Importance of Effective Business Communication
Effective business communication skills are vital for both the speakers as well as listeners as it helps in delivering the message or information from one person to another (Certo, 2018). Effective communication not only includes speech and hearing ability but also body language, message clarification, word choice and communication style. It is important in the todays modern world to have effective control on communication skills so that an individual can confidently express their ideas and opinions in between different people (Jackson, 2014).This essay is an analysis of my self reflection of effective business communication through different types of communication skills. I will be analyzing various areas of communication style such as verbal communication, active listening, non verbal and assertiveness perception. These styles will be diagnosed through effective tools of communication so that the findings from tools can be properly applied in improving my communication issues (Aragón and Domingo, 2014). Further these tools will help me in analyzing my self skills so that I could recognize the areas in which I need to develop my skills.The two communication issues in need of my personal communication are public speaking anxiety and Tolerance of Disagreement while interacting with strangers. Further, this essay consists of literature review to outline the theoretical and interpersonal skills that need to developed within me so that I can improve my effective communication. In this review various concepts and key models are being developed to demonstrate the effective practicing. This process has had helped me in gaining the knowledge through which I can tackle my communication issues. This will be reflected in my Action plan after the literature review is being done. Action plan involves the undertaking of key events and activities of 6 months that will help me in gaining effective control on my communication skills.
I have made use of 5 diagnostic tools in my essay to analyze my communication skills in various areas. Firstly, Personal Report of Intercultural Communication Apprehension(PRICA), this tool indicates or measure the fear people face while interacting with strangers or different cultural groups (Gibson and Sodeman, 2014). It measures the public speaking anxiety in different contexts. Most of the people faces such difficulties at the time of presentation or addressing towards large audiences (Ulmer, Sellnow and Seeger, 2017). Generally, all those people who have high anxiety level avoid interacting with the people from different culture. As a result of this tool, I have analyzed that I am good in sharing views with or interacting with my friends and family and also people form different cultures. I have no fear interacting with people from different cultures.Second tool is, Self -Perceived Communication Competence Scale(SPCC), and is designed to information about how competent one is in variety of communication. High Score indicates the high self perceived communication with the different groups of people (Royle and Laing, 2014). All the people vary in the way they communicate, sometimes they have effective communication with some people while other time they are not so effective. As a result, I have moderate SPCC as I lack interacting with groups of large number. Although I have a good tone and choice of words while interacting with other people but I fear having communication with small and large group of people. This fear majorly includes public anxiety and stage fear where I have to address large number of people.Third tool is Talkaholic Scale; this scale is the measure of compulsive communication. These people are highly verbal and they can not keep themselves quiet in different situations These people are likely to be seen as leader among the group (Neuliep, 2017). As a result of this, I am a moderate talker, I balance my talking skills and I know where should I talk much and where should I be quiet. Thus, it can be analyzed from the result that I am not much Talkaholic. Fourth tool is, Tolerance for Disagreement; this scale is being designed to measure the extent to which an individual can tolerate the disagreement of other people which they believe to be true (Brandler and Roman, 2015). Tolerance is the consequence of humanity and tolerance of disagreement is the quality to engage with the people having different opinions and views and have capability to share those views without being emotional (Bhatia, 2014). I have a moderate result with this tool as sometimes I like to be involved in the argument and share my views and opinions with different minded people. However, sometimes I like to ignore the argument and stay with like minded people so that there are less arguments. Fifth tool is, Non Verbal Immediacy Scale report (NIS-S); this tool is the most appropriate scale to measure non verbal immediacy as a self report. This scale can different self reports for male and female thus attention need to be paid while measuring results for different genders (Kernbach, Eppler and Bresciani, 2015). As a result of this tool I have an effective non verbal immediacy as I talk confidently with other people and have a good command on my body language that’s helps me in having effective communication with different people.
Diagnostic Tools Used for Self-Reflection
These diagnostic tools helped me in an effective manner to measure communication skills and to know in which area I have a good command and in which area I lack. As the outcome of the findings it can be said that results from the questionnaires were quite to the point and accurate and I recognized my communication style. The score from the first tool that is PRICA; I have strongly agreed on the questions related to interactions with the people from different culture and I feel confident while interacting with the strangers. The findings from the second tool that is, SPCC I have a moderate score of 70. This indicates that I have a good communication with my friends and small group of people, but however, I need to focus more on interacting with large number of people. As the finding of third tool, that is Talkaholic Scale, I have a moderate compulsive communication as I have a skill to realize where I need to talk much and where to be quite. Thus, I have a good command on my talking skills. The findings of fourth tool, that is Tolerance of Disagreement, in this tool I really need to work hard as I am not sure about my views. I have an average scoring in this questionnaire and I can not seek out when to interact in an argument and when to leave the topic. Thus, this is also one of the issue with me on which I really need to work on. And lastly, the Non verbal Immediacy tool, that helps in self realization of communication skills (Leland, Lewison and Harste, 2014). I have a good score in these questionnaires as a I have good command on my non verbal skills that helps me in making an effective interaction with different people.
Although the scores of PRICA and Tolerance for Disagreement were moderate but I still think that I can face communication issues in these two aspects if I don’t pay attention to it. I strongly feel that if I could improve my skills on these two issues I will be more confident while communicating with different people. I mainly have a fear of public speaking anxiety because I feel that if I forgot something in the mid way I wont be able to face the audience. Because of this, I avoid participating in such activities that involves public facing, however, I know this will not help in the future tenure and I will have to work on it so that I can be a confident speaker in the future.Additionally, I feel like lack of confidence in me when I have to face a large number of people from different cultures and backgrounds. I feel nervous when I have to share my views and opinions with the huge crowd or group of strangers. Thus, this issue can hinder my communication skills in the long run. Secondly, Tolerance of Disagreement, I always find a chances to avoid the arguments so that I don’t have to share my opinions with anyone. I don’t participate in the interpersonal disagreements and find a way to be diplomatic so that I don’t have to argue with anybody regarding any issues. But however, it is not possible to have no arguments in decision making, in business context. However, to have an effective communication it is important to have a disagreeing opinions.
Analysis of Diagnostic Tool Results
Reflecting the issue of Public Speaking, around 6 months ago I went for an interview for the post of executive IT manager for the electronic business industry. At the time of interview, the panel of 5 people were present to take my interview. Although I was prepared for all types of questions and activities but as the time came for my interview I was not able to communicate properly regarding the questions they were asking. I was trying to be confident in front of them but they realized that I am extremely nervous about the interview. Although they selected me for the post by looking after my degree courses and academic grades, but I was not happy with my interview as I was not able to convey all those things that I prepared for. However, that day I passed my interview only on the basis of my grades and courses however, I felt bad regarding my communication skills that I was not able to properly present myself in front of interviewers and this laid a bad impact of mine on them.
Secondly, taking example of the Tolerance of Disagreement, the incident took place at the same firm at the time of business meetings where all the employees were encouraged to give their ideas regarding the business expansion. Everybody including me gave some or the other idea regarding the expansion of the business unit. Idea of one of my colleague was been chose regarding the expansion but personally I didn’t felt that idea was worth accepting as it involved huge cost and was a time consuming process. Just to avoid the arguments I didn’t discussed with the higher management although I knew that the plan was not feasible and it has less chances of being implemented. However, reflecting towards the example, I should have presented my point with proper logics in front of the management which could have not created any disagreements and have boosted my confidence to participate in the arguments.
Communication can be defined as the two-way process of sharing information where sender makes sure that message conveyed by them are easily understood by the receiver (Bedwell, Fiore and Salas, 2014). Effective business communication is the basic fundamental to success in many aspects of life. Communication not only involved basic hearing and speaking activities but also involves non verbal communication like, body language, gestures, postures etc (Christensen, 2014). In modern world, it is important to have a good command on communication skills so that it can help us in conveying our ideas and views to the different people from different culture. By applying diagnostic tools, I came to know about my level for effective communication. Although my scores and grades were not so poor but still I have a moderate level of skills. From the tools, I realized that I need to develop my communication in two of the areas namely, public speaking anxiety and tolerance of Disagreement. These two issues need to improved by myself so that I can have obtain effective communication skills. Further, it is also important to know the theoretical and practical aspects of these issues so that I can better figure out the techniques through which I can improve my skills. Though I have mentioned few points regarding development of these communication skills through studies so that I can implement and evaluate them in my work culture.
Areas for Improvement
Firstly, reflecting the public speaking anxiety, often referred to as the speech anxiety. In this fear people generally faces the problem of stage fear or addressing large number of people at a specific time (Niles, Craske, Lieberman and Hur, 2015). This fear is generally accompanied with physical and emotional reactions that interfere in a person ability to give an appropriate speech (Hunter, Westwick and Haleta, 2014).Since, the most important aspect of communication is to present one’s ideas to other people and if someone lacks this ability then they are considered to have ineffective communication skills (Shi, Brinthaupt and McCree, 2015). Thus, I really need to look after this issue to develop my skills for the future tenures. For that purpose, I need to develop or outline the behavior pattern to improve effective practice. In order to improve my public speaking skills firstly, I need to do self assessment of my speech. That is, I need to identify problem of thinking patterns at the time of speech so that I can work on it and try not to focus on such patterns while giving speech. Secondly, I can gradually expose or prepare myself efficiently for the future task so that I can feel more confident at the time of presentation. For this, I need to look for opportunities or practice in front of my trusted friends, do rehearsal, record video or audio tapes for myself so that I can get the feedback there itself and I can improve my public speaking skills (Chollet,Wörtwein, Morency, Shapiro and Scherer, 2015, September).Thirdly, at the time of speech, I will have to try to act calm either if am nervous or anxious. This will help me in feeling more confident at the time of presentation. Further, I will focus more on connecting with the audiences that will help me in reducing my stress and tension during the time of presentation. And lastly, to improve my public speaking skills I will be taking assistance from the trained professionals so that they can guide me and train me to develop better communication skills (Wright, Cullum and Grandjean, 2014). Therefore, these skills I have to acquire for myself so that I can effectively improve my public speaking skills and can get a better command on effective communication in front of large group of people.
Second diagnosis that need to reflected is the Tolerance for Disagreement. It is the ability to interact with the people with whom we strongly disagree without being emotional in the situation and avoiding the basic pattern of being angry (Hong and Rojas, 2016). It is seen that people with strong Tolerance for Disagreement often supports people right to express their ideas even if they strongly disagree. Those who are not strong enough may confront their ideas through conflict and this can create an issue for the individual and can display a negative impact on other people(Miloloža, Milkovi?, Baki?-Tomi?, Šimovi?, Bezi? and Vlashaj, 2014). This is the major communication issue that I face while having a group discussion with my friends and colleagues. I really need to develop my communication skills on disagreement so that I can also present my ideas and views in a group that might lead to arguments. I always find ways to avoid arguments while interacting with group of people so that I don’t end up with a conflict. However, it is a myth for me that all the arguments or disagreements end up with a conflict. However, there are few points through which I can improve or deal with the disagreement, Firstly, I will be a good listener in any kind of arguments (Arnold, Back, Barnato, Prendergast, Emlet, Karpovand Nelson, 2015). This will help me in gaining the complete knowledge regarding the issue and facts and figures related to it. Through this I will get an idea about what other persons need to convey and then I can share my opinion accordingly. Secondly, I need to control my feelings and emotions at the time of heated arguments (Certo, 2018). I will have to work on my anger so that I don’t get hyper while any disagreements. Thirdly, language always plays an important part in any kind of conversations. Thus, I will make sure that I use positive language during the arguments so that no conflicts arise and in addition to it I will be able to convey my point in an effective manner so that the listeners don’t find it abusive or heated (Yoo and Park, 2015). Positive language will lead to better discussions and will reduce havoc while interactions (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). Lastly, I have to keep a strong willpower so that I can handle the disagreements efficiently and also have strong commitments towards my view point so that I can stick to my point till the end of the discussion (Falconier, 2015).
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Examples of Communication Issues Faced
After knowing the areas in which I have communication issues that need to be developed, I have made an action plan related to all the activities and task that I will be doing so that I can improve these skills of mine (Steffens, Weeks, Davidsson and Isaak, 2014). Firstly, I will enroll myself in a 2 months Personality development course so that I can enhance my personality as a whole so that I will be more confident for myself. This will help me in increasing my communication skills far better and I will be able to gain more knowledge regarding different areas that will help me in boosting my personality traits (Coghlan and Shani, 2014). Further, this course will also help me in my actual courses in context to effective communication. In addition to this, I will get myself admitted in anadvanced post graduate communication course so that my knowledge will be more advanced and I will be able to have better command on my communication skills. Additionally, these courses will help me in learning extra amount of effective communication that will help me in my future endeavors. Secondly, I will be preparing myself for reading books that will help me in improving my reading skills. These self help books will increase my knowledge regarding the communication skills and will also improve my vocabulary so that I can came across various other new words so that I can make use of it in my routine life. This will help me in improving my reading habits. Thirdly, I will also make sure to read newspapers, magazines, newsletter and various such things so that it will improve my reading habits and will help me in gaining more knowledge regarding facts and figure.
In addition to this I will be maintaining a personal journal regarding communication interaction that will reflect all those points that I need to learn or know about them. This journal will help me in making notes for myself so that I can know where I have been progressed in my work. Further, it will also help me in making noted regarding what all I have learned and how to retain those things so that they can be used by me in future in an effective manner. After the sox months, this journal will be or great use to me as I can recall all the points effectively from the single place.
Developing an Action Plan
However, I believe that learning effective communication skills is a never ending process and it will last for the lifetime. Thus, everyday I can learn something new the only thing that is required is the zeal to do something new. I believe that this action plan of six months will help me a lot in developing my communications habits. Lastly, it will always motivate me to do something new everyday and will keep me updated with all the new techniques through which I can improve my communication skills.
Conclusion
At the end, it can be concluded that effective communication plays a vital role in every individual’s life. It helps them in presenting themselves efficiently in front of different people and increases their self confidence to participate in the group conversations. This essay gives a detail information regarding the 5 diagnostic tools of effective communication that I used for my self analyzing of skills. These tools helped me in knowing the communication issues that I have facing in my day to day life and provides proper measures through which I can overcome those barriers. The two key issues identified were, public speaking anxiety and Tolerance for Disagreement. Further, various ways were analyzed through which these issues can be overcome and points were listed so that I can improve and develop in these two areas. Lastly, an action plan is created by me so that I can follow the plan accordingly so as to improve my effective business communication skills. The main aim of action plan is to implement the techniques that I will be learning in the last six months so that I can obtain effective business communication skills that will be helpful in my future endeavors.
Reference
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