Download VERBAL COMMUNICATION

VERBAL COMMUNICATION
The basis of communication is the interaction between people. Verbal communication is one way for
people to communicate face-to-face. Some of the key components of verbal communication are
sound, words, speaking, and language. Body language changes as people get to know each other
better- from nervous barricading at first to mimicking movement as friendship deepen. According to
one theory, verbal communication follows a similar progression.
STAGES OF VERBAL COMMUNICATION
1.AWARENESS:
First, comes an initial awareness of the other. Something about the other person sparks our interest.
Something makes us know we´d like to know more. Then conversation takes root. After stops and
starts of inconsequential chitchat, names are exchanged.
2.SUFACE CONTACT
Finally, as the friendship begins to unfold, conversation becomes more longwinded, though masks
are still very much intact. Real feelings and attitudes are disguised under a lot of smiling and
politeness. Subjects discussed are generally limited to current topics or to those of mutual interest
sucha s the class the two people are in together.
3.MUTUALITY
For the relationship to continue, masks must be dropped. Usually this begins with an exchange of
personal information. Telling others pieces from our pasts serves as a substitute for experiences the
almost-friends have not yet shared. Finally real feeling and opinions are ventured. If feelings and
opinions and frankness are met with understanding and a return of honesty, then trust builds. The
stage of mutuality begins. You talk about yourself, your feelings, your worries, your goals. Each
person´s actions and attirudes are strongly influenced by the other. You talk from your innermost
self, and you listen as your friend does the same. There is great interdependence.
These stages of communication are the same in loving relationship as well as in friendships. And yet
there is never a guarantee that one stage of communication will grow into the next. If that were
always true, we would fall in love with anyone who sparked our interest and everyone we´d meet
would become a friend. As i tis, most relationships burn out before unmasking takes place.
At birth, most people have vocal cords, which produce sounds. As a child grows it learns how to form
these sounds into words. Some words may be imitative of natural sounds, but others may come
from expressions of emotion, such as laughter or crying. Words alone have no meaning. Only people
can put meaning into words. As meaning is assigned to words, language develops, which leads to the
development of speaking. Through speaking we try to eliminate this misunderstanding, but
sometimes this is a very hard thing to do. Just as we assume that our messages are clearly received,
so we assume that because something is important to us, it is important to others. As time has
proven this is not at all true. Many problems can arise is speaking and the only way to solve these
problems is through experience.
Speaking can be looked at in two major areas: interpersonal and public speaking. Since the majority
of speaking is an interpersonal process, to communicate effectively we must not simply clean up our
language, but learn to relate to people.
In interpersonal speaking, etiquette is very important. To be an effective communicator one must
speak in a manner that is not offending to the receiver. Etiquette also plays an important role in an
area that has developed in most all business settings: hierarchical communication. In business
today, hierarchical communication is of utmost importance to all members involved.
The other major area of speaking is public speaking. From the origin of time, it has been obvious
that some people are just better public speakers than others. Because of this, today a good speaker
can earn a living by speaking to people in a public setting. Some of the major areas of public
speaking are speaking to persuade, speaking to inform, and speaking to inspire or motivate.
Effective communication
Effective communication occurs when a desired effect is the result of intentional or unintentional
information sharing, which is interpreted between multiple entities and acted on in a desired way.
This effect also ensures the message is not distorted during the communication process. Effective
communication should generate the desired effect and maintain the effect, with the potential to
increase the effect of the message. Therefore, effective communication serves the purpose for which
it was planned or designed. Possible purposes might be to elicit change, generate action, create
understanding, inform or communicate a certain idea or point of view. When the desired effect is not
achieved, factors such as barriers to communication are explored, with the intention being to
discover how the communication has been ineffective.
Barriers to effective communication can retard or distort the message and intention of the message
being conveyed which may result in failure of the communication process or an effect that is
undesirable. These include filtering, selective perception, information overload, emotions, language,
silence, communication apprehension, gender differences and political correctness .This also includes
a lack of expressing "knowledge-appropriate" communication, which occurs when a person uses
ambiguous or complex legal words, medical jargon, or descriptions of a situation or environment that
is not understood by the recipient.
Effective Listening
Active listening is a very important listening skill and yet, as communicators, people tend to spend far
more energy considering what they are going to say rather than listening to what the other person is
trying to say. Although active listening is a skill in itself, covered in our articles on listening, it is also
vital for verbal communication.
The following points are essential for effective and active listening:
-Arrange a comfortable environment conducive to the purpose of the communication, for example a
warm and light room with minimal background noise.
- Be prepared to listen
-Keep an open mind and concentrate on the main direction of the speaker's message.
-Avoid distractions if at all possible.
- Delay judgment until you have heard everything.
-Be objective
-Do not be trying to think of your next question while the other person is giving information.