MCA 1st Semester Technical

Batch 2022
Communication

EDITED & Compiled BY: IRFAN RASHID

MCA-22-16
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UNIT - 1
EDITED & Compiled BY: IRFAN RASHID MCA-22-16

What is Communication?
What does it mean to Communicate?
• The dictionary definition is ‘to exchange (thoughts) or make known (information or
feelings) by speech, writing or other means, to transmit’.
•The word communication has its root in the Latin word ‘communicare’, which means to
share/to transmit/to impart. ‘Communicare’ is derived from root word ‘Communis’.

•Communication is the sharing of information, knowledge, emotions, and thoughts.

•Communication is more than just messaging or swapping information. It involves not just
words but the use of all our senses. E.g. With face–to-face dialogue, our facial expression,
tone, body language, ability to listen with patience, all contribute to the conveying of the
message and information between two people.

For example, the written words, whether in books and in magazines, e-mails or texts, can
convey more than just the writing. It can inspire, evaluate and encourage if that is the
intention of the writer. It can also confuse and exasperate if we are not careful!
 Lynne Truss, in a recent book of punctuation, pointed out how easily the meaning of the
written word can be altered just by rearranging the punctuations. She invites us to compare
the following two sentences; ‘A women, without her man, is nothing’, and ‘A women: without
her, man is nothing’.
The process of communication
1. The transmission and interchange of ideas, facts, feelings, or courses of action.
2. We give, get or share information with others during this process.

Elements of communication
• Communication involves at least two persons, the sender and the receiver, without
which the communication cannot take place.
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•It is not sufficient to just have the sender and the receiver; there should also be
cooperation and understanding between them. They should have mutually accepted
code of signals making up a common language. CODE; the language of the message
e.g. English, French, Arabic, Urdu etc.
•The text: the contents of the message.
•The channel: the medium through which the message travels e.g. letter,
telephone, e-mail etc.
•The setting: the social and the physical setting.
• (A saint with his eyes closed says that he is communicating with God. - no social
communication)
• (A person was lost in his thoughts with his eyes closed. When asked he said he
was communicating with self. - no social communication).
• NOTE: the communication is termed to be effective only when the receiver
receives the message intended by the sender in the same perspective. Otherwise
it is miscommunication.

To understand this lets see the communication cycle.

❤ The Communication Process

The sender encodes the message and sends it through a channel.
The channel is nothing but the language used- words, signs, objects (air or
telephone wires), or combination of these.
 The receiver receives the message, decodes it, and acts upon it.
 The receiver responds to the sender in the form of feedback if the message
received is the same as the message sent.
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 If the message sent is not same as the receiver message then there has been a
breakdown in the communication, which may happen due to noise.

FEEDBACK
 The transmission of the receiver’s response to the sender is called feedback.
Feedback is essential as it is a barometer of the effective communication.
 The communication cycle is complete only when sender receives the
response from the receiver. Otherwise, the message needs to be resent.
 Even if the response is received, it may or may not be the expected one, but
once the response is received communication is said to be successful,
effective and complete.
 The communication is fully effective if the desired response is received by
the sender of the message from the receiver.

For effective communication there are 7 C’s in Communication:

❤ {7 principles of Communication}

1. Clarity: It refers to clarity of thoughts/ideas only the effective

communication is produced writing should be correctly planned and ideas
should flow in logical manner and smoothly from start to end, ideas and
concepts should be first known by himself by the sender.

2. Completeness: Dates, ideas, events, content of message should be

complete.

3. Conciseness: Message should be to the point, proper size and information.

It should be brief as possible, avoid irrelevant facts, repetition should be
avoided.

4. Consideration: We need to consider the receiver in mind while passing

information. Whatever we spoke must be understood by the receiver.

5. Correctness: Communication should be correct in tone, style, vocabulary,

punctuation, grammar, pitch.
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6. Courtesy: There should be respect while communication. Politeness and

decency too. Omit bad language, irritating body gestures.

7. Concreteness: Clear and particular message is defined as concrete message.

Types of Communication
Verbal
Non-verbal
1. Verbal: Communication in which words are used either written or oral. It is
sharing of information by using words.
3 Types:
1. Oral
2. Written
3. Audio-Visual communication.
Here, words of a particular language are used for passing message. It should
always be kept simple and short.
a) Oral communication: Spoken words are used so it includes face to face
communication, telephonic, video chat. It allows for quick feedback. There
is a high understanding and transparency in spoken words. It should be
quick and less complicated.
It offers 2 way information and both persons get involved
simultaneously and less chance of misunderstanding. It is influenced by
pitch, speed, tone and clarity of speaking.
It has quick feedback, saves time, flexible, helpful for team work, quick
resolution of disputes, facial language and body language is visible and can
be judged.
DISADVANTAGES:
 No authentic proof is written
 Requires great attention and ability
 Less effective as a means of complicated data
 It may consume long time in meetings.

b) Written Communication: It includes letters, memorandum, procedure

manual, notices, emails, reports etc. In this method communication
symbols, words are transmitted. It may be printed or handwritten e.g. faxes,
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postcards, newspapers, telegrams, brochure. It is influenced by the

grammar and vocabulary. It is mostly used in business.
It can be used as reference in future as evidence. The sender can write
and rewrite to make it error free before sending. Presence of both sender
and receiver is not required.
In written communication, message can be send to a group of people
in the same instance of time.

DISADVANTAGES:
 It is time consuming feedback is not instant, slower method of
communication poorly written document can create a bad impression.
 It can be due to the person who don’t have good command on
language.
2. Non-Verbal: (NVC) is the transmission of messages or signals through
a nonverbal platform such as eye contact, facial
expressions, gestures, posture, and body language. It includes the use
of social cues, kinesics, distance (proxemics) and physical
environments/appearance, of voice (paralanguage) and of touch
(haptics).
The study of non-verbal communication started in 1872 with the publication of The
Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin.
It effects the effectiveness of message.
Body language include  handshake, smile, eye contact, posture, facial
expression, shoulder movement.
There are some non-verbal activities which hindrance the communication
using unpleasant sound, speaking too low or fast, looking away or turning away
from a speaker.
Nonverbal communication is concerned with body movements
(kinesics), space (proxemics) and vocal features (paralinguistic features).
Oral communication carries less than 35 percent of the social meaning of
the situation, while more than 65 percent is carried on the non-verbal
band. People react strongly to what they see.

KINESICS (body language term) 

Kinesics is the name given to the study of body’s physical movements. In other
words, it is the way the person communicates without words, i.e.; through
various movement of body parts.
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 Movements like: nodding your head, blinking your eyes, shrugging

shoulders, waving hands and other such physical activities.
 PERSONAL APPEARANCE:
Appearance communicates how we feel about ourselves and how we want to
be viewed
TIPS:
 Be clean and well groomed
 Conform to the norms of occasion

 POSTURE:
Refers to the way we hold ourselves when we stand, sit, or walk.
The way you sit, or walk reveals a lot about you:
 Slumped posture – low spirits
 Erect posture – high spirits, energy and confidence
 Lean forward – open, honest, and interested
 Cross arms – defensive and not ready to listen
 Uncrossed arms – willingness to listen

 GESTURE:
Gesture is movement made by hands, arms, shoulders, head, and torso.
 Skilful gestures can add impact of a speech.
 Gestures clarify your ideas or reinforce them and should be well suited
to the audience and occasion.
 Gestures can roughly be divided into the following types:
 Enumerative – numbers
 Descriptive – size of objects
 Symbolic – abstract concepts
 Locative- location of an object
 Emphatic – emphasis
 FACIAL EXPRESSION:
The five basic expressions are:
 Inhibited – restricted and stolid
 Uninhibited – spontaneous and impetuous
 Substitute – happy with a long face
 Frozen – no change in expression
 Blank – no expression at all
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 EYE CONTACT:
Looking directly at listener builds rapport. Prolonged eye contact for
three to five seconds tell the audience that you are sincere in what you
say and that you want them to pay attention.

PROXEMICS
 Proxemics is the study of the physical space in interpersonal relations.
 Space is related to behavioural norms. Use of space tell lot about your
behaviour.
 Space can signal power and status.
 The gestures should be in accordance with the space available.
 Moving closer to audience is useful to invite discussions, to express agreement,
or to emphasize a point.
 Like kinesics, proxemics also has cultural variations.
 Edward T. Hall in his The Hidden Dimensions divides space into four distinct
zones:
 INTIMATE:
 Personal touch – 18 inches (one and a half feet) zone.
 Members of family, loved ones, spouses, relatives and parents fall
under this zone.
 A handshake, a pat on the back, or a hug all come in this zone.
 PERSONAL:
 From 18 inches – 4 feet zone.
 Friends, colleagues, peers etc. fall in this zone.
 Though this zone is personal, it is quite a relaxed and casual place.
 SOCIAL:
 Social events take place in this radius of 4 feet to 12 feet.
 Relationship is official.
 You tend to become more formal.
 You have to be smart enough to conduct with less emotion and
more planning.
 PUBLIC:
 Zone starts from 12 feet and extends to 30 feet or to the range of
eye sight and hearing.
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 Events taking place in this zone are formal.

 Audience here is impartial observer.
 The degree of detachment is high.

❤ LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION
Human communication takes place at various levels:
1. Extra-personal communication
2. Intrapersonal communication
3. Interpersonal communication
4. Organizational communication
5. Mass Communication

1. Extra-personal communication:
 Communication between human beings and non-human entities is extra-
personal communication. E.g. when your pet dog comes to you wagging
its tail as soon as you return home from work. A parrot responding to
your greeting is another example.
 More than any other form this, form of communication requires perfect
coordination and understanding between the sender and the receiver as
at least one of them transmits information or responds in sign language
only.

2. Intrapersonal communication:
 Communication that takes place within the individual. E.g. feeling hot
and turning to cooler.
 This kind of communication pertains to thinking, which is the basis of
information processing. Without such dialogue, you can’t proceed to the
further levels of communication –interpersonal and organizational.
 Self-motivation, self-determination and the like take place at the
intrapersonal level.

3. Interpersonal communication:
 Communication at this level refers to the sharing of information among
people.
 It differs from other forms of communication in that there are few
participants involved, the interactants are in close physical proximity to
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each other, there are many sensory channels used, and feedback is
immediate.
 Role of sender and receiver keep altering.
 Since feedback is direct and immediate, doubts are clarified instantly.
 Interpersonal communication can be formal or informal.

REMEMBER:
FORMAL COMMUNICATION: communication done through the chain of
command is known as formal communication. It involves the transmission of
official message in the formal organization structure. Such communication is
planned and established by the management and clearly indicates the authority
relationship involved and these generally are in writing e.g. orders, decisions,
instructions, etc.

INFORMAL COMMUNICATION: does not flow through the official channels of

communication. It involves the spontaneous expression of reactions and ideas
and is usually done orally. Hence it may carry incorrect and incomplete
information. E.g. communication with family, friends, shopping etc.

4. Organizational Communication:
 Communication in an organization takes place at different hierarchical
levels. Since a large number of employees are involved in several
different activities, the need to communicate becomes greater in an
organization. With a proper networking system, communication in an
organization is possible even without direct contact between employees.

 This kind of communication is further divided into:

 INTERNAL-OPERATIONAL: all communication that occurs in
conducting work within an organization is classified as internal
operational.
 EXTERNAL-OPERATIONAL: the work related communication that
an organization does with people outside the organization is called
external-operational.
 PERSONAL: any communication in an organization that is not
related to work or business is personal communication.
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5. Mass communication:
 For this kind of communication we need a mediator to transmit
information. There are several mass media such as journals, books,
television, and newspapers which mediate such communications.
 Since the message is for large audience that is heterogeneous and
anonymous, the approach is impersonal.
 This type of communication is more persuasive in nature than any other
form of communication and requires utmost care on the part of the
sender in encoding the message.
 Oral communication through mass media requires some equipment,
such as microphones, amplifiers, etc. and written needs print or visual
media.
 The characteristics of this type of communication are:
o Large reach.
o Impersonality.
o Presence of gatekeeper (mediator: e.g. newspaper editor).

💕 FLOW OF COMMUNICATION
Information flows in an organization both formally and informally. Formal
communication refers to communication that follows the official hierarchy and is
required to do one’s job. In other words, it flows through formal channels.
Information of various kinds flowing through formal channels, such as policy
or procedural changes, orders, instructions, and confidential reports, is formal
communication.
Formal communication can flow in various directions:

FIGURE: Flow of communication in an organization

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1. Vertical Communication
Vertical communication consists of communication up and down the
organization’s chain of command.
Vertical communication can be classified as downward communication and
upward communication according to the direction of its flow.
a) Downward communication:
 It is a type of communication or a chain of command that flows
from the superior to the junior through middle management.
 It includes directives, instructions, advice, or request to
subordinates.
 This is generally used to convey routine information, new
policies or procedures, seek clarification, ask for an analysis, etc.
 People also send feedback to their subordinates on their actions
through this channel.
 Downward communication can takes place through any form
like—emails, memos, notices, face-to-face interactions, or
telephone conversations.
NOTE: It should be adequately balanced by an upward flow of
communication.
Why manager use this level of communication?
 Providing direction about the job
 Provides feedback
 Stressing the areas that require attention
 Conveying the goal and vision of the organisation.

b) Upward Communication: It is a type that flows from lower level

to those in higher level or passing of information from the lowest level
i.e. subordinates and ends with chief executive.
Information should be passed through middle level
management.
HOW DOES THIS LEVEL OF COMMUNICATION ENCOURAGE PEOPLE?
 This type of communication encourages people about their
grievances, views to superiors.
 It draws the attention of manager and he makes proposal to
improve.
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 He relies on the subordinates for making decisions and solving

problem which are the concerns of organisation.
 It encourages employee to put their views, gateway is produced
to raise their ideas, and manager gets the chance to know the
intention of employees.

c) Horizontal Communication: Also called as lateral

communication.
 It takes place among peer groups or hierarchically equivalent
employees, i.e., employees at the same seniority level.
 Such communication is often necessary to facilitate
coordination, save time, and bridge the communication gap
among various departments.
 It is the passing of information among executive or among the
people who are at equal level in an organization.
 The main purpose of this organization is to coordinate the
activities of various persons or departments.
 This type of communication is formally sanctioned. But
generally, they are informally created to bypass the formal
hierarchical channels and expedite action.

d) Diagonal Communication:
Also called as cross-wise communication. It flows in all directions and
cuts across the various functions and levels in an organization.
For example, when a sales manager communicates directly with
the Vice President (Production), who is not only in a different division,
but also at a higher level in the organization, they are engaged in
diagonal communication.
The increased use of email also encourages cross-wise
communication.
Any employee can communicate via email with another
employee, regardless of the receiver’s function or status.

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION
WHAT IS NOISE?
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 Any interference in the message sent and message received leads to the
production of ‘noise’. The term communication barrier, or that which
inhibits or distorts the message, is an expression of the concept of noise.
Noise here does not mean cacophony, but a break in the communication
process. If noise occurs because of technological factors, it is a smaller
problem as it can be removed by correcting the technological faults.
However, if the noise is due to human error, the parties involved in the
communication process needs to take corrective measures.

 A barrier acts like a sieve, allowing only a part of message to filter through;
as a result, the desired response is not achieved.
Classification of Barriers:
 Intrapersonal.
 Interpersonal.
 Organizational.

1. Intrapersonal Barrier: individuals are unique because of their

own individual behaviour. This is mainly because of their differences in
experience, education, value, and personality. Each of us interprets the
same information in different ways as our thinking varies. Certain common
causes are responsible for an individual’s inbuilt barrier. The following can
lead to intrapersonal barrier:
o Wrong assumptions.
o Varied perception.
o Differing background.
o Wrong Inferences
o Impervious categories.
o Categorical thinking
a) Wrong Assumptions: are generally made because the sender and
the receiver does not realize that back grounds, education, and
experience of different people can be different. E.g. doctor tells patient
to take medicine SOS creating a barrier in communication by making a
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wrong assumption about the knowledge of his patient. To avoid this, the
communicator should try to put himself in the shoes of the listner.

b) Varied Perception: individuals perceive situations different ways.

E.g. in case of a public argument and disagreement between two
individuals, if you are a friend or relative of one of them you are likely to
be biased. You may perceive your friend’s argument as correct, and
hence, may not be able to appreciate his opponent’s point of view. The
best way to overcome this barrier is to step back and take a wider
perspective of the issue.

c) Differing Background: people vary in terms of education, culture,

language, environment, age, gender, financial status etc. our background
plays a role in how we interpret the message. To enhance your
communication skills. It is necessary to know the background of your
audience. You can accordingly construct your message. Empathy or
identification with another person is the solution to this barrier. Use
language understood by the receiver to avoid ambiguity. W

d) Wrong Inferences: this happens when we fail to distinguish

between the actual and what we assume to exist. Inferences supported
by the facts are essential for the professionals when they analyse
material, solve problems and plan procedures.

e) Impervious categories: In general, we react positively to

information only if it is in consonance with our own views and attitudes.
Conversely, when we receive information that does not conform to our
personal views, habits, and attitudes, or appear unfavourable to us, we
tend to react negatively or even disbelieve. Rejection, distortion, and
avoidance are three common, undesirable, and negative reactions to
unfavourable information. E.g. advances in technology are so rapid that
some people have difficulty in adapting it and instead of taking
advantages of it they start criticizing it.
f) Categorical Thinking: There are some people who have “know-it-
all” attitude. Who think that they know everything about a particular
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subject and therefore refuse to accept any further information on that

topic. The “know-it-all” attitude poses major barrier leading to failure of
communication.

To sum up, good communication should:

o Be non-judgmental.
o Be empathetic.
o Not assume anything.
o Stick to the subject.
o Listen and paraphrase.
2. Interpersonal Barrier: intrapersonal barriers stem from an individual’s
attitude or habits, whereas interpersonal barriers occur due to the
inappropriate transaction of words between two or more people.
The two categories into which this barrier can be classified are:
 Inefficiency in communication skills
 Negative aspect nurturing in the climate.
The most common reasons for interpersonal barriers are:
 Limited vocabulary.
 Incongruity of verbal and nonverbal message: this is when your
verbal differs from your non-verbal aspects of communication. E.g.
when you are appreciating someone verbally but showing opposite
reaction on the face. Action speak louder than words, thus non-verbal
cues provide deeper insight into the sender’s message. Physical
appearance often serves as one of the most important non-verbal
cues. First impression regarding people is made on the basis of
physical appearance.
 Guidelines to improve your appearance:
o Dress according to the occasion.
o Wear neat and clean clothes.
o Choose an appropriate hairstyle.
o Wear clean and polished shoes.
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 Emotional outburst.
 Communication selectivity: paying attention to only a part of the
message because you are interested only in that part.
 Cultural variation.
 Poor listening skills.
 Noise in channel.

3.Organizational Barriers: Irrespective of the size, all organizations

have communication policies which describe the protocol to be followed. It
is the structure and the complexity of this protocol that usually causes
communication barriers. Rigid hierarchical structure usually restricts the
flow of communication.
The main organizational barriers are enumerated as below:
 Too many transfer stations.
 Fear of superiors.
 Negative tendencies: caused due to conflict in ideas.
 Use of inappropriate media: some of the media uses in organizations are
graphs, charts, telephone and fax, boards, emails, presentations,
teleconferencing and video conferencing. While choosing the media you
should therefore keep in mind the advantages, disadvantages and the
potential barriers to communication.
 Before sending a message, you should consider the following factors while
choosing the medium.
 Time.
 Cost.
 Type of message.
 Intended audience.
 Information overload.
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💕TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION:

Constant practice and rigorous implementation of these ideas will help you
become excellent communicator.
 Create an open communication environment.
 Always keep the receiver in mind.
 Avoid having too many transfer stations.
 Do not communicate when you are emotionally disturbed.
 Be aware of diversity in the culture, language, etc.
 Use appropriate non-verbal cues.
 Select the most suitable medium.
 Analyse the feedback.

HUMAN FACTORS IN COMMUNICATION FAILURE

Ineffective communication occurs when obstacles or barriers are present. These
barriers are classified as physiological, physical or psychosocial.

 Physiological barriers result from some kind of sensory dysfunction on the part of
either the sender or the receiver. Such things as hearing impairments, speech defects,
and even vision problems influence the effectiveness of communication.

 Physical barriers consist of elements in the environment (such as noise) that

contributes to the development of physiological barriers (such as the inability to hear).

 Psychosocial-Barrier are usually the result of one’s inaccurate perception of self or

others; the presence of some defence mechanism employed to cope with some form
of threatening anxiety; or the existence of factors such as age, education, culture,
language, nationality, or a multitude of other socioeconomic factors. Psychological
barriers are the most difficult to identify and the most common cause of
communication failure or breakdown. A person’s true feelings are often communicated
more accurately through nonverbal communication than through verbal
communication.

Communication Environment:
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A well-defined set-up, in which communication takes place, is the communication

environment. E.g. a class room is a communication environment when a teacher
delivers lecture to the students.

Essentials of Effective Communication:

 A communication environment.
 Co-operation between the sender and receiver.
 Selection of appropriate channel. (Oral communication: air, telephone),
(written communication: documents, reports, etc.), (language act as a tool
which is used through these channels to exchange information).
 Correct encoding and decoding of the message.
 Receipt of the desired response and feedback.

Noise
1. Noise is defined as any unplanned interference in the communication
environment, which causes hindrance in the transmission of the message.
2. Noise distorts interpretation or the decoding part of the communication
process.

Noise can be classified:

1. Channel noise: is any interference in the mechanics of the medium used to
send a message. E.g. in oral communication: distortion due to faulty background,
noise in telephone lines, or too high volume or pitch from loudspeakers. In
written communication: illegible handwriting can be termed as channel noise.
Channel noise develops externally.

2. Semantic noise: is generated internally resulting from errors in the message

itself. It may be because of connotative meaning of the word allowing the
meaning to be interpreted differently by the sender and the receiver. E.g. the
word ‘condescend’ may be used in positive manner, implying graciousness or
dignity of manner, but the receiver might interpret it in a negative manner,
related to a (baseless) assumption of superiority. Other examples are ambiguous
sentence structure, faulty grammar, misspellings and incorrect punctuation.

What is Technical and Professional Communication?

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Communication about complex, highly-detailed problems, issues, or subjects in

the professional world, which helps audiences visualize and understand
information so they can make informed and ethical decisions or take appropriate
and safe actions.

 Is significant in the workplace

 Is done by all workers
 Is a part of everyday life
 Is an activity and a process
 Involves problem solving
 Is vital to the success of business
 Communicates highly complex information to help in a highly complex
world
 Requires careful selection of content
 Requires coherent and clear delivery of information
 Requires precise arrangement of information
 Includes simple, everyday information and documents
o Like recipes, road signs, product labels
o Includes lengthier, more complex documents
o Like computer manuals, detailed reports, and NASA specifications

THE IMPORTANCE OF TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION IN AN

ORGANIZATION
 Technical communication plays a pivotal role in an organization, whether it
is a business enterprise, an industry, or an academic institution.

 The success of any organization is largely recognized by the quality and the
quantity of the information flowing through its personnel.

 Technical communication can be divided into two parts: oral and written.
Both are equally important as it cannot be specified which one of these is
used more in an organization.

 Some forms of oral and written technical communication are summarized

in table below:
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Guidelines for Ethical Communication

It’s not enough for a communicator to craft a message that’s clearly understood
by his audience, leveraging the seven principles of business communication:
 Clear
 Concise
 Objective
 Consistent
 Complete
 Relevant
 Understanding of Audience Knowledge
In reality, if you adhere to the seven principles, you will communicate ethically.
For instance, if you craft a message that is not clear and concise, and you
use tricky language that manipulates your consideration for your audience’s
knowledge, then you are not being ethical. If you’re not being objective, and you
are trying to communicate your opinion (or the opinion of others) as fact, then
you are not being ethical.
If you purposely do not disclose complete information, then you are not
being ethical. You don’t have to look too far today to see examples of unethical
communication; they’re all over the media. “Fake news” media sites abound,
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even though social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter are making efforts to
prevent them from being posted and shared. Is fake news ethical?

The seven principles of business communication should be enough to keep your

messages ethical. But if you want further guidance as to what is and is not ethical
in business communication, the International Association of Business
Communicators outlines a code of ethics for all its members:
 I am honest—my actions bring respect for and trust in the communication
profession.
 I communicate accurate information and promptly correct any errors.
 I obey laws and public policies; if I violate any law or public policy, I act
promptly to correct the situation.
 I protect confidential information while acting within the law.
 I support the ideals of free speech, freedom of assembly, and access to an
open marketplace of ideas.
 I am sensitive to others’ cultural values and beliefs.
 I give credit to others for their work and cite my sources.
 I do not use confidential information for personal benefit.
 I do not represent conflicting or competing interests without full disclosure
and the written consent of those involved.
 I do not accept undisclosed gifts or payments for professional services from
anyone other than a client or employer.
 I do not guarantee results that are beyond my power to deliver.

10 BASICS OF ETHICAL COMMUNICATION

1. Seek to “elicit the best” in communications and interactions with other
group members.
2. Listen when others speak.
3. Speak non-judgmentally.
4. Speak from your own experience and perspective, expressing your own
thoughts, needs, and feelings.
5. Seek to understand others (rather than to be “right” or “more ethical than
thou”).
6. Avoid speaking for others, for example by characterizing what others have
said without checking your understanding, or by universalizing your
opinions, beliefs, values, and conclusions, assuming everyone shares them.
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7. Manage your own personal boundaries: share only what you are
comfortable sharing.
8. Respect the personal boundaries of others.
9. Avoid interrupting and side conversations.
10. Make sure that everyone has time to speak, that all members have
relatively equal “air time” if they want it.

💖 Listening
 Listening is an important skill. It is quiet similar to reading as it involves the
reception and decoding of verbal message from the other person.
 It is unwise to rely solely on your receiving the message; meticulous effort
should be made not only to receive these messages but to interpret them
correctly.
 No communication process is complete without listening. Several studies
have indicated that business people spend almost 45% of their working time
listening.
 According to management guru Tom Peters, listening is an essential
management and leadership skill. Similarly effective listening is extremely
important for students, as they spend most of their time listening to
lectures.

We can define listening as follows:-

Listening is the process of receiving, interpreting and reacting to a message
received from the speaker.
 Hearing and listening are not the same. People often use these words
interchangeably. In fact, hearing, which is solely dependent on the ears, is
a physical act, and barring physically impaired persons everyone can hear
without deliberate effort. Hearing is merely the vibration of sound waves
on the eardrum followed by the firing of electro-chemical impulses in the
brain.
 On the other hand listening requires voluntary attention and then
making sense of what is heard. It requires a conscious effort to interpret the
sound, grasp the meaning of the words and react to the message:

TYPES OF LISTENING:
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1. APPRECIATIVE LISTENING: This listening is for deriving aesthetic pleasure

as we do when we listen to a comedian, musician or entertainer.

2. EMPATHETIC LISTENING: When we listen to a distressed friend who wants

to vent his feelings, we provide emotional and moral support in the form of
empathetic listening. E.g. When a psychiatrist listens to their patients, their
listening is classified as empathetic listening.

3. COMPREHENSIVE LISTENING: this type of listening is needed in the class-

room when the students have to listen to the lecture to understand and
comprehend the message. Similarly, when someone is giving you directions
to find the location of a place, comprehensive listening is required to receive
and interpret the message.
Also known as Evaluative, judgemental, and interpreted listening.

4. CRITICAL LISTENING: when the purpose is to accept or reject the message

or evaluate it critically, one requires this type of listening.
E.g. listening to a sales person before making a purchase or listening to
politician making their election campaign speech involves critical
listening.
Similarly, when you read a book with the objective of writing a book
review, you use your critical abilities.

5. Informative listening: It refers to the situation where listener’s primary

aim is to concentrate on the message being given. This listening is the goal
of learning, understanding and grasping information.
Common in teaching and learning context.
Recall and Recall are important components of this listening.
Good concentration and memory skill are also important.
It entails listening with the goal of comprehending and relating information.

6. Ignoring listening:
Not listening properly or not listening at all.
It can lead strained relationship.
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7. Selective listening: It allows you to hear what you want to hear.

It refers to people’s ability to what they need to hear.
Selective listening is when you focus your attention on some
specific information. It involves consciously or unconsciously choosing to
listen to what is relevant to you and ignore what isn’t. It is a skill that
anyone can develop and improve.

Problems faced by learners during listening

 Lack of concentration.
 Quality of recorded materials.
 Quality of sound system.
 Accent
 Rate of delivery
 Average speaking rate is 125 – 150 words/minutes.
 Average listening rate is 400 – 500 words/minutes.
 Content
 Distractions
 Reduced forms

TRAITS OF A GOOD LISTENER

We can become good listeners by developing the desire to listen. Do this by
adopting a positive attitude to the speaker and his/her subject. The guidelines
suggested will definitely enable you to develop an attitude of tolerance and
understanding.
1. Being Non-evaluative: if you are an active listener your verbal and non-verbal
behaviour will suggest to the speaker that he is being properly heard and
understood. It should not however indicate what you think about the person.
The purpose is to communicate, overlooking the qualities of the ideas, attitude
and values of the speaker.
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2. Paraphrasing: if you wish to clarify a point, you can simply paraphrase what
the speaker has said and enquire from the speaker whether you have heard it
accurately. Use phrases like the following ones to ensure that you have
paraphrased the information correctly:
 “As I gather, you want to tell….”
 “So you mean to say that….”
 “Oh! Your feeling towards….”
 “Do you mean that……”
 Never make unnecessary interruptions, finish the speaker’s sentences or
trip up the speaker with irrelevant or trick questions.

3. Reflecting Implications: The listeners aim here is to reflect eagerness and

zest by nodding or through verbal means thereby giving positive feedback.
You can use phrases like:
 “I am sure if you did that, you would be in a position….”
 “So this might lead to a result which…”
 “So you are suggesting that we might….”

4. Reflecting Hidden Feelings: Sometimes, you have to go beyond the explicit

feeling and contents of what is being said to unravel the underlying feelings,
intentions, benefits, or values that may be influencing the speaker’s words.
You try to empathize or identify yourself with the speaker, to experience what
he or she feels.
You can express your sentiments by using phrases such as:
 “If I were in your place, I would not have handled this situation so well.”
 “That must have been a satisfying experience.”
 “If I was in such a situation, I would have sought the help of seniors.”
 “If that had happened to me, I’d have been very upset.”
NOTE:
 In reflecting the speaker’s covert feelings, be careful not to overexpose
the speaker, by coaxing him to admit more that he desires.
 Also Avoid suggestions to the speaker that the feelings you reflect are
what ought to be felt by him in such a situation. This would make the
speaker feel evaluated. Acceptance is conveyed more by your manner
and tone than by your words.
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5. Inviting Further Contributions: in a situation where you haven’t heard or

understood enough yet to respond with empathy and understanding, prompt
the speaker to give you more information.
Phrases such as the following can be used:
 “Can you throw more light on…..”
 “It would be great if you can expand more on this…..”
 “After that, what happened?”
 “How did you react when….?”
NOTE:
 While it is useful to ask questions, be cautious about asking too many.
This may lead speakers to suspect that rather than seeking information,
you are interrogating or challenging them.
 When you want a speaker to expand on his subject, ask an open-ended
question, which require more than a straight yes or no answer. Open-
ended questions encourage a speaker and help you gain more
information.
For instance, “what solution you have thought of?” is open-ended while
“have you thought of this solution?” is not.

6. Responding Non-Verbally: We can show that we are active listeners by

adopting certain postures and sending non-verbal signals which communicate
our interest in what the speaker is saying.

ACTIVE LISTENING:
Ability to flows completely on the speaker.
Active listening involves listening with all senses. As well as giving full attention
to the speaker, it is important that the ‘active listener’ is also ‘seen’ to be
listening - otherwise the speaker may conclude that what they are talking about
is uninteresting to the listener.

Interest can be conveyed to the speaker by using both verbal and non-verbal
messages such as maintaining eye contact, nodding your head and smiling,
agreeing by saying ‘Yes’ or simply ‘Mmm hmm’ to encourage them to continue.

By providing this 'feedback' the person speaking will usually feel more at ease
and therefore communicate more easily, openly and honestly.
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TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE LISTENING

DO’s:
 Be mentally prepared to listen.
 Evaluate the speech, not the speaker.
 Be unbiased to the speaker by depersonalizing your feelings.
 Fight distractions by closing off sound sources.
 Be open-minded.
 Ask questions to clarify and corroborate thoughts.
 Paraphrase from time to time.
 Send appropriate non-verbal signals from time to time.

DON’T:
 Pay undue emphasis to the vocabulary as you can use the content to
understand the meaning.
 Pay too much attention to the accessories and clothing of the speaker.
 Prepare your responses while the speaker is speaking.
 Avoid preconceptions and prejudices.
 Get distracted by outside influences.
 Concentrate too hard.
 Interrupt too often.
 Show boredom even to an uninteresting speaker.

Passive Listening?
Passive listening is when you are hearing someone or something
without putting 100% of your attention towards listening. This is
a type of communication that is pretty one-sided. The individual
listening passively will often not give any feedback on what they
are listening to or a person speaking.

Listening passively does not require much effort at all. All that is
happening is the listener is hearing what is being said.
Sometimes, a passive listener might not even catch all of what is
being said because they don't have all of their attention on the
speaker.