Is Effective communication

Verbal, Vocal or Visual?

How to communicate effectively 1

 The Key Elements of
Interpersonal Communication
 Eye Communication
 Posture and Movement
 Gestures and Facial Expressions
 Dress and Appearance
 Voice and Vocal Variety
 Language, Pauses and non-words

How to communicate effectively 2

 The Key Elements of
Interpersonal Communication
 Listener Involvement
 Using humour
 The natural self

How to communicate effectively 3

EYE COMMUNICATION

How to communicate effectively 4

 What some people do
 Doug is a minister of a small church. When he leads
worship, he keeps his eyes closed 2 to 3 seconds
between glances at his audience, perhaps giving the
impression of aloofness. This habit pattern also
carries into his personal conversations. He doesn’t
know he has ‘slow blink’, which causes his listeners
to feel distant.

How to communicate effectively 5

Eye Communication - what some people do

John is a film producer who habitually

looks at the lower right cheek of his
listeners. He gives an impression of
awkwardness and distance without
knowing it.

How to communicate effectively 6

Eye Communication - what some people do

Marion is a personnel director for a

large organization. As she interviews
people she often looks out of her
window as she talks and asks
questions, appearing uninterested and
distant.

How to communicate effectively 7

Eye Communication - what some people do

Pat is a great professional speaker, exciting audiences

with dramatic personal stories and anecdotes, except
that she undermines her personal impact by looking at
people in her audience for about half a second, or
less. Although she feels she has good eye contact,
the individuals in her audience do not feel she is
talking to them.

How to communicate effectively 8

Eye Communication - what some people do

Marion is a personnel director for a large

organization. As she interviews people
she often looks out of her window as
she talks and asks questions, appearing
uninterested and distant.

How to communicate effectively 9

 Where and how do you look?
 Checklist:
Answer each question listed below.

1. Do you know where you look when

you are talking to another person?

2. Are you aware where you look when

you are listening to another person?
How to communicate effectively 10
Eye Communication

3. Do you have a feel for how long to

maintain eye contact in a one-to-one
conversation?

4. Do you know how long to maintain eye

contact with specific individuals when
presenting to a large group?

How to communicate effectively 11

Eye Communication

5. Are you aware where you look when

you look away from a person?

6. Do you know what eye dart is and

whether or not you have it?

7. Do you know what ‘slow blink’ is and

why it occurs?

How to communicate effectively 12

Eye Communication

8. Do you realize that eye contact is the

most important behavioural skill in
interpersonal communication?

How to communicate effectively 13

POSTURE AND MOVEMENT

How to communicate effectively 14

 What some people do
Phyllis runs her own consulting firm. She thought she
had a big tummy as a little girl, so she consciously
drew in her stomach at all times. This caused her
shoulders to go back, so that as an adult she has very
erect body posture. Because of the confident way she
walks, she commands attention when she enters a
room.

How to communicate effectively 15

Posture and movement - what people do

Derek is a chairman of a major

transportation company. He attended
an executive seminar with several of his
employees. Because of his poor
posture, the seminar leader perceived
him as an employee rather than the
boss.

How to communicate effectively 16

Posture and movement

1. Do you lean back on one hip when you are

talking in a small group?

2. Do you cross your legs when you are

standing and chatting informally?

3. Is your upper body posture erect? Are your

shoulders in a straight line or do they curve
inwards toward your chest?

How to communicate effectively 17

Posture and movement

4. When you speak formally, do you plant

yourself behind a lectern or table?

5. Do you communicate impatience by

tapping your foot or a pencil when you are
listening?

How to communicate effectively 18

Posture and movement

6. Do you know if you have the ‘fig leaf’ or

other nervous or inhibiting gesture habits
when addressing a group?

7. Do you move around when talking

informally?

How to communicate effectively 19

GESTURES AND FACIAL
EXPRESSIONS

How to communicate effectively 20

Gestures and Facial Expressions - What some people do

Former US President Jimmy Carter was

considered to have unusually low energy.
Carter’s media adviser inadvisably suggested
that he show more energy by gesturing during
a televised speech. Ironically, the topic of the
speech was the Energy crisis. President
Carter’s teleprompter was marked at certain
key words for him to emphasize with gestures.

How to communicate effectively 21

Gestures and Facial Expressions - What some people do

It looked so awkward and uncomfortable that

was written up the next day by reporters. The
stories said Carter looked like a ‘wooden
puppet’. The moral is that everyone, (even
presidents), should work within their natural
energy framework.

How to communicate effectively 22

1. Do you smile under pressure, or does
your face become stony?

2. When you talk on the phone, do you

find yourself smiling or frowning?

3. Do you have an inhibiting gesture - an

awkward place where you hands tend to
go when speaking under pressure?

How to communicate effectively 23

4. Do you ever raise your hand or arm
above waist level when making a
presentation to a group?

5. Do you lean forward and gesture when

you are seated, just as you do when
you are making a presentation?

How to communicate effectively 24

6. Do you communicate impatience by
drumming your fingers on the table
when you are listening?

7. Do you fingers twitch if you try to keep

them at your sides when you are
speaking to a group?

How to communicate effectively 25

DRESS AND APPEARANCE

How to communicate effectively 26

 Examples
 For almost 15 years, Bert Deckeer had a beard.
The response he received was mostly positive
and he liked it. When it began to turn grey, he
thought of tinting it, but decided to shave it off.
After a few days, he learned that 90 percent of
the people he talked to liked the beardless Bert
better.

How to communicate effectively 27

Dress and Appearance - example

 As a film producer several years ago, Bert used

to around in the tieless uniform of the film-
maker. When speaking to business groups it
was a concession to wear a tie and jacket.

How to communicate effectively 28

Dress and Appearance - example

 Today, he is embarrassed to think of the

audience’s reaction the time he spoke to the 50
managers of a client company with a plaid
sports jacket and black knit tie standing out
from a background of a vivid red shirt.

How to communicate effectively 29

Dress and Appearance

1. Do you look better with your hair

parted where it is now, or parted on the
other side, or frizzed, permed, crew-cut,
sprayed or tinted?

2. Do your glasses inhibit good eye

communication?

How to communicate effectively 30

Dress and Appearance

3. Do you look different with glasses or

contact lenses? Is there a difference in
effectiveness?

4. Are clothes in your wardrobe

organized out of habit or design?

5. Do people notice your jewelry?

How to communicate effectively 31

Dress and Appearance

6. Do you ever dress to shock people, or

for effect, or for any reason other than to
cover your body?

7. Are you always aware of your grooming?

(Are your nails trimmed and clean? Do
you bathe daily? Are your clothes always
clean and pressed,etc.?)

How to communicate effectively 32

VOICE AND VOCAL VARIETY

How to communicate effectively 33

 What some people do
 Albert is a well-know author. He has
written two block-buster, non-fiction best
sellers on new trends in business.
Chris a professional speaker, was
fascinated with Albert’s ideas, and drove
200 miles to hear him speak.

How to communicate effectively 34

Vocal and voice Variety

Chris was fascinated with his ideas, but fell

asleep within 15 minutes of the opening of
Albert’s presentation which was a flat dull
monotone. Albert’s voice became a barrier
to the exciting vibrancy of his ideas. Little
communication occurred

How to communicate effectively 35

Vocal and voice Variety

A world-famous football player and world-

famous golfer shared one common
distinction. They both, at the peak of their
profession, were perceived as giants in
highly competitive sports. Both have
abnormally high pitched voices

How to communicate effectively 36

Vocal and voice Variety

This has always been a shock to people who

have heard them speak for the first time. The
reality is that their authority suffers because
their voices are inconsistent with the image.
With their stature they could probably increase
their income through speaking endorsements -
if they would work on their tone of voice.

How to communicate effectively 37

Vocal and voice Variety

A well known chief executive officer of a

construction company gave a dedication to a
new building n a major city. He read his speech
in the bright outdoors to approximately a
thousand people. What he did not know was
that page 10 of his speech was inadvertently
copied twice.

How to communicate effectively 38

Vocal and voice Variety

He read it twice. Since he was not paying attention to

the words,, he didn’t realize he had done so. What
was worse, the audience didn’t know he had read it
twice either. Only his speech writer and a smattering
of others were aware of this gaff. He talked in a
monotone. By the time he got to page 10, nobody
was really listening, including himself.

How to communicate effectively 39

Vocal and voice Variety

Sue and her twin sister were called ‘the squeaky twins’
when they were at high school. Their voices were
high-pitched and stood out dramatically. Sue began to
work on improving her voice. After just a couple of
months, several people became aware of the
difference in vocal resonance between Sue and her
twin sister when they were together.

How to communicate effectively 40

Vocal and voice Variety

A major investment company recently went public.

The executives who spoke at the initial public offering
meetings read their prospectus, with every little vocal
energy. There was equally little excitement generated
by the public offering, even though the figures they
talked about were excellent.

How to communicate effectively 41

Vocal and voice Variety

1. Does your voice project to others or do

your simply speak?

2. Do you know if you have a high nasal

or low resonant voice, or one
somewhere in between?

How to communicate effectively 42

Vocal and voice Variety

3. Are you aware when your voice goes

into a monotone, and for what reasons?

4. Has anyone ever complimented you

on your nice voice?

5. Are you are of what impact your voice

has over the phone?

How to communicate effectively 43

Vocal and voice Variety

3. Are you aware when your voice goes

into a monotone, and for what reasons?

4. Has anyone ever complimented you

on your nice voice?

5. Are you are of what impact your voice

has over the phone?

How to communicate effectively 44

Vocal and voice Variety

6. Do you know how to put a ‘smile’ in

your voice?

7. Do you know what impact the tone

your voice has compared with the
content of your message?

How to communicate effectively 45

LANGUAGE, PAUSES and
NON-WORDS

How to communicate effectively 46

1. Do you know how long you pause
when you are speaking formally?

2. Does your occupation use jargon?

3. Do you use slang, code words or

jargon in your normal conversation
without realizing it?

How to communicate effectively 47

4. Can you recall the last time you looked
up a new word in the dictionary?

5. Do you know the appropriate length of

a pause?

6. Do you use pauses automatically?

7. Are you able to pause for dramatic

effect?
How to communicate effectively 48