Effective Communication
Effective Communication
Being an effective communicator is a key capability for the workplaces of the future. This page introduces this theme and demonstrates different directions it can be taken in. New for Autumn 2020 are a series of lesson ideas that tackle the additional obstacles students might face in the context of everything 2020 has thrown at us. All topics clearly state learning objectives and multiple themes targetted helpful for curriculum planning.
Developing the course with students
INTRODUCING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION: Individual, pair, group work and real world relevance
Effective Communicators in 2020
Julian Treasure's Ted Talk from 2013: How to talk so people will listen.
This is an interesting talk to use to introduce students to the idea of effective communication and listening. It can easily be divided into three talks: the mistakes people make, the system you should use and how to use your voice.
'The human voice: It's the instrument we all play. It's the most powerful sound in the world, probably. It's the only one that can start a war or say "I love you." And yet many people have the experience that when they speak, people don't listen to them. And why is that? How can we speak powerfully to make change in the world?'
Step 1. Personal reflection on communication habits
Where do I stand? Consider Julian Treasure's words paraphrased below about the 7 bad habits that make people hard to listen to. Which aspects do you most associate with yourself? Assess each one and then choose four you think might play any role in the way you communicate.
Second, judging .... it's very hard to listen to somebody if you know that you're being judged and found wanting at the same time.
Third, negativity ...
Complaining [which] is a viral misery. It's not spreading sunshine and lightness in the world.
Blamethrowing .... [the people who] pass it on to everybody else and don't take responsibility for their actions ...
Exaggeration. It demeans our language, actually, sometimes ... this exaggeration becomes lying, and we don't want to listen to people we know are lying to us.
And Dogmatism. The confusion of facts with opinions. When those two things get conflated, somebody is bombarding you with their opinions as if they were true. It's difficult to listen to that'.
Step 2: Discuss the four foundations of the HAIL system below which Julian Treasure sees as essential to be an effective communicator: Place Honesty, Authenticity, Integrity and Love in order, starting with most important. As a class which aspect do you rate as most important?
The H, honesty, of course, being true in what you say, being straight and clear. The A is authenticity, just being yourself. A friend of mine described it as standing in your own truth, which I think is a lovely way to put it. The I is integrity, being your word, actually doing what you say, and being somebody people can trust. And the L is love. I don't mean romantic love, but I do mean wishing people well, for two reasons. First of all, I think absolute honesty may not be what we want. I mean, my goodness, you look ugly this morning. Perhaps that's not necessary. Tempered with love, of course, honesty is a great thing. But also, if you're really wishing somebody well, it's very hard to judge them at the same time. I'm not even sure you can do those two things simultaneously. So hail.
Step 3: Register, Timbre, Prosodity, Pace, Pitch, Volume ...
Consider Barrack Obama's keynote speech to 3 minutes 10 at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004; widely seen as fundamental in shaping his future as the President of the United States.
a) What do you notice about the way he speaks? Look at the definitions of Register, Timbre, Prosodity, Pace, Pitch and Volume and reflect on how he used these to deliver his speech.
b) Watch from 3 minutes 10. What else does Obama use to be an effective speaker?
Register | A vocal register is a range of tones in the human voice produced by a particular vibratory pattern of the vocal folds. eg falsetto, baritone |
Timbre | The quality of a sound made by a particular voice or musical instrument |
Prosodity | the rhythm and melody of the voice, including intonation, stress, and pauses. Prosody can provide cues to lexical meaning. |
Pace | The speed at which someone speaks, eg the speed of response in an argument |
Pitch | The relative highness or lowness of a tone as perceived by the ear |
Volume | The perceived loudness of the speaker. Loudness is what the audience actually perceives and it correlates with the physical strength (amplitude) |
Supporting Powerpoint for INTRODUCING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Approaching conversations about Effective Communication
Lesson plan: Introducing Effective Communication
Aim: To analyse and understand what makes an effective communicator through self and peer assessment
Step 1. Forcefield Analysis to make future targets for being an effective communicator. Using the information and reflections you gatherered from your discussions on what makes an effective communicator, it's time to make a target to help you develop as a communicator.
Use the Forcefield analysis template to work through changes you would like to make and consider what is stopping or helping you.
Reflection: What did you learn from using the forcefield analysis tool as a decision making tool?
Teacher's notes on activity
Step 2: Creative thinking and Communication: Think, Pair, Share and Projecting Across Time
Consider the topic: 'Effective Communication in Personal and Professional Settings'.
1. Individually, map what you think or already know. What do you know about the topic?
2. Discuss your ideas in a pair and complete the following stages
3. Reach back in time. How has the topic played out in different forms / contexts / places over the last 10 years?
The last 100 years? The last 1000 years?
4. Reach forward in time. How do you think the topic will play out 10 years into the future? 100 years? 1000 years?
5. Map how your thinking about the topic has changed. How do you view the topic now?
Create a visual presentation in your pair and share your ideas with the rest of the class.
Teacher notes
Giving feedback: Assess each other's presentations using what you have discovered about effective communication from Julian Treasure's suggestions.
Use a ladder of feedback for each group such as:
Step 1: Clarify
Ask clarifying questions for anything you did not understand in the presentation. Be careful not to be criticising.
Step 2: Value
Say what you liked about their presentation. Spend time on this.
Step 3: State concerns
If you want to state concerns, start sentences with qualified terms: “I wonder if . . .” “It seems to me . . .” Keep it general and not personal. Clarify what they think before moving onto suggestions.
Step 4: Suggest
Make suggestions about how to improve things.
Further Teacher notes on setting up feedback
Active or Affective Listening
To really use a new skill across all areas of the course, work and personal relationships, you have to explicitly put it into practice and reflect on how it felt to utilise it and the possible impact it might have in the future.
Are you listening?
a) In pairs, take turns to tell each other an experience you had when you found yourself in an argument or conflct with someone. Then discuss how did you show you were listening to each other?
b) Look at the following table which gives examples of active listening techniques. Do you need any clarification on any of the terms? Which ones do you think you used?
c) Now try part a) again and this time try and use two specific techniques explicitly.
d) Discuss with your partner what impact you feel this had.
Teacher notes with expanded definitions
Reflect, in your journal, on your own performance using the criteria you used for others and on the following Learning Outcome:
LO2: Demonstrate the ability to apply thinking processes to personal and professional situations
Reflect, in your journal, on the attributes of the learner profile and how they apply to showing effective communication