LESSON 1: OBTAIN AND CONVEY WORKPLACE INFORMATION

Effective Communication

Communication is the process of exchanging information and ideas. There are many
means of communication. To be an effective and valuable member of your
workplace it is important that you become skilled in all of the different methods of
communication that are appropriate.

The Communication Process for communication to occur it must pass from a

sender to a receiver. This must occur irrespective of the form of communication. For
communication to be effective it must be understood by the receiver and be able to be
responded to. This means that total communication involves speaking, reading, listening,
and reasoning skills. As communications pass from the source to the receiver there is
plenty of opportunity for its original meaning to change or alter.

Therefore listening, reasoning and feedback is an important part of the process as

it is an opportunity for the sender to make sure the receiver has understood the message.
The other consideration is the “noise” associated with the communication – what else is
happening, what are the distractions, the baggage etc. Noise can have a big impact on
the message the receiver decodes.

Parts of Speech

The words that we use can be divided into these classes:

 noun – A noun is a type of word that represents a person, thing, or place, like mother, apple,
or valley.
 verb – A verb is a type of word that describes an action or a state of being,
like wiggle, walk, run, jump, be, do, have, or think.
 pronoun – A pronoun is a substitute for a noun. Some pronouns
are: I, me, she, hers, he, him, it, you, they, them, etc.
 adjective – An adjective is a word that describes something (a noun). Some adjectives
are: big, cold, blue, and silly. One special type of adjective is an article, a word that introduces a
noun and also limits or clarifies it; in English, the indefinite articles are a and an, the definite article
is the.
 adverb – An adverb is a word that tells “how,” “when,” “where,” or “how much”. Some adverbs
are: easily, warmly, quickly, mainly, freely, often, and unfortunately.
 preposition – A preposition shows how something is related to another word. It shows the spatial
(space), temporal (time), or logical relationship of an object to the rest of the sentence. The
words above, near, at, by, after, with and from are prepositions.
 conjunction – A conjunction is a word that joins other words, phrases, clauses or sentences. Some
conjunctions are: and, as, because, but, or, since, so, until, and while.
 interjection – An interjection is a word that expresses emotion. An interjection often starts a
sentence but it can be contained within a sentence or can stand alone. Some interjections
are oh, wow, ugh, hurrah, eh, and ah.

Sentence Construction
A sentence is a collection of words that convey sense or meaning and is formed
according to the logic of grammar. Clear, short sentences are preferable, and more
effective, than long, complex ones.

The simplest sentence consists only of a noun, a naming word, and a verb or
action word. For example, in the sentence “Mary walked”, Mary is the naming noun
and walked is the action verb.

Mary is the proper noun in the example sentence above but can be substituted in
following sentences by the pronoun she. A pronoun is a word that can be used
instead of a noun when a noun has already been mentioned. Other pronouns
are he, we, they and it.

Most sentences have a subject noun and an object noun. For example, consider
the sentence “Mary walked towards the hotel”. Mary is the subject noun (a person or thing
performing the action of walking), and the hotel is the object noun (a person or thing
towards which the action is directed)

Adjectives describe nouns. Adjectives usually come before the noun.

They are sometimes known as ‘describing words’. When two adjectives are used
to describe one noun, they are set apart with the use of a comma.

For example: The lazy dog dozed. The hairy, lazy dog dozed.
Adverbs describe verbs. The adverb should always follow the verb.
For example: Mary walked slowly. or Peter ran away quickly.

Tense
Verbs, or action words, are expressed in tenses; past, present or future. The tense of a
verb is its setting in time.
For example: Mary walked (past tense) Mary walks (present tense) Mary will walk (future
tense)

There are also other, more complex tenses not covered here. An important point
is to be consistent in your use of tense. Decide whether you are explaining an event in
the past, present or future and then be consistent in the use of that tense until there is a
good reason for changing.

The incorrect use of tenses is one of the most common mistakes of grammar. For
example, consider the following sentence: “Marianne describes the new techniques, how they
varied in approach and attitude”.

The verb describes is in the present tense but varied is in the past tense. The
correct tensing of the sentence should be: “Marianne describes the new techniques, how they
vary in approach and attitude”.

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Lesson 2 Participate in workplace meetings and discussions
Participate at Work
Every workplace will have staff meetings/team meetings, formal and informal
discussions. When a business places a proper value on the time spent by people preparing
for and attending meetings, it is quickly seen that they are a very expensive exercise.

Have you ever been to one of those meetings where no objectives were met, no
actions were agreed upon and generally it was a complete waste of your time? Effective
meeting procedures are essential to ensure that the maximum output is gained from a
meeting.

Some basic expectations are:

A clearly defined purpose to your meeting – Ask questions such as; Why are we
meeting? What are we trying to achieve? Are we meeting for meetings sake?
However, consider that at times the purpose of bringing people together for a
meeting may be to achieve other important interpersonal objectives like team
building, brain storming or group problem solving. Make sure that you clearly
communicate the meeting purpose well before hand, this gives attendees time to
gather ideas or research issues prior to attending the meeting.

Advise people of the meeting in time for them to be able to attend – It is amazing how often
key people are left out of meetings or are not able to attend simply due to a lack of
planning and sufficient notice.

Set an agenda – An agenda aims to keep discussions on track and to keep everyone
focused on the issues. The agenda should be distributed to attendees before the
meeting.

Start and finish on time – Make sure the meeting starts and finishes on time so participants
feel that their time is valued and that they can plan for effective meeting
participation to fit within their work load.

Manage the participants – It is important that every person feels their attendance and
contribution is valued. People must be given the opportunity to express their
opinion as well as recognizing they must also listen to others without interruption.
Clear conflict management strategies must be in place.
Sentence Construction
1. The “Subject-Verb” Structure (S-V)
Subject Intransitive Verb (Adverbial)

The boys jumped over the wall.

He sleeps during lectures.

Birds of the same feather flock together.

2. The “Subject-Verb-Object” Structure (S-V-O)

Subject Transitive Verb Object (Adverbial)

She teaches English at the university.

His car hit a tree this morning.

They will meet the boss next Monday.

3. The “Subject-Verb-Indirect Object-Direct Object”

Structure (S-V-IO-DO)
Subject Transitive Verb Indirect Object Direct Object (Adverbial)

The woman gave her daughter a gift on her birthday.

The bank manager reluctantly granted the poor farmer a loan this morning.

Mr. Mendoza taught us Greek in those days.

4. The “Subject-Verb-Subject Complement” Structure (S-V-
SC)
Subject Linking Verb Subject(ive) Complement (adverbial)

Hannah was a teacher in Delhi.

The old man looks happy today.

Those young people will become experts soon.

5. The “Subject-Verb-Object-Object Complement”

Structure (S-V-O-OC)
Subject Transitive Verb Object Object(ive) Complement (Adverbial)

The PM appointed Mr. X a minister in 2004.

The Inspector found the man innocent.

The landlord called the new tenant a crook.

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Lesson 3: Complete relevant work related documents

Types of Forms

In every workplace you will be required to complete forms. Each workplace will
have forms specific to their requirements. You must make sure that you know which forms
to fill in, when you need to use forms and where to find the necessary forms.

When filling in a form:

• read the form carefully

• fill in all the required details

• only include necessary information

• write clearly and simply

• check that you have completed it properly

• send or give it to the appropriate person, or file in the appropriate place

Work instructions are the most basic tool used in every business or organisation to help
workers follow a sequence of steps. Inadequate work instructions are likely to
result in a variety of problems in the workplace that could range from:

• returned products

• loss of materials

• customer complaints

• liability issues

• poor work performance

Work instructions can have a major impact on the effectiveness and productivity of a
workplace. If instructions are difficult to follow, workers will make errors in
implementing the steps.
 A good work instruction is a detailed sequence of steps that workers need to follow
each time they perform a task. The purpose of a work instruction is to organize
steps in a logical and systematic way so that workers can easily follow it
independently.

This means a consistent format for your work instructions is important. Workers
can read the information faster and absorb it more quickly if it follows a consistent font
and format. It also makes the development of further work instructions far simpler as you
have a template to follow.

Technical Writing

Technical writing is a type of writing where the author is writing about a particular subject
that requires direction, instruction, or explanation. This style of writing has a very different
purpose and different characteristics than other writing styles such as creative writing,
academic writing or business writing.

Uses for Technical Writing

Technical writing is straightforward, easy to understand explanations and/or instructions dealing
with a particular subject. It is an efficient and clear way of explaining something and how it works.

The subject of technical writing can either be:

 Tangible – Something that can be seen or touched, such as a computer or software program, or information
on how to assemble a piece of furniture.
 Abstract – Something that involved a series of steps that aren’t related to a tangible object. One example of
this might be steps required to complete an office process.
Some examples of technical writing include:
 Instruction manuals
 Policy manuals
 Process manuals
 User manuals
 Reports of analysis
 Instructions for assembling a product
 A summarization of a long report that highlights and shortens the most important elements

Tips for Good Technical Writing

Regardless of the type of document which is written, technical writing requires the writer
to follow the properties of knowing their audience, writing in a clear, non-personal style and doing
extensive research on the topic. By including these properties, the writer can create clear
instructions and explanations for the reader.

 Know your audience. An expert in the field will understand certain abbreviations, acronyms, and lingo that
directly applies to such a field. The novice will not understand in the same manner and, therefore, every
detail must be explained and spelled out for them.

 Use an impersonal style. Write from a third person perspective, like a teacher instructing a student. Any
opinions should be omitted.

 The writing should be straightforward, to the point, and as simple as possible to make sure the reader
understands the process or instruction. This at times may appear as simply a list of steps to take to achieve
the desired goal or may be a short or lengthy explanation of a concept or abstract idea.

 Know how to research. Gather information from a number of sources, understand the information gathered
so that it can be analyzed thoroughly, and then put the information into an easy to understand format to
instruct those who read it. The more inexperienced your audience, the more information you will need to
gather and explain.

 Be thorough in description and provide enough detail to make your points; but, you also have to consider
that you need to use an economy of words so that you do not bore your reader with gratuitous details.
A good technical writer can make a difficult task easy and can quickly explain a complex piece of
information.

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 CHAPTER 2

Lesson 1: Describe team role and scope

Clarify Roles

Knowing everyone’s role and being familiar with the responsibility of those roles
create efficiency and flexibility. Ideas for clarifying roles on the team include:

 Review team members’ roles frequently.

 Relate team member expectations to the team’s overall purpose.
 Clarify responsibilities when action planning.
 Learn what others do on the team.
 Figure out ways to help each other.

Setting aside time to really evaluate what you do and how that impacts (or not) the
company you work for is important to understanding the value you and your role have with
that organization. Are you a key player on your team? If not, does the role provide
opportunities for you to advance toward this?

After fully understanding your current role, value within your company, and its
possible benefits and setbacks for your future, it’s time to take action. So many people
become complacent in their careers and on the job.

If after evaluating your overall situation you discover that it’s actually beneficial to
step out of your current role—step out of it. Don’t be afraid to follow after what your heart
truly desires.

Relationship and Responsibility

Being a mutually evolving process, a relationship requires team members to be
dependent on each other. Every individual should develop a level of trust for each other
in order to be reliable for each other. Some of us just cannot find it easy to entrust a work
with another team member or cannot seem to trust what a member can contribute.

In order to build trust, the team can hold trust-building talks during meetings every
now and then. Self-disclosure is a good strategy for establishing trust with each other.
Learning how to open and share a little about you to your teammates will give them a
chance to know you as a person. Inject humor and some fun to be comfortable with each
other.

Once you start to trust each other as an important member of the team, you will
also become easily dependent on each other. With this, a budding relationship is
established.
 Each individual in a team has talents and abilities that can contribute to a solid
work relationship which is needed to be productive in the job. As a team, members have
to identify who excel in technical expertise, who are keen in problem-solving and decision-
making, and who are adept in active listening, giving good feedback, and conflict
resolution.

Identifying these skills helps a team perform effectively. This is otherwise known
as team synergy through a coordinated effort of performing these abilities. Diversities
even in skills and talents are common. But sharing these skills for the benefit of the team
can build a solid work relationship among the individuals.

For a relationship to become healthy, learn to appreciate each other’s talents.

Being recognized by fellow colleagues for the effort contributed for the team is
heartwarming and rewarding.

Relationship with a Team

Typically, in a work setting, every working individual belongs to a team where a

group of members work together with similar functions and work description, though not
necessarily similar in interests.

Also, individuals in a team generate a collaborative effort to achieve common

goals, and may need to give up individual autonomy in order to attain those goals. The
organization as a whole can make up a team and this component is by far the largest to
be called as such.

If you are paired up with another work colleague on a project, you are already
called a team. Regardless of the population of the members and diversities in a team,
building a relationship is a crucially important factor grounded on teamwork.

Team members who develop a common strategy in working such as using a

discussion in the interaction process or assigning tasks are manifesting teamwork.
Individuals work together by sharing individual objectives and eventually come up with a
unified goal.

Being a part of a team also entails commitment in the job and the responsibility. In
order for a team to be harmonious, a good working relationship has to be established.

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Lesson 2: Identify own role and responsibility within team

Lesson 3: Work as a team member