General
Skills
Cultural Differences
Within communication in the I.T industry, there are many
different cultural differences and languages which are used. These can have an effect
on communication and can be confusing. It is important that you are clear with
your voice and language and that you think of the needs of others. This also
applies for accents, as different accents can pronounce words differently to
yours. For example if someone was doing a presentation and they had a Scottish accent,
they could be difficult to understand. This is why it is important to be clear
with your voice, as if you are not you may offend someone, not get your point across
or be difficult to understand.
Questions and Answers
Within communication in the I.T industry, question and answer
sessions are important. They are important because they allow you to gain
information and a better understanding of the person you are communicating
with. It is important however to know what questions to ask and when to ask
them, as asking questions which are not related to the subject can be
unproductive. For example if someone was confused with an assignment they
needed to hand in, they could ask someone some questions which would help them
out with their work. It is also important to give reliable and relevant
answers, as misleading information can have negative effects.
Techniques for Engaging Audience
Within communication in the I.T industry, there are positive
and negative techniques for engaging your audience. Positive techniques will
engage your audience more and make them feel part of the presentation. It also
makes them more interested in your subject material. Positive techniques
include facing your audience, using your hands, projecting your voice clearly,
avoiding errors, being confident with your work and knowing your subject
material. Negative techniques include not facing your audience, standing
perfectly still with your hands behind your back, mumbling and being quiet with
your voice, apologising for making a mistake, not knowing your subject material
and saying “Urm” frequently.
Interpersonal
Skills
Positive and Negative Language
Within communication in the I.T industry, it is important
that your language is positive and not negative. Positive language is required
to be more productive in the workplace, as this will give you a more positive attitude
towards both yourself and your colleagues. Negative language should not be
used, as you will not be able to perform to your potential. This also means
that both you and your colleagues will have a negative opinion on you. You may
also need to deal with negative language sometimes, so it is important that you
act positively towards this behaviour and keep calm.
Barriers
Within communication in the I.T industry, it is important
that you understand your barriers. Barriers are anything which inhibits or
stops your ability to perform a task or presentation. Common barriers include
background noise, hearing problems, physical inhabitations and low vocal
projection. These can be avoided by making sure that background noise is
reduced to a minimum, you raise your voice to compensate for hearing problems
and you make sure that no one has their back turned to you.
Active Engagement
Within communication in the I.T industry, active engagement
is important whenever you are presenting something. This is important because
it allows your audience feel a part of the presentation and become more
interested in the subject material. Active engagement requires you to be
confident with your subject material, present it accordingly, accurately display
the information and use physical movement and gestures. It is also required
that you project your voice clearly and try to involve your audience as much as
possible.
Written
Communication Skills
Email, Social Media and Blogs
Within communication in the I.T industry, Email, Social Media
and Blogs are huge parts of communication. They allow masses of people to
communicate with each other on regular bases with relative ease. Email is used
mostly for communication between company’s, businesses and work colleagues. This
is useful to them because it allows them to communicate privately between each
other and send files and documents. Social media is mostly used for
communication between friends and family. This is useful to them because it
allows them to communicate effectively and allows them to stay in touch with
each other. Blogs are used for communication between anyone. This is useful
because it allows anyone to make an online discussion or topic and have others
comment and create new posts for that subject, broadening the mind of the
users.
Spelling and Grammar
Within communication in the I.T industry, spelling and
grammar are essential to your success. Spelling and grammar are important
because it allows the viewer of your work to read and interpret it effectively and
correctly. Incorrect spelling and grammar can cause problems and sometimes it
can cost someone’s job. To make sure you follow correct spelling and grammar,
proofread your work before you send it to someone else for viewing.
Structure
Within communication in the I.T industry, the structure of
your work is important. This is important because it allows the viewer to effectively
and correctly understand your work and respond accordingly. It also allows them
to keep interest. For example if I created a piece of work which had no coherent
structure or paragraphs, it would be un-interesting and confusing to read. However
if I structured it correctly, it would allow the viewer to easily understand
the work you have created.
