CHAPTER TWELVE

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CHAPTER TWELVE

• Communication and Conflict Resolution Skills

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Effective communication occurs only if the
receiver understands the exact information or
idea that the sender intended to transmit.
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What is involved in the communication process?

• Idea First, information exists in the mind of the
  sender. This can be a concept, idea, information,
  or feelings.
• Encodes Next, a message is sent to a receiver in
  words or other symbols.
• Decoding The receiver then translates the words
  or symbols into a concept or information.

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Barriers to Communication

• Culture, background, and bias
• Noise
• Ourselves
• Perception
• Message
• Environmental Smothering
• Stress

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Filters

• These barriers can be thought of as filters, that
  is, the message leaves the sender, goes through
  the above filters, and is then heard by the
  receiver. These filters muffle the message. And
  the way to overcome filters is through active
  listening and feedback.

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Active Listening

• Spends more time listening than talking.
• Does not finish the sentence of others.
• Does not answer questions with questions.
• Are aware of biases. We all have them...we need
  to control them.
• Never daydreams or become preoccupied with their
  own thoughts when others talk.
• Lets the other speaker talk. Does not dominate
  the conversation.
• Plans responses after the other person has
  finished speaking...NOT while they are speaking.
  Provides feedback, but does not interrupt
  incessantly.
• Analyzes by looking at all the relevant factors
  and asking open-ended questions.
• Walks the person through your analysis
  (summarize).
• Keeps the conversation on what the speaker
  says...NOT on what interests them.
• Takes brief notes. This forces them to
  concentrate on what is being said.

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Types of Feedback

• Evaluative Making a judgment about the worth,
  goodness, or appropriateness of the other
  person's statement.
• Interpretive Paraphrasing - attempting to
  explain what the other person's statement means.
• Supportive Attempting to assist or bolster the
  other communicator.
• Probing Attempting to gain additional
  information, continue the discussion, or clarify
  a point.
• Understanding Attempting to discover completely
  what the other communicator means by her
  statements.

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Non Verbal Communication

• Eye contact
• Facial Expressions
• Gestures
• Proximity
• Posture and body orientation
• Vocal

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Speaking Hints

• When speaking or trying to explain something, ask
  the listeners if they are following you.
• Ensure the receiver has a chance to comment or
  ask questions.
• Try to put yourself in the other person's shoes.
• Consider the feelings of the receiver.
• Be clear about what you say.
• Look at the receiver.
• Make sure your words match your tone and body
  language (Nonverbal Behaviors).
• Vary your tone and pace.
• Do not be vague, but on the other hand, Do not
  complicate what you are saying with too much
  detail.
• Do not ignore signs of confusion.

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Communication and Leadership

• Effective leaders are also effective
  communicators
• To be effective, the leader must synchronize
  verbal and nonverbal behavior
• Technology has had a meaningful impact on
  leaders communication and coordination

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Inspirational Speaking and Writing

• Be credible
• Use the persuade package of influence tactics
• Gear your message to the listener
• Sell group members on the benefits of your
  suggestions
• Use heavy-impact and emotion-provoking words

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Inspirational Speaking and Writing

• Use anecdotes to communicate meaning
• Back up conclusions with data (to a point)
• Minimize language errors, junk words, and
  vocalized pauses
• Write crisp, clear memos, letters, and reports,
  including a front-loaded message
• Use a power-oriented linguistic style

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Principles of Persuasion

• Liking People like those who like them
• Reciprocity People repay in kind
• Social proof People follow the lead of similar
  others

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Principles of Persuasion

• Consistency People align with their clear
  commitments
• Authority People defer to experts
• Scarcity People want more of what they can have
  less of

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Principles of Supportive Communication

• Problem oriented, not person oriented
• Descriptive, not evaluative
• Based on congruence, not incongruence
• Focused on validating, rather than invalidating,
  people
• Specific, not global

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Principles of Supportive Communication

• Conjunctive, not disjunctive
• Owned, not disowned
• Requires listening as well as sending messages

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Attributions and Cross-Cultural Communication

• Effective leaders must overcome communication
  barriers created by dealing with people from
  different cultures
• A major underlying factor in overcoming
  cross-cultural communication barriers is to
  understand attributions

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Attributions

• The judgments we make about the behavior and
  attitudes of others
• Three factors affecting attributions include
• Perception
• Stereotyping
• Ethnocentrism

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Overcoming and Preventing Communication Barriers

• Be sensitive to the fact that cross-cultural
  communication barriers exist
• Challenge your cultural assumptions
• Show respect for all workers
• Use straightforward language, and speak slowly
  and clearly

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Overcoming and Preventing Communication Barriers
(contd)

• When the situation is appropriate, speak in the
  language of the people from another culture
• Observe cross-cultural differences in etiquette
• Do not be diverted by style, accent, grammar, or
  personal appearance

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Overcoming and Preventing Communication Barriers
(contd)

• Avoid racial or ethnic identification except when
  it is essential to communication
• Be sensitive to differences in nonverbal
  communication
• Be attentive to individual differences in
  appearance

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Conflict Management Styles

• The competitive style is a desire to win ones
  own concerns at the expense of the other party,
  or to dominate
• The accommodative style favors appeasement, or
  satisfying the others concerns without taking
  care of ones own
• The sharing style is halfway between domination
  and appeasement

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Conflict Management Styles

• The collaborative style reflects a desire to
  fully satisfy the desires of both parties
• The avoidant style combines unassertiveness and a
  lack of cooperation

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Management Secrets of the Chimps Frans
de Waal

• The top executive is always paranoid -- with good
  reason.
• Loners are powerless, since they lack a coalition
  to help in crisis.
• Meetings are a forum for testing the strength of
  coalitions. (Whose jokes go over?)
• Warring parties must mend fences to carry on with
  the business of the day.

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Negotiating and Bargaining

• Conflicts can be considered situations calling
  for negotiating and bargaining, or conferring
  with another person in order to resolve a problem
• Two approaches to negotiation
• Distributive bargaining
• Integrative bargaining

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Negotiation Techniques

• Begin with a plausible demand or offer
• Focus on interests, not positions
• Search for the value in differences between the
  two sides
• Be sensitive to international differences in
  negotiating style