ETHIOPIAN MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE

Service Delivery for Governmental and Non-

Governmental Organizations Training Manual

(FOR MLM & TLM)

Research
Oct, 2023
ADDIS ABABA

Consultancy Training
 1. CUSTOMER SERVICE DELIVERY
1.1 Introduction
Customer service touches our lives in two important ways. The service we give and the
service we receive. Customer service will help us not only be a better service person but
also a better customer. Customer service for non- business contains lots of practical
advice for getting through the everyday challenges at work. Among other important
issues, it enables how to manage and develop your staff so they can become service
heroes to their customer. This chapter contains concepts, practices, roles, qualities
principles and other issues important for giving your customers the kind of service that
you yourself would like to receive.
Session One Objectives
At the end of this session trainees/participants will be able to:
 define concepts of customer, service & customer service effectively.
 describe Handling Difficult customers.
 explain the basic concepts of negotiation/ communication
 describe the functions and types of communication

1.2 Definition on Customer, service & customer service

∆ Customer
 Person/organization that often or regularly, purchases a service or product.
 The customer makes a purchase because s/he, for one reason or another, needs that service
or product.
 Internal and external.

Customer can be understood in two ways:

a) Person who receives or buys/has the potential to buy
b) Person with whom one has dealings.

∆ Service
 Work done for others as an occupation or business or an act or a variety of work done for
others, especially for pay.
 Any activity undertaken to meet social needs (The service delivery policy in the civil service
of Ethiopia).
 Activities
Page 2 of the government institutions aimed at satisfying the needs and ensuring the
wellbeing of society as well as enforcing laws, regulations and directives of the government-
Public service.
The definition of service shapes every interaction that one has with customers. The
common concept that service is only giving customers what they want is not complete as
it will not have a solution for a person asking for something that is impossible to provide.
Therefore, it is good to expand the definition of service as "fulfilling a great number of
less obvious customer needs".
This includes:
 Listening with empathy to customers
 Providing options/ alternatives
 Showing friendliness to customers
 Fairness
 Providing information

1.2.1 Service Ideology and Culture

An organization’s ideology comprises its purpose (Why are we here?) and values (For
what do we stand?). Organizations renowned for providing excellent customer service
have typically defined their purpose in terms of service – to serve their customers, and
to serve their members. Their values typically include integrity, trustworthiness,
reliability, personal responsibility, industriousness, continuous improvement, respect, and
consistency. For an organization’s members to deliver superior service consistently, they
must be acculturated, i.e. instilled with the values, traits, patterns, and behaviors
associated with a service culture. The mechanisms of this acculturation include
recruitment, training, empowerment, and accountability, within the framework of an
organization’s ideology of service.

1.2.2 What is Customer Service?

∆ Customer Service
 a provision of service to customers before, during and after a facility/ purchase
aiming to increase value that buyers receive from their purchases and from the
processes leading up to the purchase.
 a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction– that
is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation.
Page 
3 as important as its impact on individuals, households, firms, and societies has
Customer Service is, as your job, to manage the customer’s expectations so that they do
not expect more than you are able to deliver. As a general rule, customers are satisfied if
their expectations are met and dissatisfied if their expectations are not met. Good
customer service will deliver what today’s discerning customers expect and create a bond
of loyalty thereby encouraging repeat business.
1.2.3 Importance of Customer Service

‘Customer is the king’ is the slogan of the day. But, as a matter of fact customer is the
provider of bread and butter to our body and thus is the king, it is a provider of means to
our better life after death and that makes it a soul. Moreover it makes us happy when we
make a difference to someone and that makes the customer nourishment to our spirit.
Customer is our guarantee to go to heaven instead of hell.

1.2.4 Factors Determining Customer Satisfaction

Specific products or service features or service provisions influence customer

satisfaction. Satisfaction is also influenced by customer’s emotional responses, their
attributes, and their perceptions of equity.
a) Product and Service features
 This is customer satisfaction with a product or service influenced by the
customer’s evaluation of product or service.
b) Customer emotion
 Customer emotions can also affect their perceptions of satisfaction with products
and service
 These emotions can be stable, preexisting emotions, like mood state or life
satisfaction.
c) Attributes for service success or failure
 Attributions of the perceived cause of events can – influence perception of
satisfaction as well.
d) Perception of equity or fairness
 Customer satisfaction is also influenced by perception of equity and fairness

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  Customers ask themselves: Am I treated fairly compared with other customers?
In terms of treatment, better price, better quality service.
e) Other consumers, family members and coworkers
 In addition to product and service features, one’s own individual feelings, and
beliefs, other people also often influence consumer satisfaction.

1.2.5 Outcomes of Customer Satisfaction

 Beyond macroeconomic implications; however, it has impact on individual firms

on customer loyalty and profits.
 There is important relationship b/n customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
 Research shows the link between dissatisfaction and disloyalty or defection.

Profitability/ Customer
good will Satisfaction

Customer
loyalty

Figure 1: Outcomes of customer satisfaction

1.3 Levels of Services & Types of customers

1.3.1 Levels of services

Organizations shall provide service that has quite different implication on the satisfaction
level of customers. The type of services that has been intended to be delivered has a
prime role to create the desired feeling in the side of customers.

As per the explanations made, customers have certain level of expectation from the
service they will gain while they start heading to organizations. This expectation will then

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 act as a standard to determine the satisfaction they experience after having what they
were looking for. Organizations will provide the following four generous levels of
service which in return can create different level of satisfaction on customers.

The four levels of satisfaction are:

1. Basic service: organizations have an option of providing what they have been
mandated for without even considering the need and expectations of customers.
Such level of services is basic.
2. Expected service: sometimes customers might get what they have been expecting
when they foot to organizations’ compound. Organizations have prior information
from experience about customers’ expectations and they are good enough to adapt
with and provide customers what they are looking for.
3. Desired service: Alert service providers have the initiation to search for
information regarding the needs and want of customers and alter their services
accordingly. They ask what their customers are expecting and amend their
operations to fill the gap they currently have. Customers at the end of the day will
have the chance to get there desire. This effort can create satisfied customers.
4. Unanticipated service: organization will have the courage to go extra-mile to delight
their customers. They provide not what customers are looking for but what they don’t
even think before.
5. 1.3.2 Types of Customers
Customers fall into two categories: External and Internal.
a) The external customers: These are the people you deal with, either face-to-face
or over the telephone, who buy products or services from you- THEY are the
reason the business exists and
b) The internal customer: These are the people who work inside your organization
& relay on you for the services, products, & information that they need to get
their jobs done. Treating our colleagues as customers is the best way to build a
customer-focused organization.

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The customer chain: relationship between internal customers and external customers
that creates the customer chain. The smoother the relationship between the two groups of
customers, the stronger the chain will be in effect.
Conditions that lead to smooth relationship between internal and external customers are:
 Personnel selection,
 Training the staff,
 Recognition/motivation of good work and
 Control
Each interaction with an internal customer is an important link in a chain of events that
always ends up at the external customers’ feet. The quality of service that an organization
provides to its customers is a direct reflection of how the staff of an organization is
treated by their immediate supervisors/ managers.

1.5 Principles of Customer Service

Certain basic qualities of service delivery can contribute to the satisfaction of customers.
The following are some of the principles provided to make services astonishing as per the
needs and expectations of customers.

 Service Standards: statement that outlines the nature and quality of

service which customers can expect, and display it prominently at the point of service
delivery. They are indicators that can be expressed in time, quality, cost or one in
relation to serve in the measurement of the level of performance in service delivery.
Institutions should publish their standards and seek suitable means of disseminating
them. Institutions are also required to periodically monitor, review and reset
standards.
 Equality/Diversity: Ensure the rights to equal treatment established by equality
legislation, and accommodate diversity, so as to contribute to equality for the groups
covered by the equality legislation (under the grounds of gender, marital status,
family status, sexual orientation, religious belief, age, disability & race).

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 Physical Access: Provide clean, accessible public offices that ensure
privacy, comply with occupational and safety standards and, as part of this, facilitate
access for people with disabilities and others with specific needs.
 Information: A proactive approach in providing information that is clear,
timely and accurate is available at all points of contact meeting the requirements of
people with specific needs.
 Timeliness and Courtesy: Deliver quality services with courtesy,
sensitivity and the minimum delay, fostering a climate of mutual respect between
provider and customer. Give contact names in all communications to ensure ease of
ongoing transactions.
 Complaints: Institutions should recognize and respect the right of service
users to complain. This includes any indication of wrong doings and comments made
by service users that need response. Therefore, they should maintain a well-
publicized, accessible, transparent and simple-to-use system of dealing with
complaints about the quality of service provided.
 Consultation and Evaluation:

Consultation is a means of obtaining useful and objective views of service users with
the aim of improving service delivery on continuous ways. It enables management to
identify the needs and expectations of service users. Based on the outcome of the
consultation management could plan and implement work processes that are service
user friendly

 Institutions should consult with the service user on: standards and quality
of services, performance of the institution, the level of service users satisfaction,
services that are not being used (if any), areas of improvement etc. and ensure
meaningful evaluation of service delivery. The results of consultation and evaluation
should be reported to relevant authorities, service users and staff of the institution.
They should also be taken into account in future planning and decision-making
processes.

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 Choice: Provide choice, where feasible, in service delivery including
payment methods, location of contact points, opening hours and delivery times.
 Official Languages Equality: Provide quality services through Amharic,
and/or other languages and inform customers of their right to choose to be dealt with
through one or other of the official languages.

 Better Co-ordination: Foster a more coordinated and integrated approach

to delivery of services.
 Internal Customer: Ensure staff is recognized as internal customers and
that they are properly supported and consulted with regard to service delivery issues.

2. HANDLING DIFFICULT CUSTOMERS

2.1 Introduction
Almost all organizations believe in handling their customers properly. However, due to
different reasons: personalities, cultures, shortage of resources, time, stress, diseases,
behaviors, age, experience, profession and others; it is common that you get difficult
customers.
When you work in customer service, figuring out how to deal with difficult customers is
part of the job, but it can also be the hardest part of the job. As humans, you are
hardwired to care about others. That’s what customer service is about.

2.2 How to Win Over a Difficult Customer

It’s when dealing with difficult customers that your communication skills will be put to
the highest test. It may be best to let your customer vent a little before you come back
with a response.
Reasons for being difficult are:
 Tired or frustrated
 Confused or overwhelmed
 Defending their ego
 Unfamiliar with the situation
 Feel ignored

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  Under the influence of drug or drink
 Perception & expectation
 Do not understand
 In a bad mood
 In a hurry
 Personality
 Health & experience
 etc.

2.3 Difficult Customer Types and Handling Strategies

Studies show different types of naming for difficult customers.
There are different strategies or techniques how handle these different difficult
customers. Some of the common ones are listed in the table below.
2.4 Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage our emotions and those of others. The first
step is to understand how our own emotions affect how we think and act. It is also vital to
understand how our emotions affect others. Emotions play a critical role in the delivery
of service excellence. It is important for all of us to manage or control our feelings and
emotions at work. Regular outbursts of anger, sadness, excessive worry or panic can lead
to an inability to focus on the task at hand, impact negatively on co-worker morale, affect
team work and compromise both safety and productivity. Inappropriate positive emotions
such as over-exuberance or over excitement can also result in difficulties interacting with
others at work. Some people may not be aware of the inappropriateness of their emotions
at work and the impact it has on their performance and relationships with others.

Awareness can be increased by being aware of the four important domains of emotional
intelligence competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness &
relationship management.

Different scholars put the emotional intelligence (EI) with different competencies, as
stated below, to be familiar both the customer and service provider.

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 Self-awareness Social-Awareness
 Emotional self-awareness  Empathy
 Accurate self-assessment  Organizational awareness

Self-Management Social Skill

 Emotional self-control  Conflict management
 Adaptability  Team work and collaboration

Table 5: Emotional intelligence categories & Competencies

Emotional Self-awareness
Emotional self-awareness is the major competency of EI that lay the foundational to
become emotionally intelligent. It is the ability to understand what we are feeling and
why, as well as to understand what caused those feelings. It helps us to connect with our
underlying beliefs, assumptions, and values and to know what drives us. Moreover, to get
connected with other people and communicate our feelings; to stay aligned with our true
motivations, Emotional self-awareness is the key.

Accurate self-assessment
Accurate Self-Assessment is taken as the hallmark of superior performance. Having this
competency will help us to be aware of our abilities and limitations, seek out feedback
and learn from our mistakes, and know where we need to improve and when to work with
others who have complementary strengths

Emotional Self –control

Emotional Self-Control competence is manifested largely as the absence of distress and
disruptive feelings. When our competency in emotional self-control develops, we will be
able to get calm in stressful situations or while dealing with a hostile person without
lashing out in return.

Social awareness
This element involves individuals in perceiving and understanding other people’s
emotions and viewpoints, and showing understanding and empathy for others. It includes
appreciating and understanding what others are feeling, being able to consider their
perspective and interacting positively with diverse groups of people. Social awareness
involves being able to interpret and understand others’ perspectives, emotional states and

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needs, which results in inclusive interactions and respect for individual and group
differences.
Relationship management
Relationship Management allows you to connect with others in ways that help them feel
understood and supported. Managing relationships is an essential emotional intelligence
skill that enables you to effectively lead change or manage personal change. Managing
relationships is much more than being friendly. It takes efforts and strategy to get the best
from a situation by managing the way people respond.
2.5 Recognizing Customer Behavior
In psychology, there are two fundamentally different types of personalities to express
human behavior: Extroverts and Introverts.
(i) Extrovert: is a type of personality (or behavior) that is oriented outside, for
surroundings. People with this type of personality tend to be those who are more
energized when being around others.
They are the ones who love to chat, mingle, and socialize. When given the chance, an
extrovert will talk with someone else rather than sit alone and think. In fact, extroverts
tend to think as they speak, & they often think well when they are talking. Concepts just
don't seem real to them unless they can talk about them; reflecting on them isn't enough.
When extroverts are at your place to get the service that your organization is delivering,
they
o usually speak out loud and request to be served soon.
o give their complaints to immediate bosses of service providers.
o ask as to why they are not being served immediately.
o if get other service users, talk unfavorably about the service providers.
o become impatient or bored when work is monotonous.
(ii) Introvert: is a type of personality (or behavior) that is oriented inside or to one self.
They are the ones who are far more likely to think before they speak. They prefer
comfortable loneliness, inner speculations and absorbing into personal thoughts, creative
work or observation of the process. Introverts tend to be those who are more energized
when alone with themselves. They are the ones who generally enjoy solitary activities

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such as reading, writing, and daydreaming. When introverts are at your place to get the
service that your organization is delivering, they
o usually wait with patience until they are given the service, or try to be seen if they
think that they are not noticed.
o politely request to be served and look for ways to get the service they need.
As a service provider, it is good to note that you possibly will face customers with both
personality types, and hence you should be aware of the strategies so as to serve them
nonviolently/diplomatically.
In order to accommodate customers with extrovert personality types,
 listen persuasively. Show ‘signs of life’ when they are speaking.
 when interacting with them, show evidence that you are interested & involved.
 provide opportunities for them to interact with others.
 occasionally respond more quickly with less pausing to think.
 offer information: don’t always wait till you are asked.
 let them know that you need time to reflect before responding.
To accommodate customers with introvert personality types,
 allow time for them to get to know you.
 don’t wait for them to offer ideas- ask them.
 allow time for them to work through their ideas before responding.
 provide for individual or one-on-one time.
 allow breaks or periods of quite time during times of intense interaction.
 listen persuasively- resist the urge to interrupt & watch out for facial expressions
& body language that suggest u can’t wait to speak.

How we handle difficult customers is critical because they can cause other difficult
situations. Below are some steps that we have to follow in order to handle the situation
with difficult customers.
2.6 Managing Conflict with Coworkers
Conflict is a state of disagreement or opposition between two or more persons regarding
ideas, interests, needs, values, desires or wishes. Such situations may arise from honest

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disagreements or actions or from any other situation where human impressions and
objectives differ.
Most people don't enjoy facing conflict that sometimes occurs with co-workers in the
workplace. How you manage situations of conflict with your coworkers could have a
significant impact on your career. Those who deal successfully with potential conflicts
are far more likely to receive added responsibilities in addition to the respect that come
with them.
On the other hand, not dealing successfully with conflict can potentially cause you
professional stress & burnout, decreased productivity, & decreased physical and
emotional well-being.
i. Realize that conflicts are inevitable at work
Disagreements with your coworkers shouldn't be a surprise to you. The possibility for
conflict exists in many different types of interactions, so if you think ahead, you can
anticipate where conflict might arise. Confrontation can start from virtually any decision
made that affects others, and it should be anticipated. Whenever people are engaged,
committed and fired up; conflict and disagreement is bound to happen.
Quite the contrary, it can even be the beginning of an interesting learning process. The
very best and most efficient workplaces are not the ones without conflicts but those who
handle conflicts constructively.
ii. Don't personalize disagreements
One of the worst responses to a conflict or disagreement on a decision or opinion is to
interpret it as a personal attack and respond in kind. You end up arguing the emotions,
rather than the subject at hand. This type of response not only makes the situation even
more unpleasant and difficult to resolve, but also leaves bad feelings that could be
impossible to repair.
iii. Handle conflict sooner rather than later
This is the single most important tip to successfully resolve conflicts. It’s very tempting
to wait for a conflict to blow over by itself, but it rarely does – in most cases it only gets
worse with time. 90% of conflicts at work do not come from something that was said, but
from something that wasn’t said. It’s tempting to try and smooth things over and pretend
everything is normal. That’s the most common reason why conflicts at work escalate.
Everyone’s waiting for the other person to pull himself together and “just admit he’s

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wrong,” It may be unpleasant to tackle the issue here and now but it gets even more
unpleasant after the conflict has stewed for a good long while. The chance of an
uncomfortable situation just blowing over is very unlikely, the sooner you come to terms
with the situation, the sooner you resolve the problem.
iv. Ask

If you think there may be a disagreement between you and another team member on an
aspect of your job, sit down with that person and discuss the facts of the problem. While
it may not always lead to a meeting of minds, at least it enables each of you to explore
and understand one another's positions. Plus, this makes it more possible to reach some
common ground. In the early stages of a conflict the most powerful tool to resolve it is to
ask. If somebody has done something that made you angry, if you don’t understand
somebody’s viewpoint, if you don’t understand their actions, just ask. Do it nicely. Say,
“I was wondering why you did ‘that’ yesterday” or “I’ve noticed that you often do ‘this’.
2.7 Working with Different Working Styles
There are generally four basic personality types. The most often used personality types
are: Analytical, Driver, Amiable and Expressive. To deal with difficult people you must
identify which type they are, then deal with each individual as he or she would be done
by. You should also determine your own personality type. Understanding your working
style and the styles of those around you will improve your communication with
customers, co-workers and even your bosses.

(i) Analytical Person: wants to know "how" things work. They value numbers, statistics
and love details, fear losing face, tend to be introverted. In a problem situation, the
Analytical wants exact answers & written materials, no emotional stories.

People with this style have low degree of assertiveness and emotional expression, they
evaluate situations objectively, gather lots of data before making decisions & focus on
facts than feelings. Words that best describe this style are serious, well-organized,
systematic, logical, factual & reserved. They do have strengths in that they are good
problem solvers & work independently but their tendency of overanalyzing facts in order
to avoid mistake can be taken as their weaknesses. people with this style show little facial
expression, have controlled body movement with slow gestures, have little inflection in

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their voice, use language that is precise, focus on specific details,& have charts graphs
and statistics displayed at their offices.

(ii) Driver Person: wants to know "what". They want to save time, value results, love
being in control doing things their own way, fear giving up control, are extroverted and
show little or no emotion. In a problem situation, the Driver wants results.

People with this style have high degree of assertiveness & low degree of emotional
expression; they know where they want to go and how they are going to get there. Words
that best describe this style are decisive, independent, efficient, intense, deliberate &
achieving.

They have the ability to take change of situations to make quick decisions but the fact
that they over look details and make mistakes when stressed and the fact that they push
aside their own and others’ feelings in order to get the job done might bring them tense
situation with co-workers and can be taken as a weakness. People with this style make
direct eye contact, speak forcefully with fast paces, use direct bottom line language &
have planning calendars and project outlines displayed at their offices.

(iii) Amiable Person: want to know "why". They want to build relationships, love to
give others support and attention, and value suggestions from others, fear disagreement.
They display lots of emotion. In a problem situation, the Amiable would like reassurance
that the problem will be fixed. People with this style have low degree of assertiveness and
high degree of emotional expression, are responsive and friendly. Words that best
describe this style are cooperative, friendly, supportive, patient & relaxed.

They do have strengths in that they are good listeners and collaborators who strive for
teamwork. But the fact that they have problem of asserting themselves and making
decisions quickly, and their reluctance to deal with conflict as they do not want to
confront with co-workers can be taken as their weaknesses. People with this style have a
friendly facial expression, make frequent eye contact, have non-aggressive gestures,
speak slowly in soft tones, use encouraging words (languages), & display lots of family
pictures at their offices.

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(iv) Expressive Person: wants to know "who". They value appreciation, love social
situations and gatherings, like to inspire others, fear being rejected, and are extroverted,
readily showing emotion to others. In a problem situation, the expressive wants to be
understood.

people with this style have high degree of assertiveness and high degree of emotional
expression, are outgoing, persuasive, humorous, lively, enthusiastic, friendly, and perfect
to work with other people.

They do have strengths in that they are able to motivate and generate excitement to
others, work at fast pace building alliances and relationships to accomplish their goals,
and are well suited to high profile position that require them to make public
presentations. But the fact that they may lash out with a verbal attack if criticized and the
fact that they communicate their feelings with a lot of intensity when upset can be
considered as their weaknesses.
People with this style use rapid hand arm gestures, speak quickly with lots of inflation,
have a wide range of facial expressions, use language that is persuasive and have a work
place cluttered with inspirational times.

Customers and co- workers with different styles require different types of approaches. By
understanding and adapting to the style of the person we are dealing with, we can create
stronger rapport and deliver better customer service.

3. BASIC CONCEPTS OF COMMUNICATION

3.1 Introduction

Customer service has, as one of the most important constituents, conservation/

communication skills. Organizations and individuals are required to possess these skills
in order for them to be successful in their service. It's true that an organization which has
got products/service of high quality to sell is unlikely to succeed unless it creates a good
relationship with customers through the application of proper
conservation/communication.

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3.2 Basic concepts of negotiation / communication

The word communication comes from the Latin word ‘communes’ meaning ‘common’.
Thus for successful conservation/ communication we are trying to meet on common
ground, at least momentarily, with the receivers of our messages.

We are trying to establish a commonness if a sharing of information, attitude, ideas, and

understanding. Hence, communication is the transmitting or exchanging of information or
knowledge and the creation of understanding between two parts. It is not possible to have
human relations without communication. However, good and effective communication is
required not only for good human relations but also for good and successful business.

3.2 Functions of communication

Communication is the very basis, which drives the process of development in all the
fields. There are four major functions that seem to dominate communication in the
organizational context.

(A) Control: Communication acts to control member behavior in several ways.

Organizations have authority hierarchies and formal guidelines that employees are
required to follow. When employees, for instance are required to first communicate any
job related grievance to their immediate boss, to follow their job description, or to
comply with company policies, communication is performing a control function.

(B) Motivation: Communication fosters motivation by clarifying to employees what is to

be done, how well they are doing and what can be done to improve performance if it has
to be. The formation of specific goals, feedback on progress toward the goals, and
reinforcement of desired behavior all stimulate motivation and require communication.

(C) Emotional expression: For many employees, their work group is a primary source
for social interaction. The communication that takes place within the group is a
fundamental mechanism by which members show their frustration and feelings of

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satisfaction. Communication therefore provides release for the emotional expression of
feelings and for fulfillment of social needs.

(D) Information: The final function of communication is its role in facilitating decision
making. It provides the information that individuals and groups need to make decisions
by transmitting the data to identify and evaluate alternative choices.

3.3 Types of Communication

Based on the channels used for communicating, the process of communication can be
broadly classified as verbal communication and non-verbal communication.

3.3.1 Verbal Communication

Verbal communication entails the use of words in delivering the intended message. The
two major forms of verbal communication include written and oral communication.

Written communication includes traditional pen and paper letters and documents, typed
electronic documents, e-mails, text chats, SMS and anything else conveyed through
written symbols such as language.

(i) Written Communication Skills:

A good written message should:
 Be neatly written so that anyone can read it.
 Contain simple, straightforward words with no jargon or slang expressions.
 Include all the key facts in a logical order.
 Be specific about dates, days, times and figures.
(ii) Oral Communication Skill:
 talk pleasingly in logical order and in understandable manner.
 ability to speak correctly and clearly to impress customers favorably.
 Clear voice, pronunciation, and fluent expression.
 it’s an art that can be developed by constant effort and practice.

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Verbal communication makes the process of communication easier and faster, and
remains the most successful form of communication.
Behaviors or habits that should be avoided during oral communication are:
 Clearing the throat frequently
 Smoking
 Chewing gum
 Cutting nails
 Buttoning and unbuttoning shirts
 Swinging on chair, etc.
(iii) Listening
Listening is a powerful tool for shaping action. The competence of listening to the
listening, one’s owns and others, is a key communication skill. Accordingly, knowing the
following four distinctions of listening will help to develop listening competency.

(iv) Listening vs. Hearing

The kind of attention one is giving while the other is speaking limits and shapes the
results of the conversation. We have to be very interested in how others are paying
attention in how they are being, in how they are listening. Listening is like a filter over a
light. If the filter is green, the light will be green. Listening is like water to the fish. We
are usually unaware of the listening we are giving or are getting. All our attention is on
speaking. Much of the power however is in the listening.
a) Listening to Your Listening
We are going to make some distinctions in this aspect of life called paying attention or
“listening”. It requires developing a new skill which is critical to service delivery. It is
called “Listening to your Listening”. The first place to practice is on you. The following
questions are useful for developing the competency of “listening to your listening” Are
you present or “checked out?”
b) Reactive Listening
Reactive listening is the default setting of attention. It is the way we are being when we
are not paying attention. It could also be called automatic listening filters. They are

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generated from a need to survive and are built into the design of human awareness. The
following are some examples of reactive listening.

c) Proactive Listening
Proactive listening is an active purposeful focusing of attention and you are pulling out
some particular meaning from the sounds on purpose. You could choose to listen for:

3.3.2 Non-Verbal Communication

Non-verbal communication includes the overall body language of the person who is
speaking, which will include the body posture, the hand gestures, and overall body
movements. The facial expressions also play a major role while communication since the
expressions on a person’s face say a lot about his/her mood.

The main aspects of body language are:

The main aspects of body language are: e ye contact, clothing, facial expression,
body posture (movement), touching, hand gestures and physical distance.
(a) Eye contact
(b) Clothing
(C) Facial expression
(d) Body posture (movement)
(e) Touching
(f) Hand Gesture
(g) Physical distance

3.4 Barriers to Effective Communication

An effective communication barrier is one of the problems faced by many organizations.
Many social psychologists opine that there is 50% to 70% loss of meaning while
conveying the messages from a sender to a receiver. They estimate there are some places
where communication could be interpreted wrongly. A few barriers of effective
communication in an organization are given below.

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Physical Barriers - One of the major barriers of communication in a workplace is the
physical barrier. Physical barriers in an organization include large working areas that are
physically separated from others. Other distractions that could cause a physical barrier in
an organization are the environment, background & noise.

Language - Inability to converse in a language that is known by both the sender and
receiver is the greatest barrier to effective communication. When a person uses
inappropriate words while conversing or writing, it could lead to misunderstanding
between the sender and a receiver.

Emotions - Your emotions could be a barrier to communication if you are engrossed in

your emotions for some reason. In such cases, you tend to have trouble listening to others
or understanding the message conveyed to you. A few of the emotional interferences
include hostility, anger, resentfulness and fear.

Stress - One of the major communication barriers faced by employees in most of the
organization is stress. When a person is under immense stress, he may find it difficult to
understand the message, leading to communication distortion. At the time of stress, our
psychological frame of mind depends on our beliefs, experiences, goals and values. Thus,
we fail to realize the essence of communication.
Noise - Equipment or environmental noise impedes clear communication. The sender and
the receiver must both be able to concentrate on the messages being sent to each other.

We - Focusing on ourselves, rather than the other person can lead to confusion and
conflict. The “Me Generation” is out when it comes to effective communication.
Some of the factors that cause this are defensiveness (we feel someone is attacking
us), superiority (we feel we know more than the other), and ego (we feel we are the
center of the activity).

Perception - If we feel the person is talking too fast, not fluently, does not articulate
clearly, etc., we may dismiss the person. Also our preconceived attitudes affect our

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ability to listen. We listen uncritically to persons of high status and dismiss those of
low status.

Environmental - Bright lights, an attractive person, unusual sights, or any other

stimulus provides a potential distraction.

Stereotyping - Stereotyping causes us to typify a person, a group, an event or a thing on

oversimplified conceptions, beliefs, or opinions. Thus, basketball players can be
stereotyped as tall, green equipment as better than red equipment, etc. Stereotyping can
substitute for thinking, analysis and open mindedness to a new situation.

Lack of feedback - Feedback is the mirror of communication. Feedback mirrors what the
sender has sent. Feedback is the receiver sending back to the sender the message as
perceived. Without feedback, communication is one-way.

Poor listening skills - Listening is difficult. A typical speaker says about 125 words per
minute. The typical listener can receive 400-600 words per minute. Thus, about 75
percent of listening time is free time. The free time often sidetracks the listener. The
solution is to be an active rather than passive listener. One important listening skill is to
be prepared to listen.

Physical distractions- Physical distractions are the physical things that get in the way of
communication. Examples of such things include the telephone, a desk, an uncomfortable
meeting place, and noise.

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 Pre-Test and Post-Test of Customer Service
1. Define concepts of customer, service & customer service.

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2. What are the reasons being difficult customers that you have faced in your organization & with
a way of solving them?

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3. Discuss barriers of negotiation/ communication that you have in your organization & with the
external customers as well as on a way of solving them.

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