FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND LANGUAGES

Semester 2/ 2011

OUMH1303
ENGLISH FOR ORAL COMMUNICATION

Topic:
Communicating Effectively in Spoken English
in Selected Social Context

Matric number : 781208135102001

NRIC : 781208 -13-5102
Telephone number : 0168854128
E-mail address : poisc0812@ymail.com

Learning Centre : SARAWAK LEARNING CENTRE

 OUMH1303 English For Oral Communication

CONTENT

1.0 INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………….2
2.0 HOW ORAL COMMUNICATION WORKS……………………………….. 3
2.1 Theories of Oral Communication …………………………………….3
2.2 Transactional Model of Oral Communication ………………………..4

3.0 INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION …………………………………..5

3.1 Appropriate Topic of Conversation …………………………………..6
3.2 Listening and Speaking Skills and Strategies …………………….......7

4.0 SMALL GROUP COMMUNICATION……………………………………...8

4.1 Functions of a Small Group Communication ………………………...8
4.2 Socials Group, Work Group and Contrived Group……………….......8
4.3 The Advantages of Small Group Communication …………………... 9
4.4 Disadvantage of Small Group Communication……………………….9
4.5 The Effective Team or Group Roles…………………………………10

5.0 PUBLIC COMMUNICATION OR PUBLIC SPEAKING………………….10

5.1 Making an Oral Presentation…………………………………………11
5.2 Audience Analysis for Effective Communication…………………... 11

6.0 CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………… 12

References

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

Do you feel strange while talk to strangers or a new friends? People feel afraid that they
will give wrong opinions or idea when they communicate with others. The English
language has been the most common language of the world for the decades and plays an
important role in all aspects of society. Therefore learning and mastering English would
greatly give advantage to the person concerned. For the work purposes, speaking English
is important in the form of reporting at a departmental meeting, giving board members an
overview of a new product or informing a customer of the administrative set up while
there’s are points why English is importance for study which is to communicate
effectively in various situation, to state and justify opinions, to make suggestions and
recommendations, to ask for and give clarifications and to conclude a discussion.

As a speaker, one must consider several factors that will provide a better opportunity
for them to be heard and understood. Tibodeau (2003) presents six essentials of effective
communications which are the message must be delivered in a timely fashion; complete;
concise and to the point; factual; accurate; information should be delivered in a clear
message. Becoming a good listener include “expansion of knowledge, vocabulary
development and language development, ability to evaluate messages, passing examinations,
saving time, accruing financial benefits, and short-cutting acquisition of knowledge (Barker,
1971)

There are several types of communication. This paper will discuss only three
types which are interpersonal communication, small group communication and public
communication or also known as public speaking. For this paper, we define that
communication is a process for transferring information from one to another. The paper
also briefly describe about the theory, the principle of the communication among people
in different social context.

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2.0 HOW ORAL COMMUNICATION WORKS

The communication is needed for interpersonal effectiveness comprises of speaking and

listening. We are able to express our wants, feelings, thoughts and opinions clearly and
effectively; to transmit our thoughts and desires. We must be assertive and put emphasis
on our word in a polite way. Oral communication can be both involve listening and
speaking skills. Here, we communicate our knowledge and understanding about some
particular task given to us. To be good in oral communication, we must be effective in
both listening and speaking skills. One essential goal of oral communication is to make
personal contact with the audience, and to help connect them to the content.

2.1 THEORIES OF ORAL COMMUNICATION

Communication is the process which increases commonality (Mc quail). According to

Newman & Summer, their define communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions, or
opinions by two or more persons. It is the exchange of information and transmission of
meaning (Katz & Khan) and sharing of experience on the basis of commonness (Wilbur
Schramn). Oral communication is a unique and learned rhetorical skill that requires
understanding what to say and how to say it. Unlike conversational speech, speech in more
formal environments does not come naturally. What should be learnt is how to critically think
about how to present oneself as a speaker in all occasions and then how to function in a
variety of speaking environments? Oral communication can take many forms, ranging from
informal conversation that occurs spontaneously and, in most cases, for which the content
cannot be planned, to participation in meetings, which occurs in a structured environment,
usually with a set agenda.

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Figure1: Communication Cycle

Source: http://www-cdr.stanford.edu/ICM/icm.html

2.2 TRANSACTIONAL MODEL OF ORAL COMMUNICATION

The transactional model recognizes that communication is a simultaneous process and

therefore switched both the terms “sender” and “receiver” to “communicator.” It also
adds “environment,” which embraces not only physical location, but also personal
experiences and cultural backgrounds. These changes can be seen in the model.

Figure 2: The Transactional Model of Communication

Source: http://www.communicationstudies.com/

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In this model, it shows that, people can be either a speaker or listener; they can
send and receiving messages. The messages that send can be ongoing and changing
continuously. The speaker act depends on their background, filed of experiences, their
attitudes and their belief. The process look complex because the person involve have to
understand the needs, abilities, wants and contribution among them, the speaker have to
speaking for others, both them like to finishing the other sentences. It’s an interactive
face-to-face conversation; there will be noise here and there that can disrupt the
transmission. Another change we will notice in the transactional model is the overlap
between each communicator. This recognizes similarities between each communicator’s
environments. In addition, the transactional model recognizes how the type of channel
can affect meaning. How do the components of this model work together? First, the
communicators are simultaneously senders and receivers. Communication is a transaction
between two or more people. Then, communication is not only about message sending
and receiving, it's also about power and influence like the nature of the relationship is
essential to understanding how communication works.

3.0 INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

Interpersonal communication is the communication that done around us, communicate

with the several people, which the communication that can be from the impersonal to
personal matters; express our feelings, ideas, and thoughts and share them with the
people around. In this paper, we discuss about personal and impersonal communication,
where the personal communication is an opened communication which is less protected;
for the impersonal communication which is the closed communication in interpersonal
communication which is more safely, more protected but less connected.

Interpersonal communication differs from other forms of communication in that

there are few participants involved, the interaction are in close physical proximity to each
other, there are many sensory channels used, and feedback is immediate. Whenever we
engage in communication with another person, we seek to gain information about them.
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The other reason we engage in interpersonal communication is so that we can gain

knowledge about another individual. We gain the information passively, by observing
them; actively, by having others engage them; or interactively, by engaging them
ourselves. Self-disclosure is often used to get information from another person, its also to
help us better understand what someone says in a given context. The words we say can
mean very different things depending on how they are said or in what context, to
establish an identity. The roles we play in our relationships help us establish identity. So
too does the face, the public self-image we present to others. Both roles and face are
constructed based on how we interact with others, last but not least, we need to express
and receive interpersonal needs.

3.1 Appropriate Topic of Conversation

We should pick topics that everyone involved in the conversation is interested in. That
way, everyone can feel comfortable and involved and the conversation should flow
freely. The key to any good conversation is to have something that all the people
involved can talk about.

a) Family
Family is usually a good topic to start with. Almost everyone has family that they don't
mind talking about. If we do not know the person at all, you could ask whether they've
lived in the area long. Instead, bear in mind that conversations should be two way and
mention your partner or children.

b) Occupation
Ask what they do for a living. When they tell us what they do it is another great opener
for us to ask questions. If it is an occupation we know something about we can chip in
with comments. If it is one we are unfamiliar with, then here is the perfect chance to we
learn!

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c) Hobbies
Hobbies are a good topic to get on to because they are fun. If they like a sport or hobby
that we do too, we are in! We could probably talk for hours on that. Swap stories and try
to get an interesting conversation going. These are the types of conversations that are
remembered and form the foundations of friendships because they let people know what
they have in common with each other.

d) Vacations
Ask if they have been on vacation recently or if they are planning to go away anywhere.
They will just love the chance to tell us about their stories, either good or bad. We do not
need to think of anything to say for a while just need to be patient and listen.

3.2 Listening and Speaking Skills and Strategies

In the speaking skills, there are several skills that we can mastered, which is plan what
you want to achieve, choose the form your presentation should take, know our own
strengths and how much we can handle; do not overstretch ourselves. We also can
organize and write the points for the script. We also can design and prepare visual aids
and handouts, before we start our presentation, we can rehearse frequently to build up our
confidence. Apart from the planning, form, visual aids, language used for communication,
there are several others elements which the speaker should learn to communicate effectively.
The Skills are eye contact, body language, style, understanding the audience, adapting to the
audience, active and reflexive listening, politeness, precision, conciseness, and so on. As the
speaker, we must be maintain a relaxed posture and be a good listener too because a good
speakers are good listeners too.

Listening is an on-going process and a good leader listens effectively. There are
basic principles for the listening skills, which are listening with care and listen for the
total meaning. Pay attention to verbal and non-verbal clues like tone of voice, pitch, pace
and breathing. Next, respond in relevant ways. Look for the speaker’s intention and

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viewpoint and don’t immediately answer question based on what we hear. Try to use our
own words in verbalizing our understanding of the message. Then, ask questions that
require open-ended rather than closed answers. Apart from that, lean into the person. Do
not talk until the person stops talking. Lastly, we must be patient because listening takes
time and patience.

4.0 SMALL GROUP COMMUNICATIONS

4.1 Functions of a Small Group Communication

Small group communication can be define as a consists of at least three members and at
the maximum around twelve to fifteen members; group of peoples that communicate with
their member’s in the group, doing a discussion, assignment, or communication in the
workplace. They are given such task or project, and think what they can do. This gives
the people that involve in the group a chance to express their idea, to know how far they
can give their cooperation and what they can do to make sure their group doing success.
Does the member in the group listen to each other? Can they manage the group by
communicate with each other? However, for the team to operate smoothly there must be
open and efficient communication between the members of the team.

4.2 Socials Group, Work Group and Contrived Group

In the small group communication, the example of social group are families or social
clubs which are provide for our safety and solidarity needs and they help us develop self-
esteem. Work group plays roles in completing a particular task; example of this work
group is workplaces, campus organizations, or juries. They are expertise in their related
task. There are several types of work group like additive work group which came from
the same field, perform the same activity and the decision is done at the end. For the
conjunctive work group, the members is doing different task but related in that field for
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completion of a goal. Contrived group or a group of friends, which is performed an

organized club, social activities or committees.

4.3 The Advantages of Small Group Communication

There’s an advantage in a small group communication, which is we can get more idea
than we are doing some task by ourselves, our idea is recognized by the group members
and makes our relationships among member being more closed, the information that they
get have needs to be shared to the members. Each member of the team needs to be
acquainted with the team goal and his/her role in the team.

The member has specific skills and knowledge that must be utilized and imparted
to other members in the course of the work. Any questions or issues about the project
must be broached and shared in order to resolve them. Any decisions taken must be
imparted to all the members. Effective and open communication lines create feelings of
trust and of belonging to the team. The more the members feel valued the more dedicated
they are likely to be, and this in turn makes it easier for the team as a whole to achieve its
goals.

4.4 Disadvantage of Small Group Communication

It’s not that easy to communicate between members, such a small group communication
has it lack or disadvantage. For example, the attitude of the members, there such
members that very enjoyable when giving their cooperation, but not all of them are doing
such; they don’t want to share the idea that they have. Some of the members maybe not
understand what the group needs and think that they are wasting their time to collaborate
in the group. The members may misunderstand one another and develop personal
animosities. This can affect their desire to work together and thereby the quality of the
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work. The members may not be clear of the sequence of the things to be done and this
can either hold up the project or play havoc with the deadlines. The members may not
know what to change or how to change to make them more efficient.

4.5 The Effective Team or Group Roles

To improve the effective team communication in such a small group communication, the
members have to show some good manner, give a good intention with each other, and be
open-minded. There’s some tips that the members can practices, such as make our point
clearly in logical manner, ask and give feedback from all the members, ask them whether
they understand or not about the task given, make sure all the members in the group have
the chance to speak. We have to listen carefully with what they say and don’t interrupt
when they speak, here we can improve our listening skills.

5.0 PUBLIC COMMUNICATION OR PUBLIC SPEAKING

Public communication or public speaking is the art of speaking to a group of people in a

structured manner intended to inform, influence or entertain the audience. The key to
good public speaking in terms of voice is, more than anything, being conversational. The
best practitioners of public speaking don’t sound any different in front of a thousand
people. When we speak as ourselves, we sound honest and trustworthy, and not overly
self-conscious and nervous. The voice that our listeners in public speaking need to hear is
"our" voice. It’s one of the most natural and effective aspects of nonverbal
communication for public speaking. Great performers in public speaking, in other words,
aren’t born— they’re made. Good speakers have simply learned the tips and techniques
of best practices in public speaking. And one of the key lessons we help them learn is that
they already have just the voice they need to succeed at public speaking.

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The speaker must be prepared with their presentation and keep their messages
clear. They have to make the audience feel comfortable by combining the presentation
with joke, give a question and the most important is to choose the right word to talk and
use the body language for an extra presentation. Public speaking also known as the
expressing an idea to many people at the same time. Public communications can centre a
small audience or a large crowd, a TV camera or a radio.

5.1 Making an Oral Presentation

An oral presentation consists of three main parts: the introduction, body, and conclusion.
The purpose of an introduction is to quickly build rapport with your audience and gain
their attention. We want the audience to be able to easily follow thought process as we
lead them into the body of the presentation. Next, the main part of the presentation is the
body. The body must expound, explain, support, and defend the thesis revealed in the
introduction. All main points must be covered. Use examples and illustrations for
statements that are difficult for the audience to understand. Graphic illustrations and other
visual aids not only help to clarify your message, but also add color and credibility. The
presentation should conclude with a well-planned ending which we can use summary,
emotional response, recommendations and exit line.

5.2 Audience Analysis for Effective Communication

Audience analysis is a process that shapes the preparation, delivery, and evaluation of
any well-thought out speech. It is important to consider audience before, during, and after
the act of speaking. Before the speech, analyze the audience more than while we are
actually presenting the speech (Grice & Skinner, 2007). The first way to evaluate the
audience is characteristics of the audience such as age, gender, ethnicity, education,
religion, economic status, and group membership. Besides, we have to evaluate size of
the audience also. The number of listeners will often determine how a speaker should
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approach a topic (McCarthy & Hatcher, 2002). Large groups demand a structure and set
of word choices that convey an acknowledgment of the formality of the occasion; more
time to develop credibility and rapport. When speaking to small groups, one can become
closer with the audience and interact orally through questions/contributions from
individual listeners.

6.0 CONCLUSION

Why communication is important in our daily life? With communication, we can inspires
our confident, builds respect in business or workplace and social life, help make friends,
develop a distinct personality and reveals our ability to others. We can also organizing
our thoughts using body language and being a good listener.

Communicating effectively is not that easy. Without knowledge, self-confident,

learning about something, we can’t communicate with other people. As we know, in
every communication, there must be listening and speaking skills, the communicator
have to be spontaneous in expressing their knowledge in such field and has their own
level of conversation.

To be effective, you must be a confident speaker, perfect diction, a solid

knowledge of the subject matter. The conclusion of effective communication is the
product sells; the groups understand the core of the message; you get the job; everyone
joins your organization and/or buys the product, a company presentation is accepted. Any
positive conclusion is considered effective.

(3068 words)

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References

Books
Clipson-Boyles, S. (2001) Supporting Language and Literacy 3 – 8. London:
David Fulton Publishers

Koh Soo Ling ( 2007 ). Effective Text For Muet. Selangor: Penerbit Ilmu Bakti
Sdn. Bhd.

S. Sivananachelgi, Chong Poh Wan, Chua Eok Wan, Norazlina Mohamad (2009).
English for Oral Communication ( 2nd ed. ). Selangor : Meteor Doc. Sdn. Bhd.

Website
Applying Audience Analysis to Public Communication. [Online]. Available:
http://homepages.wmich.edu/~cedwards/Teachingmodules/modules/Audience%2
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Darrphan Mehta. (2008). 4 Good Topics of Conversation that Get People Talking.
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David C. Zumbrum. (2006). Effective Communication Skills For Security Personal.

[Online]. Available:
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Davis Foulger. (2004). Models of the Communication Process. [Online]. Available:

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France E. Oral Presentation Skills: A Practical Guide. [Online]. Available:

http://people.engr.ncsu.edu/txie/publication/oral_presentation_skills.pdf
[2011, June 20]

M. Mojibur Rahman. (2010). Teaching Oral Communication Skills: A Task-based

Approach. [Online]. Available: http://esp-world.info/Articles_27/Paper.pdf
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Sheila Wilkinson. (2009). Strategies for Improving Listening Skills. [Online]. Available:
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[2011, July 6]

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