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COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Communication Basics: We are living in an age which is full of challenges and competitions and, to the best of our abilities; we try to meet these challenges. A person might possess a number of good qualities necessary for dealing with the various problems of daily life, but may lack effective communication skills, which might make his/her task difficult. It cannot be denied that an individuals success or failure largely depends on his/her communicative abilities. We can make our life easier by understanding properly the different communication styles that individuals adopt in different situations. We learn many things by interacting with various kinds of people we meet in our day-to-day lives. It is believed that good communication skills are essential in leading a meaningful and successful life. We often forget that we must work to make communication pleasant and effective. When we ignore important aspects of communication, we are inviting a number of problems in to our daily lives, ranging from hurt feelings between friends to wars between nations. In the increasingly hectic and competitive world today, effective communication has become a prerequisite for success for people from all walks of life. Definitions of communication: Communication has been defined in several ways, as people have different conceptions about it. The term communication comes from Latin word communis which means common. Communication refers to the commonness or sharing of information, ideas, facts, opinions, attitudes, and understanding. Communication essentially means transmission of commonly meaningful information (Ghanekar, 1998). Keith (1993) defines communication as the transfer of information and understanding from one person to another person. It is a way of reaching others with facts, ideas, thoughts and values. It is a bridge of meaning among people so that they can share what they feel and know. By using this bridge a person can cross safely the river of misunderstanding that sometimes separates people (p. 399). One of the older classic definitions of communication focuses on its interactional aspects. To Ruesch and Bateson (1951) communication includes (..) all of those processes by which people influence one another. This definition is based on the premise that all actions and events have communicative aspects, as soon as they

are perceived by a human being () [and] that such a perception changes the information which an individual possesses and therefore influences him/her (p. 6). Under this broad definition, every stimulus or event can have communicative significance. This would include words (verbal utterances) and actions (non-verbal factors). According to this definition, whenever we make an effort to influence another person, we are practising communication. (Hunt 1985). In Thayers (1963) view, communication occurs whenever an individual assigns significations or meaning to an internal or external stimulus (p. 43). This definition is consistent with the position taken by most communication theorists. The important notion here is that an individual stimulus has no inherent meaning. A word such as love does not have meaning itself. The word assumes whatever meaning it is assigned in the individuals mind. Therefore, the exact meaning that one person assigns to love may not be the same as that assigned by another. The nature of communication is complex and its scope very broad. If the study of communication were enlarged to provide deep and insightful knowledge, it would include the entire gamut of psychological sub-disciplines including perception, cognition, linguistics, motivation, and the like. It would also extend into organizational areas such as structure, hierarchy, authority, and management functions. From these definitions, one can conclude that: 1. Meaning is created and does not exist independently of the communicators. Meaning resides in the mind of each communicator. 2. Communication involves people. Since it is the individual who selects, transmits, and receives the messages, we have to think of communication as an important issue of human behavior. Any discussion of communication must include the human element in order to be complete. 3. Communication stimuli can consist of almost everything within our environment. Because of this, we must develop respect for the complexity of the communication phenomenon. We must not take for granted that the information we transmit will be accurately and efficiently received by others. Communication Process Communication can be thought of as a process or flow. Experts have developed numerous models over the years to explain how communication works. No single model can possibly explain all aspects of the process, but since looking at a

number of models would be confusing, the following model demonstrates the basic idea of the communication process:
Sender Message Encoding Message Channel Feedback Message Decoding Message Receiver

Figure 1. Communication Process Model

The sender initiates the message by encoding a thought. Four conditions usually affect the encoded message: skill, attitude, knowledge, and the socio-cultural system. The message is the actual physical product from the source encoding. The channel is the medium through which the message travels. The receiver is the object to whom the message is directed. But before the message can be received, the symbols in it must be translated into a form that can be understood by the receiver. This is known as decoding of the message. The final link in the communication process is the feedback. It is the check on how successful we have been in transferring our messages as originally intended and determines whether understanding has been achieved. Stages of Communication Communication is a dynamic interactive process. It consists of five steps, that is ideation, encoding, transmission, decoding, and response. Study the figure given below, to understand the different stages of communication.

Sender S(x)
Sender has an idea
IDEATION
Sender converts the idea into words or gestures

Receiver R(x)
Message travels over channel
TRANSMISSION

Receiver decodes message

DECODING

Receiver responds
FEEDBACK

ENCODING

Figure 2. Stages of Communication

Ideation The process of communication begins with ideation, which refers to the formation of the idea or selection of a message to be communicated. It consists of the What of communication and is concerned with the content of a specific message to be presented. The scope of ideation is generally determined by the senders knowledge, experiences, and abilities, as well as the purpose of communication

and the context of the communicative situation. However, the form of ideation depends on several other factors. Messages generally have two kinds of content, logical and emotional. Logical messages consist of factual information, while emotional messages consist of feelings and emotions. In a formal communicative situation, ideation may consist of finding and selecting a subject or general topic, looking for ideas and thoughts, deciding the type, scope, and sources of information. Encoding Encoding is the next step in communication. It is the process of changing the information into some form of logical and coded message. The encoding process is based on the purpose of communication and the relation between the sender and the receiver. In a formal situation, encoding involves: (a) Selecting a language; (b) Selecting a medium of communication; and (c) Selecting an appropriate communication form. Selecting the right language is essential for effective encoding. Verbal messages need a common language code, which can be easily decoded by the receiver. If the receiver is not able to decode or understand the message, communication will fail. For example, a person who does not understand Tamil cannot decode a message encoded in Tamil. We generally use our first language (L1) in informal situations while we prefer official language in formal business, academic, or professional situation. As selecting the right medium of communication involves making the right choice out of many available options, it determines the effectiveness of encoding. This is vital as there are so many options available to a communicator for transmitting interpersonal messages that he/she may get confused. Making the right choice is the beginning of effective communication. There are three basic options for sending interpersonal messages, i. e speaking, writing and non-verbal signs and symbols. The spoken word involves vocalization while non-verbal message cues are generally visual. Non-verbal cues play a significant role in oral communication which includes body movements, facial expressions, touching patterns, speech mannerisms. The selection of appropriate form largely depends on the sender-receiver relationship and overall goal of the communicative situation. Oral communication may be face-to-face interpersonal communication, group communication, speaker-

audience communication, or telephonic communication. The choice depends on the need and purpose of the communication. Writing involves the selection of correct written form, i.e. letter, memo, notice, report, proposal and so forth. Transmission Transmission refers to the flow of message over the chosen channel. Transmission confirms the medium selected during the process of encoding and keeps the communication channel free from interference or noise so that the message reaches the receiver without any disturbance. It is one of the most basic aspects of communication because it also involves choosing the proper time (when to communicate), proper place (where to communicate), and a proper way (how to communicate). For communication to be effective, it is essential that the right time, the right place, and the right method is chosen. Decoding Decoding is the process of converting a message into thoughts by translating the received stimuli into an interpreted meaning in order to understand the message communicated. It is imported to note that it is the message that is transferred, as meaning cannot be transferred from one person to another. The receiver has to assign meaning to a message in order to understand it. The process of decoding involves interpretation and analysis of a message. Decoding in written communication refers to reading and understanding a written message. On the other hand, in oral communication, decoding includes listening and understanding. Effective decoding is very important for successful communication as any misinterpretation of a message leads to communication breakdown and creates confusion and misunderstanding Response: Response is the last stage in communication process. It is the action or reaction of the receiver to the message. It helps the sender know that the message was received and understood by the receiver. The feedback that goes to the sender makes it clear whether the receiver has accepted the information and filed it in his/her memory or rejected it. Response is, thus, the key to communication as the effectiveness of communication depends on how congruent a receivers response is with the meaning intended by the sender.