Communication – Components of Communication

The flow of information is:

• The giving and receiving of information
• Impart, convey, reveal
• Exchange information
• A two way process

A command or statement is not communication, it’s a one-way process with no feedback. Real communication requires a two way process to exchange information.

Communication is a two-way process of achieving a mutual understanding in which participants not only exchange information, ideas and feelings but also create and share meaning.

Point to achieve that flow (particularly as an active listener):

• Make the mental choice to TUNE IN and listen to the message.
• ASK QUESTIONS and try and see the transmitters perspective.
• Where possible maintain EYE CONTACT to show you are attentive.
• Try to listen for the whole message and not mentally prepare a rebuttal while the transmitter is still speaking by exercising PATIENCE.
• Listen respectfully without judgement and without getting defensive. STAY OBJECTIVE
• Finally, by summarising or paraphrasing you are able to TEST FOR UNDERSTANDING to ensure that you have correctly understood the communication.

Some barriers to good communication:

• Interpersonal Issues – Status, Gender, Conflicts
• Environment – Noise, Temperature, Weather conditions
• Cultural Differences – Language or accents, norms, customs etc
• Physical Barriers – Radio not turned on, face masks
• Position / Location – Out of sight – can you see body language?, out of hearing range – can you hear sound/ voice?
• Technology constraints – Are the radios working or tuned correctly?
• Filtering – Perception and view point affects interpretation.
• Other Human Factors eg fatigue
• Non-Standard Phraseology

What if the bystanders observe a hazard? How likely will they be to speak up?

Researchers believe that the reason that people often struggle to speak up, especially when they are lower in status, is that they do not feel psychologically safe to do so.

Psychological safety is a person’s sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass, reject, or punish someone for speaking up” and this confidence comes from a sense of mutual respect and trust amongst team members. People tend to speak up freely when they feel psychologically safe – that is, when they are not influenced by the fear of people disproving, or by concern about the personal or professional costs.

The bystander effect makes us less likely to intervene when more people are present. For example, when lots of people are present we feel that the responsibility is shared or that others are more responsible to say something.

Behaviour towards the team can affect the effectiveness of leadership.

A rational person will tend to stay rational, moving up or down depending on circumstances. A person with emotional responses will tend to remain emotional, moving up or down depending on mood and circumstances.

Ideally a pilot will remain on the left, consciously keeping a rational response style.

Assertive: (Calm, in Control):

When you make decisions without consulting me I feel annoyed because I am also responsible in the long run.

Supportive:

I understand that it must have been difficult to have made that decision by yourself – is there anything I can help you to clarify now that I am available.

Aggressive: (Lost control):

How dare you make that decision without consulting me, you have no right – that’s my job.

Submissive: (Doesn’t seem to want control):

Ops have reduced my fuel load for the next sector. It’s legal and we’re running late, so I guess we’ll just do what they want.

Have you observed a crew member doing the wrong thing? Intentionally? Non-intentionally?

• Example: ‘Just a self brief on that chart’
• Is there anything in our operation that is a violation but is relatively common?
• Did you say something?

Normalized Deviancy is part of decision-making in guarding against intentional non-compliance! What helps us with avoiding non-compliance or normalized deviancy? 

• Support Language
• Safety reporting systems /Managers
• SOPS/Manuals/Safety Alerts/Training

90% of the time we should be in the green and blue! Good communication skills will rarely go into the SE of this model, they are dealt with in the C and A.

For example:

• Communicate Information: The first thing you would do is to Relay information, just say what you see! Drawing someone’s attention to the issue may be all that is needed. For example: ‘Be advised we have a low voltage alarm.’
• Ask if they are aware: The next action is to Ask if they are aware, it gives them a bit more context about the situation, for example: ‘Are you aware that we are time limited?’
• Solution Offered: An example of offering a solution might be: ‘A return to land is recommended.’ If someone is under a lot of pressure they may not have the head space to think of what the solution should be, this helps them out.
• Emergency Language: The Emergency Language is only ever used if you don’t have any time left and, if you don’t act, an incident could easily happen. Using the person’s name and an urgent tone is a good way to get someone’s attention even when they are focused on another task. For example: ‘John! Land now. Critical battery ’