Unit 1: P2, P3, M1 & D1

P2: Barriers to Communication

During a presentation the audience can get very distracted by other things, such as background noise which is very likely to distract them, as they would not be able to hear what you are saying. For example there may be building work going on outside or people playing load music. To reduce this distraction you can close the windows before starting the presentation, as it will reduce noises from outside getting in. Another distraction would be that members of the audience might start to play on the phone as they may receive a message or to waste time. This will affect your presentation as there feedback about the presentation will not be good as they were not involved in it. Before starting the presentation you could tell all the people in the audience to switch off their phones or put it on silent, so that it does not only distract them but also others including you the presenter. Understand the content. This will affect the presentation as the feedback from the audience will not be good because they were not able to understand the content. To make the presentation more interesting you could add images, graphs or videos to make the information understandable, you could also get the audience involved by asking questions.

D1: Evaluate Interpersonal and written Communications Techniques

Introduction

In this last task for assignment 3 I am going to evaluate the interpersonal and written communication techniques which I used when presenting my PowerPoint. One of things which I am going to evaluate is the tone of voice which I used.

Main Body

From the group PowerPoint presentation which was delivered to the class you can see that I have all of the content which I had to include with relevant images for each one. My slides also have bullet points of the main points which I had to add for Web Based Communication Channels, Podcasts and WebPages with my other notes being at the bottom in the speaker notes.

I also used an alternate slide delivery for the presentation which kept the audience engaged and it made people enjoy the presentation more.

The presentation was also visually appealing for the audience because I had a good selection of images different Web Based Communications, different BBC podcasts and I had an example of a Webpage which people use. The PowerPoint was also aimed at the right audience because I have wrote an explanation of what each of the Web Based Communication Channels are and I have talked about the uses of each of them.

The tone of voice which I used for the PowerPoint presentation was fine for some of it but I need to slow down for my next presentation by having more confidence. I also tried to engage with the audience by having some eye contact which will make them feel more involved but I could have more eye contact throughout the presentation. The voice projection which I used was good but it could be improved by taking my time when I am delivering the PowerPoint presentation so the audience will enjoy it more. Finally it is good to show a good body language when delivering a PowerPoint presentation because it will show the audience that you are interested in what you are doing. In my presentation I tried to show good body language when I was talking but one thing which my teacher has told me is to have more enthusiasm in my voice.

Furthermore during my PowerPoint presentation I tried to retain the audience’s attention by having some eye contact with them and I used good images. I could also get more involved with the audience by interacting with them with questions.

Some ways in which I could improve my PowerPoint presentation is by using key words and phrases which I have now fixed and I should proof read before presenting my work. I could also rehearse more before I present my PowerPoint by having notes and should slow down when I am talking which will help.

Another thing which I could do is to use some questioning techniques for the audience which will get them more involved. Some examples of questions which I could use are for people to pick examples of podcasts which they use and what they think of my images.

Finally I have had good teamwork skills in my PowerPoint because I worked well with my teammate with us having alternate slides to keep the user involved. We also did an equal amount of work with the same amount of slides being used for our work. 

Written Communication Skills

I have shown good written communication skills in my PowerPoint presentation; some of the things which I have done well is my spelling and grammar which is all correct and is at a good standard. Another way in which I have good written communication skills is by the way that I have used an appropriate structure (format) with short sentences and bullet points for each of my slides. Finally I have identified relevance by writing about the definition and the uses of each Web Based Communication Channel in my PowerPoint.  

P3 & M1: General Communication Skills

Cultural Differences: is the way you would communicate with others who are from another country, this will affect the way you communicate to them as they might find something’s you do or say offensive. For example in the UK if you are calling someone you would use your hand to wave to call them over. In America people would find this offensive as they say waving your hand to call someone, is the sign of calling an animal over, such as you would call a dog to come to you. In some other cultures if you are talking to someone and you are looking away at something else they find this very offensive, as it looks like you are not paying attention to what they are saying. You will have to adapt to the way you communicating with other cultural, as it will help them understand what you are trying to get a cross.

(M1) To reduce the barriers to communication for cultural differences, you could be more aware of all the different cultures and you could also find out what the consequences are to this barrier to communication.

Accuracy: Changing the style of the way you communicate to meet the audience’s needs, you will then need to change the way you are trying to send the message out to the audience. This skill will be used to get the audience to follow you. You will use truths and also facts to send the message out and keep the audience to follow you. This will benefit you as the information you are telling them is true, which get the other person interested as they will want ask you more about the topic. You would do this to help other people to understand about the topic you are talking about.

(M1) To reduce this barrier to communication you could add facts when you are communicating with the audience. This will attract the audience because the information you are telling them is true.

P3 & M1: Interpersonal Skills

Active Engagement: Communicating does not just come from talking to the other person. It is also the way you react to what the other person is saying for example if they are telling you a funny story you would react by smiling or laughing, this tells the other person you are paying attention to what being said. After they have finished they may what you to replay back to what they say, that is why it is very important to also listen to what the person is saying or else they will think you are ignorant.  It improves the way we communicate as it tells the other person we are interested in what they are saying. We use active engagement to help us pay attention to what another person is saying. For example asking a question to the person who is talking.

(M1) To reduce the barrier to communication you could ask questions and get the audience involved in to the presentation so it is more interesting for them. You could also be clear when you speak and also change the tone of your voice to make the presentation clear to understand.

Methods: talking to some people might work however people who are deaf will struggle to hear you so they will have to rely on lip reading or sign language, to understand what you are saying. For example if a teacher is teaching a class and one of their student is deaf, the teacher will need an assistant to help example the work to the deaf student.

(M1) To reduce this barrier to communication you could add text to presentation so that people who are deaf or can’t hear you can read off the board or you could get someone who knows how to do sign do language, so whatever you say they can translate it for the deaf people.  

   

P3 & M1: Communication in Writing

Smileys or Emoticons: emoticons are used to tell the other person how you feel. These are used mainly in text messaging or on the social networking website on the internet like Facebook, Twitter etc. they can also be used in forums. Using smileys or emoticons is not appropriate when in a serious conversation or in a workplace as the other person or employee won’t take you serious and could really offend them. For example if you are writing an email to your employer to tell them that you will not be able to attend a meeting and at the end of the email you put a said face next to it, this will give them a bad impression of you, as they will think you are not taking it serious at work.

(M1) To reduce the barrier to communication you could train employees, so that they know what all the emoticons mean and use them at the right time. The employees will then know when and where to use the emoticons and will know what they mean.

Grammar and Spelling: In a formal report, letter or email, whatever the subject you are writing is about, it is very important that you use the correct grammar and spelling. Any mistakes on the document will make it look unprofessional and also could confuse the reader if the mistakes make it hard for them to understand, it will give them a bad opinion about you as they will think you are not serious and also could make them think you are not well educated. For example writing a serious letter to your employer and in the letter you have not used the correct grammar and spelling. The employer will think you are wasting their time and they will not read through the letter you have sent them.

(M1) To reduce the barrier to communication you could use spell check to check the documents for any mistakes on the document. You could also ask other peers to read through the document to check for any grammar or spelling mistakes or use a grammar and spell check software to check the document.  

"note you may be asked to expand on some of the points, so try to add more to the assignment. Also remember not to copy word for word, as their are now software to check for plagiarism, when marking the assignment, try to complete the assignment your own way." [I am not encouraging you to copy this piece is here for educational purposes]