EFFECTIVE ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION

BY:

DIANA O. AYORKOR ADJEI

COMMUNICATION QUIZ

Test Your Communication Skills?

OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION

• Introduction

• Communication Process

• Forms of Communication

• Organizational Communication

• Direction of Communication

• Barriers To Effective Communication

• Conclusion

Introduction

Communication is a natural process that involves at least two living things.

Communication skills are some of the most important skills that we need to succeed in the workplace.

Communication in an organization, therefore, is a process that involves at least two people – a sender and a receiver. For it to be successful, the receiver must understand the message in the way that the sender intended.

Communication Process

THE SOURCE – PLANNING YOUR MESSAGE

The Source Cont’d

To Plan your communication:• Understand your objective. Why are you

communicating?

• Understand your audience. With whom are you communicating? What do they need to know?

• Plan what you want to say, and how you'll send the message.

• Good communicators use the KISS ("Keep It Simple and Straightforward") principle. They know that less is often more, and that good communication should be efficient as well as effective.

ENCODING

ENCODING CREATING A CLEAR, WELL-CRAFTED MESSAGE

The source/sender initiates the process by encoding a thought.

When you know what you want to say, decide exactly how you'll say it. You're responsible for sending a message that's clear and concise.

The message is the actual physical product of the sender’s encoding

PRODUCT – Speech; Written words; Gestures

CHOOSING THE RIGHT CHANNEL Along with encoding the message, it is important to choose the best

communication channel to send it.

You have to be efficient, and make the most of your communication opportunity.

In determining the best way to send a message, we should consider the following:

• The sensitivity and emotional content of the subject. • How easy it is to communicate detail.• The receiver's preferences. • Time constraints. • The need to ask and answer questions.

DECODINGRECEIVING AND INTERPRETING A MESSAGE

DECODING – RECEIVING AND INTERPRETING A MESSAGE

The Recipient/Decoder is the person/people for whom the message is intended. They receive the message and decode it. For an effective communication to take place, it is necessary that the recipient of the message understands the message the way the sender intended.

Both the sender and the recipient do have important roles to play in completing the process of effective communication.

FEEDBACKFeedback is response from the receiver. Without it, you

can't be sure that people have understood your message.

Feedback can be verbal or non-verbal, including body language .

By watching the facial expressions, gestures, and posture of the person you're communicating with, you can spot:

• Confidence levels. • Defensiveness. • Agreement. • Comprehension (or lack of understanding). • Level of interest, e.t.c

KEY NOTESAs either a speaker or a listener, or as a writer or a

reader, you're responsible for making sure that the message is communicated accurately. Pay attention to words and actions, ask questions, and watch body language. These will all help you ensure that you say what you mean, and hear what is intended.

A properly encoded message should be correctly decoded by the recipient.

A properly decoded message is clear, complete and not be confusing.

An important aspect of encoding is knowing your audience.

FORMS OF COMMUNICATIONHow do group members transfer meaning between and

among each other?(Interpersonal Communication)

How do we communicate?• We talk to people face to face, and we listen when people

talk to us; oral communication• We write emails, memos, letters, newsletters and reports,

and we read the documents that are sent to us; written communication

• Nonverbal Communication

DIRECTION OF COMMUNICATONCommunication can flow vertically or laterally.

• Vertical Communication: This is information flow in a downward or upwards direction

• Lateral Communication: This is information flow amongst members of the same work group, managers at the same level, or any other horizontally equivalent workers.

ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION

The exchange of information may be over formal

and informal channels/network. Formal networks

can however be very complicated, including

hundreds of people and a lot of hierarchical levels

depending on the size of organization.

ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION

ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Formal Small-Group NetworksChain: this usually follows the formal chain of

command

Wheel: this relies on a central figure to act as a means of conveying all group’s communication, usually a team with a strong leader.

ORGANISATIONAL COMMUNICATION

All channel: this network permits all group members to actively communicate with each other

The Grapevine: this is the informal communication network in a group or organization Recent studies shows that word-of-mouth information from peers about a company has a significant impact on the company.

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

Communication in most organizations today is through electronic means

Electronic communication: E-mail, instant messaging, text messaging, video-conferencing.

Advantages of e-mail messages E-mail messages can be written quickly, edited and stored Distributed to one person or thousands of people same time Recipients can read at their own convenience Relatively cheaper than conventional methods

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONE-mail messages has its own drawback and as managers, there

is the need to note the following key limitations

Disadvantages of using e-mail messaging Misinterpreting the message Communicating negative messages Time-consuming nature of e-mails

• Don’t check e-mail in the morning

• Check in batches

• Unsubscribe

• Stop sending email

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

• Filtering• Selective Perception• Information Overload• Emotions• Language• Silence• Communication Apprehension/Social Anxiety• Complex organizational structure

RESULTS OF COMMUNICATION FAILURE

• Loss of Business/goodwill

• Waste of money and time

• Lowered productivity

• Poor co-ordination and control

• Frustration and hostility

• Dissatisfaction with others

• Lowered morale and loss of team spirit

• Conflict and arguments

• High employee turnover

CONCLUSION

Communication Trilogy

CONCLUSIONSeven Cs of good informationClearConciseConcreteCorrectConsistentCompleteConsidered Cross Cultural Factors

IS PERFECT COMMUNICATION ATTAINABLE?

References

• Robbins S.P. & Judge T.A. (2012). Essentials of Organizational Behavior. (11th ed.). Edinburgh Gate, Pearson Education Limited

• www.mindtools.com

THANK

YOU