PART-A: EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS

UNIT-1 COMMUNICATION SKILLS

⮚ Communication skills are those skills which are needed to speak and write
properly.
⮚ One should have the ability to listen carefully, write and speak clearly in
any situation.
⮚ Listening, Speaking Reading and Writing skills are essential for effective
communication.
⮚ The word ‘Communication’ comes from the Latin word commūnicāre,
meaning ‘to share’.
⮚ Communication is a two-way exchange of information, i.e., giving and
receiving.
⮚ Speaking and writing to someone are examples of giving information.
⮚ Reading and listening to someone are examples of receiving information.
(Repetition)
Elements of communication
Sender: Communication is a two-way exchange of information, i.e., giving and
receiving (Fig. 1.2). Speaking and writing to someone are examples of giving
information. Reading and listening to someone are examples of receiving
information.
Message: The subject matter of communication is termed as messages. It includes
ideas, feelings, suggestions, order, etc., which a sender wants to convey to the
receiver.
Encoding: The process of converting messages into communication symbols,
which may be understood by the receiver. It includes words, pictures, body
language gestures, symbols, etc. Encoding translates the internal thought of the
sender into a language which can be understandable.
Channel: The path, channel or medium through which encoded message is
transmitted to the receiver is known as media. It is the carrier of the message. It
can be in written form, face to face, through telephone, letter, internet, etc.
Decoding: The process of translating the encoded message into an effective
language, which can be understood by the receiver is known as decoding. In this,
the encoded symbols of the sender are converted.

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Receiver: The person who receives the message of the sender is known as the
receiver. E.g., Students are receivers in the classroom.

Factors affecting perspectives in communication

Sometimes, we are not able to communicate clearly because of barriers that stop
us from sharing and understanding messages. Some of these are
Factor How the factor can become a barrier
In case of use of incorrect words, unfamiliar
language and lack of detail, language can act
as a barrier to communicate what one wishes
to convey. For example, language can act as a
Language
barrier when an Indian who only knows Hindi
and a Chinese who has the knowledge of
Mandarin only wants to interact with each
other.
Visual perception is the brain’s ability to make
sense of what we see through our eyes. For
Visual perception example, completing partially drawn pictures
with visual perception whereas they may be
something else.
Letting our earlier experience stop us from
understanding or communicating clearly. For
example, “This shopkeeper cheated me last
Past experiences
time. Let me be careful or “I scored low marks
in my Maths exam, so I am scared to ask and
answer questions in class.”
Fixed ideas, such as thinking “No one in my
Prejudices
class likes me.
Our feelings and emotions, such as lack of
interest or not trusting the other person affect
Feelings
communication. For example “I am not feeling
well, therefore, I don’t want to talk.”
Noise or disturbance in the surroundings may
make communication difficult. Example,
Environment
talking to a friend in a function where there is
loud music being played by the orchestra.

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 Personal factors include your own feelings,
habits and ways of thinking. For example,
Personal Factors
fear, and low confidence may make
communication difficult.
Signs’ which have a different meaning in
different cultures, such as showing a thumb
Culture
may mean ‘good job’ done for some people
but may be insulting to others.
Basic principles of professional communication skills.
These can be abbreviated as 7 Cs, i.e., Clear, Concise, Concrete, Correct,
Coherent, Complete and Courteous.

Different Methods of Communication

There are different methods of communication, which include non-verbal, verbal
and visual.
❖ Verbal Communication
✔ Verbal communication is the sharing of information by using words.
✔ It is what most people use as a method of communication.
Type of Verbal Communication
Oral or Spoken Communication: Communication which involves talking
Examples:
⮚ Face-to-face conversation
⮚ Talking on a phone
⮚ Classroom teaching, business discussion and public speeches

Written Communication: Communication which involves written or typed

words.
Examples: Writing letters, notes, email, etc

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 Advantages of verbal communication
✔ Verbal communication is easy and quick
✔ Effectively convey the message
✔ Fastest mode of Communication
✔ Useful for illiterates

Disadvantages:
✔ Less creative
✔ Require attention throughout
✔ Increases the chance of mistakes
Non-Verbal Communication
✔ Non-verbal communication is the message we send to others without
using any words
✔ Non-verbal communication makes our message stronger.
✔ Using the right gestures while speaking makes our message more
effective.
✔ Knowing non-verbal communication helps us understand our
audience’s reaction and adjust our behaviour or communication
accordingly.
Types of Non-verbal communications

Type What it implies How to make use of non-verbal

communication effectively?
A facial expression, many a
Keep your face relaxed
time, shows the feelings of a
• Try to match your expression
person.
with what you are saying
Facial Expression For example, when we are • If you agree with something,
happy, we express it through a you may nod while listening,
smile or when we are sad we which indicates that it has
show a gloomy face. your assent
Postures are positions of
the body. They show our • Keep your upper body relaxed
confidence and feelings. and, shoulders straight
For example, straight • Sit straight, rest hands and
Posture
body posture is seen as feet in relaxed position
confidence. Holding your • Keep hands by your sides
head may be taken as while standing
tiredness.

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 Gestures describe
movements of parts of the
• Avoid pointing at people with
body, especially hands or
your finger
head, to express an idea
• Instead of keeping your hands
or meaning. This includes
Gestures or in pocket while talking, try to
waving, pointing and using
Body Language keep your hands on the sides
our hands while speaking.
• Bend your head a little while
For example, raising a
talking or listening to show
hand may mean asking a
that you are paying attention.
question. Biting nails show
nervousness.

We communicate a great
deal through our touch,
• Shake hands firmly
such as shaking hands and
• Avoid other touch gestures,
patting on the back. For
such as stroking your hair,
Touch example, a firm handshake
scratching your nose, tugging
shows confidence. Sports
on your clothes, etc., during
coaches pat on the back of
communication.
the players to encourage the
players.
• Maintain proper space’
The space between
depending on the relationship,
two persons while
which could be formal or
Space communicating, generally
informal or the closeness with
depends on the intimacy or
the person with whom you are
closeness between them.
talking
Maintaining an eye contact
• Look at the person who is
with the person you are
speaking
talking, indicates interest,
Eye Contact • Keep a relaxed, pleasant look
whereas, looking away can
• Break the look every few
make the other person feel
seconds
ignored.

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 Paralanguage is the tone
of our voice, speed and
volume that makes a
difference in the meaning • Use a proper tone and volume
of the communication. while speaking
Paralanguage
Speaking too fast may show • Maintain a moderate rate
excitement or nervousness. (speed) of talking
Speaking too slow may
show seriousness, sadness
or making a point.
Visual communication
Another important method of communication is visual communication, which
involves sending and understanding messages only through images or pictures.
The main advantage of this type of communication is that you do not need to
know any particular language for understanding it.

Examples of Visual Communication

✔ Traffic symbol which communicates not to blow horn
✔ Sign for ladies and gents toilet
✔ Sign for flammable substances

Writing Skills
✔ Writing skills include all the knowledge and abilities related to
expressing ourselves through the written word.
✔ It is a sound understanding of language through grammar, spelling
and punctuation.
✔ People with excellent writing skills can tailor their tone and word
choice to different situations and people
Punctuation
It is a set of marks, such as the full stop and the comma, which help us separate
parts of a sentence and explain its meaning.
Basic parts of speech
The part of speech indicates how the word functions in meaning as well as
grammatically within a sentence.

There are eight basic parts of speech in the English language.

● noun,
● pronoun,
● verb,
● adjective,
● adverb,
● preposition,

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 ● conjunction
● interjection.

⮚ Nouns are words that refer to a person, place, thing or idea. These are
‘naming words.’
⮚ A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun
⮚ Adjectives are the words that describe the noun.
⮚ Verbs are the words that show action
⮚ Adverbs are the words that add meaning to verbs, adjectives, or other
adverbs. They answer the questions — How? How often? When? And
Where?

Articles: The words ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ are known as articles. Articles are
generally used before nouns.
‘An’ is used before words with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) sound A is used before nouns
with a consonant (all other alphabets) sound ‘the’ is used to refer to specific or
particular words
Conjunctions: Conjunctions are the words that join two nouns, phrases or
sentences. Some common conjunctions are ‘and’, ‘or’ and ‘but’.
Prepositions connect one word with another to show the relation between them.
They usually answer the questions ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘how’.
Sentences: A sentence means a group of words that makes complete sense. It
begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. It always contains a finite
verb. A sentence may be a statement, question, exclamation or command. It
consists of a main clause and one or more subordinate clause also.

Parts of a sentence
❖ A subject is the person or thing that does an action
❖ A verb describes the action.
❖ Object is the person or thing that receives the action

Examples:
Sentence Subject Verb Object
I ate an apple. I ate an apple.
He cooked dinner. He cooked dinner.
She kicked the football. She kicked the football.
Dia and Sanjay broke the bottle.
Types of sentences
Sentences where the subject does an action are known to be in the Active voice
Sentences in which the subject receives an action are known to be in the Passive
voice.

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Example:
Active Voice Passive Voice
She wrote a letter. A letter was written by her.
He opened the door. The door was opened by him.
Mohan played the flute. The flute was played by Mohan

Pronunciation Basics
⮚ Correct pronunciation will help us express ourselves in a clear and
confident manner.
⮚ It will also help others to understand our words easily.

Types of sounds
All English words are made of three basic types of sounds
Vowels: The English alphabet has five vowels (a, e, i, o and u) but 12 vowel
sounds. This means most vowels can be pronounced in different ways. We make a
vowel sound when we read a vowel in a word.
Diphthongs (combination sound of two vowels): We make a diphthong sound
when we combine two vowels. Diphthongs start as one vowel sound and go to
another.
Consonants: A consonant sound is any sound that is neither a vowel nor a
diphthong sound.

Multiple Choice Questions (1 mark each)

1. Which of the following methods are used to receive information from the
sender through a letter?
a) Listening
b) Speaking
c) Reading
d) Writing
2. Which of these is a positive (good) facial expression?
a) Staring hard Smiling
b) Nodding while listening
c) Wrinkled forehead
d) Looking away from the speaker
3. Which of these sentences use uppercase letters correctly?
a) I am Hungry.
b) Divya and Sunil are reading.
c) The bucket is Full of water.
d) She lives in Delhi.
4. The process of converting messages into communication symbols, which
may be understood by the receiver is called ------------

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 (a) Encoding
(b) Decoding
(c) Feedback
(d) compilation
5. Which of these sentences are punctuated correctly?
a) Where are you going.
b) I have a pen a notebook and a pencil.
c) I am so happy to see you!
d) This is Abdul’s house.
6. Fill in the blank with correct articles
He is ------------- University student
a) the
b) an
c) a
d) None of the above
7. Which of these sentences is in passive voice?
a) They are watching a movie.
b) The clock was repaired by Raju.
c) He is sleeping in the room.
d) My pet dog bit the postman.
8. Which of the following is NOT an element of communication?
a) Sender
b) Message
c) Receiver
d) Gateway
9. Sharing of information by using words is a ____________ type of
communication
a) Verbal
b) Non-verbal
c) Visual
d) All of the above
10.Words that describe nouns are called --------------
a) Articles
b) Adverbs
c) Adjectives
d) Verbs
11.Which of the following does not come under 7Cs of basic principles of
communications
a) Clear
b) Complete
c) Correct
d) Clever
12.--------- is the brain’s ability to make sense of what we see through our eyes.
a) Visual perception

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 b) Past experiences
c) Feelings
d) Prejudices
13. “Speaking too fast may show excitement or nervousness”- is an example
for which type of visual communications?
a) Poster
b) Touch
c) Space
d) Paralanguage
14.Identify the subject in the sentence, “The children played football.”
a) The children
b) Children played
c) Played
d) Football
15.What are the different types of sounds used in English pronunciation?
a) Vowel sounds
b) Diphthong sounds
c) Consonant sounds
d) All of the above

ANSWERS:
1) d 2) a 3) d 4) a 5) d 6)c 7) b 8) d 9) a 10) c 11) d 12)a
13) d 14) a 15) d

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS (2 Marks each)

1. What are communication skills?
Communication skills are those skills which are needed to speak and
write properly. One should have the ability to listen carefully and
write and speak clearly in any situation.
2. Write down the elements of communications?
Sender, message, media, encoding, decoding, receiver and feedback
3. Write down the factors affecting perspectives in communication.
Language, Visual perception, Past experiences, Prejudices, Feelings,
Environment, Personal Factors and Culture
4. Explain briefly the 7Cs basic principles of communications
1. Conciseness
In formal communication, we should be very careful about the
briefness/conciseness of the message. It is always helpful for both the
sender and the receiver because it saves their time. Concise messages
are helpful in getting the meaning.
2. Correctness

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 Correctness means the accuracy of thoughts, figures, and words. If
the given information is not correctly conveyed, the sender will lose
reliability.
3. Concreteness
While communicating one should be very specific. Concreteness is
an important aspect of effective communication. It is about being
specific and definite rather than general.
4. Clarity
Clarity is one of the principles of formal communication. Whatever
we speak/communicate should have clarity. The idea of the message
should be very clear in the mind of the sender.
5. Completeness
Effective communication depends on the completeness of the
message. Incomplete messages create ambiguity in the audience.
6. Consideration
It is an act of consideration. While sending a message the sender
should look from the angle of the audience. The sender should
understand the feelings and emotions of the receivers. It shows that in
communication we should consider the audience.
7. Courtesy
Courtesy means polite behaviour. While communicating,
everybody should show politeness towards others. It facilitates
communication.
5. What are verbal communications? Give one example for oral
communications
Verbal communication is the sharing of information by using words.
It is what most people use as a method of communication.
Examples:
•
Face-to-face conversation:
• Talking on a phone
• Classroom teaching, business discussion and public speeches
6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of verbal communications?
Advantages of verbal communication
•
Verbal communication is easy and quick
• Effectively convey the message
• Fastest mode of Communication
• Useful for illiterates
• Disadvantages:
• Less creative
• Require attention throughout
• Increases the chance of mistakes
7. Define nonverbal communications?

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 Non-verbal communication is the message we send to others without
using any words. Non-verbal communication makes our message
stronger. Using the right gestures while speaking makes our message
more effective. Knowing non-verbal communication helps us
understand our audience’s reaction and adjust our behaviour or
communication accordingly
8. How to make use of eye contact communication effectively?
Look at the person who is speaking
Keep a relaxed, pleasant look
Break the look every few seconds
9. What are visual communications? Give examples
It is that type of communication, which involves sending and understanding
messages only through images or pictures. The main advantage of this type
of communication is that you do not need to know any particular language
for understanding it.

Examples of Visual Communication

• Traffic symbol which communicates not to blow horn
• Sign for ladies and gents toilet
• Sign for flammable substances
10. What are conjunctions? Give examples
Conjunctions are words that join two nouns, phrases or sentences.
Some common conjunctions are ‘and’, ‘or’ and ‘but’.
11. Explain the different parts of a sentence
A sentence means a group of words that makes complete sense. It begins
with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. It always contains a finite
verb. A sentence may be a statement, question, exclamation or command. It
consists of a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses.
Parts of a sentence
• A subject is the person or thing that does an action
• A verb describes the action.
• Object is the person or thing that receives the action
12. Do convert the following active voice in to passive voice.
a. She wrote a letter.
A letter was written by her.
b. He opened the door.
The door was opened by him.
13. Explain any two non-verbal communications.
Posture: Postures are positions of the body. They show our
confidence and feelings.
For example, straight body posture is seen as confidence.

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 Gestures or Body Language: Gestures describe movements of parts
of the body, especially hands or head, to express an idea or meaning.
This includes waving, pointing and using our hands when speaking.
For example, raising a hand may mean asking a question.
14. What is the importance of writing skills in communications?
Writing skills include all the knowledge and abilities related to
expressing ourselves through the written word. It is a sound
understanding of language through grammar, spelling and
punctuation. People with excellent writing skills can tailor their tone
and word choice to different situations and people.
15. What are the different types of sounds of words in English
All English words are made of three basic types of sounds
Vowels: The English alphabet has five vowels (a, e, i, o and u) but 12
vowel sounds. This means most vowels can be pronounced in
different ways. We make a vowel sound when we read a vowel in a
word.
Diphthongs (combination sound of two vowels): We make a
diphthong sound when we combine two vowels. Diphthongs start as
one vowel sound and go to another.
Consonants: A consonant sound is any sound that is neither a vowel
nor a diphthong sound.

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