Core Concepts

• This module focuses on refining interpersonal communication skills to improve clarity, engagement, and collaboration within professional environments.
• It delves into small group dynamics, analyzing interactions in team discussions, brainstorming, and operational meetings to enhance productivity.
• Best practices for larger, formal meetings are examined, covering preparation, effective execution, and accurate documentation for actionable results.
• Fundamental principles emphasized include active listening, constructive feedback, and strategic questioning as cornerstones of effective professional communication.
• The overall objective is to equip individuals with the necessary skills to navigate diverse communication scenarios confidently and effectively.

Key Terms Definitions:

• Interpersonal Communication: Communication occurring typically face-to-face between individuals.
• Active Listening: Fully concentrating on, understanding, responding to, and remembering what is being said, involving attention, nonverbal cues, feedback, questioning, and summarizing.
• Feedback: Information provided to an individual about their behaviour or performance, aimed at encouraging more effective future actions (formative) or assessing against criteria (evaluative).
• Small Group Meetings: Gatherings of a limited number of people for specific purposes, such as brainstorming or operational planning.
• Larger Meetings: More formal gatherings, often involving structured agendas and protocols, such as board or advisory meetings.
• Minutes of Meeting: The official written record of the proceedings, decisions, and actions taken during a formal meeting.

Improving Interpersonal Communication

Improving Interpersonal Communication - Definition

Face-to-face communication between individuals, particularly relevant for managers in professional settings.

Improving Interpersonal Communication - Key Insights

• Effective communication requires adapting to the situation and the other person's context (knowledge, willingness).
• Responding should be rational, considerate, and free from excessive emotional reactions.
• Active listening is crucial, encompassing attention, focus, minimizing distractions, using nonverbal cues, providing feedback, asking clarifying questions, and summarizing.
• An assertive communication style (confident yet considerate) is generally preferred over submissive or aggressive styles.
• Professional interactions benefit from conciseness and avoiding irrelevant personal comments.
• Preparation prevents being caught off guard and enhances effectiveness.
• Understanding self-awareness and information sharing can be aided by models like the Johari window.
• Receiving feedback helps reduce the 'blind spot' in self-awareness.

Improving Interpersonal Communication - Comparisons

• Communication Styles: Assertive (balanced) vs. Submissive (passive) vs. Aggressive (forceful).

Improving Interpersonal Communication - Model

• Johari Window: A framework for understanding self-awareness based on known/unknown information to self and others (Open, Blind, Hidden, Unknown areas).

Giving and Receiving Feedback

Giving and Receiving Feedback - Definition

The process of providing information about past behaviour to influence future actions positively within a business context.

Giving and Receiving Feedback - Key Insights

• The primary goal is to encourage more effective future behaviour.
• Focus should be on formative (improvement-focused) and evaluative (assessment-based) feedback.
• Effective delivery requires recipient buy-in, grounding in evidence/observation, and checking understanding.
• A conducive environment and congruence (matching verbal and nonverbal cues) are essential.
• Feedback should target goals, outcomes, and evidence, avoiding personal attacks.
• When receiving feedback, key steps are to receive, clarify, and reflect.
• The aim is a win-win outcome, positively impacting future performance professionally.

Giving and Receiving Feedback - Examples

• Types of Feedback:
  • Formative: Aimed at development and improvement.
  • Evaluative: Assessing performance against set standards or criteria.
  • Punitive: Focused on penalizing past negative behaviour (generally discouraged).

Giving and Receiving Feedback - Technique

• Hamburger Method: A technique for delivering constructive criticism by sandwiching it between positive comments (Compliment - Criticism - Compliment) to increase receptiveness.

Asking and Responding to Questions

Asking and Responding to Questions - Definition

Utilizing questions as a vital tool to drive understanding, foster engagement, and shape relationships in communication.

Asking and Responding to Questions - Key Insights

• Effective communication depends on skillful framing and responding to questions.
• The intent behind asking a question significantly influences the interaction.
• Choosing the right question type, timing, and audience is critical.
• Questions should be short, concise, and direct.
• Active engagement with the response is necessary after asking.
• When responding, avoid evasiveness or ambiguity.
• Buying time (e.g., by asking for clarification or rephrasing) can be a useful response tactic.

Asking and Responding to Questions - Comparisons

• Question Types:
  • Open-ended: Allow for detailed, broad responses.
  • Direct/Closed: Limit responses to specific, often short, answers (e.g., yes/no).
  • Indirect: Disguised or subtle ways of seeking information.

Asking and Responding to Questions - Technique

• Funnel Technique: A questioning strategy that starts with broad, general questions and gradually narrows down to more specific inquiries.

Managing Small Group Meetings

Managing Small Group Meetings - Definition

Overseeing interactions in smaller gatherings like focus groups, brainstorming sessions, or operational meetings.

Managing Small Group Meetings - Key Insights

• Brainstorming focuses on generating a high volume of ideas without initial judgment; all ideas are recorded.
• Operational meetings facilitate daily planning, task prioritization, and work allocation.
• All meetings require structured planning, execution, and closure.
• Pre-meeting activities include defining purpose and informing participants.
• During the meeting, establish ground rules, outline the process, and meticulously capture actions and decisions.
• Effective management involves timekeeping, summarizing discussions, and concluding appropriately.
• Common challenges include unclear objectives, time inefficiency, and interpersonal conflict.
• Understanding group members' knowledge and motivations aids management.

Managing Small Group Meetings - Examples

• Types of Small Group Meetings:
  • Focus Groups
  • Brainstorming Sessions
  • Operational/Team Huddles
  • Project Status Meetings

Facilitating and Participating in Larger Meetings

Facilitating and Participating in Larger Meetings - Definition

Managing or contributing to more formal gatherings such as board meetings, advisory council sessions, or large-scale briefings.

Facilitating and Participating in Larger Meetings - Key Insights

• Formal meetings often necessitate an agenda note or background note distributed beforehand.
• The agenda dictates the meeting's structure and flow.
• The Chairperson plays a vital role in guiding discussion, managing participation, and controlling the meeting's pace.
• Outcomes are formally documented in the minutes of meeting, which can have legal standing.
• Minutes must include essential details: title, date, time, location, chairperson, attendee list (including absentees), copy list, and scribe details.
• Confidentiality or privacy statements may be included.
• Minutes adhere to a formal register, neutral tone, are written impersonally, typically use the past tense and passive voice, and maintain a third-person perspective.

Facilitating and Participating in Larger Meetings - Examples

• Types of Larger Meetings:
  • Board Meetings
  • Advisory Meetings
  • Annual General Meetings (AGMs)
• Types of Minutes:
  • Verbatim: Word-for-word transcript.
  • Narrative: Summary of discussions and flow.
  • Resolution: Focus solely on decisions made.
  • Action: Primarily lists assigned tasks and deadlines.

Conclusion

This module provides a robust framework for enhancing both interpersonal communication and group interaction skills crucial for professional effectiveness. It highlights the interconnectedness of core techniques like active listening, feedback exchange, and purposeful questioning. Furthermore, it outlines systematic approaches for managing both small, dynamic group sessions and larger, formal meetings, emphasizing the importance of preparation, structured facilitation, and meticulous documentation (minutes). Mastery of these elements fosters improved collaboration, sounder decision-making, and greater confidence across various professional communication contexts.