Handbook on Communicaiton Skills
Purpose of this Handbook
The handbooks on Soft Skills developed by Centre for Good
Governance are intended primarily for personnel in public
administration. They offer an overview of some of the principal
skills that are essential for effective performance competence.
They draw heavily upon existing literature and current practices
in public and private organizations around the world and
include numerous references and links to useful web
resources.
They are not comprehensive ‘guides’ or ‘how to’ booklets.
Rather, they incorporate the perspectives of experts in the
specific domains whose knowledge, insights, advice and
experiences prove handy in honing skills essential for
strengthening the capacity for effectiveness of public service
at all levels of government.
This handbook, Communication Skills, focuses on how
personnel in the public administration can develop approaches
and strategies that will enable them to deal with communication
problems in a variety of contexts.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
No
1.
Understanding Communication
1
2.
Workplace Communication Relationships
3
3.
Types of Communication
7
4.
Methods of Communication
10
5.
Communication Styles
18
6.
Common Roadblocks to Communication
21
7.
Criteria for Assessing Communication Competence
35
8.
Seven Actions for Effective Communication
41
9.
Some DOs of Effective Communication
45
10.
Some DONTs of Effective Communication
48
Handbook on Communicaiton Skills
1
1 Understanding Communication
“Emperor Frederick - the 13th century ruler of the Holy Roman Empire - wanted to
know what language had been spoken at the birth of mankind in the Garden of Eden.
Was it Hebrew, Greek or Latin? He ordered an experiment in which the original
circumstances would be recreated as closely as possible. A group of infants were to
be isolated from hearing human speech from the moment of birth until they spoke their
language. The babies were to be raised by nurses who were strictly charged to maintain
complete silence when with the babies. The re