Communication is a skill and like any skill it requires practice. It is improvement through practice that differentiates a skill from other forms of knowledge. Understanding the theory of communication and effective presentation will not in itself make you a brilliant communicator or presenter but should make you aware of how to maximize the impact of your presentations. The most important thing to remember is that the message that you intend to communicate is likely to be misunderstood. Therefore, in addition to carefully preparing and presenting your message, stay alert for any signs that your audience are mis-interpreting it. It is up to you, the presenter, to continually check that your message has been received, understood,correctly interpreted and filed in the receivers mind.
We will now examine each of the six steps of the communication model in slightly more detail with a view to introducing some guidelines that should help to promote more effective two way communication.
• Step1 - Ensure that your audience are tuned in and paying full attention to what you are about to say. Once you have the attention of the audience the communication of the message can begin.
• Step2 - Each recipient listens to the message.
• Step3 - Each recipient will have some feeling about the message and will interpret its meaning.
This is often done in the light of individual attitudes and prejudices or alternatively with reference to previous experience or associations. Your problem is that the audience may not feel and interpret in the way that you intended. The result may range from a simple failure for the message to hit home, through to a serious misunderstanding.
• Step4 - Each recipient may respond to the original message.
• Step5 - You have now become the receiver, and should listen carefully to the message.
• Step6 - You will feel and interpret.
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