Listening Skills : First Rule of Communication

Listening Aid (Photo credit: raphaelstrada)

Listening Skills :  Seek first to understand, then to be understood

• Pay attention to others
• Willing to judge the speaker ideas
• Able to organise what they hear
• Able to think questions to ask the speaker
• Will him/her able to find the speaker’s personal habits distraction

Listening Skills
Use of TV, Recorder and Radio
Comprehending conversions on everyday social life
Sample Self-assessment Listening Inventory
Learning How to Listen
· Do I pay attention? A) Yes B) No C) Sometimes
· Do noises in the room interrupt my careful listening?
· Am I willing to judge the speaker’s ideas without letting my own ideas get in
the way?
· Do I find the speaker’s personal habits distracting (e.g., clearing the throat
constantly)?
Listening for Information
· Can I organize in my mind what I hear so that I can remember it?
· Can I think up questions to ask the speaker about ideas that I don’t understand?
· Do I understand the meaning of unknown words from the rest of what the
speaker says?
Listening Carefully
· Can I separate facts from explanations or from opinions?

"Look who's listening" - NARA - 514907 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

· Can I tell the difference between important and unimportant details?
· Can I pick out unsupported points that a speaker makes?
· Am I able to accept points of view that differ from my own?
Listening Creatively
· Am I able to identify specific words or phrases that impress me as I listen?
· Do I get caught up in the poem, story, or play so that I believe the action is
truly taking place?
· Am I able to put what I hear into my own words so that I can describe it to
others?

Basics of Communication

Communication is simply a two way process of exchanging ideas, information or transmitting verbal and non-verbal messages.

Effective Communication

Effective communication = productive relationships

We communicate to…

·         Get information

·         Motivate

·         Praise

·         Get feedback

·         Sell

·         Greet

Barriers to Communication

·         Premature evaluation

·         Inattention

·         Stereotyping

·         Assumption

·         Generalizing

·         Poor listening skills

·         Selective listening

·         Fixed ideas

·         Ignoring information contrary to our belief

·         Noise

·         Emotions

·         Poor listening skills

7c’s Of Communication

Business Etiquette: Communicating Effectively

Etiquette  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

THE ART OF CORRESPONDENCE
• Correct correspondence etiquette is part of your professional image which becomes a visual extension of yourself
• Your stationary should be congruent with your business correspondence needs and should include official business stationary, informal business stationary, and informal note cards

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS LETTER WRITING TIPS
-Have a strong sense of purpose about a letter before writing it
-Limit the letter to one page -Get to the point early
-Emphasize the reader’s perspective…. “What’s in it for me?”
-Avoid beginning a paragraph with: “I”, “We”, “My”, or “Our”
-Limit your sentences to 20 words or less -Use active verbs
-Keep your words to a maximum of 3 syllables -Never write in anger
-Be creative to make your letter stand out from others
-End with an action step that suggests the reader’s next move or yours

Soft Skills Vs Hard Skills

Skills logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hard skills are tangible skills that are easy to teach, identify, and measure.  Some examples of hard skills are occupational skills such as technical and administrative; Hard skills also include your degrees, certifications, job titles.

Soft skills are intangible interpersonal skills that are associated with an individual’s ability to effectively interact with others.   These skills are not easy to measure but they can be observed in individuals who possess the ability to interact with people well.


The relation between both soft and hard skills is that of relation between wife and husband.  It is tough task to conclude that husband is superior to wife or vice versa.

English Communication Skills

idea (Photo credit: Tony Dowler)

Asking for information

Excuse me. Could you tell me where ... is?
Excuse me. Can you tell me...?
Do you know...?
You wouldn't know..., would you?
Do you happen to know...?
I'd like to know..., please.
And there's another thing I'd like to know...
I would be interested to know...
Please could you tell me...

Asking for directions

Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to ... (place), please?
Which way is the ... (place), please?
Could you tell me where ... is, please?
Do you know where ... is?

Asking someone to repeat

The Best Email Etiquettes

We often found ourselves clicking "reply," typing up a quick response, and hitting "send" without much caring, but experts approve that our e-mail behavior has the potential to sabotage our reputation both personally and professionally.

We probably write emails every day – to friends, to family, to colleagues, to boss, to clients and so on. So, being able to write gorgeous emails is a crucial skill to Enjoy communicating while being perceived as a caring and intelligent human being.

Here are some very beautiful etiquette tips from the experts.

1 Be simply concise and to the point

2. Answer all questions clearly

3. Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation

4 Make it little personal

5. Use templates for frequently used responses

6. Answer promptly

7. Do not attach unnecessary files

8. Use proper structure & layout

9. Do not overuse the high priority option

10. Do not write in CAPITALS

11. Don't leave out the message thread

12. Add disclaimers to your emails

13. Read the email before you send it

14. Do not overuse Reply to All

15. Mailings personalization : use the bcc: field or do a mail merge

16. Take care with abbreviations and emoticons

17. Be careful with formatting

18. Take care with rich text and HTML messages

19. Do not forward chain letters

20. Do not request delivery and read receipts