Notes on effective communication for FYBFM AND FYBAF.

What is communication.

Communication is: the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to
express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to
someone else. Communication the process by which information is passed between
individuals and or organisations by means of previously agreed symbols.
Communication is sending and receiving information between two or more people.
The person sending the message is referred to as the sender, while the person
receiving the information is called the receiver. The information conveyed can include
facts, ideas, concepts, opinions, beliefs, attitudes, instructions and even emotions.

Importnce of communication.
Helps in exchanging ideas.
Communication also helps in socializing.
Communication also plays a crucial role in altering individuals attitudes,
Communication is a source of information

Process of communication

Communication is a process of exchanging verbal and non verbal messages. It is a continuous

process. Pre-requisite of communication is a message. This message must be conveyed
through some medium to the recipient. It is essential that this message must be understood by
the recipient in same terms as intended by the sender. He must respond within a time frame.
Thus, communication is a two way process and is incomplete without a feedback from the
recipient to the sender on how well the message is understood by him
The term communication process refers to the exchange of information (a message) between
two or more people.
Communication is the process of conveying information between two or more people. The
communication process is the steps we take in order to achieve a successful communication.
There are many different models of the interpersonal communication process, but here are
some of the key elements:

the sender or communicator (the person who initiates a message)

the receiver or interpreter (the person to whom a message is directed)

the message (the verbal and/or nonverbal content that must be encoded by the sender
and decoded by the receiver)

the channel (the medium by which the message is delivered and received)

the context (the setting and situation in which communication takes place)

noise (anything that interferes with the accurate expression or reception of a message)

feedback (a response from the receiver indicating whether a message has been
received in its intended form)

Put simply, effective communication takes place when a sender's message is fully understood
by the receiver.

Communication
The communication process consists of several elements. Following are the main elemnts of
communication process.
A sender is the party that sends a message.. ssender wil have the message, which is the
information to be conveyed. Sender will also need to encode her message, which is
transforming thoughts of the information to be conveyed into a form that can be sent, such as
words.
A channel of communication must also be selected, which is the manner in which the
message is sent. Channels of communication include speaking, writing, video transmission,
audio transmission, electronic transmission through emails, text messages and faxes and even
nonverbal communication, such as body language. Sender also needs to know the target of
communication. This party is called the receiver.
The receiver must be able to decode the message, which means mentally processing the
message into understanding. If you can't decode, the message fails. For example, sending a
message in a foreign language that is not understood by the receiver probably will result in
decoding failure.
Sometimes, a receiver will give the sender feedback, which is a message sent by the receiver
back to the sender.

Put all these components together to build a model of the communication process:
1. A sender encodes information
2. The sender selects a channel of communication by which to send the message
3. The receiver receives the message
4. The receiver decodes the message
5. The receiver may provide feedback to the sender

The main components or elements of communication process are as follows:

1. Context - Communication is affected by the context in which it takes place. This

context may be physical, social, chronological or cultural. Every communication
proceeds with context. The sender chooses the message to communicate within a
context.
2. Sender / Encoder - Sender / Encoder is a person who sends the message. A sender
makes use of symbols (words or graphic or visual aids) to convey the message and
produce the required response. For instance - a training manager conducting training
for new batch of employees. Sender may be an individual or a group or an
organization. The views, background, approach, skills, competencies, and knowledge
of the sender have a great impact on the message. The verbal and non verbal symbols
chosen are essential in ascertaining interpretation of the message by the recipient in
the same terms as intended by the sender.
3. Message - Message is a key idea that the sender wants to communicate. It is a sign
that gets the response of recipient. Communication process begins with deciding
about the message to be conveyed. It must be ensured that the main objective of the
message is clear.
4. Medium - Medium is a means used to exchange / transmit the message. The sender
must choose an appropriate medium for transmitting the message else the message
might not be conveyed to the desired recipients. A letter, telephone, tv, notice are
medium of communication. Mail corie, fax email etc are medium used to send a
message.
5. Recipient / Decoder - Recipient / Decoder is a person for whom the message is
intended / aimed / targeted. The degree to which the decoder understands the message
is dependent upon various factors such as knowledge of recipient, their
responsiveness to the message, and the reliance of encoder on decoder.
6. Feedback - Feedback is the main component of communication process as it permits
the sender to analyze the efficacy of the message. It helps the sender in confirming the
correct interpretation of message by the decoder. Feedback may be verbal (through
words) or non-verbal (in form of smiles, sighs, etc.). It may take written form also in
form of memos, reports, etc.\

Barriers to communication.
There are many reasons why interpersonal communications may fail. In many
communications, the message (what is said) may not be received exactly the way the sender
intended.
Barriers to communication are those factors which prevent the message from reaching the
reciver. There are several barriers that affects the flow of communication in an organization.
These barriers interrupt the flow of communication from the sender to the recevier. There are

many barriers to communication and these may occur at any stage in the communication
process. Barriers may lead to your message becoming distorted and you therefore risk
wasting both time and/or money by causing confusion and misunderstanding.

Following are the main kinds of barriers in communication.

1. Physical external or mechanical barriers.
2. Semantic and Language Barrier.
3. Socio-Psychological Barriers.

1. Physical external or mechanical barriers-- Physical external or mechanical barriers are

those barriers which prevent the message from reaching the receiver. Some of these
barriers can be controlled and some of them cannot be controlled. Following are some
of these barriers.
a. Noise acts as a barrier. Any information downloaded at a noisy place is bound to
get distorted and result in a complete mess. noise can be either internal or external.
Internal noise represents the internal self-talking , such as thinking about things
that need to be done, wondering and not paying attenton to what the sender is
saying. Internal noise disturbs the communication process. Noise can also be
external which includes noise of traffic, machines, peope talking, air conditionr
noise, disurbances etc. External noise can include other conversations, traffic
noise or anything that interferes with our ability to maintain focus.
b. Defects in medium.. the medium may fail. The telephone may not work, postal
system may fail. Microphone may not work etc.
c. Defects in organisation communication system.. papers may not move fast, oral
messages which have to pass many levels of authority may be delayed. The
message may be edited and distorted at various level. Problems in upward
communication as subordinates may give incomplete information. Circulars,
bullitens and notices are not read carefully leading to miscomunication.
2. Semantic and Language Barriers. Words may have multiple meanings. Words used in
one context may be understood differently. Sight and site, write and right, flour and
flower re pronounced in the same way but have different meaning. Advejecties like
fast early nowetc convey different meanings. Use of jargon which are techical words
are not understood by layman. Word like table have different meanings like chart,
writing table etc. dialects, accents and other regional differences accents also create
barrier in understanding the spoken words. There is always a possibility of
misunderstanding the feelings of the sender of the message or getting a wrong
meaning of it. The words, signs, and figures used in the communication are explained
by the receiver in the light of his experience which creates doubtful situations.
Technical Jargon:
Generally, it has been seen that the people working in an enterprise are connected with some
special technical group who have their separate technical language.

Their communication is not so simple as to be understood by everybody. Hence, technical

language can be a barrier in communication. This technical group includes industrial
engineers, production development manager, quality controller.

3. Socio-Psychological Barriers these barriers are realated to our personal factors,

attitudes and understanding. It relates to our level of education, perceptions and
background and social status.
a. Cultural differences. The norms of social interaction vary greatly in different
cultures, as do the way in which emotions are expressed. For example, the concept
of personal space varies between cultures and between different social settings.
Differences in cultures between various countries and communities makes
communication difficult.
b. Differences in perception and viewpoint.
c. Physical disabilities such as hearing problems or speech difficulties.
d. Expectations and prejudices which may lead to false assumptions or stereotyping.
People often hear what they expect to hear rather than what is actually said and
jump to incorrect conclusions.
e. Emotional barriers and taboos. Some people may find it difficult to express their
emotions and some topics may be completely 'off-limits' or taboo.
Lack of Attention:
When the receiver is preoccupied with some important work he/she does not listen to the
message attentively
Difference in Status of the receiver and sender.
Distrust:
For successful communication the transmitter and the receiver must trust each other. If there
is a lack of trust between them, the receiver will always derive an opposite meaning from the
message. Because of this, communication will become meaningless.

Types of communication.

We can communicate by exchanging symbols words gestures or using pictures. Letters facial
expression etc are used to communication. Following are the main types of communication.

1. Verbal and Non-verbal communication.

2. Formal and informal communicate
3. Grapevine.

1.

Verbal Communication
Verbal communication refers to the form of communication in which message is transmitted
verbally; communication is done by word of mouth and a piece of writing. Objective of every
communication is to have people understand what we are trying to convey.

1.

Verbal Communication is further divided into:

Oral Communication

Written Communication
Oral Communication
In oral communication, Spoken words are used. It includes face-to-face conversations,
speech, telephonic conversation, video, radio, television, voice over internet. In oral
communication, communication is influence by pitch, volume, speed and clarity of speaking.
1.

Advantages of Oral communication are:

It brings quick feedback.
In a face-to-face conversation, by reading facial expression and body language one
can guess whether he/she should trust whats being said or not.

Disadvantage of oral communication

In face-to-face discussion, user is unable to deeply think about what he is delivering
1.

Written Communication
Written communication refers to messages that are transmitted to receivers in writing.
In written communication, written signs or symbols are used to communicate. A written
message may be printed or hand written. In written communication message can be
transmitted via email, letter, report, memo etc. Message, in written communication, is
influenced by the vocabulary & grammar used, writing style, precision and clarity of the
language used.

Written Communication is most common form of communication being used in business. So,
it is considered core among business skills.
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Memos, reports, bulletins, job descriptions, employee manuals, and electronic mail
are the types of written communication used for internal communication. For
communicating with external environment in writing, electronic mail, Internet Web
sites, letters, proposals, telegrams, faxes, postcards, contracts, advertisements,
brochures, and news releases are used.

Advantages of written communication includes:

Messages can be edited and revised many time before it is actually sent.
Written communication provide record for every
1.

message sent and can be saved for later study.

A written message enables receiver to fully understand it and send appropriate
feedback.

Disadvantages of written communication includes:

Unlike oral communication, Written communication doesnt bring instant feedback.
It take more time in composing a written message as compared to word-of-mouth. and
number of people struggles for writing ability.

1.

Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication is the sending or receiving of wordless messages. We can say that
communication other than oral and written, such as gesture, body language, posture, tone
of voice or facial expressions, is called nonverbal communication. Nonverbal
communication is all about the body language of speaker. Nonverbal communication is
anything besides words, such as gestures, actions, facial expressions, body language and
other aspects of your physical appearance

1.

Nonverbal communication have the following three elements:

Appearance
Speaker: clothing, hairstyle, neatness, use of cosmetics
Surrounding: room size, lighting, decorations, furnishings
Body Language
facial expressions, gestures, postures
Sounds
Voice Tone, Volume, Speech rate

1.

Formal Communication

In formal communication, certain rules, conventions and principles are followed while
communicating message. Formal communication occurs in formal and official style.
Usually professional settings, corporate meetings, conferences undergoes in formal pattern.
In formal communication, use of slang and foul language is avoided and correct
pronunciation is required. Authority lines are needed to be followed in formal
communication.
1.

Informal Communication
Informal communication is done using channels that are in contrast with formal
communication channels. Its just a casual talk. It is established for societal affiliations of
members in an organization and face-to-face discussions. It happens among friends and
family. In informal communication use of slang words, foul language is not restricted.
Usually. informal communication is done orally and using gestures.
Informal communication, Unlike formal communication, doesnt follow authority lines.
In an organization, it helps in finding out staff grievances as people express more when
talking informally. Informal communication helps in building relationships.

Grapevine is type of informal communication.

Meaning and Definition of Grapevine Communication

Grapevine is an informal communication, unorganized and unofficial channel of

communication in an organization. When the formal channels fail or do not work properly
and some over-smart people spread rumors, false and irresponsible statement or half-truths in
all the directions. It is called the communication on the grapevine channel. It is kind of
horizontal communication, which takes place within a group, between people. The grapevine
consists a complex network of informal contacts between the workers at all levels. Informal
communication is also known as grapevine communication because there is no definite route
of communication for sharing information

Horizontal and vertical communication.

Horizontal communication is the flow of messages across individuals and groups on the same
level of an organization. Horizontal communication, also called lateral communication,
involves the flow of messages between individuals and groups on the same level of an
organization. This communication helps to promote teamwork and facilitates coordinated
group effort within a group or organization. It usually is less structured and informal
compared to vertical communication. This communication may take place as telephone calls,
e-mails, memos, letters, informal discussions, gossip, teleconferencing, videoconferencing,
Second Life conferencing, and meetings set up by the group.

Vertical communication Communication that moves through a chain of command typically is

vertical in natureCommunication that moves through a chain of command typically is vertical
in nature.

What is body language or kinesics.

Body language is a kind of nonverbal communication, where thoughts, intentions, or feelings

are expressed by physical behaviors, such as facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye
movement, touch and the use of space. Body language exists in both animals and humans, It
is also known as kinesics. Universal Facial Expressions
Facial expressions are also among the most universal forms of body language. The
expressions used to convey fear, anger, sadness, and happiness

Emotions Expressed Through Facial Expressions

Just a few examples of emotions that can be expressed via facial expressions include:

Happiness

Sadness

Anger

Surprise

Disgust

Fear

Confusion

Excitement

Desire.