Convoluted Skill of Communication and Thoughts

Question: Discuss about the Convoluted Skill of Communication and Thoughts. Answer: Introduction: The convoluted skill of communication is one attribute that is undoubtedly a necessity for organisations and individuals alike to achieve optimal results. This is because the interaction between people is needed for achieving success even on a basic level as the world is increasingly socially reliant. Particular sub-skills under communication category are more relevant to certain disciplines and fields in an organisation (De Janasz et al. 2014). The application of three interpersonal skills of listening, feedback and questioning are required for effective functionality in a workplace (Beebe, Beebe and Redmond 2014). A vital ingredient in the workplace is a suitable combination of honest dialogue and open interaction, and in the absence of these specific aspects, a professional is not capable of achieving the set objectives (Baker et al. 2013). Communication skills are therefore critical in order to excel in any discipline or field. The present essay explains the three interpersonal c ommunication skills of listening, feedback and questioning and critically discusses the benefits of applying these skills within the discipline of Occupational Health and Safety Officer (OSHO). The essay develops a persuasive argument as to why the skills are significant in the field of occupational health and safety. Farrell (2016) opines that listening is the capability to precisely gather and interpret messages in the process of communication. Listening is the fundamental factor in all successful communication, and without this skill, messages are often misunderstood. This results in the breakdown of the communication process and the sender suffers a loss due to such improper communication. The most powerful and basic tool to establish a connection with other people is to listen. According to Broadbent (2013), listening is something more than hearing as it requires concentrated efforts and focus, both physical and mental. Listening implies that both voice and language of the speaker is taken into account while the interpretation of the message. This means that both non-verbal and verbal messages are taken into account. Active listening is known to enhance the ability of an individual to pass on the information in the due course of exchanging information. By developing the technique to listen ef ficiently, the communication of an individual offers the empathy and clarity. Occupational health and safety officers are responsible for visiting places of employment for detection of unhealthy and unsafe working conditions. They are to ensure that the organisation has compliance with regulations and laws required for the workplace safety. Communication is, therefore, crucial for the officers when they come in contact with the employees of the organisation they are visiting for extracting out the maximal information. The main health and safety duties in a workplace are performed by the health and safety officer who undertakes development, implementation and improvement of the health and safety plans. It is decisive that the officers engage in active listening in order to communicate with the employees in the organisation. Active listening is helpful while investigating workplace accidents as the employees can provide with adequate information on such incidences. Identification of training needs can also be fostered if the plights of the employees are listened to adequately (Holt and Allen 2015). According to Men (2014) varied aspects of communication claim to be the most significant aspect, including feedback, both taking and giving. Effective feedback brings a number of benefits for the receiver, taker and the organisation as a whole. Feedback is necessary for all spheres of professional life as it forms a way of engaging in the better understanding of surrounding environment. Feedback communicates trust, respect and understanding that is incorporated in the workplace along with the nature of work that is undertaken. When an active communication is under process, both the parties experience two fundamental things- need to be understood and need to possess some value. Providing feedback means that both of these fundamental things are taken care of. As stated by Wiggins (2016) feedback is the opportunity to in build motivation among people by utilising the prospect to articulate appreciation. Feedback also leads to development in performance. Feedback is not always criticism but an encouraging act. Friend and Kohn (2014) outline the importance of feedback for occupational health and safety worker. As per the author, occupational health and safety officer needs to conduct safety inspections as well as risk assessments. Feedback is essential in this process as providing feedback means the employees of the organisation where inspection is undertaken are encouraged to perform better. Supervision of junior health and safety employees is a key role that officers fulfil, and it is already known that feedback is an integral element of supervision. The supervisory association is hugely based on feedback, ideally constructive in nature. Constructive feedback helps in achieving improvement in the way junior health and safety employees work and fulfil their responsibilities. Providing feedback can help prevent work-related illnesses, injuries and fatalities. Feedback is often directed to a suitable recipient, and it is desirable that response is transparent, prompt and effective. Feedback received by a health and safety officer from any external stakeholders regarding matters of occupational health safety is also highly beneficial. Cooren (2016) states that gathering information is considered as a fundamental human activity since information helps to learn, to solve critical problems and to aid the decision making process. Information is also to be gathered for understanding each other. Questioning is required for gaining adequate information. In the absence of questioning skills, interpersonal communication can witness failure miserably. Therefore one can say that for having a successful communication it is pivotal to raise questions. Poutanen, Siira and Aula (2016) highlight that some of the main reasons why an employee must ask questions frequently are to express interest in any subject, to get clarification of a doubt, to explore difficulties and test knowledge, and to encourage future thought. In addition, a control can be exhibited over any conversation. Questioning attempts to build up a rapport with the opponent and it is a good way of knowing the opponent better. Questions explore opinions, attitudes, beliefs, ideas and feelings. Reese (2015) throws light on the fact that questioning holds prime importance in the working process of occupational health and safety officer. Perhaps, adequate questioning is of utmost importance as officers need to extract out all information in any environment for ensuring that the health and safety are maintained. Proper questioning skills are necessary so that the optimal information is taken from the respondent who provides information on the health and safety attribute in a workplace. Questions encourage further thought of the employees in the workplace so that they can come up with some possible ideas on how to reduce the risks for health and safety hazards. Questions are used by the professionals to investigate any situation as often individuals have the tendency not to unfold the truth after any incidence of health and safety hazard. Drawing conclusion from the above discussion it can be concluded that communication skills of listening, feedback and questioning is necessary for achieving success in any professional field. This is also true for health and safety officer. Occupational health and safety officers utilise these three key skills for ensuring that all workplaces are free of any potential hazard and that the employees have a secured and safe working environment. Improved communication skills are fundamental for transferring information between parties, and occupational health and safety officers must make sure that they have the adequate training for exhibiting these skills. References Baker, A., Perreault, D., Reid, A. and Blanchard, C.M., 2013. 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