Ltd, (parent company of Manage Train Learn), up for sale.

This sale comprises all 6 websites, over 22,000 soft skills learning items, and all 37 e-books which have earned over ￡1 million in global sales through our publishing partners.

We have been leaders in Soft Skills e-learning since the late 1990's and, today, there is unprecedented demand globally for "People Skills" learning and training.

Uniquely, we currently offer our materials for free use and download but a new owner can easily commercialise our offering through a wide range of options.

So, if you're interested in owning a successful e-learning business with huge potential in a huge market, email us in the first instance at [email protected] for further information.

You can also view us on LinkedIn where we have over 1500 followers and over 200 editions of the "People Skills" newsletter. Click here for our channel: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/eric-garner-100a1b128/

For more about Manage Train Learn, view "About MTL" here: https://www.managetrainlearn.com/#/category-listing/147.

Eric Garner

Managing Director

KSA Training Ltd