Many people have the wrong concept of the word "argument". I remember counseling someone on a marriage problem. The husband was debating some points presented to him. When I mentioned his "arguing" the point, he straightened up and defensively said, "I'm not arguing" and expressed his feelings about his interpretation of the word. To him "argument" was akin to fight. His understanding of the word triggered a misinterpretation.
When two people argue, it is not fighting. At least it shouldn't be. Scientists argue; they present arguments all the time. So do lawyers. Arguments are a perfectly healthy part of communication. However, we have misunderstood "arguing" for so long because of our poor communication practices, that we have made it a misnomer. We don't know how to argue anymore. Argument is based on logical debate.
There is an excellent tape, "How to Argue and Win Every Time," (Audio Renaissance), by Gerry Spence, who has been practicing law for over forty years and who is widely regarded as one of the most skilled courtroom advocates in America. The author shows how to apply his techniques at work, in court, everywhere, every day. He says that the success of a good argument lies in the preparation.
Often, the one presented with an argument does not want to give into it because he or she knows that on the basis of logic his/her argument would lose. To avoid interaction with "argument" the Receiver either agrees, gives lip service or terminates the discussion. If the discussion does not terminate (i.e., the Sender continues the argument dialogue), the Receiver may then lose control, because of the lack of communication ability and/or facts, and start a word fight -- or even a fist fight -- which is where the word "argument" gets its bad reputation.
Tip:
The success of a good argument lies in the preparation. So, next time you face an argument with someone, hold off and go prepare first! In other words no one can jump into an argument without having some facts and realities on hand. This process would eliminate a lot of problems in marriage as well as in business. /dmh
For the 296 pages Hard Copy book
For the E-book in digital format for immediate download
.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Inter-department Meetings
The Tips Article for today:
"A Few Minutes of Inter-department Meeting Time Will Prevent Hours and Days of Destructive Mistakes."
Most financial communications are done in the language of figures.
Figures don't lie and have no interferences from past experience and current environment! Communicating with figures is the easiest way -- it's black and white. It has its own contextual element.
But when it comes to the people who work with these figures through meetings and discussions and personal relationships, even though all of the elements of the communication process apply in the same way, communication is not as straight forward outside of the figures quoted.
In other words, if I say the bottom line figure is $953.00, that figure cannot mean anything else. However, the person delivering that figure might have meant bottom line before tax but did not mention this and everyone listening in the meeting "thought" it meant bottom line after tax. This would be a big communication problem. The figure is not wrong, but the place on the operating statement is mis-communicated.
The contextual part of communication is the same as in all other departments: to recognize the surroundings of every word spoken or financial figures quoted in order to avoid communication disasters.
The other challenge in a financial department is the communication to and from other departments. Often, outside department representatives do not understand why accounting "nags" them about precise numbers and reports, which need to be crunched daily, weekly, monthly and yearly.
Tip:
Hold regular inter-department meetings to discuss both sides of these communication needs, so that every one is aware of the vulnerabilities. Train people through examples. This will help eliminate many misunderstandings. Truly, a few minutes of meeting time will prevent hours and days of destructive mistakes.
Till next time, have a great and wonderfully successful week,
Diane
Check out my Amazon Kindle Book Author Page at
.
"A Few Minutes of Inter-department Meeting Time Will Prevent Hours and Days of Destructive Mistakes."
Most financial communications are done in the language of figures.
Figures don't lie and have no interferences from past experience and current environment! Communicating with figures is the easiest way -- it's black and white. It has its own contextual element.
But when it comes to the people who work with these figures through meetings and discussions and personal relationships, even though all of the elements of the communication process apply in the same way, communication is not as straight forward outside of the figures quoted.
In other words, if I say the bottom line figure is $953.00, that figure cannot mean anything else. However, the person delivering that figure might have meant bottom line before tax but did not mention this and everyone listening in the meeting "thought" it meant bottom line after tax. This would be a big communication problem. The figure is not wrong, but the place on the operating statement is mis-communicated.
The contextual part of communication is the same as in all other departments: to recognize the surroundings of every word spoken or financial figures quoted in order to avoid communication disasters.
The other challenge in a financial department is the communication to and from other departments. Often, outside department representatives do not understand why accounting "nags" them about precise numbers and reports, which need to be crunched daily, weekly, monthly and yearly.
Tip:
Hold regular inter-department meetings to discuss both sides of these communication needs, so that every one is aware of the vulnerabilities. Train people through examples. This will help eliminate many misunderstandings. Truly, a few minutes of meeting time will prevent hours and days of destructive mistakes.
Till next time, have a great and wonderfully successful week,
Diane
Check out my Amazon Kindle Book Author Page at
.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Tip article for today
Here's the Tip Article for today:
Keep Your Eyes Open and Respond...
Have you experienced in a seminar crowd or meeting, where people linger around after the event and talk to one another about different issues that were covered during the presentations...
Someone in the audience might have said something to the speaker in a question and answer period and, afterward, you sought to get more information from that person.
Here's what happens:
You approach the participant who shared, but someone else is already talking with him or her. Politely you wait and try to attract attention but there is no response. You approach a little further to try and catch his attention but he and his party are so engaged in their conversation that he ignores you completely.
Look, I've been in that situation many times and it is very frustrating -- especially if you are a busy person and just want to ask a quick question -- not talk all night !
Don't be one of those ignoramus. When you have someone talking with you and another approaches to say something, immediately turn to that person seeking you and acknowledge him/her right away. Don't let them stand there. Let them in.
Your reply will just extend the discussion further to the interest of the group.
That's what these events are all about. People getting together to discuss matters of interest.
Tip:
Whether you are the speaker of the presentation or a participant from the audience who contributed to the event, just make sure to keep your eyes open and be ready to acknowledge the presence of another person seeking to speak to you.
Till next time, have a great and wonderfully successful week,
Diane
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Training New Employees - What's a Genuine Mistake?
Training New Employees - What's a Genuine Mistake?
by Dr. Diane M. Hoffmann
As Featured on EzineArticles
It's a sure thing that, while being trained (and even after), people will make mistakes. It is up to management and supervisors to identify what types of mistakes are being made and recognize the context within which these mistakes are made. There are three types of mistakes:
1. silly mistakes
2. stupid mistakes and
3. genuine mistakes
Management might come across mistakes made by the new employee and perceive them as "stupid", while in actual fact, the individual had not been instructed properly by the people who were "supposed to train them". I see that happening a lot in companies and it is a very unfair judgment on the new person starting out. That's why I always say that, first, management must make sure to place new people in the hands of high caliber staff members for training.
The 80/20 formulae can be used as a measuring tool to ask, "what ratio of error is taking place here?" If the mistakes occur 20% of the time or less, then that's OK. They will decrease through repetition of the tasks. But if they occur at 80% or more, there's a problem, and the next step is to find out what the problem is -- not ignore it.
For example, an office clerk might tell another office clerk that a certain computer disk is to be found in a "pouch". While the new person is looking for a "pouch", the boss pressuring for it, the disk is actually filed uncovered in a disk tray. The new person is looking for one thing and the manager is upset because the new office clerk can't locate "a simple disk". What the manager does not know is the context within which the new person is working: under someone else's misinformation.
A new manager might have been mislead by a trainer to believe that a support person would provide all the accurate and current price lists for an upcoming presentation. But during the new manager's presentation meeting, this information proved to be false -- the support person did not provide the correct information. This makes the new manager look bad, but he had been told by the trainer that he could rely on the support personnel -- and he did. Being new, he had no benchmark to verify the information given to him.
Now, of course, he has learned, the hard way, that he cannot trust this support person. Before judging the new manager to be incompetent, or inexperienced, those witnessing this genuine "mistake" must use the context and realize there must be some factor unknown to them. A genuine mistake will be most likely to occur within the 20% of the 80/20 formulae.
On the other hand "Stupid" or "Silly" mistakes are more likely to occur in the 80% range. If a person is truly incompetent, immature, inexperienced or unsuitable for the job, mistakes will be of a different nature and more frequent. Fortunately these will show up in the first week or two of training, or within the first month at least.
However, if the new person will be performing monthly tasks, when the task comes up again in a month, the trainer will have to take into consideration that, although the new clerk has been working there for a month, performing the task will only be the second time. To the new person, this will be a whole new review of the task, and training will still be required during the process as the trainee recalls the steps covered a month earlier. Nobody can remember a task done once, a month later.
If there is an indication of real problems (such as making too many mistakes, or silly and stupid), it is critical to make sure to consider all possible contextual influences. The key is to recognize and identify its existence right away and deal with it before the probation period is over or before it grows into a bigger problem. Sometimes one may have to bring in an outside consultant to discuss the problem and possible solutions.
Management can't just shake its head when a mistake is made. It has to recognize and examine situations within the context of the surrounding training. It has to find out why and how a problem happened before it goes further. This is done through the tools and activities of the communication process. But sadly very few do it.
It's a sure thing that, while being trained, people will make mistakes. It is up to management and supervisors to identify what mistakes are being made within the three types and positively accept what a genuine mistake is as part of the training process./dmh
Article Copyright(c)Diane M. Hoffmann. You may print this article making sure to include the following bio without any changes.
Diane M. Hoffmann is the founder of Hoffmann-Rondeau Communications and author of the 296-page printed book "Contextual Communication, Organization and Training". Diane also provides a 2-part e-book version of her printed book, "Improve Communication, Verbal and Nonverbal" and "Improve Communication, Organization and Training" as well as many free articles which can be seen at her blog at http://contextual-communication-hrd.blogspot.com/.
***Sign up above for my weekly "TipSheet" on Communication Verbal-Nonverbal, Organization and Training...***
by Dr. Diane M. Hoffmann
As Featured on EzineArticles
It's a sure thing that, while being trained (and even after), people will make mistakes. It is up to management and supervisors to identify what types of mistakes are being made and recognize the context within which these mistakes are made. There are three types of mistakes:
1. silly mistakes
2. stupid mistakes and
3. genuine mistakes
Management might come across mistakes made by the new employee and perceive them as "stupid", while in actual fact, the individual had not been instructed properly by the people who were "supposed to train them". I see that happening a lot in companies and it is a very unfair judgment on the new person starting out. That's why I always say that, first, management must make sure to place new people in the hands of high caliber staff members for training.
The 80/20 formulae can be used as a measuring tool to ask, "what ratio of error is taking place here?" If the mistakes occur 20% of the time or less, then that's OK. They will decrease through repetition of the tasks. But if they occur at 80% or more, there's a problem, and the next step is to find out what the problem is -- not ignore it.
For example, an office clerk might tell another office clerk that a certain computer disk is to be found in a "pouch". While the new person is looking for a "pouch", the boss pressuring for it, the disk is actually filed uncovered in a disk tray. The new person is looking for one thing and the manager is upset because the new office clerk can't locate "a simple disk". What the manager does not know is the context within which the new person is working: under someone else's misinformation.
A new manager might have been mislead by a trainer to believe that a support person would provide all the accurate and current price lists for an upcoming presentation. But during the new manager's presentation meeting, this information proved to be false -- the support person did not provide the correct information. This makes the new manager look bad, but he had been told by the trainer that he could rely on the support personnel -- and he did. Being new, he had no benchmark to verify the information given to him.
Now, of course, he has learned, the hard way, that he cannot trust this support person. Before judging the new manager to be incompetent, or inexperienced, those witnessing this genuine "mistake" must use the context and realize there must be some factor unknown to them. A genuine mistake will be most likely to occur within the 20% of the 80/20 formulae.
On the other hand "Stupid" or "Silly" mistakes are more likely to occur in the 80% range. If a person is truly incompetent, immature, inexperienced or unsuitable for the job, mistakes will be of a different nature and more frequent. Fortunately these will show up in the first week or two of training, or within the first month at least.
However, if the new person will be performing monthly tasks, when the task comes up again in a month, the trainer will have to take into consideration that, although the new clerk has been working there for a month, performing the task will only be the second time. To the new person, this will be a whole new review of the task, and training will still be required during the process as the trainee recalls the steps covered a month earlier. Nobody can remember a task done once, a month later.
If there is an indication of real problems (such as making too many mistakes, or silly and stupid), it is critical to make sure to consider all possible contextual influences. The key is to recognize and identify its existence right away and deal with it before the probation period is over or before it grows into a bigger problem. Sometimes one may have to bring in an outside consultant to discuss the problem and possible solutions.
Management can't just shake its head when a mistake is made. It has to recognize and examine situations within the context of the surrounding training. It has to find out why and how a problem happened before it goes further. This is done through the tools and activities of the communication process. But sadly very few do it.
It's a sure thing that, while being trained, people will make mistakes. It is up to management and supervisors to identify what mistakes are being made within the three types and positively accept what a genuine mistake is as part of the training process./dmh
Article Copyright(c)Diane M. Hoffmann. You may print this article making sure to include the following bio without any changes.
Diane M. Hoffmann is the founder of Hoffmann-Rondeau Communications and author of the 296-page printed book "Contextual Communication, Organization and Training". Diane also provides a 2-part e-book version of her printed book, "Improve Communication, Verbal and Nonverbal" and "Improve Communication, Organization and Training" as well as many free articles which can be seen at her blog at http://contextual-communication-hrd.blogspot.com/.
***Sign up above for my weekly "TipSheet" on Communication Verbal-Nonverbal, Organization and Training...***
Communication In The Workplace - Improving One Increment at a Time
by Diane M. Hoffmann, ph.d./th.
The majority of people in the workplace (or anywhere for that matter) communicate at a very shallow surface level. That includes those in senior management. Studies have shown that most people communicate at 50% effectiveness -- even in a two-way communication. I venture to say that it is often less than that. But we can improve our communication in the workplace, one increment at a time.
Just think how often you are frustrated by your boss, your peers or colleagues, on a daily basis. How many times are you misunderstood? How many times do you have to explain that you didn't mean something the way it was perceived or received by your listener? Even worse, how many times have you been interrupted to never have had the chance to get back to that important discussion where you wanted to clear yourself of a misunderstanding?
Often, even the explanation of a misunderstanding is misunderstood or received with arguments -- sometimes angrily, sometimes silently. How many times have you kept silent rather than risking offending someone as you would genuinely try to find out where a misunderstanding came from, or try to explain your position.
Experts in linguistics say that people learn languages in their cultural environments and as they grow up they make, maintain and break relationships by talk - males and females having differences in communicating. Communication is a complex subject and vulnerable to the spoken and written words. The novelist E. M. Forster said, "A pause in the wrong place, an intonation misunderstood, and a whole conversation went awry."
In a telephone call to an associate, one day, I left a message on his answering machine to call me back. Somehow, he had been given a phone number which was a business line used for a specific on-going project located in another part of the building; I had subsequently explained to him, that he should not use this number and gave him the one he should call.
However on this particular day, when I called him, I was temporarily working from the first number location and left the message on the tape to call me on that number, at that particular time. When he called me back a few moments later, he called on the other line which was in the other location. What did that tell me? That he did not "listen" to the message on his answering machine. (Just like many don't read their memos or emails). They listen or read hastily and in part only.
This was indeed confirmed later. But, I could have "assumed" he did not listen properly. If I hadn't found it important enough to pursue the incident in order to clarify, I might have wrongly perceived this of him. It could have been that he was not careless at all, but that the tape on the answering machine broke or ended before the explanation about the phone number came on. This would have disclosed my wrong assumption, which would have meant that if I don't know something, I should not assume.
Of course we don't always deduce and analyze our conversations in such details during our daily activities. Who has the time? However being aware of these possibilities, and including this awareness in our philosophical way of thinking, (thinking before receiving) will help us operate in a realm of understanding at all times -- a second nature as it were.
Improving communication is about awareness and doing the little things, many times a day, that will add up to make us communicate better. The goal should be to improve from our current 50% to 100%, one increment at a time./dmh
Article Copyright(c)Diane M. Hoffmann. You may print this article making sure to include the following bio without any changes.
Diane M. Hoffmann is the founder of Hoffmann-Rondeau Communications and author of the 296-page printed book "Contextual Communication, Organization and Training". Diane also provides a 2-part e-book version of her printed book, "Improve Communication, Verbal and Nonverbal" and "Improve Communication, Organization and Training" as well as many free articles which can be seen at her blog at http://contextual-communication-hrd.blogspot.com/.
***Sign up above for my weekly "TipSheet" on Communication Verbal-Nonverbal, Organization and Training...***
The majority of people in the workplace (or anywhere for that matter) communicate at a very shallow surface level. That includes those in senior management. Studies have shown that most people communicate at 50% effectiveness -- even in a two-way communication. I venture to say that it is often less than that. But we can improve our communication in the workplace, one increment at a time.
Just think how often you are frustrated by your boss, your peers or colleagues, on a daily basis. How many times are you misunderstood? How many times do you have to explain that you didn't mean something the way it was perceived or received by your listener? Even worse, how many times have you been interrupted to never have had the chance to get back to that important discussion where you wanted to clear yourself of a misunderstanding?
Often, even the explanation of a misunderstanding is misunderstood or received with arguments -- sometimes angrily, sometimes silently. How many times have you kept silent rather than risking offending someone as you would genuinely try to find out where a misunderstanding came from, or try to explain your position.
Experts in linguistics say that people learn languages in their cultural environments and as they grow up they make, maintain and break relationships by talk - males and females having differences in communicating. Communication is a complex subject and vulnerable to the spoken and written words. The novelist E. M. Forster said, "A pause in the wrong place, an intonation misunderstood, and a whole conversation went awry."
In a telephone call to an associate, one day, I left a message on his answering machine to call me back. Somehow, he had been given a phone number which was a business line used for a specific on-going project located in another part of the building; I had subsequently explained to him, that he should not use this number and gave him the one he should call.
However on this particular day, when I called him, I was temporarily working from the first number location and left the message on the tape to call me on that number, at that particular time. When he called me back a few moments later, he called on the other line which was in the other location. What did that tell me? That he did not "listen" to the message on his answering machine. (Just like many don't read their memos or emails). They listen or read hastily and in part only.
This was indeed confirmed later. But, I could have "assumed" he did not listen properly. If I hadn't found it important enough to pursue the incident in order to clarify, I might have wrongly perceived this of him. It could have been that he was not careless at all, but that the tape on the answering machine broke or ended before the explanation about the phone number came on. This would have disclosed my wrong assumption, which would have meant that if I don't know something, I should not assume.
Of course we don't always deduce and analyze our conversations in such details during our daily activities. Who has the time? However being aware of these possibilities, and including this awareness in our philosophical way of thinking, (thinking before receiving) will help us operate in a realm of understanding at all times -- a second nature as it were.
Improving communication is about awareness and doing the little things, many times a day, that will add up to make us communicate better. The goal should be to improve from our current 50% to 100%, one increment at a time./dmh
Article Copyright(c)Diane M. Hoffmann. You may print this article making sure to include the following bio without any changes.
Diane M. Hoffmann is the founder of Hoffmann-Rondeau Communications and author of the 296-page printed book "Contextual Communication, Organization and Training". Diane also provides a 2-part e-book version of her printed book, "Improve Communication, Verbal and Nonverbal" and "Improve Communication, Organization and Training" as well as many free articles which can be seen at her blog at http://contextual-communication-hrd.blogspot.com/.
***Sign up above for my weekly "TipSheet" on Communication Verbal-Nonverbal, Organization and Training...***
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Formal or Informal Communication Break Downs and the 3 Levels of Verbal Communication.
Formal or Informal Communication Break Downs and the 3 Levels of Verbal Communication.
In my experience on the topic of formal or informal communication I have observed that
1) Most communication breakdowns happen because of misunderstandings
2) And misunderstandings happen when communication is out of context
Communication is always "contextual" whether it is formal or informal, verbal or nonverbal. Being aware of the contextual part of communication is the responsibility of everyone to think before sending or receiving. It means to always bring into the picture the recognition of the immediate surrounding of a given issue or matter being communicated.
When faced with a communication breakdown, the question for us to always ask is this: "What is the context within which this communication situation is taking place?"
As in a book where the text is the actual group of words being read, the context is the surrounding information, the details, the story, the places, the characters, etc.
So, where is the conversation within the context of the issue? Is the problem happening at the sender's end of the communication or at the receiver's end? Where is the misunderstanding? Then focus your communication recovery there.
Communication is never independent of context whether it is formal or informal.
The Three Levels of Verbal Communication.
Before we can improve verbal communication and increase its effectiveness, we need to understand how it works and where the players fit within that communication.
First, when we communicate, there is always a sender (speaker) and a receiver (listener).
Second, the communication itself contains 3 elements:
A) the Information being communicated such as issue, topic, subject, instruction, opinion etc.
B) the Means by which this information is being communicated (verbal, nonverbal, written, using telephone, face to face, letter, book, etc.)
C) the Way in which the information is being communicated (how we use our words, tone of voice, writing style, organized or disorganized manner, etc.)
Both sides have three levels of Active Responsibility to process the activities used in communication:
Level I:
This is where the actual exchange of communication takes place between the sender and receiver which contains the above three elements.
Level II:
This is where the Translating and Interpreting of that communication happens. This is done by the thought processes of each the Sender and the Receiver according to each his/her experiences, and frame
of references in their various walks of life (business, personal, moral, ethical, etc.).
This is where the major complications of communication arise (good or bad connection). If everyone thought the same, saw things the same way or reacted in the same manner, communication would be
straightforward. However, it doesn't happen that way.
Level III:
This is where we get and give Feedback, Understanding and Awareness:.
Feedback:
Both sides are responsible to see that the communication has been Sent and Received as intended. This is identified by asking the right questions at the right times. "Can you please repeat the steps for closing the shop, to make sure I didn't leave anything out?" "Let me run through the requirements as I understand you've outlined them". Both sides ask for feedback when needed.
Understanding:
Effective communication requires a common Understanding between the parties communicating. The Sender Transmits with Understanding to the Receiver. The Receiver Interprets with Understanding from the Sender.
Awareness:
Finally, each side requires an Awareness of the many interferenres also going on, such as cultural differences, linguistics, diction, clarity of speech and expression, verbal, nonverbal parts, etc.
Whether we are in Formal or Informal Communication, we are all subject and vulnerable to break downs. Understanding this and the 3 Levels of Verbal Communication that we can watch for will help us improve and perfect as much as we can our own communication as well as help other to communicate better. /dmh
P.S.: For my books and e-books, click on the appropriate tabs above.
.
In my experience on the topic of formal or informal communication I have observed that
1) Most communication breakdowns happen because of misunderstandings
2) And misunderstandings happen when communication is out of context
Communication is always "contextual" whether it is formal or informal, verbal or nonverbal. Being aware of the contextual part of communication is the responsibility of everyone to think before sending or receiving. It means to always bring into the picture the recognition of the immediate surrounding of a given issue or matter being communicated.
When faced with a communication breakdown, the question for us to always ask is this: "What is the context within which this communication situation is taking place?"
As in a book where the text is the actual group of words being read, the context is the surrounding information, the details, the story, the places, the characters, etc.
So, where is the conversation within the context of the issue? Is the problem happening at the sender's end of the communication or at the receiver's end? Where is the misunderstanding? Then focus your communication recovery there.
Communication is never independent of context whether it is formal or informal.
The Three Levels of Verbal Communication.
Before we can improve verbal communication and increase its effectiveness, we need to understand how it works and where the players fit within that communication.
First, when we communicate, there is always a sender (speaker) and a receiver (listener).
Second, the communication itself contains 3 elements:
A) the Information being communicated such as issue, topic, subject, instruction, opinion etc.
B) the Means by which this information is being communicated (verbal, nonverbal, written, using telephone, face to face, letter, book, etc.)
C) the Way in which the information is being communicated (how we use our words, tone of voice, writing style, organized or disorganized manner, etc.)
Both sides have three levels of Active Responsibility to process the activities used in communication:
Level I:
This is where the actual exchange of communication takes place between the sender and receiver which contains the above three elements.
Level II:
This is where the Translating and Interpreting of that communication happens. This is done by the thought processes of each the Sender and the Receiver according to each his/her experiences, and frame
of references in their various walks of life (business, personal, moral, ethical, etc.).
This is where the major complications of communication arise (good or bad connection). If everyone thought the same, saw things the same way or reacted in the same manner, communication would be
straightforward. However, it doesn't happen that way.
Level III:
This is where we get and give Feedback, Understanding and Awareness:.
Feedback:
Both sides are responsible to see that the communication has been Sent and Received as intended. This is identified by asking the right questions at the right times. "Can you please repeat the steps for closing the shop, to make sure I didn't leave anything out?" "Let me run through the requirements as I understand you've outlined them". Both sides ask for feedback when needed.
Understanding:
Effective communication requires a common Understanding between the parties communicating. The Sender Transmits with Understanding to the Receiver. The Receiver Interprets with Understanding from the Sender.
Awareness:
Finally, each side requires an Awareness of the many interferenres also going on, such as cultural differences, linguistics, diction, clarity of speech and expression, verbal, nonverbal parts, etc.
Whether we are in Formal or Informal Communication, we are all subject and vulnerable to break downs. Understanding this and the 3 Levels of Verbal Communication that we can watch for will help us improve and perfect as much as we can our own communication as well as help other to communicate better. /dmh
P.S.: For my books and e-books, click on the appropriate tabs above.
.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Formal vs Informal Communication - How They Differ
Formal vs Informal Communication - How They Differ
by Diane M. Hoffmann, ph.d./th.
Hoffmann-Rondeau Communications
A lot of people are looking for information on formal vs informal communication. They are particularly looking for the difference between the two.
Both informal communication and formal communication take place in any organization whether it be business or personal. But how does informal and formal communication differ? First, let's take a look at informal communication.
Informal communication:
Informal communication is casual and spontaneous. Informal communication comes from communication activities outside of those formally learned through discipline or at school through education, or in business through related experiences and formal training.
It comes from the social communication of home family culture, casual conversations and grapevines, rumors, inter-relational activities outside of the formal or public arenas.
We do not behave the same way at work as we do at home or at play. I always say that people are at their best at work. We really don't know someone until we've stayed with them outside of work for a few days -- or even a few hours with some people.
Informal communication may not be as reliant as formal communication. Informal communication may be vulnerable to being deceptive and imprecise in its casualness - -consciously or unconsciously.
In an informal setting, the quality of communication may be affected by the more relaxed or careless attitude or behaviour. Informal communication is what takes place without the formal addition of conventions and ceremonies.
In order to understand the difference between formal and informal communication, we need to look at both and compare some of the variances between the two. So let's now take a look at formal communication.
Formal communication:
Formal communication is more thought-out and prepared from learned experiences or organized training that present rules and conventions authoritated by business and formal etiquette.
With formal communication, more accountability is expected. In an organizational setting, such as business, corporations or associations and the like, communication is connected with official status-quo or protocols of the formal channels of structure and company culture which the line of manager/subordinate reporting system is expectedly accepted.
In business, the different forms of formal communication including departmental functionality, activities taking place within meeting and conference settings, verbal and written communication through telephone, memos, letters and bulletins, etc., all add up to the formality.
In a formal setting, people take the time to recognize the consequences of transmitting any wrong or incomplete information.
However, both formal and informal communication is found in an organization, depending on the level of business experience and training one possesses in his or her personal life. An organization can make efficient use of informal communication by confirming and affirming that which is being communicated by the less trained individual.
Both informal communication and formal communication can be expressed verbally or non-verbally by words, tone of voice, signs such as glances and gestures and even silence. For the purpose of effective communication, one needs to identify and affirm anything that may be communicated formally or informally, if and when unsure of the true meaning behind the communicator./dmh
Diane M. Hoffmann is the founder of Hoffmann-Rondeau Communications and the web site http://communicationverbalnonverbal.blogspot.com which is the home of her e-books "Improve Communication: Verbal and Nonverbal" and "Improve Communication: Organization and Training" as well as her 296-page printed book "Contextual Communication, Organization and Training". You may reprint this article making sure to include this bio with no changes.
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by Diane M. Hoffmann, ph.d./th.
Hoffmann-Rondeau Communications
A lot of people are looking for information on formal vs informal communication. They are particularly looking for the difference between the two.
Both informal communication and formal communication take place in any organization whether it be business or personal. But how does informal and formal communication differ? First, let's take a look at informal communication.
Informal communication:
Informal communication is casual and spontaneous. Informal communication comes from communication activities outside of those formally learned through discipline or at school through education, or in business through related experiences and formal training.
It comes from the social communication of home family culture, casual conversations and grapevines, rumors, inter-relational activities outside of the formal or public arenas.
We do not behave the same way at work as we do at home or at play. I always say that people are at their best at work. We really don't know someone until we've stayed with them outside of work for a few days -- or even a few hours with some people.
Informal communication may not be as reliant as formal communication. Informal communication may be vulnerable to being deceptive and imprecise in its casualness - -consciously or unconsciously.
In an informal setting, the quality of communication may be affected by the more relaxed or careless attitude or behaviour. Informal communication is what takes place without the formal addition of conventions and ceremonies.
In order to understand the difference between formal and informal communication, we need to look at both and compare some of the variances between the two. So let's now take a look at formal communication.
Formal communication:
Formal communication is more thought-out and prepared from learned experiences or organized training that present rules and conventions authoritated by business and formal etiquette.
With formal communication, more accountability is expected. In an organizational setting, such as business, corporations or associations and the like, communication is connected with official status-quo or protocols of the formal channels of structure and company culture which the line of manager/subordinate reporting system is expectedly accepted.
In business, the different forms of formal communication including departmental functionality, activities taking place within meeting and conference settings, verbal and written communication through telephone, memos, letters and bulletins, etc., all add up to the formality.
In a formal setting, people take the time to recognize the consequences of transmitting any wrong or incomplete information.
However, both formal and informal communication is found in an organization, depending on the level of business experience and training one possesses in his or her personal life. An organization can make efficient use of informal communication by confirming and affirming that which is being communicated by the less trained individual.
Both informal communication and formal communication can be expressed verbally or non-verbally by words, tone of voice, signs such as glances and gestures and even silence. For the purpose of effective communication, one needs to identify and affirm anything that may be communicated formally or informally, if and when unsure of the true meaning behind the communicator./dmh
Diane M. Hoffmann is the founder of Hoffmann-Rondeau Communications and the web site http://communicationverbalnonverbal.blogspot.com which is the home of her e-books "Improve Communication: Verbal and Nonverbal" and "Improve Communication: Organization and Training" as well as her 296-page printed book "Contextual Communication, Organization and Training". You may reprint this article making sure to include this bio with no changes.
Looking for a specific book?
Check for it here and order it now through this convenient link:
.
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