Interpersonal Oral Communication in Workplace Situations

Name: Interpersonal Oral Communication in Workplace Situations
Author: Maureen Chisholm

Learn how to use oral communication effectively at work

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 8 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

(upbeat music) Welcome to interpersonal oral communication in workplace situations. In these lessons, we'll take a closer look at the various mediums of oral communication in the workplace. We also review how communication occurs within an organization and between individuals and groups, in meetings, through collaboration to solve problems, negotiate, and train. These lessons will also identify ways to make these exchanges more productive and effective. Communicating effectively is essential for a successful meeting. You as the host would be well advised to prepare an agenda for the meeting, and email it to the attendees beforehand. This helps you organize the meeting to maximize the time spent. Also use clear language the participants will understand. To ensure the meeting is productive, keep to your agenda. Review it at the meeting's beginning. So those who may not have read or received it understand the meeting's purpose. After that, you can provide basic information, and manage the discussion to facilitate effective communication. If you do most of the talking, then it's a presentation, not a meeting. Encourage the participants to share their opinions, ideas, and objections through respectful discourse. Monitor the discussion to ensure others don't dominate it, and allow everyone an opportunity to contribute. The meeting success will hinge on your ability to facilitate it. Monitor the discussion to prevent it from going off target and wasting time on irrelevant topics. In some cases, a separate meat may be necessary to discuss alternative points, and the person who raised them should be thanked for encouraging wider discussion. Carefully guide the main discussion to ensure participation and that everyone communicates with one another in a respectful, professional, and judgment-free manner. Most motivate the participants to share their experiences, ideas, and opinions while also being willing to listen to others. Encourage participation by asking for everyone's input upfront, or by making sure everyone's questions have been answered prior to the meeting's conclusion. To promote a more robust and inclusive discussion of the material, you can play devil's advocate by asking hard questions. Let's say a meeting's been called to discuss creating a new vacation schedule for the staff. You open the floor to discussion, and ask the attending managers for ideas on how to change the vacation schedule to allow for people to leave while still enabling their work to be completed and cover your business needs. You get a couple of ideas, but you see that not everyone is contributing. To boost participation as well as generate more ideas, you could call people by name, and ask for their ideas and ask pointed questions about the ideas that have already been put forward. By the end, you should leave the meeting with everyone in agreement on the new vacation schedule. Speak in a manner that encourages listening, and participation, but try not to sound too authoritative. Many hosts tend to communicate down to the participants, keep tight control of the meeting, and avoid eliciting any input or feedback. There are times when this type of meeting may be necessary such as discussing a major change of company policy. But for the most part meetings are called to explore a problem, develop solutions, and provide feedback on, or discuss progress of projects. All of these require full audience participation, more than just head nodding. Ask participants for their initial ideas or concerns. If you're not getting any input, try putting people more at ease. Tell everyone that all input is appreciated and welcomed. When people do volunteer, acknowledge them, and listen to their input. This positive acknowledgement will encourage others to add their participation. Although you have a responsibility to successfully run the meeting, the participants also have a responsibility to communicate, listen, and provide relevant input and feedback. You're also recommended to review the meeting's highlights and any next steps or action items that need to be completed before the next meeting. Towards the end, tell your audience when the next meeting will be, and what they can expect to be covered. Review the meeting's highlights with participants. Discuss any accomplished main points. And clarify any next steps or action items to complete prior to the next meeting. By the end, everyone should leave the meeting feeling that their time was well spent, and that something was accomplished.

Beginner Provider : Maureen Chisholm 8 Lessons · 31m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Urdu, Chinese

Course Description

When conducting meetings, training employees, onboarding new hires, or holding coaching sessions, effective communication is necessary to ensure a successful outcome. In any of these situations, the parties involved want to ensure that their messages are clear, that others participate as expected, and that any next steps taken are necessary. There’s a pretty good chance that you’ll have to involved in one of these kinds of situations in the workplace, so it’s important to be prepared in advance and have the skills needed to say what you need to say.

In these lessons on Interpersonal Oral Communication, you’ll explore specific workplace situations that require effective oral communication skills and learn how to implement them appropriately in real-world scenarios. You’ll learn about the various situations that can require effective oral communication, like meetings, collaborations, negotiations, making decisions, solving problems, and training new hires.

What You'll Learn

Conduct meetings effectively in the workplace
Identify the role of collaboration in the workplace
Define the steps in the decision-making process
Explain the negotiating process
Explain the role of training and coaching
Apply oral communication skills to problem-solving and onboarding situations

Key Takeaways

Effective oral communication is necessary for successful outcomes when conducting meetings, training employees, onboarding new hires, and holding coaching sessions.
In workplace communication situations, the parties involved want their messages to be clear, others to participate as expected, and any next steps taken to be necessary.
The course covers specific workplace situations that require effective oral communication, including meetings, collaborations, negotiations, decision-making, problem-solving, and training new hires.
Learners explore how to implement effective oral communication skills appropriately in real-world scenarios.
Being prepared in advance with the right communication skills helps you say what you need to say in these workplace situations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What workplace situations does this course cover?

It covers specific workplace situations that require effective oral communication, including meetings, collaborating, problem-solving, decision-making, negotiating, training, and coaching.

What will I learn in this course?

You will learn the best way to conduct a meeting, identify the role of collaboration in the workplace, define the steps in the decision-making process, explain the negotiating process, and explain the role of training and coaching.

Who is this course for?

It is for people who may be involved in workplace communication situations such as conducting meetings, training employees, onboarding new hires, or holding coaching sessions, and who want to be prepared with the skills needed to communicate effectively.

How is the course structured?

The course is delivered through lessons covering Meetings, Collaborating, Problem-Solving, Decision-Making, Negotiating, Training, and Coaching, followed by a Test Your Knowledge assessment.

Does the course focus on theory or real-world application?

The course explores specific workplace situations that require effective oral communication skills and teaches how to implement them appropriately in real-world scenarios.