Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Speaking With Confidence
Speaking With Confidence
E-Session 5
Communication Skills:
Speaking with Confidence
From this session you will know about the essential,
delicate features of interpersonal communication
speaking. You will fully realize why communication is
treated as a special skill in a call center job, why it is
qualified by effective. Remember, call center
communication is mostly real-time. So you must be
well aware of the problems and barriers and develop
your skill so as to overcome them.
Session
O b j e c t i v e s
Self-improvement
It is observed that individuals usually operate to only a fraction of their potential. Knowledge and skills
apart, what is desirable is the willingness to accept ones weak links and consciously work towards selfimprovement.
Individual effectiveness is about understanding and identifying areas that need improvement, seeking
information, formulating and restructuring that information so that the same can be transformed into actions
and behaviors. This unrealized potential of an individual can be developed through assistance but the
individual needs to desire success. Through this chapter we will try to look at some of the key areas for
development considering the call center business.
How many times do we self-limit our perceptions and our thinking because we know the answer and
thus dont even think about considering other possibilities? I think this is a very common trait and one that
deserves introspection.
When we strive for personal growth and change, dont we often limit our ideas about the possibilities of
improvement because we assume that we already know the answers? And by limiting our thinking, we are
limiting our possibilities as well as limiting the rewards of self-improvement.
Areas of self-improvement
In the process of self-improvement we set out 5 key areas for development:
1. Enhance communication skills.
2. Develop listening skills.
3. Develop ability to cope with stress.
4. Personality Development.
5. Goal Setting.
In this session, we will work towards developing the first area i.e., Communication skills.
by the traffic police, the railways light signals, the whistle sounded by the engine driver, the flat/light
shown by the guard, etc.
Communication through actions: A common situation in movies wherein the Hero whilst beating up
the villain is communicating his anger over an unacceptable action.
Communication through behavior: Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Lady Diana were personalities
who communicated through their behavior which only reflected love and compassion for everyone.
To sum it up, good communication is the basis for any and every interaction to be good.
Why Do We Need to Communicate?
Communication is needed:
1. To understand people and their problems.
2. To inform people about new products and services.
3. To build trust amongst people.
4. To gain confidence of people.
5. To develop better relationships.
What are the Methods of Communication?
There are three ways to communicate:
1. Verbal: It includes the vocal voices by using words.
2. Non-Verbal: It includes the non-vocal language such as body language, eye contact, postures,
gestures etc.
3. Written: It includes the written material, which could be in the form of letter, application,
notice, poster, pamphlet etc.
What is Effective Communication?
Whenever the process of exchanging information is happening in a two-way process, it leads to an
effective communication.
Therefore, when two or more people are involved there should be a response to whatever is being
communicated, then only it is supposed to be a healthy and effective communication.
Examples:
In an interview there are at least two peoplethe interviewer and the interviewee. Unless they
communicate, the process would not be effective.
If a customer says, I will kill you, the agent must try to find out the reasons for such a message.
Unless you respond and ask him questions, you cannot reveal the reasons for such a message, and not
understanding the reasons could have different implications.
Exercise: Given below is a passage you should read twice and then close the passage and repeat it once.
When you have finished find anyone either your friends, colleagues, parents, siblings etc. and without
looking at the passage repeat it to them only once. Ask them to repeat the passage to another member
similarly. You are to form a chain of atleast 6 members. After everyone has communicated each one
should write down on a piece of paper the passage that they have communicated. And then compare it
with the original text.
You would experience the creation of a totally new message.
What are the probable reasons for the message to have got distorted?
When too many people are involved in a communication process, the message assumes complications
and somehow along the way the original message becomes shorter. These changes to the message may
change its meaning altogether. It is normally played as a game called Chinese Whisper.
If the message is too long, distortions can happen due to various reasons like incorrect English,
inability to understand, etc. and therefore the message becomes senseless.
How should a Message Be?
The message should be short and simple, so that there would be little scope for misunderstanding it.
The message should be understood: In todays scenario, people are so much busy that it becomes
critical to ensure that what you seek to communicate meets their requirements. Therefore after making
a discussion/talk one must ensure that the message that is communicated is well understood by the
other person.
Communication should be in as few and simple words as it could be.
How can You Improve Your Communication?
Wording the message and seeking feedback: We can improve the communication by wording the
message appropriately and taking feedback after the completion of message to confirm the accuracy
of the message delivered and perceived.
Communicating the mood of the message: The message should not only convey content but the
moods too.
Seeking feedback:
Example: When we receive a phone call and the person says: My name is Ram. Could you please ask
Sita to call me at 5467823? The response that comes instantaneously is: Just a minute, the number you
said is 5467823.
This is to ensure the process of feedback does not face any difficulty.
What are the Major Components of Communication?
The major components of communication are:
Sender: One who sends or delivers the message
Receiver: One who receives or perceives the delivered message
Message: It is the content which is being exchanged between two persons
Desired response: It is the desired action, which has to take place in the opposite direction after
such communication.
Feedback: It is the confirmation of perceiving the correct message which is being delivered/exchanged
amongst the people involved in communication.
These all are the essential components to ensure that communication is on the right track. It is found
empirically that 80% of an officials time is spent in communicating in some form or the other.
As usual, one day the husband beat the lady black and blue. She wept a lot and finally decided to go
forever to whom she adoredthe grocer. She went to the banks of the river to cross over. Unfortunately
due to heavy rains the river was in spate. The boatman who would take her across refused to go. She
pleaded with him and begged him to take her across but he refused to go without being paid. Since she
didnt have any money she couldnt cross the river by boat.
Somewhere uphill there was a small bridge over the river, which was not used after sunset for the fear of
wild animals. The lady had no other choice but to go uphill through the dense jungles and use the bridge
to cross over. She went to cross over by the bridge but that was the end of her. No one ever heard of her
anymore.
Who do you think in this story could be blamed for the ladys misfortune?
Was it the lady, her husband, the boatman, the grocer, the wild animals, or the villagers?
Your answer to this will give an insight into your upbringing, conditioning of the mind, your perceptions,
biases etc.
There is nothing wrong in the story and neither is anyone to be blamed. Each one has his or her own
perspective and way of looking at things. The objective is to look through others point of view. The
objective is to look beyond. If you look at things with a narrow perceptive and allow it to clog your mind
youll never be able to achieve what you set out to achieve.
We generally tend to believe that what we communicate during the course of our conversation is easily
understood by others. But it may not be so. It is therefore essential that the words we choose should be
more pragmatic rather than philosophical. Most of the times the words mean not what the dictionary says
but what the speaker intends to communicate. Since neither the sender nor the receiver of the message
pays much attention, the scope of ambiguity remains, as a result the outcome is not as expected. Who is
at fault?
Who is bothered? Classic examples of blunders are evident in and around us everyday. At the end of the
day somebody is blamed, as a face saving or defensive exercise, but the problem still remains unattended.
It is therefore very critical to look out for possible misunderstandings and clarify the ambiguity in everything
one says or hears.
How many of us actually listen to, when others are communicating? Lack of attention leads to misinterpretation
of the message that is communicated. This is mainly because words often have different meanings depending
on context and/or culture.
Examples: A dry state could mean one that lacks either water or alcohol.
A couple could mean either two or a few.
Besides, as humans we are bound to err at times. Making a mistake once or twice is okay but doing so
consistently is a crime. Similarly, paying less attention to the conversation and probably missing out on
simple words at times could be devastating as it may change the entire context of the communication.
The question Should secularism be politicised? would elicit different responses, which could be a
result of ones understanding, experiences, beliefs or perception. Similarly, the assumption that a match
without Sachin Tendulkar cant be won could be ones bias. Biases could be a result of ones upbringing,
past experiences, socio-economic background, others viewpoints etc. Biases can play havoc in
communication, one should refrain from it.
Some of the other barriers to communication are:
Barriers that cause distractions to the process of communication.
Noise: Noise of talking, loud music, traffic (try talking at a discotheque).
Environment: Too hot, too cold, poor lighting (dim lights may not be a suitable environment for a
business meeting).
Interruptions: People, telephones (cell phones ringing in the midst of meetings).
Timing: Inconvenient time to talk (calling up someone late in the night or very early in the morning).
Barriers related to human emotions
Prejudice: Your general dislike for a person.
Status: If someone is very conscious about his own status and considers it to be higher than that of
others.
Assumptions: Knowing what is expected in a certain communication, you tend not to pay attention.
(Elders like to narrate their experiences but having heard it before you do not tend to pay attention
the moment they start narrating the incident, unmindful of the fact they are probably trying to share
another aspect of their experience which could be of help to you.)
Experience: Your last communication with a particular person may not have gone well (the person
may have said no to your proposal).
Values, religion, politics, morality: Sentiments of the people of Gujarat.
Barriers created by usage of words
Criticism: People with the tendency of starting a communication by criticising the others words or
actions.
Semantics: The same word could mean different to different people. For example, this dress is
cheap, this dress is inexpensive, etc.
Threatening /ordering tone: Tendencies of people to exert their thoughts and their belief that
being the boss they need to call the shots.
Use of jargon: Words that are usually not understood.
If you notice, in most of this conversation one was asking closed questions which could only receive
answers in monosyllables. However, the same rephrased would be: What is left to do of the report?
What about the documentation? When do you think it would be completed?
Open-ended questions are easy to formulate. You should decide in your own mind the objective of
asking the question and use the following words to frame the sentenceUsing five Ws and one H:
WHAT
WHEN
WHICH
WHY
WHERE
HOW
Let others speak
Silence is very effective in communication and is normally underused. Use silence to seek information.
Ask a question, lean back, wait for the person to answer, nod and smile, keep quiet, and the person will
continue giving you more details simply to fill your silence.
Review
This session introduces you to the need for identifying areas for individual development so as to make you
call-center hirable. If you have the basic education, then the individual skills to be honed fall mainly in
areas such as communication, listening etc. This session takes you into understanding more about
communication and how you can work towards improving your current skill levels.
Remember, to be effective in your conversation you need to treat it as any other activity and prepare
yourself for it. Preparation would imply defining the objective, planning as to how you would go about
doing it, and lastly, check whether you have achieved what you wanted to.
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Exercise 3
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