1.

Communication Theory and Practice

1.1 Introduction :-
There has been a rapid growth in the modes of communication in the 21st century. Due to
this it is possible to contact and communicate with each other very fast. With the
advancement in technology; mobiles have become a popular device of communication.

The impact of globalization and other electronic gadgets is entry of multinational

companies in India. These companies require management skills for effective functioning of
their organizations. Major management functions are planning, organizing, delegating,
controlling and coordinating. All these functions require effective communication skills in
persons who are involved in the process of communication.

Meaning :-

The word “communication” is derived from the Latin word ‘Communicare’ or ‘Çommunics’
which means ‘to share’. For sharing , two elements are required namely sender and
receiver.

Definitions:-

Communication is the process by which information is transmitted between individuals

and/or organizations so that an understandable response results.

--Peter Little.

Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more than

two persons.

--William Newman and Charles Summer.

Importance of Communication:-

Communication is the heart of any organization. Everything you do in the workplace from
the results of communication. While developing your career you will get to know why
communication is important.
In the Organization:
Communication plays a very important role in the management of any organization. As it is
a tool for sharing thoughts, ideas, opinions and plans in various parts of an organization.
Good communication is required not only in building relationships but also for a successful
business. That is why communication is having tremendous importance in the organization.
Communication helps to increase efficiency at the workplace.
Importance for Individuals:
Communication is important to express oneself. It also satisfies one's needs. One should
have effective communication for advancement in the career. In your personal life,
effective communication skills can smooth your way and your relationships with others by
helping you to understand others, and to be understood.
To Secure an Interview:
To secure yourself in the interview you should communicate confidently and clearly. Good
communication skills would help you to get selected for the job.
For Motivation:
Communication is a basic tool for motivation. This can improve the morale of the people.
To Increase Productivity:
With effective communication, you can maintain relationships. It helps to increase
productivity.
To Develop Professionalism in Students:
In the future students will become doctors and then they need to communicate effectively
with their patients. They need empathy, friendliness in their profession for interacting with
patients. In the future students will become political / business, entrepreneurs, and leaders,
in all these fields they need to communicate effectively.
To Increase the Quality of Being Friendly With Others:
It is important to be friendly with others. Good communication builds strong friendships. It
will give confidence. In this way, communication skills enhance the ability to understand
and share the feelings of each other. It is important for making friendly relationships.
To sum up, I would like to say that communication plays a major role in promoting the life
of an individual.
1.2 Elements of communication Cycle :-

Fig. Communication Cycle

Seven major elements of communication process are: (1) sender (2) ideas (3) encoding (4)
communication channel (5) receiver (6) decoding and (7) feedback.

Communication may be defined as a process concerning exchange of facts or ideas between

persons holding different positions in an organization to achieve mutual harmony. The
communication process is dynamic in nature rather than a static phenomenon.

Communication process as such must be considered a continuous and dynamic inter-action,

both affecting and being affected by many variables.
(1) Sender:
The person who intends to convey / transfer ideas, thoughts, information, feelings to
another person or persons.

(2) Message/ idea:

This is the subject matter of the communication. This may be an opinion, attitude, feelings,
views, orders, or suggestions.

(3) Encoding:
Conversion of subject matter by the use of certain symbols such as words, actions or
pictures etc. is the process of encoding.

(4) Communication Channel:

The channel is the carrier of the message. The person who is interested in communicating
has to choose the channel for sending the required information, ideas etc. The channel may
be in oral form, verbal form or non-verbal form.

(5) Receiver:
Receiver is the person who receives the message. The receiver who tries to understand the
message in the best possible manner in achieving the desired objectives.

(6) Decoding:
It is the process of converting and understanding the message by the receiver. It is expected
that desired meaning is given by the receiver.

(7) Feedback:
It is the response or reply by the receiver to the sender. Feedback is the process of ensuring
that the receiver has received the message and understood in the same sense as sender
meant it. Feedback completes the communication process.
Process of Communication:-

Communication is a two way process which involves the role of sender and receiver. It is
the process of sending and receiving information. It is the transaction between two.

Sender’s Role:-

The person who wants to send the message is known as the sender. His role is Planning,
Encoding, and Transmitting.

SENDER PLANNING ENCODING TRANSMITTING

Planning:-

When ideas come to the mind of the sender , those may not be in organized manner. There
is a need of consistency in his thoughts. Therefore the sender has first to put together all his
ideas and gather all the information he wants to convey. Then he has to decide the purpose
of his communication , and plan the message accordingly. While planning the message the
sender should consider who the receiver is, what is the receiver’s role in the organization,
what is his/her intelligence level and grasping power.

Encoding:-

Sender has to convert his/ her message by the use of certain symbols such as words, actions
or pictures etc. For effective communication the sender has to send his/her message in a
proper code understandable to the receiver.

Transmitting:

The sender is expected to transmit message in an attractive and effective way. The sender
should select proper channel for transmitting his message. The channel may be verbal, non-
verbal. Verbal consists of oral and written. Non-verbal consists of body language and
graphical language. Oral messages can be transmitted by telephone or face to face speaking,
skype, radio, cinema, T.V. etc. And written messages can transmitted through letters,
circulars, reports, telex, e-mails, newspapers, magazines. Non-verbal messages can be
transmitted through body language or graphics language.
Receiver’s Role :

During the communication process both the sender and receiver need to take an active part.
The receiver has to receive the message decode it and to give proper feedback to the
sender.

RECEIVER RECEIVING DECODING GIVING FEEDBACK

Receiving:

The receiver has to receive the message sent by the sender. The receiver should also
understand the purpose of communication. The message has to be received with open
mind. He must be attentive. He should have the ability to understand the message.

Decoding:

Decoding is the part of the receiver. Decoding is understanding and interpreting the
intended message sent by the sender. Decoding of written message requires reading and
comprehending the meaning. For decoding the oral message the receiver should pay
attention to listening what the sender is saying.

Giving Feedback:

It is the duty of the receiver to send or give feedback to the sender. Without feedback the
communication process remains incomplete. The receiver receives the message sent by the
sender , understands it and gives response to the sender.

Communication process is completed when the feedback is given to the sender. Feedback
completes the communication process.

PLANNING ENCODING TRANSMITTING

SENDER RECEIVER

RECEIVER RECEIVING DECODING

[Link] Process
1.3 Types of communication :-

Formal Communication:-

It is an official communication. The communication in which certain norms, rules and

regulation are followed is known as formal communication. In formal communication the
sender and the receiver follow certain rules and regulations.

[Link] communication is restricted to certain limit of time hence it is time bound.

[Link] is topic or subject bounded, one can not go beyond the specific topic or subject.
[Link] it is also language bounded,means the speaker has to take care of the choice of word
and body language.
e.g. [Link] student communication in the classroom.
2. A boss is discussing some issue of production with the workers.

Informal Communication:-
Any unofficial communication is informal communication. It may be internal or external in
its application for the organization. Informal discussion, general comments that pass from
one person to person to another are examples of informal communication.
1. It is not time bound because the conversation is listless and goes beyond the scope of the
purpose.
2. This communication is not subject and topic bound, any subject or can be discussed
speakers.
3. It has no restriction of language too.
4. It is more casual and general in nature.
5. This form of communication has no legal standing.
e.g. Gossips, hearsay , rumor, informal chat among the peers, colleagues, friends and
groups are examples of informal communication.
Two friends are communicating on the topic of diwali vacation is an example of informal
communication.
Verbal:-
Any form of communication where words are used to send a message is known as verbal
communication. It has two forms namely oral and written.
A) Oral Communication:-
When we communicate with the help of spoken words is called as oral communication.
e.g. conversation in meetings, conferences, discussions, interviews, or on telephone.
The silent features of oral communication:
1. It saves time and money.
2. It is interactive and has more flexibility.
3. It is useful for addressing a large group of people.
4. It has freedom of speech and expression.
5. It doesn’t have legal validity and cannot be produced as a proof

B) Written Communication:-
Message when send with the help of written words is written communication. Effective
written communication requires command over the language, grammatically correct
sentences, appropriate use of words, logical sequence of points, legible handwriting.
The silent features of oral communication:
1. It is mostly used in official transactions.
2. It is accurate because it is prepared more carefully.
3. It is a permanent record and it has legal value.
4. The message can be communicated to many people.
5. It gives sufficient time to the receiver to send a proper feedback.
6.
Non-verbal Communication:-
In this communication words are not used. Non verbal communication is normally
expressed through body language. In written communication graphical presentation
indicates non verbal communication. There are many ways of representing information in
graphical form. It has two sub-types- Visual and Auditory.
A) Visual Communication:-
Visual communication is the transmission of information and ideas using symbols and
imagery. It is one of three main types of communication, along with verbal communication
(speaking) and non-verbal communication (tone, body language, etc.). Visual
communication is believed to be the type that people rely on most, and it includes signs,
graphic designs, films, typography, and countless other examples.
e.g. traffic signals, signs, graphs, maps, videos, etc.
 [Link] communication

B) Auditory Communication:-
Sending information from one member to another by sound production is called auditory
signal. Sound is a good means of communicating over long distances both in air and water.
It may have a vocal origin or it may be produced by some other organs .For e.g Calls of
Mammals and birds - vocal origin :sound produced by crickets is rhythmic oscillation of
forewings. Sound is more effective at night and darkness. It can go around obstacles that
would interfere with visual [Link] is better than visual signals in getting attention of a
receiver.

Vertical Communication:-
In an organization setup, vertical communication is between employees and employers.
Communication between the people working on the upper level and lower level in the
organization is called vertical communication. It has two types Upward and Downward.
1.4 Barriers to communication :-
A “communication barrier” or “a barrier to communication” is anything that interferes or
breaks the communication process. Barriers are the obstacles in the way of sending and
receiving the message, because of it communication fails.

A) Physical Barrier:-
All the obstacles in the surrounding interrupt the communication process are called physical
[Link] barrier is the environmental and natural condition that act as a barrier in
communication in sending message from sender to receiver. It has two types- 1. Noise 2.
Distance.
i) Noise:
Noise is a physical barrier to effective communication. Noise may have its origin from an
external source or may exist even in the communication [Link] communication is
almost impossible on the factory floor, the bus stand or railway station. Noise distorts
messages and acts as a barrier to effective communication.
Ways to overcome Noise as a Barrier to Communication:
1. The sender should choose a better place with less noise to communicate his message.
2. The sender should stop communication till the external noise eliminated.
3. The sources of noise in the external environment should be controlled by the sender and
the receiver before the communication begins.
ii) Distance:-
The distance between a communicator and a listener can act as a barrier. This distance can
be either too close or too far. If a stranger stands too close while communicating one may
feel uncomfortable or insecure so the communication can not be effective. Similarly you
may be can not completely hear someone who stands too far away.
Ways to overcome Distance as a Barrier to Communication:
1. Use of the modern technology in communication, viz: telephone , e-mail, sms, chat etc.
to bridge the physical distance between the sender and the receiver.
2. Maintaining appropriate physical distance by the sender and the receiver before
beginning the communication.

B) Mechanical Barrier:
A mechanical barrier is a technical problem in machinery or instrument which act as an
obstacle while sending or receiving the message is called mechanical barrier.
Examples of mechanical barriers are noisy communication machines or instruments,
transmission interrupts and power failure.
Ways to overcome Mechanical Barrier to Communication:
1. The postponement of transmission or communication by an alternative method is the
only way to overcome the barrier.
2. Check or take proper precaution of the device or instrument before actual use of it.

C) Psychological Barrier:
Psychological or mental barriers are barriers which we create in our minds, or which we
have learned from others, that prevent us from communicating effectively.
Types of Psychological Barrier:
i) Day Dreaming: the receiver is not attentive or loses concentration in communication.
ii) Prejudice:- Many a times we prejudge people even before knowing them and form an
opinion about them , we start believing them according to preconceived notions.
iii) Blocked Mind:-It indicates having fixed opinions about people, not ready to accept new
ideas or information.
iv) Generation Gap:- It is observed that there is difference in the way of thinking between
the persons of different age groups.
v) Status:- The barrier arises due to organizational hierarchy.
vi) Perception:-Perception is understanding of the world around us. Each one perceives the
world in his own unique way and interprets what has been perceived in his unique way.
Ways to overcome Psychological Barrier to Communication:
1. Meditation- through meditation you can learn to let go negative issues that prevents you
from achieving your goals.
2. Be open to suggestions.
3. Develop a befitting attitude.
4. Train your mind to fight false fears.
5. Learn to become more emotionally intelligent.

D) Language / Linguistic Barrier:

Language barrier indicates the difficulties faced when people who have no language in
common attempt to communicate with each other.

Types of language barriers:

i) Difference in language: When both the sender and receiver are unknown about their
language, it act as a barrier.
ii) Technical Jargons: use of too many technical words in communication act as a barrier.
iii) Pronunciation: mispronunciation of words causes barrier to communication.
iv) Allusion:- Words carrying connotations may give rise to miscommunication.

Ways to overcome Language Barrier to Communication:

1. Speak slowly and clearly.
2. Ask for clarification.
3. Frequently check for clarification.
4. Avoid idioms.
5. Be careful while using technical words.
6. Choose your medium of communication effectively.
7. Provide information via multiple channels.
8. Be patient.