Vocational Education and Training Training Toolbox Series

Student Manual ICA11v1.0 Information, Digital Media & Technology

Cert. 1, 2 & 3 ICA10111, ICA20111, ICA30111

Workplace Communication Section Two

Basic Speaking and Listening Skills

Copyright 2011 EdSonic Publications Pty Ltd PO Box 975 COWES VICTORIA 3922 All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of EdSonic or an authorised representative.

Authored by Robin Lick

PUBLISHED IN AUSTRALIA

INTRODUCTION This manual is designed to be used by the student as further learning materials in conjunction with any classroom presentation and supplemented by the classroom presentation handouts. The materials in this manual is cross referenced in the classroom presentation handouts by page numbers. This allows the student to source additional information to that which was presented in the classroom. Alternatively, the teacher may instruct the student during any presentation to review the materials in this manual by referring the relevant page numbers

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SELF ASSESSMENT

At the end of each section you, the student, will be asked a series of YES and NO questions. If any question is unclear our you have answered NO, then you are encouraged to review the materials in that section again. The Self Assessment section is indicated with an icon.

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s SECTION TWO BASIC SPEAKING AND LISTENING SKILLS Section Learning Objectives Page 6 Section Introduction Page 6 Speaking Skills Page 7 Importance of Speaking Skills Page 8 Acceptable Speech in the Workplace Page 9 Developing Oral Communication Skills Page 10 Speech Habits Page 12 Listening Skills Page 13 Questioning Techniques Page 15 Section Summary Page 16

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6 SECTION 2 – BASIC SPEAKING AND LISTENING SKILLS

WHAT OUTCOME CAN YOU EXPECT FROM THIS SECTION? In this section you will learn to develop the necessary speaking and listening skills to effectively understand verbal conversation and to effectively participate in verbal communication in the workplace.

SECTION LEARNING OBJECTIVES On completion of this section you will learn:

Why you require speaking and listening skills What acceptable language and words includes How to develop oral skills The different types of listening skills How to develop good listening skills

SECTION INTRODUCTION The importance of communication skills cannot be underestimated. Good communication skills are necessary in all walks of life and in every organisation. The lack of effective communication skills have a negative impact on the personal as well as professional life of a person.

A teacher, who is able to communicate well with students, can inspire them to learn and participate in class. A manager skill in communication is able to motivate staff Good communication skills are an invaluable asset to a salesperson since he/she is entrusted with the task of convincing

the prospective buyer about the wisdom of investing in a product or using a service. Basically, the purpose of communication is to convey one's beliefs, ideas, thoughts or needs with clarity so as to reach a consensus or a mutually acceptable solution. Two of the main communicating skills are speaking and listening. In this section, we will be discussing the basics of both.

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7 SPEAKING SKILLS You will need good speaking skills to participate in effective oral communication. In a workplace situation your speaking skills would be required when:

Speaking with staff and colleagues Speaking with clients Speaking with management Speaking at meetings At training sessions

.........and the list goes on.

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8 IMPORTANCE OF SPEAKING SKILLS A company's success is also dependant on communication. Employees face an endless exchange of ideas, messages, and information as they deal with one another and with customers daily. How well they communicate can determine whether a business quickly grows into profitability or into an average stagnant business. It is therefore important that employees become effective communicators. Effective speaking skills help employees:

Give better sales presentations/deal with customers Hone their management skills Work better with fellow employees Effectively develop and present ideas Offer constructive criticism Accept criticism more objectively

The development of communication skills, including speaking skills, is never ending. As you follow your chosen career path, you will find that you will need to gather information, learn more information, present information to audiences and/or be responsible for training fellow employees or staff. Speaking skills will need to be gained, increased, fine-tuned and maintained.

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9 ACCEPTABLE SPEECH IN THE WORKPLACE In your everyday routines outside your employment, the way you talk may not be acceptable in the workplace. Just as you may answer your home phone with a simple ‘Hello’, on the job you will be required to be more professional. When you are speaking, people need to hear you properly. Do not mumble. Speak clearly and at a reasonable volume level that is appropriate to the situation. Professionalism in the workplace also requires you to choose the right language and etiquette. Select your words carefully. ‘Street language’ is not usually accepted in most businesses. There are certain categories of words that are used today, some of which are not acceptable in the workplace: Standard words – are professionally and socially acceptable in any situation. Colloquialisms - are sometimes acceptable (depending on the business) but are more appropriate for informal environments. Slang – is appropriate only for extremely informal situations. It is unacceptable when dealing with customers/clients or superiors/management. Profanity – sometimes known as swearing, swear words or improper innuendos. This is totally unacceptable in any situation.

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10 DEVELOPING ORAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS Professional oral communication skills require confidence. Many of the workplace situations in which you will need to use your oral communication skills are impromptu. You need to respond to phone calls, answer questions, deal with fellow staff members, speak with management – all without the opportunity to rehearse or plan what you are going to say. Feeling some nervousness is natural and healthy. It shows you care about doing well. But too much nervousness can be detrimental.

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11 Here's 10 Tips that ‘Toastmasters’ use to help relieve nervousness when speaking: 1. Know the environment. Become familiar with the workplace environment where most of your speaking will take place. 2. Know your audience. Become acquainted with your fellow employees, customers or suppliers. It is easier to speak to someone you know than to a stranger. Adapt your communication style to match the audience. 3. Know your job. If you're not familiar with your duties, with the products or services or are uncomfortable with it, your nervousness will increase. Practice your speech and revise it if necessary. 4. Relax. Breathe deeply and slow down your pace. 5. Visualise yourself talking with a customer or the manager. Imagine yourself speaking with a loud, clear, and assured voice. When you visualise yourself as being confident, you will be confident. 6. Realise that people are not communicating with you to make you nervous. They want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative, and entertaining. They don't want you to fail. 7. Don't apologise. If you mention your nervousness you may be calling attention to something they hadn't noticed. Keep silent. 8. Concentrate on the message. Focus your attention away from your own anxieties, and outwardly toward your message and your audience. Your nervousness will dissipate. 9. Turn nervousness into positive energy. Harness your nervous energy and transform it into vitality and enthusiasm. 10. Gain experience. Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective oral communication. Toastmasters is a worldwide training organisation that trains people to be effective and confident communicators and public speakers. For more information look up Toastmasters in your local telephone directory or on the Internet at www.toastmasters.org

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12 SPEECH HABITS Have you ever ask yourself these questions:

Do I speak to fast Do I mumble Do I sound nasally when I talk Do I sound monotonous

Tape yourself and listen and ask those questions. See where you can improve. Look for habits that if eliminated will improve your oral skills. The most common bad habit is the constant use of filler words or unnecessary words. Examples: “Um…” “Ahh…” “You know?” “Right.” “Okay!” “Sort of…” “Like,” “Eh?”

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13 LISTENING SKILLS Listening skills are equally as important as speaking skills. Listening is an active process. If a person does not listen they will not receive the message properly and this will lead to a breakdown in communication. There are four types of listening. These are reviewed in a textbook ‘The Business Communications Handbook’ (Dywer) 6th Edition on pages 31-35.

Attentive listening Encouraging listening Reflecting listening Active listening

ATTENTIVE LISTENING Attentive listening focuses on the speaker through eye contact, posture and body language. ENCOURAGING LISTENING Encouraging listening provides feedback that invites speakers to say more and to disclose more of their thoughts and feelings. Use body language such as nodding in agreement or brief comments such as ‘I see’, or ‘That’s interesting’, or ‘Really?’ Ask open-ended questions that encourage the speaker to share more information. REFLECTIVE LISTENING When you restate both the feeling and the content of the message and ensure that the speaker knows you understand, you are using reflective listening. Paraphrasing is an excellent technique of reflective listening, in which you rephrase the essential part of the message in your own words and confirm your understanding. Summarising is also a technique used in reflective listening. This is when you condense all the main points you have heard and say statements such as ‘I believe we have covered...’, or ‘the points you have made so far are…’. ACTIVE LISTENING The most intense form of listening is active listening. The only thing that the listener does is listen. The listener avoids directing the conversation or leading the conversation in a certain direction, and gives the speaker their undivided attention. An active listener empathises with the speaker and only gives feedback if it is beneficial for the speaker. An active listener asks questions regularly to make sure he/she has the information correct.

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14 DISTRACTIONS The most difficult part of proper listening is avoiding the distractions. Distractions can include:

Someone interrupting you Trying to get your attention while with someone else Noisy environment Boredom

Tips to avoid distractions include:

Find a quiet location to have a conversation Inform everyone you will be busy Focus on the speaker If in a meeting take notes Be rested Turn off mobile phones Forward telephone calls to another station

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15 QUESTIONING TECHNIQUES To be able to understand a speaker’s/sender’s message, you may need to ask some clarifying questions. There are three types of questions: Closed-ended questions require very quick and short answers, mainly Yes or No, and often begin with ‘Do’, ‘Does’, ‘Can’ or ‘Will’. Open-ended questions require a more extensive answer, and generally begin with ‘How’, ‘When’, ‘Where’, ‘Why’, or ‘What’. Reflective questions do not require a Yes or a No answer, and always require some reflective thought to come up with an answer. Paraphrasing what you have heard and repeating it back will inform the speaker whether or not you understand what was said. Examples Closed-ended Questions

“Is this what is required?” “Can you meet the deadline?” “Will you need that delivered today?”

Open-ended Questions

“Were you going to the staff meeting?” “When did you need the documents by?” “How do you feel about the terms?”

Reflective Questions

“Do you think that if we chose the colour copier more of the staff would use it?” “What are your thoughts on the new company logo?” “Are you happy about the article in the newsletter?”

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16 SECTION SUMMARY In this section you have learnt the importance of speaking skills in the workplace. You will have discovered that proper speaking skills require the proper use of terms, words and body language. Developing professional speaking skills would require you to assess your own speaking skills and concentrate on improving them. You have also learnt the importance of listening skills in the workplace and how to apply active listening when performing your duties as an employee.

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SECTION TWO SPEAKING SKILLS Do you know three different ways your speaking would be required? IMPORTANCE OF SPEAKING SKILLS Are you able to remember some of the ways effective speaking skills help and benefit employees? Would the way that criticism is offered and taken, be one of the improvements of professional speaking skills? ACCEPTABLE SPEECH Do you recall some of the acceptable and unacceptable language in the workplace? Can you think of who within the workplace you could listen to, to get an understanding of this? DEVELOPING ORAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS Relaxing and breathing deeply is one the 10 “Toastmasters” tips on how to relieve nervousness when speaking. Can you recall the other 9 tips? Do you have any other suggestions? SPEECH HABITS “Filler” words are common, but a bad habit to use when improving your speech habits. Can you remember a few of these?

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DID YOU LEARN? THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ARE YES AND NO QUESTIONS. IF YOU CANNOT ANSWER YES TO EACH QUESTION IT IS SUGGESTED YOU REVIEW THE MATERIAL AGAIN.

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DID YOU LEARN? THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ARE YES AND NO QUESTIONS. IF YOU CANNOT ANSWER YES TO EACH QUESTION IT IS SUGGESTED YOU REVIEW THE MATERIAL AGAIN.

LISTENING SKILLS Can you recall the four types of effective listening? Do you know which of these forms is the most intense type? Do you know a few methods to apply in order to minimise distractions? QUESTIONING TECHNIQUES There are three types of clarifying questions you can use to understand the speakers/senders message. Do you recall them? Can you give an example of each of these questions?

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