Four S‟s of communication

Four S‟s of communication

(i) Shortness

Shortness „economizes‟ on words. Message should be as brief as possible. Good rules are:
 Avoid high sounding and bombastic words
 Do not use complex words, phrases and ideas
 Use simple, common and popular vocabulary

(ii) Simplicity

Simplicity impresses. There is a famous „KISS‟ principle in communication – it says that the message should be kept short and simple. A few golden hints are:
 Choice of simple words and ideas comes from clarity of tellers‟ thoughts
 Confused persons employ confusing words that leave the reader in a maze
 Clarity of ideas germinate use of simple words and phrases

(iii) Strength

Strength of message „convinces‟ receivers about the desirability of the idea(s). Messages should deliver the conviction of the teller. Guidelines are:
 Half-hearted statements add a touch of falsehood to the message
 If sender is convinced, the message carries the strength of his conviction
 Strength of the message comes from senders‟ credibility

(iv) Sincerity

The quality of sincerity „appeals‟ to everyone especially the receivers of messages. If receivers‟ keen sense of observation senses a situation of make-believe, the entire process of communication would fall through. Adopting the following rules will go a long way:
 A sincere approach becomes evident to receivers
 Sincerity gets reflected in the way they communicate
 Sincerity adds to the credibility of senders

PRINCIPLES OF GOOD COMMUNICATION

PRINCIPLES OF GOOD COMMUNICATION

Communication is directly influenced by the ability to articulate issues concisely and convey to receivers in words and phrases they are familiar with so as to persuade them to the intended course of action. It is, therefore, a powerful skill to cultivate. Following checklist comprising of 7 Cs and 4 Ss should serve as good guideline for budding managers and leaders:
(1) Seven Cs of communication

(i) Completeness

Complete messages achieve the desired results without having to incur additional time and expenses is seeking clarifications and getting piece-meal replies. Complete messages from the sender help to build his image, goodwill and credibility. It saves time and cost. Following guidelines are useful:
 Check 5Ws (What, When, Where, Who and Why) and IH (How) of the message
 Answer all questions raised meticulously
 Give some extra information rather than holding it back

(ii) Conciseness

Conciseness is saying message in the fewest words without sacrificing understanding by the receivers. It is the opposite of wordiness or verbosity. By eliminating unwanted words, importance and emphasis of messages is increased. Remember that „brevity is the soul of wit‟. Following guidelines would serve better:
 Omit hackneyed expressions
 Avoid repetition and long winding sentences
 Include relevant facts but with courtesy
 Organize message logically and effectively

(iii) Consideration

Always prepare message keeping receivers in mind. Ideally, senders should put themselves in receivers‟ position and then visualize their needs and wants. Thereafter, they would be able to craft messages that are more in tune with receivers‟ requirements. One should gift wrap whatever one wants to say or write. This requires an attitude, empathy and human touch. It leads to better understanding of the human nature. Following directions should be useful:
 Focus on „you‟ instead of „I‟ or „we‟
 Highlight benefits of the message to the receiver
 Emphasize positive and pleasant aspects of facts
 Imbibe integrity in to the message

(iv) Concreteness

The message should be specific, definite and vivid. Communicators should conscientiously avoid vague and general statements. Some good rules to follow are:
 Choose vivid and image building words in the message
 Use direct and action verbs
 Use specific facts and figures

(v) Clarity

Special efforts are required to see that messages getting across are fully understood by receivers although they may not have identical experience, education and opinions. Every individual has a unique mental filter that gives different meanings to messages although the text is the same. Following tips will be useful:
 Always choose short, familiar and conversational words and phrases
 Endeavour to achieve appropriate lengths for sentences and paragraphs
 Support the message with examples, illustrations and audio-visuals

(vi) Courtesy

Courtesy comes from ones‟ innate desire to respect others. Courtesy brings in new friends and strengthens old friendships. However, one has to develop a „you-attitude‟ and being sensitive to others. A few good rules are:
 Omit expressions that hurt, are irritating and be-little
 Apologize in good faith
 Answer mail regularly and properly
 Be appreciative, thoughtful and honestly factual

(vii) Correctness

Messages done in a perfect way grammatically may fail to achieve their purpose because receivers found them insulting, humiliating and overbearing. Correctness can be ensured by adopting following rules:
 Using correct level of language in tune with the receivers
 Incorporating only accurate data and evidence
 Choosing the right words, phrases and sentences
 Organizing matter systematically in to paragraphs of appropriate size

GATEWAY TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

GATEWAY TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

Developing a deep understanding of the various barriers to communication must lead the management to devising ways and means of overcoming these barriers. Besides, every communicator must take specific steps to improve conditions and eliminate roadblocks to effective communication.
American Management Association has formulated the following commandments for effective communication:
1 Clarifying ideas before communication
2 Knowing purpose of communication
3 Understanding physical and human environments of communication
4 Consulting others in planning communication
5 Contents and overtones of communication
6 Value of communication to the receiver
7 Follow up action
8 Importance of communication
9 Actions congruent with communication
10 Good listening

Communication

 Communication skills „impress‟

It is a set of personal skills that transform ones‟ personality. Effective communication skills enable a person to „impress‟ as the acronym elaborates:
I Idea
M Message
P Pause
R Receiver
E Empathy
S Sender
S Security concerns
Thus to impress others especially ones‟ subordinates, peers and seniors, managers / leaders have a duty to themselves – to improve their intra-personal communication skills. Only they can help and no one else can undertake this self-improvement regime on their behalf. Experience has confirmed that these skills are largely acquired and are not inborn.

 Communication is key to „success‟

Communication skills spell S-U-C-C-E-S-S for everyone including the firm that acquires these skills:
S Self-awareness
U Understanding others
C Caring for others
C Choosing right words, phrases and idioms
E Esteem of self
S Self-confidence
S Sharing with others

Poor communication skills push one to „failure‟

If a person is not aware of the power of personal communication skills and does not put in sufficient efforts to overcome the deficiencies in his oral and written communication skills, failure faces him in the face:
F Fear of facing subordinates, peers and seniors
A Assumptions that are not valid and tested
I Insensitive to environments and situations
L Label others in to convenient categories of various prejudices
U Uncertainty about outcome of the efforts
R Resentment towards everyone
E Ego clashes with one and all

ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

ORGANIZATIONAL BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

Organization structures of firms are designed to support company‟s objectives. Besides, organizations prescribe systems – a set of policies, procedures and norms of behaviour (code of conduct) to reinforce achievement of corporate objectives. These are further supplemented by a comprehensive system of performance appraisals, rewards and punishment. A few major organizational barriers are:
(1) Organizational policy
Policies underpin strategy and facilitate their implementation. Organizational policy should support flow of information in all directions – external and internal communication covering downward, upwards and horizontal communications. If flow of communication is not supported by firms‟ policy, it will not be smooth and adequate for the healthy functioning of the organization.
(2) Organizational rules and regulations
Some rules and regulations of the firm may come in the way of free flow of communication and may require provision of proper channels of communication. Such rules and procedures may inhibit the flow of communication and need to be updated to bring them in line with the demands of strategies and their accomplishment.
(3) Status relationship
Greater the difference in the level of status of the functionaries, greater is the possibility of breakdown of communication between them. If a person has to be frequently interacting with senior personnel, his job gradation needs to be reviewed.
(4) Complexity of organization structure
Tall organizations comprising of many layers of organization structure, delay flow of messages from sender to the receiver. It increases the risk of distortion of the message en route. In such firms, usually upwards communication suffers very badly.
(5) Organizational facilities
Firms must provide facilities for meeting and conference rooms, complaint / suggestion schemes etc. They should encourage open door policies by senior managers and executives. Companies should also organize gatherings for social, cultural and sport activities as they also contribute to better flow of information at both informal and formal levels.

GROUP BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATIONS

GROUP BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATIONS

These are interpersonal barriers to communication. These occur at the level of interaction within a group of employees – members of a section, department or team having members from different specialist functions of the organization.
A few major barriers to communication are:
(1) Premature evaluation of the sender
This happens when the looks, dress or initial introduction to the subject in not impressive or up to the preconceived standard and receivers have done premature evaluation of the sender. This can also happen when the credibility of the sender of message is low. Such barriers stop transfer of information as senders beget a sense of futility. Such barriers can be overcome by:
 Senders developing empathy for the receivers and modifying the message to make it more acceptable to them
 Receivers listening to the speakers free from prejudice and commitment
(2) Inattentive listening
If the receiver is preoccupied with some thing else and is concerned with other issues, he may fail to react to the message, talk, bulletin, notice or circular. Since the receiver is not able to give sufficient attention, the message may fail to register in his mind.
(3) Loss during transmission of message
A message that has to pass through several layers of organization structure or many stages before it reaches the target may lose its accuracy. For oral messages, it is estimated that accuracy is lost at every stage of its transmission or relaying. Even in written messages, loss occurs because of differences in interpretation, meanings and translation.
(4) Loss of retention
Retaining messages in the memory is a difficult process. It applies to both oral and written messages that are circulated. However, if a copy of the written message is available, persons can refer to it again and again. It is said that people remember:
 10 % of what they read
 20 % of what they hear
 30 % of what they see
 50 % of what they see and hear
 70 % of what they say
 90 % of what they say as they perform the task
(5) Undue reliance on written words
Senders often place undue importance to written message. In spite of the message being well drafted and presented, it may fail to make the necessary impact because of lack of trust and confidence between the parties. Messages, apart from being very good, should be consonant with the organizations‟ purpose and employees‟ own interest.
(6) Distrust of the communicator
If the person who is sending the message is prone to frequently countermanding, it leads to delayed responses from recipients. Besides, they may not act enthusiastically, perhaps, because they are waiting for amendment to the original message!
(7) Failure to communicate
Arising from lethargy or any other reason, managers may fail to inform the concerned person(s). In such cases, even a subsequent message may not invoke the right response because of the missing link!

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Non-verbal communication uses signs, signals, gestures, expressions and sounds. It is God-made language and, as a rule, should not suffer from any limitations excepting the fact that our knowledge about the language is limited by our lack of understanding of nature‟s ways of communication! In common parlance, non-verbal communication is also called body language.

 As a rule, it does not lie or mislead unless someone has mastered the art of deceit or camouflaging. It is the richest language known. During the last few decades a lot of research has been done to identify and isolate all the signs, signals, gestures, expression and sounds among humans.

The non-verbal communication has changed the way we look at the subject of communication. We seem to be communicating all the time through gestures, expressions, sounds, signs and signals.

Every one can recall the personal experience they would have gone through when they had to ask for a favour from mother, father, elder brother or even boss. When they went to speak to the person on the appointed date and time, one quick look at the person made them change their mind, thinking that the day and time was not propitious for seeking favour because of the mood he was emoting. The interaction would have been very upsetting but they could avoid it because they could observe from the body language of the person that the response would not be favourable.

Similarly, it is said that we emote even when we are asleep! We have also read a story in Mahabharata that Abhimanyu, son of Arjun, had picked up the art of entering a kind of warfare known as Chakarvyu while in the womb of his mother. It has been thought to be rather unbelievable phenomenon. The recent advances in medical history confirm that a child has already well developed five senses and mind as early as the seventh week of its conception when even mothers may not have become aware of their pregnancy!

Another thing students must appreciate is the body language is not man-made; it is God‟s own creation. Studies are directed to observing those gestures, expressions, sounds etc and record their meaning for its students to understand the language. 
Body language rarely lies and if one can master it, it will propel them on fast track to become good communicators.

Another well-known story common in India is that good vaids of ayuvedic medicines were able to diagnose the type of ailment from the feel of the pulse and general examination of their patients!

BARRIERS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

BARRIERS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Barriers to communication arise from the inherent process involved in sending and /
or receiving messages among human beings. Imperfections creep in from:
 Different levels of thinking of individuals
 Different mental filters arising from individual mental filters conditioned by their knowledge, experience and opinions
 Less than perfect mastery over the language of expression
 Inadequacy of the language
 Limitations arising from bounded rationality
This has been beautifully captured by one of our folklores – there always exists a vicious triangle in each individual so much so that it is an integral part of ones‟ being. The triangle has three apexes – Thinking (Vichar), Saying (Upchar) and Doing (Achar).
 What we think, we do not say (Human inadequacy, imperfect language and insufficient linguistic capability)
 What we say, we do not do (Semantic and psychological deficiencies)
Just as the apexes of a triangle do not ever meet, this triangle would always exist.
If individuals become aware of their deficiencies, they start looking for ways to
overcome them.

 TYPES OF BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

Communication capability is a personal skill. Barriers to effective communication
within organizations happen at the following three levels:
 Personal barriers to communication
 Group barriers to communication
 Organizational barriers to communication
These have been described further:

 PERSONAL BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

These barriers can be at individual employee level, senior or subordinate levels:
(1) Barriers at the individual level
These are the obstructions caused in the process of sending and receiving messages during the encoding or decoding of ideas, words and phrases. In most languages, a word has different meanings, depending upon the context in which it is used. Each word has many synonyms but which one is the most suitable in the given situation, is always an issue. These are known as semantic barriers and may take the following forms:
(i) Badly expressed message
 Lack of clarity
 Lack of precision
 Poorly chosen words and phrases
 Careless omissions
 Lack of coherence
 Poor organization of ideas
 Use of jargons
 Inadequate vocabulary
 Awkward sentence structure

(ii) Assumptions not clarified

Messages are normally based on some assumptions that, if not communicated to the receiver, may lead to incomplete message or wrong interpretation of the message.

(iii) Faulty translation

Messages must use words and phrases that receiver is familiar with so that he can understand and respond to them. This calls for a great mastery and flexibility in the use of language on the part of the sender. In the absence of suitable choice of vocabulary, the message may not invoke the desired response from the receiver.

(iv) Use of specialist language

Each specialist uses a lingua that is peculiar to that profession. For example, MBAs use a different language that an engineer and a technician uses a different language that an ordinary workman. Illiterates use a different language that the educated. Similarly, city dwellers use different words and phrases than village folks. These act as roadblocks for effective communication among them.

(2) Barriers at the levels of seniors

These could be:

(i) Attitude of the seniors

If attitude of the seniors is not helpful either owing to lack of awareness or because of personal agenda, messages will not flow freely to or from them unlike what should happen in a well-lubricated organization structure.

(ii) Insistence on proper channel of communication

Some seniors like to stay within the confines of the lines of communication as depicted in a formal organization chart. They do not like bypassing these lines of communication and think that these would amount to thwarting of their authority

(iii) Fear of challenge to their authority

Some seniors tend to hoard information going down / up as it may disclose their weaknesses. They may also think if they do not share the information, they would become more important.
(iv) Lack of confidence in the subordinates
Some seniors perceive their subordinates to be less competent and do not likethe information going downwards for the risk of its leakage and misuse.

(v) Ignoring communication

Some seniors ignore the information from their subordinates deliberately in order to maintain their importance. This can create a barrier in the minds of subordinates who may loathe to provide information to seniors.

(vi) Lack of time

Some seniors are overburdened with work and consequently have no time to provide information downwards, upwards or horizontally.

(vii) Lack of awareness

Some seniors do not appreciate the critical importance and significance of maintaining a smooth flow of information in all directions within and outside of the organization. This also acts as a blocker of flow of communication in the organization.

(3) Barriers at the level of subordinates

These are:

(i) Unwillingness to communicate

As a rule if an employee feels giving information may be embarrassing, he would not divulge it or would delay its flow as much as possible. They often modify the information so as to protect their interests. Wrong information can be very misleading too. Wrong information is worse than no information.

(ii) Lack of proper incentive

Lack of motivation comes in the way of flow of information up or down the lines of command and control. Similarly, if good suggestions from subordinates are ignored or do not evoke enough response or attention, it has a snowballing effect in the organization. Subordinates do not feel enthused about giving suggestions for improvement of products, processes and systems. This has been the main reason for dismal failure of suggestion schemes in USA, Europe and India.

ORAL COMMUNICATION & POWER OF SPEECH

ORAL COMMUNICATION & POWER OF SPEECH

Oral communication connotes words uttered through the mouth i.e., spoken words. It is any utterance of, at or near the mouth, involving resonance of the mouth. It must be distinguished from the nasal resonance – resonance through the nose. Oral communication always conveys an idea or a feeling.
There are two forms of oral communication:
 Speaking
 Listening

Oral communication covers both the forms. Remember the famous saying, „It takes two to tango‟. Like the famous chicken and egg story, it is difficult to decide which one came first. At any rate, it is pointless talking unless someone is listening. One cannot be listening unless someone is speaking or talking. It is said that „the art of conversation is the art of hearing as well as of being heard‟.

(1) Speaking

An average manager speaks for about 30 % of his time. The proportion goes up as one goes up the hierarchical levels. Speaking implies:
 Talking
 Conversing
 Chatting
 Addressing
 Discoursing

(2) Listening

A close synonym of listening is hearing; hearing is any sound that goes through the auditory nerves or sound waves as they enter the ears. An average manager spends about 45 % of the time listening. It should advisably go up as one goes upwards in the hierarchy. Listening is a very powerful trait of leaders.

POWER OF SPEECH

Spoken words form a powerful medium for influencing people to accomplish tasks. Salespersons make a sort of speech to persuade their customers to buy products they are selling. Travelling salespersons visit dealers and retailers and influence them to place order for the product offerings of the company. Insurance agents persuade their clients to buy life / general insurance of their firm for protection against various kinds of losses to life or possessions like household, car, health etc.
Similarly business managers, industrialists and leaders have to deliver speeches at events relating to product launches, sales conferences and training programmes. Besides, they speak ot inaugural events, seminars, meetings of trade associations etc. An organization is an association of people who often organize social, sports and cultural gatherings where managers / leaders are expected to deliver speeches suited to the occasion.
Outside the organization, community and political leaders are called upon to speak on several occasions / functions. Master speakers and orators have been sought to speak on diverse subjects. Powerful speeches can:
 Inspire listeners or make them dispirited
 Build tension on issues or relax tension among the audience
 Incite people to quarrel / fight or induce them to be friendly
 Turn hostile audience in to supportive one and vice versa
 Stir people to rebel / revolt or become docile
 Make people undertake long march or stay at home
It is difficult to visualize what Alexander the Great must have told his soldiers when he stirred them to undertake a long journey from Greece to India in olden days, conquering countries after countries and marching in to India when there were hardly any worthwhile means of transportation and transshipment.
In modern India, people recall nostalgically Jawaharlal Nehru‟s speechat the midnight of 15th August, 1947 of „tryst with destiny‟ or later on the death of Mahatma Gandhi, „the light has gone out‟.
Speeches of Late Dr S Radhakrishnan who became the second President of India, had certain magic about them. It was difficult to improve upon the impromptu speeches of Late Swami Ranganathananda of Ramakrishna Mission.

Simply communication means

Simply communication means

“Understanding” is the essence of communication. This only happens when there is an intention of understanding and being understood by those involved in a communication situation. Interaction with the purpose of sharing involves the exchange of the signs and symbols(i.e., words) In a given communicative context the absence of them also still communicates the absence of the‘ingredients’ of communication; the intention, the skills or the presence of barriers.

Communication takes place when we are supposedly at the same level of understanding

and comprehension as other interlocutors. Communication is therefore not what is said whether verbally or non-verbally, but what is understood. We have discussed earlier that understanding is influenced by perceptions and perceptions evolved over a period of time.

COMMUNICATION PROCESS a constructive approach

COMMUNICATION PROCESS a constructive approach

In order to develop a deep understanding of the subject of communication, it is important that everyone understands the complete process of communication. Broadly, it has two parts:
 Process at communicator‟s end (Senders‟ Part)
 Process at communicatee‟s end (Receivers‟ Part)

 PROCESS AT COMMUNICATORS‟ END (SENDERS‟ PART)

The process at communicators‟ end can also be looked at in two halves as below:

(1) Inward journey

It entails the following steps:
(i) As received by senses
A human being perceives the world around him from spoken words, written words, visuals and cues from body language in terms of sounds, gestures, expressions, signs, signals etc through the five human senses of seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting and touching.
These are the external five senses – our antennas. However, ultimately senses only capture feelings, images etc and convey them to the human brain which is main receptacle of what is perceived by the five senses. That is why it is said that it is not the eyes that see but the brain; it is not the nose that smells, it is the brain; it is not the ears that hear, it is the brain; it is not the tongue that tastes, it is the brain and it is not the skin or hands that feel, it is the brain.

All that is captured by the human senses from environments are far from ideal i.e., without noise or distractions. On the contrary all kinds of distractions intervene and messages transmitted to the brain are far from perfect.
Additionally, there is also the problem of sensitivity of the senses. How sensitized they are varies very widely from one person to another. Someone remembers a scene from a movie very vividly after many years and another person cannot recall the scene from a movie seen a few minutes ago. Some people can detect a smell from long distance while others would not notice it even when they are passing besides its source. Some singers can hear a small variation in a note very clearly while others cannot. Thus this process of perceiving is very heavily dependent upon the faculty of receivers. Human beings vary widely in their ability to perceive different sensual inputs.
(ii) Influence of sources of distraction
If one is hearing music, even a small level of noise can be very disparaging – no wonder, music recording studious are noise proof. Similarly, speech delivered in noisy circumstances can be very difficult to understand and absorb. Noisy classrooms can be lethal for good learning. Even visuals placed in noisy room fail to make the impact they are intended to. Similarly, listeners may miss many cues from the body language that normally forms a major chunk of the message being delivered. A shabbily dressed person cannot make as good an impression as a well-dressed one.
If there are too many distractions behind or besides the speaker, the message may fall flat. The situation is similar to a young man having gone to see a bride at a place where there are many more beautiful girls present, finds very difficult to decide!
(iii) Receiving information by the brain
When information arrives at the brain, it passes through a kind of sieve that separates out difficult, strange or awkward words and simplifies them into familiar words. This is a part of the process of abstraction that takes place before the message is classified and stored
(iv) Searching for similar material in the brain memory
This is the second part of the process of abstraction that goes on in the brain – it is somewhat like classifying the message before storing. Once this search is completed, the material is stored next to the similar stuff already in the memory. Rarely, one can get identical material and one should be happy to get as near to the one in memory as possible. If it is totally new or alien material, it may not be possible to retrieve it when required!
(v) Storing the material in the brain
This is a complex stage. Needless to say that human memory is still the fastest to retrieve and recall. Owing to overload or bounded rationality, there is

always a limit to what and how much can be stored in the human memory. This faculty or capacity to store also varies widely among individuals and has a significant influence on ones‟ competence to communicate.

(2) Outward journey

When an individual has the need to communicate with others, the process starts with the happenings in the brain of the sender who is already subjected to a lot of experiences, emotions, knowledge and opinions.
(i) Retrieval of information from human memory
This is very much like pulling a file from the filing cabinet. Since it is in response to a need, the file pulled out may not always be the one most appropriate to the stimuli. This may bring in variations in interpreting the message received.
(ii) Choosing the right words and phrases
This stage is highly subjective and is greatly influenced by the mastery of the sender over the language used for communication. Besides, linguistic competence extends to proper use of form of verbs, adjectives, adverbs etc
(iii) Delivery of message
Role of sender continues to be important as the style, speed and manner of speaking decide the impact of the message. The body language and ability of the sender to throw his voice towards the audience form the major part of the message delivered.
(iv) Sources of distraction
Once again, the message passes through a medium that may have one or several sources of distraction, impairing the message as received by the communicatee.

 PROCESS AT COMMUNICATEES‟ END (RECEIVERS‟ PART)

The entire process at the communicators‟ end repeats in two parts:
 Inward journey
 Outward journey
The process follows all the steps as described above.

 COMMUNICATION MODEL

In managerial terms, the process of communication follows the following six steps:

1 Sender has a idea to communicate (Conception)
2 Idea becomes a message (Encoding)
3 Message is transmitted through a medium (Transmission)
4 Message is received by the other person (Decoding)
5 Message is interpreted by the receivers‟ mind (Interpretation)
6 Receiver responds and give a feedback to the sender (Feedback)
This is illustrated as below:

(1) Conception

(i) Mental images
All individuals are continuously bombarded by information flowing from
 Sights (Scenes)
 Sounds
 Scents
These streams of sensation are conveyed to the human mind. Each individual has a unique „mental filter‟ because of own experiences, exposures, emotions etc. The mental filter converts these streams of sensation in to a mental map of the event that becomes the basis of perception of the reality. No two mental images of the observers of the same event will be identical!
All sensations received in the mind go through the process of abstraction and simplification.
(ii) Psychological factors

A person tends to hear what he wants to and rejects what he does not want to hear. This is because of several factors as below:
 Sensory factors
 Demographic factors
 Psychographic factors
 Loyalty of individuals
 Personality of individuals

(iii) Technical aspects

These days communication is greatly influenced by the technology and choice of the medium of transmission. Followings should be taken in to account:
 Transmitter
 Transmission process
 Receiver
In most cases, a certain amount of repetition may be desirable to ensure that the message is not mutilated.

(iv) Role of being logical and systematic

The message, to be effective, should be logical and conveyed in a systematic manner. Messages suffer from:
 Logical errors
 False analogy
 Concluding from limited data
 Understanding syllogism (Deductive logic)
 Arguing in circles
Usually in such cases, the middle of the message remains undisturbed but most receivers tend to get misled.

(v) Conclusions

Arriving at the conclusion from the various conflicting and diverse factors is the real issue. As a rule, four possible conclusions are:
 Valid and true
 Valid and false
 Invalid but true
 Invalid and false
Communicators have to avoid the pitfalls and look for valid and true conclusions.

(2) Encoding

The process of how the mind converts an idea into words is not yet fully understood. Choice of words by the speaker depends up various factors as below:
 Subject
 Purpose
 Audience
 Personal style
 Mood
Besides, length of the message, tone and style are influenced by:
 Content of the message
 Familiarity of the receiver(s)
 Emotional conflicts
 Difficulty of expressing ideas

(3) Transmission

Choice of transmission mode depends upon the followings:
 Message
 Audience
 Need of speed / urgency
 Situation
In all cases, it is important to control the transmission link. This not only ensures its availability but also avoids distortion and level of noise. Also, remember that longer the chain of communication, bigger is the problem of ensuring correct transmission of the messages.

(4) Decoding

The receiver has to read or hear the message before he can understand it. One of the most common barriers to communication is the lack of attention by the receiver. Human mind tends to drift when it is forced to hear something. It is said that mind is like a horse; it is very difficult to control it. Usually, a person‟s mind has around 6,000 ideas flashing across in one day!
There are many words in all the languages with multiple meanings. To be able to understand the correct meaning in the context of the message or the way sender has used it to convey his intent is quite a challenge.

(5) Interpretation

If the background and the experience of sender and receiver vary considerably, understanding of the message can be very different. Following three diagrams show pictorially the impact on getting the meaning and understanding of the message:

(6) Feedback

Communication is a two way process. The communication loop is not complete until the sender of the communication receives a feedback from the receiver. The feedback may be verbal or non-verbal through the body language. Many a times, audience conveys through expressions, gestures or sounds. A sensitive speaker can always understand the feedback from the way the receivers stoop forward or backward, the way they yawn and the way they twitters their fingers. There are a large numbers of cues, signs and signals to pick up and interpret!

SUMMARY

Communication is a vast subject; it stands for connectivity and networking in its broadest sense. In the context of an enterprise, business communication is the process of influencing others to achieve common, shared objectives. Communication is a two way process and is completed only when the feedback is received by the sender. Information flow is a one way process.
Communication can be verbal covering oral and written form and non-verbal that uses a large number of signs, signals, gestures, expressions and sounds. As learning about the non-verbal communication increases, it is changing the way people look at both the oral and written communications. Everyone seems to be communicating all the time especially during waking hours. By mastering the art of observing and interpreting body language and related aspects of communication, every one can become a better communicator!
Business communication is not only the life blood an organization but also the heart of its internal and external communications. Effective communication skills form vital part of a job requirement, are prerequisite for promotion to higher positions and are essential to all problem solving. They ignite enthusiasm, enhance motivation and hone traits of leadership. Communication skills are also advantageous in personal life and
community work. They enhance will to work, skill to work and thrill to work. They promote joy at work, impart satisfaction and happiness.
A deeper understanding of the process of the inward and outward journey at the senders‟ and receivers‟ ends goes a long way in students‟ ability to draft and deliver effective messages. The six-stage model of business communication would enable them to gain deeper knowledge of the subject and acquire more effectiveness in communication skills – the strategic asset they must possess before they can move in to senior corporate positions.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION &SIGNIFICANCE OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

                             &

        SIGNIFICANCE OF               COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Verbal communication

Verbal communication happens through the use of words. It must be understood that communicator has to depend on the language that has been designed, developed and propagated by humans. As a result, it suffers from a lot of limitations despite the fact that some languages of the world are very developed and command a vast vocabulary.
Verbal Communication, in turn, can be further divided in to two groups:

 Oral Communication

Oral communications are the messages that come through words, phrases and idioms from the mouth of the speaker. His appearance, mannerism, body language and the way he throws his voice can make significant difference in impacting the audience, their attitude and performance.
It is a very convenient form of expression and presentation. It is almost instantaneous, quick and least expensive.

Written Communication

This requires preparation and can be thought out properly before committing in writing. It takes time and is expensive. However, it is more accurate and is the norm for technical, legal and most diplomatic communications.
With increase in the size of organizations, their complexity and dynamism, many a times written communication is the only way to communicate. With technological advancement in our ability to send / receive emails, fax messages, short messaging service (SMS) on mobile phones, instant messaging etc, written messages have become very common and popular.
Ability to send online reports across continents has won the race against time and distance. It is significantly influencing the way people shall do business in the twenty-first century.

 Non-verbal communication

Non-verbal communication uses signs, signals, gestures, expressions and sounds. It is God-made language and, as a rule, should not suffer from any limitations excepting the fact that our knowledge about the language is limited by our lack of understanding of nature‟s ways of communication! In common parlance, non-verbal communication is also called body language. As a rule, it does not lie or mislead unless someone has mastered the art of deceit or camouflaging. It is the richest language known. During the last few decades a lot of research has been done to identify and isolate all the signs, signals, gestures, expression and sounds among humans.
The non-verbal communication has changed the way we look at the subject of communication. We seem to be communicating all the time through gestures, expressions, sounds, signs and signals.
Every one can recall the personal experience they would have gone through when they had to ask for a favour from mother, father, elder brother or even boss. When they went to speak to the person on the appointed date and time, one quick look at the person made them change their mind, thinking that the day and time was not propitious for seeking favour because of the mood he was emoting. The interaction would have been very upsetting but they could avoid it because they could observe from the body language of the person that the response would not be favourable.
Similarly, it is said that we emote even when we are asleep! We have also read a story in Mahabharata that Abhimanyu, son of Arjun, had picked up the art of entering a kind of warfare known as Chakarvyu while in the womb of his mother. It has been thought to be rather unbelievable phenomenon. The recent advances in medical history confirm that a child has already well developed five senses and mind as early as the seventh week of its conception when even mothers may not have become aware of their pregnancy!
Another thing students must appreciate is the body language is not man-made; it is God‟s own creation. Studies are directed to observing those gestures, expressions, sounds etc and record their meaning for its students to understand the language. Body language rarely lies and if one can master it, it will propel them on fast track to become good communicators.
Another well-known story common in India is that good vaids of ayuvedic medicines were able to diagnose the type of ailment from the feel of the pulse and general examination of their patients!

SIGNIFICANCE OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Conversing and corresponding with people around is such a common activity that most of individuals are so pre-occupied with their daily routine that they do not stop and ponder over the immense advantages that business enterprises can derive from mastering the art and science of communication.
 Communication is the life blood of an organization
Organization cannot function without people interacting, conversing or corresponding with one another. All enterprises require human beings working for it or with it, to:
 Interact and react
 Make assumptions about future or forecast future events
 Plan or draw up a rough blueprint for the future
 Organize / design a format of how to get resources together to achieve the plan
 Staff or gather / recruit people and get them to desired locations
 Lead or direct people, and devise their jobs so as to adhere to the plan
 Exchange information, ideas, plans and proposals
 Measure and monitor
 Coordinate and control
Communication has been described as the „glue‟ that holds the entire organization together as one entity. Without communication, managers / leaders are not able to influence the attitude and behaviour of people to achieve the common objectives.

RESPONDING TO CONTENT

RESPONDING TO CONTENT

TeachingEnglish

This article explores how teachers can encourage their students to focus on content in their writing and gives ideas for how to respond to it.

• Why we write

• Who we write for

• How I respond to my students' writing

• Talking to students about their writing

• Conclusion

Why we write

Think about everything you have written today. Each time you wrote something there was an 'audience' in mind and a 'reason' for writing. My audiences today have been; my boss (an email), my brother (a text message) and myself (my shopping list!). From each of my audiences, I wanted some kind of response (including buying my lunch).
Whenever people read a piece of writing, they respond to it . . . and it is the content that they usually respond to. As a new teacher, I didn't appreciate how much of 'themselves' my students put into their writing. It was easy to collect in their writing, correct the language and return it the following week, forgetting to think about what the students were saying to me. As a teacher, I fond that we need to respond to the content of our students' writings.

Who we write for

Before they even begin writing, our students need to think about who they are writing for. It is very difficult and unrealistic to write for an unknown purpose or audience. For example, try writing ashopping list for 'Mr X' . Does he have a family? What does he like? Is he allergic to anything?
When I give my students a writing task, I try to get them thinking about who they are writing for. For example, at the start of term, I often ask students to write about their school. I use humour to show that I don't want to read thirty students' paragraphs about obvious things, like the number of classrooms and the location of the library! I ask them to think about their audience (in this case, me) and what I might want to read about. I want them to know that as their teacher and audience, I am interested in their ideas: I want to know what each student likes or doesn't like, what each person thinks.
This idea of different audiences may seem obvious when we are using our first language, but in a foreign language, concerns about grammar and vocabulary can often get in the way of the natural flow of our writing.
I find it helps my students to give them examples of different audiences. This is how I try to do this.

• I prepare several postcards from the same person addressed to different friends and family members.

• The students read the postcards and guess who each one is intended for (the writer's mother or girlfriend?)

• This really helps in getting the students thinking about the content and style of the writing.

I find that when students learn to write for specific audiences, their writing becomes far more communicative than when they write only to 'display' some grammar or vocabulary they have just learnt in class.

How I respond to my students' writing
I like to vary the way I do this, but I always include a response to the content and how far the students have achieved their purpose for writing.
Using Questions
A very effective strategy is to express your response in the form of written or spoken questions. I have mini-conferences with individual students or groups of students at different stages of writing; at the initial brainstorming or first draft stages as a way of helping the students to focus their ideas, or at the end of the whole writing process to discuss the ideas further. In these conferences, I use questions to help stimulate ideas. These are some general questions I use:

• Who will read this?

• What are they like?

• What do you want the reader to think?

• This part tells me . . . . . . Is this what you want to say?

• I like this part. Tell me more about . . . .

• Why did you include . . .?

• How can you make this more . . . ?

Other more specific questions obviously depend on what the students are writing about, but I find 'Why' and 'How' particularly useful words for encouraging students to open up their thoughts and really start communicating in English. A few thoughtfully asked questions will make far more difference to the development and expression of ideas in someone's writing than highlighting all the grammar mistakes.
For written questions, I use coloured 'post-its' to write questions on. I stick these on the student's paper. In this way, I don't spoil the look of the student's paper. This can be important to some students, especially if they have put a lot of time and effort into producing it.

Talking to students about their writing

Here are some practical ideas I use when talking to students about their writing.

• Always say something positive. When writing, students are revealing something of themselves to you. Be sensitive.

• Ask questions when you don't understand the idea, as you would in conversation with someone.

• Show interest in the ideas that the students express. Try to really understand them and don't be afraid to challenge them.

• Respond to the register and tone. Show that you are surprised, or offended if necessary, to help the students see how these things affect the reader's response.

• Ask questions about the context they are writing about, to help the students see what is 'missing' from the writing.

• Ask the student questions to find out what they intended to say and explore ways of saying this more clearly. Express sympathy and empathy. Students often write quite personal things.

• Bring in other texts which relate to the content of the writing, newspaper or magazine articles for example.

• Respond to the task that the students were set. If you ask them to write an advertisement for a product, for example, respond to the success or not of their advert . . . e.g. "I would never buy that!" or "That's wonderful!. Where can I buy it?"

Conclusion 

By getting students to think about why they are writing and who for, and by responding to students' writing at the content level, we are helping our students to develop their writing skills and really start to communicate their ideas through English.