Page 1 of 27

Project report on:

Communication Skill










By:
Atul Aditya
Registration no. - 440047211/04/2013
Company Secretary, Executive Programme
The Institute Of Company Secretaries Of India


Page 2 of 27

Acknowledgement

If the words are considered as symbols of approval and tokens of acknowledgment then let
the words play the heralding role of expressing my gratitude.

My deep sense of gratitude to Prof. Dr. Hamid Rafiq Khattak & Venkatesh.N (from Koshys
Institute of Management Studies) whose uploaded presentation on the topic of
communication skill & barriers in communication respectively on internet gave me a lot of
content to prepare this project.

I would also like to thank different website like www.google.com,www.slideshareshare.net
Wikipedia etc. who helped me in editing and supporting me in spite of all inconveniences and
problems arising from time to time to complete the project. They deserve all praise and I
thank them for their help and endurance.

I would also like to thank my family and friends for their support as this project could not be
completed without their support and encouragement. I am very much thankful to them.

Above all, I thank our respective ICSI e-sip communication faculty Ms. Aparna Agrawal &
Ms. Sudha, without which the successful completion of this project would not have been
possible.


Atul Aditya



Page 3 of 27

Contents:
Chapter Page
Power of words 4
Introduction 5
Role of Communication 5
Dimension of communication 6
Forms of communication 7
Goals of communication 8
Elements & process of communication 10
Types of communication 12
Barriers in communication 13
Communication cycle 22
Nonhuman communication 24
Summary 26





Page 4 of 27

Power of Words
Shakespeares famous play Julius Caesar, asserts the power of words in molding minds and
shaping events. It showcases language as the real force behind history, casting oratory as the
true master of mankind.
Mark Anthonys funeral oration for Caesar, given below, exemplifies the fine art of
persuasion
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interrd with their bones; So let it be
with Caesar. The noble Brutus Hath told you Caesar was ambitious: If it were so, it was a
grievous fault, And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it. Here, under leave of Brutus and the
rest For Brutus is an honourable man; So are they all, all honourable men Come I to
speak in Caesar's funeral. He was my friend, faithful and just to me: But Brutus says he was
ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man. He hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? When that the
poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: Ambition should be made of sterner stuff: Yet Brutus says
he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man....







Page 5 of 27

Introduction
Communication permeates all aspects of our personal and professional lives. It is the key to
having positive interactions and building and maintaining favourable relationships. The
ability to communicate and to have that message understood is vital in todays world. The
core principles apply, no matter how complex or advanced the technology becomes.
Whether you are preparing e-mail, leading a meeting, writing a report, ironing out
misunderstanding with a co-worker or conveying the vision of an organization, your use of
good, basic communication skills will give you confidence that your message will be
effective. - Diane Kiekhoefer
The word communication is derived from the Latin word communis which means
common. Communication involves the bringing about of a commonness of thought between
the sender and the receiver of a message. It is a process wherein there is an exchange of facts,
ideas, and opinions, between individuals.
Business communication is the process of establishing a common understanding between or
amongst individuals in a business environment. Business communication is mostly formal as
against personal and social communication.
Communication plays a key role in the success of individuals and organisations alike.
Individual Perspective: In todays competitive environment, individuals must display
effective communication abilities in order to succeed in the various spheres of their
personal and professional life, like getting jobs, being productive on the job, earning
promotions, providing leadership and in relating positively with others. At the


Page 6 of 27

workplace, professionals who possess effective communication skills are considered
to have an edge over those with poor communication abilities.
Organisational Perspective: Communication is the life line of any business. No
business can be sustained in the absence of an effective communication
process/system in place. Employees can contribute towards building, maintaining and
developing good relationships with the organisations various stakeholders such as
customers, vendors, employees, shareholders and the society.
Business communication has grown complex in recent years due to cultural interventions and
advances in technology. Technological developments have led to a spurt in the number of
channels/medium for communication. Globalization and multiculturalism have made it
necessary to understand the culture of the people, one is interacting with. Therefore, it is
imperative for individuals to keep themselves updated on the developments on the
communication front.
Four Dimensions of Business Communication
There are four dimensions to business communications. These are:
- Formal and informal communication, and
- Internal and external communication.
Knowledge of the channel of communication most appropriate to a situation/occasion is
essential for effective communication. The following table, captures the dimensions of the
business communication and the various tools of communication.




Page 7 of 27

Forms of Communication
Internal

External

Formal

Planned communication
among insiders (such as
memos, reports, e-mail,
instant messages, executive
blogs, conference calls, and
presentations) that follows
the companys chain of
command.

Planned communication with
outsiders (such as letters,
reports, speeches, websites,
instant messages, and news
releases, advertising, and
executive blogs).

Informal

Casual communication
among employees (such as e-
mail, instant messages, face-
to-face conversations, phone
calls, team blogs, and wikis)
that do not follow the
companys chain of
command.

Casual communication with
suppliers, customers,
investors, and other outsiders
(such as face-to-face
conversations, e-mail, instant
messages, phone calls, and
customer-support blogs).

Source: Courtland l. Bovee, John V Thill, Mukesh Chaturvedi, Business Communication
Today, 9th edition Prentice Hall-Gale.


Page 8 of 27


Goals of Business Communication
Effective business communication requires participation from both the sender and the
receiver of the message. However, the success of the communication primarily rests on the
senders ability in meeting the basic goals of business communication, which are:
Receiver Understanding;
Receiver Response
Favourable relationship and
Organizational goodwill.
Receiver Understanding - The most important goal of business communication is receiver
understanding the message correctly. The message should be understood by the receiver, the
way sender intends it to be understood. The challenge for the sender is to develop a clear
message.
The sender must keep in mind the following four factors while creating the message, to
ensure that the message is understood as intended:
Receiver characteristics
Message form and content
Receiver feedback and
Communication barriers
Receiver Response - The next goal of business communication is receiver response. The
response can be positive, negative or neutral. It may be conveyed through actions, words or
both. The message should encourage receivers to respond. The sender of the communication


Page 9 of 27

should assist the receiver to respond by providing clear and concise information, which will
enable/prompt a specific response. Generally, the situation determines the appropriate way to
respond.
For example, a communication requesting a meeting with a customer is said to have achieved
its goal if the customer responds by accepting or declining the meeting request.
Favourable Relationship - The third goal of business communication is development of
favourable relationships among the people involved in the communication process. The
sender and the receiver should relate to each other optimistically to establish a strong
business relationship. While a favourable relationship is beneficial to both parties, the
primary onus of creating and maintaining a favourable relationship lies with the sender.
Using positive language and stressing the receivers interests in dealings will help build a
strong basis for a favourable relationship.
For example, when a banks customer points out discrepancies in his or her account
information, and if the customer service team responds immediately by rectifying the
mistake, the customer will be happy. This helps develop a favourable image of the bank in
the customers mind, which in turn can help establish a favourable relationship.
Organizational Goodwill - The fourth goal of business communication is benefit to the
organisation or organisational goodwill. The goodwill of clients and customers is very
important for any organization. Proper communication enables organisations to gain
confidence of the customers, leading to continued patronage and thereby more business. All
communications should reflect positively on the service and the quality of the company
products.


Page 10 of 27

For example, providing information regarding the services and products of a bank, timely
redressal of customer queries, etc., can create a sense of confidence and goodwill amongst the
customers of the bank.
Employees can achieve the above mentioned goals of business communication by:
Organizing ideas and information logically and wholly;
Expressing ideas and information coherently and persuasively;
Listening to others effectively;
Using communication technologies effectively and efficiently; and
Following accepted standards of grammar, spelling and other aspects of
communication.
Elements and Process of Communication
Communication is a systematic process and as such contains many elements to enable it to
happen.
1.SENDER/ENCODER
The sender also known as the encoder decides on the message to be sent, the best/most
effective way that it can be sent. All of this is done bearing the receiver in mind. In a word, it
is his/her job to conceptualize.


Page 11 of 27

The sender may want to ask him/herself questions like: What words will I use? Do I need
signs or pictures?

2. MEDIUM
The medium is the immediate form which a message takes. For example, a message may be
communicated in the form of a letter, in the form of an email or face to face in the form of a
speech.

3. CHANNEL
The channel is that which is responsible for the delivery of the chosen message form. For
example post office, internet, radio.

4. RECEIVER
The receiver or the decoder is responsible for extracting/decoding meaning from the message.
The receiver is also responsible for providing feedback to the sender. In a word, it is his/her
job to INTERPRET.

5. FEEDBACK
This is important as it determines whether or not the decoder grasped the intended meaning
and whether communication was successful.

6. CONTEXT
Communication does not take place in a vacuum. The context of any communication act is
the environment surrounding it. This includes, among other things, place, time, event, and
attitudes of sender and receiver.


Page 12 of 27


7. NOISE (also called interference)
This is any factor that inhibits the conveyance of a message. That is, anything that gets in the
way of the message being accurately received, interpreted and responded to. Noise may be
internal or external. A student worrying about an incomplete assignment may not be attentive
in class (internal noise) or the sounds of heavy rain on a galvanized roof may inhibit the
reading of a storybook to second graders (external noise).
The communication process is dynamic, continuous, irreversible, and contextual. It is not
possible to participate in any element of the process without acknowledging the existence and
functioning of the other elements.
Verbal communication
Verbal communication is communication that uses words, either written or spoken. "Verbal"
is sometimes used colloquially in the sense of "spoken", but it is better to use "oral" in that
context, to avoid ambiguity.
Nonverbal communication
Nonverbal communication is the process of communication through sending and receiving
wordless cues between people. Some forms of non verbal communication include
chronemics, haptics, gesture, body language or posture, facial expression and eye contact,
object communication such as clothing, hairstyles, architecture, symbols, infographics, and
tone of voice, as well as through an aggregate of the above. Speech also contains nonverbal
elements known as paralanguage



Page 13 of 27

Barriers of Communication
Barriers of Communication are the difficulties involved in the process of communication
which distort the message being properly understand by the receiver.
barriers prevent the communication from being effective
Types of Barriers in Communication:-
1. Physical
2. Psychological
3.Language/semantic
4.Organizational structure barrier
5.Cross-cultural Barriers
6.Overcoming barriers
7.Personal barriers
8.Barriers related to the communicator
9. Perceptual barriers





Page 14 of 27

1.Physical barriers :
are often due to the nature of the environment. Thus, for example, the natural barrier
which exists, if staff are located in different buildings or on different sites.
Likewise, poor or outdated equipment, particularly the failure of management to
introduce new technology, may also cause problems.
Ex:-Defects in media (letters,courier,fax,)
Noise in Environment(Air vibration, people talking, in factory because of noise the
oral communication is difficult)
Information overload(in advertisement &sales information is an example of overload)
Research shows that one of the most important factors in building cohesive teams is
proximity. As long as people still have a personal space that they can call their own, nearness
to others aids communication because it helps us get to know one another. Proximity in
different cultures is different and therefore needs to be taken in the right context. It has been
observed that people coming from rural backgrounds with more physical space available may
not feel comfortable in closed quarters as they tend to have larger personal spaces as
compared to people living in urban conditions. This aspect alone can become a significant
psychological barrier if they subconsciously feel threatened by inadvertent invasion of
their personal space in case an urbanite approaches them in close proximity considering it as
a normal personal space. There are numerous accounts of such barriers that in certain cases
sprout out of cultural norms.
2. Psychological barriers
may result from individuals' personal discomfort, caused, for example, by ill health,
poor eye sight or hearing difficulties


Page 15 of 27

One meaning of the term psychological barriers is the self limiting beliefs a person
may have which in turn affects their behavior - that is ....what they do or don't do as a
result of having a self limiting belief.
We may categories Psychological barriers into :
Self-Centred attitude
In this the individual persons show their attitude or behavior of each persons.
In self centered attitude we pay attention to message which is useful or related
to us,-if it is not for us than we do not pay enough attention to that message
The person who is highly self centered he is fails to build up good relation
with others(here we cannot learn more)
Group identification
In organization our ideas suggestions & opinions are influenced in some
matters by the group to which we belong.
In family there is different groups that is an the basis of age.
There is a conflicts B/W husband & wife because of their age difference as
well as different culture.(both are from different culture)
In family father says something the children's may nt lizn that word becoz of
the age difference.
Self image
Self image is nothing but portray(showing about your self to others Like what
your
Our own identification with in the organization that is what exactly your.
This barriers shows both your +ve(knowingly the work) as well as ve(if you
do not know that but acting like that) thing in the organization


Page 16 of 27


Selective perception
This psychological barriers sometime we fail to get the complete message
which is sent to us.
After getting that message we project our expectation in to the communication
as we explain the message
Proper media we have to select to send message to the right person(without
fail)
Defensiveness
Defensive is nothing but serving for defense.
If we feel threatened by a message we become defensive and respond in such
ways that reduce understanding.
Example:- In organization the sales manager gives threatened(decleared
intention to injure) message to his team to reach target than the team will
perform well to be safe.
This is mainly harmful barrier in handling complaints & grievances(painful or
oppressive) in resolving conflicts
Filtering
Filtering is the process of reducing the details (or) unwanted things of a
message
If sender send the information that we have to change or edit all unwanted
information than finally we have to get the actual information to boss he wants
results.



Page 17 of 27

Status block
This is the main reason to break information or because of this status barriers
occurs in the organization.
Here the sine our manager never lizn to the junior than the subordinate he
connote express his new ideas than the barriers starts in the organization.
Resistance to change
This is the serious psychological barrier
Some peoples strongly resist new ideas which are against their established
opinion(or)treditions (or)social customs.
They may avoid the new ideas because the feel insecure or afraid of changes
in methods or situations
The peoples are maintain their own emotions attitudes, standards. They are not
ready to accept anything new changes.
Closed mind
This is also main barrier of each and every organization
Close minded seniors are narrow minded peoples they cannot implement new
ideas.
And they are not allowing to young employees to perform well & to
implement to ideas for growth of organization
Poor communication skills
Lack of skill in writing & in speaking prevents a persons from framing the
message properly.
Lack of understanding
Because of nervousness the person cannot communication orally with
audience


Page 18 of 27

Because of excitement about on achievement or new idea may make a person
speech incoherent.
Lack of listening, poor reading habits.
State of health
The human health condition can affect communication efficiency pain or fever
certainly makes a persons disinclined to engage in communication.
Perception is low when the state of health is poor.
lack of concentration
Attitude and bias
Lack of self discipline
Low emotional state
Equally, if someone has personal problems like worries about their health or marriage, then
this will probably affect them
3.Language/semantic
Semantics, or code noise, occurs when the meaning of a message to the sender differs
from its meaning to the recipient.
Language that describes what we want to say in our terms may present barriers to
others who are not familiar with our expressions, buzz-words,and jargon. When we
couch our communication in such language, it is a way of excluding others. In a
global setting the greatest compliment we can pay another person is to talk in their
language. Living languages derive from other languages and successfully absorb and
indigenize the borrowed words and phrases into its usage. A dialect for example
would identify a person geographically and identically certain slang would reveal the


Page 19 of 27

cultural or group orientation of the persons speaking it. The same are then barriers, if
spoken in situations and with people, who may not be able to relate to them.
4.Organizational barriers:
Status relationship
One way flow
Organization structure
Rules and regulations
Distance barriers
Physical barriers
Mechanical barriers
5. Cross-cultural barrier
We communicate the way we do because we are raised in particular culture and learn
its language, rules, and norms. Different cultures (and sub cultures)may have different
rules and norms. Understanding the other's culture facilitates cross-cultural
communication
Different languages And cultures
Different languages and cultures represent national barrier which is
particularly important for organizations involved in overseas (Proper usage
and pronunciation) business.
Staff shortages are another factor which frequently causes communication
difficulties for an organization
Cultural conflicts in workplace


Page 20 of 27

Cultural conflicts arise because of the differences in values and norms
of behavior of people from different cultures.
A person acts according to the values and norms of his or her culture; another
person holding a different worldview might interpret his or her behavior from
an opposite standpoint.
This situation creates misunderstanding and can lead to conflicts
Learning about other cultures
People can prevent cross-cultural conflicts by learning about cultures that they
come in contact with. This knowledge can be obtained through training
programs, general reading, talking to people from different cultures, and
learning from past experience.
Discrimination - Cultural conflicts lead to Discrimination toward or against a person
or group is the prejudicial treatment of them based on certain characteristics.
Types Of Discrimination
Gender discrimination
Socially, sexual differences have been used to justify different
roles for men and women, in some cases giving rise to claims
of primary and secondary roles.
Language discrimination
Diversity of language is protected and respected by most
nations who value cultural diversity. However, people are
sometimes subjected to different treatment because their
preferred language is associated with a particular group, class
or category. Discrimination exists if there is prejudicial


Page 21 of 27

treatment against a person or a group of people who speak a
particular language or dialect.
Disability Discrimination
People with disabilities face discrimination in all levels
of society. The attitude that disabled individuals are inferior to
non-disabled individuals is called ableism.
6.Overcoming barriers
Constant organizational efforts is need to overcome the barriers which are
unconsciously built up by different people in the organization.
Health Centers:- many organizations provide medical aid, gymnasium and recreation
for the staff in an effort to keep down stress level.
Regulation like compulsory vacation after a certain number of months/years are also
meant to ensure that employees avoid stress and fatigue.
Semantic and language barriers can be overcome only by being careful with the use of
language & by using words which have clear meaning, by using short and simple
sentence, and also by using visual aid whenever possible.
7.Personal barriers:
Attitude of superiors
Lack of confidence in subordinates
Insistence of proper channel
Ignoring comm.
Filtering of information
Message overload


Page 22 of 27

8.Barriers related to the communicator
Unwillingness to say things differently
Unwillingness to relate to others differently
Unwillingness to learn new approaches
Lack of self -confidence
Lack of enthusiasm
Voice quality
9. Perceptual barriers
The problem with communicating with others is that we all see the world differently. In other
words we see world differently. If we didn't, we would have no need to communicate:
something like extrasensory perception would take its place. The electivity/exposure filters
that are developed on the basis of experience or lack of it play their part. A bad experience
would perceptually block out unpleasant things. This could be in the shape of avoiding it and
if that is not possible by altering the behaviors i.e., response types in different ways.
Similarly,retention filters out things that feel good, and gives the tendency to forget those
things that are painful.
Communication cycle
The first major model for communication was introduced by Claude Shannon and Warren
Weaver for Bell Laboratories in 1949. The original model was designed to mirror the
functioning of radio and telephone technologies. Their initial model consisted of three
primary parts: sender, channel, and receiver. The sender was the part of a telephone a person
spoke into, the channel was the telephone itself, and the receiver was the part of the phone
where one could hear the other person. Shannon and Weaver also recognized that often there


Page 23 of 27

is static that interferes with one listening to a telephone conversation, which they deemed
noise.
In a simple model, often referred to as the transmission model or standard view of
communication, information or content (e.g. a message in natural language) is sent in some
form (as spoken language) from an emissary/ sender/ encoder to a destination/ receiver/
decoder. This common conception of communication simply views communication as a
means of sending and receiving information. The strengths of this model are simplicity,
generality, and quantifiability. Social scientists Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver
structured this model based on the following elements:
1. An information source, which produces a message.
2. A transmitter, which encodes the message into signals
3. A channel, to which signals are adapted for transmission
4. A receiver, which 'decodes' (reconstructs) the message from the signal.
5. A destination, where the message arrives.
Shannon and Weaver argued that there were three levels of problems for communication
within this theory.
The technical problem: how accurately can the message be transmitted?
The semantic problem: how precisely is the meaning 'conveyed'?
The effectiveness problem: how effectively does the received meaning affect
behavior?
Daniel Chandler critiques the transmission model by stating:


Page 24 of 27

It assumes communicators are isolated individuals.
No allowance for differing purposes.
No allowance for differing interpretations.
No allowance for unequal power relations.
No allowance for situational contexts.
In 1960, David Berlo expanded on Shannon and Weaver's (1949) linear model of
communication and created the SMCR Model of Communication. The Sender-Message-
Channel-Receiver Model of communication separated the model into clear parts and has been
expanded upon by other scholars.
Nonhuman communication
Every information exchange between living organisms i.e. transmission of signals that
involve a living sender and receiver can be considered a form of communication; and even
primitive creatures such as corals are competent to communicate. Nonhuman communication
also include cell signaling, cellular communication, and chemical transmissions between
primitive organisms like bacteria and within the plant and fungal kingdoms.
Animal communication
The broad field of animal communication encompasses most of the issues in ethology.
Animal communication can be defined as any behavior of one animal that affects the current
or future behavior of another animal. The study of animal communication, called zoo
semiotics (distinguishable from anthroposemiotics, the study of human communication) has
played an important part in the development of ethology, sociobiology, and the study of


Page 25 of 27

animal cognition. Animal communication, and indeed the understanding of the animal world
in general, is a rapidly growing field, and even in the 21st century so far, a great share of
prior understanding related to diverse fields such as personal symbolic name use, animal
emotions, animal culture and learning, and even sexual conduct, long thought to be well
understood, has been revolutionized.
Plants and fungi
Communication is observed within the plant organism, i.e. within plant cells and between
plant cells, between plants of the same or related species, and between plants and non-plant
organisms, especially in the root zone. Plant roots communicate in parallel with rhizome
bacteria, with fungi and with insects in the soil. These parallel sign-mediated interactions are
governed by syntactic, pragmatic, and semantic rules, and are possible because of the
decentralized "nervous system" of plants. The original meaning of the word "neuron" in
Greek is "vegetable fiber" and recent research has shown that most of the microorganism
plant communication processes are neuronal-like. Plants also communicate via volatiles when
exposed to herbivory attack behavior, thus warning neighboring plants. In parallel they
produce other volatiles to attract parasites which attack these herbivores. In stress situations
plants can overwrite the genomes they inherited from their parents and revert to that of their
grand- or great-grandparents.
Fungi communicate to coordinate and organize their growth and development such as the
formation of Marcelia and fruiting bodies. Fungi communicate with their own and related
species as well as with non fungal organisms in a great variety of symbiotic interactions,
especially with bacteria, unicellular eukaryote, plants and insects through biochemicals of
biotic origin. The biochemicals trigger the fungal organism to react in a specific manner,
while if the same chemical molecules are not part of biotic messages, they do not trigger the


Page 26 of 27

fungal organism to react. This implies that fungal organisms can differentiate between
molecules taking part in biotic messages and similar molecules being irrelevant in the
situation. So far five different primary signalling molecules are known to coordinate different
behavioral patterns such as filamentation, mating, growth, and pathogenicity. Behavioral
coordination and production of signaling substances is achieved through interpretation
processes that enables the organism to differ between self or non-self, a biotic indicator,
biotic message from similar, related, or non-related species, and even filter out "noise", i.e.
similar molecules without biotic content.
Bacteria quorum sensing
Communication is not a tool used only by humans, plants and animals, but it is also used by
microorganisms like bacteria. The process is called quorum sensing. Through quorum
sensing, bacteria are able to sense the density of cells, and regulate gene expression
accordingly. This can be seen in both gram positive and gram negative bacteria. This was
first observed by Fuqua et al. in marine microorganisms like V. harveyi and V. fischeri.
Summary
Effective Communication is a critical element to succeed in todays globally competitive
world. The basic goals of business communication are:
Receiver Understanding;
Receiver Response
Favourable relationship and
Organizational goodwill.

Communication play a significant role in business organisations today. The key elements that
help in being a successful communicator are:
(1) Planning,
(2) The content,
(3) Delivery skills and techniques of the communicator.


Page 27 of 27

A communicator should be aware of the potential barriers to communication during
communication. The communicator needs to work towards overcoming these barriers in order
to deliver effective communication.
Thanks