Part of 66 day challenge

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Picture credit - ​Ben Davis on Personalisation
Day 35 - Communication Skill
14 May 2020
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Prabodh Sirur
sirurp@gmail.com
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My learning for the day
Today I want to summarise two TED talks on Communication.
Talk 1 - ​How miscommunication happens (and how to avoid it)
Educator - ​Katherine Hampsten​, Communications Scholar
Summary -
Have you ever talked with a friend about a problem ​only to realize​ that he
just doesn't seem to grasp why the issue is so important to you?
Have you ever presented an idea to a group and it's ​met with utter
confusion​?
The answer is ​miscommunication​, and in some form or another, we've all
experienced it.
For decades, researchers have asked, "What happens when we
communicate?" (more about this in ​transmission models​).
We send and receive messages through ​our own subjective lenses​. When
communicating, one person expresses her interpretation of a message, and
the person she's communicating with ​hears his own interpretation​ of that
message.
The person ​interprets​ the message ​based on their relationship​ with the
other person, and ​their individual understanding​ of the semantics and
connotations of the exact words being used.
These are some simple practices that will help us become ​less subjective​ -
- recognize that ​passive hearing and active listening​ are not the same. We
must engage actively with the verbal and nonverbal feedback and adjust our
message to facilitate greater understanding
- ​listen with our eyes, ears and gut​. Remember that communication is
more than just words
- take time to understand as you try to be understood. In the rush to express
ourselves, it's easy to forget that ​communication is a two-way street
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- be aware of ​our personal perceptual filters​. Elements of our experience,
including our culture, community, and family, influence how we see the
world. Say, "This is how I see the problem, but how do you see it?" Don't
assume that your perception is the objective (and absolute) truth.
These four above help us work toward sharing a dialogue with others to
reach a ​common understanding together​.
Talk 2 - ​The importance of emotional tone in the digital age
Speaker - ​Kareem Yusuf​, an AI Guru
Summary -
We very well know the ​importance of tone​ in communication. Tone reflects
our intent, emotions, inspiration, guidance…. A right tone of communication
creates magic; the same words but a wrong tone can create a feeling of
tyranny
How does the above translate in ​digital interaction​?
Here’s an example of tone in an sms - “You did what?” These are words
devoid of tone. A slight additional text adds a tone - “You did what?!!!” or “You
did what?!!! LoL”; with emojis coming in, you start adding more emotions/
tone to the text “You did what?!!! 👅 💪 😆 ”; an addition of a gif to the
message brings in more emotions. The digital interaction has added so much
more to the study of tone.
Behavioural analytics​ is a recent branch of business analytics. Behavioral
analytics is collating data from various digital sources/ data elements to
understand how consumers act and why; And to predict how they are likely
to act in the future. This helps organisations to make the right offers to the
right consumer segments at the right time ​with the right tone​.
Simple behavioural data such as how many people visited the page, what
seems to be of more interest, how many times you visit the page, what did
you do next, what your location is etc etc can provide huge data to analytics
to ​personalise​ the communication. It helps build the right intimacy by
providing appropriate messaging.
The ultimate purpose of all the analytics is to ​serve the right emotions​.
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What is Communication Skill?
Communication Skill is the ability to effectively give and receive information.
Different types of communication - Verbal (oral/ written)/ Non-verbal/ Visual,
Formal/ Informal, One-to-one/ One-to many...
The purpose of communication - to inform, to express feelings, to imagine, to
influence, and to meet social expectations
My learning so far on this topic
Day 5 post​ - 5 Ways to Build Your Personal Brand Every Time You Speak
Day 15 post​ - 3 Simple Frameworks to Give Effective Feedback
Day 25 post​ - Pixar’s top 6 Rules of Great Storytelling
How to improve this skill?
Set a goal to ​become a go-to person​ by mastering the art and science of
Communication​.
Follow the ​LAST model​ to build your personal brand as a Guru of ​Communication​.
Learn​ - Invest time in learning different frameworks/ models/ techniques of
Communication
Apply​ -
Identify a model suitable to you
Create a template to document the flow of the process
Find opportunities to use the selected method/ template
Maintain record/ process flow of every important activities you did with
respect to ​Communication
Maintain notes of your thoughts/ insights/ failures/ challenges…. to be used
for sharing/ training others
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Share​ - Share the insights captured in step 2 above in a planned manner (social
media posts, blogs, videos, study notes…)
Train​ - Generate opportunities to train your peers and team members so that, over
time, your organization benefits from your efforts
Purpose of this document
I took a 66 day challenge​ to study Life Skills last year (10 April 2019). To my
astonishment, I succeeded in studying for 66 days one skill a day.
My objectives of learning these skills were - To strengthen my mind to face life’s
challenges with ease, To use these skills in my worklife for a better performance, To
use these skills in my personal life for enriching my relationships, To open new
possibilities to surprise myself.
This is my next 66 day challenge​ (from 10 April 2020) - To share my Life Skills
learning with my social media friends.
I pray that my toil helps you in your success journey.
What are Life Skills?
UNICEF​ defines Life skills as - ​psychosocial abilities​ for adaptive and positive
behaviour that enable individuals ​to deal effectively with the demands and
challenges of everyday life​. They are loosely grouped into three broad categories
of skills
- cognitive skills​ for analyzing and using information,
- personal skills​ for developing personal agency and managing oneself,
- inter-personal skills​ for communicating and interacting effectively with others.
Which LifeSkills are covered?
The ​World Health Organisation​ identified these basic areas of life skills that are
relevant across cultures:
1. Decision-making
2. Problem-solving
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3. Creative thinking
4. Critical thinking
5. Communication
6. Interpersonal skills
7. Self-awareness
8. Empathy
9. Coping with emotions
10. Coping with stress.
Some trivia
‘Life skills’ was never part of the school curriculum. WHO/ UNESCO mandated
academia to teach these skills in all schools across the globe in 1993.
Different countries educate their children in these skills with different objectives
- Zimbabwe and Thailand - prevention of HIV/AIDS
- Mexico - prevention of adolescent pregnancy
- United Kingdom - child abuse prevention
- USA - prevention of substance abuse and violence
- South Africa and Colombia - positive socialization of children.
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