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HRT 383

Communication: Groups & Teams

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Thank You to…

• Noel Cullen, author of Life Beyond the Line• Gary Yukl, author of Leadership in

Organizations• Carol Roberts, presenter of Keys to Powerful

Writing and Interviewing Appreciatively• Robert Woods and Judy King, authors of

Quality Leadership and Management in the Hospitality Industry

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Works Cited

Brownell, Judi. 1987. Listening: The toughest management skill. The Cornell H.R.A. Quarterly, February 1987: 65-71.

Decker, Bert. 1992. You’ve got to be believed to be heard: Reach the first brain to communicate in business and life. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.

Decker, Bert. 1996. The art of communicating: Achieving interpersonal impact in business. Revised edition. Menlo Park, CA: Crisp Learning.

www.Quotegarden.com : Listening. Accessed 10/31/03.

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HRT 383 Learning Objective

Understand the process of communication and its impact on a system. Identify techniques of effective communication and factors that act as barriers.

What processes? What system? What is a barrier? What is effective communication?

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Common Definitions

Communicate: to give, share, impart, reveal; to have something in common with another; to succeed in conveying one’s meaning to others

Communication: transmission, imparting; giving of information or messages

Communicating: system of transmitting messages

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The Basic Process of Communication

1. Sender has a message2. Sender decides how to express the message3. The sender gets the message to a receiver 4. Receiver hears, sees and/or reads, and

interprets5. Receiver responds with feedback

Action / Reaction Questions / Comments

6. Sender gets a message from the receiver

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RKR as a Set of Systems

Recognize the restaurant as a set of systems and subsystems; analyze the system’s interrelationships. Be able to diagnose system breakdowns and prescribe changes.

RKR is a set of systems A basic subsystem of RKR is

HOH FOH

Communication is one subsystem

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Communication:Subsystem Examples

1. Hostess/Host ↔ Guest2. Manager ↔ Guest3. Server ↔ Guest4. Server ↔ Expo5. Expo ↔ Line6. Manager ↔ Staff (HOH, FOH, All)7. Manager ↔ Manager

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Some Possible Barriers

LANGUAGE BARRIER avoid long words, jargon, local dialect

HABIT BARRIER don’t do everything the same

DISTRACTION BARRIER try to remove them or make allowances

MISUNDERSTANDING BARRIER slow down and double check.

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Other Barriers:These May Cause Conflict

Lack of true dialogue: get to know people, then facts! Confusion: unclear terms, goals, or objectives Perception: interpretation based on past experiences

(perception is their reality) Emotions: confusing facts with feelings (messages get out

of proportion or context) Egos: can cloud judgment; may affect what is said and what

is heard Feedback is not allowed or ignored: the communication

loop can not / does not close

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What is effective communication?

How would you define?

How do you know?

When is it not?

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Why is communication important?

Developing KSAs General Educations Major Course Work Where else?

With whom? Dyad Group Team Organization

Internal External

In what way? Verbal & Non-Verbal

Formal presentations Formal conversation

Discussion Debate Dialogue

Informal conversation Interpersonal relationships

Written Communication Professional Personal

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Verbal Communication:Key Points - Discussion

KEEP TO THE POINT be as precise as possible

KEEP IT SIMPLE use easy words

SAY OR WRITE WHAT YOU MEAN there will still be questions

PLAN YOUR CAMPAIGN choose best time, mode (e.g. one-on-one vs. group)

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Verbal Communication:Key Points - Dialogue

KEEP THE FOCUS ON OTHERS Your role is to listen without judgment

WHEN YOU SPEAK, ASK QUESTIONS Your role is to know more

DIALOGUE BEFORE “DISCUSSING” Know the feelings before dealing with the facts

REQUIRES THINKING AHEAD Choose best time for both; have the proper mind-set

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Whether formal or informal:

1. Build rapport with others

2. Listen actively

3. Ask good questions

4. Paraphrase sincerely

Verbal Communication:Other Aspects

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Verbal Communication:Rapport

Being in sync with other people,

verbally and non-verbally,

so they are comfortable

and have trust and confidence in you

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Verbal Communication:Active Listening

Be engaged Truly hear and process the message Avoid distractions More detail to follow…

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Verbal Communication: Good Questions

Show sincere interest Deliver questions with “life” Types of questions:

Positive questions (The way you ask) Behavioral questions (How would you…) Situational questions (In this situation…) Probing questions (Elaborate/clarify)

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Verbal Communication:Paraphrasing

Listen carefully Determine what the message means to you Restate the message in your own words to show the

meaning you received from the message This is not about your opinion or interpretation –

it’s about what they said! Your Goal: “I hear, I understand, I care”

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Verbal Communication:Sincere Paraphrasing

This is NOT “What I hear you saying is…” State in your own words your understanding of

what another person says or feels You feel that… You mean that… You think that… As I understand it…

Is that right?

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Non-Verbal Communication

Bert Decker’s book is titled “You’ve got to be believed to be heard” for a reason!

He discussed factors Eye factors Energy factors

What do you see?

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“I never saw a person

who could cram so small an idea

into so many words.”

Abraham LincolnFrom Quotegarden.com

Written Communication

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What?

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm.

Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Amzanig huh?

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Written Communication:The Goal in Business

Be Clear

&

Be Concise

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Written Communication:Hints

Cut unnecessary words Few in number Few Serve to make reductions in Reduce

Use short and powerful words Of the 701 words in Lincoln’s Second Inaugural

Address, 505 are one-syllable and 122 are two-syllable

Think about the word “house”

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Written Communication:Hints

Do not overuse That, would, was Very, quite

Avoid redundant adverbs and adjectives The radio blared loudly He clenched his teeth tightly

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Written Communication:Hints

Prune out qualifiers Pretty much, kind of, sort of A bit, a little, rather

Use the active voice – avoid passive voice This paper was written by me vs. I wrote the

paper (passive = 7 words; active = 4 words) The manager was hesitant to approve vs. The

manager hesitated to approve

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Written Communication:Hints

Paragraphs - Topic Sentence Clear, concise paragraphs are expected One topic per paragraph; in the lead sentence Other sentences offer supporting points: illustrate,

explain, clarify Final sentence is the spring board to the next paragraph

When writing, consider the audience Who are they? What are their needs? What are their expectations and preferences?

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Listening Actively:The Receiver’s Challenge

"Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk."- Doug Larson

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Listening

The most challenging of all communication skills Requires focus Requires practice

Different degrees Passive at one end of the scale Deeply involved – “Active Listening” – at the other

Different Ways Fact (Discussion or Debate) Feeling (Debate or Dialogue)

You’ve Got to be Believed to be Heard, pg. 190-192

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Maslow’s Four Stages of Learning

Unconscious IncompetenceWe don’t know what we don’t know

Conscious IncompetenceWe know what we don’t know

Conscious CompetenceWe work at what we don’t know

Unconscious CompetenceWe don’t have to think about knowing it

The Art of Communicating, pg. 48-49

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The Typical Executive

Spends 80% of his or her time communicating Of that time:

Listening 45% Speaking 30% Reading 16% Writing 9%

You’ve Got to be Believed to be Heard, pg. 191

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Listening Capacity

We use only about ¼ of our listening capacity

Listening capacity is difficult to measure Even without using quantifiable measures,

what if each of us doubled our individual listening capacity?

You’ve Got to be Believed to be Heard, pg. 191

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Brownell’s Model

HURIED Hearing Understanding Remembering Interpreting Evaluating

Listening: The Toughest Management Skill, pg. 65-66

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Hearing

Essential Actions: Concentrate on what the speaker is saying Allow the entire message to be delivered without

interruption Sender and receiver must be comfortable with

silence Avoid Distractions “It’s about them, not you!”

Listening: The Toughest Management Skill, pg. 66-67

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Something to ponder…

Speaking: 130-160 words per minute We can process aural information at a rate of

up to 700 words per minute On average, we listen three times faster than

most people talk What can we do with that unused mental

time?Listening: The Toughest Management Skill, pg. 66-67

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Effective TeamCommunication

An effective team accomplishes their shared goals Building an effective team involves, among other

things: Establishing and maintaining mutual trust A feeling of membership – “sense of belonging” Sharing or roles and responsibilities Mutual ownership and accountability Developing camaraderie

In part, these are aided by effective communication

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In Closing…

“The most important thing in communication

is to hear what isn't being said.”

Peter F. Drucker

from Quotegarden.com