Communication Skills

Importance of Communication
• Communication is a very important feature of all aspects of life.
• Every human being, regardless of occupation, responsibility, authority,
station in life, age or gender needs to communicate.
• It is, therefore, necessary that we are able to communicate effectively
What is Communication?
• 1. Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more persons (W.H.
• Norman & Summer)
• 2. Communication is common understanding through communion of minds and hearts.
• 3. The English word ‘communication’ is derived from a Latin word “communis” which means ‘common’.
• 4. Communication is the sharing of information
• 5. Communication is the giving and receiving of messages
• 6. Communication is the transfer of information from one or more people to one or more other people
• 7. Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a
message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's
intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast distances
in time and space. Communication requires that the communicating parties share an area of
communicative commonality. The communication process is complete once the receiver has understood
the message.
PURPOSE OF COMMUNICATION
• Effective communication is achieved when we speak, write or express
ourselves through body actions; visual
• symbols to achieve the intended purpose. When we write, speak,
persuade, inform, entertain, explain,
• convince or educate, we strive to achieve one or more of the following
objectives:
• To be heard and to be understood
• To read and comprehend
• To be acceptable
• To have action taken
How can one benefit from
Communication Skills?
• Get the job you want
• Boost your chances for promotion
• Help others get things done
• Benefit your business
• Improve your grades,
• Advance socially
• Ensure a bright future
• Enhance other skills
• Helping others get ahead
• There are mainly three types of communication skills. These are:
• 1. Expressive skills
• 2. Listening skills
• 3. Skills for managing
• The basic fundamental of all these types of communication is
emotional
• Communication skills are needed to
• Inform – for example, communicating the time of a meeting.
• Influence – for example, negotiating with a shopkeeper to reduce the
price.
• Express feelings – for example, to say or show
• that you are excited about your success or about a given task.
Perspectives in Communication
• Perspectives are ideas, views, or fixed ways of thinking.
• These sometimes affect our communication.
• Factors affecting Perspectives in Communication are:
• 1. Language
• 2.Visual Perception
• 3.Past Experience
• 4. Prejudice
• 5. Feelings
• 6. Environment
• 7. Personal Factors
Language
• One of the most important mediums of communication is spoken or
written word.
• Language helps build social relations, communicate ideas and create
awareness.
• Language is the cornerstone of human civilization
• It is constantly evolving
• Language is the bridge between two humans
• Knowing more than one language is beneficial
• Learning more languages helps in cognitive development
• Cognitive Development is learning and processing of information –
our thinking and knowing. Cognition involves language, imagination,
thinking, reasoning, problem solving and memory. Our cognitive
skills help us organize what we know and generalize that knowledge
into other areas.
• There are about 7000 languages in the world.
• Scientific study of language is called linguistics.
• Language is a structured system of communication that consists of
grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans
convey meaning, both in spoken and written forms, and may also be
conveyed through sign languages.
• Human language is characterized by its cultural and historical
diversity, with significant variations observed between cultures and
across time.
Visual Perception
• Visual Perceptual skills involve the ability to organize and interpret the
information that is seen and give it meaning.
• Our eyes send large amounts of information to our brains to process
every single second.
• It refers to the brain's ability to draw conclusions from the
information absorbed through the eyes.
• Visual perception is necessary for reading, writing, and movement.
Without it, children may find daily tasks such as completing
homework, solving puzzles, or getting dressed extremely stressful.
Past Experience
• Past Experience invariably affects communication
• Negative past experiences with certain groups may affect by creating
a prejudice.
• Throughout life people encounter experiences that leave them with
either negative or positive impressions, which form their attitudes
and opinions of what they see in the world. The way in which past
experiences affect perception can be seen in family background and
relationships within families.
• Gender role influence us greatly.
• Gender roles in society have emerged over time and indicate how
men and women should behave.
• Men have traditionally been associated with masculine roles such as
strength, aggression, and dominance, while on the other hand
women have traditionally been associated with feminine roles such as
passivity, nurturing, and subordination
Feelings
• Being emotional is inherent to humans
• Emotions can affect our behaviour and communication
• Anger may lead to using foul or inappropriate language
• Feelings may overwhelm us sometimes as well
• Feelings may impede interpersonal communication
Environment
• Refers to Social, Cultural or Political Environment
• Environment around us affects our communication
• For eg: Slang language is often developed in under pockets or
underbelly of a large city. Spoken by the uneducated and poor.
• The current trend of using acronyms and short forms is a result of
technologically advanced environment.
Personal Factors
• Lack of confidence in speech
• Poor Listening Skills
• Cultural Diversity
• Lack of Knowledge
• Differing Perceptions
• Poor retention
• Effective communication can happen if we follow the basic principles
of professional communication skills. These can be abbreviated as 7
Cs, i.e., clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete and
courteous.
• Clear: Be clear about what you want to say and write. Identify your
need and the outcome of communication.
• Concise: Use simple words and say only what is needed.
• Concrete: Use exact words and phrases. Use facts and figures.
• Correct: Use correct spellings, language and grammar
• Coherent: your words should make sense and must be related to the
main topic.
• Complete: your message should have all the related information.
• Courteous: Be respectful, friendly and honest.