Communication Skills

Is the act of giving, receiving or exchanging

information, ideas and opinions so that the
message, is completely understood by both
parties.
Communication is said to be successful if the
intentions have been met. In other words,
communication is successful when the sender
and receiver get the same understanding from
the message sent.
Communication is a process.
What are elements of communication process?
 Here are the elements that make communication
a complete process:
I.Sender/Source/Encoder;
II.Message;
III.Communication channel;
IV.Receiver/Destination/Decoder and;
V.Context;
VI.Feedback;
VII.Noise/Interference.
People can communicate in different ways
such as:
verbally (sounds, oral, written, and tone of
voice);
Advantages of verbal communication
Disadvantages
Advantages of Oral Communication
Disadvantages
Non-verbally: (appearance [speaker’s dressing,
hairstyle, neatness, use of cosmetics] e.t.c.,
surrounding [lighting, decorations, and
furnishing), Eye contact, space, body language
[facial expressions, gestures, and posture],
visual (signs, symbols, and pictures).
Advantages
Disadvantages
Intra-personal Communication
 This is the process of information exchanges that
takes place within a person.
 The process involves thoughts, feelings and how
we look at ourselves.
 Although the process does not directly involve
other people, their influence on it is equally
important because we tend to think or feel based
on what we perceive the environment is like to us.
Question: What is the channel of this
communication? Does it have feedback (if yes, in
what form?)?
 Interpersonal Communication
 This is a form of communication that takes place
between two or more individuals.
 It involves all elements of communication as opposed
to intra-personal communication.
 The communication can take any form: oral, written,
or non verbal.
 This process can carried out through: staff/client
meetings, sales visits, employee interviews, formal
project discussions, employee performance reviews,
and informal chats.
Formal Communication: this is the type of message
exchange which takes place in an official setting strictly
following predetermined and official, policies, rules, and
regulations.
 It is used in various formal settings such as B2C, C2B,
and B2B communication, and in organizations (Vertical
[downward and Upward] and horizontal communication).
 Among the rules, regulations, and policies are those that
relate to language used and message forms, and
carriers.
 Question: What are the characteristics of formal
communication?
Informal Communication
This is a casual process of sharing information
that happens between friends or family members.
In organizations, this type of communication is
referred to as Grapevine.
In organizations, informal communication is
basically the spontaneous exchange of
information between workers based on their
relationships.
Question: With your understanding of this type of
communication, how would you characterize it?
For communication to effectively enhance
customer care, it needs to happen effectively.
That means there should not be any barriers.
A barrier to communication is anything that
negatively affects a communication process.
There are a number of things that would made
communication unsuccessful.
Class Task: brainstorming things that would
make communication unsuccessful.
Since physiology deals with the body, its state and
functions, physiological communication barriers
are those issues that a human body might have or
might be going through that negatively affect
their ability to communicate properly.
This issues might be in form of disabilities, state
of one’s mind (memory, and attention), or bodily
discomfort resulting from illness or injuries.
In other words, these barriers include sensory
dysfunctions and physical dysfunctions.
Hearing Problems
These problems might be partial or severe.
Either way, a person with hearing problems will
have problems communicating verbally face to face.
The main issue is the inability or difficulty to get
feedback hence making the process of
communication incomplete.
These problems can be hereditary or acquired
through illnesses or injuries.
Where the problem is not severe (total deafness),
hearing aids can be used.
Blindness or Vision Impairment
Eyes are an important body part in
communication.
Apart from being used in written
communication, eyes are vital in speech
communication because they allow the
communicating parties to observe gestures,
postures, and even the mood of a person.
Speech Disorders
People with speech problems can not easily
converse.
The difficulty with which a person can speak if
they can at all determines how effectively
communicate.
Speech problems such as stuttering, cluttering,
or being mute limits one’s ability of sending
their message which in return affects how their
messages are received and perceived.
Memory Problems
For a person to actively participate in a
communication process they need to create a
message to send and keep it in their mind until the
process is compete.
Likewise, each participant of a communication
process needs to have the ability to keep
messages they receive for the purpose of
interpretation and provision of feedback.
So, a person with memory problem will have
difficulties to communicate.
These are factors that have nothing to do with the
communicating parties but have the ability to
prevent messages from reaching the intended
receiver.
Considering some of these factors are external,
some of them can not be controlled while some can
be managed.
Factors that contribute to physical barriers are:
I.Noise – physical, psychological, written, visual.
II.Improper timing
III.Distance
IV.Inadequate or overloaded information
V.Medium defects
Semantics is the study of meaning.
In this case, these barriers of communication
have to do with the meaning of a message.
In other words, these factors come into play
during the encoding and decoding of messages.
Semantic problems may arise from usage of
symbols or gesture that are not common
knowledge to the people involved.
Similarly, poor usage of language or usage of
advanced language when communicating with
someone with that proficiency would affect their
reception of the intended message.
Likewise, usage of vocabularies that are not
common to both communicating parties would
have a similar impact.
Contributors to semantic and language barriers
include: symbols with different meaning,
difference in language, words with different
meanings, poor vocabulary, words, with multiple
 These barriers arise from our personal learned, or
inborn characteristics which form an emotional filter
around our minds of what we communicate.
 These attributes include: personal feelings, desires,
fears and hopes, likes and dislikes, attitudes, views
and opinions
 What people are, how they see others and the
world at large depends on what their social
psychological characteristics collectively build.
 These are contributed to by ones, education,
exposure, inborn intelligence, family backgrounds,
and social environment.
Some of the factors that contribute to this barrier
are:
 self cantered
 attitudes,
 group identification,
 conflicting information,
 selective perception,
 premature evaluation,
 different comprehension of reality,
 poor listening,
 being egoistic,
 negative emotions.
In organizations, communication is key. However,
considering that its people who are involved,
communication in these places suffers from all the
already discussed barriers and this one.
This refers to the difficulties in communicating
emanating to the nature of organization. Such
difficulties include:
 Organizational rules and regulations: although
rules and regulations are important to ensure proper
communication, sometimes they delay communication
or may lead to omission of parts of messages.
Hierarchical Relationship: differences in
hierarchy increase communication gaps.
Absence of staff meetings: these meetings
are a good way of bringing people together to
share information. Their absence affects
communication negatively.
Poor selection of channels: selecting the
wrong channel to communicate through might
ruin the process.
Organization Complexity
 Ways to overcome barriers to effective communication

• Here are some ways that you can overcome communication barriers:Be
clear. Before conveying a message, ensure your ideas are clear and consistent.
Also, establish the goal of your communication to enable you to clarify the
subject.
• Choose the best time. Time your communication to get the most out of the
exchange. For instance, you can assess the mood of the receiver to determine
the best time to initiate communication.
• Use appropriate language. Use language that the receiver can easily
understand. Technical language, overly complex vocabulary, and idioms may
confuse certain listeners.
• Get feedback. After conveying a message, you can follow up to ensure the
receiver has understood your intended message. Answer their questions and
clarify areas again if necessary.
• Check your body language. Body language conveys a lot of information, both
intended and unintended. Ensure your body language is appropriate and
matches your verbal communication.
• Practise active listening skills. Listening is an important aspect of effective
communication, as it enables you to decipher the content of the message.
Practise active listening habits, such as avoiding interrupting others while they
are speaking.
• Develop your cultural competence. Learning about the different cultures of
people you interact with can help you communicate with them more effectively.
• Avoid giving too much information. Conveying too much information to the
receiver can lead to communication breakdowns. Instead, release only the
important information and wait for feedback before sending more.
• Monitor your emotions. Evaluate your emotional state before sending or
replying to communications. Ensure your emotions don't cause you to
misconstrue the message or communicate unclear information.
M.Libraries (n.d.). Different Types of Communication. Retrieved on Tuesday,
2th May 2018 from:
http://open.lib.umn.edu/principlesmanagement/chapter/12-5-different-type
s-of-communication/

The Business Communication (2013). What is Formal Communication?

Features of Formal Communication. Retrieved on Tuesday, 2th May 2018
from:
https://thebusinesscommunication.com/what-is-formal-communication/