Communication Skill

  Introduction 

Communication means exchange of information through signs, signals, speaking, writing or using some other medium.

 It started hundreds of years ago and has evolved into writing, listening, speaking and reading four key components. 

Elements of communication cycle:

 (i) Sender: The person who begins the communication process by sending the information to the intended receiver in the form of a message.

(ii) Message: Message refers to the information that the sender wishes to communicate. 

(iii) Encoding: The process in which the message is created in the form of words, pictures or signs, which should be clear, compact and correctly conveyed to the receiver.

 (iv) Communication Channel: The medium of communication is termed as communication channel.

 (V) Receiver: The person to whom the message is sent.

 (vi) Decoding: It is the process of converting the message by the sender into an understandable form. 

(vi) Feedback: Feedback is described as the receiver's acknowledgement and response to the message. It enables the sender to evaluate the effectiveness of the message.

 (vii) Noise: Noise refers to any unwanted signal which acts as a barrier to the effective communication process between senders and receivers. Noise is classified as Internal and External noise.

 Importance of Communication Skill

•  Managing problems and conflicts
•  Better relationships
• Higher productivity
• Less stress
•  Respect and Confidence

 Types of Communication

1.  Verbal Communication

 (i)  Oral Communication: takes place between one-on-one or one-to- many conversation. It can be both formal and informal. It can be face-to-face or distance communication.

(i) Written Communication: Written communication is the most formal form of communication. It can be letters, circulars, reports, manuals, SMSes, emails, social media chats, etc.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Verbal Communication 

 Advantages:

• Faster mode of communication with Real- Time feedback.
• Conversations can be recorded and saved for future use and as evidence. 
• Effective for persuasion and convicting. Helps in improving relationships. 

Disadvantages: 

• Barrier to language and translation difficulties 
• Difficult to convey and long messages. 
• No option to recall or edit the message. 
• Subject to cultural misinterpretation. 

Non-verbal Communication 

Non-verbal communication refers to exchange of information or messages conveyed using body language. 

(i) Body Language

Body language is a important communication technique where physical behaviour is used to convey some message or information.

Body language includes: 

• Facial expressions 
• Posture 
• Hand gestures 
• Touch 
• Use of space 
• Eye movement 

It is also known as kinesics / kinaesthetics.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Non-Communication 

Advantages: 

• Supports the main message 
• Visual appeal 
• Substitute for verbal communication 
• Faster communication

Disadvantages:

• Non- specificity 
• Continuity 
• Distracting 
• Cultural variations. 

Visual Communications 
Any verbal or non-verbal communication utilizing the sense of sight is known as Visual Communication. Visual communication proves to be effective through images on pictures in conveying messages. It can be in the form of signs, photography, films and many more. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Visual Communication 

Advantages: 

• Visual aids like graphs, diagrams, models, etc., make oral communication more meaningful. 
• Use of visual aids makes complex data easy to comprehend.
• Vizual aids makes communication more interesting. 
• It provides additional support in communicating and expressing our ideas. 

Disadvantages: 

• It cannot replace the content of speech. and written word completely.
• Symbols which are not accepted as standard are difficult to understand or may be misinterpreted. 

Perspectives in Communication 

Perspectives represent our viewpoints or ideas about someone or something. 

Factors Affecting Communication at the Workplace 

• Cultural diversity 
• Message Understanding 
• Emotional differences 
• Past experiences in life
• Educational/intellectual differences. Group and cultural dynamics. 
• Positional/ hierarchical difference among personnel
• Functional relationship between the sender and the receiver. 

Writing Skills 

Parts of Sentence 

A complete sentence consists of two parts: a subject and a predicate. The subject is what the sentence is about, while the predicate tells us something about the subject.  

Types of Sentences 

1. Imperative Sentence: A sentence which gives a command. 
2. Declarative Sentence: A sentence which states a fact, opinion or idea. 
3. Interrogative Sentence: A sentence which asks a question.
4. Exclamatory Sentence: A sentence which expresses a strong emotion. 

Simple, Compound, Complex 

A simple sentence contains a subject and a verb.

A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a conjunction. 

A complex sentence uses an independent clause combined with one or more dependent clauses. 

Parts of Speech 

• Nouns: Naming people, places, things and ideas/ concepts. 
• Adjectives: Describing nouns and pronouns. 
• Adverbs: Modifying verbs, adjectives and adverbs
• Verbs: Expressing a physical action or state. 
• Prepositions: Showing relationships of words and phrases. 
• Pronouns: Replacing nouns
• Conjunctions: Joining words, phrases and clauses. 
• Interjections: Showing strong emotions or feelings. 

Articles 

In English, there are three articles-a, an and the. 

Phrases 

A phrase is a group of two or more words that work together to convey a meaning However, a phrase is not a complete sentence. 

Writing Effective Paragraphs 

A paragraph is held together by a central idea called a 'Topic sentence'. A topic sentence tells what the particular paragraph is about. All sentences which come after it help in extending the idea or topic are known as 'Supporting ideas'.