Communication skills

mcm301
Short Notes By

VU SOLUTIONS
Lecture#01:
 ‘Communication’ is derived from Latin word ‘Communico’ which
means ‘to share’. And ‘Communication’ means ‘the process of
sharing’.
 Definition: “Communication is a process, which involves sharing
of information between people through a continuous activity of
speaking, listening, and understanding.”
 The Communication Process or Cycle:

Noise

RECIEVER
SENDER [Reception]
[Thoughts] [Decoding]
[Encoding]
[Understanding]

Channel

1|P ag e
  The steps involved in Communication Process are:
1. Idea | Information exists in mind of sender.
2. Encoding | Converts the idea in words, symbols or gestures and send it to receiver.
3. Channel | Medium i.e. through which data is send and received.
4. Decoding | The act of understanding message (words or symbols)
4.1. Content | Actual words or symbols of message known as Language. [Words
and gestures combined into phrases that makes grammatical and semantic sense.]
4.2. Context | is the way the message is delivered known as Paralanguage. [Tone
of voice, the look in the sender's eyes, body language and hand gestures, state of
emotion (anger, fear, uncertainty, confidence, etc.]
5. Feedback | or Two-Way Communication is the check-on and it determines whether
understanding has been achieved or not.
5.1. Evaluation | Making a judgment about worth, goodness and appropriateness.
5.2. Interpretation | Paraphrasing i.e. explaining sender’s message in own words.
5.3. Support | Trying to assist the sender
5.4. Probing | Trying to clarify points by discussing additional information.
5.5. Understanding | Trying to know the complete understanding of message.

 NOISE | Any disturbance in sender’s, receiver’s or channel’s background that

will not let the message understood clearly.

2|P ag e
Lecture#02:
 There are five levels of Communication:
1. Intrapersonal Communication | ‘Intrapersonal’ means ‘within the person’. You
initiate, receive, and process messages within yourself. You are playing both the roles of:
sending & receiving. Through it you know yourself and develop your self-concept, self-
determination, and self-motivation. It includes the way we think and the way we
communicate with ourselves.
1.1. The Self | Role the self plays in communication is vital and complex. At the
center of how you communicate, is how you see yourself, or your sense of who you
are. This sense of self is central to how you communicate with others.
1.1.1. Self Concept | It is the total picture of how you see your whole self. It
is your psychological, physical, spiritual, social and your intellectual self.
Self-concept also means knowing how others perceive you. And as a result of this
feedback, you develop a sense of self over the course of your life. Until the day
you die, you will constantly modify your self-concept. This is because we are
always interacting with other people.
Self-concept is made up of two components, self-image, and self-esteem.
1.1.1.1. Self-Image | is literally a picture or image of who you are. We play so
many roles in our daily life. Self-image is how you see yourself and how you
describe the roles that you play in life. These roles can be described as:
1.1.1.1.1. Achieved Roles | Achieved roles are roles that you work to
accomplish or to achieve, such as, professor, honor student, etc.
1.1.1.1.2. Ascribed Roles | Ascribed roles are roles that you are born into,
son, brother, and sister.
1.1.1.2. Self-Esteem | is the process of self-evaluation. It is how you feel
about yourself in each of those roles. It is certainly affected by how others
evaluate your performance in a particular role. To be found lacking in the
performance of a particular role results in hurt feelings and diminished self-
esteem.
 Intrapersonal communication processes depend upon:-
1.2. Communicator’s:
1.2.1. Frame of reference | Your frame of reference refers to the way you
view your world. It is your structure for encoding and decoding messages. [It
consist of your beliefs, attitudes, and values; your memory of experiences; your

3|P ag e
 cultural background; your stereotypes and expectations; your self-concept; your
feelings and level of stress; your thinking patterns; and other psychological
factors.]
1.2.2. Creativity | Creative thinking involves visualizing something in an
innovative, new, or unique way. You can increase your creativity by learning to
think in less traditional ways.
1.2.3. Self-talk | or in Imagined Communication, individuals talk to someone
else or to themselves as if they were another person. However, the communication
takes place in their minds (internally instead of externally).
This approach, can help most speakers to succeed in public communication
situations by reducing their anxiety
1.2.4. Risk-taking behavior | At least a minimum amount of risk is
necessary for growth and development. When we communicate, we risk rejection
by others. Behaviors that threaten our self-concept or intrapersonal processes are
"risky". Your intrapersonal processes about risk-taking are influenced by your
past experiences and interaction with others.
2. Interpersonal Communication | Any
3. Mediated Communication | Any
4. Person-to-Group Communication | Any
5. Mass Communication | Any
Lecture#03:
2. Interpersonal Communication | when two (or a few) people talk face to face.
Interpersonal relations are the interactions between two or more persons. An exchange
with just two people involves at least three communication elements. The unique thinking
done by each person and the overriding process created by the interpersonal exchange.
 Behavior and Interpersonal Communication | Our perception about each
other is based on the displayed behavior. All behaviors are motivated. The motives
however, may be known or unknown. Behaviors determine the quality of interpersonal
relationships by directly influencing every transaction in interaction.
To communicate well, we need to know our frames of reference and ourselves and to
be able to assess other people. Some of the reasons we do not assess other people well
are given below:
 We assume that people would behave the same way in every situation.
 We try too hard to put everyone into consistent categories.
 We are too influenced by first impressions.
 We are positively influenced where we have common characteristics with other
people, e.g. same school, same function.

4|P ag e
  We are too influenced by apparent negative points, e.g. if someone is not very
good at short-term decision making, we might assume that he/she is not going to
be good at long-term planning either.
 We make constant errors because of our own limited frames of reference and
self-concept.
The Contextual View | The interact-ants are in close physical proximity to each
other, there are many sensory channels used, and feedback is immediate. It does not
take into account the relationship between the interact-ants.
 Interpersonal communication is contextual | Communication does not
happen in isolation. There is:
 Psychological context| Which is who you are and what you bring to the interaction.
Your needs, desires, values, personality, etc.
 Relational context| Concerns your reactions to the other person--the "mix.
 Situational context| Deals with the psycho-social "where" you are communicating.
i.e. classroom vs restaurant.
 Environmental context| Deals with the physical "where" you are communicating.
Furniture, location, noise level, temperature, season, time of day, etc.
 Cultural context| Includes all the learned behaviors and rules that affect the
interaction

The Developmental View | We have many different relationships with people.

Interpersonal communication is defined as communication that occurs between people
who have known each other for some time. Importantly, these people view each other
as unique individuals, not as people who are simply acting out social situations.
Interpersonal channels include:
 Conversations| involve unstructured, informal, and slightly purposive communication
transactions.
 Dialogues| Dialogues introduce purpose in relatively structured and formal transactions.
 Interviews| In the directive interview, the interviewer commands the transaction. In the
nondirective interview, both parties give direction to the interview. The stress interviewer
uses emotion-laden questions to determine how well the stress interviewer handles stress.
The depth interview involves a directive probe into the topic.
 Small groups| include four to ten people, with location, time, topic, purpose, formality,
designation, and cohesion having an impact on the transaction Methods for conducting group
meetings include problem-solving, educating, brain storming, and role-playing.

Functions of Interpersonal Communication | We engage in

communication with another person, we seek to gain information about them. We also
give off information through a wide variety of verbal and nonverbal cues. The various
functions of interpersonal communication are:

5|P ag e
  Gaining Information| Social Penetration Theory says that we attempt to gain
information about others so that we can interact with them more effectively. We can better
predict how they will think, feel, and act. Self-disclosure is often used to get information.
 Building a Context of Understanding | The words we say can mean very different
things depending on how they are said or in what context. Content Messages refer to the
surface level meaning of a message. Relationship Messages refer to how a message is said.
 Establishing Identity| The roles we play in our relationships help us establish identity.
Both roles and face are constructed based on how we interact with others.
 Interpersonal Needs| we need to express and receive interpersonal needs.
The three identified needs are:
 Inclusion | the need to establish identity with others.
 Control | the need to exercise leadership and prove one's abilities.
 Affection | the need to develop relationships with people

Lecture#04:
Communication in the Organization | Guiding Principles
 People are not mind readers. They judge you by their behavior & not by your intent.
 A word is like an arrow, once out of the bow never returns.
 We don’t exchange ideas; we exchange symbols that stand for ideas.
3. Mediated communication | when two (or a few) people do not communicate face
to face and thus do not have direct feedback. Mediated communication often uses a
mechanical or electrical device to transmit or receive messages.
4. Person-to-Group Communication | The person-to-group level involves one
speaker and audience. A small, private person-to-group situation often has some of the
characteristics of interpersonal communication. The traditional speaker and audience
setting may include microphones, projectors, and tape player.
5. Mass communication | Mass communication includes messages sent to large,
public, dissimilar, anonymous, distant audiences using some intermediate instrument of
transfer. The instruments include electronic and print. The restricted opportunity for
feedback is the most serious barrier to effective mass communication.
Communication in the Organization
Communication is used extensively in the managerial functions of planning, organizing,
staffing, directing and controlling. Communication in the modern organization flows
downward, upward, and the horizontal, its destination can be either internal or external.
 Downward Communication | flows from people at higher levels to those
at lower levels in the organizational hierarchy. The primary function of
downward communication is to inform employees about things
important to them such as:
 Information about their jobs
6|P ag e
  Organizational policies and procedures
 Feedback about their performance
 Organizational goals and objectives
The types of downwards communication may include instructions, speeches, meetings,
announcements, memos, notifications, letters, hand-books, pamphlets, company
newsletters and periodicals, bulletin boards (notice boards) policy statements, and
procedures.
Why is this needed?
 Workers will better motivated and become more efficient.
 They need clear job directions and safety rules.
 They need to know facts about organizational strategy, products,
and viewpoints on important controversial issues.
 Employees want to know about their benefits.
 In a way the employees, through their collective pressure, force
their employers to be accountable for their decisions through
effective downward communication.
 Upward Communication | travels from subordinates to superiors and
continues up the organizational ladder. Unfortunately, this flow is often
hindered by people in the communication link who filter the messages
and do not transmit all the information, especially unfavorable news to
their bosses.
Types of media used to direct information upward are reports, interoffice memos, supervisor
subordinate conferences, suggestion systems, and grievance procedures.
 Lateral Communication | It includes horizontal flow of information, with
people on the same or similar organizational levels, and diagonal flow,
with people at different levels who have no direct reporting
relationships. The lateral communication is used to speed up information
flow, to improve understanding, and to coordinate efforts for the
achievement of organizational objectives. Most lateral communication is
of an oral nature, involving a conference between the participants.

7|P ag e
Lecture#05:
Communication Destination | The destination of communication is either
internal or external.
 Internal Communication | Upward, downward, lateral flow falls in it. Interoffice
memos, informal reports, and conferences are used to communicate internally. It
helps increase job satisfaction, safety, productivity, and profits and decreases
absenteeism, grievances, and turnover.
 External Communication | Examples of publics that organizations communicate
with are consumers, stockholders, governmental agencies, foreign suppliers,
wholesalers, and retailers. Letters, formal reports, stockholder reports, proposals,
stockholder meetings, telephone conversations, and conferences are used to
communicate externally.
Organizations that have stockholders hold annual stockholder meetings to conduct
official business— such as electing individuals to the board of directors.
An increasing amount of organizational business is conducted over the telephone.
The primary reason for using the phone in the first place—to save time—actually
takes more time because of the duplicate effort involved in making the phone call
and then preparing the written documentation.
 Benefits of Effective Communication | Specific communication skills that a
person may require in any organization will vary from job to job.
 Conflict resolution | Conflict is a normal part of doing business. Conflicts are
inevitable; however anger, grudges, hurt and blame do not have to be. Organizations
totally devoid of conflict would become apathetic, stagnant, and unresponsive to change.
While unmanaged conflicts, disagreements and out-of-control emotions can harm
important work and professional relationships. Effectively managed conflict can actually
promote cooperation and build stronger relationships. An effective conflict resolution
process leads to unity by addressing concerns or issues rather than suppressing them.
 Motivation | Motivation is the process of satisfying internal needs through actions and
behaviors. It affects individuals differently. It comes from within, from a person's own
psyche, secret desires and deep-rooted needs which motivate us towards their satisfaction.
 Problem Solving | People working together are bound to develop differences & have
problems working together. An objective and practical way out to such a situation is to
identify the real problem and find an amicable way to correct it. Regular communication,
active feedback, and carefully monitoring of the results are all what constitutes creating
such a consensus.
 Public Relations | Every organization - government, business, labor, etc. depends on
people. Their attitudes, attention, understanding, and motivation can be critical to the
success or failure of an organization or idea. The public relations function takes many
forms in different organizations, including public information, investor relations, public
affairs, corporate communications, employee relations, marketing or product publicity,
and consumer service or customer relations.

8|P ag e
  Benefits of Effective Communication | Organization
Effective communication benefits the organization by:
 Positive Image | The image outsiders have of many organizations is negative because
of ineffective communication by employees. An unfortunate situation arises when the
listener or reader receives a totally incorrect perception of what the speaker/writer
intended.
 Cost Reduction | Effective communication skills make a significant contribution to
organizational cost reduction. Let’s take another example. Consider an organization with
10,000 employees. If each employee on the average wastes 10% of his/her daily working
hours in inefficient communication, and if that 10% is equivalent to 100 rupees, then the
total amount lost would be of around one million rupees per annum.
 Increasing Employee Morale | Managers frequently underestimate the amount of
communication employee’s desire from them. As a result, information that employees
would find useful simply does not get communicated. This lack of communication, in
turn, creates an impression among the employees that their managers are not concerned
about them or the positions they hold. When this impression is created, employee morale
deteriorates.
 Increasing Employee Productivity | In some organizations, employees are not as
productive as they might be because management fails to communicate its expectations to
them. Some employees have difficulty improving their productivity when they have not
been made aware of what management expects of them or when they have not been fully
informed how certain job tasks are to be performed.
 Misconceptions about Communication | We need more communication
More often than not, these complaints are justified. But is the problem one of not enough
communication or one of quality? The truth of the matter is that most of us are confronted by too
much rather than too little communication. The problem is that we are not psychologically
equipped to handle all of these messages. The point is that the quantity of communication that
characterizes an environment has little to do with the quantity of communication in an
environment. While there can be little doubt that we need to improve the quality of communication
in our lives, we do not necessarily need more communication.
 Communication solves all problems |
Communication is not a cure-all for the problems we experience. If we are properly skilled in
communication, it can be a highly effective medium for the resolution of problems or conflicts.
 Communication breakdowns |
The idea that communication can break down is widely accepted. Generally, people assume that
communication has broken down when one person has failed to accurately interpret the
communication behavior of another person. While this frequently happens, it does not mean
communication has physically broken down. Rather, it means that we have been ineffective in
communicating.
 Meanings are in words |
The meanings we associate with words are a function of our individual backgrounds and
experiences with other people “Words don’t mean – people mean.” This is to say, meaning can
be subjective. The degree to which you and others share common meanings for words will
depend on the extent to which you share common backgrounds and experiences.
9|P ag e