The advantages of oral communication

There are many advantages that come along with oral communication. Below are some
of the most common advantages associated with this form of communication:

Oral communication makes way for instant feedback, unlike some other forms of
communications which do not provide this. The instant feedback associated with oral
communication allows for decisions to made very quickly without any delays.

Oral communication is one of the most effective means of communication.

Oral communication is very easy and simple. Also it avoids time wasting.

Another great advantage of the oral communication is the fact that it is very good
when it comes to the transmission of very private and confidential information. One
can rely on oral communication safely transfer certain confidential information.

Oral communication can be a relatively cheaper means of communication than

other means of communication since it can be achieved without the need of travelling
to communicate with people outside the organization. A mere telephone call can be
used instead of travelling.

Oral communication is particularly good when one wants to persuade or motivate

people into doing something.

Oral communication can be quite flexible in the sense that one can easily identify
his or her mistakes and correct them.

The above are some of the advantages of oral communication; let us now turn our
attention to the disadvantages.
The disadvantages of oral communication
Just like everything in this world that has an advantage must also have a disadvantage,
oral communication also has some disadvantages. They are as follows:

Unlike other means of communication, oral communication leaves behind no

permanent record, which could later pose problems in the future.

Things such as background noise could interfere during the transmission of

information and render the information ineffective.

Another disadvantage of the oral communication is the fact that if the speaker is

not a good speaker then an effective transmission of information might not take
place. A speaker that is not good would speak with little or no confidence and be
unable to provide clear and concise speech.
The last but not least problem with oral communication is the fact that the

receiver might misunderstand the information being transmitted.

Oral Communication - Meaning,

Advantages and Limitations
Oral communication implies communication through mouth. It includes individuals conversing with each
other, be it direct conversation or telephonic conversation. Speeches, presentations, discussions are all
forms of oral communication. Oral communication is generally recommended when the communication
matter is of temporary kind or where a direct interaction is required. Face to face communication
(meetings, lectures, conferences, interviews, etc.) is significant so as to build a rapport and trust.

Advantages of Oral Communication

There is high level of understanding and transparency in oral communication as it is

interpersonal.

There is no element of rigidity in oral communication. There is flexibility for allowing changes in
the decisions previously taken.

The feedback is spontaneous in case of oral communication. Thus, decisions can be made
quickly without any delay.

Oral communication is not only time saving, but it also saves upon money and efforts.

Oral communication is best in case of problem resolution. The conflicts, disputes and many
issues/differences can be put to an end by talking them over.

Oral communication is an essential for teamwork and group energy.

Oral communication promotes a receptive and encouraging morale among organizational

employees.

Oral communication can be best used to transfer private and confidential information/matter.

Disadvantages/Limitations of Oral Communication

Relying only on oral communication may not be sufficient as business communication is formal
and very organized.

Oral communication is less authentic than written communication as they are informal and not as
organized as written communication.

Oral communication is time-saving as far as daily interactions are concerned, but in case of
meetings, long speeches consume lot of time and are unproductive at times.

Oral communications are not easy to maintain and thus they are unsteady.

There may be misunderstandings as the information is not complete and may lack essentials.

It requires attentiveness and great receptivity on part of the receivers/audience.

Oral communication (such as speeches) is not frequently used as legal records except in
investigation work.

Advantages of oral communication

Oral communication involves many advantages. In a recent survey about
communication it is clear that more than 55% of the executives choose this
communication. The advantages of oral communication are as follows:
1.

Time saving: When action is required to be taken immediately it is best to

transmit a message orally. If the executives work load is high then they stop
writhing and by oral instructions they complete their message transmission and
released their work load and also it saves time.

2.

Cost savings: Cost is involved in any communication. When the communication

is needed within the organization and if it and is completed in orally, it has not
needed any paper, pen or stamp or computer. So it saves the money of the
organization.

3.

More powerful: Speech is a more powerful means of persuasion and control.

Therefore, executives often prefer to transmit messages orally.

4.

Effectiveness: With the help of variations in the tone, pitch and intensity of
voice, the speaker can convey shades of meaning. This factor also contributes to
the effectiveness of oral communication.

5.

Immediate feedback: The speaker can get immediate feedback on whether it is

creating a favorable impression on the receiver or whether the receiver will protest
or whether the receiver has receiver has clearly understood his meaning or is
feeling perplexed or baffled and he can mold and adjust his message accordingly.

6.

More suitable: The employees felt more suitable when the message transmits in
orally. They get an opportunity for feedback and clarification.

7.

A relationship develops: Oral communication is mostly carried out helps to

promote friendly relations between the parties communicating with each other.

8.

Flexibility: By the demand of the situations, oral instructions can be changed

easily and for these cases maintain the formalities are not necessary. So it is very
much flexible and effective.

9.

Easiness: It is so easy method of communication. It needs little preparation to

send a message. No need of pens, pencils and other writing equipments which are
needed in written communication.

10. Correction of errors: If any error is expressed at the time of oral

communication. It was possible to rectify at that time or within a very short time.
11. Informal communication: In oral communication, no need to maintain such
formalities which are needed in written communication. So it is easy and helpful to
any organization.
12. Motivation: In oral communication system, top executives and sub ordinates
staff can sit face-to-face and exchange their views directly, so sub-ordinates are
motivated day by day.
13. Special applications: Oral communication is more helpful in communicating
messages to groups of people at assembly meetings etc.
14. Maintaining secrecy: Interested parties of oral communication can maintain the
secrecy of messages easily.

Disadvantages of oral communication

Oral communication contains many advantages. In spite of this, there are oral
somedisadvantages which are given below:
1.

No record: In oral communication, messages are difficult to record. So it is

impossible to preserve the message for future.

2.

Expensive: It is also expensive media of communication. Sometimes the

audience can be managed by paying T. A and D. A. On the other hand
Technological devices that are used in this system are costly.

3.

Distortion of the word: If distortion of the word occurs in oral communication,

then main goals of the organization may be filed.

4.

Inaccuracy: There is very possibility of inaccurate messages to reach the

destination. So, the reverse result of expected plan may be occurred.

5.

Limited use: The scope of usage of oral communication is limited. It is not

suitable for lengthy messages. It should be sued for short message.

6.

Probability of omitting main subject: Sometimes, main subject may be omitted

to express a word for communicating. So, expected result may not be achieved.

7.

Confused speech: Sometimes the receiver fails to understand the meaning of a

message due to habitual productions of the speaker.

8.

No legal validity: there is any legal validity of the oral message. As, the oral
messages are not taped and kept records, so it can be denied easily if the situation
goes against the speaker.

9.

Late decision: It takes time to reach a decision. At the beginning stage,

sometime is killed in the discussion of any personal matters. Besides some time is
also wasted for irrelevant discussion. In this way decision making is delayed.

10. Less important: In oral communication, meaningless speech can mislead the
main effects of the communication. But when the information comes out in written,
we take it seriously.
11. Lack of secrecy: In oral communication, the important and secret information
may be disclosed.
12. Defective: Oral communication is defective for companys policy, procedure,
programs, law and other important information.
13. Creates misunderstanding: The speaker often gives message without having
properly organized it earlier. So, it is possible that he may not be able to make

himself properly to communicate with the receiver. As a result, misunderstanding

May develops.

Elements of Effective Oral Communication

Last Updated: Nov 02, 2015 | By Jessica Bell

Two women are talking outside. Photo Credit amanaimagesRF/amana images/Getty Images

If you've ever flubbed up while trying to communicate a message -- as most people have -- you
understand just how important the different aspects of communication are. Communication is far more
than just the words that come out of your mouth. It involves an intricate web of cues woven together to tell
others what you really mean when you say something. Sharpen your communication and leadership skills
by honing all of the elements of effective communication next time you convey a message.

Word Choice
Some people are naturally more eloquent than others and seem to always have the right words to say in any given
situation. If you're not blessed with the ability to speak off the cuff, you can improve upon this skill with practice. If
you need to communicate an important message verbally, schedule a time to do it, and then practice what you intend
to say by writing it down first. Make sure that you have effectively gotten your message across by asking the person
with whom you're communicating to paraphrase what you've just told him. You can also greatly improve your word
arsenal by becoming an avid reader.

Body Language
Body language is a powerful tool for communicating messages that includes all nonverbal cues used during
communication, such as eye contact, posture, gestures and facial expressions. Body language can be far more
powerful than spoken words. The two research studies most often cited on the impact of body language over verbal
communication, both published in 1967 and led by Albert Mehrabian, concluded that body language accounts for 55
percent of communication. Ensure your message is communicated properly by making sure that your body and
mouth are on the same page when you speak.

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Hone Your Tone

The tone of your voice helps convey your attitude and emotions during communication. Tone includes vocal
inflections and word choice, and when improperly used, can confuse your audience or end up sending an unintended
message. For example, an apology offered with a snappy "I'm sorry" is very different from one that utilizes a warm,
soft voice and conveys genuine emotion by explaining the reason for the apology.

Be a Good Listener
It may sound contradictory, but an important part of being an effective communicator is simultaneously being a great
listener. Remember, communication is a two-way street that involves both relaying your own messages and
understanding the messages of others. Become a good listener by focusing intently on the words some is
communicating. Make eye contact and nod to indicate you understand, or ask questions once he is finished if there
are things you are unclear about. Don't interrupt, and don't allow outside distractions to draw your attention away
from your speaker.

The Elements of Verbal Communication Skills

Communication is a broad topic. It involves both non-verbal and
verbal communication skills. The non-verbal communication skills
are crucial and we talk about them often. But, today, lets focus in on
the verbal side of things from the perspective of a person actually
speaking.
How can we organize our thoughts about these verbal
communication skills? It can help to break them down to their basic
elements as weve done below.

Voice Tone
Voice tone is so basic that it can come into play even when youre
not uttering words, per se. Even when you simply make a sigh or
laugh, your voice tone modifies how it is likely to be interpreted.
When you do use words, the tone in which you say them can make
all the difference.

Voice Speed
Speaking fast can convey an excited or agitated feel. Speaking
slower can convey a steady, reliable feel. Speaking very slow can let
someone know that youre either bored or tired. If youve ever
experienced someone speaking at a speed that is incongruent with
the content of what theyre saying, you know how this can stand out.

Voice Volume
Volume can range from a whisper to a scream and everything in
between. A very quiet voice can represent that you are sharing
something you dont want overheard, that you are being
mischievous or that you are depressed. A very loud voice can
express great joy or terror.
A humorous demonstration of the importance of using appropriate
voice volume can be found in the skit below, in which Will Ferrell

plays Jacob Silj, a man who was born with voice immodulation, a
disorder that leaves him unable to modulate the volume of his voice.

Language
According to Wikipedias page on Language, there are an estimated
6000-7000 languages spoken in the world. How many of these do
you know fluently or at least in part? The more languages in which
you have some level of competency, the more ways you can phrase
things and the more diverse the audience to which you can connect.
Depending on your position in the world and what you use
communication for, you might want to put in the effort to learn a
new language or two. But it can also be helpful just to know some of
the key phrases in some of the most commonly spoken languages
around the world.

Vocabulary
Notice that it is only after focusing on some of the modifying verbal
communication skills and contexts that we even arrive at a
discussion of the actual words themselves. But make no mistake.
The particular words you use do matter a great deal. As a verbal
communicator, your words are your toolbox, your palette, your set of
ingredients. The more broad and diverse your vocabulary, the more
effective you can be in expressing yourself to others.

Courtesy of lel4nd on Flickr

Some people go as far as reading the dictionary to really flood

themselves over time with new insight into vocabulary. But you also
could consider things like using a word-a-day calendar or signing up
for a word-a-day email to learn at a more slow and steady rate. At
the very least, as you go about your day, if you hear a word that you
dont quite know, take a few seconds to look it up. Over time your
vocabulary will gradually improve.

Grammar
Grammar is the set of rules for how words connect into phrases and
phrases into sentences and so on. You could employ the most
impressive vocabulary on earth, but if you put the words into an
order incompatible with the rules of grammar, you will not sound
very credible or convincing. And grammar varies from one language
to another.
So whichever language you plan to use, make sure to learn the
grammar rules that it requires.

Advantages and disadvantages of speech

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Advantages of speech
There are some advantages of goodspeech. They are given below:
1.

Easy to understand: If the speaker delivers his or her speech on the basis of
the audience level, it becomes easy understanding. So, the main advantages of
speech are understandable.

2.

Time saving: Direct speech between the speaker and the listener saves time to
communicate information.

3.

Good relation: Speech can help to develop the relation between the speaker
and the audiences. It is possible to establish friendly relation among the parties
concern through direct speech.

4.

Cost saving: Direct speech saves money, because it does not require any
device or writing instruments like pen, paper, computer, telephone etc.

5.

Suitability: It is very suitable to communicate with both illiterate and literate

people. But written communication is suitable only for literate people.

6.

Quick means: Speech is a quick mean of communication. Many formalities are

to be needed for written or other communications. But it does not take any
formality.

7.

Direct feedback: There is a quick and direct feedback of oral communication,

because the audience can interact directly to the speaker.

8.

Mass communication: Direct speech is suitable for mass communication. The

speaker can communicate with many people at a time through speech.

Disadvantage of speech
There are some limitations and disadvantages of speech. These limitations are stated
below:
1.

Inaccuracy: The main disadvantages of speech or inaccuracy. If the speaker

fails to understand the need of the audiences, speech becomes worthless.

2.

Complexity: This form of communication increases the complexity in the

communication channel. If the number of audience is large, it is difficult to
understand the meaning of the speech.

3.

Delay: It is a lengthy process to take decision making because it takes more

times for personal discussions to each other. If the audiences do not understand
the meaning of the speech it takes more time to take a final decision.

4.

Irrelevancy: Sometimes the speaker delivers an irrelevant speech which makes

the audience displeasure or disgust.

5.

No record: Usually no records are kept in this form of communication. So

speech cannot be sued as legal document unless it is taped.

6.

Lack of secrecy: In this form of communication, the important and secret

information may be disclosed.

7.

Conflict: Speech cannot be kept in mind for long. So it can create many conflicts
among the parties concerned.

8.

Expensive: Sometimes the organization pays the T.A. And D. A. To the

audiences. So it is also expensive.

Qualities of a good speaker

The successes of the speeches fully depend on the qualities of the speaker. The
speakers qualities are given below:

A good speaker is lively, interested, enthusiastic and vital. He treats his

audience as a group of living people. He makes it sure that he is keenly interested
in the subject he is speaking about and he is taking pains to make his audience
equally interested in it.

A good speaker is earnest. He does not speak just for the sake of speaking in
order to show off, to impress his audience with his erudition or his authority.

A good speaker has a sense of responsibility to his listeners and to others. He

does not take more time than what it allotted to him.

A good speaker has a sense of responsibility to his subject. He does not bite off
more than he can chew. He does not spread it thin.

A good speaker has a sense of leadership; he stands up tall, he talks eye to eye,
speaks responsibly and with authority, as a leader should.

A good speaker keeps his head. He is not carried off by over enthusiasm or
over confidence.

A good speaker keeps his sense of honor.

Elements of Speech
Communication
The sender is the one delivering the message. The sender functions as a speaker or a
writer depending on the method of communication. The message is what the sender
wants to convey. In oral communication, non-verbal language becomes part of the
message, intentional or not. While the message is extremely important, whether or not it
is effectively communicated largely depends on the other elements. The receiver is the
targeted audience. For oral communication, he is a listener. For written communication,

he is the reader. He brings his own life experiences to the table, and these influence
what he hears (or reads) and understands.
Feedback refers to responses from the audience. These responses indicate what has
actually been communicated or understood and influences how the sender continues.
The channel or medium is the vehicle through which the communication takes place,
whether oral or written. Interference has the potential to greatly affect the message. Any
noise made during the delivery or any interruption aimed toward the receiver affects his
understanding and the accuracy with which he hears or reads the message. The
situation of the communication affects the message as well. Degrees of formality,
comfort and emotion all affect the reception of the message. Ultimately, the goal of
communication is to get the message across and have it received as intended.

8 key elements of highly effective speech:

1. Gentle eye contact
2. Kind facial expression
3. Warm tone of voice
4. Expressive hand and body gestures
5. Relaxed disposition
6. Slow speech rate
7. Brevity
8. The words themselves
Effective communication is based on trust, and if we dont trust the speaker, were not
going to listen to their words. Trust begins with eye contact because we need to see the
persons face to evaluate if they are being deceitful or not. In fact, when we are being

watched, cooperation increases.[1] When we are not being watched, people tend to act
more selfishly, with greater dishonesty.[2]
Gentle eye contact increases trustworthiness and encourages future cooperation,
[3] and a happy gaze will increase emotional trust.[4] However, if we see the slightest bit
of anger orfear on the speakers face, our trust will rapidly decrease.[5] But you cant
fake trustworthiness because the muscles around your mouth and eyes that reflect
contentment and sincerity are involuntary. Solution: if you think about someone
you love, or an event that brought you deep joy and satisfaction, a "Mona Lisa" smile
will appear on your face and the muscles around your eyes will soften.
The tone of your voice is equally important when it comes to understanding what a
person is really trying to say. If the facial expression expresses one emotion, but if the
tone conveys a different one, neural dissonance takes place in the brain, causing the
person confusion.[6] The result: trust erodes, suspicion increases, and cooperation
decreases.
Researchers at the Universityof Amsterdam found that expressions of anger, contempt,
disgust, fear, sadness, and surprise were better communicated through vocal tone than
facial expression, whereas the face was more accurate for communicating expressions
of joy, pride, and embarrassment.[7] And in business, a warm supportive voice is the
sign of transformational leadership, generating more satisfaction, commitment, and
cooperation between other members of the team.[8]
You can easily train your voice to convey more trust to others, and all you have to do is
slow down and drop your pitch. This was tested at the University of Houston: when
doctors reduced their speaking rate and pitch, especially when delivering bad news, the
listener perceived them as more caring and sympathetic.[9] Harvard's Ted Kaptchuk
also discovered that using a warm voice would double the healing power of a
therapeutic treatment.[10]
If you want to express joy, your voice needs to become increasingly melodic, whereas
sadness is spoken with a flat and monotonic voice. When we are angry, excited, or

frightened, we raise the pitch and intensity of our voice, and theres a lot of variability in
both the speed and the tone. However, if the emotion is incongruent with the words you
are using, it will create confusion for the listener.[11]
Gestures, and especially hand movements, are also important because they help
orchestrate the language comprehension centers of your brain.[12] In fact, your brain
needs to integrate both the sounds and body movements of the person who is speaking
in order to accurately perceive what is meant.[13] From an evolutionary perspective,
speech emerged from hand gestures and they both originate the same language area of
the brain.[14] If our words and gestures are incongruent, it will create confusion in the
listeners brain.[15] Our suggestion: practice speaking in front of a mirror, consciously
using your hands to describe the words you are speaking.