Evaluate interpersonal and written communication techniques

I will be evaluating my previous work over this unit which involves written assignments and a power point presentation identifying the strengths and weaknesses of my communication skills towards the reader.

Written Communication Skills:

Using headers and titles

I have used headers and sub headers throughout my assignments named with my assignment task and the grade criteria with a brief topic of the following instruction.

Using paragraphs

I have structured my assignment and broken it down into paragraphs making it clearer for the user to see a brief topic summary then a small paragraph with information about the following topic. The user can easily skim through the assignment finding the information he needs quicker than it all being in one big cluster.

Use of grammar

I have read over my assignment several times after each task/paragraph has been completed, checking it for spelling mistakes then using the spell checker to also check. Ensuring that there aren’t any grammatical mistakes anywhere.

How can written communication skills help (me and the audience)?

Written communication skills are a viable part of ensuring your audience understand what is being shown. Written communication skills can include:

·         Spellchecks to avoid spelling errors

A presentation with spelling errors can cause confusion from the beginning which can be prevented with Spellcheck and reviewing your work. Words that are spelled correctly to look professional and presentable.

·         Proper Grammar and Punctuation

The use of punctuation and correct grammar show you are committed to having neat and presentable work that all your audience can easily understand. This includes: commas, exclamation marks, capital letters for the correct words and neatly laid out paragraphs.

·         Paragraphs/headings/sub-headings

Writing in paragraphs is an important part of having an understandable presentation and a core part of written communication skills. Paragraphs should only contain a short amount of relevant information that the audience can view without confusion. A paragraph can help a large amount of information be broken down and easily read.

Headings and sub-headings are alike with paragraphs. Although a Heading can be used to show various information under one title, a sub-heading narrows down what information the audience will be looking for specifically.

My view on my written communication skills

In my written work, I did my best to use the correct written communication skills needed for my work. I included paragraphs, correct grammar and the right use of headings and sub headings to make my work easy to understand. Written communication skills such as the ones listed helped my presentation to look tidy, grammatically correct and informatively correct so I would say that written communication skills helped rather than hindered my work, for me and my audience. 

Interpersonal skills:

When delivering my presentation before starting I made sure that my throat was clear by keeping hydrated so I could clearly talk to the classroom. Ensuring that nobody found me hard to understand or there was no difficulty hearing. I’d quickly look at PowerPoint, to make sure it would be on the correct page, then I’d be able to speak to the audience with eye contact and explain about the topics on the presentation.

Practice your presentation

I would use rehearsed gestures and body language that can be used to also explain the presentation, after each topic was covered asking if anybody had any questions, in case any of the listeners was un sure of what I was saying. While putting on a more confident approach to everybody, it was making my presentation more effective to explain. E.g. rehearsing lines so I don’t stutter or be silent on the spot

Engage with your audience

By keeping a friendly and positive vibe with the audience by telling a little story behind the presentation it can show a non-learning approach to understanding the presentation topics, speaking about experience and the simplest answer to avoiding such a problem.

Prepare yourself

Using simple common sense to look at any possible problems that could happen during the presentation before hand is also key to delivering a good presentation, checking the laptop for battery percentage, deciding where you’re going to stand when reading and speaking so everybody can see, and getting a feel for the surroundings of the room so you know how loud you’ll have to speak, you don’t want to be shouting but you want to make sure everybody can hear you.

The presentation can be fun!

Make the presentation interesting, it’s not all hard work, mention frequently about the ending goal and the rewards, it’s all about getting the message across to the reader and what better than reminding them what sort of achievements could be accomplished, it’ll perk every listener up into listening more carefully and understanding your presentation faster.

My view of my interpersonal skills

I feel that I have attempted to use a wide variety of interpersonal skills that my audience would have felt comfortable with. I used the correct hand gestures, asked questions and kept the presentation relevant to its topic. I made sure my audience were all up to speed and my presentation was timely changed to my audience’s understanding.
 If I could improve on one thing regarding my interpersonal skills, then I would have attempted to seem a bit more confident in my presentation showing. I feel this could have improved my presentation but this did not affect my showing overall as the audience understood my work regardless.