Communication techniques

1. Introduction to communication 1.1. Defining communication 1.2. Educational communication 1.3. Communicational axioms 1.4. The conditions of efficient communication 2. Communication techniques 2. 1. Communication techniques in inter-personal relations 2.1.1. Speech training. Nonverbal communication. Posture. Mimic. Gesture 2.1.2. Speech training. Para-verbal communication. Voice 2.1.3. Speech training. Verbal communication. The word 2.2. Public communication techniques. Speech
Objectives: after having studied these chapters, the students will be able to: 1. define the notion of communication 2. examine the axioms of communication 3. identify the requirements of communication 4. become familiar with the components of interpersonal communication 5. describe the techniques of public communication Recommended bibliography: Carnegie, D., Secretele succesului. Cum s v facei prieteni i s devenii influent, Editura Curtea Veche, Bucureti, 1997 Coteanu, I., Seche, L, Seche, M., (coord.), Dicionarul explicativ al limbii romne, Editura Univers Enciclopedic, Bucureti, 1998 Cutlip, S., Center, A., Broom, G., Effective Public Relations, New Jersey,Prentice Hali, 1994 Dobrescu, M. E., Sociologia comunicrii, Editura Victor, Bucureti, 1998 Drgan, I., Paradigme ale comunicrii n mas, Casa de Editur i Pres ansa S.R.L., Bucureti, 1996; Hariuc, C., Psihologia comunicrii, Editura Licorna, Bucureti, 2002 Pnioar, I.O., Comunicarea eficient, Editura Polirom, Iai, 2006 Iacob, D., Relaiile Publice. Eficien n comunicare, Editura Comunicare.ro, Bucuresti, 2003 Kendall, R., Public Relations Campaign Strategies: Planning for Implementation, New York, Harper Collins Publishers, 1992 Popescu, D., Arta de a comunica, Editura Economic, Bucureti, 1998; Prutianu, ., Antrenamentul abilitilor de comunicare, vol.1, Editura Polirom, Iai, 2004 Prutianu, ., Antrenamentul abilitilor de comunicare. Limbaje ascunse, vol.2, Editura Polirom, Iai, 2005 Rotaru, I. Comunicarea educaional aspecte teoretice i demersuri aplicative, Editura Brumar, Timioara, 2008 oitu, L., Pedagogia comunicrii, Editura Institutului European, Iai, 2001

OVERVIEW

This course aims to present the specific aspects of communication sciences, being focused on highlighting the techniques of communication, as practical ways to practice authentic communication, assertive. Educational counselling, as a communication process pays particular attention to mastering the skills of speaking and listening.

1. INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION

Communication involves interaction and feedback, sharing meanings, points of view on issues of common interest. In the process of communication, the content (information) receives a significant relevance, but not only; the system of values, prejudices, communication styles of speakers. A number of factors condition the act of communication and influence the communicative behaviour of those involved in communication.

1.1. DEFINING COMMUNICATION

The term of communication is usually used with different meanings. The concept emphasizes a relationship with another person that is intended to put together something, to participate in common. Communication is one of the concepts difficult to define. The meaning of this concept focuses on issues such as: a) Transmission b) Transfer c) Influence d) Interaction e) Sharing a) Transmission (of information/knowledge) Often the concept of communication is used as a synonym for information. But information is only part of an entire function which is communication. Associating communication with a process of transmission is especially evident in the dictionaries. Thus, the communication means: - To make known, to inform, to convey (The Dictionary of neologisms, 2007)

- The act of communication and its outcome (The Explanatory Dictionary of Romanian Language, 1998). b) Transfer (of information/knowledge) This meaning of communication is specific especially to educational communication through which it seeks the transfer of knowledge from teacher to student. c) Influence Communication occurs whenever a system, a source influences another system, a receiver, by means of alternative signals that can be transmitted through their link. (C. Osgood, apud I. Dragan) d) Interaction (in the interpersonal relationships) Communication is considered to be a mechanism by which human relations exist and develop. e) Sharing

1.2. EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Educational communication aims the spiritual development / growth of a person. It involves the active interaction of those involved in the communication process in a specific context. Through the educational communication, the educator influences the trainee. The results of educational communication lead to changes in the trainee's personality, but also in the educators.

1.3. COMMUNICATIONAL AXIOMS

Paul Watzlawick, Janet Beavin, Don Jackson, the most important representatives of the School of Palo Alto have formulated the axioms of the interpersonal communication. Axiom 1. Communication is inevitable. (Impossibility not to communicate; we are not able not to communicate). This axiom makes sense only if we believe that falls under the unintentional transmission of information and communication, which is done through indexes. Axiom 2. Communication is performed at two levels: informational and relational, the second one providing guidance for the interpretation of the former one. This means that any communication does not simply limit to transmitting information, but it also induces a conduct. 3

Axiom 3. Communication is an ongoing process that cannot be treated in terms of cause and effect or stimulus response. This third axiom can be obtained from the study of interaction or exchange of messages between communication partners. Axiom 4: Communication takes either a digital form, either an analogue one. The terms are taken from cybernetics, where a system is considered digital when operating with a binary and analogue logic for the use of a logic with an continuous infinity of values. The man is the being able to use the two ways of communication, digital and analogue. Axiom 5: Communication is irreversible. The meaning of this axiom should be understood as: an act of communication, once it occurred, triggering changes and mechanisms that cannot be given back, as any reversal on the outgoing messages cannot annihilate the effects already produced, as we speak to another person than the initial partner of discussion. Once we've offended the other party, in vain we declare that we take that back, because the effect of our words has occurred, and apologies are late. Axiom 6: Communication involves power relations and implies symmetrical or complementary transactions. In the case of additional transactions, between the people who communicate there are always differences of hierarchical position, regardless of their nature and the stimuli and the answers are of opposite types. The possibility of achieving a real equality between interlocutors is a goal almost impossible to achieve; they are symmetrical only when the communicational acts are of the same type as the stimuli. Axiom 7: Communication involves processes of adjustment and

accommodation. The premise from which it leaves is that people are different, they perceive reality differently, they have different interests and purposes and therefore the communication between them may improve only after an effort of mutual accommodation of its interlocutors to the context and communicational situation. In essence, the adjustment proposed by the axiom refers to the need for partners to harmonize and synchronize with each other.

1.4. THE CONDITIONS OF EFFICIENT COMMUNICATION

An effective communication implies a relationship between the parties, with a wide range of elements which condition verbal, non-verbal and para-verbal communication. The elements on which it should be reflected to achieve the desired results are: Physical Respecting the distances. 4

Posture and gesture. Respiration rate.

Verbal and para-verbal Copying the prevailing sensorial channel of the interlocutor. Tone of voice and speed.

Mental To/From Internal reference/External reference Appropriate/Inappropriate Opportunities/Requirements/Reasons

Values They relate to how each person decides what is good or bad, right or wrong. To find

them you must answer the question: What is important to me? The values are ordered hierarchically, from the most important one to the least important one, and they can be easy discovered with a few key questions. Equivalent criteria It represents the way values are understood in practice, as the same value can be perceived in very different ways. Beliefs Beliefs refer to the belief that certain things are true and others not and to the causeeffect sequences (if..., then...). They are formed during our entire existence based on: social environment, events, knowledge and previous results. Attachments They came along with the values and the beliefs and relate to a specific element. Memories The memories influence profoundly the perceptions and the behavioural answers of people. It is obvious that you cannot know everything that anyone remembers, but the information that a person keeps from certain experiences can be useful in conducting a conversation. Decisions Decisions relate to people and environment and are unconsciously taken early in life and then mostly conscious (rational and emotional). They express beliefs, values and attachments.

The use of these key points in conversation aims to guide the conversation to your benefit without your interlocutor to be aware of this. At this point, the interlocutor will perceive you as a very nice person, to whom, he does not know why, but he is inclined to make favours that he would not do to another person.

2. COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES

The development of the communication skills is done by analyzing a program of suggestions and practical rules present in each of the components of interpersonal acts: to make conversation, to argue, to seduce, to suggest, to manipulate, to keep quiet, to listen, to write. To male conversation. To argue. To seduce. To suggest. To manipulate. To keep quiet. The relationships between people are based on communication. Educational counselling is essentially a communication activity. Any communication is based on interpretation.

2. 1. COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES IN INTER-PERSONAL RELATIONS

The interpersonal communication is carried out on three levels: verbal, nonverbal and para-verbal. Thus, we talk about verbal, nonverbal and para-verbal communication. In a study made by Albert Mehrabian, he argues that only 7% of the message is transmitted through verbal communication, while 38% is transmitted through voice and 55% through the body language. The nonverbal and para-verbal communication are designed to enhance verbal communication, so the school counsellor can reinforce through elements of pantomime or gesture, by using a certain tone, certain aspects of the message that he sends to the student who asks for its services. At the same time, the nonverbal and the para-verbal communication complement the verbal message.

2.1.1. SPEECH TRAINING. NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION. POSTURE. MIMIC. GESTURE

Body language always has communicative value. The messages are permanently, even if they cannot always be read accurately and on time. Body language is confusing. For many signals there are at least two or three distinct meanings. Deciphering body language is based on trial and error. Body posture refers to both the posture that a person adopts normally or in a specific time and to the movements which alter or affect the body's position. The bowed head and the slumped shoulders note obedience, inferiority, weakness or timidity. The straight posture, head up or left behind indicate complacency. Tension and stiffness betray fear. Mimic adjusts the human communication, in fractions of second. Mimic signals are glaring and disclose secrets, when they are in contradiction with the verbal message. Mimic is hard to keep under control and as such it provides information. Reading the mimic expression regards all the consistent signals about what is happening to her. Gesture refers to the movements of the whole body, the hands and the fingers, the legs, the shoulders, the neck and the head, as well as anyones way of acting harder or easier, faster or slower.

2.1.2. SPEECH TRAINING. PARAVERBAL COMMUNICATION. VOICE

The voice is an important factor through which we learn a lot about a person. Most times we can easily recognize if the person speaking is a man or a woman, whether young or old, whether happy or sad, whether calm or nervous, energetic, soft, hurried or patient, sincere or hypocritical, friendly or surly. The tone of voice is important both as a vocal technique, and as a tool of persuasion. The tone of voice transmits feelings and attitude, while the words transmit only the information. Voice volume may be the evidence of a personality of great strength and vitality, but also the need to feel important or rather betray a fragile personality, self-oriented and afraid of the others. Speech rhythm is another parameter that provides information about who communicates. In general, it is considered that those who have a high level of education, when they communicate, the speech rhythm is moderate. A fast pace can be tiring for the 7

interlocutor; he fails to focus on the multitude of information that pours in on him at once. An extremely slow pace may suggest a person laggard in thinking or hesitating. According to the speech rhythm, speech can be calm, quick, slow, fast, dramatic, radio phonic, precipitated or affected. The vocal combinations refer to the tone, volume and rhythm of speech. They give the general sense of the spoken message. It is that combination of voice inflections associated with a certain tone and rhythm of the story that escapes the conscious control and fails to create that initial magic.

2.1.3. SPEECH TRAINING. VERBAL COMMUNICATION. THE WORD

The words have the power to influence the human physiology. In other words, the ultimate tool of influence is the word. The word is the most powerful tool that can serve us to achieve our goals. The verbal language is far from being perfect. The words sometimes betray the most secret thoughts. We hear many times expressions like I'm sorry, that's not what I meant... and in fact an act of communication is doomed to failure. The words are those which cause visual stimuli or auditory senses. It seems a familiar scene that when we read/hear about a very tragic event our eyes wet or when we read/hear a story about a Romanian athlete who won an Olympic medal to enjoy the fact that one of ours is winning. Each word is a code and using it makes sense to the extent that its meaning is shared by people who communicate. The ambiguity of the words is the natural consequence of the meanings assigned to them. The polarization represents the tendency to describe the world in terms of black or white, good or bad, ugly or beautiful, positive or negative etc. The generalization is the tendency to extend a certain private experience to a whole category. Trap-words. The words evoke images and experiences that stir positive and negative emotions. The positive ones stimulate, energize, mobilize, while the negative ones paralyze, demobilize. The pragmati approach. To be pragmatic means to have the attitude and the skills of a person who knows what he wants and who is able to use effective means to achieve the purpose, without getting lost in unnecessary philosophical scruples and sophistications. 8

2.1.4. ANTRENAMENTUL ABILITILOR DE ASCULTRE ACTIV

Wise men listen more and talk less. School counsellors are people who know how to listen with all their senses. They encourage the other person to talk about himself until he loses the mask thrown over hidden attitudes and feelings. The fineness of the spirit of observation is a very important quality of a good listener. Famous psychologists, like C. Rogers and A. Moreau have suggested the involvement of active listening skills by becoming aware of the three stages of the process required to go before the decision and right action: To hear and to see To imagine To feel The principle of mirroring Mirroring is an advanced way of listening, which erases the differences between speakers, reflecting like the mirror or like the echo the visual and audio messages of listened person. It is the timing at the level of the preferred channel of communication preferred by the speaker, of the sensory system of representation: visual, auditory, kinaesthetic. The principle of reformulation The listening techniques based on reformulation have been developed especially in psychotherapy and counselling, because it gives the customer the impression that he is the one who solves problems. In essence, the reformulation consists of resuming with his own words, like a slightly unfaithful echo of the partners words, operating some adjustments, omissions and additions. Carl Rogers outlined a range of active listening techniques based on the reformulation: paraphrasing, the hi-fi echo, transforming affirmations into questions, the suspension, reframing, the exaggeration and meiosis. a) The technique of paraphrasing b) The technique of the hi-fi echo c) The technique of transforming affirmations into questions d) The technique of suspension e) The technique of reframing f) The technique of exaggeration g) The technique of meiosis

2.2. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES. THE SPEECH

Preparing the speech Sustaining a successful public speech involves an activity of preparation. To find the ideas, a solution could be to write down everything you can think of, related to the field, just watching the connections the brain makes automatically, without censoring, in the initial phase, the thoughts. Later choose the best ideas and design the structure of the speech. But, to do this you need to clearly define your objective. Defining the objective Every communication must have an objective, especially when you speak to an audience. The questions you should ask yourself are: What do I want to obtain? What kind of audience am I speaking to? Which is the best way to reach my goal? What kind of arguments should I use, rational or emotional? How will I know if I have achieved the objective? The moment you have find a valid answer to these questions, you've already done the most important work. The use of persuasion techniques The persuasion techniques are useful in a communication of this kind and therefore they should be considered. Once you have defined the purpose, the arguments and the strategy, you need a plan to present your ideas in an orderly manner. The listeners always remain impressed when the speaker is able to present his arguments and thoughts clearly. The simplest and most effective way is called STEP (in English: State, Translate, Exemplify, Prove) and it helps you organize your thoughts, speeches and articles to get the best effect: State present the idea simply and clearly; Translate expose the idea to be understood by the public; define the terms which you refer to, reduce the ambiguities as much as possible; make comparison with similar things; Exemplify give examples of what you say: personal experiences, anecdotes etc. Prove demonstrate what you have said, presenting facts that prove your affirmation, calling on expert s opinions and to statistics.

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COURSE SUMMARY

The course presents communication as a process of transmission, transfer, influence, interaction, sharing. The educational communication is a distinct sector of interpersonal communication. The communication techniques described in this course aim mainly the individual and the public communication. The course, being designed for school counsellors, has been focused mainly on interpersonal communication techniques, very necessary in the professional activity of the school counsellors. In turn, the interpersonal communication techniques have been analyzed from the point of view of verbal, nonverbal and para-verbal communication, and in terms of the two broad categories of skills that communication targets: the skill of active listening and the skill of speaking.

KEY CONCEPTS

1. verbal communication 2. non-verbal communication 3. para-verbal communication 4. communication techniques

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES 1. Carnegie, D., Secretele succesului. Cum s v facei prieteni i s devenii influent, Editura Curtea Veche, Bucureti, 1997 2. Coteanu, I., Seche, L, Seche, M., (coord.), Dicionarul explicativ al limbii romne, Editura Univers Enciclopedic, Bucureti, 1998 3. Cutlip, S., Center, A., Broom, G., Effective Public Relations, New Jersey,Prentice Hali, 1994 4. Dobrescu, M. E., Sociologia comunicrii, Editura Victor, Bucureti, 1998 5. Drgan, I., Paradigme ale comunicrii n mas, Casa de Editur i Pres ansa S.R.L., Bucureti, 1996; 6. Hariuc, C., Psihologia comunicrii, Editura Licorna, Bucureti, 2002 7. Pnioar, I.O., Comunicarea eficient, Editura Polirom, Iai, 2006 8. Iacob, D., Relaiile Publice. Eficien n comunicare, Editura Comunicare.ro,

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Bucuresti, 2003 9. Kendall, R., Public Relations Campaign Strategies: Planning for Implementation, New York, Harper Collins Publishers, 1992 10. Popescu, D., Arta de a comunica, Editura Economic, Bucureti, 1998; 11. Prutianu, ., Antrenamentul abilitilor de comunicare, vol.1, Editura Polirom, Iai, 2004 12. Prutianu, ., Antrenamentul abilitilor de comunicare. Limbaje ascunse, vol.2, Editura Polirom, Iai, 2005 13. Rotaru, I. Comunicarea educaional aspecte teoretice i demersuri aplicative, Editura Brumar, Timioara, 2008 14. oitu, L., Pedagogia comunicrii, Editura Institutului European, Iai, 2001

OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES 1. http://www.eed.usv.ro/assets/fisiere/carti%20incot/Tehnici-de-comunicare.pdf 2. http://www.scn.org/mpfc/modules/tm-ctru.htm#Comm 3. http://alfalu.3x.ro/web/tehnicidecomunicareinterpersonala.htm

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