The Islamic University of Gaza

Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences

Soft Skills Mid Report communication skills

Under supervision:
Dr. Saeed Al-Namrouti

Student work:
Seraj Aldeen Al Ghalayini
120170570

2021-2022

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Communications Skills

* STRUCTURES

1.1 INTRODUCTION

1.2 THE DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS

1.3 EXAMPELS OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS

1.4 WHY IS BUSINESS COMMUNICTION

IMPORTANT?

1.5 TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

1.6 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION VS. GENERAL /

SOCIAL COMMUNICATION DIFFERENCES

1.7 FORMS OF COMMUNICATION

1.8 THE SKILLS OF LISTENING CENTERED

COMMUNICTION

1.9 COMUNICTION PROCESS

* REFERECES

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1.1 INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?

Communication is one of those human activities that everyone recognizes

but few can define satisfactorily. Communication is talking to one
another, it is television, it is spreading information, it is our hair style, it
is literary criticism: the list is endless. This is one of the problems facing
academics:
Can we properly apply the term “a subject of study” to something as
diverse and multi-faceted as human communication actually is?
Is there any hope of linking the study of, say, facial expression with
literary criticism?
Is it even an exercise worth attempting?
The doubts that lie behind questions like these may give rise to the view
that communication is not a subject, in the normal academic sense of the
word, but is a multi-disciplinary area of study. This view would propose
that what the psychologists and sociologists have to tell us about human
communicative behavior has very little to do with what the literary critic
has.
What I have tried to do is to give some coherence to the confusion by
basing the book upon the following assumptions.
I assume that communication is amenable to study, but that we need a
number of disciplinary approaches to be able to study it comprehensively.
I assume that all communication involves signs and codes. Signs are
artifacts or acts that refer to something other than themselves; that is, they
are signifying constructs. Codes are the systems into which signs are
organized and which determine how signs may be related to each other In
this paragraph of the report there is fact that there are two main schools in
the study of communication.
The first sees communication as the transmission of messages. It is
concerned with how senders and receivers encode and decode, with how
transmitters use the channels and media of communication.
It is concerned with matters like efficiency and accuracy. It sees
communication as a process by which one person affects the behavior or
state of mind of another.

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If the effect is different from or smaller than that which was intended, this
school tends to talk in terms of communication failure, and to
look to the stages in the process to find out where the failure occurred.
For the sake of convenience, I shall refer to this as the “process” school.
The second school sees communication as the production and exchange
of meanings. It is concerned with how messages, or texts, interact with
people in order to produce meanings; that is, it is concerned with the role
of texts in our culture. It uses terms like signification, and does not
consider misunderstandings to be necessarily evidence of communication
failure—they may result from cultural differences between sender and
receiver. For this school, the study of communication is the study of text
and culture. The main method of study is semiotics (the science of signs
and meanings), and that is the label I shall use to identify this approach.

1.2 THE DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Communication skills are the ability to send messages that are properly
an entirely received and understood by the target audience. The term
often applies to someone’s faculty of exchanging information effectively
with another person or group, in a verbal or written way.

What Does Communication Skills Mean?

Communication is present in almost every activities of our lives. We

frequently exchange ideas, opinions, requirements and feelings with
many people around us, not only verbally but also through devices such
as computers and smart phones. In business, being a good communicator
is particularly relevant. E-mails, phone calls, meetings, speeches,
videoconferences, presentations and one-to-one conversations are all
different ways of communication.

The development and strengthening of communication skills is therefore

a key attribute for most employees in these times to do their jobs more
productively. It is not only about words and content because other
elements such as body language and facial expressions also take part in
the process. When the communication is written, graphics, tables and
pictures might adequately support explanations and ideas. Even the
selection of the channel sometimes communicates how important the
message and the audience are for the communicator.
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For example, a very significant announcement is supposed to be made
person-to-person instead of using an electronic chat.

Communication is simply the act of transferring information from

one place, person or group to another.

Every communication involves (at least) one sender, a message and a

recipient. This may sound simple, but communication is actually a very
complex subject.

The transmission of the message from sender to recipient can be affected

by a huge range of things. These include our emotions, the cultural
situation, the medium used to communicate, and even our location. The
complexity is why good communication skills are considered so desirable
by employers around the world: accurate, effective and unambiguous
communication is actually extremely hard.

A communication therefore has three parts: the sender, the message,

and the recipient.

The sender ‘encodes’ the message, usually in a mixture of words and

non-verbal communication. It is transmitted in some way (for example, in
speech or writing), and the recipient ‘decodes’ it.

Of course, there may be more than one recipient, and the complexity of
communication means that each one may receive a slightly different
message. Two people may read very different things into the choice of
words and/or body language. It is also possible that neither of them will
have quite the same understanding as the sender.

In face-to-face communication, the roles of the sender and recipient are

not distinct. The two roles will pass back and forwards between two
people talking. Both parties communicate with each other, even if in very
subtle ways such as through eye-contact (or lack of) and general body
language. In written communication, however, the sender and recipient
are more distinct.

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1.3 Examples of Communications Skills

1. Active listening
Active listening means paying close attention to who you’re
communicating with by engaging with them, asking questions and
rephrasing. Practicing active listening can build respect with your
coworkers and increase understanding in the workplace. As you actively
listen, focus on the speaker, avoiding distractions like cell phones, laptops
or other projects, and by preparing questions, comments or ideas to
thoughtfully respond.

Improve your active listening abilities by paying attention to other

people’s facial expressions, body language and tone. Instead of preparing
what you will say, focus on what the other person is saying and how they
are saying it. If you need to clarify something, ask followup questions or
rephrase what they’ve said to confirm that you understood them correctly.

2. Communication method
Using the right way to communicate is an important skill. There are
benefits and disadvantages to talking through emails, letters, phone calls,
in-person meetings or instant messages. Communicating is better when
you consider your audience, what information you want to share and the
best way to share it.

For example, if you are communicating with a potential employer, it may

be better to send a formal email or call them on the phone. In the
workplace, you may find it’s easier to communicate complex information
in person or via a video conference than by email. Building remote
workplace friendships is easier when you can speak through instant
messages.

3. Friendliness
Friendly traits like honesty and kindness can help foster trust and
understanding when communicating at work. Try to communicate with a
positive attitude, keep an open mind and ask questions to help you
understand where they’re coming from. Small gestures such as asking
someone how they’re doing, smiling as they speak or offering praise for
work well done can help you foster productive relationships with
colleagues and managers.

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You can practice friendliness by remembering small, thoughtful details
about your coworkers or past conversations. For example, if a coworker
tells you their child’s birthday is soon and you connect with them again
later, you might ask them how the birthday party went.

4. Confidence
In the workplace, people are more likely to respond to ideas that are
presented with confidence. There are many ways to appear confident,
including by making eye contact when you’re addressing someone, sitting
up straight with your shoulders open and preparing ahead of time so your
thoughts are polished and you’re able to answer any questions. Confident
communication is useful not just on the job but also during the job
interview process.

5. Sharing feedback
Strong communicators can accept critical feedback and provide
constructive input to others. Feedback should answer questions, provide
solutions or help strengthen the project or topic at hand. Providing and
accepting feedback is an essential workplace skill, as it can help both you
and the people around you make meaningful improvements to their work
and their professional development.

A great way to learn how to give feedback is to take notes from others on
the feedback they offer you. When you come across a well-explained
piece of feedback, take some time to observe and analyze why it was
good, why it resonated with you and how you might apply those skills in
the future.

6. Volume and clarity

When you’re speaking, it’s important to be clear and audible. Adjusting
your speaking voice so you can be heard in a variety of settings is a skill,
and it’s critical to communicating effectively. Speaking too loudly may
be disrespectful or awkward in certain settings. If you’re unsure, read the
room to see how others are communicating.

Another aspect of verbal communication is vocalics and tonality. This

involves how your tone moves up and down, your pitch, your accent
pattern and the spaces you place between phrases. Such details can be
effective in communicating emotions and offer your audience insights
into how your message should be interpreted (whether you realize it or
not).
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7. Empathy
Having empathy means that you can not only understand, but also share
in the emotions of others. This communication skill is important in both
team and one-on-one settings. In both cases, you will need to understand
other people’s emotions and select an appropriate response.

For example, if someone is expressing anger or frustration, empathy can

help you acknowledge and diffuse their emotion. At the same time, being
able to understand when someone is feeling positive and enthusiastic can
help you get support for your ideas and projects.

8. Respect
A key aspect of respect is knowing when to initiate communication and
respond. In a team or group setting, allowing others to speak without
interruption is seen as a necessary communication skill tied to
respectfulness. Respectfully communicating also means using your time
with someone else wisely—staying on topic, asking clear questions and
responding fully to any questions you’ve been asked.

9. Nonverbal cues
A great deal of communication happens through nonverbal cues such as
body language, facial expressions and eye contact. When you’re listening
to someone, you should be paying attention to what they’re saying as well
as their nonverbal language. By the same measure, you should be
conscious of your own body language when you’re communicating to
ensure you’re sending appropriate cues to others.

10. Responsiveness
Whether you’re returning a phone call or sending a reply to an email, fast
communicators are viewed as more effective than those who are slow to
respond. One method is to consider how long your response will take. Is
this a request or question you can answer in the next five minutes? If so,
it may be a good idea to address it as soon as you see it. If it’s a more
complex request or question, you can still acknowledge that you’ve
received the message and let the other person know you will respond in
full later.

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1.4 Why is Business Communication important?
Communication is the lifeblood of any organization. Whether it’s issuing
simple instructions at work, sorting out a tricky situation with a
subordinate, lifting flagging morale, working out a better way to meet
productivity targets, briefing your team on customer feedback after a
product launch, or as CEO, getting your employees to buy into your
company’s vision – communication is the pivot of any business venture,
from start-up to global corporation.

1.5 TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

Communication can be of many types and can be summarized in short
as WOVEN, i.e.

1. Written Communication
2. Oral or Verbal Communication
3. Electronic Communication
4. Non-Verbal
1. Formal Communication:

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It is in the form of official messages and news that flow through
recognized channels or routes formally laid by the organization.

This communication may take place between a superior and subordinate,

a subordinate and superior or among employees at same level or
departmental managers.

The formal network flow often follows a company’s formal organization

chart, which is created by management to control individual and group
behavior and to achieve the organization ‘s goals.

2. Informal Communication:

It is in the form of unofficial messages (work related or people related)

that flow outside the officially designed channels. Technically called as
grapevine communication. Result of natural desire to communicate with
each other freely and frequently.

3. The informal network flows:

develops as people interact within the formal communication system and

certain behavior patterns emerge, patterns that accommodate social and
psychological needs. Because the informal network undergoes continual
changes, it generally cannot be depicted accurately by graphic means.

4. Nonverbal Communications:

Nonverbal communication is the process of sending and receiving

messages without using words, either spoken or written. Also called
manual language. Non-verbal messages express true feelings more
accurately than the spoken or written language. Both kinds of data can be
transmitted intentionally or unintentionally. Even smile symbolizes
friendliness, in much the same way as cordiality is expressed in words.

 Remain calm: Do not lose your temper

 Anger hampers and inhibits communication.
 Angry people jam their minds to the words of others.
 Be open to accept new ideas and information.
 Jot down and take a note of important points.
 Work upon listening.
 Analyze and evaluate the speech in spare time.

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  Rephrase and summarize the speaker ‘s ideas.
 Keep on asking questions. This demonstrates that how well you
understand the speaker ‘s ideas and also that you are listening.
 Avoid distractions.
 Step into the shoes of others‖, i.e., put yourself in the position of
the speaker and observe things from his view point. This will help
creating an atmosphere of mutual understanding and improve the
exchange of ideas in communication process.

1.6 Business Communication vs. General / Social

Communication Differences:
Business communication differs greatly from regular communication. It
refers to communication that takes place in a work environment, and is
meant to achieve the common goal of getting the job done and doing it
effectively. Business communication could be internal, that is, within the
organization between colleagues or between departments; or it could be
external, for instance, a brand-building campaign for a company to shore
up its image. It could also include communicating with vendors, partner
organizations, prospective clients or just the public at large.

There are many career tracks that are based almost entirely on business
communication skills, such as marketing, customer care, corporate
communications, public relations, brand management, advertising and
event management. While the parties at the sending and receiving ends of
the communication differ, each of these career domains revolves around
getting a certain message across and getting it across to a very specific
target audience. The number of platforms that we use for business
communication has exploded in recent times. Whereas telephone and
email were once the most oft-used mediums, now online meetings,
videoconferencing, teleconferencing, voice messages and even web chat
and instant messaging are par for the course. When it comes to a

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company targeting a large audience, videos, PowerPoint presentations
(PPT), blogs, apps, social media and television come to the rescue. And,
with all these platforms available at the tap of the finger, let’s not forget
where it all began – good, old-fashioned face-to-face communication!

1.7 FORMS OF COMMUNICATION

Communication is key to any business success! Unless potential clients
and customers are aware of your business, they will not have the
information to contact you or to purchase your products. When they are
aware of your business, they must be able to contact it easily.

Two types of communication are essential - external and internal:

External communication reaches out to the customer to make them
aware of your product or service and to give them a reason to buy.
This type of communication includes your brochures, various forms of
advertising, contact letters, telephone calls, web sites and anything else
that makes the public aware of what you do. Image is extremely
important in external communication! Your logo should represent who
you are; your letterhead should be a selling tool; your telephone message
should reflect your professionalism.
External Communication comprises of Formal contacts with outsiders as
well as some informal contacts with outsiders.

Internal communication is essential to attracting and retaining a talented

staff. You must provide the direction for the company by consistently
communicating that message; you must motivate your staff through
various forms of communication, which can include awards, newsletters,
meetings, telephone calls and formal and informal discussions.

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1.8 THE SKILLS OF LISTENING-CENTERED
COMMUNICTION

The discipline of Communication has traditionally focused on the speaker

and on message creation rather than on the listener and the skills of
reception. Brownell argues that this approach needs to be revisited, and
that listening must become the central focus if individuals are to become
effective communicators. Her listening-centered approach to
communication is presented and discussed in the following chapter.
Taking a symbolic approach to understanding the communication
process, Brownell proposes that only through effective listening can
individuals share meanings and align their behavior to accomplish goals.
Communication, she suggests, is “listener-defined”; a message means
whatever the receiver thinks it does. This view contrasts with the standard
practice of highlighting the speaker’s task. Brownell believes that unless
speakers first listen to understand their partner’s perspective, they cannot
hope to design effective messages.
Listening becomes particularly vital as individuals travel more frequently
and as organizations become more global and diverse.
Brownell’s HURIER model is presented as an aid to developing effective
listening skills.
The listening process is viewed as a cluster of interrelated components
that can be identified, assessed, and improved. Speaking is the outcome
of effective listening – it is how the listener responds after he or she has
heard, understood, interpreted, and evaluated the other person’s ideas.

Finally, Brownell presents the rationale for and challenges of a skills

approach to listening. She identifies several issues and questions that
arise from taking a skills approach to listening improvement and
instruction, and addresses each in turn. She concludes by looking to the
future, reemphasizing the need for effective listening as individuals strive
to share meanings and build relationships with those from other
backgrounds and cultures.
In a rapidly changing world, the skills of effective listening are vital to
individuals’ professional success and personal well-being.

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1.9 COMUNICTION PROCESS

Every step in the communication process is necessary for effective and

good communication. Blocked steps become barriers. Consider the
following situations:
 Sender barrier. A new administrator with an innovative idea fails
to speak up at a meeting, chaired by the superintendent, for fear of
criticism.
 Encoding barrier. A Spanish-speaking staff member cannot get an
English-speaking administrator to understand a grievance about
working conditions.
 Medium barrier. A very upset staff member sends an emotionally
charged letter to the leader instead of transmitting her feelings
face-to-face.
 Decoding barrier. An older principal is not sure what a young
department head means when he refers to a teacher as "spaced out."
 Receiver barrier. A school administrator who is preoccupied with
the preparation of the annual budget asks a staff member to repeat
a statement, because she was not listening attentively to the
conversation.
 Feedback barrier. During a meeting, the failure of school
administrators to ask any questions causes the superintendent to
wonder if any real understanding has taken place.

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 REFERECES:

1) INTRODUCTION WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?

Fiske, John (1990) Introduction to Communication Studies
(New York: Rout ledge). (ICS)

2) THE DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS

https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/what-is-communication.html

https://www.myaccountingcourse.com/accounting-
dictionary/communication-skills

3) Examples of Communications Skills

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-
letters/communication-skills

4) Why is Business Communication important? Business

Communication vs. General / Social Communication Differences

https://www.careerizma.com/skills/communication-skills/

5)TYPES OF COMMUNICTION

http://www.osou.ac.in/eresources/Soft-Skills-ccs04.pdf

6) FORMS OF COMMUNICATION

https://www.uou.ac.in/sites/default/files/slm/BHMAECC-II.pdf

7)THE SKILLS OF LISTENING-CENTERED COMMUNICTION

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/9781444314908#page
=147

8) COMUNICTION PROCESS

https://www.mcgill.ca/engage/files/engage/communication_lunenburg
_2010.pdf

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