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Communication and Thought

Executive Summary

The success of civil engineering projects depends on the mode of communication employed by the management together with the team members participating in the project. Communication involves the transfer of information from one person to another through a channel where the receiver of the message provides a prompt feedback. Civil engineers use both verbal and non-verbal communication skills in passing their information from one person to another. The aim of this report is examining three communication skills of listening, feedback and questioning to determine how effectiveness in their use contributes to engineering project success. Further, the challenges facing these communication skills will be highly identified in an attempt to provide recommendations on what the civil engineering management should do to ensure communication effectiveness in the skills.

Introduction

Communication is the transmission of messages, information or opinions from one person to another. Communication can either be verbal or non-verbal according to communication theory and civil engineering (Abdollahipour et al., 2015, p. 8).. There are different types of communication skills applied in the field of civil engineering; speaking, writing, reading, listening, feedback and questioning. In this task we will examine three communication skills; listening, feedback and questioning in civil engineering.

Listening

Listening is a skill that entails receiving and interpreting the message in the communication process. Listening is being attentive to any given story and how its told by using language or voice and also differentiating sounds within the environment. By listening, the sound is analyzed, comprehended and retained. Effective listening depends on how one perceives and understands the message. Not only the speaker but also the listener should be involved in the communication process  (Brownell, Mendelsohn & Lynch, 2015, p. 33). If this skill is not incorporated well then the messages will be misunderstood, communication will be affected and the sender becomes disappointed. Employers of any organization offer training for listening skills and this makes it very important. One’s concentration and senses are required for effective listening. Listening is an important workplace skill in the field of civil engineering.

Benefits of listening skills in civil engineering

• Use of effective listening skills in civil engineering brings about good stakeholder relations.
• High productivity is achieved with minor or no mistakes because it creates mutual trust in the field.
• With good listening skills, there is increased sharing of information hence the work becomes more creative and innovative.
• Listening leads to the success of the firm hence benefiting the leaders and entrepreneurs.
• Civil engineers argue that effective listening leads to collaborations and negotiations hence bringing about mutual understanding.(Brownell, 2015, p. 80).

Challenges to effective listening in civil engineering

There are different challenges involved in incorporating listening skills in the field of civil engineering. Some are explained below

• Unsupportive organizational structures: The civil engineer may work with organizations which do not support them in adopting effective listening skills in the field.
• Lack of experience:  Some engineers do not have enough experience hence they end up not appreciating the need for effective listening skills.
• Waste of time: Effective listening may sometimes be seen as a waste of time in the field of civil engineering according to behavior and the character of the personality.
• Lack of training: Implementation of effective listening skills can be affected by lack of training of the personality on the importance of the skills in the field of civil engineering.

Recommendations

• People should not always make conclusions of whatever they see and hear, they should rather seek more clarifications to ensure that what they understand is correct.
• To improve listening skills one should; be fully in the moment, put themselves in speaker’s shoes, always pick up the main points and practice active listening.
• Incorporating the skill of listening will lead to more education programs for civil engineering students.

Feedback

Feedback is what the receiver of the message responds and communicates back to the sender. The sender of the message evaluates the effectiveness of the message through the feedback. Feedback can either be written, spoken, public or private. It is then expressed through body language, eye contact or facial expression. Through the feedback, the sender is able to understand how the communication is being received in general. In other words, feedback is what the receiver responds or reacts after the sender has interpreted the message (Gielen et al.,  2010, p. 34). Feedback ensures a two-way communication because, without it, the communication process is incomplete.

Benefits of feedback skill in civil engineering

• Feedback provided to civil engineers enables the sender of the message to evaluate how effective is the message after the receiver responds. It’s important especially in a two-way communication where without it communication is not complete.
• It’s a very important step in communication process because, through it, the engineer is able to learn the reaction of the stakeholder. Without feedback, the communication process is incomplete.
• It enables the civil engineers to know the effectiveness of the message because it’s the only way to get a response and know how the message has been understood by the stakeholder. The engineer evaluates both negative and positive feedback so as to measure the effectiveness of communication and limitations(Abdollahipour et al., 2015, p. 10).
• Feedback enables the engineer to know which decision to take if the response is given or not. Through feedback, managers of the field are able to take the best decisions.
• Problems arise in the field of civil engineering which needs immediate solutions. By incorporating a two-way communication, the problem is addressed and hence possible solutions provided.

Challenges to effective feedback

Even though feedback skill has its own benefits, there are also challenges to a constructive feedback as highlighted below:

• Refusing to listen to feedback: A person may choose not to listen to the feedback and sometimes become angry. This affects communication because the sender will stop giving the information.
• Too much negative feedback: If a person will always give negative feedback, then the sender of the message may stop listening to what you say. It’s important to always give both positive and effective feedback (Boud and Molloy,  2013, p. 66).
• Giving feedback in a state of anger: Giving a feedback in a state of anger affects communication. It is always important for one to give their feedback while in the right mood so as to avoid frustrations.
• Giving feedback in public: Giving a feedback in public is also a challenge to effective feedback. People should ensure that they give their feedbacks in private.

Recommendations

• Feedback is essential, especially in a two-way communication. To ensure a successful communication, feedback should never be ignored or undermined.
• Effective feedback brings about more construction companies which employ civil engineers.
• While giving feedback, one should be sincere both in intention and manner.

Questioning

Questioning is trying to gain more information from the sender of the message so as to enhance interpersonal communication. For any communication to be successful, questions should be involved in a conversation (DeWaelsche, 2015, p. 66).  Questions are asked during interviews, presentations, and negotiations. They can either be verbal or non-verbal. There are important reasons why people should ask questioning within the field of civil engineering.

Benefits of asking questions within civil engineering

• People ask questions so as to acquire more information and more negotiation hence conflict resolution.
• By asking questions, one is able to control the conversation hence gaining information.
• People ask questions to know more about the respondent so as to build a report.
• According to civil engineers, questions are asked so as to emphasize an issue the speaker has said and this helps in reducing misunderstandings hence effective communication.
• Questions are important because they are used to test knowledge of the respondent.

Challenges of questioning

• Not listening to the civil engineer: A person not listening to the engineer will not ask good questions. One should listen to what is being said and not said.
• You think you know it all: Some stakeholders think that they know everything about the engineer hence they end up not asking questions (Bell et al., 2010, p. 60).
• You’d rather be liked than effective: People think that it’s good to be liked rather than to be effective hence they cannot ask any questions.
• You are not getting the answers you need: People choose not to ask questions because they think that they are not getting the answers they need.

Recommendation

• For any communication to be effective, questioning skills should be adopted because it controls the conversation.
• By adopting the skill of questioning the culture of the organization is highly appreciated and applied.
• Skillful questions should be matched with careful listening so as to understand what people mean by their answers

Conclusion

This assignment has viewed three communication skills; listening, feedback and questioning within the field of civil engineering. We have examined the benefits of each skill and the challenges involved in using the skills in the field. We have looked at the recommendations why we should use the skills in the civil engineering field. Listening is important in communication process because it leads to; good stakeholder satisfaction, high productivity, sharing of information, successful communication and also builds the self-esteem of a person. Feedback skill is important because it helps in; problem-solving, completes communication process, collecting information and knowing the effectiveness of the message. Questioning skill is important because it helps too; know about the respondent, test knowledge, acquire more information and to control the conversation. In conclusion, for any communication to be effective, these skills should be highly incorporated in the field of civil engineering.

References

• Brownell, J., 2015, Mendelsohn, D., and Lynch, T., 2013. Listening. In An introduction to applied linguistics (pp. 190-206). Routledge.kills. Routledge.
• Brownell, J., 2015. Listening: Attitudes, principles, and skills. Routledge.
• Brownell, J., 2010. The skills of listening‐centered communication. Listening and human communication in the 21st century, pp.141-157.
• Gielen, S., Peeters, E., Dochy, F., Onghena, P. and Struyven, K., 2010. Improving the effectiveness of peer feedback for learning. Learning and instruction, 20(4), pp.304-315.
• Abdollahipour, R., Wulf, G., Psotta, R. and Palomo Nieto, M., 2015. Performance of gymnastics skill benefits from an external focus of attention. Journal of sports sciences, 33(17), pp.1807-1813.
• Boud, D. and Molloy, E. eds., 2013. Feedback in higher and professional education: understanding it and doing it well. Routledge.
• DeWaelsche, S.A., 2015. Critical thinking, questioning and student engagement in Korean university English courses. Linguistics and Education, 32, pp.131-147.
• Hoel, T., Mason, J. and Chen, W., 2015. Data sharing for learning analytics–Questioning the risks and benefits. In Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Computers in Education. China: Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education.
• Bell, T., Urhahne, D., Schanze, S. and Ploetzner, R., 2010. Collaborative inquiry learning: Models, tools, and challenges. International journal of science education, 32(3), pp.349-377.
• Puccio, G.J., Mance, M. and Murdock, M.C., 2010. Creative leadership: Skills that drive change. Sage Publications.