Chapter Two

Communication Skills and Par Excellence Listening

The parable of a Unique Being Called Human Being

Saraswathi – the Goddess of Education and her husband Brahma Deva – the God of
creation in Hindu theology, wanted to create an ‘Unique’ being called Man. MAN -
necessarily includes women rather the WOMAN includes man, is it not ?.
The unique characteristics are :
- Erect spinal cord
- Biped (Tail lost in the evolution, of course the semblance of it in the form of
appendix still remains – which is sometimes to be removed surgically if it wanted
to reappear –I visualize often a tail on my mischievous students. Shh.. you don’t
see it ? all of course, it is invisible
- Multi dexterous non-webbed limbs
- Ever evolving Mind with reasoning
What else are the prerogatives of Human Beings?
- Language – no living being has such plethora of languages or dialects.
- Sense of Humor – or simply a Smile at the least which no other animal can do
Half dressed attire of Gandhiji and his comments
Once Gandhiji was invited by the King of England and as usual he has started in his
simple attire of Dhoti and small towel.
One of the journalists was horrified and asked Mr. Gandhi ‘Are you going to meet
the King of England Half-naked like this?’
Gandhji’s instant reply is “The King has enough clothes for both of Us”
In Telugu there is a joke ‘ Me and my King jointly or collectively own
101 ( naaku Raajugariki kalipe nootokka aavu’ ) Cows. (I have one and King own
the balance. Of course.)

Courtier : Your Majesty, You are late to the Court

Queen of England : Sir, The Queen is never late .
ONLY THE COURTIERS ARE EARLIER

I have an ace up my sleeve – a secret that gives me an advantage I will let the cat out of
the bag. Tell you a secret of mine- truthfulness ( on some matters only ) and claim
categorically that I get angry only Twice in an year – my better half quips in my back
“of course, each one stays for Six months .”

Let us continue with the parable - Brahamaji wanted to endow the human beings
another unique quality and that is with :
- Intelligence - ability to do your work effectively in this world with the effective
interaction of others. – for that you need not have any Education.

But Brahmaji said ‘I feel to give it, but it is to be hidden, not to be known to him

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or her so easily - where to hide’? and he asked the advice of his concert, pat came the
reply of Goddess Saraswath’s .! ‘conceal it In his own Mind’. The Story goes to
Kaanchi and let us go back to Communication Skills.

Genetic Scientists claim that we only have 2% superiority in the realm of DNA
and genes between us and our nearer cousins Chimpanzees of the animal world. This
puny difference of 2% has made us conceive civilizations, and culture beyond grunts and
hoots. We have harnessed the ability to express complex human ideas, evolved a system
of communication which is for the human beings alone.
From the primitive life to pyramids, the epics, the first step of the Mankind – ie to
the moon and to the genome engineering research mankind has made best use of the 2%.

The pyramids, built 4500 years ago, 36 of them near the river Nile in Egypt
represent the stupendous efforts and extraordinary management of organization feat
achieved in 2500 B.C., when you consider the fact that it was very difficult to move such
big and heavy blocks of stone in those ancient times, with no cranes heavy earth moving
equipment etc , it is truly marvelous that 2 million blocks, each on weighing
approximately 2.3 tons, were hauled on top of each other to complete the Pyramid of
Chepos.
Egyptians believe that every Pharaoh was a God and when one died he was buried
under this stupendous structure.
But in “Ra Expeditions” Abdulla’s comment : “So big and only one occupies
and too long since dead” – a different paradigm or perception

Bronislaw Malinowiski narrated an encounter he had with an old cannibal. They

happen to talk about the Second world war raging in Europe. The cannibal wanted to
know how the Europeans managed to eat the huge quantities of human flesh produced by
massive killings. In a self righteous manner Malinowiski try to explain that Europeans
do not eat their enemies they killed.
The cannibal was shocked, “What kind of barbarians are you” he asked in horror
“ to kill people without any real object”

A man goes to a doctor and says : I don’t thinking my wife’s hearing is good. What
should I do?
Why have you come instead, but first try this test to find out for sure. When your wife is
in the kitchen doing dishes, or cooking stand 15 feet , 10 feet and 5 feet respectively and
ask her a question. The man went home
The man : honey what is for dinner ? from 15 feet, 10 feet and 5 feet. He asked.
The wife : honey for the fourth time I SAID CHICKEN

“Communication”
Communication has come from Latin “Communis” “Communus”, which means

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 “Sharing”. What do you share?. We share normally our thoughts, feelings and actions.
We share Knowledge in general (knowledge dissemination).

In the novel ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ of Jules Verne, the central character
Philos Fogg and his assistant will help Indian People in some measure, and Indian
people say “Mr. Fogg you and you assistant are ‘Very, Very Good People’. His instant
reply was “Yes,Yes, Sometimes.”
Sometimes we share , sometimes we don’t. Of course, we cannot share everything every
time with every body. So we have to become selective.

 SMS joke of the Day: 

I wanted to share everything with you – your joys, your sorrows, your happy moments,
every single second of the day
Let us start first with your ATM PIN ( password )

Of all the knowledge and skills you have, those concerning communication are
among most important and useful. Whether in your personal, social, or work life or career
you communication ability is your most vital asset. In Sanskrit it is expressed as
“Vaagbhooshanam Bhooshanam” . Communication is one of the assets like a pendent or
a necklace. You need not go to Tribhuvandas Bhim Singh Javeri or Meenabazar for a
pendent or a necklace. Learn to be an good conversationalist.

In your personal life or career as soon as you move one step from the bottom,
your effectiveness depends on your ability to reach others through Spoken or Written
Word, for which one requires Listening and Reading all through our lives.

We may have numerous books in our homes, but most of the time, they remain
elusive or rather remain as ornaments in our drawing rooms or library. So my intention is
to use them to enrich our knowledge itself.

R.K.Narayan in his short story ‘A Library Without Books’ says Library Science seems all
concerned with systems of classification, shelves, furniture, locks, keys, vouchers,
registers everything except Reading. It would be useful to inscribe on every library
wall the motto “ books are meant to be read, not merely to be classified and
preserved.”

I feel that the only difference today is that digital indexing and digital databases, Emails,
Internet, chats, Knowledge banks like Wikepedia.org, wikitria.org, blogs, ORKUT
groups, e-portals, e-books have come, but the scenario remains very much the
same.

Does The Times of India or somebody has to initiate “READ INDIA”

Campaign just like “LEAD INDIA” ? or what ?

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 The differences between effective and ineffective communication are all around us .
consider the following differences :
• the self confident and self conscious speaker.
• the person who gets hired and the one who gets passed over because a poor
showing in a job interview.
• the couple who argue constructively and the couple who argue by hurting each
other and eventually destroy their relationship.
• the group member who is too-self-focused to listen openly and contribute to the
group and the member who serves both the task and the interpersonal needs of the
group.
• The public speaker who lacks credibility and persuasive appeal and the speaker
audiences believe and follow.
• The culturally isolated and the person who enjoys, profits from, and grows from
effective and satisfying intercultural, interpersonal experiences.

Babel and Bedlam : is an apt phrase to denote confusion and noise in this context. If
there is no clarity in our speech Babel and Bedlam ensues. Babel was the tower built
by those humans who spoke the same language with the intention of reaching heaven.
But Gods in heaven were jealous and cursed humanity to speak different languages so
that they could not understand one another. So, different languages, dialects, and
accents are born or that is how the joke goes.
Some times we may be speaking the same language but not convey what we mean. So
understanding is the essential part of any communication.
Understanding oneself itself is a very tall order ( Existentialism = meaning and purpose)
Understanding others is next to impossible. So the common expression
communication gap is ever widening.( Everybody will not have the spear of charm and
the armour of wit )

Communication have various connotations . To cite an example :

“Ramu the door is Open!”

1. Please come in ( request or invitation)

2. Let us go in ( you and me )
3. Please leave, am I holding you ? no I am not ( Ramu you leave – who stopped you )
4. Please don’t do it ( Ss…..Sh.. Ramu’s fiancé – may mean kissing )
5. I am afraid I don’t know what to do Ramu( indecision )
6. Oh ! alas! Burglars might have broken into our house, ( Ramu’s Wife, who is little
hasty – the family was returning from a vacation - “oh! My Diamond Necklace, My
Diamond Necklace)
7. You have opened the door yourself, So you yourself has to close it- You have made
the bed , you lie on it – attitude – ( might be the Strict disciplinarian father of Ramu )
8. Oh! The maid servant have been careless again. I have to look for some one, alas!
(Ramu’s worried wife)

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9. Speak softly ( Ramu’s cautious wife ) the neighbours may hear us. ( eavesdropping)
10. Wonderful, we need not break in, after all the door is already open ( Ramu and his
companion burglar or a their who planned for a burglary)
And the connotations or the meaning go on and on……

Let us go into different classifications of our Communications :

Non-Verbal
Verbal
Vocal
Non Vocal = No sound
By combing these we have the following :

Non vocal- non verbal (gestures, pictures)

Non vocal-verbal (written words)
Vocal-non verbal (screams, cries)-Tarzan’s Victory Cry.
Vocal-Verbal (Spoken words)

Non-Verbal Pantomime – mookies - Charles Chaplain the movie-Pushpak, Movie,

Black Deaf, Dumb & Blind - Helen Keller & her mentor – Anne Sullivan
Verbal-Talkies, the present day movies.
Speaking to oneself - Soliloquy ( Swagatham ) Monologue ( sontha dabba - para
dabbaa - paraspara dabba- you scratch my back I will scratch yours type)
Brain Storming sessions – GDs-Speaking in Groups, Debates, Discussions,
Dialogues, Minutes of meetings and Seminars in the Corporate sector, Public
speaking

By another classification On the basis of Relation we have the following:

Formal
when messages are transmitted and received through an authoritatively determined
hierarchical pattern (chain of command)then the formal communication takes
place
that is . When you speak to an elderly person such as your father, teacher or employer
you use a kind of language which shows your personal, social or cultural distance from
them. Such a variety is an example of

Informal
If the communication is direct, oral in a friendly way -it is informal
That is, when you speak to an intimate friend, your younger brother or sister or to your
class mate, or colleague you need not be so formal and can take liberties with your
language which indicates your closeness or socio cultural nearness with the other person
(s) such a variety is called informal communication .
Distinguished guests are requested to assemble in the first floor ( formal )
You guys move to the first floor ( informal )

Well that’s really very kind of you, but I’m afraid I have already promised to join Ajay
for dinner this evening (formal)

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Thanks, but I’m dinning with Ajay today (informal)

How do you do ? (formal)

Hello ? Hi (informal)

Examine the following texts though they convey the same message, the style , the
vocabulary and the sentence structure or different and each writer’s individual preference

1. At an indefinite time in the past, a male member of the cunning canine species
found himself seized by acute appetite. He launched a probe in all directions for
sustenance. After he traversed a long tract of land, an orchard of vine came into
his preview. He dashed into it and noticed clusters of juicy fruit, but hanging
beyond his reach. Despite repeated endeavors to grab them, he met with failure
and announced a profound philosophical maxim :’These grapes are sour.”

2. Once upon a time a fox was hungry. It reached for food everywhere and came to
a vineyard with bunches of grape. He jumped and jumped but could not reach
them then he said “These grapes are sour.”

In English, as in many languages, there are certain accepted ways of greeting or

disagreeing with your participant without hurting his self-respect. Consider the
following:
Close the door, why don’t you close the door? Can you close the door? Please close the
door? Won’t you close the door please? Would mind closing the door? Could you please
close the door.

By another classification On the basis of Direction -in an Organization .

Down ward
Management To subordinates
eg : management Circulars, policies, hand books, news letters, induction kits,
Up ward
subordinates To management
eg: employee's grievances , suggestions etc.
horizontal
among employees of equal cadre
eg: intra-net e-mails of our digital world in the corporate sector.

Verbal-Vocal ( Oral or Spoken )

Essentials of Oral Communication – Joseph A. DeVito and Raymond Zeuschner

1. Intra Personal communication - “within” (Talking to oneself ( introspection )
2. Inter personal - “inter” means talking with others
3. Small group talk – Debates, Discussions, Dialogues, GDs, Seminars, minutes of
meetings at the corporate sector.
4. Public speaking

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1. Intra-Personal-Skills / communication
Intra = “Within”
Intra-Personal Skills can be defined as those skills that each one has to employ
while interacting with “one’s own Self”. It is a Subjective (internal) concept.
Introspection, visualization, the internal dialogues that goes inside are the examples
Through Intra-personal communication, you talk with, learn about and judge
yourself. You persuade yourself of this or that, reason about possible decisions to make,
and rehearse messages that you plan to send to others ( Speak ).

2. Interpersonal Skills / communication

Inter = “outside”
No man is an Island. That is, no man can live alone. We have to Build bridges of
communication among people which is also known as networking. In Sanskrit we say
“Vaagbhooshanm Bhooshanam”. Your Conversation is like Pendent you wear.

Interpersonal Skills can be defined as those skills that every one has to employ while
interacting with other people. They are the abilities to relate to others in a socially
appropriate and meaningful manner. It is an objective concept.

Examples are Working in teams, teaching others, working well with people from
different cultures, serving customers etc.
Thorough Inter-Personal communication you interact with others, learn about
them and yourself, and reveal yourself to others. Whether with new acquaintances., old
friends, lovers and family members, it’s through interpersonal sills that you establish,
maintain, sometimes destroy and sometimes repair personal relation ships. You also
communicate interpersonally during interviews – when applying for a job, gathering
information and counseling.

3. Small group communication

Through small group talk ( which is one to one and one to many ), you interact
with others in groups, you solve problems, develop new ideas, and share knowledge and
experiences. You live your work and social lives largely in groups, from the employment
interview and to the executive board meeting, from the informal social group having
coffee to the formal meeting discussing issues of international concern.
Examples are Debates : Debate is for or against (oratorical competitions and minutes of
meetings at the corporate board rooms)
Discussions: Discussions have both pros and cons or positive or negative points.
Dialogues require shedding of ego of the participants, commonness of purpose and
consensus. – GDs – group discussions is the apt example.
So the progression sequence should be Debates – to – Discussions – to Dialogues.

“Highly motivated, competent and creative groups move from debate to discussion and to
dialogue” – says Sachitananda Mohanty – a Professor of English at the University of
Hyderabad

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4. Public communication
Through public communication, others inform and persuade you, in turn, you
inform and persuade others – to act, to buy, or to think in a particular way or change an
attitude, opinion or value.
Sales Promotion Talks, Teaching, Presentations, and Public Speaking are the examples.

Communication is Inevitable, Irreversible, and Unrepeatable

Communication is Inevitable in the sense; it often takes place even though a

person may not want to communicate. A student sitting in the back of the class might not
be communicating with the instructor, but the instructor may derive that the student is
either not well, lacks interest in studies, is bored or worried about something.

Communication is Irreversible in the sense, once you say something or press the
Send key on your E-mail, you cannot un-communicate it. You can of course try to reduce
the effects of the your message. You can say for example, “I really didn’t mean what I
said”, or “Let me explain”. But regardless of how hard you try to negate or reduce the
effects of your message, the message itself, once it has been received, cannot be taken
back.
“the genie has already come out of the bottle and it is next to impossible to get her back
into the bottle again.”

Communication is Unrepeatable in the sense, a communication act can never be

duplicated. The reason is simple: everyone and everything is changing constantly. As a
result you can never recapture exactly the same situation, frame of mind, relation ship
dynamics that defined a previous communication act. You can never repeat meeting
someone first time, comforting a grieving friend, leading a small group for the first time
or giving a public speech.

To understand Communication better, let us take the help of an acronym.

An acronym is a word formed from the initial letters of a name, such as BA – for
Bachelor of Arts, MBA stands for Master of Business Administration.
PhD stands for Doctorate in Philosophy

The Acronym is :
PCBS of U = Printed Circuit Boards for Usage
And we can easily remember the following essential concepts by the acronym :
1.Precision, 2. Clarity or Cohesion, 3. Brevity, 4. Simplicity and 5. Understanding

1. P – Precision – Usage of appropriate word or words or gestures.

Lord Hanuman as soon as he comes back and meets Lord Rama simply starts with
“Dhrusya” which simply means “ I have seen”.

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He had not started to enumerate the exploits like crossing the ocean, seeing the Lanka,
meeting Sita and finally destroying part of Lanka etc., they can come later. They are
secondary.
He has been sent on the specific mission to search the whereabouts of Sita Devi, Lord
Rama’s wife. Every body was waiting eagerly the news of the whereabouts of Sita .
Hence he says to Rama “I have seen” first – an apt example of Precision or appropriate
choosing of the word.
Legend says that Rama reciprocated it with a beautiful hug. Hug here is the appropriate
non-verbal communication or gesture- a hug with Godhead –Lord Vishnu

Of course, sometimes Words are not required. But non-verbal gestures take over.
Once upon a time, Parsis came to the West Coast of India ( Gujarat ) from Persia
fearing persecution from Muslims and requested the King of Navasari to give them
asylum.
The king had made to bring a glass fully brimming with Milk – he intended - that
the kingdom was thickly populated and will not have enough place to reside, moreover,
he was worried that Muslim community in his state may not like the presence of Parsis.
The Parsis leader did not speak. He had made to bring a spoon of sugar, mixed it
in the milk - he intended that their people will mix like sugar with the Gujarat people
only to sweeten the land, not spoil it. Gujarat king was pleased and they were granted
asylum.
Even now a miniscule community, Parsis has contributed much to the economic,
educational, cultural and industrial advancement in the country. Jamshed ji Navroji Tata
was one of the pioneer of them as far as I know.

2. C – Clarity and Cohesion - clarity in choosing and Cohesion that is without

jargon or ambiguity or double meaning.
In his Sanskrit Drama ‘Kumara Sambhavam’ poet Kalisdasa says :
“Vaagardjavitha sampriptou, vaagardha pratipatay
Jagad pitarou vandey, paarvati parameswarou” –
It simply means – Due respects to Lord Shiva and Parvathi his concert, who are
inseparable like Vaagardha- A word and it’s meaning (and also in the sense of
ardhanareeswara – He-She principle, Legend has it that Lord Shiva has given half of his
body to his Concert Parvathi )
Just in the same manner a word and it’s meaning should be coherent and inseparable.

Norman Lewis, in his wonderful book on vocabulary development “Word Power Made
Easy” explains the meaning of the word “Taciturn”. They neither like to listen or nor
talk, an impatient gesture, glance, stare . Are they self-conscious, , do they hate people?
Do they hate me? In frustration you give up thinking.

Son : Our political partys’ policies are ‘Sound’ they claim

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Father : Yes ! my son
Son : Sound made by an empty vessel ? daddy !
Father : I don’t Know son ! - it shows ambiguity of course.

Judge : Tell the court why you parked there

Driver : Because, Your honour, it said “ ‘Fine’ for Parking”

3. B – Brevity ( brevity is the soul of Wit says Jonathan Swift )

Again let us knock at the door of Norman Lewis. in his wonderful book on vocabulary
development “Word Power Made Easy” he explains the meaning of the word
“Laconic”. In ancient Sparta, originally known a ‘Laconia’, the citizens were long
suffering, hard bitten, stoical, military-minded and noted for their economy of speech.
Legend has it that when the Philip of Macedonia was storming the gates of Sparta
( Laconia ). He sent a message to the besieged king “ If we capture the city, we will burn
it to the ground.”
A one word answer came back “ If”. It was now the Philips turn to be speechless.

‘Why do you always answer a question with a question Mulla (Nasiruddin) ?’

His cryptic reply was “Do I ?”

Journalist : I have promised my editor that I will get more than Two words from you on
the issue of Primary Education.
The Laconic or Brevity loving Education Minister : You loose

4. S – Simplicity – ( usage of simple words )

Varnasi Bhaskara Rao in his wonderful book on ‘Communicative Competence’ writes:
‘On of his first developments in Gandhji’s campaign brought him straight to the head of
the Transvaal Government, General Jan Smuts, Gandhiji has already developed the
essentials of this later styles, and it is easy to imagine him sitting before this able Boer
soldier and informing him :
Gandhi : I have come to tell you that I am going fight against
your government.
General Jan Smuts : You mean you come here all the way to tell me that? Is
there anything more you wanted to say ?
Gandhi : Yes, I am going to Win.
General Jan Smuts : Well, and how are you going to do that?
Gandhi : With your help, of course
General Smuts expressed several years later that Gandhiji did exactly that.
By his courage, by his determination, by his refusal to take unfair advantage, but
especially by his endless capacity to ‘stick out’ without yielding and without retaliation
( ‘Satyagaraha’ , and ‘Ahimsa’ concepts ). Gandhji managed at last to win the General’s
respect and friend ship and one by one the laws most offensive to the Indians were
repealed.’

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 Gandhiji is not a passionate orator, his manner is calm, and serene and he
appeals particularly to the intelligence. But the serenity places the subject he discusses in
the clearest light. The inflexions of his voice are not varied, but they are intensely
sincere. He never makes any gestures with his arms, in fact moves a finger. But his
luminous words, expressed in terse, concise sentences carries conviction. He never
abandons a subject before he felt that he has made it perfectly clear. - Joseph J. Doke
on Gandhiji

Gandhiji’s simple flow of words

‘First they ignore you,
Then they laugh at you,
Then they fight you,
Then you win’ - Gandhiji
Finally they may admire and adore you

Evidently, Gandhiji used his Train journeys in third class compartments to write
letters and articles.
Here is another literary master piece of competent communication which can
teach parents, teachers and even students alike. Today there is so much talk ( a lip
service) on ‘Value Education’. This letter’s content, the choice of words, their
arrangement, style and tone of it. – epitomises the Communicative competence.
A Father to his Son’s Teacher
Abraham Lincoln’s Appeal to the Teacher of his son.

Dear Mr. Teacher

My son. He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, all men are not
true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel three is a hero, that for every selfish
politician, there is dedicated leader.
Teach him that for every enemy, there is a friend. It will take time, I know but
teach him, if you can, that a dollar earned is of far more value than five found. Teach
him to learn to lose also enjoy wining. Steer him away from envy if you can, teach him
the secret of silent laughter. Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to lick.
Teach him, if you can, the wonder of books, but also quiet time to ponder the eternal
mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on the green hillside.
In school, teach him it is far more honourable to fail than to cheat. Teach him to
have faith in his own ideas even if everyone tells him they are wrong. Teach him to be
gentle with gentle people and tough with tough. Try to give my son the strength not to
follow the crowd when everyone is getting the bandwagon. Teach him to listen to all
men, but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth, and take only good that
comes through.
Teach him how to laugh when he is sad. Teach him there is no shame in tears.
Teach him to scoff at cynics and beware of too much sweetness. Teach him to sell his

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brain to the highest bidders, but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul. Teach him
to close his ears to a howling mob, and to stand and fight if he thinks he’s right.
Teach him gently, but do not cuddle him, because only the test of fire makes fine
steel. Let him have the courage to be patient. Let him have patience to be brave. Teach
him to always have sublime faith in mankind.
This is big order, but see what you can do. He is such a fine little fellow, my son –
Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln preached what he practiced.

Interestingly, Abraham Lincoln, used to write his notes, speeches, and all other
ideas on bits of paper and used to keep it under his hat for ready consultation.

5. U – Understanding
Ultimately the receiver should understand what is being said by you. Your ranting
or eloquence has no meaning if the receivers don’t understand them, or
misinterprets the one word for the other.

Ramu : Let us go the Zoo

Ravi : go to a Jew – I don’t want to borrow any money
Ramu : not that Jew, zoo , where tiger, elephant and giraffe are there
Ravi : oh that zoo

Of course we have a plethora of languages, dialects and accents and , as we have already
seen that Babel was the tower built by those humans who spoke the same language
with the intention of reaching heaven. But Gods in heaven were jealous and cursed
humanity to speak different languages so that they could not understand one another.
So, different languages, dialects, and accents are born or bedlam ensues that is how the
joke goes.

So, Understanding is a very tall order of course. Every body is aware of the
Generation gap, and the miserable failure or break down of communications is an off
repeated term.
Through communication, people act and react on the basis of the present situation
as well as on the basis of their histories, past experiences, attitudes, cultural beliefs, and a
host of related factors.
One implication of is this is that, actions and reactions in communication are
determined not only by what is said, but also by the way the person interprets what is
said.( receiver )
You responses to a movie, for example, don’t depend solely on the words and
pictures in the movies; they also depend on your previous experiences, present emotions,
knowledge, physical well-being, and a lot more.
Because of this two people listening to the same message will often derive two
different meanings. Although the words and symbols are the same each person interprets
them differently simply because each person is different and has had different
experiences.
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 20 INSTRUCTIONS – PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS

1. Read everything before doing anything, but work as rapidly as you can
2. Put your name and address in the space provided for

Name :
Address :

3. Circle the word Name in the second instructions

4. Write the name of your native place ……….
5. Now draw a circle around the title of the page
6. Sign your name under the title
7. In the sentence four draw a circle around the word ‘native’
8. Write the name of the Capital of India
9. Underline all the sentence seven
10. Stand for a few seconds, 2 to 3 minutes will do.
11. Draw an ‘X’ in the lower left hand corner of this paper
12. Draw a circle around ‘X’ you drew just now
13. Write the name of your husband or wife if you are married, if not, write the
name of your father if you are a male and write the name of your mother name if
you are a female.
14. Draw a circle around the word ‘Capital” in the sentence eight
15. Shout out loudly your name when you get to this point
16. If you think you have followed instructions to this point call “ I Have a cell
phone if you have one or I do not Have a cell phone if you do not have one
17. Close your eyes and raise your left hand over your head
18. Write your designation or qualification
19. Count ten to one backwards
20. Now that you have read the instructions, carefully, do only what instructions one
and twenty ask you to do and ignore all other instructions

Note : Please do not give this paper to anybody, make no comments or explanations you
read this so far. Pretend that you are still writing. Let us see how many persons really
follow instructions carefully.

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The knowledge of how communication works and the ability to use communication
effectively is called Communication Competence.

Let us examine the most powerful quadrant of Communication for Communication

Competence.
Quadrant of L S R W - General Model useful for learning a new language, and
adding competency as well to it.

3. Speaking
1. Listening Pronunciation, Intonation,
The Mother word stress
Selective audios - practice, & TV news and Role Plays, Class room sessions. GDs
religious channels CNBC-NDTV Facing interviews, Giving presentations

3. Reading 4. Writing-Diction
News papers, Various books, magazines, Write-ups one Movies, Resume writing,
narrating stories letter writing, report writing, story writing

Language Learning – say English Language and it’s nuances or intricacies

The English language is the ‘Lingua Franca’ or a common link language used by the
majority of the world. It serves as a medium among nations. In most of the countries
English is widely spoken and understood by the people. Shrinking of the global
boundaries has made it necessary to learn this language
• It is the first language of UK, USA, Canada, and Australia.
• The most advanced and up-to-date knowledge in most of the subjects such as
Science, Medicine, Engineering, Law, Commerce, and Media are communicated
in English language. The latest research works in the field of Science and
Technology are done using English language.
• Career advancement opportunities within and outside the country can best be
exploited with good knowledge of English language.
• General awareness and Personality development can be enhanced through the
knowledge of this language.
• Just like our two eyes
o One eye = Mother Tongue
o Another eye = English Language
• In another analogy
o Your Functional Area ( Hard Skill ) = MBA subjects with Case and
project studies

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 o Your Soft Skill = English Language
o

Phonemes :
Basic sounds or letters : the sounds K, th , t has no meaning, 45 of them in English.

Morphemes :
But the phonemes can be grouped together to form words, prefixes ( un-, pre- ), suffixes
-ed, -ing – these meaningful combinations or phonemes are known as Morphemes. – the
smallest meaningful units in a language. Morphemes play an important role in human
thought. They can represent important ideas such as ‘red’ or ‘calm’ or ‘hot’. The suffixes
‘–ed’ capture the idea of ‘in the past’ as in ‘visited’ or ‘liked’. The prefix conveys the
idea of ‘before’ and ‘prior to’ as in ‘preview’ or ‘predetermined’
We can combine morphemes to create words that represent quite complex ideas such as
pr-exit-ing, un-excell-ed, psycho-logy

In turn, words ( phonemes and morphemes ) can be joined into even more complex
thoughts. Just as rules combining phonemes and morphemes, there are rules for
structuring sentences and their meaning. These rules are what linguists call Grammar.

Grammar :
The two major components of grammar are “Syntax” and “Semantics”.
Syntax is the systems of rules that governs that how we combine words to form
meaningful phrases and sentences. For example in English language and many
other languages the meaning of the sentence is determined by the word order or
sequence of words
Hit Sally car the – does not make any sense
Sally hit the car and - The Car hit Sally make different meanings

Semantics describe how we assign meaning to phonemes and morphemes, and

sentences – in other words the content of the language. When we think about
say for example “ocean” – our ideas consisting of phrases and sentences such as
‘The ocean is unusually calm tonight” sentence have both a surface structure –
the particular words and phrases and a deep structure – the underlying meaning.

The ocean is unusually calm tonight

Tonight the ocean is particularly calm
Compared with most other nights, tonight is calm

Diction The articulation of speech regarded from the point of view of its
intelligibility to the audience

I propose this book to be a brief introduction for Soft Skills development. Hence I
will enumerate these four concepts a Language learning in brief. English Language
Training is beyond the scope of this book.

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1. Listening
The Mother or Par-excellence in the quadrant of Communication

Every baby-boy or baby-girl starts life with an initial cry at the onset of birth. The
babies are endowed first with the traits of Observation and Imitation. And the new born
starts with imitating and listening to us elders to start to with, the small activities will be
imitated ( say a smile – if we smile most of the children reciprocate ) and the intense
training regarding Speech starts.

Imagine or visualize the situation. It’s is your first day on Earth, in your home.
Lot of commotion takes place around you. Lots of big creatures come out to your cradle
and start making faces.
One by one the people start talking to you. Baa…., chuchuchu …. Lot of musical
notes, sounds and lot of hullabaloo, lot of gestures, that is nonverbal-vocal, non-vocal.
You may try to imitate some of them.
And everybody, your relatives, your parents’ friends, speak trying to
communicate to you, knowing fully well you cannot talk.
Some samples are :
You mother starts saying ‘Mother, Mother’repeatedly.
Your father don’t want to lag behind, and starts saying ‘Father’ ‘cheeppmma’
Cheeppu’ ‘naanna’ and you mother gets beamed for the change of language and says
‘amma’ anamma ‘amma’. Grand old man (your paternal grandp father ) comes to your
cradle. He is of the opinion that ‘tata’ is easier to pronounce he starts out with ‘tata’ and
introduces ‘naanamma’ his better half to you. Your maternal grandmother incidentally
happens to be there and starts her self introduction ‘ ammamma’ and your mother beams
at you. Naa nanna kadu, naa talli kadu, naa bangaru knodda kadu, malee annamma
‘ammama’ ‘amma’ ( these are pet words in Telugu language – Please don’t get
intimidated with these words in italics . To illustrate a point I have switch over to
Telugu being my mother tongue.)
Gradually as the days go by, you may to start with aa and then amma, naanna and tata,
ammama, - your orientation in to your mother tongue is complete by now. You speak
in your mother tongue in 3 to 5 years at home. You are admitted in a school for initiation
into higher studies. By 20 years you are adept in your mother tongue.

As you start attending a school, there also your start with your mother tongue first, the
teacher gets annoyed and starts with English language of course - ABCDs , A-Apple,
B-Boy, C-Cat and so on and so forth. She sings Rhymes and you and the other tiny-tots
repeat after her. But it is Just rote-learning as most of the lackluster schools do not take
much interest about your language skills. IIT and EMACET initiations gets the priority,
as Mathematics, Science gets priority. Of course there is nothing wrong in that. Here one-
eyed treatment is meted out to you and languages gets step-motherly treatment. And you

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learn jargonized language to speak ( say in Hyderabad - Hindi mixed with Urudu or
Telugu mixed with Hindi and Urudu )

During the later years the same perception persists in most of us. Our Mother tongue
improves. English is over looked except from the examination point of view. Even
grammar rules are mastered by heart and most of us scrape thorough the English
language paper just with the bare minimum marks.

English being the second language is relegated to the back benches. Those who have the
private initiative and parental guidance learn and may have good fluency in the English
language. We the mother-tongue oriented ones lag far behind them in speaking as well as
writing skills. By now we are jealous of them and Self-pity sets in. We are tongue tied
and hardly speak due to inferiority complex. There ends the exercise of learning fluent
English. It will have a cascading effect. Of course the present generation concentrates on
their Formal Education and concentrates on their Functional areas and come off with
flying colours.
We may complete our degrees and PG education still, we are not adept at writing and
speaking in English. When ever we wanted to speak in English, we speak in the written
mode as far as we recollect or through the true translation method and we think in our
mother tongue and try to translate into English lo! lacking in real meaning and idiom it
will be a miserable failure, This can be called as ‘Mother Tongue Interference’.

To cite an example for ‘Mother Tongue Interference’ :

In Shankar Dada MBBS a Telugu movie our hero says “ in front, crocodile festival”. He
translates freely from his mother tongue ‘mundundi musalla panduga”. It creates mirth
but there ends the matter. And idiom is language specific. An idiom cannot be translated
into another. The idiom can be translated at “It is only the tip of the ice berg” or . “there
is more to it than meets the eye”

Viyalakshmi Pundit ( Nehruji’s Sister ) didn’t have any formal education.

“I never went to school. But I used to read lot of books. Not the way children were forced
to do, but out of sheer interest and keenness and necessity to learn.”
( necessity is the mother of invention )

Hearing is not Listening.

We hear what we wanted to hear , just a we see as we are and not as they are ( things are
in reality ), we see as we wanted to see. – it is subjective and selective.

The anatomy of poor listening

Our brains are capable of processing 500 to 750 words a minute while people only speak
120 to 150 words a minute. The listeners use only a part of the brain to listen; they use
their brain’s capacity to think of other things that interests them. The result is waste of
attention which leads eventually to poor listening

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Moreover, 15 to 25% is only verbal, the rest consists of a wide range of non-verbal
symbols
And the only choice we have as listeners either ‘to listen’ or ‘not to listen’
Types of Listening
1. Ignoring
2. Pretending to Listen
3. Selective Listening
4. Attentive or Focused Listening
5. Empathetic Listening

1. Ignoring :

We ignore when we are not interested or when we are absorbed in some other thing.
Just imagine the scenario. A son wants to tell his father about the incident that has
happened in school. The father who is absorbed in TV or say specifically a Cricket
match may not be listening at all. He is just ignoring

2. Pretending to Listen :
In the above case, he may say occasionally ‘ go on my son, go on. Simply he is not
listening, he is pretending to listen.

3. Selective Listening :
When we have a purpose for listening we listen selectively. For example you are at a
railway station awaiting the arrival of your friend. You might be listening to say 40 to
50 announcements of arrivals and department

4. Attentive or Focused Listening

5. Empathetic Listening
The essence of empathetic listening is not that you agree with someone, it is that you
fully, deeply understand that person emotionally as well as intellectually
Empathetic Listening

To relate effectively with a wife, children, friends or working associates, people at large -
We must learn to Listen
It requires Emotional Strength / Quotient
It involves :
Patience ( infinite patience )
Openness or Transparency ( of course not 100 % )
The desire to Understand
It’s so much easier to give a high-level advice from a low emotional level. we have to
go to their level of existence- we should be in their shoes so to say, perceive and
advice

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LISTEN = SILENT, TINSEL is an anagram = A word or phrase formed by reordering
the letters of another word or phrase, such as satin to stain. God and dog

Silence :
The most intriguing among all non-verbal symbols is undoubtedly “Silence”.
Speaking is silver and silence is golden. What makes it special is its ability to project
contradictory meanings. It can stand for Yes, No, May be, and all them together. It is
rather confusing sometimes. It is the best example of the inscrutability (Difficult to
fathom or understand ) of human communication. It requires higher than usual
communicative competence to read silence reliably.
Silence can be a reliable weapon. It if you call someone names and he responds
with a stony silence it is difficulty to go on. Silence is the heart of “Satyagaraha” .
Silence is a symbol of dignity. It is below its dignity for an elephant to cry out in pain if
you hit it with your fist. It may not even give you the honour of noticing you. When you
ignore insults others heap on you, you act like the elephant and make them feel impotent.
Silence is a useful tool in negotiations. If you hold back what is on your mind,
you may find that your opponent will concede (acknowledge) much more ground than he has
been planning to. The first one to blink loses out.
The ability to keep their mouths shut for long periods during a conversation, it is
said, makes the Japanese excellent negotiators. They listen to you. They read you. You go
on talking and baring your heart and mind them. Naturally you become vulnerable.
Silence is power.
Albert Einstein enumerates formula for Success
S = X plus Y plus Z

X = Hard work
Y = Play or leisure
Z = Keeping your mouth shut

But sometimes silence may mean you are a moral coward when it is your duty to
express. If you fail to congratulate some of your subordinates on their achievements and
fail to take any action when some others violate company norms you may sending very
strong and wrong messages. One may encounter unintentional silence in written
communication. He is not interested to reply you, or it may mean he has not received the
written communication nor though received he had not read it yet.

2. Speaking (Pronunciation, Intonation, word stress)

Helen Keller ( 8th July 1986 ) source : Internet

To those who want to learn to speak and to those who are teaching them.
“Be a good cheer. Do not think of today’s failures but of the success that may come
tomorrow. You have set yourself a difficult task but you will succeed if you persevere or
patient, and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles, a delight in climbing rugged
paths, which you would perhaps never know if you would sometime slip backward, if the
road was always smooth and pleasant. Remember, no effort that we make to attain

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something beautiful is ever lost. Sometime, somewhere, somehow, we shall find that
which we seek.”

Phonetic means = A spelling system can be described as Phonetic if you can understand
how words are pronounced simply by looking at them – Telugu language

English is a non-phonetic language

Though there is this specific phonetic method I am of the opinion that no system of
marks in a lexicon can tell one how to pronounce a word. The only way is to hear while
it is being spoken by good conversationalist , especially in a language like English which
is with so many un-spell able vowels, consonants etc.

Try Pronounce these non-phonetic words of English:

Pronunciation, Financial director , hutch ( hatch ) , World , Psychology, Tsunami,

SUNita, Paradigm, Sphinx, Phoenix, - Good and Food, Jew and Zoo, County and
country

Parameters to look for while some body is speaking

• Pronunciation of words
• Simple expressions
• Sufficient pauses
• But not too many pauses
• not too fast
• not fast
• intonation – low and high pitch of the voice
• not fillers like ‘ uum aa , regarding, when coming to my eq, tq job exp etc
• 50 % rendition and 50 % understand of the receiver

Many people who are otherwise technically competent and knowledgeable in their
own discipline and domain, are unable to write or speak in English effectively.

3. Reading
Initially read for the sake of reading alone. Read aloud, just to listen to the pure delight of
listening to your voice. Your voice is the sweetest thing to you. It is not necessary one
should understand every word before he can read with pleasure or profit.

Cultivate habit of reading books, novels, news paper articles, magazine articles if you
have not done so far, please do start now. Without extensive reading, vocabulary and
idiomatic development writing is an next to impossible
Do we really require ‘Read India’ and ‘Write India’ campaigns like “Lead India’ ?

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4. Writing
• Normally use the brain storming method to generate ideas on a topic
• (Generation of loose ideas)
• Generate outlines with Verbs and prepositions from the ideas
• Construct small sentences from the pool
• Group them into paragraphs – one main or central idea for a paragraph
• As far as possible , generate simple sentences. – Subject, Verb and Object
• Split long and complex sentences into simple sentences
• Re write the paragraphs so to generate a story or a topic
• ( that is maintaining continuity )
• Edit all the written matter
• Once again Re-Edit the matter or topic or the story – looking for printer devils
( spelling errors ) grammatical errors and contextual errors, text omissions,
unnecessary text additions, interpolations ( eg : gender change , tense change )

It may not be so easy to develop writing skills without the continuous reading habit. So
cultivate reading habit , start from today

• Let us examine an inspiring and motivational anecdote.

 Rome was not built in a day
 Many a colossal buildings start with a single brick

 Study or Work, or Contribution to our society in piece-meal( in

Installments – in small measures ) is enough to start with :
 An Author – goes to a Sea Coast to do his writing
 Lot of Start Fish washed ashore – after a Strom
 surprised to find an young man throwing them back into the sea
meticulously.
 The author : ‘Hey! young man why are you doing this?’.
 The young man “if I do not throw them back to sea they will die”.
 The author : there are thousands and thousands of them on the sands. you
can’t possible make any difference ! ”’
 The young man took one star fish and thrown her into the sea and calmly
said ‘It made a difference to her’ – his action was not in vain after all.

Barriers in Communication -1/2

Mechanical failure, noise – Signal to Noise ratio – Db - decibles
Word miss-interpretation, talking too much
Language, repeatedly telling others what
they should do, going on arguing
Over emphasizing blame
Interrupting the other person
Level difference between persons - status
Cultural differences - emotion, fear

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Barriers in Communication -2/2
Mistrust, poor listening
Lack of experience, lack of time, selectivity
in listening, know it all attitude
Impatience, low credibility of source
One way communication = not allowing
others to speak – talk all at once
Closed mind, prejudice, bias
Pre-conceived notions

Some tips on better Communication -1/3

1. When someone talks to you, look at him and pay full attention. This gives satisfaction
that you are listening
2. Be clear in your instructions and do not give vague suggestions
3. Have small group discussions with your employees to find out their grievances and
problems before they reach a boiling point

Some tips on better Communication -2/3

4. Always be willing to listen to feedback, sometimes feedback may not be pleasant, but
you have to listen without interruption
5. Adopt your language to suit the level of your employees
6. Know the background of the person before you talk to him
7. Be willing to listen to the other person’s view point
Some tips on better Communication -3/3
8. Do not interrupt the person when he
speaks to you
9. Be willing to learn from your subordinates
10. Cultivate a lively Sense of Humor
A person without a Smile is half dressed

Always be fully dressed.

11. Always listen to your superiors with open mind
12. Cultivate a lively Sense of Humor - it can help in embarrassed, tongue-tied and
confusing situations

Inspired by the Radio Mirchi 98. 3 FM it’s hot, it’s hot – idi challa hot guru – Anamika
and my own musing :

Boy : I love you sweet heart

Girl : I love you too

Boy :
But, But …. Just like Praveen,
I don’t have a Duplex house ( anywhere between 20 to 30 Lakhs)
I don’t have a Mercedez benz Car ( 3 crores )

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 I don’t have a Bentlay car the fatest ( 2 crores )
I don’t have a Tata Jagurar Car ( 50 lakhs )
I don’t have a Sony Bravia LCD TV ( 3 lakhs )
I am yet to acquire Tata Nano Car – the common ( middle class man’s) ( 1.5 lakhs)
But I have a heart of Gold which Loves you all the time that is all

Girl : Ok Darling! It is Ok, will you, Please give me the cell number of Praveen.

Spear of Charm and Armour of Wit

Before marriage a man YEARNS

After marriage “Y” become silent – he EARNS – SMS Joke of the day - TOI
Vagbhooshanam Bhooshanam

R. K.Laxman’s cartoon in TOI – Times of India

Secretary to the Minister “He came with an impossible wish lists of Demands for the
post budget exercise Sir, He wanted Good pollution free Air, Food, Water, Shelter,
Education , Power 24 hours. What can we offer him Sir
Minister : of course We can offer Globalization and Internet for every home.

Mike how are your going to

Kill the Lion – Mike thinks and thinks …………. And
says ‘ I will eat poison and die. Subsequently the Lion eats me and it also dies, that is all’

Boss : We are keen on Cleanliness? Did you wipe your feet on the mat as you come in ?
New Recruit : Yes Sir, I Did
Boss : We are keen on Truthfulness and there is no door mat.
New Recruit : I Sir, I observed - SMS joke of the day

Tools to improve Vocabulary-1/2

1. First have the attitude to improve your present vocabulary.
Note down new words when spoken by somebody-seek out the meanings for yourself
2. Take the help of
Dictionaries - Hard copies or soft copies
Thesaurus = dictionary of synonyms and antonyms
Internet = on line
3. Try to use them while speaking

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Tools to improve Vocabulary-2/2
To improve the richness of your language
Dictionary & Thesaurus hard copy and if you own a computer - soft copies
Book on Idioms and phrases
Book on Proverbs
Book on Quotations
Humorous Anecdotes
Internet of course

Vocabulary development
1. Spend time every day poring over a dictionary. To start, with take the News paper of
the day and note down the new words, new concepts, new idioms. Get back to a
dictionary and immediately find the meanings or the words and idioms , you will be
knowing the meaning contextually then and there . Go back to the News paper read and
review the same second time in the light of the new meanings and understanding
2. Always keep a small pocket note book and note down then and there any of the
English words spoken by your parents, are older members , peers, collegues, people good
at English. As soon as you come home refer the meanings contextually. This also you do
it on daily basis . This should become a daily habit.
Both emphasis insist on Continuous Learning on day to day basis
Some online dictionaries like Cambridge Advanced Learner’s dictionary which is
one of the best, show the usage of a word or an idiom in a sentence. There you will be
rehearsing the contextual sense of a sentence.
Books : Norman Lewis – ‘Word Power made Easy’ – for Vocabulary
Joel Lyall – Dictionary of Modern Phrases – for Idioms with meanings
and usage

Increasing vocabulary does not mean merely learning the definitions of large number of
obscure words; it does not mean memorizing scores of unrelated terms. What it
means is becoming acquainted with the multitudinous and fascinating phenomena of
human existence for which words or obviously, only verbal descriptions. Increasing
your vocabulary – properly, intelligently, and systematically – means treating
yourself to an all round , liberal education in English language
Norman Lewis – ‘Word Power made Easy’

Norman Lewis’s book innumerable exercises for you to do. He further asserts’ that no

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 matter what you age is, you can go on learning efficiently, or start learning again if
perhaps you have stopped. No matter what your age is twenties to eighties, you can
again increase your vocabulary at a prodigious rate – provided you recapture the
Powerful urge or the insatiable desire to know and understand – that is the key to
vocabulary development’

A sample from Norman Lewis :

“It is difficult to resist telling a story. A nervous ‘Dentist’ while extracting a tooth was
little careless, and the tooth has dropped into the patient’s mouth. ‘Sorry you are outside
my specialty’ go to a ‘Laryngologist’ ( throat at the vocal cord area ), by the time the
patient went to him, the tooth has gone further – he was sent to a ‘Gastrologist’, and in
the transit the tooth has gone further and he was guided to an ‘Enterologist’ ( intestine ),
and the tooth continued it’s journey in to the patients rectum and he was directed to a
‘Proctologist’
The Proctologist proclaimed “Good Heavens! You have got a tooth in there go and see a
‘Dentist’”. It has come a full circle

Possess a copy of Norman Lewis’s ‘Word Power Made Easy’ now start your journey
towards Superior vocabulary development.

Albert Einstein says “I have no special gifts, I am just curios’

Life is a Continuous Journey
Life is a continuous journey and not a destination.
“Machid madgata prannaha Bodhayanti parasparma” - KARMA sankhya 2:47
karmanevadhikarasya …… matey sanogshva karmani
KARMA PHALA THYAGA OF BHGAVAD GITA
But not Abstinence from ACTION - KARMA
karmamulanu manuta yandu neevu asaktudavu karadoo LEARNING - Every one is a
Learner till death
UN-LEARINING - old or obsolete concepts / perceptions
RE-LEARNING - new horizons, concepts / perceptions
Swami Vivekananda - our youth-Western Science coupled with Vedanata
Life & Learning
Life is a Journey & not a Destination
Learn, Unlearn, Re-Learn
Continuous Learning ( LTL )
Continuous improvement
KAI = Change, ZEN=better = every day, in every way I am learning
Of course EQ ( attitudes and maturity )

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Bibliography-1/2- for Enrichment

Rome is not build in a day

Good books / Authors : for Reading
Sir Arthur Conon Doyole :
Sherlock Holmes - Dr. Watson
Professor Challenger
Sydney Sheldon - Blood line-Naked face
Jack Higgins - Solo
Spiritual - Sri Ramkrishna Math’s publications
specifically - Swami Vivekananda’s
Some of mine only but not-exhaustive

Bibliography-2/2- for Enrichment

Good books / Authors : for Reading
R.K.Narayan & R.K.Laxman-cartoons
Tarzan - Edgar Rice Burrows
Moulvi Nasiruddin - Logician
why do you always answer a question with a question- his cryptic reply “DO
I ?”
Somerset Maugham - “maam”
Irwing wallace -not all but some of them
Writing of a novel & The Prize
Some of mine only but not-exhaustive

In the corporate sector

Quadrant of L S R W - Corporate Model

Listening Clarification
Boss and peer group, subordinates Doubts then and there

Doing Reviewing and Reporting

As per the instructions For the for the desired results
SOP – Standard operative procedures

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 Some tips for effective Listening at the Corporates and in Groups ( which can of course
be applied at the home-front also )
1. Paraphrasing
Restating in your own simple words the question raised by the participants - qty of
solvent 10 kg
You got only 6 kg instead of 10 kgs, am I right ?
2. Acknowledging
“Yes, Please carry on, OK, I understand, proceed”
3. Asking Open questions
Closed = yes no
Open = How ? Why ? Who ?
Some tips for effective Listening
4. Summarizing and reviewing the ideas of the participants
Why API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) quantity is 6 kg instead of 10 kg?
5. Asking leading questions
What exactly did happen?, Tell me more about it
6. Empathy – sympathetic listening
I understand the resultant quantity can be less, but 1 or 2 kg less is ok, how come 4
kg less? Please, explain .
Some tips for effective Listening
7. Clarifications reg standard instructions being followed or not
Have you used correct quantity of solvent required?
Have you followed the sequence of operations?
Have you skipped any specific operation
Seating arrangements
Circular seating arrangement of participants for attentive and empathetic listening
Body language
1. Eye contact (Direct meeting of eyes) while answering and clarification of methods
followed, quantities used, sequence of operations
2. Sitting on the edge of the seat – showing your active listening ie; and your interest
to solve the problem

Work shop : Tom & Jerry cartoon – Screening for Speaking (Narrating )and Writing
Skills

Listening and Narrating Workshop Activity-1/2

Thinning down or miscommunication down the hierarchy
Tom and Jerry carton FS-08 – Little School mouse – Story
4 members are sent out of the hall
Select A and B – participants – who remain
Cartoon will be shown
A will tell the story to B
Listening Workshop Activity-2/2
Ask no 1. ( from the 4 mem. sent out ) to come in
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 B will explain to 1
1 will communicate the story 2
2 will communicate the story 3
3 will communicate the story 4
Observe or record the original and no. 4th ‘s version

The cat & the Mice – The real story

The story starts with the student mouse waiting for the professor mouse. The professor
mouse gets chased and enters the class adjusts her bow-tie and straightens the diploma
“The Art of out-witting the Cats – signed Jerry the Professor Mouse and starts

Lesson 1 : Cat chases the professor mouse

Cat catches the mouse
Cat eats the mouse
Professor mouse gets beaten

The cat & the Mice – The real story

Professor mouse and the learner mouse to out wit the Cat – Tom
Lesson 2 : Cat chases the professor mouse
Mouse runs into hole
cat says bad words
Lesson 3 : Cat’s paw –but the leaner mouse escapes, and professor mouse gets beaten.
The leaner mouse wears the dunce cap and sits on a pedetral.

The cat & the Mice – The real story

Professor mouse and the learner mouse to out wit the Cat – Tom
Lesson 4 ( problem solving ) : Remove Cat’s Whiskers with out waking the Cat
The professor mouse fails
The learner mouse succeeds

The cat & the Mice – The real story

Professor mouse and the learner mouse to out wit the Cat – Tom
Lesson 5 ( problem solving ) : Get cheese without waking the cat
The professor mouse fails
The learner mouse succeeds

The cat & the Mice – The real story

Professor mouse and the learner mouse to out wit the Cat – Tom
Lesson 6 ( problem solving ) : Tie a bell to the cat
The professor mouse fails
The learner mouse succeeds
Conclusion : The leaner mouse shows that with affection and friend ship ( Cat and mice
should be friends ) it wins
The professor mouse throws her certificate. Wears the dunce cap and sits in the student
mouse’s class with Tom, the cat
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Tools
1. Good books on how to speak the language correctly by overcoming fear and often
committed grammatical mistakes.
2. Take conscious effort to learn new words
By understanding and applying ( not rote-learning )
Learn new words by association with real life objects events, anecdotes etc
Develop a habit to stop and flag ( listing printed in all issues of news paper or
magazine usually of the editorial page) if a new word is encountered and find the word’s
meaning and correct pronunciation before proceeding further, Good dictionaries,
Thesarus, word power ( Norman Lewis / Wilfred Funk ) idioms and phrases
3. Those who have access to internet and web. Suggested key words “Communication
skills, Soft Skills, Training, Train the Trainer”
4. Discipline yourselves and learn to put down one’s thought in writing ( electronically or
otherwise ) before making presentations.
Usage of simple words and simple sentences which are grammatically correct as far as
possible.
Even while speaking casually with friends, relatives colleagues, peers to speak correctly
as far as possible
Reading news papers . good essays and other articles / co. magazines, by good writers by
good writers preferably with some one who can help in correcting our pronunciation
Listen to good speakers ( news readers ), recorded speakers, good orators.

_________________________________________________________________
Bibliography :

1. A Writer’s Nightmare – Selected Essays – R.K. Narayan – Penguin Fiction

2. Communicative Competence – Varanasi Bhaskara Rao – BS Publications.
3. Dictionary of Modern Phrases with meaning and usage – Joel Lyall – Unicorn Books
4. Business communication strategies – Matthukutty M Monippally- Tata Mc-Graw-Hill
5. Essentials of Oral Communication – Joseph A. DeVito, Raymond Zeuschner
6. Seven habits of highly effectual people – Stephen R Covey
7. Stories as Effective Teaching-Learning tool – Prof. Nachimuthu
8. Communicative English – E. Suresh Kumar, P. Sreehari – Orient Longman

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