Page 187 - Effective Communication Soft Skills Strategies For Success by Nitin Bhatnagar, Mamta Bhatnagar

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Communication Skills | 175

are writing a report and you do not know the purpose of the report, it is hard
to know what to say. What is the content, what aspects are to be covered, what
are the issues to be viewed with caution, how long should the report be, should
it provide conclusions and recommendations or simply facts and figures, are
the dimensions to be taken care of. Unless you know why the report is needed,
you can not really answer those questions intelligently. You are, thus, forced to
create a very general document, one that covers a little bit of everything.
Likewise, you need to know something about the biases, education,
age, status, and style of your receiver in order to create an effective message.
If you are addressing strangers, try to find out more about them; if that is
impossible, try to project yourself into their position by using your common
sense and imagination. Whatever the tactic, the point is to write and speak
from your audience’s point of view.

Adapt Your Message to Your Audience

The best way to create messages carefully is to adapt your message to your
audience so that you can help them understand and accept it. If you are
writing for a specialist in your field, for example, you can use technical terms
that might be unfamiliar to a lay person. On the other hand, if you are com-
municating to someone who might not share your understanding of a topic
or someone who might not have your wealth of experience, you can mini-
mize language barriers by using specific and accurate words, especially the
ones that your audience will understand. Decisions about the content, orga-
nization, style, and tone of your message all depend, at least to some extent,
on the relationship between you and your audience. If you don’t know your
audience, you will be forced to make these decisions in the dark, and at least
part of your message may miss the mark.

Develop and Connect Your Ideas

Deciding what to say is the first hurdle in the process of communication.
Many people make the mistake of trying to convey everything that they
know about a subject. Unfortunately, when a message contains too much of
information, it becomes difficult to absorb. As you decide what to include
and what to leave out, keep in mind that if you try to explain something
without first giving the receiver adequate background, you will create confu-
sion. Likewise, if you recommend actions without first explaining why they
are justified, your message may provoke an emotional response that inhibits
understanding.
It is also important to make written messages visually appealing and easy
to understand by balancing general concepts with specific illustrations. Use
specific details such as numbers, tables, and figures, and using memorable
words such as colours, objects, scents, sounds, and tastes to create a picture

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