Communication Skills 101 – Sending your Message

Communication is a two way street involving sending and receiving the message. To be the most effective communicator involves a number of procedures, skills and awareness. In this blog we will start to focus on the requirement of sending the message and later will look into what is required to effectively receive a message.

To communicate your message out you will need to follow these steps.

1. Send the message:

a. Be clear about what you want to convey

b. Use the most appropriate media to transmit the message

c. Understand the “noise” filters that the message will pass through

2. Confirm the message:

a. Actively listen to the response

b. Clarify any misunderstandings

c. Confirm the message and next course of action

Be Clear

Firstly you need to be clear in your own mind about what the message is that you want convey. You need to be accurate about the facts that you want to get across and what action, response or outcome you want to obtain from the receiver?

Appropriate media

When communicating you need to consider the most appropriate method to convey your message. If you want to explain how to put together an IKEA cabinet, you would send instructions via a document rather than trying to explain the procedure over the phone. If you were trying to resolve an issue with a work colleague a face to face meeting or phone call would be more appropriate and effective than say an email.

Noise filters

Noise filters are what your message must pass through when the message is being received, this falls into five main categories that we will look into in future Blogs . These include areas such as Thinking Styles, assumptions, distractions, biases and more.

Active Listening

Active listening is another very important skill that is required when completing the communication cycle. I will go into this in more detail in future blogs. Listening to what the receiver has to say about your message will help to steer you to understanding that your message has been received as you wanted.

Clarify

From the receivers response you have the opportunity to clarify and alternatively explain your message until it is understood.

Confirm

Finally you should now be able to confirm that all parties have understood the message and what outcomes are required.