Managing All-in-One For Dummies

Chapter 2

Communicating Effectively

In This Chapter

Grasping common ways of speaking — and the effectiveness of each

Making listening much more than a passive pursuit

Harnessing communication that doesn't come from words

Communicating clearly via e-mail

You'd be hard-pressed to find any job function or field of employment where communicating effectively with people isn't vital. Regardless of your job title or the type of organization or industry you work for, if you're like most people, the greatest challenges you face lean less toward the technical side of your job (your area of expertise) than they do toward interacting with other people.

Communication can feel like a tug of war, with a lot of tension as each side pulls but nothing gets accomplished. Nobody has to end up in the mud, however, and getting some basic knowledge about how speaking and listening work best can go a long way toward making all your communications more productive.

Understanding the Four Approaches to Speaking

People express themselves in four ways: aggressively, nonassertively, passive-aggressively, and ...