UNIT-1

1. INTRODUCTION

Humans convey information through a variety of methods: speaking, telephones, email,

blogs, TV, art, hand gestures, facial expressions, body language and even social contexts.
Communication can occur instantaneously in closed, intimate settings or over great
periods of time in large public forums, like the Internet. However, all forms of
communication require the same basic elements: a speaker or sender of information, a
message, and an audience or recipient. The sender and recipient must also share a
common language or means of understanding each other for communication to be
successful. As such, a study of communication often examines the development and
structure of language, including the mathematical languages used in computer
programming.

The act of communicating draws on several interpersonal and intrapersonal skills. These
include speaking, listening, observing, questioning, processing, analyzing and evaluating.
Recipients of a message must be able to identify the sender’s intent, take into account the
message’s context, resolve any misunderstandings, accurately decode the information and
decide how to act on it. Such skills are essential to learning, forming healthy
relationships, creating a sense of community and achieving success in the workplace.

As a field of study, communication spans a broad, rich array of subjects, including

sociology, psychology, philosophy, political science, linguistics, history, literature,
criticism and rhetoric. Although much of the field’s subject matter is theoretical in nature,
communication studies have proven applicable to business, film, theater, composition,
advertising, education, foreign policy and computer science.

In today’s globalized, media-driven world, communication studies have become more

relevant and exciting than ever. Web developers seek new, inventive ways to draw
Internet users to their websites. Public policy writers debate society’s most pressing
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issues. Through linguistics, computer scientists are developing programming languages
that may someday allow humans to interact directly with computers. Students who earn
degrees in communication often hold highly influential positions as journalists, editors,
university professors, public relations officers, marketing consultants, speech writers,
filmmakers, motivational speakers and political campaign managers. To communicate is
to shape the world.

Communication is the act of conveying information for the purpose of creating a shared
understanding. It’s something that humans do every day. The word “communication”
comes from the Latin “communis,” meaning “to share,” and includes verbal, non-verbal
and electronic means of human interaction.
Communication requires a sender, a message, and a recipient, although the receiver need
not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of
communication; thus communication can occur across vast distances in time and space.
Communication requires that the communicating parties share an area of communicative
commonality. The communication process is complete once the receiver has understood
the message of the sender.

1.1 DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION

1. Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place to

another.

2. ” Communication is transfer of information from one person to another, whether or

not it elicits confidence. But the information transferred must be understandable to
the receiver
– G.G. Brown.

3. “Communication is the intercourse by words, letters or messages”

- Fred G. Meyer.
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We can now proceed to define communication from what we have seen above. To define
means to give the precise and exact meaning of a word. The exact meaning of the word
communicate is ‘to share’ or ‘to participate’. The dictionaries say that communication is
the transmission of a message or information by speaking or writing. Another dictionary
declares that communication is giving or exchanging information, signals, messages by
talk or gestures or writing. Yet another definition says that communication is social
intercourse. Communication is all this and much more. A good definition should not only
give the precise meaning but also throw light on the scope of the word / expression.

Communication is giving, receiving or exchanging ideas, information, signals or

messages through appropriate media, enabling individuals or groups to persuade, to seek
information, to give information or to express emotions.

This broad definition includes body-language, skills of speaking and writing. It outlines
the objectives of communication. It emphasizes listening as an important aspect of
communication.

4. Two-way process of reaching mutual understanding, in which participants not only

exchange (encode-decode) information but also create and share meaning.

5. “Any act by which one person gives to or receives from another person information
about that person’s needs desires, perceptions, knowledge, or affective states.
Communication may be intentional or unintentional, may involve conventional or
unconventional signals, may take linguistic or nonlinguistic forms, and may occur
through spoken or other modes.”

1.2 IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION

In the present day information revolution and formation of knowledge societies, centers
etc, the importance of communication has increased manifold. The importance of

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communication management and in day to day life of people can be judge from the
following points.

Communication Raises aspirations:

• Project the future in the present

• Raise awareness. Meet information needs.
• Motivates the people for a purpose.
• Communication is for development of the individual organisation, society, nation,
country.
• Communications helps the administration in arriving quick decision and
implementation.
• Good communication is essential for proper planning and coordination.
• Effective communication has a special role play, particularly in an under
developed country like India where most of the workers are illiterate.
• A Manager's/ Executive's success is conditioned by his ability to understand the
needs and requirements of both employees and customers.
• Better communication helps better job performance.
• Effective and timely communication promotes cordial relations and work culture
among the employees for increasing production and creates healthy and happy
environment within and outside the organization.
• 'Communication' is a key instrument to create relations, to strengthen relations
between the two people or a group of people. Without communication methods,
there are no human relations and human relations rehires effective communication
methods, tools, positive words, skills etc.

1.3 COMMUNICATION PROCESS AND MODEL

There are a number of parts to any communication. For instance, sending a text message
involves:
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the sender - the person writing the text
the receiver - the person to whom the message is addressed
the content of the message - for example, news, information, an invitation
the format of the message - in this example it is text but many other different ways are
possible
the communication channel through which the message is sent - in this case a mobile
phone network
the medium - how the message will be sent, in this case it is in writing.

It is vital that each part of the message is correctly chosen and in place. If not, the
message may not be received or understood. Sending a text to someone without a mobile
phone will obviously fail.

It is important for a business to choose how and when it will send messages to intended
receivers. For example, a building society will only send information about a new savings
product to its members by text or email, if they have specifically chosen to receive
communication by that method. Sending information by this method to people who
cannot receive text or email could result in losing an opportunity to sell a new product.

A. Sender – The communicator or sender is the person who is sending the message.
There are two factors that will determine how effective the communicator will be. The
first factor is the communicator’s attitude. It must be positive. The second factor is the
communicator’s selection of meaningful symbols, or selecting the right symbols
depending on your audience and the right environment. Talk about a few wrong
examples.
Question: Name some of the ways we communicate.
Anticipated Responses: —Talking, speaking
—Writing
—Pictures, symbols, diagrams, charts, etc.

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B. Message – A communication in writing, in speech, or by signals

C. Receiver – The receiver is simply the person receiving the message, making sense of
it, or understanding and translating it into meaning. Now think about this for a moment:
the receiver is also a communicator. How can that be? (When receiver responds, he is
then the communicator.)
Communication is only successful when the reaction of the receiver is that which the
communicator intended. Effective communication takes place with shared meaning and
understanding.

D. Feedback – Feedback is that reaction I just mentioned. It can be a verbal or nonverbal

reaction or response. It can be external feedback (something we see) or internal feedback
(something we can’t see), like self-examination. It’s the feedback that allows the
communicator to adjust his message and be more effective. Without feedback, there
would be no way of knowing if meaning had been shared or if understanding had taken
place.

Discuss that communication is a two-way process. The information goes out to a person
on the other end. There is a sender and a receiver. Simply put, effective communication is
getting your message across to the receiver.

It is the sender’s responsibility to make sure that the receiver gets the message and that
the message received is the one sent. Communicating is not an isolated series of one skill,
it involves several skills. For example, speaking involves not only getting your message
across but also being able to listen and understand what others are saying (active
listening) and observing the verbal and nonverbal clues in order to monitor the
effectiveness of your message.

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1.4 ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION

There are seven elements of communication:

1) Source idea (Source)
2) Message
3) Encoding
4) Channel
5) Receiver
6) Decoding
7) Feedback

Let's discuss each element.

The Source idea is the process by which one formulates an idea to communicate to
another party. This process can be influenced by external stimuli such as books or radio,
or it can come about internally by thinking about a particular subject. The source idea is
the basis for the communication.

The Message is what will be communicated to another party. It is based on the source
idea, but the message is crafted to meet the needs of the audience. For example, if the
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message is between two friends, the message will take a different form than if
communicating with a superior.

Encoding is how the message is transmitted to another party. The message is converted
into a suitable form for transmission. The medium of transmission will determine the
form of the communication. For example, the message will take a different form if the
communication will be spoken or written.

The Channel is the medium of the communication. The channel must be able to transmit
the message from one party to another without changing the content of the message. The
channel can be a piece of paper, a communications medium such as radio, or it can be an
email. The channel is the path of the communication from sender to receiver. An email
can use the Internet as a channel.

The Receiver is the party receiving the communication. The party uses the channel to get
the communication from the transmitter. A receiver can be a television set, a computer, or
a piece of paper depending on the channel used for the communication.

Decoding is the process where the message is interpreted for its content. It also means the
receiver thinks about the message's content and internalizes the message. This step of the
process is where the receiver compares the message to prior experiences or external
stimuli.

Feedback is the final step in the communications process. This step conveys to the
transmitter that the message is understood by the receiver. The receiver formats an
appropriate reply to the first communication based on the channel and sends it to the
transmitter of the original message.

1.5 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF COMMUNICATION

Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after.
Communication is a process by which information is transmitted and understood between
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two or more people. It should include both transference and the understanding of
meaning.

Communication is the life blood of social as well as corporate world. We exist because
we communicate. Even our silence communicates a lot. We all have a layman’s idea of
what communication is , but let us try to understand the concept fully so that we can use
it effectively.

Communication is the process by which we exchange meanings , facts , ideas ,opinions

or emotions with other people. It is an essential condition of our existence and the most
important activity of ours. The word communication has been derived from Latin word “
communicare/communis’ that means to ‘share’ or ‘participate’ . Everybody knows that
most of the time, through speech or writing or any other means like exchange of a
common set of symbols , we are sharing information with other human beings. It is ,
therefore , first and foremost a social activity. Man as a social animal has to
communicate.

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

persons.

General communication is different from business communication / Administrative

communication.

According to William Scott in his book Organizational Theory “Administrative

communication is a process which involves the transmission and accurate replication of
ideas ensured by feedback for the purpose of eliciting actions which will accomplish
organizational goals”

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Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages. However it is said to
be effective only when the message is understood and when it stimulates action or
encourages the receiver to think in new ways.

Objectives of Communication are:

1. To develop information and understanding among all members.

2. To foster an attitude which is necessary for motivation, cooperation and job

satisfaction?

3. To discourage misinformation, ambiguity and rumors.

4. To prepare workers for a change in methods or environment by giving them the

necessary information in advance.

5. To encourage subordinates to supply ideas and suggestions for improving upon the
product or work environment, and taking these suggestions seriously.

6. To improve labour-management relations by keeping die communication channels

open.

7. To encourage social relations among working members by encouraging inter

communication.

1.6 ESSENTIALS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Communication is the process of exchanging ideas, thoughts and feelings through words,
symbols and actions. Listening, verbal and nonverbal skills make communication more
effective. Good communication skill means the ability to be understood, but it also means
more than that. Have you ever noticed how good conversationalists have the ability to
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light up a conversation and inspire others to join in? You can learn to be like that too.
Remember - any good conversation is a two-way process. It's only as good as the
responses you get - but you can really improve the number and types of responses you get
by honing your communication skill.

Here are a few aspects of what it means to have this skill to initiate and sustain an
interesting, enjoyable conversation that everyone feels better for having participated in.

1. Use language and images with are familiar to your listener

You shouldn't really be surprised if you don't get much of a response if the people you're
talking to don't understand you or can't relate to what you're talking about, can you?

A conversation is not the time to show off what big words you know or how much more
knowledgeable you are than the person you're talking to.

2. Watch your tone

As well as the words you use, you will no doubt be aware you can change the tone of
your voice to portray a different meaning. You wouldn't speak to your boss in the same
way you would reprimand your child for stepping into the road, would you?

In any conversation, you need to make sure that your tone is right if you are not to offend
the people you are talking to or make them worry about answering you.

3. Be respectful

It's a fact that we 'get on' better with people who are like us. All that means is that we find
them easier to talk to. We know they will share a lot of views that we have - or at least if
they don't, they will respect out views and not shout us down without allowing us to
speak.

Good communication skill is about letting other people speak their mind too.

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4. Stick to the point

Don't try to 'steal' a conversation by changing the point just because you don't like it or
can't think of anything to add on the topic - that's pretty bad manners!

5. You don't need to be the center of attention

Good conversationalists are happy to share the limelight and they don't feel the urge to
steer the conversation round to focus on them or if they do, they withstand the urge!

If you find yourself trying to steal the show often, slow down. Try to focus a little more
closely on what is being said. That should give you some ideas of a question you may
want to ask which develops the topic of the conversation or asks for clarification.

6. Know when it's appropriate to change the subject

Whether you were the one who started the conversation or not, change the subject when
there appears to be nothing new to say or when others begin to fidget or act bored. That
glazed eye look is always a dead give-away!

7. Don't ask too much

There's a difference between a conversation and an interrogation- or there should be!

Firing too many questions at people without giving any of your own information back
makes people feel pressurized and uneasy, so don't do it.

8. Sound and look interested in other people

There's a world of difference between giving someone the third degree and expressing a
friendly interest in what they're saying. Face the person you're talking too and use an
open posture with unfolded arms, leaning forward slightly but not too close to them that it
becomes unnerving.

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Eye contact is also great for making people feel valued when you talk to them. Let them
know you're listening by acknowledging statements with a nod, comment or a question
when appropriate.

9. Open-ended questions are best

People with good communication skill get other people talking. A good way to do this is
by asking open-ended questions which can't just be answered with a simple 'yes' or 'no'.

10. Have something of interest to say

Keep up with current affairs and trends and take an interest in what is going on in the
world around you. That way you should always have something interesting to say - and
that's a pretty useful start for a conversation!

So you can see that you don't have to be born with good communication skill - there are
just a few areas you need to think about and then it's just a matter of practicing.

1.7 BARRIERS IN COMMUNICATION

• PHYSICAL BARRIERS

An example of a physical barrier to communication is geographic distance between the

sender and receiver(s). Communication is generally easier over shorter distances as more
communication channels are available and less technology is required. Although modern
technology often serves to reduce the impact of physical barriers, the advantages and
disadvantages of each communication channel should be understood so that an
appropriate channel can be used to overcome the physical barriers.

• SEMANTIC BARRIERS

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Semantics is related to meanings of words. To be more exact, it is related to connotative
and denotative meanings of words and its study. Every word has a direct meaning called
the denotative meaning. In addition to its exact or lexical meaning, words also acquire
implied meanings called connotative meanings. Connotations are understood based only
on an individual’s experience. If the encoder and decoder do not share the some
connotative meaning for a word, miscommunication occurs. We have already seen how
‘bimonthly’ can mean two different concepts to two different people even at denotative
level. Similarly, examine the word ‘cheap’ as an adjective. You will enjoy a ‘cheap
holiday’ because you spend less than the real cost. Industries desire ‘cheap labour’ to
reduce the overall cost of production. These connotations of cheap as an adjective are
different from the connotations in expressions like “cheap popularity’ and “cheap joke”.
If the receiver does not understand the connotation attributed by the sender,
miscommunication takes place. But when words are used for denotations alone, not much
damage will be done. To overcome the semantic barrier to communication, the
communicator should choose the precise and exact word that will carry the same meaning
for the receiver in the given context. The meaning of the word is related to context at the
connotational level. A complimentary expression may derive a connotative derogative
meaning which will ruin the communication process. If you examine the word ‘fellow’,
you will find so many connotations to it. The word used with adjectives such as ‘nice’
and ‘lousy’ change the complexion of the word ‘fellow’. A ‘nice fellow’ and a lousy
fellow’ are poles apart. If you call some one a ‘fellow scholar’, he is your contemporary.
A ‘fellow traveller’ is simply your co-passenger on a train, but in another context he is a
sympathizer or a secret member of the communist party. Fellowship simply means
companionship / friendliness. However, in special contexts it can have different
connotations. You can be a scholar with UGC (University Grants Commission) getting a
fellowship.

• PSYCHO SOCIOLOGICAL BARRIERS

Selective Perception – ‘I know it syndrome’, ‘waste of time’

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Status relationship - – monologues by seniors

Inattention

Poor retention

Undue importance of written words

Defensiveness to a unpleasant message

Closed minds – lack of background knowledge.

State of health – lack of alertness.

Filtering.

• CULTURAL BARRIERS

Communication is not a one-way street. To have others open up to you, you must be open
yourself. By overcoming these barriers to communication, you can ensure that the
statement you are making is not just heard, but also understood, by the person you are
speaking with. In this way, you can be confident that your point has been expressed.

1.8 TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

There are many types of communication that we can use these days when we try to keep
in touch. Keeping in touch is very important to have a healthy relationship not only with
couples with family and friends too. It plays a vital role to keep the relationship alive and
updated. It does not matter how you communicate with each other as long as it served its
purpose of keeping you together.

Communicating is considered vital since it can make or break a relationship. Be it within

the family, or your circle of friends, or loved ones who had been so far. Trying to find the
best communication medium is a must to keep in touch. Some of the usual and normal
means of communication are mentioned below.

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• VERBAL

This is the most common of the many types of communication that we all have been
using for so long. Verbal means you talk to each other. Uttering words and phrases and
sentences is considered a verbal communication.

The basis of communication is the interaction between people. Verbal communication is

one way for people to communicate face-to-face. Some of the key components of verbal
communication are sound, words, speaking, and language.

At birth, most people have vocal cords, which produce sounds. As a child grows it learns
how to form these sounds into words. Some words may be imitative of natural sounds,
but others may come from expressions of emotion, such as laughter or crying. Words

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alone have no meaning. Only people can put meaning into words. As meaning is
assigned to words, language develops, which leads to the development of speaking.

The actual origin of language is subject to considerable speculation. Some theorists

believe it is an outgrowth of group activities such as working together or dancing. Others
believe that language developed from basic sounds and gestures.

Over 3,000 languages and major dialects are spoken in the world today. The
development of languages reflects class, gender, profession, age group, and other social
factors. The huge variety of languages usually creates difficulties between different
languages, but even within a single language there can be many problems in
understanding.

Through speaking we try to eliminate this misunderstanding, but sometimes this is a very
hard thing to do. Just as we assume that our messages are clearly received, so we assume
that because something is important to us, it is important to others. As time has proven
this is not at all true. Many problems can arise is speaking and the only way to solve
these problems is through experience.

Speaking can be looked at in two major areas: interpersonal and public speaking. Since
the majority of speaking is an interpersonal process, to communicate effectively we must
not simply clean up our language, but learn to relate to people.

In interpersonal speaking, etiquette is very important. To be an effective communicator

one must speak in a manner that is not offending to the receiver. Etiquette also plays an
important role in an area that has developed in most all business settings: hierarchical
communication. In business today, hierarchical communication is of utmost importance
to all members involved.

The other major area of speaking is public speaking. From the origin of time, it has been
obvious that some people are just better public speakers than others. Because of this,
today a good speaker can earn a living by speaking to people in a public setting. Some of

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the major areas of public speaking are speaking to persuade, speaking to inform, and
speaking to inspire or motivate.

o Advantages and Limitations

When a message is communicated verbally and not is writing by exchanging the words in
face communication or through telephone or through the other visual aids, etc., it is called
Verbal Communication. It may take place at meetings, interviews, etc.

Advantages of Verbal Communication

Verbal Communication has the following advantages:

1. Saving of Time

The greatest advantages of verbal communication, is saving of time. Under this system of
communication the messages are communicated immediately without consuming any
time. Verbal communication is the only way out during urgent condition and when
immediate action is necessary.

2. Saving of Money

As there is no formal method of communicating the message, no help of any particular

media of communication is taken, this type of communication saves a lot of money.

3. More Effective

As there is direct touch of the sender of message with the receiver of message these
messages prove to be more effective. The sender of message can also exercise his
personal influence over the receiver of message.

4. Knowledge of Reaction of Message

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An important advantage of verbal communication is that under this method of
communication, the sender of message can judge the reaction of the message on its
receiver. He comes to know whether the receiver of the message will follow it or not.

5. Clear Doubts

Verbal Communication is also better form the point of view that the doubts regarding the
message, if any, between the sender and the receiver of message can immediately be
cleared and the receiver of the message can immediately get the explanations regarding
any point or the message.

6. Increase in Productivity and Efficiency

Verbal communication is more effective. It increases the productivity and efficiency of

workers because they clearly understand it and follow it.

Disadvantages of Verbal Communication

Verbal communication has the following disadvantages:

1. Lack of Proof of Message

The greatest disadvantages of verbal communication is that there is no proof of the

message communicated.

2. Not Suitable for Future Reference

As there is nothing in writing supporting the messages communicated under this method,
it is not suitable for future reference. If there is any dispute on any point of the message,
it cannot be helped in any way.

3. Not Suitable in Case of Distance

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If the receiver and the sender of the message are living at a distance from each other, this
method of communication is not suitable because it will increase the cost of
communication, it will no be effective because of lack of personal touch and it may not
be clear and explanatory.

Written Communication

When a message is communicated in writing, it is called Written Communication.

Written Communication takes place in the form of letters, circular, reports, magazines,
notice board, handbook, notice etc. Written Communication is generally, used for
communicating a message from the top management to the subordinates. Written
message must be clear and understandable. It must be brief and self-explanatory and must
be prepared in a simple language. The language must be polite and sweet so that the
receiver of the message may easily accept it. If possible, it must be in the printed form.

Advantages of Written Communication

1. No need of Personal Contact

In written communication there is no need of personal contact:

2. Economical

If the receiver and sender of the message are at a distance, it is economical to

communicate the message in writing because communicating by post is cheap and quite
economical.

3. Written Proof

A great advantage of written communication is that it provides a proof for future

reference. If there is any dispute on any point in this regard, the message may be referred.

4. Clear and Explanatory

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Written messages are very clear and self-explanatory. The receiver of the message can
easily follow it and understand it.

Disadvantages of Written Communication

Written communication has the following disadvantages:

1. Delay

The greatest disadvantage of written communication is the delay in communication. The

message is writing is communicated after a certain process is completed. It is prepared,
verified and order by the concerned officer. Consequently, the message is delayed.

2. Lack of Secrecy

Another great disadvantage of written communication is that secrecy cannot be

maintained because these messages can be read by anyone.

3. Costly

A written communication involves heavily expenditure. If the receiver and sender of

message are near to each other, it is fairly costly to communicate in writing.

COMMUNICATION THROUGH LISTENING /READING

Communication through listening and Reading is done in our day to day life. We
communicate maximum through listening. Communication through reading takes place
where the reader takes interest in reading.
• NON-VERBAL

Non speaking, no words uttered, no noise type of communication; this is how a non-
verbal communication is defined. This is normally used when one is not capable to speak.

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May it be a temporary illness that made you lost your speech, or it can be a long term
sickness that will need you to learn to communicate without the use of speech?

o Advantages and Limitations

The advantages of non-verbal communication are:

1. You can communicate with someone who is hard of hearing of deaf.
2. You can communicate at place where you are supposed to maintain silence.
3. You can communicate something which you don't want others to hear or listen to.
4. You can communicate if you are far away from a person. The person can see but
not hear you.
5. Non-verbal communication makes conversation short and brief.
6. You can save on time and use it as a tool to communicate with people who don't
understand your language.

The disadvantages of non-verbal communication are:

1. You cannot have long conversation.
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 2. Cannot discuss the particulars of your message.
3. Difficult to understand and requires a lot of repetitions.
4. Cannot be used as a public tool for communication.
5. Less influential and cannot be used everywhere.
6. Not everybody prefers to communicate through non-verbal communication.
7. Cannot create an impression upon people/listeners.
Non verbal communication is as important as verbal communication because there is a
famous proverb saying that "Action Speaks Louder than words", so your gestures,
postures , eye contact....each play a major role.

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UNIT – 2

2.1 TYPES OF LISTENING

Different situations call for different types of listening, and as your listening skills
evolve, so will your ability to hear what someone is really saying. As a good
communicator, you should know which type of listening to use in each situation, and how
to use those skills to your advantage. Honing your discriminative, informative,
relationship, appreciative and critical listening skills will make you a better
communicator in any situation.

Informational Listening

The only purpose of information listening is to gain correct information from the speaker.
In informational listening, you reserve judgment. When at school listening to a lecture, in
church listening to a sermon or talking to a friend who is relaying a story to you, you do
so listening to pick out the key points in the story and to understand the message that is
meant to be passed on, notes Air University.

Appreciative Listening

Appreciative listening is done so with the intent to enjoy the story, music or information
being passed on. Appreciative listening is most often done when listening to music, as
you listen with only the intent to enjoy the sounds that you hear. The American Society
for Training & Development recommends that, in order to truly embark in appreciative
listening, you should avoid engaging in other communications and focus solely on the
sounds that you're hearing for full impact.

Critical Listening

When you listen in a critical manner, you learn to hear the communication, and then
identify key points and arguments, solidifying your opinion on a matter. You might
engage in critical listening while in a debate, or while attending a political ceremony.

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Critical listening is listening in order to evaluate and judge, forming opinion about what
is being said. Judgment includes assessing strengths and weaknesses, agreement and
approval.

This form of listening requires significant real-time cognitive effort as the listener
analyzes what is being said, relating it to existing knowledge and rules, whilst
simultaneously listening to the ongoing words from the speaker.

Relationship Listening

Relationship listening is one of the most important skills you can have when dealing with
people and communication. Through relationship listening, you seek to better the
relationships between people. Also known as therapeutic or empathetic listening, you use
your relationship listening skills to help a friend through a problem, solve conflict
between co-workers and understand relationships, prompt people to open up through
support and being open and honest.

Discriminative Listening

Discriminative listening is the most basic type of listening, whereby the difference
between difference sounds is identified. If you cannot hear differences, then you cannot
make sense of the meaning that is expressed by such differences.

We learn to discriminate between sounds within our own language early, and later are
unable to discriminate between the phonemes of other languages. This is one reason why
a person from one country finds it difficult to speak another language perfectly, as they
are unable distinguish the subtle sounds that are required in that language.

Likewise, a person who cannot hear the subtleties of emotional variation in another
person's voice will be less likely to be able to discern the emotions the other person is
experiencing.

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Listening is a visual as well as auditory act, as we communicate much through body
language. We thus also need to be able to discriminate between muscle and skeletal
movements that signify different meanings.

• LISTENING FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION

Listening for specific information means narrowing down the passage to get certain
details. For example, a student might listen to something to get dates, or reasons for a
certain event, or maybe even nouns in a passage. It's really a beginning note taking
exercise. The students will have to disregard some information in order to get what
they've been asked for.

Listening for specific information is a common type of listening especially in testing

listening contexts and students need to be prepared for it. The strategy needed for
listening of this type is very much unique from other forms of listening.

First and foremost temptation in the minds of learners of listening to English is to

listen and understand everything. Teachers need to show the students the futility of
such a desire especially in the context of listening for specific information where the
listening is closely governed or controlled by the tasks.

The first strategy is to be familiar with the questions. The questions can help the
listener in three ways:

1. To get a general idea of the listening beforehand. The questions can be used as
a springboard to get into the context of the listening which would facilitate the
listener in understanding the text in a better way. The case would be different
if they listen without any idea of what they're listening.

2. The listener can predict what kind of information they need to listen in order
to complete the task. That would help them to decide what to listen closely.

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 3. Moreover the listener can use the words from the question in order to guide
the listening. These words would help the listener to locate where they should
listen closely.

The second strategy is related to the third point mentioned above. Even before the
students can listen to get the answers they need to develop the ability to locate the
places where they need to listen closely. Learners of listening to English can end up
listening quite intensively to everything which actually they don't have to. So teachers
can help them to find the location of these answers even before they seriously try to
listen for it. Once they know 'where' to look for the answer comfortably and also
progress with the listening, then they can worry about 'what' to look for which takes
us to the next strategy.

The third one is where the students listen closely to the information in the locations
identified. Sometimes the information that they're looking for might appear to them
directly. But in some cases things can be paraphrased. In that case the teachers have
to help them a bit more to notice the paraphrasing.

Finally, a word of caution: the teacher's role is not to make things appear simple by
offering help all the time but to show the students ways of doing things smartly.

• LISTENING FOR GENERAL UNDERSTANDING

• INTENSIVE LEARNING

• LISTENING FOR PLEASURE

2.2 BARRIERS TO LISTENING

A pointed out earlier, listening is not easy and there are a number of obstacles that stand
in the way of effective listening, both within outside the workplace. These barriers may
be categorized as follows.

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 1. Physiological Barriers: -

Some people may have genuine hearing problems or deficiencies that prevent them from
listening properly. Once detected, date and generally be treated. Some people may have
difficulties in processing information, or memory related problem which make them poor
listeners.

Another physiological barrier is rapid though. Listeners have the ability to process
information at the rate of approximately 500 words per minute, where as speaker talk at
around 120 words per minute. Since listeners are left with a lot of spare time, there
attention may not be focused on words the speaker is saying, but may under elsewhere.

2. Physical Barriers: -

These referred to distraction in the averment such as the sound of an air conditioner ,
cigarette smoke, or an overheated room, which interfere with the listening process. They
could also be in the form of information overload. For example, if you are in meeting
with your manager and the phone rings and your mobile beeps at the same time to let u
know that you have the message. It is very hard to listen carefully to what is being said.

3. Attitudinal Barriers :-

pre occupation which personal or work related problems can make it difficult to focus
one’s attention completely on what speaker is saying, even what is being said is of crime
importance. Another common attitudinal barrier is egocentrism, or the belief that you are
more knowledgeable when the speaker and that you have nothing new to have to learn
from his ideas. People with this kind of close minded attitude may very poor listeners.

4. Wrong Assumptions :-

The success of communication depend on the both the sender and receiver, as we have
seen in an earlier unit. It is wrong to assume that communication is the sole responsibility
of the sender or the speaker and those listeners have no role to play. Such an assumption
can be big barrier to listening. For example, a brilliant speech or presentation, however

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well delivered, is wasted if the receiver is not listening at the other end. Listeners have as
much responsibility as speakers to make the communication successful, by paying
attention seeking clarifications and giving feedback. Another wrong assumption is to
think that listening is a passive activity, in which a listener merely the thoughts of the
speaker. On the contrary, real listening or active listening is hard work – it requires
speaking sometimes to ask question, agree or disagree with the speaker, give feedback
etc.

5. Cultural Barriers :-

Accents can be barriers to listening, since they interfere with the ability to understand the
meaning of words that are pronounced differently. The problem of different accents
arises not only between cultures, but also within a culture. For example, in a country like
india where there is enormous cultural diversity, accents may differ even between regions
states. Another type of cultural barrier is doddering cultural values. The importance
attached to listening and speaking differs in western and oriental cultures. Generally,
orientals regard listening and silence as almost a virtue, whereas Attach greater
importance to speaking. Therefore this would interfere with the listening process, when
two people from these two different cultures communicate.

6. Gender Barriers :-

Communication research has shown that gender can be barrier to listening. Studies have
revealed that men and women listen very differently and for different purposes. Women
are more likely to listen for the emotion behind a speaker’s words, when men listen more
for the facts and the content.

Example: - a salespersons giving a demonstration of a new type of office equipment may

be asked by two colleagues if the equipment will work without ant problem and respond
by saying “Sure.” A male user may take his at face value, where as the female user may
detect some hesitation in his voice. This is because the male user listen for the content of
the message, where as the female user listen for the tone of the message.

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 7. Lack of Training :-

Listening is not an inborn skill. People are not born good listeners. They have to develop
the art of listening through practice and training. Lack of training in listing skills is an
important barrier to listing, in the Indian Context.

8. Bad Listening Habits :-

Most people are very average listeners who have developed poor listening habits that are
hard to said and that act as barriers to listening. For example, some people have the habits
of “faking” attention, or trying to look like a listeners, in order to impress the speaker and
to assure him that they are paying attention. Others may tend to listen to each and every
fact and, as a result, mis out on the main point.

• DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LISTENING AND LEARNING

Learn or Learning

Learning is the most basic behavior of our lives without learning we can't be able to do
anything learning means:

1. The cognitive process of acquiring skill or knowledge.

2. Knowledge gained by study; instruction or scholarship.

3. The act of gaining knowledge.

For example : - "the child's acquisition of language".

Listen or Listening

Listening is considered to be the one of the most important part of the oral
communication .its mean:

1. To make an effort to hear something.

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2. To pay attention.

For example:- Would you like to give the CD a listen before buying it?

• ACTIVE LISTENING

Active listening is a communication technique that requires the listener to feed back what
they hear to the speaker, by way of re-stating or paraphrasing what they have heard in
their own words, to confirm what they have heard and moreover, to confirm the
understanding of both parties.

The ability to listen actively demonstrates sincerity, and that nothing is being assumed or
taken for granted. Active listening is most often used to improve personal relationships,
reduce misunderstanding and conflicts, strengthen cooperation, and foster understanding.
It is proactive, accountable and professional.

When interacting, people often "wait to speak" rather than listening attentively. They
might also be distracted. Active listening is a structured way of listening and responding
to others, focusing attention on the "function" of communicating objectively as opposed
to focusing on "forms", passive expression or subjectivity.

There are many opinions on what is "active listening". A search of the term reveals
interpretations of the "activity" as including "interpreting body language" or focusing on
something other than or in addition to words. Successful communication is the
establishment of common ground between two people—understanding. Agreeing to
disagree is common ground. Common ground can be false, i.e., a person says they feel a
certain way but they do not. Nevertheless it is common ground, once accepted as
understood. Dialogue, understanding and progress can only arise from that common
ground. And that common ground cannot be established without respect for the words as
spoken by the speaker, for whatever reason.

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Thus the essence of active listening is as simple as it is effective: paraphrasing the
speakers words back to them as a question. There is little room for assumption or
interpretation. It is functional, mechanical and leaves little doubt as to what is meant by
what is said. "The process is successful if the person receiving the information gives
feedback which shows understanding for meaning. Suspending one's own frame of
reference, suspending judgment and avoiding other internal mental activities are
important to fully attend to the speaker.

Active listening is a way of listening and responding to another person that improves
mutual understanding. Often when people talk to each other, they don=t listen attentively.
They are often distracted, half listening, half thinking about something else. When people
are engaged in a conflict, they are often busy formulating a response to what is being
said. They assume that they have heard what their opponent is saying many times before,
so rather than paying attention, they focus on how they can respond to win the argument.

Active listening is a structured form of listening and responding that focuses the attention
on the speaker. The listener must take care to attend to the speaker fully, and then repeats,
in the listener’s own words, what he or she thinks the speaker has said. The listener does
not have to agree with the speaker--he or she must simply state what they think the
speaker said. This enables the speaker to find out whether the listener really understood.
If the listener did not, the speaker can explain some more.

Often, the listener is encouraged to interpret the speaker’s words in terms of feelings.
Thus, instead of just repeating what happened, the active listener might add AI gather that
you felt angry or frustrated or confused when . . . [a particular event happened]. Then the
speaker can go beyond confirming that the listener understood what happened, but can
indicate that he or she also understood the speaker’s psychological response to it.

Active listening has several benefits. First, it forces people to listen attentively to others.
Second, it avoids misunderstandings, as people have to confirm that they do really
understand what another person has said. Third, it tends to open people up, to get them to
say more. When people are in conflict, they often contradict each other, denying the

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opponent’s description of a situation. This tends to make people defensive, and they will
either lash out, or withdraw and say nothing more. However, if they feel that their
opponent is really attuned to their concerns and wants to listen, they are likely to explain
in detail what they feel and why. If both parties to a conflict do this, the chances of being
able to develop a solution to their mutual problem becomes much greater.

• BARRIERS TO LISTENING

Listening effectively is a foundation of communication, whether it’s with your boss, your
colleagues, your customers, or the people you live with. But some studies show that we
remember only 25-50% of what we hear.

Quality customer service, including the ability to anticipate, respond to, and maintain an
awareness of users’ needs, depends on careful listening. Here are six commonly
identified factors that often keep us from listening as closely as we need, even when we
thing we ARE listening.

1. Distractions:

Our computers, phones, and busy surroundings can cause us to miss opportunities for
attentive listening.

2. Cultural Differences:

Many cultures have very different ideas about what polite listening is. Eye contact,
timing, speech patterns, and dialects are a few examples of varying practices that can
create occasional misunderstandings.

3. Selective Listening:

In courtroom dramas, many “eye witnesses” see or hear what fits their expectations,
rather than what really happened. When listening, we often subconsciously filter out
viewpoints that contradict our own, changing our interpretation of the message.

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4. Being Judgmental:

Our preconceived judgments can harm our ability to listen, even before a conversation
begins. When we’re able to make an honest effort to understand the other person’s
position, we’re better listeners.

5. Defensiveness:

If we’re fearful of a disagreement or overly defensive, this triggers many internal

obstacles hindering open and earnest listening.

6. Assumptions:

When we make assumptions about a speaker, a situation, or we assume how someone

else will react based on our own reactions, we hinder our own ability to truly listen and
understand. Instead of making assumptions, ask.

7. Interest

Sometimes we can get dragged into a conversation we would much prefer not to have.
The topic may be an emotional one or, for whatever reasons, hard to endure. An
unwillingness to listen can often be obvious, and even more so to a loved one who knows
your body language well. However, in a difficult conversation with someone you love,
you have all the more reason to strive for successful communication. Making the choice
to listen, even to a difficult topic, could mean the difference between a disastrous
experience and a lesson learned. According to the University of Minnesota-Duluth online
handbook, an important listening skill entails striving to remain objective. Try not to take
everything personally; instead keep an open mind.

8. Intention

If you clearly show that your intention is not to listen but refute whatever your partner
says, then there will not be a productive exchange. You have not actually focused on the
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message your partner intends to convey but are rather listening for holes in his argument
so that you can dispute them. In this scenario, you are waiting for the opportunity to let
your voice be heard and not truly acknowledging what he is saying. An effective listener
respectfully hears what her partner has said and then restates her understanding to the
speaker in her own words. This is an opportunity to let your loved one know you have
heard what he has said and that you understand his position.

9. Body Language

Looking away from the speaker, crossing your arms, coughing and making faces and
disagreeable noises signal to o your partner that you are not concerned with what she has
said. As the listener, you convey information with your body, and if your body language
says you don't care, but you claim to be listening, then you appear untrustworthy and
unreliable.

10. Distractions

The demands of everyday life do not allow much time for meaningful discussions.
During an important discussion with your partner, you might feel certain factors act as
barriers to listening, stresses such as a busy schedule, children or interruptions in your
surrounding environment. Try to take time to put such distractions aside rather than
mentally wander off. The relationship is worth it.

11. Technology

While the world seems to be getting smaller due to online connections via networking
sites, email, Skype and the like, we have actually begun to listen to each other less.
Texting and Tweeting have become primary modes of communication, neither of which
require any active-listening skills. Online forms of communication can make poor
listening skills even worse. Talking with someone face-to-face for any extended period
can be a rarity. However, when the opportunity presents itself to make a real connection,
make it worthwhile.

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UNIT – 3

3.1 WORD-STRESS, PITCH AND INTONATION, TONE AND PAUSE

Word Stress:

Not all languages make use of the possibility of using stress on different syllables of a
polysyllabic word: in English, however, the stress pattern is an essential component of
the phonological form of a word, and learners of English either have to learn rules to
guide them in how to assign stress correctly (or, quite probably, both). Sentence stress is
a different problem, and learners also need to be aware of the phenomenon of stress-shift
in which stress moves from one syllable to another in particular contexts.

It is usual to treat each word, when said on its own, as having just one primary (i.e.
strongest) stress; if it is a monosyllabic word, then of course there is no more to say. If
the word contains more than one syllable, then other syllables will have other levels of
stress, and secondary stress is often found in words like, over whelming (with primary
word stress on the ‘whelming’ syllable and secondary stress on the first syllable).

Pitch

Pitch is an auditory sensation: when we here a regularly vibrating sound such as a note
played on a musical instrument, or a vowel produced by the human voice, we here a high
pitch if the rate of vibration is high and a low pitch if the rate of vibration is low. Many
speech sounds are voiceless (e.g S), and cannot give rise to a sensation of pitch in this
way. The pitch sensation that we receive from a voiced folds; however, we usually refer
to the vibration frequency as fundamental frequency in order to keep the two things
distinct.

Pitch is used in many languages as an essential component of the pronunciation of a

word, so that a change of pitch may cause a change in meaning: these are called tone
languages. In most languages (whether or not they are tone languages) pitch plays a
central role in intonation.

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Intonation:

There is confusion about intonation caused by the fact that the word is used with two
different meanings: in its more restricted sense, ‘intonation’ refers simply to the
vibrations in the pitch of a speaker’s voice used to convey or alter meaning, but in its
broader and more popular sense it is used to cover much th same field as ‘prosody’,
where variations in such things as voice quality, tempo and loudness are included. It is,
regrettably, common to find in pronunciation teaching materials accounts of intonation
that describe only pitch movements and levels, and then claim that a wide range of
emotions and attitudes are signalled by means of these pitch phenomena. There is in fact
very little evidence that pitch movements alone are effective in doing signaling of this
type.

It is certainly possible to analyse pitch movements (or their acoustic counterpart,

fundamental frequency) and find regular patterns that can be described and tabulated.
Many attempts have been made at establishing descriptive frameworks for stating these
regularities. Some analysts look for an underlying basic pitch melody (or for a small
number of them) and then describe the factors that cause deviations from these basic
melodies; others have tried to break down pitch patterns Into small constituent units such
as “pitch morphemes”, while the approach most widely used in Britain takes the tone-unit
as its basic unit and looks at the different pitch possibilities of the various components of
the tone unit (the pre-head, head, tonic syllable/nucleus and tail).

As mentioned above, intonation is said to convey emotions and attitudes. Other linguistic
functions have also been claimed: interesting relationships exits in English between
intonation grammars, for example: in a few extreme cases a perceived difference in
grammatical meaning may depend on the pitch movements, as in the following example:

(meaning “she did go, but it was not because of her timetable”)
and

(meaning “she didn’t go, the reason being her timetable”).

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Other “meanings” of intonation include things like the difference between statement and
question; the contrast between “open” and “close” lists, where

Is “open”, implying that other things are also on offer, while

Is “closed”, no further choices being available; and the indication of whether a relative
clause is restrictive or non-restrictive, as in, for example,

Compared with

Another approach to intonation is to concentrate on its role in conversational discourse:

this involves such aspects as indicating whether the particular thing being said constitutes
new information or old, the regulation of turn-taking in conversation, the establishment of
dominance and the elicitation of co-operative responses. As with the signaling of
attitudes, it seems that though analysts concentrate on pitch movements there are many
other prosodic factors being used to create these effects.

Much less work has been done on the intonation of languages other than English. It
seems that all languages have something that can be identified as intonation; there appear
to be many differences between languages, but one suspects, on reading the literature,
that this is due more to the different descriptive frameworks used by different analysts
than to inter-language differences. It is claimed that tone languages also have intonation,
which is superimposed upon the tones themselves, and this creates especially difficult of
analysis.

Tone:

Although this word has a very wide range of meanings and uses in ordinary language, its
meaning in phonetics and phonology is quite restricted: it refers to an identifiable
movement or level of pitch that is used in a linguistically contrastive way. In some
languages (known as tone languages) the linguistics functions of tone is to change the
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meaning of a word: in Mandarin Chinese, for example, ‘ma said with high pitch means
‘mother’ while ,ma said on a low rising tone means ‘hemp’. In other languages, tone
forms the central part of intonation, and the difference between, for example, a rising and
a falling tone on a particular word may cause a different interpretation of the sentence in
which it occurs. In the case of tone languages it is usual to identify tone as being a
property of individual syllables, whereas an intonation tone may be spread over many
syllables.

In the analysis of English intonation, tone refers to one of the pitch possibilities for the
tonic (or nuclear) syllable, a set usually including fall, rise, fall-rise and rise-fall, though
others are suggested by various writers.

Pause:

The most obvious purpose of a pause is to allow the speaker to draw breath, but we pause
for a number of other reasons as well. One type of pause that has been the subject of my
studies by psycholinguistics is the “planning pause”, where the speaker is assumed to be
constructing the next part of what (s)he is going to say, or is searching for a word that is
difficult to retrieve. As every actor knows, pauses can also be used for dramatic effect at
significant points in a speech.

For the phonetic point of view, pauses differ from each other in two main ways: one is
the length of the pause, and the other is whether the pause is silent or contains a
“hesitation noise”.

3.2 FACE TO FACE AND TELEPHONIC

Many people hold the view that face-to-face communication is better than other types of
communication, such as letter, email, or telephone calls. As far as I am concerned, I do
not agree with that view. There are many reasons that support my point of view, and I
would explore a few of the most important ones here.

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The main reason is that people live and work with a fast pace nowadays. They are busy
with everything. However, they also need to communicate with their friends or relatives.
The result is that they have no time to set an appointment. This situation is very common.
The best solution is to communicate by letters, e-mails or telephone calls. We could write
letters or emails in our leisure time and send them out immediately or call somebody and
talk for a few minutes. These things would not take up a long time and can be scheduled
quite easily.

Another reason is that it is too time and money-consuming for two friends that live away
from each other to schedule a face-to-face meeting. In this situation, using letters, e-mail
or telephone calls will be a better way. People by this means could communicate with
each other conveniently no matter how far they apart. Take one of my friends for
example, he communicates with one of his friend in Germany by using emails.

Furthermore, I believe that sometimes people will find it difficult to communicate face-
to-face. They need to talk about something that is hard for them to confronting each
other. At this time, letter, email or telephone calls are better ways of interaction.

3.3 GREETINGS

Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings (as well as other animals)
intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to
suggest a type of relationship or social status between individuals or groups of people
coming in contact with each other. While greeting customs are highly culture- and
situation-specific and may change within a culture depending on social status and
relationship, they exist in all known human cultures. Greetings can be expressed both
audibly and physically, and often involve a combination of the two. This topic excludes
military and ceremonial salutes but includes rituals other than gestures.

Greetings are often, but not always, used just prior to a conversation.

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Some epochs and cultures have had very elaborate greeting rituals, e.g., greeting of a
king.

Secret societies have clandestine greeting rituals that allow members to recognize
common membership.

Greeting gestures

A greeting can consist of an exchange of formal expression, a simple kiss, a hand shake
or a hug. The form of greeting is determined by social etiquette, as well as by the
relationship of the people.

Beyond the formal greeting, which may involve a verbal acknowledgment and sometimes
a hand shake, facial expression, gestures, body language and eye contact can all signal
what type of greeting is expected. Gestures are the most obvious signal, for instance
greeting someone with open arms is generally a sign that a hug is expected. However,
crossing arms can be interpreted as a sign of hostility. Facial expression, body language
and eye contact reflect emotions and interest level. A frown, slouching and lowered eye
contact suggests disinterest, while smiling and an exuberant attitude is a sign of welcome.

Throughout all cultures people greet one another as a sign of recognition, affection,
friendship and reverence. While hand shakes, hugs, bows, nods and nose rubbing are all
acceptable greetings, the most common greeting is a kiss, or kisses, on the cheek. Cheek
kissing is most common in Europe and Latin America and has become a standard
greeting in Southern Europe.

While cheek kissing is a common greeting in many cultures, each country has a unique
way of kissing. In Russia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia,
Montenegro, the Netherlands and Egypt it is customary to “kiss three times, on alternate
cheeks.” Italians & Hungarians usually kiss twice in a greeting and in Mexico and
Belgium only one kiss is necessary. In the Galapagos women kiss on the right cheek only
and in Oman it is not unusual for men to kiss one another on the nose after a handshake.

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French culture accepts a number of ways to greet depending on the region. Two kisses
are most common throughout all of France but in Provence three kisses are given and in
Nantes four are exchanged. However, in Finistère at the western tip of Brittany and
Deux-Sèvres in the Poitou-Charentes region, one kiss is preferred.

You may never get a second chance to make that first good impression communicating
confidence, sincerity and professionalism. A good first-time greeting can land you an
important job as well as be the foundation for international networking. The importance
of the perfect business handshake can be found in the 4-H Career Education Handout.
Before going to that important job interview or traveling abroad, a little research into
some greeting etiquette is important. An example of a good reference for meeting and
greeting is Michael Powell’s book “Behave Yourself! The Essential Guide to
International Etiquette.” Adding a book like this to your resources will provide many
tools for a good first impression.

In the United States, for a good introduction, one gives a firm handshake and looks the
other person in the eye. At times, hugs are also acceptable: from the “man hug” with the
handshake and then pulled into a one arm hug, to both arms wrapped around for a “bear
hug.” When compared to Poland, you will find the same greeting of a firm handshake and
eye contact but, women and close friends kiss (a total of three times on the cheeks) or
older gentleman will kiss a woman’s hand. They are very friendly in Mexico with a brisk
handshake and firm snap. Friends touch on the elbow or bear hug with much back
slapping, friendly cheek kissing, winking and even whistling. In contrast, Asian cultures
like Japan will bow to expresses respect and humility. The higher a person’s status, the
lower a bow should be. In shops or casual interactions, a nod is sufficient. In China they
also bow or nod with no smile. The Chinese greeting is solemn, respectful and if you do a
handshake, it will not be firm.

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3.4 INTRODUCING SELF AND OTHERS

The way you introduce and present yourself provides people with a first impression of
you. Most people begin forming an opinion of you within 3 seconds and these
judgements can be difficult to modify.

Your introduction should tell people who you are and it should encourage people to be
interested in speaking to you. You need to sell yourself and feel confident while doing so
because this will put others at ease.

When introducing yourself, apart from your name you should consider including:

• your business, trade, role or industry

• a brief description of your business
• a 'memory hook' (quick, ear-catching phrase that people are likely to remember)
• a benefit statement of one particular product or service you offer.

The length of your introduction will depend on the circumstances of the introduction. It
shouldn't need to be long, and it's possible to combine certain elements, such as your
business and your benefit statement.

Always remember to speak clearly and smile, making eye contact with the person you're
speaking to. Using a bit of humour can put people at ease, but remember that certain
types of humour offend.

EXAMPLES:

There is a range of ways to introduce yourself and people.

Here are expressions to introduce yourself:

• My name is ...
• I'm ....

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 • Nice to meet you; I'm ...
• Pleased to meet you; I'm ...
• Let me introduce myself; I'm ...
• I'd like to introduce myself; I'm ...

Here are expressions to introduce others:

• Ram, please meet Mayank.

• Ram, have you met Mayank?
• I'd like you to meet Nisha.
• I'd like to introduce you to Palak.
• Neha, this is Seema. Seema this is Neha.

Useful responses when introducing yourself or other people:

• Nice to meet you.

• Pleased to meet you.
• Happy to meet you.
• How do you do?

3.5 MAKING REQUEST

When you ask someone to do something for you, or ask if you can do something, it's
important to sound polite. Here are some of the common ways that you can do this.

Asking someone to do something for you

"Could you open the door for me, please?"

"Would you mind opening the door for me, please?"

"Can you open the door for me, please?'

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Speaking tip: could and can are followed by the verb without to.

Would you mind is followed by the verb and -ing.

Asking if you can do something

"Can I use your computer, please?"

"Could I borrow some money from you, please?"

"Do you mind if I turn up the heating?"

"Would you mind if I turned up the heating?"

Speaking tip: Could is more polite that can.

Do you mind if…" is followed by the verb in the present tense, but would you mind
if… is followed by the verb in the past tense.

When you're using these two sentences, don't use please. It's already polite enough!

Offering to do something for another person

You can make an offer using a phrase like Can I… ?, Shall I… ?, Would you like me
to… ?

For example:

"Can I help you?"

"Shall I open the window for you?"

"Would you like another coffee?"

"Would you like me to answer the phone?"

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"I'll do the photocopying, if you like."

Shall, can and will are followed by the verb without to.

Shall is particularly British English and is more formal than can. Would you like… is
followed either by a noun, or by an object pronoun and the verb with to.

Responding to offers

These English dialogues show you ways to accept or reject offers made to you.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes please. I'd like to know what time the train leaves."

"Can I help you?"

"No thanks, I'm just looking." (In a shop.)

"Shall I open the window for you?"

"Yes please. That would be very kind of you."

"Would you like another coffee?"

"No thanks." Or, "No thank you."

"Would you like another coffee?"

"Yes please, that would be lovely." Or, "Yes please, I'd love one."

"Would you like me to answer the phone?"

"If you wouldn't mind." Or, "If you could."
(Don't answer "Yes, I would", as this sounds like you expect someone to do it for you.)

"I'll do the photocopying, if you like."

"It's OK, I can do it." Or, "Don't worry, I'll do it.

"Or, "Thank you, that would be great."

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3.6 ASKING FOR OR GIVING PERMISSION

When you ask for permission to use something that belongs to someone else you have to
do your best to be polite. It is desirable to use the word "please.”

Asking for Permission:

• Can I go out, please?

• May I open the window, please?
• Please, can I have a look at your photo album?
• Please, may I taste that hot spicy couscous dish?
• Do you mind if I smoke?
• Would you mind if I asked you something?
• Is it okay if I sit here?
• Would it be all right if I borrowed your mobile Phone?

Giving Permission:

• Yes, please do.

• Sure, go ahead.
• Sure.
• No problem.
• Please feel free.

Refusing to give permission:

• No, please don’t.

• I’m sorry, but that’s not possible.
• I'm afraid, but you can't.

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3.7 OFFERING HELP

There are a number of formulas used when offering help in English. Here are some of the
most common:

• May I help you?

• Can I help you?
• Are you looking for something?
• Would you like some help?
• Do you need some help?
• What can I do for you today?

Formula Verb Form

May I help you? Use 'May I' or 'Can I' the base form of the verb in a
statement.

Are you looking for something? Use 'Are you looking for' something OR anything in
particular OR specific object

Would you like some help? Use 'Would you like' some help OR some advice
OR a recommendation

Do you need some help? Use 'Do you need' some help OR some advice OR a
recommendation

What can I do for you today? Use 'What can I do for' you, her, him, etc. today OR
this morning, this afternoon, this evening

3.8 GIVING INSTRUCTIONS AND DIRECTIONS

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Directions and instructions are exchanges often used by people in everyday situations.
People communicate information in giving directions and instructions. Because of their
almost identical meanings, people used them as a substitute for one another.

Both directions and instructions are used as plurals. They are delivered both in an oral or
written manner. The differences between directions and instructions are dependent on the
context or usage in a situation. Both directions and instruction act as guidelines and often
appear as a series of steps or stages. This form implies that one step must be done before
proceeding to another in order to do a task or to get a desired result.

Directions are often associated with places. People often ask for this type as a query when
they are trying to go to a specific geographical location. Most directional cues are north,
south, east, west, top, down, left, and right. Combinations of these mentioned cues are
often used in the answers. This accomplishes the main goal of going to one specified area
or location to another.

In a different context, directions can also be considered as orders. Basically, it gives

guidance on what to do. In directions, the manner of delivery is less forceful compared to
instructions. Directions act as general guidelines with an indication of authority. Also,
directions do not provide the doer the context and sometimes the result of each step or
action.

On the other hand, instructions are also commands or steps to make a particular event
happen. Instructions are concentrated on how to do a particular task. They offer context
as well as brief explanations of the steps and the succeeding results. These characteristics
make instructions have some educational value while giving doers some understanding of
the component’s importance which is the process itself to the effect of the instructions
with all other implied knowledge. Instructions, unlike directions, are more detailed and
hold a tone of authority in their delivery.
1. Both “directions” and “instructions” are a series of orders or steps to gain a result.
In addition, both are words that imply knowledge. They are also nouns that are used
as plurals, and their meanings are dependent on the context or the situation.
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2. Directions are considered to be less forceful than instructions. There is also a
general variety and lack of details like explanations and the effects of actions. On
the other hand, these factors can be found in instructions. The latter, instructions,
can be detailed and specific.

3. Instructions are guidelines on how to do something while directions are designed

for what to do.

4. Directions, as a query, pertain to navigational cues to go from one specific place to

another. Geographical markers like north, south, east, west and others are used in
combinations to direct someone to a particular place.

5. Both directions and instructions can be done in an oral or written presentation. In an

oral presentation, directions or instructions can develop into a conversation or two-
way communication. This happens because the recipient can ask for clarification to
the given orders or an allowance for comments and feedback. This is in contrast
when dealing with written directions or instructions as it happens as a one-way
communication.

3.9 PARTICIPATING IN CONVERSATIONS

Conversations are interactive because contributions to a conversation are response

reactions to what has previously been said.

Conversations are spontaneous because a conversation proceeds, to some extent, and in

some way, unpredictably. However, the scope of that spontaneity may legitimately be
somewhat pre-limited for the purpose of expediency, e.g. a talk show or a debate.

Conversations follow rules of etiquette because conversations are social interactions, and
therefore depend on social convention. Failure to adhere to these rules devolves, and
eventually dissolves the conversation.

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Conversations are sometimes the ideal form of communication, depending on the
participants' intended ends. Conversations may be ideal when, for example, each party
desires a relatively equal exchange of information, or when one party desires to question
the other. On the other hand, if permanency or the ability to review such information is
important, written communication may be ideal. Or if time-efficiency is most important,
a speech may be preferable.

3.10 MAKING A SORT FORMAL SPEECH

1. Decide the topic if one has not already been assigned. Choose a slant within the topic
with which you are comfortable. This will make it easier to write an effective piece.
2. Establish a time frame for the speech. Just because you are given 30 minutes to make
the speech, that does not mean you have to take the entire amount of time. Use only
the time needed to deliver a solid presentation.
3. Do your research. Even if the speech topic is something with which you are familiar,
do not assume you have all of the answers. Research to bring in new angles or to
update statistics.
4. Outline the main points of the speech. As a minimum, an outline should contain the
introduction, body, conclusion and call to action, if appropriate.
5. Determine how to open the speech. Consider posing a question, stating a shocking
statistic or citing a famous quote. It is imperative to get the audience's immediate
attention. If you lose them at the beginning, it is often hard to get them back. Do not
forget to thank those who invited you and the audience you are addressing.
6. Consider giving a synopsis of the areas you will cover. If this information can be
handed out rather than delivered verbally, that often works better. But if not, it is a
good idea to let the audience know where you are going with your remarks.
7. Choose verbiage that is at the level of the average audience member. There is
nothing that people hate more than speakers who attempt to speak over their heads.

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 You will lose them right away and undermine the valuable knowledge you might
have to share.
8. Hit points that are important to the audience. For example, if you are delivering a
political speech, speak about the topics that are important to the public at the time.
9. Back up what you say. Never make wild accusations or state statistics that cannot be
verified. Make notes on everything. This will be important in the event that
questions are asked. Always have your references at hand.
10. Write, rewrite, and rewrite again if necessary. Practice the speech out loud between
rewrites until you are happy with the way it flows and how you present it. Consider
making notes or cue cards to use during the presentation.
11. Wrap up the topic. Again, think about delivering a startling fact, a famous quote or
even a call to action. The end of the speech is just as important as the beginning.

3.11 DESCRIBING PEOPLE, PLACES, EVENTS AND THINGS

Descriptions of people, places, and pictures, communicating more than one idea, if the
information warrants it.
It’s morning. There are a lot of people. The sun’s shining.
This is my brother. His name’s Tony. He’s nine. He’s got big ears.

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UNIT – 4

4.1 BODY LANGUAGE

Research shows that 55% of communication is conveyed by the body language we use,
i.e.; Use of eye contact, gestures and facial expressions. 38% is conveyed in the voice, it's
quality, use of tone and inflections. Only 7% is conveyed in the words we use.

This is actually a scary statistic as when planning a presentation all our time and effort go
into planning what we are going to say.

To be a great presenter you need to start becoming aware of your body language and
what it is saying. Repetitive gestures or pacing while talking could detract from your
presentation. Gestures need to be expressive, emphasizing what you are saying but at the
same time neutral. A high-pitched shrill voice is very difficult to listen to, as is a flat
monotonous voice. We need to ensure we are producing a good resonant sound that can
be heard by our audience. Our speech needs to be clear to ensure we are understood. For
this we need to exercise the muscular organs of articulation. To create an interesting
voice we need variation in the pitch and pace of our presentation. As well as making
correct use of pause and emphasis. I have many a time seen a great presentation
destroyed by a poor delivery.

Most men in general battle to modulate the voice, while the women generally need to pay
special attention to resonance. A resonant voice is a deep rich, low voice produced
mainly in the chest, which is pleasing to the ear. Women naturally tend to have high
pitched, nasal voices. Improving resonance is not only a necessity for women it is
important for all, as people listen better to a resonant voice. A Fortune 500 statistic shows
that a lower voice sells better. It is unrealistic for a woman with a tiny feminine voice to
expect to effectively communicate at the boardroom table, while competing with men's
naturally lower and louder voices.

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It is no coincidence that 90% of the world's leaders through history were good orators, or
that most company directors give good presentations. They all got there largely aided by
their ability to communicate.

The way we communicate also plays a large role when making a good first impression.
Again body language, is the dominant factor including, posture, handshake and the way
we are dressed. If you want to send out the message of professionalism ensure you have
good upright posture, use good eye contact, open body language and have a firm
handshake. Make sure your clothing is appropriate to the work situation, and is neat and
tidy. Have clean hair, nails and shoes. The voice should be well produced amplifying
confidence.

The difference between the words people speak and our understanding of what they are
saying comes from non-verbal communication, otherwise known as "body language." By
developing your awareness of the signs and signals of body language, you can more
easily understand other people, and more effectively communicate with them.

There are sometimes subtle – and sometimes not so subtle – movements, gestures, facial
expressions and even shifts in our whole bodies that indicate something is going on. The
way we talk, walk, sit and stand all say something about us, and whatever is happening
on the inside can be reflected on the outside.

By becoming more aware of this body language and understanding what it might mean,
you can learn to read people more easily. This puts you in a better position to
communicate effectively with them. What's more, by increasing your understanding of
others, you can also become more aware of the messages that you convey to them.

There are times when we send mixed messages – we say one thing yet our body language
reveals something different. This non-verbal language will affect how we act and react to
others, and how they react to us.

 POSTURES

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According to Wertheim, "We also look to posture to provide cues about the
communicator; posture can indicate self confidence, aggressiveness, fear, guilt, or
anxiety. Similarly, we look at gestures such as how we hold our hands, or a handshake.
Many gestures are culture bound and susceptible to misinterpretation."

Your Posture is important and coveys a message.

• Good, straight Posture indicates leadership and confidence.

• It tells the audience that you are in control. It conveys the message that you have
confidence in your competence.

• Leaning slightly forward shows the audience you care.

• Slouching to one side delivers the opposite message. It shows disinterest.

• Hunched shoulders indicate lack of confidence and possibly low self-esteem.

• For an emotional speech, try puffing yourself up. We do that when we’re feeling
aggressive and ready to fight. (You’ve probably seen different animals do this,
haven’t you?)

• If you want to feel relaxed, assume a Posture that reflects that feeling. (This,
combined with some deep breathing will relax you!)

Some Dos and Don’ts about Posture:

• Don’t jingle!

o Putting one or both hands into your pockets and jingling loose change
or keys is a nervous habit some people fall into.

o It’s distracting to the audience and takes away from your message.

o A good tip is to leave change, keys and everything else you normally
carry in your pockets, somewhere safe when you’re speaking.

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• Don’t fidget.

o Even if your hands are not in your pockets, don’t rub nails or fingers
together or any engage in any other type of fidgeting.

• No Fig Leaf stance.

o Hands crossed in front of you at the crotch, or over your rear end, or
anywhere else, indicates a non-openness.

o The military ‘At Ease’ position, crossing your arms in front of you or
clasping hands in front or behind you are also to be avoided.

• Don’t rock from your heels to your toes.

o This would be very distracting to the audience, and interfere with your
message.

• Don’t sway!

o I remember one of my Toastmasters Meetings where the speaker was a

college professor. Delivering his speech from behind the lectern, he
swayed from side to side. I was his Evaluator that evening, and I
started off mimicking his swaying and asked, “Michael, did you ever
spend any time on a ship?”

o Important: I would not have made this remark had I not known
Michael well. He was an accomplished and experienced speaker who
just got into a ‘silly groove’. Like most Toastmasters, Michael
attended meetings and regularly spoke to improve his talks. He sought
productive feedback.

• Don’t lean on the lectern.

o It conveys too relaxed of an attitude and gives the impression that you
don’t care.
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 • Don’t cross your arms.

o People do that when they are feeling defensive. Be especially aware of

this during your Q&A session. If you do this, the audience will pick up
on it, and it is not the message you want them to receive.

• Do hold your head high and your chin slightly up.

o This gives the audience the impression that you’re in control. (Watch
clips of President Obama for good examples of this.)

• Don’t look down,

o I know, I know – that’s where your notes are!

o Try to briefly glance to check your note, then look at the audience. this
is one more reason to use a Mind Map, with pictures and symbols,
rather than ‘linear notes’ to deliver your talk.

Good posture should be natural and relaxed, not stiff and tense. As with all other
elements of your speaking, verbal and non-verbal, it takes practice.

 GESTURES

A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication in which visible bodily actions

communicate particular messages, either in place of speech or together and in parallel
with words. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body.
Gestures differ from physical non-verbal communication that does not communicate
specific messages, such as purely expressive displays, proxemics, or displays of joint
attention. Gestures allow individuals to communicate a variety of feelings and thoughts,
from contempt and hostility to approval and affection, often together with body
language in addition to words when they speak.

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Gesture processing takes place in areas of the brain such as Broca's and Wernicke's
areas, which are used by speech and sign language.

Gestures are communications like facial expressions, hand signals, eye gazing, and body
postures. Examples include smiles, handshakes, waving, and raising certain fingers to
say something. For instance, if you saw a friend at a noisy carnival, you might smile and
wave at your friend. You might also point at the Ferris wheel if you wanted to meet
your friend there. You could do all of these things without saying a word. Another great
example is in baseball when the catcher signals to the pitcher the kind of pitch to use for
the batter that is up.

There are three main uses of nonverbal communication. People often use all of them
everyday. The first use is for greetings. Greetings include waves, handshakes, hugs and
salutes. For example, when you see your friends in the morning on the way to school,
you may wave to them. A more formal greeting would be shaking hands with your boss
at work. The salute is used in the armed forces when you see a person of a higher rank
than you.

The next use is for specific communication. For example, workers may use signals at
their jobs. One important use is in construction when a worker signals to a crane
operator to keep everyone safe. These signals are very specific and tell the operator to
move left, right, or raise and lower the hook. Another very important use is sign
language. This form of communication is used for people who have hearing problems.
They use hand signals and lip reading to communicate very specific things.

The third use is involuntary nonverbal communication. These are movements and
attitudes that show how people feel. Most times, people don't even know they're
communicating when they make these actions, because these actions are automatic. For
example, a slumped posture may mean that the person is sad. A stern look may show
that the person is in a serious mood. When people rub their eyes, it can show they are
tired. All of these examples show how people feel.

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Expressions and gestures are not the same around the world. Some gestures, like the
“thumbs up,” which is a positive gesture in the United States, may mean something very
different in other cultures. In Nigeria, the thumbs up gesture is a rude insult! In Australia
it is an obscene insult. Another funny example is spinning your finger around your ear.
This is known as the “you’re crazy” sign in America and in some other nations. But in
Argentina, it means “you have a phone call!”

Another gesture that can be taken completely differently depending upon where you live
is nodding the head. In most parts of the world, it is a positive or “yes” gesture. In
Bulgaria, and parts of Greece and the Middle East, it means no. It is important that
government leaders know about these things. It could be bad if a president offended the
leader of another nation because of a gesture that was misunderstood. At least an
embarrassed smile will be understood between people from other countries.

Other examples of involuntary communication are rubbing hands together to show

anticipation, tapping or drumming fingers when impatient, biting nails if nervous, and
putting a hand or finger to one's cheek if thinking deeply.

Body language and gesture meanings do not always stay the same. Sometimes meanings
change over time, or meanings change when cultures mix together. One example might
be the “hang loose” sign from Hawaii. This sign is the pinkie pointed up, and the thumb
pointed out. It loosely means “everything is ok” originally, and is now becoming part of
the rest of American culture.

Not all gestures and body language are for positive communication. One example of this
is gang symbols. These are nonverbal communications that may tell something about
whether or not someone is in a gang or lives in a certain area where some gangs are. For
example, the way a person wears their shirt or how a cap is worn (like to the left or right
side) may tell others that the person is in a certain gang. The color of their clothes may
mean something as well. Another communication that is used by gangs is special hand
signs. These signs are used by one person to show another person that they are in a
certain gang. These signs can be a threat sign to someone in a different or enemy gang.

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 Hopefully you can see how important nonverbal communication is. Some sources say
that it may be 78% of communication between people. In other words, nonverbal
communication may be the most important part of communicating with other people.

4.2 SIGN LANGUAGE

A sign language (also signed language) is a language which, instead of acoustically

conveyed sound patterns, uses manual communication and body language to convey
meaning. This can involve simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and
movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a
speaker's thoughts.

Wherever communities of deaf people exist, sign languages develop. Signing is also done
by persons who can hear, but cannot physically speak. While they utilize space for
grammar in a way that spoken languages do not, sign languages exhibit the same
linguistic properties and use the same language faculty as do spoken languages. Hundreds
of sign languages are in use around the world and are at the cores of local deaf cultures.
Some sign languages have obtained some form of legal recognition, while others have no
status at all.

4.3 FACIAL EXPRESSION

Facial expressions - something that immediately gives a picture of your mind and
innermost thoughts. Everyone is familiar with facial expressions of happiness, anger,
worries, distress, surprise, etc. Emotions get so well portrayed on the face that words are
not needed to express them. Simply put, you laugh when you are happy, cry when utterly
sad and frown at something weird. Look at the left hand side image and observe the
expression. How engrossed and astonished the kid and his dad are while watching the
movie, while the image on the right side depicts a tension-stuck girl waiting anxiously for

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her interview results to be declared. Thus, from facial expressions you can easily make
your way into one's mind.

4.4 EYE CONTACT

Eyes play a pivotal role in communication and therefore it is important that we are well-
versed with the necessity of developing eye contact while communicating with people.

Eyes are the 'windows to the soul'. While communicating our ideas to someone, we make
use of the spoken word and gestures, but it is our eyes that lend credibility to our
thoughts. If you notice, people who are known to be able orators are comfortable in
maintaining eye contact with their audience. Lack of eye contact may signal lack of
confidence and clarity on a subject.

Although, eye contact is important, there are a lot of people who are not very
comfortable in the company of others, and who would like to work in relative aloofness.
There is a probability that they might come across as rude or cold, but one needs to
understand that not everyone is comfortable when surrounded by a group of people.

Eyes are the most expressive elements of the face. Even if you possess a tad too little
intuitive skills, you can judge a person from the expression in his/her eyes. Lack of
proper eye contact reduces your credibility while giving an interview or while delivering
a public speech. Looking down or elsewhere while communicating reflects low self-
confidence and uncertainty. Therefore, the way you look and stare can reveal your state
of mind. Psychologists believe that your pupils tend to dilate while lying to someone and
constrict while looking at with jealousy. On the contrary, there's always a sparkle and
composure in the eyes when you are happy, optimistic and of course in love. Therefore,
visual sense is also a gesture that reflects a plethora of human expressions and desires,
and aids in analysis of diverse range of personalities.

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4.5 SPACE DISTANCING

Physical space can also be used as a communicative gesture. It's very simple to
understand. What do you do when you feel uncomfortable speaking to a person who is
intentionally standing too close to you? You shirk and maintain a position where your
physical space is absolutely not invaded. In contradiction, you remain closer to a person
you love to be with. These are subtle gestures capable of conveying intentions very
powerfully. This way physical space can be used to express intimacy, concern, affection,
neglect, anger, and many other forms of non-verbal messages.

4.6 CULTURAL ASPECTS OF NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Nonverbal communication or body language is an important part of how people

communicate and there are differences from culture to culture. Hand and arm gestures,
touch, and eye contact (or its lack) are a few of the aspects of nonverbal communication
that may vary significantly depending upon cultural background.

Gestures:
There are a number of gestures commonly used in the United States that may have a
different meaning and/or be offensive to those from other cultures. One common example
is the use of a finger or hand to indicate “come here please”. This is the gesture used to
beckon dogs in some cultures and is very offensive. Pointing with one finger is also
considered to be rude in some cultures and Asians typically use their entire hand to point
to something.

Touch:
While patting a child’s head is considered to be a friendly or affectionate gesture in our
culture, it is considered inappropriate by many Asians to touch someone on the head,
which is believed to be a sacred part of the body. In the Middle East, the left hand is

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reserved for bodily hygiene and should not be used to touch another or transfer objects. In
Muslim cultures, touch between opposite gendered individuals is generally inappropriate.

Eye contact/gaze:
In mainstream Western culture, eye contact is interpreted as attentiveness and honesty;
we are taught that we should “look people in the eye” when talking. In many cultures,
however, including Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Native American, eye contact is
thought to be disrespectful or rude, and lack of eye contact does not mean that a person is
not paying attention. Women may especially avoid eye contact with men because it can
be taken as a sign of sexual interest.

Of special note when working with babies:

Although it is common in Western culture for adults to admire babies and young children
and comment upon how cute they are, this is avoided in Hmong and Vietnamese cultures
for fear that these comments may be overheard by a spirit that will try to steal the baby or
otherwise cause some harm to come to him or her.

4.7 CLOTHING

Clothing is one of the most common forms of non-verbal communication. The study of
clothing and other objects as a means of non-verbal communication is known as
artifactics or objectics. The types of clothing that an individual wears convey nonverbal
clues about his or her personality, background and financial status, and how others will
respond to them, for instance, “Miniskirts can give a woman the appearance that she is
not approachable.” This demonstrates a certain response, in this case, a negative and
unapproachable response, simply via appearance. It is important to understand that their
exterior and demeanor influence how others will react to them. An individual’s clothing
style can demonstrate their culture, mood, level of confidence, interests, age, authority,
value/beliefs, and their sexual identity. Some examples of a person’s clothing type in
which a negative message is being conveyed could include the following: A person with
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a sloppy appearance, messy hair, and wrinkled clothes sends the message, "I don't care".
Also, a woman who wears a tight dress with a low-cut neckline may convey the message
"I'm attractive and sexy" or “Want to come back to my place tonight"? By showing the
positive aspects of his or her self through dress attire and grooming, one can inspire
confidence in his or her abilities.

A study, carried out in Vienna, Austria, of the clothing worn by women attending
discothèques showed that in certain groups of women (especially women who were
without their partners), motivation for sex and levels of sexual hormones were correlated
with aspects of their clothing, especially the amount of skin displayed and the presence of
sheer clothing. Thus, to some degree, clothing sends signals about interest in courtship.

Around the world today, the clothes we wear – traditional costume, military uniforms,
street fashion, haute-couture or prêt a porter – made by hand or mass-manufactured – are
the result of appropriated styles and the constant evolution of meaning and diverse
identities. Clothing, whether one-of-a-kind or mass-manufactured, whether it is
conceived as a form of expression by the maker or whether it becomes a form of
expression through shifting uses and contexts, is a form of communication that is too
important to ignore.

Basic points about clothing as communication

1. Wearing particular clothing (a type of literacy) creates signs and symbols used for
self-referential vestimentary communication

2. Nudity in public can convey bizarre meanings; in private it conveys a variety of

personal meanings

3. Clothing perceptually transforms the nude body, such as by veiling imperfect flesh or
in managing impressions

4. Codes of clothing (systems of signs and significations) differ in forms taken and
functions served across societies of the world

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5. Code-elements of clothing include: fabric, color, form of garment (skirt, pants, hat,
overcoat, tie, high heels), style, outer/under garment location

6. The codes can be used by actually wearing clothing or by depicting the wearing of
clothing in pictures or drawings

7. Clothing codes in particular societies can encourage variation and autonomy (e.g., the
creative outfit) or encourage regimentation (e.g., the uniform)

8. Clothing can be used to self-define (physically, socially, politically, and so on) or

other-define (parents' preferences, workplace rules, laws, community norms)

9. Fashion serves the human need for novelty, a society's collective need to self define,
and a need for a heuristic dividing line between the elite and non elite (i.e., when too
many people "get with" a fashion, it may then go out of style).

4.8 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR TEACHERS

Communicating effectively is the cornerstone of education. Without effective

communication ideas, directions, and thoughts are lost or misunderstood. In education
this can have serious repercussions. Students may not understand lecture material,
paraeducators may not understand directions given to them, and teachers may not
understand that a gap in communication is forming. In order to be understood in the
manner in which we intend we must learn to communicate effectively.

We’ve all had teachers who were considered “brilliant” but who, nevertheless, were a
bore in class or who were unable to engage the students in the classroom. Sharpen your
effective communication skills in the classroom and watch how your students become more
engaged and your classroom a more fun place to learn!

• Listen: No matter how many years of experience you have don’t always assume
that you know what is going on through your student’s head. If you’re not having

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 the results you expected with your pupil, it may be you overlooked something that
you could easily resolve just by asking and listening.

• Describe Clear Goals: make sure you communicate a clear vision of the
objective you wish your students to achieve. If you see any puzzled looks from
the class, explain again, or ask one of your students to explain in their own words
what they understood is the purpose of the lesson (project, homework, term, or
whatever the issue at hand is) so you can double-check if everyone is on the same
page.

• Give praise: everyone likes to hear they’re doing a good job and your students
are no different. If you see someone having real difficulty with a specific subject
it is especially helpful to praise even small improvements, as it will motivate your
student to keep pushing forward towards the goal. Don’t be cheap with your kind
words!

• Be accessible: you have an important job to do and your students depend on you
for their learning process. Let them know you care by offering a designated time
during the week where they can meet with you or talk over the phone or Skype for
any questions they may have regarding class work. You can also give them a
special email address you have set up for this purpose or create an online forum
for open questions. You don’t have to offer “24-7 service” but make sure they can
reach you if they need to.

• Build teamwork: if your whole classroom is working together to achieve similar

goals it creates an environment that makes communication easier, it will help
students help each other and build the camaraderie needed to make the classes run
more smoothly.

• Use humor: Sometimes humor can lighten up the mood and be the lube that
keeps the gears moving smoothly in your classroom. This does not mean you have
to turn your lecture into standup comedy –unless, of course, you teach standup

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 comedy!- but keep things light and have a little fun. A little humor can even get
your students to do a task that may not be their favorite.

• Embrace Variety: it really is the spice of life and routines are a mood killer. So
introduce new tools in your teaching repertoire: use role-play, bring an expert, do
an interview, prepare a debate or make your students research and teach the
subject. Non-stop lectures will only make whatever you’re teaching less
memorable for students.

• Keep it real: it’s easier to learn something new when you understand how it
relates to your life. So next time you tackle a new subject show your students how
they can find evidence of how they can use the new information in their life or
how it relates to their daily activities. It’s amazing when they understand how
things in art and history, for example, can influence fashion or buildings, or how
math helps to build bridges and statistics are used in polls. Be creative!

4.9 WAYS TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION FOR TEACHERS

Listen
Communication is not just about speaking effectively and in an impressive manner. No
one likes to talk to a person who just goes on and on without ever listening to others.
Remember, you also need to be a good listener. This is one factor that is so often
overlooked by most people. It is important to be a good listener in order to understand
what the other person is saying, and reply accordingly.

Take Your Time

Think twice before you speak once. When conversing with someone, remember that you
need to take time to think before you react to what is being said. Impulsive reactions
often bring out the wrong words, or do not convey what you actually mean. It is an
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excellent communication skill to take a few moments and process all the information
before you respond.

Positive Thinking

Think about your positive points before you start a conversation. This will help you
overcome the initial hiccups, especially if you are going to give a speech before a very
large audience. Being confident is the key element to effective communication.

Keep it Light

Having a sense of humor helps to make any conservation light and fun to be in! Develop
your sense of humor and use it. Do note one important thing in such cases - you must not
hurt the sentiments of others in any possible way, and do not try to be overly funny. As a
good communicator, one should know where to draw the line with humor.

Read

Be it books or newspapers, develop a love for reading. A well-read person has knowledge
on a variety of topics, and does not feel left out when discussing things with others.
Reading makes you an intelligent individual with an improved vocabulary, which
eventually boosts your confidence while talking to people.

Do Not Judge

Avoid thinking that what you say is always right; this may create a certain barrier
beforehand in any conversation. An effective communicator makes it a point to listen to
the other viewpoints before speaking himself. This provides him or her with a chance to
assess the situation in a better way, as preconceived notions always create an obstacle to
effective communication.

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Politeness

Rethink about the ways you are framing your sentences in order not to offend the other
person. For example, at work, even if you are displeased, sometimes an effective manner
of communicating can help you yield better results, rather than talking offensively. A
polite manner of conversing can help you earn the respect of others and impress them as
well.

Body Language

Sporting the right kind of body language is another important key factor in improving
communication skills. Maintain eye contact as you speak; sit and stand in an erect
position, and have a firm handshake; do not give wrong signals by crossing your arms
and legs; avoid fidgeting excessively. Always remember that your gestures say a lot
about your personality as an individual.

Equal Participation

Keeping the conversation interesting is extremely necessary. Remember, having good

communication skills is not only about talking all the time, it is also about how you get
others interested enough to participate in the conversation with you. On the other hand, if
you are shy, it is important that you speak up and put your point across.

Thus, we can see how effective communication skills help one to connect with others,
and to build successful relationships that would create a feeling of harmony, and also
increase productivity at work.

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