Communication

1. Communication

2. Module Aim: To provide an overview and practise the skills of effective communication in the workshop/presentation environment Time allocated: 2 hours General Outline: Workshop style, mostly in small groups, with individual presentations

3. Talking with Body Language Energy should reflect content and desired mood Use movement to maintain interest Remember you are the focal point, use this to your advantage Use appropriate and diverse eye contact

4. Voice Skills Alter tone to keep interest. Use volume to emphasise mood Alter speed to change mood. USE A PAUSE ON KEY POINTS AS AN EXCLAMTION MARK

5. Congruency (making it all match) The words you speak tell a story, The tone and timing of your voice tells a story, Your body tells a story….. Are all 3 telling the same story?

6. Replace Fillers with Pauses Are you aware of what filler you use to fill in the space when you need to think? Ums and Aahs Face scrunches, finger twitches, tongue licks Repetitions of the same word……. “OK” A nice little tool is to replace the ‘filler’ with a pause and take a breath. The pause will work to your advantage

7. Exercise: 1 minute story In small groups find an semi-private area and take turns telling a story about the most exciting part of your week last week. Limit time to one minute Don’t be shy, stand up and get actively involved. One group member can act as facilitator to help review. Take turns as facilitators for each different speaker. Review each presentation, for example: What things do you think you did well? Any areas you could improve on? Get feedback on key points from the group? (positive and things would enable growth)

8. Super Challenge: Speak convincingly on something you are not passionate about for 2 minutes. Some topics are listed below; Sport should be for recreational purposes only Team sports inherently revolve around 1 or 2 individuals Playing competitive sport is destructive to personal growth

9. Some other Tips A few areas to be aware of that might create difficulties; Jargon Slang Clarity with language difficulties (different cultures etc)

10. Telling Stories The difference between a good story and a great story is how it is delivered; Be authentic – the best stories are genuine Under 2 minutes Practise Make sure it relates to the point Stories about yourself are best received if showing how you learnt from your flaws/errors www.mindtools.com/pages/article/BusinessStoryTelling.htm

11. Giving Directions Directions that are easily and well followed have the following in common; Clear and concise Simple Lack room for (mis)interpretation Have time allocated where applicable

12. Exercise; (in small groups) Each group has a pen and paper/flip chart etc, one person in the group is nominated to receive instructions (scribe). Each group is given a shape that must not be shown to the scribe. The group must instruct the scribe to draw an exact replica of the shape without explaining what it is or what it might look like.

13. Creating Visual Aids Keep it Simple – simple is effective Easy to read – visible to whole audience 2 colours – 3 or more colours can be too busy Bullet points only (no more than 4 or 5 /slide) Add pictures where possible

14. Using Visual Aids Talk to your audience not the screen Explain the aid as soon as you show it When finished with it get rid of it (on Power Point tap key ‘B’ for blank and the screen goes black….tap any other key and it comes back) Be prepared to deliver content without the visual aid

15. Using Handouts Maximise time for active learning - Don’t waste time or belittle your audience by reading through handouts Think of ways that your audience can get key information from the handouts by doing activities Summarise key points if required.