Communication Skills

UG
Purpose
• To assist you in communicating EFFECTIVELY.
• To give clear practical tips for better communication.
• To enable students to understand the verbal and non verbal
communication.
Daily Communication
Why do we communicate ?

• We communicate to:
• Share our ideas and opinions
• Provide feedback to others
• Get information from others
• Gain power and influence
• Develop social relationships
• Maintain self-expression and our culture
• and other ideas you may have thought of
What is Communication?

• Communication
• /kəmjuːnɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/ is the imparting or exchanging of information by
speaking, writing, or using some other medium.
• Synonyms: transmission, reporting, presenting, passing on,
handing on, relay, conveyance, dissemination, broadcasting,
circulation, etc
Types of Communication
Communication
Non Verbal Communication

• Bodily actions and vocal qualities that accompany a verbal message.

• Nonverbal(NVCs) communication is the transmission of messages or
signals through a nonverbal platform such as eye contact, facial
expressions, gestures, posture, and the distance between two
individuals.
• Everything except words
Functions of NVCs
• Emphasizes the message
• Regulates Communication
• Complements the message
Types of Nonverbal Communication
• Kinesics Communication
• Leakages
• Emblems
• Illustrators
• Body Manipulators
• Proxemics
Kinesics
• Kinesics -- body language or body talk.
• It includes the entire non verbal behavior of the
communicator unconsciously.
• It transmits the unstated feelings, attitude and hidden
intentions of the speaker.
• Kinesics communication is a message conveyed
through non verbal acts, it includes:
Continued
• Facial Expression
• Eye contact
• Voice
• Gesture
• Posture
• Touch
• Time
Facial Expressions
• The way you consciously or unconsciously use your face to
communicate your message. A facial expression is one or more
motions or positions of the muscles beneath the skin of the face.
• Smiles
• Eye wink
• Scorn
• Disgust
• Suspicion
• Thoughtfulness
• Fear
Facial Expression
Eye Contact
• Occulesics
• Eye contact is a form of body language which is important
during communication.
• Eyes are the windows of soul
• When you keep eye contact with the person you are talking to it indicates
that you are focused and paying attention. It means that you are actually
listening to what the person has to say.
Voice
• It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it.
• When you speak, other people “read” your voice in addition to
listening to your words.
• Things they pay attention to include your timing and pace, how loud
you speak, your tone and inflection, and sounds that convey
understanding, such as “ahh” and “uh-huh.” These are called
vocalization.
• Think about how your tone of voice can indicate sarcasm, anger,
affection, or confidence.
Paralanguage
• Pitch--variation
• Volume---loudness
• Pace
• Rhythm
Gestures
Include
• Positive gestures:
• Thumbs up
• Clapping
• Patting at the back
• Nodding
• Negative
• Nail Biting
• Scratching
• Touching your hair or mustache
• Stamping your feet
Negative Gestures

• Aggressiveness
• Staring
• Pointing at someone
• Showing a fist
• Rudeness
• Shake hands too hard
• Whisper
• Yawn
• Look at watch
Continued
• Self Importance
• Eyes closed while talking
• Looking over the top of glasses
• Head bent back wards
• Superiority
• Not acknowledging greetings
• Shouting orders
• Continue to work as others speak
• Reclining in chair
Posture
• Positive posture
• Negative posture
• Open posture
• Closed Posture
• Power Pose
Power Pose
• Victory Pose
Leakage
A non verbal message conveyed through bodily movements is known as
Leakage.
Messages ‘slipping out’ in spite of our attempts to control them –
ensures that high credibility is given to non-verbal cues in the area of
feeling, emotion and attitude puts a lot of power in the hands of a
skilled communicator
Continued
• Emblems
Gestures that can substitute for words. Emblems are gestures that
have a specific agreed-on meaning. These are still different from the
signs used by hearing-impaired people or others
who communicate using American Sign Language (ASL).
• Body manipulators
Acts of touching any object or one’s own body unintentionally.
Fidgeting with hair, nose, ears
Proxemics
Proxemics: the study of the way we use and communicate with
space
• Intimate
• Personal
• Social
• Public
Touch
• Handshake
• Pat on the back
Use of Time
• Chronemics
• Time Management
• Planning
• Organization
• Avoiding Time Robbers
Appearance
• Artifactics
• Hair Style
• Dress
• Colour
• Style
• Size
• Appropriateness
How to improve Non verbal Communication?
• Monitor your sign Language
• Stand in front of the mirror
• Check your posture
• Make deliberate efforts
• Be conscious of space
• Be careful of your way of standing, sitting, speaking
Verbal Communication
Intrapersonal communication
• Day Dreaming
• Loud Thinking
• Writing one’s Thoughts
• Making a gesture while thinking
Inter personal Communication
• Face-To-Face meetings,
• Telephones,
• Video Conferencing
• On line Meetings
• Class room Teaching
• ( Involves gestures and words )
Stages of Interpersonal Communication

Phatic Stage----------EXPLORATORY
Personal Stage----------LOWER YOUR GUARD
Intimate Stage=======Close
Group communication
• Theatre
• Dance
• Group
• Class room
• Study /business groups
Mass Communication
• Mass Communication Messages distributed by the institutions such as
media have the potential to reach very large and anonymous
audience in a process called Mass Communication. Involves sharing
ideas across a large audience either at a given point or extended time
frame and usually involves a professional communicator. Media
include newspapers, magazines, books, films, TV, radio & now
internet. The fact is, it is the group communication which is extended
by the mass media tools.
Types of Communication
• Vertical Communication

• Lateral Communication

• Diagonal Communication

• Grapevine or Secret Communication

Vertical Communication
Written Communication: Merits and
Limitations Written Communication

Merits Limitations

• Accurate • Time consuming

• Precise •Expensive

• Legal document • Quick clarifications not possible

• Wide access

• Helps to fix responsibility

Oral Communication: Merits and Limitations
Oral Communication
Merits Limitations

• Saves time • Not possible for distant people in the

• absence of telephone or mobile
•Saves money
• Unsuitable for lengthy messages
• Highly persuasive
• Messages cannot be retained for long
• Conveys shades of meaning
• No legal validity
• Immediate feedback
• Greater chances of misunderstanding
• Immediate clarifications
• Not easy to fix responsibility in case of
• Can be informal misunderstanding

• More effective with groups

Choosing your medium

• The best way to communicate…

• an organizational change in your unit by memo and small
group meetings
• the introduction of a new employee by group and one-on-
one meetings
• a change in someone’s job duties by memo and one-on-
one meeting
• a reprimand in a one-on-one private meeting
• notice of a meeting by memo and email
Elements of Effective Telephonic
Communication
• Clear pronunciation
• Brevity “brevity is the soul of wit”
• Precision
• Conviction
• Logical sequence
• Proper choice of words
• Avoiding jargons, hackneyed phrases and clichés
• Natural and unaffected tone of speech
• Try to tune yourself to the wavelength of the listeners
Barriers to communication

• What are barriers to communication that exist in

any work setting?

Take a few moments to write down some

of your thoughts…
Barriers in Communication
• Interpretations of words

• Perception of reality

• Attitudes, opinions and emotions

Barriers in Communication
• Noise
• Inappropriate medium
• Assumptions/Misconceptions
• Emotions
• Language differences
• Poor listening skills
• Distractions
 BARRIERS TO
COMMUNICATION
PHYSICAL BARRIERS
• They are easy to spot – doors that are closed, walls that are erected, and
distance between people all work against the goal of effective
communication. While most agree that people need their own personal
areas in the workplace, setting up an office to remove physical barriers is the
first step towards opening communication.
• Many professionals who work in industries that thrive on collaborative
communication, such as architecture, purposefully design their workspaces
around an “open office” plan. This layout suggests cubicles in favor of desks
grouped around a central meeting space. While each individual has their
own dedicated work space, there are no visible barriers to prevent
collaboration with their co-workers. This encourages greater openness and
frequently creates closer working bonds.
PERCEPTUAL BARRIERS
• In contrast, they are internal. If you go into a situation thinking that
the person you are talking to isn’t going to understand or be
interested in what you have to say, you may end up subconsciously
sabotaging your effort to make your point.
• You will employ language that is sarcastic, dismissive, or even obtuse,
thereby alienating your conversational partner.
 EMOTIONAL BARRIERS
• They can be tough to overcome, but are important to put aside to
engage in conversations. We are often taught to fear the words
coming out of our own mouths, as in the phrase “anything you say
can and will be used against you.”
• Overcoming this fear is difficult, but necessary. The trick is to have full
confidence in what you are saying and your qualifications in saying it.
People often pick up on insecurity. By believing in yourself and what
you have to say, you will be able to communicate clearly without
becoming overly involved in your emotions.
REASONS
• Bad experience while speaking
• Emotional imbalance
• Self Consciousness
• Physical deformities
• Childhood experiences
CULTURAL BARRIERS
• They are a result of living in an ever shrinking world. Different
cultures, whether they be a societal culture of a race or simply the
work culture of a company, can hinder developed communication if
two different cultures clash.
• In these cases, it is important to find a common ground to work from.
One example of a culture barrier is when an American meets an
Indian person.
LANGUAGE BARRIERS
• They seem pretty self-inherent, but there are often hidden language
barriers that we aren’t always aware of.
• If you work in an industry that is heavy in jargon or technical
language, care should be taken to avoid these words when speaking
with someone from outside the industry.
• Without being patronizing, imagine explaining a situation in your
industry to a child.
• How would you convey these concepts without relying on jargon? A
clear, direct narrative is preferable to an incomprehensible slew of
specialty terms.
GENDER BARRIERS
They have become less of an issue in recent years, but there is still the
possibility for a man to misconstrue the words of a woman, or vice
versa.
Men and women tend to form their thoughts differently, and this must
be taken into account when communicating.
INTERPERSONAL BARRIERS
• They are what ultimately keep us from reaching out to each other and
opening ourselves up, not just to be heard, but to hear others. Oddly
enough, this can be the most difficult area to change. Some people
spend their entire lives attempting to overcome a poor self-image or a
series of deeply rooted prejudices about their place in the world.
• They are unable to form genuine connections with people because
they have too many false perceptions blocking the way
Lack of Interest
Lack of Motivation
Lack of attention
Taboos
Distractions
Habits
prejudices
CURE
• The cure for this is more communication.
By engaging with others, we learn what our
actual strengths and weaknesses are.
Effective Communication
Rules Methodology

1. Plan and clarify Test thinking

Collate ideas or suggestions of others
Support decision making
High-level motivation
2. Create a climate of trust and Win trust and confidence
confidence

3. Time your message carefully What, where, why, who, when and how?

4. Reinforce words with action Practice what you preach

5. Communicate effectively Use feedback

6. Clarity in message Use of simple and meaningful language

7. Purposeful communication Try to make one-to-one communication.

Be sincere and honest what you say.
Sharing your ideas

• Why and when is it necessary to share your ideas?

Take a few moments to write down some

of your thoughts…
Share your ideas to…

• State an opinion or position

• Give instructions or directions
• Announce a change
• Make presentations
• Participate in meetings
• Give information in emergencies
• Communicate the organizational mission, vision, and
values
• and other ideas you may have thought of
Obstacles to sharing ideas

• What can make sharing ideas difficult?

Take a few moments to write down some

of your thoughts…
Obstacles to sharing ideas…

• Your own shyness

• Fear of rejection
• Peer pressure
• Unorganized thinking
• Others possibly becoming defensive
• Physical disabilities (impaired sight, hearing, speech)
• Having to deal with aggressive people
• and others you may have thought of
SHARE your ideas – a model

• State the main point of your message

• Highlight other important points
• Assure the receiver’s understanding
• React to how the receiver responds
• Emphasize/summarize your main ideas
SHARE – an example
State the main point of your message
“I’d like to talk to you about the new employee welcome program”.
Highlight other important points
“We need to discuss the new schedule, locations, and presenters”.
Assure the receiver’s understanding
“Do you need me to further clarify how we are making invitations”?
React to how the receiver responds
“I understand your concern about parking”.
Emphasize/summarize your main ideas
“To wrap-up, I’ll develop the schedule and make the room reservations, if
you can line up the guest speakers”.
 Getting good information
• Why is it necessary to get good information from
others?

Take a few moments to write down some

of your thoughts…
Get good information to…

• Find out facts and details

• Get directions or instructions
• Try to understand another’s point of view
• Help someone solve a problem
• Resolve a team conflict
• Solve work problems
• and other ideas you may have thought of
 Obstacles to getting good information
• What can make getting good information difficult?

Take a few moments to write down some

of your thoughts…
Obstacles to getting good information

• Lack of trust
• Assuming you already know it all
• Jumping to conclusions
• Not valuing diverse opinions
• Weak reading skills
• Weak listening skills
• Weak questioning skills
• and other ideas you may have thought of
Hearing Vs Listening
• Hearing – Physical process, natural,
passive

• Listening – Physical as well as mental

process, active, learned process, a skill

Listening is hard. You must choose to

participate in the process of listening
Value of Listening
Listening to others is an elegant art.
 Good listening reflects courtesy and good manners.
 Listening carefully to the instructions of superiors improve competence and
performance.
 The result of poor listening skill could be disastrous in business,
employment and social relations.
Good listening can eliminate a number of imaginary grievances of employees.
Good listening skill can improve social relations and conversation.
Listening is a positive activity rather than a passive or negative activity.
Difficult negotiations
• Put your tendency to evaluate others on hold
• We must try to see things from the speaker’s perspective
• Reflect at the content, meaning, intention and feeling of the speaker
as we talk to them .

Normally we do these things. What is emphasized here is that we

must do consciously and not react to them on the spur of the
moment.
How to Communicate Effectively in Our
Pluralistic Society?
1. Show full respect to a man or a woman even if he or she is
dressed differently from you

2. Always give helpful and smiling eye contact

3. Your body language must be highly pleasing. Even if you don’t

agree with the person, be extremely courteous and helpful

4. Learn to appreciate as an individual, not as a stereotype such

as Kashmiris, Pathans, Punjabis etc.

5. Put your prejudices always on hold

Some Aspects of Global Communication
• Taking information from the speaker while remaining
non judgmental
• Acknowledging the speaker in a way that encourages
him to talk
• And providing some input to the talker’s response so
that his/her ideas may be fully unfolded.

Listening with understanding is key to effective

listening.
ESSENTIALS OF COMMUNICATION
Dos
Always think ahead about what you are going to say.
Use simple words and phrases that are understood by every body.
Increase your knowledge on all subjects you are required to speak.
Speak clearly and audibly.
Check twice with the listener whether you have been understood accurately or not
In case of an interruption, always do a little recap of what has been already said.
Always pay undivided attention to the speaker while listening.
While listening, always make notes of important points.
Always ask for clarification if you have failed to grasp other’s point of view.
Repeat what the speaker has said to check whether you have understood accurately.
ESSENTIALS OF COMMUNICATION
DON’Ts
Do not instantly react and mutter something in anger.
Do not use technical terms & terminologies not understood by majority of
people.
Do not speak too fast or too slow.
Do not speak in inaudible surroundings, as you won’t be heard.
Do not assume that every body understands you.
While listening do not glance here and there as it might distract the speaker.
Do not interrupt the speaker.
Do not jump to the conclusion that you have understood every thing.
How to Improve Existing Level of
Communication?
 Improve language.
 Improve pronunciation.
 Work on voice modulation.
 Work on body language.
 Read more
 Listen more
 Avoid reading or watching or listening unwanted literature, gossip, media presentation etc.
 Interact with qualitative people.
 Improve on you topic of discussion,
 Practice meditation & good thoughts.
 Think and speak.
 Do not speak too fast.
 Use simple vocabulary.
 Do not speak only to impress someone.
 Look presentable and confident.