Communication Skills Notes PDF

# Communication Skills ## What is an engineer? - A professional specialized in the application of scientific and technical knowledge to solve problems and develop solutions in various fields. - Main task: design, build, improve and maintain different structures, systems or processes. - Uses mathe...

# Communication Skills ## What is an engineer? - A professional specialized in the application of scientific and technical knowledge to solve problems and develop solutions in various fields. - Main task: design, build, improve and maintain different structures, systems or processes. - Uses mathematical and scientific principles to analyze and design efficient and safe solutions. ## What is personality? - The way we feel, look, think and behave. - The totality of a person's being, not only the external appearance but also various other traits. ## Personality development - Enhancing one's outer and inner self in order to bring positive changes to their life. ## Main elements for personality development - Self-awareness - Goal-setting - Creativity and innovation - Human values ## Individual competency - Application of knowledge, skills and abilities in order to achieve the desired result. - Knowledge: collection of information and experience that an individual possesses. - Skills: specific, technical capabilities that enable an individual to perform a task. - Ability: effective delivery of knowledge and skills in a given context. ## Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills ### Hard Skills - Gain through formal education, certification programs, or on-the-job training. - Examples include: - Bilingual or Multilingual - Statistical analysis - User-interface design - Typing speed - Surgical Proficiency ### Soft Skills - Help you work with others. - Include personality, responsibility, attitude and motivation. - Examples include: - Effective Communication - Critical thinking - Team work - Multitasking - Time management ## Key Skills for Engineers 1. Problem Solving 2. Critical thinking 3. Technical knowledge 4. Creativity 5. Leadership 6. Communication # Soft Skills ## Thinking Skills - Personal skills - Creativity - Professional Skills ## Social Skills - Communication skills - Leader ship - Transmit - receive - feedback - goals ## Communication Skills - The process by which we give, receive, or exchange information with others. - It means interacting with others. - To promote understanding - To achieve a result of some kind - To pass information to another person, so they can take action. ## Importance of communication - Personal relationships - Professional problem solving - Building confidence - Expressing emotions - Success # Process of Communication - The communication process involves the sender who transmits a message through a selected channel to the receiver. - **Sender** -> **Message** -> **Encoding** -> **Channel** -> **Receiver** -> **Decoding** -> **Feedback** ### Encoding - The process of putting the meaning of a message into a form of symbols - Issued by Sender. ### Decoding - The process carried out by the receiver to explain the stated message. ### Elements of communication - **You:** You bring professional experience and education and training to the conversation - **Your message:** This is equally important. What do you want to say? What's the best way to say it? - **Channel:** This is how the message is transferred. Examples include: Phone, Telegram, TV, Face to face. It may also be through one or more channels. - **Your audience:** To be effective, you need to know who your audience is, where they are from, and what language they speak. They have different needs. ## Characteristics of Effective Communication - **Clear:** Communication should be clear and self-explanatory about why it has been transmitted. - **Complete:** The information given should be complete and should not have any scope for questions. - **Correct:** The information should be correct based on facts, and facts should be given more than impressions. - **Concise:** Communication should save the reader time while understanding the message. - **Condense:** Business should frequently use tables, photos and diagrams to clarify and condense information. - **State precise responsibilities:** Business messages are directed to a specific audience. Therefore, you must state what you can do for that particular audience. - **Persuade and recommend:** Business messages are frequently given to customers, clients, management, or subordinates to accept recommendations. - **Create goodwill:** The correct, pleasant, clear message results in creating goodwill for the sender of the message. # Tools of Communication 1. Listening 2. Speaking 3. Reading 4. Writing ## Early age learning - Learning to speak early enough is difficult to remember. However, most of us can learn to read and write. - These skills are learned from parents and teachers. - Most of communication time is spent listening. ## Listening - Listening is not taught, unlike other skills; it is the most important to develop. - Most people are born with good hearing, not listening. - Listening is a mental process, and it requires effort. We can learn how to be good listeners. ## For better listening - Give full attention. - Don't assume what the other person is going to say. - Don't waste time for listening by formulating your reply. - Show by eye contact and an interested expressions that you are paying attention. - Make notes if eligible. - Be patient for the entire message - Acknowledge, look and nod. - Encourage, "Tell me more. What would you like to talk about?" - Verify, "So you are saying that?" - Question, "What do you mean?" # Speaking ## Important for the speaker to know - What to say. - How to say it. - A wrong word or an unpleasant tone could cause irreparable damage. - You should also know your audience (knowledge, age, and group level). ## Types of Questions ### Close-ended questions - Used for clarification. - Answer options are yes or no. - They are short and focused. - They're easy. ### Open-ended questions - Used for getting more information. - The answer cannot be yes or no. - The questions allow for longer responses. - They encourage more creativity and information. ### Other types of questions - **Probing:** Used to clarify information and draw out information from reluctant participants. (Example: Who exactly wanted this?) - **Rhetorical:** Statements used in questions designed to gain agreement. (Example: The training was really helpful, wasn't it?) - **Leading:** Used to get the answer you want but leaving the person feeling that they had a choice. (Example: How late do you think this project will be delivered? Certainly, not on time.) - **Funnel:** Used to find more detail about a point and often require a mix of open-ended and closed ended questions. # Reading ## Good reading is listening in action ## Material classified into - Must read - Should read - Might read ## You should be aware to - Be clear about the purpose of reading. - Have questions in mind and seek answers to them. - Compare the writer's experience to yours. - Read the main ideas. - Test evidence, explanations, and conclusions critically. - Make notes. - Consider to reread or not. - Discuss material with others if eligible. - Reflect on what has been read. # Writing ## Essential in work ## Key elements in communication on paper - Structure and layout: font size, spacing - Content - Style and tone ## Areas of communication - Verbal: (Content) What we say (3V) - Visual: (Body language) How we look (55%) - Vocal: (tone and volume) How we say it (38%) ## Face-to-face communication - It's the distinction of being able to see the other party in a social interaction carried out without any mediating technology. ## Advantages of face-to-face communication - Better understanding of how the clients are feeling through body language. - Reduces the risk of misunderstanding. - Easier to convince people. - Build stronger connections. - Allows more team participation. ## Disadvantages of face-to-face communication - Not suitable for large organizations. - Unsuitable for nervous or poor communicators. - Poor retention by the listener. - Communicators can speak 100-200 words per minute, where listeners can process 600-700 words per minute. - Difficult to hold someone responsible. # Success of Verbal Communication - Depends on non-verbal communication (actions speak louder than words) ## Attitude - Positive thinking - Cheerfulness - Optimism - Stubbornness - Hopelessness - Nastiness ## Body Language - We always express ourselves using body language. - It can be: - **Face:** - Folded open body - Conf. Facial expression - Tense Facial expression - **Gesture:** - Posture - **Eye Contact:** - Facial expressions - **Gestures:** إيماءات - Touch (physical) ## Personal Space - Distance closely surrounds a person; if encroached, it can lead to discomfort, anger, anxiety, or even fear. ## Levels of Personal Space - **Public:** Public areas, audience and speaker. - **Social:** Social situations, like team members meeting. - **Personal:** For family and friends and those with whom you have an intimate relationship. - **Intimate:** Parents, child, close friends. # Barriers for effective Communication ## Attention Filters - **Physical distraction:** - Noise: people talking, telephones, traffic, music - Environment: lighting, temperature - Interruption: people, telephones ## Emotional Filters - Prejudice - Status - Experience - Assumption - Values and beliefs. ## Word Filters - Criticism - Moralizing مواعظ (اخلاق) - Ordering - Threatening - Advising - Jargon - Divesting - The "required" word/phrase ## Knowledge and Skills 1. Prepare the message 2. Suitable channel 3. Interesting desired information 4. Self-esteem 5. Style 6. Avoid prejudice 7 Short time for information # Importance of Communication 1. Decision-making - gathering information. 2. Spirit of cooperation and coordination - mutual trust. 3. Effective control - ensures everyone involved is on the same page. 4. Motivation 5. Effective leadership 6. Business activity became complex. The need for coordination between departments increased. ## Communication in the Workplace - **Unique communication needs:** These needs and abilities are influenced by people. - **Time spent communicating:** 40-60% of work time is spent communicating. - **Rank and communication:** Higher-ranked employees spend 75-95% of their time communicating. - **Certain roles require special communication skills:** PR, marketing, sales, labor, teachers, editors, writers. - **Executive communication:** Executives engage in public speaking, create promotional campaigns and interact with media. - **Communication is a key job requirement:** It's essential for job performance. # Categories of Communication - **Inter-operational:** Within an organization. - Team, managers, company policies - **External-operational:** People and groups outside the organization. - Partners, board audience, social, ads, press, website. - **Inter-personal:** Incidental exchange of information and feelings. - Many kinds of communication happen in the workplace. ## Types of Communication - **Formal:** Formal channels, regulated by management. - **Informal:** Based on relationships between group members, sharing of ideas without official regulations. - **Non-Verbal:** Posture and gestures, facial expressions, body movement, physical contact. - **Horizontal:** Same level people, used in coordination of different departments. - **Vertical:** Different levels, information is passed through a more direct channel. - Instructions, meeting records, company policies, publications, suggestions boxes - **Diagonal:** Different levels, different departments. # Horizontal Communication ## Advantages - Coordinating - Simpler than vertical - Effective for implementing department policy - Less time ## Disadvantages - Chief's uninformed - Create groupings in same authority - Distort department policy - Misunderstanding (verbal) # Vertical Communication ## Advantages - Authoritative (official) - Blinding all parties - Most legitimate type ## Disadvantages - Formal and informal - Slow moving - Conceal true motives # Diagonal Communication ## Advantages - Direct - Selective - Fastest - Critical solutions ## Disadvantages - Disrupt lines of authority - Superiors uninformed - Conflicting orders - Untracable # Informal / Oral Communication ## Advantages - Flexible - Better decision making - Faster than formal - Effective communication tool - Feedback ## Disadvantages - No fixing responsibility of information. - Misunderstand - Inaccurate, half-truth. - Difficult to trust - Leakage of secrets # Interpersonal / Written Communication ## Advantages - Complete, clear, correct. - Less misunderstanding. - Uniform transmission of communication. - Less risk of unauthorized communication - Legal evidence ## Disadvantages - Time-consuming. - Expensive. - Interpreted by different people. - Ineffective if poorly drafted. - Lack immediate feed back. # Communication is Old as Civilization - It transmits ideas, concepts, and information. - It's the most difficult of management activities and can't be assured. # PM Phases 1. **Project conception.** Includes feasibility, finance, manpower, marketing, campaigns, and monitoring. 2. **Orders, motivation, discipline** - This involves two-way communication. 3. **Reports, investigate, internal and external.** # Communication for the following 1. **Information** 2. **Advice / counseling** - Impersonal counseling 3. **Orders** # 7C's of communication - Help the sender transmit his message (ease, accuracy, and effectiveness.) - **Credibility** (مصداقة): Being believed or trusted. - **Clarity** (وضوح): The idea of the message should be clear in the mind of the sender, leading to clarity in the transmission and a simple sentence structure. - **Correctness** (المصداقية): Accuracy of information, figures, and words. The sender should be confident about his knowledge. - **Consistency** (تناسق): Uniform, reliable style, tone, frequency, and quality of communication. - **Concreteness** (محدد وملموس): Being specific, definite, not general or vague. Reinforce confidence. - **Conciseness:** Short, clear, without unnecessary information. - **Courtesy:** Appreciative, polite behavior, rather than accusative. Flooding messages with too many words doesn't have an impact. # 4S's of Communication - **Shortness:** Brief but complete and effective. Economizes, making things faster and effective. - **Simplicity:** Simplicity in usage of words and ideas. Impresses and reveals clarity. - **Strength:** Adequate strength to show credibility, convince, and create a sense of power. - **Sincerity:** Sincerity being genuine, earnestness; reflects on the sender's trust and credibility. ## Things Not to Do - **Cross-talking.** - **Side-talking.** - **Long speech.** - **Not listening actively.** - **Negative attitude.** - **Fighting.** - **Frustration.** - **Save time:** Brief, concise/excessive information misdirects the receiver and can lead to wrong information. # Barriers of Effective Communication ## Barriers create a negative work environment - Lack of motivation. - Low morale. - Staff turnover. ## Barriers - various inadequacies are required to be analyzed in terms of various factors that impede the flow of communication to different people - **Semantic barriers:** Different words mean different things to different people. (Example: "Break-down" could have different meanings for two individuals). ## Forms of Semantic Barriers - **Badly expressed messages:** Lack of clarity. - **Symbols with different meanings:** The same word can mean different things depending on the listener and the context. - **Faulty translation:** - **Unclarified assumptions:** The listener might infer meanings that were not intended by the speaker. - **Technical jargon/expressions:** Technical language used by experts and specialists might not be understood by normal people. - **Body language and gesture decoding:** Verbal communication may not be as effective as verbal communication. The receiver may get confused by body language. # Psychological Barriers These barriers arise because of the emotional status of the sender, the receiver, or both, such as: - Premature evaluations: Forming a judgment before listening. - Lack of attention. - Loss by transmission and poor retention: Communication of a message can become less impactful as it passes through various levels or channels, especially in oral communication. - Distrust: Lack of mutual trust between the sender and the receiver. # Organizational Barriers - Policies. - Rules and regulations. - Status. - Complexity in organization structure. - Organizational facilities: In some companies, there are no rooms available for meetings or brainstorming sessions, which can interfere with the communication flow. # Personal Barriers - Fear of challenge to authority: - Lack of confidence of a superior in his subordinates: Leads to no faith between the supervisor and the supervised. - Unwilling to communicate: - Lack of proper incentives: # Summary of Barriers ## Semantic - Badly expressed messages - Symbols with different meanings - Faulty translations - Unclarified assumptions. - Technical jargon. - Body language and gesture decoding. ## Psychological - Premature evaluations - Lack of attention - Loss by transmission - Distrust ## Organizational - Policy - Rules and regulations - Status. - Complexity in organization structure - Facilities ## Personal - Fear of challenges to authority. - Lack of confidence of superiors in subordinates. - Unwillingness to communicate. - Lack of proper incentives. # Presentation Skills ## Definition - Communication adapted to various situations, such as group meetings or briefing a team. ## Preparing an Effective Presentation - **5 Ps** - **Purpose:** To inform, persuade, inspire or motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea. - **Planning:** What are your goals? Who is your audience? Why are they here? Where and how long will it be? - **Preparation:** - **Audience preference:** The background and preferences of your audience need to be considered. - **Content:** The content should be concise, relevant, impactful, and should support the objectives. - **Practice:** - **Structure:** Logical and coherent for smooth flow. (Introduction: 10%, Main content: 80%, Summary: 10%, Q&A, Feedback) - **Prompt:** Short bullet points, key words only. Separate prompts for slides and the presenter. - **Material:** Handouts, personal notes, internet, visual aids. - **Visual aids:** Simple fonts, colors; charts and graphs. Use new or different images and clipart. Don't overcrowd the slides; Keep it professional, not promotional. - **Voice,** louder and clearer than normal. Vary pitch and volume. Emphasize key points. - **Appearance:** Dark colors, comfortable shoes. Move a bit and look confident. - **Style:** Don't copy others, use normal day language. Be yourself. - **Questions:** Think about what the audience might ask about. - **Practice:** Rehearse all points, the visuals, and handouts. Practice in front of a mirror or friend. Manage time. - **Presentation:** - **Start strong:** The presenter's body language and voice are important. Use visuals. - **Engage in the first two to three minutes.** - **Show passion, make eye contact, and smile.** Remember the 55% visual impact, 38% vocal impact, and 7% text impact. ## Flaws in Presentations - Lack of preparation. - Lack of confidence -- enthusiasm. - Lack of experience. Lack of material. - Hesitation when interacting-- reading from slides. - Sub-talks or story-telling. - Ambiguity. ## Factors of Successful Presentations - **Over-preparation**: Rehearse and practice. Be positive. - **Grip on your topic:** Know the subject, avoid stress. - **Conclusion:** Always prepare. Challenge your fears. Interact with the audience. ## Successful Presentation Section: Presentation Skills 1. **Plan:** - **Subject:** What is the topic? - **Collect info:** Gather the necessary information. - **Size and type of audience:** Are they co-workers, classmates, or people you don't know? What is their level of knowledge? 2. **Prepare:** - Write a script in points. 3. **Practice:** Check timing and make exports friendly, using a PDF format. 4. **Introduce:** # Poster ## Why posters? - Show your work: It's a visually engaging way to present your work. - Spark conversations: Encourage interactions and feedback. - Develop skills: Learn to communicate complex information concisely and visually. - Professional development: Gain experience with a common form of academic communication. ## Components - **Title:** Reflects the key focus of the project. - **Authors:** Includes the name, department, and university of each author. - **Abstract:** A brief summary, around 150-250 words. - **Introduction:** Presents the context and states the goal of the project. - **Methods:** Describes the approach, materials and procedures of the project. - **Results:** Presents key findings using charts, graphs, and images. - **Discussion:** Discusses the implications of the project and draws conclusions. - **References:** Show key sources used. - **Acknowledgement:** Thanks mentors and advisors. - **Contact info:** Include email and/or information about the project. ## Poster size and format - Large poster: A1 - Medium poster: A2 - Small poster: A3 ## Poster layout - **Clear logical flow:** Ensure clarity. - **Make columns:** Arrange content into columns to avoid overcrowding. - **Use headings, subheadings, and bullets:** To enhance visual hierarchy. - **Use colors to highlight:** Vary font size. The title should be the largest. - **Font size:** Headings (36 - 48 pt), body (24 - 32 pt), title (minimum - 72 pt). - **Font choice:** Easy to read, sans-serif fonts. ## Poster color - Visually appealing and high in contrast between text and background. - Red usually means "warning," green means "positive." - Limit the number of colors to make the poster readable. ## Graphics and visuals - **Figures and tables:** Use these sparingly to keep it simple and clear. - **Graphs and charts:** Avoid 3D effects. High resolution images are essential. ## Image resolution: - Design in CMYK or convert your images to CMYK. - Use vector files. - Work at 300 DPI. Export everything as a PDF. ## Raster vs. Vectorel Graphics - **Raster:** - Structure: Pixels. - Scalability: Depends on resolution - Size: Large. - Common use: Photos, web images. - Extensions. BMP, TIFF, GIF, JPG, PNG. - **Vector:** - Structure: Mathematical formulas - Scalability: Independent, resized without losing quality. - Size: Small. - Common use: Logos, illustrations, technical drawings. - Extensions: SVG, EPS, PDF, AI, DXF ## Poster Visualizer - Also called **poster mockup.** - **Poster material:** - Gloss: Shiny, light reflecting finish; catches the eye and makes colours more contrast. - Matte: Flat, shine-free; makes depth and detail. ## Classification of Communication 1. **Based on relationship** - Informal - Formal 2. **Media or expression** - Oral - Written - Gestural. 3. **Flow or direction** - One direction - Two direction ## Oral Communication - Transformation of message by spoken words. - Face to Face: Phone, Compo, Interview, Meeting, Conference, Seminars, Television, Radio, Joint-consultations. ## Advantages of Oral Communication - Less expensive - Faster - More effective. - Personal touch. - No misunderstand. - Immediate response. - Flexible - Only way in an emergency. ## Disadvantages - Less reliable. - Affected by self-interest. - Tends to mutilate future reference. - No record for future reference. - Not suitable for long messages. - Linguistic problems. - Can't be used with for people. ## Gestural Communication - Not only written or oral messages, but also includes eye movement, lips and hands. - This kind is called body language. - Combined with oral communication: - Raising voice: Anger. - Red face: Happiness. - Smile: Agree or happy. - Just stillness: Sense of humor. ## Written communication - Reports, releases, magazines, evidence, notes, newspapers, pictures, agreements. - Books of rules, orders, instructions, bill boards, etc. ## Advantages of Written Communication - Ensures all information is transformed in the same way so that all receivers know the information. - Permanent record - Only way to exchange information outside mobile. - Tend to be complete and accurate. - Legal evidence. - Easy to pass information to a large number of people in the same time. ## Disadvantages of Written Communication - Expensive. - Loss of time. - Difficult to become confidential. - Difficult to maintain for modification, as it's rigid. - Very formal (no personal touch). - May be a revision. - May be translated differently.