JKUAT Communication Skills Course Overview

JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY
OF
AGRICULTURE & TECHNOLOGY
JKUAT SODeL
SCHOOL OF OPEN, DISTANCE AND eLEARNING

P.O. Box 62000, 00200
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Nairobi, Kenya
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E-mail: elearning@jkuat.ac.ke
HRD 2101 Communication Skills
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This presentation is intended to covered within one week.
The notes, examples and exercises should be supple-
mented with a good textbook. Most of the exercises have
solutions/answers appearing elsewhere and accessible by
clicking the green Exercise tag. To move back to the same
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page click the same tag appearing at the end of the solu-
tion/answer.
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Errors and omissions in these notes are entirely the re-

sponsibility of the author who should only be contacted
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through the Department of Curricula & Delivery

(SODeL) and suggested corrections may be e-mailed to
elearning@jkuat.ac.ke.
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JKUAT: Setting trends in higher Education, Research and Innova-
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LESSON 1
Introduction to Communication Skills
1.1. Learning Outcomes

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Upon completion of this topic you should be able to:

• Define communication
• Highlight the two main types of communication
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• Describe the essentials of communication

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• Describe the communication process

• Explain the characteristics of effective communication
• Outline the barriers to effective communication and how
JJ II to overcome them.
J I • Explain the various levels of communication.
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1.2. Introduction
Hallo. Welcome to Communication Skills! All human relations,
be it formal or non-formal, official or unofficial are created, de-
veloped and sustained through communication. As such it is
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not only important to carry out communication as a means to

facilitating these relationships but to acquire it as an essential
skill of life. This basically underlines the necessity of the study
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of this unit as a whole. In this lesson, we shall acquint our-

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selves with communication as a process and how we can make

this process as effective as possible during its execution at all
levels. As it is common practice in learning any discipline, we
shall also evaluate the barriers to effective communication and
JJ II how to overcome them - afterall, knowing your enemy, is a big
J I step towards beating the enemy! Let’s start this exiting journey
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by defining Communication and other relevant terms that we
will use throughout this course.
1.3. Definition
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Communication refers to the conveying of ideas from the mind

of one person to the mind of another which takes place between
two or more people, (Harding, 1985 ). Simply put, it implies
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that when a person has some idea, they can easily transfer this
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idea as it is, to another person’s mind or other people’s minds

with no dificulty. That is, the idea can just be thrown like a ball
to another person, passed like water flowing from one point of a
pipe to another. However, this is not usually true as we will learn
JJ II soon that people do not always manage to transfer thier ideas
J I to other people and the ideas are received wholly or fully as was
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intended. Otherwise, we would not have such expressions com-
monly found in communication scenarios as: misunderstanding,
misinterpretation, miscommunication, etc. It is also important
to note that when we use such verbs like ’conveying, transfer-
ring, passing’, it brings to the mind the use of some sort of
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means or methode to do this. We will learn more about this

means in the later sections. The above definition leads to what
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communicators have termed as the traditional conduit model of

the communication process, depicted in fig. 1.1 below:
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The traditional conduit method of communication has been crit-

icized for being shallow and misleading because:
JJ II • It simply depicts communication as a hollow pipe through
J I which info flows smoothly without any interference
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Figure 1.1: The Conduit model of the Communication process

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• It assumes that the intended meaning is always transferred

to the other person which is not realistic
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• It does not indicate if there is any shared meaning between

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the communicators
From the above it has become clear that a better definition of
communication is required. Let us find out what other scholars
say. According to Angelo and Robert (1987 ), communication
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has been defined as “the exchange of ideas or information be-
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tween a ’sender’ and a ’receiver’, and the inference or percep-
tion of meaning between the individuals or parties involved or
concerned. An analysis of this exchange reveals that communi-
cation is a two - way process, consisting of consecutively linked
elements, in which the sender and the receiver keep changing
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roles until an agreement is reached”. This is a more comprehen-

sive definition of communication, as it implies the perception of
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meaning (shared meaning, or understanding) between individu-

als or parties involved.
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•.1. A few concepts to note and clarify in the above definition:

1. Exchange - the use of this verb ’to exchange implies that
JJ II there is a king of “give and take” situation between the
J I individuals or parties involved in the communication. For
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instance, in fig.1 above, there some communication be-
tween persons A and B. The arrows indicate that person
A gets an idea, which he/she passes to person B. Person
B does not just keep quiet, he/she gets another idea that
he/she passes to person A.
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2. Sender and Receiver - this specification is important as it

means that for maeningful communication to take place,
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there must be particular designated individual, groups, or

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organizations involved in the communication, not just peo-

ple who are at large or undefined.
3. Two - way process - the two - wayness of communication
is brought about by the concept of exchange explained in
JJ II 1, above. It is not a unidirectional activity, both indi-
J I viduals or parties must be actively engaged in giving and
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taking of ideas or information from the other party. The
term process suggests that communication takes place at
different distinct stages of development which are so cru-
cial for the success of that communication. Each of this
stages form the elements of the process which are consecu-
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tively linked, i.e follow one another in a systematic order.

If any of these elements is not given due considration in
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the communication process the a break-down occurs.

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4. Perception or Inference - when we are confronted with

some new idea or information, we think about it, digest it
and create some meaning out of it in our mind. This mind
picture (how we understand the idea) is know as percep-
JJ II tion or an inference of meaning. People percieve (under-
J I stand) things, ideas or even objects depending on how they
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were brought up or socialized, i.e based on how they were
introduced to and what they have been told about these
things, ideas and objects by their parents, family members
and the larger society. In other words, communication
is culture-based. For example, we have about 42 differ-
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ent tribes, speaking different languages in Kenya. Differ-

ent words/objects/symbols mean different things to these
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tribes, and in some cases, the same word/object/symbol

would mean different things to members of different tribes.
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Consider the Example below:
Example . What would an animal like a cat mean or sym-

bolize to your friends from the following tribes living in Kenya?
JJ II a) Luo
J I b) Mijikenda
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Solution: To the Luo it is simply a pet and a protection
against other unwanted animals in the home like rats and snakes,
while to the Mijikenda from the coast it will symbolize a bad
omen, or mashetani
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1.4. The Communication Process

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We have said that communication is a two-way process consist-

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ing of consecutively linked elements. Let’s take a brief moment

to analyze these elements in order to understand the role each
of them play in this process. We will use fig. 1.2 below as an
illustration of the continuously linked elements of the communi-
JJ II cation process. Beginning from the arrows indicate the direction
J I of the flow of information or idea.
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Figure 1.2:
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We will now try to understand each of these elements:
1. Sender - Who is the sender? What role does a sender
play in the communication process? This is the originator
of any one given information. He/she concieves an idea,
does encoding and creates a message and then looks for
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and decides on a suitable method to pass that message on

to the receiver. He actively seeks a feedback, which he
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decodes to create meaning. The communication process

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begins with the sender.

2. Encoding - This refers to the process of transforming a
mental idea or picture into a language that the receiver can
understand. The language in this case does not only mean
JJ II a description in the words of spoken languages like English
J I or Swahili or French, but also any signs, diagrams and
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even photgraphs. Encoding is important as it enables the
sender to think through their idea and come up with the
most suitable way of sharing the idea with others thereby
transfering the intended meaning.
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3. Message - This is the output or outcome of the encod-

ing process. Depending on the complexity of the idea, a
sender may decide to use words which are spoken or writ-
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ten, draw a diagram, use a map or anything that can help

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a receiver understand the idea the the sender has. The

message carries the import of communication and without
clear, appropriate message, meaning will never be trans-
fered accurately between any two communicators.
JJ II 4. Medium - It is the means, method or channel used to
J I pass some information or message to a receiver. Various
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media exist ranging from formal numeric like computer
print out showing the last 10 transactions someone has
done in a bank account obtained from an ATM to a face-
to-face form like a meeting. The medium is as crucial
as the message itself and a considerable thought must be
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given to its choice. We will look into this in greater details

later.
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5. Receiver - What do we mean by a receiver in the com-

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munication process? It is the person, or group of people or

the organization for whom/which a message is intended.
Mark this word intended. It means that there must be
a particular, designated person, or audience, or organiza-
JJ II tion the sender wanted to reach with the message. If the
J I message went to any other parties they may find it irrele-
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vant ant meaningless, The receiver decodes an information
from a sender, transforms it into a mental picture, creat-
ses meaning out it (interprets the message), and comes up
with a new message to be given back to the sender.
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6. Decoding - This is process of transforming the informa-

tion/ message so received into a mental picture thereby
creating meaning out of it. It is usually carried out by the
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receiver. If wrongly done, the receiver ends up with wrong

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mental picture and fails to get the intended meaning of

the sender. This will result in a wrong feedback leading to
a total communication breakdown.
7. Feedback - This describes the response or reaction of a
JJ II receiver to some message or information given back to an
J I original sender. Once a receiver creates meaning out a
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message received, they will be ready to respond. At this
point the second half of the communication process begins,
the change of roles occurs - the receiver becomes the sender
while the sender becomes the receiver. It is important to
note that feedback completes the communiction process.
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The greatest role of the feedback is to enable the parties

involved in the communication to make a decision as what
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is the next step. This particularly important to business

managers and all people in general.
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8. Noise - Also known as barriers to effective refers to any-

thing that interferes with the information or the commu-
nication process at any of its stages. There are a number
JJ II of barriers ranging from physical distraction to semantic
J I and linguitic barriers. This are explained in details the
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sections below. The arrows from the oval marked ’noise’
in fig. 2 above point to the stages of the communica-
tion process that can be affected by various ’Noises’. It is
this noise that causes misunderstanding, miscommunica-
tion and even complete failure in communication.
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Example . Identify the roles that the sender and receiver

keep changing in the communication process.
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Solution: The role of sending and receiving messages . At the

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initial stage the sender originates the message sends it to the

receiver, at the creation of the feedback, the receiver becomes
the sender and the initial sender becomes the receiver.
JJ II Exercise 1. a) Why is communication described as a pro-

J I cess?
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b) Use about ten sentences to create a paragraph describing
the communication process.
1.5. Quality/Effective Communication

The other important terminology we must understand is what is
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meant by Quality communication or Effective communication.

Quality or effective communication is defined as communication
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in which the receiver gets the intended meaning of the message

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from the sender. How can this be achieved? Several factors

come into play in determing the effectiveness of communication.
These can be looked at from the following three perspectives:
• Communication that is free from all noise or barriers can
JJ II be said to be effective;
J I • Communication which adheres to the 7Cs can be said to
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be effective;
• Communication in which the ‘Information richness’ of the
medium is appropriately matched with the ‘complexity’
of the problem/situation at hand can also be said to be
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effective.
These are discussed in details in the following sections:
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1.6. Barriers to effective communication

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A communication barrier, also known as noise, is anything that

hinders or interferes with the communication at any of the stages
of the communication process. There are many barriers which
can be summarized into six major categories as below:
JJ II 1. Physical distractions – anything in the physical envi-
J I ronment where communication is taking place e.g. noise
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from planes taking off, telephone rings during a meeting,
extreme weather conditions, or physical distance between
the communicators.
2. Sender characteristics – personal attributes associated
with the sender e. g wrong or poor attitude towards
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sender, stereotyping, lack of sympathy for sender, unclear

non-specific message (technical or business jargons), phys-
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ical appearance, mannerisms, etc.

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3. Receiver characteristics – these can be as a result of

wrong attitude of the receiver towards a sender, unrecep-
tiveness to new ideas, inability to concentrate, prejudice,
lack of empathy for sender among others.
JJ II 4. Sender/receiver differences - these include differences
J I in age, gender, cultural background, educational back-
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ground/level, past experiences, personal preferences and
level of exposure.
5. Psychological/Mental/Emotional distractions - this
may be caused by stress related problems, extreme feelings
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of anger or excitement, mental pre-occupations, and men-

tal illness.
6. Semantic/Linguistic barriers - these are things such
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as differences in languages spoken by the sender and the

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receiver. If the two do not have a common language which

they can use to communicate, it becomes a barrier. Others
may include discriminative language, pronunciation and
articulation problems, words that sound or look similar
JJ II but have different meanings to the communicators, etc.
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Overcoming communication barriers
The basic principle is to identify the barrier or barriers and deal
with them effectively. Below are some suggestions on how the
various barriers can be overcome: Physical distractions can be
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overcome by:
1. Holding meetings in a noise free environment;
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2. In addition, take staff away from the normal workplace to

avoid temptation to sneak out of meetings to attend to
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pending work in the office;

3. Moreover, switch off mobile phone during a meeting or put
them on a silent mode to avoid disruptions;
JJ II 4. Also,meeting rooms should be of suitable size depending
J I on the number of people involved, temperatures should be
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moderate, etc.
5. Besides that, take into account the different geographical
time-zones and implications these may have on communi-
cation when deciding which media to use.
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Sender oriented barriers can be lessened through:

1. Approaching all communication situations with a right
(neutral) attitude towards the receiver
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2. Always avoid stereo-typing

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3. Moreso, have emphathy for receiver i.e asking the question:

“If I were the one receiving this message, what would I feel
about it?”
JJ II 4. Remember to always compose clear, specific messages
J I 5. Taking care of ones physical appearance and mannerisms
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by being ’well groomed’
A receiver can eliminate barriers associated with him by prac-
tising the following:
1. Adopting the right attitude towards the sender
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2. Always show interest in what the sender has to say as op-

posed to dismissing it as not intereting before it is tabled.
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3. Moreover, he or she should be deliberately open and re-

ceptive to new ideas.
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4. In addition to this, embrace emotional intelligence- try to

be empathetic to the sender.
5. It is essential to have a clear mind in order to be able to
JJ II concentrate on the message being deliverred.
J I 6. Ask questions that seek clarification on the messgae if need
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be.
Sender/receiver differences can be overcome by practising the
following:
1. Being professional, especially in an organisational setup-
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personal differences should be kept aside when handling

official issues in communication.
2. Being diplomatic, in the event of conflict between sender
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and receiver, the two parties should embrace dialogue and

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reach an amicable solution to their qualms.

3. Avoid social discrimination by embracing one another and
be willing to communicate despite cultural, age or gender
differences(ethical practice).
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J I 4. Both parties should embrace their differences as a means
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to build experience in interacting with different people (at-
titudinal correction).
5. Embrace variety as a vital principal for development- dif-
ferent people provide several different views which create
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a pool of ideas that is necessary for any development in an

organisation.
Psychological, mental and emotional distractions can be undone
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in various ways:
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1. The handlers of staff should be willing to allow them time

to sort out social issues that make them emotional e.g.
death of a relative, delivery of a child.
2. Avoid saying anything when you are extremely emotional,
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be it angry,sorrowful, or extremely excited.
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3. People experiencing psychological stress should take up
therapy to relieve them of stress.
4. In the event of mental illness, please seek medical advice
and treatment if available.
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Linguistic barriers can be overcome through the following ways:

1. In the event of absence of a common language, skilled in-
terpreters should be engaged to foster communication.
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2. Avoid the use of homonyms (words that sound the same

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and have more than one meaning), this reduces a great

deal the risk of misinterpretation.
3. Both the sender and receiver should make it a habit to
JJ II speak proper language- use proper sentence structure, ac-
J I curate pronunciation and articulation just to mention a
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few.
4. Have clarity of speech- use adequate volume in your speech
that you may be heard properly.
5. Take diction into account- be sure of the meaning of your
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choice words before you use them.
1.7. The 7Cs

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1. Clarity: This refers to the choice and use of simple, pre-

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cise, familiar right words and short sentences to express

your ideas.
2. Courtesy: this refers to sincere and genuine expressions
JJ II that stem out of respect and care for others. It involves be-
J I ing sincere, avoiding anger and extreme rapture, refraining
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from preaching, and use of positive words.
3. Conciseness: It means being precise and straight to the
point. It is achieved by eliminating all redundant words.
4. Correctness: it refers to correct use of grammar, message
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composition, appropriate words and adapting the right

level of communication to suit the receiver’s level.
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5. Concreteness: it refers to having precision and being

factual. it is the opposite of being abstract and vague.
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6. Consideration: it refers to giving due importance to the

receiver, keeping in mind the various factors like price,
delivery date, specifications and other benefits from the
JJ II receiver’s side.
J I 7. Completeness: it refers to not only providing all the nec-
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essary information, but also how the matter is put across
to the receiver. The substance and style of the receiver
must go hand in hand.
1.8. The communication medium

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As mentioned earlier, this element is so important in enhancing

communication that it is worth dedicating considerable time,
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effort and thought in choosing or selecting the most appropri-

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ate communication medium in any communication arena. The

method, means or ways through which we pass messages to
others will greatly influence the perception of these others of
the message thus influencing effectiveness. In this section we
JJ II learn about two methods of selecting a communication medium:
J I 1) The general factors, and 2) The contingency approach to
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medium selection.
General factors to consider when choosing/selecting a

communication medium:
• Degree of urgency with which feedback is required.
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• Whether for internal or external purposes.

• The organizational structure in place.
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• Physical distance between communicators.

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• Time of day or season.

• Need for accuracy.
• Importance of a written record.
JJ II • Legal requirements.
J I • Confidentiality.
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• Security.
• Credibility.
• Complexity of material to be communicated.
• Availability of the medium to both the sender and receiver.
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• Level of technology required.

• Impression one desires to create.
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• Status of the recipient.

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• Nature of the message.

• Speed - how fast the information must reach the receiver,
• The cost - how cheap or expensive is the means?
JJ II • The size of the intended audience.
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This list provides very good guidelines for communicators to use
when deciding which medium to use for which communication.
However, in business management it may prove too long and
cumbersome to go through. Most of the cases managers do not
have too much time at their disposition. This necessitates the
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need for a method that can help them make quicker decisions,
hence the contingency approach to meia selection.
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The contingency approach to media selection:

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This is the approach which is widely used by managers to se-

lect an appropriate communication medium. It is based on two
factors: the Information Richness of the medium and the com-
plexity of the problem or the situation at hand. In this the
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different communication media are grouped into five major cat-
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egories, namely:
1. Face -to-face
2. Telephone
3. Personal written
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4. Formal written
5. Formal numeric.
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So what is the ’information richness’ of a medium, and how do

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we determine it?
Definition. The information richness of a medium is defined
as ’the potential information carrying capacity of a given datum
of communication’.If communication of an item of data provides
JJ II substantial new understanding then it will be considered high in
J I richness. If the datum provides little understanding then it will
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be considered low in richness. For example, if a wink of an eye,
during a conversation would add new meaning to what is being
said, then we consider such a datum rich in information. To
determine the information richness of a medium, the following
factors are considered:
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1. Feedback - how fast it can be obtained

2. Channel - ranging from a combination of audio and visual
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to limited visual
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3. Type of communication - ranging from personal to imper-

sonal
4. Language source - ranging from a combination of body
JJ II and natural to natural
J I The frame work below will help you understand how this works:
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Table 1.1: Determinants of Information Richness of a Medium

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Interpretation. This framework shows that face to face com-

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munication is highest in information richness as it allows

for immediate feedback, one can hear what is being said
as well as observe body language, it is more personal in
terms of tone and approach and language source is the en-
JJ II tire body that makes it less artificial. On the other hand,
J I formal numeric has the lowest information richness when
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you consider the four important factors.
Let’s have a look at the complexity of the problem at hand:
Definition. Managers face situations of different complexity:
Complexity implies the level of difficulty in understanding or
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analyzing a problem. A highly complex managerial problem is

one with the following characteristics:
• ambiguous,
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• unpredictable or unexpected/unforeseen,
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• hard to analyze and understand

• has no laid down procedures of solving it, and
• is generally emotionally ladden.
JJ II Managers spend more time analyzing such because they rely on
J I more sources of information during their deliberation. There are
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no straight forward solutions to such problems or situations.
An example of such a problem is a major re-organization in
an institution or a firm, where some established departments
have to merged into one department and others split or new
ones created. The dilemma will be when two or more depart-
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ments are merged, which of the existing HOD’s becomes the

head of the new department? What do you do with the other
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one(s) that now have no department to head? How best can

this be communicated to the affected parties? On the contrary,
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a problem that is low in coplexity is one which is:

• simple and easy to understand
• predictable
JJ II • has laid down procedures of solving it
J I • routine
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• non-emotional involving
Take the case of preparing a monthly pay for a new employee
in an organization, for example, all the Human Resource Man-
ager needs to do is to inform the salary section of the effective
date of employment and the grade or scale of entry point of the
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employee, they will easily come up with the employee’s payslip

as most organizations have predetermined pay packages for all
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levels of employees. This a problem which is low in complexity.

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Having understood these concepts, we can look at the con-

tingency approach to media selection. This is usually presented
in the form of a gragh a shown in fig 1.3.1.3.
Interpretation
JJ II The model above is based on the interaction between the infor-
J I mation richness of a mediun, ranging from low to high along the
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Figure 1.3: Contingency model of Selecting a Model
JJ II
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vertical axis, and the complexity of the problem, also ranging
from low to high along the horizontal axis. It is divided into
three major zones or areas which are explained below:
• Overload Zone - The medium chosen provides more in-
formation than necessary. For example, if all a person with
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a savings account in a bank wanted to know is how much

is in the account, then books an appointment for a face-to-
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face meeting with CEO of the bank to get that informa-

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tion, the graph when plotted will fall in the overlaod zone.
Face to face medium like the meeting is a rich medium
and should br used to solve amore complex problem. This
area represents a zone of ineffective communication. Like
JJ II in this case the CEO of the bank will be wondering if this
J I particular client is in his right senses!
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• Oversimplification Zone - The medium chosen provides
very little or inadequate information to help one make a
decision, e.g the use of a simple medium like an informal
notice to inform staff of a take-over of the company by
another company. There will be too many questions from
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the staff due to anxiety and future uncertainties whose

answers cannot be provided in the notice! This represents
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another area of ineffective communication. A more rich

medium should be used to provide a solution to such a
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complex problem contained in the example.

• Zone of effective communication - In this middle zone,
the Information richness of the medium is correctly matched
JJ II with Complexity of a problem at hand. For instance, imag-
J I ine a simple problem like wanting to know the balance in
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ones bank account, all the person needs to do is access this
information from a computer generated print out through
an ATM machine, or at home through the mobile phone - a
formal numeric. Or, in the case of business mergers, or ac-
quisitions elaborate meetings with affected parties would
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be most appropriate - a face-to-face medium.

According to this approach therefore, effective communication is
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defined as any communication in which the information richness

c
of a medium of communication is appropriately matched with

the complexity of the problem and hand.
1.9. Levels of Communication

JJ II It is important to mention that communication occurs at dif-
J I ferent levels and sometimes these levels have been also used to
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describe what communication is, causing confusion to students
as to what communication really is? We briefly describe these
levels in the following paragraphs in an attempt to eliminate
this confusion.
JKUAT SODeL
Intrapersonal Communication
This takes place within an individual’s mind through the process
2017
of thinking and feeling. The individual is able to process and

take time to strike understanding with him/ herself and others.
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It is useful in the following ways:

• It helps and individual to shape self-concept and develop
conviction of opinion.
JJ II • It helps an individual to think, plan, analyze and interpret
J I ideas and messages.
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• Gives one the opportunity to think of new ideas and be
creative about new decisions and approaches or solutions
to organizational problem.
Interpersonal Communication
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The interaction between two or more persons in small groups

preferably on a one- on-one basis, is known as interpersonal
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communication. It has the following advantages:

c
• Makes it possible for people to open up and discuss issues

with other people.
• Encourages exchange of views and opinions.
• Can give immediate feedback for immediate decisions.
JJ II
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Organisational Communication
This occurs within an organization between its members or one
organization and another. It promotes smooth running of daily
activities of an organization and is used generally to communi-
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cate policy decisions to members. It has the following advan-

tages:
• Ensures efficiency and profitability.
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• Makes it is possible to communicate policy and decisions

c
to members.
• Enables executives to obtain feedback.
JJ II
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Mass Communication
It is usually intended for a large audience whose location may
not be definite at the time of disseminating that information e.g.
newsletters, press releases, interviews with media houses, radio
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and TV. It allows the sender to achieve the following among

others:
• cover large geographical areas
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• reach large audience at once

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• save on cost and time
Social Communication
JJ II This happens when people interact in groups outside the formal

J I organization. People hold general conversations, share ideas etc.
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It requires social skills such as greeting one another, making one-
self known and being able to sell ideas. Great business deals can
be struck during these social activities like sports, community
work, which sometimes allow people of different status and back-
grounds to come together.
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Transformational Communication
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Transformational communication is formed with the aim of build-

ing a larger framework of reference for a healthy understanding
c
of phenomena. It aims at changing an already existing attitude

that is usually negative in nature to a positive one. It is prac-
tised by counsellors, teachers, NGOs, voluntary organizations
JJ II who act to provide a voice for the less fortunate, those that are
J I considered vulnerable in the society etc. It is characterized by
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the following elements; thinking, sensing, intuiting and feeling.
Group Communication
This takes place between members of a unique group (social
or professional) where only issues affecting that group are dis-
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cussed. The spirit of a good group lies in its respect for shared
values and its belief. The communication pattern is interdepen-
2017
dent. The group members have responsibilities and obligations

to one another. Its usefulness include:
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• building and sustaining group cohesion

• maintaining standards and discipline
• enhancing professional and career development
JJ II
• encouraging social support among members of the group.
J I
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1.10. Forms of communication
This introductory chapter would be incomplete without high-
lighting the fact that there are two major forms of communi-
cation: Verbal and Non-verbal. Verbal communication is fur-
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ther sub-divided into Written and Oral forms of communication.

The non-verbal communication takes various forms such as Au-
dio,Visual, Audio-visual and Body language. These two major
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forms shall be discussed in lesson 2 and lesson 3 respectively.

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Exercise 2. Attempt all questions below:

What is a feedback? Why is it important in the communi-
cation process?
Identify at least five sources of noise in the learning process
JJ II
of a student, and suggest ways through which they can be over-
J I
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come.
What do you understand by the following terms: misunder-
standing and miscommunication?
Explain the following concepts: information richness of a
medium, communication is culture-based.
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Exercise 3. Discuss the contingency approach to media se-

lection, giving its relevance to contempary communicators and
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business managers.
c
Exercise 4. Describe each of the 7c’s. How do they help in

achieving communication effectiveness?
JJ II
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Solutions to Exercises
Exercise 1. a) Communication is referred to as a process be-
cause it involves stages through which information must pass
from the sender to receiver, through consecutively linked ele-
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ments.
b)Communication process begins with the sender conceiv-
ing some idea in his/her mind. He or she then transforms this
2017
idea into a language that the receiver can understand , a pro-

c
cess known as encoding. The encoding process results in a mes-

sage.(information) The sender then looks for a means to transfer
the message to a receiver(medium). The receiver upon getting
the message transforms it into a mental picture (decoding ) .
JJ II He then creates meaning out of the mental picture (interprets)
J I and finally transforms the mental picture back to a language
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that the original sender can understand (encodes and creates)
another message to be sent to the sender (feedback). At this
point the receiver becomes the sender and the sender becomes
the receiver (There is a change of roles)and the process repeats
itself until a mutual agreement or solution is reached.
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Exercise 1
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JJ II
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JKUAT Communication Skills Course Overview

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JKUAT Communication Skills Course Overview

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JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF OPEN, DISTANCE AND eLEARNING

HRD 2101 Communication Skills

Errors and omissions in these notes are entirely the re-

through the Department of Curricula & Delivery

1.1. Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this topic you should be able to:

• Describe the essentials of communication

• Describe the communication process

not only important to carry out communication as a means to

of this unit as a whole. In this lesson, we shall acquint our-

selves with communication as a process and how we can make

Communication refers to the conveying of ideas from the mind

idea as it is, to another person’s mind or other people’s minds

means or methode to do this. We will learn more about this

communicators have termed as the traditional conduit model of

The traditional conduit method of communication has been crit-

Figure 1.1: The Conduit model of the Communication process

• It assumes that the intended meaning is always transferred

• It does not indicate if there is any shared meaning between

roles until an agreement is reached”. This is a more comprehen-

meaning (shared meaning, or understanding) between individu-

•.1. A few concepts to note and clarify in the above definition:

2. Sender and Receiver - this specification is important as it

there must be particular designated individual, groups, or

organizations involved in the communication, not just peo-

tively linked, i.e follow one another in a systematic order.

the communication process the a break-down occurs.

4. Perception or Inference - when we are confronted with

ent tribes, speaking different languages in Kenya. Differ-

tribes, and in some cases, the same word/object/symbol

Consider the Example below:

Example . What would an animal like a cat mean or sym-

1.4. The Communication Process

We have said that communication is a two-way process consist-

ing of consecutively linked elements. Let’s take a brief moment

and decides on a suitable method to pass that message on

decodes to create meaning. The communication process

begins with the sender.

3. Message - This is the output or outcome of the encod-

ten, draw a diagram, use a map or anything that can help

a receiver understand the idea the the sender has. The

given to its choice. We will look into this in greater details

5. Receiver - What do we mean by a receiver in the com-

munication process? It is the person, or group of people or

6. Decoding - This is process of transforming the informa-

receiver. If wrongly done, the receiver ends up with wrong

mental picture and fails to get the intended meaning of

The greatest role of the feedback is to enable the parties

is the next step. This particularly important to business

8. Noise - Also known as barriers to effective refers to any-

Example . Identify the roles that the sender and receiver

Solution: The role of sending and receiving messages . At the

initial stage the sender originates the message sends it to the

JJ II Exercise 1.  a) Why is communication described as a pro-

1.5. Quality/Effective Communication

meant by Quality communication or Effective communication.

in which the receiver gets the intended meaning of the message

from the sender. How can this be achieved? Several factors

1.6. Barriers to effective communication

A communication barrier, also known as noise, is anything that

sender, stereotyping, lack of sympathy for sender, unclear

ical appearance, mannerisms, etc.

Example . What would an animal like a cat mean or sym-

Example . Identify the roles that the sender and receiver

JJ II Exercise 1. a) Why is communication described as a pro-