Reduce the impact of communication barriers

General Communication Skills

For new volunteers coming to Rainbow lights which have difficulty using computers there could be training to help them become more familiar with computers. For example online tutorials our demonstrations from other staff members.

You can overcome the hardware issue by buying a suitable webcam and microphone and installing it to your computer system. Before the video conference you should test your microphone and webcam to make sure they are functioning correctly. Another issue that may affect being able to video conference could be your firewall settings; they should be adjusted correctly so the hardware can function right with the computer.

Interpersonal Communication Skills

You can reduce this type of barrier by being more aware of your own body language. For example be more aware by not folding your arms and sitting up straight. When using body language you should also be aware of other people’s body language and how they respond to it. When you are communicating to other people face to face you should ensure you have good body language by not checking the time frequently, by not touching your face and by looking them in the eye to show you are fully comprehending what they are saying to you.

 

Written Communication Skills

There are many things you can do to reduce barriers within written communication for example when your writing a document to take your time and to always go back over your work to proof read it to check if there is any spelling mistakes or grammar issues in it. If you are writing on a computer you should always use the program spell checker to make sure that all your grammar and spellings are correct. When your done your work you should always get another person to review your work incase they can see errors in it that you have missed.