Understand the principles of effective interpersonal communication
1.1. 1.1 Explain the principles of effective communication.
It is very important to understand effective communication principles. We communicate with each
other on day to day basis. I communicate with my family, work colleagues and variety of people. In
my projects Traveller & Gypsy Awareness Month and The Art Mixing Colours and Piet Mondrian
and Primary Colours and E-Learning, I communicated with learners in nonverbal way visually using
presentation so that students get the message through interactive images and text. In Traveller &
Gypsy Awareness Month I created quiz false and myth questions and learners can answer correctly
questions about gypsy culture and in that way they learn about gypsy and traveller awareness. Images
are also very powerful in conveying message to learners as in that way picture can express more than
words meaning. In Mixing Colours and Piet Mondrian Primary Colours I showed spinning circles
and drag and drop techniques and other interactive methods so that learners can learn about mixing
colours and Piet Mondrian background. There are six principles of effective communication listen
Listen to your colleagues and friends and assess your audience. My projects were targeted to students
and education in college so I used informative images and informative text to convey message to
them about gypsy cultures, mixing colours and Piet Mondrian. I used large font and interactive
techniques to get them engaged. Next principle is basics. I guided learners step by step. In Gypsy
Traveller Awareness I teach about gypsy background, history and later I add questions about myths
and fact about stopping myths about gypsies and showing they are treated equally. I use informative
text and large fonts and interactive images. Preparation. It is important to prepare project. I prepared
in story board plan and I sketched my plan for this project. Later next principle is visuals. Again in
Mixing Colours and Piet Mondrian you can see lots of pictures and images and graphical presentation
about mixing colours, various colours, pictures of Moscow, piano and much more so that nonverbal
communication is sometimes more effective than verbal communication as learners can learn thanks
to images about background about mixing colours and Piet Mondrian. Conciseness Text that I used in
my presentations conveyed major meaning. Again in Gypsy Traveller Awareness Month I created
myth or fact questions and they had to answer them, resources and background history and the same
in Mixing Colours and Piet Mondrian you can see text about colours and Piet Mondrian biography.
The words and text, fonts, bold font I used help students to learn about above topics and I was aware
about the message I was trying to convey to them while I was creating these graphic presentation.
Last one is relate. My graphics and presentations and images related to gypsy culture, mixing colours
and Piet Mondrian. Overall major effective communication principle is that students learn about the
subject, get the message and my images, graphics and text showed that.
1.2 Discuss potential barriers to effective communication.
There are barriers to effective communication. I would group them as such as lack of sensitivity to
receiver. It can be that due to receiver different background, different language, religion, culture,
status, knowledge, needs personal circumstances, health problems, disability, race, sex or personal
circumstances or emotional state project or graphic design may not be understood by them correctly
. Next one is lack of basic communication skills. Receiver may be dyslexic, come from foreign
country or simply from different ethnic background and may struggle to understand the content and
words. Next one is insufficient knowledge of the subject. They do not know the topic and specialist
words and they will struggle to understand what it is about. Information Overload. Too much text and
too much information will distract the user and learner and student probably will not even remember
what presentation was about. Next one is emotional interference Student can be upset, angry or
simply distracted, this will cause that they will struggle to communicate effectively. I got confused
few times by emails from HR or mandatory training or sometimes during meetings I was not sure
what was meant by feedback or I did not understand what other colleagues meant about screen cast or
course work but I always clarified any confusion with my recipient. Age can also be a barrier. I am
much older than other work colleagues and sometimes I may struggle with communication on the
same level. Background can also be a barrier. Like people where I work come from different social
background and that can be an obstacle as well. I had situations when sadly I became frustrated due
to communication interaction with few people but I quickly cleared that up by talking through
differences. Barrier can be on emotional level that we do not get understood or we get frustrated
emotional attachment to response from others.
1.3 Describe a range of effective interpersonal communication methods.
There are three methods of communication: verbal, written and non-verbal. I would like to tell you
what they mean and what is required for them.
Verbal Communication is the sharing information between individuals by using speech. Individuals
working within a business need to effectively use verbal communication that employs readily
understood words and ensuring that the pronunciation, stress and tone of voice with which the words
are expressed is appropriate. It is very important at workplace to communicate effectively and have
people skills. Good communication skills are essential now for any job and without them you cannot
really be employed. You have to communicate effectively at all levels and treat all work colleagues
with respect and politeness and use accurate words and tone of voice when you communicate.
When you create ELearning packages you have to communicate effectively with your project
coordinator and colleagues to share your work load and prepare projects.
Written Communication involves any type of interaction that makes use of the written word. It is
essential for business owners and managers to develop effective written communication skills and to
encourage the same in all employees. It is important at work place to spell accurately and use correct
grammar and words as employer will send letters to other organisations and what you write will
represent the image of true company. It is also essential to remain professional when you write, use
polite language and correct words and spelling. Most companies now require basic literacy skills and
without them it is impossible to find work. When you create ELearning packages you have to write
effectively your projects and check and spelling and grammar mistakes and proofread your work.
Non-Verbal Communication is communication of feelings, emotions, attitudes and thoughts through
body movements, gestures, eye contact etc...Nonverbal communication our facial expressions,
gestures, eye contact, posture, and tone of voice speak the loudest. At work place it is important that
you develop interpersonal skills and it is important for you to realise that thanks to non verbal
communication you convey information about your emotional state, show distance between
communicators, provide feedback to others, show the flow of communication, show true relationships
between people and show how you treat others. It is important to treat everybody equally at work
place and with respect by giving them positive nonverbal signs like your tone of voice or gestures.
When you create ELearning packages you have to communicate nonverbally with your work
colleagues and project managers to produce high quality of work through tone of voice, gestures and
eye contact and show you pay attention to what they are saying.
I would group interpersonal communication methods into three groups verbal communication,
written communication and non-verbal communication. They all apply to me at my work place. I
used Moodle at work to upload my projects. I could not communicate verbally through my graphics.
I used written and non-verbal communication in my projects. In Moodle you can see my Gypsy
Traveller Awareness Project where I used short quiz questions myth or fact to show stereotypes about
gypsies and I gave answers after that and wrote facts true facts about working, benefits and lifestyle
for gypsies and their culture. I used written paragraphs to convey message to learners. Furthermore, I
used non-verbal communication like images and pictures and interactive drag and drop in Mixing
Colours and Piet Mondrian and Primary Colours so that students can learn about the topic.
Furthermore, I communicate at work effectively with my line manager and work colleagues. I have
one to one meetings where I discuss my progress and software that I used and also I have feedback
meetings where we discuss what I need to improve on. Like in Traveller Gypsy I had to change
images as they were foreign images and add more interaction. Here method of communication is
verbal.
1.4. Describe a range of effective interpersonal communication skills.
Communication is very important and apply to me at work. I think examples are the one above. I
have one to one meetings with my line manager where I discuss my improvement and deadlines like
software I am using, what I am learning and areas I need to improve on. I also discuss openly any
concerns and difficulties I have at work during my one to one meetings. I always remain open about
my work capabilities and perhaps on some occasions I am a bit too emotional. Furthermore, I have
feedback meetings with my work colleagues, where we discuss what I need to improve on my
projects. I have been given feedback to remove foreign images from Gypsy Traveller Awareness
Month and also add more interaction to it. I already changed my images and added more interaction.
But I am still working on it. I always try to effectively communicate by using correct sentences,
words and adapt myself to manager style and work colleagues. I use gestures and express and
exchange ideas even if they are different. I accept constructive feedback from colleagues and
implement it. Effective communication is all about listening, responding and action and this is what I
do and agreeing deadlines.
1.5. Describe ways to adapt effective communication methods available for all.
I thought I will provide more examples on how to adapt my communication methods, for face to face
and design work. I always try to adapt myself to other needs. I am a bit older than my peers that is
why I always adapt my language and communication style to younger colleagues at work. I exchange
views together at feedback meetings. I thought that my colleague Jordan should add instruction on
her poster what learner should do as she did not include that and I said it during our meeting for
feedback. I accepted my colleague feedback to remove circles and change font in my Mixing Colours
project. I thought also about the situation where I had to deal with some difficulties with screen cast
and few colleagues and I adapted myself and exchanged views with line manager. I identified my
goal. I also made friends with Jordan. Know your audience is important. When I create my projects I
do not know my audience but like Gypsy Traveller Awareness Month I know that my project must
not be insulting to gypsies that is why I changed images and inserted educational images and
informative text. I think when I communicate I speak differently with manager or work colleague. I
adapt myself to people of different race, background, sex, religion and age. I also consider and watch
my words and use words that people understand with people I connect with. In my Gypsy Traveller
Awareness Month I used simple quiz questions false or myth. In my Art project I used informative
language to create biography about Piet Mondrian and mixing colours so that learners can understand
it easily. I kept it simple so that it was not too complex for learners and simple. I also use polite
words when I communicate with line manager and work colleagues and respect different points of
view or take feedback on board.
| 1.4 Describe a range of effective interpersonal communication skills |
| 1.4 Describe a range of effective interpersonal communication skills |
| 1.2 Discuss potential barriers to effective communication. |
