BUSINESS & LIFE: Elements of Effective Communication

Dr. Valda Henry
Dr. Valda Henry

Last week we dealt with the importance of communication, and this week we focus on the elements of effective communication.  There are several ways in which this topic can be approached and I have chosen to concentrate on Aristotle’s key elements of communication: ethos, pathos and logos (Edinger, 2013).

Ethos speaks of credibility; the reasons people believe us.  People believe us because of our position, qualification, experience, integrity and character.  A doctor speaking on an area of his specialization will have credibility as we believe he is trained and experienced in that area, but may have no credibility speaking about plumbing or electrical wiring if we believe this is not his area of competence.  If in the past someone has told us untruths, we may not believe them even when they tell us the truth.   This is one of the reasons why persons in leadership need to be competent and honest.  Competence and honesty provide authority and lead to trust, a critical element of communication.  It is imperative that leaders are competent, however competence is not sufficient to have full authority, there has to be trust.  I tell supervisors and managers, “Don’t tell untruths, no matter how small.”  If you are not at liberty to discuss a matter or the timing is not appropriate, tell your employees that you cannot discuss the matter now instead of telling an untruth for invariably it will be discovered and when that happens, your credibility is undermined.

Pathos speaks to making a heart connection – connecting to persons emotionally so that they are moved to act.  When we connect with persons on more than an intellectual level, the impact of our communication is more long lasting.  They are able to empathise and this is what causes the action.  It is easier to make a heart connection when there is credibility, when we are being true to self and authentic.  On Friday (May 31) I read a story on DNO in which Leonard Oscar spoke about the lessons learnt from refurbishing furniture, and this story touched me deeply for I could feel the authenticity of the young man, though I do not know him, and I was moved to act.   When we are able to connect and touch our employees’ hearts, they respond and act without us having to micromanage.

Logos is the basis for coming to one’s conclusions, so that we can be understood.  We need to provide the logic behind our thinking and communication.  We need to provide clarity and appeal to others’ sense of reason.  Simply, it must make sense to the person for the message to be accepted.   Have you ever listened to or read a story and at the end you say, “That makes no sense.  Something is missing?”  The communicator has failed to appeal to your sense of reason and consequently has failed to communicate effectively.  When this happens, you may then begin to question the person’s credibility and since you don’t understand, it does not connect.  You may then dismiss that communication completely or go in search of the answers.  We need to provide the reasoning behind our decisions to be able to obtain our employees’ support.  The study from Watson Wyatt and my own experience working with companies, referred to in last week’s article speak to the importance of explaining and people’s understanding to get them to act.  I often say that people do not resist change because they want to. They resist because they don’t understand.  They don’t understand why the change is necessary and how the change will affect them and the easiest thing is to resist.

The three elements, ethos, pathos and logos are interrelated.  All three must be present for communication to be truly effective.  A person may be very competent but find it difficult to articulate his point of view and communicate.  We then say, “He knows his stuff.  He is a bright person but he cannot express it”.  Another person may be competent and provide a reasoning however if he has no credibility, we do not believe and it is difficult to connect to our hearts, we then say “I hear him but I don’t trust him,” and so we are not moved to act.  It is difficult to connect to our hearts, to empathise if we do not believe or understand.

So what are some concrete ways to get the three together?  I posit the following and this list is by no means complete:

  1. Tell the truth
  2. Know your “stuff”.  This is acquired through study, research and experience
  3. Understand the purpose of your communication – what message do you want to leave the audience with?
  4. Know your audience and tailor the material to your intended audience.  Unless the audience understands what you have communicated and left with the intended message, you have failed to communicate
  5. Choose the appropriate means of communication
  6. Consider the appropriate timing of the communication
  7. Draw from your own experience and tell your story in bringing across your point wherever possible. People remember stories and this serves to connect to the heart
  8. Be authentic – be You!

Until we meet again, May the Lord continue to Keep Us in the Palm of His Hands.

Valda Frederica Henry, VF Inc.’s CEO and Principal Trainer is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR), Certified Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Practitioner, holds a PhD in Industrial Relations & Business, a Masters in Business Administration and a BSc Management Studies. VF Inc. is a Human Resource & Finance Consultancy firm with a Training and Recruitment arm, and the producer and host of a live TV program “The Cutting Edge of Business”.

 

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7 Comments

  1. Oh yes
    June 3, 2013

    You came across very effectively. Excellent presentation, free to all business persons who want yo improve their communication skills.

  2. Sensible Dominican
    June 3, 2013

    Thank you Dr Henry. Useful information.

  3. ok
    June 3, 2013

    you have taught me some little things and reminded me of others which i learnt a long time ago. thanks

  4. ok
    June 3, 2013

    thank you doc. do you plan to write all these good thoughts in a book? that would be nice!!!

  5. Anonymous
    June 3, 2013

    Thanks Valda

  6. Robo
    June 3, 2013

    Very good stuff Dr. Valda, I think you are doing a great work; just be honest. May God bless you and your firm as you continue this effort in educating the nation.

  7. Ki sah
    June 3, 2013

    Thanks for sharing these important facts. Thats the first time I have read your article after several opportunities given that I refused. This is good stuff. As a manager, I think I should keep reading this area more often. In my opinion you have learnt that the more knowledge is shared the more you learn

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