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ISFSI THE HANDS-ON TRAINING GUIDEFOR THE FIRE INSTRUCTOR

Effective Commun icationTASK

Being able to communicate effectively is vital to youand your department. This communication will takeplace both formally and informally. Just think how muchtime in a work period you spend communicating withnot only your peers and subordinates but also with thecitizens that you serve. Failure to be able to effectivelycommunicate will result in organizational failures. It iscrucial that fire officers possess and maintain excellentcommunication skills. Good communication skills areessential in both your work and in your everyday life.

OBJECTIVES

1. The student will be able to describe thecommunication process.

2. The student will be able to describe the need foreffective personal communications.

3. The student will be able to describe ways ofimproving oral communications.

4. The student will be able to describe ways toimprove listening skills.

5. The student will be able to describe ways toimprove writing skills.

Copyright @ 2003 Intemational Society of Fire Service Insfuctors

All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher

INSTRUCTIONAL AIDS

1. Video tapes that illustrate good speakers

2. Examples of well written documents

3. A videotape recorder

4. Computer access

5. Various locations and audiences for students tospeak to

ESTIMATED TEACHING TIME

The time to deliverthis program will vary from instructorto instructor whereas each group of students will havedifferent strengths and weaknesses. This is a programthat does not need to be time specific. Spend as muchtime as necessary to facilitate the development of yourstudents to the desired functional level.

MOTIVATING THE STUDENT

Good communications skills have a positive impact onevery aspect of your work. Being able to communicateeffectively enhances your leadership ability, helps yougain respect from your supervisors and peers, and makesyou more effective in talking to the public, the media,and others. Failure to communicate effectively andefficiently could have devastating effects on theoutcomes of certain situations. In emergency sceneoperations the lack of effective communications could

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mean the difference between life and death. To broadenthe spectrum we must now look to the critical nature ofal l communicat ions. Just as communicat ions onemergency scenes are crucial, so too are everydaycommunications.

PRESENTATION

A. The Importance of Communication in OurWork

1. Formal versus Informal Communication

a. Formal Communication - Conductedaccording to established standards. Tendsto follow specific customs, rules andpractices.

a Formal orders

a Standard Operating Guidelines

a Directives

a Official correspondence

b. Informal Communication - Simpler andmore spontaneous

a Memos

a E-mails

a Notes

2. Forms of Personal Communication

a. Oral or Spoken - Most commonly usedmethod

a Oral communications can be one-wayor two-way

a To one or more receivers

b. Written - Used to provide a record forfuture reference

c. Communication without words

a Body language

d. Other forms of communications

a Signs

a Symbols

B.

3. Elements of the Communication Process

a. Communication Model - Thecommunications process is made up of afive elements.

a Sender - The individual who hasinformation and wishes to send it. Heor she must determine which way isthe best to communicate and begin.

a Message - Information which isbeing sent

a Medium - How the message is beingsent

a Receiver - Person(s) receiving themessage

a Feedback - Tells the sender themessage has been received and it hasbeen understood

Oral Communication

Review the process of oral communicationssetting, such as telephone and face-to-face. Mostindividuals prefer face-to-face contact whenspeaking to one another. This allows the feedbackprocess to work best. This also allows for theother forms of communication to be utilized.

1. Barriers to Effective Communication -

Factors that prevent or reduce thetransmitting and receiving of the message

a. Physical barriers

a The environment

a Walls

I Distance

a Background noise

b. Personal barriers - These factors limitcommunications due to a psychologicalbarrier. Oftentimes these barriers aremuch worse than physical barriers.

a Judgments

a Emotions

a Social values

c. Semantic barriers

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a Arise from language barriers- Technical terms- Big words- Definition of words- Jargon

Part of the Communication process isListening

a. Active listening - The deliberate andapparent process by which one focusesattention on the communication ofanother

b. Unclear messages - Whencommunication is not clear the receivershould ask questions to try to clarifymessage.

a Example: So let me make sure Iunderstand what you are saying. youwant me to get a pike pole and take itto sector 3?

c. When you are actively listening, threeimportant things happen:

a You actually hear what is being saida You are more likely to remember

what is said

a You show respect for the sender

Communication is a Part of Leadership

a. Show respect to those to whom you arecommunicating

b. Avoid generalities

c. Avoid exaggerations

d. Remember to make communications atwo-way process

Making Practical Use of EffectiveCommunications

a. State observations

b. Allow and encourage feedback

c. Facilitate the communication process _get others Lo communicate

5. Other Ways to Improve your SpeechCommunication

a. Public speaking courses

b. Using videotapes to enhance yourcommunication skills

c. Practicingcommunication

d. Courses offered by Dale Carnegie orToast Masters International

e, Leadership development programs (likeFire Officer I)

Improving Writing Skitls

Effective fire officers must be able to write.

1. Principles of Effective Writing

a. Consider the reader

a Consider who the target readers area Use plain English

a Avoid confusing abbreviations,technical terms and jargon. These arelike speed bumps on a road. Theyslow down the reader and oftentimesbreak the flow of information fromthe sender to the receiver.

a If hand written- Write legibly- Write neatly

a Written so as it is easy to see, makingit easier to read

b. Emphasis

a Memos, letters, and directives shouldbe limited to one topic

c. Brevity

a Short, sweet and to the point

a This prevents the reader frombecoming:

- Confused- Bored

d. Simplicity

.t} Keep it simple

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e.

a Use terminology and phrases that areeasy to understand

a Specific terms or phrases only whennecessary

Objectivity

,a State facts

a Avoid personal bias comments

a Use language that is appropriate forthe reader and the occasion

Mechanical accuracy

a Make sure that you capitalize onlywhen required.

a Punctuation

a Sentence structure is appropriate

a Underlining or italics are used toidentify titles of books, specificworks of art, plays, periodicals

Putting it all together

a This is when you begin to put yourwriting together. You want to startwith the facts and begin to elaboratefrom this point keeping in mind yourreaders are busy and tend to only rushtrough most of what they read. Bestraight to the point utilizing shortparagraphs and writings

Review your work

a Make sure to read over your work orhave someone else read it

RESOURCES

North Carolina Fire and Rescue Commission FireOfficer 1 Curriculum, North Carolina Officer of StateFire Marshal

Great Oaks Institute of Technologlz Fire Officer ICurriculum, Great Oaks Institute of Technology,Cincinnati, Ohio

Compan)' Officer, Clinton H. Smoke, DelmarPublishing, First Edition, 1999

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Douglas Cline is a 22-year veteran of the fire serviceand a Captain with the Chapel Hi l l (NC) FireDepartment, currently assigned to Station 3. He is aNorth Carolina Level II Fire Instructor, National FireAcademy Instructor for the Office of State Fire Marshal,an EMT-Paramedic instructor/coordinator for the NorthCarolina Office of Emergency Medical Services,Instructor in the Fire Science Program at DurhamTechnical Community Col lege, and an AdjunctInstructor at Great Oaks Institute of Technology in thePublic Safety Division. Cline is a member of theIntemational Society of Fire Service Instructors Boardwhere he serves as Eastern Reeional Director.

Douglas Cl ine is scheduled to present Searching in Mod-ern Envi ronments: Where 's the Vict im? at 12:00 pm onFriday, )uly 25,2003 at Firehouse Expo 2003. He wil l alsoserve as a faculty member for the Facing the Challengesof the 21st Century: Roles and Responsibil i t ies of the Com-pany Off icer program presented by ISFSI at 11:00 am onWednesday, July 23, 2003.

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The Instruct-O-Gram is the monthly training outline of the International

Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI). The monthly Instruct-O-

Gram is provided as one of the benefits of membership in ISFSI.

Call 1-800-435-0005 for information

on other benefits of membership.

16 . THE VoIcE June 2003