Concept of Communication

Communication is transfer of information from

one person to another, but the information
transferred must be understandable to the receiver
– G.G. Brown.
We can now proceed to define communication
from what we have seen above. To define means
to give the precise and exact meaning of a word.
The exact meaning of the word communicate is
‘to share’ or ‘to participate’. The dictionaries say
that communication is the transmission of a
message or information by speaking or writing.
Another dictionary declares that communication
is giving or exchanging information, signals,
messages by talk or gestures or writing.
Communication is giving, receiving or
exchanging ideas, information, signals or
messages through appropriate media, enabling
individuals or groups to persuade, to seek
information, to give information or to express
emotions.
This broad definition includes body-language,
skills of speaking and writing. It outlines the
objectives of communication. It emphasizes
listening as an important aspect of
communication. It is a two way process in which
there is a mutual exchange of thoughts, ideas,
feelings and emotions between two or more
people
Elements in Communication
Communication is a two-way process that results
in a shared meaning or common understanding
between the sender and the reciever.
An understanding of how communication works
can help us to understand and improve our
communication. The basic communication model
consists of five elements of communication: the
sender, the receiver, the message, the channel and
feedback
Sender
The sender plays the specific role of initiating
communication. To communicate effectively, the
sender must use effective verbal a
s well as nonverbal techniques. Speaking or
writing clearly, organizing your points to make
them easy to follow and understand, maintaining
eye contact, using proper grammar and giving
accurate information are all essential in the
effectiveness of your message. You
will lose your audience if it becomes aware of
obvious oversights on your part. The sender
should have some understanding of who the
receiver is in order to modify the message to
make it more relevant.

Receiver
The receiver means the party to whom the sender
transmits the message. A receiver can be one
person or an entire audience of people. In the
basic communication model, the receiver, is
directly across from the speaker. The receiver can
also communicate verbally and nonverbally. The
best way to receive a message is to listen
carefully, sitting up straight and making eye
contact. Don’t get distracted or try to do
something else while you're listening. Nodding
and smiling as you listen to thesender speak
demonstrate that you understand the message.

Message
The message may be the most crucial element of
effective communication. A message can come in
many different forms, such as an oral
presentation, a written document, an
advertisement or just a comment. In the basic
communication model, the wayfrom one point to
another represents the sender's message traveling
to the receiver. The message isn't necessarily
what the sender intends it to be. Rather, the
message is what the receiver perceives the
message to be. As a result, the sender must not
only compose the message carefully, but also
evaluate the ways in which the message can be
interpreted.

Channel
The message travels from one point to another via
a channel of communication. The channel sits
between the sender and receiver. Many channels,
or types, of communication exist, from the
spoken word to radio, television, an Internet site
or something written, like a book, letter or
magazine. Every channel of communication has
its advantages and disadvantages. For example,
one disadvantage of the written word, on a
computer screen or in a book, is that the receiver
cannot evaluate the tone of the message. For this
reason, effective communicators word written
communications clearly so they don't rely on a
specific tone of voice to convey the message
accurately. The advantages of television as a
channel for communication include its expansive
reach to a wide audience and the sender's ability
to further manipulate the message using editing
and special effects.

Feedback
The last element of effective communication,
feedback, describes the receiver's response or
reaction to the sender's message. The receiver can
transmit feedback through asking questions,
making comments or just supporting the message
that was delivered. Feedback helps the sender to
determine how the receiver interpreted the
message and how it can be improved.

The Communication Process

Communication process consists of some

interrelated steps or parts through which
messages are sent form sender to receiver. The
process of communication begins when the
sender wants to transmit a fact, idea, opinion or
other information to the receiver and ends with
receiver’s feedback to the sender. The main
components of communication process are
sender, message, channel, receiver and feedback.
Communication process is the set of some
sequential steps involved in transferring message
as well as feedback. The process requires a sender
who transmits message through a channel to the
receiver. Then the receiver decodes the message
and sends back some type of signal or feedback.
Steps of communication process
The communication process refers to the steps
through which communication takes place
between the sender and the receiver. This process
starts with conceptualizing an idea or message by
the sender and ends with the feedback from the
receiver. In details, communication process
consists of the following eight steps:
1. Developing idea by the sender: In the
first step, the communicator develops or
conceptualizes an idea to be sent. It is also
known as the planning stage since in this
 stage the communicator plans the subject
matter of communication.
2. Encoding: Encoding means converting or
translation the idea into a perceivable form
that can be communicated to others.
3. Developing the message: After encoding
the sender gets a message that can be
transmitted to the receiver. The message can
be oral, written, symbolic or nonverbal. For
example, when people talk, speech is the
message; when people write a letter, the
words and sentences are the message; when
people cries, the crying is the message.
4. Selecting the medium: Medium is the
channel or means of transmitting the message
to the receiver. Once the sender has encoded
his into a message, the next step is to select a
suitable medium for transmitting it to the
receiver. The medium of communication can
be speaking, writing, signaling, gesturing etc.
5. Transmission of message: In this step,
the sender actually transmits the message
 through chosen medium. In the
communication cycle, the tasks of the sender
end with the transmission of the message.
6. Receiving the message by receiver: This
stage simply involves the reception of
sender’s message by the receiver. The
message can be received in the form of
hearing, seeing, feeling and so on.
7. Decoding: Decoding is the receiver’s
interpretation of the sender’s message. Here
the receiver converts the message into
thoughts and tries to analyze and understand
it. Effective communication can occur only
when both the sender and the receiver assign
the same or similar meanings to the message.
8. Feedback: The final step of
communication process is feedback. Feedback
means receiver’s response to sender’s
message. It increases the effectiveness of
communication. It ensures that the receiver
has correctly understood the message.
Feedback is the essence of two-way
 communication.

IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK

Feedback is the essence of two-way

communication. In two-way communication, the
sender must wait for receiver’s response before
deciding what to say nest and how to say it.
Feedback is the check on how much successful
one has been in transferring his message as
originally intended. If there is no feedback.
Communication will be incomplete and
ineffective. Based on feedback, a sender may
either alter the presentation of the message or
cancel it entirely. Thus, there is no alternative to
feedback,. Some points highlighting the
importance of feedback are mentioned below:

Completion of communication: Two-way

communication requires feedback from the
receiver. Through the feedback, sender can
understand the attitude of the receiver. Burton
and Thakur said, “The receiver’s feedback to the
sender completes the communication process
loop.”
 Measuring the effectiveness of
communication: Feedback ensures the sender
regarding the effectiveness of his
communication. By means of feedback,
 sender can be sure that the receiver received
the message and understood it in the proper
way. Sender needs feedback in order to
determine the success or failure of
communication.
 Understanding the receiver’s view:
Feedback helps to understand the receiver’s
view and opinion about the sender’s message.
With this understanding, sender can
determine the next course of action.
 Making correct decision: Feedback
communicates the receiver’s opinion to the
sender. Considering this opinion, the
communicator can take proper decision.
Information of the receiver can also improve
the quality of decision.
 Collection of information: One-way
communication only sends information. If
communicator wants to gather information, he
must seek feedback.
 Coordination of activities: Responsibility of
 performing organizational activities is
assigned to various departments. In this case,
organizational success depends on proper
coordination of inter-departmental activities.
Feedback helps top management to ensure
proper coordination.

However, some forms of communication do not

directly involve spoken or written language.
Nonverbal communication (body language)
consists of actions, gestures, and other aspects of
physical appearance that, combined with facial
expressions (such as smiling or frowning), can be
powerful means of transmitting messages. At
times, a person's body may be “talking” even as
he or she maintains silence. And when people do
speak, their bodies may sometimes say different
things than their words convey. A mixed message
occurs when a person's words communicate one
message, while nonverbally, he or she is
communicating something else.
Although technology such as e‐mail has lessened
the importance of nonverbal communication, the
majority of organizational communication still
takes place through face‐to‐face interaction.
Every verbal message comes with a nonverbal
component. Receivers interpret messages by
taking in meaning from everything available.
When nonverbal cues are consistent with verbal
messages, they act to reinforce the messages. But
when these verbal and nonverbal messages are
inconsistent, they create confusion for the
receiver.
The actions of management are especially
significant because subordinates place more
confidence in what managers do than what they
say. Unless actions are consistent with
communication, a feeling of distrust will
undermine the effectiveness of any future social
exchange.
Oral communication skills
Because a large part of a manager's day is spent
conversing with other managers and employees,
the abilities to speak and listen are critical to
success. For example, oral communication skills
are used when a manager must make sales
presentations, conduct interviews, perform
employee evaluations, and hold press
conferences.
In general, managers prefer to rely on oral
communication because communication tends to
be more complete and thorough when talking in
person. In face‐to‐face interactions, a person can
judge how the other party is reacting, get
immediate feedback, and answer questions. In
general, people tend to assume that talking to
someone directly is more credible than receiving
a written message. Face‐to‐face communication
permits not only the exchange of words, but also
the opportunity to see the nonverbal
communication.
However, verbal communicating has its
drawbacks. It can be inconsistent, unless all
parties hear the same message. And although oral
communication is useful for conveying the
viewpoints of others and fostering an openness
that encourages people to communicate, it is a
weak tool for implementing a policy or issuing
directives where many specifics are involved.
Here are two of the most important abilities for
effective oral communication:
 Active listening. Listening is making sense of
what is heard and requires paying attention,
interpreting, and remembering sound stimuli.
Effective listening is active, requiring the
hearer to “get inside the head” of the speaker
 so that he or she can understand the
communication from the speaker's point of
view. Effective listeners do the following:
 Make eye contact.
 Schedule sufficient, uninterrupted time for
meetings.
 Genuinely seek information.
 Avoid being emotional or attacking
others.
 Paraphrase the message you heard,
especially to clarify the speaker's
intentions.
 Keep silent. Don't talk to fill pauses, or
respond to statements in a point‐
counterpoint fashion.
 Ask clarifying questions.
 Avoid making distracting gestures.

 Constructive feedback. Managers often do

 poor jobs of providing employees with
performance feedback. When providing
feedback, managers should do the following:
 Focus on specific behaviors rather than
making general statements
 Keep feedback impersonal and goal‐
oriented
 Offer feedback as soon after the action as
possible
 Ask questions to ensure understanding of
the feedback
 Direct negative feedback toward behavior
that the recipient can control
 Advantages of oral communication
Oral communication involves many advantages.
In a recent survey about communication it is clear
that more than 55% of the executives choose this
communication. The advantages of oral
communication are as follows:
1. Time saving: When action is required to
 be taken immediately it is best to transmit a
message orally. If the executives work load is
high then they stop writhing and by oral
instructions they complete their message
transmission and released their work load and
also it saves time.
2. Cost savings: Cost is involved in any
communication. When the communication is
needed within the organization and if it and is
completed in orally, it has not needed any
paper, pen or stamp or computer. So it saves
the money of the organization.
3. More powerful: Speech is a more
powerful means of persuasion and control.
Therefore, executives often prefer to transmit
messages orally.
4. Effectiveness: With the help of variations
in the tone, pitch and intensity of voice, the
speaker can convey shades of meaning. This
factor also contributes to the effectiveness of
oral communication.
5. Immediate feedback: The speaker can
 get immediate feedback on whether it is
creating a favorable impression on the
receiver or whether the receiver will protest or
whether the receiver has receiver has clearly
understood his meaning or is feeling
perplexed or baffled and he can mold and
adjust his message accordingly.
6. More suitable: The employees felt more
suitable when the message transmits in orally.
They get an opportunity for feedback and
clarification.
7. A relationship develops: Oral
communication is mostly carried out helps to
promote friendly relations between the parties
communicating with each other.
8. Flexibility: By the demand of the
situations, oral instructions can be changed
easily and for these cases maintain the
formalities are not necessary. So it is very
much flexible and effective.
9. Easy: It needs little preparation to send a
message. No need of pens, pencils and other
 writing equipment’s which are needed in
written communication.
10. Correction of errors: If any error is
expressed at the time of oral communication.
It was possible to rectify at that time or within
a very short time.
11. Informal communication: In oral
communication, no need to maintain such
formalities which are needed in written
communication. So it is easy and helpful to
any organization.
12. Motivation: In oral communication
system, top executives and sub ordinates staff
can sit face-to-face and exchange their views
directly, so sub-ordinates are motivated day
by day.
13. Special applications: Oral
communication is more helpful in
communicating messages to groups of people
at assembly meetings etc.
14. Maintaining secrecy: Interested parties of
oral communication can maintain the secrecy
 of messages easily.
Disadvantages of oral communication
Oral communication contains many advantages.
In spite of this, there are oral some disadvantages
which are given below:
1. No record: In oral communication,
messages are difficult to record. So it is
impossible to preserve the message for future.
2. Expensive: It is also expensive media of
communication. Sometimes the audience can
be managed by paying T. A and D. A. On the
other hand Technological devices that are
used in this system are costly.
3. Distortion of the word: If distortion of
the word occurs in oral communication, then
main goals of the organization may be filed.
4. Inaccuracy: There is very possibility of
inaccurate messages to reach the destination.
So, the reverse result of expected plan may be
occurred.
5. Limited use: The scope of usage of oral
 communication is limited. It is not suitable for
lengthy messages. It should be sued for short
message.
6. Probability of omitting main subject:
Sometimes, main subject may be omitted to
express a word for communicating. So,
expected result may not be achieved.
7. Confused speech: Sometimes the receiver
fails to understand the meaning of a message
due to habitual productions of the speaker.
8. No legal validity: there is any legal
validity of the oral message. As, the oral
messages are not taped and kept records, so it
can be denied easily if the situation goes
against the speaker.
9. Late decision: It takes time to reach a
decision. At the beginning stage, sometime is
killed in the discussion of any personal
matters. Besides some time is also wasted for
irrelevant discussion. In this way decision
making is delayed.
10. Less important: In oral communication,
 meaningless speech can mislead the main
effects of the communication. But when the
information comes out in written, we take it
seriously.
11. Lack of secrecy: In oral communication,
the important and secret information may be
disclosed.
12. Defective: Oral communication is
defective for company’s policy, procedure,
programs, law and other important
information.
13. Creates misunderstanding: The speaker
often gives message without having properly
organized it earlier. So, it is possible that he
may not be able to make himself properly to
communicate with the receiver. As a result,
misunderstanding May develops.

Written communication skills

There are wide varieties of business letters like
circular letter, inquiry letter, order letter,
collection letter etc. all these letters serve
important and multidimensional business
purposes. The major purposes or objectives of
writing business letters are discussed below:

To exchange information: The main purpose of

business letter is to exchange information related
to business. Through it, business organizations
collect and convey business related information.
To establish business relationship: By
exchanging information through business letters,
new business relationships can be established
with various parties and existing relationships can
be strengthened.
To make inquiry: Another important objective
of writing business letter is to make inquiry about
people, product, price etc. With the expansion of
business operations of a business, importance of
business letter is also increasing.
To take right decisions: Taking right decisions
require accurate information. Since business letter
s collect information form reliable sources,
executives can take right decision using that
information.
To place orders: A common purpose of writing
business letter is to place order for goods
specifying quantity, quality, price, payment
method etc.
To create goodwill: Goodwill is an important
asset for any business. Businesses can create
goodwill by writing letters like order
confirmation letter, adjustment grants letter,
inquiry letter, reply to inquiry letter etc.
To save time and cost: Saving time and cost of
communication is another objective of writing
business letter. Posting letter is cheaper and less
time consuming than making personal visits.
To expand markets: Through writing various
business letters like inquiry letter and circular
letter, business organizations can create new
market for their products.
To overcome misunderstanding: If there arise
any misunderstanding between a business and its
stakeholders, business letter is written to
overcome it.
To settle transactions: By means of writing
business letter s, concerned parties can settle their
transactions. For example, customers write claim
letters to the sellers for compensations, sellers
write collection letters to customers for collecting
dues.
To keep records: Another reason for the wide
use of business letter is to keep permanent record
of information. Business letters help to develop
an information base in the organization and
facilitate future decision making.
Written communication has several advantages.
First, it provides a record for referral and follow‐
up. Second, written communication is an
inexpensive means of providing identical
messages to a large number of people.
Unfortunately, writing skills are often difficult to
develop, and many individuals have problems
writing simple, clear, and direct documents. And
believe it or not, poorly written documents cost
money.
Managers must be able to write clearly. The
ability to prepare letters, memos, sales reports,
and other written documents may spell the
difference between success and failure. The
following are some guidelines for effective
written communication:
 Use the P.O.W.E.R. Plan for preparing each
message: plan, organize, write, edit, and
revise
 Draft the message with the readers in mind
 Give the message a concise title and use
subheadings where appropriate
 Use simple words and short, clear, sentences
and paragraphs
 Back up opinions with facts
 Avoid “flowery” language, euphemisms, and
trite expressions
 Summarize main points at the end and let the
reader know what he must do next
 NON – VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Nonverbal communication between people is
communication through sending and receiving
wordless clues. (Without using words)
It includes the use of visual cues such as body
language (kinesics), distance (proxemics) and
physical environments/appearance, of voice
(paralanguage) and of touch (haptics).It can also
include chronemics (the use of time) and
oculesics (eye contact and the actions of looking
while talking and listening, frequency of glances,
patterns of fixation, pupil dilation, and blink rate).
Just as speech contains nonverbal elements
known as paralanguage, including voice quality,
rate, pitch, volume, and speaking style.Nonverbal
communication involves the conscious and
unconscious processes of encoding and decoding.
Encoding is the act of generating information
such as facial expressions, gestures, and postures.
Decoding is the interpretation of information
from received sensations from previous
experiences.
The term "kinesics" was first used (in 1952) by
Ray Birdwhistell, an anthropologist who wished
to study how people communicate through
posture, gesture, stance, and movement.
Kinesics is the study of body movements. The
aspects of kinesics are face, eye contact, gesture,
posture, body movements.
1. Face: The face and eyes are the most
expressive means of body communication.It
can facilitate or hamper feedback.
2. Eye contact: It is the most powerful form
of non-verbal communication. It builds
emotional relationship between listener and
speaker.
3. Gesture: It is the motion of the body to
express the speech.
4. Posture: The body position of an
individual conveys a variety of messages.
5. Body movement: Used to understand what
people are communicating with their gestures
and posture
Nonverbal communication represents two-thirds
of all communication

Albert Mehrabian Communication

model: 7 – 38 – 55
We communicate globally with one another by
means of language, gestures, signs and pictogram
s. It is almost impossible not to communicate. To
get a better understanding of communication,
professor of psychology Albert Mehrabian
studied the importance of non-verbal
communication in the 1970s.
That is why Albert Mehrabian developed a
communication model, in which he demonstrated
that only 7% of what we communicate consists of
the literal content of the message. The use of
one’s voice, such as tone, intonation and volume,
take up 38% and as much as 55% of
communication consists of body language. This 7
– 38 – 55 -model is still much used today.
According to Mehrabian,the three elements
account differently for our liking for the person
who puts forward a message concerning their
feelings: words account for 7%, tone of voice
accounts for 38%, and body language accounts
for 55% of the liking.
For effective and meaningful communication
about emotions, these three parts of the message
need to support each other - they have to be
"congruent". In case of any incongruence, the
receiver of the message might be irritated by two
messages coming from two different channels,
giving cues in two different directions.
The following example should help illustrate
incongruence in verbal and non-verbal
communication.
  Verbal: "I do not have a problem with you!"
 Non-verbal: person avoids eye-contact, looks
anxious, has a closed body language, etc.
Posture
There are many different types of body
positioning to portray certain postures, including
slouching, towering, legs spread, jaw thrust,
shoulders forward, and arm crossing. The posture
or bodily stance exhibited by individuals
communicates a variety of messages whether
good or bad. Posture can be used to determine a
participant's degree of attention or involvement,
the difference in status between communicators,
and the level of fondness a person has for the
other communicator, depending on body
"openness"
Gestures
Gestures may be made with the hands, arms or
body, and also include movements of the head,
face and eyes, such as winking, nodding, or
rolling one's eyes. Gestures vary widely across
cultures in how they are used and what they
mean. A common example is pointing. In the
United States, pointing is the gesture of a finger
or hand to indicate or "come here please" when
beckoning a dog. But pointing with one finger is
also considered to be rude by some cultures.
Those from Asian cultures typically use their
entire hand to point to something. Clapping is a
North American way of applauding, but in Spain
is used to summon a waiter at a restaurant.
Facial Expressions
Facial expressions, more than anything, serve as a
practical means of communication. With all the
various muscles that precisely control mouth,
lips, eyes, nose, forehead, and jaw, human faces
are estimated to be capable of more than ten
thousand different expressions. In addition, many
of these emotions, including happiness, sadness,
anger, fear, surprise, disgust, shame, anguish and
interest are universally recognize
Displays of emotions can generally be
categorized into two groups: negative and
positive. Negative emotions usually manifest as
increased tension in various muscle groups:
tightening of jaw muscles, furrowing of forehead,
squinting eyes, or lip occlusion (when the lips
seemingly disappear). In contrast, positive
emotions are revealed by the loosening of the
furrowed lines on the forehead, relaxation of the
muscles around the mouth, and widening of the
eye area.

Eye contact
Eye contact is the instance when two people look
at each other's eyes at the same time; it is the
primary nonverbal way of indicating engagement,
interest, attention and involvement. Some studies
have demonstrated that people use their eyes to
indicate interest. This includes frequently
recognized actions of winking and movements of
the eyebrows.Disinterest is highly noticeable
when little or no eye contact is made in a social
setting. When an individual is interested,
however, the pupils will dilate. Along with the
detection of disinterest, deceit can also be
observed in a person. Hogan states "when
someone is being deceptive their eyes tend to
blink a lot more. Eyes act as leading indicator of
truth or deception, Both nonverbal and verbal
cues are useful when detecting deception. It is
typical for people who are detecting lies to rely
consistently on verbal cues but this can hinder
how well they detect deception. Those who are
lying and those who are telling the truth possess
different forms of nonverbal and verbal cues and
this is important to keep in mind
Haptics: touching in communication
Haptics is the study of touching as nonverbal
communication, and haptic communication refers
to how people and other animals communicate
via touching.
Touches among humans that can be defined as
communication include handshakes, holding
hands, kissing (cheek, lips, hand), back slapping,
high fives, a pat on the shoulder, and brushing an
arm.
Proxemics
Proxemics is the study of the cultural, behavioral,
and sociological aspects of spatial distances
between individuals. Every person has a
particular space that they keep to themselves
when communicating, like a personal bubble.
When used as a type of nonverbal signal in
communication, proxemics helps to determine the
space between individuals while they interact.
There are four types of proxemics with different
distances depending on the situation and people
involved. Intimate distance is used for close
encounters like embracing, touching, or
whispering. Personal distance is for interactions
with close friends and family members. Social
distance is for interactions among acquaintances.
It is mostly used in workplace or school settings
where there is no physical contact. Public
distance is for strangers or public speaking.
Edward Hall described the interpersonal
distances of man (the relative distances
between people) in four zones: intimate space,
personal space, social space, and public space.
A chart depicting Edward T. Hall's interpersonal
distances of man, showing radius in feet and
meters
 Intimate distance for embracing, touching or
whispering
 Close phase – less than 6 inches (15 cm)
 Far phase – 6 to 18 inches (15 to 46 cm)
 Personal distance for interactions among
good friends or family
 Close phase – 1.5 to 2.5 feet (46 to 76 cm)
 Far phase – 2.5 to 4 feet (76 to 122 cm)
 Social distance for interactions among
acquaintances
 Close phase – 4 to 7 feet (1.2 to 2.1 m)
 Far phase – 7 to 12 feet (2.1 to 3.7 m)
  Public distance used for public speaking
 Close phase – 12 to 25 feet (3.7 to 7.6 m)
 Far phase – 25 feet (7.6 m) or more.
The distance surrounding a person form space.
The space within intimate distance and personal
distance is called personal space. The space
within social distance and out of personal
distance is called social space. And the space
within public distance is called public space.
Personal space is the region surrounding a person
which they regard as psychologically theirs. Most
people value their personal space and feel
discomfort, anger, or anxiety when their personal
space is encroached.Permitting a person to enter
personal space and entering somebody else's
personal space are indicators of perception of
those people's relationship. An intimate zone is
reserved for close friends, lovers, children and
close family members. Another zone is used for
conversations with friends, to chat with
associates, and in group discussions. A further
zone is reserved for strangers, newly formed
groups, and new acquaintances. A fourth zone is
used for speeches, lectures, and theater;
essentially, public distance is that range reserved
for larger audiences.
Entering somebody's personal space is normally
an indication of familiarity and sometimes
intimacy. However, in modern society, especially
in crowded urban communities, it can be difficult
to maintain personal space, for example when in a
crowded train, elevator or street. Many people
find such physical proximity to be
psychologically disturbing and uncomfortable,
though it is accepted as a fact of modern life. In
an impersonal, crowded situation, eye contact
tends to be avoided.