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COMMUNICATION SKILLS
FOR EXTENSION FUNCTIONARIES: AN OVER VIEW
Introduction
Communication
is
an
important
aspect
of
behaviour;
human
communication is complicated by all factors that influence human
behaviour.
In the last four or five decades, the study of human communication has
been refined and strengthened by contribution from a variety of
disciplines. Definitions, descriptions of the process, and analyses of the
elements of communication have been developed by many scholars.
Communication is central to everything that we do. We do things in
organizations; our family school/college, office, hobby group, community
group, our city/town are the organizations in which we live and act. Our
activities succeed or fail, and our goals are achieved or not achieved,
according to our ability to communicate effectively with other membe
Every organization, whatever its business or its size, is held together by
communication. Without communication an organization cannot function
at all.
The primary element in the skills of management is competence in
communication. It is the tool with which we exercise influence on others,
bring about changes in the attitudes and views of our associates,
motivate them and establish and maintain relations with them.
Concept:
The word communication is used in common talk, usually to mean
speaking
or
writing
or
sending
a
message
to
another
person.
Communication is really much more than that. It involves ensuring that
messages reach the persons to whom they are sent, that the receivers
understand and respond as we want them to; and that we ourselves are
able to understand, interpret, and respond to messages that are sent to
us.
We are continuously with others throughout life. We communicate by
writing, talking, acting. We communicate by a touch, smile, or frown.. we
communicate through silence too. We are all experts in communication.
Even though we are experts. We sometimes fail to communicate our ideas
effectively and most of the time we are not even aware of the failure to
communicate with other people.
Obviously, we need to develop and improve our skills of communication
in order to accomplish our goals.
Importance of communication
A good part of the time of a professional is taken up in writing letters and
reports, and in oral presentation. For instance, an engineer in an
executive position has to write effective reports. A doctor has to present a
novel diagnostic method or treatment mode orally with the aid of charts
and diagrams. A business executive has to reply to a long-time customer
who is dissatisfied with the new replacement policy of the company. A
senior personnel manager / director of human resource development has
to interview a number of fresh technology graduates for the position of
management trainees to work, eventually, in the technical sales and
service division of the company.
Professionals are sometimes asked to prepare technical manuals,
professional journals, trade publications are newspapers. Different skills
are needed for different media and different occasions. But in all the
above situations, both oral or written communication skills are essential.
Attributes of communication
Communication has four attributes or qualities; understanding these
attributes
helps
communication.
us
to
improve
our
competence
and
skills
in
Communication is unintentional as well as intentional. We do not
always convey exactly what we wan to; the targeted receiver may receive
less or more than what we intended to convey. A casual observer
(unintentional receiver) may receive information or ideas, which we did
not intend for him/ her. Every aspect of our behaviour conveys
something about us; and what we speak or write is accompanied by other
related behaviour.
Secondly, communication is a dynamic process. It grows and develops;
even if the same two persons exchange the same ideas again, the
communication is not exactly the same as it was the first time, because
the two persons have grown and developed and changed since then.
Every time we consciously engage in an act of communication, we bring
to it all our previous experience, feeling, thoughts, attitudes, which have
been formed by other communication events. Unexpected responses and
reactions, misinterpretations and misunderstandings occur because each
one brings a different background to each communication event.
Thirdly, communication is systematic. Every component of the process
is affected by every other component. If the audience is inattentive or
uninterested, the source is not able to speak / convey effectively. The
context/ environment, the goal, the medium the nature of the message,
the feedback all affect one another. If a wrong medium is chosen, a
particular message may fail to have the intended result, if the goal is not
clear, the message will be confused. Disturbance at any stage in the
communication process affects the entire process.
Fourthly, communication is both interaction and transaction. The
two participants, the source and the receiver, exchange ideas and
information and influence each other in the process. They also come to a
shared and common meaning as a result of the communication. They
share as well as exchange thoughts and meanings.
Process of communication
In order to analyse the activity of communication, we must know the
process and the elements involved in the process.
Communication has been defined by many theorists; some of these
definitions are quoted here.


Communication is a process of passing
understanding from one person to another.
information
and
- Keith Davis
Communication is any behaviour that results in an exchange of
meaning.
The American Management Association
Communication may be broadly defined as the process of
meaningful interaction among human beings. More specifically, it is
the process by which meanings are perceived and understandings
are reached among human beings.
- D. E. McFarland
-


Communication is the process by which information is passed
between individuals and / or organizations by means of previously
agreed symbols.
- Peter Little
Conscious or intended communication has purpose. We communicate
because we want to make someone do something or take some action, or
think or feel in a certain way. The source (or sender or transmitter: Tx
for short) initiated the process of communication. The source has to be
clear about the purpose (or Objective or goal) of the communication,
and also about the intended audience (or receiver, Rx for short). The
source has to put the message (or content) to be conveyed into words or
other symbols which can be understood by the intended receiver; the
process of putting the idea into symbols is called encoding; it requires
the selection of suitable symbols which can represent the idea, be
understood by the audience and be capable of transmission by the
selected or available medium.
IDEA
ENCODING
MESSAG
E
MEDIU
M
RECEIVE
MESSAG
E
DECODIN
G
Tx
IDEA
Rx
(RECEIVE
R)
(TRANSMITTER)
One-way communication process
This one-way routine is only a part of the communication process. For
the communication to be complete, the sender must know whether the
receiver has got the message, understood it in the way it was intended,
and has received it well. The sender can find out this only on getting a
chance to see the reaction and response of the receiver. The response
may be in words (spoken or written), signs or behaviour, both conscious
and unconscious. The response or return message is called feedback.
When the feedback is got by the sender, the cycle of communication is
complete. This may be represented roughly by the following diagram.
FEEDBACK
Rx
Tx
MESSAGE
Two-way cycle of communication
Communication is a much more complex process than this. Each
person’s interpretation of the received message plays an important part in
the process. Each one’s interpretation is influenced by past experience
and attitudes formed by previous communication events.
communication is affected by all its components.
Besides,
Feedback:
Feedback is knowledge of the receiver’s response to our communication.
It can be used to modify the communication method to make it more
effective.
In face-to-face communication, there is immediate and continuous
feedback; the facial expressions of the listener can tell the speaker
whether the message is understood, accepted, liked or resented; the
message can be modified according to the needs and understanding of
the listener.
In written communication, feedback is slow; the writer cannot see the
reader’s facial expressions or immediate reaction on reading the message.
The feedback comes partly when the reply comes and partly when the
receiver’s action is seen by the sender; this may be very much delayed.
In mass communication, that is, radio, TV, film, newspaper and internet
(visit to website) communication, feedback is so little and so delayed as to
be almost negligible yet, feedback is important, and special efforts are
made in the form of surveys to collect feedback from the mass audience.
It is used for modifying future programs and communication.
Types of communication
Communication through words is called verbal communication;
communication through other symbols is called non-verbal
communication.
1.
Verbal communication
We use verbal communication for most purposes. Verbal communication
may be spoken (oral) or written.
Oral communication is more natural and immediate. In natural and
informal situations, we speak to communicate; but in a formal and
official situation, many persons feel nervous and cannot speak easily. It
needs training and practice to speak effectively in a formal situation.
Written communication can greatly extend the field and powers of oral
communication. Writing overcomes the limits of space and time, which
confine speech. Writing can be transmitted by different means, by
powerful electronic media over a greater distance, and can wait for the
attention of the receiver.
Oral and written communication have different attributes:
i.
Speed : Written communication is slower in preparation than
spoken.
ii.
Record: Written communication serves as a record and can be
used for future reference. Oral may be taped for later reference
but the authencity of voice can be question.
iii.
Precision and accuracy: Written communication is more
precise and accurate than oral.
iv.
Expense: both are expensive.
Oral communication

Face-to-face conversation

Telephone

Presentation

Public speech

Interview

Meeting
Written communication

Letter

Memo

Notice

Circular

Report

Minutes
2.
Non-Verbal communication
Non-verbal methods of communication can be consciously created and
used with both written and oral communication. Graphics of all kinds
can enrich the message presented in a document or in a speech. Pictures,
maps, charts, graphs and diagrams add quality and clarity to a verbal
message.
Besides using these symbols consciously, we may convey meaning by
facial expressions, gesture, tone of voice, clothing, and other aspects of
our personality and body. This is called body language.
Non-verbal communication methods
Visual symbols

Colour

Pictorial representations

Posters

Graphs and charts

Maps

Signs and signals

Auditory symbols
Body language
Body language is an important factor in oral communication. In face-toface situations, an important message is communicated by a number of
factors, like clothing, appearance, voice, posture, facial expressions,
gestures and other body movements. Much of body language is
involuntary or unconscious but it makes a powerful impact.

Voice

Silence

Facial expression

Eye contact

Gestures

Posture

Space

Time

Energy

Clothing

Appearance
Channels of communication
External
1. Outward
2. Inward
Internal
1. Formal channels (Vertical and Horizontal channels):


Vertical channels
-
Down ward
-
Upward
Horizontal channels
-
Lateral
-
Consensus
2. Informal channels

Grape vine
Barriers to communication
Communication is not always successful. Several things can prevent the
message from reaching the intended recipient or from having the desired
effect on the recipient. It tend to distort communication and promote
disorganisatoin. We may summarise these barriers as under:
1.
Broadly expressed messages: People may talk too fast. They may
lack coherence. They may organize their ideas poorly or may omit
certain
essential
details.
They
may
structure
their
sentences
awkwardly or may make errors in their selection of words. All of these
may distort a message.
2.
Faulty organization: In a large-scale enterprise where the chain of
command is too long or the span of control too big, communication
will be poor. This is because successive transmission of the same
message
are
decreasingly
accurate.
According
to
Koontz
and
O’Donnel, in oral communication, something in the order of 30 per
cent of the information is lost in each transmission
3.
Distrust of communicator: Some executives are noted for their habits
of countermanding or modifying their original communications. Such
executives invariably lose the trust and confidence of their subordinates.
Subordinates do not take their communications seriously.
4.
Restricting
communication:
In
downward
communication,
a
supervisor may withhold a part of the information from his subordinates
under the belief that they do not need it. Similarly, in upward
communication, the subordinate may omit unfavourable parts of the
information, which he thinks will not be liked by his superiors. This is
called filtering. Most people do not want to be the bearer of bad news or
reveal their mistakes to their boss.
5.
Poor retention: Employees retain only 50 per cent of communicated
information.
6.
different backgrounds: One reason for distortion of meaning is that
different individuals often interpret the same communication differently;
each individual uses his own frame of reference. This frame of reference
is based on particular experience and knowledge. Thus, when people
with different knowledge and experiences try to communicate, they often
have trouble getting their meanings across.
7.
In-group language: Often, occupational or social groups develop their
own terminology or in-group language. This special language, though
provides a means for precise and quick
communication within the
group, creates severe communication breakdown when outsiders or
other groups are involved.
8. Inattention: Another common barrier is that many receivers simply do
not pay attention to the message. One reason people do not pay
attention is selective listening. Selective listening results from a common
tendency to block out information that conflicts with what we believe.
When we listen to a speech or read a newspaper, we generally pay
attention only to those things that confirm our beliefs. Sometimes people
do not pay attention to communication because they are victims of
communication overload or because the information is unsolicited. The
source of communication, and the way in which is presented also
determine for its recipient how much attention he gives its.
Principles of effective communication
1. A person who wants to communicate must be clear in his mind
about his communication.
2. The communication should be easily understandable language.
3. Communication should be adequate and complete in all respects
4. The medium of communication must be carefully selected
5. One should not be mutually conflicting and should be in line
with the overall objective and policies of the concerned.
6. There is also a need for the right climate in the organization
7. There should be follow up of communication to know weather or
not the receiver understood message correctly.
8. The communicator should not act in any way which contradicts
his message
9. Every executive should realize that the grape vine is a powerful
channel in an organization.
10.
There should professional for adequate training facilities to
the executives for improving their skills in communication.
LEARNING POINTS
1. Concept and importance of communication
2. Attributes of communication
3. Process of communication
4. Type of communication
5. Barriers of communication
6. Principles for effective communication
APPLICATION
Improvement in communication at individual, group and organisational
level
