Essentials of Communication Skill and Skill Enhancement

A Primer for Students and Professionals

John O. Greene

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780367538385
• eBook ISBN: 9781000348019
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business Communication
• Index: Business

For those who wish to learn or teach the tools of skillful communication, this book provides concrete insight into what makes a person a successful communicator and guides readers in ways to improve their own communication skills and those of others.

Predicated on four simple notions – that communication can be done well or poorly, that communication skills matter, that people differ in those skills, and that those skills can be improved – the book helps readers identify and enhance their own communication strengths and address weaknesses, assess the communication skills of others, and coach others to improvement. Written in an accessible style, chapter highlights include an engaging review of the research on the practical implications of communication skills in our professional and personal lives. The nature of communication skill and issues in skill assessment are examined. Particular attention is given to understanding sources of communication-skill deficits and the design of effective communication-skill training programs. A final chapter examines the roles of technology, cross-cultural interaction, and aging as they relate to communication skill.

This book is written for students and professionals in fields such as human resources, sales, training, counseling, customer relations, education, health-care, and the ministry, with application for courses in professional communication, applied communication, and communication skills at the undergraduate, advanced professional degree, and continuing education levels.

1
The Communication Skills Paradox

A paradox consists of multiple true but seemingly contradictory propositions. And as soon as we undertake an examination of communication skill and skill enhancement we run smack dab into a curious paradox that involves not just two, but three, apparently contradictory points. Now standard practice in writing a book like this calls for the author to overview what’s coming in the rest of the chapter by telling the reader what those three “seemingly contradictory” points are. Not here. That would be like flipping to the last page of a mystery novel to find out “who done it.” So, instead, let’s just follow the story and examine each of the key “plot twists” in turn.

Communication Skills Matter

You almost certainly had a sense of it before you picked up this book, but as I noted in the Introduction, communication skills are important because a wide variety of positive life events and outcomes are associated with good communication skills. In fact, studies show that in virtually every aspect of people’s lives, skillful communicators tend to fare better than their less skilled counterparts. In what for many readers might be ascending order of importance, let’s consider what we know about the role of communication skills in: (a) professional and career success, (b) interpersonal relationships, and (c) personal happiness and well-being.

Communication Skills and Career Outcomes

It may be stating the obvious to assert that communication skills are related to positive outcomes in the workplace – and the benefits of social interaction skills kick in immediately – as soon as a job applicant shows up for an employment interview. Many studies make clear that interviewees’ oral communication skills (e.g., the ability to express one’s ideas clearly, verbal fluency, etc.) and nonverbal behaviors indicative of composure and enthusiasm (e.g., facial pleasantness, eye contact, gestures) contribute to more positive evaluations by employment interviewers (see, for example: Barrick, Dustin, Giluk, Stewart, Shaffer, & Swider, 2012; Burnett & Motowidlo, 1998; DeGroot & Gooty, 2009; Gifford, Ng, & Wilkinson, 1985; Howard & Ferris, 1996; Ugbah & Evuleocha, 1992; Young & Kacmar, 1998). In fact, one analysis of the research on employment-interview outcomes (Huffcutt, 2011) found that “social skills” is a stronger predictor of interview outcomes than direct job-related knowledge and ability!

And the workplace advantages associated with good communication skills don’t end once a person lands a job. Many professions – like sales, finance, consulting, and so on, depend crucially on a person’s ability to communicate effectively with clients. Other careers, engineering for example, typically place a premium on the ability to work effectively in team environments. It should not be surprising, then, to find that verbal and nonverbal communication skills are related to assessments of job performance (see, for example, Barrick, Shaffer, & DeGrassi, 2009; DeGroot & Motowidlo, 1999; Ferris, Witt, & Hochwarter, 2001; Hochwarter, Witt, Treadway, & Ferris, 2006; Penley, Alexander, Jernigan, & Henwood, 1991; Witt & Ferris, 2003). And perhaps more tangibly: Good communication skills are a key predictor of salary increases and career advancement (see, for example: Ferris, Witt, & Hochwarter, 2001; Penley, Alexander, Jernigan, & Henwood, 1991; Reinsch & Gardner, 2014; Sypher & Zorn, 1986). Companies, of course, are keenly aware of all this, and recruiters visiting college campuses report that communication skills are among the most important qualifications they are seeking in prospective hires (Maes, Weldy, & Icenogle, 1997; Peterson, 1997).

The point, again, is that communication skills matter, and we can see ample evidence in support of that premise in the studies that show that these skills are related to work and career success. But people’s lives are not solely defined by their jobs, and the case for the importance of communication skills becomes even stronger when we consider other aspects of our lives.

Communication Skills and Interpersonal Relationships

When I was a young man, maybe 30-years-old, and less than 10 years into my career, my Department Head, Dave Berg, asked me if I had heard about the fellow who, on his deathbed, said, “I wish I had spent more time at the office.” I said, “No” – and Dave responded, “Do you know why? (and he paused) … Because it never happened.” There is more to our lives than our jobs. And stepping outside the factory or office, the case for the importance of communication skills becomes even more compelling. Before reading any further, take a few moments to reflect on your current interpersonal relationships – your family relationships, your friendships, etc. – and think about how you are enriched by the people who populate your life (or how impoverished your life would be without them). What would your life be like without your friends, romantic partner, and other loved ones?

Communication is the “stuff” by which we build and define our relationships with others. Obviously this is true in the case of “voluntary” relationships, like friendships and romantic relationships, where affection, trust, respect, and so on, develop out of the ways that people communicate with each other. But it is also true of kinships (and work relationships) where you may not have a say in whether someone is your sibling (or co-worker), but your mutual message behavior will still define the nature and quality of that relationship.

It should be no surprise, then, to find that communication skills play a key role in establishing and maintaining strong and satisfying interpersonal relationships. As one scholar has noted, “There is no such thing as a high-quality interpersonal relationship based on bad communication” (Segrin, 2001, p. 214). And just as in the case of job interviews, communication skills can establish the course for the future of a relationship in the first few minutes. There are people who are engaging conversationalists – those who possess skills at “small talk” – and there are others who struggle to make casual conversation. If you’ve ever been introduced to someone who fell into the latter category, you probably have a good sense of the implications that skills at small talk can have for the development of interpersonal relationships: The odds are stacked against building a relationship if two people can’t find “something to talk about.”

In the early stages of getting to know someone, interaction skills related to smooth turn-taking, topic management, and conveying interest in what the other is saying, play an important role. As a relationship progresses into friendship, our expectations for what a friendship should provide come into play, and skills involving provision of emotional support, reciprocal self-disclosure, and confidentiality, for example, become increasingly important (see Samter, 2003). In the context of initiating dating and romantic relationships, Davis (1973) identifies six things (e.g., using appropriate “opening lines”) a person needs to accomplish when seeking to pursue a relationship. In ongoing romantic relationships Dindia and Timmerman (2003; see also Afifi & Coveleski, 2015) review research on identifying behaviors involved in deepening and maintaining intimate relationships.

Of particular interest are behaviors associated with more (and less) satisfying marriages. People (almost) always enter marriage with the expectation that their relationship will be an enduring source of support, mutual growth, and happiness. But of course we are all quite aware of the fact that, contrary to hopes and expectations, marriages are often fraught with conflict, disappointment, and pain – and many end in divorce. A great deal of research, then, has focused on identifying behaviors, and mutually enacted behavioral patterns, that distinguish strong, satisfying marriages from those that are distressed (see Kelly, Fincham, & Beach, 2003). Among the skills that appear to be particularly important in distinguishing happy and unhappy couples are those involved in dealing with conflict and disagreement (e.g., attentive listening, problem-solving, managing negative nonverbal emotional displays, etc.). In distressed couples, people are more likely to interrupt their spouses, exhibit hostility, give each other the “silent treatment,” and so on.

And the role of communication skills in close relationships may extend beyond their impact on relational satisfaction. It is one thing to be dissatisfied with your marriage; it is another to be the target of aggression, or even physical abuse. In a twist on the familiar adage that “the first man to raise a fist is the man who has run out of ideas,” the “Argumentative Skill Deficit Model” (see Infante, Chandler, & Rudd, 1989; Infante & Rancer, 1996; Nicotera, 2015) suggests that people resort to aggression and violence when they lack the communication skills to achieve their goals in other ways.

Communication Skills and Personal Well-Being

A third approach to highlighting the importance of communication skills is to consider the role of social skills in fostering personal well-being. Intuitively, it simply stands to reason that if: (a) things are going well in your career and work-life, and (b) you enjoy good relationships with your significant other, friends, family, and co-workers, you’re likely to be a happier, more well-adjusted person. In fact, one prominent researcher in the area, Chris Segrin (2001, p. 214), has stated that, “The impact of social skills on interpersonal relationships, and in turn on mental health, simply cannot be overstated.”

Consider that, on the positive side, having close relationships is associated with happiness and life satisfaction (e.g., Myers, 2000) – and what can be better going through your day with a smile on your face and a lilt in your step? Conversely, poor social skills, and problematic interpersonal relationships in particular, have been shown to be associated with a range of mental health problems, including depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, and sexual dysfunction (Segrin, 2001; see also Arroyo & Segrin, 2013). Regarding the last of these, one review of relevant research showed that sexual offenders (e.g., rapists, pedophiles, etc.) had significantly lower social skills than non-offenders (Emmers-Sommer, et al., 2004).

So, evidence shows that good social skills play an important role in establishing and maintaining satisfying interpersonal relationships, and skills and relationships, in turn, contribute to psychological well-being. But, there is one more key point to be made here: The positive effects of skillfully managed interpersonal interactions extend even to a person’s physiological well-being. It is well-established, for example, that difficult interactions lead to production of stress hormones (see, for example, Aloia & Solomon, 2015; Robles & Kiecolt-Glaser, 2003; Robles, Shaffer, Malarkey, & Kiecolt-Glaser, 2006; Priem & Solomon, 2011), and that these stress reactions impact a wide range of health outcomes including blood pressure, immune system function, and cardiovascular disease (see Diener & Chan, 2011; Everson-Rose &...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1 The Communication Skills Paradox
• 2 Some Names for Things You Already “Know”
• 3 The Nature of Communication Skill and Communication Competence
• 4 Assessment of Communication Skills and Related Constructs
• 5 The Course of Communication-Skill Acquisition
• 6 Designing Communication-Skill Training Programs
• 7 Understanding Communication Performance Deficits: The Role of Ability and Motivation
• 8 A Second Look at Communication Performance Deficits: The Role of Behavioral Production Processes
• 9 Yet Another Look at Communication Performance Deficits: The Role of Affect and Arousal
• 10 The “Transfer Problem” (and Why COMMUNICATION SKILLS Training May Not “Take”)
• 11 Communication Skills and Human Connection in Evolving Contexts
• Index