Leadership in Leisure Services_CH5 Communication Skills for Leaders

To minimize miscommunication people must first come to understand five basic principles of communication relationships:

(a) we can never know the state of mind of others (b) we depend on ambiguous symbols to explain others' attitudes, (c) we use our own (often defective) coding system to decipher signals, (d) we may be biased in interpreting others' behaviors, and (e) we are not as accurate as we think in interpreting others' messages.

Receiver's barriers to communication

* a lack of trust in the sender * prejudgment of the sender * poor listening skills * defensiveness * strong emotions * incorrect assumptions * different connotations and intonations * mismatched communication styles with the sender

Neuliep indicates that three styles or approaches to communication exist:

* an elaborate style that emphasizes flashy and embellished language; * an exacting style where the speaker only uses the words needed to get the message across; * a succinct style where silence or very short verbalizations are commonly used.

Effective Feedback behaviors

* describes the behavior which led to the feedback * comes as soon after the behavior as is appropriate * goes directly from the sender to receiver * is "owned" by the sender (e.g., "I" statements are used) * includes the senders feeling, when relevant, about the behavior (e.g., "I feel... when...") * is checked for clarity to ensure that the receiver understands what is being conveyed * asks questions of the receiver when more information is needed to provide constructive, realistic feedback * specifies consequences of the behavior (both past and present) * is solicited or to some extend desired by the receiver * refers to behaviors about which the receiver can do something * reflects a sensitivity for the impact feedback can have on the receiver.

Senders barriers to communication

* having a lack of credibility * prejudging the receiver * avoiding the real and immediate concerns of the receiver * experiencing disorganized thoughts * trying to share too much information at one time * using inappropriate language or nonverbal signs * mismatching communication sytle with receiver

Effective communicators:

* know how to say the right thing at the right time. * know the necessity of sometimes remaining silent * work on improving verbal skills (e.g., increase vocabulary, reading, exposure to other cultures) * know how to protect information when necessary * know what information is and is not appropriate for each unique situation * understand that personality influences behaviors * Understand gossip and how it affects relationships * Know how to access information * Know the importance of nonverbal messages and how to improve them.

Group barriers to communication

* lack of cohesiveness * lack of openess to different and opposing views * lack of willingness to talk * unacknowledged cultural differences * biased inherent within the group * ineffective leadership

Ineffective Feedback behaviors

* uses evaluative, judgmental, or generalized statements * is delayed, saved up, and "dumped" in a destructive way * passes indirectly through a middle person or group * is not "owned" by the sender (e.g., "You are...", "We think...") * conceals, denies, and/or distorts personal reactions and feelings * is not checked out with the receiver to ensure the receiver understands * asks questions which are rhetorical or confrontative in nature (e.g., "Do you really think that I'm going to let you get away with all that?") * does not provide specific examples of present and future consequences * is imposed on the receiver or at the least, not well-timed * refers to behaviors over which the receiver has little or no control * does not reflect a sensitivity for how difficult feedback can sometimes be for the receiver to hear.

Which countries are know for using the elaborate style?

Arab, Middle Eastern, and African-American cultures.

Which countries use the succinct style?

Asian and American Indian cultures

What are the 7 important skills to becoming competent in communication:

1. Empathy 2. Attentiveness 3. Listening 4. Articulation 5. Other-Oriented 6. Interaction Management 7. Adaptability

Communication has a visible structure to it and a model (most model have similar elements):

1. a sender of the message; 2. a message or intended communication; 3. a channel through which the message is sent; 4. noise which interferes with the process; 5. a receiver of the message; 6. feedback from the receiver to the sender. Each of these components has a function directly related to making the intended message understood as sent.

Generally there are 3 types of sexism in language:

1. ignoring one gender (e.g., using a supposedly generic "he) 2. defining a gender in relation to something else (e.g., using the phrase "women and children" puts women in the same light as children; i.e. weak and in need of protection) 3. depreciating a gender (e.g., "women's work" is not desirable work). Other examples - "that's a girls toy", or "You throw like a girl"

Communication has 8 properties:

1. it is a process rather than a product. Thus, it is a series of actions that are directed toward an aim (to be understood). 2. communication is dynamic - alive, active and involved. 3. it is interactive; it requires more than one individual to be considered communication. 4. it is symbolic 5. it is intentional. 6. it is contextual - it is related to the environment as well as those involved in the process. 7. it is everywhere, done by everyone, all the time. 8. it is culture; through it we define culture. The inverse is also true- culture defines communication.

Listening takes up more waking hours than any other activity, yet ___% of oral communication is not listened to.

75%

Attending skills

Attending is the process of deciding which sounds one should focus on and try to discern. It descrives how listeners pay attention to what is being said and how the message is being conveyed.

Effective Communicaton

Both senders and receivers must be credible and trustworthy for effective communication to occur.

6 C's of Communication

Clear: Language and messages should be unambiguous. Concise: Being succinct and concise minimizes misinterpretation. Correct: Effective communication is accurate communication. Complete: The communication cycle should be complete for a message to be fully understood. Curteous: Being curteous and considerate of receivers and their needs enhances communication. Convincing: To be effective, communication should be convincing in its logic and reasoning.

Factors influencing the ability to listen effectively

Listener difficulties: * not listening * a lack of motivation to listen * inability to make sense of the message. Speaker difficulties: *speaking too quickly or too slowly * being unclear * choosing an inappropriate time or place for communication. In addition, the message may be poorly structured, have too much or too little detail, or be based on incorrect assumptions (especially if there are cultural differences) Furthermore, a noisy or uncomfortable environment negatively affects listening.

Comprehensive listening:

Listening to understand the material presented - listening for facts, ideas and themes the speaker is trying to share - is the goal of comprehensive listening. Students commonly use this form of listening when learning in class. It involves a "holistic" style of listening where the message and its contexts are considered.

Which countries use the exacting style?

Most Euro-Americans

Following skills

Once a listener indicates attentiveness toward the speaker, following skills become important. Exhibiting nonverbal door-openier (e.g., eyebrows raised, an inviting look on face), making interpretive statements for clarification and acknowledgement (e.g., "I see" and "You mean...?") using verbal promots to continue talking (e.g., "tell me more", "describe that for me") and attentive silence are all examples of these skills.

Functions of Communication

Persuasion/Influence Information Sharing Social/Expressive Command/Instruct Conflict Resolution

Increasing Communication Effectiveness

Speak and write at the audience level Communicate to Share Ideas Consider both facts and feeling aspects of communication Consider intent versus interpretation

Gender variations in verbal communications

Tannen identified 9 different dimensions of communication on which women and men differ: 1. Intimacy-Independence. 2. Connection - Status 3. Inclusion - Exclusion 4. Relationship - Information 5. Rapport - Report 6. Community - Contest 7. Problems - Solutions 8. Novice - Expert 9. Listening - Learning

Reflecting skills

Used to ensure understanding, reflecting skills include paraphrasing, reflecting meanings and feelings back to the speaker, and summarizing what has been said.

Channel

a channel is the medium through which a message is sent.

Noise

anything that is not directly a part of the communication cycle and interferes with the successful sending and receiving of a message is called noise. Noise may be internal to the communicating parties (e.g., personal biases, practicing one's own response, thinking about something else), or external to the communication (e.g., sounds from passing vehicles, bright lights, other people's fidgeting). If not addressed, moise can render communication efforts ineffective.

Facilitation and Processing

are special communication skills used by leaders who work with groups in therapeutic settings, adventure settings, corporate settings, and a wide variety of other areas in our field. Typically these skills are used with small groups of six to twenty people and focus on helping others learn from their experiences, to build a sense of team, and to aid in the therapeutic process.

Receivers can improve listening skills by practicing the three primary skill clusters of listening:

attending following reflecting

Confusion and misinterpretations are quite

common because communication and language are culturally based; common meanings are generally a result of shared culture.

To improve the use of language, leaders should strive to

expand their vocabulary, use straightforward langauge, choose action words, illustrate abstract ideas, and use compare and contrast techniques to aid in comprehension.

To best attend to a speaker, listeners often model an attending posture. In an attending posture, the listener

faces the speaker Squarely, has an Open posture (no arms or legs crossed), Leans toward the speaker, maintains Eye contact, and appears Relaxed. This is called the SOLAR technique.

Feedback

feedback is the reaction given by the receiver which tells the sender that the message was either understood or further clarification is needed. To be effective, feedback should be given freely, expeditiously, and succinctly. To be most effective feedback should be very specific and focused on the particular behavior or words in question. Feedback provides clues about the accuracy of the sent message, motivation of the receiver, clarification of the message, and interest level of the receiver.

Parallel terms

include terms like women and men (not girls and men), girls and boys, and ladies and gentlemen (not ladies and men).

Empathetic listening:

involves relationships and sharing feelings. It requires we understand the others' points of view, and their feelings.

Culture

is defined as an identifiable group of people who share customs, language, patterns of speech, norms, meanings, religion, relationships, or values.

Ethnocentrism

is the belief that one's own culture is correct and proper while other cultures are incorrect and improper.

Sender

is the one that initiates an interaction and has a message she or he wished to send to a receiver.

Appreciative listening:

listening for pleasure. Appreciative listening stimulates the mind and senses through listening to others. Leaders often use this when listening to elderly participants reflect on their lives, and participants use it as they listen to music or the sounds of nature.

Critical listening:

listening to evaluate ideas as they are expressed. Generally, it is used when trying to make judgements about the persuasive messages of others. Involves critical thinking skills.

Communication consists of much more than simply talking. It also involves

listening, speaking, delivering, selling, giving and receiving imformation.

Communication is used to:

manage conflict, create and maintain relationships, persuade others, understand group dynamics, and transmit cultural norms. It is both an art and a science - a critical skill for leaders.

Message

messages may take many different forms: verbal and overt (e.g., person says exactly what is on his or her mind), verbal and hidden (e.g., double entendres), nonverbal (e.g., through body language), written (e.g., memorandum, text messages) and symbolic (e.g., hair style and clothing choices).

Credibility is addressed through issues such as

task competence, communication, character, composure under stress, sociability, and likableness, and extroversion. Using appropriate grammar, considering the emotional impact of what is said, being aware of possible ambiguity, and understanding the needs of the sender and receiver contribute to one's perceived competence.

Denotation

the dictionary definition

Connotation

the personal or cultural meaning

Receiver

the receiver perceives the incoming message and then must attend to the message and decode or interpret what is being communicated. For the receiver to interpret the message as intended, the sender and receiver must understand the context as well as the actual message.

Essential skills for facilitators inclued

thorough preparation fostering a caring attitude among group members personal communication skills such as questioning providing feedback and general communication strategies; and solid conceptual, interpersonal and task skills.