Improve Your Communication Skills Book

About this book vii

1 What is communication? 1

The transmission model 1

Understanding how we understand 7

A new model of communication 9

The three levels of understanding 11

Conversation: the heart of communication 19

2 How conversations work 21

What is a conversation? 21

Why do conversations go wrong? 23

Putting conversations in context 23

Working out the relationship 25

Setting a structure 30

Managing behaviour 33

3 Seven ways to improve your conversations 37

1 Clarify your objective 38

2 Structure your thinking 39

3 Manage your time 46

4 Find common ground 49

5 Move beyond argument 50

6 Summarise often 53

7 Use visuals 54

4 The skills of enquiry 59

Paying attention 60

Treating the speaker as an equal 64

Cultivating ease 65

Encouraging 66

Asking quality questions 68

Rationing information 71

Giving positive feedback 72

5 The skills of persuasion 75

Character, logic and passion 75

What's the big idea? 78

Arranging your ideas 82

Expressing your ideas 86

Remembering your ideas 88

Delivering effectively 89

6 Interviews: holding a formal conversation 91

When is an interview not an interview? 91

Preparing for the interview 92

Structuring the interview 93

Types of interview 95

7 Making a presentation 113

Putting yourself on show 115

Preparing for the presentation 116

Managing the material 117

Controlling the audience 130

Looking after yourself 132

Answering questions 133

8 Putting it in writing 135

Writing for results 135

Making reading easier 136

Writing step by step 137

Designing the document 138

Writing a first draft 151

Effective editing 153

Writing for the web 160

9 Networking: the new conversation 167

To network or not to network? 168

Preparing to network 170

The skills of networking conversations 181

Following up and building your network 188

Appendix: where to go from here 197