Communication Skills Needed for Effective Collaboration Communication is the process of relaying information from the source to the recipient. The essential elements in a communication process include the message, channel, encoder and the decoder. The message is the intended information that is passed by the communicator to the listener. From the source, the message is made meaningful through the encoder. Once the message reaches the other end of the communication channel, it gets meaning to the recipient when has passed through the decoder stage (Agarwal, 2010). This also means that the message can be made use of once the message passes through all these stages.

Points assigned

Organization

The audience cannot make much out of the communication because of a breakdown. The reasons for these include inappropriate message, wrong medium used as well as presence of detractors in the channel of communication.

The audience has a difficulty following the communication due to some inhibitors.

Satisfactory organization and arrangement of ideas. The audience can make sense out of the communication.

Excellent organization. The order of the communication elements is superb. The audience can make a lot of sense out of the communication.

Mechanisms

In written communication, slides seem to have been arranged haphazardly. For oral communication, the words do not come out clearly from the speaker.

The slides are boring and not clear. For oral communication, the words are not fascinating.

The slides are well set and communicate effectively. The words coming from the speaker are well coordinated.

The slides are very creative and communicate excellently. The same applies to the words used in the oral communication.

Delivery

The speech makes reads most parts of the written script without keeping an eye contact with the audience. The oral communicator on the other hand does not engage the audience in the communication.

There is an occasional eye contact but keeps looking at the script. The oral communicator too steals only a few glances at the audiences but on most occasions stares into the emptiness or faces down.

The communicator is aware of the audience and tries to keep a well-balanced eye contact as well as caring to add in some bit of humor to the communication.

Natural confidence in the delivery of the content is evident from the way the communicator conducts himself. In the written communication, the words are arranged in systematic sequence. The ordering of the words brings out the meaning clearly.

Relating audience

Reads most of the words from the slides with no contact with the audience.

The eye contact is minimal and considerate. This is noticed in the way the communicator handles the content.

The communicator is aware of the audience and seeks to come close to the audience.

The communicator engages the audience in the communication as well as seeks to obtain their responses.

Contribution as a team member

Seems to have no interest in the communication from the other members of the team.

Mainly focuses in his or her communication but responds to the few questions asked by the fellow members of the team.

Good team player. The communicator seeks to coordinate with the rest of the team players in order to bring out a better communication.

Superb communication. The communicator is willing to involve the other members of the team to engage in the communication. There is also an attempt to link the responses gotten from the rest of the team members to the communication.

Total

Self-assessment

From the rubric above, an analysis of my communication style is as follows. The grading levels above, from one to four represent the worst level of communication to the perfect respectively It is true that my communication is average. I am often orderly in the organization of the speech I write. I whenever I prepare to communicate with the people, I prefer having a written script that has all that I will be telling people. While reading, I will be interested in noting the way the audience responds to me. It also binds me to get in touch with the audience by asking questions. The most challenging bit is when I am communicating to an unfamiliar audience. This comes with such setbacks as not being able to keep an eye contact with the audience, as well as a total loss of confidence. A large crowd also threatens my communication strength. I find it hard to communicate effectively when handling a hard subject (Worth, 2010). In this case, I find myself unable to communicate with confidence as well as unable to...

Words get lost as well as the audience end up being bored for the lack of creativity. My best mood for communicating is when I am happy. When in this mood, I am more creative and can afford to keep the communication going. From, experience, my audience can appreciate my communication in this state.
Results of the evaluation

Communication is important when the message moves from the source to the recipient in the shortest time possible and carries the message in an appropriate manner as required. Communication also becomes effective when the audience can be able to follow the communicator without being destructed. Ideally, it means that good communication requires that the parties to it, which are the source and the recipient, must use considerable efforts to ensure that they play their part well. The efforts that the communicator needs to put in include maintaining an eye contact with the audience, being audible, communicating with conviction and from a point of knowledge (McQuail, 2011). It is also important that the communicator seek to establish contact with the audience by asking questions that are related to the topic of discussion (Mambert, 2013). The aim here is to understand how the audience feels about the topic of concern.

Several factors influence the way in which people communicate. The mood of the communicator tops the list. It is important that the communicator be in a good mood for him or her to reach out to the audience well. A happy person can effectively communicate to his or her audience effectively when in a good mood. People need to ensure that they entertain the audiences while talking to them. This will keep them focused and entertained. The communicator must ensure that the environment enables the audience to get the message as presented. In the communication channel, there is a need to have all the players and factors at the right place and at the right time. It is important that the communicator deal with the issue of audience attention pretty well. Most importantly, the audience must maintain focus on what is being spoken. It is important that the audience acknowledge the fact that they can better understand what is being communicated by making an effort to understand the speakers and controlling their thoughts.

From experience, speaking to an unsettled audience is a difficult task. They will not be in a position to ask relevant questions to the speakers and hence make it hard to be offered with what they ought to hear. The audience also has a role to encourage the speaker to continue communicating by showing an interest in what is being said. In a communications session, an active audience is all that the speaker needs. They keep the speaker entertained and communicating (Decker, 2007). Other instances when the communication can be improved arise when both the audience and the speaker are familiar to one other. In my experience in communication, I realized that talking to an audience that is known to me is much easier than that which is very new. When the communicator is familiar with the audience, then it is easy for him or her to communicate freely with them. Negative elements such as fear and stage fright will not be anything to be encountered in this communication.

It is also important to ensure that there is a conducive environment within the communication area. Reasonably, the kind of environment, where communication occurs, can influence the way the people talk. For instance, a room with too much noise and movements is not the best for communication. It is important that the room be made to have total silence, good sitting arrangement need to be in place. The place should also be made to have a good sound system so that the speaker can reach the well.

Conclusion

Communication is the basic tool of human interaction. There are different types of communication. Through spoken and written words, messages are passed. There is also the option of non-verbal communication, where the speaker uses body language to reach the audiences. The nature of the message, the urgency, the participants and the place of communication determines the method of communication to use. This also means that the communication channel that has to be done should be considerate and sensitive to the terrain where the communication takes place. Conclusively, it can be said that the communication is a multifaceted field that requires all parties to play their part well.

References

Agarwal, O. (2010). Effective communication (Rev. ed.). Mumbai [India: Himalaya Pub. House.

Decker, B. (2007). How to communicate effectively. London: Kogan Page

Mambert, W. (2013). The elements of effective communication; idea, power, tactics. Washington: Acropolis…