COMMUNICATION SKILLS (INTERVIEW & GROUP DISCUSSION)
Communication Skills
THE WORD COMMUNICATION: ITS ORIGIN AND MEANING
The word Communication means, an activity or process of sharing or exchanging ideas, feelings, information, experience between two or more persons. Communication occurs all the time. In fact, it is an ongoing activity. For example, interaction between the members of a family, friends, relatives; communication through letters, telegrams, telephone. So, It is clear, that communication may be either verbal or nonverbal.
Communication has come from a Latin word “Communicate” or “Communism”, which means to share or to make common. It is a process of creating and sharing ideas, information, views, facts, feelings, etc. among the people to reach a common understanding. In simple words, communication is the act of transferring information from one place, person or group to another.
Thus, you see that communication is a continuous process of giving and receiving information, of building up social relationships. We make use of speech, writing, printed and pictorial matter, gestures and expressions and also of technical media like telegraphy, radio, television, computer etc. for communication.
Communication is impetus to any organization as success depends upon how effectively its employees understand one another. Most of the problems of business can be attributed to poor communication between management and employees. Communication is thus the nervous system of any organization. The humans are constantly involved in communication in some way or the other.
Definitions
• “Communication as the action of conveying or exchanging information and ideas.
• “Communication is the transfer of information from one person to another, whether or not it elicits confidence. But the information transferred must be understandable to the receiver”.
• “Communication is the intercourse by words, letters or messages”
• “Communication is a process of passing information and understanding from one person to another.”
• “Communication is an exchange of ideas, facts, opinions or emotions of two or more persons.”
NATURE OF COMMUNICATION
Based on the above definitions, the following characteristics of communications can be Derived:
1. Social process: Communication is a social process because two or more people are involved, and they exchange ideas, information and knowledge by using common sets of words or symbols.
2. Two-way process: Communication is usually a two-way process. The sender sends the information to the receiver through a channel. The receiver receives and understands and starts acting upon it and gives feedback to the sender.
3. Continuous process: Communication is a continuous and ongoing process.
4. Multidimensional process: Communication can be formal or informal; it can be between employees or with outside parties.
5. Feedback: It refers to responses, reply or reactions which the receiver sends to acknowledge the sender. When the sender receives the feedback, the process of communication is said to be complete.
6. Communication is unavoidable: Communication keep happening continuously. Not only facial expressions, gestures and body movements, but even silence also conveys a lot of information to others.
SIGNIFICANCE OR IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION
1. Basis of managerial functions: Communication is essential in all managerial functions. Communication is required in planning, decision making, organizing, motivating, directing and controlling the subordinates. A manager can take appropriate decisions with the help of communication. The problems may be solved without much difficulty by the manager. The manager can get things done by subordinates through communication. He can impart the objectives of organization to the subordinates through communication.
2. Efficient functioning: Communication helps the workers to know the real situation prevailing in an organization. Subsequently, workers perform their duties without any delay, which leads to the smooth functioning of an organization. Communication is essential for the efficient functioning of an organization it acts as a link between superiors and subordinates and brings mutual understanding among them.
3. Creates inter-personal relations: Management is an art of getting things done by others. For this the manager has to establish interpersonal relations with them. These relations can be created by an exchange of ideas, opinions, information, directives and suggestions.
4. Achieving coordination: In every organization, various activities are divided among various departments and employees therein. All of them have to work in coordination to achieve organizational goals.
5. Boosts up morale: Communication helps boost the morale and motivation of employees working in an organization. The motivation and morale of employees largely depend on effectiveness of communication networks in organization.
6. Builds public image: Public image and public relations are improved through effective communication. The organization has to maintain cordial relations with external groups like customers, suppliers, investors, government and community to develop a favourable image. These relations can be improved through effective communications.
7. Facing competition: Through effective promotion and communications, the organizations can convey a positive image of their products and services in comparison to their competitors. Helps to cope with the environment: Communication helps the organization to cope with the rapidly changing business environment by generating and compiling information on various aspects of the environment and disbursing the same to the managers to react and respond accordingly.
8. Increases Managerial efficiency: The manager nearly spends 80% of his time in transmitting information to others regarding the business targets, rules, programmes, policies, etc. Communication helps the manager discharge his duties systematically and facilitates him to increase his efficiency.
COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Communication is the process of exchanging information between individuals, following a sender-receiver model. The sender initiates the communication by transmitting an idea, opinion, fact, or any other form of information to the receiver.
The receiver, in turn, responds by providing feedback on the received content and may also share their own ideas and opinions. This interactive exchange between the sender and receiver in communication enables both parties to understand and engage with each other’s perspectives.
The communication process is a vital part of business communication. It ensures coordination, teamwork, and building relationships. Elements in the communication cycle include a sender, a receiver, a message, a channel, encoding, and decoding along with feedback, response, and noise.
In a company, sender and receiver communication can occur in:
Oral form: business meetings, phone calls, face-to-face conversations, etc.
Written form: formal and informal business reports, short reports, emails, etc.
The sender and receiver communication may not necessarily involve only two parties. Two or more groups of people can be parts of the communication process.
Communication is a process that consists of many interrelated and interdependent elements. Each element is equally responsible for the effective completion of the communication process.
The following are the various elements of the communication process.
Elements of the Communication Process
The basic elements of the communication cycle are as follows:
• Sender: The sender is also known as the source of the information. They come first on the list of elements in communication. They share information which can be in various forms such as opinions, ideas, news, etc. with a person or group of persons.
• Encoding: Encoding in the communication process refers to the means that the sender uses to communicate information. The sender uses words, pictures, symbols, etc. to put together thoughts and ideas in a way that would be easily understood by the receiver. The goal of the encoding process is to ensure a clear flow of information from sender to receiver.
• Message: Once the encoding process is decided, the sender must develop the message that contains the information they wish to convey. The message may be written, symbolic, verbal, or non-verbal. It must be in a form that is transmittable for the appropriate channel in the communication process.
• Channel: A channel is the means by which the sender communicates a message to the receiver. It is a form of communication that relies on a medium to deliver a message. For example, written communication is a channel of communication that relies on mediums such as letters, business reports, emails, etc. to convey information.
Channels in the communication process are divided into three broad categories
(1) Oral: In oral communication, the sender directly interacts with the receiver in a face-to-face conversation. For example, a sales executive directly deals with customers. This allows the sender greater control over the interaction..
(2) Written: Messages are also transmitted in written format between sender and receiver. For example, letters, memos, business communication reports, emails, notices, manuals, etc.
(3) Audio/Video: The audio channel involves video tapes, video conferences, video chats, etc.
• Receiver: The receiver acts as an essential element of communication, decoding the message. Simply put, the receiver is the intended party for the message. They can read, see, or hear the message, and can also actively participate in the communication process if the sender contacts them directly.
• Decoding: Same as a sender encoding a message, the receiver must decode the message received. Decoding is the sixth element in the communication process that involves the receiver interpreting the message based on their individual backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints. For effective communication, the encoding and decoding of the message must match. This refers to the receiver interpreting the message exactly how the sender intended.
• Response: Once the receiver has seen, heard, or read the message, how they react to it makes up their response. The response of a receiver can vary from person to person. A receiver may simply store the information in their memory or act immediately by replying or taking action. For example, a customer buys a product right after communicating with the salesperson.
• Feedback: Feedback is one of the main components of the communication model. It is a form of reverse communication where the receiver encodes a message for the sender to decode. In simple words, the receiver tells the sender how they interpreted the message and offer their own thoughts and ideas. Feedback in marketing can be in the form of personal communication, online customer reviews, ratings, etc.
Why is feedback important in communication?
• Feedback allows the sender to collect information about the message from the receiver.
• It completes the communication process as the sender and receiver interact with each other.
• Depending on positive or negative feedback from the receiver is a good way to measure the effectiveness of communication and make future improvements.
• Feedback helps in improving employee and management relations as it creates a congenial atmosphere in the workspace.
• Receiver’s Response: Feedback involves the receiver providing a response or reaction to the message they have received.
• Understanding: Feedback indicates whether the receiver has understood the message correctly.
• Clarity: If the receiver provides feedback that they found the message unclear or confusing, it prompts the sender to reconsider their communication approach and improve the clarity of the message.
• Confirmation: Positive feedback or confirmation from the recipient indicates successful reception and comprehension of the message.
• Questions and Queries: Feedback can include questions or queries from the receiver seeking clarification or more information.
• Action or Response: In certain situations, feedback may involve the receiver taking specific actions or responding to the message in some way, indicating engagement with the communication.
• Improvement and Adaptation: Feedback helps the sender to improve future communication by learning from the receiver’s response.
There are two kinds of feedback
• Positive feedback: It confirms the source that the intended effect of the message was achieved. Positive feedback tells the source that everything is going in the desired way.
• Negative Feedback: It informs the source that the intended effect of the message was not achieved.
MODELS OF COMMUNICATION
Communication is a complex process, and it is difficult to determine where or with whom a communication encounter starts and ends. Models of communication simplify the process by providing a visual representation of the various aspects of a communication encounter. Some models explain communication in more detail than others, but even the most complex model still doesn’t recreate what we experience in even a moment of a communication encounter. Models still serve a valuable purpose for students of communication because they allow us to see specific concepts and steps within the process of communication, define communication, and apply communication concepts.
Linear/ One-way communication model
The linear communication model explains the process of one-way communication, whereby a sender transmits a message and a receiver absorbs it. This model of communication envisages a one-way process in which one party is the sender, encoding and transmitting the message, and another party is the recipient, receiving and decoding the information. It’s a straightforward communication model that’s used across businesses to assist with customer communication driven activities such as marketing, sales and PR.
The channel, sender and receiver play crucial roles in linear communication. The sender puts an idea, thought or feeling into a message and transmits this message via a ‘channel’.
This channel acts as the medium and will change the message into a tangible form, for instance, speech, writing or animation. In its new form, the message is transmitted to the receiver, who then decodes it.
Although straightforward, there are criticisms of the model. The theory assumes communication is a turn-taking process where a person sends and receives at a time. However, other theorists support the notion that communication is actually a more complicated process, where sending and receiving messages take place simultaneously between both parties, especially in instances such as face-to-face interactions.
Two-way communication model
Two-way communication occurs when the is different from one-way communication in that two-way communication occurs when the receiver provides feedback to the sender. communication is when a message flows from sender to receiver only, thus providing no feedback. Some examples of one-way communication are radio or television programs and listening to policy statements from top executives. Two-way communication is especially significant in that it enables feedback to improve a situation.
Two-way communication involves feedback from the receiver to the sender. This allows the sender to know the message was received accurately by the receiver. Communication is also negotiated which means that the sender and receiver listen to each other, the messages then gather information to respond. One person is the sender, which means they send a message to another person via face to face, email, telephone, etc. The other person is the receiver, which means they are the one getting the sender’s message. Once receiving the message, the receiver sends a response back. For example, Person A sends an email to Person B, and Person B responds with their own email back to Person A. The cycle then continues.
THE 7 C'S OF COMMUNICATION
Effective communication is the pathway to build a strong relationship. The senders should apply certain communication principles to make the communication effective. They tie closely with the basic concepts of the communication process and is important for both written and oral communication.
The seven C’s are: clear, correct, complete, concrete, concise, considered and courteous.
1. Clear: The message should be clear and easily understandable to the recipient. The purpose of the communication should be clear to the sender, then only the receiver will be sure About it. The message should emphasize on a single goal at a time and shall not cover several ideas in a single sentence.
Principle of clarity implies that there should be both clarity of thought and clarity of expression. The process of communication begins with the generation of thought in the mind of the communicator.
Then idea or the message should be clearly worded so that it may be interpreted by the receiver as intended by the sender. Hence the idea to be communicated should be very clear in the mind of the sender. If the message is clear, it will evoke an appropriate response from the other party.
Clarity of thought means that the communicator must be fully clear in his mind about what he wants to communicate (message), why he wants to communicate (objective of communication), to whom he wants to communicate (receiver) and how should it be communicated (the appropriate media).Clarity of expression is the expression of the ideas in clear and simple language. It requires proper encoding of the message and choice of appropriate words.
2. Correctness: The message should be correct and the correct language should be used, and the sender must ensure that there are no grammatical and spelling mistakes. The correct messages have a greater impact on the receiver, and at the same time. It’s essential that both the factual information and the use of language and grammar are correct. If the audience spots errors in either, they will be distracted and the credibility of the sender will be greatly reduced. This will reduce the effectiveness of the communication. The term correctness means the accuracy of facts, Figures and Words.
3. Concreteness: The communication should be concrete, which means the message should be clear and particularly such that no room for misinterpretation is left. Chose precise words to convey the correct message and support it with relevant facts and figures.
4. Conciseness: The message should be precise and to the point. The sender should avoid lengthy sentences and try to convey the subject matter in the least possible words. The short and brief message is more comprehensive and helps in retaining the receiver’s attention. In business and professional communication, brevity is important. One should avoid being repetitive. A concise message saves time and expense for both sender and receiver. A message Can be made concise by eliminating unnecessary words but not at the cost of clarity and completeness.
5. Completeness: The message should be complete, i.e. ., it must include all the relevant information as required by the intended audience. The complete information gives answers to all the questions of the receivers and helps in better decision-making by the recipient. A message is complete when it contains all facts the receiver needs for the desire reaction. Incomplete messages create misunderstanding. Every person should therefore be provided with all the facts and figures.
6. Courteous: It implies that the sender must take into consideration both the feelings and viewpoints of the receiver such that the message is positive and focused on the audience. The message should not be biased and must include terms that show respect for the recipient. In conversations, the speaker should maintain proper decorum of speaking. One should say things assertively but without being rude. Courtesy demands not using words that are insulting or hurtful to the recipients. Courteous messages help to strengthen business relations and building goodwill. Usage of golden words like ‘thank you’, ‘sorry’, ‘please’ and ‘welcome’ makes the message courteous and more pleasing.
7. Consideration: The sender must take into consideration the receiver’s opinions, knowledge, mindset, background, etc. in order to have effective communication. The sender should adopt a human approach and understand the emotions and sentiments of the receiver. He should understand and focus on the needs of the receiver. The sender should step into the shoes of the receiver and try to visualize the desires, problems, circumstances, emotions and probable reactions of the receiver. This thoughtful consideration is also called “You Attitude”, empathy, the human touch and understanding human nature.
BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION
An effective and efficient communication system requires managerial proficiency in delivering and receiving messages. A manager must discover various barriers to communication, analyses the reasons for their occurrence and take preventive steps to avoid those barriers. Thus, the primary responsibility of a manager is to develop and maintain an effective communication system In the organization.
• SEMANTIC BARRIERS: It is the study of meaning in language. The words usually have a variety of meanings and the sender and the receiver have to choose one meaning from among many. When two individuals attach different meanings to a word, a breakdown in communication can occur. This denotes barriers of language and symbols and their interpretation. Every language consists of symbols used to transmit meaning from one person to another. These barriers arise due to the linguistic incapability of the individual involved in the communication. Language is needed for any kind of communication. And communication becomes tough if people don’t understand each other’s language. This is known as a language barrier to communication.
• PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS: In interpersonal communication, the psychological state of mind of the sender, as well as that of the receiver makes lot of difference. When an individual is under emotion, creates an obstacle in communication and leading to emotional barriers. Psychological barriers such as anger, fear, jealousy, insecurity, shyness, and close- mindedness can always damage communication, and in turn, relationships.
Inadequate Attention means, Non-listening of message due to pre-occupied mind of the receiver acts as a major psychological barrier. Normally, in a communication this happens at the receiver’s end due to carelessness and not listening properly what the person at the other end is telling. This takes place in fact to face communication or in attending telephones.
• CULTURAL BARRIERS : Each culture holds its own values, meaning and norms different from another. This difference is caused because of truth, belief and judgment through which they acquired knowledge about society and culture. For example, in eastern countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka the meaning of physical proximity is different from that in western countries. In western culture, people share physical proximity or closeness only with the persons whom they know. This is the reason we can find a calm and quiet environment in public transportation in western countries.
Body language and gestures are other elements of the cultural barrier. It is impossible to communicate without body language and gestures. It provides meaning and justification for communication. In conservative societies like Arab and African countries, greeting opposite gender by shaking hands or hugging is considered as ill- manner or even moral crime. But in the western world it is common practice to shake hands while we meet people.
• PHYSICAL BARRIERS
1. Distance: When two persons are at a distance apart, one cannot hear other’s voice clearly. The poor person in Chennai and poor person in New-York will not contact each other through telephone with the fear of telephone bill.
2. Lack of time: If the superior is very much busy, then he will not have time to meet subordinates due to lack of time.
3. Noise: Too much noise will make men not able to hear the news.
4. External disruptions: High Temperature and high humidity make men uneasy and so they may not be in a good mood to get information.
STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Effective communication is a very essential thing for the success of an organization. Communication takes a place when one person transfers information and Understanding to another person. An effective communication is one which is followed by the receiver of the message and his reaction or response is known to the sender. It is a two-way process.
The following steps may be taken to minimize barriers to communication and making it more effective:
• Clarity of Information: Commenting on the ‘communication realism’ Terry says that first essential of effective communication is to ‘inform yourself fully’. It implies that first of all the communicator must be clear in his mind with the information he wants to communicate. Communication should always be in common and easily understandable language so that it may not be misunderstood by the persons receiving it.
• Feedback: Feedback is an important method of ensuring effective communication. It refers to the confirmation of the idea communicated whether the message has been understood by the receiver in the same sense in which the sender makes or whether the recipient is agreed or disagreed to the proposal of the communicator, makes it essential on the part of the sender to confirm it from the receiver.
• Understanding the Receiver: Understanding is the main aim of communication. The communication must create proper understanding in the mind of the receiver. Killian advised, “communicate with an awareness of the total physical and human setting in which the information will be received.
• Tone and Content: The communicator must be careful about the language he uses while speaking or writing. His tone, expression and emotion will have a definite impact on the effectiveness or otherwise of what he is trying to communicate.
• Listening: A very important aspect of effective communication is that executives and Supervisors should be good listeners.
Important questions :
1. Explain the role of communication in the modern day corporate world.
2. Explain the process of communication along with the diagram.
3. What the principles to be kept in mind while communicating?
4. Explain various barriers for communication.
5. What are the various strategies to communicate effectively?
Presentation Skill
INTRODUCTION:
Presentation may be defined as a technique of formal communication that involves speaking in front of a group of people or presenting a topic in public.
To be effective, step-by-step preparation and the method and means of presenting the information should be carefully considered.
Presentations are one of the most visible forms of professional or technical communication you will have to do in your career. Presentations are often high-pressure situations that make many people anxious.
When we think of presentations, we typically imagine standing in front of a room (or auditorium) full of people, delivering information verbally with slides projected on a screen.
Delivering an impact presentation is a competency that managers are required to have in an organization. Effective presentation skills are about the presenter’s confidence, logical thinking, level of knowledge, ability to get ideas across to the audience and most important his ability to connect with the audience. Good presentation should ideally follow the KISS formula, that is KEEP IT SHORT AND SIMPLE. Participants need to concentrate more on their delivery in terms of verbal and non-verbal aspects.
Presentation is a structured communication based on the actual audience’s needs in order to achieve a certain purpose within a given timeframe, where the overall goals are providing information and promoting ideas. Presentations are a form of communication, and if we can communicate effectively presentations cease to be difficult. But they are far from being simple communication, and they frequently require additional skills of persuasion and influence.
The key elements of a successful presentation are:
Subject
Time
Purpose
Audience.
• Subject: A presentation can focus on a number of subjects, issues and topics. The presenter and the audience have different relationships with the subject for a number of reasons. There are three situations related to the presenter’s and the audience’s level of knowledge regarding the topic: The presenter is familiar, but the audience is less informed. The audience is familiar, but the presenter is less informed. The audience and the presenter are equally informed.
• Time: The time frame of the presentation is often determined by the audience or an outsider (e.g. management or the organiser of the conference). The structure of the presentation should be developed in a way that the key messages of the presentation can be delivered in varying lengths of time.
• Purpose: A presentation has two different purposes: manifested and hidden. A manifest purpose is clearly expressed: what we want to achieve by providing the presentation (e.g. an oral report to the management about the performance of the team we manage). But the presentation has another purpose which is not directly expressed, and this is the hidden purpose (e.g. we would like to get more financial resources for our team).
• Audience: The audience is the key element of a successful presentation. Knowing who they are, what hey would like to get out of the presentation, what their interests are, how familiar they are with the subject, and what their manifested and hidden purposes are, are essential questions to answer before a presentation is prepared.
Rules with regard to the target audience:
• Use appropriate channels and media depending on the size of the particular audience.
• The presentation should appeal to the audience’s interests.
• The knowledge of the topic and learning potential of the audience should be anticipated.
• The vocabulary should be adjusted to the audience so there are no unfamiliar terms or unexplained acronyms.
• The venue and equipment should be adequate and appropriate.
If even one of these rules is broken, the learning process can be severely hindered. Even an excellent presenter/ facilitator/ trainer who is an expert on the topic should avoid coming to a presentation unprepared and intending to improvise. A detailed plan of the presentation, appropriate materials and visual aids are essential.
ELEMENTS OF A PRESENTATION
In an oral presentation, the audience sees the speaker and listens to him. Hence the standing
The essential elements of a presentation are:
• Confidence
• Sincerity
• Mastery of the subject
• A friendly feeling for the audience
1. Confidence: In a way, standing before a group of people to speak for a length of time, and speaking with force and conviction, is a difficult undertaking. You need to prepare yourself psychologically for the occasion and be ready to stand your ground. If you are sure of yourself and sure about your message, you find it easier to carry your audience with you.
2. Sincerity: When does a preacher succeed in preaching? When he means what he says and has the interests of the listeners in his heart. A good presentation begins in the heart and reaches the listeners’ hearts. Your inner state, your attitude needs to be translated into the delivery. The ability to convey your sincerity is the ability of an actor.
3. Mastery of the subject: Every effective speaker proves this, that he went deep and wide into his subject. A good speaker gathers more information than may be required for the speech. That is how he has a back-up, a reservoir of facts and opinions on which his speech stands. Mastery of the subject requires that you see the subject from many points of view including that of your opponents. Then you can be effective.
4. A friendly feeling for the audience: When you stand before a group of people, many of whom are strangers to you and with their own opinions, you can be effective by radiating a friendly feeling.
Motivation speaker started speech before a large crowd of restless youths with the resounding words, “I love this audience.” This was said in a radiant tone and eye-to-eye contact with the listeners. Instantly, a friendly bond was established.
VERBAL COMMUNICATION IN PRESENTATION
• Volume: Project your voice appropriately for the room. Make sure everyone can hear easily, but avoid yelling or shouting your voice. If using a microphone, test it (if possible), check in with your audience, and be willing to adjust.
• Pace: Don’t rush! Many people speak too quickly when they are nervous. Remind yourself to speak clearly and deliberately, with reasonable pauses between phrases and ideas, and enunciate carefully (especially words or concepts that are new to your audience).
• Dynamics & tone: Speak with a natural rise and fall in your voice. Monotone speaking is difficult to listen to, but it is easy to do if you’re nervous or reading from a script that you are speaking to your audience, not at them, and try to use a conversational tone of voice.
• Filler words: Limit the number of “filler” words in your speech-“ uh, “ “um,” “like,” ‘You know,” “so,” etc. These are words that creep in and take up space. You might not be able to eliminate them completely, but with awareness, preparation, and practice, you can keep them from being excessively distracting.
IMPROVING YOUR NON- VERBAL COMMUNICATION IN PRESENTATION
• Location: Position yourself where your audience can see you, but do not block their view of the visuals.
• Eye contact: Look at your audience. You should have practiced the presentation enough that you can look up from your notes and make them feel as though you’re talking to them.
• Posture: Stand comfortably (do not lean on the wall or podium). Depending on the setting, you might move around during the presentation, but avoid too much rocking back and forth while standing-stay grounded.
• Gestures: Use natural, conversational gestures; avoid nervous fidgeting (e.g., pulling at clothing, touching face or hair).
EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF PRESENTATION
When delivering your presentation, keep in mind the following points to help you remain focused and ensure that everything goes as planned.
• Pay attention to your first words: Your introduction should begin with something that grabs the attention of your audience, such as, an interesting statistic, a brief narrative or story, or a bold assertion, and then clearly tell the audience in a well-crafted sentence what you plan to accomplish in your presentation. Your introductory statement should be constructed so as to invite the audience to pay close attention to your message and to give the audience a clear sense of the direction in which you are about to take them.
• Time limits: As you plan and practice a presentation, be aware of time constraints. If you are given a time limit (say, 15 minutes to deliver a presentation in class or 30 minutes for a conference presentation), respect that time limit and plan the right amount of content.
• Talk to your audience, don’t read to them: A presentation is not the same as an essay. If you read your presentation as if it were an essay, your audience will probably understand very little about what you say and will lose concentration quickly. And maintaining regular eye-contact [but don’t stare or glare at people]. Limit reading text to quotes or to specific points you want to emphasize.
• Pay attention to language: Keep it simple. The aim is to communicate, not to show off your vocabulary. Using complex words or phrases increases the chance of stumbling over a word and losing your train of thought.
• Emphasize the key points: Make sure people realize which are the key points of your study. Repeat them using different phrasing to help the audience remember them.
• Check the pronunciation of difficult, unusual, or foreign words beforehand: Keep it simple, but if you have to use unfamiliar words, write them out phonetically in your notes and practice saying them. This is particularly important when pronouncing proper names. Give the definition of words that are unusual or are being used in a particular context.
• Clarity in voice : Speak loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear you. Projecting your voice may feel uncomfortably loud at first, but if people can’t hear you, they won’t try to listen. However, moderate your voice if you are talking in front of a microphone. Speak slowly and clearly. Don’t rush! Speaking fast makes it harder for people to understand you and signals being nervous. Avoid the use of “fillers.” Linguists refer to utterances such as um, ah, you know, and like as fillers. They occur most often during transitions from one idea to another and, if expressed too much, are distracting to an audience.Vary your voice quality. If you always use the same volume and pitch [for example, all loud, or all soft, or in a monotone] during your presentation, your audience will stop listening. Use a higher pitch and volume in your voice when you begin a new point or when emphasizing the transition to a new point. Speakers with accents need to slow down [so do most others]. Use pauses. Don’t be afraid of short periods of silence. They give you a chance to gather your thoughts, and your audience an opportunity to think about what you’ve just said.
• Use body language to communicate: Stand straight and comfortably. Do not slouch or shuffle about. If you appear bored or uninterested in what you are talking about, the audience will emulate this as well. Wear something comfortable. Hold your head up. Look around and make eye contact with people in the audience [or at least pretend to]. Do not just look at your professor or your notes the whole time! Looking up at you’re your audience brings them into the conversation. If you don’t include the audience, they won’t listen to you. When you are talking to your friends, you naturally use your hands, your facial expression, and your body to add to your communication. Do it in your presentation as well. It will make things far more interesting for the audience. Don’t turn your back on the audience and don’t fidget! Neither moving around nor standing still is wrong. Practice either to make yourself comfortable. Even when pointing to a slide, don’t turn your back; stand at the side and turn your head towards the audience as you speak. Keep your hands out of your pocket. This is a natural habit when speaking. One hand in your pocket gives the impression of being relaxed, but both hands in pockets looks too casual and should be avoided.
• Interact with audience: Be aware of how your audience is reacting to your presentation. Check after highlighting key points to ask if the audience is still with you. “Does that make sense?”; “Is that clear?” Don’t do this often during the presentation but, if the audience looks disengaged, interrupting your talk to ask a quick question can re-focus their attention even if no one answers.
• Be open to questions: If someone asks a question in the middle of your talk, answer it. If it disrupts your train of thought momentarily, that’s ok because your audience will understand. Questions show that the audience is listening with interest and, therefore, should not be regarded as an attack on you, but as a collaborative search for deeper understanding.
STRUCTURE OF PRESENTATIONS
What Is A Structure?
Structure is arranging your presentation or matter in such a manner that it is well understood. Structure is vital as; a the result of a well-organized presentation creates an effect that you simply know what you’re talking about-you can gain the audience’s trust and that they are a lot of likely to pay attention to you. A structure offers a logical flow so that your audience can easily follow your presentation. There’s a natural structure to presenting which is as follows:
• Purpose: To determine your purpose ask yourself “What are the main points I want my audience to take away from my presentation”? This provides a focus for you to create your presentation and the audience is clear on what they will gain listening to your presentation.
• Audience pre-assessment: It is important to identify and analyses your audience so that you are delivering the ‘right’ presentation to the ‘right’ audience. If you ‘know’ your audience it is easier to use the right structure so as to impress and convince them.
• Presentation structure: Presentations need to be very straightforward and logical. It is important that you avoid complex structures and focus on the need to explain and discuss your work clearly. An ideal structure for a presentation includes: a welcoming and informative introduction; a logical series of main points presented in the right sequence; a clear and purposeful conclusion.
These elements are discussed below.
1. The introduction: The introduction is the purpose at for which the presenter explains the content and purpose of the presentation. This is often a vitally vital a part of your talk as you’ll have to gain the audience’s interest and confidence. Key components of a good introduction include:
• a positive start: “Good afternoon, my name is Anila and … “;
• A statement of visiting what’s going to} be discussed: “I am going to explore … “;
• A statement of the treatment to be applied to the subject (e.g. to compare, contrast, evaluate, describe): “I will be examining the four main principles of … “; a statement of the outcomes of the presentation: “I hope this may offer US with … “;
• a statement of what the audience can must do (e.g. after they will raise queries or whether or not or not must take notes): “I will pass typed a handout that summarizes my presentation before taking queries at the end.” You should aim to deliver your introduction with confidence (wait till the audience is quiet before you begin speaking) and communicate energy and enthusiasm for your topic.
2. Transitions / Body: Transitions are the signposts that help the audience navigate their way through your presentation. They can help divide information up into sub-sections, link different aspects of your talk and show progression through your topic. Importantly,transitions draw the audience’s attention to the process of the presentation as well as its al lts content.
3. The Conclusion: The conclusion is an essential though frequently underdeveloped section of a presentation. This is the stage at which you can summarize the content and purpose of your talk, offer an overview of what has been achieved and make a lasting impact. Remember that the audience leaves with the message in your conclusion slide. So it should be used to reinforce the important points of the presentation. Important elements of a conclusion are:
• a review of the topic and purpose of your presentation: "In this presentation I wanted to explore ... "; a statement of the conclusions or recommendations to be drawn from your work:
• A thank you to the audience for their attention and participation: "That's all I have time for. Thank you very much for listening."
• As with your introduction, you should try to address the audience directly during your conclusion, consolidating the impression of a confident and useful presentation.
TIPS FOR AN EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION
From the moment a presentation is proposed, these are the steps to make it effective
1. Know your audience and the place and occasion of your talk.
2. Get ready your text and visual aids, models etc.
3. Keep your dress and appearance appropriate.
4. Practice your talk. We now discuss these tips at length.
1. Knowing the audience and the occasion.: A good speaker’s first question after being asked to speak on a topic is who I am going to talk to. And what is the occasion? The speaker finds out about the Organisation which is organizing the talk and the background of the audience. This decides the tone and register (level of language) to be used. The speaker should know the occasion and the background of the organization – what happenings have taken place lately, and what is the organization’s motto. He should check out the time allotted to him and plans his message for the given number of minutes. Overshooting the time limit is in bad taste and he loses the audience support.
2. Getting ready the text and the visual aids, models etc.: While organizing the material for his presentation, the speaker should make his notes, arrange them and if possible write out the entire talk. Writing out the speech is advisable for beginners and when the occasion is so important that every word counts. The style of a presentation should be formal, with occasional use of short forms like couldn’t, isn’t etc. But usages like for free, guy, fellow, etc. are inopportune. The speech should sound easy on the ears – you need to avoid tongue-twisters. A speech can be spiced up with humour. As for addressing the dignitaries and the audience, one may simply address the chairperson (or the host if one is oneself the chairperson), the audience and begin. Or one may take the care to address all the dignitaries on the dais.
• Mr. Chairman Sir, ladies and gentlemen,
• Honourable Principal, members of the teaching staff, and my dear student friends,
• Chairman of today’s function Mr. Ramesh Gandhi, guests of honour Mr. Khanna and Mr. Pardesi, representative of the sponsors Mr. Deole, ladies and gentlemen,
• The text of your speech, as discussed before, has to have three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion.
• The speaker gains audience support by saying how happy or privileged he feels to be there. He may express his gratitude or react to the introduction given to him. This ought to sound straight from the heart.
• Devices like visuals; cinema clips etc. give relief to the speaker and whet the curiosity of the audience. Moreover, the variation in the mode of presentation makes it interesting. Besides, the visuals leave a deeper impress on the viewer’s mind.
• There has to be, though, a judicious mix of script and visuals. One good picture is worth a thousand words.
Suit your dress and appearance to the occasion
• Once during a famous speaker’s talk, video filming was going on, and close-ups of his face were shown on screens in different parts of the hall. And people remarked that some parts of – the speaker’s chin were not properly shaved.
• A formal speech is an occasion for looking smart and well-tailored. Sometimes there is no speaker’s desk or table where half of the speaker’s body may be hidden. Hence the speaker needs to take care of himself from top to toes.
• Moreover, the body language is read by the spectators even before the speaker begins his talk. So your way of getting up from the chair, making your way to the speaker’s post, and the way you carry your hands about your body, etc. need to be rehearsed and managed.
Impressive body language requires
(i) A comfortable posture: You should stand at ease, your weight equally balanced on your feet. You should not tie your hands behind your body but rather keep them by the side or at the belt level
(ii) Eye contact: You should look the audience in the eye. You should try to locate a friendly face and use it to your advantage. You should run your eyes over all sections of the audience.
(iii) Graceful movements: If you walk about during the course of your talk, you should do so as unnoticeably as possible. You may have to move to get close to a chart and then come back to the front part of the stage. Do this smartly.
(iv) A pleasant expression: You need to smile, and even if you do not, the effect should be pleasant and cheerful. Serious news can be delivered with a sober, calm expression.
(v) Mastery over the voice: A good voice for presentations is cultivated like a singing voice. Indeed, the two have much in common: increased breathing capacity, breath control, cheerful overtones, clear pronunciation, absence of harshness, and variation of the pace of delivery.
(vi) Pauses also speak: From time to time, the speaker has to pause even while keeping control over the audience’s attention. How much to pause and when, is an art. But even seasoned speakers are found to overdo it, which only shows how much care one needs to exercise here.
(vii) React to the audience mood: The audience may get dull or highly responsive during the speaker’s talk. If it gets dull, the voice has to become vigorous or a joke or story has to be used. If the audience gets very responsive, a remark may be added about its enthusiasm.
Practicing your talk
There may be four stages in practicing a presentation:
• Reading your text either word for word or from the points written down. This is in the mind.
• Talking to a wall, a mirror or alone in your room in a slightly audible voice
• Rehearsing your speech before a trial audience, friends or relatives
• Practice makes one perfect. Indeed, practice also enables you to adjust the length of your talk and find out if any tongue-twisters have crept into your speech. Preparation and practice are the all- important tools for generating confidence, which is the foundation of a presentation.
ANALYZING AUDIENCE AND MANAGING QUESTIONS
• The first commandment in any business is to “Know thy audience.” Any act of communication success depends entirely on how well the sender tailors the message to meet the needs and expectations of the audience. A writer should always adjust the message, content and style to what is known or can guessed about the audience. A writer should communicate to a customer differently than to a co-worker, and different again when communicating to a manager or to the CEO. In each case, the content, tone, word choices (diction), grammar, and overall style (formal or informal) will change according to the audience.
• To understand how to compose the most appropriate message for an audience takes skill and consideration. However, audience profile allows for effective business messages that achieve their communication goals. When profiling an audience, ask the following questions:
• How big is the main audience? Is it one or two people, a small group, or the general public?
1. Who is the primary or secondary audience?
2. What is the professional or personal relationship to the organization?
3. How much do they already know about the topic or message?
4. What is the audience demographic-i.e ., their age, gender, cultural background, educational level, and beliefs?
Audience Profile
Who is your primary audience?
How big is your audience?
What is the audience demographic?
How much do they know?
How will audience react?
Plan Sheet
Purpose Statement
(I want my audience to …. )
Main Message (Summarize the
In one sentence)
Audience Questions (my audience want to know … )
Audience Reaction (how will my audience react?)
Channel selection (what is the to communicate with my audience)
Profiling the audience
Writing for audience of various sizes
Writing to one person, a group of people or the general public requires an different writing styles. Your writing style to accommodate a larger audience. When emailing one person, for instance, you can address them by name in the opening salutation and continue to use the second person singular you throughout. However, when writing for a larger group, a more general and accessible language is required.
Using Simple and Familiar Language: To effectively communicate with your audience, use plain language and familiar words. By using everyday familiar words, the audience will understand the message easily and quickly. Use jargon only when the audience will understand these specialized terms. When, complex words and difficult concepts must be included, illustrate them with examples and provide a glossary when it is necessary to use several such words/concepts. Use concrete rather than abstract words and give explicit information (e.g. ., ?car crash” rather than “unfortunate accident”). Finally, choose one term to describe something important and stick to it; using various terms to describe the same thing can confuse the reader.
Bias Language: When writing to large audiences, language must be unbiased in terms of gender, ethnicity, age, ability, or orientation. Communicators want to be inclusive to members of all groups. When communicating to or about a large group of people, using singular pronouns like he, his, or she and her would exclude half of the audience. Thus, using gender-neutral plural pronouns such as they, their, and them is preferable. In addition, when identifying people by their role, use non-gender-exclusive equivalents.
Informal Language
The lowest level of formality occurs inside a company when communicating across (between co-workers) or downward (to rank-and-file employees). Here, informal communication can be used in memos, emails, and text messages. When we put pen to paper, informal communication means, use of first person pronouns, contractions, active language, and conversational language are accepted.
Semi-Formal Language: The next level of formality is used when communicating externally or when communicating internally upwards (to manager and other executives). Letters, proposals and reports are some documents that required semi-formal language. Semi-formal language involves reducing the use of first person pronouns, contractions, and conversational language.
Formal Language
The highest level of formality is used when communicating to national or international audiences. A high level of formality means eliminating first person pronouns, contractions, and idioms. Formal language also involves using third person pronouns and more passive than active writing.
Audience Knowledge
Understanding how much information the audience knows is important so that the correct amount of information is provided: not too much and not too little. A safe assumption about a professional audience is that they are busy and do not have time to read unnecessary information. Too much information wastes the reader’s time, insults their knowledge, and wastes the writer’s time. On the other end of that spectrum, writing too little assumes the audience knows more than they do. A lack of necessary information in a message can lead to errors due to confusion, a waste of time as readers request clarification, or misunderstanding based on lack of information. Remember, the goal of communication is for the receiver to understand information as intended by the sender. Understanding how much information the receiver requires will help achieve this goal.
HANDLING QUESTIONS AND QUERIES AFTER PRESENTATION
The questions at the end of a presentation can be terrifying for many speakers as they can’t be controlled and are hard to prepare for. However, questions form an important part of the presentation for the whole audience as they allow for clarification and consolidation of learning.
The presenter can enhance the usefulness of the question and answer session by treating it as a formal part of the presentation that requires as much careful planning and control as the delivery of the core material.
Identify possible questions and scope in your preparation
The background work that you undertook whilst planning your presentation is the key to handling questions effectively and understanding what type of audience you’ll be faced with. If you have defined a focus for your presentation and have explored this thoroughly in your research and planning, you are more likely to be able to confidently respond to questions.
When planning your presentation, you will need to prepare prompts for questions that are open and straightforward, for example saying “That’s the end of my presentation. I’ll be taking Questions for the next 10 minutes”.
Set some rules for asking questions
At the start of your presentation, make it clear when you would prefer to deal with questions – as you go along or at the end of the presentation.
Some speakers prefer questions to be raised as they arise during the presentation. The advantage of this approach is that any misunderstandings can be dealt with immediately. However, there is also a danger that the question will disrupt or distract the speaker, or that questions are raised that would have been covered later in the presentation.
If you leave questions until the end, plan to leave plenty of time for questions so that the audience doesn’t feel rushed.
Framework for responding to questions
Answering questions under pressure can make you say things you shouldn’t have – the nerves can force you to give an inappropriate response. In your panic you might have misinterpreted the question or given away company information that was sensitive. Use the following framework to help you respond effectively to your audience.
Listen to the whole question: You don’t have to answer a question immediately. Pause for a few seconds, actively listen to all parts of the question and think about the best way to answer. Frequently questions can change direction at the last moment, particularly if the questioner is thinking on their feet. This can throw you if you have already started to prepare an answer. Remember that questioners will frequently try to make a point whilst asking their question it’s therefore important to both hear the content of the question and try to decipher the questioner’s intention.
Understand the context: If you are worried that you haven’t understood a question, ask them to clarify what they mean. Check for confirmation by paraphrasing the question back to the questioner – “You want me to list the improvements of X?”
Involve the whole audience: It is important to remember that even though you are taking a question from one member of the audience, you are still responsible for the interest of the other audience members. This is particularly important in large groups as the audience will become bored if the presentation descends into a series of one-to-one discussions.
To involve the rest of the audience, make sure the whole audience has heard and understood the question by repeating it or paraphrasing it to the audience.
Respond concisely: When you reply to a question, direct your answer to both the questioner and other members of the audience. Try to keep your responses as focused as possible, leaving space for other questions. To avoid going into too much detail, check back with the questioner to see if you have answered their query – “Does that answer your question in enough detail?”. Allow follow-up questions via email You can also encourage your audience to ask questions after the event has finished by providing your email address. This shows a high level of respect for your audience and implies that the topic still has much further scope for enquiry.
OPTIONS FOR ANSWERING THE QUESTION
There are five possible choices depending on how well you understand and can answer the question. It’s okay to say that you don’t know the answer to something. This can add to your credibility instead of trying to waffle through an answer you don’t really know.
Answer: If you have a good answer for the question from the audience, go ahead and answer it in a short and clear message.
Reflect: Ask a question back the audience member, such as “Can you clarify what you mean by that”. You can also attack the question if it is not related to the issue, factually inaccurate, personal or based on false assumptions. Be careful with this method. Go new
Deflect: Ask the question back to the audience or pass it to another panel member if possible. If suitable, another technique is to imply the question has been asked already, with you stating you don’t want to cover old ground.
Defer: Tell the audience member you will talk to them after the event. This gives you more time to think of a good answer and there is less pressure to give a perfect answer. Or mention that that point is coming up in a slide.
Scope: This involves answering the question but changing the subject. You can also give a partial answer or give a negative answer, saying that something else will happen instead.
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
1. Explain what the elements to be considered while presenting.
2. What are the various types of presentations?
3. What are the various factors to be considered while preparing slides for presentation?
4. Explain the role of verbal and non-verbal communication in presentation.
5. How to analyze the audience and prepare to face them while presenting to them.
6. Explain the elements to kept in mind while handling questions.
INTERVIEWS AND GROUP DISCUSSIONS
INTRODUCTION
Interview refers to an exchange of ideas among a group of two or more than two people, where the interviewers ask the questions to interviewees in order to extract the requisite data from them. The process of interview consists of acquiring information by putting forward various verbal stimuli and getting the responses in verbal forms. The interview can be carried-out through various methods, as per the conveniences.
Interview is a very significant method for collecting the data. It can be a collaborative and organised communication between the researcher and the respondent, which is usually done to acquire information related to a particular field of study. Not only the oral communication, but also the body language of the respondent, his facial expressions, gestures, pauses, and the settings play a crucial role in the interview method. The basic requirement for taking the interview is either face to-face contact or the telephonic contact with the respondents. The basic skill of interviewer in conducting an interview is also very important. The interview is generally carried-cut with the help of a structured interview schedule or even through an unstructured manual.
Interview is the widely used (election method. It is a face-to-face interaction between interviewee and interviewer. If handled carefully, it can be a powerful technique in having accurate information of the interviewee otherwise unavailable. At the same time, if the interview is not handled carefully, it can be a source of bias, restricting or distorting the flow of communication.
The candidate becomes aware of essential facts about the job and the organization-providing him an opportunity to decide whether to join or not. The process of interview cultivates goodwill towards the concern irrespective of the fact whether the candidate makes it to the last stage of selection or not. The interviewer may follow structure pattern similar to the application form.
The basic purpose of the interview is to identify behaviour patterns of the interviewee or candidate. Occurrence and reactions to situations that are repeated in the applicant’s experience suggest characteristics reaction pattern. Interview enables the interviewer to judge certain qualities like manners, appearance, ability to speak, grasp of things etc. ., of the candidate. Thus, interview can be defined as an attempt to secure maximum amount of information from the candidate concerning his/her suitability for the job under consideration.
It tries to achieve an accurate appraisal of the applicant in terms of his/her educational Qualification, training, family background, previous work experience and judge the applicant’s certain qualities like manners, appearance, conversational ability, meet other people pleasantly, etc.
OBJECTIVES OF INTERVIEW
Some of the objectives of interview are discussed as follows:
Judgement of Applicant: Interview gives an opportunity to the interviewer to know about the applicant. The information gathered from application- blank and tests is verified by talking to the candidate. It provides a chance to know whether the information (about previous experience and training, etc.) supplied by the candidate is justified by him or not. The appearance, ability to communicate, attitude, nature, etc. of the applicant are also judged at the time of interview.
Give Information to The Applicant: Interview is undertaken not only to know about the applicant but also to use it as an opportunity to give him information about the company and the job. Applicant is given full information about the nature of job, hours of work, medical facilities, and opportunities for advancement, employee benefits and services, etc. Thus, the applicant can make a decision of joining or not joining the new job.
Promote Goodwill: An interview also gives an opportunity to create and enhance goodwill of the company. The interviewee should be treated with curtsy. If not selected, then reasons for the same are explained offering constructive suggestions.
CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERVIEWS
Following are the features/characteristics of interviews.
Requires Appropriate Introduction: Since the interviewer and interviewee are not familiar with each other, it becomes essential for the interviewer to give his suitable introduction.
Includes Transitory Experience: The participants establish a momentary relationship with each other. It starts and ends at particular points. The interview renders a transitory experience for them.
Objective-Oriented: Interview cannot be said as a simple, informal exchange of ideas, rather it is an interaction carried-out with particular objective, i.e. to acquire the data related to a particular field of study.
Verbal Communication: In the method of interview, questions are asked verbally in order to draw verbal responses.
Applicable In Group: Though usually the interview is carried-out between two people, but it is not mandatory. There is a possibility to carry interviews with a group of people like family members, a class of students or a cluster of customers, as per the requirement of research objective.
Process of Interaction: The process of interaction between the interviewer and interviewee is highly dependent on the perception about each other. The response of an interviewee is affected by the looks, conduct, body language, voice modulation of the interviewer, and how powerfully he perceives the question along with his own individual desires.
Involves Concurrent Recording: The interviewer has to record the information provided by the interviewee. Along with this. Arises the need to check that the recording of information does not hamper the flow of discussion.
Needs Flexibility: Interview is a flexible psychological process unlike the standardized chemical processes. This implies that the interviewer has to be careful while applying the rigid standardized tests, since in interview, he has to handle human beings having changing drives and different insights. The degree of success of an interview mainly relies on the perception and proficiency of the interviewer in handling the changing socio-psychological conditions.
TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
Various types of interviews are as follows:
• Personal Interviews: In most of the cases, information is acquired through personal interview. In the process of interviewing, the interviewer needs to put up pre-planned questions and has to record the responses obtained. The major benefit of benefit of this type of interview is That persons generally reply when the questions are asked face-to face. Moreover, the interviewer has the ability down particular reactions and remove any sort confusion shortcoming of regarding the questions.
Lastly, faulty results might emerge from faults in recording the answers. The acquired responses can be influenced by the gesture, facial expressions, and speech of the researcher. An example of personal interview is the one, taken in case of recruiting of hiring personnel in various companies. Personal interviews belong to a particular individual, which may be a set of straight forward questions of unrelated questions and avoiding the main questions that are put up to respondents which are meant to make them divulge the sufficient Information which they are consciously or unconsciously not able to provide and make a guess work by drawing the inferences to know the reality.
Types of Personal Interviews
The types of personal interviews are described below:
1. Structured and Direct Interviews: Generally, direct interviews are arrangement of set of questions related to a subject with probable correct answers mentioned against each question and respondents have to identify the correct answers. The questions are related to a particular subject and reply given by the respondents indicates their depth of knowledge.
2. Unstructured and Direct Interviews: The structured interview gives limited knowledge about the respondents because the interview is restricted to a set of questions. Sometimes it is desirable to know reasons behind certain happenings. The respondents are given a topic and full freedom to express themselves on the topic. In this way a free flow starts from the respondents and interviewers receive a wider spectrum of feedback to arrive at a conclusion.
3. Structured and Indirect Interviews: This type of interviews avoids any type of inclination or prejudices between interviewers and respondents. This makes it superior to structured direct interviews. The respondents are asked unrelated question other than the main question and inferences are drawn from their question It is a well-known fact that memory, replies. It is a perception and knowledge of respondents very much depend upon their pattern of thinking. This makes the respondents not to respond to direct questions. In such cases other option left is to dig through unrelated questions and make a conclusion. In such cases the interviewer has to be an expert on human behavior to make a correct guess work.
4. Unstructured and Indirect Interview: The unstructured and indirect interviews are best established procedure for giving a forecast based on present trends. The respondents have freedom to interpret a situation in their own way. There are different types of procedures which are adopted for making an estimate of situation. The most Common methods used are to write the word that comes to mind after seeing a photograph, incomplete sentences are given for completion or shown a set of pictures and asked to narrate a story.
• Telephone Interview: Telephonic Survey Interviewing techniques are applied for limited information. These are commonly used in lieu of Personal Interviews due to the involvement of less time and more economic. However, it cannot be compared with Personal Interviews due to limitations over adoption of differential functions. During telephonic conversation it is not possible to go into very much in details to find the depth of knowledge instead it is more suitable to know about the instant reactions over an event or Programme on radio or television, Moreover, unstructured question may not be replied by the respondents over telephone. These are very good for taking an opinion poll of public. Instead of personal contact in Personal Interviews, the interviewers and respondents discuss through telephone and interviewer has freedom to put up subsequent questions to know more details. It is a systematic way of collecting public opinion using set of questions on a topic. The opinion may be sought from general public or person of repute. The telephonic interview data is preferred over others due to maximum response and quality of data. There are certain constraints with this system of interview due to the non-availability of telephone numbers to many subscribers, many do not like disturbance of their home privacy and lengthy interviews are not liked by people.
• Mail Interview: The construction of questionnaire plays a main role in mail interview due to physical absence of the major role interviewer for putting-up the questions and recording the responses. It is almost impossible to carry out mail interview in case of unstructured study. In this regard, personal interviews and telephonic interviews offer more flexibility as pausing any time or modifying the directions is interviewer’s dispose, while in at case of mail interview, the interviewer completely loses control after dispatching the questionnaire. A covering letter is sent along with the questionnaire, guiding the respondents regarding filling the questionnaire followed by mailing it back to the investigator. This type of interview offers more flexibility as respondents are free to fill it as per their comfort and free time, and then mail it back to the researcher. The structuring, pre-testing and compiling of questionnaire of such interviews has to be done with more care as compared to that of the personal interviews.
• Panel Interview: In Panel Interview system the company in need of man power hires a company for selection of candidates. The details of expertise, qualifications and experience are handed over to hiring company. The hiring company hires a group of experts derived from different fields like technical, humanities and representative from the company needing man power. The hiring company makes screening of applicants and gives its recommendations on selection. Panel Interviews are now very common in top companies as well as public sector undertakings. The selection panel consists of experts or heads of corporate offices. It is found to be most easy and efficient way of selection. The same panel takes interview with similar topics at regular interval of time for a considerable period and this ensures the quality of selected candidates. The information data is received through a panel which remains unchanged for a certain period which ensures reliability of trends and changes given by it
BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER AN INTERVIEW
How to Prepare for an Interview
There’s no doubt that interviews can be stressful. But the more time you spend preparing for an interview, the more confident you’ll feel. That confidence will be noted, favorably, by your interviewer.
Follow these five steps to set yourself up for success.
Research the Organization: If you have an interview with a new organization, start by finding out more about it. Spend time browsing the organization’s website (the “About” section is a good place to start) and reach out to anyone in your network that may have a personal connection, or who can offer useful information or advice about it.
This will help you to plan answers that align with the organization’s goals and values. By mentioning key facts during the interview, you’ll show that you’re organized, diligent and serious about the job.
It’s also a good idea to research your interviewer as an individual. Visit their LinkedIn profile to discover their professional interests and career history. If possible, you can also make discreet inquiries within your wider professional network. This will help you to anticipate their questions, and to build rapport with them on the day.
Prepare and Practice Your Answers: You’ll likely be under pressure in the interview, so prepreparing some answers for the most common – and most difficult – questions will ensure that you don’t forget something important. This will also save you from having to think them up on the spot!
Thoroughly reread the job advert, or the job description, as the interview will likely be structured around it. Consider how your experience matches the job requirements, and try to come up with examples.
Calm Your Nerves: A few nerves can sharpen your mind and push you to perform at your best. However, many people struggle with anxiety before an interview. And, if you don’t take steps to control it, that anxiety could hamper your performance.
There are many techniques that you can use to reduce stress, quiet your mind, and restore feelings of calm and control.
Polish Your Image: You need to show up to your interview looking professional. In general, this means dressing “one level up” from what regular employees at the company tend to wear.
If you don’t know what the normal level is, try to look for images of the office online. If that doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to ask! The organization will likely be happy that you take these things seriously.
Lay out your outfit the night before. Make sure that your clothes are clean and pressed, and that your personal appearance is tidy and professional.
Don’t Forget the Basics: Some of the simplest things are the most important.
With that in mind, make sure that you plan your journey well before the interview – check your route and leave plenty of time to get to your destination.
This may sound obvious, but people regularly miss interviews, or arrive late, due to unexpected hitches on their journey. Leaving it to the last minute can also make you more anxious in an already stressful situation. If it’s practical, consider making a test journey in advance.
Also, if you’re bringing a portfolio to showcase your career highlights, ensure that it’s ready to go the night before. And pack extra copies of your resume – it’s a good idea to reread this, too, so that you’re not caught out by anything in it!
DURING THE INTERVIEW
Make a Good First Impression: Your interview may be your first interaction with the organization or this group of people. So, treat everyone you meet as though they were your interviewer.
For example, imagine that you arrive late to your interview, and you start complaining about the journey to the person who’s sharing the elevator with you. Only when you both get out at the same floor do you realize that they’re the CEO!
Arrive in good time and be courteous, polite and friendly to everyone you meet – making a great first impression will pay off later in the process.
Answer the Right Questions: Although you’ve prepared responses to the questions you think you’ll face, be sure to answer the questions that you are asked.
Listen carefully to what’s being said, and don’t be afraid to ask for clarification if necessary. It’s better to have the question repeated than to “wing it” because you haven’t understood what you’ve been asked.
Even if you get the precise question you’d anticipated, resist the urge to repeat your practice answer word for word. Instead, act as though you’re hearing it for the first time.
Ask Questions: Think of your interview as a conversation, not an interrogation. Yes, the interviewer will be asking you lots of questions, but it’s important that you ask questions, too – and that you listen carefully to their answers.
This will enable you to make an informed decision about whether the organization or role is a good fit for you.
Here are some questions to consider :
What is the biggest challenge in this role?
Who will be my boss, or who will I be reporting to? What are they like? What are their expectations?
Who previously held this role? Why did they leave?
What does this company value the most?
Get Your Tone Right: An interview is usually a fairly formal situation and the language you use should reflect that. You can still be yourself, but make a particular effort to speak clearly, to use the appropriate terminology, and to avoid slang (and certainly bad language). Aim to match your tone to that of the interviewer. Keep “reading the room” during the interview, to make sure that your words are having the desired effect.
Pay Attention to Your Body Language: Your body language plays an important part in the way you come across during interviews. Practice maintaining good eye contact, offering a firm handshake, sitting comfortably but confidently in your chair, and smiling.
It’s also important to stay in control of your arms and legs, even if you’re nervous. Try not to play with items in your hands, touch your hair or face, fidget, or jiggle your feet or legs. These are all signals to your interviewer that you’re nervous or uncomfortable.
AFTER THE INTERVIEW
You’re not finished when you walk out of the interview room! Follow the steps below to make sure that you get the best out of the whole process.
Follow Up: After your interview, send a thank-you letter or email within 24 hours. Include everyone on the interview panel, not just the person at the top. If you can’t contact everyone directly, ask your primary contact to pass on your thanks.
If You’re Offered the Job: If you’re offered the position, congratulations! You now need to gather all the information you can about your role. This is the time to get details about your start date, the terms and conditions of employment, and what kind of onboarding or training you’ll receive. It’s also worth understanding the goals that relate to your position, and whether the organization expects any quick wins within the first 60-90 days.
If You’re Not Offered the Job: A rejection can be tough to process, especially if it was a role you really wanted or thought you could easily secure. Keep in mind that sometimes things simply don’t go our way. There will be many factors behind the decision of who gets a job offer. If it wasn’t you this time, try not to take it personally. See our article Developing Resilience for advice on how to bounce back even stronger after a setback.
Get Feedback: Once the process is complete, try to get feedback from your interviewers on how you performed, and how well your skills matched the position on offer. If you didn’t get the job or contract, learn whatever lessons you can to increase your chances of success in the future. And, if you were successful, you’ll know which areas you can improve on when you start your new role.
Do’s and Don’ts In an Interview
INTERVIEW DO’S AND DON’TS INTERVIEW DO’S
• Do make sure that your hands are attractive. This means spotlessly cleaning with trimmed nails.
• Do make sure your hair is in place and conservative.
• Do pay attention to your scent. Women with powerful perfumes and men with intense colognes can destroy interviews. Moderation is recommended.
• Do go to the rest room before you visit the employment lobby. It is embarrassing to interrupt an interview, and you want to be as comfortable as possible.
• Do get a good night’s sleep before each day that you search for employment. If you yawn in the lobby or smother a yawn during the interview, it will cost you. Be rested and at your alert best.
• Do look the interviewer in the eye. Recruiters place a lot of emphasis on eye contact.
• Do try to sparkle! Use gestures in your conversation. Make sure they are smooth and emphatic.
• Do smile.
• Do make sure you get the interview’s name right and use it a few times in the interview.
• Do have some money with you. You never want to be in the embarrassing position of having to say, “I don’t have any money with me.” The employer will almost always pay any expenses for something the company asks you to do.
• Do take notes if you wish. Write down some questions before you go into the interview. Do let the interviewer set the pace of the interview. Let him or her lead with the questions.
• Do let the interviewer decide when the interview is over.
• Do ask the interviewer when you will hear from him or her again if he or she does not offer the information.
DON’TS INTERVIEW DON’TS
• Don’t be late. In fact, plan to be early for any scheduled interview. If you are late or arrive just in the nick of time, the interviewer will start to wonder how prompt you might be after you start to work.
• Don’t wear your outer clothes into an interview. Take any kind of overcoat off. Take rubber boots off and leave them in the employment lobby. Wearing those to an interview gives the impression you are anxious and want to leave.
• Don’t sit down if you until move you quickly are asked. Don’t worry about this, the recruiter won’t make you stand but, if you move quickly to your chair and sit about down, you will appear forward.
• Don’t have anything in your mouth except your teeth-no gum, no candies, no breath mints and no cigarettes (obviously!)
• Don’t lean on or put your elbows on the interviewer’s desk. Sit back in your chair, so the interviewer can see more of you. Sit erect.
• Don’t wear tinted glasses into an interview and if don’t wear your eyeglasses all the time, don’t park them on top of your head. Take them off and put them in your purse or pocket. Don’t carry an oversized handbag even if it is fashionable. Carry a bag that is smaller and more manageable. Put it on the floor during the interview. Never place it on the interviewer’s desk.
• Don’t have unusually long fingernails. This applied to men as well as women.
• Don’t show your nervousness by drumming your fingers, swing your leg, or cracking your knuckles. Don’t have any loose change in your pocket- most of us tend to jingle it when we’re nervous. (You really shouldn’t have your hands in your pockets in the first place.) Don’t keep adjusting your clothes.
• Don’t fiddle with your hair.
• Don’t compare the recruiter’s office with others that you have seen. The recruiter might decide that you have seen the inside of too many employment offices, including his or hers.
• Don’t pick up anything from the recruiter’s desk unless you are invited to do so.
• Don’t listen to any phone calls the recruiter may receive while you are with him or her. It’s hard not to listen, but do you best to tune it out. After such a phone call, don’t comment on something he or she said or ask a question about the conversation.
• Don’t stand if someone else (man or woman) enters the recruiter’s office. Keep your chair and don’t say anything to the visitor unless you are spoken to first. If the recruiter introduces you to the person who came in, then you may stand. Don’t inspect or read documents on the recruiter’s desk.
• Don’t call the recruiter “sir” or “ma’am” too much. Respect is mandatory, but don’t go overboard. Don’t overuse the interview’s name. Too much of that is annoying.
• Don’t be a comedian. Wisecracks and laughter can come later. Be pleasant, but remember that the interviewing process is formal and serious. An overly light hearted approach will cause the interviewer to question the seriousness of your purpose.
• Don’t give one or two word answers. The recruiter is trying to get to know you. Talk to him or her. If you go into a shell, you probably won’t be hired.
• Don’t dominate the conversation. Answer the questions thoroughly, but don’t drone on forever.
• Don’t interrupt. It is inexcusable in an interviewing situation.
• Don’t use profanity even if the recruiter does. It can’t possibly help your image.
• Don’t use a lot of slang.
• Don’t gush. You can be pleasant without being syrupy.
• Don’t say “you know” all the times. It’s, you know, annoying. “Don’t call the interviewer by his or her first name, unless invited to do so.
• Don’t slip into a speech-making or preaching tone of voice. You are not on the Senate floor. You are in a conversation.
• Don’t mumble.
• Don’t chatter while the interviewer is reviewing your resume. Let him or her read it in peace. Don’t interpret items on your resume until you are asked. Your resume should be self-explanatory. If additional details are needed, the interview will ask for them.
• Don’t try to overpower the recruiter with bragging or overstatement. He or she will not respond well, and he or she is probably skilled in recognizing distortions of background and experience.
• Don’t lie about anything. Sometimes candidates lie about their salary. Recruiters often ask for proof, such as a W-2 form.
• Don’t criticize your present or past employer too much. If it is a bad situation, you can mention it but don’t harp on it. Be objective instead of complaining or bad mouthing.
• Don’t get angry or even irritated during the interview. You can be firm- not angry-if the questioning becomes improper or begins to slip into irrelevant areas.
• Don’t look at your watch during the interview. This tends to hurry things along. Let the interview set the pace.
• Don’t ask, “Will I get the job?” or “Can I have the job?” Those questions tend to push the recruiter and he or she will not like that. Rather say, “I hope you can consider me as a candidate for this job” or I’m really interested in the job.”
• Don’t talk about the salary until later in the hiring process or until the recruiter brings it up.
BASIC INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
As you prepare for your interview, you may be considering which questions the employer is going to ask you. While there’s no way to know for sure what topics will be covered, there are several popular interview questions you can expect to be asked. Here are the most common interview questions:
1. Tell me about yourself.
2. How would you describe yourself? What makes you unique?
3. Why do you want to work here?
4. What interests you about this role? What motivates you?
5. What are you passionate about?
6. Why are you leaving your current job?
7. What are your greatest strengths?
8. What are your greatest weaknesses?
9. What are your goals for the future?
10. Where do you see yourself in five years?
11. Can you tell me about a difficult work situation and how you overcame it?
12. What is your salary range expectation?
13. Why should we hire you
GROUP DISCUSSION
Group discussion is formed by combining two different words i.e. group and discussion. Here, group means a number of people or things that are put together considered as a unit whereas the word ‘discuss’ is derived from the Latin ‘discutere’, which means to shake or strike. Thus ‘discussion’ refers to examine the topic thoroughly to reach a conclusion. Collectively, it is called Group discussion which means the exchange of ideas by participated candidates on a specific subject or topic. The whole concept is to bring collectively a unit of people on a common platform to share their ideas.
Generally, group discussion is a method used by the companies or organizations to check whether the candidates have certain personality or skills which are must for their members or employees. Nowadays, group discussions have become a main stage in the recruitment process. In this discussion, the group of applicants or candidates is given a topic or a scenario and few minutes are provided them to think about the same, and then asked to discuss the situation among them for a limited time. Organizations conduct group discussion after the written test so as to test the interactive skills of the candidates and how good they are at interacting with other people. Group discussion also tells about how candidates behave, participate and contribute in a group. Also, recruiters come to know about how much importance applicants give to the team objectives as well as their own, how well they listen to viewpoints of others and how open-minded are they in accepting the views contrary to their own. Group Discussion is conducted to evaluate your following skills:
• Confidence.
• Effective Communication.
• Quality of Language.
• Listening Skills.
• Assertive Attitude.
• Paraphrasing Skills.
• Leadership.
Types of Group Discussion
• Factual Group Discussions
• Opinion-Based Group Discussion
• Group conversations based on case studies
• Abstract Group Discussion
Factual group discussions: These discussions focus on the real world and test a candidate’s ability to digest information and analyses socioeconomic or everyday concerns.
Opinion-Based Group Discussion: Test how well candidates can articulate their beliefs and viewpoints. These group talks tend to focus more on views than facts.
Group conversations based on case studies: These discussions mimic real-world circumstances. The group is given the specifics of a fictitious scenario by the panelists, and then the group must work together to address it.
Abstract Group Discussion: These are abstract group discussions. In these, the interviewers check to see if a candidate can approach the subject at hand with originality and lateral thinking.
Purpose of Group Discussion
There are several purposes for group discussions. Some of them are listed below:
• To reach a solution on an issue of concern.
• To generate new ideas for solving a problem.
• For choosing the applicants after the written test for a job or for admission to educational institutes.
• To train ourselves in various interpersonal skills.
Importance of Group Discussion in Education and Learning.
Group discussion plays a vital role in a student’s life. Group discussions in the classroom are not only beneficial for a student’s social skills only but also enhance their educational development and learning too. Some of the benefits of GD in a student’s life are discussed below.
Enhance Critical Thinking: Group discussion is used in a classroom to improve learning, asking open-ended questions will encourage critical thinking and help students think for themselves
Help with Understanding: Group discussion use to help students to understand a topic or concept deeply which will stay for a long time in their minds.
Improve Communication Skills: It is also used to improve communication skills as it can encourage students to become more confident in speaking up and asking questions. This will help them improve their communication in the long run because it should make them more confident to ask if they’re stuck and need help.
Improve Interest in Lessons: It improves learning, as group discussion invites the students to be the speakers. This helps students as it can maintain their focus and concentration to hear another voice instead of listening to the same teacher, which holds their attention. Provide the Feedback: When learners discuss and explain the concepts to each other aloud in a group, it helps the teacher to hear if they have learnt a concept or not. This is a perfect feedback on teaching. It means that, if the teacher sees that they don’t understand something clearly, they can help them by stepping in and adding some more context or information in their discussion.
Group Discussion
Do’s
Having Rich Content with Good knowledge: Subject knowledge means being aware of the latest happenings in and around the world.
• Subject knowledge is the prerequisite when you are preparing for the group discussion because then you have the power to take the discussion in any direction you want, and having the subject knowledge, you can contribute more to the discussion.
• The rich and right content is required during the group discussion rounds. You can do this by preparing on a variety of topics. Also, if you can remember some important points, it would be a plus point. Also, having a grasp on the topic will make you a winner in group discussion rounds.
• If you are a reader that loves to read on a variety of topics, there’s no need for last-minute preparation on a certain topic. You can also read magazines that can be beneficial to you but make sure you choose magazines that have rich content rather than magazines that are full of advertisements.
• Being a leader: Group discussion allows you to lead the discussion. When the moderator announces a certain topic, try to grasp ideas on that topic or some important points within a few seconds so that you can start a group discussion with a positive attitude and be a leader. It is not necessary that you should speak first if you are not able to grasp an idea soon. You can wait for someone to speak and then add on to it by taking the previous speaker’s name by agreeing or denying the speaker’s views. Giving such remarks (i.e ., taking the name of the previous speaker) will make a good impact.
• Beginning the discussion first is an opportunity to make a good impact, but if you are not able to present your views, it creates a negative impact, so make sure that whatever views you try to present are heard and understood well by the other people contributing to the group discussion.
• Try to be relevant to the topic: Whenever you try to present your views, make sure that your views and points match or are related to the topic of the discussion.
• Don’t try to follow the ideas of other speakers. Rather, try to express your ideas as this will create a risk of elimination.
• You can describe your points by using facts and figures as this shows that you have studied the topic or know about the topic well.
• Be a Good listener: Always try to be a good listener and learner during the group discussion rounds, as listening skills are essential during the group discussion rounds.
• Always speaking your views doesn’t make you better try to give other people a chance to speak and express their views.
• Listen carefully to what others are saying, as this will help you, later on, to summarize the discussion or add value to your content and communication.
• Whenever the speaker is having eye contact with you, make sure that you smile or nod your head as it shows that you are listening carefully and are an active participant in the discussion.
• Communication skills: You may have rich content and good subject knowledge, but if you are not able to communicate well, everything is useless.
• You can try to improve your communication skills by having a good vocabulary and a good command of English. You can rehearse before the GD round. Taking up a English speaking course free will help you do so.
• You can use phrases like “I think that ….. “; “if I can recall correctly, you said that ….. “ if you are not sure about a certain point. You can also use words like probably and approximately.
• Body language: It is one of the most important tools for group discussion. The panellist observes everything from the way you sit to your hand movements.
• The body gestures speak a lot about you. In the GD rounds, try not to lean on the chair and sit straight. Try not to knock on the table with your fingers or pen as it creates a distraction to the one speaking.
DONT'S
• Don’t take aggressive moves: You should be firm on your ideas. That is what is expected in a GD. Though you are trying to be audible to make an impact but try not to shout, be Aggressive, or not allow any other person to speak.
• No crisscross of ideas: Of course, the topic that’s been given is debatable. You may like to speak on both sides, like with and against the topic but be careful that you don’t crisscross your thoughts as it may have an impact on a person who is having no stand for his thoughts.
• Try not to be a part of the fish market: Being a panellist in a group discussion, your ability to lead and play in the team is measured. There may be a time when everyone is speaking, and no one is being heard at that point in time. It would be a good move to be quiet and s dos gather your thoughts and then try to explain your point by raising your voice initially.
Group Discussion Tips
• Try to make eye contact with everyone in the group discussion when they are speaking, or you are speaking as it shows your alertness.
• Try not to interrupt when others are talking as the recruiters are looking for a candidate who has team spirit
• It may happen that the other person has stolen the point that you may have noted down or planned to speak in GD. Do not panic. Take a deep breath and come back with the news like nothing happened, as the panelists can see how you react to such circumstances.
• If you are unaware of the topic, let the group mates speak first, take a clue and try to make your points. Or else you can rephrase what your group mates want to offer or try to reiterate their points, or in the worst case, you can summarize the discussion.
• If you are aware of the topic, try to jot down the points and be the first to start the discussion. In this way, you can head towards a meaningful point of your choice.
• You can participate in a mock GD. This will help to open the thought process to diverse topics, and a plus point, you can know about the strengths and shortcomings. You can also practice in front of the mirror. It also does a miracle.
• Most of the topics of GD are picked from the newspapers to make sure you are fully aware of what’s going on around the world. If you don’t read newspapers and magazines, you can browse on different websites that will give you an overview of the latest happenings.
• You have noticed that your friend just makes 2 points whereas you presented 5 points, but he was the winner; remember the quantity doesn’t, but quality does. Make points that are relevant to the topic or are related. Don’t try to go out of the box.
Phases of group discussion
1. Initial phase – you may be Anxious and nervous in this phase. This general understanding of the candidates has been noticed. If you tried to be clear with your facts, and have the relevant knowledge needed for the topic, you will be able to catch the attention of the team members and the panelists. But if you do it because you want to do it. It will impact negatively.
2. Conflict – When the conflict started to increase, the group members try to challenge each other with their analytical data and facts. You may find some members may be supporting the views expressed, and some may be against them. In this phase, try to be calm and emphatic. There may be passive participants who try to make them involved in the group discussion. You can also use your creativity in this phase.
3. Teamwork – In this phase, the conflicts are easy and quick to solve, and the team members communicate openly as members come to a calm and collaborative mindset.
4. Performance- In this phase, the evaluation of skills is done based on decision-making, problem-solving, and teamwork. When everyone has presented their views, here comes the role of collaboration.
5. Conclusion- It is the final phase. All the points have been noted, and they try to reach a solution.
Important questions
1. Explain Various types of Interviews
2. What are various things to be kept in mind while preparing for interview?
3. Explain the process of how to participate in group discussion.
4. What are various evaluation elements to be considered in group discussion?
5. What are the do and don’ts in an interview
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