Decoding the Truth

If a person says one thing but communicates something different through intonation and body language, tension and distrust can arise;

The visual part of nonverbal communication is often called body language. It included expressions eye movement, posture, and gestures. The face is the best communicator of nonverbal messages. By "reading" a person's facial expression, we can detect unvocalized feelings.

Appearance is important, people do judge a book by its cover, and most of us react favorable to an expected image. In terms of dress, color can convey meaning (brown can convey trust; dark colors, power), as does style (pure fibers such as wool or silk suggest higher status). Posture is important--a relaxed posture, such as sitting back with legs stretched out and hand behind the head, signals confidence.

If a person says one thing but communicates something different through intonation and body language, tension and distrust can arise; the receiver will typically choose the nonverbal interpretation because it is more reliable than the verbal. For example, if you ask your boss when you will be eligible for a promotion and she looks out of the window, covers a yawn, and says, "I would say you might have a chance in the not-to-distant future," you should not count on being promoted soon.

ACTION POINT: Consider the importance of body language, appearance, and posture in the process of communication.

Being Credible

Be warm, friendly, and supportive:

Sender credibility is reflected in the recipient's belief that the sender is trustworthy. To increase your sender credibility, ensure that you:

• Know what you are talking about: recipients are more attentive when they perceive that senders have expertise.
• Establish mutual trust: owning up to your motives can eliminate the recipient's anxiety about your intentions.
• Share all relevant information: senders are seen as unethical when they intentionally provoke receivers into doing things they would not have done if they had had all of the information.
• Be honest: one of the key things people want in a leader and co-worker is honesty. As a sender, avoid any form of deception, which is the conscious alteration of information to influence another's perceptions.
• Be reliable: if you are dependable, predictable, and consistent, recipients will perceive you as being trustworthy.
• Be warm, friendly, and supportive: this will give you more personal credibility than a posture of hostility, arrogance, or abruptness.
• Be dynamic: being confident, dynamic, and positive in your delivery of information will make you seem more credible than someone who is passive, withdrawn, and unsure.
• Make appropriate self-disclosures: responsibly revealing your feelings, reactions, needs, and desires to others is essential when establishing supportive relationships. It facilitates congruency, builds trust and credibility, and helps recipients of your messages develop empathy and understanding with you.

ACTION POINT: Employ the tips above to build credibility when communicating.

Sending Messages

To be successful, every manager must develop the ability to send clear, unambiguous messages

Effective communication with those you are managing requires that you send clear and comprehensible messages that will be understood as you intend them to be. You can transmit messages more effectively by making them clearer and developing your credibility.

To be successful, every manager must develop the ability to send clear, unambiguous messages that efficiently convey the information they want to deliver. Effective messages use multiple channels to get the information across; for example, if you match your facial and body gestures to the intended meaning of a message while drawing a diagram to explain it, you are using three channels. Make sure that you take responsibility for the feelings and evaluations in your messages, using personal pronouns such as “I” and “mine.” Make the information in your messages specific, and refer to concrete details to avoid the possibility of misinterpretation. Keep your language simple and avoid technical jargon.

ACTION POINT: Ensure that your messages are congruent with your actions. Saying one thing and doing another is confusing and creates distrust.

Reduce Noise

…keep your messages clear, concise, and to the point

Noise is anything that interferes, at any stage, with the communication process. The ultimate success of the communication process depends to a large degree on overcoming noise, so make an effort to keep your messages clear, concise, and to the point.

ACTION POINT: Be quick but never in a hurry.

Delivering Messages

Before you send a message, ask yourself how much you understand about it

The components of the communication process are the sender, the receiver, the message, and the channel. First, the message is encoded into a format that will get the idea across. Then it is transmitted through the most appropriate channel. This is chosen on the basis of efficiency and effectiveness, as well as practical factors, such as the need to produce a stable record of the communication; whether the information needs to be kept confidential; speed and cost; and the complexity of the communication.

Channels can be oral (speeches, meetings, phone calls, presentations, or informal discussions); written (letters, memoranda, reports, or manuals); electronic (emails, text messages, podcasts, video conferences, websites, or web casts); or non-verbal (touch, facial expression, or intonation). Finally, the message must be successfully decoded by the receiver. Many factors may intrude, preventing the receiver from correctly understanding what they are told. These range from semantics or different word interpretations to different frames of reference, cultural attitudes, and mistrust.

Before you send a message, ask yourself how much you understand about it, and what is the level of the recipient’s understanding? Will the recipient understand the language and jargon you use, and do they have technology that is compatible with yours?

ACTION POINT: Understand and use the components of the communication process.

Interacting with Others

…good communication is a proven tool for improving commitment in those you are managing

Your effectiveness as a manager is defined by your ability to interact with other people. A manager needs to guide others through careful communication, teaching, and assessment to work to their full potential, both individually and as a team.
It is easy to see investment in communication as a luxury, especially in times of economic adversity. However, good communication is a proven tool for improving commitment in those you are managing, and so for boosting revenue and product quality.

Communication is the process of sending a message to another person with the intent of evoking an outcome or a change in behavior. It is more efficient when it uses less time and fewer resources; it is effective when the information in conveyed exactly as you intend. Good communication means balancing the two: for example, explaining a new procedure to each staff member individually may be less efficient than calling a meeting where everyone can hear about it. However, if staff members have very disparate sets of interests, one-to-one coaching may be more effective.

ACTION POINT: Maximize communication by using the appropriate time, setting and resources.