Interpersonal and written communication techniques Essay

Lip-reading: One skill that I have not fully develop to make me more employable in the I.T industry is the lip reading technique. Lip reading is the movement of lips and tongue; body language and facial expressions add to this technique, as it helps you to lip read better. With this technique I learnt that you have to look at the way a person stresses their speech, the rhythm and phrasing when trying to lip read. A good thing that I find about lip reading is that it provides a method of communication for deafened people. However, I found it quite difficult to lip read, because you have to pay full attention and look at lip shape and movement at all times, preventing me from concentrating. This technique is useful because it is a means of communication for the severely or totally deafened people. I also found this technique difficult to use because not all words are easy to read, some people mumble or even covered their hands when they were talking. This prevented me to lip read exactly what they say. I can further improve on this technique, by practising it over and over again, as it takes time and patience. Through this I will also be improving my confidence and strengthening my communication ability. Body language: I have developed my method of body language to make myself more employable to the i.t industry. Body language is the non-verbal signals as a method of communication through stance, gestures, facial expression etc. It also builds better relationships at home or at school. Some people may find it difficult to use body language in order to communicate, because they might find it hard to understand their gestures or facial expressions to convey what they are trying to say. This technique is useful and important in order to send the right message and to be able to read the signals the other person is sending back. Spoken communication is essential, as well as body language and facial expressions. By giving of natural body language, you are  showing that you are paying complete attention to what the employer is saying. Barriers to communication: I have develop the skill of barriers to communications. I developed this by making sure that I did not make the audience bored with my presentation. I did this by projecting my voice, so that it was loud and clear for the audience to hear and understand. Also, I made sure that my mobile phone was switched off, to avoid any distractions whilst presenting my presentation. This is a good skill to have because when communicating because when in a Conversation you are showing that you are paying full attention to everything they are saying. Positive language: I have developed the skill of using positive gesture. For example, having a smile on my face can make the other person feel more comfortable with what they are trying to say. I have also been using a genuine, formal tone of voice when addressing my peers, which makes me come across as someone with a positive attitude. I used ‘nodding’ as a form of positive language when someone was talking or explaining something to me. This shows that I am in agreement with what they are trying to say. In some conversations I may have summarised what they said to show that I have been listening to what they have said. Negative language: I have developed the skill to avoid using negative language with the improvement in my positive language. The use of negative language when communication with another person can make them feel really uncomfortable, this may also make them not want to talk to you. I stopped using negative facial expressions, to make myself come across more positively than negatively. I respond to people even if I have no interest in what they are saying. Types of questions: This is one of the skills that I have not improved on. I don’t tend to ask open questions when in a conversation. When I am not interested in a conversation I tend to either say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to questions. This stops the conversation from flowing and shows my lack of interest. This technique can be improved/developed by avoiding the use of closed questions, because it  may show that you don’t want to be a part of that particular conversation and want it to end by giving dull replies. Speed of response: The speed of response technique depends on what the question or conversation is about. There may be some questions that I might be asked that require time to think to be able to give a clear respond to what they have asked. However, in some particular conversations my speed of response is quite fast, because I am aware of what to say. So, my speed of response depends completely on what the conversation or questions are about. Written communication skills: Capitalisation: A skills that I have improved in written communication is capitalisation. I have improved on this skill by always ensuring that I always use capital letters when writing a letter or important emails as it is essential and makes the letter or email look more professional. Capital letters are use at the start of sentences, names and country names. They are also used abbreviations for UK, USA etc. The idea of capitalisation is to make sure your sentences are clear. They can also be used for emphasis, you could capitalise words within your work and in order to emphasise your opinion. It may be difficult to read over your work to check that you have added capital letters if you are in a rush. Structure: One of the skills that I have not developed in written communication is structure, because I find it time consuming to structure a piece of writing. However, it is important to structure your piece of writing so that it makes sense. You will be able to order your writing in order of importance. Ordering your writing is important, because the reader may not understand your writing. I can further improve on this skills by making sure that I order and structure my work neatly as I go along, instead of leaving to the end, which makes it more time consuming. If I don’t do this then I am making it more difficult for myself trying to figure out what I have written. Smileys: I have improved on this skills, because I am able to use smileys and  emotions, which makes the conversation flow more effectively. However they are only used informally and not it letters. They can change the mood of you’re writing to show what mood you are in. It is also easier to get messages across to the other person. It is easier to show excitement or sarcasm with the use of emotions. They can also be used for advertisements, which can make the poster look more interesting and can easily grab the reader’s attention. However, they are not to be used in letters or in important emails, as it might give a bad impression of you, and you may not be taken seriously. Therefore, it is important to improve on this technique, as you should be aware of when you should or should not use these informal methods of communicating. Proof reading/spelling/grammar: I have not improved on the technique of proof reading my spelling and grammar after writing a letter or email. I think it would be important to improve on this technique as my letter would look more professional. Sending a letter or email that has poor spelling and poor use of grammar, shows your lack of interest and you will not be taken seriously. I can further improve on this technique by taking time out to proof read my work before sending it out. Proof reading my work can make a huge difference, because I will be taken more seriously if my letter is written in a more professional manner. Alternative viewpoints: I have not improved on the technique of giving or taking on board alternative viewpoints. I think it is a good idea to maybe take on board alternative viewpoints given to me by other people, so that I try more than one way of dong certain tasks. I think I can improve on this technique by giving other people my alternative viewpoints. In this way it shows that I have been listening to what the other person has been saying. By taking on board other the viewpoints of other people will help me to improve on my work. However, it may be difficult to grasp, because I rarely ever take on alternative viewpoints. Note taking: I have improved on the technique of note taking since September. I have improved on this skill, as I had started to take notes of important topics discussed during class discussions. Also I have started to highlight the key  facts on the hand-outs that were given to me. So that I focus mainly on the key points. This made it easier for me when it came to revision, because I knew exactly what I had to revise on for the exam. I also annotated the points on the hand outs, so that I am aware of what it means when I come to revise on that topic, as I am able to clearly understand it with extra detail. Guidelines: I have improved on the technique of using guidelines when doing my work. In September when starting my ict btec course, I downloaded the assignment brief for each unit. I always had the assignment brief out whenever I did a task, to help me understand what I have got to do to achieve the task clearly with step to step instructions given of everything I need to add in order to pass the task. Having improved on this technique was useful, because it gave me extra information of what the course is about, the deadlines for each task etc. Using the assignment brief made me more independent as I didn’t need to constantly ask my teacher for help.