? Could you tell us a bit more about your journey and experiences? (1:26)

I’ve been a bit of a cultural Nomad, so my mother was a South Indian my father was a North Indian and they got together about five decades back when it was not the norm so I’ve had a very open upbringing. I have had an upbringing where women were treated as equals so when I finished my MBA, I was interested in banking so I joined HDFC Bank for a year. I did a lot of operational work and started the operations at the Defense Colony Branch we opened a new Branch. Then I moved on to City Bank in the wealth management role becoming a trusted advisor giving investment advice to clients from there I moved on to the Indian Express because a fantastic opportunity came into my lap to modernize a traditional company so I was going to work with the editor and Chief and the then CEO Shekar Gupta and it was a very exciting experience. I spent about eight years in Indian Express learning various kinds of things whether it was circulation marketing brand Revenue monetization even things about the presses whether it was just putting the blue blueprint of the book which was a brand handbook or the corporate guidelines it was it was an extremely exciting 8 years. I just said yes to everything that came my way and I was also made the youngest director on the board of the company at that point, so we did a lot of fun stuff.

I then wanted to take a break in my career for motherhood and while for one year I did work across Delhi and Mumbai I did take that break but after two years I was again getting itchy fingers and I needed to start something on my own and I started Sparkle so sparkle was a bespoke when planning and a Decor firm that started out of passion and to fulfill my creative side where I said that I want to do something interesting we did over 100 events we worked with some fabulous different people I was in Mumbai at that point of time and when it was time to scale up my husband moved back to Delhi so there was a lot of movements that happened so when I came back to Delhi there was this fantastic role at the print for audience development monetization and building voluntary subscribers and I was really kicked by it and two years just flew by the pandemic was there there were a lot of interesting things that we did there were a lot of interesting products that we started during that course okay and then the role at Natwest came and I think the common thread for me across my career has been people and has been Communications so I think getting something which was functionally aligned to something I absolutely love I just jumped at that opportunity so being in this organization with a fantastic culture very inclusive people we do a bunch of wonderful things it’s a learning organization so yeah I’m really excited to be where I am and I think the the thing that holds true for me is that every everything happened because I just raised my hand and said YES.

? How do you leverage strategic communication to align with and drive business goals? (5:03)

Yes, there are two kinds of communication – One is communication where you can litter people’s inboxes with emails you can keep saying different messages but what is strategic Communication is when you’re getting the right message across to the right person in the right medium right and you use different ways of getting the same message and the same narrative across so I think, thinking through what is the message that you want to land and what is it that the audience wants or what is it that your colleague wants or what is it that the media wants right there has to be a little what’s in it for them if they don’t see that then then they won’t even be amenable to the message so during my early days at City Bank and HDFC it meant being a trusted advisor to our clients it meant narrating certain messages to our clients so that we could help them achieve their financial goals. At Indian Express I modernized the traditional company right we did a lot of change management that was changing the people the processes the presses products so with that massive change management we also did a Demerger and merger of the company and raised about 500 crores and this would not have been possible if we hadn’t kept our stakeholders aligned and engaged throughout the journey

I think strategic Communications helped a lot here at the print the pandemic strike and just like every other organization overnight we have to move to remote working correct so that would not have been possible had we not communicated with our colleagues told them what is trustworthy told our audiences which which are the sources that they can go for information and I think we were able to help our colleagues clients and audiences just by keeping them engaged now in my current role at NatWest we are communicating our history our progressive practices how we are an inclusive organization the culture of the organization we are embedding the strategy with our colleagues and ensuring that our colleagues understand that how each one of them is actually contributing to the delivery for the End customer and when we look at potential hires the reputation of the firm our Progressive practices the inclusive culture the flexibility to work remote I think if they just hear some of these things they would know this is the right place to be in so I think communication has been a thread throughout it all.

? How do you foster team collaboration, especially in dynamic and diverse sectors? (7:54)

In today’s Hybrid work culture, it’s not possible to work with teams if you don’t collaborate there are teams across locations, and they are teams across geography so I think some of the key things are to have open communication to listen to each other to embrace diverse perspectives and leverage technology so when people establish common goals share ideas actively listen to each other celebrate wins and leverage each other’s skills I think magic happens. So when we are communicating with our teams globally and like we have function across the globe we use Slido to ensure that colleagues are engaged, we use breakout rooms and a note taker so that everybody’s perspectives are heard and then they replayed back in the meeting we learn from each other’s ideas we reuse we re-share so I think just being open is very very important to ensure that we are collaborating across teams.

? With over 18 years of experience, how do you stay updated on industry trends and continuously develop your skills? (9:01)

I think now more than ever it’s become extremely important to keep yourself updated so whether it is through Reading papers reading a book or listening to podcasts you have so many different channels that you can leverage I attend industry conferences I participate in a lot of conferences I go to colleges I deliver talks and I also listen to students and understand what is it that they are learning what is new I network with my peers so there are a plethora of things that can help you just to give you a little example before social media became the IT thing I have done a course of social IMC from one of the Skilling websites okay before AI became the buzzword.

I did a course on AI in fintech so before the became the IT thing by just doing these courses and keeping myself updated helped me track my career and ensure that whatever was relevant I knew it well in time and I could apply it immediately in my career as and when the opportunity came so I think having a learning mindset is extremely important and that’s one of the things I would emphasize for your students that have a learning mindset you don’t know what you learned when and that can come in use at any time.

? Are there specific skills you believe are crucial for professionals in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape? (10:34)

So I think there are four skills that I would say are key for a young professional – One is adaptability things are changing so fast. You need to learn to adapt to new situations new tools new surroundings everything will keep changing second is communication especially virtual communication so in a hybrid world how are you communicating across that’s very key because you don’t know sometimes the essence of what you’re trying to say gets lost in emails correct the third is a learning mindset you have to be willing to learn new things you have to be willing to take that risk if opportunities come knocking at your door just just raise your hand and say yes so I think that is extremely important finally digital literacy so you can’t succeed in today’s world if you’re not a digital literate

? What trends do you anticipate will shape the future of media relations and corporate communication? (11:34)

So the trends I think that would shape media relations of PR and corporate communication is definitely Aid driven personalization we will also see a lot of increased focus on the authenticity of content there are going to be a lot of messages that are going to be developed so you will develop the right message for the right medium. We will see a lot of strategic use of influencers in PR you’ve seen the growth of it and I think there’s going to be a lot of stuff and a lot of interesting things Brands will start doing with influencers there will be a lot more development of mobile-first interactive content. So the first thing is how do you view your content so all the content will be made in such a manner that it’s easy it’s crisp it’s relevant you can view it on your mobile or devices seamlessly and I think finally a data-driven approach to comms so comms will become far more data-driven we are going to take decisions even on messages based on the data we see and hear.

? What advice would you give to young professionals aspiring to pursue a career in communications, strategy consulting, or entrepreneurship? (12:49)

I think when you’re starting the advice is similar to everybody you need to navigate the corporate world so what are the few things that you can do so I think the first is take risks yeah Dare To Dream Big because if you don’t take a risk nothing will happen if Netflix hadn’t taken a risk and that they would start a streaming service today you and I would not be able to watch Netflix correct second is Forge strong alliances your network is your network and when I talk about Network it’s not just going and connecting with multiple people you don’t know on LinkedIn it’s about making real relationships connecting with people making real relationships and ensuring that you can contribute to them as much as they contribute to you so that is the second.

The third I think is treat your career like a web and not a ladder so all of us want to go up the stream we want to do XYZ and we want to go like this but sometimes you need to you might be a salesperson you might get some experience in product you might get some experience in finance brand sales distribution so move across because when you’re at the top all the things that you have learned in the first 10 or 10 years of your life will be extremely useful so if you work hard and you do diverse things in the first 10 years of the life you will thank yourself in the next 10 then is Embrace an entrepreneurial mind mind set you need to see that you become more impact and outcome driven and not process driven like you don’t start talking about okay how many hours have I put in this how much effort has been put in this so effort becomes irrelevant as long as the outcome is there so you become more outcome and impact driven I think that is lastly I think adaptability is your superpower what got you here is not going to get you you there so yeah I think this is what it

? What is the one quotation you live by in your life? (15:04)

I think the one quotation that I’ve lived by in my life and that’s been true for most of the of my life is trust the timing of your life if I was to look back at my career and look at the highs and lows and the decisions I took at different life stages I think just trusting the timing and being open to new experiences helped me build a vibrant and a multi-layered career so yeah trust the timing of your life

Check your Progress with Practice Tests

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Job Interview Questions

Prepare for your next job interview with our latest expert created online interview questions, the questions are designed to enhance your skills and make you job-ready.

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Let us learn with Ms. Abhilasha Gupta – Head of Global Corporate Communications & Public Affairs at Tech Mahindra. She is an experienced professional with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and digital services industry. Abhilasha has worked in senior capacities with extensive experience in strategic communication, public relations, crisis communication, and corporate affairs.  She is a double postgraduate in English Journalism and English Literature from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi. She is also a gold medalist in her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Ramjas College (University of Delhi). She has got it all. 

We seek her guidance to understand more about the field and learn from her experiences. We welcome you mam to this expert interview series and hope you have a good time ahead. 

Q1. How would you describe your journey so far and what impediments did you face to reach here?  

Answer: Awesome, alright see my story has been nothing short of exciting. So far I started out as a literature student I mean if I go way way back I thought I’d do something in science since I was really good with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. But then I ended up studying literature thereby aspiring to be a journalist back for a bit. And here I am today in communication but I would say that there is one thing which has tied everything that I’ve done so far is – “communication”. Because no matter on which side of the table it has been communication has been that one keyword. It is the one holding point that has cut across everything that I’ve done and I truly genuinely believe in the power of communication and how it can solve the largest of business and other problems and that’s what I aspire to do every day. 

Q2. What does an ideal day look like? 

Answer:  An ideal day, so, I’m married now so there have been slight changes since that happened. There’s of course a lot of balancing between home and office but just talking from a professional perspective an ideal day looks like a lot of reading in business. We have to know what is happening in the world. Every day’s a new me, every day there’s news so it’s very important that you’re up to date. There’s a lot of reading that goes into it. There’s a lot of reading of reports as well. Also, a lot of reviewing articles of various news pieces that come across, understanding where the industry is going, understanding where what’s professionals are talking about and so on and so forth. That’s typically the start of my day. Goes on to of course checking just the usual business and then a lot of my work also includes networking and talking to stakeholders internal and external, because by the virtue of the function. I am working in a very people-dependent role so it’s very important for me to understand what the internal stakeholders think and what they’re strategizing and how can we put it forth in front of the world. And at the same time, it’s very important to know what the external stakeholders are talking and in our case, it’s a lot of times the media so what the journalists are thinking what are they writing about what is going on in the industry. So it’s a lot of talking, it’s a lot of texting, it’s a lot of networking as they say it and then of course I try and keep minimal calls because that’s just not how I like to work but that’s yes that’s quickly a good day at work. 

Q3. How important is it to leverage digital to capture eyeballs? 

Answer: I put this slightly differently I wouldn’t say that it is important to leverage digital I would say that there is no way to ignore. I don’t think there exists a world in this day and age where you can ignore digital. It’s the part and so it’s just so important that you tap into that platform. You of course can’t ignore it so best is to know the potential that digital platforms have levels and levels and completely because generally the Gen X we are of course not reading newspapers if we just talk about communication that then I have, I’m reading newspapers, like maybe a generation before us did that. Now they are on the apps like different social medias like this news app so you have to move with the time, you have to move with the future workforce and same goes for your partners, it’s really important to tap into the potential of digital platforms and which is of course immense and a lot can be achieved by just utilizing that better. 

Q4. What are the five most required skills to become a successful person in the field of PR and communication?  

Answer: Well I’m sure there more than size but to answer this I will go back to when I when I was studying journalism in college they taught us the 5C’s of communication. And I think those are that are important for a communications professional. Also, no matter whether your industry is associated with. So it went like content, of course there it’s very important what you’re saying and all you’re saying. It is the caps of the argument. So, content. Second is, to be concise, in communications. For professionals it’s very important for us to say a lot of things in one simple say a sentence or a couple of words and they don’t necessarily have to be verbose they don’t necessarily have to be very complicated it’s hard jobs that communication professionals to simplify. And next is clarity, that is to simplify what we’re trying to see and then communicate effectively. the 4th C is context which is again extremely important you can’t have content without context because that would make no sense. It is very important to contextualize to empathize with your listener and be effective because unless you know Unless you know the You want to see and who you’re saying it to and why you’re seeing it unless you have that charter drawn out you will never be perfected in your nation. And finally, correctness. By correctness I just mean credibility it’s really important that whatever it is that you’re seeing is credible is factual and there is no misinformation that you as a communication professional are spreading or proliferating in the masters or to any stakeholder internal external or by the way. So, I think just go back to the five Cs of communication that is not in college and yeah that that would good communication professional what advice.  

Q5. What advice would you like to give to our viewers who are interested in pursuing a career in this field? 

Answer: Well I’d say it’s a very very exciting question. Honestly, how they say that if you love your work it doesn’t seem like work that’s how it is for me so I’m fortunate to be in a profile to be a function that I’m truly truly passionate about I say it it’s very exciting because you get to be the voice of a brand you get to be the voice of very very senior leaders who are so experienced and have so much depth in their domain it’s really exciting because you get to do a lot to your function. But at the same time there’s a lot of accountability there’s a lot of responsibility so it’s very important that you are the voice of the brand that you are the custodian of the organization and it’s very important that your countable you feel that credibility and you understand the importance so it’s a high risk high return function. If I can just run it like that and if you’re passionate about communications then this is it, I love my job and I hope that it inspires people who are inspired by communications and the power that holds also find it inspiring.  

Q6. What’s the quotation you live by your life? 

Answer: Wow, interesting very interesting question you ask me because being a literature student it is very difficult for me to answer. So, my favorite is – it is about the people. So, it’s really really important that is in this world of technology you keep going back to the people you keep understanding your stakeholders and managing the stakeholders and that’s what even communication is about it’s about connecting the people together in making sure that we know what each other each of us feeling and doing and the good work that we’re doing.  

The post How to become successful in Corporate Communication and Public Relations | Learn with Ms. Abhilasha Gupta appeared first on Vskills Blog.

Meetings

Advantages

You can develop a two-way flow; also permits use of visuals charts, films, etc. you can show and explain. Permits discussion and better meeting of the minds. And you reach several minds at once.

Disadvantages

Time-consuming, possibly inconvenient, and sometimes difficult to keep a meeting on track.

Can be a field day for the long-winded individual.

Phone

Advantages

 Speed. Permits questions and answers. Can be done from your desk.

Disadvantages

Man, at the other end might be interrupted with something more important. Also, generally there is no record of the conversation.

FACE TO FACE

Advantages

Personal contact.

You can set a mood by a show of friendliness and relaxation. You can show, discuss visual material. Conversation is two-way.

Disadvantages

One or the other individual may be subject to pressure by a powerful personality or other persons of high status. May not be easy to terminate.

Note or Memo

Advantages

Brief. A tangible record can be filed. You can rethink your message.

Disadvantages

One way. No control over its respondent at the other end. A rigid form, limited by permanent words on paper.

Formal Report

Advantages

Can be comprehensive. Material may be organized at your leisure. Can be disseminated widely by means of copying. Provides you or a subordinate with an opportunity to show his stuff. Indexing and other summary devices help reader grasp scope of piece, locate specific subsections.

Disadbantages

May require considerable time in reading. Problem of actual writing may be discouraging to a time-hungry executive.

The five methods above are not mutually exclusive. For special purposes, executives may use two or more methods to get a reinforcement effect.

Evaluating Your Outgoing Communications

All the material in an executive’s out-box represents an investment of thought, time, and energy. It is an investment that requires periodic evaluation. One way of evaluating your adequacy as a communicator is to test key memos, reports, letters by questions such as these:

Does this communication have a purpose?

Is the purpose well-served?

Is the communication needed and used by the person receiving it? If the communication is a request for information-

• is it going to the right person?
• does it ask the right questions?
• have you clearly indicated what you are asking for?

 have you set a time limitation, that is, when you need what you asked for?

Are you communicating too frequently about the same things? (If the answer is yes, face to face meetings may be indicated.)

Could a form—for example, a checklist form—simplify a message or report?

Would you understand the communication if you received it? (As a matter of fact, put yourself in the place of the respondent. How do you feel about your communication now?)

Evaluating Your Incoming Communications

For many executives, their in-box is a terminal of a lifeline essential to keep them functioning effectively in their organizations. An occasional review of the communications that are dropped into your in-box can both improve your contacts and save you time. Questions like these should be raised about your mail:

If you tend to receive any amount of unnecessary or junk mail, should your secretary or assistant be screening your in-box?

With reference to material received periodically, do you really need it?

Do items with “perishable” material get to you on time?

Do regular communications contain all the information you need? If a periodic report contains more material than you need, can you have the sender streamline it? Should you pass a particular report on to others? 

Generally, you will find that your information needs tend to change. Responsibilities and job content tend to vary even when job title or status do not. Accordingly, it is a good idea to make an assessment of your in-box a periodic affair to maintain a maximum level of effectiveness

Should You Tell It Like It Is?

Executives sometimes have a basic communications question to answer: is it always best to level with your subordinates—to tell it like it is, regardless of consequences? The problem arises in situations like these:

• The truth is unpleasant and telling it isn’t going to be easy. For example, there may be traumatic consequences. Some people are going to be fired, a restrictive policy is going to be instituted, and so on.
• The truth—good or bad—is something management is not ready to reveal as yet.

it’s difficult to set down exact guidelines in this explosive communications area. But here are some preliminary considerations that can shape what you eventually say:

Your own sense of integrity. Do you believe that you must always tell the truth, even when it hurts? Or do you think that conditions sometimes justify the “little white lie,” modifying the truth?

Your reputation. If you stretch the truth often, and without good reason, your employees will learn that they can’t rely on you as a source of information.

Where your loyalties lie. There is to be a personnel cutback but management is keeping quiet: it doesn’t want to cause wholesale upsets, and to have people quitting before they’re ready to lose them. Do you say something or don’t you? You have been entrusted with a certain amount of responsibility and are expected to handle that responsibility wisely. What do you do?

Bypassing    

Bypassing is a traditional communications problem in which a manager is, in effect, dropped out of a communications chain. It can happen in one or two ways:

• Contacting your subordinate without going through you. Example: Your boss, or another manager, may take up some business matter directly with one of your subordinates, without your knowledge or permission. In other words, someone from up the line, or at your level, goes “behind your back” on some business matter with one of your people.
• Contacting your boss without your knowledge or permission. Here, one of your subordinates undertakes direct communication up the line, or with your superior, without your knowledge or consent.

Bypassing represents an undesirable shortcutting of channels because it has destructive consequences: it weakens the bypassed manager’s authority; it deprives him of information that sometimes he should have; if procedures or operations are started as a result of the bypassing, the manager many remain in ignorance of operations which he should be controlling.

To handle this problem, you should first know some of its possible causes. Here they are:

• The authority of the manager is either being questioned or flouted.
• Subordinates feel that they can get a better response which somehow favours them, by going “directly to the top.”
• When someone up the line bypasses you to get to your subordinate, it may be because he’s under time pressure, or you’re not around at the moment when the upper echelon executive wants to get some information or action from one of your people.

If you’re a victim of bypassing, the first thing to remember is, don’t show resentment, particularly if it’s a first. Constructive action is much more possible if it begins on a factual, rather than emotional basis.

The manager who is bypassed must consider some tough questions. Here they are; first, if it’s a subordinate who goes over your head:

1. Are you too slow? In some cases, a failure to respond quickly to an employee’s request prompts him to think of going directly up the line. If you can’t act fast, tell the person why and how soon you think you can move. If your communications up the line are at fault, see if there isn’t some way you can improve them.
2. Are you using the “back of your hand”? A manager with so many other items to demand his attention, may not give as much weight to a request as the employee does. The manager may show this by the way he handles the problem. You have to take pains to let the employee feel that you share his concern with the question.
3. Are you failing to “listen”? The specific matter the employee wants you to take up the ladder may not actually be his real interest. You have to listen carefully to tell whether an employee is bypassing you because you have failed to understand what it is he really wants.
4. Do you use your influence with your boss? This may be the toughest aspect of all. But when a manager doesn’t swing his weight with a superior, the employee may feel he can get more consideration directly from the boss.

Don’t dismiss the possibility that an employee may be expecting more of you than he should. Within the limits of a normal relationship with your superior, you may be going at full power. If that’s the case, explain the facts to your subordinate.

But where there’s definitely something lacking, you’ll have to look for an opportunity to discuss it with your boss. You should have specific information to pass along to him rather than a vague feeling that you need “more authority.” Go into the facts of the matter with him.

Next, if the bypassing is by a superior who goes to one of your subordinates without your knowledge:

Is it just a one-time emergency occurrence?

For example, your boss needs some information which your subordinate has and you’re not around. In this type of situation, the only requirement is that either your boss or the subordinate lets you know what has happened after the fact.

Have there been instances where you’ve failed to respond to a superior’s request for information?

For the forgetful manager, or the one who procrastinates, the answer to this question must be, “Yes, I’ve been guilty in the past, but it won’t happen again.”

Is the boss at fault?

It may be an unpleasant fact to face up to, but in some cases, bypassing from the top down is the failure of disinclination by the superior to recognize the authority of the manager. In this case, what’s called for is a tactful discussion with a superior that emphasizes: a. the manager’s willingness to act as a communications link—get the desired information, or convey it; b. emphasis by the manager that his authority role, vis-a-vis the employee, will be undermined if the bypassing continues.

Bypassing situations sometimes are complicated.

You might be involved in one for which none of the above points is the sole answer. But you’ll be able to uncover the reasons and be guided accordingly if you ask yourself:

• Why does the man bypass me?
• Is his reason for an indication that I’m not running my job properly?
• What must I do to prevent recurrences?

Certified Workplace Communication Skills Professional

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Communication is the sister of leadership.

As human beings, communication is one of the most essential basis for our survival. We thrive to put across our ideas, to be heard and to effectively learn from others. In an era where we equate our success to how far we reach in our career, it becomes essential to enhance our communication skills. As we often hear, communication is the key to becoming a good leader and an effective team member.

This is where the role of workplace communication comes into play.

Understanding Workplace Communication.

A workplace is an ever competitive environment that requires a person to take up multiple roles and responsibilities. One becomes a leader, a team member, an employee and so many other things at the same time. In this scenario, it is vital to be able to put across ideas and understand the feedback of the others, in order to make it a suitable environment for all. Workplace communication involves being able to effectively exchange information and ideas, both verbally and non-verbally. It is important becomes it allows companies and the employees to prosper and increase productivity. By aiming to better your communication skills, you will be able to establish strong business rapport with people in and out of your organizational workforce.

There are various facets of communication that become essential in the workplace. The most essential and used ones are:

Verbal – The way you orally communicate or share a message amongst your employees becomes essential in deciding how a message is understood.  Verbal communication is essential as it is majorly used during everyday meetings and client interactions.

Non-Verbal Communication – Communication doesn’t only include what is being said, it also includes how it is being said. Non-verbal communication forms take up an important part of workplace communication, wherein the use of facial expressions, the tone and pitch of the voice, gestures and body language all come into play. Non-verbal communication reiterates and emphasizes on the verbal messages by adding emotional tonalities to it, ultimately making it more effective.

Written Communication – It involves any type of message that makes use of the written word. Written Communication plays a pivotal role in the workplace as a lot of messages and ideas are conveyed in the form of emails, memos, bulletins and reports. It becomes essential to have good written skills in order to effectively communicate messages in a concise manner.

Why is effective workplace communication essential?

Effective workplace communication allows companies to be productive and operate effectively. Proper communication within the employees within the workplace can help increase the productivity, efficiency, morale whilst promoting the overall growth of the organization.  It helps in effectively carrying out the managerial functions of Planning, Organizing, Motivating the workforce.

Good communication skills improve relationships of the employees ultimately increasing their sense of responsibility towards the organization and ensures commitment and reliance. It helps to bring clarity and cohesion in the tasks being undertaken.

Effective communication binds employees together, it helps to build a good team with multi-varied members who can easily connect and complete their projects. Good communication increases enthusiasm amongst the team members leading to more efficiency and productivity.

It improves workplace environment where people are bound together in a healthy atmosphere. Effective workplace communication breaks the authoritarian top-down approach of communication and makes the environment more horizontally integrated. It allows for easy communication for all levels of employees to talk to everybody in the workspace. The employees can voice their opinions and raise concerns without hesitation. This improves he the transparency amongst the employer and employee and ensures smooth functioning of the work.

Good communication skills are the most basic skills that you can possess as an employee, however not many people emphasize on being a good communicator.  To become a good communicator, one must possess few basic skills.

Here a few tips on how to become a better workplace communicator

• A communicator is essentially a good listener – Good communication is all about listening effectively. One must be an active listener, someone who critically analyzes what is being said, asks questions and is inquisitive.

• Positive Body Language – Non-verbal communication forms an integral part of workplace communication. The body language communicates a lot of aspects about the communicator and receiver’s presence of mind and energy. One must make eye contact, uncross arms and sit attentively while communicating. In larger setups the use of effective hand gestures helps in emphasizing on what is being orally communicated.

• Emotional Intelligence – Emotional Intelligence (EI), is the ability to understand and effectively manage and use your emotions while communicating. Having a good EI capacity makes the individual a more self-aware individual who can avoid stress, overcome challenges and empathize with others.

• Open Mindedness and Receptivity to New Ideas – Communication is not just about conveying one’s ideas, it is a two-way process that is completed only when feedback is received. When one communicates an idea and the receiver gives in their opinion and feedback, a clarity and cohesion of thought can be achieved.

• Be concise– It is essential that there is a clarity of thought while communicating. You should avoid confusing speech and use simpler words so that the intended audience receives the message without confusion.

Further, one must also know how to communicate in different situations inside an organization. The understanding of Organizational Behavior comes into play during this time. Organizational Behavior, examines human behavior in a work environment and determines its impact on job structure, performance, communication, motivation, leadership.

Meetings and group conversations govern almost the day to day activity of the organization, it is essential to effectively communicate in such scenarios. Here is how you can become a good communicator is such situations:

• Have all round knowledge of the topic being discussed.
• Have clarity of thought and use concise sentences.
• Have an analytical and rational approach while presenting or giving inputs.
• Have foolproof evidences to support your claims.

Workplace communication & Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior seeks to understand the role and impact of the behavioral patterns of people in a group. Its facets help us to understand the kind of behavior that will help in effective operation of businesses. An organization can only be fully functional when there is proper group dynamics and rapport between the employees. It is based on a few fundamental concepts:

• Individual Differences
• Perception
• A whole Process
• Motivated Behavior
• The desire for involvement
• The value of the person
• Human Dignity
• Mutuality of Interest

How to ensure proper organizational behavior?

•  Improving Communication Skills
• Total Quality Management
• Respecting Diversity
• Empowering people
• Stimulating innovation and change
• Improving ethical behavior

A proper understanding of organizational behavior helps create a better working environment, wherein they become agents who integrate various factors of production and get desired results.

The post Why workplace communication is essential to thrive in an organization appeared first on Vskills Blog.

Public speaking is an act of speaking to a group of people with an intention of informing them regarding any agenda.This is basically a one sided conversation where one person of an established platform (for instance, CEO of any company or principal of any school ) spreads the information to the people (for example, employees of any company or students and teachers of a school), if that information concerns everyone.

When i speak of public speaking, one can imagine Martin Luther King Jr. presenting his famous speech ‘I have a dream’. Just look around and you will definitely find an old and aged man , sitting on a bench in the park with a stick in his hands and speaking to a bunch of people about his days of yore. That’s usually a one sided conversation. Public speaking, so to say, is a one way conversation where a single figure speaks to the crowd that is listening to that one person. That one person is either sharing her or his own views about any agenda or empowering the crowd with powerful and effective words and expressions. Then what’s the difference between public speaking and talking to the crowd? The difference lies in the way the information is conveyed.

What actually is the fear of public speaking?

For some people, public speaking is an opportunity to build a strong identity and  shine under the spotlight on the other side for some people, it seems intimidating, spine chilling and to some extent fearsome as well. Just imagine, you are invited to present your ideas in a room full of people. You’ve got influential and powerful ideas in the box that’s in your head but you see at the people as thousands of zombies waiting for your words to be served and rip your flesh apart. Well that’s when your fear overpowers your influential ideas. This fear of public speaking, also known as “glossophobia” where you find death an easy escape, could be hurting your professional and personal life. Whether you have to persuade your mom to let you out on a trip with your friends or to ask your boss for a promotion, you need to speak out and speaking skill is the key to move ahead towards achievement. A little bit of anxiety is understandable, your palm gets sweaty, your legs start trembling but this reflects a weak persona of the speaker. You need to be calm and steady to be able to engage the audience.

How to overcome the fear of public speaking

There would be some past events that creates the anxiety inside and disturbs your flow of ideas. This disturbance is clearly reflected in your speech. What anxious speakers usually does is whether skip their portion of speech or pretend as if they have sore throat. Some of them doesn’t wear their glasses to avoid contact with the audience. Well this is the wrong way of overcoming the fear of public speaking. You are not delivering a speech then, you are just telling yourself that ‘this will be over soon’.this way, you are not working for improvement but just the opposite. Don’t be the ‘unspeaker’. Embrace and accept your fear and focus more on your speech rather than on the anxiety. So let’s get to know what actually is the right way of overcoming glossophobia.

Tips to overcome your fear

1. Practice in front of an audience: when you practice alone, you might not know what mistakes you are making. Practicing your part in front for a group of people will lead you to know where your expressions lack the effectiveness. Not only detecting mistakes, but peaking in front of people will make you learn how actually you have to present it in front of the audience and how you will feel then. This way you can prepare yourself before actually presenting your speech in the room full of ‘kids’.
2. Express yourself truly : I once attended a seminar where the speaker was so frank with the audience that she even talked about how she was feeling standing in front of the audience on the podium. And the whole audience know she was being anxious. But the speech that she delivered then was strikingly impressive. So being frank about your feelings with the audience can sometimes lessens the distance between the speaker and the listener. If you get away with the anxiety that’s wandering in your mind, throbbing your heart extremely fast, you can get away with this feeling in the very beginning of your speech.
3. Know your mirror self: do you even know what you’re talking about? Do you understand the words you are speaking out? I sometimes wonder if we are aware of our own outer image that the audience is introduced to? Look in the mirror and ask yourself if, you know what you uttering, verbalising. Do you understand your own word and expressions? If yes, then only you are able to persuade and make understand the audience your unique ideas.
4. Don’t be mechanical : If you want your ideas to be accepted by the audience with satisfaction, their “willing suspension” to your ideology will only be possible if you create your speech in an creative and interesting way.a mechanical reading of the script will only lead the audience to fall asleep. Once, in a workshop, a speaker had given his speech on the topic travelogy, the most adventurous writeup. But the speaker tried every way to make it as boring as sleepy for the audience that the listener only lended their ears in the session of question and answers. Try to make your speech as interesting as possible. You can make it involving even just through your gestures.
5. Start with a question: If you are confused how you should begin your speech and where to start, then ask the audience involvement at the very beginning. Ask them questions about the topic that you are presenting and let them create the path for your further points to talk about. This way you can link your ideas to one another and end your speech with a satisfactory note.
6. Interact with the audience: Your interaction with the audience will let you know how much the listener knows about the topic and how much they expect from you to talk about it. Of course the question answer session is for the interaction but a constant conversation with the people in an informal way will let you to be more expressive and make you less fearful of the nervous atmosphere that your mind has created. Also if the audience has any part in the conversation then you will not feel like you are the centre of the spotlight and that every eye is stuck at you. 
7. Pick the subject that interests you as well: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” said Albert Einstein. Its true. If you don’t the subject understand yourself , how are you going to make people understand it? And this lack of understanding on the speakers side creates trouble for the speaker sometimes. So if you think of being clear and confident about the subject you are going to present, make sure that you understand it yourself first. And talking about the topic you are interested in will clear your path already as you will be happy and excited while delivering the speech and even though unconsciously, you will make it interesting for the audience.
8. Ppt or notepad to remind you of your points: prepare notes or a powerpoint presentation to keep you in track of your thoughts.sometimes you might forget the point that you want to link in the train of your thoughts. That’s where the PPT plays a helping hand to remind you of your next point.
9. Do it: until and unless you speak, it’s no way possible to overcome this fear. Put your thoughts in front of your family and friends. Make them understand of what you think. It would be frightening initially, but after three or four speeches you present, you will be the one who seek public speaking as a great opportunity to mark your identity, nor as someone who escapes reality out of fear.

Why should you enhance your speaking skills?

The ability to speak skillfully is the capacity to put words together in a meaningful way to reflect thoughts, opinions and feelings. It is said that a picture is worth thousand words but those words no doubt will come in handy if the picture is poorly interpreted. Speaking skill is clearly an important method of communication. Great leaders, politicians, philosophers, revolutionists, educators, lawyers seek to develop their speaking skills to be able to persuade, influence and most importantly inform the audience. A well delivered speech, with well chosen words gains the attention of the audience. Ever thought what would have happened of Rome if Mark Antony would not have been a good orator?
Your being able to versify your thoughts effectively positions you out and above from the rest. A well developed verbal skill improves self confidence. It not only enhances your career opportunities but also you find a deep level of fulfillment after you experience a connection with an appreciative audience through a well-composed and well-delivered presentation.
The question arises why someone should work on their speaking skills if they don’t want to be the sole speaker in the crowd, standing on the podium, empowering people. The idea is that public speaking is the macrocosm of our small talks in cafeteria. The difference lies only in the way we converse. So one has to be conscious of their words not only when they are asked to present a speech but also to communicate and justify their existence through verbalizing their thoughts in a day to day conversation. There comes the role of speaking skill. While you are speaking, your speech represents your point of view, your judgment, your way of thinking, and your identity.
For speaking effectively, including the words that make sense in your speech, first you need to listen. Listen to what people around you say, listen to what your mind says and assimilate what you think is true and then vocalize your point of view. The process helps in developing good conversational artistry.
As we have already talked about, a good oratory skill reflects your identity. If not trying to be the Martin Luther King Jr., your speech represents what you truly are. If not revolutionary, your speech affects the masses if delivered with mastery. So pubic speaking is not just talking about topics of national concern where the speaker is considered to be the intellectual and is expected to present a life changing and morale boosting eloquent and
articulated speech but it can be as general as the old man talking to a bunch of people in the park. Yes it is good to be concerned about your speech but being anxious about it for the whole week before it and while your presentation; you are just over thinking and burdening the box on your head. After all, the reality is that the audience in the room is just kids in their underpants seeking some knowledge from your brilliant mind.
There is no need of being insecure of your speech. Deliver your thoughts to the people around you as clearly as possible and skillfully uphold to your personality as “a man speaking to men”.

The post Public speaking | Master the art & overcome your fear appeared first on Vskills Blog.