Tips for a successful

career in multinational
companies
SHIVRAJ DHARNE DIRECTOR
Basic technical knowledge
 I, V, Z, XL , XC , Load
 How devices work , construction and characteristics
 Capacitor –Simplest passive device ?
 High/Low frequency model , Small/Large signal model
 Fix learning aptitude
 Keep questioning till you are fully satisfied with concept
 At t=0 , Q=0 , V=0, E=0
C

T=0

C At t=0 , Q=Q , V=V , E=1/2*C*V^2

At t=Infinity, what is charge, voltage and energy on each capacitor ?

Assumption: Capacitors are of same value and are ideal, wires are
ideal, switch is ideal .
Develop Soft Skills
 Communication skill  Stakeholder management
 Team spirit  Understanding cultures

 Ethics and Integrity  Be Organized

 Presentation skill  Strategic thinking and vision

 Leadership
 Listening skill
 Focus on Results/customers
 Proactive approach
 Situational Adaptability
 Risk taking
 Building Trust
 Networking
 Have Fun
 Have mentors
On
Communications…
The single biggest
problem in
communication is…
Quick Activity…
 10 Volunteers
 20 Seconds Each
1 chance to whisper
 No repetition or clarification

 Let’s see what happens…

The single biggest problem
in communication is the
illusion that it has taken
place.
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
 Objectives

 What is Communications?
 What are the barriers to Communication?
 What is the role of tone & body language?
 Active Listening and Feedback

…our emphasis shall be on workplace

communications
Is Communication important?

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Importance of Communication
12

 Poor communication results in Negative results

 Errors
 Productivity declines
 Distrust
 Confusion
 Lower Morale
 General Dissatisfaction
 Demotivation
 Absenteeism
What is Communication?
 Dictionary definition Key words:
The act of transmitting
process
Verbal or written message
information
a process by which information
is exchanged between exchanged
individuals through a common common system
system of symbols, signs, or
behavior
The Communication Process

Medium/Channel Noise

Sender Receiver
(Encodes) (decodes)
Source Destination
Feedback
Noise
 Things
which affect the communication
process and change the intended message:
 Physical: external noise, annoying weather or
smells, distracting behavior of sender
 Mental: Mental models in the human mind
impact, block or change the meaning of the
message
 Technical:noise or problems in communication
channels such as phone, computer, etc.
Feedback
 Feedback is critical part of communication
 Communication is not a matter of one Sender and one Receiver, but rather an
exchange of information where both become Sender and Receiver at the same time…
 Feedback can be verbal and non-verbal(big part of communication)
 One way communication is limited to broadcast messages in a large
organization, typically from senior management to employees. There also,
we have
 Open Forums
 Surveys, etc. for Engineers to ask questions / give feedback.

Without feedback, communication is not complete!

Role Play/ “Follow the Leader”
Activity
Words are Not Enough !

 7% WORDS
 Words are only labels and the listeners put their own interpretation
on speakers words
 38% PARALINGUISTIC
 The way in which something is said - the accent, tone and voice
modulation is important to the listener.
 55% BODY LANGUAGE
 What a speaker looks like while delivering a message affects the
listener’s understanding most.
Why is Listening such an Issue?

 Listening is Hard Work

 Competition – Speak before Listen!
 The Rush for Action
 Speed difference
 Spoken word avg. 120 wpm
 Brain’s processing power: 360 wpm
 Lack of Training
Improving Listening Skills
 By not being Preoccupied
 When you listen, just listen. Don’t interrupt. Don’t do anything else. No
distractions, especially Emails!
 Being Open Minded & Non Defensive
 Minimizing Interruptions
 Effective Listening is:
 Hearing
 interpreting
when necessary
 understanding the message and relating to it.
 Ask Questions
 While listening, note the important points…. Don’t end up
making notes and forget listening!
Communication Misconceptions 21

 Communication will solve all problems

 More communication is better
 Communication is always positive
 Words are most important
 Communication Skill is Natural Ability
The Importance of Soft Skills
including Communication:

Technical Skills Soft Skills A Well rounded

(Foundation) (Add On) Professional!
Soft skills are critical, Do not ignore
them

Companies need people who are

able to work with teams, have strong
interpersonal skills and are able to
communicate and influence others at
all levels from various geographies
with different cultures in a productive
manner
Thanks! For your
time!
COMMUNICATION WORKS FOR THOSE WHO WORK AT IT.
- JOHN POWELL
Back-Up
What are Soft Skills?

 Communication
 Verbal
 1:1 (F2F, on the bridge)
 Meetings (local, cross-site)
 Written
 Emails, IM, etc.
 Meeting minutes, Status report, Project Updates , Documents, etc.

 Presentation Skills
 The Right Content and How to Present
 Local F2F
 Cross-site Meetings (over the bridge), pre-work for meetings
 Listening skills
 Team spirit
 Honesty and sincerity
 Ability to work hard and to be flexible
Importance of Communication
 Poor communication results in Negative results
 Errors
 Productivity declines
 Distrust
 Confusion
 Lower Morale
 General Dissatisfaction
 De motivated employees
 Absenteeism
Elements of Communication 29

Process
 Sender – initiates the communication process. Converts thoughts to
message, gives it meaning, encodes, sends to receiver, and interacts
with Feedback
 Message – the meaning that sender transmits, includes not just
words! Tone, body language...
 Channel – Medium by which the message is transmitted, typically
composed of sound and light waves! Other channels include
Computers, TV, newspapers, phones, etc.
 Receiver – Decodes the message and translates it to meaning and
gives Feedback (response)
Elements of Communication 30

Process
 Feedback – The response that receiver sends to the sender. Typically
shows message received and understood as intended, could have
more information for sender ! Could be unintentional !
 Noise / Barriers – Things which affect the communication process and
change the intended message:
 Physical: external noise, annoying weather or smells, distracting behavior
of sender
 Mental: Mental models in the human mind impact, block or change the
meaning of the message
 Technical: noise or problems in communication channels such as phone,
computer, etc.
Encoding and decoding 31

 Encoding – The process of transferring the information you want to communicate

into a form that can be sent and correctly decoded at the other end
 Thoughts to words / speech conversion
 Decoding – The process of converting message into thoughts to be understood
 Words / speech converted to thoughts
 Most critical and ambiguous parts of communication system
 Both these processes are highly influenced by Filters of the mind:
 Prior belief and value systems (could be cultural)
 Missing information, assumptions
 Blockages in receiver’s mind; prior information can change meaning of the message
during decoding
 Prejudice for/against specific receiver/sender
Barriers in Communication (Sender)

 Disagreement between verbal and non-verbal messages

 Language and Vocabulary Level
 Lack of Motivation and Training
 Lack of Self-Confidence
 Lack of Enthusiasm
 Unwillingness to say things differently
 Unwillingness to relate to others differently
 Prejudice / Bias
 Not acting on Feedback
 Avoiding Feedback !
Barriers in Communication (Receiver)

 Selective Perception – very important

 Poor Listening Skills
 Unwillingness to Change
 Lack of Interest in the Topic/Subject
 Prejudice & Belief System
 Defensive Instincts
 Personal Value System
 Lack of Feedback
External Barriers in Communication

 Environment
 The venue
 The effect of noise
 Temperature in the room

 Other People involved in the discussion – Status,

Hierarchy
 Lack of Time, or unsuitable time – receiver’s mood!
 Technical barriers - phone, computer issues (trivial)
Barriers in Communication
(Feedback)
 Absence of Feedback
 Receiver not interested in giving feedback
 Sender not asking for feedback
 Sender not acting on feedback
 Inabsence of feedback, communication
become one-way dump. Message not
effectively communicated !
Body Language and Tone

 Message will be received based on the Body Language and Tone of

delivery !
 Body Language and Tone need to be congruent to the words being
spoken
 Be honest
 Be confident
 Be open
 Challenges of cross-site communication
 In case of serious issues, setup video conference
 Phone call always better than email
 F2F discussion always better than phone call
Listening Skills

 Difference between Hearing and

Listening?
 Hearing – Physical process,
 natural, passive
 Listening – Physical as well as mental
process
 active, learned process, great skill
Is it possible to Not to 38

Communicate?
 No !!
 Because communication involves not only words, but also behavior
 Unless somebody is dead, behavior is interpreted by others as
communication!

 Even staying still, not saying anything is also communicating

 So, even if someone tries to intentionally cease all communication, he is
still communicating !

 “No communication” is also communication,

 of a very negative kind!
How to improve Communication 39

Skills?
 No short cuts to success
 Improve Language, Pronunciation
 Online dictionary gives pronunciation as well
 Avoid talking in native tongue; force yourself to think and talk in the language of business
 Read and improve on Body Language
 Listen more, speak less!
 Do one thing at a time. When communicating with someone, just focus there.
 Think before you speak – rash words can harm relationships long term. Trust is
paramount.
 Be conscious of not speaking too fast, especially imp in Indian context as regional
languages wpm is typically more than normal English
 Be presentable and confident – appearance matters!
Tips-Instant Messaging/Texting

 Use sparingly – anything which requires you to IM for >1min, you

could think about calling up the person or walking to his/her cube.
 Problems:
 Attention Stealer:
 You cannot focus on your task if IM’s keep pinging regularly
 Overusing IM is a time management issue!
 More can be accomplished in much less time in F2F discussion
Tips-Emails

 What to write in an Email ?

 Be precise - Give complete (do not assume) and accurate information,
bullet points a good system
 Be specific - Don’t write huge mails. Reduce no. of sentences.
 Be simple - Use simple words and phrases that are understood by every
body.
 Whom to CC ?
 Be careful of the CC list – less / more, both can be problems. Cultural
context, escalation.
 Subject line ?
 Change subject of mail-chain when topic changes
Tips- Meetings (F2F)

Be prepared – pre-work, even for

1:1s
Be punctual – both for start and
end time.
Participate
Tips- Meetings (over phone)

 Be prepared – logistics, pre-work

 Be punctual
 Participate in the discussion
 When to speak up? Don’t be silent spectator if any issue needs to be
raised. Remain active all time and note that nobody can see your body
language.
 Ask tough questions? Being nice does not mean agreeing to everything !

 Either be in the meeting, or choose to opt out if you have nothing to

gain or nothing to contribute to it.
Tips for better Communication 44

 Face to face interaction beats all other modes of communication so if possible walk
across to the concerned person, or pick up the phone and talk.
 F2F gives you full benefit 100%
 Phone misses out on body language 45%
 Email only words 7%
 For small but urgent queries avoid sending mail, instead pickup phone and talk. Most
effective is F2F.
 For cross-site meetings, it works best if problem statements are sent beforehand as it
saves time in the meeting.
 When to raise an issue / escalate - Do not wait for official meeting for resolution of
issues. Try to address them upfront when they pop up.
 When to speak up – Be attentive in meetings. Do not hesitate to ask questions, raise
issues. Dumb questions are the ones we don’t ask but they are important for your
understanding…
Tips for better communication 45

 Always be positive in whatever situations you be in.

 Over communication does not hurt most of the time.
 Do not assume anything on Receiver’s behalf while communicating.
Give complete information.
 Good Listening is very essential for effective communication
 Watch your words and actions while communicating. Make sure your
body language and tone is congruent with the words you are using.
 Always be honest and truthful to have maximum impact of your
communication and to build trust.