Communication

Seminar 2
Understanding Communications:
A Key to Effective Leadership
Lori Sundal
Georgia Institute of Technology
A seminar sponsored by EDUCAUSE
EDUCAUSE Southeast Regional Conference

June 2, 2008
Jacksonville, Florida
Understanding Communications:
A Key to Effective Leadership
Copyright Lori Sundal, 2008. This work is the intellectual

property of the author. Permission is granted for this
material to be shared for non-commercial, educational
purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on
the reproduced materials and notice is given that the
copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate
otherwise or to republish requires written permission from
the author.
Understanding Communications: A Key to Effective Leadership
Agenda
•Introductions
•Communications – Definition
•Communication Channels and Types
•Effective Communications
•Communication Styles
•Active Listening
•Summary and Wrap-Up
Breaks each hour and from 10 – 10:15

Introductions
Exercise:
Partner with your neighbor:
Tell your partner something about yourself – unusual, hobby,

goals, or just something you enjoy. Describe it fully. Then
switch and repeat.
Share with all participants.

Introductions
Exercise:
Each table will come up with a their definition of

communication.
Then, we’ll take the elements from all tables and we will
develop our common definition as a group.
Communications Definition
The exchange of ideas, messages, or

information, as by speech, signals, or
writing.
Webster’s Dictionary
The art of passing information and ideas

from one person to another.
Successful Communication – Ken Lawson,
M.A., Ed.M.
As leaders, we communicate to:

• Get things done
• Pass on information
• Obtain information
• Reach decisions
• Achieve understanding between individuals
• Develop relationships
Sender Blah,
blah,
blah
Message >>>>> Method >>>>>>
<<<<<<<< Feedback <<<<<<<<<<<
Receiver
Communication Definition
Role of the Sender

–Sender has clarity about the message and how it should be
communicated.
•Meaning is clear
•Understand your audience
•Message is believable
•Solicit feedback
Role of the Receiver
–Receiver is attentive and “truly listening”
•Hears the words
•Interprets what is said and not said
•Provides feedback for clarification
It takes two to speak the truth, one to

speak, and the other to hear.
Henry David Thoreau

KEY 1 –
“It Takes Two”
Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston
Understand your
role as a sender and
a receiver
Jot down one thing you

learned in this section.
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
Communication Types and Channels
Channel – medium chosen by the sender to deliver

a message
•Direct Channels: Obvious and easily recognized,

under direct control of the sender
– Verbal: words, spoken or written
– Non-verbal: body language, gestures, color,
sound
•Indirect Channels: usually recognized subliminally,

not under direct control of the sender
– Non-verbal: body language, gestures, facial

expressions, etc.
High risk of being misinterpreted!

Unders tanding the Meaning of Com m unication
7%
Words
38% Tone
55%
Body Language
Verbal Communications
•Spoken word – speed and convenience, (face

to face - either 1 on 1 or group, phone,
interviews, meetings)
– Face to face is strongest means for building
relationships and trust with peers, employees,
customers and constituents
Verbal Communications
•Written word – more permanent and orderly,

(email, reports, letter, proposals, minutes, etc.)
Strive for 6 things:

• Accuracy
• Relevance
• Brevity
• Structure
• Clarity
• Audience
Type of Communication Example Usefulness
Written Word Letters, Memos, Reports, Permanence and

Proposals, Notes, Contracts, Accessibility
Agendas, Minutes, Plans, etc.
Spoken Word Conversations, Interviews, Meetings Immediacy

Debates, Announcements, Speeches,
etc.
Symbolic Gestures Gestures, Facial Expressions, Actions, Unconsciously

Tone of Voice, Silence, Stance, Affect Others
Posture, Movement, etc.
Visual Images Pictures, Drawings, Illustrations, Powerful conscious

Charts, Videos, Logos, Graphics, etc. and unconscious
messages
Email
Get out of your Chair!

Non-Verbal
•Body Language – can enhance the spoken word

– Complementing
– Reinforcing
– Emphasizing
– Substituting
Non-Verbal
•Body Language / Gestures – can contradict

the spoken word
– Hands
– Body
– Head / Face
Exercise:
I need 3 volunteers from the audience.

Do I contradict myself? Very well

then, I contradict myself, (I am large, I
contain multitudes.)
Walt Whitman, Song of Myself

Exercise:
Take 5 minutes to talk about how non-verbal communication can

enhance vs. contradict communication.
Share.
KEY 2 –
“Heard it through the
Grapevine”
Gladys Knight & the Pips
Use appropriate channels

for maximum
effectiveness

____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
Effective Communications
Goal – to achieve clarity
• Must be clear in your own mind
• Must have a succinct deliver
• Ensure the message has been clearly and correctly

understood
Benefits
• Improve our effectiveness and our job
satisfaction as leaders
– Relationships (employees, peers, superiors,
customers, etc.)
– Management
– Selling
– Counseling
– Coaching
– Mentoring
– Conflict Management
Business and Technical Communications
•Know your audience

•Talk less about technology and more about
how technology services affect those using
them
•Talk about how technology can enable the
delivery of business process and services
•Beware of technical jargon and acronyms!
Questions
Who, What, When, Why, How
Types of Questions
•Open
•Closed
•Fact Finding
•Follow Up
•Feedback
“Nothing in life is more important than

the ability to communicate
effectively.”
Gerald Ford
“ I keep six honest serving-men

(They taught me alI I knew);
Their names were What and Why and
When and How and Where and Who”
Rudyard Kipling, Just So Stories

KEY 3 –
“Return to Sender”
Elvis Presley
Question and
provide feedback for
clarity

____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
Communication Styles
Analyticals
•Quantitative – like facts, figures, numbers, details

•Perfectionists – see themselves as experts
•Critical thinkers – don’t like people to break rules
•Analyze – need time to process information and
make decisions, cautious, adverse to risk
•Inflexible – often resist change
•Reserved – want everything in writing and in detail
Amiable
•Responsible – take it all on, hard for them to

delegate
•Reserved – don’t need the spot light
•Multi-taskers – can juggle multiple tasks
•Cooperative – great listeners and team players, but
get hurt feelings or can be offended easily
•Patient – generally nice people, value others and
friendships
•Persistent – want to be treated fairly
Drivers
•Accomplish – get things done, action-oriented

•Poor listeners – brief, get to the point, afraid of
wasting their time
•Quick decisions – don’t want all the detail, will make
decisions on incomplete information
•Judgmental – always right, highly opinionated,
brusque and abrupt
Expressives
•Talkers – love to talk and socialize, difficult to keep

on task, easily distracted
•Creative – never meet a stranger, abstract thinkers
•Enthusiastic – very articulate and able to influence
others
•Verbal centric – don’t like detail or paper
•People Centered – don’t like working alone
•Poor listeners – say the same thing in three different
ways because they are always thinking and revising
So, what happens when different styles

communicate without understanding style
differences?
Analytical vs. Expressive

Driver vs. Amiable
Driver vs. Expressive
What do you do?
•Understand the different styles and adjust your

communication to the needs of others
•Alter your behavior so that it fits better with
another person’s style; this is your leverage
•Don’t give up your point of view, opinions or
goals
•Remain flexible and understand communication
in another person’s comfort zone
Exercise:
Complete the communications style questionnaire

and plot your style on the style grid.
What did you learn about yourself?
Share.
Communicating with Analyticals

Do Don’t
Be prepared Be disorganized or messy
Be accurate Be informal or loud
Be direct Rush a decision
Present pros and cons Fail to follow through
Be specific Waste time
Be persistent Leave things to chance
Present timelines/actions Threaten or cajole
Use facts and evidence Use opinions as evidence
Communicating with Amiables

Do Don’t
Start with something personal Rush into business
Show sincere interest in them Make their decision
Listen and be responsive Force a response
Be casual and non-threatening Be demanding
Ask “how” questions Debate facts
Provide assurances Be patronizing or
abrupt
Communicating with Drivers

Do Don’t
Be specific and brief Small talk, waste time
Stick to business Be disorganized
Be prepared Leave things unclear
Present information clearly Ask rhetorical
Ask “what” questions questions
Take issues with facts Speculate
Be directive or
make
their
Communicating with Expressives

Do Don’t
Be fast and entertaining Legislate
Leave time for socializing Be cold or aloof
Talk about their goals Press for solutions
Deal with the “big” picture Deal with details
Ask for their opinions and ideas Be dogmatic
Offer incentives or rewards Talk down to them
You can have brilliant ideas, but if

you can’t get them across, your
ideas won’t get you anywhere.
Lee Iacocca
What we’ve got here is a failure to

communicate.
Frank. R. Pierson
The problem with communication is the

illusion that it has occurred.
George Bernard Shaw
Communications Styles
KEY 4 –
“Thank you for
lettin’ me be myself”
Sly and the Family Stone
Understand how to
communicate with styles
other than your own

____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
Active Listening
Why do we listen?
•To obtain information

•To understand
•For enjoyment
•To learn
We remember 25-50% of what we hear!

Active Listening
5 Elements of Active Listening
•Pay attention, not just to the words, but body

language as well
•Show you are listening, mirroring
•Provide feedback
•Defer judgment
•Respond appropriately
Active Listening
Listening Modes
•Competitive or Combative
•Passive or Attentive
•Active or Reflective
Active Listening
Using Listening Skills
•Empathizing – listening from the perspective of the

speaker
•Analyzing – using analytical questions to get at the

full meaning of the speaker’s message
•Reflecting – paraphrasing what has been said to

show the speaker you have heard and understand the
message.
Active Listening
Exercise:
SOLER
Face the speaker Squarely
Adopt an Open posture
Lean
Maintain good Eye contact
Try to be Relaxed
Teams of 3 – Listener, Speaker, Observer

Active Listening
Feedback
Effective feedback has to be:

• accepted by the person receiving it
• must be constructive
• must not be critical
Active Listening
Speaker
•Factual, specific and about what has happened
•Addresses the behavior and the effect
•Take into account needs of receiver as well as you
•Make it well timed
Receiver
•Listen carefully to what is said
•Try not to be defensive; mentally note questions or
disagreements
•Paraphrase what you think you heard
•Ask questions for clarification
Active Listening
Barriers
•Physical Barriers
•Perceptual Barriers
•Emotional Barriers
•Cultural Barriers
•Language Barriers
•Gender Barriers
•Interpersonal Barriers
Active Listening
Exercise:
SOLER with Barriers
Teams of 3 – Listener, Speaker, Observer
Barriers will be provided to either the speaker or

receiver. Do not share your specific barrier with your
team.
Active Listening
The most important thing in communication is to

hear what isn’t being said.
Peter Drucker
When people talk, listen completely. Most people

never listen.
Ernest Hemingway
We have two ears and one mouth so that we can

listen twice as much as we speak.
Epictetus
Active Listening
KEY 5 –
“Listen to What the Man
Said”
Paul McCartney and Wings
Truly hear and see what’s

being communicated to
you
Active Listening

____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
Summary and Wrap-Up
Sender Blah,
blah,
blah
Message >>>>> Method >>>>>>
<<<<<<<< Feedback <<<<<<<<<<<
Receiver
Summary and Wrap-Up
Message <<<<< Method <<<<<<
Active listening Channels
Receiver
Eye contact Written and
Spoken word
Watch body language Gestures
Pay attention Body

Language
Mirror speaker
Turn toward person Clarity
Sender
>>>>>>>>> Feedback >>>>>>>>>>>

Summary and Wrap-Up
1 Understand your role as a sender

and a receiver
2 Use appropriate channels for

maximum effectiveness
3 Question and provide feedback for

clarity
4 Understand how to communicate with

styles other than your
own
5 Truly hear and see what’s being

Understanding Communications:A Key to Effective Leadership
Summary and Wrap-Up
The art of communication is the

language of leadership.
James Humes
Summary and Wrap-Up
Development of
effective communication
skills is a life-long process.
As a leader, you must
practice and work at
improving these skills.
“The long and winding road”

The Beatles
Thank you for your attendance!

Questions?
Contact Information
Lori Sundal, Director – Enterprise

Information Systems
Office of Information Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
404-894-5348
lori.sundal@oit.gatech.edu
Reference Information
Heller, R. (1998). Communicate Clearly.
New York: DK Publishing, Inc.
Lawson, M.A., Ed.M., K. (2006) Successful Communication.

New York: Axis Publishing Limited
Taggart, B. M. (2006). Communication and Self-Discovery.

Boulder, Colorado: Educause Institute
Trubitt, L. and Muchane, M. (2008). In Plain English, Please: Effective

IT Communications. Educause Quarterly
Internet Resources:
http://www.jenniferwebb.com/communicate.htm
http://www.hodu.com/barriers.shtml

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Seminar 2

A seminar sponsored by EDUCAUSE

EDUCAUSE Southeast Regional Conference

Copyright Lori Sundal, 2008. This work is the intellectual

Breaks each hour and from 10 – 10:15

Partner with your neighbor:

Tell your partner something about yourself – unusual, hobby,

Share with all participants.

Each table will come up with a their definition of

The exchange of ideas, messages, or

The art of passing information and ideas

As leaders, we communicate to:

<<<<<<<< Feedback <<<<<<<<<<<

Role of the Sender

It takes two to speak the truth, one to

Henry David Thoreau

Jot down one thing you

Channel – medium chosen by the sender to deliver

•Direct Channels: Obvious and easily recognized,

•Indirect Channels: usually recognized subliminally,

– Non-verbal: body language, gestures, facial

High risk of being misinterpreted!

Unders tanding the Meaning of Com m unication

•Spoken word – speed and convenience, (face

•Written word – more permanent and orderly,

Strive for 6 things:

Written Word Letters, Memos, Reports, Permanence and

Spoken Word Conversations, Interviews, Meetings Immediacy

Symbolic Gestures Gestures, Facial Expressions, Actions, Unconsciously

Visual Images Pictures, Drawings, Illustrations, Powerful conscious

Get out of your Chair!

•Body Language – can enhance the spoken word

•Body Language / Gestures – can contradict

I need 3 volunteers from the audience.

Do I contradict myself? Very well

Walt Whitman, Song of Myself

Take 5 minutes to talk about how non-verbal communication can

Use appropriate channels

Jot down one thing you

Goal – to achieve clarity

• Must be clear in your own mind

• Must have a succinct deliver

• Ensure the message has been clearly and correctly

Business and Technical Communications

•Know your audience

“Nothing in life is more important than

“ I keep six honest serving-men

Rudyard Kipling, Just So Stories

Jot down one thing you

•Quantitative – like facts, figures, numbers, details

•Responsible – take it all on, hard for them to

•Accomplish – get things done, action-oriented

•Talkers – love to talk and socialize, difficult to keep

So, what happens when different styles

Analytical vs. Expressive

What do you do?

•Understand the different styles and adjust your

Complete the communications style questionnaire

What did you learn about yourself?

Communicating with Analyticals

Communicating with Amiables

Communicating with Drivers

Communicating with Expressives