Monday, 19 May 2014

Personal Development Plan

Personal Development Plan

My Personal Development Plan shows and explains what skills I have strengths in and what skills are my weaknesses. For each skill that I mention I gave a definition of what my progress is in that skill and what actions are needed to improve these skills. I improve these skills by setting targets over a period of time and I comment on the progress that I have made for these skills.



Strenghts that I have achieved

have achieved all the strengths mentioned. For my first one which was my Microsoft Office Skills, I have achieved this because I practiced my skills on word during assignemnts and in class. All the work related to Microsoft office that was given to me has been done on time and to the best of my ability, I have been aiming to get as high as possible in every subject which has mainly been successful. From following instructions carefully I have reduced the chances of making mistakes and my work looks better and relevant to the task. Due toi this I have achieved more strength in my Microsoft Office Skills.

With my Written skills strength my aim was to keep on top of my work and with that target I have improved massively with it. I have been using it constantly throughout the year and I have been taught new things by the teacher and from doing all this I have become very good with it. I know how to use formulas and other useful features in it. The teacher gave advice and from looking up tutorials on the internet I now find excel relatively easy to use so I have achieved my target.

With my verbal strength my aim was to gain more confidence and be able to speak infront of my class, I have achieved this because throughout the year I have been practicing during assingments and making more presentations through my asssignments to present infornt of my class. From doing coursework throughout the year I have come across new things in assignments that I wouldn’t of previously seen so that has helped me familiarise myself with new things. I have learnt these new things throughout the year so I have achieved the target for my verbal skills strength.Since I have achieved all these strengths there was nothing that I failed.
 
Weaknesses that I have Beaten 
 
With my Presentation skills weakness I have improved this because throughout the year I have met more and more people and by meeting new people it has made me more sociable therefore increasing my confidence with presenting. Doing speeches in class has also boosted my confidence because I’ve learnt to cope with presenting in front of a group of people. Talking to more new people has helped reduce my problem of being shy. Since my communication has improved I have achieved the target to improve my presentaion skills because my confidence has greatly improved.

With my listening skills weakness I have improved this because I have tried to listen to them more and pay more atention, I try to maintain a good posture and by showing this is makes them think that I have good listening skills. Before I present I have made sure to check that everything is prepared so I know exactly what to say and not get mixed up. Since these have made my listening skills improve I have achieved this weakness.

For my organisational skills weakness I have improved it by keeping my things tidy and clean . I pay more attention to my items and try not to make them go missing. Therefore I think I have achieved this weakness. I improved this weakness by having a
I achieved all weaknesses meaning that there was nothing that I failed.My learning style didn’t really help that much in achieving my targets because I just followed the targets that I put into my PDP in order to achieve them. I put 100% into them to make it right.

My Interpersonal and Written Communication Skills


In this evaluation I am going to talk about the techniques that I have used for interpersonal and written communication in the PowerPoint for the web based communication. These techniques are going to be based on presentation and team work skills.

Presentation Skills
 
The presentation created had covered everything that the assignment asked for. The assignment had a list of different web based communication channels that it wanted and I included them all with them explained. The presentation was visually appealing with it having a background, images, different colour of titles and bullet points. Having these in made it look more appealing to the audience and more attractive instead of looking dull and basic. The presentation was aimed at the right people because they had to assess their opinion of it and share it with us. It was also good because it taught them about web based communication.

When I was talking for my presentation I tried to speak as clear as possible so that the audience could make out what I was saying. I spoke loud enough for them to hear it. My eye contact during the presentation was on and off, sometimes I looked at the audience when talking and sometimes I looked somewhere else. I maintained a good straight posture during it so I didn’t look slouched. I kept the audience paying attention by letting them read what was on the PowerPoint so they could take it in. At the end of the presentation I asked them if they had any questions to ask that is relevant to the PowerPoint. I asked if they had any questions because it engaged them and kept them paying attention.

I could have perhaps shortened down the amount of information on the PowerPoint and said more of it myself because it wouldn’t look good if it was too wordy because the audience mightn’t have enough time to read it or they mightn’t be bothered to read it. I could have perhaps improved my eye contact a bit so the audience would be engaged better.
For the questioning I only asked one question at the end and that was if the audience had anything to ask me. This was all I asked because asking this meant that they were free to ask me any type of question that they wanted that was relevant to the presentation.

Teamwork Skills
 
As a team we worked well together because we discussed the task thoroughly and expressed our opinions on it amongst each other. We helped each other find information to discuss for the presentation. We talked amongst us to discuss who was doing what for it e.g. who will work the computer for the presentation to move the slides. We both split the work out equally for the presentation so that it was fair and nobody was saying more than the other. We split up the parts to gather information on so one person found out information for half and the other person found out information for the other half. When it came to the actual talking we did a certain part each to make it even.This concludes my self-evaluation of the interpersonal and written communication skills used for the presentation. I discussed all parts of it genuinely and thoroughly.


 

Monday, 10 March 2014

Reducing the inpact of the barriers to communication

Reducing the impact of the Barriers to Communication

General Communuication

Background Noise

You can reduce the barriers of communication in many ways, one of the main barriers to communication is background noise, you can reduce the impact of background noise by trying to turn off or stop as much noise as you can during the presentation for example, if a computer is running and is making noise turn it off, or if a window is open and you can hear the noises throughout the town like traffic or people talking outside you can close the window to drown out the noise of people and the traffic to try and make to presentation as clear and concise as you can.

Distractions

you can reduce the barriers of communication in many ways, one of the main barriers to communication is distractions, you can reduce the impact of distractions during the presentation or the person talking to you by doing things like turning your phone off or keeping it in your pocket, this stops you from getting the urge to check a message or go onto facebook, twitter etc. another distraction is the computer you can either turn the monitor/screen off while the person is talking or giving the presentation or turn the computer off altogether this again stops you from getting the urge to go onto the internet or facebook, twitter etc so you can listen to the person clearly and get the full impact of the presentation.

Bored Audience

You can reduce the barriers of communication in many ways, one of the main barriers to communication is a bored audience, you can reduce the impact of a bored audience by doing various things like speaking clearly, this doesnt sound effective but it is a very effective tool because if you speak very badly and people cant hear you they will get bored and not take you seriously, you need to stand tall have a good presentational stance and speak loud and clear, another way to keep the audience interested is by using pictures and handouts for them to read instead of them having to listen to you for the whole presentation especially if it is along one, with handouts and pictures it will keep them intruiged and interested.

Interpersonal Skills

Poor Body Language

You can reduce the barriers of communication in many ways, one of the main barriers to commuincation is a poor body language, you can reduce the impact of a poor body language by doing many things like stand up straight and tall, the way you stand doesnt sound very important but the way you present yourself is how seriously people will take the presentation if you sloutch and dont seem like you dont really care about the presentatation the viewers will do the exact same and basically sleep their way throught your presentation, however if you stand up straight and tall and show confidence while giving your presentation the viewers will be interested in your presentation just the way you are by portraying the presentation in a confident manner.

Use of Inappropriate language


You can reduce the barriers of communication in many ways, one of the main barriers to communication is a use of inappropriate language, you can reduce the impact of an inappropriate language by doing many things like speaking clearly and calmly and as punctual as you can, you cannot give a presentation and swear and use slang like when your talking to your friends you need to speak very punctually and mannerly so the viewers arent concerned about your use of words but more concerned of the presentation you are trying to put accross to them. So when you are doing a presentation or talking to someone make sure you think about the way you put about yourself and the language you use.

Negative Language

You can reduce the barriers of communication in many ways, one of the main barriers to communication is a Negative language, you can reduce the impact of a negative body language by doing various things like speak clearly and proudly with bags of confidence, stay calm and stand up tall and proud and your viewers will take the presentation as serious as you are, if you sloutch and mumble and speak too quickly or quietly the viewers will get bored and not take you or your presentation seriously as they cannot understand what you are saying. if you present yourself well and not have a use of negative language your viewers or who you are talking to will listen and have full attention to what you are saying or presenting.

Written Communication Skills

Poor Spelling

You can reduce the barriers of communication in many ways, one of the main barriers to communication is poor spelling, you can reduce the impact of poor spelling by doing various things by: before presenting a your presentation check over your presentation as much as you can, over read and over read because if you make too many mistake your viewers will see them and not take it seriously because it will not be understandable and may look like you created your presentation within 5 minutes and didnt take it seriosuly, if your presentation is correct with no mistake and has perfect grammar and punctuation it will look great and your viewers will take you and your presentation seriously.

Grammar Mistakes

You can reduce the barriers of communication in many ways, one of the main barriers to communication is grammar mistakes , you can reduce the impact of grammar mistakes by doing various things by before presenting a your presentation check over your presentation as much as you can, over read and over read because if you make too many mistake your viewers will see them and not take it seriously because it will not be understandable and may look like you created your presentation within 5 minutes and didnt take it seriosuly, if your presentation is correct with no mistake and has perfect grammar and punctuation it will look great and your viewers will take you and your presentation seriously.


Irrelevant Content

You can reduce the barriers of communication in many ways, one of the main barriers to communication is irrelevant content , you can reduce the impact of irrelevant content by doing various things by make sure your presentation is to the point but it give its point accross, do not over do it and add content that you do not need because if you go on and on it will bore the viewers and they will lose concentration to your presentation you need to ensure that you keep the viewers intersted by adding as little writing as you can on your presentation like use bullet points but just talk about them more to the viewers becasue there is nothing worse than too much writing on a presentation


Barriers of Communication

Barriers of Communication

There are many barriers to effective communication that can happen in any communication process. The barrier of communication is when your message does not get put accross. Effective communication involves overcoming and conveying a clear message. The communication barriers of effective communication are cultural differences, background noise, bored audience, distractions which includes in general skills, interpersonal skills includes poor body language, use of inappropriate language, negative language and lack of interest and concentration and written communication includes poor spelling, grammar mistake and irrelevant content.


General Skills



Background Noise
Background noise is a major impact on the potential barriers of effective communication. There are some reasons why background noise is a barrier to effective communication. Firstly, verbal communication with loud background noise can cause people to shout in order for them to be heard. This can cause people to not hear clearly and also unable to understand what is being said which makes the people not to understand what was said to them. This can cause conflict in the working environment because it is detrimental. So this is why background noise can be potential barriers to effective communication.

Distractions
Distractions can be a major impact on the potential barriers. Distractions can occur when someone comes late to a presentation for example so he has missed some of the points in the presentation, if a mobile phone rings in a presentation, the noise of an air conditioner can distract people and when the clock ticks in the room it can also distract the audience. This can make the audience not listen to you. So this is why distractions can be potential barriers to effective communication.


Bored Audience
A bored audience can be an impact on the barriers to communication. The bored audience is when people are bored and they are refusing to listen. This means they have a different use of the body language like bored body language. They would not be bothered to listen to people. This can also happen when people do not look at your face when you are communicating to them as this can show they are bored. When they do not listen to you and they are just saying yeah, yeah with a bored facial expression can mean that they are bored. So this is why a bored audience can be potential barriers to effective communication.

Interpersonal Skills

Poor Body language
Poor body language can act as an impact of barriers to effective communication. The poor body language is when you show negative body language to the people when they are talking an example would be when someone is talking to you show the back of your body this means that you are showing poor body language to them and that you are showing a lack of interest. If you use closed body language and aggressive stance can also mean poor body language. When you do a presentation and then you always face the board without having an eye contact with the audience can also act as a poor body language. So this is why poor body language can be potential barriers to effective communication.


Use of Inappropriate Language

Uses of inappropriate language can be also a major impact on the potential barriers to effective communication. The uses inappropriate language means using foul languages, swearing to other people, making fun of other peoples accent, making comments that are rude such as telling people they are fat, making fun of other cultural people and making fun the way they talk. When people be racist to other people and when they do not treat everyone the same. This can make other people to get badly reacted and feel hurtful. This is why inappropriate language acts as barriers to effective communication. So this is why use of inappropriate language can be potential barriers to effective communication.

Negative Language
Negative Language can be also known as the impact of potential barriers to effective communication. The negative language can happen when you jump in and talk while other people are having a conversation this can be seen as antagonistic. When you finish other peoples sentence can be irritating to them.The negative language can make people feel bored and to have no intention of listening. So this is why negative language can be potential barriers to effective communication.
Written Communication Skills
Poor Spelling

The poor spelling can also be a major impact on the barriers to effective communication. The poor spelling is when you have lots of spelling mistakes on a letter you are sending to a company and s message you are sending to the company. This can cause anunprofessional image to the reader and the message would be difficult for the reader to understand. So this is why poor spelling can be potential barriers to effective communication.

Grammar Mistakes
The grammar mistakes can be a major impact on the barriers to effective communication. The grammar mistakes works when you have grammar mistakes on your letter or the message you are sending to the company. This means when your sentence does not make sense and when you do not structure your sentence correctly. This can make the reader to not understand what you mean and this will also create confusion to the reader. So this is why grammar mistakes can be potential barriers to effective communication.

Irrelevant content


The irrelevant content can be a major impact on the barriers to effective communication. The irrelevant content works is when you send some messages which are not relevant to the topic. This can confuse the reader and can misunderstanding to the reader. When you present a presentation to the people you have non relevant information on your presentation. This can make the people to get confused and think what is he talking about? So this is why irrelevant content can be potential barriers to effective communication.
 

Tuesday, 4 February 2014

Principles of Effective Communication

General Communication skills


General communication is very important in everyday life. This section of communication involves things such modulating your voice and engaging your audience, these things will be used during everyday communication with people, such as changing the pitch or tone of your voice to construct the right effect you want to convey. You may come across barriers while using general communication.



Language used

The Language that someone uses is an obvious barrier to effective communication because some people from different countries will not be able to understand what someone else is saying and some words might be offensive which people say. People will also use sign language which is used by deaf people who use hand gestures which other people will not understand. Another barrier when language is being used is the terminology which is being used because people outside for an IT business will not be able to understand technical language.





Cultural Differences

Cultural differences are the last general communication barrier which I am going to write about and different cultures can interpret things in different ways. There are many things that make up to what people refer to as culture but cultural difference is about attitudes and beliefs that come of our life and experience. Cultural differences can also be religious beliefs with their being many different ones which have barriers including Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Some other cultural barriers include age, body language, cultural background and gender.






Written Communication Skills








Writing skills are an important part of communication. Good writing skills allow you to communicate your message with clarity and ease to a far larger audience than through face-to-face or telephone conversations.

You might be called upon to write a report, plan or strategy at work; write a grant application or press release within a volunteering role; or you may fancy communicating your ideas online via a blog. And, of course, a well written C.V. or résumé with no spelling or grammatical mistakes is essential if you want a new job. Or perhaps you want to develop your Study Skillsand learn how to learn more effectively.

Written communication is fundamentally different from other forms of communication. It requires special skills in the construction of the message not least, the ability to handwrite or type. It also requires a good knowledge of the vocabulary and grammar of a language (such as English) so that the written word conveys the intended message to the audience. You cannot use visual cues such as body language or oral cues such as tone of voice.


there are many types of written communication for example:

  • Fax
  • Report
  • Webpage
  • Blog
  • Email
  • Memos
  • Social Networking Post


Format

When you have to show your written skills by for example a report you have to bring into consideration the format of your work, you need to ensure that the work you produce is layed out well and is attractive and easy to read for your employer or boss. The format of your work is one of the most important factor when using your written communication skills as the work you produce represents you as a person and the tidyness and understanding of your work so when your boss sees your work he expects everytime that it is well formatted.

Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills are the set of life skills that we use every day to communicate and interact with other people, both individually and in groups. People who have worked on developing strong interpersonal skills are most likely to be more successful in both their professional and personal lives than others without those set of skills.


Employers often seek to hire staff with strong interpersonal skills; they want people who will work well in a team and be able to communicate effectively with colleagues, customers and clients.

Interpersonal skills are not just important in the workplace, our personal and social lives can also benefit from better interpersonal skills. People with good interpersonal skills are usually perceived as optimistic, calm, confident and charismatic - qualities that are often endearing or appealing to others.

Through awareness of how you interact with others and with practice you can improve your interpersonal skills. SkillsYouNeed aims to help you learn and develop your interpersonal skills by providing an extensive library of quality content.


Sign Launguage

A sign language (also signed language or simply signing) is a language which, instead sound patterns, uses manual communication and body language to convey meaning. This can involve simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's thoughts. Signing is also done by persons who can hear, but cannot physically speak. this helps




Lip Reading


Lipreading is known as : 'seeing the sound of speech' – the movements of the lips and the tongue, together with facial expression and body language are all clues for the Lipreader. The Lipreader will also observe the syllables, the natural flow, the rhythm and phrasing and the stress of speech.