A summary lecture on communication and meeting skills for a business communication subject at a polytechnic.

1. Communication
and Meeting Skills
Sherrie Lee

2. COMMUNICATION STYLES
Aggressive
difficulty in seeing other people’s point of view
interrupts / monopolises communication exchange
achieves goals often at others’ expense
domineering / bullying / condescending

3. COMMUNICATION STYLES
Passive
indirect / hesitant / apologetic
trusts others but not self
difficulty in expressing own wants / feelings
allows others to make decisions for self

4. COMMUNICATION STYLES
Assertive
non-judgmental / trusts self and others
expresses honestly and directly
active listener
considers others’ feelings
confident / self-aware / flexible

5. Discuss and present (10 min)
Group 1: Define conflict and explain the two types of conflict.
Group 2: What are the causes of conflict?
Group 3: What are the five conflict management strategies?
Group 4: Explain what is constructive and destructive and how to
give constructive criticism.
Group Work

6. CONFLICT
Definition
A situation between two or more people in which one person
perceives that another person has negatively affected something
that the first person cares about.
Types of conflict
Functional
Dysfunctional

7. FUNCTIONAL DYSFUNCTIONAL
Functional conflict
Supports the goals of the group and improves its
performance
Serves organization’s interests
Promotes constructive/cooperative behaviour

8. FUNCTIONAL DYSFUNCTIONAL
Dysfunctional conflict
Hinders group performance
Threatens organisation’s interests
Wastes the organisation’s conflict resources and is
counterproductive

9. CAUSES OF CONFLICT
Information
Process
Objectives
Values
Styles

10. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
Competition (win-lose)
Compromising
(win some, lose some)
Collaboration (win-win)
Accommodation (lose-win)
Avoidance (lose-lose)

11. CRITICISM
What is criticism?
Constructive & destructive criticism
How to give constructive criticism
The Positive Negative Positive (PNP) sandwich
How to receive constructive criticism

14. MEETINGS
Types of meetings
Planning for meetings
Meeting participants
Good meeting manners
Barriers to effective meetings

15. TYPES OF MEETINGS
Formality
formal
semi-formal
informal
Purpose
information-giving
decision-making
problem solving

16. PLANNING FOR MEETINGS
Purpose of meeting
Notice of meeting
Agenda
Venue/setting
Seating arrangement
Audio-visual equipment

17. MEETING PARTICIPANTS
Participants
Chairperson
Secretary
Meeting members
Roles and duties of participants
before, during and after the meeting

18. GOOD MEETING MANNERS
Professional appearance
Positive body language
Contribute effectively and actively
Handle conflict or disagreement professionally

19. GOOD MEETING MANNERS
Give constructive criticism and
avoid destructive criticism
Take turns when speaking in a meeting
Arrive prepared and on time for meeting

20. BARRIERS TO
EFFECTIVE MEETINGS
Poor verbal skills
Inappropriate nonverbal skills
(e.g. body language)
Poor listening skills
Unwillingness to participate

21. FOLLOW-UP OF MEETING
Minutes of meeting
Purpose of minutes of meeting
Format
Writing style & language

22. QUIZ TIME
During a meeting, a new piece of information is provided to the
team which has major impact on the team's goals. The team
begins to break down. As the facilitator, what are your next
steps ?
Explain Aggressive, Passive and Assertive communication
styles.
Explain 2 factors you would need to consider when planning for
a meeting.
Explain 5 good meeting manners which would be crucial to the
success of a meeting.

23. QUIZ TIME
State and explain 3 duties of a chairperson during the meeting to
ensure a successful meeting.
State 2 standard items in an agenda and explain their purpose.
As a meeting secretary, you distributed the minutes of the previous
meeting to all those present at the meeting. You then resolved a
conflict between two meeting participants allowing the discussion to
continue amicably. During the meeting, you took down notes to write
the minutes later. When you noticed two participants who were
keeping very quiet during discussions, you invited them to contribute
ideas and participate in the discussion. You also summarised the
discussions at the end of each item.
Identify and explain two (2) things you did wrongly as a meeting
secretary.

24. QUIZ TIME
Sylvester Wee is in a management meeting to present his report
to Lionel Toh, Chairman of the meeting. One of the meeting
attendees, Ben Sim, sits with arms crossed and starts to talk
loudly and raise many questions as he disagrees with
Sylvester’s recommendations.
Sylvester calmly defends his proposal but Ben thumps his fist
on the table, points a finger at Sylvester and shouts, “That is a
dumb proposal. You think we have $10,000 to let them stay at
Raffles Hotel for one week?”
Briefly describe Ben’s communication style. Support your
answer with 3 examples from the scenario.
Ben’s criticism of Sylvester’s proposal appears harsh. How can
Ben make his criticism more constructive?

25. QUIZ TIME
Roger disagrees with you on the business proposal you have
suggested. He starts to frown and glares at you each time you
explain to him the details of the proposal. His voice starts to get
louder and shouts, “I don’t know why I hired you in the first
place!”
Identify and explain Roger’s communication style.
While you are offended by Roger’s behavior, you want to
continue to work with Roger as you wish to have a good
working relationship with him. Roger is also dependent on you
for your advice on the business proposal.
Suggest a suitable conflict management strategy that you can
use and explain why it is suitable.