Communication Skills MMS 1 2011

Name : Clarence Dantis Roll No: 610

Identifying Strengths and weaknesss using the 7Cs of Effective Communication as determinants 1. Completeness - The communication must be complete. It should convey all facts required by the audience. The sender of the message must take into consideration the receivers mind set and convey the message accordingly. A complete communication has following features: 2. Conciseness - Conciseness means wordiness, i.e, communicating what you want to convey in least possible words without forgoing the other Cs of communication. Conciseness is a necessity for effective communication. Concise communication has following features: 3. Consideration - Consideration implies stepping into the shoes of others. Effective communication must take the audience into consideration, i.e, the audiences view points, background, mind-set, education level, etc. Make an attempt to envisage your audience, their requirements, emotions as well as problems. Ensure that the selfrespect of the audience is maintained and their emotions are not at harm. Modify your words in message to suit the audiences needs while making your message complete. Features of considerate communication are as follows: 4. Clarity - Clarity implies emphasizing on a specific message or goal at a time, rather than trying to achieve too much at once. Clarity in communication has following features: 5. Concreteness - Concrete communication implies being particular and clear rather than fuzzy and general. Concreteness strengthens the confidence. Concrete message has following features: 6. Courtesy - Courtesy in message implies the message should show the senders expression as well as should respect the receiver. The sender of the message should be sincerely polite, judicious, reflective and enthusiastic. Courteous message has following features: 7. Correctness - Correctness in communication implies that there are no grammatical errors in communication. Correct communication has following features

Strengths and Weaknesses using 7 Cs as Determinants Strengths Completeness Conciseness Correctness Courtesy Correcteness Weakness Consideration Clarity

Identifying Strengths and weaknesss using Oral Presentation as a determinant To identify Strengths and weakness I have looked at the following aspects and how well do i the following Pre Presentation tasks 1. Determine the purpose (to instruct, persuade, entertain) 2. Analyze the audience and the occasion 3. Select the main ideas 4. Research the topic 5. Organize the data and write the draft 6. Create visual aids

Strengths Determine the purpose Analyze the audience Select main ideas Research the topic Creating visual Aids Organizing the data Research the topic

Weakness

Kinds of Oral presentations

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Extemporaneous

Most preferred by audiences and speakers, this method allows the speaker to use notes. It allows more eye contact with the audience, permits to establish rapport, and enables to move at ease. Reading

A typical example would be news readers or a politicians speech Memorization

Few speakers use it as it is difficult to memorize an whole topic, memorizing of pointers can be done Impromptu

Impromptu speech is delivered when you are called to speak when you least expect it . Strengths Reading Memorization Extemporaneous Weakness Impromptu

Oral Delivery The following are the key parameters for a successful oral delivery Pitch Rate Volume Vocal Quality Pronunciation Strengths Weakness

Volume Pronunciation

Rate Pitch Vocal Quality

Non-Verbal Delivery 1. Posture An erect, straight and unbending posture symbolizes confidence and helps connect and create rapport with the audience. Posture is important because the outward appearance mirrors the inner mood. 2. Movement Taking few steps during presentations helps to hold attention as does any moving object. Movement also helps in getting rid of nervousness and is also a good way to suggest transitions from one topic to another. 3. Gestures At a simplistic level any movement of the hands, arms, head, shoulders are termed gestures. At a micro level there is an entire science of the body movements called kinesics of which gestures are a part. 4. Facial Expressions You must not only feel but show interest in your ideas. A smile suggests that the topic interests you. It includes eye contact. Eye contact adds a sense of directness with the audience, and suggests respect and goodwill. It creates a favourable impression of you as a speaker. 5. Appearance

Appearance can hold the audiences attention or put them off. You must dress according to the companys culture. Strengths Posture Appearance Gestures Weakness Movement Facial Expressions

After Analyzing my Strengths and weaknesses based on the above parameters, I have reached to a conclusion that my Strength is 1. Pre Presentation Preparation Reasons I think and people have often suggested that I do a good job in researching the topic in depth Given a topic I have always tried to search for a central idea and always make 1 slide each for a particular idea Whenever I deliver a presentation , I always keep in mind the audience and use words that can be easily grasped depending on the intellectual capacity of the audience Good at preparing PowerPoint presentations and also can show all the facts and figures by means of graphs with the help of excel I always have a habit of making a draft which helps me to get ideas to build upon

In the coming 6-9 months I will take the following steps to reinforce my strengths Keep the purpose in mind : Do I need to inform, persuade, or entertain? Work even harder and master powerpoint, which is essential to suceed Select the core ideas, the core concepts on which the presentation should be based on?

Research on the Topic thoroughly, though I feel I do a good job at researching I still feel I can improve by reading books and not only relying on internet information

Work hard on verifying information that is to be presented and not just take it blindly After understanding the importance of rehearsals I shall rehearse by giving a mock presentation to my friends or in front of the mirror Try and include pointers in the slides that would prompt me to speak on a certain issue in case I forget Prepare a list of questions that can be asked to me during the presentation and prepare comprehensive answers to them Prepare questions to ask the audience to build rapport

After Analyzing my Strengths and weaknesses based on the above parameters, I have reached to a conclusion that my Weakness is Oral Delivery

Reasons Pitch I think I can do better if I intonate efficiently while speaking which will making my presentations more effective Rate I have been given feedbacks sometimes that I am too fast or sometimes too slow Volume is low because I feel conscious in front of the audience in the beginning but once I feel comfortable I go loud and loose consistency Movement I am often stuck to my place when I present, movement can draw attention Gestures sometimes gesture more than required Facial expressions I think I should smile at the audience often

In the coming 6-9 months I will take the following steps to turn my weaknesss to strengths
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To improve the pitch I shall use the various exercises available on the internet

Being conscious about the rate of speech and including proper breaks will improve the rate of speech Intonating wherever required will make the presentation more effective Rehearse many times to build confidence which will solve the volume problem Make it a point to move about while delivering a presentation which can grab attention Include a right mix of facial movements and gestures

Communication Auditing Techniques Recording my own voice and check for improvements. This will also help me to understand my grammatical errors and give an understanding or my pitch volume etc. Rehearsing in front of the mirror will help improve my body language and will make me understand wether my gestures are appropriate which will help build confidence Creating a communications improvement team in college which will provide feedbacks on the presentations done in college from time to time.