Barriers & Solutions P3 to effective communication M1

General: 

• Cultural differences

People with different cultural backgrounds look at some things in a different way. It is vital that in the game industry, everyone can work together. For example, normally the team that is working on a video game consists of a couple of hundred people if not more. Within these teams, there are people from different countries, with different beliefs etc. It is very important that everyone gets along as these people work in these teams for a couple of years and it creates a good working environment.

This barrier came be overcome by simply respecting those differences. That's why people working in the game industry tent to be very open minded.

• Terminology

 Terminology can be a barrier in communication as well. For example, if you are giving a presentation or talking to someone you don't necessarily know, that person doesn't have to exactly know what you are talking about. For example, when a game company representative is talking to potential investors, those people don't have to necessarily know the specific terminology used in the industry.

In order to make your presentation professional, you still have to use the terminology, but to diminish the barrier, you can break down the terms you are using and go more into detail, this would ensure that your audience is following you.

Interpersonal: 

• Background noise 

 Background noise is another barrier which you have to consider. If you are doing a presentation or talking to a group of people, it is very distracting for both you and the audience if there is noise outside etc. In the IT sector, the presentations are a vital part of the organization, it keeps the employees (mostly managers/directors etc.) informed about what is going on within the company.
There is not much you can do about the background noise, although you could try to pick a quieter place where there is usually less noise.

• Lack of concentraction

 Lack of concentration is quite a big one as well. This can be both a barrier to you as well as the audience. If you are giving a presentation and you are not concentrating, this can lead the audience to think that you don't know what you're talking about or, in effect, can make the audience lose their interest and eventually not concentrating.

This would be a big problem in the gaming industry as everything tends to be very organized. If you lose your concentration, you lose track of everything else, especially when such organizations work with deadlines.

This can be solved by preparing for your presentation, know what you have to say and keep your eyes on your audience to stop any distractions.

Communicative in writing: 

• Structure

 When putting together a document or a leaflet of some sorts, the audience reading it needs to know what exactly you are trying to put across.
In large gaming companies, people use ''design documents''. These inform every person what their job is and what the game requires. It needs to be strictly organized so that the person looking through it can find quickly what they are looking for. This is important as such design documents have a ridiculous number of pages.

This 'barrier' can be overcome by structurising your paragraphs, sub headings etc. so that it is consistant and in-place. It is surprisingly easy to make small mistakes, but these mistakes make all the difference to the person reading what is written.

• Alternative viewpoints

 If you meet people on a daily basis, you will realise that a lot of these people have different view points on certain aspects. If you are trying to communicate your view on something to a group of people, you should take their own views into consideration. Not everybody will agree with what you have to say, but the real skill is in the acknowledgement of other people's opinions.

A very good example is the game industry, where large companies work with a variety of different people. For example, before a video game idea is put forward, the important people respnsible for the whole project sit down and discuss the different options, and although these people have different views and reasons for them, they share their viewpoints and choose what they think is best.

To overcome this barrier of alternative viewpoints, it is best to let everyone share their views and let everyone engaged choose what is best for the given situation. This prevents any misunderstandings and lets everyone express how they feel and why they feel that way.

Other examples:

Potential barriers in effective communication:
Using technical terminology,
Talking about taboo subjects or simply some may find difficult to express their emotions,
Differences in opinions/view points,
Physical disabilities such as hearing problems or speech difficulties,
Cultural differences
and many more...

The impact of such barriers can be reduced by (not in order):

• Being open and friendly, willing to openly talk about own problems too
• Talk clearly and with confidence
• Taking the receiver more seriously
• Ensuring appropriate feedback
• Being aware of own state of mind, emotions, attitude
• Being open minded and willing to hear other people's view points/opinions
• Finding a variety of ways to communicate

Effective Communication P2

Introduction

General communication skills

• Engaging audience - In order to effectively communicate, you need to engage your audience. For example, if you are pitching an idea, you need to engage your audience, make the presentation look interesting. You could ask your audience a question that is related to the topic etc.
• Terminology - For example, if you're doing a presentation on the IT sector, you need to watch the terminology which you are using as the people to whom you presenting, may not necessarily know what you are talking about.

Interpersonal Skills

•  Body language - Body language is very important because it gives away how you really feel. You could come off as confident, but when you fidgeting or can't stand in place, it could give the wrong impression.
• Speed of response - If you take your time to answer, the person you are talking to could potentially think that you do not necessarily know your subject.

Communicate in Writing

• Emoticons - For example, if you are writing to a manager, or someone important, it is not professional to use emoticons as the person who you writing to may not take you seriously.
• Grammar - Grammar is a very important point to consider as it shows what kind of person you are. For example, if you are writing a CV and you have grammatical mistakes, the person reviewing your CV probably would turn you down.

Some Examples of Effective Communication:
Body language

• Nonverbal communication
• Ability to listen
• Emotional awareness
• Managing stress

reference: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/effective_communication_skills.html

Introduction

Career aspirations: Past, Present, Future.

Past:

• Learn new skills in the field I would like to work in, in the future.
• Stay agile and flexible and have fun.
• Learn and not be perturbed by failures.
• Have great mentors.

Present:

• Finish College with the highest qualification(s) I can get.
• Go on to further education (university).
• Continue improving my skills and expanding my skill-set by finding connections and relationships between different fields.
• Attend events where I am exposed to people in the industries I am interested in so I can learn from them and hear amazing ideas which inspire me

Future:

• Work on exciting projects with amazing people.
• Continue expanding and improving my skills and learn more every day.
• Learn and use other languages.
• Love and be passionate about my job while maintaining a sustainable life/work balance.
• Be a great asset to any team or company.
• Work at a place where I love my job and want to give it more than what is required of me.

Unit 1 P1 - Personal attributes valued by employers

Specific attributes:

• Health & Safety - valued by employers as it is mandatory for all companies for the safety and well being of workers. For example, when operating heavy machinery or doing manual labour, you need to be able to know how to handle it. A job example could be a warehouse operative.
• Technical knowledge - valued by employers because it helps if a employee knows what they are doing. For example if you want to work as a web designer, you need to know how to use the required programs.

General attributes:

• Team working - it is valued by employers because usually, when in a workplace, you will work with other people. You would have to get on and co-ordinate tasks accordingly. For example if you are in an office of some sort, you will be put in a group of people, therefore you will have to work together as a group. A great example could be surgeons or doctors.
• Creativity - valued by employers as the more creative you are, the better and original the idea is. For example, if you are pitching a project for a game, you will need to be as creative as possible for investors to be interested in it. A very good example could be a game designer.

Attributes:

• Independent - this is valued by the employers because when you will do your job, you won't have to ask people for help, you can do the work on your own, independently. For example if you will have to do a bit of a code for a mobile app, you will have to do your own research, definitely know how to code etc. For example, an app developer could be a related job.
• Dependable - it is valued by employers because if someone on your team, such as a manager, will require you to get something done, they can trust you that you will do it. For example if your boss will ask you to fill a stack of forms and you will do that, he will know that he can depend on you next time. An example could be a office worker.