Task 2 - Effective Communication

General skills: 
• Cultural differences - When it comes to cultural differences, it is essential that you understand the fellow workers culture, such as you may do something one way and they may do it another and you have to respect the way in which they do them, also, they may say something that sounds offensive to you when in reality it's not, or you may say something that isn't offensive but they take it in the offensive way, you must be able to communicate with other cultures effectively to avoid this and have an effective working area.
• Adapting content and style to suit audience needs - When it comes to adapting certain aspects to an audiences needs, you must understand each need specifically, let's say somebody has partial hearing, you must be able to project your voice loud enough in order for them to hear you, but you can't be mean about is as this will upset the audience, you must take your time and make sure that they understand what it is that you're saying so that what is being said can be understood the way in which you're aiming to have it understood.
• Techniques for engaging audience - When it comes to engaging an audience it is essential for you to maintain eye contact, this is because it makes the audience know you are speaking to them and also that you are confident and understand what it is that you're talking about instead of just reading off a screen. Adding humor into the presentation is another key way in which you can engage an audience, this is because it makes you and them more relaxed, it's not as intense as a presentation without humor.
Interpersonal skills: 
• Positive and negative language - Having a positive language is essential as having a positive language attracts an audience which is required in a presentation, a positive language is basically just a formal language, meaning that when you give a presentation you are using the correct grammar, where as with negative language, it is used for certain types of presentations to attract a certain age group, this is because the language that is used generally tends to be informal.
• Barriers - Having barriers can get in the way of a lot of things, such as communication barriers and verbal barriers, so the way in which these barriers can be avoided is basically, if somebody doesn't understand your language very well, you could either try and translate what you are saying into their language, put what you are saying into simple terms so that the person is able to understand, or have somebody there who is able to translate what you are saying, also, there are simple barriers like the tone and loudness of your voice, if you don't speak loud enough or in a clear tone then what you are saying isn't able to be understood correctly
• Types of question - Depending on the type of question asked, is what determines the answer and if there should be an answer, in a presentation, questions that get asked should be linked to the presentation, whether it be you asking the questions or the audience, this is why it is important to cover all areas of what you're talking about in the presentation, if it is you (the person giving the presentation) who is asking the question, it should be clearly stated if the question is one to be answered or one that isn't (rhetorical) so that there are no errors made within the audience.
Written communication skills: 
• E-mail, letters and fax - In written communication skills, e-mails are actually key, this is because it is how data and information gets sent from 1 source to another without having to play the waiting game with sending it in a letter (through the mail). E-mails are the modern way to send and receive information at a fast pace, this is because the message gets sent instantly and is received a few seconds later.
• Spelling and grammar - In written communication skills, it is essential to have the correct spelling and grammar, this is so that the letters/e-mails look more professional, also, so that certain words within the letter/e-mail don't get mis-read, making the receiver of the information confused and unsure of what is actually being said. It is also essential to have the correct grammar, this is because it shows your level of professionalism and shows that you understand what it it that you're talking about instead of just having the common knowledge of information that isn't needed.
• ‘Smileys’ or emoticons - In written communication skills, the use of 'smileys' or emoticons is clear, you're able to give your view on something just by using an image which portrays how you feel about it, from a smiley face if your thought are positive or if work has been submitted and is good, a sad face if something isn't to the standard that you wish for it to be at or if the work submitted isn't in enough detail, angry face for if your view on something is negative or if something has been said which has upset you or id completely irrelevant to what is being asked, also if the work is terrible and contains nothing to do with what is being asked.