4.4.1 Organise and clearly present relevant information You need to know how to present information in ways that best suit your purpose, subject and audience, that is how to structure coherently what you say so that a sequence of ideas may be followed easily; how to use a range of techniques to help present information and support your argument (such as diagrams and models), and when to use technical vocabulary and conventions. Check that your work meets relevant guidelines and conventions. You may have guidelines about this at work and different
4.3.5 Adapt your strategy Often, plans run into difficulties because of unforeseen or changing circumstances. For example, it may have taken you longer than expected to get the information you needed, or just as you were ready to print off your final version of a report, the computer crashed. Plans are only a means to an end and frequently need to be modified. If you run into difficulties, think about how they affect the production of your immediate work and your overall goals. Do you need to modify your short-term pl
4.3.4 Monitor and critically reflect on your use of communication skills You need to know how to track and record your progress on your use of communication skills. Try to assess the overall quality of your written and oral work and the way you produced the work. Checklists and criteria provided as part of the project or assignment and those set out in the Bookmark can be very useful tools in helping you to assess for yourself precisely what you are doing and how well you are doing it. Unless you know what you are doing wrong, it is very difficult to improve.
4.3.3 Communicate relevant information A main outcome of this key skill is that you will be able to communicate complex information orally, visually and through writing. Complex subjects are those that include a number of ideas, some of which may be abstract, very detailed, difficult to follow or require you to deal with sensitive issues or the interpretation of others’ viewpoints. Communicating information at this level may involve using technical vocabulary, carefully structuring what you say and/or write, and using diag
4.3.2 Synthesise information Synthesising information is about assessing the new information and prior information in relation to each other, looking for logical relationships in the material, identifying the important ideas, and taking a critical attitude towards the material by relating it to your own views and experiences and thinking about how the material can be used. Synthesising information is not just summarising the information or identifying main points. 4.3.1 Judging the quality of information Judging the quality of information is not the same as a description of it, nor is it the same as simply agreeing or disagreeing with it, and an evaluation of information should not include personal attacks. It does require you to assess the information in terms of its strengths and weaknesses and give adequate reasons to support your assessment. You may need to check facts, research other sources and question further. There are vast amounts of information available today and magazines, 4.3 Monitoring progress This stage is about keeping track of your progress. How confident are you that you are achieving the standards of communication required for your work? How can you check how well you are doing? Monitoring progress in communication skills involves knowing how to: make judgements about the quality of information that you use from various sources; synthesise information; and communicate information in a form that s 4.1 Introduction to improving your skills in communication This key skill focuses on the ways in which you receive and respond to information and communicate with other people in your work, study and everyday life. Communication skills include speaking, listening, reading and writing for different purposes. Techniques such as note taking and writing summaries are important, but so, too, are the techniques of evaluation and application, such as evaluating the relevance and quality of information. Communication is part of everyone's life and impr 3.10 Drawing ideas together This key skill has used a three-stage framework for developing your skills. By developing a strategy, monitoring your progress and evaluating your overall approach, you take an active role in your own learning. But learning does not necessarily follow a path of steady improvement, it involves change: revisiting ideas, seeing things from different perspectives, tackling things in different ways. You are unlikely to be able to complete your work by working through it from beginning to end 3.8.3 Identify ways of further improving your own learning and performance Remember that improving your own learning and performance is not something that you can do once and then forget about it. It is a process that needs to become an integral part of your normal approach to work and study throughout your career in higher education and in the world of work. Developing and using the skill of improving your own learning and performance can enhance all other learning. As you worked through this key skill, what is it that you have learned? What can you take away with 3.8.2 Assess the effectiveness of your strategy If you were asked to assess how effective your planning, researching, monitoring and evaluating have been in improving your learning and performance, what would be your assessment? You may comment on factors that impacted on your learning, for example the feedback you received from your tutor or manager, a workshop you attended, or discussions with other students or colleagues. Other factors might be your improved awareness of what you are trying to achieve or having a structured approach to 3.8.1 Select and bring together effective ways to present outcomes The most appropriate method to present your work may depend on what you are required to do either for your course, or for a work-related project. For example you could be submitting a written assignment, making a presentation to work colleagues, or putting together a collection of designs. You also need to look back at your notes and comments and take time to consider what you have learned while completing this key skill. Bring together what you have learned into a synthesis. A synthesi 3.8 Evaluating strategy and presenting outcomes By now you will have found out about and sampled different resources for learning and used different ways to learn. But the structured approach used in this section is one of the main resources for developing and improving your other key skills. So how do you know if you have learned? How do you know if you have improved? How do you know if you are meeting the standard for improving your own learning and performance expected of someone doing a course in higher education or using higher 3.6.1 Seek and actively use feedback to achieve your targets Feedback can be an important aspect of improving your performance, but it can also have a negative effect if you take it too personally or if the giver is not skilled in offering feedback in a positive and constructive way. Feedback should not just be a matter of pointing out what you have done wrong; it should help confirm what you are doing well and give you pointers as to how you might improve in other areas. One important thing to remember when dealing with feedback is that the giver is c 3.4.2 Using different ways and approaches to learn Always aim to select the way of learning that fits with what you intend to learn. If your goal is to improve your presentation skills, you need to prepare and practise presenting your work. If you need to relate theory to practise in your job, you need to spend time understanding how theory can relate to practice, perhaps by reviewing and discussing case studies. This may seem obvious but people often make wrong choices out of habit. There is a natural tendency to use ways we feel most famili 3.4.1 Manage your time effectively The aim here is to develop good work habits and time-management practices. These are often a matter of developing the right attitudes towards your work and towards your time. Here are 10 tips to help you look at your time management: establish goals and targets; work smarter, not harder; value your time; avoid attempting too much; carefully schedule activities, allowing time for emergencies, min 3.4 Monitoring progress Monitoring progress is about keeping track of what you are doing and how well you are doing it as you work towards your targets. It is about being able to make an assessment about yourself and being ‘self aware’ about your own capabilities, how you learn best, things that have helped you and so on. One problem in becoming more aware of yourself and making a self-assessment is that you may not know enough terms to describe yourself. Think of the first time you were asked to describe a pain 3.2.6 Achieving your goals Now that you have established what you intend to do and identified specific targets to achieve them, think about how you can meet your targets, taking into account what you are trying to do and looking carefully at the most effective way to do it. This might be by attending a training course or skills workshop, prioritising your time differently, taking an active part in e-tutorials, or checking out resources and giving yourself time to practise new ways of working. Take into account th 3.2.5 Plan how these targets will be met You may be anxious to get on with achieving your targets but think first before you plunge in. In setting targets, think about how they will be achieved by identifying action points and deadlines, prioritising tasks and identifying resources and support from others. Include opportunities to discuss ideas/work with others and build in time to receive feedback and reflect on it. Planning how to achieve your targets involves all of the functions that take place before you start on the actual tas 3.2.4 Set realistic targets You are now in a good position to set yourself targets – the steps towards achieving your goals. As you begin to plan in more detail, think in terms of around 3 months to achieve particular targets, although the time period for some may be shorter/longer. This may depend on other commitments, priorities, and so on. Your targets need to be clear so that you can know when you have achieved them. A good way of helping you to formulate clear targets is to use the acronym SMART – Specific, Mea
