Regardless of the size of an organization – whether it's a large corporation, a small company, or even a home-based business – good communication skills are necessary for it to succeed. After viewing the multimedia program “The Art of Effective Communication, I found that the mode in which the message was presented can have an impact on how the message is received and interpreted. The following is a summary of how I interpreted the message in each of the modalities.
E-mail: when the message delivered through e-mail, it presented to me a combination of messages which I found a bit difficult to organize. The key points of the message did not come out distinctly as would have been expected because there was nothing to catch my attention on viewing the message. A bold heading would probably have given me an idea as to what to expect in the message. According to an article by Mind Tools, “with most office workers suffering from e-mail overload, action-seeking e-mails need subject lines that will encourage recipients to open them and read the contents”. The message did not leave any lasting impression therefore; I have to read over again each time I needed to recollect the contents of the message.
Voicemail: Although listening is one of the most important skills one can have, it is a difficult work. Mind Tools (2010) alludes to the fact that studies conducted on listening show that most times a large part of the information we try to listen is usually lost. It went further to state that “depending on the study being quoted, we remember between 25% and 50% of what we hear. That means that when you talk to your boss, colleagues, customers or spouse for 10 minutes, they pay attention to less than half of the conversation”. My experience from the multimedia seems to confirm this assertion. Although the message seemed to flow while listening, most of it was lost after some time. Listening to the message also did not convey any sense of urgency.
Face-to-face conversation: after watching the face to face conversation, I was able to better understand the message as the speaker instantly caught my attention through facial expressions and body language. Each expression left an impression with which I can always remember the conversation. According to Windle & Warren (2010), “when we pay attention to a speaker's body language we gain insight into how that person is feeling as well as the intensity of the feeling. Through careful attention to body language and paraverbal messages, we are able to develop hunches about what the speaker (or listener) is communicating” (p.8). In order to understand the total meaning of a message, we must be able to gain understanding about both the feeling and the content of the message.
The implication of all these experiences for communication especially with members of a project team is that messages and information delivered face-to-face are usually more effective as they convey not only the messages but also the feeling of the message. Although it may sometimes be necessary to convey messages through the other two means, the use of face-to-face conversation should dominate so that the speaker and the listener can gain insight into the intensity and urgency or otherwise of the message. This way the listener will not only pay attention to the content but also the feeling of the message.
Poor communication leads to inadequate or distorted information and this can be a real cause for conflict. Face-to-face communication allows members of a team analyze facial expressions and moods and therefore can iron out issues concerning content and emotions right on the spot before continuing with a meeting. According to Windle & Warren, “the face is perhaps the most important conveyor of emotional information. A face can light up with enthusiasm, energy, and approval, express confusion or boredom, and scowl with displeasure. The eyes are particularly expressive in telegraphing joy, sadness, anger, or confusion”. The same goes for gestures and postures.
The multimedia underscores the importance of face-to-face conversation in conveying information. As much as possible, I will use this for most of the interactions with members of my project team. One important fact is that face-to-face interaction minimizes the possibility of conflicts and where one arises they can be easily detected and instantly resolved. This means that projects will not be bogged down by unnecessary conflicts due to gaps in communication.
References:
Windle, R. & Warren, S. (2010). Communication skills.
Retrieved from: http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/section4.cfm
Mind Tools Article: Active Listening: Hear what people are really saying.
Retrieved from: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/AIDA.htm
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paper title: Week 3 Blog Assignment
paper ID: 215054642
author: Lar, Emmanuel![]()
E-mail: when the message delivered through e-mail, it presented to me a combination of messages which I found a bit difficult to organize. The key points of the message did not come out distinctly as would have been expected because there was nothing to catch my attention on viewing the message. A bold heading would probably have given me an idea as to what to expect in the message. According to an article by Mind Tools, “with most office workers suffering from e-mail overload, action-seeking e-mails need subject lines that will encourage recipients to open them and read the contents”. The message did not leave any lasting impression therefore; I have to read over again each time I needed to recollect the contents of the message.
Voicemail: Although listening is one of the most important skills one can have, it is a difficult work. Mind Tools (2010) alludes to the fact that studies conducted on listening show that most times a large part of the information we try to listen is usually lost. It went further to state that “depending on the study being quoted, we remember between 25% and 50% of what we hear. That means that when you talk to your boss, colleagues, customers or spouse for 10 minutes, they pay attention to less than half of the conversation”. My experience from the multimedia seems to confirm this assertion. Although the message seemed to flow while listening, most of it was lost after some time. Listening to the message also did not convey any sense of urgency.
Face-to-face conversation: after watching the face to face conversation, I was able to better understand the message as the speaker instantly caught my attention through facial expressions and body language. Each expression left an impression with which I can always remember the conversation. According to Windle & Warren (2010), “when we pay attention to a speaker's body language we gain insight into how that person is feeling as well as the intensity of the feeling. Through careful attention to body language and paraverbal messages, we are able to develop hunches about what the speaker (or listener) is communicating” (p.8). In order to understand the total meaning of a message, we must be able to gain understanding about both the feeling and the content of the message.
The implication of all these experiences for communication especially with members of a project team is that messages and information delivered face-to-face are usually more effective as they convey not only the messages but also the feeling of the message. Although it may sometimes be necessary to convey messages through the other two means, the use of face-to-face conversation should dominate so that the speaker and the listener can gain insight into the intensity and urgency or otherwise of the message. This way the listener will not only pay attention to the content but also the feeling of the message.
Poor communication leads to inadequate or distorted information and this can be a real cause for conflict. Face-to-face communication allows members of a team analyze facial expressions and moods and therefore can iron out issues concerning content and emotions right on the spot before continuing with a meeting. According to Windle & Warren, “the face is perhaps the most important conveyor of emotional information. A face can light up with enthusiasm, energy, and approval, express confusion or boredom, and scowl with displeasure. The eyes are particularly expressive in telegraphing joy, sadness, anger, or confusion”. The same goes for gestures and postures.
The multimedia underscores the importance of face-to-face conversation in conveying information. As much as possible, I will use this for most of the interactions with members of my project team. One important fact is that face-to-face interaction minimizes the possibility of conflicts and where one arises they can be easily detected and instantly resolved. This means that projects will not be bogged down by unnecessary conflicts due to gaps in communication.
References:
Windle, R. & Warren, S. (2010). Communication skills.
Retrieved from: http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/section4.cfm
Mind Tools Article: Active Listening: Hear what people are really saying.
Retrieved from: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/AIDA.htm
Your submission was successful. This is the digital receipt for your paper. Only the first page of the document is included in the digital receipt.
paper title: Week 3 Blog Assignment
paper ID: 215054642
author: Lar, Emmanuel
