Improve Your Communication Skills

by Barker, Alan

• ISBN13: 9780749460365
• ISBN10: 0749460369
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-28
• Publisher: Kogan Page Ltd

Summary

Improve Your Communication Skills will help you keep the interest of a large-audience, impress a potential employer or win an argument at an important meeting. It gives vital tips on:

Author Biography

Alan Barker is Managing Partner of Direction, a consulting firm that works to develop creativity and skilled communication. He is also the author of How to Manage Meetings.

Table of Contents

About this book	p. vii
What is communication?	p. 1
The transmission model	p. 1
Understanding how we understand	p. 7
A new model of communication	p. 9
The three levels of understanding	p. 11
Conversation: the heart of communication	p. 19
How conversations work	p. 21
What is a conversation?	p. 21
Why do conversations go wrong?	p. 23
Putting conversations in context	p. 23
Working out the relationship	p. 25
Setting a structure	p. 30
Managing behaviour	p. 33
Seven ways to improve your conversations	p. 37
Clarify your objective	p. 38
Structure your thinking	p. 39
Manage your time	p. 46
Find common ground	p. 49
Move beyond argument	p. 50
Summarise often	p. 53
Use visuals	p. 54
The skills of enquiry	p. 59
Paying attention	p. 60
Treating the speaker as an equal	p. 64
Cultivating ease	p. 65
Encouraging	p. 66
Asking quality questions	p. 68
Rationing information	p. 71
Giving positive feedback	p. 72
The skills of persuasion	p. 75
Character, logic and passion	p. 75
What's the big idea?	p. 78
Arranging your ideas	p. 82
Expressing your ideas	p. 86
Remembering your ideas	p. 88
Delivering effectively	p. 89
Interviews: holding a formal conversation	p. 91
When is an interview not an interview?	p. 91
Preparing for the interview	p. 92
Structuring the interview	p. 93
Types of interview	p. 95
Making a presentation	p. 113
Putting yourself on show	p. 115
Preparing for the presentation	p. 116
Managing the material	p. 117
Controlling the audience	p. 130
Looking after yourself	p. 132
Answering questions	p. 133
Putting it in writing	p. 135
Writing for results	p. 135
Making reading easier	p. 136
Writing step by step	p. 137
Designing the document	p. 138
Writing a first draft	p. 151
Effective editing	p. 153
Writing for the web	p. 160
Networking: the new conversation	p. 167
To network or not to network?	p. 168
Preparing to network	p. 170
The skills of networking conversations	p. 181
Following up and building your network	p. 188
Appendix: where to go from here	p. 197
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