COMMUNICATION SKILLS
AND ITS IMPORTANCE
What is Communication?
It is the transfer and understanding
of meaning
To be successful, the meaning of
what a person wants to convey must
be understood
COMMUNICATION DEFINED
TRANSFER OF MESSAGE FROM ONE MIND (SENDER) TO
OTHER MIND (RECEIPIENT) WILL BE SUCCESSFUL, IF
FOLLOWING STAGES ARE PERFORMED WELL
SOURCE
SELECT THE MESSAGE ACCORDING TO THE
SITUATION AND THE AUDIENCE
WORDING THE MESSAGE
UTTERING THE WORDS
TARGET
LISTENING
UNDERSTANDING
REGISTERING THE MESSAGE
AIMS OF COMMUNICATION
TO GET THE BEST RESULTS FROM
OUR COMMUNICATION, FOLLOWING
FOUR AREAS ARE TO BE WATCHED
WHAT WE MEAN TO SAY?
WHAT WE ACTUALLY SAY?
WHAT THE OTHER PERSON HEARS?
WHAT THE OTHER PERSON THINKS HE
HEARS.
The Communication Cycle
Encoding Channel Decoding
Message Message
Source Receiver
Feedback
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
SOUNDS
TALKING, MUSIC, COUGHING, WHISTLING, CRYING,
BARKING
EXAMPLES : RADIO, TELEPHONE, TAPE-RECORDERS
SIGNS
ALPHABETS, DRAWINGS, SIGN LANGUAGE
EXAMPLES : WRITING, PICTURES, SIGNAGE,
ACTIONS,EXAMPLES : GESTURES
COMBINATION OF TWO : TELEVISION, CINEMA, LIVE
CONCERTS
OTHER SENSES
FEELING - BRAILLE, HOT, WARM, ROUGH
SMELLING – FLOWER, GARBAGE
TASTE – BITTER, SWEET, SOUR,
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
VERBAL
TALKING, CRYING, LAUGHING,
SHOUTING
NON-VERBAL (BODY-LANGUAGE)
HAIR STYLING, DRESSING, ATTIRE
POSTURE, HAND MOVEMENTS
GESTURES, EYE-MOVEMENTS, SMILE,
TEARS, RAISED EYE-BROWS, WRINKLES
ON THE FOREHEAD
HOW TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE?
BE STIMULATING
BE CONCIOUS OF BIAS
APPLY BODY LANGUAGE
HAVE A SMILE ON YOUR FACE
BE A MIRROR OF YOUR MESSAGE
EMPHASISE ALL THE TIME
USE THE “KISS” METHOD
MAINTAIN A RIGHT DISTANCE
Creativity
© [Link] Kumar 2005
Creativity
© [Link] Kumar 2005
Body Language
Body Language
What's your body telling you?
Body language: The gestures, poses, movements, and
expressions that a person uses to communicate.
7% VERBAL (Conveyed through words)
38 % VOCAL (intonation , pitch, pauses , etc)
55 % NON VERBAL (body language)
Body Language
KINESICS PROXEMICS HAPTICS
Five types of body language:
• eye contact
• facial expression
• gestures
• posture and stance
• space relationship
EYES
“Eyes are so transparent
that through them
one sees the soul”
“Look a person in the
Eye when you
Talk to him”
EYE CONTACT
GAZE BEHAVIOUR
• FORMAL GAZE
• INFORMAL GAZE
• PERSONAL GAZE
• LATERAL GAZE
PURPOSE FOR EYE CONTACT
• SPEAKING INFORMATION
• SHOWING ATTENTION AND INTEREST
• INVITING AND CONTROLLING INTERACTION
• DOMINEERING, THREATENING, INFLUENCING
OTHERS
• PROVIDING FEEDBACK DURING SPEECH
• REVEALING ATTITUDES
Too much eye contact: dominance, lack of respect, threat, wish to
insult
Too little eye contact: not paying attention, impolite, insincere,shy
Withdrawing eyes: signal of submission
FACIAL EXPRESSION
CAN FACE SPEAK?
• HAPPINESS
• SADNESS
• DISPLEASURE
• ANGER
• FEAR
• INTEREST
Facial Expression and Eye Contact
Facial expression – Smile, Skin
movement – Fear, Anger, happiness,
humour etc.,
GESTURES OR KINESICS
“LET YOUR BODY
TALK
ON YOUR BEHALF”
SOME COMMON GESTURES
• SHOULDER SHRUG : I don’t know
• PUFFED CHEST : pride or achievement
• SUCKED STOMACH : I am not as fat as I look
• FINGER CROSSING : protection
• EYELID PULLING : be alert
• NOSE TAPPING : mind your own business
• THUMB UPPING : best luck , victory
• RUBBING PALM TOGETHER : positive expectation
• THUMB AND FINGER RUB : money expectancy
• HANDS CLENCHED TOGETHER : confident
• STEEPLING HANDS : frustrated , request
Some more common gestures:
• Palm In Palm : Authority
• Hand gripping wrist : Frustration
• Hands in pocket : aggression
• Hands on hips : aggressive ,
achiever stance
Some more common gestures:
• Mouth Guard : suppressing deceitful words,
telling lie
• nose touching : listener doubting speaker’s
words, disguising own words,
mind your own business
• eye rub : avoiding eye contact, lying
• finger in mouth : needs reassurance, making decision
• chin stroking : making a decision
Some more common
gestures:
• clenched teeth : anger, lying
• boredom gestures:
• evaluating gestures :
Honest individual – Displays a comfortable, open
and forward leaning posture
Defensive posture
Deceptive
individual – more
rigid, generally
frozen and
defensive posture.
Also backward
lean, arm crossing,
leg crossing.
Calculating
Every thing under control
relaxing
POSTURE AND STANCE
• STANDING
• SITTING
• LYING
SOME COMMON POSTURES:
• SAGGING : Depression
• FORWARD LEAN : Positive Attitude
• BACKWARD LEAN : Negative Attitude
Some common postures:
• arms folded across the chest : unsympathetic
• arms held loose : open positive attitude
• upright posture : high status , I am the boss
• bowing head : lower status
• sideway lean : relaxation, friendliness
• self wrapping : withdrawal, self protection
• slouching with forward lean : lowliness
• moderately upright : enthusiasm, friendliness
Example
Raising thumb of a
person communicates
different meaning to
different people.
It communicates….
“good” for westeners
“One” to Italians
“Five” to Japanese
“Up yours” to the
greeks
“Win” or “challenge” for
Indians
Smiles…..
False smiles pull back only the mouth
Real smiles pull back both the
mouth and eyes
Proxemics
Distance or closeness maintained by
people while they communicate creates
different meaning.
Proximity of distance is a culture
sensitive communication symbol.
Intimate distance - Contact to 18
inches
Personal distance – (18” to 4 feet)
Social distance – ( 4 feet to 12 feet)
Public distance – (12 feet to infinity)
WHEN YOU INVADE MY SPACE
Reactions to an invasion of your space
• Feel troubled
• Get defensive
• Become aggressive
• Retaliate
HAPTICS
Body contact : accidental
Touch : Deliberate
Types of Touch:
• functional
• social
• genial
• passionate
Kinds of touch depends on various factors:
• which part of body is touched (voluntary/involuntary)
• how long touch lasted
• pressure used
• movement after contact
• mood while touching
• relation between the two persons
Stiff arm hand shake : equality
Dead fish handshake: weak character
Aggressive Hand shake
Politician Hand shake
Palm down : Dominance
Palm up : Submission
Knuckle grinder : aggression
Finger tip grab : keep at considerable
distance
Arm pulling : insecurity
Double handed handshake
• upper arm grip : transmits
feelings
• shoulder hold : penetrates
intimate zone
Appearance and physique
“The impression people make on one another is based
60% on their appearance, 33 % on on the way in
which they speak and 7 % on what they say”
• INCOME
• STATUS
• PERSONALITY
• OCCUPATION
How to be attractive
• eye contact
• facial expression
• head movements
• gestures
• postures
• proximity
• body contact
•Appearance & physique
•Timing & synchronization
seven Cs of communication.
They are:
1. Completeness
2. Conciseness
3. Clarity
4. Correctness
5. Consideration
6. Courtesy
7. Concreteness
Completeness
Every communication must be complete and
adequate.
Incomplete messages keep the receiver
guessing, create misunderstanding and delay
actions.
While answering a letter, all the questions
raised in the letter must be replied.
Conciseness
In business communication, you should be brief and
be able to say whatever you have to say in fewest
possible words without sacrificing the other C
qualities. Conciseness is desired because of the
following benefits:
I. A concise message saves time and expense for both
sender and receiver.
II. Conciseness contributes to emphasis; by eliminating
unnecessary words, you let important ideas stand
out.
To achieve conciseness try to observe
the following suggestions:
Eliminate wordy expressions.
Include only relevant statements.
Avoid unnecessary repetition.
Organize your message well.
EXHIBIT 1
Wordy : at this point of time
Concise : now
Wordy : due to the fact that
Concise : because
Wordy : in considerable number of cases
Concise : often
Wordy : in close proximity to
Concise : nearby
Clarity
The message must be put in simple terms to ensure
Clarity.
Clarity means getting your message across so the receiver
will understand what you are trying to convey.
You want that person to interpret your words with the same
meaning you have in mind.
Here are some specific ways to help
make your messages clear:
1. Choose short, familiar, conversational words.
2. Construct effective sentences and paragraphs.
3. Achieve appropriate readability (and listenability).
4. Include examples, illustrations, and other visual aids, when
desirable.
Correctness
The term correctness as applied to business messages
means right level of language and accuracy of facts,
figures and words.
If the information is not correctly conveyed, the sender
will lose credibility.
Transmission of incorrect information to superiors will
vitiate decision making process.
Transmission of incorrect information to outsiders will
spoil the public image of the firm.
To covey correct messages, grammatical errors should
also be avoided.
You should not transmit any message unless you are
absolutely sure of its correctness.
Consideration
Consideration means that you prepare every message
with the recipient in mind and try to put yourself in
his or her place.
Try to visualize your readers (or listeners)—with
their desires, problems, circumstances, emotions,
and probable reactions to your request.
Courtesy
Courteous messages help to strengthen present business
friendships, as well as make new friends.
Courtesy stems from sincere you-attitude.
It is not merely politeness with mechanical insertions
of "please's" and "thank-you'd."
To be courteous, considerate communicators should
follow these suggestions regarding tone of the
communications.
• Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful, and appreciative.
• Omit expressions that irritate, hurt, or belittle.
• Grant and apologize good-naturedly.
Concreteness
Communicating concretely means
being specific, definite, and vivid rather
than vague and general.
The following guidelines should help
you compose concrete, convincing
messages:
• Use specific facts and figures.
• Put action in your verbs.
• Choose vivid, image-building words.
Barriers to Effective Communication
Filtering - the deliberate
manipulation of information to make
it appear more favorable to the
receiver
Selective Perception - what people
see and hear influenced by their
attitudes, background, and
experience
(continued)
Barriers to Effective Communication
(continued)
Information Overload -
information available exceeds
processing capacity
Emotions - interpretation of a
message affected by the way the
receiver feels
(continued)
Barriers to Effective Communication
(continued)
Language - meaning of words differs
among people with diverse backgrounds
jargon - specialized terminology used by a
group
Gender - interpretation of a message
affected by a person’s gender
National Culture - cultural values affect
the way people communicate
Overcoming Communication
Barriers
Use Feedback - ask a set of
questions about a message to
determine whether it was understood
as intended
Simplify Language - tailor the
language to the audience for whom
the message is intended
Listen Actively - listen for full
meaning
(continued)
Overcoming Communication
Barriers (continued)
Constrain emotions - stop
communicating until composure has
been restored
Emphasize non-verbal cues -
ensure that actions align with words
Active Listening Behaviours
Avoid interrupting Be empathetic Make eye
the speaker contact
Paraphrase
Don’t overtalk Active
Listening
Exhibit affirmative
Avoid distracting head nods and
actions or appropriate
Ask questions facial expressions
gestures
© Prentice Hall, 2002 FOM 3.16
Feedback Skills
Positive feedback is likely to be
responded to quickly and
enthusiastically
Negative feedback is often treated
defensively
Negative feedback is often avoided,
delayed, or distorted
Giving Effective Feedback
Focus on specific behaviours
Keep feedback impersonal
Keep feedback goal oriented
Make feedback well timed
Ensure understanding
Direct negative feedback toward
behaviour that the receiver can control