COMMUNICATION

The effectiveness of communication is a key determinant of the level of success in groups and organizations. Effective communication occurs only when a message is sent that is clear to the listener in terms of language and context, is received by a listener who is open and focused on the message, and is enhanced by positive and productive feedback between the two. Deer Hill Corporate Communication programs focus on all three of these components of communication and provide experiences where all can be evaluated and developed.

VERBAL / NON-VERBAL

It is generally accepted based on research that when people are speaking with each other their tones of voice, facial expressions, eye-contact, gestures and other forms of “non-verbal” communication are more important than the actual words spoken. Still, the use of understandable and appropriate language is an important communication skill. The sender must take into account the listener’s background, culture and biases to select words and grammar that will be understood by the listener in the way intended by the sender. Different cultures often use the same words to mean different things. Colloquialisms provide particular difficulty for senders and listeners from different cultures and backgrounds.

Since our educational system is oriented toward facts, it is natural for people to emphasize the verbal portion of their communication without paying attention to the non-verbal messages they are sending. This is unfortunate given the power of non-verbal communication. Not only do we have a wide variety of ways we send these messages, but research has shown that people trust messages sent non-verbally more than those sent verbally. Effective non-verbal communication includes making eye contact to enhance credibility and show interest, using positive facial expressions like smiling to open up the listener, using gestures that enhance the message without overwhelming the listener, facing the listener and leaning forward to communicate approachability, and varying your voice to engage the listener and lend feeling to your message.

LISTENING

The neglected part of communication is listening. We expend great effort in polishing our personal images to send non-verbal messages, and coming up with clever arguments to enable us to win debates with others. What we often forget is that communication is not just a matter of sending out information, but also a matter of receiving information that can be of use to us. The receiver must be as active and skilled a participant as the sender in order to complete the communication cycle. In order to be effective, the listener must expend as much effort using a variety of senses as the sender. This means they must provide their undivided attention to the sender without being distracted, losing focus, reacting to parts of the sender's message or planning a response before the message is complete. Effective listening involves moving your face toward the sender in an open way, maintaining eye contact, using receptive language that encourages the sender and focusing on the ideas presented rather than the person.

FEEDBACK

One definition of feedback is the information the listener gives back to the sender of a message to check their understanding of the message. Providing this type of feedback after effective listening is essential for completing the communication cycle. It includes both verbal and non-verbal responses. Effective verbal responses include restating your understanding of the message in your own words, and asking questions that indicate you were listening. Using a tone of voice and rate of speech compatible with the speaker's helps indicate your interest. Nodding your head, making eye contact while facing the sender and leaning forward also increase the interest of the sender in helping you understand the message. Effective communication requires that we first understand completely what the speaker is trying to say before beginning to form any judgments about the message. Unfortunately, many people jump to judgment before they have complete understanding.

Feedback can also mean the process of providing people with information that might help them improve their performance. It is never about the person, but instead about an action or behavior they have performed and the different choices they can make if they perform these activities again. It is very helpful for members of a group to have an agreement about giving and receiving feedback before they begin. They should agree to keep it about the activity instead of the person, to emphasize the positive, to keep it clear and specific, and to describe rather than evaluate. They should also agree to be open to feedback as a learning opportunity and not take it personally. A group that can give and receive feedback has a very valuable tool because it enables them to learn from their mistakes and stay focused on tasks.

The programs at Deer Hill include exercises that bring out the communication styles of all group members. Just as in the workplace, success in these exercises requires proficiency in all forms of communication. Our programs are designed to recreate the workplace environments described to us by clients during the needs assessment process. At the end of each exercise, our facilitators bring out the elements of communication that work well and those that are less effective. These client-driven discussions provide opportunities for the group to modify their communication techniques in ways they agree on. Each succeeding exercise provides an opportunity for the group to practice improvements learned in the previous exercises.