Developing Communication Personal Skills In Social Work

The Importance of Business Communication Skills

Discuss About The Communication Personal Skill In Social Work?

setting. Along with the technical knowledge, a professional requires knowledge of interpersonal skills to grow in an organization quickly. The business communication skills refer to the communication proficiency in the workplace setting. It makes it different to the regular communication as it requires high degree of professionalism and diplomacy. Along with it, there are also several professional etiquettes which are needed to be learnt by the professionals. In the present times of high competitiveness, it is important to learn these skills. The communication skills are also essential in the development of the leadership skills (Angour, 2012). Therefore, in this module, business communication skills are developed by the exercise of self-assessment and reflection. In order to identify the shortcomings in the business communication, I have taken several tests such a Johari Window, self-assertiveness test, communication style test, and leadership communication test.

The Johari window test helps an individual in understanding their relationship with self as well as with other people. It is a self-help and heuristic exercise, which can be used for the development of an individual. Similarly, the assertiveness test evaluates the assertiveness capability of a person. The assertiveness is the capability of a person to communicate and formulate thoughts and present it to other people in a clear and direct manner. It is important to acknowledge that there is a thin line between presenting thoughts in a strong manner as well as being aggressive. The communication style test is another test which examines the style of communicating of different people. It is important to understand that every person has different style of communicating. Taking this test can help an individual in enhancing his communication style. Every individual has a specific manner of communicating, some people are good in listening, and some people are good in thinking, while some people are good in speaking (Cocks, Moulton, Luu, & Cil, 2014). This test is beneficial in self-improvement. Other than that, leadership communication test examines the leadership skills of a person.

The results of these test results have revealed that I lack leadership skills and the persuasive skills in my professional communication. The test results of the assertiveness have revealed that I lack leadership skills. It has been identified that I am accommodating and gives priority to the choice of others. However, in this process, I tend to ignore my own personal desire and needs. In the business and the professional setting, it is important to present oneself, to others. In the business meetings, I come across several ideas and suggestions; however, I am unable to present these ideas due to lack of communication skills. A skilled professional is capable of handling the communication in an animated manner, which sparkles excitement in others. However, I lack these persuasion and communication skills (De Vries. Bakker-Pieper & Oostenveld, 2010). It makes the workplace environment challenging. The persuasion is also an essential characteristic, which refers to the capability of influencing the ideas and suggestions of other people. A leader should be able to influence the ideas and the perception of others, to motivate them to work towards a common goal. However, in the personal perception, my communication capabilities are quite limited.

Exercise of Self-Assessment and Reflection

In the class, I participated in several personality and self-retrospection tests. The results of these tests aligned with the personal perception of lack of persuasion and the leadership skills.

In the class exercise, I took part in several communication tests. The communication diagnosis also raised my self-awareness and developed my strengths and weaknesses related to the communication style. I participated in several rests which yield similar results and the overall consensus from the results of the test is that I lacked leadership and persuasion skills. The Johari window test results reflected that I have good analytical skills. I also possess reflective habit, which helps me in understanding different challenging situations. With my Johari window test, I understood that due to my analytical skills, I rely more on the statistical data and facts. The test results also showed that my confidence skills and assertiveness skills are quite lacking. Moreover, I am also a people pleaser and focus on understanding the needs and the desires of others rather than on focusing on my own. The assertiveness test revealed that I lack assertiveness capabilities. I cannot express my viewpoints in a strong and concise manner. It is also important that I focus on presenting my expectations and viewpoints in a strong manner (Fearn-Banks, 2016). It is important that these viewpoints are presented in a strong manner; however, the person should be polite and should not hurt the sentiments of other people. The test results in the assertiveness test also revealed that I am highly indecisive and afraid of taking risks. It considers all the positive and negative aspects of the situation before taking a decision. Although being a positive quality, it is important to consider the timeline before taking a decision. I am also very indecisive which presents me as a confused person. The test highlighted that I have critical thinking skills and intelligent while perceiving the emotions of others.

The focus of my personality is on the critical thinking abilities and taking the right and the most optimal decision (Gardner Milne, Stringer & Whiting, 2005). However, in this process, I make excessive delays which creates a negative presentation of my personality. Another significant aspect of my personality is the lack of leadership skills. The lack in the communication skills has also affected my leadership skills. The leadership is the characteristic to modify the perception and the belief of the followers. Therefore, creating influence on the followers require strong communication skills. Several other factors such as the lack of confidence and the indecisiveness has also negatively influenced my leadership skills.

Findings of Communication Test

The business communication skills are essential part in the professional growth of the people. The employees who possess good communication skills have advantage in their professional lives. The business communication skills comprises of the written and the verbal communication skills. A skilled and well-behaved professional should have professional etiquettes and should possess the capability to present themselves to several different people (Hartman & McCambridge, 2011). It is a critical competency factor which can distinguish an employee from his peers. It can be perceived that due to the lack of the professional skills, I am not able to present myself in a proper manner. Being an engineer, I encounter a high degree of competition from my peers. I understand that it is important to distinguish myself from my peers to obtain recognition from my seniors (Henderson & Mathew Byrne, 2016). However, due to lack of communication capabilities, I have not obtained the due recognition. In the last year, a get-together was organized for my peers and colleagues. The office parties and functions are great opportunities to build network and connect with the senior employees. However, due to the inefficiency in the professional communication, I was not able to communicate with my seniors in a proper manner and leave a strong impression on them. I analysed that in the meeting, I only gave adequate responses to the senior employees. I had a difficulty in presenting my views to the experienced professionals. Due to this inability, I lost the opportunity to leave a strong impression on my seniors.

In the same essence, there was another case, wherein I have to give a PowerPoint presentation to the senior employees of the company. The presentation was about an innovative engineering idea which can reduce the cost to the company by several extent. However, I was unable to pitch the idea to the lack of the convincing power. Although it was an innovative idea, and my immediate manager appreciated it; however, the major investors seemed less convinced (Koprowska, 2014). In this encounter, I realized that the lack of convincing power has resulted in the loss of a recognition opportunity. The managers were also not convinced about the full execution of the innovative idea and its financial viability.

It can be summarized that the business communication skills are an integral part of the professional growth of a professional. It is important that a professional has adequate business communication skills (Kreuger, 2008). I used several business communication tools to analyse the weakness in the professional communication. Two weaknesses, namely, lack of persuasion skills as well as lack of leadership skills have been identified in the communication skills assessment.

Analysis of Recent Professional Encounters

The present literature review will present the views of the eminent authors regarding the leadership and the persuasion skills of an individual. It can be critiqued that it is important for an individual to acquire business communication skills. In the views of Kuhnke (2013) skills should be validated in both verbal as well as written skills of a professional. Business communication skills are also essential for an organization to achieve its goals. Therefore, a large number of business organization also conduct training and development for the growth of professional communication skills of an individual. The business communication skills are also important in the execution of different business operations and the value chain activities of an individual.

In the perspective of Leutenberg, Liptak, & Brodsky (2008), the business communication is an important dimension of the personality which affects different aspects of an individual’s life. However, the primal importance of the business communication skills are in the professional world. It is important that to establish strong, positive relationship with the customers as well as the suppliers.

In the views of Marinho, Mesquita de Medeiros, Gama & Teixeira (2017) the communication and leadership capabilities are essential in the professional development aspect of san individual. Due to its high importance, most of the companies have made strong communication and leadership skills as a mandatory requirement. The communication skills include several different skills such as listening capabilities, writing skills, verbal skills, presentation, negotiation, and team work skills. The quality of a professional communicator is that he incorporates all these aspects in his communication or conversation. The listening skills are also an important aspect of the professional communication. It is the ability of a person to incorporate the views of others embrace conflicting viewpoints. An individual should be able to consider the audience as an individual partner and he should focus on finding the solution to a specific problem rather than taking the lead in a conversation.

According to McKay, Davis, & Fanning (2009) the persuasion skills is the ability of an individual to negotiate with others and convince them about a certain action. Most of the professional communication takes place over a mail and requires that an individual to have adequate convincing power in written communication. With the current digitalization and internet mediums, business communication also takes place in blogs and social media. In these mediums, the communicator should be able to convince the customers to buy the products or avail the services.

It can be critiqued as per the views of Koprowska (2014) that the digital mediums have entered inside the private lives of the people and assisted the organizations in building the online reputation of the organization. It is important to develop effective business communication skills which is required in the social media. The online communication is quite different from other modes of communication and requires different tone and the message content. Therefore, clear differentiation should be made between different modes of communication and the choice of words and tone should be selected appropriately.

In the views of Vangelisti (2016) the leadership skills are essential for the employees in presenting their thoughts, opinions and approaches in an effective manner. The verbal skills are required for representing oneself confidently in a group. It is also important in arriving at a mutually agreeable status. The confidence and the persuasion skills are also essential in building trust and strong relationships with different stakeholders in a professional setting. The interpersonal skills are essential in developing common goals for the organization, developing empathy, relation, bonds and achieving common targets. It assist an individual in developing personal relations and empathy, which are important in the professional world.

As per the views of Gimenez (2000) the leadership and the persuasion skills are also essential in developing the teamwork capabilities of the organization. In a business organization, there are several different teams which work together a common goal. In this situation, these teams can have several different conflicting views and business issues may arise in the work. In an organization setting, several people from different cultural backgrounds arrive and work together. According to the perception of Guffey & Loewy (2015) good leader should be able to work alongside people of different cultures and backgrounds. It is important to accommodate the desires and the needs of different people for being able to become a good leader. A good leader should be able to develop a strong team, wherein different team members are able to communicate with each other regarding different tasks and opinions. It is important for the leaders to understand that the combined efforts of the team and essential and more important than the individual contribution of the employees.

In the views of Locker (2011), good leadership and persuasion skills of the employees are essential in internal as well as the external communication of the employees. Today, most of the business organizations have also acknowledged the importance of the business communication and have implemented systems and strategies to develop in a professional communication skills in the workplace. The organizations are trying to develop the training and the development facility for the employees for enhancing the communication or the soft skills of the employees. The training can enhance the transmission of information within the workplace which can impact on the overall organization efficiency. The business organizations have also developed the standardized procedures so that the communication between suppliers and the customers can be controlled and executed in a proper manner.

According to Means (2009), it is important to acknowledge that the persuasion and the leadership skills are also essential in the effective execution of the business operations. It is also important in exchanging information, executing different plans, developing organization policies. These approaches can assist the business organizations in building strong business relations and tie-ups with the employees.

According to Larson & Larson (2012) the persuasion skills are important aspect in the professional growth of the people. In several instances, an employee needs to persuade his seniors or the customers. There are several benefits of the persuasion skills which can be fine-tuned with several methods. Firstly, it is important to find a common round or human connection with the other person. The symbol of being connected can build trust and increase the convincing power of the person. Persistence is also important in persuading others for a specific cause. It is also important that the other person to remain ready for an argument if the other person do not agree with the situation. The body language is also an important aspect in the influencing the viewpoint of other people. Moreover, confidence is very essential in the persuasion skills. If a person will show confidence in himself, other people will also show confidence in him.

In the views of Shi (2017), the professional world, leadership skills are very essential. In order to improve the leadership skills, an individual should self-analyse the leadership qualities. The leadership development can enhance the employee engagement and productivity at the workplace. Developing leadership qualities can result in easy transition to the future leadership roles of the organization. The foremost thing in the leadership role is enhancing the networking capabilities of the employees. The networking skills are essential in the individual growth and the business development of the organization. The networking skills are essential in forging powerful connections, initiating conversation with strangers and enhancing the overall confidence of the person. Networking is also beneficial in enhancing the overall reputation of the organization. An employee should carry himself positively to achieve the intended target. Another important method for the leadership development is the mentor-mentee relationship. It is an easy and effective method in developing the leadership qualities of the employees and advance their personal skills. It is an easy method to develop the leadership skills from the employer. With the help of mentorship program, the employees can hone their skills and develop more professional employees.

Although mentorship is beneficial for the new hires, it is also efficient cross-training tool for the current employees. In the cross-training, the employees learn about new skills of their colleagues which can develop them professionally. The leadership roles can enhance the organization success, improving the team performance and enhancing the efficiency of the employees. The cross-training skill of the employees can also enhance the motivation of the employees which boosts their confidence.

According to Bishop (2006) feedback loop is also important in developing the leadership skills of the employees. The feedback loop measures the performance of the employees in the workplace and provide recommendations to them to develop their future productivity. It is important that there is continuous communication between the employer and the employees. It is necessary that there is effective communication in the workplace wherein the employees meet regularly in an informal, one-to-one meet. These meetings will assist the employees to develop and design the plans for the future career growth.  The leadership can be developed by determining individual goals and identifying the opportunities for the career goals. Another significant method is learning by example. In order to develop the leadership skills, an employee can follow a specific leader and follow his characteristics. There are different leadership styles, such as transformation leadership, transactional leadership or authoritative leadership. An individual adopt a specific leadership style as per the situation and convenience. Following a specific leader can enhance the leadership style of an individual.

The action plan outlines different steps and strategies which can be used to address a specific issue or problem. In the present case, two major communication issues have been identified. An action plan has been constructed so that these business communication challenges can be addressed. In the present case, it can be critiqued that the communication skills of a professional are never perfect and it is desirable to constantly hone or sharpen them. As a result, several strategies and improvement methods have been used to develop the professional communication skills. The action plan can be defined as the series of actions or strategies which are targeted to eradicate a particular issue. The action plan is focused on the lack of assertiveness and the leadership skills. The present action plan is focussed on enhancing these skills over a period of two months.

Assertiveness refers to the ability of a person to express his feelings in a free manner. It is the process of giving equal importance to the needs and the rights of every individual. The assertiveness is the process of realizing the needs and desires of an individual in a proper manner. The assertiveness is the process of presenting the viewpoints in a strong manner. There are several methods such as role-playing, group discussions, professional training, and personal coaching which can enhance the assertiveness of a person. In assertiveness, a person expresses his feelings in an efficient manner without any inhibitions.

Activities	Impact
Group discussions and Debates	Taking part in group discussion or debates can enhance the confidence level, which will increase the proficiency of the person
Professional train	The professional training will increase the confidence of a person in workplace
Personal Coaching	Mentor or one-to-one coaching is an effective manner in which assertiveness or persuasion skills can be transferred through performance feedback

The leadership skills is the ability of a person to influence the perception of other people. It is the responsibility of the leader to envision a dream and motivate others to achieve it as a combined goal. The leadership is considered as an important quality of the professionals or the managers. In the development of the leadership skills, self-actualization and public speaking has a positive effect. The confidence development is also an essential part of the leadership skills of an individual. The leader should also demonstrate positive attitude and proficiency in persuasion and assertiveness skills.

Action	Timeline
Debates	voluntary work and activities involving public interaction
Reading leadership development books	Enhancing the leadership skills by providing examples, strategies and leadership styles

Action plan Activities	1st month	2rd  month	3rd, 4th month	5th-6th month
University courses on leadership development
Reading leadership books
Self-reflection Journal
Mentoring by experienced professionals
Evaluation of the action plan

References

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Bishop, S. (2006). Develop Your Assertiveness. Kogan Page Publishers.

Cocks, M., Moulton, C. A. Luu, S., & Cil, T. (2014). What surgeons can learn from athletes: mental practice in sports and surgery. Journal of Surgical Education, 71(2), 262–269. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2013.07.002

De Vries. R. E., Bakker-Pieper, A., & Oostenveld, W. (2010). Leadership = Communication? The relations of leaders ‘communication styles with leadership styles, knowledge sharing and leadership outcomes. Journal of Business & Psychology, 25(3), 367-380. doi: 10.1007/s10869-009-9140-2

Fearn-Banks, K. (2016). Crisis communications: A casebook approach. Routledge (page 9)

Gardner C. T, Milne, M. J., Stringer C. P., & Whiting, R. H. (2005). Oral and written communication apprehension in accounting students: curriculum impacts and impacts on academic performance. International Journal of Accounting Education, 14(3), 313–336. doi: 10.1080=0693928050007726

Gimenez, J.C. (2000). Business e-mail communication: some emerging tendencies in register. English for Specific Purposes 19.

Guffey, M. E., & Loewy, D. (2015). Essentials of Business Communication. Cengage Learning.

Hartman, J. L., & McCambridge, J. (2011). Optimizing millennials’ communication styles. Business Communication Quarterly, 74(1), 22-44. doi: 10.1177/1080569910395564

Henderson, K., & Mathew Byrne, J. (2016). Developing communication and interviewing skills. Skills for social work practice, 1-22. (page 7)

Koprowska, J. (2014). Communication and interpersonal skills in social work. Learning Matters.

Koprowska, J. (2014). Communication and interpersonal skills in social work. Learning Matters.

Kuhnke, E. (2013). Communication skills for dummies (1st ed.). Chichester: Wiley.

Larson, E., & Larson, R. (2012). The Influencing Formula. Watermark Learning.

Leutenberg, E., Liptak, J., & Brodsky, A. (2008). The Communication Skills Workbook (1st ed.). Whole Person Associates.

Locker, K.O. (2011). Business Communication: Building. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.

Marinho, A. C. F, Mesquita de Medeiros, A., Gama A. C. C, & Teixeira, L. C. (2017). Fear of public speaking: perception of college students and correlates. Journal of Voice, 31(1), 127.e7–127.e11. doi: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2015.12.012

McKay, M., Davis, M., & Fanning, P. (2009). Messages: The Communication Skills Book (1st ed.). Oakland, Calif.: New Harbinger Publications.

Means, T. (2009). Business Communication. Cengage Learning.           

Shi, Z. (2017). Mind Computation. World Scientific.

Vangelisti, A.L., (2016). On the importance of communication research. Communication Education, 65(4), pp.501-504.