Communication Skills

Communication

The Chain of Communication

Sending and receiving information

Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication

Active Listening

How messages are passed on

Exercise

Communicate the message right!

Message

A total number of 2,450 persons fled their villages to Kutum. Among them, 50% are women and children. The rest of the IDPs are men; some of whom are wounded.

The situation is not likely to improve and the office expects 1,000 families in the coming days.

Sending & receiving information

Active listening techniques

Verbal and non-verbal communication

Most listeners base their understanding of a

message on the following elements:

Actual verbal content:

Tone of voice:

Nonverbal communication:

Verbal and non-verbal communication

Most listeners base their understanding of a

message on the following elements:

Actual verbal content: 7%

Tone of voice: 38%

Nonverbal communication:55%

Professor Albert Mehrabian

What is he telling her?

Reading messages

Stop there…

What is he telling her?

Reading messages

Stop there…

2. What do their different facial expressions and body postures tell us?

Reading non-verbal messages

According to Roger Axtell the number of physical signs are:

70,000

Active listening and non-verbal communication

Appropriate eye contact

Facial expressions

Proximity and positioning

Non-threatening and non-defensive body posture

Person-centered focus

Active Listening Tools

Paraphrasing Summarizing

Probing Questions

Non-Verbal Signals

Repetition

Communication Techniques Repetition: repeating verbatim individual

contributions to confirm understanding

Probing: asking follow on questions to better understand and clarify the meaning of the verbal message

Summarizing: giving a summary of what has been said. Similar to paraphrasing, but it condenses the content of what has been said

Rephrasing: repeating back in your own words what you understand someone else to be saying

Exercise

FIRST ROUND

Participant A: communicates

Participant B: actively listens

Participant C: identifies technique

Exercise

SECOND ROUND

Participant A: actively listens

Participant B: identifies technique

Participant C: communicates

Exercise

THIRD ROUND

Participant A: identifies technique

Participant B: communicates

Participant C: actively listens

If we DO NOT listen actively we…

misunderstand situations and positions

work on mistaken assumptions

impose our own opinions

miss opportunities to detect and reconcile common interests

reduce participation and hamper ownership

do not create synergies between different ideas

do not coordinate effectively, which can lead to an ineffective protection response

Results-oriented communicators

Know their communication objective and purpose

Know their audience and resulting communication needs

Build a relationship with the audience

Adopt the communication style that best fits their own personality, topic, audience and culture

Communication styles

Recognize your own barriers to active listening and think of what you can do to improve it…

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