PART-A UNIT-1

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Communication: The imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing or using some

other medium and means of sending or receiving information.

METHODS FOR COMMUNICATION

1. Verbal: It is the sharing of information by using words. Verbal communication is important

because if you do not use the right words, you will cause confusion and you will not be able to
communicate what you want. Types of verbal communication:
a. Oral or spoken communication: Communication which involves talking.
i. Face to face communication: When you can see the listener. For e.g. group discussion,
talking with family member at home etc.
ii. Talking on a phone
iii. Classroom teaching, business discussion and public speeches.
b. Written Communication: Communication which involves written or typed words.
i. Writing letters, notes, emails etc.
ii. SMS (Short Message Service) can be sent through a phone to a person or a group.
iii. Books and newspapers.

Advantages of verbal communication

a. Verbal communication is easy and quick.
b. You can say what you want and get a quick response.
c. It is an easier form of communication when you have to exchange ideas.
d. You keep changing your communication as per the other person’s reply.

Disadvantages of verbal communication

a. Cultural differences between the sender and receiver of the information.
b. These differences may be due to the use of different languages, inability to understand
some phrases used by the other individual, and the accent.
c. Since verbal communication depends on words, sometimes the meanings become
confusing and difficult to understand if the right words are not used.

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2. Non-Verbal: Non-verbal communication is the message we send to others without using any
words. We send signals and messages to others, through expressions, gestures and body
postures.

Importance of Non-Verbal Communication

In our day-to-day communication, it is
observed that most of the communication is
done using body movements (face, arms,
movements, etc.) and voice control (voice,
tone, pauses, etc.).

Words=7%, voice control=38%, body language=55%

Non-verbal communication makes our message stronger. Using the right gestures while
speaking makes our message more effective. Knowing non-verbal communication helps us
understand our audience’s reaction and adjust our behaviour or communication accordingly.

Types of Non-Verbal Communication:

 Hand movements (gestures)  Posture
 Body language  Touch
 Expressions  Eye contact
 Paralanguage: Paralanguage is the tone of our voice, speed and volume that makes a
difference in the meaning of the communication.

3. Visual:
Visual communication involves sending and understanding messages only through images or
pictures. The main advantage of this type of communication is that you do not need to know
any particular language for understanding it. It is simple, easy to understand and remains same
across different places. Examples are:
 Traffic symbols and lights  Signs used to pause and play any
 Signs for washrooms audio/video
 Sign used for no smoking

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COMMUNICATION CYCLE AND IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK

1. Feedback is the final component and one of the important factors in the process of
communication.
2. It is defined as the response given by the receiver to the sender.
3. The sender needs response of the receiver in order to decide effectiveness of
communication.
4. Feedback can be negative or positive. Positive feedback indicates that the sender can
continue his communication in the same manner as before. Negative feedback on the other
hand, indicates a need for a change in the manner of communication.
5. The feedback tells the sender many things such as whether the message is received
successfully or not, whether the receiver liked it or not, whether the choice of
channel/medium was appropriate etc.
6. If the appropriate feedback is given by the receiver to the sender, then the sender can
modify, remodel, his strategy of communication.
7. There are different types of feedbacks. These are:
 Positive feedback  Immediate feedback
 Negative feedback  Delayed feedback
 No feedback: No feedback is also a feedback in itself. It would indicate disagreement or a
reluctant acceptance of ideas.

8. Feedback can also be verbal or non-verbal. A smile would be a positive non-verbal feedback,
whereas a frown would indicate a negative feedback.

DESCRIPTIVE FEEDBACK – WRITTEN COMMENTS OR CONVERSATIONS

1. Descriptive feedback is the most powerful tool for improving student learning.
2. Descriptive feedback is specific information, in the form of written comments or verbal
conversations that help the learner understand what she or he needs to do in order to improve.
3. When the learner receives clear and descriptive feedback on their work, they have the
opportunity to analyse what they have done well and which part(s) need improvement.

SPECIFIC AND NON-SPECIFIC FEEDBACK

1. Specific feedback provides detailed or specific information on what the learner did well or
poorly.
2. Non-specific feedback on the other hand is very general, such as “good job” or “you did great.”
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 3. General feedback, for the most part, is not very helpful for learners. And it creates the
impression that you have not thought in depth about their work.

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION – TYPES AND FACTORS

A communication barrier is anything that prevents us from receiving and understanding the
messages others use to convey their information, ideas and thoughts.

1. Physical Barriers:
a. Physical barriers separate people from each other and mark territories.
b. These barriers can often be seen in the workplace where offices and closed doors stop
communication.
c. Physical barriers can stop you from being comfortable communicating with a person whom
you do not come face to face with often.
d. As long as people still have a personal space that they can call their own, nearness to others
aids communication because it helps us get to know one another.

2. Language Barriers:
a. Not using words another can understand will certainly stop your message from being
conveyed.
b. This not only applies to actual languages but also expressions, format used, buzz words and
other jargon.
c. If one is not familiar with your language, misinterpretation will occur.
d. The accents and dialect (use of words) of people belonging to different places differ even if
their language is same and may become barriers to communication.

3. Gender Barriers:
a. Variation exists among masculine and feminine styles of communication.
b. A woman speaks between 22,000 and 25,000 words a day whereas a man speaks between
7,000 and 10,000.
c. While women often emphasize politeness, empathy, and rapport building, male
communication is often more direct.
d. This means that a man talks in a linear, logical and compartmentalised way, features of left-
brain thinking; whereas a woman talks more freely mixing logic and emotion, features of both
sides of the brain.
e. Meshing these two styles without awareness could become a barrier.

4. Attitudinal Barriers:
a. As those behaviours or perceptions that are divisive in nature – the ones that can lead to
nagging doubt, disagreement or even conflict.
b. They all interfere with and undermine communication. These are barriers that distance one
from others.
c. These are visible through withdrawal, meaningless rituals which keep one devoid of real
contact, superficial activities and more.

5. Perceptual Barriers:
a. Different world views can create misunderstanding. People tend to interpret messages from
their own point of view or ideologies.
b. Without thinking, one might only view a message from his or her own mind-set rather than
looking at it from another viewpoint.
c. The problem with communicating with others is that we all see the world differently.

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 6. Cultural Barriers:
a. Ethnic, religious, and social differences can often create misunderstandings when trying to
communicate.
b. These differences can also affect one’s perception and create confusion in getting a message.

7. Emotional Barriers:
a. If one is consumed with emotion he will have difficulty in understanding what is
communicated. Hostility, anger, fear, and other emotions make it hard to hear outside one’s
own self.
b. The roots of our emotional mistrust of others lie in our childhood and infancy when we were
taught to be careful about what we said to others.
c. Many people hold back from communicating their thoughts and feelings to others.
d. While some caution may be wise in certain relationships, excessive fear of what others might
think of us can stunt our development as effective communicators.

MEASURES TO OVERCOME BARRIERS IN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

1. Engage in face-to-face interactions whenever possible.
a. Text messages and even emails can be misinterpreted without the nonverbal “assist” of facial
expressions, tone and inflection.
b. When timely communication is of great importance, you may have no choice but to send a
quick text or email.
c. In this case, be sure to follow up later to seek questions and to ensure that your message was
understood as you had intended it to be.

2. Reduce or eliminate distractions around you.

a. Noise from other people and office machines can sink even the most pleasant interactions,
dooming them to a rough start.
b. They interfere with the focus you need to have so that you can counteract any attitudinal
barriers.
c. Sometimes a lack of noise from other people, such as if the environment is too quiet, can be
distracting; this could mean that people are eavesdropping on your conversation – something
you want to avoid.

3. Try to assess the needs of the receiver.

4. Encourage feedback.

5. Hone your active listening skills.

a. Acknowledge the other person's ideas, thoughts or feelings. Paraphrase the other person's
words to ensure understanding.
b. Ask questions without judging. Summarize and clarify what you hear. Offer your opinion if it's
requested.
c. Organize your thoughts. You don't have to write notes, but if doing so helps you organize
what you want to say and how you want to say it, and then by all means, start writing.

6. Soften your tone and language.

a. You know people watch your every move, so you also know that being courteous and
professional is a must in every interaction.
b. To defeat any attitudinal barriers, it can help immensely to maintain a gentle, reassuring tone
and use simple, non-confrontational language.
c. Keeping sentences short and direct can also help to prevent any misunderstandings.

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Principles of effective communication
1. Principle of feedback:
a. This principle calls for communication a two-way process and providing opportunity for
suggestion and criticism.
b. Since the receiver is to accept and carry out the instructions, his reactions must be known to
the sender of message.
c. The latter must consider the suggestion and criticism of the receiver of information.

2. Principle of understanding the receiver: Understanding is the main aim of any communication.
The communication must crate proper understanding in the mind of the receiver.

3. Principle of clarity: The beginning of all communication is some message. The message must be
as clear as possible. No ambiguity should creep into it. The message can be conveyed properly
only if it has been clearly formulated in the mind of the communicator.

4. Principle of objective:
a. The communicator must know clearly the purpose of communication before actually
transmitting the message.
b. The objective may be to obtain information, give information, initiate action, and change
another person’s attitude and so on.
c. If the purpose of communication is clear it will help in the choice of mode of communication.

5. Simple language: The language used in communication should be simple and easily
understandable.

6. Communication becomes complex as the number of people we are communicating with

increases.

7. Communication across cultures differs: Culture can be defined as shared knowledge, symbols,
conventions, folklore, language, habits, rituals, rules and lifestyles that link and give a common
identity to a particular group of people at a given point in time. Cultural differences must be
respected and kept in mind while communicating.

7 Cs OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
1. Clear
a. When writing or speaking to someone, be clear about your goal or message. What is your
purpose in communicating with this person? If you’re not sure, then your audience won’t be
sure either.
b. To be clear, try to minimize the number of ideas in each sentence.
c. Make sure that it’s easy for your reader to understand your meaning. People shouldn’t make
assumptions on their own to understand what you’re trying to say.
d. Information and actions required must be clear so the reader has the information they need
to take action.

2. Concise: When you’re concise in your communication, you stick to the point and keep it brief.

3. Concrete: When your message is concrete, then your audience has a clear picture of what
you’re telling them. There are details (but not too many!) and vivid facts, and there’s laser-like
focus. Your message is solid.

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 4. Correct: When your communication is correct, it fits your audience. And correct communication
is also error-free communication.

5. Coherent: When your communication is coherent, it’s logical. All points are connected and
relevant to the main topic and the tone and flow of the text is consistent.

6. Complete: In a complete message, the audience has everything they need to be informed and, if
applicable, take action.

7. Courteous: Courteous communication is friendly, open, and honest. There are no hidden insults
or passive-aggressive tones. You keep your reader’s viewpoint in mind, and you’re empathetic to
their needs.

WRITING SKILLS
Writing: Writing is a form of communication that allows students to put their feelings and ideas on
paper, to organize their knowledge and beliefs into convincing arguments, and to convey meaning
through well-constructed text.

1. Sentence
A sentence is a group of words that communicates a complete thought. A set of words that is
complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate, conveying a statement, question,
exclamation, or command, and consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more
subordinate clauses. Types of sentences:
a. Declarative Sentence: Tells something. Ends with a period (.).
b. Interrogative Sentence: Asks a question. Ends with a question mark (?).
c. Exclamatory Sentence: Shows strong feeling. Ends with an exclamation mark (!).
d. Imperative Sentence: Gives a command. Ends with a period or an exclamation mark (. or !).

A subject is the person or thing that does an action. Object is the person or thing that receives
the action.
A direct object answers the question ‘what?’. An indirect object answers questions, such as ‘to
whom’ and ‘for whom’.
Sentences where the subject does an action are known to be in the Active voice.
Sentences in which the subject receives an action are known to be in the Passive voice.

2. Phrase: A group of related words that is used as a single part of speech and does not contain a
verb and its subject. Types of phrases:
a. Adjective Phrase d. Prepositional Phrase
b. Adverb Phrase e. Verb Phrase
c. Noun Phrase

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3. Parts of Speech
A category to which a word is assigned in accordance with its syntactic functions.
The different types of words we use in sentences are called parts of speech.

4. Articles: The words ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ are known as articles. Articles are generally used before
nouns.

5. Construction of a Paragraph: A paragraph is a series of sentences that are organized and

coherent, and are all related to a single topic.

6. Article Writing: Article writing is the process of creating a non-fiction text about current or
recent news, items of general interest or specific topics.

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