Basics of

Communication
Meaning:
It is a process by which we
exchange meaning, facts, ideas,
opinion or emotions with other
people.
The word communicate has been
derived from the Latin word
In some way or the other, knowingly or
unknowingly, we are communicating.
The importance of communication is so much to
the organisation that the very survival of the
business depends on it.
Also it links the various components of the
organisation to the external world.
Hence, communication is like a glue that holds
the organisation together.
 Importance and growth of
communication:
 Growth in the size of organisations.
 Growth of trade unions.

 Growing importance of human relations.

 Public relations.

 Advancement in behavioural sciences.

 Technological advancements
Purpose of Internal communication:
Establishing goals and spreading the message to
the employees by leading, motivating and
encouraging people to put in their best.
Purpose of External communication:
It has to be aware of the needs of the customers,
availability of the suppliers, the regulation of
the Government and the concerns of the
society only through effective communication.
 FEEDBACK SENDER

DECODING ENCODING
Process of
communication:

RECEIVER MESSAGE

CHANNEL
Process of Communication:
1. Sender: (Who) The person who wants to
transmit the message.
2. Encoding: Sender choosing certain
words or non-verbal cues to send a
message. It is known as encoding.
Considerations while encoding:
i. What to include ?
ii. How will the receiver understand it ?
iii. Will it affect one’s relationship ?
3. Message: (What) A message
is any signal, sign or symbol
that arouses the response of a
receiver
It can be
 Verbal (Written or spoken)
Connected with words or
use of words.
 Non verbal (Silence, yawns,
appearance etc).
4. Channel: (How) Electronic media,
printed words, graphs or by sound
(Write and speak).
Choice depends upon
 Inter relationship between the
sender and the receiver.
 Distance
 Urgency
 Number of receivers
 Cost involved
 Quantity of information.
5. Receiver: Any person to whom
the message is directed is known
as a receiver.
6 . Decoding: Attaching meaning to
the words read or heard by the
receiver is called as decoding.
Accuracy of decoding depends
upon the individual experience of
the receiver.
6. Feedback: Receivers response or
reaction to the communication sent by
the sender is feedback.
Whatever the response of a receiver to
a sender is feedback. No response is
also a feedback.
It is an important component of
communication process because
ultimately the success or failure of
communication is decided based on the
feedback received.
Dimensions of communication:
Every organisation follows a certain
hierarchy. So from the point of view of
direction or flow of communication we say
that there are in all four kinds of movement.
Communication in an organisation is
multidimensional or multidirectional
 Downward
 Upward
 Horizontal/Lateral
 Diagonal or Crosswise
 Barriers in
Communication:
 Noise:

Interference that occurs in a signal

and prevents you from hearing sounds
properly.
Wrong interpretation of the message
by the receiver is also known as noise.
Noise can be
- Physical
- Physiological
- Psychological.
 Lack of Planning
 Semantic problems:

Semantics is the systematic study

of meaning.
 Cultural differences
 Wrong assumptions
 Socio-psychological barriers
 Emotions
 Filtering
 Information overload
 Poor listening

 Poor retention

Tips for effective communication:

 Clarity of purpose
 Use of symbols

 Focusing on the needs of the receiver

 Use of feedback

 Listening
 Controlling of emotions
 Elimination of noise

 Clarifying assumptions

 Avoidance of ambiguities

 Completeness of message

 Conciseness of expression

 Proper use of body language.

Means/Media and types of
communication
Media/Means
of
Communication

Verbal Non-verbal

Oral communication Sign language

Written communication Visual signs

Audio signs

Body language
 Verbal communication
The word verbal means related with
words and the use of words.
Words are the most powerful set of
symbols
Words may be spoken or written
Spoken communication or
communication employing speech is
known as oral communication.
Oral and Written communication:
Oral communication comes
spontaneously and naturally
whereas written communication
requires a lot of effort.
Whatever has been written, unless
destroyed becomes permanent.
Words spoken are likely to be
forgotten and hence written
communication is a must.
Oral communication: Written communication:
 Provides quick feedback.  It provides records,
 Builds up friendly and references, etc. for
co-operative spirit. decision making.
 Effective tool of  Legal defences.
persuasion.  Clear guidelines for
 Saves time. working of the
 Listeners memory should organisation
be good.  Responsibility can be
 In the absence of record, easily assigned.
oral messages have no  Ineffective if given in
legal validity. the hands of people
 Unclear messages may with poor expression.
be misunderstood.  Absence of immediate
clarification.
 Listening as a
communication tool:
A normal human being spends his waking
hours as follows:
Writing – 9% Speaking – 30%
Reading – 16% Listening – 45%
No oral communication can be effective
without proper listening. The recipient of
the message must be attentive and
receptive.
Poor listening may defeat the very
purpose of oral communication.
 Effectiveness of
listening:
Listening is different from hearing.
In hearing we don’t have to make
any effort. But for listening we
have to train our ears and ask
ourselves why we should listen.
Listening can be
 Discriminative
 Evaluative
 Appreciative
 Emphatic
 Tips for effective
listening:
a. Stop talking
b. Put the speaker at ease
c. Indicate by gesture and posture your
interest in listening
d. Shut out distractions
e. Emphatise with the speaker
f. Listen attentively and patiently
g. Be polite
h. Participate genuinely in the
discussions.
 Non-verbal
communication:
Any communication without the use of words is
known as non-verbal communication.
Sign Language: From time immemorial man
has been using visual signs to convey
messages. E.g. Pictures, drawings, sound etc.
“A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS”.
It is said that words often fail to convey the
exact meaning, a drawing or a picture makes
a concrete impression.
Visual Signs: An organisation often

make use of visual signs such as
posters, drawings, photographs,
cartoons, caricatures, statues, etc, to
convey messages for general
information or purpose.
Maps and Diagram – Presentation
Colour Pictures – Tourism, Hotel and
Motel Industries.
Most of the visual signs speak a
universal language understood by
people all over the world.
 Audio or Sound
signals:
Since the beginning of
civilization sound signals have
been used to send messages.
Ex. Drum beating in the initial
days is replaced by hooters,
fire alarm, accident alarm,
machine breakdown alarm,
sirens etc. in modern days.
 Body language
Man does not communicate
through words alone – speaking,
writing etc.
There are various other ways to
communicate and body plays a
major role.
The study of communication
through body is called KINESICS
which means body movements.
Body language is the expression of our
feelings and status.
All our bodily movements, gestures,
postures, etc. are guided by our
feelings and thought processes.
Just as language uses sets of symbols to
convey meaning, our body, consciously
or unconsciously conveys moods,
attitudes, etc.
Psychologists say that
By reading the signals sent out by ones
body, we can tackle the issues at work
and at home before they become
problem.
 Face: Face is the index of mind.
 Eye contact: Indicates confidence,
respect for others, etc.
 Gestures: Pounding fist – Anger,
Arms spread wide – happiness
Shuffling of legs – Nervousness.
 Head: Hold your head high. It’s a sign of
honour and self respect, confidence and
our interest in the person before us.
 Body shape and structure:

Our body shape and structure affect the

way we think about ourselves and how we
relate to others and others relate to us.
We have to take care that our body does
not send out wrong signals.
 Para-language
Paralanguage means like language. It is
very closely related to verbal
communication but, actually non-
verbal communication.

While verbal communication consists of

‘what’ or the content, paralanguage
involves ‘how’ of a speaker’s voice or
the way in which he speaks.
a. Voice: Voice is the first signal that we
receive or use.
It determines the speakers sex,
background, education, training, etc.
Human voice does a satisfactory job
as it conveys the meaning of the
message. The clearer the voice the
more effective the communication.
i. Pitch variation
ii. Speaking speed

iii. Pause

iv. Volume variation: volume

variation puts life into our
speaking.
v. Non-fluencies

b. Word stress: Proper word stress

is very important in verbal
communication.
 Space Language/
Proxemics
Space language refers to the gap between
the sender and the receiver.
The study of how we communicate with
the space around us is called proxemics
or space language.
Depending upon the distance between the
sender and the receiver the space
language can be identified as follows:
 Intimate – Physical contact to 18
inches.
Only very special people enter this
area. This space is suitable for highly
confidential conversation and
decision regarding sensitive matters.
 Personal – 18 inches to 4 feet

Normal conversation takes place

and communication is more relaxed
and casual.
 Social – 4 feet to 12 feet
This space is used mainly for formal
purposes and the relationship within
this circle is more of an official nature.
Here, communication is dominated by
reason and planning for the business.
 Public – 12 feet and above

Occasion here may be to make

important announcements or to
address a large number of people.
 Time
Language/Chronemics:
Through time language we send out
messages to others by showing them
what time means to us.
“ TIME IS MONEY”.
Business community all over the world
knows the value of time and how crucial
it is in terms of productivity.
While people in the West are time
conscious and attach the highest
importance to punctuality, people
in the East have a more relaxed
approach to time.
 Touch language/Haptics:
It is communication through touch.
How we use touch sends important
messages about us.
It reveals our perceptions of status, our
attitudes and even our needs.
The amount of touching we do or find
acceptable is at least in part culturally
conditioned.
 Environment:

 Calm situation
 facilities
 No of people
 Assignment
 Business etiquette:
- Dressing.
- Dining.
- Meeting and Greeting.
- Expected office behaviour:
i. Smoking.

ii. Dealing with people

iii. handling office equipments.