Presentation4

[Audio] Welcome to this communication crew resource management training presentation..

[Audio] The aim of this module is to improve flight safety through the development and understanding of communication skills and behaviours..

[Audio] The following presentation will focus on: The definition of communication; Methods of communication that exist; A model of communication, and; Barriers to communication..

[Audio] Analysis of Aviation Safety Reports shows that failures in communication were a major factor in 70% of incidents. Communication has also been a factor in some of the most significant accidents in aviation. It is therefore evident that effective communication is critical to Crew Resource Management and the safe conduct of every flight..

[Audio] Communication is a very important aspect of our lives and as human beings we are constantly communicating with one and other whether we realise it or not. As much as 90% of our time is spent communicating information, messages or ideas and even attempting not to communicate can still convey messages to the people around us. Communication between two people is referred to as interpersonal communication. The main purpose of interpersonal communication is to pass a message to the other person. Whenever we are communicating, we must ensure we communicate the subject of the message effectively to be certain that the meaning of the communication is correctly understood by all parties..

[Audio] So what is effective communication? Effective communication is when the exchange of a message takes place in a way which results in the sender and the receiver sharing the same meaning and understanding of the message. This ensures everyone is working towards the same goal..

[Audio] Let's look at a model of communication to better understand the process. Here, the sender creates a message and transmits it using verbal, or non-verbal means. The receiver decodes the message and establishes a meaning. The receiver then becomes the sender by formulating a feedback message and transmits this back, via the feedback loop. Feedback is a vital part of effective two-way communication. This ensures that both the sender and receiver have established the same meaning from the message, and helps to reduces errors, assumptions and misunderstandings. If the feedback received is not what the sender intended, then further communication to correct the receiver's understanding is needed..

[Audio] So how does this communication take place? With any message being communicated 55% of communication is non-verbal. This includes any eye contact, gestures, posture and facial expressions we make. The actual words that we use only make up 7% of the total message and the other 38% is made up from the way in which we say the words. The tone of voice, volume, pace and pitch all effect how the message is understood. It is important to realise that on the flight deck we are restricted by many different things that can significantly reduce our non-verbal communication. It is, therefore, vital that we use our verbal skills to communicate effectively with everyone involved in our operation and to ensure the meaning of every message is properly understood..

[Audio] Non-verbal communication skills can be remembered by the acronym PEOPLE. P is for postures and gestures such as how we stand and what movements or symbols we make with our arms and legs. E is for eye contact. Eye contact is important to engage the other person or people and to show that you are communicating to them, however a prolonged stare could be understood as threatening or intimidating behavior. O is for Orientation. In the flight deck we are restricted by our seating position, meaning that we must turn in order to face one another or to look at people coming into the cockpit. P is for Proximity, a comfortable distance for most people is to be a handshake away, being too close can be uncomfortable or perceived as threatening. L is for Looks or appearance, how you look to others can signal lot about you as a person. Finally, E is for expressions. Our facial expressions can convey a huge amount of information, for example, whether we are happy, grumpy, sad or scared. Many of these elements are lost in the flight deck due to the very nature of our work..

[Audio] We will now focus on verbal skills. Remember, that just 45% of our communication is verbal yet, as pilots, we rely heavily on these skills to carry out our duties. There are 5 main elements to verbal communication; inquiry, advocacy, listening, critique and conflict resolution. We will study each in turn..

[Audio] Inquiry involves asking questions to gather information from all sources. This encourages others to offer information and opinions which allows all options to be considered and the best operational decision to be made..

[Audio] Advocacy is the act of stating your position on a particular course of action, even if it is contrary to the accepted position. Crew members must voice their opinions on decisions, so as to encourage the discussion of other possibilities, the consideration of more information and therefore a better outcome or course of action. Ryanair has formalised the requirement for advocacy at critical phases of flight. The principal and most important one is the "500 Land/Go-around" call where the PM, whether a co-pilot or not, is empowered, by procedure, to command a Go-around if the approach is not stabilised at 500ft AAL..

[Audio] Listening is an active process. It is the genuine desire to understand the speaker's perspective. As we work in a noisy environment with many interruptions, it is very easy to become distracted. It is therefore particularly important to concentrate on what the communicator is saying and offer feedback to show you have understood the message. Active listening will help improve situational awareness, build team synergy and reduce misunderstandings..

[Audio] Critique is an analysis of events, past or future, and an impersonal survey of how the operation can be improved. Remember that critique does not always have to be negative. All crew members' input to the critique process will improve total crew performance and ultimately improve safety and efficiency. As professional pilots we should be open to critique..

[Audio] Conflict resolution is a means of dealing with conflict. Conflict itself can be constructive, however if not dealt with properly it can very quickly cause a breakdown in communication and CRM. If crew members effectively advocate then eventually a conflict of opinion will occur. It is important that when dealing with conflict, we carefully consider the task at hand and establish what is right, not who is right. We must deal with the problem rationally, leaving personal feelings and external issues to be resolved outside the flight deck..

[Audio] Having looked at a communication skills, we can now consider the barriers to effective communication. They can be grouped into 3 main areas: - Lack of communication Poor communication and Assumptions.

[Audio] The first obstacle to address is a lack of communication. This arises where flight crew fail to communicate their actions and ideas. A simple change to the FMC may appear to be innocuous and require no communication between the crew however these slips remove the ability for the monitoring pilot to crosscheck. A key example of this would be the Cali Air accident. The Captain simply executed the changes he made to the FMC without communicating this information to the First Officer. The crew were unaware that the Captain had selected the wrong waypoint that ultimately resulted in a CFIT accident. If the Captain had confirmed the change with the Frist Officer then the Captains actions could have been crosschecked and the error could have been spotted. Always confirm any deviations from the discussed plan with the other pilot. This will improve the crews situation awareness as a whole and will allow any gross errors to be spotted..

[Audio] The second obstacle to address is poor communication. Poor communication can occur in the flight deck as the environment is noisy and this can reduce the receiver's ability to listen to the sender's message. To mitigate against this, ensure that whenever you communicate the recipient is ready to listen to your message. Once you have communicated your message make sure that you receive appropriate feedback from the receiver. Failing to close the feedback loop can result in each pilot having a different expectation of how the flight should progress and in turn could compromise flight safety..

[Audio] The last obstacle to address is assumption. An incorrect assumption can occur when the sender assumes that the message has been received and understood correctly, or the receiver makes an assumption about the meaning of a message without checking this with the sender. We can minimise these errors by ensuring our messages are transmitted clearly, providing proper feedback and using inquiry to seek further clarification..

[Audio] In this presentation we have reviewed: The definition of communication; Methods of communication exist; A model of communication, and Barriers to communication..