Unit 1

Communication- Definition - Methods -

Types - Principles of Effective
Communication - Barriers to Communication
- Business letters - lay out
Communication – Meaning & Definitions
Meaning of Communication:

The English word ‘communication’ has been derived from the Latin word, ‘Communicare’ which
means to impart or participate or to transmit. The word ‘Communicare’ is derived from the root
‘Communis’ which means to make common or to share.
Communication is 1) the activity or process of sharing or exchanging ideas, feelings, information,
experience between two or more persons; 2) an act or instance of transmitting; 3) the information
actually communicated by some means.

Definitions of communication:

1) The Oxford English Dictionary defines communication as “the action of conveying or exchanging
information and ideas.”
2) Peter Little defines communication as “the process by which information is transmitted between
individuals and or organizations so that an understanding response results.”
3) Allen Lui (Louis) defines communication as “ Communication is the sum of all the things one person
does when he wants to create understanding in the mind of another. It is a bridge of meaning. It
involves a systematic process of telling, listening, understanding and responding.”
4) Keith Davis defines communication as “Communication is the transfer of information and
understanding from one person to another.”
Business Communication – Meaning

 William G. Scott defines business communication as “Administrative

communication is a process which involves the transmission and
accurate replication of ideas ensured by feedback for the purpose of
eliciting actions which will accomplish organizational goals.”
The last definition covers 4 aspects of administrative communication,
as follows:
 1) The sender’s ability to transmit his own ideas accurately.
 2) The receiver’s mental ability to get the same idea as were
transmitted i.e. accurate replication.
 3) The feedback or the receiver’s response.
 4) Eliciting action which will help to achieve the goals.
Communication – Process and Components

The process of communication involves a series of stages:


1) An idea arises in the mind of the sender, which he wants to share.
2) The sender encodes the idea in the form of a ‘message’.


3) The sender chooses some medium / channel to put across the message.

4) The receiver receives the message.

5) The receiver decodes – absorbs, understands, interprets the message.

6) The receiver sends feedback or his response.

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




1) The sender or the communicator

2) The message
3) Encoding


4) The medium / channel

5) The receiver

6) Decoding

7) Feedback
Methods & Modes of Communication
 Methods of Communication
Methods – Verbal & Non- Verbal
Media – Telephone, Fax, Computer, Internet.
Selection of methods should be based on –
1. Speed
2. Accuracy
3. Circumstances
4. Confidence and safety
5. Expenses
6. Impression
7. Feedback
 Oral Communication
Oral Communication: Oral communication is
communication by means of spoken words.
Principles of oral communications:
1. Know your objective
2. Know your audience
3. Know your subject
4. Know how to use your voice
5. Know how to use body language
6. Know when to stop
Oral Communication
Face-to-face communication
 Written Communication
Written communication: Written communication is the
expression of language by means of visible signs.
 Non-verbal Communication
Communication is the transfer of information from one person to
another. Most of us spend about 75 percent of our waking hours
communicating our knowledge, thoughts, and ideas to others.
However, most of us fail to realize that a great deal of our
communication is of a non-verbal form as opposed to the oral and
written forms.
Non-verbal communication includes facial expressions, eye
contact, tone of voice, body posture and motions, and positioning
within groups. It may also include the way we wear our clothes or
the silence we keep.
Although no word is used in non-verbal communication, it can
effectively communicate many human feelings more accurately
than verbal methods of communication.
 Non-verbal Communication
G. W. Porter divides non-verbal communication into four broad
categories:
Physical. This is the personal type of communication. It includes facial
expressions, tone of voice, sense of touch, sense of smell, and body
motions.
Aesthetic. This is the type of communication that takes place through
creative expressions: playing instrumental music, dancing, painting and
sculpturing.
Signs. This is the mechanical type of communication, which includes the
use of signal flags, the 21-gun salute, horns, and sirens.
Symbolic. This is the type of communication that makes use of religious,
status, or ego-building symbols.
Our concern here will be with what Porter has called the physical method
of non-verbal communication.
 Types of Nonverbal Communication
Eye contact,
Facial expressions,
Gestures,
Posture and body orientation,
Body Language,
Space and Distance,
Proximity,
Para-linguistic,
Humour,
Touch,
Silence,
Personal Appearance,
Symbol,
Visual Communication.
 Types of Nonverbal Communication
Eye contact
Eye contact, an important channel of interpersonal communication , helps
regulate the flow of communication. And it signals interest in others.
Furthermore,Eye contact with audiences increases the speaker’s credibility.
Teachers who make eye contact open the flow of communication and convey
interest, concern, warmth, and credibility.
Facial expressions
The face is an important communicator. It is commonly said that the face is the
index of the mind.
It expresses the type of emotions or feelings such as joy, love, interest, sorrow,
anger, annoyance, confusion, enthusiasm, fear, hatred surprise, and uncertainty.
Facial expressions are indicated through the mouth (open, wide or closed),
eyelids (raised or lowered), nose (wrinkled or relaxed), cheeks (drawn up or
back) and the forehead (lowered or raised).
 Types of Nonverbal Communication
Gestures
If you fail to gesture while speaking, you may be perceived as boring, stiff and un-animated.
Head nods, a form of gestures, communicate positive reinforcement to students and indicate that you are
listening.
Gestures are movements of the arms, legs, hands, and head. Some authors opine that gesture is the
deliberate body movement because they express specific and intentional meaning.

Posture and body orientation

You communicate numerous messages by the way you walk, talk, stand and sit.
Standing erect, but not rigid, and leaning slightly forward communicates that you are approachable,
receptive and friendly.

Body Language
Body language is another widely recognized form of non-verbal communication. Body movements can
convey meanings and messages. Body language may take two forms of unconscious movements and
consciously controlled movements.
 Types of Nonverbal Communication
Space and Distance
Space and distance are significant non-verbal tools in the case of organizational communic
ation
.
A spacious and well-decorated room indicates a person’s position in the organization
hierarchy and external people get a message about his importance and authority only by
visiting his room.
Distance is another communication tool, which expresses the degree of intimacy and
individual acceptance.
Proximity
Cultural norms dictate a comfortable distance for interaction with students.
Increasing proximity enables you to make better eye contact and increases the
opportunities for students to speak.

Proxemics: Proxemics is the study of how people use and perceive the physical space
around them. The space between the sender and the receiver of a message influences the
way the message is interpreted
 Types of Nonverbal Communication
Paralanguage
 Includes pitch, volume, intonation etc. The tone of voice, rate of speech, pause, accent can
not only communicate but alter the meaning significantly.
 Researchers have found that the tone, pitch, quality of voice, and rate of speaking convey
emotions that can be accurately judged regardless of the content of the message.
The important thing to gain from this is that the voice is important, not just as the conveyor of
the message, but as a complement to the message.
As a communicator you should be sensitive to the influence of tone, pitch, and quality of your
voice on the interpretation of your message by the receiver.
Humour
Laughter releases stress and tension. 
Touch
Touch is a widely used form of non-verbal communication tool.
By touching, one can express a wide range of emotions. However, the accepted modes of
touch vary depending on the gender, age, relative status, intimacy and cultural background of
the persons.
 Types of Nonverbal Communication
Silence
Silence is a powerful tool for communication. It may have a positive or
negative meaning.
For example, silence often indicates that a person receiving instruction does
not understand the action required or sometimes silence indicates consent.
Personal Appearance
Appearance is also an important non-verbal communication tool. Appearance
includes dress, hair, jewellery, makeup, belt buckles and so on.
Appearance indicates the degree of importance or interest a person conveys to
an occasion. 
 In an organization, one’s dress is keenly observed to see whether it conforms
to accepted standards of appearance. As an example, workers may wear
different clothes when they are on strike than they do when they are working.
 Types of Nonverbal Communication
Symbol
A symbol is something that represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but
is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning.
For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for “stop”.
On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. 
Visual Communication
When communication occurs using any visual aids, it is known as visual
communication.
Thus, communication that occurs through facial expression, personal appearance,
gesture, posture, printed picture, sign, signal, symbol, map, poster, slide, chart,
diagram, graph, etc. is called visual communication.
For example, to indicate ‘danger’, we use red sign; to mean ‘dangerous’, we use a
skull placed between two pieces of bone put in crosswise fashion; to indicate ‘no
smoking’, we use an image showing a lighted cigarette with a cross mark on it.
Verbal Vs Non-Verbal
 Benefits of Effective Communication
How to achieve effective communication:
1) Communicate for a purpose
2) Compose message with care
3) Study the receiver
4) Select appropriate medium
5) Provide feedback
6) Act promptly on receiving feedback.
Benefits of effective communication:
1. Healthy relations
2. Better performance
3. High morale
4. Good image unity
5. Reaching final goals
6. Smooth functioning
7. Greater efficiency
8. Higher productivity
9. Effective decision-making
10. Co-operation & Co-ordination
 Barriers to Communication
Barriers to Communication:
Barriers or obstacles to communication may cause
break-down, distortions and inaccurate rumours.

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. It is, therefore, important that
the communicator seeks feedback to check that their
message is clearly understood.
Barriers to Communication
 Barriers to Communication
A. Physical barriers
Internal structure of the organization and layout of office
machines and equipment creates physical barriers in
communication
a.      Distance: – communication is found obstructed in long
distance. Like communication between America and Nepal.
b.      Noise: – it is from external sources and affects the
communication process. Noise negatively affects the accuracy
c.       Physical arrangement: – the physical arrangement of
organizational sources like men, money, material and
machine obstruct the communication process.
 Barriers to Communication
B. Semantic barriers
The use of difficult and multiple use of languages, words,
figures, symbols create semantic barriers.
a.       Language: – we can find some words having different
meaning. As meaning sent by the sender can be quite different
from the meaning understood by the receiver. Long and
complex sentences creates problem in communication process.
b.      Jargons: – technical or unfamiliar language creates
barriers to communication that may be drawn from the
literature. So message should be simple and condensed as far
as possible so that no confusion creation will be there to the
receiver.
 Barriers to Communication
C. Organizational barriers
It is raised from the organizational goals, regulations, structure and culture.
a.      Poor planning: – it refers to the designing, encoding, channel selection and
conflicting signals in the organization.
b.      Structure complexities:- difficult organizational structure barrier for free flow
of information. Appropriate communication process must be used.
c.       Status differences: – it creates barrier for communication. Superior provides
information to the subordinate about plans and policies. Different information is
provided by different subordinates who create barrier in communication.
d.      Organizational distance:- distance between sender and receiver also creates
barriers to effective communication.
e.      Information overload: – if superior provides too much information to the
subordinate in short period receiver suffers from information overload which creates
barriers to effective communication.
f.        Timing: – communication can be obstructed if not done on time. If the
information is not provided in time it creates barriers to effective communication.
 Barriers to Communication
D. Psychological barriers
It is the barriers to effective communication created from the lack of interest of the people
from whom the communication is meant. People do not pay attention to the communication
which are not interesting to them and which do not fulfill their want.
a.      Perception: – it is the process of accepting and interpreting the information by the
receiver. People receive things differently for a various number of reasons.
b.      Filtering: – communication some time filters the negative information to make it
more favourable to the receiver. In this process, knowingly or unknowingly some valuable
information may be disposed.
c.       Distrust: – superior provides information or message to the subordinates to their own
view, ideas and opinion which create obstruction in communication.
d.      Emotions: – emotion also creates barriers to effective communication like anger,
hate, mistrust, jealousy etc.
e.      Viewpoint: – it also creates barriers to effective communication. It the receiver
doesn’t clear the message and ignore without hearing, the message may create obstructions.
f.        Defensiveness: – if the receiver receives the message as threat and interprets that
message in the same way, it creates barriers to effective communication.
Overcoming Communication Barriers
Channels of Communication
Difference between Formal & Informal
Communication
 Business letter - Meaning
The letter that contains business-related information is called
commercial letter or business letter.
Through this letter, businesspersons exchange business-related
information among them.
 Such letters are written to various business firms, 
business associations , government offices, banks, customers,
suppliers, and employees’, etc.
Sections of a Business Letter:
Each section of letter should adhere to the appropriate format,
starting with your contact information( From address), date,
contact information of your recipient( To address); salutation;
the body of the letter; closing; and finally, your signature.
Business Letter Layout