Chencha Construction and

Industrial COLLEGE
Database Administration
(Level III)

Module Title: LEAD WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION

Module code: ICT HNS3 M12 1113

Prepared by Jeremiah I.

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What is communication?

• Communication is the sharing or exchange of information

• All individuals, groups and organisations communicate by sharing ‘meaning’ between each other

• Communicating is a two-way process, as it is also about being understood and belonging to a

group

• Communication and organisational success are directly related

– Good communication can have a positive and mobilising effect on employees

– Poor communication can lead to strong negative consequences, such as the distortion of
goals and objectives, conflict, loss of motivation and poor performance

What is workplace communication?

Workplace communication is the process of exchanging information and ideas, both verbal and non-
verbal within an organization.

Lesson 1: Communicate information about workplace processes

1. Methods of communication
1.1 Non-verbal gesture
Nonverbal communication is critical to the success of any workplace. It starts from the moment an
employee applies for a job and continues through the employment of that particular employee.
Realizing the importance of nonverbal communication can promote teamwork, respect and
efficiency in any workplace. To deliver the full impact of a message, use nonverbal behaviors to
raise the channel of interpersonal communication:
Eye contact: This helps to regulate the flow of communication. It signals interest in others and
increases the speaker's credibility. People who make eye contact open the flow of communication
and convey interest, concern, warmth, and credibility.
Facial Expressions: Smiling is a powerful cue that transmits happiness, friendliness, warmth, and
liking. So, if you smile frequently you will be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm and
approachable. Smiling is often contagious and people will react favorably. They will be more
comfortable around you and will want to listen more.
Gestures: If you fail to gesture while speaking you may be perceived as boring and stiff. A lively
speaking style captures the listener's attention, makes the conversation more interesting, and
facilitates understanding.
Posture and body orientation: You communicate numerous messages by the way you talk and
move. Standing erect and leaning forward communicates to listeners that you are approachable,
receptive and friendly. Interpersonal closeness results when you and the listener face each other.
Speaking with your back turned or looking at the floor or ceiling should be avoided as it
communicates disinterest.

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 Proximity: Cultural norms dictate a comfortable distance for interaction with others. You should
look for signals of discomfort caused by invading the other person's space. Some of these are:
rocking, leg swinging, tapping, and gaze aversion.

Vocal: Speaking can signal nonverbal communication when you include such vocal elements as:
tone, pitch, rhythm, timbre, loudness, and inflection. For maximum teaching effectiveness, learn to
vary these six elements of your voice. One of the major criticisms of many speakers is that they
speak in a monotone voice. Listeners perceive this type of speaker as boring and dull.
1.2 Verbal
Business professionals demonstrating effective verbal communication skills use spoken words to convey
a message clearly and concisely. To get a message across, the sender needs to ensure the receiver
correctly interprets the words. If not, confusion and conflict typically results. By successfully delivering a
message, business professionals describe ideas, thoughts and directives that allow colleagues to work
better together. Effective verbal communication begins by acknowledging what the audience needs. By
planning what he wants to say, how he wants to say it and seeking feedback on how the message was
received, a business professional ensures successful communication
Meetings
Verbal communication occurs in meetings when participants share their ideas. Effective meeting
organizers clearly define their objective, such as whether the intent of the meeting is to make a decision,
brainstorm ideas, approve a plan, communicate a change or get a status report. At the beginning of the
meeting, an organizer uses verbal communication to state the priorities of the meeting, the desired
outcomes and the amount of time allowed to discuss each topic. By asking for additional input from
participants, she ensures the meeting remains relevant for everyone. The meeting organizer also ensures
that every participant gets a chance to speak without monopolizing the agenda
Presentations and Lectures
Using effective verbal communication, business professionals give presentations and lectures to
convey their expertise on a particular topic. Whether a business professional provides instruction,
describes a product to make a sale or communicates a vision or strategy, he needs to keep the
message clear by preparing adequately. Using vivid language, descriptive examples and
supplementary visuals, he ensures a successful presentation. By using short words and sentences,
speakers tend to avoid confusion. Effective presenters allow time for the audience to ask questions
and provide comments
Workshops
Workshop organizers use verbal communication to direct the activities of participants. By providing
clear instructions for group, the facilitator ensures a positive development experience. For example,
a leader describes the rules for long the activity takes. Using effective verbal communication,
leaders guide participants in researching issues, solving problems, negotiating solutions and making
decisions

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Conversations
Conversations typically involve two people discussing a topic. Effective verbal communication
occurs during conversations when the speaker acknowledges the sensitivity of the subject, time
constraints and types of questions the receiver might ask. If the conversation occurs face to face,
successful communicators use active listening skills such as repeating back what the other person
has said. They also resist the temptation to interrupt and allow the other person to speak up as well
to convey their thoughts. If the conversation occurs by telephone, the participants need to pay even
more attention.

1.3 Face to face

Face to Face Communication
Conventional wisdom tells us that face to face communication is more effective than other types of
communication such as telephone or email. The argument in favor of face time is that telephone or email
communication lacks important nonverbal cues to help us understand the message.

Comparing Types of Communication

The chart below shows a comparison of face to face communication with other types of communication.
Each column depicts a category of message cues as follows:

Words, the words that are spoken or written to convey the message.

Visuals. The visual aids (pictures, videos, and charts) that help understand the message.

Voice. The tone, inflection, and volume of the voice used to deliver the message.

Face. The facial expressions such as smiles, frowns, raised eyebrows, pouts, and all the gestures we make
with our face while delivering a message.

Body Language. The position and movement of the arms, shoulders, legs, head and other body language.

Presence. This includes all the conditions of the room or shared space that may affect the
communication. Noise, likes and dislikes for a person in the room, proximity to other people in the room,
temperature, smells, what others are doing while the communication is taking place

1.4 Two-way
Two-way communication
Two-way communication - uses communication to negotiate with the public, resolve conflict, and
promote mutual understanding and respect between the organization and its public(s).

Two-Way Communication in Public Relations

There are different types of two-way communication in public relations; symmetric and asymmetric.

Two-way asymmetric public relations...

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 - Can also be called "scientific persuasion
- Employs social science methods to develop more:
- Generally, focuses on achieving short-term attitude change;
- Incorporates lots of feedback from target audiences and publics;
- Is used by an organization primarily interested in having its publics come around to its way of
thinking rather changing the organization, its policies, or its views.

Two-way symmetric public relations ...

- Relies on honest and open two-way communication and mutual give-and-take rather than one-
way persuasion;
- Focuses on mutual respect and efforts to achieve mutual understanding;
- Emphasizes negotiation and a willingness to adapt and make compromises;
- Requires organizations engaging in public relations to be willing to make significant adjustments
in how they operate in order to accommodate their publics

Two-way communication is a form of transmission in which both parties

involved transmit information. Common forms of two-way communication are:

- Amateur, CB or FRS radio contacts.

- Chatrooms and Instant Messaging
- Computer networks. See back-channel.
- In-person communication.
- Telephone conversations.

Group Communication Methods

Communication can be defined as a method by which people share information, ideas and opinions.
Communication can be done on a person-to-person level or in a group. An ability to understand what
others are saying and bring your message across in a group of people constitutes effective group
communication.

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There are several methods you can use to communicate better in a group.

Dialogue

Dialogue is an exchange of information between people. Dialogue

 allows each person of the group to easily express his ideas and get immediate feedback from
others. To make dialogue effective, allow other people to finish their thoughts and respect other
people's opinions. Listen carefully to what other people say in a supportive way, encouraging all
group members to tell what they think about a particular comment.

1.6 Using telephone

Telephone communication lacks nonverbal cues. When we are having a phone conversation, we don't
have facial expressions or body language to help us decode messages, so we must focus on every word
being said, and the tone of voice that is being used. We compensate for the absence of nonverbal cues by
adding more weigh to the words being said and the tone of voice being used. The remaining types of
communication on the chart are missing both, tone of voice as well as nonverbal communication. They
only use words and visuals. Does that mean that the quality of the communication is minimal? Not
necessarily, it means that the words and visuals carry all the weight to ensure a message is clearly
understood.

1.7 Written

Written materials often bear the greatest burden for the communication of new ideas and procedures.
Effective writing is the product of long hours of preparation, revision and organization. One book that
follows its own rules is Strunk and White's Elements of Style, a short book which argues persuasively for
clarity, accuracy, and brevity in the use of English. Its entire philosophy is contained in one paragraph:

A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same
reasons that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This
requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoids all detail and treat his subjects
only in outline, but that EVERY WORD TELL Clear, vigorous writing is a product of clear, vigorous
thinking. Clarity is born of discipline and imagination. Kirkpatrick gives the following guidelines for
using written communication:

Use Written Communication When:

- The sender wants a record for future references.

- The receiver will be referring to it later.
- The message is complex and requires study by the receiver.
- The message includes a step by step procedure.
- Oral communication is not possible because people are not in the same place at the same time.
- There are many receivers. Caution: the receivers must be interested in the subject and will put
forth the time and effort to read and understand.
- It is cheaper. Caution: the same as above.
- A copy of the message should go to another person.
- The receiver prefers written.

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1.8 Using Internet
Types of Internet Communication

The Internet provides users with multiple means of communicating. Users may communicate with
friends, colleagues, news reporters, editors and even strangers. Today there are more ways to reach out to
people who were traditionally difficult to contact. As technology advances, the means of Internet
communications become increasingly convenient and varied.

Social Networking

- Members of social networking sites are able to send messages, comments, links, articles and
pictures to other members of the site. Communication is not just between the sender and receiver;
it is also available to other members who have access to browse your site. These other members
may also make comments. This type of relationship is known as an Internet community.

Online Phone Calls

- Skype.com is a website dedicated to providing online phone calls to other Skype members. This
type of communication is known as Skype-to-Skype calling. Users communicate once they have
downloaded the Skype software program from the Skype website.
- Skype also allows users to make video calls, through which users can see each other as they talk.
Skype allows members to make low, per-minute Skype calls to landlines and cell phones.

Emails

- Email, also known as electronic mail, not only allows you to communicate with other email users,
but it also is a way to receive, for example, newsletters, coupons, daily inspirational quotes and
job postings. Registered users have the ability to save drafts and past important emails for future
reference.

2. Communication constraints
2.1 Identify constraints
Anything that prevents understanding of the message is a barrier to communication. Many physical and
psychological barriers exist:

• Culture, background, and bias — We allow our past experiences to change the meaning of the
message. Our culture, background, and bias can be good as they allow us to use our past experiences to
understand something new, it is when they change the meaning of the message that they interfere with the
communication process.

• Noise — Equipment or environmental noise impedes clear communication. The sender and the receiver
must both be able to concentrate on the messages being sent to each other.

• Ourselves — Focusing on ourselves, rather than the other person can ead to confusion and conflict. The
“Me Generation” is out when it comes to effective communication. Some of the factors that cause this are

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defensiveness (we feel someone is attacking us), superiority (we feel we know more than the other), and
ego (we feel we are the center of the activity).

• Perception — If we feel the person is talking too fast, not fluently, does not articulate clearly, etc., we
may dismiss the person. Also our preconceived attitudes affect our ability to listen. We listen uncritically
to persons of high status and dismiss those of low status.

• Message — Distractions happen when we focus on the facts rather than the idea. Our educational
institutions reinforce this with tests and questions. Semantic distractions occur when a word is used
differently than you prefer. For example, the word chairman instead of chairperson, may cause you to
focus on the word and not the message.

• Environmental — Bright lights, an attractive person, unusual sights, or any other stimulus provides a
potential distraction.

• Smothering — We take it for granted that the impulse to send useful information is automatic. Not true!
Too often we believe that certain information has no value to others or they are already aware of the facts.

• Stress — People do not see things the same way when under stress. What we see and believe at a given
moment is influenced by our psychological frames of references — our beliefs, values, knowledge,
experiences, and goals.

2.2 Strategies and Roles to Constraints

Active Listening
Hearing and listening are not the same thing. Hearing is the act of perceiving sound. It is involuntary and
simply refers to the reception of aural stimuli.

Listening is a selective activity which involves the reception and the interpretation of aural stimuli. It
involves decoding the sound into meaning.

Listening is divided into two main categories: passive and active. Passive

listening is little more that hearing. It occurs when the receiver of the message has little motivation to
listen carefully, such as when listening to music, storytelling, television, or when being polite.

People speak at 100 to 175 words per minute (WPM), but they can listen intelligently at 600 to 800
WPM. Since only a part of our mind is paying attention, it is easy to go into mind drift — thinking about
other things while listening to someone. The cure for this is active listening — which involves listening
with a purpose. It may be to gain information, obtain directions, understand others, solve problems, share
interest, see how another person feels, show support, etc.

It requires that the listener attends to the words and the feelings of the sender for understanding. It takes
the same amount or more energy than speaking. It requires the receiver to hear the various messages,
understand the meaning, and then verify the meaning by offering feedback. The following are a few traits
of active listeners:

- Spend more time listening than talking.

- Do not finish the sentences of others.

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 - Do not answer questions with questions.
- Are aware of biases. We all have them. We need to control them
- Never daydreams or become preoccupied with their own thoughts when others talk.
- Let the other speakers talk. Do not dominate the conversations.
- Plan responses after the others have finished speaking, NOT while they are speaking.
- Provide feedback, but do not interrupt incessantly.
- Analyze by looking at all the relevant factors and asking open-ended questions. Walk others
through by summarizing.
- Keep conversations on what others say, NOT on what interests them.
- Take brief notes. This forces them to concentrate on what is being said.

Feedback
The purpose of feedback is to alter messages so the intention of the original communicator is understood
by the second communicator. It includes verbal and nonverbal responses to another person's message

Carl Rogers listed five main categories of feedback. They are listed in the order in which they occur most
frequently in daily conversations. Notice that we make judgments more often than we try to understand:

- Evaluative: Making a judgment about the worth, goodness, or appropriateness of the other
person's statement.
- Interpretive: Paraphrasing — attempting to explain what the other person's statement means.
- Supportive: Attempting to assist or bolster the other communicator.
- Probing: Attempting to gain additional information, continue the discussion, or clarify a point.
- Understanding: Attempting to discover completely what the other communicator means by her
statements.

Lesson 3: Identify and communicate issues arising in the workplace

3. Effective communication principles
PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION

Communication is a two-way process of giving and receiving information through any number of
channels. Whether one is speaking informally to a colleague, addressing a conference or meeting, writing
a newsletter article or formal report, the following basic principles apply:

- Know your audience.

- Know your purpose.
- Know your topic.
- Anticipate objections.
- Present a rounded picture.
- Achieve credibility with your audience.
- Follow through on what you say.
- Communicate a little at a time.
- Present information in several ways.
- Develop a practical, useful way to get feedback.

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 - Use multiple communication techniques.

Communication is complex. When listening to or reading someone else's message, we often filter what's
being said through a screen of our own opinions. One of the major barriers to communication is our own
ideas and opinions.

There's an old communications game, telegraph, that's played in a circle. A message is whispered around
from person to person. What the exercise usually proves is how profoundly the message changes as it
passes through the distortion of each person's inner "filter."

3.1 Maximizing opportunity for staff

How to Maximize Employee Communication?
Staff should always know where they can find the latest employee communications. An uninformed
employee is often an unhappy employee. An unhappy employee is often unproductive and won't benefit
the company. Maximizing employee communication through frequent staff meetings, direct leadership
communication, written and online communications and social media will make employees feel
knowledgeable and that they have a voice. Use all tools to maximize employee communication, as it is
better to provide too much information than not enough.

3.2 Communicating in complex situation

Whether you are communicating face to face or on the telephone, it can be a lost business opportunity or
a successful one, even in difficult situations with angry o irritated customers, clients, vendors and co-
workers. Making the best possible impression is critical to establishing good interpersonal relations and to
developing a profitable business.

Creating this favorable impression not only translates into satisfied individuals and increased business
profitability but also less workplace stress and frustration—for you and others. As author Eric Maisel
writes in his book, 20 Communication Tips at Work, “Never treat work communications cavalierly…
When you are at work, all communications are meaningful and important.” We should not take our
routine communications with others for granted. Every single communication situation can be a win-win
opportunity if we know and apply effective communication skills.

Three Stages of Anger

It is no small task to handle irritated and angry individuals. But with some helpful strategies to remember
and utilize and a determination to remain professional, calm and self-confident, employees can surmount
this workplace obstacle.

There are there stages of anger often seen in individuals, characterized by the acronym MAD:

- Miffed—An individual is irritated. For example, a customer complains about a business

overcharge on his account or a late product shipment.
- Aggravated—An individual show more than simple irritation but attacks you or business, saying
something like, “You can’t do anything right.”

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 - Destructive—A person’s anger is very intense, and may even be threatening. The individual may
say he will close his account, sue your company, want you fired, or demand to talk with your
supervisor.

Most individuals are at the “miffed” stage. Remembering the Golden Rule, “Treat

others as you would like to be treated,” should never be forgotten in all communication situations,
particularly difficult ones.

Eight Steps to Diffuse Anger When you exhibit professionalism, it is helpful in alleviating anger in
others. Throughout all situations, remember to stay calm and do not display heated emotion. Keep the
tone of your voice caring, helpful and empathetic—not cold, indifferent or hostile. Speak slowly, while
lowering your voice pitch slightly. This technique will encourage the angry individual to calm down
more quickly.

These eight steps will also help you successfully in handling difficult individuals:

1. Don’t buy into the anger. Take the anger professionally, but not personally. Remember to
separate the problem from the person, and focus on the problem.
2. Listen to understand. Hear the individual out without interrupting, as this makes people even
angrier.
3. Show empathy. Impress an individual that you genuinely care about his problem or issue.
Acknowledge his feelings and restate the facts. Often, it helps to ask yourself, “How is this
person feeling?” Annoyed, disappointed or frustrated? Try to use the appropriate descriptive word
when you restate the problem. For example, “I can imagine how frustrated you are that your
product shipment hasn’t arrived on time. I will see what I can do to expedite the shipment.”
4. Identify the other’s needs and wants. Ask appropriate questions, both open- ended ones to gather
additional information, and closed-end ones to confirm information with a one-word or “yes/no”
answer. Verify your understanding of the person’s problem by restating the facts.
5. Offer options. Aim to be positive, not negative. Tell individuals what you can do for them,
without emphasizing what you can’t do. It is helpful often to use the “condition/benefit” formula,
for instance: “If you provide me with your invoice number, then I can check on your order.”
6. Find a positive solution. Try to come up with suggestions to rectify the problem and ask the
individual for his input. Having the individual become involved in the problem solution will
make him feel better about you and your business.
7. Thank the person. Express appreciation to the individual for bringing the problem or issue to
your attention.
8. Follow up on any commitments. This is vital for maintaining and building better interpersonal
relations. Be sure to check back promptly with the individual to confirm that the necessary action
has actually been completed. Your professionalism will assuredly stand out if you do this last
step.

Complex or difficult situations may include:

• Situations involving people under stress, such as:

• post suicide clients
• drug and alcohol affected o

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 • disabled people
• hearing impaired
• personal threat
• aggression
• anger
• grief and loss people

3.3 Documentation

• Communication and documentation is key for a successful project

– “If it is not written down, it did not happen!” (ancient wise saying)
– “If you wrote it down, you agreed to do it!” (not as ancient wise saying)

• Communication assures coordination of effort across stakeholders

– Agreement on how to proceed

– Tracking of progress
– Assure functioning interface between units

• Written documentation provides the “glue” that stabilizes components and unifies the project

– Helps assure “end-to-end” thinking

– Show agreement on roles, tasks, schedule
– Provides proof of performance

• Reports & presentations set precedent for acknowledgement of effort and / or discoveries

• There are a multitude of written documents during a project

– Proposal of concept to funding agency

– Requirements Document to specify “ground rules”
– System Design Document to specify high level design
– Interface Control Documents to define subunit interfaces
– Risk Management Plan shows how project risks are controlled
– Preliminary Design Review (PDR) gives initial definition of project
– Critical Design Review (CDR) provides complete definition of project
– Flight Readiness Review (FRR) certifies payload for flight
– Mission Operations and Data Analysis for post-launch procedures
– Technical reports to track progress of project
– Science reports to present results publicly

LO 4: Lead workplace

4. Lead workplace

4.1 Listening for facts and feeling issues

Listening is the absorption of the meanings of words and sentences by the brain.

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Listening leads to the understanding of facts and ideas. But listening takes attention, or sticking to the task
at hand in spite of distractions. It requires concentration, which is the focusing of your thoughts upon one
particular problem. A person who incorporates listening with concentration is actively listening. Active
listening is a method of responding to another that encourages

communication. The process of informational listening focuses on the ability of an individual to

understand a speaker’s message. It is a huge part of everyday life, and failing to understand the concept of
informational listening can be very detrimental to one's contribution to society, and indeed, detrimental to
quality of life in general. Much of the listening people engage in on a regular basis falls under the blanket
of listening for information. In the office, people listen to their superiors for instructions about what they
are to do. At school, students listen to teachers for information that they are expected to understand for
quizzes and tests. In all areas of life, informational listening plays a huge role in human communication.

4.2 Short talk and presentation

How to Give an Effective and Powerful Short Presentation?

You've been asked to speak for five to ten minutes on your specialty and/or passion. You may be part of a
panel with each panel member given a specified time limit. Or, you may be one of several presenters at a
specialized conference and each of you will share part of a keynote address. Or, you may have been asked
to open a conference session with a few words on the major topic. Or, you have taken my advice and have
joined a Toastmasters Club to perfect your presentation skills.

Your first speech will be a four to six-minute presentation with a timer keeping track of every
second. And, following that first speech, every other presentation - mostly short in length - will be timed.
Personally, I feel that giving a short, five to ten minute, presentation is one of the most demanding and
difficult assignments. In this article, I will share tips of how to deal with and ways I have dealt with this
challenge.

Start by accepting the time limit and making sure that you prepare for it. If we want to be known as
professionals, we must realize that when a meeting planner gives us five minutes, he or she means five
minutes. Yes, I know that there are always speakers who don't pay any attention and take up much more
of the time allotted. These are speakers who are often not asked back, even if they are super on the
platform. And, even when they are terrific, audience members

who are aware of the time limit start focusing on the fact that the speaker is going way over his or her
time and that is the part of the presentation they remember.

Recently, I set up a panel of six community leaders. Each was told they had eight minutes’ maximum.
Five of them stayed under or right at that limit, while one who was passionate about his topic and a good
speaker - went way over. After the event, someone who wasn't there told me that he had heard that the
speakers were all wonderful except the one who went way over, "I heard that ___ spoke much too long."
The same person in question has asked me for five

minutes at an upcoming meeting and I have put him off, because I feel that I can't trust him to stay within
five minutes. Our performances - both good and bad - stay with us.

Realize that a short speech can be more compelling than a longer one, but takes even more
preparation. When we've been asked to speak about a topic we're passionate about, how in the world can

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we say what we want and need to in five minutes? I feel that it takes a lot more work, because we have to
compress a topic down to its essence. There are many questions to ask ourselves while preparing - and, by
now, you know how important preparation is

Even though I never suggest memorizing a presentation, I suggest for a short presentation with a
time limit to write out a draft or outline. Take the draft or the outline, and either read or speak a sample
into a tape recorder. Then listen and time your presentation. You will get a good idea of how long it will
take. By listening to yourself, you will pick up the stronger and weaker parts. You will discover what to
delete and what to elaborate upon. A way to plan a five-minute talk is to allow a minute for the opening,
one minute for each of the three points you want to make and one minute for the close. If you think of it
in five parts, it will be a lot easier to plan. Even if you have been given eight minutes, I still suggest
planning for five or six. It never hurts to come in a little under the time limit. Everyone will appreciate it.
If there are other presenters involved, you will stand out as the pro, because most of them will go over
their time limit

Get used to being timed and enlist the aid of a timer. The first time I spoke at my Toastmasters Club,
the timing made me terribly nervous. The way our club -and many of the clubs - worked the timing was
with colored lights. For a five-minute speech, the green light would come on at three minutes, the yellow
light at four minutes, and the red light at five minutes. It took me awhile to get used to the lights, but I
feel that using them improved my speaking and my awareness of timing. I planned my talks, so that when
the green light came on, I knew exactly how to use the final two minutes and, with work, achieved ending
right on time with a punch. For strictly timed presentations, I would ask a friend in the front row to
inconspicuously hold up a sign that says "3 minutes" then "2 minutes", then "1 minute." You will be
amazed by how quickly you can gauge your own time accurately. And, one of the quickest ways to get
used to preparing and giving short presentations that are powerful and punchy is to join a Toastmasters
International Club and work through the manuals.

You will also discover that working under time constraints will help you clarify the messages in
your presentations. What will seem a huge challenge in the beginning will become one of your favorite
ways of presenting. So, if you have an important point to make, you will be able to honestly ask for five
minutes at a meeting and only use five or fewer. You will also find that when a group is looking for a
succinct spokesperson, your name will come to mind. Go for it! Let me hear how you fare. I love getting
your FEEDBACK!

4.3 Long presentations

Two types of long presentations are group presentations and long individual sessions. With both,
involving the audience is very important. Often you will be introducing new content or helping to
develop a knowledge area; in other words, you will be engaged in a type of teaching. You will therefore
have to consider the needs and interest levels of your audience, and include activities which help them
absorb information better. Select from the links below to see suggestions for improving audience
participation.

4.4 Conducting interviews and meetings

CONDUCTING A MEETING

 START ON TIME!!

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Delegate the task of taking minutes if you haven’t a subcommittee

• Secretary
• Review the agenda/obtain agreement on the meetings objectives and goals
• Revise agenda if necessary

Conducting Interviews

You can collect data by going to published material, by conducting empirical research, or by careful
observation. However, you can also get information by talking with people who have knowledge you
want. Sometimes you simply want to know what their experience has been; in other words, you want to
collect their testimony as witnesses. Sometimes you want their expert opinion, sometimes their
knowledge of the facts. One of the first steps in conducting an interview, after deciding who you want to
interview, is to figure out which of these kinds of information you are after. Let's go through some of the
steps involved in planning and carrying out an interview.

1. After determining who you want to talk with, consider what information you want to get. It may
even be a good idea to jot down a list starting with, "I want to find out . . .."
2. Make an appointment. Contact the person you wish to talk with far enough in advance that he or
she has time to get ready, but not so far in advance that their schedules are not yet developed.
When you make an appointment, you need to introduce yourself and tell what capacity you
are calling in, explain the purpose of your call, explain why you would like to talk with the
person, and request permission to set a time and place. If you will be recording the interview,
ask permission to do so ahead of time.
3. Prepare for the interview by finding out about the person you will be interviewing and by
preparing questions to ask.
4. . If you want witness-type information, a few open-ended questions which invite the person to tell
her story. Be ready with follow up questions like, “Could you tell me more about that?"
5. If you want expert opinion, create more pointed questions, questions that suggest particular issues
you would to explore. Questions still need to be open ended, something like, "I would very much
like to know what your analysis is of so and so." Be willing to let the person drift off to
neighboring topic, because she may know more about the lay of the argument than you do, and
she may be giving you information you really wanted and didn't know how to ask for. Reserve a
very general question for the end, something like, "Have other things occurred to you during the
interview that you would like to say at this time?"
6. If you want facts, make your questions as precise as possible, making it clear that you're after
data. It is important that the person you are interviewing know ahead of time that he or she will
be asked such questions, because people seldom carry that kind of data around in their heads.
Reserve a general question for the end.
7. When it is time for the interview, be punctual--not early, and certainly not late.
8. Be forthcoming when you meet, introducing yourself and briefly reminding the person why you
wanted to talk. If you are unsure about how to spell the person's name, ask about that and about
their official title.
9. If you will be taping the interview, ask permission to do so.

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10. As you ask the questions and listen to the responses, look at the person's face and eyes to show
that you are interested and that you value what you're getting. From time to time make brief
notes, but don't bury yourself in notetaking.
11. Try to get some direct quotes, saying something like, "I like the way you said that. Can I quote
you?" And then get the words down in quotation marks.
12. Reserve a general question for the end.
13. Briefly summarize what you have covered and how you understand the information you have
been given.
14. Thank the person for his or her time and willingness to share.
15. Don't linger. If you promised to take only 30 minutes, then stick to your schedule, but don't be
rude. Say something like, "I promised to take only 30 minutes of your time, and see I have. Is
there any last thing you want to add before I go?" You might also say something like, "This has
been very informative. If some other question occurs to me, may I get back in touch with you?"
16. When you leave, spend time immediately writing down notes. Make sure you have the date and
place of the interview

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