VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Definition
Effective verbal or spoken communication is dependant on a number of factors and cannot be fully isolated from other important interpersonal skills such as non-verbal communication, listening skills and clarification.
Clarity of speech, remaining calm and focused, being polite and following some basic rules of etiquette will all aid the process of verbal communication. See our page: Effective Speaking for more information.
Skills required:
Opening Communication
In many interpersonal encounters, the first few minutes are extremely important as first impressions have a significant impact on the success of further communication.
Everyone has expectations and norms as to how initial meetings should proceed and people tend to behave according to these expectations. If these expectations are mismatched, communication will not be effective or run smoothly, and some form of negotiation will be needed if relations are to continue.
At a first meeting, formalities and appropriate greetings are usually expected: such formalities could include a handshake, an introduction to yourself, eye contact and discussion around a neutral subject such as the weather or your journey may be useful. A friendly disposition and smiling face are much more likely to encourage communication than a blank face, inattention or disinterested reception.

Reinforcement
The use of encouraging words alongside non-verbal gestures such as head nods, a warm facial expression and maintaining eye contact, are more likely to reinforce openness in others. The use of encouragement and positive reinforcement can:

* Encourage others to participate in discussion (particularly in group work) * Signify interest in what other people have to say * Pave the way for development and/or maintenance of a relationship * Allay fears and give reassurance * Show warmth and openness. * Reduce shyness or nervousness in ourselves and others.

Effective Listening
Active listening is an important skill and yet, as communicators, people tend to spend far more energy considering what they are going to say rather than listening to what the other person is trying to say.
Although active listening is a skill in itself, covered in depth on our listening pages, it is also vital for effective verbal communication. * The following points are essential for effective and active listening: * Arrange a comfortable environment conducive to the purpose of the communication, for example a warm and light room with minimal background noise. * Be prepared to listen. * Keep an open mind and concentrate on the main direction of the speaker's message. * Avoid distractions if at all possible. * Delay judgment until you have heard everything. * Be objective. * Do not be trying to think of your next question while the other person is giving information. * Do not dwell on one or two points at the expense of others. * The speaker should not be stereotyped. Try not to let prejudices associated with, for example, gender, ethnicity, social class, appearance or dress interfere with what is being said.

Questioning
Effective questioning is an essential skill. Questioning can be used to: * Obtain information. * Start a conversation. * Test understanding. * Draw someone into a conversation. * Show interest in a person. * Seek support or agreement.

Closed Questions
Closed questions tend to seek only a one or two word answer (often simply 'yes' or 'no') and, in doing so, limit the scope of the response. Two examples of closed questions are "Did you travel by car today?" and "Did you see the football game yesterday?" These types of question mean control of the communication is maintained by the questioner yet this is often not the desired outcome when trying to encourage verbal communication. Nevertheless, closed questions can be useful for focusing discussion and obtaining clear, concise answers when needed.
Open Questions
Open questions broaden the scope for response since they demand further discussion and elaboration. For example, "What was the traffic like this morning?" or "What do you feel you would like to gain from this discussion?" Open questions will take longer to answer, but they do give the other person far more scope for self-expression and encourage involvement in the conversation.

Reflecting and Clarifying
Reflecting is the process of feeding-back to another person your understanding of what has been said. Although reflecting is a specialised skill used within counselling, it can also be applied to a wide range of communication contexts and is a useful skill to learn.

Reflecting often involves paraphrasing the message communicated to you by the speaker in your own words, capturing the essence of the facts and feelings expressed, and communicating your understanding back to the speaker. It is a useful skill because:

* You can check that you have understood the message clearly. * The speaker gets feedback as to how the message is received. * It shows interest in, and respect for, what the other person has to say. * You are demonstrating that you are considering the other person’s viewpoint.

Summarising
A summary is an overview of the main points or issues raised. Summarising can also serve the same purpose as 'reflecting'. However, summarising allows both parties to review and agree the communication exchanged between them up to that point in time. When used effectively, summaries may also serve as a guide to the next steps forward.

Closing Communication
The way a communication is closed or ended will, at least in part, determine the way a conversation is remembered.
A range of subtle, or sometimes not so subtle, signals are used to end an interaction. For example, some people may avoid eye contact, stand up, turn their body away, or use behaviours such as looking at a watch or closing notepads or books. All of these non-verbal actions indicate to the other person that the initiator wishes to end the communication.

Closing an interaction too abruptly may not allow the other person to 'round off' what he or she is saying so you should ensure there is time for winding-up. The closure of an interaction is a good time to make any future arrangements. Last, but not least, this time will no doubt be accompanied by a number of socially acceptable parting gestures.

Toolbox meeting A Toolbox Talk is an informal group discussion that focuses on a particular safety issue. These tools can be used daily to promote your department safety culture. Toolbox talks are also intended to facilitate health and safety discussions on the job site. Running effective toolbox meetings can be a challenge. To help make it easier, the following toolbox meeting guides have been developed to provide a simple, clear format for conducting effective toolbox talks. These guides include information on specific construction safety topics that should help encourage safe work practices. Toolbox meetings are a way for information to be provided to workers, and for workers to have their say about hazards/controls, incidents/accidents, work processes and company procedures. The Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 places duties on employers to provide their staff with opportunities to participate in safety activities.
Structure of Meetings
Toolbox meetings should be run on a regular basis and run for 10-15 minutes. The frequency of meetings will depend on the size, nature and location of the site. Some hazardous activities could require daily meetings, while often a weekly/fortnightly meeting will suffice. Safety meetings for workers should be short and to the point.
Why do we run Safety Meetings? * Inform workers of changes to company procedures * Identify new hazards and review existing hazards * Develop/review hazard controls * Discuss/review accident and incident data * Employee participation * Communication * Discuss programmes * Develop/review work processes * Short training sessions
Record Meetings
Details of meetings should be recorded and kept on file. Record meeting dates, attendees and discussion items. Show follow-up items from previous hazards, accidents and incidents. Toolbox meeting checklist Choose a safety topic * Choose a topic relevant to the work the crew is doing. Be prepared * Inspect the jobsite for hazards related to your topic. * Read over the material you plan to cover. * Make sure you are familiar with any regulations, guidelines and company rules related to the day’s topic. * Review reports of recent accidents on the site, including “near misses.” Get the crew actively involved in the meeting * Choose a real-life example (case study) to talk about. * Invite the crew to ask questions and make suggestions related to the topic. * Respond to questions that you can answer, and offer to find answers you don’t know. * Allow time at the end of the meeting for questions and suggestions on any safety issue. * Ask the crew for feedback about the meeting. * Involve the crew in preparing for and/or leading future safety meetings. Follow up * Look into complaints, concerns, and suggestions that the crew brought up. * Report back to the crew to let them know what will be done. * Keep good records of each toolbox meeting. Show that you take safety seriously * It takes more than a good toolbox meeting to create a safe work * environment. * Encourage safe work practices. * Set an excellent safety example for others. * Invite crew members to come to you any time with safety problems and suggestions.

REFERENCES

http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/verbal-communication.html#ixzz3t0bb5pco https://www2.worksafebc.com/portals/Construction/ToolboxMeetingGuides-Index.asp