August 21st to 28th 2011

Effective Communication

Effective Communication Skills Communication Skills! These are the skills that many of us want to possess or work on. But what exactly these skills are about? Are these only about words or other things are alsoincluded? Many more similar questions keep floating over our mind when it comes to working upon improving communication skills. Communication skills are a combination of variousdifferent skills. These skills, when clubbed together, bestow us with self confidence which consequently makes us a good communicator and hence make us an influential personality. Apart from words and sentences, maintaining eye contact and smiling is vital in communicatingeffectively. Effective communication skills are vital during your entire life. Propercommunication skills can be learned and with practice will become an integral part of yourlifestyle. Below is a list of some such skills which, when mastered, will bring a valuable change in our personality: 1. Listening Attentively Listening to someone attentively is a skill that is mandatory in effective communication. Manypeople only listen halfheartedly to someone else when they are speaking. Instead, they are planning their own reply to what the person is saying. Listen thoughtfully to what others aresaying and clarify what you are hearing by saying something like, “Correct me if I’m wrong,but this is what I understand you are saying....” Make sure you don’t presume to know what the other person is saying if you are not sure. Listening in this manner will give you better controlover how you should reply. 2. Expressing Your Thoughts Make certain that you are clear in expressing what is on your mind. Don’t feel you have to use big, flowery words that the other person may not understand. Speak in a positive tone to getyour point across clearly and smile frequently. Ask the other person if he understands what youmean. 3. Confidence and Clarity Have confidence in your own viewpoints and remember that what you have to say is valid and important. Don’t use a critical tone, which tends to make people stop listening to what you aresaying. Don’t assume that silence means that a person disagrees with you or that he/she did not comprehend what you are saying. 4. Communication Mistakes Everyone at some time or another makes serious errors of judgment when he is communicating, whether it is replying without thinking the matter through clearly, or speakingharshly because he has misinterpreted a situation. Learn from your mistakes, replay them in

your mind and decide how you could have more effectively communicated with the otherperson. Effective communication takes practice. 5. Consideration of Others People love to hear their names, so use them often in conversation with them. Do not dominate Conversations. Other people want to say what they are thinking, too. Draw other people into theConversation if they are shy, especially if you know they have something to contribute. Maintain eye contact with the person you are speaking with. Step back and include others in thegroup.

     7c’s Of Effective Communication There are 7 C’s of effective communication which are applicable to both written as well as oral communication. These are as follows:

1. Completeness - The communication must be complete. It should convey all facts required by the audience. The sender of the message must take into consideration the receiver’s mind set and convey the message accordingly. A complete communication has following features:

Complete communication develops and enhances reputation of an organization. Moreover, they are cost saving as no crucial information is missing and no

additional cost is incurred in conveying extra message if the communication is complete.

A complete communication always gives additional information wherever required. It leaves no questions in the mind of receiver.

Complete communication helps in better decision-making by the audience/ readers/ receivers of message as they get all desired and crucial information.

It persuades the audience.

2. Conciseness - Conciseness means wordiness, i.e., communicating what you want to convey in least possible words without forgoing the other C’s of communication. Conciseness is a necessity for effective communication. Concise communication has following features:

It is both time-saving as well as cost-saving. It underlines and highlights the main message as it avoids using excessive and needless

words. Concise communication provides short and essential message in limited words to the

audience. Concise message is more appealing and comprehensible to the audience. Concise message is non-repetitive in nature.

3. Consideration - Consideration implies “stepping into the shoes of others”. Effective communication must take the audience into consideration, i.e., the audience’s view points,

background, mind-set, education level, etc. Make an attempt to envisage your audience, their requirements, emotions as well as problems. Ensure that the self-respect of the audience is maintained and their emotions are not at harm. Modify your words in message to suit the audience’s needs while making your message complete. Features of considerate communication are as follows:

Emphasize on “you” approach. Empathize with the audience and exhibit interest in the audience. This will stimulate a

positive reaction from the audience. Show optimism towards your audience. Emphasize on “what is possible” rather than

“what is impossible”. Lay stress on positive words such as jovial, committed, thanks, warm, healthy, help, etc.

4. Clarity - Clarity implies emphasizing on a specific message or goal at a time, rather than trying to achieve too much at once. Clarity in communication has following features:

It makes understanding easier. Complete clarity of thoughts and ideas enhances the meaning of message. Clear message makes use of exact, appropriate and concrete words.

5. Concreteness - Concrete communication implies being particular and clear rather than fuzzy and general. Concreteness strengthens the confidence. Concrete message has following features:

It is supported with specific facts and figures. It makes use of words that are clear and that build the reputation. Concrete messages are not misinterpreted.

6. Courtesy - Courtesy in message implies the message should show the sender’s expression as well as should respect the receiver. The sender of the message should be sincerely polite, judicious, reflective and enthusiastic. Courteous message has following features:

Courtesy implies taking into consideration both viewpoints as well as feelings of the receiver of the message.

Courteous message is positive and focused at the audience. It makes use of terms showing respect for the receiver of message. It is not at all biased.

7. Correctness - Correctness in communication implies that there are no grammatical errors in communication. Correct communication has following features:

The message is exact, correct and well-timed. If the communication is correct, it boosts up the confidence level. Correct message has greater impact on the audience/ readers. It checks for the precision and accurateness of facts and figures used in the message. It makes use of appropriate and correct language in the message.

Considering these few tips will add to our communication skills and will definitely change the way others see us. After practicing these tips, you will start to build rapport with others quickly and your speeches and personality will leave a great impact on your listeners/ peers.

Learn English Online – the Benefits are Endless

There is almost no point in repeating why knowing English is important and the great benefits of learning English. We all know that English is the most used language in the world when it comes to business, and every part of the world can be accessed if you know a bit of English. But it's not always easy to learn a foreign language, even one such as English. Well, you can always learn English online, the benefits are endless. If you opt for English online lessons, you will be able to learn the language at your own pace, when you have the time. You can schedule online classes to fit your needs and your schedule and most importantly you can choose the level of learning that suits you the best. If you are a total beginner, you can go for beginner English class or you can go for advanced classes, depending on your knowledge of English. Probably, the most important thing you should think about is whether you just want to learn to speak English or you also wish to learn to write it. Speaking English is great; you will be able to communicate with people wherever you go. I mean there isn't a place in the world where someone doesn't speak English. This is the universal language of the future, 1 out of 5 people in the world speaks it. But if you really want to benefit from English language, you should also learn how to write it. After all you might want to learn English because of a job, and while speaking English is the basis for everything else you might need to know how to write. A great benefit of learning English online is that you will be able to apply for countless of online jobs because you know how to write. Or maybe you are a freelance writer that wishes to get higher rates and you want to improve your level of writing. The reasons are yours and yours alone. But if you wish to learn English online you should know that the best way to do so is with a company that offers online language tutoring using a voice protocol. It's like sitting in a classroom listening and talking to your teacher, only you will be the only one getting full attention from your online language tutor. To learn English online, all you need is a wish and a few hours a day to set for your online English classes. You will see after just one class how easy it can be and you will realize that there is a whole new world to be seen and heard when you know a foreign language, especially one such as English.

CPT Question Papers ‐ Gateway to Career in   Chartered Accountancy The following article deals with the main points that should be kept in mind while appearing for CA or the CPT examination. There is a roundup of the major subjects of the course as well. A lot of practical training is required in the professional course for becoming a Charted Accountant or a CA. The paper of professional competence exam and the final exam has questions that are of practical importance. The candidate who wishes to appear for CA examination should be perfect and become an expert of his/her field and not just the one that is used while working. The CA question papers are a must at Professional and Competence Exam/Integrated Professional Competence Exam and Final Exam. For entry, one has to crack the CPT that is the Common Proficiency Test. Students after finishing their 10 + 2 can enter the profession of a CA through this entrance test. The questions in CPT Question Paper are of objective types with multiple choices. The ICAI CPT CA Sample Paper covers the subjects like

Accounting/Mercantile Law, General Economics, Quantitative Aptitude of Common Proficiency Test. Besides, it also includes questions from Chartered Accountants/Subject experts working in various Colleges/Universities/Public/Students pursuing Chartered Accountancy course, etc. The questions have four probable options to it. One of the options is the right answer. Fill in the blanks are there with 4 alternate answers.

It also includes the questions in the form of small paragraphs containing 3 to 4 lines each, followed by a question having 4 probable answers. In Fundamentals of Accounting, Mathematics and Statistics, the Numerical are given with 4 different options; out of which one is the correct answer. Case studies are also the part of CA Question Papers. They appear in simple words and contain multiple concepts in it. The case study is generally a practical situation taken from day to day corporate life. The candidate has to understand and answer it. Case study is basically given so as to check the analytical/logical ability and intelligence. The ICAI or the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has been set up and governed by an Act that is called The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. This Act has been taken out in order to govern the profession of Chattered Accountancy. It is also the second largest accounting body, globally. And over the years, it has moved the quality of accounting and financial reporting, forward.

The various categories of subjects of ICAI Question Papers are –

Advanced Accounting

Management Accounting and Financial Analysis

English

Advanced Auditing

Corporate Laws and Secretarial Practice

Cost Management

Management Information and Controlling

Direct Taxes and Indirect Taxes

With the mighty Internet facility available in every home, everything is easily accessible. So why not these question papers? The sample question papers are available online too. Sites like latestt.com have uploaded CA Question Papers. You just need to log on and download the papers. There is no cost/ charge for downloading these question papers. Practice these samplers as much as you can. A good practice would certainly help you to score better. Hence, if a thorough preparation is done these exams are not that tough. Presence of mind and common sense are the things that are to be used in these papers other than subject knowledge.

By: Raghav Sharma.