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The Communication Process
Creating and delivering an effective presentation requires a basic understanding
of the communication process. Most business presentations require the clear and
unambiguous communication of a message in a way that can be clearly understood
by the recipient. It is human nature to assume that
when we communicate we are doing so effectively; and that if anything goes wrong
consequently then the responsibility for that must rest with the recipient. This
screen highlights six steps that constitute a typical two way communication, and
when the opportunities for miss-communication are considered you may view it as
surprising how often communication works without a problem.
A presenter speaks to an audience. Therefore we have:
1. What the presenter thinks they say;
2. What they actually say;
3. What the audience thinks they say.
None of these are necessarily the same and three chances already exist for a
breakdown in communication.
As a result of what a recipient hears, they may make a reply, giving:
1. What they think they say;
2. What they actually say;
3. What the presenter thinks they say.
Six Steps in Effective Communications
We will now examine each of the six steps in slightly more detail - with a view
to providing some guidelines that should help to promote more effective two-way
communication.
1. Ensure that your audience are tuned in and paying full attention to what you
are about to say. Once you have the attention of the audience the communication
of the message can begin.
2. Each recipient listens to the message.
3. Each recipient will have some feeling about the message and will interpret
its meaning. This is often done in the light of individual attitudes and
prejudices or alternatively with reference to previous experience or
associations. Your problem is that the audience may not feel and interpret in
the way that you intended. The result may range from a simple failure for the
message to hit home, through to a serious misunderstanding.
4. Each recipient may respond to the original message.
5. You have now become the receiver, and should listen carefully to the message.
6. You will feel and interpret something about this message. This may range from
satisfaction that the communication is proceeding as you intended, to
bewilderment at how your original message was miss-interpreted.
As you can see, communication is a complex two-way process this is why it so
often breaks down and is ineffective. With the complexity apparent even in a
simple communication, like the one illustrated, it should be apparent that there
is a need for clarity and simplicity - to minimize the chance of
misunderstandings. Communication is a skill and like
any skill it requires practice, it is improvement through practice that
differentiates a skill from other forms of knowledge. Understanding the theory
of communication and effective presentation will not in itself make you a
brilliant communicator or presenter but should make you aware of how to maximize
the impact of your presentations.
The most important thing to remember is that the message that you intend to
communicate is likely to be misunderstood. Therefore in addition to carefully
preparing and presenting your message, stay alert for any signs that your
audience is misinterpreting it. It is up to you, the presenter, to continually
check that your message has been received, understood, correctly interpreted and
filed in the receivers mind.
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