Diagnosis and Reflection
Discuss about the Effective Business Communications.
The success of communication; be it verbal or non verbal, largely depends on the skills of the communicators. Hence, it is important to identify the communication styles we use in our interpersonal communication. A number of diagnostic tools are available for identifying the pattern of communication we follow or the issues we are facing in exercising an effective communication model. As mentioned by Silverman, Kurtz and Draper (2016), the issues those can restrict the process of successful communication can include a number of psychological or behavioral factors. The diagnostic tools can be helpful in identifying these factors.
For identifying the communication style I use, I have used five popularly known diagnostic tools. Those were, the Johari Window test, Communications Style Questionnaire, Assertiveness Questionnaires, listing skill test and the interpersonal communication skill test. As mentioned by Arnold and Boggs (2015), the personality and behavioral factors are important shaping the communication pattern of an individual. Hence, I have used the Johari Window test and the Assertiveness Questionnaires. On the other hand, listening skill can be identified as one of the major tool for successful communication (Bhatia & Bremner, 2014). Hence, I used the listing skill test to identify my capability in this regard.
With the help of these diagnostic tools, I have identified that I have an assertive communication style. As mentioned by Arnold and Boggs (2015), the assertive communication pattern involves a clear and direct expression of my needs, desires and my opinions with a conscious consideration of others. However, the major communication issues, those thses diagnostic tools have found is an aggressive attitude. One of the tools have identified, in spite of having an assertive communication style, I possess an aggressive attitude. As discussed by McQuail and Windahl (2015), an aggressive communication style involves the expression of one’s needs and opinions by giving little or no importance to the thought of other people. It has also identified that, I have a tendency to of ignoring what other people is trying to communicate. It drives me to misinterpret the message of that person and create a misunderstanding and confusion in my workplace. This particular test has identified that I have the highest score in the assertive communication process, but my score in the aggressive communication is not ignorable as well. Hence, it can be identified that I have a tendency to control my listeners and ignoring their opinion.
Diagnostic Tools for Communication Styles
Coupled with this issue, the listening skill test has identified that I need to concentrate on improving my listening skill. As mentioned earlier, my aggressive attitude, i.e. the lack of interest on the opinion of others inevitably directs me to ignore the importance of listening in effective communication model. This particular test has identified my listening skill as “OK” which needs a definite improvement. This test has identified me as a communicator who prefers to air his own voice in a situation where he or she has a complete control.
The Johari window test has explored that the people identify me as a “proud” and confident personality. This model has also found me as a person who is independent, logical and witty, which is helpful in establishing an effective communication. However, the “proud” characteristic can be supported by issue of ignoring active listening in verbal communication. However, the Johari window test has also provided me the idea that I need to reshape my attitude in communication.
The inter personal communication test has identified that I often fail to understand people’s words and seeing things from their perspective and try to impose my opinion over them. However, the Assertiveness has identified that sometimes I lack the ability to speak for myself. I often face such a communication issue when I do not have the control of the situation and talk to my superiors in the workplace. On the other hand, in a controlled situation, such as, while communicating with my subordinates I tend to use an aggressive attitude. Hence, in spite of having an assertive communication style, I need to work on my aggressive attitude which supports the lack of listening skill and my lack of confidence and inability to express my concern before my superiors.
I have faced issues in workplace communication for my frailty in these two issues. In the recent past, I faced some conflicts in my communication with one of my subordinates. I assigned a task upon him and he had to deliver by the deadline. However, he had some familial issues those days and applied for a leave on the date of task submission. In spite of listening to his concerns or asking for the status of the task; I reassigned the task to someone else which was already done by that employee. It displeased him and he found it demeaning. Out of dissatisfaction, he opted for resignation which took my serious effort to nullify.
Identified Communication Style and Issues
On the other hand, my lack of confidence in airing my concerns and expressing my opinions to the superiors has also made me face some serious operational crisis. A few days earlier, my manager told me I complete an assignment within three days. My team did not have that much strength to complete that assignment within a short deadline. However, I failed to raise my concern in this regard and express my team’s inability or the need of extra members to my manager. I considered it as my personal frailty and felt less confident to air my opinion. However, in spite of taking the extra burden for completing the task within deadline, my team failed to do it, which has inevitably been considered as my failure of team management and I faced severe frustration from the team members.
Thus, my communication issues are creating workplace confusion and mismanagement which is creating threat to my professional success. Hence, as per the diagnostic tools, I need to improve my communication skills by concentrating on empathetic listening which will control my aggressive attitude. Moreover, my lack of confidence for airing my views where I lack the authority needs to be rectified.
As mentioned by Brown, Wuensch and Bylund (2017), the idea of effective communication largely depends on a number of behavioral as well as psychological aspects. Concentrating on the issues like confidence of the communicators and the skill of listening are the keys to the success of communication. As mentioned by Arnold and Boggs (2015), effective listening is essential in the workplace and interpersonal communication. Listening can be utilized as a tool of ensuring employee satisfaction and thus improving work quality, boost productivity and eliminate operational confusion (Cahill, 2014). Poor listening skill can lead to employee dissatisfaction, lack of understanding of the situation and faulty decision making process.
Now, as opined by Moore et al. (2013), while opting for inter personal communication, involving empathetic listening helps in collecting an effective feedback. As mentioned by Bhatia and Bremner (2014), empathetic listening takes place when one listens to other’s view with intent to understand how the speaker feels for the given situation. As discussed by Wee (2015), empathetic listening is typically helpful in resolving a conflict situation. In the organizational set up, practicing the empathetic listening procedure, i.e. creating a communicational culture, where the employees will be free to air their voice without being judged, criticized, advised or interrupted is essential for upholding a positive organizational culture. For conducting an effective communication session, one needs to develop trust and understanding. As discussed by Mohamed et al. (2014), empathetic listening helps in improving mutual understanding and trust.
Importance of Empathetic Listening
On the other hand, maintaining and upholding confidence is one of the basic factors of communication success. As discussed by Dixon (2015), lack of confidence from the speaker’s end can lead to the restricted access to information, thus a number of communication confusions can take place. Low confidence can be the result of many factors like, fear of being criticized, the lack of knowledge, and lack of self-esteem, previous failure, poor management skill and many more. As identified by Arnold and Boggs (2015), one’s sense or judgment about oneself is entirely responsible for developing his/ her confidence level. Now, this judgment about ourselves largely shapes our communication pattern. Confidence is typically important in the organizational and interpersonal communication process. The lack of confidence is easily reflected in the communication style we opt for. Now, as mentioned by Jackson (2016), the lack of confidence from the speaker’s end can create mistrust and lose of control in the communication environment.
Here, the following communication models can also be discussed. The communication model proposed by Shannon and Weaver states that messages are transferred from source via transmitter and received by the receiver. Now, they have identified the implication of “noise” in the effective communication pattern. As mentioned by Petersons and Khalimzoda (2016), the communication model of Shannon and Weaver has identified the “noise” as the electronic or metal barriers. Such “noises” are able to create alteration in the transmitted message and confusion may take place.
Figure 1: Shannon and Weaver Communication model
(Source: McQuail & Windahl, 2015)
According to Shannon and Weaver, by obtaining the feedback from the receiver, an effective communication process can be ensured (Petersons & Khalimzoda, 2016). Here, in this discussed context, the mental noises like the lack of listening or aggressive behavior may distort the message of the sender and the receiver can interpret it in a different way. On the other hand, the lack of confidence from any of the communicators’ end may serve as “noise” and restrict the flow of information and feedback. Thus, this scientific communication model puts importance on collecting feedback and eliminates issues like lack of confidence. Now, it can be identified that collecting feedback or the opinion of the receivers with active listing is important for a successful communication process (McQuail & Windahl, 2015). Hence, the theoretical model is suggesting for using the behavioral perspective of active and empathetic listening. I need to develop this skill within me for conducting a successful communication process.
Confidence in Communication Success
The communication model of Schramm has identified the process of communication as a circular model, which does not end in the receiver’s end (Petersons & Khalimzoda, 2016). As mentioned by Schramm, it is misleading to ideate that communication starts at one point and ends at the other; it is essentially endless. As opined by Bandhiya and Joshi (2016), according to the model of Schramm, feedback or reply of the receiver is typical in communication. Hence, this model suggests the exercise of feedback or opinion collection for successful completion of the communication process.
Figure 2: Schramm’s Communication model
(Source: Küllü & Güdükbay, 2014)
Hence, it is important to concentrate on active and empathetic listening for collecting effective feedback from the other end. On the other hand, the model of Schramm has also stated that unless or until the second party becomes able to “decode” the information sent and what the sender actually meant to communicate, the communication is actually of no use. Here, the model has posed importance on the process of encoding the message. As mentioned by Bandhiya and Joshi (2016), the model of Schramm states that the information do not have any impotence if the communicator fails to convey the real meaning to the receiver. Here, the conveyer needs to concentrate on delivering the message without creating any confusion. The lack of confidence can be grate factor of “encoding” fault. As opined by Küllü and Güdükbay (2014), in the organizational set up, the building trust is crucial for successful communication. By showing confidence the communicator can create a sense of “truth” in the information and the intended message can be transferred and decoded by the receiver. Hence, it is important to communicate confidently to avoid the misinterpretation and restriction of information flow. Thus, with incorporating confidence the communication process can be made effective and (Dawson et al., 2015).
As opined by Sabanci et al. (2016), confidence is a major factor in the non-verbal communication. The lack of confidence or its present can easily be detected by the movements of limbs or the speech delivery pattern. However, in the organizational set up confidence help in decision making, leadership, persuasion or operational procedures. As mentioned by Keerativutisest and Hanson (2017), the lack of confidence may demoralize the team member; disrupt the process of decision making and operational success by restricted information flow and many more organizational failures. Hence, I need to work on improving my confidence level so that I can obtain success in the professional and personal communication goals.
Workplace Implications of Communication Issues
As opined by Wilkins, Bernstein and Bekki (2015), identification of the communication issues are not enough in exercising an effective communication process. Eliminating those issues need regular concentration and practice. Hence, I need to opt for certain strategies those will have a specific time frame. For the timeline of six months, I will follow the strategies like undertaking communication courses, regular consultation of communication suggestive books, maintaining a personal journal and many more. All these techniques will be helpful in developing active and empathetic listening skill and confidence within me, which will enable me conducting inter personal communication, more effectively than before. The following action plan can be approached:
- Maintenance of a personal communication journal about my everyday interaction experiences and noting down my reactions.
- Reading about the communication style of Abraham Lincoln as a mentor for my communication skill development.
- Identification of my achievements and memorize the feeling of success for building confidence.
- Enrolling to a professional counseling course for confidence building.
- Consulting to the online blogs and journals for educating myself for behaving and communicating confidently and acquire active listening skills.
- Regular practice of confidence building process and empathetic listening strategies.
- Opting for a Yoga class for lowering down my manipulative and aggressive behavioral aspects and improve the faculty of patience.
- Reinforcing myself for achieving positive changes in my communication pattern.
- Identification of the negative communication traits and trying to eliminate them.
- Opting for an outsider help in identifying the communication issues.
- Practicing group activities to ensure better communication with my team members.
Figure 3: Action Plan for improving my communication skills
(Source: Created by the author)
The success of this action plan needs to be evaluated with various benchmarks. In the process of keeping the personal journal, I will be able to identify my regular communication issues. I will try to highlight them and make conscious step to eradicate them in the next interaction. On the other hand, the diagnostic tools can also be utilized in this regard. Conducting regular communication and listening skill tests will be able to provide the idea of my progression and status of success of this selected action plan. Moreover, I will opt for collecting feedbacks from my seniors regarding my communication skills. It will help me in introducing needed change in the specified action plan. The regular Yoga sessions and mediations will be helpful in building a trust upon myself, which will help me to accept myself and thus provide me the patience to listen to others.
References:
Arnold, E. C., & Boggs, K. U. (2015). Interpersonal relationships: Professional communication skills for nurses. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Arnold, E. C., & Boggs, K. U. (2015). Interpersonal relationships: Professional communication skills for nurses. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Bandhiya, D. B., & Joshi, A. (2016). Encompassing the Scope of Western Models of Communication. PARIPEX-Indian Journal of Research, 4(9).
Bhatia, V., & Bremner, S. (2014). The Routledge handbook of language and professional communication. Routledge.
Brown, R. F., Wuensch, A., & Bylund, C. L. (2017). Models of communication skills training and their practical implications. Oxford Textbook of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care, 16.
Cahill, J. L. (2014). University professors’ perceptions about the impact of integrating Google applications on students’ communication and collaboration skills. Journal of Research Initiatives, 1(2), 7.
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Jackson, A. (2016). Difference between interpersonal & communication skills.
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McQuail, D., & Windahl, S. (2015). Communication models for the study of mass communications. Routledge.
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Sabanci, A., Sahin, A., Sonmez, M. A., & Yilmaz, O. (2016). School Managers’ Interpersonal Communication Skills in Turkey. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 6(8), 13-30.
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