Building Communication Skills
Communication and listening skills are fundamental in all areas of
interaction. The way we communicate with others affects how they respond
and feel about what we have said (or not said!). Listening is a large
part of effective communication, so the majority of this section will
focus on the "art of listening".
According to communication research conducted at the University of California by Dr. Robert Merabian, in any face-to-face
verbal communication, there are three powerful channels of information being presented by the speaker to the listener.
These three channels of communication information are described as:
Words: (Words I select to use to express)
Tone: (How I sound in speaking)
Body: (Ways I look and move when speaking)
As a product of his research, Dr. Merabian concluded that the impact or total power of a spoken message could be
divided among these three communication channels in the following percentages:
Word Power: 10% message impact
Tone Power: 34% message impact
Body Power: 56% message impact
The old adage says: "It's not what you say but how you say it!"
To ensure that we fully understand others and they understand us in
communication, all of us must learn to "listen beyond words".
Effective Basic Communication Skills
Body Language: including movements, gestures, posture, and facial expression.
Eye Contact: responsive to a speaker and appropriate, comfortable.
Following: showing verbal, sub-verbal, and nonverbal attention
to a speaker, using short responses.
Involvement: creating a safe, support connection so that ideas, feelings and needs are freely expressed.
Respect: the ability to show respect toward the other person
and their right to speak and be listened to, even if differences are
expressed.