SupervisionChapter 4: Effective Communication

• Excellent interpersonal or human relations skills are required if you hope to eventually become a successful manager, or owner of a business.

• In business, communication takes place in a variety of formats.

• Informal communication—not formal communication—is most important in business.

Effective Communication

• Information enables managers and supervisors to make sound business decisions.

• Formal communication often addresses task-related issues and tends to span the organization’s chain of command.

• Informal communication may move in any direction, and it is as likely to satisfy social needs as it is to facilitate the functions of business.

Formal and Informal

•Verbal communication provides a more personal interaction and fosters feelings of trust and goodwill.

•Perhaps the least understood method of informal communication is the employee grapevine and the rumors and gossip it provides.

•Downward communication is necessary to execute decisions and to give employees information about the organization.

Communication

• Upward communication is initiated by employees who seek to inform or influence those who are higher up in the organization’s hierarchy. – There is probably no

area of communication that is more in need of improvement than upward communication.

Communication Types

• Written communication is generally the method used if the message is somewhat complex and official.

• Because e-mail messages are surprisingly permanent, a good rule of thumb is to think before you press the Send button.

Communication Types

Methods of Communication

• Writing well in business is more important than ever—you need to write concisely and with impact.

• In your business writing, ensure that you follow the seven suggestions and tips.

Obstacles• The messages

that we send are not always the messages that are received.

• When individuals have different cultural backgrounds, effective communication can be challenging.

Obstacles• People sometimes struggle with the

communication process when they do not share similar backgrounds.

• When giving direction and instructions to your staff, it is best to use language that is measurable, concrete, and not open to interpretation.

Communication Barriers

•When you assume listeners know what you are talking about, you are simply asking for trouble.

•Emotions are a powerful force, but they have no real place in effective communication at work.

•Be aware of the actions that effective managers and supervisors can take to overcome the barriers to effective communication.

Listening•Passive listening - you are not really

processing the entire message. •Active listening - requires effort and

concentration because you want to fully understand what the speaker is saying.

•There are generally four requirements for active listening.

•Follow the seven tips to focus on the other person and not allow all the people and tasks that are vying for your attention distract you.

Positive Feedback• Telling your employees

that they are doing a good job and then pointing out specific examples is providing positive feedback.

• Positive feedback is almost always well received because it reinforces what people want to hear or what they already believe to be true about themselves.

Negative Feedback• Strolling out of the office and barking at

the employee who has done something wrong is not negative feedback.

• The ultimate goal of negative feedback is to change incorrect behavior or performance by using hard numbers, data, and other specifics.

• For feedback to be effective, remember the four points presented.

• Effective managers need excellent interpersonal or human relations skills to communicate with employees and to provide the kind of work environment where talented employees can self-motivate. The communication process—sending and receiving information—contributes significantly to one’s human relations skills.

Summary

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