BCA 1st Semester
BC0032 – 02
COMMUNICATION SKILLS  |
1. Explain the various types
of listening about 200 words.
Ans: Listening is a highly complex,
interactive process “by which spoken language is converted to meaning in the
mind”.
There are many types of listening which
are explained below:
1. Discriminative Listening:
As the name itself
suggests, Discriminative listening is the most basic type of listening, whereby
the difference between the sound is identified. If you cannot hear differences,
then you cannot grasp the meaning that is expressed by such differences.
We learn to find the
difference sound within our own language early, and later are unable to
discriminate between the phonemes of other languages. This is one reason why
people belonging to one country find it difficult to speak the language of
another nation, as they find the sounds similar, but cannot distinguish the
subtle sounds that are required in that language.
2. Comprehension Listening:
When the discrimination between sound is achieved, one should
learn to make sense of the perceived sound. To comprehend the meaning, one
requires a lexicon of words and all rules of grammar and syntax by which one
can understand what others are saying. The same is true with regard to the
visual components of communication. An understanding of the body language helps
us understand what the other person really means.
In communication, some words are more important and some are less,
and comprehension is often facilitated by the extraction of key facts and word
from a verbose communication.
3. Evaluative Listening:
Evaluating listening is also called ‘critical listening’ because
we make judgments about what the other person is saying. We seek to assess the
truth of what is being said. We also judge what they say about our values,
assessing them as good or bad, worthy or unworthy. Evaluative listening is
particularly relevant when the other person is trying to persuade us, perhaps
to change our behavior or belief held by us.
4. Appreciative
Listening:
In appreciative listening the main intention is to seek certain
information which will be appreciated. For example, the information that helps
meet our goals and needs are looked for. We use appreciative listening when we
are listening to good music, poetry or maybe even the stirring word of a great
leader.
5. Empathetic Listening:
When we listen empathetically, we seek to understand the beliefs,
moods, emotions and goals of other people. This requires excellent
discrimination and close attention to the nuances of emotional signals.
In order to make others expose their deep emotions to us, we also
need to demonstrate our empathy in our demeanor towards the, asking sensitively
and in a way that encourages self-disclosure,
6. Therapeutic Listening:
In therapeutic listening, the listener has a purpose of not only
empathizing with the speaker but also to use this deep connection in order to
help the speaker understand, change or develop in some way.
This not only happens when you go to see a therapist but also in
many social situations, where friends and family seek to both diagnose problems
from listening and also to help the speaker find a remedy for those problems.
This also happens in work situations, where Managers, HR people, trainers and
Coaches seek to help employees learn and develop.
7.
Dialogic Listening:
8.
The word dialogue stems from the Greek words ‘dia’, meaning
‘through’ and ‘logos’ meaning ‘words’. Thus dialogic listening means learning
through conversation. It is an engaged interchange of ideas and information in
which we actively seek to learn more about the person and how they think.
Dialogic listening is also known as ‘relational’ listening’ because with the
help of exchange of ideas while listening, we also indirectly create a
relation.
2. Explain the
various strategies for effective listening [Preferably with examples suitable to various context.
Ans:
There are many way to improve listening
skills. Following are some of the strategies
for improve listening skills.
1. Maintain eye contact with the speaker:
Eye contact keeps us focused on the job
at hand and keeps you involved in the lecture/speech. It is important to
position our self in such a way that helps us to maintain eye contact while
allowing us to watch for body language and other non-verbal forms of
communication.
2. Provide clues that you are
actively involved in listening:
Clues that you are actively listening
can go a long way. It is important to make the speaker feel that you care about
what he/she is saying. Sit up straight and look directly at the speaker. Now
and then, nod to show that you understand. At appropriate points you may also
smile. Frown, laugh, or be silent. These are all ways to let the speaker know that
you are really listening. Remember, you listen with your face as well as your
ears!
3. Focus on content, not delivery:
Have you ever counted the number of times a teacher clears hi/her
throat in a fifteen minutes period? If so, you weren’t focusing on content.
Focus on what the speaker says and not on how his looks are or how his delivery
style is.
4. Avoid emotional involvement:
When we are too emotionally involved in listening, we tend to hear
what we want to hear—not what is actually being said. We should try to remain
objective and open-minded.
5. Avoid distractions:
We should don’t let our mind wander or be distracted by anything.
It is necessary that we must concentrate. Concentration requires willingness
and practice. Practicing active listening helps to develop concentration but
there are other elements that contribute to our ability to concentrate on what
someone is saying. When we are involved in an exchange of information, we cant
involve our self in multi-tasks. We have to concentrate on the speaker’s word
completely without being distracted by anything.
6. Refrain from formulating an immediate response:
It is important to refrain from formulating an immediate response.
Let our self finish listening before we begin to speak. We can’t really listen
if we are busy thinking about what we want to say next, whenever it is our turn
to talk.
7. Ask question:
If we are not sure we
understand what the speaker has said, we should ask. It is a good idea to
repeat in our own words what the speaker said, so that we can be sure our
understanding is correct.
8. Use the gap between
the rate of speech and our rate of thought:
We can think faster than the speaker can talk. That’s one reason
why our mind may tend to wander. All the above suggestions will help us keep
our mind occupied and focused on what is being said. We can actually begin to
anticipate what the speaker is going to say as a way to keep our mind from
straying. Our mind does have the capacity to listen, think, write and ponder at
the same time, but it needs to be trained.
9.
Be wiling to accept revisions:
It will keep the communication process running smoothly. Often
people are so busy trying to defend their positions that they fail to really
stop and think whether they could be improved upon or viewed in a different
way. This is what is often referred to as “spending 90 seconds expressing an
opinion and 9000 seconds blindly defending it.”
10.
Choose the right environment:
It is important because it will help us focus on what we are
listening and avoid distractions. Although we cannot always create or call an
environment ‘perfect’ for all types of communication, in general, it is best to
avoid areas where there are high levels of activity, loud noises, and
uncomfortable temperature, poor air flow, etc.
11.
Stay active by asking questions for our self:
Active listening keeps we on our toes. Here are some questions we
can ask our self as we listen: What key point is the speaker making?
How does this fit with what I already know?
How is this lecture/speech organized?
12.
Treat listening as a challenging mental task:
Listening to an academic lecture is not a passive act-at least it
shouldn’t be. We need to concentrate on what is said so that we can process the
information thoroughly.
Implementing all or some of these strategies needs willingness and
patience. The effort is worthwhile however, as the long-term benefit of
improved communication skills will greatly increase one’s chances of success in
the business world.
3. How should
we handle the customer’s complaints?
Ans:
A
career in any industry, be it at the front office, managing the other staff of
dealing with customers, can be managed smoothly if we develop our listening
skills, especially when facing customer complaints. Listening skills have to be
mastered because the customers you face are not the same always. We may come
across a customer, who is drunk, may get belligerent or even violent if
offended. Listening and being sympathetic are your best first lines of defense.
You may sometimes come across another category of customers who are not
satisfied with the treatment that they have received. These also should be
attended with patient hearing.
Handling
customer complaints need not have to be a battle always. With the right tools
arid responses you can turn complaints to your advantage; to help you build
your business. How do you deal with your customer complaints? The easiest way
to find out is to pick up the phone and play the role of the complaining
customer. If you are very much irritated with the service you get or lithe
person on the other side doesn’t listen to your complaints, would you return to
the same place? lii such cases, you need to create a standardized method for
dealing with your complainers and turn them into loyal customers.
One of the,
great tools used in this connection is the technique of BLAST. The acronym
stands for:
1. Believe:
This is the cornerstone of handling a customer complaint. The customers may
be lying and be incorrect about their situation. It is important to understand
that your customers believe that your establishment has wronged them. You should
listen to the problem and show that you believe in what they say. “The customer
is always right!!”
2. Listen:
Stop and listen to your customer’s complaint. While listening, engage in
active listening where you either nod or repeat some words to assure the
customer that you are ‘really’ listening to the complaint. It is a natural
instinct that as soon as a customer starts to complain, we start to think of
how we will respond to the accusation before we listen till the end. We will be
rehearsing the response to be given to the complainer and keep ourselves ready
to fight back, Take a second, relax, and listen, there are occasions where a
complaining customer will be rude, angry, and use vulgar language. As a
professional and a practiced listener, stay the course and remain calm and
level headed. When the customer is done venting; in a calm, nonjudgmental tone,
repeat their problem. Here is an example of how a sales assistant at a medical
shop deals with an angry customer “What I hear you saying is that you came in,
asked for and paid for 20 tablets of Bitahistine and when you got home, you
discovered that you only received 18, is that correct?
By repeating the problem at hand, you’ve demonstrated your ability to the customer that you heard and understood his problem. Never defend or justify. A patient and active listening is the best answer to satisfy even the most short-tempered customer.
By repeating the problem at hand, you’ve demonstrated your ability to the customer that you heard and understood his problem. Never defend or justify. A patient and active listening is the best answer to satisfy even the most short-tempered customer.
3. Apologize: Always apologizes even if you did nothing wrong. From yaw customer’s perspective, they have a legitimate complaint, and they expect an apology. It could be as simple as “I’m sorry we’ve caused you terrible inconvenience.’ A sincere apology will usually diffuse a lot 01 frustration that the customer has. There is an exception to this rule though, if a customer calls with a critical complaint, such as allergic reaction of a medicine which has been just administered to him, don’ apologize, it may be construed as an acceptance of guilt! Instead, ref e to your company’s procedures for such events.
4. Satisfy: Satisfied customer not only returns to your organization for second time, but also advertises about his satisfaction to many of hi friends and thereby improves your business! Be the judge of what is fair but allow them the opportunity to feel empowered over the situation Many times they may ask for the problem to be set right before their next visit or that you must talk to the person, who made the mistake an correct him. You can also develop a system of sending out personalized postcard apologizing for the mistake. You can also extend a special treat to your regular customer to show that you care for him.
5. Thank: At
the beginning, at the end, in the middle; it doesn’t matter, thank the customer
for calling and complaining. Always try to think positively. With the simple
act of complaining, your customer is telling you “I care about your business
and your success. They are giving you the opportunity to fix the problem and
invite them back so they can give you more of their money. Thank them for
giving you that second chance, for telling you know that something in your
organization didn’t work like it normally does, for giving you the chance to
make it right, and for the opportunity not to damage your reputation!
4. Give
examples for the various types of reading (2 each)
Ans:
We read in different ways depending on the purpose for which we are
reading a text. Following are the example of some of the different types of
reading.
1. Skimming:
i)
Suppose we want to buy a book on
Communication Skills, we go to a book store and see a rack full of books, with
the same title but different authors. We don’t have time to read the pages before
deciding on buying the book. Hence, we quickly go through the contents, title
page and the blurb. By now we have decided to buy one book. This is skimming
reading. Thus, skimming means “looking quickly over a text/book to get a
general superficial idea of the content.”
ii)
At bus stop or at a news paper
stall we often read headlines of the news in many papers without reading whole
article is another example.
2. Scanning:
i)
When we get a new word during the
article reading, we would like to know the meaning of the word, for our own
benefit. So, you get the dictionary and carefully find the word. This type of
careful reading, to find out the specific, clear details, is known as Scanning.
ii)
Another Example is some time like
in exam we have to read a paragraph and answer the questions. That time we
carefully read each and every word of paragraph. This is also scanning.
3. Extensive Reading
When we read for the pure pleasure of
reading we call it extensive reading.
i)
During bus or train travel we
might get hold of a novel, a comic strip, a magazine etc.
ii) At
home if we are getting bore than we read some magazine etc.
4. Intensive Reading
When we read shorter texts like a
research paper, for getting specific details/information we read slowly with a
lot of concentration. This is intensive reading.
i)
Like we read a book as a resource
material for research we read it intensively because the overall understanding
is not the objective of our reading.
ii)
When we read an article in order
to write a review on it, we read it intensively.
5. Loud and Silent Reading
Most of our day-to-day reading is done
silently.
i)
When we read an article or an
advertisement, we are engaged in the
process of deriving meaning from the passage.
Some time we have to read aloud like:
ii) In
a training session we have read the instruction loudly.
5. What is the
purpose of paraphrasing and what are its techniques?
Ans:
Paraphrasing
is a technique that involves changing a text matter, so that it is quite
dissimilar to the main source. But we should be careful to retain all
the meaning of the passage. This skill is useful white expanding the taken
notes or vice versa. Effective paraphrasing avoids the risk of plagiarism. You
should remember some important points in the process of paraphrasing. They are
—
‘1. Although paraphrasing techniques are used in summary writing, it does
not aim to shorten the length of a text, merely to restate the text.
E.g.: Evidence of a lost civilization has been found off the coast ofChina
This could be paraphrased as —
Remains of an ancient society have been discovered in the sea nearChina
2. A good paraphrase is significantly different from the wording of the original, without altering the meaning at all, Read the text below and then decide which is the best paraphrase.
‘1. Although paraphrasing techniques are used in summary writing, it does
not aim to shorten the length of a text, merely to restate the text.
E.g.: Evidence of a lost civilization has been found off the coast of
This could be paraphrased as —
Remains of an ancient society have been discovered in the sea near
2. A good paraphrase is significantly different from the wording of the original, without altering the meaning at all, Read the text below and then decide which is the best paraphrase.
Text: Ancient Egypt Nile
suffered from a prolonged drought. This would have had a devastating effect on
the ability of Egyptian society to feed itself,
a) The sudden
ending of Egyptian civilization over 4000 years ago was probably caused by
changes in the weather in the region to the south. Without the regular river
flooding there would not have been enough food.
b) Research
into deposits of the Egyptian Nile indicate that a long dry period in the
mountains at the river’s source may have led to a lack of water for irrigation
around 2180 BC, which was when the collapse of Egyptian society began.
3. Techniques:
i) Changing vocabulary — studies> research
society> civilization
mud >deposits
ii) Changing word class —Egypt
mountainous regions (adj.+ noun) > in the mountains (n)
iii) Changing word order — Ancient Egypt collapsed> the collapse of Egyptian society began.
i) Changing vocabulary — studies> research
society> civilization
mud >deposits
ii) Changing word class —
mountainous regions (adj.+ noun) > in the mountains (n)
iii) Changing word order — Ancient Egypt collapsed> the collapse of Egyptian society began.
6. Write a
letter to the Program coordinator, Information technology, to inform that the
submission of your assignments has been delayed due to a valid reason. Your
letter should contain
- reason for
the late submission
- apology for
late submission
- tentative
date on or before which you submit the assignments
Ans:
A/504, Meera Bldg,
PP Road, Andheri East,
Mumbai 400069
05th December 2007
Program Coordinator
Information Technology,
Respected Sir/Madam,
Sub: Late submission of assignment
I apologize for the late submission of my BCA 2nd semester’s assignment due to accident
in which my right hand got fractured and the doctor has told to take a bed rest
of 3 weeks. So I am unable to draft my assignment.
I will submit my assignment as soon as I’ll get well.
I assure you that I will submit my assignment on or before 30th
December 2007.
Please accept this apology letter as a confirmation and allow me
to submit my assignment on the above mention date.
Yours faithfully
Suresh Kumar Suthar
Enc. Medical Certificate.
7. Write a memo
to the department of Information Technology, Sikkim Manipal
University MGM
College
Ans:
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