Effective Communication Skills Quiz

Business Communication Mastery Workshop

• Effective communication bridges confusion and clarity

• Nat Turner

• The most vital communication aspect is hearing what isn't explicitly said.

• Peter Drucker

• People often listen to reply, not to understand.

• Stephen R Covey

• The worst speech you'll never give is better than a speech you never give.

• Fred Miller

• Write something worth reading, or do something worth writing.

• Benjamin Franklin

• Live as if you'll die tomorrow; learn as if you'll live forever.

• Mahatma Gandhi

• Difficulty isn't impossible; it simply requires effort.

• Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

Effective Communication

• Effective communication is exchanging information so it's received and understood.

• Mistakes in communication: Not truly listening, assuming the message is known, interrupting the speaker, being indirect, avoiding difficult conversations, and attacking character instead of behavior.

• Why effective communication?

  • Building and maintaining relationships
  • Building trust
  • Team building
  • Understanding the audience
  • Encouraging innovation
    • clarity in workflow
  • Better decision-making
  • Conflict reduction

Elements of Effective Communication

• Elements visualized as speech bubbles, notes, and handshakes.

Spoken Communication

• Spoken communication produces messages to listeners.
• Active Listening components:
  • Believing the listener has the capacity to understand.
  • Listening without interruption, and with empathy.
  • Understanding underlying messages and paraphrasing thoughtfully.
  • Listening without assumptions
  • Understanding emotions from tone, body language, etc.
  • Listening without attaching prior knowledge

Active Listening Framework

• Step 1: Look at the speaker.

  • Showing respect is a fundamental business practice.
  • Making eye contact demonstrates active listening and engagement.
  • Posture enhances concentration and communicates attentiveness.

• Step 2: Inquire.

  • Inquiring leads to better understanding of what the other person is saying
  • It eliminates misunderstandings and promotes clarity
  • Inquiring leads us to the root cause of the problem
  • Question types (open-ended/closed-ended) identified

• Step 3: Summarize. Summary is a concise overview of conversation’s main points to confirm understanding

• Step 4: Take Away. Identifying main takeaways from any conversation. To confirm clarity

• Step 5: Encourage the speaker. Techniques for encouraging speaker for more clarity: What else?, Really? Hand gestures.

• Step 6: Never Negate. Always be positive. Accepting what is said, even with negative aspects, to build rapport and energy before making any request.

• Styles of speaking/communication (Passive, Aggressive, Assertive explained).

Email Writing

• Email writing is any message for two or more people and should convey meaning effectively
• Important aspects of email writing are communicating ideas, expressing thoughts, and creating a positive impact on the recipient.
• Common email writing errors include improper salutations, lack of appreciation, not knowing the audience, inappropriate punctuation, expecting understanding of ambiguous statements, making unnecessary small talk.
• Using complex language
• Structure of email writing

5Cs of Email Writing

• Context, Content, Clarity, Colour, Carrier Explained

Informal Written Communication (Whatsapp)

• When to use WhatsApp for communication: Quick updates, short communication with team members, coordinating activities, communication with clients who prefer messaging
• When not to use WhatsApp: sensitive data, legal documents, detailed, complex discussions, performance evaluations, conflict resolution, termination negotiations.
• Best practice with WhatsApp communication; maintain professional yet friendly tone, use proper grammar and punctuation, avoid excessive abbreviations, proofread before sending.

Communication Etiquette

• Respect working hours, using clear and concise messages, receiving important messages, using professional profiles, creating specific work groups
• Technical aspects: using business phone numbers when possible, setting up separate work and personal Whatsapp accounts, using WhatsApp business features, be respectful with message privacy and security

Telephonic Communication

• Telephone etiquette first impression for the company.
• Good telephone etiquette creates positive impacts, and good relationships.
• Structure for making and receiving calls
• Handling difficult calls (do not take it personally and apologize, focus on customer need).

Video Calls

• Visual and audio quality, lighting, camera angles, background
• Engagement and communication, eye contact, body language, active listening, use of interactive features
• Platform features i.e screen and sound shares, recording videos, chats, notes

Role Play Scenarios

• Several role-play scenarios are provided for practice.

Feedback Format for Observer

• Format for observing role plays in terms of "Did Well", "Didn't do well" and "Need to do Differently" aspects

Stages of Mastery

• Stages in order of mastery.

Communication Skills Self-Assessment

• Options for self assessment in listening, spoken and written skills
• Steps to score and add up the scores to rate communication skills (basic/intermediate/ proficient)

Assimilation Exercise

• Activities to consolidate learnings from the workshop (e.g., top three takeaways, prioritising next steps, impact on personal and professional life).

My Notes

• blank page for note taking

Test your knowledge on the core principles of effective communication. This quiz covers common mistakes, the importance of listening, and techniques like active listening and summarizing. Enhance your understanding of how to communicate effectively in both personal and team settings.