Interactive Skill 1 – Face-To-Face Skills
If you are a manager of a particular firm, you will very well be aware of the fact that individuals at the managerial level need to go through a lot of time in face to face communications. Consider professionals in the field of HR management, these individuals will without a doubt excel as far as their interactive skills are concerned. The impact of the interactive skills of individuals in the HR management group on the company’s success has already been discussed in the previous chapters. When it comes to the management of Human Resource of a particular company, the importance of various conversations in person ought to be discussed throughout the scope of this book. Your interactive skills are perhaps everything you need as far as you exceling in the field of HR management is concerned. If you possess good communication skills which I assume that you do, one thing is for certain that you won’t be falling short of opportunities as far as the HR department of the various companies are concerned.
The interactive skills of an employee is put to test all the more at the time of interviews. Here, the interviewer doesn’t need to be an open book about himself or herself. However, he or she indeed has a major task in hand, i.e. to figure out all sorts of information’s as far as the applicant is concerned. This is one of the major tasks that the interviewer needs to carry out. These tasks indeed ought to play a huge role as far as refining the communication skills of an individual are concerned.
On the other hand, the major skill that is looked for in employees applying for the post of manager of the various industrial relations is that of a negotiator. This is the only criteria that is required in the event that you wish to get a job at such a post. If you can negotiate well, then there’s certain nothing that you need to worry about as far as getting this job is concerned.
Both the forms of interactions have various things that are similar. However, it is needless to say that the type of skill that is required for each is vastly different. The various this that ought to be focused on under the scope of this chapter are listed below:
- Individuals must be given a firm idea regarding the various forms of interactions. It is a must if an individual is looking forward to succeeding in the real world.
- The plus points of positive interactive skills must be clearly explained to the students so as to ensure that they focus on their interactive skills a lot more.
- There are various fundamental skills that an individual possess such as:
- The quality of feedback that an individual is capable of providing.
- The manner of questions that the individual is asking.
- The ability of the individual to listen to the aspects that are being discussed and the manner in which he or she is realizing the subject that is being taught.
- The tone at which an individual must speak to his or her clients and employees must be made extremely clear to individuals studying in this field. This is due to the fact that the satisfaction of both the client and the employees is of utmost importance.
These skills of the various employees must be reviewed time and again. In the event that a particular employee needs some sort of adjustments to make as far as his or her skills are concerned, it is imperative for you to make it clear to him or her. This will without a doubt play a huge role as far as simplifying your task is concerned.
Effectiveness in interaction
By interactions, what most individuals assume is verbal communication but let me tell you, interaction is a much bigger subject than just your verbal skills. In the event that an individual is able to speak properly, i.e. he or she has good communication skills, things doesn’t end there. Your body language and facial interactions have a lot to do with your interactive skills and its effectiveness. It’s not only our words that portray how we are feel, things we do are a much better source as far as drawing conclusion. For example, individuals often tend to blush when they find themselves in embarrassing situations. These are certain things that are of utmost importance at least as far as individuals pursuing a career in the field of HR is concerned. Poise is something that is an absolute must as far as individuals in the management group are concerned. It lets individuals stay calm and handle all sorts of social interactions without much of a hassle. When you look at it, you certainly won’t get a better man for the task.
However, another thing that needs to be considered here is whether or not the individual has a firm idea regarding what the topic of discussion is. In the event that an individual doesn’t have a firm idea regarding the topic, it is strongly recommended for him or her to avoid it or look it up in the internet. The major reason behind this is the fact that the individual who is sitting in front of you will without a doubt be well aware of the various aspects of the topic being discussed under most circumstances.
Another thing as far as poise is concerned is the fact that individuals need to be responsive enough in the event that they are into a face to face conversation. This responsiveness must be in accordance with the feelings, maturity, understanding capability and needs of the individuals that is going to sit in front of him or her. In the event that an individual isn’t being able to respond to these aspects of the individual sitting in front of him, it is for certain that the individual isn’t going to face much of a success in this field.
The effectiveness of the various forms of interactions is something that needs to be attended to by conduction of various forms of surveys and reviews. In the event that a firm consists of various members who are extremely experienced, yet their management team isn’t very reputable as far as their interactive skills are concerned. Under such circumstances, it is extremely important for the concerned authorities of the firm to take up this topic into account and ensure that the various individuals in question are dealt with in an appropriate manner. There are various ways in which such individuals can be dealt with. One of the most common ways to deal with such individuals is to sack them. This is what most companies in the modern era do. However, if you look at it from the perspective of the various employees, such decisions are certainly not going to satisfy them. In the event that you don’t want to come across any sort of revolts, it is important for you take a more steady approach. One of the most common options that you have is to impart the concerned individuals with the desired amount of training. This training will in turn be extremely effective as far as dealing with the problem and keeping the employees satisfied are concerned. In the event that an individual fails to handle such situation in a simple manner, he or she might as well have bigger problems in hand.
The next thing that needs to be taken into account is the reference frame of the individuals taking part in a conversation. When handling various scenarios in the field of management, you might as well come across instances where in you have two individuals who have exactly opposite opinions yet both of them are right. You must be wondering as to how this can be possible. Well, let me tell you, it is actually possible. This is due to the fact that the reference frame taken by both the individuals is different. In order to understand this scenario better, let us take into account a small example. Take a cylinder having a circular base. Place the cylinder in a vertical manner and view it from a point just above it. You ought to see a circle. When viewed from any other angle, it ought to appear to be a cylinder. Hence two individuals having their very own reference frames will have their very own observations and as a result their own opinions. In the event that you are looking forward to settling the dispute, you might as well explain to them the idea of reference frame. This term is extremely common as far as physics is concerned. However, in recent years it has crept into the various corporate courses as well and there are various valid reasons behind it.
The next thing that needs to be taken into consideration as far as the scope of this chapter is concerned is the idea of the various forms of stereotypes. It is a term that is commonly used to refer to individuals who have certain prevalent traits over other. As a result, the expectations from such individuals vary as well. These expectations are what we understand from the term stereo types. Suppose you have a group of individuals sharing similar traits. If one individual from the group produces certain results, individuals often tend to expect the same from the remaining individuals of the group, this may sound to be quite absurd but as far as the corporate market is concerned, it is for real. However, one thing must be noted, there are various adverse effects that one may encounter as a result of stereotyping. Hence, individuals must always be ready to face the adverse effects in the event that any sort of stereo typing has been carried out in their company.
While dealing with the various real world scenarios, it is for certain that you will under most circumstances not get the level of interaction or the type of behavior that you expect. This in turn will make it difficult for you to cope up with the behavior that you did not expect. This difficulty is often referred to as cognitive dissonance.
Different types of interaction
If you are in the business field, you will without a doubt be aware of the importance of various forms of meetings. One of the first and foremost reasons behind carrying out these meetings is the fact that there are several issues that ought to come up in the business world which are best sorted face to face. There are various reasons behind the entire idea of conducting meetings. One of the first and foremost reasons is the fact there are several kinds of misunderstandings that may arise between the individuals of the business world and it is certainly not possible to clear out these misunderstandings over the phone. This is perhaps one of the major reasons that gave rise to the entire idea of conducting various meetings in the first place. These meetings will indeed aid companies in clearing out misunderstandings both inside them and with other companies. These meetings also aid in the development of various new ideas which will without a doubt ensure that the company makes progress in the long run.
These meetings are mostly a type of group discussion session. Well, if you are looking forward to classifying these group discussion sessions, you might as well classify them into the following four types:
- Enquiry: The first and foremost type of group discussion sessions are referred to as enquiry sessions. These sessions are without a doubt extremely important for all sorts of companies. These companies will without a doubt profit a great deal from these group discussion sessions. IN the event that you are actually able to carry out these sessions as planned, then your company will definitely make huge profits in the future. In these sort of meetings the experts in the management team look forward to gathering information from some other individual. The interview can be thought of as a traditional example as far as the enquiry sessions conducted by a particular firm are concerned. In the event that these sessions don’t go through as planned, then you certainly have a problem in your hands.
- Exposition: There is a major reasons as to why this type of meeting comes second. One of the major reasons is the fact that it is the exact opposite of the previous type of group discussion. Now what does that mean? While in the enquiry type, the experts in the management teams were on the lookout for extracting all sorts of information, as far as this is concerned, the experts in the field provide their information with various sorts of information’s. This is generally carried out at the time of handing over a particular project to a particular team. In the event that this meeting doesn’t go as planned, the project may face heavy losses.
- Solving problems jointly: This is perhaps a key to solving disputes between various companies or various sectors of the same company. The representatives of each company sit down at a common table and discuss the various ways and means by virtue of which they can deal with the problem in hand. In the event that the individuals are unable to deal with these problems, it is for certain that the disputes are quite severe. In the event that two parties actually wish to help out the other and ensure that both are benefitted through this meeting, it is extremely important that the parties have a considerable level of trust on one another. The various conflicts cannot be resolved until and unless the two parties take a considerably calm approach and ensure that they have the utmost trust and faith in the other. In the event that they don’t, the task of solving the various conflicts could very well turn out to be an extremely difficult one. Hence, it is strongly recommended for individuals sitting down for such a meeting to be calm and to hear everything that the other party has to say.
- Chairing: This type of meetings are extremely important as far as the business setups of the modern era are concerned. In the event that individuals setting up a particular business don’t have a fair idea regarding the various aspects of chairing, the individuals might as well end up getting bankrupt. Hence, in order to ensure that you become well acquainted with the various aspects of chairing, we have discussed this idea in details towards the end of this book.
Fundamental skills in setting the tone
Irrespective of the type of meeting the two parties are getting engaged in, it is extremely important for either of the parties to set the tone right from the get go. It will give both the parties a fair idea of what is to follow. In the event that you are dealing with a potential client, your tone must be such that the customer feels that you are concerned about him or her, in the event that you are able to do this properly, then one thing is for certain that you will be able to extract some sort of revenue from this meeting. You might as well begin by asking you client regarding what he or she desires or you might as well enquire about what he or she needs. In the event that the recruitments of your company is coming up, it is for certain that the manager at the HR level will definitely set the tone as far as selecting an employee is concerned. During the interview, the manager might as well convey to the applicant as to what his or her company desires, i.e. the major goals of the company need to be put forth.
Some of the common ways in which the tone is set in most of the interactions are as follows:
- You better accept and understand that.
- What did you make of the discussions so far? Feel free to express them.
- Make sure that both you and the other party speak to one another in the event that you wish the outcome of this meeting is a positive one.
- You might as well take charge as far as setting the tone by being the first one to speak.
- Be relaxed, irrespective of how tensed or confused you are within, make sure that doesn’t appear on the outside.
- Be confident and face the other party with a smile.
Fundamental skills in listening
Tone of voice
The manner in which every individual expresses his or her views in something to be reckoned with. In the event that the tone of an individual is proper, it is for certain that the individual has a lot more chances of conveying the message to the listen in comparison to an individual whose tone isn’t proper.
Paying Attention
The next thing that is an absolute must in any meeting is paying close attention to what the other party has to say. In the event that you are able to do so, one thing is for certain that the other party will be a lot more serious in expressing his or her views in front of you. Your posture should to an open one such that it appear to the other party that you are paying close attention to his or her words.
These are certain things that can by no means be taught to an individual. It is something that an individual gradually learns over his or her years in schools and colleges. This even depicts a certain level of respect to the other party which in turn is extremely important as far as the various meetings conducted to settle disputes are concerned. These disputes might as well take an ugly turn in the event that a particular party is reluctant while the other has something to say. This is definitely a sign of disrespect and it is needless to say that the other party isn’t going to take it too likely. As a result, my word of advice here would be to pay as much attention as possible.
Well, it certainly doesn’t end there, maintaining an eye contact with the party that is stating its views is another sign that signifies that you are paying close attention to what the other party has to say. In the event that you do so, there are high chances that the other party is going to feel that you are listening to what they have to say very carefully. This is one of the most important aspects as far as any sort of meetings are concerned, irrespective of the number and the type of parties that are involved. In addition to this, you might as well be silent while the other party is stating its views. This will play a significant role in helping you understand the views of the other party. Lastly, physical responses are what most parties look for while speaking about their views. Irrespective of whether they have your consent regarding their views or not, physical responses will at least make them feel that you are actually listening to them. This is something without which you aren’t going to be a part of the various meetings of your company in the near future.
Fundamental skills in questioning
As already mentioned above, the type of response that an individual provides is perhaps the key to what the outcome of the meeting is going to be. Asking questions is a major type of response that most of the parties are on the lookout for. Well, what are the type of questions that you can ask? To think of it, the party giving the presentation is open to all sorts of questions that are related to what he or she is presenting. Listed below are some of the major types of question that you may ask:
- Closed question: These are the questions that demand a clear and straight forward answer and under most circumstances, these questions are meant for a specific group of individuals.
- Probe: This is something that stands alone as far as the points being discussed are concerned. While giving a presentation, there are several things that the party presenting may not want to share with the attendants. However, the attendants have the complete liberty of going ahead and asking questions that they feel they must know. These type of questions that the presentation party generally likes to keep concealed is often referred to as a probe.
- Open end questions: In this form of questioning, the individuals who are meant to answer the questions are picked up simultaneously and they are asked to provide their views on the topic. This is something that is an absolute must in all forms of meetings. In the event that these questions aren’t answered in a manner that they should have been, then you definitely have a problem in your hands.
- Indirect questions: These are questions that could result is disputes in the event that they are asked directly. As a result, most of the parties take an indirect approach as far as asking these questions are concerned. Generally the topic on which these question are asked are quite difficult and in most cases complex.
- Leading questions: These are the form of questions that directly seek the opinion of a handful of individuals. These type of questions are an absolute must as far as launching various projects are concerned.
- Taboo Question: While sitting in a meeting, an individual might end up facing questions that infringe his or her personal space. These type of questions are often referred to as personal question. Though these type of questions aren’t very common as far as various forms of official meetings are concerned, but they are definitely asked. This chances of facing such questions increases all the more in the event that an individual is sitting for an interview.
- Multiple Choice Questions: These are another type of questions that are exceedingly common as far as the various meetings are concerned. In the event that you actually come across such questions, you will be given various options by the individual who is asking the question. There may be instances where in your answers are nowhere close to the options that have been provided, under such circumstances, all you need to do is share what you feel irrespective of being concerned as to whether or not it is going to be accepted.
WINDOW ON (MAL) PRACTICE
Fundamental skills in feedback
While the various feedback sessions are going on, there are various fundamental skills that the parties would look for. This is due to the fact that these feedback sessions are exceedingly important as far as the various projects of a particular company are concerned. In the event that these feedbacks aren’t up to the mark, there are extremely high chances that you project might as well end up getting delay. That is something that no company would want. This is perhaps one of the major reasons as to why individuals in the feedback sessions must possess certain fundamental skills that ought to be a must as far as these sessions are concerned. Listed below are some of the major skills that one must possess:
- Affirmation: Irrespective of whether an individual has his or her consent on a particular topic or not, there are certain topic where in it is a must to affirm.
- Reflection: Once you have heard the entire presentation and everything the other party had to say, it becomes all the more important for you to reflect on what you have heard, i.e. provide your opinion on what all has been stated. These are certain aspects that without a doubt are extremely important as far as the various feedback session of different companies are concerned.
- Summary: While providing your views in a feedback session, it is extremely important for you to cut it short. One of the major reasons behind this is the fact that the longer the presentation the more interest the listeners lose. Hence, it would be a wise decision to provide a summary of your thoughts in such a manner that all your viewpoints are portrayed in front of the other party. These are certain things that are of utmost importance else you certainly won’t be able to ensure that the listeners listen to everything that you have to say.
- Paraphrasing: This is a method that is considered to be a standard as far as both the points mentioned above are concerned. This is an approach by virtue of which the individuals listening state their views on the topics that has been discussed so far.
SUMMARY PROPOSITIONS
GENERAL DISCUSSION TOPICS
FURTHER READING
WEB LINKS
REFERENCES
REVIEW OF PART I
Whatever you have gone through so far at least as far as the scope of this book is concerned falls under the 1st part of this book. This books takes into account numerous aspects that are extremely important as far as the management of the Human Resource of a particular firm are concerned. While going through this section, you must have come across several sections where in comparisons were drawn from various field and most importantly from real life scenarios so as to ensure that you understand the scope of this book a lot better. In the event that these examples aren’t clear, you might as well opt for the standard example that you ought to come across in the various reference that are listed. The problem with the various standard examples is that they are a lot more complex and as far as understanding a particular topic goes, the simpler the examples are, the easier it is to understand the various concepts. In the event that are being explained. This is perhaps one of the major reasons as to why I haven’t picked up any of the standard examples under the scope of this book. In the event that I did, I made sure that the examples were simple as easy to understand. The dimension of the HR is without a doubt filled with various controversies. These controversies are such that you won’t experience them anywhere else in this whole wide world. Hence, if the event that you are actually looking forward to such controversial affair, then there are high chances that you fall under an HR management team.
The primary task of the team that is responsible for management of human resources of a particular company is to get the various jobs of the company cleared by any means necessary. The thing about this department is that they themselves don’t have to get the work done, all they need to do is appoint various teams that ought to complete the task of their company. These team are chosen very cautiously taking several things into account such as the level of skill possessed by the individuals of the team, total number of team members, etc. While in the management team of the various human resources, you might as well come across scenarios wherein the project is too large to handle as far as the capabilities of a single team is concerned. Under such circumstances, the project is either divided or handed to the various teams, or the teams various teams needed for the completion of this project are brought together. Irrespective of the option that has been chosen, there are high chances of conflict between the various teams and one of the major reasons behind this is the fact that they are mostly going to be teams having similar skills and as a result there exists an intense level of competition between the various members of both the teams. In order to deal with any sort of conflict, it is highly important for the team of managers to ensure that such conflicts are sorted. Well, had you not gone through this chapter, you will certainly have been wondering as to how the team of managers are to get these conflicts sorted. Well, one of the primary options that is opted for by these managers is to conduct meeting or various group discussion sessions between the various teams that are involved in a particular project. This in turn ought to ensure that the managers are aware of the various conflicts that were faced. In turn if the situation goes out of hand and the managers find a particular team guilty, they have the complete liberty of taking the project away from that team and allotting that portion of the project to another team. This is something that seldom happen yet when it does, they are implemented on an urgent basis so as to ensure that the target time for the delivery of the project is meet.
The idea of the management of human resource of a particular company is exceedingly huge. This is one of the major reasons as to why the managers of the management team are highly trained professionals who have worked in the field for quite a long time. In the event that the team of managers aren’t able to deal with the problems that ought to arise, these might as well assign the job of settling the conflicts to his or her subordinates.
This is what Lord Talbot had to write:
Part I CASE STUDY PROBLEM
Required
Part I EXAMINATION QUESTIONS
Links of Previous Main Topic:-
- The nature of human resource management
- Planning jobs and people
- The contribution and feasibility of hr planning
- The scope of human resource planning
- Analysing the environment
- Forecasting future human resource
- Analysing the current situation and projecting forward
- Reconciliation decisions and plans
- Part 1 focus on skills
Links of Next HR Management Topics:-
