Communicate Information

Communicate Information

Communicate Information in effective way is about more than just exchanging information. It’s about understanding the emotion and intentions behind the information. As well as being able to clearly convey a message, you need to also listen in a way that gains the full meaning of what’s being said and makes the other person feel heard and understood.

Communicate Information more than just the words you use, effective communication combines a set of 4 skills:

  1. Engaged listening
  2. Nonverbal communication
  3. Managing stress in the moment
  4. Asserting yourself in a respectful way
Communicate Information
Communicate Information

Skills of Communication:

Step 1:

While these are learned skills, communication is more effective when it becomes spontaneous rather than formulaic. A speech that is read,

Example

rarely has the same impact as a speech that’s delivered (or appears to be delivered) spontaneously. Of course, it takes time and effort to develop these skills. The more effort and practice you put in, the more instinctive and effective your communication skills will become.

Step 2:

When communicating with others, we often focus on what we should say. However, effective communication is less about talking and more about listening. Listening well means not just understanding the words or the information being communicated, but also understanding the emotions the speaker is trying to communicate.

There’s a big difference between engaged listening and simply hearing.

  • When you really listen—when you’re engaged with what’s being said—you’ll hear the subtle intonations in someone’s voice that tell you how that person is feeling and the emotions they’re trying to communicate.
  • When you’re an engaged listener, not only will you better understand the other person, you’ll also make that person feel heard and understood, which can help build a stronger, deeper connection between you.
  • By communicating in this way, you’ll also experience a process that lowers stressand supports physical and emotional well-being.
  • If the person you’re talking to is calm, for example, listening in an engaged way will help to calm you, too. Similarly, if the person is agitated, you can help calm them by listening in an attentive way and making the person feel understood.
  • If your goal is to fully understand and connect with the other person, listening in an engaged way will often come naturally. If it doesn’t, try the following tips. The more you practice them, the more satisfying and rewarding your interactions with others will become.

Step 3:

The way you look, listen, move, and react to another person tells them more about how you’re feeling than words alone ever can. Nonverbal communication, or body language, includes facial expressions, body movement and gestures, eye contact, posture, the tone of your voice, and even your muscle tension and breathing.

Developing the ability to understand and use nonverbal communication can help you connect with others, express what you really mean, navigate challenging situations, and build better relationships at home and work.

  • You can enhance effective communication by using open body language—arms uncrossed, standing with an open stance or sitting on the edge of your seat, and maintaining eye contact with the person you’re talking to.
  • You can also use body language to emphasize or enhance your verbal message—patting a friend on the back while complimenting him on his success, for example, or pounding your fists to underline your message

Step 4:

How many times have you felt stressed during a disagreement with your spouse, kids, boss, friends, or coworkers and then said or done something you later regretted?

  • If you can quickly relieve stress and return to a calm state, you’ll not only avoid such regrets, but in many cases you’ll also help to calm the other person as well. It’s only when you’re in a calm, relaxed state that you’ll be able to know whether the situation requires a response, or whether the other person’s signals indicate it would be better to remain silent.

In situations such as a job interview, business presentation, high-pressure meeting, or introduction to a loved one’s family, for example, it’s important to manage your emotions, think on your feet, and effectively communicate under pressure

Step 5:

Direct, assertive expression makes for clear communication and can help boost your self-esteem and decision-making.

Step 6:

Being assertive means expressing your thoughts, feelings, and needs in an open and honest way, while standing up for yourself and respecting others.

Step 7:

It does NOT mean being hostile, aggressive, or demanding. Effective communication is always about understanding the other person, not about winning an argument or forcing your opinions on others.

These are all the Communicate Information steps to provide effective communication.

Preparing Effective Presentation

Preparing Effective Presentation

Preparing Effective Presentation plays an important role…

If the presentation has a problem like an unintended font, a broken link, or unreadable text then I’ve probably failed the test. Even if my spoken presentation is well rehearsed, a bad visual experience can ruin it for the audience. Expertise means nothing without a good presentation to back it up.

No matter your topic, successful PowerPoints depend on three main factors:

your command of PowerPoint’s design tools, your attention to presentation processes, and your devotion to consistent style. Here are some simple tips to help you start mastering each of those factors, and don’t forget to check out the additional resources at the bottom of this post.

Preparing Effective Presentation
Preparing Effective Presentation

Preparing Effective Presentation Step 1:

           Don’t let PowerPoint decide how you use PowerPoint.

Microsoft wanted to provide PowerPoint users with a lot of tools. But this does not mean you should use them all. Here are some key things to look out for:

  • Make sure that preset PPT themes complement your needs before you adopt them.
  • Try to get away from using Microsoft Office’s default fonts, Calibri and Cambria. Using these two typefaces can make the presentation seem underwhelming.
  • Professionals should never use PPT’s action sounds. (Please consider your audience above personal preference).
  • PowerPoint makes bulleting automatic, but ask yourself: Are bullets actually appropriate for what you need to do? Sometimes they are, but not always.
  • Recent PPT defaults include a small shadow on all shapes. Remove this shadow if it’s not actually needed. Also, don’t leave shapes in their default blue.

Preparing Effective Presentation Step 2:

               Create custom slide sizes.

While you usually can get away with the default slide size for most presentations, you may need to adjust it for larger presentations on weirdly sized displays. If you need to do that, here’s how.

  • In the top-left corner, choose “File.”
  • Select “Page Setup.”
  • Type the height and width of the background you’d like, and click “OK.”
  • A dialogue box will appear. Click “OK” again.
  • Your background is resized!

Preparing Effective Presentation Step 3:

              Edit your slide template design.

Often, it’s much easier to edit your PowerPoint template before you start — this way, you don’t have design each slide by hand. Here’s how you do that.

  • Select “Themes” in the top navigation. In the far right, click “Edit Master,” then “Slide Master.” Make any changes you like, then click “Close Master.” All current and future slides in that presentation will use that template.

Preparing Effective Presentation Step 4:

        Make sure all of your objects are properly aligned.

  •  Having properly aligned objects on your slide is the key to making it look polished and professional.
  •  You can manually try to line up your images … but we all know how that typically works out.
  • You’re trying to make sure all of your objects hang out in the middle of your slide, but when you drag them there, it still doesn’t look quite right.
  •  Get rid of your guessing game and let PowerPoint work its magic with this trick
  • Many users don’t realize how flexible PowerPoint’s shape tools have become.
  •  In combination with the expanded format options released by Microsoft in 2010, the potential for good design with shapes is readily available.
  •  PowerPoint provides the user with a bunch of great shape options beyond the traditional rectangle, oval, and rounded rectangle patterns, unlike even professional design programs like Adobe Creative Suite or Quark.
  • Today’s shapes include a highly functional Smart Shapes function, which enables you to create diagrams and flow charts in no time.
  • These tools are especially valuable when you consider that PowerPoint is a visual medium.
  •  Paragraphing and bullet lists are boring — you can use shapes to help express your message more clearly.

IMPROMPTU SPEECHES

 

                            Impromptu speaking is a speech and debate individual event that involves a five- to eight-minute speech with a characteristically short preparation time of one to seven minutes.

 

 Practice impromptu speech

 

  1. On your own:

 

  • Choose a different random topic every day and speak out loud about it. What you say does not have to be perfect, or eloquent, or enlightening.
  • The important thing is to speak out loud. I do this when I am stuck in traffic.
  • I pick a random topic and then I just speak on it for a minute or so. Don’t over do it. Just once a day

 

  1. Speak in a group:

 

  • Practicing in front of a group and getting professional feedback is the best way to learn impromptu speaking.
  • I know that this option is harder than practicing on your own for many reasons.
  • Not finding the right group, not finding the time are just a few. However, it is not impossible.
  • You can try out different speaking classes or join a Toastmasters group in your area until you find one that resonates with you. It will be worth it.

 

 

 

Debates

 

 

  •  In debate a common topic is assigned to a group where the members of the group are divided into two teams and the topic is to be discussed into supporting and opposing it.

 

  •  At first the judge or mentor begins the debate with an open note to introduce the topic to the other members and audience.

 

  • After he ends his open note and then the members of the group begin to share their points by either supporting or opposing the topic.

 

  • The individual point and their representing way are also noted by the judge. After the speech has been over the judge asks someone to make the end note or at times he makes the end note.

 

  • Thus the below picture shows the debate with a common topic and two individual speakers in affirmative(supporting) and negative(against) the topic.

 

  • Thus debate is carried on.

 

 

Interview Skills

An interview is a conversation where questions are asked and answers are given. In common parlance, the word “interview” refers to a one-on-one conversation with one person acting in the role of the interviewer and the other in the role of the interviewee.

Employment

Interviews in an employment context are typically called job interviews which describe a formal consultation for the purpose of evaluating the qualifications of the interviewee for a specific position. Interviews are seen as a useful tool in assessing qualifications.

 

Job Interview

A specific type of job interview is a case interview in which the applicant is presented with a question or task or challenge, and asked to resolve the situation.

 

Mock Interview

Sometimes to prepare for job interviews, candidates are treated to a mock interview as a training exercise to prepare the respondent to handle questions in the subsequent ‘real’ interview.

 

Screening Interview

  • Sometimes the interviews happen in several waves, with the first interview sometimes being called a screening interview which is a shorter length interview, followed by more in-depth interviews later on, usually by company personnel who can ultimately hire the applicant.
  • Technology has enabled new possibilities for interviewing; for example, video phoning technology has enabled applicants to interview for jobs despite being in different cities or countries than the interviewer.

 

Psychology

Psychologists use a variety of interviewing methods and techniques to try to understand and help their patients. In a psychiatric interview, a psychiatrist or psychologist or nurse asks a battery of questions to complete what is called a psychiatric assessment.

Couple Interviews

Sometimes two people are interviewed by an interviewer, with one format being called couple interviews.

 

Criminologists

Criminologists and detectives sometimes use cognitive interviews on eyewitnesses and victims to try to ascertain what can be recalled specifically from a crime scene, hopefully before the specific memories begin to fade in the mind.

 

Research

  •  In marketing research and academic research, interviews are used in a wide variety of ways.
  •  Interviews are often used in qualitative research in which firms try to understand how consumers think. Consumer research firms sometimes use computer-assisted telephone interviewing to randomly dial phone numbers to conduct highly structured telephone interviews, with scripted questions and responses entered directly into the computer.

 

 

Journalism

Journalism and other media:

  •  Typically, reporters covering a story in journalism conduct interviews over the phone and in person to gain information for subsequent publication. Reporters can interview political candidates on television shows.
  • In a talk show, a radio or television “host” interviews one or more people, with the choice of topic usually being chosen by the host, sometimes for the purposes of entertainment, sometimes for informational purposes. Such interviews are often recorded and some of them can be released on an interview disc.

 

Other situations

  •  Sometimes college representatives or alumni conduct college interviews with prospective students as a way of assessing a student’s suitability while offering the student a chance to learn more about a college.
  •  Some services specialize in coaching people for interviews. Government officials may conduct interviews with prospective foreign students before allowing them to study in the nation.
  • Impromptu speaking is a speech and debate individual event that involves a five- to eight-minute speech with a characteristically short preparation time of one to seven minutes.
  • Impromptu speaking is a speech and debate individual event that involves a five- to eight-minute speech with a characteristically short preparation time of one to seven minutes

 

Group discussions

 

Group discussion is a new trend that has come up in order to evaluate student personality. A group of participants are made to discuss on a topic or subject for a limited time and then assessed accordingly. In this methodology, the group of candidates is given a topic or a situation, given a few minutes to think about the same, and then asked to discuss the topic among themselves for 15-20 minutes.

 

Group discussions are done to assess the following:-

  •  Communication skills
  •  Interpersonal Skills
  •  Leadership Skills
  •  Motivational Skills
  •  Team Building Skills
  •  Analytical /Logical Skills
  •  Reasoning ability
  •  Different Thinking
  •  Initiative
  •  Assertiveness
  •  Flexibility
  •  Creativity
  •  Ability to think on ones feet
  •  GDs are implemented commonly

BODY LANGUAGE AND NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS

 

  • Body language in communication skills

Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. Body language, a subset of nonverbal communication, complements verbal communication in social interaction.

 

  •   Positive sign of body language

Body language is the process of communicating non -verbally through body movements and gestures. Positive body language can be defined as these nonverbal movements and gestures that are communicating interest, enthusiasm, and positive reactions to what some else is saying

 

  •   Negative body languages

Averted eye contact can be an indicator that a person is uncomfortable, self-conscious, or even lying. Crossed arms can signal defensiveness or disagreement.

A forced smile can mean insincerity.. Negative body language is either a conscious or an unconscious expression of negative feelings through movements of the body.

 

  •      Nonverbal communication 

A person that is aware of another’s nonverbal cues will understand that person better. .

Examples of non-verbal communication of this type include shaking hands, patting the back, hugging, pushing, or other kinds of touch. Other forms of non-verbal communication are facial expressions, gestures, and eye contact.

ROLEPLAYS AND CONVERSATIONAL ACTIVITIES

 

 

                                              Role-play is any speaking activity when you either put yourself into somebody else’s shoes, or when you stay in your own shoes but put yourself into an imaginary situation! Imaginary people – The joy of role-play is that students can ‘become’ anyone they like for a short time.

For example

                                    If you are the Prime Minister Of India, What Will Be Your Short And Long Time Goals?

 

The answer for that would be,

                    If I were the PM of India, my short term goals are,

 

                   (a) giving first priority to agriculture as it stands the backbone for our nation and in recent times this field is not been properly prioritized.

                   (b) reducing the cost of living by managing the imports and export trade.

                   (c) A balance must be kept so that the prices of basic amenities should not increase.

                   (d) Cut down unwanted taxations to benefit trade. Etc

Like this the role-play concept works.

 

Conversational activities

Conversation happens between two members in minimum. It has some classifications like simple and complex conversations. Beginning with the first one it deals with the usual informal talks with family, friends and so on.

 

Below examples show the simple conversations between two friends

 

          Example

A: “Where are you going now?”

B: “I’m going to the bank.”
A: “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

B: “I’m working now. I’m making a deposit for our company.”
A: “Where do you work?”

B: “I work for a restaurant as a controller.”
A: “Wow. That’s great.”

B: “Great seeing you. I have to go now. I’ll talk to you later.”

 

 

A: “What are you doing now?”

B: “I’m watching TV.”
A: “What are you watching?”

B: “I’m watching Friends. What are you doing?”
A: “I’m doing my homework, but I really need to     take a break.”

B: “You want to do something?”
A: “Yes. But I shouldn’t. I got to finish my assignment now.”

B: “Alright. Call me later then.”

 

A: “OK. Bye.”

 

 

 

Pronunciation Exercises

PRONUNCIATION EXERCISES

The word pronunciation defines the way in which a word is pronounced. Pronunciation doesn’t depend the spelling. It depends on factors like native language influence and the tongue position while pronouncing.

 

Tips to improve pronouncing skills

 

  1. Learn to listen

Before you learn how to speak, you’ll need to learn how to listen. Some sounds can be hard to tell apart when you’re listening. Did the speaker sleep or slip? Did he hurt his chin or his shin? If you can hear the difference, it will be easier to speak the difference.

 

  1. How your mouth and lips move

When you speak, you move your mouth. How you move your mouth affects how you pronounce a word.

 

  1. Pay attention to your tongue

The main difference between rice and lice is in your tongue. When you speak, you move your tongue to make sounds. You probably didn’t even notice that, since you do it without thinking. To improve your English pronunciation, it’s a good idea to check what your tongue is doing.

 

  1. Break words down to sounds:
  • Words are made up of syllables, or parts. The word “syllable,” for example, has three syllables: syl-la-ble. Turning words into parts can make them easier to pronounce.
  • To check how many syllables a word has, place your hand flat just under your chin. Say the word slowly. Each time your chin touches your hand, that’s a syllable.

 

  1. Add stress to sound and words

English is a stressed language. That means some words and sounds are more important than others. You can hear this when you say a word out loud. For example, the word “introduce” is pronounced with a stress at the end, so it sounds like this: “in-tro-DUCE.”

 

  1. Use pronunciation videos to guide you in your leisure

There are some excellent video and audio guides on English pronunciations that you can use to improve.

 

  1. Record yourself

One way to tell if all your practice is working is to record yourself with a camera. Use a camera and not just a sound recorder because it’s important to see how you speak, not only hear it.

 

Task based listening activity

 

 

  • As the name suggests this level helps to use the basic skills that a candidate has and to improve with the skills that can be updated
  • In this activity you can listen to an audio clip and after a few minutes some questions would be given related to the clip.

Step 1 

           Listen to Dialog

Do not view the questions until after you have listened to the audio file. Reading the questions first will not help you improve your English listening skills.

 

Step 2:  

             Quiz – View Questions 

If you are uncertain about the answers to the questions, listen to the audio file again after having read the questions. After you have made all your selections, you may view the answers to see how you did.

Step 3:  

           Try answering the questions

After listening the audio for multiple times, you would now be in an idea of what about the audio clip is. Now just go through the questions and try to answer with what you had listened. If you find yourself lacking to get the answers you can make short notes on the contents or some important points in a piece of paper. But just avoid that habit because it will not improve the listening skills.