EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION – MODULE-1

I. Effective Communication

Meaning: Effective communication is a communication between two or more persons in which the intended message is −

• properly encoded
• delivered through appropriate channel
• received
• properly decoded and understood by the recipient(s)

Communication is said to be effective when both.

 sender and receiver in the communication, assign similar meanings to the message and listen carefully to what all have been said and make the sender feel heard and understood.

Definition 1: R.W. Griffin, “Effective communication is the process of sending a message in such a way that the message received is as close in meaning as possible to the message intended”.

Definition 2: American Management Association (AMA) has defined effective communication based on the following ten points −

• Clear idea regarding topics and receiver of communication.
• Determination of purpose.
• Understanding the environment of communication.
• Planning for communication with consulting others.
• Consider the content of the message.
• To make the receiver aware about the value of communication.
• There must be feedback from the receiver.
• To define properly whether communication messages are of short-run or long-run importance.
• All actions must be suitable with communication.
• Good listening.

Definition 3: Effective Communication is defined as the ability to convey information to another effectively and efficiently.

II. Characteristics / 7C’s of Effective Communication

The characteristics or principles of effective communication are for ensuring a productive communication. The major characteristics are as follows –

• Completeness of the Message

Communication must be complete so that better decision-making will be taken by the latter. It develops and enhances the relationship.

• Clearness and Integrity of the Message

The message to be conveyed or sent must have clarity and integrity for better understanding. Clarity of thoughts and ideas enhances the meaning of the message. The pith and substance of the message should be based on honesty and accuracy.

• Conciseness of the Message

The intended message must be free from verbosity and should be so written that it is intelligible at the first sight. Short and intelligible message sent to the receiver is ever appealing and comprehensible. It saves time and cost as it is understood at the first instance.

• Consideration of Physical Setting and the Recipient

In order to make communication more effective, the overall physical setting, i.e., the media of communication and the work environment, must be considered. The content of the message must take into account the attitude, knowledge, and position of the recipient.

• Clarity of the Message

The message should have clarity of thoughts and ideas in order to be understood clearly. Clear message makes use of exact, appropriate and concrete words and symbols.

• Courtesy to be Maintained

The sender’s message should be so drafted or prepared that it should be polite, reflective, and enthusiastic. It must show the sender’s respect for the receiver and be positive and focused at the receiver.

• Correctness of the Message

The drafting of the message should be done in such a manner that the final message doesn’t have any grammatical errors and repetitions of sentences. The message should be exact, correct and well-timed.

III. SKILLS REQUIRED FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Conveying a message effectively is an art as well as a skill developed after continuous practice and experience. The predetermined set of skills required for an influential communication process are as follows:       

• Observance: A person must possess sharp observing skills to gain more and more knowledge and information.
• Clarity and Brevity: The message must be drafted in simple words, and it should be clear and precise to create the desired impact over the receiver.
• Listening and Understanding: The most crucial skill in a person is he must be a good, alert and patient listener. He must be able to understand and interpret the message well.
• Emotional Intelligence: A person must be emotionally aware and the ability to influence others from within.
• Self-Efficacy: Also, he/she must have faith in himself and his capabilities to achieve the objectives of communication.
• Self-Confidence: Being one of the essential communication skills, confidence enhances the worthiness of the message being delivered.
• Respectfulness: Delivering a message with courtesy and respecting the values, believes, opinions and ideas of the receiver is the essence of effective communication.
• Non-Verbal Communication: To connect with the receiver in a better way, the sender must involve the non-verbal means communication too. These include gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, postures, etc.
• Selection of the Right Medium: Choice of the correct medium for communication is also a skill. It is necessary to select an appropriate medium according to the situation, priority of the message, the receiver’s point of view, etc.
• Providing Feedback: Effective communication is always a two-way process. A person must take as well as give feedback to bring forward the other person’s perspective too.

IV. Barriers to Effective Communication

There are certain obstacles which sometimes hinder the process of communication, making it less useful for the sender as well as the receiver. These barriers are categorised under three groups.

Barriers Involving Words

Words play an essential role in the process of communication. Any disturbance or distraction in the way a message is presented may lead to miscommunication. Following are the different types of communication barriers related to words:

• Language: It is a medium of communication. If the sender is making excessive use of technical terms, it will become difficult for the receiver to understand the message clearly.
• Ambiguity and Overuse of Abstractions: Even if the message is presented in a non-realistic or vague context involving a lot of notions, the receiver won’t be able to connect with the idea properly.
• Disorganised Message: When the words are not organised systematically to form a powerful message, it loses its efficiency and meaning.
• Information Overload: The effectiveness of communication reduces when a person keeps on speaking for an extended period. Thus, leading to the receiver’s exhaustion, who won’t be able to keep track of everything that is conveyed.

Barriers Involving People’s Background

People belong to different backgrounds, i.e., culture, education level, gender, etc. These attributes majorly affect the efficiency of the communication process. It involves the following related obstacles:

• Attitudinal Differences: At times, people are resistant to understand or change their mind when they have set their views about a particular topic. Their attitude obstructs meeting the purpose of the communication.
• Demographic Differences: The difference in age, generation, gender, status, tradition, etc., creates a lack of understanding among people and thus, hinders the process of communication.
• Lack of Common Experience or Perspective: The experiences of a person develops their perspective of seeing things in a particular way. This perspective varies from person to person. Therefore, it becomes difficult for a receiver to relate with the sender’s experience or views as he might have never gone through it himself.
• Jumping to Conclusions: Some people lack the patience of listening to others and often jump to conclusions between the communication, thus neglecting the motive of the message.

Physical Barriers

These barriers can be experienced directly but challenging to overcome. These include:

• Physical Distance: When people communicate over long distances, they miss out the non-verbal aspect of communication, since the gestures and expressions of the receiver cannot be interpreted.
• Noise: The environment or the communication system sometimes involve unwanted noise which interrupts the process of communication making it inefficient.
• Physiological Barriers: One of the most common barriers to effective communication is the physical disability of the people involved. Some of these are hearing impairment, poor eyesight, stammering, etc.

Thus, we can say that the significant purpose of communication is to pass on the information to the receiver in such a manner that it does not lose its significance. At the same time, the message must be received in its purest form.

V. 4S’s  Effective Communication

An understanding of the 4 S’s is equally important.

Shortness. It is often said that   “Brevity is the soul of wit.”. The same can be said about communication. If the message can be made brief, then transmission and comprehension of messages is going to be faster and more effective. Flooding messages with high sounding words does not create an impact. Often, the receiver has spent a major chunk of his time in trying to decipher the actual meaning of the message.

Simplicity. Simplicity both in the usage of words and ideas reveals clarity in the thinking process. Using simple terminology and equally simple concepts would help.

Strength. The strength of a message emanates from the credibility of the sender. If the sender himself believes in a message that he is about to transmit, there is bound to be strength and conviction in whatever he tries to state. Half-hearted statements or utterances that the sender himself does not believe in adds a touch of falsehood to the entire communication process.

Sincerity. A sincere approach to an issue is clearly evident to the receiver. If the sender is genuine, it will be reflected in the manner in which he communicates.