Communication in the Workplace

What is Communication?

______

Types of Communication

There are two main types of communication:

1. ______

· ______

2. ______

· ______

Activity 1

A store manager is in his office and wants to get some information about a new product being advertised by his supplier. He decides he will email the sales representative instead of phoning. He asks in his email about pricing, and has listed his requirements on an attachment. An hour later, the sales representative sends a message back thanking him for his enquiry. However, she says that she did not receive the attachment. The store manager re-sends the message with the attachment, and the sales representative responds shortly after with a listing of the varying models of the product that the store manager expressed an interest in, along with prices and availability. With your understanding of the communication process, and using the above example, answer the following questions:

a) Who was the sender? ______

b) Who was the receiver? ______

c) What mode of communication was used? ______

d) What interference did the communication encounter? ______

e) What feedback did the sender receive? ______

Activity 2

For each of the situations below, select the appropriate type of communication.

You work at a depot where trucks are parked. Your job is to direct trucks into the right parking space and make sure they don’t hit anything when they are parking.

Which type of communication would you use mostly?

verbal communication

gestures

facial expressions

written communication

You work in a lawyer’s office, and need to pass long and complicated instructions from one lawyer to another.

Which type of communication would you use mostly?

verbal communication

gestures

facial expressions

written communication

You work on a construction site, and you need to ask the person who looks after supplies for a hammer, a bag of nails and a length of pipe.

Which type of communication would you use mostly?

verbal communication

gestures

facial expressions

written communication

Non-verbal Communication

Body Language

Body language is communication with a part of your body, most usually:

¶ Eyes

¶ Face

¶ Hands (and/or fingers)

¶ Arms

¶ How or where you place your body

Activity 3 What can the following body languages mean?

Body Language / Interpretation
Brisk, erect walk
Standing with hands on hip
Sitting with legs crossed, foot kicking slightly
Sitting, legs apart
Arms crossed on chest
Walking with hands in pockets, shoulders hunched
Hand to cheek
Touching, slightly rubbing nose
Rubbing the eye
Hands clasped behind back
Locked ankles
Head resting in hand, eyes downcast
Rubbing hands

Effective Communication - ______

· ______

ROLE PLAY ACTIVITY:

In groups of 2 or 3 role play the following scenarios:

1. An angry customer has come into your store to complain about a faulty product. As the customer service manager you are responsible for sorting out this problem. Today you are in no mood for rude people and just want the problem to go away quickly.

2. A child has become separated from his mother whilst shopping. He is brought to your work counter until his mother can be found. The child is very upset and needs comforting.

3. Your boss has come to talk to you about your work performance. He is worried that you are not meeting your deadlines or sales quotas and wants to know why. You are under a lot of pressure at home and are finding it difficult to concentrate at work.

Make sure you concentrate on matching your body language with the situation.

Effective Listening Skills

In any business that deals with clients you need to listen correctly in order to find out what the clients needs are. To become an effective listener there are 4 easy steps to follow:

1. Hear what the customer is saying. Give them your full attention.

2. Interpret what they are saying.

3. Evaluate what they have said.

4. Respond to what they said.

Tips to help you become a better listener:

¶ _

Activity 4

You are working at Springfield Lakes Properties and are finding it difficult to get your daily tasks complete as there is a lot of friction in the office. You have noticed that the friction always starts because people don’t listen to other people’s points of view and argue back before thinking about what it is they are really saying.

In an attempt to solve the problem you have decided to run a training session on ‘Effective Listening Skills’. Your presentation is 5 – 8 slides and clearly explains to staff how to be an effective listener. You will need to research further to complete this task.

Consequences of Poor Communication

1. Time may be lost as instructions may be misunderstood and jobs may have to be repeated.

2. Frustration may develop, as people are not sure of what to do or how to do a task.

3. Product may be wasted if it is not handled correctly.

4. People may feel left out if communication is not open and effective.

5. Messages may be misinterpreted or misunderstood causing bad feelings.

6. People’s safety may be at risk.

Activity 5:

A. Can you think of 6 situations of poor communication at work or at school?

B. How could these situations be avoided?

Barriers to effective Communication

Many things interfere with or block communication. These might include people using different languages, cultural differences interfering with understanding, people experiencing physical discomfort and therefore not concentrating or people having different levels of understanding about the requirements of a job. Noise levels can also impede hearing and concentration that could act as a barrier to communication. Additionally, if people do not have a common language, communication can be impaired.

List 6 barriers to communication:

Types of Equipment and Methods of Communication

The following is a list of difference methods of communication and the equipment used, which are common in work places.

Activity 6

In the table below type the best method of communication with the task.

Method: Telephone, Voice Mail, Facsimile Machine, Memorandum, Letter, Briefing Note, Overhead projector, Blackboard/whiteboard, Diary or electronic diary, Computer Network, Face-to-face discussion

Method / Task
A group of 30 Sales people who need to know about your new product.
Your chief executive, who wants to know who the five biggest spending customers were last year.
A colleague, who wants to know the time and date for a meeting.
Your supervisor who wants to discuss your progress.
A team of colleagues, who want to solve a difficult problem.
An angry customer who has written to complain about a faulty product.
A worried colleague, who is concerned that you are going to miss a deadline.

Business Communication

SMC Grade 8 BIT 2011 19

Communication in the Workplace

Communication Skills

· ______

Interpersonal Skills

· ______

SMC Grade 8 BIT 2011 19

Communication in the Workplace

SMC Grade 8 BIT 2011 19

Communication in the Workplace

What are Communication Channels?

______

Examples:

· ______

Communication in the Workplace – 2 types

1. ______: ______

2. ______: ______

Practical Tasks – Assessment items

You are to type out the following information into a word document. Please follow the setting out instructions given. Save, print out and place in your folder.

Daily Duties for Springfield Lakes Real Estate

Check all incoming mail and emails for urgent matters
Update signage in the front window for rentals and sale properties
Return all urgent phone messages
Check diary for appointments and note them on your daily planner
Look up calendar and check for property valuations and assessment
Prioritise your clients needs and make a list of duties to do
Work through client needs
Take calls/emails as they occur
Notify Office Manager of any new listings or sales
Ensure your paperwork and filing is up to date

Organisational Rules and Requirements

Many organisations have procedures for dealing with instructions and enquiries. These might be informal, unwritten requirements, or they might be formal, written procedures.

Examples of informal rules:

Examples of formal rules:

Where will organisational requirements be found?

Open Block Punctuation

Written business communication needs to be formatted using “Open Block Punctuation”.

Addresses are formatted as follows:

SMC Grade 8 BIT 2011 19

Communication in the Workplace

Name

Position (if known)

Company name

Street Address (no abbreviations)

Suburb_ _ STATE _ _ Post code

Joe Johns

Manager

Best Ever Travel

14 Tip Toe Street

Goodna QLD 4300

SMC Grade 8 BIT 2011 19

Communication in the Workplace

No commas are used in greeting and farewell.

Dear Joe Johns

I am writing concerning……….

For the following activities you will require the following information:

The Plains Real Estate Pty Ltd

25 Trinket Road

Redbank Plains QLD 4301

Ph: 3432 5236,

Fax: 3432 5200

www.theplainsrealestate.com.au

Managing Director – Judith Parkinson

Agents – Yourself, Anthony Quince, Penny Atkinson, Brendan Thomas, Katie Seeds

Activity 7

Create a LOGO for The Plains Real Estate Pty Ltd.

“A Logo is a symbol used to help identify an organisation by its customers and the public.”

Activity 8

Create a LETTERHEAD for The Plains Real Estate Pty Ltd. Include the LOGO.

“A Letterhead is used by an organisation to communicate externally. It includes the organisations name, address, phone number, fax number and website address.”

Activity 9

Create a FAX cover sheet for The Plains Real Estate Pty Ltd. Use your letterhead and add in fax details from an existing word template. (Copy and paste into your letterhead)

“A fax is used by an organisation to communicate externally. It is done on business letter with additional information including number of pages being faxed, what the fax in regarding and what action is required.”

Activity 10

Create a MEMO for The Plains Real Estate Pty Ltd. There any many templates in Word that you can use.

“A Memo is used by an organisation to communicate internally. Internal documents do not need the organisations details.

Activity 11

You have been asked to write a business letter to be used with clients who list their properties for sale with our business. Your letter should include the following points:

© Advise them of some of the services they will receive (advertised on the internet and local paper, personal agent, weekly updates on progress, guide to selling, local sales information, open house times to suit their lifestyle)

Writing an enquiry correspondence

When writing an enquiry correspondence it is important that you follow the structure given below. By following this, the reader can clearly understand what is being asked and how and when to respond.

Paragraph 1 – Provide detail of what you are enquiring about.

Paragraph 2 – Explain why you need this information

Paragraph 3 – Give supporting information, when you need the information by and contact details.

Activity 12

Send a fax to our property photographer, Ms Julie Yang, and ask her if she is available to photograph a new property listed at 597 South Station Road, Booval, Q, 4304. We need to have the photographs by the end of the week for publication in this Saturday’s paper. Ask Ms Yang to contact the office to confirm date and time to take the photos. Photographs will need to be taken in each room of the house and outside areas.

Activity 13

Send a memo to all staff in the office and ask them to attend a meeting next Monday at 9:00am. It is really important for them to be there as we will be discussing performance rates and salary packaging. They must let Judith know if they can or can’t make it before Thursday to arrange an alternative session.

Activity 14

You are to send a fax to the local newspaper to find out the cost of placing a full page advisement on our newly listed property. You would like a journalist to write a report on the house and place a number of pictures in the ad. Find out the difference between a full colour page and black and white. You will also need to know when the cut off date and time is for publication. Can you please get this information back to me before tomorrow afternoon so I can take it to the client? The contact person at the paper is Janice White (Fax: 3432 5555, Ph: 3432 5500).

Activity 15

Create a BUSINESS CARD for yourself as an agent for The Plains Real Estate Pty Ltd.

“Business cards are used to communicate your personal contact details with customers and suppliers. They include your name, role in organisation, email address.”

_____

SMC Grade 8 BIT 2011 19