While official policies and processes are essential for good communication, the individual skills of employees are where great communication happens. Policies and procedures are nothing on their own—only by having the necessary skills can their requirements be fulfilled. If great communication was as easy as following rules and edicts it would be easy, and you probably wouldn't need this book. Yet we need policies and processes in place to create a suitable environment for communication training to be aligned with the organization's goals and stay effective and consistent. The next few sections will provide an overview of the core ideas of communication and its applicability to IT organizations.

The rest of this chapter is designed in a self-help model where readers can study the topics and understand the concepts on their own. The requirement of a trainer to go through the basics of communication is optional. Each section has exercises built into it, and we encourage...