COMMUNICATION SKILLS Swarupa Kulkarni

WHAT IS COMMUNICATION TO YOU??

To me, it means passing on the message correctly to the
concerned person in the correct manner, ensuring that he has
UNDERSTOOD it in the same way as I INTENDED!
Always remember the MEANING of what you are
saying would be altered by the WAY you are
SAYING it.
MULTIPLE DEFINITIONS OF COMMUNICATION
Communication is a process that involves sending and receiving messages through
the verbal and non-verbal methods. Communication is a two-way means of
communicating information in the form of thoughts, opinions, and ideas between two
or more individuals with the purpose of building an understanding.
Communication is the process of two or more people or groups exchanging
information, ideas, thoughts, and feelings. It is a basic human activity that enables
individuals to communicate with one another and exchange ideas, feelings, and
experiences. There is a sender, a message, and a receiver in the communication
process.
The root of the word “communication” in Latin is communicare, which means to share,
or to make common (Weekley, 1967). Communication is defined as the process of
understanding and sharing meaning (Pearson & Nelson, 2000).
PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION

The communication process is made up of four key components. Those

components include encoding, medium of transmission, decoding, and
feedback. There are also two other factors in the process, and those two
factors are present in the form of the sender and the receiver.
PROCESS BROKEN IN STEPS
Encoding: putting your message in the comprehensible form such as words, gestures, emojis
etc/ process of converting ideas/thoughts into words or gestures
Transmitting the message in a way that receiver can understand i.e. using common language,
symbols which would mean the same thing in our and his/her culture
Then comes the route/medium of transmission i.e. the channel through which the message is
being conveyed e.g. Verbal/non verbal/written/digital way/letter etc
Decoding is the process by which sender interprets the message, which is very well impacted
by his state of mind, his opinion about the sender, his environment (noisy, quiet etc)
"The written words, spoken words, and nonverbal language selected are paramount in
ensuring the receiver interprets the message as intended by the sender“
The perception of the listener/receiver changes with the use of props/non verbal cues in
communication
It’s a dynamic process, which changes continuously with the response we receive from the
listener, whose reactions are in turn shaped by our reactions/words
EIGHT IMPORTANT COMPONENTS IN
COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Source: imagines/creates/sends the message, so source is the sender of message. He
uses his tone, body language, and other props to convey his/her message.
Next the source encodes the message by choosing the right order of words e.g. Can
you/ will you/why don’t you etc
Then the message is sent and depending on how the audience/receiver reacts, source
would respond.
Message: the actual content that is being passed on. It is impacted by the
environment, context, surrounding, writing style punctuation, heading, formatting etc
Channel: the medium through which the message is conveyed i.e. how the message
travels between the sender and the receiver e.g. email/whatsapp/social
media/letters/verbal/non-verbal
CONTINUED…
The receiver receives the message from the source, analyzing and interpreting the
message in ways both intended and unintended by the source. The nonverbal
responses of your listeners can serve as clues on how to adjust your
speech/responses.
When you respond to the source, intentionally or unintentionally, you are giving
feedback. Feedback is composed of messages the receiver sends back to the
source. Verbal or nonverbal, all these feedback signals allow the source to see how
well, how accurately (or how poorly and inaccurately) the message was received.
“The environment is the atmosphere, physical and psychological, where you send
and receive messages.” (McLean, 2005) The environment can include the tables,
chairs, lighting, and sound equipment that are in the room. The room itself is an
example of the environment. E.g. there are certain unsaid rules about what should
you be discussing in an official environment and personal environment. As a speaker
the environment where you are going to deliver a speech will also impact you.
CONTINUED…
Context is interchangeable with environment actually since this also concerns the
setting, scene and more importantly the EXPECTATION of the receivers/senders. E.g.
choice of language will change depending on the context. Whether you’re
addressing a group of school children, undergraduates/postgraduates/working
professionals. Also the way in which you address someone may be considered
right/wrong in another context e.g. how would you speak in an official meeting and
in a family get together
IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS
From the perspective of-
An employee
An employer
A social animal
A student
COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION
1. Physiological barriers/physical barriers: distance between people , e.g.
my communication with the student seating in the last row could face the
barrier of distance, people shouting at each other as they are located in
different rooms/departments or floors
2. Cultural barriers: different culture within different families may create
disrupted communication among newly entered people in family or when such
people enter workforce their communication could be disrupted as they are
used to a certain way of communication which may not be acceptable
everywhere. Proximity/way of greeting each other would majorly change
across different cultures, Bear in mind its not just the religions or states that
form cultural barriers but also a culture of a particular work place, college,
hostel also qualify to be called a cultural barrier
3. Psychological barriers: Most predominant category n are often found to
be difficult to resolve, holding a grudge against an individual, having your
opinion ready about a person will make it difficult for us to accept his or her
views
CONTINUED…
4. Gender barriers: Our way of communication changes when we are dealing
with a particular gender which may pose issues in communicating clearly. Also
certain assumptions about certain genders he/she would react CERTAINLY in this
manner because she/he is a female or male, there you are causing major
obstruction n biases
5. Emotional barriers: negative emotions we encounter about certain
situations/individuals while communicating with them. What will he or she thinks
about me, might impede your ability to build new relationships. Surge of emotions
in conversing about certain topics e.g. someone commenting on my religious
beliefs or our state, generally a misunderstanding, misconception is at the root
cause of this barrier
6. Interpersonal barriers: considering one’s background when communicating with
him or her e.g. using a particular jargon in a particular group. E.g. explaining a
core science concept to someone who is say 5 years old. Your behavior could also
be preventing people from communicating certain issues with you e.g. your past
experience where you tried to correct your teacher resulted in she shouting at you
or checking your assignments in extra strict way
PERSPECTIVE IN COMMUNICATION
What is a perspective??
Does perspective impact the process of communication?
Factors affecting our perspective?
UNDERSTANDING THE TERM
Perspective can be defined as the point of view or approach that you take in
any given situation.
We all see/interpret every situation through different lenses. Our viewpoints
impact the process of communication.
In order to understand the communication better, the sender and the receiver
both need to understand each others’ perspectives clearly, otherwise the
message will be distorted
Visual perspective: seen in images, colors, videos etc. simple example would
be cloud shapes. The interpretation would change depending on how you see
a particular picture
Language perspective: How do you form your sentences in verbal or written
communication will be interpreted in different manners depending on the
perspectives
OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING OUR PERSPECTIVES
Past experiences: Simple example, because it rained yesterday I am carrying an
umbrella with me today. So my past experiences impact my present actions and also
guide my future actions. My communication is bound to have references of my past
experience with an individual, a group or a community.
Prejudices: Certain beliefs in our mind which impact our future actions or present
actions. E.g. If I have a friend from a particular region n he displayed certain traits, I
meet another person from the same region I start the communication with the same
mindset with him/her.
Prejudices occur when we take an isolated experience with one ‘type’ of person and
then act as if all encounters in the future with people of the same ‘type’ or with the
same characteristics will result in the same experience
We lose the individuality of a person when we give lot of importance to prejudices
and past experiences. E.g. Government employees reach office late or politicians are
always corrupt
CONTINUED…
Feelings: how do you feel on a particular day and how do you feel about someone.
i.e. whether you like or dislike the person, it shows in your communication. Your
feelings could be completely unknown to the person with whom you are
communicating as those feelings would be in your head.

Environment: the place where your interaction takes place.. i.e. family setup,
office/college/temple/a crowded place. How do you communicate with your friends
in the presence of your teacher and when the teacher is not around, Simple example
would be KBC participants. Do you think their behavior is impacted when they are
sitting in front of Amitabh Bacchan