Ch. 5
Communication
BASK definition: the KSAOs needed to craft and deliver concise and informative communications, to listen to and address the concerns of others, and to transfer and translate information from one level or unit of the organization to another.
| Sub-competency | What it means |
|---|---|
| Delivering Messages | Developing and delivering clear, persuasive communications suited to the audience, topic and situation |
| Exchanging Organizational Information | Translating and communicating messages between organizational levels or units, for example turning executive strategy into frontline terms, or frontline concerns into executive terms |
| Listening | Understanding information provided by others and seeking feedback |
BASK key concepts: elements of communication, general communication techniques, techniques for specialized situations, communication media, and nonverbal communication.
Elements of the communication process
Source/sender → encodes a message → sends it through a channel (medium) → receiver decodes it → feedback goes back to the sender. Noise is anything that distorts the message, such as jargon, distractions, cultural differences or emotion. Effective communicators reduce noise and check for understanding.
General communication techniques
- Plan your communications: audience, purpose, key messages, channel, timing and messenger.
- Active listening: give full attention, paraphrase, ask clarifying questions, reflect feelings, and don't interrupt or judge.
- Check for understanding: ask people to restate the message, and invite questions.
- Open-ended vs. closed questions: Open questions ("Tell me about…") invite detail. Closed questions (yes/no) confirm facts.
Choosing a communication channel
| Channel | Strengths | Weaknesses | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Face-to-face | Richest channel: immediate feedback, nonverbal cues, empathy | Time-consuming, and no record unless documented | Sensitive, complex or emotional messages: terminations, layoffs, discipline, major change |
| Video conference | Nonverbal cues across distance | Technology issues and fatigue | Remote teams, and sensitive conversations when in person isn't possible |
| Phone | Two-way and quick | No visual cues | Quick clarification and urgent matters |
| Fast, documented, reaches many people, detailed | Easily misread, no tone, inconsistent feedback | Routine information and documentation | |
| Text / instant message | Immediate and brief | Very limited length, easily misread | Short alerts, including emergency notifications |
| Written report | Comprehensive and allows thoughtful analysis | Slow feedback | Data, recommendations and business cases |
| Presentation | Engaging, allows questions and multimedia | Requires preparation and delivery skill | Strategy announcements and training |
| Town hall | Reaches many people at once and shows leadership visibility | Limited individual dialogue | Organization-wide change and Q&A with executives |
| Intranet / social media | Broad reach, fast, interactive | May not reach everyone, risky if poorly worded | Ongoing updates and employer branding |
★ Channel richness rule: the more sensitive, complex or emotional the message, the richer the channel should be. Never deliver bad personal news, such as a termination, by e-mail or text.
Communication in specialized situations (BASK)
- Giving feedback: be timely, specific and behavior-focused (not personality-focused), balanced, and private for corrective feedback. One common model is SBI: Situation, Behavior, Impact.
- Facilitating focus groups: typically 6–12 participants (per the BASK glossary) with a neutral facilitator and a structured question guide.
- Creating communication plans: identify the audiences, messages, channels, timing, messengers and feedback mechanisms.
- Translating technical jargon into plain language for the audience.
- Facilitating communication from anonymous sources: for example, hotlines and anonymous Q&A in town halls.
- Informal communication: the "grapevine." It is fast and fairly accurate, but it spreads rumors when official communication is missing. Counter it with timely, transparent official messages.
- Storytelling and skits make messages memorable.
Focus group and group facilitation techniques
| Technique | How it works | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Brainstorming | Participants generate as many ideas as possible without criticism | Quantity and creativity |
| Mind mapping | Start from a central idea and branch out related ideas visually | Shows connections between ideas |
| Affinity diagramming | Group many ideas into natural themes or clusters | Organizes a large volume of input |
| Nominal group technique (NGT) | Individuals first generate ideas silently and independently. The ideas are shared round-robin, discussed, then ranked or voted on privately. | Gives every person a voice, reduces domination by strong personalities, and produces a prioritized list |
| Delphi technique | Experts respond to questionnaires anonymously over several rounds. A facilitator summarizes each round and sends the summary back until a consensus emerges. Participants never meet. | Avoids groupthink and the influence of dominant personalities, and works across distances |
★ Correction to your course's description of the nominal group technique: The standard NGT starts with silent, independent idea generation, followed by round-robin sharing, brief clarification, and individual (often private) ranking or voting. Its purpose is to keep discussion from being dominated by a few people.
Training room setups
| Setup | Description | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Theater (auditorium) | Rows of chairs facing the front, with no tables | Large groups, lectures, minimal interaction |
| Classroom | Rows of tables and chairs facing the front | Lectures where participants take notes or use laptops |
| Chevron | Rows of tables angled in a V toward the front | Large groups that need to see the front with some interaction |
| U-shape | Tables in a U, with the trainer at the open end | Discussion and demonstrations with groups of up to about 25. The trainer can walk inside the U. |
| Boardroom (conference) | One large table with participants around it | Small-group discussion and decision-making |
| Banquet / cabaret | Round tables (cabaret leaves the front of each table open to face the presenter) | Small-group work within a larger session |
Nonverbal communication
Elements include eye contact, body language, posture, facial expressions, proximity (proxemics), gestures, tone and silence. Their meanings vary across cultures: direct eye contact signals honesty in the U.S. but can seem disrespectful in some Asian cultures, for example. When words and nonverbal signals conflict, people tend to believe the nonverbal ones.
What effective Communication looks like (situational judgment cues)
- Communicate early and often during change. Silence breeds rumors.
- Tailor the message and channel to the audience.
- Listen first. Acknowledge concerns before responding.
- Translate between levels: explain the why behind executive decisions to employees, and bring employee concerns to leadership with data.
- Close the loop: follow up on survey results and complaints so employees know they were heard.
Finished reading?