Atr200-2019101414356-Bhir102 Communication PDF

Bachelor of Commerce
Business Communication
Revised in 2013
Module BHIR 102

Authors: E. Mawonera
M A Applied English Linguistics (UZ)
B A Hons English (UZ)
Grad CE (UZ)
D. Lee
FCIS
Content Reviewer: E. Mawonera

M A Applied English Linguistics (UZ)
B A Hons English (UZ)
Grad CE (UZ)
Editor: Diana Mupunga

Master of Arts in Distance Education (MADE)
IGNOUPostgraduate Diploma in Distance Education
(PGDDE) IGNOUGrad C.E. (UZ)
B.A. General (UZ)
Revised by: Constance Kadada

Master of Arts in Distance Education (IGNOU)
Post Graduate Diploma in Distance Education (IGNOU)
Grad CE (UZ)
B A General (Hons) (UR)
Editor: Barnabas Muyengwa

Master of Education in Teacher Education (UZ)
B Ed (UZ)
Certificate in Education (UZ)
Published by: Zimbabwe Open University
P.O. Box MP1119
Mount Pleasant
Harare, ZIMBABWE
The Zimbabwe Open University is a distance teaching and open

learning institution.
Year: October 2013
Cover design: B. Pillay
Layout and design: C. S. Nhari
ISBN No.: 978-1-77938-812-4
Printed by: ZOU Press
Typeset in Times New Roman, 12 point on auto leading
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To the student
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change with changing technology, places training, skills, experiences and personal
on us a need to learn continually interests. The combination of all these
throughout life. As all people need an qualities inevitably facilitates the
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been found that conventional education teach successfully any student, anywhere
institutions cannot cope with the and far removed from the tutor in space
demand for education of this magnitude. and time. We emphasize that our
It has, however, been discovered that learning materials should enable you to
distance education and open learning, solve both work-related problems and
now also exploiting e-learning other life challenges.
technology, itself an offshoot of e-
commerce, has become the most To avoid stereotyping and professional
effective way of transmitting these narrowness, our teams of learning
appropriate skills and knowledge materials producers come from different
required for national and international universities in and outside Zimbabwe,
development. and from Commerce and Industry. This
openness enables ZOU to produce
Since attainment of independence in materials that have a long shelf life and
1980, the Zimbabwe Government has are sufficiently comprehensive to cater
spearheaded the development of for the needs of all of you, our learners
distance education and open learning at in different walks of life. You, the
tertiary level, resulting in the learner, have a large number of optional
establishment of the Zimbabwe Open courses to choose from so that the
University (ZOU) on 1 March, 1999. knowledge and skills developed suit the
career path that you choose. Thus, we
ZOU is the first, leading, and currently strive to tailor-make the learning
materials so that they can suit your
the only university in Zimbabwe entirely
personal and professional needs. In
dedicated to teaching by distance
developing the ZOU learning materials,
education and open learning. We are
we are guided by the desire to provide
determined to maintain our leading
you, the learner, with all the knowledge
position by both satisfying our clients
and skill that will make you a better
and maintaining high academic performer all round, be this at certificate,
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team approach to producing the varied comfortably in the global village and
learning materials that will holistically competing successfully with anyone. Our
shape you, the learner to be an all-round target is, therefore, to satisfy your quest
performer in the field of your own for knowledge and skills through
choice. Our course teams comprise distance education and open learning
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conceived from the cross-pollination of ideas to bring the computer, email, internet chat-
from consumers of the product, chief among rooms, whiteboards and other modern methods
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We consult you and listen to your critical analysis our learners, wherever they may be. For all these
of the concepts and how they are presented. We developments and for the latest information on
also consult other academics from universities what is taking place at ZOU, visit the ZOU
the world over and other international bodies website at www.zou.ac.zw
whose reputation in distance education and open
learning is of a very high calibre. We carry out Having worked as best we can to prepare your
pilot studies of the course outlines, the content learning path, hopefully like John the Baptist
and the programme component. We are only prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ, it is my
too glad to subject our learning materials to hope as your Vice Chancellor that all of you,
academic and professional criticism with the will experience unimpeded success in your
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determined to continue improving by changing continually strive to improve the learning
the learning materials to suit the idiosyncratic materials through evaluation, transformation of
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development, changing times and geographic materials and organizational structures and
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position. We aim at giving you an education the high quality education that you deserve. Note
that will work for you at any time anywhere and that your needs, the learner ‘s needs, occupy a
in varying circumstances and that your central position within ZOU’s core activities.
performance should be second to none.
Best wishes and success in your studies.
As a progressive university that is forward
looking and determined to be a successful part
of the twenty-first century, ZOU has started to
introduce e-learning materials that will enable
you, our students, to access any source of
information, anywhere in the world through
internet and to communicate, converse, discuss _____________________
and collaborate synchronously and Prof. Primrose Kurasha
asynchronously, with peers and tutors whom Vice Chancellor
The Six Hour Tutorial Session At
The Zimbabwe Open University
A s you embark on your studies with the Zimbabwe
Open University (ZOU) by open and distance
learning, we need to advise you so that you can make
This is where the six hour tutorial comes in. For it
to work, you need to know that:
· There is insufficient time for the tutor to
the best use of the learning materials, your time and
the tutors who are based at your regional office. lecture you
· Any ideas that you discuss in the tutorial,
The most important point that you need to note is originate from your experience as you
that in distance education and open learning, there work on the materials. All the issues
are no lectures like those found in conventional raised above are a good source of topics
universities. Instead, you have learning packages that (as they pertain to your learning) for
may comprise written modules, tapes, CDs, DVDs discussion during the tutorial
and other referral materials for extra reading. All these
· The answers come from you while the
including radio, television, telephone, fax and email
can be used to deliver learning to you. As such, at tutor’s task is to confirm, spur further
the ZOU, we do not expect the tutor to lecture you discussion, clarify, explain, give
when you meet him/her. We believe that that task is additional information, guide the
accomplished by the learning package that you receive discussion and help you put together full
at registration. What then is the purpose of the six answers for each question that you bring
hour tutorial for each course on offer? · You must prepare for the tutorial by
bringing all the questions and answers
At the ZOU, as at any other distance and open that you have found out on the topics to
learning university, you the student are at the centre the discussion
of learning. After you receive the learning package, · For the tutor to help you effectively, give
you study the tutorial letter and other guiding him/her the topics beforehand so that in
documents before using the learning materials. During cases where information has to be
the study, it is obvious that you will come across gathered, there is sufficient time to do
concepts/ideas that may not be that easy to understand so. If the questions can get to the tutor
or that are not so clearly explained. You may also at least two weeks before the tutorial,
come across issues that you do not agree with, that that will create enough time for thorough
actually conflict with the practice that you are familiar preparation.
with. In your discussion groups, your friends can bring
ideas that are totally different from yours and In the tutorial, you are expected and required to
arguments may begin. You may also find that an idea take part all the time through contributing in every
is not clearly explained and you remain with more way possible. You can give your views, even if
questions than answers. You need someone to help they are wrong, (many students may hold the same
you in such matters. wrong views and the discussion will help correct
The Six Hour Tutorial Session At The Zimbabwe Open University
the errors), they still help you learn the correct thing as the tutor may dwell on matters irrelevant to the
as much as the correct ideas. You also need to be ZOU course.
open-minded, frank, inquisitive and should leave no
stone unturned as you analyze ideas and seek
clarification on any issues. It has been found that Distance education, by its nature, keeps the tutor
those who take part in tutorials actively, do better in and student separate. By introducing the six hour
assignments and examinations because their ideas are tutorial, ZOU hopes to help you come in touch with
streamlined. Taking part properly means that you the physical being, who marks your assignments,
prepare for the tutorial beforehand by putting together assesses them, guides you on preparing for writing
relevant questions and their possible answers and examinations and assignments and who runs your
those areas that cause you confusion. general academic affairs. This helps you to settle
down in your course having been advised on how
Only in cases where the information being discussed to go about your learning. Personal human contact
is not found in the learning package can the tutor is, therefore, upheld by the ZOU.
provide extra learning materials, but this should not
be the dominant feature of the six hour tutorial. As
stated, it should be rare because the information
needed for the course is found in the learning package
together with the sources to which you are referred.
Fully-fledged lectures can, therefore, be misleading
The six hour tutorials should be so structured that the

tasks for each session are very clear. Work for each
session, as much as possible, follows the structure given
below.
Session I (Two Hours)

Session I should be held at the beginning of the semester. The main aim
of this session is to guide you, the student, on how you are going to
approach the course. During the session, you will be given the overview
of the course, how to tackle the assignments, how to organize the logistics
of the course and formation of study groups that you will belong to. It is
also during this session that you will be advised on how to use your
learning materials effectively.
The Six Hour Tutorial Session At The Zimbabwe Open University
Session II (Two Hours)

This session comes in the middle of the semester to respond to the
challenges, queries, experiences, uncertainties, and ideas that you are
facing as you go through the course. In this session, difficult areas in the
module are explained through the combined effort of the students and
the tutor. It should also give direction and feedback where you have not
done well in the first assignment as well as reinforce those areas where
performance in the first assignment is good.
Session III (Two Hours)

The final session, Session III, comes towards the end of the semester.
In this session, you polish up any areas that you still need clarification on.
Your tutor gives you feedback on the assignments so that you can use
the experience for preparation for the end of semester examination.
Note that in all the three sessions, you identify the areas
that your tutor should give help. You also take a very
important part in finding answers to the problems posed.
You are the most important part of the solutions to your
learning challenges.
Conclusion for this course, but also to prepare yourself to

contribute in the best way possible so that you
In conclusion, we should be very clear that six can maximally benefit from it. We also urge you
hours is too little for lectures and it is not to avoid forcing the tutor to lecture you.
necessary, in view of the provision of fully self-
contained learning materials in the package, to BEST WISHES IN YOUR STUDIES.
turn the little time into lectures. We, therefore,
urge you not only to attend the six hour tutorials ZOU
Contents
Module Overview
Module Overview ____________________________________________________________ 1
Unit One: Definition of Communication

1.0 Introduction ______________________________________________________________ 3
1.1 ________ Objectives _______________________________________________________ 4
1.2 ________ The Purpose of Studying Communication _____________________________ 4
1.3 ________ Passive and Active Communication ___________________________________ 5
1.4 ________ What is Communication? ___________________________________________ 6
1.5 ________ The Purpose of Communication _____________________________________ 7
__________ 1.5.1 Direct benefits of communication ________________________________ 7
__________ 1.5.2 Indirect benefits of communication _______________________________ 9
__________ Activity 1.1 _______________________________________________________ 11
1.6 ________ Perception _______________________________________________________ 11
__________ 1.6.1 Selection ____________________________________________________ 11
__________ 1.6.2 Interpretation ________________________________________________ 12
1.7 ________ Factors Influencing Perception ______________________________________ 13
__________ 1.7.1 Physical factors _______________________________________________ 13
__________ 1.7.2 Ideological factors _____________________________________________ 14
__________ 1.7.3 Physiological factors ___________________________________________ 14
__________ Activity 1.2 _______________________________________________________ 15
1.8 ________ Summary ________________________________________________________ 15
__________ References _______________________________________________________ 16
Unit Two: The Communication Process

2.0 ________ Introduction _____________________________________________________ 17
2.1 ________ Objectives _______________________________________________________ 18
2.2 ________ The Fundamental Elements _________________________________________ 18
__________ 2.2.1 The sender, communicator, transmitter or source ____________________ 18
__________ 2.2.2 The information ______________________________________________ 18
__________ 2.2.3 The recipient or receiver ________________________________________ 18
__________ 2.2.4 The aim _____________________________________________________ 19
__________ Activity 2.1 _______________________________________________________ 19
__________ 2.2.5 Encoding the information _____________________________________ 20
__________ 2.2.6 The medium _________________________________________________ 21
__________ 2.2.7 The channel __________________________________________________ 21
__________ 2.2.8 Decoding ____________________________________________________ 21
__________ 2.2.9 Feedback ___________________________________________________ 22
__________ Activity 2.2 ______________________________________________________ 23
2.3 ________ Summary _______________________________________________________ 23
__________ References ______________________________________________________ 24
Unit Three: Theory in Communication and Communication Models
3.0 ________ Introduction ____________________________________________________ 25
3.1 ________ Objectives ______________________________________________________ 26
3.2 ________ Identifying What a Theory Is _______________________________________ 26
__________ Activity 3.1 ______________________________________________________ 27
3.3 ________ The Communication Theories in Practice _____________________________ 27
__________ Activity 3.2 ______________________________________________________ 28
3.4 ________ Transmission Models of Communication/The Linear Process Models ______ 28
3.5 ________ Interactive Process Model __________________________________________ 30
__________ 3.5.1 The Shannon-Weaver Model ____________________________________ 30
__________ 3.5.2 Wilbur Schramm Model _______________________________________ 34
__________ Activity 3.3 ______________________________________________________ 35
__________ 3.5.3 Berlo’s S-M-C-R Model _______________________________________ 35
__________ Activity 3.4 ______________________________________________________ 37
3.6 ________ The Transactional Process Model ___________________________________ 38
__________ 3.6.1 Osgood and Schramm Circular Model ____________________________ 38
__________ 3.6.2 Gerbner’s General Model ______________________________________ 40
__________ Activity 3.5 ______________________________________________________ 42
3.7 ________ Summary _______________________________________________________ 42
__________ References ______________________________________________________ 44
Unit Four: Group Communications

4.0 ________ Introduction ____________________________________________________ 45
4.1 ________ Objectives ______________________________________________________ 46
4.2 ________ Definition of Group ______________________________________________ 46
4.3 ________ Group Structure __________________________________________________ 47
__________ Activity 4.1 ______________________________________________________ 48
4.4 ________ Group Tasks _____________________________________________________ 48
__________ Activity 4.2 ______________________________________________________ 49
4.5 ________ The Importance of Communication in a Group ________________________ 49
4.6 ________ Principles for Better Communications ________________________________ 50
__________ 4.6.1 Clear channels of communication _______________________________ 50
__________ 4.6.2 The extent and nature of information released ______________________ 51
__________ Activity 4.3 ______________________________________________________ 52
4.7 ________ The Influence of the Group Culture _________________________________ 52
__________ 4.7.1 The Power culture ____________________________________________ 52
__________ 4.7.2 The Departmental (or Role) culture _____________________________ 52
__________ 4.7.3 The Task (or Project) culture ___________________________________ 53
__________ 4.7.4 The Person culture ___________________________________________ 53
__________ Activity 4.4 ______________________________________________________ 54
4.8 ________ Individuals within Groups __________________________________________ 54
__________ 4.8.1 A facilitator _________________________________________________ 55
__________ 4.8.2 The ‘elder statesman’ __________________________________________ 56
__________ 4.8.3 The newcomer _______________________________________________ 56
__________ 4.8.4 The innovator _______________________________________________ 56
__________ 4.8.5 An introvert _________________________________________________ 57
__________ 4.8.6 An extrovert _________________________________________________ 57
__________ 4.8.7 The rebel ___________________________________________________ 58
__________ 4.8.8 Other roles __________________________________________________ 58
__________ Activity 4.5 ______________________________________________________ 59
4.9 ________ Group Behaviour _________________________________________________ 59
__________ 4.9.1 Constructive behaviour that is task related _________________________ 59
__________ 4.9.2 Constructive behaviour that is group related _______________________ 60
__________ 4.9.3 Destructive behaviour that is task related __________________________ 60
__________ 4.9.4 Destructive behaviour that is group related _________________________ 61
__________ Activity 4.6 ______________________________________________________ 62
4.10 _______ Group Dynamics _________________________________________________ 62
__________ 4.10.1 Clues to identify _____________________________________________ 63
__________ Activity 4.7 ______________________________________________________ 65
4.11 _______ Communication Flows in an Organisation ____________________________ 65
4.12 _______ Vertical Communication Downwards ________________________________ 65
4.13 _______ Vertical Communications Upwards __________________________________ 67
4.14 _______ Vertical Communication Upwards and Downwards _____________________ 68
4.15 _______ Horizontal Communication ________________________________________ 69
4.16 _______ The Problems ___________________________________________________ 70
__________ 4.16.1 The lesson to be learned _______________________________________ 71
4.17 _______ Diagonal Communication _________________________________________ 72
__________ 4.17.1 Advantages and disadvantages of diagonal communication __________ 72
__________ Activity 4.8 ______________________________________________________ 73
4.18 _______ Informal Communications _________________________________________ 73
__________ 4.18.1 Importance of grapevine ______________________________________ 74
__________ 4.18.2 Demerits __________________________________________________ 75
__________ 4.18.3 Effective use of grapevine _____________________________________ 75
__________ Activity 4.9 ______________________________________________________ 76
4.19 _______ Summary _______________________________________________________ 76
__________ References ______________________________________________________ 77
Unit Five: Levels of Communication

5.0 ________ Introduction ____________________________________________________ 79
5.1 ________ Objectives ______________________________________________________ 80
5.2 ________ Intrapersonal Communication ______________________________________ 80
5.3 ________ Interpersonal Communication ______________________________________ 80
__________ Activity 5.1 _______________________________________________________ 81
5.4 ________ Group Communication _____________________________________________ 81
5.5 ________ Mass Communication ______________________________________________ 81
5.6 ________ Global Communication ___________________________________________ 82
__________ 5.6.1 Economical factors ___________________________________________ 83
__________ 5.6.2 Political factors ______________________________________________ 83
__________ 5.6.3 Cultural factors ______________________________________________ 83
__________ 5.6.4 Power ______________________________________________________ 84
__________ 5.6.5 Social reality ________________________________________________ 84
__________ Activity 5.2 ______________________________________________________ 85
5.7 ________ Summary _______________________________________________________ 85
__________ References ______________________________________________________ 86
Unit Six: Barriers to Communication

6.0 ________ Introduction ____________________________________________________ 87
6.1 ________ Objectives ______________________________________________________ 88
6.2 ________ Barriers Created By the Sender and the Recipient _______________________ 88
__________ 6.2.1 Distortion __________________________________________________ 88
__________ 6.2.2 Attitudes ____________________________________________________ 91
__________ 6.2.3 Perceptions of reality _________________________________________ 92
__________ Activity 6.1 ______________________________________________________ 92
6.3 ________ Barriers Caused By External Influences ______________________________ 93
__________ Activity 6.2 ______________________________________________________ 93
6.4 ________ Overcoming Barriers to Communication _____________________________ 93
__________ 6.4.1 Develop personal communication skills __________________________ 94
__________ 6.4.2 Know when to communicate ____________________________________ 94
__________ 6.4.3 Know with whom to communicate _______________________________ 94
__________ 6.4.4 Define your information _______________________________________ 95
__________ 6.4.5 Define the intended response ___________________________________ 95
__________ 6.4.6 Choose the medium carefully ___________________________________ 95
__________ 6.4.7 Match your expression to the recipient ___________________________ 96
__________ Activity 6:3 ______________________________________________________ 97
6.5 ________ Summary _______________________________________________________ 97
__________ References ______________________________________________________ 98
Unit Seven: Conflict in Organisations

7.0 ________ Introduction ____________________________________________________ 99
7.1 ________ Objectives ______________________________________________________ 100
7.2 ________ What is Conflict? ________________________________________________ 100
__________ 7.2.1 Disagreement _______________________________________________ 100
__________ 7.2.2 Parties involved ______________________________________________ 100
__________ 7.2.3 Perceived threat ______________________________________________ 100
__________ 7.2.4 Needs, interests or concerns ____________________________________ 101
7.3 ________ Causes of Conflict in the Group _____________________________________ 102
__________ 7.3.1 Incompatibility in the group ____________________________________ 103
__________ 7.3.2 Poor leadership ______________________________________________ 103
__________ 7.3.3 Other causes of conflict _______________________________________ 104
__________ Activity 7.1 ______________________________________________________ 107
7.4 ________ Conflict Management Strategies ____________________________________ 108
__________ 7.4.1 Some strategies to solve the problem _____________________________ 109
7.5 ________ Thomas’s Model of Conflict Management Styles _______________________ 111
7.6 ________ Conflict Management Techniques ___________________________________ 113
7.7 ________ Managing Conflicts with Difficult People _____________________________ 115
7.8 ________ Arbitration ______________________________________________________ 116
7.9 ________ Mediation ______________________________________________________ 117
7.10 _______ Adjudication ____________________________________________________ 118
__________ Activity 7.2 ______________________________________________________ 119
7.11 _______ Negotiation _____________________________________________________ 119
__________ 7.11.1 Steps in negotiation process ____________________________________ 119
__________ 7.11.2 Bargaining power ___________________________________________ 119
__________ 7.11.3 The negotiation process _______________________________________ 120
__________ Activity 7.3 ______________________________________________________ 121
7.12 _______ Preparation _____________________________________________________ 121
__________ Activity 7.4 ______________________________________________________ 122
7.13 _______ Summary _______________________________________________________ 122
__________ References ______________________________________________________ 123
Unit Eight: Media in Communication

8.0 ________ Introduction ____________________________________________________ 125
8.1 ________ Objectives ______________________________________________________ 126
8.2 ________ Types of Written Communication ___________________________________ 126
8.3 ________ Advantages of a Written Communication _____________________________ 126
__________ 8.3.1 Permanent record ____________________________________________ 126
__________ 8.3.2 Better control over expression __________________________________ 126
__________ 8.3.3 Strong but controlled expression is possible _______________________ 127
__________ 8.3.3 Facilitate constant reference ____________________________________ 128
__________ Activity 8.1 ______________________________________________________ 128
8.4 ________ Disadvantages of Written Communication ____________________________ 128
__________ 8.4.1 A permanent record may be embarrassing ________________________ 128
__________ 8.4.2 Tends to be impersonal _______________________________________ 129
__________ 8.4.3 A written response would be inappropriate ________________________ 129
__________ 8.4.4 Written words can be misinterpreted _____________________________ 129
__________ Activity 8.2 ______________________________________________________ 130
8.5 ________ Kinds of Oral Communication ______________________________________ 130
__________ 8.5.1 Chance encounter ____________________________________________ 130
__________ 8.5.2 Formal meeting _____________________________________________ 131
__________ 8.5.3 Interviews __________________________________________________ 131
__________ 8.5.4 Lecture or Presentation _______________________________________ 132
__________ 8.5.5 Meetings ___________________________________________________ 133
__________ 8.5.6 Planned but informal encounter ________________________________ 133
__________ 8.5.7 Telephone calls ______________________________________________ 134
__________ Activity 8.3 ______________________________________________________ 134
8.6 ________ Visual Communication ____________________________________________ 134
__________ Activity 8.4 ______________________________________________________ 136
8.7 ________ Summary _______________________________________________________ 136
__________ References ______________________________________________________ 137
Unit Nine: Use Appropriate Language

9.0 ________ Introduction ____________________________________________________ 139
9.1 ________ Objectives ______________________________________________________ 140
9.2 ________ What is Involved _________________________________________________ 140
9.3 ________ Our Six Rules ___________________________________________________ 141
__________ Activity 9.1 ______________________________________________________ 142
9.4 ________ Write a Good Sentence ____________________________________________ 142
__________ 9.4.1 A simple sentence ____________________________________________ 142
__________ 9.4.2 A compound sentence _________________________________________ 143
__________ 9.4.3 A complex sentence __________________________________________ 143
__________ 9.4.4 Punctuation _________________________________________________ 144
__________ 9.4.5 Adjectives and Adverbs ________________________________________ 145
9.5 ________ Write a Good Paragraph ___________________________________________ 145
9.6 ________ Use Easy Words __________________________________________________ 146
__________ 9.6.1 Simple words ________________________________________________ 146
__________ 9.6.2 Right word __________________________________________________ 147
__________ Activity 9.2 ______________________________________________________ 148
9.7 ________ USE Active Words ________________________________________________ 148
__________ 9.7.1 Use the personal tense _________________________________________ 150
9.8 ________ Use Ordinary Words ______________________________________________ 150
__________ 9.8.1 Slang and colloquial speech ____________________________________ 150
__________ 9.8.2 The metaphor and simile ______________________________________ 151
__________ 9.8.3 Clichés _____________________________________________________ 152
__________ 9.8.4 Redundant expressions ________________________________________ 152
__________ 9.8.5 Jargon _____________________________________________________ 153
__________ Activity 9.3 ______________________________________________________ 154
9.9 ________ Follow The ‘ABC’ of Communication ________________________________ 154
9.10 _______ The Final Checklist _______________________________________________ 155
__________ 9.10.1 Consider the recipient ________________________________________ 155
__________ 9.10.2 The intended response ________________________________________ 156
__________ 9.10.3 Check your communication before transmission ___________________ 157
__________ Activity 9.4 ______________________________________________________ 157
9.11 _______ Summary _______________________________________________________ 158
__________ References ______________________________________________________ 159
Unit Ten: Letters
10.0 _______ Introduction ____________________________________________________ 161
10.1 _______ Objectives ______________________________________________________ 162
10.2 _______ Layout _________________________________________________________ 162
10.3 _______ A Business Letter is Important ______________________________________ 162
10.4 _______ The Elements of a Business Letter ___________________________________ 163
__________ Activity 10.1 _____________________________________________________ 164
10.5 _______ The Writer’s Name and Address _____________________________________ 164
10.6 _______ The Date _______________________________________________________ 165
10.7 _______ Recipient’s Name and Address ______________________________________ 165
10.8 _______ References ______________________________________________________ 166
10.9 _______ The Salutation ___________________________________________________ 166
__________ Activity 10.2 _____________________________________________________ 167
10.10 ______ The Purpose of the Letter __________________________________________ 168
10.11 ______ The Message ____________________________________________________ 168
__________ 10.11.1 The first sentence ___________________________________________ 169
__________ 10.11.2 Avoid weak beginnings ______________________________________ 170
__________ 10.11.3 Paragraphing is essential _____________________________________ 170
__________ 10.11.4 Postscripts _________________________________________________ 172
__________ 10.11.5 The conclusion _____________________________________________ 172
__________ 10.11.6 Avoid participial endings _____________________________________ 174
__________ 10. 11.7 Enclosures ________________________________________________ 175
__________ 10.11.8 ‘Confidential’ heading _______________________________________ 175
__________ Activity 10.3 _____________________________________________________ 175
10.12 ______ The Four Essentials in a Business Letter ______________________________ 175
10.13 ______ Letters of Complaint ______________________________________________ 176
__________ 10.13.1 Collection letters ___________________________________________ 179
__________ Activity 10.4 _____________________________________________________ 180
10.14 ______ Circulars _______________________________________________________ 180
10.15 ______ Email letters ____________________________________________________ 181
__________ Activity 10.5 _____________________________________________________ 181
10.16 ______ Summary _______________________________________________________ 181
__________ References ______________________________________________________ 182
Unit Eleven: Memoranda, Notice and Circulars

11.0 _______ Introduction ____________________________________________________ 183
11.1 _______ Objectives ______________________________________________________ 184
11.2 _______ Memoranda _____________________________________________________ 184
11.3 _______ The Purpose of a Memorandum ____________________________________ 186
11.4 _______ The Lay-out of a Memorandum _____________________________________ 186
11.5 _______ Writing a Memorandum ___________________________________________ 188
11.6 _______ Self-Duplicating Memoranda _______________________________________ 190
__________ Activity 11.1 _____________________________________________________ 190
11.7 _______ Notices ________________________________________________________ 190
11.8 _______ Designing a Notice _______________________________________________ 191
__________ 11.8.1 Use a simple message _________________________________________ 192
__________ 11.8.2 Use a clear precise heading ____________________________________ 192
__________ 11.8.3 Use space __________________________________________________ 192
__________ 11.8.4 Highlight important words or phrases ___________________________ 193
__________ 11.8.5 Use illustrations _____________________________________________ 193
11.9 _______ Display of a Notice _______________________________________________ 193
11.10 ______ Notices of Meetings ______________________________________________ 194
__________ 11.10.1 Requirements of a notice _____________________________________ 194
__________ Activity 11.2 _____________________________________________________ 196
11.11 _______ Circulars _______________________________________________________ 196
__________ Activity 11.3 _____________________________________________________ 197
11.12 ______ Summary _______________________________________________________ 198
__________ References ______________________________________________________ 199
Unit Twelve: Reports

12.0 _______ Introduction ____________________________________________________ 201
12.1 _______ Objectives ______________________________________________________ 202
12.2 _______ Writing Summaries _______________________________________________ 202
__________ 12.2.1 Hints on writing a summary ___________________________________202
__________ Activity 12.1 _____________________________________________________203
12.3 _______ Essays and Reports _______________________________________________203
__________ 12.4.1 Guidelines for reporting writing ________________________________ 203
12.4 _______ Pyramid Shape for Reports _________________________________________205
12.5 _______ Inverted Pyramid for Press Releases and Newspaper Writing ______________206
12.6 _______ Checklist for Well-organised Messages _______________________________207
__________ Activity 12.2 _____________________________________________________207
12.7 _______ Summary _______________________________________________________208
__________ References ______________________________________________________209
Unit Thirteen: Electronic Communication

13.0 _______ Introduction ____________________________________________________ 211
13.1 _______ Objectives ______________________________________________________ 212
13.2 _______ The Components of an Information System ___________________________ 212
__________ Activity 13.1 _____________________________________________________ 214
13.3 _______ Understanding a Computer Network _________________________________ 214
__________ 13.3.1 The concept of a stand alone computer __________________________ 214
__________ 13.3.2 The concept of a computer network _____________________________ 215
13.4 _______ Some Networking Terms __________________________________________ 216
__________ Activity 13.2 _____________________________________________________ 217
13.5 _______ Development of the Internet/Virtual Communication ___________________ 217
13.6 _______ What the Internet Provides _________________________________________ 218
13.7 _______ Connecting To the Internet ________________________________________220
13.8 _______ Using the Internet ________________________________________________ 221
__________ Activity 13.3 _____________________________________________________222
13.9 _______ Sending and Receiving E-mail ______________________________________222
13.10 ______ Download ______________________________________________________ 224
13.11 ______ E-commerce ____________________________________________________224
13.12 ______ Web Browsers: The Software of Reading Web Pages _____________________224
13.13 ______ Mobile Internet: Smartphones and Laptops ____________________________225
13.14 ______ Mobile Broadband _______________________________________________225
__________ 13.14.1 Instant Messaging: Faster than Email ___________________________ 226
13.15 ______ Social Networking _______________________________________________ 226
__________ 13.15.1 Facebook _________________________________________________226
__________ 13.15.2 Twitter ___________________________________________________226
__________ 13.15.3 MySpace __________________________________________________226
__________ 13.15.4 Skye _____________________________________________________227
__________ 13.15.5 Other Internet areas for use in business communication ____________227
13.16 ______ Search Engines __________________________________________________227
__________ Activity 13.4 _____________________________________________________227
13.17 ______ Advantages of Virtual Communication _______________________________ 228
13.18 ______ Disadvantages of Virtual Communication _____________________________228
__________ Activity 13.5 _____________________________________________________229
13.19 ______ Computer Viruses ________________________________________________229
__________ 13.19.1 Viruses and worms __________________________________________ 229
__________ 13.19.2 Virus damage ______________________________________________229
__________ 13.19.3 How viruses or worms spread _________________________________229
__________ 13.19.4 Worms and prevention _______________________________________230
__________ 13.19.5 Securing your system ________________________________________ 231
__________ Activity 13.4 _____________________________________________________ 231
13.20 ______ Summary _______________________________________________________232
__________ References ______________________________________________________233
Unit Fourteen: Oral Communication

14.0 _______ Introduction ____________________________________________________235
14.1 _______ Objectives ______________________________________________________ 236
14.2 _______ Forms of Oral Communication _____________________________________236
__________ 14.2.1 Unplanned encounter ________________________________________236
__________ 14.2.2 Planned but informal talk _____________________________________237
__________ 14.2.3 Formal meeting of individuals _________________________________237
__________ 14.2.4 Interviews _________________________________________________237
__________ 14.2.5 Group meetings _____________________________________________238
__________ 14.2.6 Formal presentation _________________________________________ 239
__________ Activity 14.1 _____________________________________________________239
14.3 _______ An Analysis of Oral Communication _________________________________239
__________ 14.3.1 Advantages _________________________________________________240
__________ 14.3.2 Disadvantages ______________________________________________ 241
__________ Activity 14.2 _____________________________________________________243
14.4 _______ Using Oral Communication ________________________________________243
14.5 _______ Checklist for Conducting Oral Communication ________________________244
__________ Activity 14.3 _____________________________________________________245
14.6 _______ Summary _______________________________________________________245
__________ References ______________________________________________________246
Unit Fifteen: Interviews

15.0 _______ Introduction ____________________________________________________247
15.1 _______ Objectives ______________________________________________________ 248
15.2 _______ The Structure of an Interview ______________________________________248
__________ Activity 15.1 _____________________________________________________250
15.3 _______ Preparing for an Interview _________________________________________250
15.4 _______ Opening the Interview ____________________________________________ 251
__________ 15.4.1 To establish rapport __________________________________________ 252
__________ 15.4.2 To establish common ground __________________________________ 252
__________ Activity 15.2 _____________________________________________________253
15.5 _______ Conducting the Interview __________________________________________ 253
15.6 _______ Designing Your Questions _________________________________________254
__________ 15.6.1 Closed questions ____________________________________________ 254
__________ 15.6.2 Open questions _____________________________________________255
__________ 15.6.3 Other questions _____________________________________________ 256
__________ Activity 15.3 _____________________________________________________258
15.7 _______ Asking the Questions _____________________________________________258
15.8 _______ Closing the Interview _____________________________________________259
15.9 _______ Follow Up ______________________________________________________260
15.10 ______ Types of Interviews ______________________________________________260
__________ 15.10.1 Appraisal Interviews ________________________________________ 261
__________ 15.10.2 Exit Interviews _____________________________________________ 261
__________ 15.10.3 Counselling Interview _______________________________________262
__________ Activity 15.4 _____________________________________________________264
15.11 ______ Summary _______________________________________________________265
__________ References ______________________________________________________265
Unit Sixteen: Presentations

16.0 _______ Introduction ____________________________________________________267
16.1 _______ Objectives ______________________________________________________ 268
16.2 _______ Types of Speeches ________________________________________________268
__________ 16.2.1 Speeches of introduction ______________________________________268
__________ 16.2.2 Extended presentations _______________________________________268
__________ 16.2.3 Vote of thanks ______________________________________________ 269
16.3 _______ Preparation _____________________________________________________269
__________ 16.3.1 Subject ____________________________________________________270
__________ 16.3.2 Audience __________________________________________________270
__________ 16.3.3 The occasion and the environment ______________________________ 271
__________ 16.3.4 Research and interpretation ___________________________________ 271
__________ Activity 16.1 _____________________________________________________272
16.4 _______ Writing ________________________________________________________272
__________ 16.4.1 Preparing your notes _________________________________________272
__________ 16.4.2 Preparing your opening _______________________________________273
__________ 16.4.3 Supporting handouts and audio-visual aids _______________________274
16.5 _______ Delivery of your Presentation ______________________________________275
__________ 16.5.1 Arrive early _________________________________________________ 275
__________ 16.5.2 Build on your opening ________________________________________275
__________ 16.5.3 Coping with nerves __________________________________________276
__________ 16.5.4 End decisively ______________________________________________277
__________ 16.5.5 Handle questions fairly _______________________________________ 278
__________ Activity 16.2 _____________________________________________________278
16.6 _______ Use of Audio-visual Aids __________________________________________278
__________ 16.6.1 Basic techniques ____________________________________________279
16.7 _______ Choosing Your Equipment _________________________________________280
__________ 16.7.1 Constraints _________________________________________________280
__________ 16.7.2 Film ______________________________________________________ 281
__________ 16.7.3 Video presentations __________________________________________ 281
__________ 16.7.4 Slide projectors _____________________________________________ 282
__________ 16.7.5 Tape-recorders ______________________________________________283
__________ 16.7.6 The overhead projector _______________________________________283
__________ 16.7.7 Boards - chalk, white, magnetic and flip __________________________ 284
__________ 16.7.8 PowerPoint ________________________________________________285
__________ Activity 16.3 _____________________________________________________287
16.8 _______ Summary _______________________________________________________287
__________ References ______________________________________________________288
Unit Seventeen: Non-verbal Communication

17.0 _______ Introduction ____________________________________________________289
17.1 _______ Objectives ______________________________________________________ 290
17.2 _______ Features of Non-verbal Communications _____________________________290
__________ 17.2.1 Non-verbal communication is closely associated with verbal
__________ communication. _________________________________________________290
__________ 17.2.2 Non-verbal communication is a continuous process. ________________290
__________ 17.2.3 Non-verbal communication can be intentional or unintentional. __290
__________ 17.2.4 Non-verbal communication provides clues rather than evidence. ______ 291
__________ 17.2.5 With non-verbal communication you have to recognise the
__________ whole message. __________________________________________________ 291
17.3 _______ Functions of Non Verbal Communication ____________________________ 291
__________ Activity 17.1 _____________________________________________________292
17.4 _______ Types of Non Verbal Communication ________________________________292
17.5 _______ Kinesics/Body Language __________________________________________292
__________ 17.5.1 Body direction and contact ____________________________________293
__________ 17.5.2 Head and facial signals _______________________________________ 297
__________ Activity 17.2 _____________________________________________________298
17.6 _______ Vocal Signals ____________________________________________________ 299
__________ 17.6.1 Tone and volume ____________________________________________299
__________ 17.6.2 Paralinguistics ______________________________________________ 299
__________ 17.6.3 Silence ____________________________________________________299
17.7 _______ Chronemics _____________________________________________________299
17.8 _______ Artefacts/Object Communication ___________________________________ 300
__________ 17.8.1 Dress code _________________________________________________ 300
__________ 17.8.2 Colours ___________________________________________________300
__________ Activity 17.3 _____________________________________________________ 301
17.9 _______ Summary _______________________________________________________ 301
__________ References ______________________________________________________302
Module Overview
Introduction
T
he subject of communication is one that affects every living creature for
each, by using one or more of their various skills, is able to satisfy the
basic need to interact with others of the species, and sometimes with
those of a different species. Animals communicate for their basic needs. Of all
the species, humans have developed the most sophisticated methods of com-
munication and we use it for many different purposes.
In this module we look at various ways of communicating in business. Our aim

is to equip you the student with communication skills required for you to carry
out your duties effectively. In Unit One we provide different definitions of
communication, the purpose of communication and factors influencing per-
ception. In Unit Two we discuss the communication process. We examine the
fundamental elements that constitute the communication process.
Business Communication BHIR 102
Unit Three is on communication theory and communication models. We de-

scribe what a theory is in brief and then look at communication models in
detail. The models examined are the linear transmission model, the interactive
process model and the transactional process model. In Unit Four we discuss
group communications. In the unit we highlight the functions of communica-
tion in a group, vertical, horizontal and diagonal communication and we also
focus on group behaviour and group dynamics.
We also look at informal group communication in particular grapevine.
In Unit Five we deal with levels of communication, that is, intrapersonal com-
munication, interpersonal communication, group communication, mass com-
munication and global communication. Unit Six is on barriers to communica-
tion. Our focus is on barriers made by the sender, external influences and
ways of overcoming the barriers. Unit Seven is on conflict in organisations.
We describe causes of conflict and then discuss strategies to resolving con-
flict.
In Unit Eight we examine media in communication specifically, written, oral

and visual communication. In Unit Nine we discuss use of appropriate lan-
guage, grammar, correct expression, sentence structure and so on. Unit Ten
is on letter layout including emails. In Unit Eleven we focus on memoranda,
notices and circulars. In Unit Twelve we dwell on different kinds of reports,
including summaries and essays.
In Unit Thirteen we look at types of electronic communication, Internet, ad-

vantages and disadvantages of virtual communication and viruses and worms.
In Unit Fourteen we discuss some forms of oral communication especially its
advantages and disadvantages. Unit Fifteen is on the structure of interviews,
different types of interviews such as the job interview, appraisal interview, exit
interview and counselling interview. Techniques of presentations are dwelt
with in Unit Sixteen. Finally, in Unit Seventeen we discuss non verbal commu-
nication. Some of the types of non verbal communication are kinesics,
chronemics, proximity, dress code, vocal signals and so forth.
In each unit there are activities with questions which you are supposed to
answer – these are self-check questions where you are being tested on whether
or not you have understood what you are reading. We hope that as you read
the module, you are being equipped with strategies of becoming a good com-
municator at all levels. We wish you all the best of luck!!
2 Zimbabwe Open University

Unit One
Definition of Communication
1.0 Introduction
T
he need to improve the quality of communication has been of concern
since Aristotle gave his views on the subject during the times of ancient
Greece and today, in the 21st Century, it is a discipline that continues to
grow in value because it is so important to everything that goes on around us.
In this first unit, we provide different definitions of communication; investigate

the purpose of communication and identify factors that facilitate the commu-
nication process. We also discuss perception and the influence it has on com-
munication.
1.1 Objectives
By the end of the unit, you should be able to:
 define ‘communication
 discuss the need to study communication
 explain the passive and active communication
 outline the purposes of communication
 describe factors that influence perception
1.2 The Purpose of Studying Communication

You could be studying this module for one of a number of reasons. It may be
to improve your abilities and performance as a manager of a public or private
business enterprise, for it has been said often that good communication is the
foundation of good management. Or maybe you need this subject as part of
an unrelated course of academic study, for there is no doubt that any technical
skills you are gaining can be exploited to the fullest only if you have good
communication skills. You may be aiming to earn your living as professional
communicators, either in selective writing or in the mass media.
It is probably the variety of uses to which good communication skills can be

put that has caused scholars to be concerned with the subject for so long.
However, the feeling until after the first quarter of the twentieth century was
that communication was basically a natural process and the skills were inher-
ent to each person and not instilled. Certainly, those authors and poets who
were able to bring reality and life to their descriptive writing received de-
served accolades. But recognition that good communication skills were a
fundamental necessity seems to have coincided with the realisation that the
days of ‘demanding’ respect and co-operation were over and had been re-
placed by influence and persuasion in the workplace.
In 1928 the English writer, I.A. Richards, made one of the first attempts to
define and explain communication in the modern context. Remember that this
was ten years after the unquestioning acceptance of ‘orders’ communicated
to the soldiers fighting in France had led to incredible loss of life on both sides.
It was coming up to the time of the Hawthorne Experiments where it was
found that labour reacted positively to interest shown in them rather than in
their production, and management concepts indicated that industrial relations
were more rewarding to all parties if the needs of the workers were recog-
nised.

Unit 1 Definition of Communication
Having given you an early definition of communication, let us now start to

investigate the purposes of communication.
1.3 Passive and Active Communication

The basic purpose of communication is to disseminate information that is avail-
able from one source to a recipient – that recipient may be an individual or a
group. In fact, communication is a continuing and never-ending process.
We are constantly receiving and sending ‘messages’ and we need to recog-
nise at this stage that communication can be passive or active. We discuss
these terms below.
Passive communication occurs when information is not deliberately dissemi-

nated, but a recipient reacts to a situation and interprets information he/she
received. Everything around about is telling us something. I want to cross the
street but there is fast, oncoming traffic
– I am receiving a very clear message even though the inanimate vehicles and
the drivers have no intention of sending information to me.
Taking another situation, a classic example of passive communication is the

weather and the seasons. On Saturday, when I want to play sport, it is raining
and the passive communication is that I am unlikely to be able to play. This
creates in me a number of emotional states. These are:
I may be disappointed; I may be pleased as I can now find time to fix a

broken domestic appliance;
I may feel resentful as it means a totally wasted day and it is sure to be a sunny
day on Monday; or I may have bad memories of other rainy days.
These two illustrations explain passive communication. The rain certainly had
no intention of bringing these attitudes out in me. Fortunately, most people
are realistic enough to recognise that it is not the fault of the rain or of any
other inanimate object when it frustrates us, and so such communication does
not have a lasting effect.
Active communication is when information is deliberately sent. This is done in

a number of ways; by telling a person something, by writing a message, by
hanging a ‘Do not Disturb’ sign on your door, by wearing an outrageous tie
with a dark suit, by sitting upright at an interview, by kicking the cat and so on.
Zimbabwe Open University 5

Such examples of active communication are generally intended to provoke a

response in a recipient – this is what makes it active. What the response will
be is not always certain. For example, if you kick your partner’s cat, there
can be a number of responses ranging from being shouted at to being ignored
– maybe for ever after! It is the fact that communication brings different
responses to what we anticipate that makes this such an important area of
study, no matter what you are doing in life.
We are interested in active communication.
1.4 What is Communication?

In this section, we provide a number of definitions of communication.
I. A. Richards (1928) saw communication as involving voluntary interaction

between two people that led to a common understanding. According to him;
“Communication takes place when one mind so acts upon its environment
that another mind is influenced, and in that other mind an experience occurs
which is like the experience in the first mind, and is caused in part by that
experience” (universalism.academic.ru/95292/communication).
Fiske (1990) views communication as involving:
signs and codes. Signs are artefacts or acts that refer to something other than
themselves… they are signifying constructs. Codes are the systems into which
signs are organised and which determine how signs may be related to one
another. The signs and codes are transmitted or made available to others; and
[thus] transmitting or receiving signs/codes. Communication is the practice of
social relationships. Communication is central to the life of our culture.
Here are other definitions of communication to consider:

 Webster’s Dictionary tells us that the word has existed since the 14th
Century, so we should be close to getting a meaning.
 “A process by which information is exchanged between individuals
through a common system of symbols, signs or behaviour” – (Webster’s
Dictionary).
 “The exchange of meanings between individuals through a common
system of symbols” – Encyclopaedia Brittanica
 “The process by which information is disseminated from a source to a
recipient” – unknown author

 “The transfer of information, ideas or opinions by the use of speech,

behaviour, writing or graphics” – unknown author
 “An ongoing process involving a relationship between participants who
occupy individual but overlapping fields of experience who are involved
in the simultaneous sending and receiving of messages which are sub-
ject to distortion from various forms of noise” - based on Adler and
Towne and quoted by Tyler, Kossen and Ryan.
Another definition of communication is that “communication is the process of
sharing ideas, thoughts and feelings with other people and having those ideas,
thoughts and feelings understood by other people we are talking with. When
we communicate, we speak, listen and observe” (www.cl.utk.edu/pdf/Week
1-Lesson7.pdf).
According to Nick Sanchez, communication is:
the manner in which individuals perceive and talk to each other at work about
different issues… is a major determinant of business success … Poor communi-
cation reduces quality, weakens productivity and eventually leads to anger and
lack of trust among individuals within the organisation. In business, communi-
cation accounts for the difference between success and failure, profit or loss
and in personal life – critical to the successful operation of a modern enter-
prise… (Nick Sanchez Communication Process
www.stfrancis.edu/content/ba/ghkickul/stubwebs/btopics/works/comproc.htm).
Let us recognise that there are several ways to describe communication. Even
so, you recognise that these definitions share certain ideas though and there
are five common elements. There is an initiator; a message; a method of pass-
ing the message; a recipient; and an effect.
1.5 The Purpose of Communication

We have already hinted at certain purposes of communication, but let us now
discuss them in some detail. We can differentiate between direct and indirect
purposes of communication. We discuss each below.
1.5.1 Direct benefits of communication

Direct purposes or benefits of communication are many. They include giving
information, making ideas known, initiating action, sharing attitudes and be-
liefs, and establishing links with others.

Giving information
You may have a lot of information which you may want to give. For example,
if you are planning to go to the cinema on Thursday evening, this will only be
of interest to anyone who may be going with you, or who was hoping to see
you somewhere else on Thursday evening. It is of no interest to the till-
operator at the supermarket where you buy your groceries.
At the other extreme, if you find that there is a fire caused by an electrical fault
in the computer room, this is of interest to a wide number of people – the staff
in the building, the fire brigade, the insurance company, the owner of the
building, the electrical maintenance staff and the computer suppliers, your
family and friends who are interested in your welfare and so on.
Making your ideas understood

Everyone has original thought and the ideas that flow from that thought and
you may want your ideas to be understood. These ideas may not be as
profound as if derived from the thoughts of Einstein, Mao or Bertrand Russell
so that they change the way the world operates. They may be something
fairly ordinary like what you want for the evening meal. However, whether
you have an idea that E = MC2 or that a piece of rare steak would be more
than acceptable, nothing will happen unless you communicate that idea.
Initiating action
Initiating action often follows the giving of information and making an idea
understood. It is however, a purpose on its own that needs consideration. In
the case of the fire in the computer room, we pass that information so as to
initiate action – evacuation of the building and extinguishing the fire. In the
case of our evening meal, our wish to have a piece of juicy steak may be
rewarded – maybe not that evening but fairly soon.
Sometimes, however, action may be initiated without these other purposes

being appropriate. For example, we ask a messenger to post a letter. We do
not need to tell him/her what is in the letter, where the post office is or what
the cost of the stamp will be. None of this information needs be disclosed.
Similarly, we need not explain that we have an idea that by posting the letter
we may receive a wonderful offer of employment on one of the holiday is-
lands in the Caribbean. The messenger must just take the required action and
post the letter.

Sharing attitudes and beliefs

Everyone has certain attitudes and beliefs, but not everyone shares them with
the same intensity. My attitude to cruelty to animals may be that it is unac-
ceptable in civilised society, and may make me believe that those who abuse
animals should be given a prison sentence without the option of a fine. Alter-
natively, my attitude may be that it is wrong, but there are more problems in
the world to worry about like child abuse and the spread of AIDS.
Where attitudes and beliefs are shared intensely, this can be the foundation
for a long relationship. Religion and politics are topics where many people
have strong views one way or the other.
Certain attitudes and beliefs may not be shared at all. For example, we may
believe that Renoir was the finest of the Impressionist painters but you may
never have heard of him or may have no attitude about his paintings because
you are ‘into’ heavy metal music. We have not even listened seriously to Iron
Maiden – as far as we know – so we really have nothing to share in those two
areas. That will signal the end of any attempt to communicate on those mat-
ters – but maybe we both think football is the best form of exercise for young
people and can take them off the streets.
Establishing links with other people

Can you imagine going through life day after day without talking to someone.
Solitary confinement is a penalty imposed in prisons for misbehaviour be-
cause it denies inmates the much needed facility of being with others and
‘chatting’.
Sometimes the link is short and tenuous such as when you buy a ticket for a
train. You transact your business of buying the ticket through communication,
but you may never see that person again. At other times the link is intended to
be long- term such as when you interview a person for a senior position.
These then can be identified as the direct purposes of communication. There

are also indirect benefits which we can also look at briefly.
1.5.2 Indirect benefits of communication

There are also indirect benefits of communication. Below, we discuss some
of them including the need to maintain morale, sustain discipline, avoiding
rumours and to give information to effect change.

Maintaining morale
If you are part of a team – whether family, social, academic or business – it is
important to keep all the members of that team loyal to its aims and endeav-
ours. One way of maintaining the morale and commitment to the team effort is
to ensure that everyone knows what is going on. Each member then can
interpret his/her role in making sure that the plans or changes are successful.
When team members have full knowledge of what is happening, a sense of
confidence is imbued, which promotes trust between the members regardless
of any ‘seniority’ in the group.
Sustaining discipline
Communication is necessary to install discipline. However, in certain areas
such as safety, punctuality and behaviour, there is still a need for discipline. If
someone is to be trained in using a grinding machine, the ‘friendly’ approach
of the training will need the ‘strong’ communication that goggles must be worn
at all times.
Avoiding rumours
Rumours can cause many problems and for effective communication, you
have to aim either to prevent them or to dispel them as soon as you identify
them. Generally, rumours flourish in an environment where members of a team
are not in touch with what is going on. The management of a company, the
sister-in-law in the family, the treasurer in the club and even the Government
of a country can lose the trust of the members of the particular group or team
because of lack of communication. This then leads to rumours running wild.
Giving information about change

You need to give information to bring about change. ‘How to manage change’
is a vital part of management studies nowadays because we are living in a
changing world and are affected by aspects of the economic environment that
are undergoing constant change. Change is a threat as people have to learn
new skills or change their pattern of life, and therefore change is resisted. But
change has to go on, and so you, the person/people with the information,
must ensure that it is communicated in such a way that the fears created by
change are minimised.

Activity 1.1
 Compare and contrast different definitions of communication. Highlight
? the salient points that constitute communication.
 Briefly describe the purposes of communication.
 Which of the purposes of communication discussed above are applicable
to your organisation? Briefly describe how each of them has assisted
your organisation achieve its goals.
1.6 Perception
Cherry views perception as:
Our sensory experience of the world around us and involves both the recogni-
tion of environmental stimuli and actions in response to these stimuli. Through
the perceptual process, we gain information about properties and elements of
the environment that are critical to our survival…it allows us to act within our
environment
(psychology.about.com/od/sensationandpercerption/ss/perceptproc.htm).
The extent to which the communication is absorbed is governed to a large

extent by the perception of the recipient – the recognition and understanding
of that communication. To take an extreme example, if I am told to go and
scribble on a friend’s lounge wall, I have perception even though I refuse.
Alternatively, if I am told to fly an aircraft, I would know that I should sit in the
cockpit but I would have no perception thereafter.
Perception is affected by two major factors, both of which are influenced by

a number of circumstances. You need to recognise these. The two major
factors are ‘selection’ and ‘interpretation’ which we discuss now. There after
we identify what influences these two factors.
1.6.1 Selection
Right now you are working in an environment that is or could be distracting.
There are always plenty of distractions that can stimulate our senses to such
an extent that we find it difficult if not impossible to concentrate on the matter
on hand. For example, if you are fortunate you are reading this in a quiet
place with fresh air and pleasant colours around you and sitting comfortably.
You are able to select that your perception should be focused on this module.

If you are unlucky, you are reading this standing in a crowd in the middle of a
motor race track with noise, fumes, shouting, and action all around you. It is
obvious as to where the communication between you and I is more chance of
success.
Communication has the best chance of success when the message is being
passed in an environment where the stimuli around the recipient are so insig-
nificant that s/he makes a selection to react to the communication rather than
any other stimuli. That reaction is, of course, to absorb the communication
rather than the surrounding stimuli.
Conversely, communication is inefficient when the stimuli interrupt the act of

taking in the message. For example, you know the difficulty of trying to hold
a conversation in a room when the television is on. Everyone’s eyes keep
straying to the picture – even if the audio stimulus has been reduced to zero.
People ‘pay attention’ to what is the most important and significant stimuli at
any time – they select that as the main stimulus for their attention. If a gunshot
goes off while listening to a nice piece of music, that gunshot assumes signifi-
cance greater than the music because of the potential threat of personal dan-
ger, and communication of the melody ceases for a while.
We can see therefore, that communication is improved when the recipient

chooses that as the most important stimulus of the many stimuli surrounding
him.
1.6.2 Interpretation
There are three factors that can influence interpretation and these are:
 full use of our senses;
 our previous understanding or experience; and
 our ability to comprehend.
Full perception or recognition and understanding, is subject to use of all our
senses, and we have five of them. If we want to communicate the idea of a big
horse to you, we can tell you about it and we will be relying on your sense of
hearing. Perhaps while we are telling you, we might be able to show you a
picture and so no senses have interpreted the communication. If we have a
real horse nearby, you may touch it and smell it - and your understanding is
that much improved. We would not recommend that you taste the horse; but
it would complete the sensory perception if that is your choice.

Sometimes, we can dispense with use of some of our senses if we have an

existing understanding of the subject of the communication. For example, if
you have already ‘understood’ what a horse is and your perception is that it
was a fairly average sized horse, you will interpret better when we communi-
cate with you about a big horse.
Finally though, there must also be the ability to comprehend. For example, if
you have an extremely good understanding of a horse but speak no French,
our attempt to communicate about a cheval will fail. This is an extreme exam-
ple, but comprehension can be lacking in many areas and in many degrees.
For example, we know that to make water you have to mix two parts hydro-
gen and one part oxygen, but we have no idea how to actually carry out the
mix. We know that a thermostat on the domestic iron stops my clothes from
being scorched, but we do not know how it keeps the temperature between
two measurements.
So, anyone wanting to communicate this information to us will have a certain

level of comprehension upon which to build, but s/he will need to judge at
what point new information has to be interpreted. And once the level of my
previous experience and of my ability to comprehend is understood, the more
senses can be involved and the better we will interpret the communication.
1.7 Factors Influencing Perception

There are several factors that influence perception. However, these can be
grouped under physical and ideological factors. Let us look at each group of
factors.
1.7.1 Physical factors

The physical factors that influence perception are many. They include the
following: location, culture of the people, language abilities, gender, age, edu-
cation, occupation and social standing of the people communicating. We
look at each of these briefly below:
The location of the communication; We have already implied the advan-

tages of communicating in a quiet room without television; and the disadvan-
tages of communicating where there is too much noise.

The culture of the people communicating also influences perception. It

is a difficult task to explain the prestige enjoyed by a sekuru (grandfather) to
someone from Peru;
Language abilities also affect perception. The difficulty of foreign languages

is not the only barrier, and a brilliant surgeon may have great difficulty under-
standing how to build a straight wall when the description is given in his/her
own language.
Gender, age, education, past experience and religious backgrounds –

these affect the communication, either in the way it is passed or in the inter-
pretation of it.
Occupation and standing in society also influence perception of the peo-

ple communicating. A military officer expects attention to be paid to what he/
she is saying whilst a poet may not be over concerned if you do not bother to
listen to him/her.
1.7.2 Ideological factors

Although it is easy to identify many of the physical factors that are affecting
the parties in communication, the ideological factors are far harder to pin-
point. We need to consider the following as they affect the other party in the
communication process:
(a) Any assumptions and preconceived ideas that exist – for example, does
the other party assume that I know what s/he is talking about, or does
s/he really think that the staff will accept a 5% pay rise?
(b) Attitudes, bias, prejudice, values and beliefs – for example, why did s/
he flinch when we said that you cannot trust anybody with red hair?
(c) Interests, tastes and preferences, likes and dislikes, and point of view –
for example, does the idea of cutting down the tree to make car park-
ing upset him?
(d) Expectations of either party – for example, does s/he think leave can
be taken whenever s/he wants it?
(e) Mood – for example, if one party is embroiled in a messy divorce case
at the moment, discussion of having a staff cocktail party with spouses
invited will not be welcome.
1.7.3 Physiological factors

These also have an influence on perception. In the book Communication
and Nursing Education:

physiological barriers to communication are related with limitations of the hu-

man body and the human mind (memory, attention and perception). Physi-
ological barriers may result from individuals’ personal discomfort, caused by
ill-health, poor eye sight or hearing difficulties
(my.safaribooksonline.com/book/...1...of-communication.../ch1_7_xhtml).
To conclude this section, we have seen that perception lies at the centre of the
communication process and it is facilitated by a large number of factors. When
you are communicating, you have more chances of being successful if you
recognise that several of these-factors do exist and you can identify which are
in place in this situation.
Activity 1.2
 How do some of the factors discussed above influence perception?
?  Which of the factors discussed in the above section in influence the
perception of:
 Workers staging a strike against a member of the management they
want fired
 Members of the management who comprise a disciplinary body trying
an employee who led others to vandalise company property
For each scenario, explain how these factors influence perception.
1.8 Summary
In this unit, we introduced you to the subject of communication and identified
the fundamental reasons for communication. We sought a definition but con-
cluded that no one definition was adequate although there are several ways to
describe communication. Further, we discussed the passive and active com-
munication, purposes of communication, perception and its influence on com-
munication.

References
Berko, R.M., Wolvin, A.D. and Wolvin, D.R. (1998). Communication: A
Social and Career Focus. (7th ed.) Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Cherry, K. (undated) Perception and the Perceptual Process
psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/ss/perceptproc.htm
accessed on 02/08/12.
Cronje G.J. de J. et al (1994). Introduction to the Economic and Manage-
ment Environment Study Guide I. Pretoria: UNISA.
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Fielding, M. (1997). Effective Communication in Organisations: Prepar-
ing messages that communicate. (2nd Ed.) Kenwyn: Juta and Co.
Ltd.
Fiske, J. (1990). Introduction to Communication Studies 2nd Ed New York:
Routledge.
my.safaribooksonline.com/book/...1...of-communication.../ch1_7_xhtml
Sanchez, N. (undated) Communication Process
www.stfrancis.edu/ba/ghkicku//stubwebs/...comproc.htm accessed on 16/07/
12.
Webster’s Dictionary Universalism.academic.ru/95292/communication
www.cls.utk.edu/pdf/ls/Week1-Lesson7.pdf accessed on 10/07/12.

Unit Two
The Communication Process
2.0 Introduction
I
n Unit 1, we concluded that no single definition covers all aspects of com
munication. So, although we have no definition, we have seen that there
are a number of areas where we have to be able to analyse the best
approach so that we make communication effective. Remember that com-
munication is not a precise science based on absolute facts – it is a dynamic
and vital skill developed to satisfy the basic need of humans wishing to inter-
act with others. In this unit let us look at the components or elements of the
communication process and analyse some of the elements of the communica-
tion process.
2.1 Objectives
 list the elements of the communication process
 state the most suitable mode of communication for your organisation
 analyse of some of the elements of communication
2.2 The Fundamental Elements

The objective of successful communication is to transfer information so that it
is received with the intended meaning. Basically, there are three elements in
communication namely the sender, information and recipient. Let us look at
these elements in a little detail.
2.2.1 The sender, communicator, transmitter or source

The sender is the ‘person’ responsible for passing the information. We have
used the word ‘person’ because, although the sender may be an individual, it
may also be a group of people such as a committee, or an organisation such
as a company, a club or government.
2.2.2 The information

Sometimes referred to as ‘the message’, the information that is to be trans-
ferred forms the basis of the communication. It is the actual data that you
want to convey to the recipient. Even though it is known as information, it
does not have to be a fact - it can be an opinion, an idea or a combination of
all three. For example, you want to tell a joke to a friend – that is still informa-
tion in the context of communication. If there is no information to be passed,
there needs to be no communication.
2.2.3 The recipient or receiver

This is the ‘person’ to whom the information is directed and, as in the case of
the sender, that person may be an individual, a group such as a committee or
a firm or even the general public.
We are going to look at some models developed by a number of experts and

we will ask you to apply these critically and to then formulate your own ideas

Unit 2 The Communication Process
on their validity. Before doing this though, we need to identify certain other
aspects of the communication process which are used in some of these mod-
els.
So far we have given you three tangible objects as being the elements. Even
though these others could be thought of as activities, they are also referred to
as ‘elements’ in the process in some of the models, and so it is appropriate to
look at them now.
2.2.4 The aim

The aim is the purpose of transferring the information and there are three
categories:
 to inform – this may be to supply information – sometimes factual but
other times humorous or shocking - or an assessment or judgement of
the characteristics of a particular thing;
 to influence - to persuade the recipient to adopt a particular idea, to
accept an opinion or to follow a course of action;
 to initiate action - to make the recipient respond by performing a par-
ticular activity.
Each of these can be for a long- term result or just for a particular incident.
Sometimes, the communication may be intended to meet two or all three of

the aims. For example, you may inform a recipient of a fact which will influ-
ence him/her to respect your abilities and cause him/her to initiate the granting
of a bonus to you.
Activity 2.1
?
1. Take ten of your workmates and place them at five-metre intervals.
Write a message about your work and let the first person quietly read
it. Tell the person to whisper the message to the second person who
takes it to the third, and so on until it reaches the tenth person. Let the
last person to receive the message announce it. Compare the written
with the announced message.
 Are the messages the same? If they are different, state the differences.
 If the same how did your team maintain the consistency of the message?
 If different, how did the message change?
 How would such change affect the operations of your enterprise?

2.2.5 Encoding the information

This is the process by which the sender puts the information into a medium
suitable for sending and is obviously an activity. Do you remember that one
of our definitions in Unit 1 saw the use of ‘speech, behaviour, writing or graphics’
while another spoke of ‘symbols, signs or behaviour’? So, encoding can be
achieved through the use of written or spoken language, body language. When
language is not used verbally or written, it is convenient to group it as being
responsive communication through body language or visual expression.
Behaviour or ‘body language’ can be a gesture or a sign. We look at this in

greater detail later; we can identify now that if a person talks to you with a
frown on his/her face, the message takes on a different meaning than if s/he
talks with a smile. If an interview is conducted by a person sitting bolt upright
at a desk, its impact is different to where the interviewer is sitting in an easy
chair and has his legs crossed towards you.
Encoding can be in a visual way as well. It is said that a picture saves a

hundred words and every day, we see many signs on the road such as ‘Stop’
written on it. We also see poles with a set of three lights showing from time to
time – red, orange and green and we know what that encoded information is
saying to us. Advertisers use visual encoding extensively and most of the world’s
population knows what message has been encoded by use of the word ‘Coke’.
Many written communications contain a lot of information in bar charts or
other graphic representations.
The aim which we discussed above often guides us in or even dictates the
way we have to encode the information. For example, if we want to inform
a recipient about his/her legal rights, a clear but detailed written message is
appropriate. If we want to invite someone to a party, we can use a pre-
printed letter and just fill in the time, date and place.
Encoding is extremely important because the way information is made avail-

able to the recipient is crucial to the correct understanding of the information.
This is important in two respects.
(a) If we unexpectedly came across the street sign and it was encoded
‘Ospt’ instead of ‘Stop’, there would be many accidents before the
new way of sending that message was received with the intended mean-
ing.
(b) In addition though, we need to have this type of information conveyed
by a simple sign because, while driving a vehicle, we need to interpret
and react without delay.

We do not need, nor indeed want, such a message to be encoded as a long

explanation that we must signal our intention to stop, slow down the car,
select neutral and put on the brake. By the time we have read all that, we are
through the stop street. Conversely, to put just the word ‘Use’ on a fire
extinguisher would be poor encoding. Using a fire extinguisher is not a com-
mon event and so, although a similar degree of urgency of reaction may be
essential, full instructions with pictures is needed.
2.2.6 The medium

The medium is the generic communication instrument used to transfer the
message. Generally speaking, there are three main forms of media – written,
oral, and visual.
2.2.7 The channel

This is the physical means by which the medium incorporating the information
is transferred and examples include:
 the postal service or a notice-board in the case of a written communi-
cation;
 an interview situation or telephone system for oral communication; or
 an advertising bill board or a film in the case of visual communication.
2.2.8 Decoding
This is the process by which the recipient interprets the meaning of the mes-
sage. The intention must always be to carry out the process of communica-
tion so that the recipient now has the same information as the sender. This
does not always happen unfortunately
and the interpretation may not be as intended – rather the recipient now un-
derstands the message to mean what s/he has interpreted it to mean. Some-
times the meaning may be inferior to what was intended but occasionally it
may be superior. For example, the message is “Let’s have dinner at the Ritz
Hotel on Thursday”, and the recipient may:
 not decode either the meal, the venue or the day and so fail to arrive; or
 decode the message and interpret this to mean that very smart clothes
must be worn.
The way to ensure that decoding has occurred satisfactorily or, at least, not in
an inferior way is to activate feedback.

2.2.9 Feedback
Feedback is used to describe the way in which the sender finds out how the
message has been decoded, and it relies on the way the recipient reacts to the
message. Feedback is usually in the form of another message – ‘Shall I meet
you in the foyer of Meikles Hotel at 7.30 on Thursday wearing a dark suit?’
Nothing can be clearer than that, and feedback using language is usually pref-
erable – sometimes written is essential as in the case of legal or other business
matters, but often a verbal feedback is adequate.
Responsive communication may be equally acceptable though - if the sender

can identify that response. For example, the instinctive reaction of the recipi-
ent such as a nod or shake of the head may be adequate in a simple commu-
nication. This is obviously not suitable when either:
 a complicated message is being passed; and/or
 the sender cannot see the participant’s responsive communication .
(a) ‘That is tremendous, well done’; or

(b) ‘So what?’; or
(c) ‘That’s disappointing because the other team sold twice as many as
you’.
Often a communication requires the recipient to take some action – for exam-
ple, if the message is to close a door and the recipient stays seated, the feed-
back is that the message has not been decoded as the sender would wish.
Sometimes, responsive reaction is more revealing than language reaction. This

is especially when communication is for the purpose of training. For, if you
explain how to operate a machine, the best feedback is to see the recipient
operating it correctly. A language feedback of ‘Yes I know how to do it’ at
the end of the training demonstration often fails to be convincing.
Feedback is intended to enable the sender to decide whether or not the mes-
sage has achieved its aim. If the medium used makes it possible, s/he should
watch the recipient’s response carefully, to look for positive reactions and to
see if that correlates to the language response. This is why virtually every
appointment is carried out only after an interview. If a question ‘Why did you
leave your last job?’ causes obvious embarrassment that will be seen in re-
sponsive reaction but not identified in language reaction.
If the medium does not allow for visual interpretation of the response, the
sender must use the best feedback available and keep testing this until he/she

is sure that the recipient has correctly decoded the information and his inter-
pretation is the same as that of the sender.
For example, we mentioned having informed a recipient of a fact which should

influence him/her to respect your abilities and cause him/her to initiate the
granting of a bonus to you. Feedback is essential because the recipient could
decode that message in a number of ways. That is what feedback is all about
and why it is important to understanding the impact a message has had. The
communication is not complete until feedback has occurred.
Activity 2.2
?  Compare and contrast encoding and decoding.

 How important is feedback to communication? Explain with examples
from your own experience.
 Describe the most important channels of communication in your
enterprise. How effective is each channel? How can you improve the
effectiveness of your channels of communication?
 The leaders of most organisations precipitate strikes because they did
not make an effort to understand both their organisations and the people
who comprise them. Choose two organisations that have suffered from
strikes recently and find out whether this assertion is true.
2.3 Summary
In this unit we discussed the communication process and we also dealt with
useful analyses that you should perform in your communications. Some of the
elements that comprise the communication process are the sender, the infor-
mation, receiver, medium, channel and feedback.

References
Berko, R.M., Wolvin, A.D. and Wolvin, D.R. (1998). Communicating: A
ing messages that communicate (2nd Ed.) Kenwyn: Juta and Co.
Ltd.

Unit Three
Theory in Communication and

Communication Models
3.0 Introduction
T
he means of communication and the quality vary enormously and one of
the purposes of this module is to identify the best practice in communi
cation depending on the circumstances prevailing. As a result, you need
to understand the theoretical side of communicating.
Practice is vitally important but this does not mean that the theory is not valu-
able too. A good understanding of communications theory ensures that your
communication runs smoothly in practice. We also discuss communication
models that have arisen out of the communication theory, that is, the linear
process model, the interactive process model and the transactional process
model.
3.1 Objectives
By this end of the unit, you should be able to:
 explain what a theory is
 describe the development of theories, their importance and value in
practice
 state the origin of the communication theory
 discuss the significance of the linear transmission model
 analyse the interactive process model
 evaluate the transactional process model
3.2 Identifying What a Theory Is

To begin, a theory is not a fact. Facts are proven and cannot be challenged.
For example, if one holds up a glass and let go, it will fall – that is a fact.
When it stops falling because it has hit something like the ground, it may
break. It is not a fact that it will break, because there are known cases when
a glass has fallen and not broken. When the surface on which the glass falls is
hard, there is a strong possibility that it will break but that is not a fact.
The easiest way to understand a theory is that – it is a statement based on the

knowledge that exists at a particular time of the topic and that provides the
best explanation available. That definition allows for a theory to be devel-
oped as further knowledge becomes available, and in some cases the theory
may be dismissed if the knowledge is overwhelmingly against the existing
theory. For example, there was once a theory that the world was flat – and
there is a society that is still gathering knowledge to try to have that accepted
as a fact. However, as the adventurous sailors of the 14th and 15th Century
sailed further and further from Europe without falling off the edge, the knowl-
edge that was available led to an alternative theory.
In communication which is the subject of our study, there are not a lot of
proven and unassailable facts. This is essentially because we are dealing with
something that happens between two or more individuals and the fact that
they are individuals makes them react differently.
Those factors stand in the way of most of the communication methods and
skills being based on fact. For example, if I meet somebody in the street and
greet him/her correctly, it is not a fact that he/she will respond by returning the
greeting. It is a theory that is based on the knowledge that exists at this

Unit 3 Theory in Communication and Communication Models
particular time about how people react to a polite greeting, the best explana-
tion available is that the other person will respond in the same way. But it falls
short of being a fact because he/she may ignore my greeting completely or
even argue with me that it is not a good morning in any way, shape or form.
If there is no certainty that any theory is correct, what use are they. The value
is that a theory, being based on the knowledge that exists now, gives us a
better ability to use the information we have about the subject. So, for exam-
ple, when Edison published his theory on the flow of electricity this enabled
Osman to use that information to invent a light bulb. When, later, you read the
theory that noise is a barrier to communication, you will understand the need
to so arrange your attempts to communicate that you will reduce noise to the
minimum. It is not a fact that noise is a barrier, because a foreman in a noisy
factory can communicate with his mechanic.
Activity 3.1
1. To what extent is it true that a “theory is a statement . . . best explanation
? available?” Justify.
2. In what ways are facts about communication different from theory of
communication?
3. How does a clean understanding of analysing a theory in communication
help you as a manager to understand communication at your workplace?
3.3 The Communication Theories in Practice

Always be ready to challenge a theory and then redefine it if necessary for
clarity. In the practice of communication and, if you are an academic in many
other subjects, you will find that you have to make decisions about which
principles and strategies will be the most helpful. Theories are there to help
you with that identification, and so then; you must decide on the most benefi-
cial way of applying them in a given situation.
You must always be critical of any theory placed before you and use them
and the concepts that were behind them intelligently. Think about the validity,
applicability and limitations of each theory in relation to the problem or task
on hand.

Never forget the overall scenario in which you are working. For example,
communication theory may tell you that deserved discipline is better held over
until emotions are under control, but the overall scenario may be that you
have a riot on your hands and you have to stop it.
Kwaramba (2000:8-9) cites McQuail (1994) in his theory of communication

who considers communication as “when a source transmits a message through
a channel; the message will have certain effects on the attitude and behaviour
of the receiver”. He also derives communication theory from Jansen and
Steinberg who say “a theory consists of a number of interrelated concepts,
which are in turn words to which specific meanings are often attached in a
given field. For example, in the communication field, words such as message,
text, channel, reception, communicator and receiver …are all concepts that
have been attached with specific and consistent meanings among scholars of
communication.”
Activity 3.2
?
1. In communication theory propounded by Jansen and Steinberg, evaluate
the interrelated aspects they bring out.
3.4 Transmission Models of Communication/The

Linear Process Models
These are sometimes called ‘The Linear Process Models’ and are based on
the simple process of a sender sending information to a receiver. The concept
is that the meaning of the communication is contained solely within the mes-
sage. The best example of this is Lasswell’s Formula that was developed
initially by Harold Lasswell in 1947 and was based on the following formula.
Who? Says what? In what To whom? With what

channel/ effect?
Communicator Message Channel Receiver Effect
Control Content Medium Audience Effects
Research Research Research Research Research

Lasswell was a sociologist who was primarily concerned with mass commu-
nications and propaganda. As you can see, it is based on five of the elements
that we have discussed already. Lasswell preferred the term ‘communica-
tor’ to ‘sender’ but other specialists point out that that is not appropriate
because until feedback shows that the message has been received, communi-
cation has not taken place.
Because Lasswell was concerned with the media, his research about “Who’
is the communicator was directed particularly to the aims and political alle-
giance of the newspaper owners, and to what extent they controlled editorial
policy and newspaper content. This does not mean that Lasswell’s formula is
inappropriate to interpersonal communication because you yourself may of-
ten have asked yourself ‘Why did s/he ask that?’ You are questioning what
controlled that communication. As another example, somebody you associ-
ate with says to you ‘Do you think Sibanda understands how ridiculous his
actions were last Thursday?’ and (Lasswell’s) control research causes you to
question the motive of the person who asked you that question - the ‘commu-
nicator’.
As far as the message is concerned, Lasswell was interested in how the con-
tent was presented to achieve the best – and the desired – feedback. For
example, the aim of ‘Government has successfully overcome the bread short-
age by ….’ would be to cause the receiver to encode the message as praise
for Government, rather than encoding it as criticism that it should have fore-
seen and prevented a bread shortage in the first place.
In our day- to- day communications, we also place importance on ‘content

research’ as we dress our best for an interview or other important meeting,
and casual for a day of sport or relaxation.
Lasswell’s channel recognises the use of the five senses we discussed earlier
– sight, sound, touch, taste and smell – and he recognised the greater power
of appealing to more than one sense when sending the message.
To Lasswell, the audience was important as the recipient and there are a
number of techniques that can be used to find out as much as you can about
your audience. In interpersonal communication, we either, know the recipient
well and so know how to interact; or it usually does not matter. To explain the
latter, we have mentioned already buying the train ticket and since we will
probably never see the person again, it does not matter at all if we ‘rub him up
the wrong way’. In other cases though, the first communication with an un-
known audience is destined to be the first of many encounters and so the
ability to be able to sum up the type of person s/he is a wonderful attribute.

Finally, Lasswell was interested in research into the effects of the communica-
tion – as you would expect from his bias towards the media. But every
communicator should have this interest because we do not just say things for
no reason. We do not communicate in a vacuum – the object usually is to
achieve some response or action even if the communication is as simple as
‘Good morning’.
3.5 Interactive Process Model

The linear model was seriously deficient in that it assumed that communica-
tion is a one way process. This model overcomes that inadequacy as it pro-
poses that the meaning derived will be produced by the recipient rather than
what is contained in the message.
It also suggests that there is some reaction to every communication – even if

the message is not specifically intended to create a reaction. That reaction
might be intended such as when a question is asked, or it may be unintentional
such as when a person makes a statement that really needs no formal re-
sponse. In fact, there will be some response because the receiver will instinc-
tively react – it may be by a nod of the head or just a shrug of the shoulders.
‘Make room for more people in the bus’ usually results in a reaction even
though none of the passengers will reply ‘Yes conductor; is that enough room?’
The linear model fails to recognise this ‘feedback’.
3.5.1 The Shannon-Weaver Model

Two years later in 1949, Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver developed
what was called a general model of communication that became a standard
concept in human communication.
INFORMATION TRANSMITTER RECEIVER DESTINATION
NOISE
Fig.3.2

Shannon and Weaver were primarily interested in communication technology

and their aim was to identify noise and to separate it from information carrying
signals. We have not, so far, dealt with ‘noise’ but at this stage we need to
identify it as anything that tends to disrupt the efficient transmission of com-
munication for example the television set on during a conversation often makes
it difficult if not impossible to communicate effectively.
Despite being based on technology, there is a strong similarity with Lasswell’s

formula, although later, the model was developed to allow for feedback and
was redefined. Shannon and Weaver based their formula on six elements – a
source, an encoder, a message, a channel, a decoder and a receiver.
This model has become accepted as the generic ‘transmission model’, but it
does have a weakness in that it assumes that any essential meanings of the
message are somehow contained within the message and will be interpreted
by the recipient. That is not necessarily the case however, and many mes-
sages are complex with the decoder element failing to recreate the meaning or
intention of the message before it was encoded.
The encoder is a very important part of the Shannon and Weaver model for it
is the way in which the source or sender expresses his/her purpose using the
message – it may be expressing friendliness, giving information, explaining an
idea, persuading the receiver and so on. And so, the message has to be
encoded properly to achieve that aim. In verbal communication, encoding
can be by facial expression, tone of voice, bodily movement or expression. In
written communication, encoding becomes more difficult and, for example, to
encode a message that you demand payment for services rendered within ten
days requires different communication skills from those required in respond-
ing to a vacancy notice.
This introduced a new concept in communication theory because it highlighted

the fact that if the encoding of a message is wrong, there is little prospect that
the decoder will pass the message to the receiver with clarity of meaning. For

example, ‘I think it’s time that I asked you to pay me before 5th June and I
don’t feel like waiting any longer for my money, please!!’ is not likely to result
in the same sense of demand that the sender wants to convey to the recipient.
The Shannon/Weaver model was the first to introduce the concept of the
decoder that translates the message received and, hopefully, implants it into
the recipient with the same meaning as it had before encoding. It is an impor-
tant concept because it does highlight the fact that the recipient must also be
equipped to receive the message. Talk to a deaf person and, unless s/he can
lip-read, s/he will not be able to decode the message. Talk to a German in
Shona and the same problem will arise. Talk to a child of four about nuclear
physics and the decoder is again inadequate. Generally, the recipient has all
the senses working that are required to decode a message, but s/he cannot
decode it.
Shannon and Weaver identified that there are various factors that interfere
with the transmission of the message – usually at the encoding/decoding stages
- and they called it ‘noise’. Noise may not necessarily be audible, it can be
any form of interference – for example the tree branch that is concealing the
Stop sign on the road. And in fact, it is often audible noise that is easier
controlled than non-audible noise for we can always turn off the television, tell
people to stop talking during a lecture, go outside the room where the party is
on so as to hold a quiet conversation, close the window that is open onto the
street and so on.
These are all examples of what we might call ‘physical noise’ – physical in that
something is a deliberate barrier to the efficient encoding and or decoding of
a message. The fallen tree, the people talking, traffic noise; are deliberate
activities that can be eliminated with some effort.
In certain cases, official ‘propaganda’ can create noise so that during a time
of economic crisis there can be a deliberate campaign to take peoples’ minds
off it by introducing something that is easier for the people to associate with.
This could be a Royal wedding or an international sporting fixture or a minor
political scandal or a referendum on some matter. The people then avoid
having to decode the communications about the crisis, and that takes the heat
off Government, the City Council or whichever group faces criticism over the
crisis.
Shannon and Weaver also identified what they called ‘semantic noise’ which
is interference that is caused by distractions that are not physical. This source
of noise is also very difficult to eliminate for, the noise ‘just happens’ without

any deliberate intention to create it. To explain – We illustrate semantic noise

as the following distractions.
(a) Visual distraction noise is very common and arises when, during the
course of communication, something affects one of the senses of the
recipient - mainly the sense of sight but also the other senses. It may be
something that is pleasurable or annoying, or even humorous. For ex-
ample, the process of communication may be disrupted if the recipient
is a man and a very attractive woman walks past during the transmis-
sion of the message. At the other end of the scale, disruption may be
caused by witnessing a person throwing litter on the pavement, or in
seeing somebody trip and almost fall. If the sender is wearing gaudy
clothing or talks with a stutter and keeps scratching himself/herself, this
may be enough to cause semantic noise.
(b) Inadequate understanding noise arises when there is no common
understanding shared between the sender and the recipient. It may
arise from use of an unknown language or it may be that the recipient’s
understanding of the topic is too inadequate to allow him to follow
what the sender is talking about.
(c) Wrong signal noise arises when, the sender knows what he wants to
communicate but s/he gets so bogged down with irrelevancies that the
real message is wrapped up in this semantic noise and is not received
clearly by the recipient. For example, the aim is to inform the recipient
that a parcel is at the Post Office for him but the sender confuses the
whole message by emphasising information about where the Post Of-
fice is, what hours it is open and other interesting but minor matters.
(d) Attitude noise – if the recipient has a relationship of some sort with
the sender, this can cause semantic noise. Dislike or disrespect for the
sender will create another barrier in the communication process whereas
a liking or respect for the sender will cause the recipient to work extra
hard at decoding the message correctly. Even without a prior relation-
ship, there can be other attitudes that arise – for example if a mature
machine minder finds that s/he has to take instructions from a very
much younger person, there is danger of the ‘wet behind the ears’ or
‘young upstart thinks s/he knows everything’ attitude. Long hair in a
man, tattoos or studs worn by either sex can cause an attitude.
Finally, Shannon and Weaver recognised the need for the recipient/receiver
similar to be in systems, for example a person speaking English to one under-
standing English qualifies to be a similar system.
As we have seen, Shannon and Weaver also introduced the concept of feed-
back and we have already looked at the various ways this can be signified.

Face- to- face communication allows for immediate and easily recognisable
feedback. Other communication requires that feedback be achieved in some
way and we have all held a phone conversation when, without the normal
feedback of ‘yes’, ‘really’ and so on, we wonder if the other person is still
listening. In a letter, you may require that the demand for payment is met
within 10 days. If you send a Christmas card to somebody, you do not expect
feedback until maybe next Christmas when they send you a card – but in that
case such feedback probably is not necessary.
In a commercial sense, feedback is usually vitally important. The advertiser

needs to know that the soft drink sales are affected favourably by that adver-
tisement, the credit controller needs to know that the debts will be paid; the
company secretary needs to know that directors will attend the board meet-
ing and so on.
It is really true that feedback is the means available to the sender to find out if
the message has been encoded and decoded correctly, and the recipient now
shares the message as he/she wanted. This is particularly so where training is
underway – the message is passed and behaviour is witnessed before the
next message is passed.
3.5.2 Wilbur Schramm Model

In 1954, Wilbur Schramm expanded on the encoder/decoder elements of
this model and emphasised the relevance of ‘fields of experience’ in helping to
improve communication. His view was that socio-cultural factors were im-
portant in communication, and the more these were similar between the sender
and the receiver, the closer understanding would be achieved.
The aim of good communication is to ensure that the message received is the
same as the message that was sent. All the elements that we identify as having
a role in the communication process should be geared up to achieve that.
This again, emphasises the need to recognise that the message is not an un-
complicated matter. We have to recognise that every message has content
and meaning – the content is often fairly easy to transmit but the meaning is
where communication can break down.
Meanings are often assumed to have been contained in the message by what-
ever signs or other encoders we want to use. Too often, it is assumed that
decoding will somehow extract and correctly apply those signals so that the
meaning of the message is clear. Many comedies have exploited, with great
effect, the error of assuming that a twitch of the eyelid is a wink instead of a

nervous tic. This leads the recipient to misunderstand the meaning of a mes-
sage from which all sorts of trouble follow.
Activity 3.3
? 1. What are the similarities and differences of the: Shannon-Weaver Model

and that of Wilbur Schramm?
2. To what extent does each model explain the communication that goes
on in your organisation? Justify your answer.
3. What aspects of communication that goes on in your organisation do
these models fail to explain?
3.5.3 Berlo’s S-M-C-R Model

This model was published in 1960 with the letters having the meaning Source,
Message, Channel and Receiver. Berlo felt that the quality of communication
depended on a relationship between the source and the receiver which he
termed a ‘fidelity’ relationship – and a thesaurus will define that as faithful-
ness, constancy, devotion and allegiance.
He also identified five that are expected to be found in both the source and
the receiver in this model namely communication skills, knowledge, social
system and culture, and attitudes. We look at each of these elements briefly.
Communication skills
Berlo identified five such skills:

(i) Speaking and writing are encoding skills which, if we lacking these,
affect our ability to communicate effectively for we find that we cannot
put the right words together correctly to make the best sense.
(ii) Listening and reading are decoding skills and the same need which are
also very important to enable us to communicate effectively.
(iii) Thought or reasoning is skills required in both encoding and decoding
and again there is a need to be able to marshal our thought processes
to pass and receive messages correctly.
In short, good use of the best language skills that are appropriate to the cir-
cumstance and the audience helps achieve good communication.

Knowledge
Berlo considered that the following factors affected the way that the source
encoded a message; attitude, options, channel and subject matter.
 Attitude – can affect the transmission of knowledge and yet a male with
an earring or three, or an attitude may in fact be subliminal so that the
sender may not even realise that subconsciously it is affecting his/her
approach. He/she may feel threatened by a new recruit in the office.
Equally, the receiver may also have attitude problems.
 The options available to encode/decode a message also affect the passing
of knowledge between sender and receiver. Some people have ex-
ceptional ability to ‘persuade’ an audience verbally as is the case with
good politicians and car salesmen while others write convincingly.
 The options of channels that are available to send the message also
affect the sending receiving of information. Today’s prime example is
how few of top management understand the value of having a Web site
for the enterprise.
 As already discussed, there has to be an understanding of the subject
matter in both the sender and the recipient for effective communication
to take place.
Social system and culture are two factors which we will deal with together
as they are closely inter-related. In rural areas around the world, there is a
strong sense of respect for the chief or the squire or the landowner depending
on which culture you are brought up in. In urban areas, this is seen as ‘rustic
and old fashioned’ and material possessions are the accepted measure of
respect. Few people break away completely from their upbringing and it comes
through in communication. In news films, we see men from several parts of
Europe greeting each other by kissing on the cheek, whereas this is quite
unacceptable in other parts of the world. However, throughout the world, it is
acceptable that women kiss each other on the cheek.
Finally, according to Berlo, attitudes also affect communication. He argues

that:
(i) If you have no confidence in your ability to communicate, it shows
through;
(ii) If your attitude towards the subject matter; reflects that you have your
own doubts, this will also be apparent to the receiver.
(iii) Towards the recipient, for if you are a man and he greeted you by
kissing you on the cheek, you may be standing well away from him thus
diluting the communication.

Thus, the more highly developed or compatible these elements are in the
source and the receiver, the better the communication that passes between
them. If a source finds that in a group of receivers there is one person whose
‘relationships’ are strong enough that communication is easy with him, he
tends to concentrate future communication to that person.
Moving on from Berlo’s ‘source’, we come to the message, and he consid-

ered three aspects were important: content, code and treatment.
(a) Berlo stressed the importance of structuring the content in such a way
that the thought process of the receiver can follow the logic. For ex-
ample, ‘It’s raining, and I must take my umbrella’ is equally effective as
“I must take my umbrella because it’s raining’. In most communica-
tions with a multiple group of ideas, if the sequence is not logical the
message will be confused.
(b) The code refers to the way to communicate and the words that express
the content to the greatest effect.
(c) The treatment is the selection of content and the choice of the code in
which the source decides to express the message. For example, if
asked to give an explanation of how a spark plug works in a car, you
can give a lot of explanations can including technical, temperatures and
voltages, and forth.
In looking at the channel, Berlo drew a comparison with sending a package
across a river and identified that the channels involved would be:
a boat – the physical means by which the message is transmitted
Activity 3.4
? 1. Explain Berlo’s S-M-C-R Model of communication.

2. Briefly identify and explain the factors that Berlo considered to be
affecting the quality of communication.
3. In your own opinion based on your experience at work, do these factors
influence the quality of communication? Explain.

3.6 The Transactional Process Model

The transactional process model proposes that the meaning in a message is
constantly negotiated by those involved – the sender and the recipient. What
actually happens is that while we are decoding and receiving, we are already
encoding and sending. Your boss comes in and says that s/he has been look-
ing at your performance and already you are sitting up and sending a smiling
message back to him because you are confident that he will say s/he is pleased.
This could then be followed by a statement that you are going to get a pay rise
– you are now sending your signals as fast as s/he is sending his/hers.
The Transactional Model has the following features:

 People are connected through communication they engage in transac-
tion
 Each one is a sender-receiver not just a sender or a receiver
 Communication affects all parties involved
 Communication is simultaneous
 Takes into cognisance the communication environment and how one
interprets the data
 Communicators share the same meaning of the message
( h t t p : / / e n . w i k i p e d i a . o r g / w i k i /
Models_of_communication#Transactional_Model)
When you develop the message you want to send, you have in mind the
meaning – but the exact meaning is very unlikely to be received correctly the
first time unless it is a simple statement like ‘Shut the door on the left’. ‘Shut
the door’ will not be enough if there are more than one open door. So, in the
transactional process, a meaning to the message is negotiated between the
sender and the recipient until the message has been correctly passed and thus
feedback is important at every stage.
3.6.1 Osgood and Schramm Circular Model

Osgood and Schramm’s vial is that communication is circular. They devel-
oped their model to explain the concept of it being an endless process. We
can depict this as in Fig. 3.4.

Fig .3.4
Fig 3.4 illustrates the concept that the parties engaged in communication are
continually changing roles between sender and receiver. The concept is that
receiving a message requires an immediate action of interpreting that message
so as to make sense of it. In most cases a voluntary or involuntary return
message is required and if we do not interpret the message received, we can
make a fool of ourselves.
Osgood and Schramm placed more emphasis on interpretation than on sim-

ply decoding which is to receive the message as it was in the mind of the
sender. If you see a person throw a ball at you, you decode the message that
he wants the ball to get to you – you interpret it that you must catch it. When-
ever we receive a communication through any of our senses, we need to
interpret the message. Sight and touch tell me it’s raining, and so I interpret
that as meaning I will get wet, or I can put up an umbrella if I have one, or I
can take shelter, but I have to be at a place in 10 minutes and so how long will
it rain and how wet will I get, and so on. These are all instinctive interpreta-
tions of one event.
However, we do not all react in the same way. A person who believes punc-
tuality is important will, in the last example, get to that place even if he gets
wet whereas someone else will expect the person at the place to understand
that it wasn’t worth getting wet just to be on time.
Accordingly, when you are communicating, you need to try to understand

that different criteria do exist and this will enable you to communicate better
with your recipient or audience.
You notice that ‘noise’ is missing from this model, but it was explained in the
accompanying theory, and the criterion that people apply in interpreting is
equivalent.

3.6.2 Gerbner’s General Model

This theory draws extensively on the Osgood and Schramm model and also
incorporates the idea that communication is a dynamic function of humans.
The communication – whether verbal, visual or otherwise – is identified as an
‘Event’ which is perceived by ‘Man’ but perception goes beyond recognising
the event as it has to include a process of active interpretation. We note by
that ‘event’, Gerbner is referring to the source or the sender but he is using a
word to encompass all communicative occurrences like rain, a loud noise or
words spoken or read. Gerbner then concentrated on the factors that affect
the way that perception occurs and he identified:
 Assumptions
 Attitudes;
 points of view; and
 Experience of the recipient
You can see that Berlo’s ideas are also well represented in this model. Gerbner
identified three other important conditions that arise due to those factors that
affect our perception. Emphasis is on those factors that can affect ‘fidelity’.
 Selection – the recipient of the message will select what s/he wants to
‘accept’ from the event. For example, as you know it is the first crash
of thunder that attracts our attention and thereafter we pay less atten-
tion. This is selection. We filter out those parts of the event or the
communication that we feel needs less of our attention. This action is
sometimes referred to a ‘gate keeping’.
 Context – meaning the context in which the communication occurs,
also known as the ‘situational dimension’. It is a regular feature of
communication but is easiest explained by examples. If you go to a
football match, you will generally hear most of the spectators shouting
that the referee is blind and a total fool and most of those in the home
team are not worthy to be allowed out of the geriatric home. After the
match, those same people will be ‘okay’ and most of the crowd would
treat them with respect as they would anyone else. This is context, and
Gerbner felt this played a part in how a recipient determines the mean-
ing of the message. As another example, if a person says ‘He is a
widow’, the context demands you to interpret that to mean ‘He is a
widower’, or ‘She is a widow’.
 Availability – relates to the number of ‘events’ or sources of commu-
nication. If we are deluged under communications that smoking is dan-
gerous to our health, we come to interpret that message more seriously
than if we see it only once or twice. If we are told by cigarette manu-

facturers that smoking is not bad for our health, we begin to look for
what evidence there is either way and apply the earlier factors to our
perception of the two messages.
In other models, timing is seen as important – for example if a person’s child
is gravely ill it is going to be a tremendous barrier to any communication. If
there is a meeting scheduled for 10.00 and a person arrives at 11.00 without
a good reason, everything about the way that meeting will take place is going
to change. Timing can also extend to the period in which the communication
occurred. For example, if these notes had been written 40 years ago, there
would have been no need to use ‘she/he’ as gender issues were overlooked.
This, of course, comes back to the socio-cultural concepts that we have al-
ready discussed.
So, Gerbner’s theory concluded that having perceived an ‘event’, the closer
the recipient is able to get to the real ‘event’ - or the meaning of the commu-
nication – is determined by his assumptions, point of view, experience and
social factors. He called this ‘the perceptual dimension’. Gerbner then ex-
plored the process when the recipient became a source and the ‘event’ was
passed on to another person. He called this a ‘statement about an event’,
and identified the problem when s/he has to use channels that may not be as
efficient as those available when the event was first perceived.
Channels may be deficient in other ways though - a lack of access to the

required medium, different noise might be present and so on. If you have
heard a witness in court describe the cause and scene of a vehicle accident,
or if you have read a newspaper report on some incident you saw, you will
know how the statement of event can change the whole message. Gerbner
identified perception as being the main cause of variation, and he defined the
cause of deficiency in making an effective statement of an event as the ‘means
and controls dimension’.
We can conclude our discussion of the transactional process models by trying

to incorporate all the ideas into a single diagram as follows.

Fig.3.5
Activity 3.5
 What are the best tenets of the Transactional Model?
?  Compare and contrast the use of the Circular Model and the General
Model.
 How useful are the models discussed in this unit to an organisation’s
administration on a daily basis? Explain.
3.7 Summary
In this unit, we introduced the importance of theory and how this affects our
studies of communication. Theory is often based on nothing approaching
reality, but it has an important place in any studies. A Theory is a statement
based on the knowledge that exists at a particular time of the topic. It can be
further developed as new knowledge becomes available. It can also be dis-
missed if the new knowledge is overwhelmingly against the existing theory.
Theories are developed from a number of concepts which will have come
from a number of observations.

Theories:
 provide a tentative explanation of something that is not certain
 help us organise our own ideas
 can be used to try and predict outcomes
 can give a better understanding of the unknown
Always be critical of any theory you come across. Weigh its validity, applica-
bility and limitations, depending on the task on hand.
In this unit we also discussed the communication models, that is, the linear
transmission model, the interactive model and the transactional process model
and the models were used to illustrate the communication process. These
models are useful and can be used in different contexts.

References
Cronje, G.J. de J. et al (1994). Introduction to the Economic and Man-
agement Environment Study Guide I. Pretoria: UNISA.
ing messages that communicate. (2nd Ed.) Kenwyn: Juta and Co.
Ltd.
Kwaramba, A.D. (2000). Theories of Communication Media and New
Media Technology Module HMS 101/BAMS 101. Harare: Zimba-
bwe Open University.

Unit Four
Group Communications
4.0 Introduction
I
n this unit we define a group. We also discuss the importance of commu
nication in a group, the influence of group culture, individuals within groups
and group dynamics. Communication systems within groups and informal
channels of communication are explained.
4.1 Objectives
 describe the function of communication in a group
 analyse the influence of group culture and individuals within groups
 evaluate communication flows within groups
 discuss the relevance of grapevine in business communication
 examine constructive and destructive group behaviour
4.2 Definition of Group

A group is an association of people who accept that they identify with each
other and interact together to achieve some shared objective or interest.
The three essential elements that constitute a group are that:

 members see themselves as belonging;
 they have a shared purpose; and
 they accept a responsibility to work with the others in the group. It is
the combination of these elements that contrasts a group from simply ‘a
number of people’.
Groups operate with various degrees of formality from the formal work situ-
ation to the very informal group of four playing golf on a Wednesday after-
noon. All of us belong to many groups and we like this because these groups
meet many of our needs. We need to interact with other people and to share
skills and resources. Observation of the other members helps us improve our
understanding of problems and of life’s joys. The knowledge, skills and abili-
ties of individual members play an important role in determining the group’s
success and their ability to achieve set targets effectively and in a synergistic
manner. Interpersonal skills play an important role for high work group per-
formance. These include conflict management and resolution skills, collabo-
rative problem solving abilities and effective communication skills.
Personality aspects also affect group attitudes and behaviour. We have at-
tributes with positive connotations in our culture which tend to be positively
related to group productivity, morale and cohesiveness – sociability, initiative,
openness and flexibility. Negative evaluated characteristics include authori-
tarianism, dominance which tends to be negatively related variables (Robbins
2004).

We are also in the group for a common purpose and we believe we can
achieve this better as a group than individually – whoever heard of a one man
football team? This achievement can be very different in that it can be task or
support of oriented.
 Task-orientated achievement is something worthwhile and we have a
part to play – for example, the wildlife society or the SPCA or Island
Hospice, and most employment situations fall into this category.
 Support orientated achievements provides some sort of strength that
any or all of its members will benefit from – For example, Bible Study
or some forms of counselling.
Groups also vary in size considerably – probably three is about the minimum
and the size can run into the hundreds, although sub-groups would probably
form in that environment if participation and a satisfying sense of belonging is
to be achieved. From a communications perspective, the process becomes
more difficult as the group gets larger than between 10 to 15 participants.
Even though the group still exists for ‘the common purpose’, as it grows
larger, members start to find others in the group who share their own addi-
tional ambitions, and interest in the common purpose will become diluted so
that it will not be held with the same intensity. Each group has its own ways of
communicating, whether formal or informal, efficient or inefficient although
there are some similarities depending on the degree of formality. In this unit,
we suggest ideas that can make sure that your group has an efficient and
effective communications system. We outline some of the principles of or-
ganisational communication and show how they work in practice.
4.3 Group Structure

Group structure is influenced by formal leadership, roles, role structures, role
perception, role expectations, role conflict, and role overload and role ambi-
guity. Formal leadership cultivates group leaders whose goals support or-
ganisational objectives. Roles are sets behaviours that are commensurate to
positions individuals occupy. In role structures, employees’ expectations in
each position in a formal organisation are covered in job descriptions. Em-
ployees in each position communicate through verbal and behavioural mes-
sages. Role perception is how one is supposed to act – this should be clearly
spelt out. Newcomers learn their roles by imitating senior members. In role
expectations, one’s behaviour should be socially desirable as part of fulfilling
the achievement of group goals and organisational goals. Role conflict arises
out of an individual playing multiple roles while role overload is one having too

much in the amount of time available. Role ambiguity is lack of clarity about
one’s expectations of his/her role arising out of lack of information or under-
standing one’s activities, responsibilities and norms
(managementocean.blogspot.com/2012/07/group-member-resources-
behavior.html).
Activity 4.1
1. What are the three essential elements of a group? Are these necessary
? for the group to survive? Justify.
2. Discuss the attributes that influence group structure and their implications
on the operations of your organisation.
3. In what ways do interpersonal skills affect activities in an organisation?
4.4 Group Tasks

According to Laura M. Fernandez, (1997) tasks groups are groups of indi-
viduals brought together to accomplish a specific action or product. She cites
five areas, that is, five C’s which are control, conflict, communication, con-
sensus and cohesion.
In control, leaders can convene meetings, chair discussions and facilitate proc-
esses of meeting goals. Leaders also orient new group members. In conflict,
leaders are to expect it as part of a health group process and not see it as a
failure. A leader might have to warn members of differences of opinion. Ne-
gotiations, mediation, arbitration skills can help resolve conflicts in a produc-
tive manner. Communicating ideas to members is important to reaching of
group goals as miscommunication can lead to problems of different commu-
nication styles and misinterpretation of messages and failure to true dialogue.
Leaders should encourage and model good communication behaviours which
include not talking over others, no interrupting. Non verbal communication
should be taken care of and jargon should be avoided if members are of
different backgrounds. Members should be discouraged from using racist,
sexist, homophobic language.
In cohesion, there is connectedness or sense of belonging. Cohesion ensures

group member satisfaction. Leaders should include everyone even in small

tasks and encourage interaction among group members. Members feel part
of the group if they are making contributions, working cooperatively and are
recognised and praised for their commitment and contributions. A consensus
should always be arrived at in final decisions and reaching an agreement.
Hand raising, secret ballot, voice votes and team work may be used.
Activity 4.2
1. Evaluate the importance of control, conflict, cohesion and consensus
? in relation to communication in groups.
4.5 The Importance of Communication in a Group

In the informal group, communication is equally informal. Remember that
there is no nominated leader and so any feeling of reticence about ‘speaking
up’ is not present. If a member wants to say something and feels confident to
say it – s/he does just that, and usually the contribution is very pertinent to the
objectives of the group.
It is in the formal group that the art of group communication becomes more
important and so the easiest way to study this topic will be if we relate to the
business organisation. Some will go so far as to say that a business organisa-
tion needs an efficient communication system in order to survive and that a
lack of such exchange of information and opinion can have very disruptive
consequences. These will manifest themselves when:
 Departments begin to feel isolated from the rest of the organisation
 The group loses interest in the way the organisation is developing and
whether or not goals are being achieved – or even exist
 Individuals become frustrated and look for other ‘pastimes’ such as
industrial action
These consequences can be damaging for all concerned. As we have stressed,
information is necessary at all levels of an organisation and the following that
is, top, middle and shopfloor, people are involved. They pass on the type of
communication shown:
 Top management comprising the executive directors and other senior
managers make the policy decisions that affect the way the enterprise

conducts its affairs. To do this properly, management needs complete

and up-to-date information about the firm’s trading position, financial
status and production capacity, as well as the development of new
projects.
 This information is supplied to them by middle management who is
concerned with the day-to-day running of the concern. These manag-
ers have a dual role in the communication process.
 They need information from those involved in matters such as whether
or not production targets have been met; and whether or not the sales
and income and expenditure are on track in order to keep the firm in
business.
 They are the level to which the executive directors and senior manage-
ment pass down information and directions to enable them to function
in accordance with their level of decisions.
 Middle management, in turn, communicates to the staff beneath them in
the hierarchy. This information is related to the firm’s policies and ob-
jectives as they affect that workforce so that the individuals are en-
couraged to feel a sense of commitment to the firm and to feel that the
firm, in turn, has a commitment to them. The workers in turn should be
communicating information to middle management to enable them to
function properly.
As you can see, communication is a two way process in a group. A further
similarity is that communication can occur in a written way through memo-
randa, notices, circulars and even signs, or orally.
4.6 Principles for Better Communications

Having explained the need for organisations to keep their employees, at all
levels, informed about what is going on; we now look at how to do this effec-
tively. There are a number of basic components of a good communication
system that we deal with, namely clear channels of communication, extent
and nature of information released.
4.6.1 Clear channels of communication

An organisation needs to create channels of communication and to educate
its members on how anyone can use those channels to pass messages about
various issues that concern him. The member needs to know to whom com-
munications can be addressed, and what to do if the reply fails to be satisfac-
tory. This establishes the right of appeal which is also important in a group.

The following principles should govern the passing of information and the
creation of communications networks within organisations:
 All members of staff should be proficient in communication skills to the
degree to which they are needed for their position in the business.
 A clear policy about communication inside and outside the organisation
must be designed and the communication structure itself must meet the
needs and nature of the organisation.
 Information issued by the organisation must be completely accurate
and sufficiently detailed to be clear. It must be given to all those whose
positions within the organisation make it necessary and helpful for them
to know about it.
 As well as a network for the release of information from ‘the top’,
there must also be a system for employees to respond and to make
comments and suggestions of their own. This should be open enough
that communication may be made voluntarily and not just in response
to some stimulus. Not only must the machinery for response exist, but
employees must be actively encouraged to make use of it.
4.6.2 The extent and nature of information released

Current thought is that organisations should release as much information about
themselves and their plans and policies as they can, especially where this
affects the position of the ‘stakeholders’ -the staff, the shareholders and the
general public either for financial reasons or through change in control over
the organisation. And they must be involved, as long as this does not preju-
dice the position of the organisation in competition with their rivals. This has
gained the name of ‘transparency’ and it denotes that the activities of the
organisation are not hidden unnecessarily.
This does not mean that all stakeholders must be told everything about the
affairs of an enterprise. It is a case of ‘need to know’. Think about a group
that you are in and identify the types of information that you know have been
released. Why was that disclosure made?

Activity 4.3
? 1. How can you achieve effective communication in a group?

2. It is not true that only clear channels of communication and the extent
and nature of information released are the only reasons behind better
communication using organisations of your choice as examples, analyse
this statement.
4.7 The Influence of the Group Culture

You have heard the expression, ‘it is like talking to a brick wall’ when a
person communicates unsuccessfully – the expression signifies that to all in-
tents and purposes, the person who wanted to pass the information did not
actually achieve that ambition.
So, there are at least two people who, initially, can be described as the per-
son making the communication and the person/s receiving it. We must recog-
nise that the culture of any group, team or organisation influences the way in
which communication occurs within it. The following cultures have been iden-
tified: power, department, task, person cultures. These are discussed briefly
below:
4.7.1 The Power culture

The signs of the power culture are that communication invariably comes from
a particular individual and s/he may go so far as to control what may or may
not be discussed within the group. This usually occurs where the group has
been formed by a powerful and dynamic individual – such as in a strong
family business or a church group. Where the group is successful, the other
members often accept the position but problems often arise at the first sign of
things going wrong or of weakness.
4.7.2 The Departmental (or Role) culture

Here, communication follows a predetermined route and may not venture
outside that. It can be successful in a group that consists of people with clear
and distinct responsibilities that seldom change, such as in the public service.
If the success of the group lies in initiative and ingenuity though, this culture
will prevent growth and development.

4.7.3 The Task (or Project) culture

Some groups are created to perform certain tasks with members having a
role to play in a number of groups. For example, the sports club may have a
captain for each sport played and a chairman for the ‘house’ committee, and
members may have a role in several. Members are appointed to the groups
for their special knowledge or skills rather than their ‘seniority’ in the larger
organisation.
Communications then come usually from the captain/chairman out to the mem-
bers rather like the spokes of a wheel. Sometimes, especially where the
groups are responsible for business projects, it can be confusing as there may
be conflict due to different rules applying. For example, an individual may
feel a strong affinity for Project A but s/he finds that the group leader of Project
B has successfully communicated the need for a major advertising programme
to the finance committee.
4.7.4 The Person culture

In the person culture, the group is overly concerned about the needs to satisfy
the felt needs and ambitions of the people involved and this factor plays a
dominant role in all communication. Decisions are often reached by a con-
sensus which ensures that the interests of the individuals are considered. The
concept of workers’ committees can facilitate this culture and it was a feature
of many organisations in most countries until the so-called ‘Japanese Man-
agement concepts’ gained popularity. In reality, management has to be rec-
ognised as the group with the responsibility and the skill to manage, and while
consultation and the passing of information is essential, the person culture can
only work well where each participant has the experience to contribute mean-
ingfully – for example in an architect’s office or a design centre.
What we have been discussing can be otherwise called ‘the corporate per-
sonality’ signifying that this is how things are done in this place. So, if you
can identify the type of culture that operates within the group, you can gener-
ally identify the best point at which to begin communicating with the group
and/or its members.

Activity 4.4
? 1. Which are the main cultures of any group and how do they come about?
2. How much freedom does an individual develop to communicate
meaningfully in each of the cultures?
3. In what sort of an organisation would each culture be suitably and
usefully applied?
4.8 Individuals within Groups

Let us identify the sorts of people you are going to find in a group. Remember
that they are the same individuals that you may communicate with and they
have the same attitudes, understanding and skills as before. However, in a
group these patterns of behaviour seem to become stronger.
Whenever you are a member of a group, you are there for some purpose and
playing a particular role. In the sixteen or so hours that you are awake in a
day, you may find that you are fulfilling a number of different purposes and
playing a variety of roles. Note that we have differentiated between the pur-
pose, which is your formal title or position in the group; and your role, which
is how you work inside the group to achieve your purpose.
These purposes can be:

 you are leader of the group in the company responsible for achieving
sales of $4 million;
 you are a member of the budget committee of the company and have
to argue with the accountant who does not agree that you need your
salesmen to be on the road 16 days in the month;
 you are ‘Sir’ to the company messenger who brings your mail three
times a day;
 you are promoting the business of the company at a lunch meeting;
 you are one of four playing in a golf competition since this is a Wednes-
day;
 you are a family man who forgot to bring the wife some cash for shop-
ping tomorrow and has to check the kids’ homework and sign an ex-
cuse note because tomorrow you have to take one to the dentist;
 you are secretary of the School Development Association and have to
question the auditors about some missing money at a meeting tonight,
and make recommendations to the group about what to do because
some parents haven’t paid fees.

Knowing the purpose that you are in the group is fairly obvious. But, being
aware of your role in that group is an essential step towards being an effective
member of the group. Only if you know what role you are playing, can you do
your part to develop it into being a more effective group and, if necessary,
communicate with others inside and outside in such a way that you initiate the
change that is necessary to convert an ineffectual group. This applies equally
to your perception of others in the group - when you know what their roles
are, you can help them to become effective members in the same way.
You can determine what roles group members are playing by observing their
personal and emotional behaviour. Some of the more common roles of group
members include facilitators, elder statesman, newcomer, innovator, the rebel
and so forth.
4.8.1 A facilitator
Generally, a facilitator is a member with some position of authority - perhaps
as the chairman of a meeting, as a departmental head or manager. Usually a
group has been formed because the management needs the views and sup-
port of a number of other people, and the facilitator is there as management’s
nominee.
It is appropriate for a facilitator to give some guidelines or parameters to

encourage or constrain the scope of the discussion or decision-making. But
she/he should avoid stating his/her own views and those of management be-
cause otherwise the groupwould not be needed or it could be intimidated into
rubber stamping management’s view.
The facilitator is expected to stay out of the main discussion and accept that it
is his/her task to promote successful communications in the group by making
it possible for every other member to contribute. As a member of a group, a
facilitator should promote the aims of the group by:
 asking specific members directly for their contributions by the careful
use of open questions;
 encouraging them in several ways while they are speaking - saying what
s/he has to say and then listening to the views and comments of others;
and
 asking questions or making statements which change the emphasis of
the issue under discussion to ensure that it is discussed fully, and by
staying alert to the way the discussion is developing and making points
which encourage fresh thought and new contributions.

The role of facilitator can be exercised:

 by the person who called the group together or is responsible for find-
ing the solution to a problem; and
 often by each and every group member because she/he should be ready
to assume a responsibility of ensuring that the other members make
their contributions.
4.8.2 The ‘elder statesman’

The “elder statesman” is the person who has been a member of the group or
organisation for a long time, and expects to be treated deferentially. She/he
may appear old-fashioned and cautious, especially when new ideas are being
put forward, but these members have a wealth of experience and good sense
to contribute and should be encouraged to take part in the meeting at all
stages.
4.8.3 The newcomer

At the other end of the ‘experience scale’ is the newcomer who is often shy
and unwilling to contribute. She/he lacks the confidence that seems to ooze
from every pore of the elder statesman. This person brings what is, so far, an
outsider’s point of view which is often useful and so she/he must be drawn in
to participate in the group both for what s/he has to offer and to make him/her
feel accepted as part of the group.
4.8.4 The innovator

Otherwise known as ‘the bright spark’, the innovator is able to hit on a solu-
tion very quickly and explain his/her views with such confidence that is always
convincing. S/he has such acute thought processes that s/he can see a way
around most problems and can suggest solutions in the most difficult circum-
stances. Because of this ability, innovators are a great asset to any group but
they do need to be handled with care.
Innovators may produce brilliantly original insights but they become quickly
bored with the mundane aspects of life and may well find the handling of
routine business dull. If their idea is not generally accepted by the group, they
quickly adopt a ‘well, I told you so’ or ‘if you won’t listen to reason’ attitude.
Some members cannot work with innovators easily because their skill is a
threat, and so they tend to pass disparaging remarks to ‘kill off’ any contribu-
tion to the group. That has to be stopped because if the innovator can be

activated successfully, s/he contributes to the full and be of great benefit to the
group.
One special problem is that in the ‘boring’ discussion stage, the innovators
can easily lose contact with the matters under discussion. After all, s/he has
already thought out the solution and the process of implementing it is for the
less gifted. Designing the solution is more challenging than actually achieving
it.
4.8.5 An introvert
An introvert is a person who is shy and would prefer to play a completely
passive role, voting with the majority and not wanting to share the risk of
failure. This is not through any hostility to the group or its members but be-
cause s/he lacks self-confidence. An introvert may have important ideas to
contribute, but rarely does so. S/he will often appear isolated from the group,
sitting at the end of the table or well away from the dominant members.
The group leader must try to get responses and actions from all members of
the group and so the challenge here is to achieve participation. The best
chance of this is when the facilitator gives careful encouragement to the intro-
vert so that s/he may realise that s/he really does have a part to play and is
able to justify to himself/herself his/her place in the group.
4.8.6 An extrovert
By contrast, this person is full of self-confidence and contributes freely and
frequently. Unfortunately, s/he is so determined to put across his/her thoughts
that these are often ill-considered or poorly-supported. The role of the group
leader in this case is to make sure that such people are restrained so that
others can make contributions too.
The danger to the group leader is that the extrovert may either take over the
leadership role or upset the rest of the team. Sometimes an extrovert can so
enjoy the role of the ‘court jester’ that s/he may prevent others having a
meaningful purpose in the group. This has to be stopped as the group may
either withdraw or ‘let him get on with it’, or look on group activities as a
source of entertainment provided by the extrovert. This may affect achieve-
ment of the group’s objective with predictable consequences. If handled well
though, the extrovert can cause greater participation by all the members.

4.8.7 The rebel

Very often, this is a young member of the group. A rebel gives the impression
of disagreeing with everyone else almost as a matter of principle but, in fact,
because of this, s/he may have much to contribute since established proce-
dures usually benefit from cynical questioning. Where a person asks search-
ing questions which appear to criticise the whole basis of the organisation or
of a policy but which are asked in order to be sure there is a good answer, we
call him/her ‘the devil’s advocate’ and this is often the role of the rebel.
The facilitator must take care that any disruptive approach is turned around
and that the valuable elements in the rebel’s contributions are acted on, while
the deliberately outrageous ones are carefully overlooked or regarded as hu-
morous.
4.8.8 Other roles

Other specific roles in which members cast themselves include the humorist
who is often an extrovert, the optimist and the pessimist whose attitudes are
self-explanatory. In addition, there are those who meekly conform to the gen-
eral feeling of the meeting, being easily led by those with strong opinions, and
those who try to thrust their opinions onto the group at almost any cost.
Understanding these roles and personalities is particularly important for the

group leader to achieve the purpose of the group. Not only the group leader,
but all members of the group have to know how the others act, interpret these
and develop ways of responding to them so that the maximum benefit for the
group as a whole is derived from the contributions.
A word of warning though is it is very dangerous and totally wrong to try to

classify members into a cast iron type of behaviour. Everyone is different
but, by being aware of each of them, you may be able to deal effectively with
the ways in which members behave according to the roles they have adopted.

Activity 4.5
? 1. Identify at your work place, the people you would call facilitators and
innovators. What attributes do these two groups have that made you
choose them?
2. Failure to communicate in a group is a product of personality differences
of members of that group. How true is this statement when applied to
your work place? Justify your answer.
4.9 Group Behaviour

When you have identified the roles being played by the different members of
the group, you need to frame your style of communication to make it more
effective. From this you can try to anticipate the effect this will have on the
performance of your team. Such behaviour will usually be within the limits of
the role which they usually perform. Behaviour in groups can be constructive
or destructive; It can also be either towards achieving the task, that is, the
group’s objective, or simply to avoid the break up of the group. Let us look
at each in turn.
4.9.1 Constructive behaviour that is task related

The members’ behaviour has been influenced towards effective achievement
of the group’s objectives. Motivation is strong and you find that – subject to
the roles each is playing – members communicate in the group and react in the
following ways:
 Relevant information flows freely and easily and it is developed and
elaborated upon with new concepts being fully defined to avoid confu-
sion.
 Members encourage each other to participate - asking others for infor-
mation so that they can contribute and then listening in an encouraging
and committed way.
 Members encourage progress, trying to move the group on so that
momentum is not lost, encouraging action to be taken, considering all
relevant points, and reaching decisions.
 Ideas and different approaches are suggested that lead to possible ways
of solving problems that are preventing the purpose from being achieved.
 Any attempt to vary the focus or to digress from the point is stopped
by the group and each person shows involvement and a sense of pur-
pose which is important.

 Whenever there is an argument that is contrary to the concepts being

discussed or challenges to group’s aims, this is done to test the strength
of the case built up rather than to destroy or reject it.
 Although the group leader should summarise progress at key stages,
you find that members of a committed group are so keen to recognise
the progress made as it will be a source of motivation or encourage-
ment, that they will do this – often without prompting. This also helps to
keep the discussion relevant.
 The group gains strength from knowing that each member is committed
and frequently the facilitator will test this by asking all members for their
views to ensure that there is agreement.
4.9.2 Constructive behaviour that is group related

In many respects this is an ideal way for the group to create that essential
bond and then members work together to achieve objectives. Even when the
group is functioning effectively, you usually find that the constructive behav-
iour is also task related. However, if solutions have to be found to problems
that look as if they might split the group, the objective might become clouded
and group survival might have to be sought. Your communication efforts should
be directed towards encouraging behaviour that is seen in the following ac-
tivities:
 Members encourage contributions by others in a friendly and commit-
ted manner.
 There is willingness to compromise in the interests of progress and
unity. Members show that they are not expecting every issue to be just
as they would want it to be, and they show that they accept that the
views of others in the group are as valid as theirs or maybe even better.
 If a split in the group appears likely to occur, members quickly move to
heal any problems arising from disagreements and clashes and the
facilitator may resolve the conflict or agree a compromise.
The challenge is to direct your communication skills to bring members back
to constructive behaviour.
4.9.3 Destructive behaviour that is task related

Attainment of the task can result in destructive behaviour that will disrupt the
efficiency of a group. The following are common examples:
 The roles that a person assumes in a group are to satisfy a need. If that
self-perceived status is not achieved, s/he will work to change things so

that s/he gets his/her own way and can settle back into the familiar
mould.
 If a person is over-anxious about points of detail to the detriment of an
overall plan, the group will make no progress because that individual
insists on a better office or a bigger desk or that his/her interpretation of
an event is correct.
 If a person is obsessed by one idea and continually returns to it, s/he
will divert all attempts to make progress in the group and most discus-
sion is wasted around and around this same topic.
 For those who make last minute objection it is now destructive. The
facilitator is toblame here because s/he overlooked the importance of
ensuring agreement by the group at fundamental stages in the whole
exercise.
4.9.4 Destructive behaviour that is group related

Let us identify these types of symptom and, again, think of what communica-
tion will help nullify each:
 When a member seeks to take control and dominate the group’s ac-
tivities, this is the most obvious form of destructive behaviour. The role
of group leader is subordinated and s/he will let no one else contribute.
 When members simply accept the first solution offered or they allow
themselves to be easily led by someone with a clear view forcefully
expressed. The close link between this conformity and successful domi-
nation will be seen. Members of the group sit back and simply agree
with whatever is suggested, and this can also damage a group by limit-
ing the scope of the discussion.
 Another close link with domination is found when the dependency of
members on someone with strong and uncompromising ideas is ob-
served. Undue deference to what might normally be challenged is a
clear sign. Even if this is to the group leader, it is not good behaviour as
the group is needed to formulate its own decisions and actions.
 Often a person who is in the process of dominating a meeting will find
and use a scapegoat to blame for the situation that has led to the crea-
tion of the group. This can seriously affect the whole purpose of the
groups’ activities or of a meeting – but it achieves little. The group
leader has to bring the group back without delay towards concentrat-
ing on how any problems can be remedied. Groups are meant to act
positively, and attributing blame is negative.
 When one or more members withdraw their support for the group, the
effects are equally damaging. The cause is varied but if you have been

facilitating the business well, withdrawal can be through boredom, re-

sentment or an unjustified feeling of inadequacy. The member who
withdraws deprives the group of his/her contribution and this can be as
destructive as domination since it can cause an unbalanced decision to
be taken.
 If more than one member withdraws, a sub-group may result. Sub-
groups can be seen when two or more members join together and
undertake activities that are for a different purpose or conduct what
amounts to a private discussion in the middle of a meeting. The effect
on other members is that they become ignored and excluded. It is up
to all the members but especially the group leader or a facilitator to
close down a sub-group. Methods that may be used are contributing
to the activities or discussion in such a way that the sub-group is brought
back into the general purpose of the group – this has to be carefully
done. If left unattended, the whole group may then split into factions
supporting one or other of the parties in the sub-group.
You find all of these types of behaviour in a working group. As a member of
a group, you need the ability to recognise that a type of behaviour is starting
to have an influence on the attitude and approach of the group and you must
either prevent further bad influence, or encourage the restoration of good
influence.
Activity 4.6
1. Group behaviour can be both destructive and constructive. Which
? aspect do you think is more constructive, the task related or group
related, and why?
2. How correct is it to say that only one person in a group thinks and
directs all the others to act as directed. As such, group behaviour is
controlled by its leader. Give reasons for your answer.
4.10 Group Dynamics

Put simply, we can define group dynamics as being ‘the way in which the
feelings and attitudes of a group change and develop through the course of its
existence because of the interaction of its members.’

Remember that in a group, people react to each other as members of that

group. The consequence is that if at any stage the general tone of the group
becomes angry for some reason, even the member who is normally even
tempered and cooperative changes his/her normal attitude and reacts angrily
to members of the group.
As soon as one member begins to behave destructively, this will have an

inhibiting effect on the group as a whole. Some members may become angry,
others may withdraw, and still others may attempt to calm the situation by
intervening. In this situation, the way the group is moving or behaving to-
gether – the dynamics - is destructive.
Constructive group dynamics occurs when all members are contributing and
listening to the contributions of others, acting as facilitators and discussing
ideas with relevance and commitment. In this context, the general spirit of the
meeting spreads to all its members, encouraging a valuable and effective ex-
change of ideas and leading to sensible decisions reached after consideration
of all the factors involved.
As a group member, you must be aware of group dynamics. Be sensitive to

the general mood and feeling, by considering:
 the relevance of the discussion;
 the equality of contribution from each member;
 the emotional ‘temperature’ - there should be no real arguments or
heated disagreements in a good group meeting;
 the way people react to each other’s contributions; and
 the general mood and climate of the discussion - calm, angry, excited,
or whatever else it may be.
You must be aware not only of these factors but also of how they are devel-
oping and changing throughout the meeting.
4.10.1 Clues to identify

Look for these signs of personal demonstrations of feelings and attitudes in
the contributions people make to a group discussion.
(a) Non-verbal communications
Body language is one of the aspects you will find this in a group. Gestures
such as angrily throwing down a pen or pushing a chair back and scowling are
clearly signs of emotion. Others are less obvious. Someone who taps on the

table with a pen or fiddles with a paper clip or other small item is nervous, and
may be angry or distressed. Look out for such signs and try to change those
attitudes - maybe by acting in a way that makes it clear that you value his
opinions.
(b) Silence and withdrawal
Withdrawal may be due to destructive group behaviour or an unwillingness to

contribute through the shyness of an introvert. It may also be the result of an
emotional response to an issue and therefore needs to be handled carefully by
other group members.
(c) Mode of address
If someone starts shouting abuse at a group member, it is fairly clear that

emotional issues are involved. However, even if someone addresses the group
with elaborate politeness or excessive formality, sarcasm may be creeping in
and this may also be a sign of emotion. Listen carefully to the way the mes-
sage is expressed - it may be purely a clear explanation or it may be put in
such a way that the speaker is ‘talking down’ to the group in an insulting way
which provokes angry reaction.
(d) Effusiveness
If a group member who is usually quiet begins to talk at length, this may be a
sign of emotion - either in the sense of an extreme commitment to an idea, or
a desire to conceal embarrassment or a feeling of inadequacy.
In addition, there may be factors in a person’s working life that will cause
irrational responses. S/he may be just about to retire for example, or may
have been passed over for promotion. Be aware of these issues as far as
possible so that when you are responding in a meeting you can make due
allowance. Note however, it is dangerous to pry into other people’s affairs at
work. Problems of a personal or emotional nature need not, of course, be
confined to the work place. All of us go through times when domestic circum-
stances are far from ideal - spouses or children are unwell, we have accom-
modation or transport problems and a thousand and one other matters arise
which prey on our minds at work. Again, be aware of these as possibilities
without prying.

Activity 4.7
? 1. To be aware of group dynamics, what should you consider?

Give reasons for your answer.
4.11 Communication Flows in an Organisation

Large organisations need clearly defined systems of communications for their
survival and so they usually ensure that every member knows exactly who to
approach for information and consultation. Communications and manage-
ment information experts are employed to establish and maintain the systems.
The flow of communication from those at the highest levels in the organisation
down to those lower in the structure and in the reverse direction needs to be
maintained.
The type of communication takes place up and down the organisation is known
as vertical communication. Communication can also take place between em-
ployees of equal status within the organisation - perhaps within a department
or between managers of different sections. Communication of this kind is
known as horizontal communication. Further, communication can be diago-
nal. We discuss these forms of communication below.
4.12 Vertical Communication Downwards

Information flows ‘down from the top’, for many reasons including for pur-
poses of assimilation and integration regulatory purposes, informing and in-
structing purposes.
a) For assimilation and integration – when a new member joins or an
existing member needs help to sustain his perception of belonging to
the group. Often informal, the aim is to improve morale and meet the
social needs that exist inside the group, and management will benefit if
this is a visible activity.
b) For regulatory purposes – when instructions and directives are ap-
propriate because there is some weakness in or threat to the perform-
ance of the group. The aim is to bring the group closer to accomplish-
ing its aims through co-ordination of activities.
c) For information and instruction – when guidance helps the group
achieve its objectives. This is a fairly regular event that just keeps staff

informed so that they sustain their effort, and it may even take the form
of a monthly achievement report.
Vertical communication downwards can also be done through the following:
(a) Training and induction documents and meetings – the personnel
manager or an assistant briefs new staff when they are appointed on
matters of importance and even policy if this is appropriate to perform-
ance by the new person. Supporting documents may be issued.
(b) Handbooks of procedures - details of company policies concerning
conditions of service, holiday entitlements, pensions, any sports and
social facilities, and related matters may well be recorded in a bound
book that is given to employees. Copies of the health and safety policy
may also be distributed to ensure that all employees are aware of es-
sential procedures.
(c) House journals and newsletters are distributed to each employee
and sometimes to the shareholders (owners) of the company to show
the importance management places on involving staff in the affairs of
the company. These contain material ranging from news of company
events and policy to items about sporting fixtures, retirement of em-
ployees and similar matters. Letters and articles from employees are
often included?
(d) Notices - these are a clear and direct way of making announcements,
provided that - notices are placed on official notice-boards at certain
prominent places in the premises - and the notice-boards are cleared
regularly and do not become crowded with obsolete or unnecessary
information so that they are difficult to read or lack current interest and
so are ignored. Some organisations date each notice, and remove it
after a certain time.
If you are called on to make any statement or draft a document for
general distribution, take extra care and seek a second opinion where
necessary. Always put yourself in the position of all the intended recipi-
ents and be aware that your personality, your feelings at the time of
communicating, your attitude and your knowledge and experience about
the subject are going to be revealed in the way you write. The remedy
is to take every possible care over the selection of material and, when
there is any doubt, seek a second or even a third opinion.
(e) Full meetings with employees are used to explain complex or new
developments or changes of policy. It is difficult to arrange them at a
time when all staff can attend and holding them in company time may
be the only possible solution. If the information is important though, this
loss of production time is worth the results. Before being held, staff

should be well prepared with full notice given and opportunities for
questions and discussion provided.
(f) Inter-department tours are also effective strategies in a large organi-
sation, staff members are often ignorant of the work performed by
members of other departments and this can be remedied by tours so
that each member of the firm can see what other workers do. This
increases the employee’s sense of loyalty to the firm as staff becomes
aware of how s/he fits into the larger pattern of things.
4.13 Vertical Communications Upwards

While management wants staff to feel involved and so work better for the
benefit of the business, it is also vital for information to pass upwards in the
organisation so that the decision makers have adequate information and facts
available to them. Staff members are invited to become innovative and present
their ideas for better group performance, although that invitation is not a spe-
cific event but a fact of general understanding.
This type of communication is in place to facilitate: solving problems; sharing

of ideas; developing strategy for the group; and implementing procedures
successfully.
The following ideas can help:

(a) Suggestion schemes – many important ideas come from those who
are doing the work and so there should always be a way to suggest
how to improve procedures. In some companies, cash incentives are
offered for contributions which improve productivity or safety and, as
well as benefiting the company in these ways, such schemes also en-
courage workers to think about their jobs. This enhances commitment
and a sense of involvement.
(b) Grievance procedures -if a member of staff has a complaint or griev-
ance, a clear procedure is laid down by the National Employment
Council for each of the industries which enables the grievance to be
heard. Usually, it is heard first by a manager or supervisor and then, if
no solution can be found, by someone of higher authority right up to
one of the directors.
(c) Opinion polls - if a new idea is under consideration such as the intro-
duction of flexible working hours, management may well conduct an
opinion poll
• The first step would be to conduct an information campaign through

leaflets, notices and talks so that staff will be aware of the consequences,
the advantages and the disadvantages of flexible working hours;
• Opinions of the staff can be determined usually by an open ballot
where a circular is sent around on which staff can show if they are in
favour or against;
• The results will be tabulated and released and so the workers will
consider that they have been a part of the decision-making process
and this leads to commitment and involvement.
Opinion polls should only be used in situations where the issue affects a
matter like staff welfare and the outcome is not going to affect the op-
eration of the business to any great extent. For example, you would
never hold an opinion poll on a question such as the price the company
should charge the customer, or whether a new branch should be opened
in Masvingo.
(d) Secret ballots are held for the same reasons as opinion polls, but a
secret vote is preferred where the issues involved are more serious or
confidential and individual workers may not wish their colleagues to
make their views public. The annual election of the Workers Commit-
tee members is just such an example.
A lack of upwards communications is generally due to a failure to establish
channels by which workers can express their feelings to managers. It is advis-
able to create such channels, but they will only be used if all employees have
faith in the higher levels of staff. Staff must be satisfied that the effort of
making the communication is worth the results that follow. Working hard to
create that faith is an important management task and one which also de-
pends on the quality of communication provided.
4.14 Vertical Communication Upwards and

Downwards
Vertical communication upwards and downwards is very important as it ca-
ters for active interaction between management and employees of any or-
ganisation. A number of committees such as works councils and consultative
committees are set up to look at specific issues that affect the organisation
and the employees. We discuss some of the committees below:
(a) Works Council meetings - Workers Committee representatives are
expected to be from the very junior levels of staff but in practice - since
they are elected by popular vote of the workers - they are chosen for
their ‘influence’ and may be from any level of the workforce. As the

Workers Committee, they meet with Management in a body known as

the Works Council and they can be involved in negotiation with the
employers about matters such as pay, conditions, holiday entitlement
and health and safety.
(b) Joint Consultative Committees,(JCC) - this name is sometimes given

to the body on which heads of sections or departments meet with man-
agement to discuss the firm’s progress and other important issues af-
fecting all who work for a company. Whereas the Works Council is
concerned mainly with the welfare and fair treatment of staff generally,
a Joint Consultative Committee is concerned with specific matters af-
fecting workers in a particular department. For example, if workers in
the vehicle pool had the view that the salesmen should be responsible
for cleaning the company’s vehicles on Friday afternoon before they
were surrendered for the weekend, it would be raised at JCC.
(c) Seminars or workshops are occasionally held about aspects of the or-
ganisation’s policy. At these meetings, members of the organisation at
all levels come together to discuss possible new developments, or to
listen to an outside specialist and then talk over the ideas raised, on an
equal basis.
4.15 Horizontal Communication

Members of a firm at the same level communicate through the following for-
mal channels: coordinating committees and group conferences.
(a) Co-ordinating committees are meetings of members of various de-
partments to share knowledge, exchange ideas and develop coopera-
tive procedures. Usually, they take place at the level of departmental
managers but it can be at any level within the departmental structure,
particularly where there are technical staff members in different sec-
tions. Often, the outcome of these meetings is reported at JCC meet-
ings.
(b) Group conference meetings are similar to those of the coordinating
committees, but take place amongst heads of branches situated in dif-
ferent towns. They ensure regular exchange of information and experi-
ence, and the streamlining of procedures regarding communication within
departments. It also gives ‘Head Office’ the chance to update top
management on developments.

4.16 The Problems

Although it appears as if communication downwards, upwards and horizon-
tally is easy, it is very difficult practically. There are many reasons that militate
against the success of such communication. We discuss each of the commu-
nication flows and the problems likely to be encountered below.
(a) Vertical communication downwards. For vertical communication
downwards, there are several reasons responsible for us failure. These
include the isolation of top management, failure to nurture communica-
tion upwards, blurred objectives, failure to pass information and con-
fusion as to who should communicate.
Isolation of the top management hinders communication if the group is
now too large and the informality that was possible when it was only 10
or so people is now impossible with 110. Face- to-face communica-
tion is no longer an option except in exceptional circumstances, and
management to implant formal lines of communication. This requires
good communication skills from the intermediate managers. Failure to
encourage communication upwards generally follows on from the first
problem. Group communication is a two- way process and if the chan-
nels upwards wither and die, the channels downwards are also under
threat.
Objectives have become blurred – the group exists to achieve certain
aims, even if that is to make profits for someone else as long as the
rewards are just. Management engage in all types of strategic planning
methods but the outcome is not clearly conveyed to those who have to
‘do their bit’ and therefore, may fail to appreciate the need to improve
communication.
Failure to ensure that communications are passed is another problem
that may result in failure in communication. Some supervisors feel their
position is protected if they know something that the staff do not know
and may not pass the information. This fallacy has to be identified and
eradicated.
Confusion over who should communicate – it is essential to nominate
who is responsible for passing down information at all levels of man-
agement – either as standard practice or as a special event.
(b) Vertical communication upwards. Vertical communication has been

compared to gravity in that downwards happens naturally but upwards
needs effort. The size of the group is also a factor – top management
has to ensure that bottlenecks and plain obstruction do not prevent the
really good communications from surfacing in the boardroom. Staff

must be assured that a contribution is welcome – there must be no

feeling that by making a suggestion, there will be a penalty or insult.
(c) Horizontal communication. This is generally the most common form

of communication in any organisation – or it should be so that people of
the same level solve their own problems without having to worry their
supervisor. If it fails to work, the following problems may exist.
‘Departmentalism’ refers to strong sub-groups and instead of working
for the objectives of the whole organisations.They may develop their
own aims that may be in conflict with others. Departmental rivalry de-
velops and the effort becomes directed towards superiority of one over
another. Then, to communicate horizontally between departments
becomes almost treason.
Personality clashes can occur anywhere in a group, but these become
more of a problem if they are between people who should be commu-
nicating horizontally.
4.16.1 The lesson to be learned

The role of communications within an organisation is, vital. Unless good com-
munications are maintained, it is impossible to retain an atmosphere of trust
and involvement and, without this, the aims are likely to not be achieved and
the group becomes inefficient.
Poor working systems lead to frustration and lack of commitment, so that

employees become bored and lack the motivation to communicate their feel-
ing to the managers. The real remedy here is prevention so that this state of
affairs is not allowed to develop. If they do, however, the remedy once again
is to re-establish a climate of trust by developing better channels of communi-
cation and using them so that employees respect and trust managers both
professionally and as individuals.
In a nutshell, ‘good’ communication depends on three factors.

(a) The quantity of information – it has to be adequate so that people
perform with sufficient knowledge, understanding and confidence. Too
little information may cause frustration and uncertainty. At the other
end of the scale, too much information produces confusion especially if
there is contradiction, and also frustration in that the members feel that
they can do nothing without getting an instruction.
(b) The quality of information – there is need for accuracy and clarity
and timing because if information is given too late – or even too early –
it can cause errors, duplication and more frustration.

(c) The channels of communication – these must be clearly-defined,

both upwards and downwards and horizontally. This will do much to
overcome the earlier difficulties.
Nevertheless, the only real way to be sure of harmonious relations is to
make sure that all communication:
 is clear and direct;
 takes full account of its recipient’s attitudes and ideas;
 exists to fulfil that genuine need which all members of the organisation
have
 to know what is going on in a group for which they feel a real commit-
ment.
4.17 Diagonal Communication

Lynne MacDonald of Demand Media has this to say about diagonal commu-
nication:
Cross-functional communication between employees at different levels of the

organizational hierarchy is described as diagonal communication. Diagonal com-
munication is increasingly common in larger organizations with matrix or project-
based structures. Diagonal communication may overcome some of the barriers
to communication within a business. It reduces the chances of distortion or
misinterpretation by encouraging communication between the relevant parties.
It also reduces a manager’s communication workload because he doesn’t have
to act as an intermediary between his direct reports and other managers
(Smallbusiness.chron.com/diagonal-communicatio…- United States)
Diagonal communication is common in tactical situations which require the

quick transfer of information or advice; in hostage situations or cases of civil
unrest, it is probably imperative. Diagonal communication is usually verbal
and thus is conducted by telephone or radio.
4.17.1 Advantages and disadvantages of diagonal

communication
Diagonal communication has the following advantages:
(1) It is a most direct method of communication.
(2) It is a most selective method of communication.
(3) It is one of the fastest methods of communication.
(4) In critical situations, it would seem to be the most essential and logical
type of communication.

The major disadvantages of diagonal communication include the following:

(1) It can destroy lines of authority and formal chains of command.
(2) It can leave immediate superiors uninformed of what their subordinates
are doing.
(3) It can lead to conflicting orders and hence to further confusion.
(4) It is usually verbal, and thus is untraceable if things go wrong.
(Source(s): http://www.ualr.edu/dllauferswei/cj3306/…).
Activity 4.8
? 1. Having studied both the vertical communication downwards, the vertical

communication upwards and the horizontal communication systems,
which one/s do you think would be more effective in your organisation
and why? (Look at both the advantages and disadvantages vis-à-vis
your organisation).
4.18 Informal Communications

There are informal channels of communication or ‘the grapevine’ as it is com-
monly referred which also play a big role in an organisation. It is simply the
spreading of information by social and informal means. At the most basic
level, they include simple unprepared exchanges of information in staff rec-
reation rooms and canteens, but there are also some more carefully struc-
tured forms.
Informal communications cannot be disregarded simply because management

has not encouraged the process. It is in fact a very strong part of opinion
formation as in every company there is always the person who has ‘inside’
information or he ‘overheard the bosses’ secretary on the phone and she was
talking about a 20% increase next month.’ It is also a means of allowing
those too shy to speak up at formal meetings to let their feelings be known.
This type of communication is called grapevine. Grapevine is informal channel
of communication. It does not follow any set lines or any definite rules. It
spreads like the grapevine, in any direction anywhere, and spreads fast. It
spreads by way of gossip and rumours. Primarily grapevine is a channel of
horizontal communication but it can flow even vertically and diagonally. Spe-
cialists in this field have identified four types of grapevine chains which are:
(1) Single strand chain: It flows like a chain, that is, ‘A’ tells something to
‘B’ who tells it to ‘C’ and so on.

(2) Gossip chain: One person tells everybody else. This chain passes a
message regarding a ‘not-on-job’ nature.
(3) Probability chain: here information may move from anybody to any-
body. This chain is found when the information is somewhat interesting
but not really significant.
(4) Cluster chain: This move through selected groups. ‘A’ tells something
to a few selected individuals and then some of these individuals inform
a few other selected individuals. Cluster chain is the dominant grape-
vine pattern in an organisation. Most informal communication flows
through this chain.
4.18.1 Importance of grapevine

It is sometimes possible to make use of the grapevine as a means of testing
the responses of the employees to new ideas in an informal way, by unoffi-
cially ‘feeding’ a suggestion into the system and waiting to hear what kind of
reactions it generates. It should be stressed, though, that you have to do this
kind of thing very carefully since rumours can easily get out of hand and cause
discontent among the workforce. This is especially if the possibility of a new
benefit has been fed into the grapevine and it is then decided not to proceed.
It gives emotional relief. It transmits information very speedily. The managers

or top bosses of an organisation get feedback regarding their policies, deci-
sions, memos and so forth. The feedback reaches them much faster through
the informal channel than through the formal channel. The grapevine functions
as a supplementary or parallel channel of communication. Whatever is deemed
to be unsuitable for the formal channels can be successfully transmitted through
the grapevine.
Kriste Lorette in her article ‘The Importance of the Grapevine in Internal

Business Communications’ adds that grapevine brings a sense of belonging to
both employees and management, creates a corporate identity and builds
teamwork. Staff can make suggestions to problems that the organisation may
be facing. Employees and staff can communicate in their own language in-
stead of technical jargon used on formal language.
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-grapevine-internal-business-com-
munications-429.html

4.18.2 Demerits
If allowed to grow too strong, the grapevine may turn into a disturbing and
potentially disruptive source of rumour. The last thing management should
attempt is to kill off the grapevine – it is an essential channel of communication
in every organisation and it must be controlled positively, not negatively. For
this reason, other regular releases of information need to be made in a formal
manner. However, most organisations have a grapevine of some kind, and it
is generally a harmless channel of informal communication.
The information spread through grapevine is less credible than the one given
by the formal channel. It does not always carry the complete information. It
often misinforms as its origin lies in the rumour mill. It may spread any kind of
stories about responsible people and thus may spoil the image of the organi-
sation.
4.18.3 Effective use of grapevine

The manager should organise fruitful group activities so as to enhance the
self-worth of the employees and update their knowledge. The manager should
keep an eye on rumour-mongers. He should tactfully identify the leaders and
win their confidence. As far as possible, the employees, through their leaders,
should be made partners in the decision making process. A tactful manager
will keep the employees well informed so that they may not spread rumours.
The manager should try to get feedback on his/her style of functioning and
work for continuous improvement. A manager must be a good empathic lis-
tener. This way the employees or the leaders will feel free to talk to him/her
rather than indulge in rumour mongering.
(http://pravinxk.hubpages.com/hub/TypesofCommunication)

Activity 4.9
1. “It is sometimes possible to make use of the grapevine as a means of
? testing the responses of the employees.” How useful is this approach
to organisational communication? Discuss.
2. Should a leader carefully plan how to communicate with groups in his/
her organisation? Give reasons to support your views.
3. Evaluate communications flows within an organisation with which you
are familiar and state in each case the advantages and disadvantages
and also the type of communication that takes place.
4.19 Summary
In this unit, we began our study of communications within groups and ob-
served that while the lessons already learnt apply equally within the group,
there are other considerations that are also essential to build a platform of
trust and co-operation. We observed that in the group situation, communica-
tion moves along organisational lines and that this can cause problems. We
also considered the informal channels of communication that flourish in a group.

References
Social and Career Focus (7th ed.) Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Fernandez Laura M. (1997). Running An Effective Task Group: The Five
C”s The New Social Winter Vol. 4 No. 1.
Ltd.
(http://pravinxk.hubpages.com/hub/TypesofCommunication)
http://www.ualr.edu/dllauferswei/cj3306/…
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-grapevine-internal-business-com-
munications-429.html accessed on 13/12/12.
Managementocean.blogspot.com/2012/07/group-member-resources-
behavior.html accessed on 19/07/12.
Robbins Stephen P. (2004). Organizational Behavior USA Prentice Hall.
Smallbusiness.chron.com/diagonal-communicatio… - United States accessed
on 02/04/2013.


Unit Five
Levels of Communication
5.0 Introduction
L
evels of communication are an integral part to any communication that
takes place on a daily basis. These levels are intrapersonal communica
tion where one speaks to oneself, interpersonal communication between
two or more people, group communication, mass communication and global
communication. In this unit we discuss these levels of communication.
5.1 Objectives
By the end of the unit you should be able to:
 define intrapersonal communication
 describe interpersonal communication
 compare group communication and mass communication
 evaluate global communication
5.2 Intrapersonal Communication

Intrapersonal communication is communication where one speaks to oneself.
If one thinks of a concept and one deliberates it in his/her mind, she is engag-
ing in intrapersonal communication and it also has a sender, receiver and feed-
back. According to wiki.answers.com intrapersonal communication can be in
the form of:
 Nocturnal dreaming, including and especially lucid dreaming
 Speaking aloud (talking to oneself), reading aloud, repeating what
one hears; Writing (by hand, or with a word processor, and so on
one’s thoughts or observations: the additional activities, on top of thinking,
of writing and reading back may again increase self-understanding
(“How do I know what I mean until I see what I say?”) and concentra-
tion. It aids ordering one’s thoughts; in addition it produces a record
that can be used later again.
 Making gestures while thinking: the additional activity, on top of think-
ing, of body motions, may again increase concentration, assist in prob-
lem solving, and assist memory.
 Sense-making for example, interpreting maps, texts, signs, and sym-
bols
 Interpreting non-verbal communication for example, gestures, eye con-
tact
 Communication between body parts; for example, “My stomach is telling
me it’s time for lunch.”
h t t p : / / w i k i . a n s w e r s . c o m / Q /
What_are_the_four_levels_of_communication#ixzz27ZvFjgRS
5.3 Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal communication is communication between two or more peo-
ple. Such people depend on each other and may share common history and

Unit 5 Levels of Communication
values. Interpersonal communication can be verbal or non verbal and one can
make use of communication channels such as telephone. In verbal communi-
cation one can use words or can have them written down. Non verbal com-
munication uses gestures and other forms of body language (these will be
discussed later). Acts such as summarising, paraphrasing, listening, question-
ing, initiating are part and parcel of interpersonal communication. We need
also to have interpersonal skills in business communication such as manage-
ment, selling, counselling, coaching, mentoring and conflict management.
What_are_the_four_levels_of_communication#ixzz27ZvFjgRS
Activity 5.1
1. In business communication, where would you use intrapersonal
? communication?
2. Do you consider interpersonal communication to be central to any
communication? Discuss.
5.4 Group Communication

This occurs among groups of three to twelve people and most of it is interper-
sonal communication and social clustering. In the previous unit we dealt at
length with this type of communication. In a business environment, this type of
communication is vital. Revisit the previous unit and browse through to see
what we discussed on group communication.
5.5 Mass Communication

Mass communication is information given to large segments of society at the
same time. It can be communicated through newspapers, magazines, radio,
television and film. It provides news as well, being used in advertising where
persuasion and manipulation of public is applied. It creates social awareness
and educates masses. It involves mass society, mass audience and mass me-
dia. It is influenced by industrialisation, urbanisation, modernisation, and with
the advent of Internet in delivering news and information, mass communica-

tion studies and media organisations tend to focus on the convergence of

publishing, broadcasting and digital communication
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_studies).
To quote wiki.answers.com mass communication, which is public communi-

cation is seen as:
It’s at the heart of our economy, society, and politics. Studios use it to promote
their films. Politicians use it to get elected. Businesses use it to burnish their
image. Advocates use it to promote social causes. It’s a field built on ideas and
images, persuasion and information, strategy and tactics. No policy or product
can succeed without a smart message targeted to the right audience in creative
and innovative ways.
What_are_the_four_levels_of_communication#ixzz27aAJtxdC
Mass communication is supposed to have the following:

 Communicators: institutions and organisations
 Messages: a general nature and non-verbal
 Media / Channel: the big five of the mass media: newspapers, radio,
movies, television, magazine
 Audience / target / recipients: public, mass society
 Effects: up on the cognitive level and has the effect of people receiving
the communication simultaneously
 Direction of communication: one-way
Source: http://www.shvoong.com/social-sciences/communication-me-
dia-studies/2167041-differences-communication/#ixzz28QCGhnib
5.6 Global Communication

Global communication is an extension of mass communication. The Econo-
mist (March 10 1990, October 5 1991 and September 30 1995) says the
21st Century has brought many effects on global communication. Communi-
cation at this level has an impact on technological, economic, political and
cultural boundaries. Global communication involves print, photography, film,
telephone and telegraphy, broadcasting and computer technologies which
though formerly independent are merging into digital stream of zeros and ones
in the global telecommunications networks.

5.6.1 Economical factors

Separate industries are combining to service the new multi media environ-
ment through a series of mergers and alliances. According to Marufu (2012)
businesses should take advantage of social networks to promote their busi-
nesses than shun them. He says social networks like Facebook, Twitter and
MySpace can increase their client base. He also urges businesses to use cloud
computing where computing resources such as storage devices can be accessed
over a network typically Internet and most of these are available free of charge
(Newsday 7/10/12).
5.6.2 Political factors

Traditional boundaries and sovereignties are being challenged by global com-
munication. Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) violates national borders as they
broadcast foreign news, provide entertainment, educational and advertising
programmes. There is also micro media of global communication which in-
volves narrow casting of messages through audio and video cassettes re-
corders (these are now being replaced by DVDs, CDs and DVD players),
fax machines, computer disks and networks including Internet and World
Wide Web. The Tehranian 1979, 1980, 1993 says the downfall of a monar-
chy in Iran was made through use of cheap transistor audio cassette record-
ers in conjunction with international telephony to spread massages of Ayatollah
Khomeini to his followers within a few hours of his exile in Paris. Similarly,
the downfall of the Phillipine Marcos regime in 1986 was broadcast nation-
ally to all citizens. Though Saudi Arabia banned a programme ‘The Death of
A Princess’ it was seen by many people through smuggled video tapes. So-
viet Union computer networkers opposed a coup in Moscow in 1991. We
need to think of the effects of such communications and how they affect busi-
ness. It means then that advanced telecommunications and world wide dis-
semination are changing rules of international relations.
5.6.3 Cultural factors

New patterns of global communication create new global pop culture of com-
modity fetishism supported by global advertising and the entertainment indus-
try. Countries and cultures are delocalising and establishing a new global
‘place’ which people increasingly recognise and are familiar with (Interna-
tional Journal of Peace Studies Jan 1997 Vol 2 No 1). We often hear of
the world being now referred as a global village.

5.6.4 Power
Global communication affects social relationships in that these are now driven
by power and where the will of one party is imposed on another whether
legitimately or where wishes of another are sought out and followed (Inter-
national Journal of Peace Studies Jan 1997 Vol 2 No 1). For example,
you could consider the killings of 34 striking miners by police in mid-August
at Marikana Platinum Mine in South Africa and the intended firing of other
12000 workers who are still on strike (Newsday 8/10/12).
5.6.5 Social reality

We now inhabit a real world of material circumstances and events because
these are reported through media with varying degrees of accuracy, com-
pleteness and dependability. Truth is often difficult to define though applied as
a standard of contents (International Journal of Peace Studies Jan 1997
Vol 2 No 1).
Other issues that could be considered are the meaning, content message of
the mass media in that there is no unique source of meaning and this might
cause disputes and uncertainty. We have also cause and effect and we ask
whether or not media cause effects in society or are they more the outcome
and reflection of prior and deeper social forces. Another area is mediation
which provides occasions, links, channels, arenas and platforms for informa-
tion to circulate. Does global communication have an effect on identity where
people share a sense of belonging to a culture, society, place or social group-
ing involving many factors such as nationality, language, work, ethnicity, reli-
gion, belief, lifestyle, and so forth? Does mass media help in identity forma-
tion, maintenance and dissolution and can they drive and reflect social change
and lead to integration? Issues of governance come in where media is regu-
lated by laws, rules, customs and codes and market management (Interna-
tional Journal of Peace Studies Jan 1997 Vol 2 No 1).

Activity 5.2
1. What are the essential components of group communication?
? 2. Evaluate the role played by political, economic and cultural factors
play in global communication.
3. Analyse the main components of mass communication.
4. To what extent can social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and
MySpace be used in business communication? Justify your answer.
5. In what way do strikes affect communication in business? Give reasons
for your answer.
5.7 Summary
In this unit we discussed levels of communication, that is, intrapersonal com-
munication, interpersonal communication, mass communication, group com-
munication and global communication. We also recommended use of social
networks in business communication as these might help boost clientele base.

References
http://www.shvoong.com/social-sciences/communication-media-studies/
2167041-differences-communication/#ixzz28QCGhnib accessed on 5/
10/12
What_are_the_four_levels_of_communication#ixzz27aAJtxdC
Majid Tehranian (1997). Global Communication and International Relations:
Changing Paradigms and Policies. International Journal of Peace
Studies Jan 1997 Vol 2 No 1.
Marufu, A. (2012). Businesses urged to take advantage of social networks
Daily News 8/10/12.
The Tehranian (1979, 1980, 1993).

Unit Six
Barriers to Communication
6.0 Introduction
I
n earlier units, we discussed the essentials to achieve effective communi
cation. We pointed out that, throughout the day, people are subjected to
so many messages of various kinds that in order to transmit your own
message successfully. It is important to use the correct medium in the right
context and present the message clearly in a manner that attracts and retains
attention of the recipient. We discussed the influence of “noise” as a barrier
to communication. In this unit we discuss this concept in some detail. Specifi-
cally, we discuss barriers created by the people communicating or by exter-
nal/physical factors.
6.1 Objectives
 identify barriers to communication created by both sender and receiver
 describe ways of overcoming these barriers to communication
 discuss how attitudes and perception are barriers to communication
6.2 Barriers Created By the Sender and the Recipient

It is possible that a barrier may be deliberately created between the parties
involved in the communication, but this is rare and is usually confined to situ-
ations where there is conflict. For example, during industrial unrest, barriers
are often created deliberately while the two sides ‘square off’ against each
other to try to gain supremacy or high ground in the later negotiations. We
consider this later in this module.
Let us look at the ‘people problems’ that can arise.
6.2.1 Distortion
Distortion is a process that occurs either at the stage of sending or receiving
the message and it can occur for a number of reasons. Distortion in commu-
nication can lead to incorrect understanding of the message, or only partial
comprehension of its meaning, by the recipient when -distortion occurs at the
encoding stage - the sender is usually responsible; but when it occurs at the
decoding stage, the recipient is usually responsible.
The following failures cause distortion:

1. The information is not expressed in a way that the recipient can
fully interpret and understand. In this case the parties have the abil-
ity but they fail to use it properly. We all believe that the language we
use is shared equally and rationalised by everyone we communicate
with – after all we all use the same words to express ideas. However,
this is not always the case. Think of the occasions you said something
that unintentionally offended another person. That person ‘took it the
wrong way’ and what may have been intended as a compliment was
interpreted as an insult. There are a number of causes distortion of
messages. These causes include the use of inappropriate vocabulary,
poor choice of words, complexity of ideas etc. We discuss these fac-
tors below:

Unit 6 Barriers to Communication
(i) Use of inappropriate vocabulary. Especially poor grammar, spell-

ing, punctuation and sentence construction can distort the message and
can also result when there is no common language for discussing a
complicated idea.
(ii) A poor choice of words such as using ‘variable’ for ‘viable’ or mixing
in too may unnecessary phrases such as ‘you know’ or ‘I mean’. An-
other example would be where an inference is incorrect such as ‘I
know you’re as poor as a church mouse and so I’d like to give you
some food that my family doesn’t like’ – that is really doubly insulting
although the sender may have had good intentions.
(iii) The ideas are so complex that clear, complete expression of them is
difficult using the means of communication that is available. This is usu-
ally when a specialist in a technical field tries to communicate a brand
new concept that is not known to the recipient and there is no time to
either write or read a long report. Job interviews are often weak for
this reason too in that a person has a CV that is seldom read and about
10 minutes talking in order to communicate his value to the business in
a very important job.
(iv) The idea to be communicated is known to be generally unac-
ceptable and so the real message is concealed to try to make it ac-
ceptable. Politicians often use this as a means to implement a new policy
that will lose them votes and they try to ‘sugar the pill’ as the expression
goes. The distortion caused by bad news can also be a fault of the
recipient who does not want to accept the message because it will
affect him personally in an unpleasant way.
(v) Too much information is given so that the message becomes con-
fused. This is particularly so when the sender is trying to justify a
decision and feels the communication will be accepted better if s/he
explains all the factors that resulted in the decision. Selection of the
essential facts is a useful skill.
(iv) The information is put into language that does not express its
true meaning. This is generally a weakness in the sender who has
inadequate understanding of what the message is about or the situation
in which s/he is delivering it. For example, ‘Look, I don’t know why
but just go and move that machine over to the other side of the fac-
tory’, is unlikely to promote a good response to the communication. If
the medium is speech, other signs such as body language that occur
during the communication may cause distortion. We look at body lan-
guage later, but this describes the way a person sits, looks and moves
during the communication. If this changes during the exchange, it can
be interpreted to mean a change of attitude.

2. Inadequate communication skill –is the inability to send and receive

messages clearly and effectively, leading to misunderstanding. This may
stem from inability to express ideas clearly in a language suitable for the
intended recipient; and the intended purpose of the communication. If
the medium is writing, communication skills also include the ability to
read - not only to read the words on the page, but to interpret signs and
symbols of all kinds. Thus if the recipient is illiterate, he/she may not get
the correct message.
A major barrier to communication is created when one or the other
party fails to possess the necessary communication skills. Messages
are incorrectly encoded, or encoded in the wrong medium. Alterna-
tively, they may be misread and fail to have their intended effect.
3. An essential part of communication is obtaining feedback, and
anything that interferes with that is a barrier to the process. Let
us look at some of the examples of bad conversational habits that often
cause barriers. Each is an attempt to solve the other person’s problem
but they attack that person’s capacity to handle a problem and so they
create anxiety and resentment. Often they are a solution offered with-
out a full understanding of the problem and they can make the problem
worse, or even create a new issue without resolving the original prob-
lem. They usually fall into one of three categories; judging others, giving
inappropriate solutions and avoiding the other person’s concerns.
(i) Setting yourself up to judge the other person, and this may be -
criticising – ‘Well, you certainly didn’t handle that correctly!’; name-
calling – ‘I think you are an idiotic twit and a jerk all in one excuse for
a man!’;
• diagnosing – ‘You are only saying that because you feel guilty.’
(ii) Finding solutions that are inappropriate, and this may be - issuing
an order – ‘I demand that you go and fix that right now’; issuing a
threat – ‘If you don’t agree to my conditions, you will hear from my
attorney’; giving moral judgements – ‘I think you ought to apologize to
her’; requiring answers – ‘Tell me when this happened’; ‘I hope you
apologised for that behaviour’; giving advice – ‘If I were you, this is
what I would do’.
(iii) Avoiding the other person’s concerns by keeping an emotional dis-
tance from that person or from an uncomfortable topic so as to protect
ourselves instead of being helpful to the other person, and this may be
– diverting attention from the point of the communication – ‘If you think
that’s bad, let me tell you what happened to me’; introducing a new
logical argument – ‘Whichever way you look at it, the only sensible
thing is to …; attempting to reassure – ‘Even if you are dismissed,
you’ll always find another job.’

All of these responses judge the other person and therefore impose a
point of view. The other person often feels misunderstood and unsafe,
and is more likely to react in a defensive or self-protective manner and
thus distorting information.
4. Lack of listening ability may be a permanent feature or temporary
such as when a group of active people are confined in a room for a
whole day at a conference. The ability to listen is essential, as without it
the recipient is unable to understand what is going on with potentially
disastrous results.
If the recipient can listen, s/he will receive the true significance of the
message. Also, if the sender can listen, s/he will be able to identify true
feedback from the recipient a failure in either area will cause a commu-
nication breakdown. This may be the result of lack of concentration by
either party, and if so that must be corrected.
6.2.2 Attitudes
We all have certain attitudes towards life that have been produced by our
education, environment and general experience. If they are extreme, they are
called bias or, worse still, prejudices. Attitudes can distort our awareness of
messages in communications and thus create a barrier in the communication
process. Attitudes to moral questions, and those caused by different cultural
backgrounds are obvious examples of ways that people are different and if
we want to communicate effectively, we must be aware of both our own
attitudes and those of the intended recipient. If we do not, a further barrier
may appear.
In extreme cases a difference in attitude or experience found within the sender

and the recipient will result in a negative attitude towards all communication
between them. A temporary inappropriate attitude may be caused by the
emotional state of either party. This is why it is difficult to get a true report of
the cause of a vehicle accident because emotions are running high, and imme-
diately after an accident is not the time to ‘lecture’ a victim on speeding or bad
tyre conditions.
Another cause of a temporary attitude is if the recipient has been called to

attend to your message but feels that what s/he can now not do in that time is
more important. For example, s/he has to complete the budget presentation
for the Board tomorrow but you have called a meeting to discuss whether
there should be a change in the company letterhead over which there is no
urgency.

Tied with this is the inability to build trust between the sender and the recipi-
ent. If you are receiving a message, you have to be able to rely on the fact that
the sender is a person of honour from whom you can receive a valid message.
If there is no trust, there will be a barrier to the communication process.
In this area, we can also consider the situation of a poor appearance of the
sender of a verbal message. Imagine that you have a serious illness and your
doctor sends you to a specialist. When you visit, s/he looks dirty with scruffy
clothing and s/he cannot find the medical test kit. The same applies when you
visit an office for some advice or action – if the desk is piled with papers and
empty bottles you will not be too sure that the communication is worth heed-
ing.
6.2.3 Perceptions of reality

Our understanding of life builds into us a certain degree of acceptance about
issues. If somebody tells us that a certain person is corrupt and has taken a
bribe to facilitate a particular contract, our understanding of that person will
cause us to accept or reject that statement. This is one of the causes of
resistance to change that is the subject of many management texts.
Another example of this is where a person is working with a group of people

that s/he does not really like and you engage them in discussion about how
directed teams produce better results than large organisations so how does
this distort information? If the reality of the message is not accepted, there is
a negative reaction.
Activity 6.1
1. Describe the distortion that you have experienced as both sender and
? recipient (study the different types of distortion given in the unit).
2. All people in a communication chain are capable of, and can create
barriers to communication. How true is this assertion? Explain your
answer with examples from organisations that you are familiar with.

6.3 Barriers Caused By External Influences

External influences can cause barriers in communication. It can be the dis-
tracting environmental factors such as physical noise, such as heavy traffic,
constantly ringing telephones or people talking to you while you are reading a
letter. The popularity of cell phones has caused another major physical bar-
rier – nobody would dream of interrupting a meeting by suddenly producing
and reading a newspaper but a cell phone conversation seems to be consid-
ered as acceptable.
The size of the group can also be a barrier. Imagine trying to address a meet-
ing at the National Sports Centre without a public address system. To a
lesser extent, you may find that a staff meeting with all employees is just too
big and a series of meetings with each section yields better results.
Barriers to communication can also result from malfunctioning of the fax ma-
chine or E-Mail gadgets such as telephone connection or illegible handwrit-
ing. Sometimes in an organisation the bureaucratic rules of who may commu-
nicate with whom lead to a situation where you have to ‘go through’ so many
people who know nothing about the subject in order to communicate with the
expert that the message becomes distorted either on its way or in the reply.
Activity 6.2
?
1. Discuss the barriers result from caused by external influences?
2. Identify and explain the barriers to communication that have affected
any organisation that you know. How have these undermined or
enhanced the activities of the organisation?
6.4 Overcoming Barriers to Communication

Barriers to communication do not always have a negative impact on commu-
nications, but there is a high risk of this – especially when people are interact-
ing under stress. Each barrier can be a block to the response of the other
person to that communication, and s/he will be less likely to express honest
feedback in a constructive way. Rather than creating understanding, noise
may affect the self esteem of the recipient leading to resentment, defensive-
ness, withdrawal or dependency and forth with, loss of motivation.

Barriers to communication can be overcome in many ways, some of the ways

include developing personal communication skills timing the communication,
knowing whom to communicate with, detaining both the message and the
response, choosing the right medium of communication and matching one’s
expression with that of the receiver, we discuss these methods below.
6.4.1 Develop personal communication skills

Developing personal communication skills is the most effective of reducing
distortion, if not eliminating it. Communication skills cover:
(a) the ability to write or speak clear English so that a meaning is expressed
directly and without ambiguity;
(b) the ability to talk to a wide range of people in formal and informal
situations;
(c) the ability to listen and understand so that the speaker knows that you
are sympathetic and aware of what he or she is saying; and
(d) the ability to develop reading skills needed for the correct understand-
ing of information.
You need to make an effort therefore to improve your communication skills in
order to communicate more effectively as sender or receiver of messages.
6.4.2 Know when to communicate

Timing communication is often important. Some people think that a Friday is
the day when people feel happy with the prospect of the coming weekend,
and so they deliver letters or hold meetings on those days. At the other
extreme, you find the person who opens a discussion in the passage on a
contentious matter when the boss is anxious to make it to the toilet. Choosing
the right place and moment for communication in respect of both the recipi-
ent’s willingness to receive it and the minimum of noise is important.
6.4.3 Know with whom to communicate

No matter how well you communicate, you must do it with the right person. A
brilliant report or letter addressed to the wrong person does not always achieve
the objects of good communication.
In verbal communication, especially such as on the telephone, make sure you

are talking to the right person. Achieving this is not easy when the person
answering the telephone fails to identify themselves properly, so if you have a
telephone operator under your control, make sure that s/he does state the

name of your organisation. Any communication with the wrong person can
cause all kinds of misunderstandings, so make sure that you contact the right
person.
6.4.4 Define your information

People rarely have time to waste on unimportant matters so make sure that
you know exactly how much information you need to transmit in order to
make your communication effective. Knowing what not to say is almost as
knowing what to say.
6.4.5 Define the intended response

Think carefully about what you want the recipient to do in response to your
communication. For example, your intention may be to gain acceptance of an
idea, sell a product, obtain advice and change an attitude. Knowing what
response you are looking for is useful and by putting yourself in the place of
the recipient, you can judge how you would respond. If you define the pur-
pose of your message and how you want the recipient to react, compile the
message in such a way that it encourages that response. Especially, avoid a
situation where the recipient is put off by the way your communication is
compiled. For example, compare:
(a) ‘Please let me know why the output of the widget machine has been
below normal this month’; and
(b) ‘I expect a full report on my desk by tomorrow morning apportioning
blame on lost widget production last month’.
So, as well as knowing what response is needed, you must also decide on the
best way of achieving that response bearing in mind the recipient’s back-
ground and attitudes. If you were the recipient instead of the sender, and you
wouldn’t react as you want to your communication, change it. This is always
a useful test before sending a written communication or adopting a particular
approach in oral communication.
6.4.6 Choose the medium carefully

We discuss forms of written communication in the next unit and later we con-
sider the forms of oral communication. In some cases a written communica-
tion is essential while in others this may not be necessary. A legal proposal or
contract should obviously be written although a verbal contract is also bind-
ing. On the other hand, a warning to occupants that the building is on fire

should definitely be done orally. Always ask yourself the best kind of commu-
nication medium for a particular situation and that particular recipient and
consider:
(a) While it may be simpler to make a phone call, would a personal visit be
more effective?
(b) A letter has the advantage of being permanent and on record, but is
there any guarantee that the recipient will act upon it?
You will be better able to judge the best medium as you go on through this
course, but always ask yourself the question when it is time to begin a com-
munication process.
6.4.7 Match your expression to the recipient

We have discussed how distortion can occur when transmitting a message
because insufficient care was taken over the construction of the communica-
tion and the background of the recipient. The relationship between the parties
to the communication is also a guiding factor: Are you equals or is there a
seniority factor? If there is a seniority factor, is it important to the way the
communication is compiled?
Where the sender is in a senior position, would the communication be more

effective if it was an order or directive? Or will that appear haughty and aloof
rather than if you make a request? If you are in a junior position, you may
have to avoid any unintended inference that the communication is due to a
fault in the senior/s because, no matter how good the message, it will be
interpreted as an attack and dismissed as being from someone who ‘doesn’t
know all the facts’.
Good communication skills are improved by mutual respect and ideally both
the sender/s and the recipient/s have to show respect for the other as well as
respect for themselves. Respect for the other person comes from listening or
reading fully and demonstrating that you understand what you mean. You
respect yourself when you state your own legitimate self- interest without
aggression. To have complete communication, each person must both get
and give satisfaction.
Unfortunately, even following these rules absolutely will not guarantee perfect
communication on every occasion. There will be times when external ‘noise’
and internal ‘distortion’ will erect barriers, and times when straightforward
disagreement or even failure are the outcome of attempts to communicate.
However, if you strive to follow these rules on all occasions you will find that

communication becomes far more effective as you learn to consider the other
person’s point of view and assess the real purpose of what you are trying to
achieve.
Activity 6:3
1. What steps can you take to overcome communication barriers in your
? organisation?
2. The “open-door policy” to communication in an organisation results in
destructive gossip (between shop-floor workers and the top
management). Can we, therefore, not say barriers to communication
eradicate this malaise?
3. We want you to think back on communication that you have had today,
and identify the barriers that existed and the consequences. If you feel
that communication failed because of some barrier, how will you avoid
a recurrence under similar circumstances?
6.5 Summary
In this unit, we identified barriers that are created by both the sender and the
recipient. In addition, we looked at external barriers and noted their influence
in communication. We also discussed how we can overcome the effect of
those barriers in communication. Both the sender and recipient of the mes-
sage need to make more effort in eliminating these barriers.

References
Berko, R.M., Wolvin, A.D. and Wolvin, D.R. (1998). Communication: A
Ltd.

Unit Seven
Conflict in Organisations
7.0 Introduction
I
n the last unit, we talked about the way communication can work in groups
and we mentioned some examples of breakdown. When the signs of any
breakdown are observed, management must quickly act to restore good
communication in the organisation. Breakdown is one problem, conflict is
another. Conflict has its good points as well as its bad points. A breakdown
in communication is just bad, but conflict may not be. In this unit we define
conflict, discuss causes of conflict and make suggestions for conflict resolu-
tion strategies.
7.1 Objectives
 give reasons that can create conflict within a group
 list strategies that can be used to control conflict within a group
 discuss solutions to problems of communication failure in a group
 analyse conflict resolution strategies that involve third parties
7.2 What is Conflict?

We define conflict as a disagreement through which the parties involved
perceive a threat to their needs, interests or concerns. Within this sim-
ple definition there are several important understandings that emerge:
7.2.1 Disagreement
Generally, we are aware there is some level of difference in the positions of
the two (or more) parties involved in the conflict. But the true disagreement
versus the perceived disagreement may be quite different from one another.
In fact, conflict tends to be accompanied by significant levels of misunder-
standing that exaggerate the perceived disagreement considerably. If we can
understand the true areas of disagreement, this will help us solve the right
problems and manage the true needs of the parties.
7.2.2 Parties involved

There are often disparities in our sense of who is involved in the conflict.
Sometimes, people are surprised to learn they are a party to the conflict,
while other times we are shocked to learn we are not included in the disa-
greement. On many occasions, people who are seen as part of the social
system (for example, work team, family, company) are influenced to partici-
pate in the dispute, whether they would personally define the situation in that
way or not. In the above example, people very readily “take sides” based
upon current perceptions of the issues, past issues and relationships, roles
within the organisation, and other factors. The parties involved can become
an elusive concept to define.
7.2.3 Perceived threat

People respond to the perceived threat, rather than the true threat, facing

Unit 7 Conflict in Organisations
them. Thus, while perception does not become reality per se, people’s be-
haviours, feelings and ongoing responses become modified by that evolving
sense of the threat they confront. If we can work to understand the true threat
(issues) and develop strategies (solutions) that manage it (agreement), we are
acting constructively to manage the conflict.
7.2.4 Needs, interests or concerns

There is a tendency to narrowly define “the problem” as one of substance,
task, and near-term viability. However, workplace conflicts tend to be far
more complex than that, for they involve ongoing relationships with complex,
emotional components. Simply stated, there are always procedural needs
and psychological needs to be addressed within the conflict, in addition to the
substantive needs that are generally presented. And the durability of the inter-
ests and concerns of the parties transcends the immediate presenting situa-
tion. Any efforts to resolve conflicts effectively must take these points into
account.
Conflicts occur when people (or other parties) perceive that, as a conse-
quence of a disagreement, there is a threat to their needs, interests or
concerns. Although conflict is a normal part of organisation life, providing
numerous opportunities for growth through improved understanding and in-
sight, there is a tendency to view conflict as a negative experience caused by
abnormally difficult circumstances. Disputants tend to perceive limited op-
tions and finite resources available in seeking solutions, rather than multiple
possibilities that may exist ‘outside the box’ in which we are problem-solving.
A few points are worth reiterating:

 A conflict is more than a mere disagreement - it is a situation in which
people perceive a threat (physical, emotional, power, status, and so
forth) to their well-being. As such, it is a meaningful experience in peo-
ple’s lives, not to be shrugged off by a mere, “it will pass…”
 Participants in conflicts tend to respond on the basis of their per-
ceptions of the situation, rather than an objective review of it. As
such, people filter their perceptions (and reactions) through their val-
ues, culture, beliefs,
 Information, experience, gender, and other variables. Conflict responses
are both filled with ideas and feelings that can be very strong and pow-
erful guides to our sense of possible solutions.
 As in any problem, conflicts contain substantive, procedural, and
psychological dimensions to be negotiated. In order to best under-

stand the threat perceived by those engaged in a conflict, we need to

consider all of these dimensions.
 Conflicts are normal experiences within the work environment. They
are also, to a large degree, predictable and expectable situations
that naturally arise as we go about managing complex and stressful
projects in which we are significantly invested. As such, if we develop
procedures for identifying conflicts likely to arise, as well as systems
through which we can constructively manage conflicts, we may be able
to discover new opportunities to transform conflict into a productive
learning experience.
 Creative problem-solving strategies are essential to positive ap-
proaches to conflict management. We need to transform the situation
from one in which it is ‘my way or the highway’ into one in which we
entertain new possibilities that have been otherwise elusive.
(h tt p: // www.o hrd. wis c. ed u/ o nl in et rai ni ng/reso lu ti on /
aboutwhatisit.htm#whatisconflict).
In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia organisational conflict is a state of
discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of needs, values and
interests between people working together. Conflict takes many forms in or-
ganisations. There is the inevitable clash between formal authority and power
and those individuals and groups affected. There are disputes over how rev-
enues should be divided, how the work should be done and how long and
hard people should work. There are jurisdictional disagreements among indi-
viduals, departments, and between unions and management. There are sub-
tler forms of conflict involving rivalries, jealousies, personality clashes, role
definitions, and struggles for power and favour. There is also conflict within
individuals — between competing needs and demands — to which individu-
als respond in different ways.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_conflict)
Conflict can be intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, intergroup,

intraorganisational and interorganisational
(https://www.snaplms.com/reader/web.html/introtoob/chapter7/
7.3 Causes of Conflict in the Group

The root cause of conflict comes from the foundation of why a person joined
that group – do you remember the elements that we mentioned earlier? These
three essential elements are that:

 members see themselves as belonging;

 they have a shared purpose; and
 they accept a responsibility to work with the others in the group. So,
what happens when those elements start to disintegrate or become
corrupted? The short answer is ‘conflict’.
There are a number of reasons that create conflict. Let us consider each of
them:
7.3.1 Incompatibility in the group

Conflict arises from actual and perceived incompatibility among members of
a group – their goals, their ambitions, their needs and their wishes can all be
incompatible in some way – and to a greater or lesser degree - with others in
the group. Remember that every person is unique in this world.
7.3.2 Poor leadership

A problem with the leadership of the group can also create conflict. The
leaders are responsible for interpreting the reason why the group exists and
ensuring that effort is directed towards achieving that purpose. As a result,
a number of things can go wrong:
 The leader has a different interpretation of the purpose itself or the
ways to achieve it.
 Members joined the group with a different perception of the purpose
or did not expect that this was the way in which it is expected to achieve
the purpose and the leader does not correct these misconceptions.
 The leader is inadequate against the opposition and is not likely to achieve
the agreed purpose.
 The leader is a dictator prepared to bully and intimidate as long as his/
her view prevails.
 Some members are there for the benefits but not for the hard work and
the leader ‘loads’ the willing horse.
 Some members want the glory of achievement for themselves rather
than for the group – so they have ambitions of leadership which is
resisted or not accepted by others in the group.
 A new leader has joined the group and wants to change the purpose
and the method of achievement.
 New members have joined and are distorting the purpose and/or influ-
encing the leader.
 Each of these weaknesses is a cause of potential conflict and has to be
corrected if the group is to function well.

7.3.3 Other causes of conflict

Other causes of conflict are limited resources, money, land, office space and
power and so forth. Matuson (2005) identifies the following as aspects that
cause conflict in organisations:
Lack of clarity - Employees wind up in turf wars when boundaries are not
clearly defined. A well-written job description, along with clearly defined re-
porting relationships can help prevent this situation.
Limited resources - In today’s environment where people are asked to do

more with less, there is often conflict over time, money, supplies and even
space. When you observe conflict in the workplace, determine if employees
have adequate resources to do their work. Whenever possible, include em-
ployees in the resource allocation process. This will provide them with a bet-
ter understanding of how allocation decisions are made in your organisation.
Conflicts of interest - Individuals fighting for personal goals and losing sight
of organisational goals can csreate quite a ripple in the organisation. Continu-
ally remind employees how their personal goals and efforts fit with the organi-
sation’s strategic business goals.
Power struggles -The need to control is at the root of many workplace

conflicts. Who should have that information? Who should be involved on that
project? Who has the corner office? Recognise that power struggles exist.
Teach employees how to manage relationships in the organisation so they can
effectively navigate through political mine fields
(www.childcarelounge.com/director/work-place-conflict.php).
Structural factors and personal factors such as different backgrounds, atti-

tudes, perceptions and values also cause conflict. In BookEducator (2012),
the following are identified:
Structural factors
There are eight structural aspects of an organisation that are likely to cause
conflicts. They are specialisation, common resources, goal differences, inter-
dependence, authority relationships, status differences, jurisdictional ambi-
guities, and roles and expectations. Let us examine each of these in turn.

Specialisation
Employees tend to become either experts at a particular job task or to obtain
a general knowledge of many tasks. When the majority of employees in an
organisation are specialists, conflicts may arise because workers have little
knowledge of one another’s job responsibilities. For example, a receptionist
at a camera repair store may tell you that your camera can be repaired in an
hour. In fact, the repair will take a week, but the receptionist has little knowl-
edge of the technician’s job and so gives an unrealistic deadline, thereby pav-
ing the way for conflict with the technician.
Common resources
In many work situations, we are obliged to share resources: The scarcer the
resource the greater the potential for conflict. For example, imagine that your
class had an essay due tomorrow and there was only one computer available.
The chances of conflict among the students would be high.
Goal differences
Sometimes groups or departments in the organisation have different and in-
compatible goals, increasing the chances of employees experiencing conflict.
For instance, a computer salesperson may want to sell as many computers as
possible and deliver them quickly; the manufacturing facility, however, may
be unable to assemble and inspect enough computers to meet the sales prom-
ises.
Interdependence
Sometimes one employee must depend on another to complete a task. When
workers are in an interdependent situation, it is easy to blame a co-worker
when something goes wrong. For example, a manager may clash with a sys-
tems analyst who provides inaccurate data.
Authority relationships
Often, there is underlying tension between managers and employees. This is
because most people do not like being told what to do. Managers who are
overly strict are frequently in conflict with their employees – hence, the grow-
ing popularity of team approaches and empowerment strategies.

Status differences
In many organisations, managers are granted privileges denied to other em-
ployees. For instance, managers may enjoy flexible hours, free personal long-
distance calls, and longer breaks. In the words of one management consult-
ant, “If you want to know who is really important in the organisation, just
observe the signs in the parking lot and watch for the distance between the
parking and the office building; the bigger the sign and the closer to the build-
ing, the higher the status of the incumbent.” Some organisations are creating a
more egalitarian appearance to reduce conflicts that result from status differ-
ences.
Jurisdictional ambiguities
Jurisdictional ambiguities occur when the lines of responsibility in an organisa-
tion are uncertain. When it is unclear who does what, employees have a ten-
dency to pass unwanted tasks onto the next person. Think of the times you
have telephoned a company or government agency and been transferred to
several people and departments before being served. Detailed job descrip-
tions can help to eliminate jurisdictional ambiguities and the conflicts arising
from them.
Roles and expectations

A role refers to the behaviours and activities expected of an employee. Every
employee plays one or more roles within the organisation. These roles are
usually defined through a combination of such elements as job title, descrip-
tion of duties, and agreements between the employee and the organisation.
Manager– subordinate conflict can result when the subordinate’s role is not
clearly defined and each party has a different understanding of that role.
Personal factors
The most common personal factors associated with organisational conflict
are skills and abilities, personality conflicts, perceptions, diversity, and per-
sonal problems. Let us see how each can lead to conflict.
Skills and abilities

Usually the members of a department or work team have different levels of skills
and abilities. Conflict can result when an experienced employee must work with a
novice who has good theoretical knowledge but few practical skills.

Personality conflicts
Personality conflicts are a reality in any group setting, including the workplace.
There always seems to be at least one co-worker who is difficult to get along
with. One of the most difficult personality traits is abrasiveness. An abrasive
person is often hardworking and achievement-oriented, but critical and in-
sensitive to others’ feelings. Other irritating personality traits include laziness
and gossiping.
Perceptions
Much organisational conflict stems from the fact that employees and manag-
ers have different perceptions of situations. For example, a manager may feel
that an employee is underperforming, whereas the employee may feel that the
best job possible is being done.
Diversity
Across the world, organisational workforce is becoming increasingly hetero-
geneous. Differences in age, cultural background, ethics, and values can be a
source of conflict among employees. For instance, a long-serving employee
who feels loyal to the organisation may clash with a young newcomer who
sees the organisation as nothing more than a stepping stone.
Personal problems
When we bring our personal problems to work, our performance tends to
suffer and we may clash with co-workers who are obliged to “pick up the
slack”.
(https://www.snaplms.com/reader/web.html/introtoob/chapter7/).
Activity 7.1
1. Provide your own definition of conflict in relation to activities that take
? place in your own organisation.
2. What are some of the causes of conflict?
3. In what ways would power struggles cause conflict?
4. Analyse the eight structural factors that are likely to cause conflict. Do
you agree or disagree with these factors? Give reasons for your answer.

7.4 Conflict Management Strategies

An important first lesson is not to allow personal or emotional factors to take
over your behaviour in a group. This is not possible in all cases, of course, as
you are bound to feel personally involved in some issues. Overall, though, it
is a good point to remember, as it separates emotional and personal factors
from the issues under discussion.
Your own attitudes are relevant and if you are a group member, you have a
part to play in ensuring that you contribute effectively and constructively. If
you consider yourself to be an introvert, you must be careful not to assume
that any extrovert is displaying bad behaviour. If you are young and keen -
and consequently may be classified by some as being a rebel - make sure you
do not consider each elder statesman as behaving badly when s/he urges
caution based on previous experience.
Many psychologists say that learning to play a role at work is fundamentally

very healthy, since it allows you to separate your ‘real self’ from your ‘work-
ing self’ so that you work more effectively and reduce stress by removing
emotional involvement.
A good indication of a sound relationship is that you are able to separate

personal feelings from a response to their opinion. For example, you must be
able to disagree with somebody without vindictiveness so that you remain on
good terms with him even though you disagree with his opinion on certain
issues. Learn to keep personal and working relationships separate and you
will be a much better group worker.
You also have a responsibility inside the group to ensure that everyone else
behaves constructively as well. If you find that there is a disagreement be-
tween two people because they are rivals in the group, the chances are that
neither will be functioning effectively. You will have to use your communica-
tion skills to ensure that the parties consider their motives for actions and their
attitudes in the group, and they will perform more effectively.
Another way of avoiding personal feeling is to adopt the role of a facilitator at

every meeting you attend. This means that you should be aware of the behav-
iour and contributions of each member and of the way the group dynamics is
moving, and do all you can to ensure that everyone contributes equally, in-
cluding yourself.

7.4.1 Some strategies to solve the problem

So far we have emphasised the need to understand a situation before you
begin to communicate. This is equally important in the group and overall, we
think that you find that the following general points that you have studied
already help you deal with conflict in the group.
 Task analysis – you have to be certain that you understand the task
that the group has to work with and that you have identified the prob-
lem that is standing in the way of this. The need to identify the problem
correctly cannot be overemphasised, and one of the difficulties in doing
this correctly has gained the description of ‘attribution’. What this means
is that having identified that a problem exists, we then try to attribute
reasons and we look at personal and situational attributes.
Personal attributes include the fact that the person we see as the prob-
lem is a fool or is trying to turn the problem to some benefit s/he wants
and so on.
Situational attribute as such considers the plant is past its economic
working life or the telephone system is hopeless. Problems arise be-
cause we fail to identify the problem correctly.
(b) Audience analysis – what type of people do you have to work with,
changing attitudes and behaviour if necessary, so that your influence
will ensure that effective communication has occurred.
(c) Analyse what strategy you need to adopt, and we can suggest the
following conflict management strategies that might be appropriate in
the situation you face.
Revisit your problem solution. Revisit your own attitudes. Introspec-
tion is a strategy that involves self-assessment to be sure that our pre-
conceived ideas, our attitudes and our biases do not cause us to stere-
otype people and distort our view of how a solution can be found.
Know what you want to achieve so that your group can remain pro-
ductive.
(d) Tackle the problem. There are a number of ways this can be done
and they include negotiation, seeking clarification, empathy, being as-
sertive and by challenging the other party. Let us look at these strate-
gies briefly. Negotiation involves effort by both parties to reach agree-
ment on what the problem is and what the solution is.
Seeking clarification – this involves discussion between the parties so
that everyone knows what is involved and understands the other par-
ties’ point of view. In itself, this can often lead to a straight forward
solution of the problem.

The term empathy sums up understanding the views of another person,

having sympathy for those views, and trying to accommodate them. If
you try to see the problems from the other person’s point of view, it can
help you to persuade him/her away from it and at least s/he recognises
that you have considered it. There will then be more of a willingness
to work with you because ‘you do see other people’s points of view’
and that is uncommon.
(e) By being assertive – if the group leader feels strong enough about
having support from the majority, s/he can indulge in assertiveness by
taking the responsibility for the group’s actions and performance. This
may be all that is needed to assure the person who is unhappy with
some point that s/he can go along with the group as the leader is going
to be the one who shoulders the blame for an error. This should only
be relied upon if you are satisfied that the right course is being followed
– and hopefully as further situations develop the correctness will be
obvious thus removing any doubts that the other person may have had.
Challenging the other party to take the responsibility is very dangerous
and should be a last resort used only if you are sure that s/he will de-
cline the offer and come back to support your endeavours.
Bad strategies that we can identify are being confrontational and trying to get
your will by exerting force, attributing blame to someone who can’t defend
themselves, and avoiding the issue and hoping it will go away.
Decisions made by a group and actions carried out by a group are generally
more effective than individual actions because they have group support. As
we have explained, to ensure success you have to employ a range of commu-
nications skills – both with the whole group and with an individual at times.
The strategies you choose depend on whether conflict is existent or non-
existent at the time, and the particular circumstances of the situation. Poor
selection of a strategy can cause conflict where none existed, or worsen a
conflict situation leading to unproductive tendencies in the group.
Roberta Matuson (2005) says a strong leader gives employees the tools
needed to resolve conflict situations on their own, rather than continuously
playing the role of referee. Here are some suggestions to help you transition
from referee to coach:
 Encourage employees to work things out on their own. Provide them
with guidance.
 Ask employees what they have done to work out a situation.
 Look for core causes.
 Help the individual focus on specific behaviours, not personality.

 Redirect the person making the complaint back to the individual he or

she is having the conflict with and offer suggestions on how to ap-
proach this person.
 Request this person give you feedback on how things went. Offer ad-
ditional feedback, if appropriate.
Since disagreement is inevitable, it makes good business sense to train em-
ployees and management on how to effectively deal with conflict in the
workplace. Your investment will reap immediate dividends. Employees will
spend less time focusing on one another and more time focusing on your
customers. Listen closely. Calm has returned to your organisation.
There are also many other techniques for managing conflict. We begin by
considering five basic conflict management styles, after which we will de-
scribe various indirect and direct conflict management techniques.
7.5 Thomas’s Model of Conflict Management Styles

The following is a conflict management model developed by Kenneth Tho-
mas in 1976, a specialist in organisational conflict, a “conflict management
grid” in which he pinpointed five conflict management styles used by people in
an organisational context. These conflict management styles are profiled in
Table 7.1 and described below.

Table 7.1 Profile of Conflict Management Styles
Dominant
Style Principal Issues Conditions
Strategy
Outcomes are not very
important / The chances
Avoiding unpleasant Flight / retreat / of winning are slim /
Avoiding
situations "Golden silence" High risk is involved /
Others can handle the
situation better
Urgency / Unpopular
Satisfying personal
decision is necessary /
interests / Winning at Competing /
Forcing Vital for the organization
any cost / Gaining power
/ Must protect interest
Dominating
groups
The issue is vital to the
Maintaining other party / The other
relationships with Avoiding con? ict party is signi? cantly
Accommodating
others / Opting for at almost any cost better equipped /
harmony Harmony is more
important than victory
Objectives are
There is room for moderately important /
compromise / The two parties are equal
Compromising Middle ground exists Negotiation in powder / Solutions can
/ Partial satisfaction be reached / Neither
is attainable collaboration nor force
works
Individual interests are
Satisfying mutual Confrontation / compatible / Synergy is
Collaborating
interests Problem solving possible / Interpersonal
problems are solved
Avoiding style
People who fear conflict use the avoiding style to escape from conflict situa-
tions. For these individuals, escaping conflict is more important than satisfying
their own needs or the needs of others. When this style of conflict manage-
ment is used, everyone loses.

Forcing or competing style

Those who use the forcing style of conflict management are preoccupied with
achieving their own goals and have no concern for the goals of others. The
forcing person believes that one side must win and one side must lose. Some-
times employed in times of crisis, this type of conflict management is generally
ineffective in achieving organisational objectives, particularly if the people in-
volved have a long- term relationship.
Accommodating style
People who use the accommodating style are cooperative, unassertive, and
supportive of the other party’s goals, usually at the expense of their own. Like
the competing style, the accommodating style of conflict management will
result in a win–lose situation. Accommodating behaviour is appropriate when
you know you are wrong or when the relationship is important to you. On the
other hand, a person who relies exclusively on accommodation to manage
conflicts may lose the respect of colleagues.
Compromising
This style is half-assertive and half-cooperative. It is based on give-and-take
and usually involves a series of concessions. Compromises are often made in
the final hours of union–management negotiations. Those who are willing to
compromise generally help negotiations to run smoothly and are perceived
more positively by members of the organisation. However, when this style of
conflict management is used, both parties may be left unsatisfied.
Collaborating style
This style is characterised by cooperation and assertiveness on the part of
both sides. Each person or group is willing to work together to reach a mutu-
ally beneficial solution. Conflicts are analysed and frankly debated, and the
result is usually a win–win situation
7.6 Conflict Management Techniques

Conflict management techniques can be divided into indirect methods, which
are aimed at managing the conflict, and direct methods, which are aimed at

resolving the conflict. Indirect methods of conflict management include the

following:
 Creating common goals. Frequently, conflict results from the fact that
people or groups have dissimilar goals. One way to resolve this conflict
is to work toward the development of common goals that will give both
sides in the dispute a larger issue on which they can agree.
 Hierarchical referral. A middle manager who uses hierarchical refer-
ral to manage a conflict simply sends the problem to senior manage-
ment. Sometimes the senior manager may have superior conflict man-
agement skills, and therefore be in a better position to resolve the prob-
lem. Other times, a middle manager who resorts to hierarchical referral
may be motivated by nothing more than a desire to “pass the buck.”
 Expanding resources. When insufficient resources produce conflict
among employees, the obvious solution (budget permitting) is to in-
crease resources.
 Shifting personnel. When repeated attempts to resolve conflicts be-
tween co-workers fail, and if performance continues to suffer, it may
be wise to transfer one of the parties to another department.
A common direct approach to conflict management is negotiation. Negotia-
tion occurs when two or more parties meet to discuss and find a solution to a
problem. In organisational settings, negotiation typically involves identifying
the reasons for the conflict and working toward a solution through a combi-
nation of compromise, collaboration, and perhaps some forcing on issues that
are important to one or more of the parties. For example, if tensions exist in a
restaurant because the servers do not share their tips with the kitchen staff,
one solution would be to pay the kitchen personnel higher wages to compen-
sate for their not receiving tips; another solution would be to negotiate a for-
mula whereby some percentage of the tips is distributed among all employees
in the restaurant.
Another direct approach to conflict management is framing (or reframing).

Usually conflicts arise largely due to the different perspectives between two
individuals, groups of individuals or even two different nationalities or socie-
ties. Understanding how others perceive their stance in a conflict can be very
useful in reframing the existing conflict. When a conflict is reframed, the result
is not conflict resolution but rather conflict dissolution. Such a skill, however,
requires one to have a good sense of empathy for individuals (individual level)
or a good sense of a group’s perspective (team level) or a good sense of
understanding norms and perspectives of diverse cultures or subcultures (so-
cial level). In our global environment, conflict management or resolution is not

easy. Understanding how to frame or reframe conflict in such an environment

becomes a critical aspect for global management or leadership. Acquiring
such a skill would require not just an understanding of the diversity involved
but also immersion in diverse organisational and social (or national) cultures.
The art of reframing is the ability to position an issue in order to create a win-
win situation.
 Reframing focuses on the positive potential for all parties
 Reframing also takes into account learning and motivation
 Reframing requires deep listening in order to understand hidden dy-
namics and needs.
7.7 Managing Conflicts with Difficult People

Outside of the workplace, most of us probably keep our interactions with
difficult individuals to a minimum, but this is not always possible on the job. In
his book Coping with Difficult People, Robert Bramson identifies the fol-
lowing seven types of difficult people.
 Hostile-aggressives. These people usually adopt a bullying style to
attack others when they are confronted with an unpleasant situation. In
dealing with them, we should learn to recognise the behaviour and avoid
reacting in an aggressive manner ourselves.
 Complainers. Such people are constantly criticising, yet they rarely
take action to improve things. This is because complainers usually feel
powerless or do not want to take responsibility for their actions. In
dealing with complainers, we should listen attentively to their problems
and try to offer practical solutions to solve the problem.
 Clams. These individuals remain silent when you ask them for advice
or opinions. They refuse to discuss any unpleasant situation and tend to
flee from conflicts. The best response is to get them to talk by asking
open-ended but direct questions such as “Why are you avoiding me?”
 Superagreeables. These people appear to be friendly and helpful, but
do not do what they promised. They make unrealistic promises in or-
der to avoid a confrontation. One way of responding is to define real-
istic demands for them to meet.
 Negativists. Negativists respond to every situation with a reluctant
and unwilling attitude, finding fault with every situation. Often their atti-
tude is picked up by others. The best approach with this personality
type is a problem-solving attitude. Another method is to ask the

negativist, “What is the worst thing that could happen?” By appreciat-

ing that the worst case is not that bad, the negativist may learn to handle
difficult situations.
 Know-it-alls. These individuals are show-offs who want everyone to
know that they know everything that there is to know! When they do
know what they are talking about, they are often “bulldozers.” Bull-
dozers run over people and are annoying because they are always sure
they are right. The best way of managing these people is to be up-to-
date on situations to respond to them.
 Indecisive stallers These people either make no decisions or put them
off until the last minute. Because stallers are worried about what others
think of them, they hesitate, fearing to disappoint others. The best course
of action with stallers is to find out why they are hesitating.
Other conflict management strategies are arbitration, mediation and adjudi-
cation and we will look at each of these.
7.8 Arbitration
According to World Intellectual Property (WIPO) and Arbitration and Me-
diation Center (ADR) in the United States of America, “arbitration is a pro-
cedure in which a dispute is submitted, by agreement of the parties, to one or
more arbitrators who make a binding decision on the dispute. In choosing
arbitration, the parties opt for a private dispute resolution procedure instead
of going to court”.
Its principal characteristics are:

 Arbitration is consensual
Arbitration can only take place if both parties have agreed to it. In the
case of future disputes arising under a contract, the parties insert an
arbitration clause in the relevant contract. An existing dispute can be
referred to arbitration by means of a submission agreement between
the parties. In contrast to mediation, a party cannot unilaterally with-
draw from arbitration.
 The parties choose the arbitrator(s)
The parties can select a sole arbitrator together. If they choose to have
a three-member arbitral tribunal, each party appoints one of the arbi-
trators; those two persons then agree on the presiding arbitrator.

 Arbitration is neutral
In addition to their selection of neutrals of appropriate nationality, par-
ties are able to choose such important elements as the applicable law,
language and venue of the arbitration. This allows them to ensure that
no party enjoys a home court advantage.
 Arbitration is a confidential procedure
People involved should be protected thus, the confidentiality of the
existence of the arbitration, any disclosures made during that proce-
dure, and the award.
 The decision of the arbitral tribunal is final and easy to enforce
The parties agree to carry out the decision of the arbitral tribunal with-
out delay
(http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/arbitration/what-is-arb.html).
7.9 Mediation
Taking again a definition of mediation by WIPO “in a mediation procedure, a
neutral intermediary, the mediator, helps the parties to reach a mutually satis-
factory settlement of their dispute. Any settlement is recorded in an enforce-
able contract.
Experience shows that intellectual property litigation often ends in settlement.

Mediation is an efficient and cost-effective way of achieving that result while
preserving, and at times even enhancing, the relationship of the parties”.
The principal characteristics of mediation are:

 Mediation is a non-binding procedure controlled by the parties
 A party to mediation cannot be forced to accept an outcome that it
does not like. Unlike an arbitrator or a judge, the mediator is not a
decision-maker. The mediator’s role is, rather, to assist the parties in
reaching a settlement of the dispute.
Indeed, even when the parties have agreed to submit a dispute to mediation,
they are free to abandon the process at any time after the first meeting if they
find that its continuation does not meet their interests.
However, parties usually participate actively in mediations once they begin.
If they decide to proceed with the mediation, the parties decide on how it
should be conducted with the mediator.

 Mediation is a confidential procedure

 In mediation the parties cannot be compelled to disclose information
that they prefer to keep confidential. If, in order to promote resolution
of the dispute, a party chooses to disclose confidential information or
make admissions, that information cannot, provided to anyone - in-
cluding in subsequent court litigation or arbitration - outside the context
of the mediation.The existence and outcome of the mediation are also
confidential.
Mediation’s confidentiality allows the parties to negotiate more freely and
productively, without fear of publicity.
 Mediation is an interest-based procedure
 In court litigation or arbitration, the outcome of a case is determined by
the facts of the dispute and the applicable law. In mediation, the parties
can also be guided by their business interests. As such, the parties are
free to choose an outcome that is oriented as much to the future of their
business relationship as to their past conduct.
When the parties refer to their interests and engage in dialogue, mediation
often results in a settlement that creates more value than would have been
created if the underlying dispute had not occurred.
Because mediation is non-binding and confidential, it involves minimal risk for

the parties and generates significant benefits. Even when a settlement is not
achieved, mediation never fails, as it causes the parties to define the facts and
issues of the dispute, thus in any event preparing the ground for subsequent
arbitration or court proceedings
(www.wipo.int/amc/en/mediation/what-mediation.html).
7.10 Adjudication
Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evi-
dence and argumentation including legal reasoning set forth by opposing par-
ties or litigants to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations
between the parties involved. Three types of disputes are resolved through
adjudication:
 Disputes between private parties, such as individuals or corporations
 Disputes between private parties and public officials
 Disputes between public officials or public bodies (http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjudication).

Activity 7.2
? 1. In what way does empathy play in solving problems in organisations?

2. Evaluate conflict resolution strategies brought out by Matuson.
3. How would you rate Thomas’s model of conflict management styles?
Explain.
4. What are the principal characteristics of arbitration?
5. What is the difference between arbitration and mediation?
6. In which instances would you use adjudication? Why would you choose
this?
7.11 Negotiation
At the situation where normal communication has broken down, and you as
the group leader now have to meet with the group members or their repre-
sentatives in order to get them back on track towards achieving the objec-
tives, negotiation is the way to go.
7.11.1 Steps in negotiation process

In this section we focus on steps in the negotiation process. We explain the
term bargaining power and describe the negotiation process.
7.11.2 Bargaining power

Bargaining power is the capacity of a person to force acceptance of is ideas
and proposals, and to reject those of the other party. Think carefully about
this definition, and you understand that the stronger your bargaining power is
the more likely you can negotiate from a position of strength.
The ability to dictate absolutely is extremely unlikely because the other party
always has some bargaining power. It may be very weak, but it is enough to
being you on the negotiating table.
Sometimes you get to that table not knowing exactly how strong the other
part’s bargaining power is and you have to assess this as the negotiations
proceed. Once a skilled negotiator can identify the degree of strength of
the other party’s bargaining power, s/he can decide who has the greater power,
what it is that creates that superiority and how best to manipulate the
negotiations so as to achieve the best overall negotiating objective. For

example, as group leader your aim may be to double output without increas-
ing wages - but having identified how strong the staff position is, you may
decide that the best bargaining objectives is probably a 10% increase.
As well as strengths that you can use to best advantage, you also have a
number of weaknesses and you must know what effect they have on your
case.
7.11.3 The negotiation process

Once there is some communication breakdown that can only be solved by
negotiation, the process is generally seen to fall into three stages: preparation,
face- to- face negotiation and implementation of agreement.
(a) Preparation
Before any meeting takes place, each party should go through a number of
steps:
 Deciding on the best overall objective to be achieved in the negotia-
tions;
 Assessing your own and the other side’s bargaining power; Investigat-
ing if your bargaining power can be improved or the other side’s week-
end;
 Deciding on the intermediate points you must win in order to gain your
overall objective, and preparing your case to win.
If you are negotiating on behalf of somebody else, you must gain approval for
how you intend to negotiate. Nothing is worse than reaching a make or
break stage and you have to adjourn to get approval, because in that time the
other side may realise they are losing and come back to the table in a difficult
mood again.
(b) The face-to-face negotiation
Hopefully, the face-to-face negotiation takes place in an environment that

suits you - for example the other side may feel a little intimidated by being in
your office and so that it is to your advantage. There are again some steps in
this stage:
“Verify the other party’s position such as their argument, the reasons they feel
they are right, and how far they will move from their position.

“Work on the other party’s case so that they see good reason to move away
from;
“Suggest ways in which an agreement can be reached while, at the same time,
gaining final concurrence from any other party on whose behalf you are nego-
tiating; and
“Formally finalise the agreement
(c) Implementing the agreement
If you are negotiating on behalf of another party, ensure again their accept-
ance of the agreement and steps are taken to implement it as it was intended.
In the remainder of this unit, we want to go through the way to perform these
stages successfully so that you will win at the negating table.
Activity 7.3
? 1. There is a labour dispute at your place of work which involves

retrenchment of some staff members without compensation and
disregard of the management totally determined to carry the day.
Describe how you will:
 Prepare for the negotiation with the workers to be retrenched.
 Execute face-to-face negotiations
 Implement the agreement.
2. If you were the personnel manager in your company, how would you
prepare for a salary meeting with representatives of the workers?
7.12 Preparation
The better your understanding of your bargaining power relative to the other
party, the easier this stage will be. You obviously want to design your case to
depend heavily on those strengths that you have, and avoid the strengths of
the other party as far as possible. The best way is to design your case at
three levels; namely the ideal solution, the reasonable solution and the
fall back position.
The ideal solution, matches the bargaining objective you have set. Gener-
ally, this is conceded to none of the other party’s requirements - for example

‘we will award 10% from this date’. The reasonable solution, when you allow
certain minor concessions in response to concessions by the other party - for
example ‘we will go half way to 15% as longs as overtime ceases and 5% is
awarded only after 6 months’. “The ‘fall back’ position, is when you con-
cede to the other party but try to salvage as many concessions as possible -
for example, we will meet your proposal for a 25% increase but want you
to agree that no further demands will be made for twelve months’.
Activity 7.4
? 1. You have been tasked to organise the Christmas party for a group of
which you are a member – it may be a work group, a church group, a
college group or any other that you belong to. Identify the types of
individuals you have in this group and describe how you would handle
the conflict and resistance that you might face.
7.13 Summary
In this unit, we continued our study of communication within the group and
paid particular attention to conflict and the causes. The cause is often a result
of behaviour by members of the group and so we identified broad categories
of group members as, by understanding what makes each of these types
‘tick’, positive participation to the group communication process can be
achieved. Not only did we identify individual behaviour but occasionally group
behaviour becomes an important factor, and the ways to move this towards
the constructive approach were suggested.

References
social and Career Focus (7th ed.) Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
BookEducator (2012). Chapter 7: Managing Power and Conflict in the
Workplace in Introduction to Organisational Behavior(https://
www.snaplms.com/reader/web.html/introtoob/chapter7/ accessed on
8/10/12.
ment Environment Study Guide I. UNISA, Pretoria.
ing messages that communicate (2nd Ed.) Kenwyn: Juta & Co. Ltd.
h t t p : / / w w w. o h r d . w i s c . e d u / o n l i n e t r a i n i n g / r e s o l u t i o n /
aboutwhatisit.htm#whatisconflict
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_conflict
Matuson Roberta (2005). Tips on How to Handle Conflict in the Workplace
www.childcarelounge.com/director/work-place-conflict.php accessed
on 8/10.12.
(http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/arbitration/what-is-arb.html). Accessed on 18/
10/12.
(www.wipo.int/amc/en/mediation/what-mediation.html). Accessed on 18/10/
12.


Unit Eight
Media in Communication
8.0 Introduction
In this unit we focus on media, that is, written, oral and visual communica
tion. We identify types and advantages and disadvantages of each.
Business Communication Module BHIR102
8.1 Objectives
 identify types of written and oral communication
 discuss the advantages and disadvantages of written communication
 give examples of visual communication
8.2 Types of Written Communication

Written communication can be in the form of letters, reports, notices, press
releases, circulars, memoranda and emails. We will deal with these in later
units. Written communication has some advantages and disadvantages.
8.3 Advantages of a Written Communication

The written medium has advantages over the spoken forms. We discuss
some of these advantages below.
8.3.1 Permanent record

Written communication gives a permanent record for both parties of what has
been communicated. The recipient has the original and signed document, and
the sender usually has a carbon copy or photocopy of the records. This
means that there can be no misunderstanding over what has been said at a
later date, as it is often the case for oral exchanges. The fact that there is a
permanent record does not guarantee identical interpretation of the message
though. It is still possible for the sender and recipient to interpret the same
message in different ways. For example, ‘Your reply would be appreciated
without delay’. Is the sender asking for an immediate reply or is s/he saying
that when a reply eventually arrives it will be immediately appreciated? There
are many reasons why different interpretations can arise (see the earlier units
on distortion of messages and its effect).
8.3.2 Better control over expression

For many people, the challenge is to find exactly the right word to convey just
the right impression to the recipient, and when writing, you have time to plan
the best use of the best words in the best channel. You can make drafts and
rework them after a break. This is very useful in academic work where you

Unit 8 Media in Communication
do have time to create a final presentation that you can be proud of. This
control is not possible in oral communication as it is often difficult to pick on
exactly the right words to use at the time - except where a prepared speech
has to be delivered but that is another example of the use of dual media.
Written communication allows you to create a document in which you have
better control of expression.
 expresses the information in the best way;
 consists of the ideal vocabulary and good grammar;
 is able to be tuned to the background and attitude of the recipient; and
 has a high general standard and finish.
At first it may not come easy, but if you persevere you gain experience and
skill in combining the words you use, varying your expression to suit the situ-
ation, and developing a high quality of delivery however complex or variable
the communication may need to be.
8.3.3 Strong but controlled expression is possible

One well known writer has said that all writing has to be done with passion.
You have to have a feeling of involvement in the topic you are writing about as
your attitude is bound to carry across to the recipient.
Involvement is however, different from emotion. If you are feeling emotional,

you may not act rationally and may create a message that should not actually
be transmitted. Rudeness and/or sarcasm have no place in any communica-
tion as each is self-defeating – the recipient is as likely to react just as emo-
tionally either by destroying the communication or replying in an even more
intimidatory fashion.
If you have a complaint to lodge about bad service, a message expressing

‘extreme disappointment that a business such as the recipient’s would risk its
good reputation by acting in such an appalling manner’ is likely to be more
successful than one stating that ‘your firm is just b… useless and should be
shut down by the authorities’. Use good English in the most effective way
and your strong complaint will be recognised as such.
When feelings are strong, it is often easy in an oral situation to let emotion
override fact and the message is conveyed in a spirit of anger or excitement
which is not conducive to passing it effectively. Emotion can generally be
excluded from written forms of communication more easily than from spoken
ones especially as body language generally reinforces the oral message. Written
documents that present the facts of a situation are more likely to be accurate

and dispassionate than oral explanations to an interested party, whose strength

of feeling may well cause the sender to respond emotionally instead of re-
maining rational. Consequently, if you have a difficult situation to deal with, it
is usually better to put it in writing, especially as it cannot be exaggerated and
used as the basis for a legal case.
8.3.3 Facilitate constant reference

By transmitting your message in writing, the recipient is free to read it when-
ever he chooses and, as this is usually when he is in the right frame of mind to
appreciate what you have written, this should ensure that s/he gives it full
attention. That will mean a better result.
Activity 8.1
? 1. What are the main advantages of a written communication?

2. Do organisations need to communicate in writing? Explain.
8.4 Disadvantages of Written Communication

If there are advantages, you can be sure that there are also some disadvan-
tages. We discuss some of the disadvantages below.
8.4.1 A permanent record may be embarrassing

In every business there will be occasions when a message should be ‘off the
record’ with no record being kept of exactly what was communicated so as
to avoid the impression that a firm commitment has been made. An example
is in the early stages of formulating a contract or a merger where the commu-
nication is meant only to be exploratory and so ideas are advanced as mere
possibilities but are understood by the recipient to be hard and fast certain-
ties.
Sometimes, a letter is written in circumstances of duress such as a forced

resignation, while on other occasions a case may be written to substantiate a
particular claim such as for an increase in salary, and that case is then used as
evidence for other purposes. Many instances of this nature should clearly be
explored in discussions, so that everyone concerned can test possibilities with-

out making firm commitments. Only after a clearer idea of a project or rela-
tionship emerges, would it be appropriate to put these proposals on paper.
8.4.2 Tends to be impersonal

Written communication lacks the human contact of a personal meeting and is
usually inadequate where the situation requires a quick exchange of ideas or
comments. As communication skills improve, the writer is able to bring his/
her personality through into a letter. This is a great asset because most people
really do want to ‘know’ who they are dealing with, especially as a long
relationship could come from correspondence. Some situations, cannot be
handled by written correspondence because a meeting is essential - to get
immediate response such as for a job interview or some other kind of ap-
praisal, or to see and judge reaction to a proposal by a partner in a business
project.
8.4.3 A written response would be inappropriate

In some cases, a personal contact is essential to avoid appearing discourte-
ous. For example, assuming there is no problem of distance, it would be
would be a poor substitute to simply write a letter to thank a loyal employee
who was leaving the business. Certainly a letter of appreciation would be
welcome also, but the use of a few words and a handshake - the dual media
again -is important in making the final farewell.
Similarly, if a person is ill or was injured and is in hospital a personal visit is

more appropriate than a letter of sympathy only. There are several occasions
when a written communication does not display a required degree of human
feeling and appreciation. This is important in many areas of business espe-
cially, where it demonstrates a sense of caring by those in authority for the
workforce which increases loyalty and commitment to the company. It can
also help build a good relationship with important clients where the personal
touch is both courteous and effective.
8.4.4 Written words can be misinterpreted

Very often people like to interpret a message to say what they want it to say
rather than what it actually says. For example, ‘I would like to grant you a
salary increase but business isn’t good’ may lead to all sorts of interpretations
from ‘the boss likes to give pay rises’ to ‘the company is about to go insol-
vent’ – and I have it in writing!!

Once the recipient distorts the meaning of a message, there may be problems
and although it can be said that an oral message was just not understood, this
is more difficult in a written communication. Of course, it is easy to say that
misunderstanding of this kind are the fault of the sender and not of the me-
dium, and this cannot really be denied. You therefore, do have to work hard
to avoid such situations, but they still occur occasionally. This is especially
when you are dealing with someone you do not know very well and know
little about his attitude or approach to a message. If it is more appropriate to
tackle these situations with an oral communication especially where you are
together, you are able to make any necessary modifications to the message
on the spot. This does not only save time, but also increases your knowledge
of that person making it easier to communicate in the future.
Activity 8.2
1. The disadvantages of written communication out-weigh its advantages.
? Is this correct or not? Give reasons for your answer.
2. Do you agree that written communication is better than all other forms
in your organisation uses? Explain.
8.5 Kinds of Oral Communication

Oral communication is generally considered to be less formal than the written
alternative mainly because there is no permanent record unless someone is
making a recording of what was said. Let us now do a similar exercise and
look at the various forms of oral communication, again in alphabetical order.
8.5.1 Chance encounter

In a chance encounter, you have not planned to communicate but you meet
unexpectedly and maybe a question is asked or information is passed. The
spontaneous nature of the occurrence can be of value – ‘I saw the Dean in the
passage today and s/he asked how my assignment was coming on’. This
chance meeting could create motivation if the recipient interpreted it as being
a genuine and personal interest in progress.
That is the exception though for, generally, a communication during a chance

encounter suffers from a lack of control and this can lead to a failure to com-
municate the desired information. In such situations it is seldom possible to

remember all the points that need to be communicated especially where you
have a complex and sensitive issues for transmission. Avoid discussing these
in an unplanned encounter but wait instead for circumstances over which you,
as the sender, have more control.
Even worse such a communication might cause anger or resentment in the

recipient. For example, the same meeting with the Dean could embarrass the
student if s/he was with colleagues and s/he took it as a criticism of the fact
that the assignment was outstanding. The chance encounter should only be
used for communicating routine or uncomplicated information.
8.5.2 Formal meeting

There are many different circumstances and situations that fall into this cat-
egory from the meeting over a beer in a noisy bar to the Directors’ meeting to
decide the future of the company. The common feature is that the meeting is
planned and everyone present knows the main purpose – to drink beer and
swap jokes, or to sell the business to a foreign buyer.
Sometimes, such a meeting involves people from the same group or commu-
nity or it may take place between members of different organisations. The
composition of the group is invariably known before the meeting and so the
communication can be planned to fit that. The advantages of such meetings
are that they allow a flexibility of response to the views of the other individual/
s and the possibility of discussion leading towards a clear conclusion.
A disadvantage is that in any meeting where matters of substance are commu-

nicated, a written follow up such as a letter, a report or minutes is essential,
and that may or may not reflect the views of all the participants. The degree
of correctness of the record depends very much on the skills of somebody
who is often not one of the major participants in the meeting such as a secre-
tary. S/he probably had no part in designing the way that the communications
would be structured and so fails to understand exactly what was intended and
accomplished.
8.5.3 Interviews
Interviews can take place for a number of reasons and the participants can be
varied – a one on one interview or a group interviewing one person. The most
common examples are selection and promotion interviews.
Selection interviews is carried out to obtain employment or a position in a

group such as a church council or educational institution, but an interview

implies a formal communication on matters such as a performance appraisal
or the need to discipline somebody; or promotional interviews are meant to
secure a contract, advantage or sale where the ability to use persuasion on
the recipient is a definite advantage.
Interviews should always be planned and need careful thought and thorough
preparation by the participants. The advantages of such encounters are simi-
lar to those given for meetings of individuals. A serious disadvantage is that
because only a few people are experienced and skilled at advertising, the
interview usually fails to gain the information it needs to allow members to
make an informed decision. Often a person who is good on interview is found
to be quite inadequate in the work position and the best information usually
comes from people who know him rather than from the interviewee himself.
Despite this, however, personal interviews are a very important channel in
communication for which no real alternative has been found.
8.5.4 Lecture or Presentation

Lecture or presentation allows a prepared speech to be delivered to a wide
group of people and its main advantage is that it allows someone to present a
clear view of a particular topic in a manner that is more concise than a written
report. Because the audience is, hopefully, paying attention, there is an im-
mediate transmission of the information from the sender to the recipient/s.
A major disadvantage is that, often a meeting is attended only by those who

have nothing better to do at that time. Additionally, there is no guarantee that
the information is assimilated by the recipients especially where complex sta-
tistical data are involved. This deficiency can, however, be overcome to some
extent by the use of duplicated ‘handouts’ or other printed material at the end
of the presentation. This does detract from the advantage of obtaining imme-
diate and informed responses from the audience but to overcome this you
have to hand out the material a couple of days before the lecture stating this,
you may have done in order to encourage discussion at the occasion. This,
in turn, has the disadvantage that opinions and attitudes can then formulate
among the recipients and in a contentious or difficult matter it becomes more
difficult to obtain a fair and unbiased hearing.
The use of visual aids in presentations should be regarded as almost essential,

since visual media make a greater impact than simply oral, and the two when
used together reinforce each other to make an overall effect which is far greater
than simple speech.

8.5.5 Meetings
Meetings have all the advantages and disadvantages of personal encounters,
magnified by the involvement of a larger number of people. The main advan-
tage is that several points of view can be brought together and a conclusion
evolved from them, while the main disadvantage is that too many different
views may cause confusion and uncertainty.
Many meetings are constituted according to strict rules, such as in a commit-

tee and the formality applying to the conduct allows discussion of quite com-
plicated matters in a way which is free from personal involvement while at the
same time allowing several opinions to be expressed. Although committees
can become unwieldy, they can, when carefully directed by a skilled chair-
man, be a most effective way of reaching decisions.
Other meetings such as staff meetings allow all members of a particular group
to attend and to speak freely. This has the advantage of making sure that
everyone involved has the chance to air his or her views provided that they
are confident that nothing they say is held against them.
Unfortunately, large meetings are often unwieldy and the dictatorial and ver-
bose members tend to dominate, while many people with good ideas are
reluctant to speak in front of their colleagues for fear of ridicule or being
accused of trying to gain favours.
A strong and impartial chairman is essential to ensure that as many opinions as

possible are heard and to maintain discipline. If this doesn’t happen, the
objects of the meeting can become distorted. For this reason, a formal agenda
or list of matters to be discussed is always a good idea, allowing for ‘Any
Other Business’ at the end. The chairman can then maintain discipline better
and hold over the unforeseen and contentious issues until the end when most
people want to go home anyway. The only other way to test opinion and hear
views from a wide group of people is to use a form or questionnaire.
8.5.6 Planned but informal encounter

Planned but informal encounter is the ‘private chat’ where participants can
talk freely on the assurance that no record is kept and what is said remains
known only to the participants. In this case, the sender has control over the
communication process and so s/he can ensure a more efficient transmission
of information.
If the recipient was also aware that the process was to happen so that s/he

could prepare, there should be good communication. Often though, the re-
cipient is unaware of the intention to communicate, such as when an unex-
pected telephone call is received. This affects the value of the feedback to the
sender.
8.5.7 Telephone calls

Subject to the efficiency of the service and provided that the call does not
come at the wrong time for the recipient, these have the advantages of pass-
ing information fast and getting a quick response. The disadvantage though is
that all the other signals that form part of a personal encounter, such as body
language and gesture, are absent.
Activity 8.3
1. Is it correct that most organisations use oral communication for the
? delivery of messages most of the time? If so, what modes do they use
and how effective are these?
8.6 Visual Communication

We now move on to the third option available to us to communicate and there
are again a number of channels available to us. Visual communication is gen-
erally used in conjunction with one of the other two forms so that it enhances
either written or oral.
It is appropriate here to introduce the concept of semiotics – sometimes called

semiology. Semiotics in general terms is a study of the use of signs to commu-
nicate. Those who have developed the theories associated with semiotics go
so far as to say that linguistics is just a part of the study of semiology for, if we
want to communicate to you the idea of a cat, we have three options:
(a) We can write the word ‘cat’;
(b) We can draw a picture of a cat; or
(c) We can say ‘cat’. The concept is that words are as much signs as are
pictures – and each is known as a ‘concept’. This view is supported by
the fact that if someone did not know what a cat was, you would not
improve his/her knowledge of the concept by writing ‘cat’, by saying it
or by showing the picture.

So, when a new concept has to be expressed, an image is invented and those
who use it create a meaning and they accept a word as expressing that con-
cept.
One school of thought states that these signs only have a meaning due to the
social and cultural background of the observer which determines how s/he
assigns a meaning to that sign. In other words, interpretation of the sign is
socially produced rather than individually created. For example, the anti-
smoking lobby has been so successful in its campaign that a sign of a cigarette
with a diagonal bar through it is interpreted socially as indicating a no smoking
area.
The important message to be gained from semiotics is that, if someone does

not understand the convention you are following, there will be no successful
communication between you. Developing the concept further, the semiologists
say that you ‘read a television show’ or a photograph since reading is the
active process of decoding a message and that message can be transmitted
orally, by the written word or a picture.
Three different forms of image are identified:

 the icon looks like the object that it represents - you have several of
these on your computer screen and you know that a particular activity
occurs when you ‘click’ on the icon that looks like a printer with your
mouse;
 the index has a meaning beyond that is immediately signified. For ex-
ample, we have learnt to recognise that the thermometer is an index of
temperature, 25/12 is Christmas Day, a pothole in the road warns us
to change direction and so on;
 the symbol is a sign that lacks any similarity to the image being repre-
sented but it is nevertheless identified and gives a message – for exam-
ple the cigarette with a line through it, the ‘L’ sign on the back of a
motor car, Y2K and many others.
Other visual communication is written and oral communication channels and
body language, graphs and charts. For body language – watch the eyes of the
person you are talking to and you can get a fair idea of reaction to your
message. If graphs and charts are well drawn and placed in appropriate
parts of the written document, they can achieve a great deal of understanding
in the recipient that rows of figures would not.

Activity 8.4
? 1. Imagine you have been asked to conduct a seminar on safety in your

organisation. What kind of visual aids would you use in your
presentations?
2. Visual communication is pregnant with messages and clues. Compare
and contrast it with written messages.
3. In this unit, reasons were given for choosing written, visual or oral
forms of communication to pass a particular message. Make three
headings on a page for those methods, and list the type of message
you think could best be passed by a written method, an oral method
and a visual method. Assess which mode is more useful to your
organisation.
8.7 Summary
In this unit, we discussed the various media options that exist in communica-
tion. We emphasised the importance of choosing the right media for the mes-
sage and the situation. We looked at the advantages and disadvantages of
written communication and how the oral and visual opportunities could be a
better alternative to written in some cases.

References
Ltd.


Unit Nine
Use Appropriate Language
9.0 Introduction
N
o matter what social or working environment you are in, whether in
business, with your family and friends, in a study group or simply mak
ing a purchase, your communication is better as you express an idea,
pass information or ask advice. As a receiver, your own ability to communi-
cate well is matched by your better understanding of others.
Often you are able to communicate orally and the recipient is able to see you
and form a conclusion about you from what he/she sees and hears. This gives
the communications skills an added strength. More often though, you have to
rely on written communication, and any form of direct assessment is not pos-
sible for, even if you are known to the receiver, s/he does not know your
mood that day. The recipient can only draw a conclusion by what you have
put on paper. Therefore, so it becomes important that you can portray your-
self and your intention as efficient and reliable on paper. Whatever method of
communication you have to use and the better you can construct your com-
munication, the more effective it will be.
In this unit, we look at some of the basic rules for using better English and
most of the advice applies whether you are to use oral or written communica-
tion. We just mention that although a good pass in any academic examinations
in English Language is a good start, that is not enough in itself because Aca-
demic English is as different from Business English as a piece of bread is from
a scrumptious sandwich - the foundation is the same but it is what you add to
it that makes all the difference.
9.1 Objectives
 explain the importance of appropriate grammar in the communication
process
 discuss correct expressions in your communication
 state the procedures using correct expressions for all your staff
 analyse the effectiveness of using correct grammar in organisational
communication
9.2 What is Involved

Good communication is hard work. Samuel Johnson wrote ‘What is written
without effort is, in general, read without pleasure’ (Quoted in “Anecdotes by
William Seward, F.R.S.” in Johnsonian Miscellanies (1897), vol. II, p. 309,
edited by George Birkbeck Hill).To some, communication is not really that
much of a hassle; after all, it is not like flying a Jumbo jet or breaking rocks.
All you have to do is combine some words into a sentence, making sure that
the words include a subject and a verb. If you are writing, finish off with a full
stop, and put in a bit of punctuation such as a comma once in a while.
To a certain extent, that is not far off the mark because simple English is good
English. But there is also a lot of simple English that is not good English and it
is a fact that the more you read good writers or hear good speakers, the more
likely you are to pick up their skills. We are not suggesting that the English
Literature texts such as Shakespeare, Bronte and others that are studied at
school are entirely suitable in today’s world of e-commerce and fast action.
But if the most you read is the sports page of the newspaper and you gener-
ally listen only to soap operas on the radio or television; that is about the
standard of your own use of English.

Unit 9 Use Appropriate Language
You may argue that in most communication, you do not need to do more than
string a few words together into a sentence, making sure that there are a
subject and a verb and ending with a full stop. The point is though that you will
generally not communicate well like that and this will always suppress your
other abilities and limit your achievements. Good communication is hard work.
9.3 Our Six Rules

Here are our six rules for one to communicate well:
Use short sentences and in some cases, long sentences
Use short paragraphs
Use easy words
Use active words though at times passive voice might be preferred
Use ordinary words
Follow the ABC of communication
To explain a couple of words that you might have come across in your stud-
ies:
 understanding sentences and combinations of sentences is a speciality
of the field of study called linguistics;
 semantics provides the rules for combining the elements of communi-
cation in a wide variety of applications.
We see examples often in well written correspondence, the form of an index
to a book, directories, advertising, computer programming and many other
forms of communication.
A common property of any effective communication process is the existence

of an opening, the body and the closure. In longer writing, emphasis is placed
on the importance of the thesis sentence which is an opening that informs the
reader of the intent of the work. The presentation is divided into ordered
sections and paragraphs and each of those components has an opening, a
body and a close.

Activity 9.1
? Teacher: Chipo, when Benjamin D’Issach said “A sophistical rhetorician,

lubricated by the exuberance of his own verbosity”, what did he mean?
Chipo: I don’t know, Sir, but it has something to do with philosophy.
1. Using this as an example, identify five cases in your organisation that
show that use of high sounding linguistic expressions resulted in the
loss of meaning.
2. Evaluate the effects of this form of communication on the success or
failure of your business. How would you simplify the conversation
between the teacher and Chipo?
9.4 Write a Good Sentence

A sentence is the foundation for all communication and we must deal with it
first. When you compile a sentence, you are creating a linear group of words
— for example ‘The cat sat on the mat’, and the sentence allows an idea to
expand until it communicates the full sense of what has to be said. In a simple
sentence, the ideas are easily seen even though, in most sentences, the linear
option has to transmit a set of ideas that is far from linear.
The focal element of a sentence is the verb - the action word such as do, run,
transfer, create or find as well as the simple verbs like ‘is’ and ‘are’. The
other elements of the sentence - collectively referred to as the subject and
object - attach to the verb in much the way that spokes attach to the hub of a
wheel. These can be replaced so that the hub - that is the verb - can be used
to focus a wide range of ideas. In our simple case, we can have ‘the man sat
on the mat’ or ‘the cat sat on the chair’ or even ‘the man sat on the cat’.
The rule is that a sentence should contain one central idea. This can be single
idea such as ‘the cat sat on the mat’ or it can have related parts such as ‘the
cat sat on the mat and I fed her straight away as she preferred her food there
rather than in the kitchen.’A good sentence cannot consist of unrelated ideas
such as ‘the cat sat on the mat and the stranger rang the door bell.’ This has
to be two sentences because there are two unconnected ideas. Sentences
can be simple, compound or complex, we discuss these types below.
9.4.1 A simple sentence

A simple sentence contains an independent idea and is made up of at least a
verb and a subject - ‘the cat sat on the mat’ is a typical simple example and

that single idea is said to be a ‘clause’. Such a sentence can stand alone or it
may be dependent on some other sentence to complete the sense. So, ‘The
doorbell rang’ supported by ‘Outside was the most frightening sight I had
ever seen’. This could have been presented as one sentence but it is often
used to create effect, or suspense maybe as in that example. Another exam-
ple ‘The records are chaotic’ followed by any number of dependent sen-
tences.
9.4.2 A compound sentence

A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses which are
closely related to a single idea, and which are joined by a preposition such as
‘and’, ‘but’, ‘or’ and so forth. Examples are ‘The cat sat on the mat and it
licked its feet’ or ‘The records are chaotic or in some cases they are non-
existent’. You can see how the clauses are related, and note that both parts of
the sentence can stand independently if you remove the preposition and have
two sentences if you preferred.
9.4.3 A complex sentence

A complex sentence also consists of two or more clauses, but one is inde-
pendent and the others are dependent on that one. An example is ‘While
licking its feet, the cat sat on the mat’ and the other is ‘Although some are
non-existent, the other records are chaotic’. In each example, the first part of
the sentence cannot stand alone as a sentence on its own -it is dependent on
the other clause. With the three options, we can exercise choice in communi-
cating and the general rules are:
(a) Use simple sentences to transmit the key points of your communica-
tion. Those key points are generally vital to your whole communica-
tion, whether oral or written. It sometimes helps your recipient to ana-
lyse and understand what you want to communicate if you slow them
down by using short sentences. Either the pause in speaking or the full
stop in writing signifies the end of a sentence, and it implies that s/he
must now also think about what you have said. Sometimes you need to
slow down or stop. Do not use simple sentences too often though be-
cause it makes the communication jerky and disconnected.
(b) Use compound or even complex sentences when you want to illustrate
the point that, by now, your recipient understands. Longer sentences
create a flow and a sense of movement in your writing, and that is
good.

It is possible to speak without a pause for about two minutes or write a single
sentence that would fill half a page without breaking the main rule that a sen-
tence deals with a single idea. But it is too difficult for the recipient to under-
stand and the communication would have failed. Shorter sentences are better.
9.4.4 Punctuation
Punctuation is more than a lot of arbitrary rules invented to give employment
to grammar teachers. Remember that we could speak before we could write,
and when we speak, we improve our use of words by inflection, emphasis,
pace, pauses, and even ‘body language’. Punctuation is therefore an attempt
to imitate speech patterns.
The most common punctuation marks are the full stop and the comma. Full
stops are reasonably straight forward and they pass the message to the reader
that you have concluded a particular thought and are ready to go on to the
next one.
A comma is not a complete stop. It is a pause but they are frequently mis-
used either by omission in that they are left out when they are needed for
clarity, or by commission when they are inserted but cause confusion. The
simplest way to get it right is to read over what you are writing and look for
the pauses that you would put in when speaking. Generally, that is the right
place for a comma. Similarly, if you wanted to emphasise a point, then one
would put a comma there. A sentence that flows without a pause does not
need a comma. An example of each of these three would be:
‘I think it would be nice to go out tonight, maybe to see that new film at the
Kine.’
‘Now listen to me, it is time you understood that this is serious.’
Whenever I have time, I try to imagine that I am a millionaire with a house in

Spain where I visit at least twice a year.
It is not recommended to use a comma before ‘and’ and ‘but’ as in ‘The

office is very well run, and I have complimented the manager’. Some say the
word ‘and’ is enough to create the pause between two ideas, but you will
notice that in our writing we often use both together.
Another general rule of thumb is that a comma is needed only to link two
clauses that each have a subject and verb — in effect there are two clauses.
To be effective, make your punctuation light and skillful. Remember that a

sentence should contain only one idea or concept and so you only have to use
a comma where a pause is required to make the meaning clear.
Sometimes the use of a comma can change the whole concept and we want
you to look at the following sentence about the referendum on the draft Con-
stitution as it appeared in The Herald of 12 February 2000. ‘Under the
amendments, the former colonial power, Britain, would be required to com-
pensate the farmers and if it fails to pay the Government would be under no
obligation to do so.’ Because of the lack of a comma after ‘pay’ it would
seem that Britain has to pay the Government in order to compensate the
farmers. We suggest that the better presentation would have been ‘Under the
amendments, Britain as the former colonial power would be required to com-
pensate the farmers and, if it fails to pay, the Government would be under no
obligation to do so.
Other punctuation marks that you find used frequently are the semi-colon and
the colon and both indicate longer pauses. In fact, they are almost a full stop
- ‘It is difficult to know the best solution; whether to ignore the problem or
take legal advice.’
9.4.5 Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives describe or modify nouns while adverbs modify verbs, adjectives
or other adverbs. Many people tend to confuse adjectives with adverbs. Here
are some examples of adjectives, interesting, necessary. These can be con-
verted to adverbs as interestingly and necessarily.
9.5 Write a Good Paragraph

While ideas are separated by the use of sentences, broad aspects of what
you want to say are separated into paragraphs. You build up a sentence with
words, and you build up a paragraph with sentences. As a result, the main
rules of communication are equally important and there must be an opening,
the body and the close. Each paragraph should be limited to no more than
one major idea and, in the case of a complicated idea; we cover different
aspects of that idea by using new paragraphs. For example, it would be wrong
to separate the two ideas about ‘starting a car engine’ and ‘using the ignition
key’. Even if you wanted to go onto discuss the need to have the car in a
neutral gear, that could be part of the same paragraph which is about how to
start a vehicle’ engine. But information about how to use the clutch and re-
lease the handbrake should form one or maybe two new paragraphs.

Paragraphs should also be kept fairly short - sufficient to meet the specific
idea as mentioned above. Usually there is more than one sentence in a para-
graph but, in some cases, a single sentence may make up an acceptable para-
graph especially if it consists of a very complex sentence that covers all the
facts you want to put across.
The structure of the paragraph is generally that there is a short topic sentence
followed by some compound explanatory sentences.
Simple sentences are used to introduce a topic - paragraphs contain the

recommended mix of simple and compound sentences that cover a major
idea or develop the idea in the previous paragraph further.
If you are in doubt about where to start and end, carry on writing sentences
until you think it is time to end a paragraph. You have an open choice because
no one has laid down how many sentences make a paragraph and you will
have seen some with only one and others with many. Remember though, that
a paragraph contains one main idea or thought. It has been said that we write
in sentences, but we think in paragraphs, so write enough clear and logical
sentences to express your thought. Then think of something else and start a
new paragraph. Paragraphs need to ‘hang together’ so your thoughts are
clear to your reader. If your paragraphs tend to be long and confusing, clarify
your thoughts and break them up so that the recipient can get one idea out of
each of them.
9.6 Use Easy Words

In this category, we would like to highlight words that are simple and words
that are correct.
9.6.1 Simple words

The rule is use a short word if you can and if it puts your idea across. If you
understood what we said in that sentence, you have got the idea. That could
have been written as ‘A generally accepted paradigm amongst the more highly
qualified communicators follows the excellent concept that wherever an ex-
pression is constituted with a limited quantity of letters, and the proposition or
argument that you wish to inculcate can be instilled by utilising that utterance,
then you should doubtless take full opportunity of its brevity.’ Short words
are easier to spell also.

9.6.2 Right word

Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs. But if you do
use the later, be careful not to let your adverbs or adjectives move away from
what they are supposed to be modifying. For example ‘I hear that the Dean
has caught a group cheating and he should consider reprimanding them seri-
ously.’ The way this is written suggests that the Dean might sometimes be
prone to reprimanding jokingly rather than seriously. What was intended of
course was that the Dean should seriously consider reprimanding. Sometime
a misplaced modifier can cause real confusion.
Pronouns substitute for nouns, helping us avoid overusing nouns by repeating

them constantly. But we have to make the right substitution. Pronouns must
agree with their antecedents - the words they substitute for -in number, gen-
der and voice. One of the most common pronoun errors is to refer to a singu-
lar organisation as a plural - ‘The staff are having their Christmas party on …’
whereas ‘staff’ is a singular word. You can of course talk about the members
of staff holding their party.
Also, be careful to use a verb as a verb and a noun as a noun. Admittedly the
Americans have thrown all the rules out of the window by inventing words
such as ‘compartmentalise’ (spelt with a zee of course!) and ‘hospitalise’. If
you think your recipient accepts such monstrous words use them, but other-
wise please write English.
Incorrect words are sometimes used; such as ‘impact’ as used in ‘the deci-
sion will impact on our foreign exchange reserves’ when the correct word is
‘affect’. Impact is a noun, not a verb and there are many such examples.
Also, avoid overuse of superlatives such as ‘very excellent’ and ‘more unique’,
and particularly ‘very much better’. The last error is often heard and is incor-
rect English. You cannot improve on superlatives such as excellent and unique.
It is like being ‘almost pregnant’; you are either pregnant or not pregnant.
Some other words that should not have a qualifier added are honest, equal,
fatal, total and perfect. So, to say somebody is ‘quite honest’ is as wrong as
being ‘almost pregnant’.
Finally, get your abbreviations correct. The expressions you may be tempted
to use often are -
i.e. for the Latin expression id est that means ‘that is’; and
e.g. for the Latin expression exempli gratia which means ‘for example’.

A better question is to ask why you are using them at all because in a lot of
writing it is better to say ‘for example’ as this flows with the context. In aca-
demic writing an occasional i.e. or e.g. is acceptable, but think twice before
using them in business communications or more casual writing. After all, we
would doubt that you use them in speech so why write them.
Activity 9.2
The santilating schotomata penetrated her eyeball like an atomic power
? propelled shrapnel from bombs that were dropped on Nagasaki and
Hiroshima and are repeated on minute scale on a daily basis as
megalomanic politicians precipitate gigantic conflagrations across the
globe for purposes of either jettisoning themselves into power or holding
onto it beyond the mandate accorded them by the electorate whom
they deny their democratic right to choose who should lead them.
1. Analyse the passage above:
 as a sentence
 as a paragraph
 for its use of words that communicate the message easily
 simplify the passage and make it more meaningful to most people
2. Pick out passages and evaluate use of adjectives and adverbs. What
effect does addition of these add to the writings?
9.7 USE Active Words

Avoid using the passive tense where you can use the active. For example,
compare - passive –
(a) ‘The work is expected to be ready by the end of the month’; and (b)
active - ‘I want you to complete the work by the end of the month’.
The active tense implies direction and, of course, positive activity. It is gener-
ally more direct and always more positive. The passive tense implies a wish
but without urgency or intensity, and the message is generally weaker.
In communication, the passive voice is to be avoided. Or, perhaps we should

say ‘You should avoid the passive tense in communication’ - do you see what
I mean? That statement is not always true, but the first sentence is an
example of why passive construction has a well-deserved bad reputation.

For the student of grammar:

 the active voice is far more direct and forceful making it clear that peo-
ple initiate actions themselves rather than that actions somehow hap-
pen automatically. It gives emphasis to the person who is involved in
the action - ‘I cannot accept your reasons’
 the passive voice turns the object of the sentence into the subject -
‘Your reasons cannot be accepted by me’. The active tense is also
more honest as it leaves no doubt as to who is responsible for a par-
ticular action. When you avoid responsibility in communication, you
may give the recipient the impression that you wish to conceal some-
thing, or to deny responsibility. This can seriously endanger a relation-
ship of trust which is so essential in most relationships - especially in a
business communication.
Those who prefer the passive construction seem to believe that it sounds
more ‘objective’ since it avoids the use of ‘I’ and ‘we’ and consequently is
considered to be more ‘professional’. It gives the impression of being a
statement of fact rather than an expression of opinion and scientists and aca-
demics, in general have a reputation for using passive construction. There
may be some element of truth in this, but communication can be both objec-
tive and professional without using the passive. The only value that we can
accept for using the passive construction in professional report writing is that
the results and objects of any action are then emphasised rather than the
author of the document or the person who actually produced the results or
performed the action.
Having said all that, it is sometimes appropriate to change the emphasis on

one subject and put it on another. For example, if the sentence was ‘Your
reasons are not accepted’, the subject of that sentence is no longer ‘I’ - it has
become ‘the reasons’ and so we have used the active voice.
The passive voice generally softens a bold statement - ‘You have not paid
your account and I am going to sue you’ is active and hostile. ‘Your account
is unpaid and there may be no option but to sue you’ is passive and softer. In
such cases where you have to transmit a harsh message but do not want to
antagonise the recipient, as long as the message is transmitted, it is acceptable
to use the passive.
So, passive construction is not always wrong and may even be useful. But
your writing is generally crisper, clearer, and with fewer words if you stick to
active construction.

9.7.1 Use the personal tense

Consider the following options:
‘I investigated this problem and it is my recommendation that the company

should…; or
‘The problem was investigated and a recommendation has been made that
steps should be taken to…..
This is an extension of the active/passive discussion and as you note, the first
sentence carries far more thrust. Perhaps it comes back to accepting respon-
sibility for what you have done, but in the second sentence it is not clear who
investigated and who made the recommendation and who is now supposed
to take some steps.
This wish-washy type of reporting is often found in the record of a meeting.

The minutes state something on the lines of ‘It was agreed that members
should be informed that the bar should be closed at 8.30 p.m. on Saturday
evenings’. Nobody has been given the responsibility for conveying that mes-
sage in such an impersonal record - perhaps with that particular message,
nobody felt strong enough to accept the responsibility!
Generally, you should avoid the impersonal tense – it is only appropriate to

use is if you are writing an anonymous letter to the management. When you
are writing a document that is heavily biased on the side of ‘I did this’ and
‘you must do that’, use of the impersonal tense sometimes softens the text
and make the document sound less like a directive from el supremo. Other-
wise use the personal tense - this is especially important when writing your
thesis or a report.
9.8 Use Ordinary Words

There are a number of types of speech that should be used with care. We
have used the word ‘ordinary’ here because in some circumstances, the types
we want to discuss are acceptable. Specifically, we discuss slang/colloquial
speech, metaphor and simile, clichés, redundant expressions, jargon.
9.8.1 Slang and colloquial speech

This is a relaxed and informal language used mainly in speech and personal
letters by members of particular groups of people. In those areas, colloquial

language and slang is considered appropriate as it is clear, vigorous and con-

firms that the sender is a member of the same group as the recipient - or vice
versa.
In more formal communication, however, such language is usually unsuitable,

mainly because it is imprecise and too casual. To use slang in business docu-
ments gives an impression of laziness and a lack of respect for your reader
which in turn suggests a lack of care for detail and accuracy in business mat-
ters. It may be common practice when greeting a friend to say ‘Hi’ and when
leaving to say ‘Cheers, I’ll ring you on your cell’, but you must give a clearer
indication of greeting and of when the next meeting or contact will take place
in the formal atmosphere. Do not write to a supplier confirming that a tender
is ‘okay’; simply state that it is accepted.
It is best to avoid colloquial language and slang in formal communication.
9.8.2 The metaphor and simile

George Orwell, whose prophesies about 1984 have not quite come true yet,
was totally against the use of these figures of speech. To remind you of the
difference a metaphor is a figure of speech where a word that usually de-
scribes an object is used to describe something else - for example ‘the rain-
bow nation’ or ‘my love is a red, red rose’; and a simile is where the compari-
son is actually stated, for example as in ‘s/he is so antagonistic, s/he is like a
Rottweiller out of control’ or ‘it was such a wonderful holiday, it was like a
dream’.
In a good story, such figures of speech are entertaining, break up the mo-
notony of 450 pages and they add to the construction. In a one page com-
munication, you find that if you use these figures of speech to communicate
the idea that you have in your mind, will be misinterpreted too often. The only
exception may be in marketing and advertising but even then, be careful that
you do not run foul of the rules of fair description. Always use better English
to give an explicit description.
Perhaps we can add alliteration to this section - the use of words beginning
with the same letter. ‘When I found that you hadn’t paid your account I was
distraught, devastated, distressed and disappointed; not to mention discour-
aged’ is not the way to write a serious letter.

9.8.3 Clichés
Clichés are words or phrases which have been used so frequently that they
have effectively lost any force which they once had. To speak of ‘leaving no
stone unturned’ or ‘establishing a meaningful dialogue’ no longer carries any
impact. How often do we hear a service provider tell us that, yet again, there
will be no water or electricity or pot holes fixed and ‘any inconvenience is
sincerely regretted’. This has become a meaningless cliché and the phrase is
used really just to end an unpleasant message and give the appearance of
having some care.
Instead of clichés, try to use fresh, direct expressions which convey the same
ideas but in a more straightforward way. For example, saying ‘I will do all I
can’ is more forceful than ‘leaving no stone unturned’ because it stresses a
direct personal involvement. ‘Now’ is better than ‘in this day and age’ and ‘I
will arrange a meeting’ is better than ‘establishing a meaningful dialogue’; ‘with-
out delay’ is better than ‘without further ado’ and so on. Avoid these old style
statements.
9.8.4 Redundant expressions

Redundant expressions almost fall into the same category as clichés and some-
times there is a feeling that use of such expressions in what might be complex
groups of words make it sound more respectable or more impressive. For
example, ‘there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the answer was to ….’
seems to give a soft lead into what may be a contentious or difficult decision.
It may distract the recipient from the effects of an unpopular decision more
than if you had said ‘everyone agreed that …’ as this is too direct.
Other examples are:

 ‘at this moment in time’ simply means ‘now’;
 ‘due to the fact that’ says the same as ‘because’;
 ‘conducted a full and frank exchange of views’ has become a very
popular expression especially in officialese, but in fact it means nothing
more than ‘discussed’ or ‘talked’.
In case we need to amplify, ‘officialese’ is the common name for that type of
appalling English that comes from a bureaucratic organisation. ‘It has come
to the attention of this office that the requirements of Section 331 have, in
your case, been ignored’. We hope you can think of a better way to tell
someone he/she has not bought his dog licence.

You will come across these expressions often and unfortunately we start to
think in those ways and so they creep into our own communication. We all
tend to use them at times, and they do have a place where the communication
that follows may be unpopular - they are well used by a Minister of Finance
when increasing tax. You must resist them though.
Two expressions that are commonly misused are:

 ‘for instance’ when the correct expression is ‘for example’ - you are
going to give someone an example, not an instance;
 ‘indeed’ when it is used to answer a question such as ‘do you think the
Minister was correct?’. What is intended is a simple ‘yes’ but ‘indeed’
is thought to sound more professional. In fact it is just bad misuse of a
word.
9.8.5 Jargon
Jargon is an expression that has a meaning only in certain contexts and as a
result you must be very careful about using jargon. If you get the wrong con-
text, your communication fails. There are two types of jargon: the customary
expression and that relating to the skill or profession shared by the people
communicating.
The customary expression used by members of a particular group and exam-

ple include the use of foreign expressions such as ‘inter alia’ instead of ‘among
other things’, and substituting the French word ‘moi’ for ‘me’. Some words
seem to become fashionable and at different times we remember words like
‘modalities’ being used to mean ‘a method’, ‘paradigm’ to mean ‘a model’,
‘components’ for ‘parts’ ‘parameters’ when ‘limits’ would be better, and even
‘janitorial services’ when talking about the cleaners!
Jargon is slipped in simply because the sender believes s/he will appear effi-
cient and knowledgeable. Instead, jargon can be annoying to the recipient as
s/he views it as a pompous expression and then it serves only to obscure
rather than reveal your ideas. You must avoid these expressions.
Occasionally jargon comes into common use and an example we can think of
is ‘pragmatic. Some years ago, this word appeared and anyone good at poli-
tics or business was suddenly pragmatic - especially if s/he happened to agree
with your viewpoint. A more recent piece of jargon has been ‘Y2K compli-
ant’ and for a while it was used by many people in their communication.
The second kind of jargon is that which relates to the skill or profession shared
between the people communicating. For example, a scientist giving a talk on

the latest developments in genetic engineering would not need to explain DNA
and other ‘tools of the trade’. In any specialised occupation or area of inter-
est, new concepts develop and are referred to by using specific groups of
words, and the other members of the same group know what s/he is describ-
ing. Those outside the group may have difficulty in understanding, and they
will have to learn the special meaning to participate in the group.
This kind of jargon is acceptable where it is the clearest way of expressing the
idea or phenomenon it names and where it is used with other members of a
group who understand it. However, if you are a specialist communicating with
a layman, you have to be careful to explain such terms when you first use
them, or ‘translate’ them into ordinary language. When you write a report or
a thesis for example, remember that you have become familiar with the termi-
nology found in your field of research but the casual reader may not under-
stand. If necessary, start with a description of terms used.
Never use a foreign or scientific word or other jargon where a simple, every-
day English equivalent gives the same meaning and be more appropriate for
your recipient. ‘Write for your reader’ is the best advice.
Activity 9.3
1. From your organisation identify:
? a) slang and colonial speech
b) metaphos
c) cliché
d) jargon
2. For each of the above state:
i) how easily understandable it is
ii) the extent to which it can be used when communicating with your
customers and clients and being able to deliver the correct message
iii) the weaknesses of the communication couched in expressions
iv) state what you should do to correct and improve the situation at your
work place
9.9 Follow The ‘ABC’ of Communication

In the previous sections we have tried to set out some particular rules for
good communication. We can perhaps summarise these rules by saying that

you should always write as simply and directly as you can, in language which
is clearest to the largest range of possible readers. HW Fowler is a prominent
writer whose book Modern English Usage is widely respected. He has
said that anyone who wishes to become a good writer should endeavour,
before s/he allows himself/herself to be tempted by more showy qualities, to
be direct, simple, brief, vigorous and lucid. We can stress the need for Accu-
racy, Brevity and Clarity in writing - the ABC of good writing.
9.10 The Final Checklist

The English language has immense strength, scope and spirit - a good use of
alliteration to describe the qualities of the language. One of its strengths is its
flexibility since, as a means of communication; it has far fewer rules and pat-
terns than most other languages. This does have a spin-off though, in that it
can become imprecise, clumsy and ambiguous unless it is always used with
caution and control.
9.10.1 Consider the recipient

To communicate effectively, you must consider carefully, the person with whom
you are communicating, and your relationship with him or her and the re-
sponse you are hoping to gain from that person.
There are a number of alternative media you can use to communicate. Use
the proper medium for your information and, when you are making decisions
about the style of your communication, keep these two points in mind. As a
simple example, you communicate quite differently with the messenger than
you with the managing director.
Unless you are communicating with a large group of people such as in a

public speech or a written circular or standard letter or notice, you should
always have a clear mental picture of the recipient. You must consider the
following personality features: Vocabulary, age, personality and relationship.
 Vocabulary. You must match your vocabulary to the understanding of
the recipient. Avoid the use of long, complex and technical terms which
may not be understood unless you are communicating with a fellow
professional who understands. At the same time, avoid giving the im-
pression that you are ‘talking down’ to that person.
 Age. The age of the recipient may or may not be important. If you
have to write to an elderly person, you might have to explain points

more clearly than you would have to do for a younger adult because an
elderly reader may not be in touch with the most recent meanings of
particular words. Avoid more recent words and technical terms with
which the reader may not be familiar, especially if you are writing about
something which is technically modern such as computers or the Internet.
 Personality. Sometimes you are fortunate to know the person well
that you are communicating with. You know, for example, that s/he can
see the funny side of even something serious like a problem with staff,
and you can work out a way to establish what can only be described as
‘empathy’ - you’ll have to provide the meaning in brackets.
Does the recipient feel particularly strongly about issues such as gender
equality? If so, you need to take particular care to refer to ‘he or she’
or‘s/he’ in examples instead of just using ‘he’.
 Relationship. How long have you known the person to whom you
are writing? Are you writing to someone in their official capacity? For
example, you may have a good relationship with a person recently ap-
pointed as chairman of the workers’ committee and you know that s/he
is a realist as far as wage demands are concerned. But, you cannot
take advantage of that in an official communication with that person -
you must then communicate with the official, not the person.
Is s/he your superior at work, or is s/he a new customer? These are questions
that you need to consider carefully when deciding on the tone to adopt when
writing. If the intended reader is your superior, then clearly you should adopt
a formal tone. If s/he is a valued client, then you should be respectful - al-
though you should always write with formality and courtesy.
9.10.2 The intended response

Communication occurs for many reasons. Whatever the purpose, it is essen-
tial that you communicate in such a way that the recipient actually wants to
co-operate with you.
Even the most difficult communication about a debt or some other serious
problem can be transmitted in a way that indicates that you are trying to
resolve a matter in which the recipient has been unhelpful. You achieve noth-
ing except a bigger problem if you are sarcastic or openly abusive. Simply
state your position in a clear, detached way.
Remember that if you are drawing attention to some irregularity such as a

non-payment or an unauthorised building, the recipient may have information
that you do not have. If you attack in an uncompromising manner, the re-

sponse may be ‘I’ll see you in Court’ whereas a communication that is less
hostile may lead to the discovery of a receipt or authority that you knew
nothing about.
9.10.3 Check your communication before transmission

Plan your communication in advance of the event and then do the following:
 leave it for a short while and then come back to it;
 imagine that you are the intended recipient and try to analyse what is to
be communicated;
 if there is anything that you find unsuitable, change it to make it more
appropriate. In particular:
 is the language simple, direct and quite clear?
 is the language suitable to the recipient?
 will the expression produce the intended response in the recipient?
 is there any way in which the nature of the information may be misinter-
preted by the recipient? Only then, communicate.
Activity 9.4
1. Before finally delivering your communication, what are the personality
? features that you have to consider?
2. How do age, relationship and checking your communication before
sending it affect the way you communicate?
3. Check out the communication you sent out in writing over the last
month. Compare what you requested for with the responses you
received. How did your communication contribute to your success or
failure?
4. Without researching thoroughly, you cannot give a lasting solution to a
problem. With reference to events at your work place, support this
statement.

9.11 Summary
To summarise, be aware of the nature of your reader, and cultivate a simple
and direct style that avoids jargon or expressions which might cause offence.
You should be aware of the particular demands of the individual, but adopting
this attitude as a general rule helps a great deal in producing clear, effective
communication in writing. In particular, this is the best starting point from
which to produce formal business documents, whatever their intended read-
ership.
In this unit, we looked at some of the basic rules for using better English and
and advice to follow the ABC of accuracy, brevity and clarity.

References
ing messages that communicate (2nd Ed.) Kenwyn. Juta & Co. Ltd.


Unit Ten
Letters
10.0 Introduction
D
espite the various options available, it is probably true that the letter
remains the most important and commonly used form of communica
tion especially in business. They are almost always produced by one
person and as a result, have many advantages over other forms of communi-
cation. They are inexpensive to produce and deliver, they can be produced
quickly, and they provide a permanent record for both sender and receiver.
For this reason, knowledge of the correct layout of letters and an under-
standing of the main kinds of letters and their uses is essential to enable you to
communicate successfully in the world of business.
10.1 Objectives
 make a layout and write business letters
 compose E-mail letters
 explain how to write different kinds of letters
 state the advantage and disadvantages of communication by letter
10.2 Layout
In general, the components of a letter remain constant whatever the format or
style. There will always be individual variations between writers and there
are also different styles of layout. However, because business letters follow a
series of principles in their layout and presentation, recipients can read, as-
similate and act on them quickly.
Many letters are written with the object of transmitting some quite compli-
cated ideas to another person or business. In order to compose any letter
calls for an understanding of all factors discussed so far in your course, most
particularly an awareness of the nature of the reader and the intended re-
sponse.
The purpose now of learning how to compile a good letter is to comply with
the usual norms of business correspondence that helps the recipient, and so
that you do not have to spend time thinking about the presentation. If you
know layout well, you can give yourself more time to think about the content
and expression of the letter.
10.3 A Business Letter is Important

A business is an important document. Every letter creates a contact. With
business letters, the contact is between the firm and the reader and this con-
tact may be pleasant or unpleasant such that it may mean more or less busi-
ness for the firm.
Not only does it have legal consequences and a value as evidence, but
it is also an advertisement for any business. A well presented business letter
conveys an image of an efficient sender. Remember that the format and layout
of the letter, the quality of paper on which it is produced, and the contents
represent the business to its clients.

Unit 10 Letters
Whatever the purpose of a letter, whether a reply to an enquiry or a com-

plaint, an acknowledgement of payment or letter of application or sales letter,
the letter must strengthen the goodwill and prestige of the company. A busi-
ness selects its salesmen and employees carefully so that they present a good
image, and a business letter is as important in creating the right image.
10.4 The Elements of a Business Letter

Over the years there have been various forms of presentation in use, but with
most correspondence on a computer, the modern standard form of presenta-
tion is as follows.
 The name and address of the sender. Most business have pre
printed stationery on which their name and address is printed- often
with the logo.
 The date - usually underneath the address on the right hand side.
 A line is then missed after the recipient’s address and the salutation is
entered up against the left-hand margin and beginning with a capita
letter.
 Below that is the heading and reference either up against the left hand
margin or more often in the centre of the page, and it is often in bold
print and/ or underlined. The message- continuing down the page
and separated into paragraphs with each separated by a missed line
and starting up against the left hand margin.
 The complimentary close that indicates that the messages is finished.
 The signature of the sender on the left - hand side of the page.
 This is followed by the name and official position, if appropriate, of the
writer (Mrs.) or (Miss) or (Ms) often precedes the signature of a woman.
Of all these parts, the message is the most important and needs the most
attention. The rest is mechanical work, which - if performed correctly- cre-
ate the right impression for the recipient and will give you a good start to good
communication.

Activity 10.1
1 What are the elements of a business letter? Are these necessary?
? 2 With reference to organisations in Zimbabwe, discuss the consequences
of letter writing on:
a) Business transactions
b) Legal liability of the water.
10.5 The Writer’s Name and Address

It is important to identify the name of the organisation that has sent the letter.
In a personal letter the recipient will know the handwriting or the physical
address but in business when hundreds of letters are received daily, the re-
cipient can be antagonised immediately if s/he has to search for the name of
the sender. This is undesirable and so the name of the sender is stated:
 On the op of the first page of the letter;
 Usually under the signature and title of the sender at the end of the
letter.
The first is called a “letterhead” as it has the name printed attractively
at the top together with any logo adopted by the company - a logo is a part of
the advertising of the business. Certain other information about the company
such as telephone, fax numbers, E-mail address and Web site are given as
well as any branch addresses. A list of directors or partners should be given
on a letterhead and this is usually shown at the bottom.
Often, a letterhead contains an instruction such as “please address all corre-

spondence to the Secretary.” Correspondence is addressed to an official of
the company and not to an individual so that those who receive and open the
mail know which is official and which is private.
If plain paper is used, you have to put this essential information onto your
letter. The name of the business should be at the top and usually in the
centre, with the address underneath placed to the right of the centre of the
page. It is not indented which means that the start of each line is directly
underneath the previous start. If you are not using a letterhead, you must
observe two requirements.
Make sure that the address is complete, and includes any suburbs and the
correct name for the office where your box is situated. No punctuation should
be used except for an abbreviation such as “P.O.”, so you should not put

Unit 10 Letters
commas at the end of the lines making up the address. Where the address has
the number of a room, a building or a street, that number should precede the
name of the building or the street. The name of any building or firm is given
without inverted commas.
“Even though you as an individual are writing the letter, you should not put
your name or title anywhere other than at the end where you sign the letter.
The value of having a printed letterhead is because not only can it present a
good image of the standing and efficiency of the business, but it also saves
writing or typing the details on every letter.
10.6 The Date

In Zimbabwe, we follow this style of writing a date in the following order day,
month and year, for example 5 September 2012. A date should not be
written in figures only such as 5.9.2012 and the month and the year must
always be written out in full as in “September 2012” not “Sep 12”. Some
countries follow a different presentation and there are moves to create an
international standard to avoid confusion.
10.7 Recipient’s Name and Address

The name and address are written against the left-hand margin and this entry
begins after a line has been left blank under the line on which the date is
placed. You must always address the letter to an official of the business-
specifically to “The Marketing Manager” or “The Financial Director” if you
know this official is the one to deal with your letter. Otherwise, address it
generally to “The Manager” or “The Secretary”.
Where postal codes are in use, remember to include the code.
If you are writing to an individual in a personal capacity, you can address the
letter to that person - Mr. Farai Macheme, c/o Good Life Industries….”
Instead of the Secretary, you must have a good reason though to write a
business letter to a specified individual, and you must accept that if Macheme
is not at work, your letter will not be attended to.
Otherwise, below the name and address you may wish to identify the
person you want to receive your letter - and this can be by using the name of

a person or using a title or designation. So, for example, after the address you
can put “For attention: Mr.
Macheme” (meaning: For the Attention of” and if Farai is away, maybe his
staff can attend to the letter before his return.
If you are writing to a partnership, use their partnership name such as “Messrs
Orange, Red and Green”. You do not address it to “Bill Orange, Fred Red
and Fanwell Green”.
Addresses are written in blank format without any punctuation marks set out
as follows.
Mr. F Macheme and Nkomo Honest or The Sales Manager or Mssrs Macheme
t/a Farai`s Motors P.O. Box 1234 Honest Farai`s Motors
P.O. Box 1234 Harare P.O. Box 1234
Harare Attn: Mr. F. Macheme Harare
10.8 References
Because so many letters are written in any business, it is usual to indicate a
reference number on each letter. Usually, this is a reference to the file that
contains correspondence on this subject followed by a folio number, or it may
be the initials of the writer followed by the initials of the typist. Other refer-
ences could be an account number, a customer reference number linking the
letter to an earlier file containing correspondence, or some other form of ref-
erence.
If the letter is to reply to another, the other party’s reference should be quoted
also.
Space is usually made in the letterhead for “Our reference” and sometimes
space is also made for: Your reference”- if this is not done, details of “your
reference should be given in the opening paragraph of the letter.
10.9 The Salutation

This is the start of the actual letter and a line is missed underneath the
recipient’s address with the salutation placed against the left-hand margin.
What follows depends on how well you know the receiver, and generally -
when writing a general letter to the Secretary or to another official of a firm,
begin ~Dear Sir”;

Unit 10 Letters
If you are writing to an individual whom you have not met or written to previ-
ously, begin Dear Sir ‘ or “Dear Madam”;
When writing to an individual member of a firm whose name you do not know
such as the Personnel Manager or the Export Manager, you should begin
“Dear Sir or Madam”; or
If you are writing to someone who knows you, you can use “Dear Mr/Ms/
Miss/Mrs” as appropriate.
“Sir” or “Madam” is not acceptable unless you are writing to the editor of the
newspaper, or when writing to some anonymous official when you have a
complaint to make and you feel justified in being blunt and formal.
In the three examples given above, the salutations would be-
Dear Mr. Macheme, Dear Sir, Dear Sirs,
Although you have tried to direct the letter for Mr. Macheme‘s attention in the
second and third examples, you cannot be sure that he will deal with it and so
you should address the official as “Dear Sir” and the partnership as “Dear
Sirs”.
The form “Dear Madam” is used when writing to both married and unmarried
ladies. However, if you know the recipient’s name, use it since it is much
more personal and most people prefer it. “Ms” is now a very acceptable
salutation to a female without denoting her married status.
Activity 10.2
1. Is it necessary to give the writer’s name and address in a business
? letter? Give reasons.
2. In what ways does the use of a letterhead help the writer and the
organisation?
3. Why is the date so important in a business letter?
4. Check most of the official communications from the Ministry of
Education Sport and Culture. You notice the absence of a salutation.
Is the salutation really necessary? Explain.
5. Why is it necessary to use the salutation” Dear Sir/ Dear Madam” in a
business letter?

10.10 The Purpose of the Letter

Time is important and nobody in business wants to waste it by having to read
your complete letter to find out what you are writing about, so it is essential to
write below the salutation a subject line or heading.
The subject line may be written in the middle of the page or against the left
margin-putting it in the middle looks very smart especially if you can put it in
bold print, but you have to get it exactly centre which is easy with a computer.
Anything off centre will spoil the impression and you should then put it up
against the left margin.
The subject line or heading has to be a short statement such as -
INTENDED VISIT TO HONG KONG
OUR ORDER 93937-500 BALES OF FIRST GRADE COTTON

LINT APPLICATION FOR COMPLAINT ABOUT POOR SERVICE
INVITATION TO TENDER
LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION-ESTATE LATE J. MPOFU
The subject line is meant to make an impression so write it either with capital
letters or in “Title Case”-but always in bold. It may be underlined such as
Enquiry about Contract 456/876
Or
Re: Enquiry about Contract 456/876
10.11 The Message

The message is the core of the letter- the whole purpose, and so it is here that
your use of English is expected to be good as far as the use of words, punc-
tuation and grammar, your spelling and use of paragraphs, and your ability to
express your thoughts clearly. We remind you to avoid obstacles to clear
expression, such as ambiguity, repetition, redundancy and slang. Also, be
careful about introducing humour unless it is very informal letter.

Unit 10 Letters
A line may be left blank between the headings or you may just go straight into
the letter as in-
Dear Sir,
Invitation to Tender
I refer to your notice in the Herald of 5 June 2047 and request details
of…
The first paragraph and all subsequent paragraphs start against the left hand
margin. The layout is something the recipient notices and it can often influence
the way s/he responds to the communication. In order to create a favourable
impression, remember to-
 Leave ample clear space as a margin or border around the message;
 Divide your letter into paragraphs, each dealing with a separate aspect
of the subject;
 Leave a blank line between each paragraph.
Organising your letter is important and the most effective letters are those
which consist of three or four short paragraphs on a single sheet. It is far
easier to read a letter if it is in short paragraphs as it is easier for the recipient
to grasp the meaning of your writing. This ensures that you receive a reply
more promptly.
Although the division of the conduct between the paragraphs varies accord-
ing to the nature of the individual letter, you can follow some general princi-
ples to make arranging your material less haphazard.
10.11.1 The first sentence

Your main concern here is to establish the circumstances, background or
reason for your letter. The first sentence should expand on the subject line or
heading and should do one of the following;
 Thank the reader for his/her letter;
 Say that you are writing to make an enquiry;
 Announce the kind of business in which you are engaged; or make a
similar general announcement.
This makes it clear why you have written, and encourages the reader to go
on.

10.11.2 Avoid weak beginnings

 Thank you for your letter reference 567/ghj of 15 June. I can inform
you that….” Note that we have used “inform” and not “advice” - such
as “I would advise you not to take legal action against the debtor”. In
most cases though, you are giving the recipient information, not advice.
“
 Following your letter of 12 December, I have investigated the situation
and ….”
 With reference to your letter 345/rk of 1 June, the position is that….”
Here are a few examples of poor introductory sentences:
 In reply to yours of the 18 ultimo I beg to state that….
 Your favour of the 20 instant received, and contents duly noted. In
reply would state….
 We beg to acknowledge receipt of yours of 10 ult., and in reply kindly
permit us to advise you….
The beginning of a letter is often seen as being the most important part
and these examples using stereotyped and almost meaningless phrases are a
waste. These phrases create an obscure and old fashioned introduction
to the writer’s real meaning but, unfortunately, such openings are not any
way unusual and they are in daily use in business letters.
10.11.3 Paragraphing is essential

A basic rule in good English is that one paragraph must be used for each
subject and the paragraph is used to connect several ideas. Paragraphs help
to clarify the relative importance of each part of the letter, and help the reader
to understand the meaning. It conveys the idea of method and precision
which is an important consideration.
The first paragraph may be your first sentence as a paragraph on its own and
if it is so, once you have established the necessary circumstances, you start
the second paragraph. On other occasions, the first paragraph may have to
be more than a single sentence where it is necessary to expand on the inten-
tion of the letter or the reasons for it.
You use the second and subsequent paragraphs to go into more specific de-
tail about the general matter you established in the first paragraph. A good
length for each of these paragraphs is eight to ten lines.
Plan your letter carefully to distinguish relevant facts from superfluous details,
and build up the situation that you want to deal with. You may want to:

Unit 10 Letters
 Summarise the current position

 Offer alternative views or options
 Make clear what services are available
 Establish actions to be taken
In the concluding paragraph draw together the points you made in the earlier
part of the letter and end strongly but in a courteous or friendly manner,
according to how well you know the reader. You might conclude by:
 Selecting one course of action from a number of alternatives offered in
the earlier paragraphs;
 Asking for more information from the recipient; and
 Giving a clear directive to be followed.
To explain the important points about the contents of a letter, we examine a
few common forms of beginnings and endings critically, and then consider the
general contents more widely.
Compare this letter with the written version which follows.
Dear Sir
Thank you for your letter of 12 August. I have carefully investigated

your complaint about the quality of the 24 overalls we dispatched to you
on the 3rd August, and cannot understand why there should have been
any damaged articles included.
Could you give us further details? Your request for a reduced quotation
for a greater quantity in your latest order has been referred to the Direc-
tors.
I shall advice you of their decision shortly. I regret that the delay oc-
curred in effecting delivery of these overalls: an unavoidable break-
down in the Packing Department was responsible.
Yours faithfully
…………………..

The better version reads:
Dear Sir,
DAMAGED OVERALLS
Thank you for your letter of 12 August. I have carefully investigated

your complaint about the quality of the overalls we dispatched to you on
3 August, and cannot understand why there should have been any dam-
aged articles included.
Please could you give me further details?
I do accept your complaint concerning the delay that occurred in mak-

ing delivery of the overalls that was due to an unavoidable breakdown
in the Parking Department. The cause has been eliminated and so no
further delays should occur.
I have your request for a reduced price for the greater quantity in your
latest order to the Directors and I will advice you of their decision soon.
Yours faithfully
Notice that the English is more “friendly” and direct, the order is now logical,
and each paragraph is homogeneous.
10.11.4 Postscripts
Although a postscript is acceptable in an informal personal letter between
friends or relations, it is not permissible under any circumstances a business
letter. For example:
P.S. Your second letter, dated 15 August, has just arrived. I think that this
letter covers the points you have raised.
It indicates poor planning of a letter by someone dictating in a hurry.
10.11.5 The conclusion

A line is omitted between the last paragraph and the conclusion and is written
against the left hand margin. The accepted form is either:

Unit 10 Letters
“”Yours faithfully” if you began with “Dear Sir”, or
“”Yours sincerely” if you began by using the recipient’s name.
A comma does not follow the conclusion, although it does seem to be creep-
ing back in letters. So, if you feel comfortable, use a comma.
“Yours truly” is considered somewhat old fashioned these days and is no

longer used. The words “I am” or “I remain” is a shortened form of “I am/
remain your humble servant” and as these are now regarded as definitely
outdated, they are no longer in use.
Space is left for the writer to sign immediately after the complimentary
close. Under the place where the writer’s signature is written, the letter
should end with the initials and surname of the writer so that the recipient
will not have to decipher the signature, and the official designation. The
following form is useful:
F.T. MACHEME
FINANCIAL MANAGER
For The Zimbabwe Money Laundering Company Ltd.
The official position is important because if a letter about a million dollar con-
tract was signed by “Accounts Clerk”, the recipient will be suspicious of the
commitment being made on behalf of the sending firm.
If the recipient is unlikely to know the writer, it is considered helpful to put

(Miss) or (Mrs.) or (Ms) in brackets either before or after the name when the
writer is a woman. It is becoming common these days to deal in business on
first name terms rather than sticking rigidly to Mr. This or Ms That, and to
help speed up the process, you often find that the writer puts his first name
rather than just an initial as - “FARAI MACHEME.”
You sometimes find that a letter is signed not by the person whose name is
typed at the end, but by another person, with the initials “p.p.” before or after
it. This stands for “pro persona” and means that someone else, usually a
secretary or assistant, has signed the letter on behalf of the writer in his/her
absence.

10.11.6 Avoid participial endings

Sometimes a business letter ends with some formal closing expression in
addition to “yours faithfully”, and these are known as participial closings be-
cause they begin with a participle. The following are examples of some parti-
cipial endings-
“Assuring you of our appreciation of your courtesy in bringing this matter

to our attention, we are
Yours faithfully
“Thanking you for giving us the opportunity to make this explanation of our
attitude, were
Yours faithfully
As you can see, the passive voice is intruding here and we did say earlier that
the active is preferred. Additionally, although these examples are not gram-
matically incorrect, they are examples of more unnecessary words. Leave
them out and avoid the participial ending.
Note these endings-
“Thanking you for the favour and assuring you it will have our prompt atten-
tion, we remain.” Which should be
“Thank you for your order, and we assure you that it will have our prompt
attention?”
Thanking you for your courtesy in bringing this matter to our attention we
remain. Which should be “Thank You for bringing this matter to our attention
and we hope that measures we have taken will prevent any recurrence?
The object is simple English and there is really no need to have anything put
into a letter simply to lead up to the close. Once the writer has finished what
he/she has to say and has finished with a strong direct statement, anything
more weakens the effect.
What is definitely unacceptable though is to end - ‘ Awaiting the favour of

your reply’ as this is bad grammar. Stick with ‘Yours faithfully’.

Unit 10 Letters
10. 11.7 Enclosures

The enclosure of other documents is indicated by ‘Enc’. To show that you
have enclosed other documents so that they are not discarded by accident
with the envelope, and also to remind whoever sends the letter to put the
other documents in the envelope with the covering letter before posting it.
Occasionally, lines or asterisks are put at the foot of the letter but this is
unusual these days. The main letter to which the enclosures are attached is
then usually referred to as a ‘ covering letter’.
10.11.8 ‘Confidential’ heading

If a letter is confidential, and you do not want the recipient’s secretary or
assistant to read it first, you should type ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ in capitals
at the top of the envelope and even put it in a second envelope very
clearly marked ‘Confidential’ if necessary. Although it is common to put it on
the letter too before the body of the text begins, this is more a matter for
future record for if an unauthorised reader has reached this point, he/she
is more than likely read the contents.
Activity 10.3
? 1. Why should your letter:

 have a heading?
 have the heading stand out?
 make the heading stand out
2. Why do you need a strong beginning to your letter? Give a few
examples of your own from letters that you have already sent to clients.
Do these show strong or weak beginnings?
10.12 The Four Essentials in a Business Letter

The essentials of the business letter are expressed as ‘the four Cs’: correct-
ness, clarity, conciseness and courtesy.
Correctness requires that everything you write must be accurate and truth-
ful;
Clarity requires that you always use simple and direct language. Use words
in common use without employing slang or colloquial language. Avoid the

complex, pretentious - sounding ‘officialise’ which features in so many com-

munications;
Conciseness recognises that a letter should be as short as possible, but that

it should also say everything that is necessary under the circumstances. It is
not the same thing as mere brevity because it includes the idea of complete-
ness as well. If you need to explain complex or lengthy ideas, write a separate
report or statement and then write a brief covering letter to enclose with it.
“Finally, courtesy is also important and you must be polite, even if you have
to write letters of complaint, or threaten legal action to recover unpaid debts.
There is nothing gained by being abusive. Courtesy helps business transac-
tions to run more smoothly and to give a favourable impression of your com-
pany to the reader.
Try to cultivate a critical attitude and examine your letters against these rules.
Also you may like to criticise a letter sent to you, and so look for the following
measures -
1. THE LAYOUT: Is it pleasing?
Is there a line between each paragraph?
2. THE ARRANGEMENT: Is it logical?
Does the first paragraph BEGIN?
Does the last paragraph CONCLUDE?
3. THE GRAMMAR: Is it open to criticism?
4. THE SPELLING: Is it correct?
5. THE PUNCTUATION: Is it properly done?
6. THE STYLE: Is there any circumlocution, tautology,
ambiguity, pedantry or slang?
7. THE GENERAL TONE: Is it personal?
Is it courteous?
Is it sincere?
Is it suitable to the subject matter?
10.13 Letters of Complaint

Although there are many types of letters written, one of the more difficult
things is the letter of complaint and so we want to give you a few guidelines to
those. Firstly, they should not go beyond giving a courteous statement of
facts. Here is an example of a straightforward statement of a complaint-

Unit 10 Letters
The overalls that I ordered from you on 3 June have not yet arrived. Please let
me know when I may expect them to reach me.
If no attention is paid to your first letter, you are entitled to use more forceful
language, as illustrated in the following-
Please refer to my letter of 29 July in which I informed you of the non- deliv-
ery of my order for overalls. I have received no reply to my letter and I ask
for a reply from you immediately.
Sometimes even a third letter may be necessary. In this letter you must make
it quite plain you are dissatisfied with the treatment you have received and that
you intend to take your business elsewhere:
I draw you attention to my letters of 29 July and 18 August concerning the

non- delivery of my order for overalls of 3 June. I feel that I am entitled to an
immediate explanation of your lack of attention to my letters and to my order.
I shall, of course, place my future orders elsewhere.
You notice that those examples meet all the rules that we have been impress-
ing on you. Never use a participle ending like ‘Your dissatisfied client’.
How to answer letters of complaint

A reply to a complaint should be written without delay, and if the customer is
right, you should lose no time in admitting it. Your letter should use an opening
paragraph like the following-
Thank you for your letter of 5 June in which you informed us about the defect
that you found in the overalls that we supplied to you recently. We are always
anxious to receive information about defects in products we sell, as it is our
aim to give every customer complete satisfaction.
Three good beginnings for answering letters of complaint are-
“We accept that you have a right to feel annoyed at our failure to….
“Unfortunately, it seems that those orders where we are most anxious to please
our better customers are the ones in which delay occurs….
“You are certainly justified in complaining about….
If a fair complaint has been made, you really should make things right. Every-
one knows that mistakes happen and so you can write a reply knowing that

the client also knows that nobody is perfect. S/he will respect your honesty
and that will count in your favour when s/he wants to do business again. Do
what you would like any other firm to do for you.
Sometimes, the customer is wrong and you must say so- following the same
rules but especially courtesy. Be just as courteous and pleasant as you would
be if you were thanking him/her for an order. Explain the truth of the matter
and you find that most people listen to reason. Try to make him/her feel that
you are really sorry that you cannot grant his/her request and show him/her
why. Be truthful and sincere and if the balance of facts is on your side s/he will
accept your position.
The news that your labourers found faults in 29 of the overalls that we re-
cently sent to you is of great concern to us. Needless to say, we are going to
do all we can to avoid you feeling that our standard of production has dete-
riorated.
It is of course very unfortunate that you had the loose stitching repaired be-
fore raising the problem with us, for our quality control department would
have wanted to carry out a second check. I have taken the matter up with that
department and they are concerned that this could have occurred because
overalls are not stored in sequence after production. They are picked quite at
random on receipt of any order and so it cannot have been caused by a
temporary fault in the stitching machine.
What is even more disturbing is that these 29 overalls were from an order for
35. Quality control checks are often subject to double checks and no faults
have been found for many months’ production now.
The only logical conclusion I can reach is that damage was caused to these
overalls after you had issued them to your labourers. Perhaps, I could send
Mr Ntini who is our factory manager to talk with the labourers on this dam-
age, and if you then feel that we are at fault, please write to me again when I
will investigate further.
This letter makes it clear that your company is not accepting responsibility for
the damaged goods, and that the bill must be paid. In addition, the letter
contains helpful suggestions. Avoid expressions like being ‘surprised’ at the
customer’s attitude, or hide behind the, policy’ of your company.

Unit 10 Letters
10.13.1 Collection letters

Unfortunately, not everyone is like you and I and pays our bills on time and in
full. Although it is a person’s right to claim what is due to him/her, this type
of letter needs very careful construction as it is a common feature of debt
collecting that
people who owe money take exception to being asked for it. The conse-
quence is that they often look for ways to embarrass the writer.
At the end of the month, you find that Freddie Fantastic owes your company
$5 000 and he has not paid for three months. Freddie has to be dealt with
firmly and quickly - but still courteously as he has friends who listen to his
story about being harassed and victimised by your company.
The first important step is to make sure that Freddie really does owe you. If
you make a mistake with that, then you will have a lot of problems to over-
come. The second step is to make sure that you give Freddie the benefit of
the doubt for the first time - he may have genuinely overlooked the debt or
sent the cheque to the wrong address.
So, something like-
‘On checking our records, it appears that the amount of $5 000 in respect of
repairs we carried out at your premises has been overlooked. I would be
grateful if you could arrange for payment to be made as soon as possible or,
if there is some matter that you wish to draw to our attention, would you
please phone me on xxxx without delay’.
This gives Freddie the chance to tell you that he has ‘put the cheque in the
post’ or ask for time to pay. If you hear nothing after any reasonable time, the
next letter can be rather more direct to the point -
‘I am disappointed to note that despite my letter to you asking you to deal

with the amount of $5 000 outstanding on your account, I have had no
communication from you. This is particularly disappointing in view of our
previous good relationship (how’s that for a subtle tug on his conscience?). I
have to ask you please to settle this account by the 4th of next month failing
which I shall have to take further steps to protect our interests.’
Eventually, you will have to get quite tough with Freddie Fantastic - but still
with courtesy. Nothing is achieved by crude threats or rudeness, and the final
warning could be.

‘Regrettably you have failed to respond to my earlier letters concerning the

debt due to my company and I therefore have no alternative but to hand the
matter over to our collection agents/attorneys. They will contact you shortly
- will you please deal with them over this matter in future.’
Activity 10.4
1. Why should a business letter be:
?  Correct in the information it gives?
 Clear about what it is asking for?
 To the point?
 Courteous?
2. Is it or not a waste of time to start by writing polite letters and then
slowly go on to openly complain when writing about a problem that is
not being handled properly? Why?
3. What is a collection letter? How do you make it achieve your objective?
10.14 Circulars
Circulars are letters, which companies send to a number of people at the
same time. They may convey information about new facilities, offer the serv-
ices of a company, or perform any similar function.
They are another important form of external communication and act also as a
form of publicity that is directed straight to individual people who may be-
come customers. As a result, they are increasingly used as means of advertis-
ing or publicity. A weakness though, is that many people consider circulars
as ‘spam’ or unwarranted soliciting, and rea ct to them by automati-
cally destroying them.
A popular use for circulars now is the ‘Sales Brochure’. Previously a com-
pany would prepare a sales letter to its customers giving details of forthcom-
ing sales or new stocks. The competition has become so fierce now - a -days
though that most organisations prepare special circulars with colour pictures
of what is for sale at what price. These can be very effective and their use has
spread also to service providers.

Unit 10 Letters
10.15 Email letters

These are becoming a common form of communication between a busi-
ness and its clients. The rules are similar although there is one additional
convention that has developed. – WRITING IN CAPITAL LETTER IS
CONSIDERED TO BE ANTAGONISTIC.
The E-Mail facility has the great advantage of immediate delivery - though
when it will be read is at the discretion of the recipient. Most programmes
allow the recipient to receive an icon signifying that a message is waiting to be
read.
There are a number of options available to the recipient. S/he can;
“Read and delete the message, but recall it later from the deletions box if
necessary before final deletion.
“Read and reply to the message, either with the original message attached or
without.
“Read and forward it on to a number of other E-Mail users.
Activity 10.5
? 1. We gave you an example in the unit of a rewritten version of a poor

letter. We would like you to go to the letters page of a newspaper and
find one of the several that are badly written - then rewrite it as you feel
should make the right impression.
10.16 Summary
In this unit, we saw how a good business letter is constructed, and the ele-
ments that make up a letter - details of the writer, the date and the recipient
with references, the salutation and purpose, the message that is to be
conveyed and how best to present it, and the conclusion. We then gave some
examples of the more usual types of business letters. These are the letters of
complaint, collection letters and circulars.

References
Berko, R.M., Wolvin, A.D. and Wolvin, D.R.(1999).Commnicating:
A Social and Career Focus(7th ed.)
Boston: Houghton Miffin Co.Cronje G.J. de J. et al (1994). Introduction to
the Economic and Management Environment Study Guide I.
Pretora: UNISA.
Fielding, M.(1997).Effective Communication in Organisations:Preparing
Messages that Communicate (2ndEd.) Kenwyn: Juta and Co. Ltd.

Unit Eleven
Memoranda, Notice and

Circulars
11.0 Introduction
I
n the last unit we dealt with letters but it is wrong to believe that the need
for effective communication is limited to maintaining effective contact
between the business and the public. What is often ignored in many
businesses is the need for adequate and competent internal communication,
not only within management, but also between management and staff.
Memoranda, circular and notices represent the means by which internal com-
munication is carried on, but unless these are prepared with the same
attention to detail as is given to an outgoing letter, their purpose is obscured.
After all, if the staff members are not told properly what is going on, or in-
structions and policy are conveyed to them in a slipshod way, they cannot be
blamed if they fail in their responsibilities.
Internal communications are, therefore, just as important as outgoing corre-

spondence and so we discuss the main forms of written communication inside
the organisation in some detail.
11.1 Objectives
 describe the different functions and layout of the following internal
communications, memoranda, circulars and notices
 analyse the lay-out, of each form of communication
 explain why we have different forms of communication
11.2 Memoranda
The singular is ‘a memorandum’ while the plural is ‘memoranda’, and a memo-
randum is a communication sent by a person to one or more colleagues
within the organisation about a matter affecting the operations of the
enterprise. The word memorandum is often shortened to ‘memo’ in common
usage.
A memorandum is as much a personal communication as is a letter because

the addressees are specifically designated- either by their name or their posi-
tion in the organisation. Furthermore, the fact that it is an internal document
to communicate between working colleagues does not mean that it can be
written in a slipshod way.
There is a fairly common style of layout of a memorandum which we look at

later, but care most be taken to ensure that the memorandum meets all the
basic rules of good communications. The only relaxation in this rule is that the
‘polite words’ used to people outside the organisation may be omitted. Thus-
“ A letter may say, ‘Thank you for your letter reference 45/kl dated 5 June
on the subject of badly finished overalls’ while a memorandum may say,
‘Ref your memo of 5/6 on badly finished overalls’.
“ A letter may say, ‘ I am sorry to hear that you received such a large number
of badly finished overalls that you bought from us on 23 May’ while a memo
may say ‘Regret that overalls bought on 23/5 were badly finished’.
“ A letter may say, ‘The company expresses its regret about this incident and
offers to refund you in full for the losses you have suffered’ while a memo may
say, ‘There is a problem and a refund should be made.’
“A letter may say, ‘ I hope that this unfortunate but isolated incident will not
disrupt the good customer relations we have enjoyed, and I hope that we
may be able to continue to meet your demands for overalls together with your

Unit 11 Memoranda, Notice and Circulars
other requirements in the future’ while a memo may say ‘This was a once-off
problem and hopefully you will carry on buying from us’
“A letter will begin ‘Dear Mr ….’ and end ‘Yours sincerely’ while a memo has
neither a salutation nor a subscription.
We hope that from these few examples, you can see how a memo is more
casual communication since it is being circulated only within the organisation.
At this stage let us confirm that an organisation has identified lines of com-
mand with the responsibility of passing from the Managing Director at the
top to the junior messenger at the bottom. Generally, if the junior messenger
wants to communicate with the Managing Director, he/she cannot do this
directly - he/she must work through what are called ‘the line of communica-
tion’ which are usually up to the immediate senior and so on up the line.
These lines of communication work downwards, too. If the Managing Di-

rector wants to give an instruction to the messenger, he/she starts the
process off by telling his/her deputy. The message is then passed down
until it reaches the messenger. It is very important that this happens because
if the Managing Director was to call the messenger into his/her office and
instruct him/her to collect mail three times on a Friday instead of twice, the
messenger’s seniors would not be aware of the change and confusion could
occur.
The lines of communication are in place to ensure the organisation

operates efficiently - not to create bottle-necks and slow down the way things
happen. In an efficient organisation, the lines of communication do work fast
- they must be ahead of the unofficial ‘grapevine’ anyway - and memoranda
are one of the major instruments for passing information up and down the
organisation. The need for speed is another factor that causes them to be
written less formally than outside communications and with less frills.
In an organisation, you find several people are at the same level of importance
- the accountant, the personnel officer, the chief buyer, the marketing man-
ager and so on. These people also need to communicate with each other.
For example, if the accountant has to find savings on the budget, he/she has to
inform the other heads of departments. Thus, memoranda may also pass
horizontally from one section head to other section heads, as well as vertically
from section heads to management and back again.

11.3 The Purpose of a Memorandum

A memorandum can communicate any of the following around the organisa-
tion: a reminder; suggestion, draw attention and protective measures:
 A reminder of some business point previously discussed or determined
 A suggestion concerning some aspect of a project which merits con-
sideration
 A means of drawing attention to some situation or to some possible
relevant situation
 A means of conveying an instruction
 A protective measure. While this is not, perhaps, officially recognised
as one of its purposes, a carefully filed memorandum is an irrefuta-
ble argument against the man who disguises his/her own shortcomings
by asking ‘Why wasn’t I put in the picture?’
11.4 The Lay-out of a Memorandum

A memorandum is never just a hasty little note scribbled upon a handy scrap
of paper. In most efficient organisations, a standard form is used especially
for the purpose and it is identified as being a memorandum. This is usually
printed, and generally takes the form as shown below.
Note the important points in the layout - all obvious to a student of communi-
cations but overlooked by somebody who has not studied the subject.
MEMORANDUM
To: Assistant Manager Date:15/2/72
From: S. Mlambo, General Manager Ref: SM/AM
SUBJECT: REDECORATION OF RECEPTION AREA
The reception area will be redecorated during the week beginning 12 March
and staff shall not be able to work there.
I have arranged for staff to be able to work in the second floor

conference room for that week. Please inform everyone involved of the
arrangements.
Regards

You can see that, compared to the letter, there are certain items missing from
this memo-
 there is no address; and
 there are also no greetings such as ‘Dear Mr Maseko’ or formal fare-
wells such as ‘Yours sincerely’.
They are not necessary in such an informal and internal communication.
Sometimes even a reference is omitted.
The features of a memorandum are:
 ‘To’ and ‘From’ headings - these replace the formal names and ad-
dresses found in a letter, but it is important to show who has written to
whom in order to avoid confusion, especially if memos are later filed.
You may know who you sent that memo now, but will you remember
later -and it could be important. Often, it is a good idea to include
your position in the company and that of the recipient because even if
everyone knows them now, it might not be the same in years to come.
 The Date is important because it makes the place of your memo clear
in a sequence of correspondence. It can also settle any disputes
about whether you informed the recipient before or after some other
action was taken. Note that a casually written date is all that is neces-
sary though.
 ‘Ref’ (short for reference), as with a letter, may be a file reference or
simply your initials or an invoice number or anything else you want to
link the memo with.
 A Subject Heading of up to half a dozen words at the very most serves
the same purpose as it does on a letter. It saves space and adds to
the efficiency of the communication by making the topic clear imme-
diately.
“Content - the aim of a memo is to convey information economically

and of course effectively. You must come straight to the point and
leave out anything which is not immediately relevant. You are not trying
to impress a customer; you want to pass information to a colleague.
Generally, you use the first paragraph to explain the purpose of the memo, or
describe the circumstances which have prompted the memo, or explain the
relevant facts. In the second and subsequent paragraphs, you can give your
instructions or describe the action to be taken. Look at the structure of this
longer memo.

MEMORANDUM
To: All Sales Staff
From: J. Chombo, Sales Manager Ref: JC/vb
Date: 20 September 2046
SUBJECT: Arrangements for move to new buildings
As you were informed in my memo of 5 June 2046, the company will be

moving to new premises in Whizzo House and the dates have now been set
so that we can open for business on Tuesday 7 October 2046. On Friday 3
October, the office will close at 12 noon. On closure, all staff should make
sure that personal belongings are removed from desks, since no one will be
allowed to re-enter the office after that time.
All staff will report for duty as usual on Monday 6 October and Mr Chirume,
the personnel manager, will be on hand to show staff the layout of the offices
in this new building and explain the situation of your desks, the office machin-
ery and the general facilities of the new office suite. Separate arrangements
have been made for the computer department to occupy their offices over the
weekend so that there should be no interruption in the use of the terminals for
those who gave them. However, I would like staff to make as little use as
possible of this facility in the first days of operation so that testing of routine
and administrative programs may take place.
I should like to ask for five members of staff to be on hand for a short period
on Tuesday to guide personal callers to our new offices so that our service to
the public, in particular those making insurance claims for loss or accident
damage, will in no way be interrupted by the move. Finally, may I express the
hope that the move will go smoothly and effectively for everyone.
Signed John Chombo
11.5 Writing a Memorandum

Despite their brevity, certain rules of communication have to be observed:
 The four ‘C’s’ that we looked at apply equally - especially ‘concise-
ness’ for, as we have seen, all the ‘nice’ words and phrases can be
omitted as it is an internal working document. To emphasise this, a

printed memo slip is seldom larger than A4 size and usually the original
message results in a reply to the originator or an endorsement to the
next level of management so space must be left for that.
 A memorandum should contain discussion about only one topic or point
- for example ‘Factory Safety’, ‘New Parking Arrangements’, ‘Policy
on retrenchment’ and so on. If two or more topics need to be aired
each should be written on a separate memo.
 A memorandum should fall into two parts which are-
a) Background information, given as briefly as possible with the object of
ensuring all readers have the same basic understanding of the subject;
and
b) The point to be made.
If the background information needs lengthy explanation in order that the
point may be understood, it may be better to attach a separate document -
maybe even in the form of an unsolicited report. The document should not be
headed ‘Report’ because that was not called for, but the layout and contents
of a report can be followed. If this is the case, the text of the memorandum
could be presented as-
Attached is a paper dealing with my observation concerning the parking

arrangements in force for this building and the consequences to the com-
pany if there was a fire. We suggest we engage Parking Advisors (Pvt) Ltd to
undertake a professional assessment.
A long memorandum that has been prepared to draw particular attention to

something under investigation may actually resemble a report and must be
carefully paragraphed. If the memorandum can be presented in a short
form though, it should be. For example: I am concerned that since Mr
Ncube resigned, we have not appointed a Parking Supervisor and I recom-
mend Mr Moyo be appointed with immediate effect so that he may update
the company’s standing instructions on parking arrangements by 31/12/47.
There can be a number of variations which allow margins for the addressee to
add comments at the appropriate place in the text and return it. They can be
designed so that the ‘action’ is identified at the beginning - ‘for a decision’;
‘for information’; ‘for passing on to staff after noting’ and so on.

11.6 Self-Duplicating Memoranda

Self-duplicating memoranda are sometimes found where the usual process
involves a response to the original memorandum. For example, the original
asks a person to report on progress towards completing an assignment. Then
memo forms can be used that are often printed on carbonised paper so that
an original and one or two copies can be made at the same time. The sender
fills in the headings and writes or types the message in the usual way and
sends two to the recipient while keeping one copy for his/her own records.
The recipient writes or types a reply in the blank space specially provided at
the foot of the form, detaches the one copy for his/her records and returns the
other to the original sender. They are useful when you need rapid commu-
nication in writing with replies, for they ensure that both sender and recipient
have a copy of the message and the reply. Being a memo, there is the natural
advantage that they speed up the reply process.
Activity 11.1
? 1 Which are the three different directions in which memoranda travel?

2. How does a memorandum differ from an ordinary letter?
11.7 Notices
Like a memorandum, a notice is also written to convey information
within the organisation but there are certain important differences between
them.
Notices are a method of mass communication. While a memo is sent to

specified people, a notice is attached to a bulletin board in a conspicuous
place such as the entrance to the business, in a canteen or a staff room where
there is the best chance of it being read by everybody. Notices sometimes
appear in odd places such as on cupboard doors however or gummed to the
wall beside the lift, particularly if the notice is pertinent to what is in that cup-
board (such as stationery) or to the use of the lift.
Notices are generally written by a person with the authority to issue instruc-
tions or pass on information which others must be aware of and take note of.
Notices are intended to be passed downwards to all levels of a firm’s hierar-
chy.

Notices can simply state a fact. However, by their purpose they are intended,
on the whole, to encourage the staff to which they are addressed to comply
with the message contained in the notice. This means that they have to be
written very carefully so that staff make the effort to adjust their behaviour to
what is now required -even if it is a notice such as ‘Please Close This Door’
or ‘Stationery Will Be Issued on Mondays Only’. If they are carelessly or
thoughtlessly written, the notice may well have the effect or arousing resent-
ment and the worst thing that can happen is that resentment is so strong that
staff tears down the notice or write graffiti on it. This will be seen as a direct
challenge to management who wrote the notice and may cause more prob-
lems in the future. So, a notice such as:
Staff Must Report on Sunday Morning for Fire Drill is bound to cause a
reaction. Better to word it as:
Fire Drill: Sunday 7 June Serious Deficiencies Have Been Found in our Fire
Drill Methods Which Could Cause Injuries or Loss of Life in the Event of a
Fire. After Looking at Alternatives, the Only Day a Fire Drill Can Be Held is
Sunday 7 June and Members of Staff are Requested to Attend at 10:00. The
Drill Will Last 1 Hour Maximum. The Company Will Provide Light Refresh-
ments After the Fire Drill Until 11:30.
This Is In The Interests of Your Safety.
Please Attend
Some conciseness has been sacrificed; you might agree that the second
notice is more likely to be favourably received without any bad feelings
spilling over into the work schedules before and after the Sunday. Some of
the disadvantages of having to make a long notice have been overcome by
having a punchy heading and ending. These may hopefully cause staff to
read the whole notice.
11.8 Designing a Notice

Here are some general hints on designing and writing a notice. Design - the
overall visual appearance and impact of your notice is what determines whether
people stop and read it, so obviously designing is very important. However,
you cannot plan the design until you have decided on the content.

11.8.1 Use a simple message

A small notice crammed with writing will not persuade anyone to stop and
read, so be brief. Decide what the essential information is, and do one or two
drafts in rough. Reduce the number of words to the minimum - you do not
need to write in full sentences as long as you make your point clearly. Al-
though notices must give instruction briefly but courteously, the tone of writing
is that used by a senior to a junior - not a business to its customer.
11.8.2 Use a clear precise heading

For any notice you write as it captures the attention of an onlooker. Unlike a
memo which you identify at the top as ‘Memorandum’, there is no point in
having the word ‘Notice’ in large capital letters as everyone should recognise
it as such. Instead, state your topic in no more than five or six word heading.
It is far more effective and should not be too difficult to think up once you
have decided on the message. For example, a notice headed ‘Fire Drill’ is
better than ‘How to Get out Of the Building If It Is on Fire’.
11.8.3 Use space

Remember that notices may be read by people at some distance from the
notice-board and so the clearer they are, the easier it will be for people to
read them at a distance, which will help to ensure that your message reaches
everyone who should be aware of it.
Always leave plenty of space between lines - the equivalent of missing out
one or even two lines of writing in a letter.
Leave wide margins at both sides, and at the top and bottom.
Make one or two drafts in which you experiment with putting the main points
in different orders.
Try putting important pieces of information, such as dates, times, places of

meeting and similar vital details on separate lines, with plenty of space
around them.
Remember that the less cluttered your notice is, the easier it is to read, and the
greater its success will be. Always try to design the notice in rough first,
sketching out the main areas of information in different positions until you find
a layout that is very clear and direct in appearance.

11.8.4 Highlight important words or phrases

You should stress key words or phrases by placing them on separate lines.
Other ways of making them stand out include:
 using capitals;
 underlining them;
 using different coloured inks; and
 placing lines around them.
Examples of important parts of a notice include:
 days, dates and times of meetings;
 telephone numbers to ring in an emergency;
 places to assemble in case of fire;
 and other words which convey the essence of the message in these
ways
Do not use highlighting too much. If you underline or colour almost every
word, only the words you have not treated in this way will stand out and the
overall effect will be messy and cluttered. Highlight sparingly, treating only the
essential words.
11.8.5 Use illustrations

To convey an idea use illustrations - although they need to be fairly profes-
sional if they are to be really effective. Keep them simple though. Your aim
is to illustrate a point in the text, not to dominate all the space available. You
should use illustrations sparingly to emphasise only the most important points
of your notice.
11.9 Display of a Notice

However well you design your notice, it will not achieve its purpose unless
you also display it properly. This means having notice-boards in good posi-
tions, and arranging notices on them clearly. Put notice-boards in areas
where all the relevant people will see them. Avoid putting them in narrow
corridors where people cannot look at them easily, or on walls next to doors
so that they are covered when doors open. Also, make sure your notice-
boards are at a height where people of average height can read them. Re-
member that men and women have different average-heights and take both
into account.

Some general hints about display are listed below:

 Keep your notice-board looking tidy and do not allow unauthorised or
general notices to stay.
 Divide the board clearly so that notices about different topics each
have their own area, such as-Health and safety; Workers Committee
and trade union matters; Staff announcements; Category as even staff
in a hurry will pause to see if there is something new;
 Make someone responsible for clearing notice-boards regularly so that
old notices do not remain after they are obsolete and obscure new
material. Some firms date-stamp notices when they are put up and
make a point of removing them within a certain period such as for
weeks.
11.10 Notices of Meetings

These are special types of notice which you should know about.
11.10.1 Requirements of a notice

 Adequate notice must be given to every person entitled to be present in
accordance with regulations affecting the organisation. The time re-
quired for a company is stated in the Companies Act and for other
bodies the information will be in their constitution.
 The proper authority must issue the notice.
 The notice must contain adequate information about the time, place
and purpose of the meeting.
 Notices must be explicit and clear to ordinary minds. In particular,
notices of a meeting for special business must be very explicit and give
sufficiently detailed information of the matters for decision.
These requirements have to be followed because an improper notice may
nullify the resolutions of a meeting, while insufficient information may affect
the validity of resolutions passed at a meeting. Below are two examples of
notices convening a meeting - one for a company which is a very formal
document since it must comply with Companies Act, and the other less formal
of a sports club? Even so, the second notice must still be able to stand up to
legal scrutiny in terms of the club’s constitution.

NOTICE OF AN ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MONEY LAUN-

DERING CO. LIMITED
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Fifth Annual General Meeting of the
Money Laundering Co. Limited will be held on Friday 13 November 2035 at
12h00 on the 4th Floor of Petrol House, 62 Anybody Avenue, Harare for the
following purposes:
 To receive and approve the Report of the Directors, the Annual Finan-
cial Statements of the Auditors and the Balance Sheet to 31 December
xx
 To appoint directors in place of Messrs. P. Moyo and C.R. Smith who
are retiring in that order and who are available for re-election.
 To declare a dividend.
 To determine the remuneration of the Auditor for the coming
year.
 Any other matters of which due notice has been given
By order of the Board
A. Blend
Secretary
The Nyati Dowas Sports Club Notice of a Meeting
Notice is hereby given that the Tenth Annual Meeting of the members of the
above-mentioned club will be held on Wednesday 16 March 2028 at 20h00
in the clubhouse.
AGENDA
1. The report of the chairman.
2 The assessment, and after due consideration, acceptance of the ac-
counts for 2027
3 The election of committee members for the coming year.
4 General
Sagombeto
Secretary
1 March 2028

Activity 11.2
? 1. What are the factors you should consider when designing and writing a
notice?
2. What is the purpose of a notice?
3. How do you achieve the goals of posting a notice?
11.11 Circulars
We dealt with the idea of a circular sent by a company in the last unit. Such an
external communication may deal with something of general interest like a
Christmas sale or a special offer on certain goods. Circulars may also be
issued internally, the purpose being fairly similar - to give general information
to a wide number of people.
We have seen that notices are designed to give all the staff information, and
one of the features that we stressed was the need to keep them brief. Al-
though circulars are also designed to give staff information, there are major
differences.
“The information may only be for certain staff - in which case the circular
would be written to ‘The Accounts Staff’.
“The information to be given to staff is different
“The information may be lengthy and so it is better to send this explanation in

a letter form, which they can read at their desk than have a long document to
read on the notice board in the corridor.
“The information may be confidential and you do not want members of the
public knowing this information. In this respect, there is a disadvantage in that
any staff member can get his/her own copy which he/she may feel he/she can
pass onto others who should not know the contents. A member of staff with a
grudge could well send the circular to press for example as evidence of
‘management’s bad attitude’, and there is usually a circulation list attached to
the circular so that everyone receiving a copy of having it given to them to
read has to sign that he/she has seen it. A notice on a notice board has no such
checking device to ensure that all those who should see it have actually seen
it.

Sometimes circulars are issued to staff to inform them of the findings of re-
ports which may concern the entire staff in some way, for example, alterations
or additions to canteen facilities, and the reasons a particular design has been
chosen. They sometimes administer a general reproof for actions and habits,
which are unacceptable to the management. They may sometimes give news
of some change in office or workshop routine such as the granting of an or-
ganised and controlled ‘double lunch hour’ once a week for the staff to
do some household shopping.
Circulars are intended to be of guidance to staff. They should therefore be

composed in factual terms and state exactly what has to be said without being
rude to staff if it is being circulated to change behaviour which is unacceptable
to staff. Compare the following -
Staff is always late for work and so from now on a time book will be kept.
All staff must sign in every day and management is going to check this book.
People continuing to be late will be in trouble.
Or -
Management has observed that certain staff members are regularly late
for work. This is affecting production and consequently, until further notice,
staff members are required to sign the time book, which will be situated at the
main entrance. Staff are urged to avoid being late for work, as management
will be taking steps to discipline those who are in default.
This is distributed to staff as a circular because it is a matter of some delicacy

and always remember that outsiders can possibly read your notice boards as
easily as staff. Also by making it a circular, there can be no argument that staff
did not get the message.
Activity 11.3
? 1. Who, in your organisation can post a notice?

2. Evaluate five different notices posted by your organisation and identify
the target audience and the purpose. How successful is this method
conveying information?
3. Are notices and memoranda in your organisation used to convey
confidential information? If so, how do you prevent the information
from falling into the hands of the public?

11.12 Summary
In this unit, we looked at the uses of different types of written communication
such as memorandum, notices, circulars and saw that, although many of the
formality of a business letter may be omitted, they do require use of accurate,
brief and clear English. The layout and design of each type was considered
and examples of each are provided.

References
Berko, R.M., Wolvin, A.D. and Wolvin, D.R.(1999).Commnicating:A
Social and Career Focus(7th ed.) Boston: Houghton Miffin Co.
ing Messages that Communicate (2nd Ed.) Kenwyn: Juta & Co.
Ltd.


Unit Twelve
Reports
12.0 Introduction
W
riting reports has to do with the logical thought processes one goes
through while writing. Skilled writing takes many forms. A person
writing systematically, as in a report, study guide or textbook, is a
skilled writer but not in the same sense as a judge, a poet, a dramatist or a
novelist. Knowledge of the subject one is writing about is an essential re-
quirement for effective communication. This unit provides technical informa-
tion about the logical writing style needed for summaries, essays and reports.
12.1 Objectives
By the end the unit, you should be able to:
 describe what constitutes a summary, essay and report
 discuss the writing style for reports
 evaluate the reports you produce in your organisation
12.2 Writing Summaries

It is of great help if you procure a grammar book if you want to develop a
logical writing style. This helps you in forming sentences that are understand-
able and in making you aware of the rules that govern sentence structure.
The ability to write a summary is a useful skill for students and business peo-
ple. Many times, one is asked to summarise books, articles and reports. The
general manager of a company does not have the time to read through a 250
- page research report. The head of research has to summarise it for the
manager’s consideration. In such a summary, every word must contribute to
the meaning of the message.
12.2.1 Hints on writing a summary

“Read the entire text quickly, trying to identify the main idea. Write down this
main idea in your own words as far as possible.
“Understand what you read: look up unfamiliar words.
“Underline the main points.
“Write down the main points in your own words, joining them in continuous
writing that serves as your first draft.
“Count and record the number of words.
“Read the draft, remove unnecessary words, or add to the summary if too
short. Count words again.
“Read the summary and improve on the style where necessary.
“Correct errors.

Unit 12 Reports
“Cross - check the summary and first draft to make sure you have included all
the important points.
“Leave the summary for a few days, then read it again, polish it up and submit
it.
The art of writing summaries is very useful especially when one has to write
minutes of meetings and when composing telegraphic and telex messages.
The above ten hints also apply to the writing of books, essays and reports.
Activity 12.1
? 1. Take one long text from a business journal and summarise it, using the
skills you have learnt. Attempted as many summaries of as many texts
as you like.
2. Do a summary for any passage of your choice.
12.3 Essays and Reports

A report may be regarded as a formal essay. In business enterprises, em-
ployees often have to write up reports. Instead of essay - type assignments,
you may be asked to answer multiple -choice questions. These questions test
reading skills than writing ability.
In the work place, reports are usually written in order to solve a particular
problem. You need to gather information before hand. You may consult books,
and journals, or conduct a research project.
12.4.1 Guidelines for reporting writing

In this section we give you some guidelines you can use in the report writing.
Step 1
State the purpose of the report quite clearly, for example,‘ The purpose of
this report is to determine how the market shares of Lever Brothers, Olivine
Industries and Delta Cooperation have changed over the past ten years‘.

Step 2
Identify the recipients of the report. The report should be written with the
recipients in mind. Comply with the normal format of the reports that the
recipients normally receive. Keep to the format as closely as possible, but use
your own initiative writing style and contents.
Step 3
Conduct research on the subject. Verify the information you gather. Use both
primary and secondary sources of information gathering for primary informa-
tion gathering - conduct personal interviews where possible. Where not, send
out questionnaires on the subject - secondary information gathering consult
credible textbooks and journal articles.
Step 4
Analyse the collected data and the results of the primary research project.
Interpret the results. The analysis can include presentation of the data in
tables and figures.
Step 5
Start writing the report. Organise the information in subsections. Sections of a
report
“Title (Short and to the point)
“Introduction (brief)
“Aim of the research project
“Underlying theory
“Research method
“Analysis of results
“Conclusions and recommendations
“Summary

Unit 12 Reports
Step 6
Describe the results; tables and figures used should be interpreted and
significances highlighted. Conclusions should be drawn from these findings.
Step 7
Make conclusions and recommendations.
Step 8
Write a brief summary.
Avoid numbering every paragraph - unless that is the method required by

your company.
12.4 Pyramid Shape for Reports

Fielding (1997, 2nd Ed.) recommends an order of presentation different from
the above traditional order. He suggests a pyramid shape for reports.
Summary for lay audience
Introduction
Decision-makers
Conclusion
Recommendation
Body of report
Detailed appendices
For mixed audience
For an expert audience
Fig.12.1 A pyramid shape for a report (Fielding, 1997, 2nd Ed.p.173

The conclusions and recommendations have been placed before the body.
This is so because very few people read the body of the report. People read
the conclusions and recommendations because they need them for
decision -making.
Each major section is written with a different audience in mind. The sum-
mary is written for the widest possible audience. The introduction, conclu-
sions and recommendations are for a mixed audience. They are targeted at
decision - makers so it is partly technical to cater for experts and non - ex-
perts. The body of the report and the appendices are fully technical for an
expert audience.
12.5 Inverted Pyramid for Press Releases and

Newspaper Writing
Consider using the inverted pyramid for a press release or an article in an in -
house magazine. This shape puts all the important information at the start.
Heading
All the key information.

Who, When, Where Why, How
Background information.
Less important information
Less …Less
Less
Inverted pyramid for a press release.

(Fielding, 1997, 2nd ED.P.174)

Unit 12 Reports
12.6 Checklist for Well-organised Messages

Here is a checklist for organising your messages. You can ask yourself the
following questions. Have I:
 stated my aims clearly?
 analysed the needs of my audience?
 chosen the right format?
 arranged my ideas in the form of a creative pattern?
 chosen key and supporting ideas and laid them out in an effective topic
outline?
 organised my information effectively?
 used the beginnings and ends of my messages for the best impact?
 checked for unity, coherence and emphasis?
 shaped my message correctly?
Activity 12.2
? 1. What is meant by the pyramid approach to the setting out of reports?

2. You have been asked to investigate customers’ complaints about a
certain product in a local supermarket. Your specific Terms of
Reference are:
 Investigate customers’ complaints about XYZ tinned products
 Record these complaints and analyse them
 Draw conclusions about whether the complaints are justified or not
 Recommend specific action
3. Write three reports on:
Equipment thefts in your organisation. This should go to workers and
management.
 Confidential report on the misappropriation of funds by the Chief
Executive.
 Strike by workforce use by management only.

12.7 Summary
In this unit, we have been looking at an aspect of business communication that
everyone holding an administrative post in an enterprise is required to carry
out often. Report writing is the cornerstone of written communication in busi-
ness, so it is essential that one masters its basic elements. Fielding’s sugges-
tions are useful for reports as this provides all the necessary information with-
out having to go through the whole report.

Unit 12 Reports
References
Cronje, Prof. G.J. de J et al (1994). Introduction to the Economic and
Management Environment: Study Guide 1 Pretoria: UNISA .
ing Messages that Communicate.2nd Ed. Kenwyn, Juta and Co.
Ltd.


Unit Thirteen
Electronic Communication
13.0 Introduction
I
n this unit, we are dealing with the relative ‘science’ or process-using
computer networks to communicate. For, despite its youth, the compu
terised communications process has already surrounded itself with the
mystique of ‘cult words’ that only the initiated understand.
We also deal with virtual communication such as email, video conferencing,

the advantages and disadvantages of virtual communication.
13.1 Objectives
 describe the different types of electronic communications and their
relevance to business communication
 explain the process of using the Internet and sending and receiving e-
mail
 analyse the pros and cons of using virtual communication
 determine ways of removing computer viruses and worms
13.2 The Components of an Information System

A ‘system’ is a set of related components organised in such a way that some
given process is achieved. In computer jargon, a system consists of the data
processing hardware and software that is organised in such a way that raw
data is accumulated and stored for use.
An ‘information system’ is a system that allows people to use the hardware

and software to convert the stored data into useful information. An operator
puts the raw data into the system and the information system allows the ‘initi-
ated’ person to extract what s/he wants and use it.
An information system is a dynamic system. It exists to serve you, the user,

and if it cannot do that you must close it down and develop a new system.
Do not confuse an ‘information system’ with a ‘computer system’. That is like

confusing the respiratory system with the blood circulation system - the com-
puter system is one part of an information system. An information system
consists of people, procedure manuals, forms, reports, printers, files (paper
as well as magnetic media), keyboards, computers, databases, and so on.
An information system consists of several components that are assembled in

order to turn data into information that can be used by someone to improve
his/her knowledge and skills, and one of the greatest skills to benefit from is
the skill to make good decisions. Thus, an information system only has value
if we can use it in this way. Unfortunately, it is difficult to put a value on
information and this creates problems when in trying to justify the cost of
developing information systems.
You need to understand how an information system works so that you can get
the funds to install it. The basic process of this system is to communicate

Unit 13 Electronic Communication
information from source where information is generated to a user. In the

process, the information is passed to a transmitter to be coded and sent on to
the user. This is a necessary step because it is unlikely that the source infor-
mation is in a suitable format for transmission. So the information travels along
a channel, the receiver decodes it and sends it to its destination where it is
used. We can depict this in the following way - which you will recognise as
being similar to a system.
The way in which the transmitter R, channel and R receiver links are not
limited to information technology of course, they are found in any system
where information is flowing.
During transmission when coding and decoding operations are in progress,

the information can become distorted and the message received can be sub-
stantially different from the message transmitted. The word ‘noise’ in this
context, means extraneous data that enters the communication system and
which reduces the quality of the information. If noise levels are high, some
information may be lost completely and this type of inaccuracy in the commu-
nication process is called distortion.
Consider the case where information is being processed by one person ex-
plaining an idea to another. The information source is the idea in the sender’s
head and s/he encodes it by converting it into language and then s/he transmits
it using speech. But in using this form of transmission, the idea may become
distorted by the sender’s choice of words based on his/her background and
experience. That is distortion. The channel used is the air and the signal may
be reduced in quality by noise from other sources or by distraction of the
listener. The message is received by the receiver’s ear and s/he will decode it
to produce an idea in his/her head. S/he may put quite a different interpreta-
tion on the words and introduce more distortion.
Noise and distortion significantly reduce probability of information being ac-

curately received. To compensate for the effects of noise, feedback is sought
after passing information - for example, important points may be repeated in
a conversation and a response is expected. Feedback is there to identify and
correct errors in the communication process. Too much feedback affects the
efficiency and economy of the communication process though and so it
is better to get it right the first time.
In electronic communication, noise and distortion are intended to be mini-

mised through the use of a mathematical system of transmission using binary
digits that combine into a number of bits. This has proved to be an efficient

system that has led to the development of efficient coding systems, and you
find that computer-based systems rely heavily on codes.
In electronic communication, we find that distortions are reduced because

information can be communicated from an on-line computer to another that is
thousands of kilometres away.
One communicates information from source to user and it is the communica-

tion links that allow this to happen efficiently. In electronic communications,
these are a vital part of the information system as they are the means of getting
the right information to the right user at the right time. Where the local area
network or the telecommunications links fail to match up to the demand, the
communication process is distorted.
Activity 13.1
1. What are the components of an information system?
? 2. What does each component do?
3. Why should we avoid distortion all the time?
13.3 Understanding a Computer Network

The ability to use the Internet is the prime feature of communicating by
computer. However, first, we discuss a little bit about computer networking.
13.3.1 The concept of a stand alone computer

Any computer that is completely self-contained and which is unable to com-
municate with any other computer or share resources is known as a ‘stand
alone computer’. It can neither pass the information or resources it may
have to another computer, nor can it access these from another compu-
ter without –using another device such as by copying information onto a disk
or tape; physically delivering that disk or tape to the user who wants to share
the information; and the user must make another computer copy of that
information into its memory.
Now, these two stand-alone computers have been able to share resources.
This happens all the time and it is not a criticism of such a system-but it is not
electronic communication.

The disadvantage is that each time information in the first computer is

updated; the whole process has to be repeated. It also means that if one of
the computers has a different range of computing resources attached - such
as the particular software or a printer or a scanner -the process has to be
activated again and again in order to gain the benefit of those resources.
While a stand-alone computer may be a useful tool for word processing or

accounting functions, it is obviously inefficient in a modern information system
and cannot be accepted as a part of it.
13.3.2 The concept of a computer network

Where two or more computers are connected together so that they share
resources, they can communicate directly with each other allowing for the
exchange of information and the optimum use of computer resources. This is
so much more convenient that it is a common feature of computers used in
business for electronic communication.
If we have two stand alone computers and want to connect them to each
other to create a computer network, we need two main components to form
the communications, link namely the hardware and the software.
Hardware - a physical connection must be made so that information can be

transferred by using electronic signals. This is done in two steps described
below.
We need to install a communications device into each computer that is to be

linked. There are two types of devices -modem or a network card. We need
to connect a cable to each of the computers so as to provide a circuit. This
can be done using a telephone line that provides the circuit used by a modem
to connect computers in different buildings, cities or countries. Alternatively, a
network cable will provide the circuit to connect computers that are fairly
close by each other using the compatible network card.
Each computer now has a physical link to the other computer, so they are
potentially able to communicate electronically.
Software - we used the phrase‘ potentially able to communicate’ be-

cause software is needed to actually enable electronic communication to
occur. This again has two main components: an identity and common lan-
guage. Each computer needs a unique identity or name to distinguish it from
all the other computers on the network. If we did not have this, the messages
could not be sent to the right computer.

Both computers must use the same common language and follow the
same rules of communicating with each other. This is known as
‘protocol’ - a word we can define as being the format for preparing a mes-
sage so that the other computer can understand it. Protocol is what we
use when we write a letter in a language that we know the recipient can
understand.
13.4 Some Networking Terms

The following terms are important for an understanding of networking:
Workstation - any computer which is connected to a network.
File server - a computer which provides centralised resource manage-

ment on a network. When there are a lot of computers on a network, it is
important to manage and keep proper control of the network and the file
server meets this need. It can also provide a large centralised data storage
area which computers on the network can share. Network administrator is
the person who is in charge of the network and who keeps the records as to
who is and is not allowed to see or change various parts of the shared infor-
mation. User is anyone entitled to use the network. User name (or I.D.) is
the unique name allocated to each user by the network administrator. Often
a password is allocated to each user to limit the opportunities for illegal ac-
cess to the network.
Peer -to-peer network - a network where all workstations have equal au-
thority. There is no file server or network administrator in such a system and
decisions as to use the network are made by consensus of the workstation
u s e r s .
Local Area Network (or LAN) - a network limited to the immediate area,
usually in the same building or floor or a building.
Wide Area Network (or WAN) - a network which covers a large area.
Usually WANS are made up by connecting many LANs in different loca-
tions - for example a company would have a LAN in head office with WAN
connecting all the branches and giving access to all the individual head office
staff.

Activity 13.2
1. How does a stand-alone computer differ from a computer network?
? 2. In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages
of using a stand-alone computer and using a network?
13.5 Development of the Internet/Virtual

Communication
TCP/IP has become the language of the Internet. A simultaneous develop-
ment was the technique of breaking up conversations and other communica-
tions into “packets”. A packet is just like a postcard. It contains three vital
pieces of information -
“the actual information to be exchanged;
“the name and address of the computer to which it is being sent; and
“ the name and address of the computer sending it.
This development made communications between computers much simpler

because, instead of the two computers having to be linked directly in the
same network, the first computer could send the message to a “link compu-
ter” which would send the message on to the second computer. Of course,
the situation was bound to arise where the second computer was also not on
the same network as the link computer - in which case the message would go
via another link computer.
What is important to note is that it makes no difference what route the pack-
ets took in crossing one computer to another, or in what order the packets
crossed the various networks. Each individual packet in a piece of informa-
tion would be switched or directed along the route between the two comput-
ers which seemed to be the most efficient at that time.
There were so many alternative routes around the various networks that
even if a route was destroyed, it would automatically find another route
and get to the receiving computer. Tests made in the 1970s by various
organisations established that the system worked and the benefits of ease of
information exchanged and easy expansion of the system led to more and
more networks being linked.

The TCP/IP language was released by the American Government for

public use and this led to a rapid increase in the number of networks using it.
By the early 1980s this vast array of International Networks was being called
the Internet and the basics of it are as follows:
“if your computer can link to the Internet, then you are said to be “connected”
“any computer which is connected to the Internet can communicate with

any other computer which is connected
“ it does not matter where either computer is located or to which network

they are individually connected. If they are connected, they can communicate
The Internet is that is a peer to peer network. Remember that it grew from
a design that required that computers could operate absolutely independ-
ently of any file server or network administrator which could be destroyed.
Organisations that have linked onto the Internet have done so voluntarily and
without restriction so that no Government or organisation or person can con-
trol or dictate to the Internet. It is the ultimate in free expression and if a
Government does not want the information on the Internet to be available, all
they can do is disconnect their own connection to the Internet.
13.6 What the Internet Provides

The Internet provides nothing more than a medium for communication be-
tween computers. It has the huge amount of information that is stored on
computers anywhere on the Internet that is suddenly accessible to you. Re-
member, it does not matter where you are or where the other computer is
situated - if the user of that workstation allows you access to the informa-
tion on his/her computer, you can access it and exchange information.
Over 1 billion computers are connected and you can get information on any-
thing from the latest films on in New York, to a menu in Tokyo to who can fix
your plumbing in Harare. You can buy on the Internet - if you have a credit
card in the right currency - and of course you can sell as well. Let us catego-
rise the facilities available to an Internet user, bearing in mind that most of the
information, services and facilities available are free for the users to look and
use.

We can categorise the facilities available on the Internet as follows:

 Exchange of ideas and opinions in public discussion forums
 Existence of News Groups where you can post an opinion which will
be displayed on the computers of all who are members of that group.
It is rather like you would post a notice on a bulletin board. Replies
will be forthcoming even if you want to argue that the world really is
flat.
 One can view documents, browse and search for information
published on the World Wide Web - known at W W W. WWW
really began in 1993 when “Mosaic” was released allowing Internet
navigation (as the expression is) by clicking on the appropriate
icon-known as hyperlinks. This opens up different pages on the web
and you can scroll through them - “surfing the web”. WWW is the
fastest growing aspect of the Internet and to understand how it works,
imagine thousands of libraries and museums, each with hundreds of
thousands of books or items. You will understand that any page of any
book in any library can be linked to similar information in any other
page in any book in another library. The research options are unbe-
lievable. While you are reading a book from the library in New York
about the Zimbabwe birds, you can browse through the indexes to the
libraries in all the other cities of the world to see what information they
have. These indexes are known as “search engines” and they keep
track of the millions of documents spread out over the web. And with
the sophistication of the modern computer, the pictures and diagrams -
both still and moving - can be transmitted to you.
 One can connect to other users and hold conversations. This used to
be a matter of typing the message and reading the reply on your screen.
Now there are “talk” and “chat” packages which now enable you to
talk into a microphone into your multi-media computer, and hear mes-
sage back on headphones.
 You can obtain software for your computer. The Internet has thou-
sands of “freebies” available and you simply identify what you want
and download it into your computer. Better known as “File Transfer
Protocol” (FTP), you will find almost everything you want. Watch out
for viruses.
 You can search for products, information or services and pay by credit
card. As the horrors of exchange controls become a vague memory,
more and more people are able to book holidays direct with the local
travel agent who knows far better what is value for money. By using a
credit card you can buy anything from a new car to a cinema ticket on

the Internet. The full name of this is “Serial Line Internet Protocol/Point
to Point Protocol” (SLIP/PPP).
 You can listen to music from around the world. Radio stations
can now transmit direct across the internet.
13.7 Connecting To the Internet

The easiest way is to connect via a workstation on LAN or a WAN. You
need to identify a computer supplier or advisor who comes to be known as
the “server” and who will charge a monthly fee for the service. However, the
great cost advantage of the Internet is that once you are connected to an
Internet Service Provider (ISP) the cost of your connections to anywhere in
the world will only be that of a local charge. It is the ISP who then sends the
messages off on the international lines.
The server should be able to arrange for the installation and configuration,
but basically you will need the hardware and software and connection to
internet.
“ Hardware - a network adapter which is a device that translates

instructions and information into electronic signals so that they can be
transmitted across the networks.
“Software - communications software using TCP/IP is loaded into your com-

puter. There are programmes that allow you to browse but the two most
used are Navigator produced by Netscape; and Explorer produced by
Microsoft.
“ Connection to the Internet - the software issues a request to log your

workstation into the network using the network adapter, and proof of
your identity. Once confirmed, you are logged into the Internet.
Once connected, you can start getting into this exciting world of the Internet.
Remember, that everyone has a unique username and address. The “IP
address” consists of any four numbers between 0 and 255 joined together by
full stops. So 234.45.115.87 is valid. Each computer only responds to
packets which are specifically addressed to it.
Of course, numbers are hard to remember so each computer can also be

allocated a name - known as the “domain name” - which is always easier to
remember than a number. This is allocated by the server. So then, you find a
domain name something like -

www.rrc.id.zw = 234.45.115.87
Taking each component of the address -
“www stands for world wide web;
“rrc is the unique name chosen for that computer;
“id is the sub-domain of the Zimbabwe domain - this identifies your server;
“zw is the Zimbabwe domain.
So, if anyone wants to send a message to the computer with the unique IP
234.45.115.87, they just have to remember to type in www.rrc.id.zw which
is easier. The ISP’s computer does the necessary conversion to numbers
and shoot it along the network so our computer receives it.
Sometimes, the country domain is not required - for example, if an address

ends with “com”, that domain is international but so well-organised that it can
identify the computer without needing a clue on which country.
Some interesting sites include:

“ www.learnthenet.com - which explains how to use the Internet - if you
have not understood this lecture.
” www.microsoft.com - which is obvious.
” www.intec.edu.za - which is our sister College in South Africa.
“ www.woodstock69.com - for those who want to find out all about the
concert of the century.
“ www.icsnct.com - for those who feel they would like to read Elvis
Presley’s will for some strange reason.
With 1 billion computers, there has to be 1 billion addresses.
13.8 Using the Internet

Assuming you are using Explorer software, after you have clicked on the
Internet browser icon, you find the screen is as shown on the next page.
You can see that at the top of the browser is the usual Windows type menu of
File Edit View and so forth. Click on File and then on Open and an address
book displayed. You must now type the name of the website that you want
to visit into that “address” box. This is the domain name which we looked at

earlier but it does now need to add a “service” identification to the front. In
most cases, this will be http:// - those initials stand for Hyper Text Transfer
Protocol. So the name we were looking at earlier will be -
 http://www.rrc.id.zw
and (to give you your last set of initials), this is known as the universal Re-
source Locator or URL pronounced as “earl” in the word “early”. The URL
defines the location of a source on WWW.
You should know the intricacies of surfing the web and understand how it
works and how you can become a user at your workstation to WWW through
an ISP with your own URL.
Activity 13.3
? 1. What facilities does the internet offer?

2. Compare and contrast using the internet and writing letters.
13.9 Sending and Receiving E-mail

One feature flowing from the marvels of the Internet which we have not so far
mentioned is E-Mail. This is an integral part of the Internet, but you can use
it independently of being connected to the Internet. You still work through
a server, but you are limited to E-Mail.
Electronic mail (from which the name E-Mail is derived) is simply a way of
sending messages from you to other people by making use of your computer
instead of the normal postal service.
E-Mail is, very much like the postal service, but instead of having a street
address, each user is allocated a ‘post box” to which all their mail is ad-
dressed. The reason it is called a post box is that, as you will see later,
your mail is put into a compartment of your computer as if it was a post box
and you “open” your post box to be able to read the mail.
Email is electronic mail. It is the sending and receiving of typewritten mes-

sages from one screen to another. Email is usually handled by a webmail
service (for example, Gmail or Yahoomail), or an installed software package
(for example, Microsoft Outlook). Email has many cousins: text messaging,
instant messaging, live chat, videomail (v-mail).

If you want to send an E-mail to any subscriber, you need to know the E-
mail address which consists of two main parts -
-the user name of the owner of the post box;
-the location of the post box.
So, let us see some examples of addresses -
user name location
rrc@id.co.zw
intec@edu.za
jmoyo@Harare.iafrica.com and so forth
As you can see, it is virtually the same as the web address except for the http.
The Mail Server is located on the same network as the Web Server and so
when you address an E-Mail as set out above, it will be directed to the mail
box of the user.
When you connect to E-Mail through your ISP, you are given an address -
usually you can choose what you want - and a password which
maintains the confidentiality of your mail. When you click on the icon for E-
Mail, if you are using the Microsoft software you will see a screen which asks
if you want to send a new message or read old mail. If you click on “New
Message” you get the screen displayed below.
As with virtually all Windows application software, if you hold your mouse
pointer on any icon in any of the E-Mail screens, you find that a note appears
explaining what that icon does.
Looking at the “screen” as displayed on the previous page, it is fairly obvious

what is needed - enter the domain name/E-Mail address of the “person” you
want to communicate with. Copies can be sent to others and the Title can be
stated. To move between these sections you use the Tab key on your key-
board.
You type up your message and, if it is convenient, you can attach any files
from your computer or disk which you want to send. When you have fin-
ished, you click on the envelope at left side of the row of icons and the mes-
sage is deposited in your “out-box” waiting for you to connect to the server.

When you “Send and Receive”, the server first sends the messages you
have originated and it automatically “delivers” to your computer any mes-
sages in your mail box. To read them, simply click on “In-Box” and then
highlight the message you want to read. Click and it - with any attachments
- will be displayed.
13.10 Download
Downloading is a broad term that describes when you make a personal copy
of something you find on the Internet or World Wide Web. Commonly,
downloading is associated with music, and software. The larger the file you
are copying, the longer the download will take to transfer to your computer.
Some downloads will take 12 to 15 hours, depending on your Internet speed.
13.11 E-commerce
E-commerce is ‘electronic commerce’: the transacting of business selling and
buying online. Every day, billions of dollars exchange hands through the Internet
and World Wide Web. Sometimes, the e-commerce is your company buying
office products from another company (business-to-business ‘B2B’ e-com-
merce). Sometimes, the e-ecommerce is when you make a private purchase
as a retail customer from an online vendor (business-to-consumer ‘B2C’ e-
commerce).
E-commerce works because reasonable privacy can be assured through tech-

nical means for example, https secure web pages), and because modern busi-
ness values the Internet as a transaction medium.
13.12 Web Browsers: The Software of Reading Web

Pages
Your browser is your primary tool for reading web pages and exploring the
larger Internet. Internet Explorer (IE), Firefox, Chrome are the big names in
browser software, and each of them offers good features.

13.13 Mobile Internet: Smartphones and Laptops

Laptops, notebooks, and smartphones are the devices we use to surf the Net
as we travel. Riding on the bus, sitting in a coffee shop, at the library, in an
airport... mobile Internet is a revolutionary convenience. To become mobile
Internet-enabled it requires some basic knowledge of hardware and network-
ing.
Homes, schools and businesses connect to the Internet today using a variety
of different methods. One method, wireless Internet service, provides Internet
access to customers without the need for underground copper, fiber, or other
forms of commercial network cabling.
Compared to more established wired services like DSL and cable, wireless
technology brings added convenience and mobility to computer networks.
Compared to other forms of wireless Internet service, satellite enjoys the

advantage of availability requiring only a small dish antenna, satellite modem
and subscription plan. Satellite works in almost all rural areas not serviced by
other technologies.
However, satellite also offers relatively low performing wireless Internet. Sat-
ellite suffers from high latency (delay) connections due to the long distance
signals that must travel between Earth and the orbiting stations. Satellite also
supports relatively modest amounts of network bandwidth.
13.14 Mobile Broadband

Cellular phones have existed for decades, but only recently have cellular net-
works evolved to become a mainstream form of wireless Internet service.
With an installed cellular network adapter, or by tethering a cellular phone to
a laptop computer, Internet connectivity can be maintained in any area with
cell tower coverage.
Older cellular communication protocols allowed for only very low speed net-
working. Newer 3G cell technologies promise to deliver network speeds
closer to those of DSL and other wired networks.
Many cellular providers sell Internet subscription plans separate from their
voice network contracts. Generally speaking, mobile broadband service will
not function without having an Internet data subscription in place from some
provider.

13.14.1 Instant messaging: Faster than email

Instant messaging, or “IM”, is a combination of chat and email. Although
often considered a distraction at corporate offices, IM can be a very useful
communication tool for both business and social purposes. For those people
that use IM, it can be an excellent communication tool.
13.15 Social Networking

“Social Networking” is about starting and maintaining friendship communica-
tions through websites. It is the modern digital form of socialising, done through
web pages. Users will choose one or more online services that specialise in
groupwide-communications, and then gather their friends there to exchange
daily greetings and regular messages. Although not the same as face-to-face
communications, social networking is immensely popular because it is easy,
playful, and quite motivating. Social networking sites can be general, or fo-
cused on hobby interests like movies and music.
13.15.1 Facebook
It is a place to communicate with friends and family, to share photographs or
funny links you find on the Web, search for long-lost friends or even chat
interactively with your buddies. Facebook sprung from its roots as a school-
based social network to become the most popular social network in the world.
A few keys to Facebook’s success is its ability to appeal to both people and
businesses, the success of Facebook’s developers network which has turned
Facebook into a thriving platform.
13.15.2 Twitter
Twitter is a mini-blogging platform that you can use to send messages of 140
characters or less to family, friends, or just the general Web community at
large. Businesses also advertise on Twitter.
13.15.3 MySpace
MySpace is a social networking website targeted at a general audience. With
almost a billion visits per month, MySpace is one of the most popular social
network.

It has a utilising a system of adding friends to your network, the ability to

customise your profile, write blog entries, play favourite mp3 tracks, join
groups and enter discussions, MySpace.
13.15.4 Skye
Skype was introduced in 2004. People communicate through a webcam and
can see each other, hear each other and talk to each other. This is very useful
in business communication where people can engage in videoconferencing.
13.15.5 Other Internet areas for use in business

communication
Other areas you should know that you can make use of are blogs, Youtube,
wikis, Linkedin, podcasts, eportfolios, Netvibes, CCTV, RSS feeds and many
others.
13.16 Search Engines

A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World
Wide Web. The search results are generally presented in a list of results and
are often called hits. The information may consist of web pages, images,
information and other types of files. Search engines operate algorithmically or
are a mixture of algorithmic and human input. Web search engines work by
storing information about many web pages. Examples are:
Yahoo!
Google
BING
Activity 13.4
? 1. Identify social networks and describe how you can use these in business
transactions.
2. Is it possible to use smartphones in business communication? Explain.

13.17 Advantages of Virtual Communication

The following are the advantages of virtual communication:
 It has made communication faster and simpler
 It is a very popular type of communication for example, Facebook,
Twitter
 People can come closer via the web – the world has become a global
village
 It is used to educate, build relationships, advertise, secure business
deals and so forth
 It is flexible
 Workers can attend meetings without having to travel to different loca-
tions thus reducing travel costs and amount of time spent travelling
 It reduces the amount of space and equipment
13.18 Disadvantages of Virtual Communication

Virtual communication has the following disadvantages:
 There is no face-to-face interaction hence little social interaction
 People might miss out on building relationships
 Technical difficulties can occur due to power outages - one cannot use
email, video chats and so on where electricity is not available
 Computers can crush thus much data can be lost and telephones can
be down hence no communication and loss for businesses
 There is often rivalry and jealousy among companies as they compete
when they advertise on the Internet
 It has created hatred among some countries
 There is often a lot of cheating on the Internet with people pretending
to be who they are not
 There is invasion of privacy
 There is the problem of hacking where information can be stolen
 People have become addicted to virtual communication
 There is a lot of defamation, abuse, assault and so on
(flatclassroom09-3.flatclassroomproject.org/Virtual+communication)

Activity 13.5
? 1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using virtual

communication?
13.19 Computer Viruses

13.18.1 Viruses and worms
In general terms a virus is a programme that runs on a system against the
owner’s or user’s wishes and knowledge. Viruses have one or more methods
they use to spread. Most commonly they will attach a file to an e-mail mes-
sage and attempt to trick victims into running the attachment.
13.19.2 Virus damage

In most cases, viruses can do any amount of damage the creator intends them
to do. They can send your data to a third party and then delete your data from
your computer. They can also ruin your system and render it unusable without
a re-installation of the operating system. Most have not done this much dam-
age in the past, but could easily do this in the future. Usually the virus will
install files on your system then will change your system so the virus is run
every time you start your system. It will then attempt to replicate itself by
sending itself to other potential victims.
The normal effect a virus will have on your system is that over time your
system will run slower. Also when you are using the internet your connection
may seem to run slower. Eventually you may have trouble running programs
on your system, your system may freeze, and in the worst case you may not
be able to get it to boot up when you turn your computer on.
13.19.3 How viruses or worms spread

Most commonly viruses today use e-mail to spread however they have used
one or more of the following methods to spread in the past.
 Some viruses will load themselves onto any part of a writable remov-
able drive as possible and spread from computer to computer as peo-
ple use the removable drive.
 A worm is a program similar to a virus that will exploit a vulnerability in
an operating system or application that a computer user is running. The

best defence against a worm is to have either a personal firewall on

your system or be behind a corporate firewall. Another good defence
is to update your system regularly. All you need to do to get a worm is
to connect an unpatched computer to the internet or infected network
when your computer does not have firewall protection.
 Most viruses will spread themselves using e-mail attachments. They
may tell the user that they need to open the attachment to get the rest of
the information that is being sent to them. Many times the virus may
claim it is an administrator and the user needs to either read the data or
install a program on their system. Viruses have even claimed to be
Microsoft sending a system patch as an attachment to the e-mail.
Microsoft would never send a system patch through e-mail.
13.19.4 Worms and prevention

Since worms spread by taking advantage of vulnerabilities in operating sys-
tems or application programs (remember from earlier discussion, vulnerabilities
are software errors that allow some kind of unauthorised access when they
are used or exploited). You do not need to do anything special to get a worm
except to connect to the internet or an infected network with a system that
has vulnerabilities. There are several good defences against worms.
What to Do
 Always run anti-virus software and be sure it gets updated at least
twice per week.
 If you get a virus in an e-mail attachment and you are sure it is a virus,
delete the e-mail message.
 If you get an attachment from someone you know, consider whether
there is enough personal information in the e-mail which a virus pro-
gram would not know. If you are not sure your acquaintance sent the
e-mail, call them and be sure before opening the attachment. Do not
count on your anti-virus software being able to stop you from getting
infected if you open the e-mail attachment. Remember, viruses are not
recognised right away by your anti-virus software and you could get a
new unrecognised virus before your virus definition updates are re-
leased.
 If you get an e-mail saying a message you sent was undeliverable and
you did not send the message, consider whether your system is behav-
ing abnormally. You probably do not have a virus, but if you are not
sure, use your anti-virus software to perform a system scan for viruses
and remove any viruses found using the procedure in the section about
“Removing Viruses”, then delete the e-mail.
 If you get an e-mail saying a message you sent contained a virus, con-
sider whether your system is behaving abnormally. You probably do
not have a virus, but if you are not sure, use your anti-virus software to
perform a system scan for viruses and remove any viruses found using
the procedure in the section about “Removing Viruses”, then delete the
e-mail.
13.19.5 Securing your system

There are several measures which you can take to secure your system. The
first and most important is to become informed about how your system works
and what the threats are.
Personal firewall - If you are not behind a corporate firewall, purchase and
install a personal firewall on your computer. This will help protect your system
from many vulnerabilities that some worms will try to exploit.
 Updates - Perform system updates often .Another way to get updates
if your system is running Windows 2000 or Windows XP is to configure
your system to download automatic updates. This can be done by open-
ing your control panel (Click on “Start”, then select “Settings”, and
click on “Control Panel”. To configure updates double click the “Auto-
matic Updates” icon and choose one of three configurations.
 Avoid installing bad applications. As mentioned in the section about
application programs, some computer programs may come with spyware
or adware. Avoiding these can be important in both securing your sys-
tem and keeping your system performance from being degraded. Keep
in mind that adware programs may download and install other pro-
grams from the internet. A personal firewall is one defence against this
happening because it will normally notify you when a program accesses
the internet.
Activity 13.4
? 1. Get onto the Internet and browse. Get confidence in using search engines
and visit Yahoo, AOL and CNN. Join in Chat Rooms and exercise
your right to vote on the wide range of issues that are available at
various sites.
2. In what ways has the Internet made communication easy to all the
users?

13.20 Summary
This has been an introduction to the Internet and E-Mail. We began with a
brief explanation of how a computer system works - especially in a network
- then traced the development of the Internet and how to benefit from this
resource. You need to know how these things work if you are in business
today and so I hope this has clarified a few doubts for you.

References
Berko, R.M., Wolvin, A.D. and Wolvin, D.R.(1998).Communicating:
A Social Career Focus(7th ed.)Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Ltd.
flatclassroom09-3.flatclassroomproject.org/Virtual+communication


Unit Fourteen
Oral Communication
14.0 Introduction
I
t is time now to move on to a consideration of the skills required in oral
communication. We introduced you to the terms ‘message’, ‘medium’
and ‘channel’ to describe the different aspects of the communication process
during which information is transferred.
“the message is the piece of information itself, however it is encoded.

“ the medium refers to the nature of the expression of the information - whether
it is written, spoken or visual.
“ the channel is the physical means by which the information is conveyed.
Each of these is an important element in the whole process – be it written or

oral communication. There are situations where communicating directly in
person to another person is a better choice and this is where oral communica-
tion is the best medium. A useful place to start would be to look at the various
forms of oral communication that are available.
14.1 Objectives
 analyse the different forms of oral communication
 list the advantages and disadvantages of oral communication
 plan meetings and formal presentations
 discuss different types of interviews
14.2 Forms of Oral Communication

We give you a brief description of each oral communication now.
14.2.1 Unplanned encounter

In this case, you have a situation where the sender and the recipient meet
unexpectedly and engage in poorly-planned and often unstructured commu-
nication. There will have been some planning, otherwise the sender will not
have a question to ask or information to pass on, and so the thought will have
occurred to the sender - ‘Next time I see Phineas, I must tell him .... But that
is about as planned as it will be.
As you would expect, the communication in this situation generally suffers

from a lack of control and this can lead to a failure to communicate well. At
best the information may not be properly decoded because the recipient was
not expecting to be accosted, or at worst there may be some resentment. In
fact, the sender did not ‘choose’ that channel, it just happened.
The lesson is that the unplanned encounter should only be used for communi-
cation of routine or uncomplicated information. You might even use it just to
set up an appointment where the real matter you want to talk about can be
handled - ‘Give me a ring and we can talk about the new contract with the
book suppliers’. Where you have complex and sensitive issues to commu-

Unit 14 Oral Communication
nicate, avoid the unplanned encounter and ensure that you create circum-
stances over which you, as the sender, have more control.
14.2.2 Planned but informal talk

A telephone call is one example of this although, because there is a lack of
direct personal contact, feedback is susceptible to noise. All the signals that
form part of a personal encounter such as body language and gesture are
absent in the case of a telephone call, and there is the danger that a call may
come at the wrong time for the recipient.
Other types of planned, informal discussions can have the advantage that
the sender has more control over the encounter and so there should be a
more efficient transmission of information. Whether this is so depends on
how the recipient receives the message - if s/he is unprepared it depends how
quickly s/he becomes receptive.
Another advantage is that since it is informal, the feedback may be more

genuine as there is no opportunity for attitudes to harden. The chat over a
cup of morning tea often reveals exactly what the recipient and his/her col-
leagues think about a topic.
14.2.3 Formal meeting of individuals

This is a better form of encounter as it usually involves people with similar
knowledge and experience because they function together as a group even
when the meeting takes place between members of different organisations.
For example, a bond exists at a meeting of sales managers from different
companies or of history professors from different universities.
The formality creates the advantages that all parties know what is to be dis-
cussed in what sequence, and the result is often worthwhile preparation lead-
ing to fruitful communication. The major disadvantage comes from the com-
plexity of discussion that can arise and the need to have a trained reporter to
produce a written record of what is often extremely valuable input and con-
clusions.
14.2.4 Interviews
Interviews are ‘set up’ for many reasons but the most common are for busi-
ness purposes such as to sell staff selection, appraisal or the need to discipline

an employee; or a product, secure a contract, or to persuade the recipient to

otherwise use what you can offer.
The advantages of such encounters are those already mentioned in the case
of formal meetings. The disadvantages are more complex though as in the
time available and bearing in mind that one or both parties is trying to make a
good impression. A high degree of skill in scanning for feedback is required in
both parties for a successful outcome to be achieved.
Totally effective interviews are rarely accomplished and each one needs careful
and thorough preparation by both participants. Because of these facts, and
because interviews are a frequently used method of oral communication
for which no real alternative has been found, we will look at this method in
a separate unit.
14.2.5 Group meetings

These have the advantages and disadvantages of personal encounters, mag-
nified by the involvement of a lager number of people. An additional advan-
tage is that several points of view can be brought together and a conclusion
developed from them - as long as you can avoid the disadvantage of the many
different views causing confusion and uncertainty.
A committee meeting is a form of group meeting and these are normally con-
stituted in a very formal manner with rules for the conduct of the meeting.
This encourages meaningful discussion of complicated issues in a way that
is free from personal involvement and bias, while at the same time allowing
several opinions to be expressed. Although committees can become un-
wieldy, if they are carefully directed by a skilled chairman, they can be a most
effective way of reaching decisions.
Larger private or public meetings also fall into this category and the advan-
tage is that everyone involved has the chance to air views and hear those of
other - s/he fails to take that opportunity then s/he must accept the will of
the meeting. The main disadvantage comes from the size of such a meeting -
control can become unwieldy and some people are reluctant to speak in front
of their colleagues. Others want to use it to show off their great intellect to the
mass and they tend to take over the meeting unless controlled.
Obviously at such a meeting, the person calling for the meeting chooses the
subject carefully. For example, if it was a private meeting involving only the
staff of an enterprise, the management would want to be sure that discussion

on the menu in the canteen did not degenerate into a debate that staff has no
option but to eat there because of low salaries. Good discipline over these
meetings has to be maintained to avoid the objectives becoming distorted. A
formal agenda can often keep discussion within the planned boundaries leav-
ing contentious issues until the end as ‘Any Other Business’ when most peo-
ple want to go home.
14.2.6 Formal presentation

There is a lot of support for this type of communication - the expert addresses
a group and then invites questions. Its advantage is that it allows one person
to present a full and uninterrupted view of a particular topic with immediate
feedback when s/he has finished. Often, a written report of some kind is
presented as an adjunct and the oral presentation introduces the topic and
highlights the tricky bits - especially where a recommendation has been
made that needs a bit of ‘fast selling’.
A disadvantage is that there is no guarantee that question time indicates if the

communication has been successful. Often a lot of information has to be
assimilated by the recipients and some complex statistical data is part of
the facts. This can be overcome to some extent by making some of the
important facts available before the meeting using a ‘handout’ - although it
probably might not be read - or by using a visual aid to project details onto a
screen to illustrate the talk.
Activity 14.1
1. How useful is oral communication to conducting business? Justify.
? 2. Assess the amount of, and modes of oral communication used by your
organisation to conduct its business. How does it compare to other
forms of communication?
14.3 An Analysis of Oral Communication

Let us give you the essential difference between written and oral communica-
tion. In a written medium, you have a chance to change the message before
the recipient starts to decode it; but in oral communication, you do not have
that opportunity.

In oral communication therefore, you have to make sure you say it right and
as has been pointed out by most communication experts - ‘Make sure your
brain is in gear before your mouth goes into overdrive’. The other appropri-
ate saying is ‘Save face by keeping your mouth shut’.
Let us now look at the advantages and disadvantages.
14.3.1 Advantages
Used properly and in the right place, oral communication has many powerful
advantages. Among other things, oral communication allows for immedi-
ate feedback, allows for direct participation of recipient and can easily cater
for respect of the individual.
It offers immediate feedback; feedback is the culmination of good communi-

cation and oral communication can evoke an immediate response from the
recipient. If that response is unclear or you feel that ‘noise’ has interfered with
transmission, you can have a second or even third go at it and ensure that -
 you have not left out a vital element of the message;
 you have not taken for granted that the recipient has some essential
prior knowledge which s/he does not;
 you have not assumed the recipient has understood the communi-
cation when s/he has not;
 you have not used language that has been wrongly interpreted by
the recipient.
Where these possibilities exist, the recipient can seek immediate clarification
of some aspect of the message while, at the same time, the sender can be
‘scanning’ the recipient to identify reactions which indicate agreement or
puzzlement or even hostility. If the last reactions are evident, the sender can
adjust his/her approach to clarify or justify what is being said in order to
overcome the problems caused by barriers in communication during encod-
ing and decoding.
Such reactions take place without the use of words and are sometimes re-
ferred to as non-verbal communication or body language. They include ges-
tures, movements and other indicators, and you must look on them as an
important part of personal meetings because by ‘scanning’ you gain a re-
sponse to your message. Their value lie in assisting the communication proc-
ess at a face-to-face meeting so that ideas can be reinforced until the sender
knows that they have been understood.

Direct and immediate skilful use of oral communication can ‘involve’ the re-
cipient. You can do this by looking him/her directly in the eyes and even ex-
tending your hand to him/her or moving just a little closer to him/her at mo-
ments where it is important that s/he should be accepting what you have to
say.
All the recipients can be given the opportunity to express their views and
doubts can be dealt with immediately. This is important in business where
a decision is needed:
 so that those who make the final decision are able to take into account
the points that seem relevant, discuss them, develop ideas, discard the
irrelevant proposals and genuinely evaluate the various points of view;
 once all the views have been brought under the spotlight and the vari-
ous arguments have been put forward and considered, the actual deci-
sion -making can take place; this can be done quickly, and that is obvi-
ously of great benefit especially where something has gone seriously
wrong.
These factors are particularly important in meetings of committees and larger
bodies.
There is courtesy meeting someone in person is a way of showing your re-

spect for him/her, especially if you have had to travel some distance for the
meeting. A personal meeting shows that you are genuinely interested in the
person or in the business matter involved and this may make all the differ-
ence in obtaining an important contract or resolving a problem.
In addition, personal meetings allow those involved to develop a relationship

of trust and understanding, which is most important when working together.
Such meetings also give management a chance to show concern about the
ideas and feelings of their staff since they are willing to meet and discuss
issues with them in person, earlier individually or in groups.
14.3.2 Disadvantages
Not everything about spoken communications is good, however. Here are
some of the disadvantages.
Poor expression
Some people find difficulty in expressing their thoughts orally - especially in

front of a group such as when called on to make a speech. Remember that

none of the people you are talking to would want to be where you are, and so
you start already with their respect and admiration.
Another handicap to expression is that we talk socially a great deal. We talk

with our partners and the children. We chat over a beer with some friends,
we mutter about last Saturday’s football match, we swap jokes and try to
get the punch line right and so on. This encourages a casual approach to and
delivery of oral communication that lets you down in formal situations unless
you adapt to the occasion.
No permanent record
Written record is essential to ensure that all involved can remember and can un-
derstand what has to be done as a result of the content of the communications.
Expensive in time and money
Personal meetings can be time-consuming, especially if the communication

has to take place between people in different places. If travel is necessary to
meet, this can affect the quality of the communication due to tiredness from
travelling and that reduces the positive approach to the personal exchange at
the end of the journey.
Difficult subject material
The difficulty may arise in a number of ways. Let us look at two common
examples. Firstly, you may be ill-prepared for the discussion and you find
yourself with a recipient who knows more than you and shoot holes in your
excellent presentation that you planned so carefully last night. Unless you are
careful, you find you either have to concede defeat and ‘go with the group’ or
you have to withdraw and return to press your point later - either when you
are better prepared or ‘Mr Know-All’ is not present.
The second problem can be where the content of the communication is

contentious and affects the recipients personally in an unpleasant way. The
earlier advantage of getting feedback can go wrong and you find that you
have opened up a debate that is both worthless and develops wrong
attitudes among the receivers. For example, to call a meeting to tell staff that
the staff transport has been withdrawn because the business cannot afford it
any longer will probably bring a storm of protest and harden attitudes. If this
is a final decision, it is better to issue a well-written circular to explain man-
agement’s point of view so that it can be read by staff individually without the
opportunity for group objection.

Personal difference
Sometimes, you just do not ‘click’ with a person and a personal meeting may
bring out animosity that would not be experienced in a written communication
between two officials. In such cases, no matter how hard you try to
establish good communication, it is impossible because of a clash of
personalities.
Activity 14.2
1. Although oral communication has a number of
? disadvantages, it is still better than any other form of communication
in business. Discuss this topic with four colleagues in business like
yourself.
14.4 Using Oral Communication

There are many circumstances where you can use oral communication and
some of the suitable occasions are listed below.
“Oral communication can be used when it is essential to evaluate suitability

for a particular task such as in a selection interview where you must
appoint the right person from a number of choices. It also applies in
deciding which member of a group should be delegated to carry out a par-
ticular task. Final selection cannot be done by written correspondence,
although elimination of the obviously unsuitable can be achieved this way.
“ Oral communication can also be used when it is important to pool the
knowledge of several people to arrive at key decisions. This is why there are
meetings of key people in any organisation.
“ Oral communication is also useful when a delicate or personal matter has to

be communicated to an individual, you often may wish to raise such matters
cautiously and at the same time be able to observe that person’s reaction.
This cannot be done in correspondence.
“ Finally, oral communication can be used where you need to persuade listen-
ers to adopt a particular course of action, particularly if it involves a change
of attitude and behaviour. People need reassurance in these circumstances
and find discussion comforting even if they cannot alter the outcome. This
can occur in many circumstances.

“ You can persuade listeners in the process of negotiation, where a compro-

mise has to be reached and/or alternative or rival courses of action taken.
This is particularly important in cases where possible issues of conflict are
involved such as grievance or disciplinary procedures or discussion of condi-
tions of work, rates or pay and other similar matters.
“ You can inform members of a group about new developments in policy

where such a meeting provides the opportunity to pass on information and
allow members to ask questions and discuss the matter.
“ In training, you can want to change people’s behaviour by making formal

presentations as well as small discussion sessions to exchange ideas and in-
formation.
14.5 Checklist for Conducting Oral Communication

You will need to prepare for every kind of oral communication and we con-
clude by identifying certain principles that are basic to all such occasions.
“ Make sure that you know exactly what you have to communicate. If
what you have to say is -
“factual in nature, check that it is accurate; or
“an opinion, make sure that it is completely defined in your mind and that you
have all the necessary evidence to support it.
Remember that, oral communication is dynamic, situational and so you can-

not predict exactly how the occasion will proceed. Nevertheless, you should
prepare for oral communications as far as the situation allows. Always aim
for accuracy, brevity and clarity - the ABC of communications. Use familiar
terms and phrases that you notice the recipient is comfortable with and ex-
plain technical words where appropriate.
“ Make sure you know why you have to communicate. Knowing what you
are aiming to achieve in an encounter makes the whole process far more
efficient - although you should care not to overlook the importance of human
contact in your desire to achieve the goals you set.
 Make sure you know who you are talking to. A good oral communi-
cator always considers the audience and you must ‘switch on’ to the
recipient.

 Age, background, relationships and other factors have to be taken into

account before you start the session and you must modify your lan-
guage where necessary when it is under way.
 During the discussion, make sure you avoid matters that are not rel-
evant to the main topic as you may confuse the listener as you wander
off the subject.
 The only exception to this rule is right at the start of the discussion when
it often helps to put your listener at ease if you raise a few inconsequen-
tial matters such as the weather, last night’s TV programmes, a football
score or similar items. This not only enables the listener to relax and
adjust to the surroundings, but s/he can also ‘tune into’ your strength of
voice and accent. Once s/he is ‘ready to receive’ s/he will concentrate
much better on what you are saying.
During the main discussion, think carefully and keep to the point.
 Make sure you look for non-verbal elements so that you convey the
right attitude throughout the meeting - the body language.
 Think beforehand about what action will be necessary after the com-
munication and try to determine who should take it.
Activity 14.3
1. Capital punishment is a contentious issue. Notwithstanding your
? own views, write out a plan on how you would hold a discussion with
a person in order to change his/her attitude that capital
punishment is wrong. In particular, describe the influence and persuasion
that you would use.
14.8 Summary
In this unit, we investigated the value of oral communication as a means of
persuasion. Oral communication offers far greater opportunities to effect a
change of attitude than does written communication, but it does have its
disadvantages. We considered the opportunities for oral communication
and analysed its use.

References
Berko, R.M., Wolvin, A.D. and Wolvin, D.R.(1998). Communicat-
ing: A Social and Career Focus (7th ed.) Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Co.
ment Environment Study Guide 1. Pretoria: UNISA,
ing Messages that Communicate (2nd Ed.) Kenwyn: Juta & Co.
Ltd.

Unit Fifteen
Interviews
15.0 Introduction
A
n interview can be described as a structured communication for the
purpose of exchanging views or information between individuals or a
panel of people.
Use of the words ‘structured’ and ‘purpose’ differentiate the interview from a
conversation. Views and information may be exchanged in a conversation but
that tends to be a haphazard form of communication between people where
the purpose is usually not pre-determined. A purpose may develop during the
course of the conversation that is acceptable to both parties, but this dual
acceptance is generally not present at the beginning. In an interview, both
parties know the purpose from the start.
In most circumstances an interview is conducted face-to-face, maybe across
a table or sitting together in easy chairs. Sometimes, however, an inter-
view can be conducted between people who are physically separated and
you often see this on a Cable News Network (CNN) news item where the
interviewer in Washington is seeking the views of or information from another
person in Moscow. This makes the event no less of an interview.
In this unit we look at the structure of the interview. Because so many inter-
views are conducted for the purpose of selecting, promoting, disciplining or
questioning staff, the process is often viewed as being virtually for that
purpose only. However, that is far from the case, - if you have been tasked
with preparing a report or your thesis, you have to use good interviewing
techniques to get the information you need.
In this unit, we focus on the interview process. We describe its structure and
how you can prepare for the interview. We also detail how you can conduct
the interview, and examine some types of interviews.
15.1 Objectives
 prepare a plan for and hold different interviews
 structure the interview so that it can achieve the purpose for holding it
 explain the steps followed in the interview
 describe types of interviews
15.2 The Structure of an Interview

There are degrees of formality in conducting an interview, and where the
formality is minimal, we say that this is a ‘loosely-structured’ or even ‘un-
structured’ interview. At the other extreme is the ‘highly-structured’ inter-
view.
In a highly-structured interview, the interviewer has a list of prepared ques-

tions that he/she asks in sequence to each interviewee so as to ensure
consistency and to be able to compare the information from them. A
common example of the highly-structured interview is the market research
questionnaire when views are sought on different types of toothpaste or who
the interviewees will vote for in an election. This has to be highly-structured
so that the different answers and views can be compared. However, the prob-
lem arises when the interviewee answers that s/he does not clean his teeth or
s/he never votes. If an appropriate question is not built into the structured
interview, the interviewer is not permitted to probe that answer to find out
why, and that may in fact be a very interesting part of the research.
At the next level, we find the ‘focused’ interview where the purpose is also to
gain in-depth information or views, but the method used is more likely to ask

Unit 15 Interviews
questions that cover a list of topics so that a view can be obtained at the end.
By identifying the crucial topics, the information or views sought from each
person interviewed, covers the same ground but the interviewer has the dis-
cretion to follow any order s/he feels elicits the required responses. S/he can
also design questions during the interview as they seem best to lead towards
finding out the desired information or views.
This form is commonly used in many interviews - our example in the doctor’s
surgery. This highly-structured interview would be totally inappropriate as
both parties will only gain value from such an interview if they can adapt
their questions according to the responses from the other party. For example,
the doctor may feel that the sore back has been caused by a problem with
walking and s/he will design the question to get relevant information. The
patient answers and maybe wants to extend the topics towards whether the
problem arose because s/he moved the lounge furniture around last week-
end. The focus for this interview is on the sore back, but the fact that it is not
a highly-structured interview allows for greater depth of investigation.
The unstructured interview tends to wander. There is still a purpose so it is not

quite a conversation, but the only control exercised by the interviewer is to try
to guide the interview back to that purpose when a line of discussion has
petered out. Interviews on the psychiatrist’s couch tend to be unstructured
because s/he is trying to find out what is troubling the patient. That is the
purpose, but there is no way that the topics to be discussed can be worked
out beforehand with any certainty.
We are concerned in this unit, with the ‘focused’ interview that we now call
the structured interview because that is the term generally used.
A well-structured interview can be a very reliable means of comparing sev-

eral options - whether the topics are focused on a person or facts about a
situation or incident. Additional follow-up questions or probes can be asked
if the interviewee answers a question incompletely, because the aim is to get
all the information and/or views about the range of topics. Successful inter-
views are based on well prepared, thought out plans.
Structured interviews can be classified into certain groups namely objective,

situational and behaviour description interview.
 The objective interview focuses on actual events. ‘What colour was
the car that went through the red robot?’ ‘When was the money found
to be missing?’ ‘What are your qualifications for this position?’As you
can see from these questions, the objective interview tends to be more

highly structured - certainly to start with, although as the answers start

to come out, the interview can become more loosely structured.
 The situational interview assesses what might happen in a specified
situation. ‘If we buy a Hobbs Widget Maker, would output from the
factory improve?’ ‘Would the theft have occurred if we had had a bet-
ter accounting system in place?’ ‘If you are given this job, how would
you re-organise the administration?’ In this group, where it is appropri-
ate to the purpose of the interview, the interviewer should be able to
judge responses into, say, good, average or poor categories so that
each interviewee can be assessed.
 The behaviour description interview assesses what has happened
in the past and relates that to future events or performance. ‘How did
our salesmen sell last year’s design?’ ‘Has your training programme
produced good results anywhere else?’ ‘How did you overcome la-
bour problems in your previous employment?’ The questions can be
designed to force the interviewee to make judgement decisions
about himself/herself by drawing on his/her past experiences and then
probing further, or to specify ‘the most difficult’ aspect of whatever the
topic is. This is seen as the most valid interview approach because it
requires the interviewee to apply himself/herself to unseen questions in
an area that is known to the interviewer.
Activity 15.1
1. What differentiates a structured from a focused interview?
? 2. What do these interview types have in common?
3. What do you achieve by interviewing an individual? Use examples of
people you interviewd for job offers with your organisation.
4. In your work situation, you are obviously faced with situations
when you have to evaluate staff performance. Write down some of
the questions you might prepare for such an Appraisal Interview.
15.3 Preparing for an Interview

Bearing in mind that the interview has a purpose, both the interviewer and the
interviewee should plan the framework for the interview. Both should be aim-
ing to achieve the objective of the interview, but the interviewer will be leading
the interview, s/he is better placed to work out how it will be executed.

Unit 15 Interviews
For example, if we assume the purpose is to recruit a person for a particular

position in the enterprise, the first step is to obtain a description or analysis of
the work to be performed. This would include tasks, responsibilities, and
special requirements expected of the incumbent. Normally, this is created by
the person doing the job and it should -
 determine what competencies are needed for successful performance
in the job and then, rank them respectively;
 prepare questions that measure each defined competency; and
 establish an evaluation method for the results.
If the purpose was to award a contract, details of the work specifications and
the possible price that can be paid would be needed. Technical experts should
serve on the interview panel where appropriate.
It is also important to consider the physical preparations for the interview. A

booking of the interview room is probably necessary and that booking must
allow for enough time for all the planned interviews to be computed. Arrange-
ments must be made to avoid any interruptions. The seating must be appro-
priate for the purpose - formal or informal - and pads or paper available
together with any prepared assessment sheets.
It may also be necessary to have a secretarial service to record important

details of the evidence given and the conclusions reached. This is particularly
important where a lot of applicants are being interviewed whether to fill a
position or to be awarded a contract. If the interviews are part of an official
enquiry into an accident, there is an essential need for a record.
15.4 Opening the Interview

As is the case with any oral communication, the opening is important, espe-
cially where the parties are not known to each other. Opening impressions
usually continue to dominate throughout the interview and if the interviewee
fails to make a good impression at the start, s/he is unlikely to rescue the
position later. On the other hand, a bad opening by the interviewer leaves the
interviewee with a choice; either -
 s/he will not want to try to make the interview a success and the oppor-
tunity will be wasted from everyone’s point of view; or
 s/he will see an opportunity to dominate the interview and the purpose
will probably not be achieved because the wrong party was in
control.

Usually, the interviewer - or chairman of a panel is interviewing -will make the

opening remarks to set the scene and establish the purpose of the interview.
In doing this, s/he should aim to achieve two things.
15.4.1 To establish rapport

It is important that there should be rapport between the parties. Rapport has
a number of aspects-understanding, empathy, and compatibility. If this can be
created, the interview will be far more successful and to get off to a good
start, make your introductions to explain why everyone is present. ‘Mr Moyo
is the Accountant and will be concentrating on those areas, Mr Hardcastle is
our Attorney and will ask questions on legal aspects, and I am Mr
Chimombe, the Managing Director of the company, will get things going.
The interviewee now knows who s/he is dealing with and why they are inter-
ested in her/him, and it can help if s/he is then asked to introduce him/herself.
In a job interview, there is usually an application or a curriculum vitae but it is
still very useful to ask for an introduction. This applies even if it is an interview
about some other matter because everyone can talk about her/himself and
this gets the interviewee talking. It breaks the ice.
The interviewer can find out what the interviewee thinks is his/her most im-
portant credentials or qualifications to be at the interview. ‘I have been asked
to represent Ncube and Dube at this interview to award the contract because
I …’ or ‘I have been a buyer with a number of large companies for 10 years
and my present company is experienced in handling development con-
tracts worth $200 million upwards…’ or ‘I have managed staff complements
of 25 or more with varied financial responsibilities in my last three posi-
tions…’ and so on.
The interviewer wants the interviewee to be at ease and so a comment on

something positive from the resume will help. After everyone knows the good
points of the other participants, the interview can be moved onto the next part
of the opening.
15.4.2 To establish common ground

The interviewer who is in control should explain briefly what is about to hap-
pen and the time frame so that when the interview is closed, the interviewee
does not feel as if s/he was cut short.
Both parties might want to show that they hope to achieve a satisfactory

Unit 15 Interviews
outcome from the interview - after all that is why it is taking place. The inter-
viewer wants to show that, they have a contract to award, or a decision to
make or a vacancy to fill. Since the opening should be controlled by the
interviewer, s/he should go on to explain why s/he feels that the interviewee
can fulfil those expectations. That is then the opening to invite the interviewee
to confirm that the interviewer’s faith is justified.
This part of the interview aims to establish a common understanding of what

will be judged important, so that the participants can use the time to the best
advantage.
Activity 15.2
1. Observe an interview in which you want to recruit a driver for your
? organisation. What are your observations?
2. How true is it to say that usually interviewers pay little attention to the
purpose for recruiting a person?
3. Confirm or reject this motion by an evaluation of the questions
asked and weighing them against the tasks to be performed when
the job is given.
15.5 Conducting the Interview

Conducting the interview is the core of the interview and it consists of the
questions and answer exchanges necessary to achieve the purpose. It is here
that careful planning and thought that was put into the exercise pay dividends.
At an interview, the non-verbal communication is especially important. You

need to look for evidence that the other party is uncomfortable in what s/he
says, and this can manifest itself in a number of ways. The total communica-
tion picture has to be interpreted though. The key, however, lies in your skills
in questioning. It is this that allows you to conduct a successful interview, and
so we want to spend time on questions and questioning. We will deal first of
all with the ways that questions can be designed, and then the ways that they
can be asked.

15.6 Designing Your Questions

Questions have to be designed that achieve the purpose of the interview and
some questions are found to be more suitable for this than others. They can
be designed to gain or share information, to examine ideas, attitudes and
motives, to encourage participation in a new scheme and to identify and
solve problems.
There are two main groups of questions; closed and open questions.
15.6.1 Closed questions

Closed questions are the direct questions that require only a short answer
often yes or no - and do not invite any explanations. You often see these
being used on the TV dramas with a court case - ‘Did you hit Mrs Bilgehead?’;
‘Yes, but she …’
There are of course many other situations when the closed question is used
to good advantage. They can be used for example:
 to restore control back to the interviewer if s/he has lost it -‘Please will
you answer yes or no to the questions- Were you late for work each
day last week?’ This is particularly useful when the interviewee has
managed to make the interview lose its way by wandering about the
topics of discussion -and many interviewees who are uncertain or try-
ing to draw a veil over the real situation will try to do this.
 to establish a new direction in the interview - ‘Can your company
supply the goods in three months?’ or ‘It is time to look at the incident
and ask you whether you saw Bube hit Chinyanga?’
 to obtain factual information or data quickly - ‘Do you agree that our
product is better than the alternatives on the market?’; ‘How many
widgets were sold last year?’
 when seeking confirmation or clarification of an important point - ‘If
you were appointed, do you think you could carry out these duties?’
or ‘Are your factory operations environmentally friendly?’
 to create a basis for comparison after a number of interviews - ‘What
price will you charge for these products?’ or ‘What sort of salary are
you expecting?’
Another use for the closed question is where the interviewee is not participat-
ing well, and so instead of using the more open questions, break up the com-
ponents into a series of short questions. So, instead of ‘Can you explain
what happened?’ you would ask ‘Were you at the scene?’; ‘What time was

Unit 15 Interviews
that?’; ‘Who else was there? And so on. Consistent use of closed questions is
sometimes referred to as the ‘tunnel sequence’. As in all cases, there are a
number of disadvantages.
 The closed question is quite adequate in a situation where the inter-
viewer knows quite a lot about the topics. In a complex matter where
the facts are not really known, because closed questions are so direct
as we have explained, it is not possible to frame the right questions to
discover all the information needed. Closed questions will not give all
the answers. Similarly, if a question such as ‘Do you think that Moyo is
doing a good job? was designed as a closed question, the answer
would be inadequate. No doubt Moyo is good at some things and not
so good at others and this need to be explored.
 The closed question ties the interviewee to the short and crisp answer
- but this interview is his/her chance to make a good impression
which is impossible without explaining his/her thoughts, ideas and
ambitions. It becomes almost an interrogation, and frustration will soon
set in if the interviewer does not want to hear the interviewee’s ideas.
 As well as frustrating the interviewee, the interviewer will probably be
dissatisfied at the end of the interview because s/he has failed to get any
information about attitudes and beliefs. The purpose of most interviews
requires that these are explored and discovered, and so the interviewer
will not have achieved the purpose.
15.6.2 Open questions

Open questions are those that invite discussion of the topics and allow a
wide range of responses. The questions force participation from the inter-
viewee if this is lacking, and if that does not succeed then maybe you should
just close the interview.
Most probably, if you follow these guidelines, you will open the interview with
an open question - ‘Tell me about yourself’ - and then sit back for an hour.
Open questions can be used in the following situations.
 Open questions are used when the interviewer wants a wide variety of
information- ‘What is your view on the problems we are having in the
factory?’ or ‘How would you deal with the deficit in income?’
 They are also used to find attitudes and values of the interviewee
for example, ‘Why do you think the use of drugs is increasing?’ or
‘What is your view about worker participation in decision-making?’
 They are also used to maintain or restore the rapport of the interview
into this position?’ or ‘To what extent are your views representative of
the whole group?’
Very often, despite your best planning, there will be areas that you had not
expected to arise in an interview and it is the open question that will find them.
The answers you get do require you to apply far more thought than those
from closed questions, but the effort is worth it as you can find leads into
areas that reveal exactly what you want to know about. For example, no-one
likes to ‘grass’ on their mates, and an enquiry into an incident may be neces-
sary to apportion blame. At the interviews, you are unlikely to find answers to
your questions like ‘It was Bipiti who was at fault’ but you may find
suggestions or innuendoes or hints or clues that you can follow up with a
clever blend of open and closed questions that will get you to the truth.
The disadvantages are many:

 Open-ended questions are time-consuming, especially if you fail to word
them clearly so that the answer is on the topic that you want. Vague
questions like ‘What do you think?’ are too open.
 Similarly, you can end up with too much information most of which is
irrelevant. If you try to stop the interviewee, his/her response is likely to
be ‘Well, you asked me and I’m telling you!’
 Because they are seldom phrased identically from one interview to
the next, comparison of answers becomes difficult.
Probably the best interview consists of a well-dispersed mixture of closed
and open questions that get information and allow the interviewee to express
his/her views sufficiently to satisfy him/her and to enable you to ‘know’ him/
her.
15.6.3 Other questions

Sometimes, other names are used to describe the types of questions that
are used and these include primary, mirror, rhetorical, leading and hypotheti-
cal questions.
 Primary questions are those that start discussion on a subject - ‘Why
are you and Mlambo not able to work together anymore?’ This then
leads onto a series of probing questions that arise from the response
to the primary questions, -‘When was the breakdown in communi-
cation between you first noticed?’; ‘What effect has this had on the
group’s working relationship?’ and so on.
 Mirror questions explore the response to earlier questions by using
the same phrase used - For example, if a response was ‘I found the
working hours too long at my previous employment’, the mirror ques-
tion will be, ‘What do you consider to be too long?’

Unit 15 Interviews
Such questions are often used in interviews because this is how you get to the
root of the purpose and you are using language that the interviewee under-
stands.
 Rhetorical questions are put merely for the sake of emphasis and
require no answer. For example, ‘From what I have said, wouldn’t you
agree that only a fool would consider any other company to complete
this contract to our satisfaction?’ Sometimes, the answer is contained
in the question and these questions are of not much use in an interview
- for example, ‘Who can argue that there is no option but for the fac-
tory to stop overtime?’
 Leading questions are one stage short of rhetorical in that, although
they are phrased in such a way that it is clear what response is ex-
pected, at least a response is expected. For example, the second rhe-
torical question would be presented as a leading question by asking,
‘Do we all agree that there is no option but for the factory to stop
overtime?’A leading question discloses the attitude of the interviewer
and this can have an unfair influence on an interview, especially if the
person putting the question holds an influential position. A better pres-
entation of that question which would allow for open discussion should
be ‘Should the factory stop overtime?’ Such questions must be used
carefully in an interview because they may not bring out the actual
views of the other participant/s. Someone is far more likely to put up
ideas and reasons in answer to ‘Should the factory stop overtime?’ and
they may add to the already good case, or they could prevent the com-
pany from making a costly mistake.
Leading question can also be unfair. For example, in a selection interview it is
unfair to word the question ‘You wouldn’t have a problem with regular week-
end overtime would you?’ Because the exposed answer is obvious but the
interviewee does not know what s/he is accepting if s/he gives that
answer, if overtime is a feature of the position, the extent should be
explained so that the interviewee can determine whether that is a problem.
Then, when a question is asked ‘From what I have said, would you have a
problem with that level of overtime?’ a representative answer can be given.
 Hypothetical questions are those asked that are based on possible
situations. For example, ‘if we were to award the contract to your
company but later decided that we wanted to double the size, could
your firm handle it?’ or ‘If you faced a change of system to flexi-time,
how would you persuade staff of the advantages?’ These are useful
questions as long as they are based on some sort of reality for they
can measure and test a person’s commitment, loyalty and ethics.

There obviously should not be one right answer because you will not
create the test that is the value of this type of question. In putting such
questions, you must also respect the interviewee’s level of knowledge
about the matter. For example, in a recruitment interview there would
be no point in asking about changing intricate procedures that are pe-
culiar to that business.
Activity 15.3
1. Judging from your own experience, do you think leading questions are
? very helpful in an interview; between a member of management and a
junior staff member? Explain.
2. Draw a list of leading questions that your organisation can use in an
interview.
 Ask someone to evaluate your questions for relevance.
3. Is it true that open-ended questions are more useful than closed
questions in an interview? Why or why not?
15.7 Asking the Questions

The purpose of the interview is to gather information from the applicant.
You now have a set of well prepared, open-ended questions and off you go.
But, there is a choice of sequences that can be used.
From general to specific - in this case you might ask the following
questions:
 What services can your company offer?
 Are your prices realistic compared with others?
 Are you able to service our photocopier every three months?
 What would be the cost of a year’s contract for that service?
This sequence is useful when the interviewee is knowledgeable in the purpose
of the interview and the first of the questions can bring out a lot of information
that could be carefully explored during the interview.
 Why are we not achieving our budgeted sales of $7 000 per month?
 Is there a problem with our quality?
 What items are below budget?
 Can we improve the ability of the sales teams?

Unit 15 Interviews
This is sometimes referred to as the‘ funnel sequence’ of questioning.
From specific to general - this is obviously the opposite approach and

is sometimes referred to as the inverted funnel’ sequence -
 What do you think is wrong with widget maker?
 Is this a problem that you have experienced with other machines that
you have used?
 If we replace this machine with the new model, will output increase?
 Can the sales team cope with the larger output?
This is used where the interviewee is finding difficulty responding to funda-
mental questions and you need to build up his/her confidence. For example,
an experienced factory worker may well know from his/her relationships with
the sales team that the demand for widgets is insatiable, but he/she would not
feel bold enough to express that fairly important view without having the chance
to explore the earlier presumptions.
15.8 Closing the Interview

The interview can come to an end in a number of ways. At the end of the
allocated time with all the questions having been asked and answered we
have a perfect interview. With proper planning and execution, it can
happen remarkably easily and then certain matters remain.
 The interviewer must allow the applicant to ask questions. This is im-
portant because although the interviewee may have raised points dur-
ing the interview, these will have had to be related to the questions that
the interviewer asked. If the interviewer did not talk about salary for
example, this could be the source of a very pertinent question by the
interviewee.
 One of the parties - usually the interviewer - makes a summary of the
position as s/he sees it, allowing the opportunity for the interviewee to
correct or add to that summary. The secretary at the meeting should
make a careful note of that summary for when the interview is closed,
that will be the agreed position.
 Make all parties aware of the next steps. The interviewee must be told
who will contact them and the timeframe. The interviewee should
conclude his/her side of the interview by expressing his/her continued
interest in the contract, the job or the outcome of the investigation - if
that is indeed the case. If the interviewee has no further interest in a job
or a contract, it is only polite to express that at the end of the interview

so that the interviewer knows not to include him/her in the final assess-
ment.
15.9 Follow Up
Both parties should thank the other for the time given for the interview. At the
end of the allocated time, the interviewer has not completed his/her pro-
gramme and has not enough evidence to come to a conclusion. If only a few
questions remain, complete the interview so as not to lose the rhythm. If
a lot of questions remain and there are others still to be interviewed, it will be
impolite to delay other interviewees for a lengthy period and so another inter-
view should be scheduled. If this is the last interview, then the interview can
carry on of course with the agreement of the parties. For this reason, when
you are listing the interviews right at the beginning, place the person who you
feel may need extra time at the end.
Before the end of the allocated time, usually the interviewer realises that the
interview is not going to result in a satisfactory conclusion. Close it down - in
a polite way, obviously, by suggesting that the interviewee might find another
position more in keeping with his abilities, or that the contract being offered
would seem to be outside the range that could be accomplished in the time
scale required by the company, and so on.
It is usual for the interviewer to write letters to all the interviewees. This
may be a letter of acceptance or, if the interviewee was unsuccessful, the
letter must explain this fact. Details of why the interviewee was unsuccessful
should probably not be given as this can invite a ‘counter attack’ and justifica-
tion why the interviewer was wrong to dismiss the case presented at the inter-
view. Once the decision has been made, you want to get on with the contract
or the appointment.
Sometimes, the letter will be one congratulating the interviewee for having
introduced valuable ideas to the interviewer that assisted to solve a
problem, or it may be a letter of reprimand because the offence has been
proved.
15.10 Types of Interviews

In this section we focus on appraisal interviews, exit interviews and counsel-
ling interviews.

Unit 15 Interviews
15.10.1 Appraisal interviews

An appraisal interview focuses on the expectations of the organisation on the
employees’ tasks, competencies and responsibilities and to coordinate these
with the existing potential and suitability. The comparison of current and fu-
ture targets can help employees to define their personal development require-
ments and to determine further training measures
(http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_appraisal_interview)
In the appraisal interview, the employee and the manager discuss all aspects
of the employee’s performance on a face-to-face basis. This gives them an
opportunity to clarify differences in perception or evaluation. An employee
can defend himself/herself while at the same time the manager explains what
he/she thinks about the employee’s performance. After an agreement, the
appraisal instrument can be signed by both parties.
Issues to consider in appraisal interviews

The following issues should be considered:
 Try to eliminate bias in the evaluation process
 Both the manager and employee should approach the evaluation proc-
ess with an open mind and objectivity
 Both manager and employee must take the performance appraisal se-
riously
 Both manager and employee must take time to go through the ap-
praisal hence, it must not be done haphazardly
 The manager must set aside time to go through all appraisals in his/her
team to ensure follow-ups and satisfaction for both manager and em-
ployee
(www.managementstudyguide.com/performance-appraisal-inte).
15.10.2 Exit interviews

These are interviews conducted with departing employees just before leaving
the job. The organisation might want to know why a person is leaving. Infor-
mation/Suggestions from the employee might help to improve the organisa-
tion.

Issues to consider in exit interviews

The following should be considered in exit interviews:
 The organisation should transfer knowledge and experience of the de-
parting employee to the successor
 Good exit interview should provide the organisation with useful infor-
mation about the employer, organisation, ways of improving the work
environment, processes and systems and so forth
 The interview can give the organisation information on its relationship
with its employees, customers, third-parties, general public and many
others
 The organisation should select departing employees who are forthcoming,
constructive and can give objective feedback
 The organisation should ensure that the departing employee leaves on
a positive note and that there is mutual respect and good relations –
thus there is friendship and not blame, revenge, spite or destructive
feelings
 Prepare questions to ask the departing employee(s)
(www.businessballs.com/exitinterviews.htm)
15.10.3 Counselling interview

A counselling interview can take place because of different reasons. It can be
used to caution an employee that might not be performing well at the workplace.
An employee facing work related or personal problems can be asked to go
through a counselling interview. Now we look at a counselling interview where
an employee has not been performing well and the stages that the interviewer
and interviewee have to go through.
Before the discussion

 Ask for a little time to prepare.
 Take time to cool down. Being angry or defensive will just exacerbate
the situation.
 Collect any facts that may have relevance — the number of mistakes,
customer complaints, and so forth.
 Review any goals your boss has set for you.
 Be open-minded about what your boss has to say. Be prepared to
listen and learn. If your performance has not met the standards and
expectations, think about how you can improve. Prepare a plan for
change.
 Take notepaper to the meeting.

Unit 15 Interviews
During the discussion

 Be courteous. Greet your boss with a smile rather than being confron-
tational.
 Listen to the problem as described by your boss.
 Show your agreement to any facts presented.
 Indicate to your boss that you are there to solve the problem, and that
you appreciate the feedback you are being given.
 If your boss is being vague, ask for specifics.
 Get involved in developing a plan for improvement. For example, you
may
 try harder;
 be more careful;
 be more courteous;
 need more training;
 need documented standards or procedures.
 Confirm that your boss has agreed to help you by asking an open-
ended questions.
 Summarise your understanding of everything said to make sure that all
expectations are clear.
 Thank your boss for the opportunity to be involved in finding ways of
improving performance.
 Leave with a handshake.
After the discussion
 Follow up meticulously on everything agreed upon with your boss.
 After a month, ask for feedback if it has not already been given, so you
are assured that your performance is on track.
http://westsidetoastmasters.com/resources/career_coach/lib0032.html
In a counselling interview the following are essential; active listening, reflec-

tion, role playing and creative imagining
(ttp://www.ehow.com/list_6741505_counseling-interview-techniques.html).
Charles J. Stewart and William B. Cash have come up with counselling inter-

viewing principles and practices. Some of these are:
 You perform the counselling role whenever you are called upon to offer
advice on emotional, financial, academic, or personal problems.
 Effective counselling skills begin with a thoughtful self- analysis includ-
ing an assessment of your own feelings and communication skills.

 You must also carefully consider the background of the interviewee so

that your advice can meet that person’s needs.
 Based on your analysis of your own skills as well as the needs of the
other person, you must decide whether to use the directive or nondi-
rective approach.
 Although the structure of the interview can vary, four stages are typi-
cally followed. First, you should establish rapport and create a helpful
climate. Second, you should thoroughly assess the crisis/problem faced
by the interviewee. Third, you should probe more deeply into the inter-
viewee’s feelings. Finally, you should come to some decision and offer
potential solutions.
 A conducive interview climate must allow for trust, openness, and rap-
port between the interviewee and interviewer.
 After effective closure of the interview, you should carefully evaluate
the interview so that you can further refine your skills.
http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/speech/stewart9/students/counseling/
strategi.htm
Activity 15.4
? 1. You have been asked to conduct an interview with a leading sociologist

on how the problem of Street Kids can be reduced.
 Structure that interview - especially how you would define‘ the problem’
in the interview.
 Make a list of the questions that you would ask the interviewee.
 Once you have finished that exercise, test your construction of
questions by trying to answer the questions you have set to see if
you could have arrived at the solution to the problem of Street Kids
with those questions. If you do not think so, re-design your questions
until you could reach a solution.
2. What follow-up does your organisation have after an interview?
3. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these follow-up procedures.
4. Evaluate the strategies used in counselling, exit and appraisal interviews.

Unit 15 Interviews
15.11 Summary
In this unit, we looked at the types of interview and the common structure that
can be observed in any interview. We discussed how to prepare for the inter-
view, and then how to open and conduct the exercise. Designing of questions
is important as the use of open and closed questions can alter the conduct of
the interview considerably. A great deal of the skill of interviewing lies in ques-
tioning well, and no detail was given on this.
References
Berko, R.M.; Wolvin, A.D. and Wolvin, D.R. (1998). Communicat-
ing: A Social and Career Focus (7th ed.) Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Co.
ing Messages That Communicate (2nd Ed.) Kenwyn: Juta & Co.
Ltd.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_appraisal_interview
http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/speech/stewart9/students/counseling/
strategi.htm
ttp://www.ehow.com/list_6741505_counseling-interview-techniques.html
www.businessballs.com/exitinterviews.htm)
www.managementstudyguide.com/performance-appraisal-inte


Unit Sixteen
Presentations
16.0 Introduction
A
presentation is a formal address by one person in which the main aim is
to convey information or ideas on a pre-arranged subject in a direct
and straightforward way. However, some feedback by way of audi-
ence acceptance should be achieved, and it is this that symbolises it as a
transactive process. So, even though there may not be an exchange of
ideas, the term transactive indicates that while you are speaking, you are
receiving audience feedback that enables you to adapt your presentation
‘to suit the mood’ and so achieve greater success in your purpose of convey-
ing information.
In the context of good communications, a formal presentation is more than

the old style lecture or speech since it usually makes extensive use of audio or
visual aids and printed material which is circulated to the audience before,
during or after the presentation.
The ability to present a good speech is becoming increasingly important and

necessary in the business community for, as well as their formal function of
conveying information, a speech is often the best way to help an enterprise to
work together as a unit.
In this unit, we discuss how we can give presentations. Giving a presentation

may be separated into three; preparing, writing and delivering.
16.1 Objectives
 describe types of speech
 analyse the techniques of preparing, writing and delivering a speech
 explain the benefits of the techniques to speech delivery
 discuss the importance preparation for speech delivery
16.2 Types of Speeches

Speeches vary in style and timing and examples include speeches as intro-
duction, extended speech and vote of thanks.
16.2.1 Speeches of introduction

Speeches of introduction are short speeches and although the audience knows
already who the main speaker is, this enables his/her credentials to be de-
scribed in order to show how well-qualified s/he is to make the forthcoming
presentation. It has another use in that it enables the audience to settle
down, get comfortable before ‘the main feature’ starts. Part of that process
is allowing the audience to ‘tune in’ to the level of sound coming from the
speakers’ dais or podium.
16.2.2 Extended presentations

Extended speeches are the main topic of this unit. They can be for a number of
purposes and vary in length from 10 minutes to 45 minutes - anything longer than
that is a marathon that fails to retain the attention of the audience. There is good
evidence that the ‘average’ person finds it impossible to sustain concentrated at-
tention for more than 35 minutes. So, your maximum of 45 needs a beginning
and an end that can be written off as not imparting information.

Unit 16 Presentations
16.2.3 Vote of thanks

Vote of thanks is another short speech that follows the main presentation/s
and is intended simply to thank those who have given their time to address the
audience. It is usual to draw out the relevance of what was said to the
audience but it is incorrect to use this opportunity to paraphrase the presenta-
tion. The speaker/s should have done that already when s/he concludes with
a summary.
Apart from an introductory and concluding speech, speeches and presenta-

tions can be categorised into the ‘extended presentation’. We now look at
how to prepare for this; in situations such as informal, formal, keynote ad-
dress and motivational speech.
16.3 Preparation
The informal speech can be a speech at a wedding, an after-dinner speech or
a welcome to a new group of recruits. These can be designed to entertain
more than inform; The formal speech can be presenting a statement on com-
pany policy, introducing the publication of a report for senior management or
supporting your research paper. Here, the aim is definitely to inform the
audience. The ‘key-note’ address is a very formal presentation by an ac-
knowledged expert on a subject that is well-known to the audience, and
which is expected to introduce a new concept or attitude to the subject. The
motivational can be to encourage greater effort from staff or the reasons why
there should be a merger between two organisations or how the team must
play better if it is to win the African Nations Cup - this has to be the challeng-
ing, ‘we’re the best’ type of presentation.
No matter what the purpose of the presentation may be, in itself it is a formal
activity and because of this, a presentation needs very careful preparation
and you need to think carefully about how it should be delivered. Some will
say that this stage is more important than the actual presentation stage be-
cause the latter has no chance of success if the preparation has not been done
well.
Preparation is a process that should be done carefully and thoroughly

over a period of some weeks, so that you can think of all the factors involved
and have time to undertake any research which may be necessary. Audio-
visual material needs to be well planned if it is to be effective, adding further
force to the need to begin preparing well in advance.

The main factors that need to be considered are subject, audience, occasion
and environment, research and interpretation.
16.3.1 Subject
You must obviously have a very clear definition of the exact nature and scope
of our subject and know exactly what you are to talk about. After all, you
have been invited because the organisers think that you are the expert and
so your presentation must be effective. Not only should you know the general
subject area, you must also know what relevant features you are to discuss. If
the extent of your presentation has not been made clear to you, you must find
out these details. For example, presentation about a new idea for cutting
costs should include the effect on levels of employment and the ways in which
processes will change.
16.3.2 Audience
As in any communication, you must consider your audience, especially since
in this case they may actually have paid to listen to you, so you had better be
good. A presentation needs to be planned carefully to suit the needs of the
audience and in particular you must know how much knowledge they
have already. Never, repeat, never talk down to your audience as that is
insulting, boring and can create bad reaction. In certain cases, it will be polite
for the audience to let you ramble on, but in others that reaction can be detri-
mental.
Conversely, giving a presentation that is too complex can be just as ineffective

since your audience soon lose interest and resent the fact that you are wasting
their time. They have come to the presentation to learn something, and you
have to give them the satisfaction of achieving just that.
You must find out who your audience are, their experience and knowledge.
Of course, an audience is going to be a fairly mixed bag of people as far as
age, gender, background and so on. But, they may be members of the Tree
Society or the Women’s Association, or the Canteen Fund, or the Institute of
this or that, or the Workers’ Committee, or the Action Group Against the
New Bus Timetable. If there is no common feature, at least you know that
they are interested in your subject, and so you will have to make the best of
that.
In business the audience’s status is important. If you are addressing junior

staff for example, you would treat the same subject differently than if you

were addressing senior management. If you are addressing the whole com-
pany, pitch it at the level of the employees who you will rely on most to
implement what you are talking about. You will find that top management will
have been briefed already on something that important and will have allowed
this presentation to same them the task of implementing it. Junior staff will be
pleased that you have seen as them important enough to involve them at this
stage, and they will then be better disposed to take the new instructions from
their supervisors.
As you gain in experience, you will learn instinctively where to ‘pitch’ a pres-
entation and find the right level of vocabulary and ideas for a particular
group. If you are going to make presentations regularly, you must
develop this kind of skill and judgment. As a last resort, you might open by
asking the audience some key point questions that will guide you to the
general level of understanding of the group. Then, if you have prepared a
wide ranging presentation beginning at a basic level and ending at a level you
can judge where best to start and end. For example, those questions
may influence you to start about half way through and leave out most of the
basic explanations.
16.3.3 The occasion and the environment

We have linked occasion and environment because, although different,
they are usually closely linked. To be the key note speaker at a meeting of
environmentalists or financial managers will probably mean that you are in a
very smart hotel reception room. To be addressing the workers on the need
for a Saturday shift will probably mean that you are in the staff canteen or
recreation room. To be presenting the sports trophy can take place on the
pitch or in a clubhouse while a speech of welcome to a visiting delegation
from China would be in a hotel dining room so it is best to prepare and dress
accordingly.
16.3.4 Research and interpretation

Once you have defined your subject, you have to carry out research to iden-
tify just the right mix of expertise and common sense. When you identify the
expertise you are going to rely on, make sure that it is factually correct for
there is nothing worse than making a statement that, at question time, is proved
wrong. Your whole presentation is dead.
Another very important point is to limit the breadth of your material.

Generally, you find that in any presentation that is to be longer than 15 min-

utes, restrict yourself to about six primary topics as that is about what the
average group can assimilate at one session. Depending on the time allowed,
you then develop the secondary or supporting information around those
six primary topics. You may find this difficult to do because you are expert
and you want to stand up there and impress the audience on how much you
know about the subject. Unfortunately, all you will do by trying to compress
your 20 years knowledge into 40 minutes is to confuse the whole issue. If you
are asked to make a presentation on the effects of the fill of the Berlin Wall,
pick the primary aspects.
Your presentation should contain not just information you have taken from
other sources, but your interpretation and original thinking as well. You
should think carefully about what you want to say so that you talk with assur-
ance and confidence about your subject.
Activity 16.1
? 1. Why is it important to find out as much as possible about your audience

before making a speech?
2. Many speakers do not follow the written speech when asked to talk.
As a result they talk about things that are more relevant to the subject
under discussion and the audience before them. How true is this
statement when applied to the last speech given by a guest to your
organisation? Justify your answer.
16.4 Writing
From this extensive background preparation, hopefully you are now ready to
begin writing. You need to prepare your notes, opening, support handouts
and audio-visual aids.
16.4.1 Preparing your notes

Always remember that your audience has come to hear you. It is therefore
inappropriate for you simply to read from a prepared script, because this
allows you no real contact with your audience. Remember that you are an
expert in your subject and should be able to stand up and talk on it, and the
audience wants to know that these are your thoughts and ideas and they
want to experience your character. So, a presentation should not be ‘writ-

ten’ in the formal way that other communications are written because nothing
is worse than a boring presentation that is simply read out word for word -
politicians do that because they seldom know what they are talking about.
In most presentations you must aim to prepare the final draft of your presen-
tation in the form of a series of notes, with a clear headings, subheadings and
numbered points. On those notes, mark clearly where you intend to refer to
other information such as data on any sheets given to the audience before you
begin speaking. In the same way, make it clear where you intend to use visual
or audio-visual illustrations. You can do this by underlining the place or high-
lighting in different colours.
Finally, make sure that your notes are in large typeface that you can read
easily and with plenty of space so that you will not lose your place.
Sometimes, when there is a subject that is highly specialised and complex,

some aspects of the presentation may require exact description and there is
no room for any variation. If it is essential to have the exact wording used,
you can either –
“ Write it down and introduce that part by saying something like ‘The next
point is so important that I want to read from these notes I have made’; or
“Put that onto a chart or some other visual aid. It is sometimes useful to
include some material in your notes that is additional to the main body of your
presentation. Then, if you find that you have misjudged the audience or your
time, or you are asked to amplify a particular aspect, you can have these
ready. But, be careful to keep them separate - make sure they are headed
and that they are easily available when needed.
16.4.2 Preparing your opening

Do not open your presentation with something too difficult because the
audience, although settled, now has to adjust to you. You are standing up,
the introducer has said what a fine person you are, and the audience wants to
see if they agree. Experienced presenters use a variety of ways to begin a
presentation -
“By making a light comment or, if they can do it well, using a joke;
“By telling a story which seems quite irrelevant but then turns out to be related
to the subject;

“By asking questions which they then attempt to answer in the presentation;
or
“By saying what they would like to achieve in the time available.
A well-defined opening gives you confidence and establishes an immediate

relationship with your audience. It helps the audience to adjust to the power
in your voice and they take that time to ‘examine’ you - your tie or dress
colours, the way you stand, and so on. By the time you are ready to go on to
the main topics, there are no distractions to their attention.
A few words on using humour. Be very careful as it is difficult to use success-

fully and it is disastrous to use it unsuccessfully. Only tell a joke if you are
absolutely sure that it will not offend anyone and will go down well. Even
then, begin by saying something like “I want to tell you a funny story I heard
last week’ - at least the audience know you found it funny and they may then
laugh politely when you finish?
16.4.3 Supporting handouts and audio-visual aids

In preparing your presentation, you must also consider what goes with it.
Most audiences welcome a handout of some sort that they can think about
afterwards. This should be written and completed in advance, and made
available at the right time in the presentation. Documents should be collated
and if possible, bound as spiral binding allows the pages to be handled easily
and gives an impression of efficiency of the speaker. There alternatives are
three: summary, list of references and a detailed explanation of ideas.
Your supporting handout can be a complete summary of the presentation into

note from that you distribute after you have finished. Make sure you control
the distribution of these as somebody might just hand them out before you
speak so that the audience knows what you going to say and they may even
follow your handout while you are talking. In this case, the handout becomes
a working paper so that as you talk about each point, your audience can
make their own notes.
You may wish to present some information using one of the variety of visual
and audio aids. In the preparation stage of your presentation, you must find
out what you can use and prepare the illustrations that will come in your
presentation. Mark your notes to show that you must ‘show slide 5 now’.
In preparing the illustrations, be sure to make them professional looking -
anything handwritten will look amateur in the extreme. Use computer pro-
grammes to produce professional looking illustrations.

Although you may not be responsible for organising the presentation, you
are going to rely on the equipment being in proper working order and so you
should make sure of this. It is frustrating and annoying for the audience to
have to sit through several minutes of adjustments to plugs, alterations to
projectors and similar fumbling. It is equally frustrating if the wrong picture
appears or it is upside down, or the wrong equipment is used. Remember
also, that while you are placing the materials, your presentation is disrupted
and it is always good if there is a technician on hand to assist.
It is also useful at this stage to find out about the environment where you will
make the presentation. You need to know how the audience will be seated -
formal rows or casual around tables; whether there will be a public address
system, whether the lights can be dimmed for the visual aids, who else is
on the programme and so on. You need all this information so that you can
be relaxed and then your presentation will be the best.
16.5 Delivery of your Presentation

The way in which a presentation is delivered is clearly of crucial importance.
It does not matter how much work you put into the preparations, if your
delivery is awkward or you cannot be heard, then the communication proc-
ess fails. Here are a few principles to follow when delivering a presentation.
16.5.1 Arrive early

It is important that you feel at ease with the place where you will be talking
and so you should always get there early to ‘get the feel’ of the room. You
may need to re-arrange furniture slightly, or make sure that audio and visual
aids are functioning properly. If you are using a projector, sit in the audience
and see how large the image is. Experiment until the picture is properly in
focus. Do the same with audio equipment and make sure that you can hear it
clearly without being deafened by it. Make sure that handouts are easily
available for the audience, and check other similar items.
16.5.2 Build on your opening

During the presentation, you are involved in building on two levels -
“ You are building or developing your ideas and arguments - this will happen
fairly naturally if you have planned your presentation well; and

“ You are building or developing a relationship with the audience. You need
to look carefully at them while you are speaking, so that you give them the
impression of being interested in them as individuals and not as a group.
Your ability with speech is vital in this situation. You need to train yourself in
the following speech qualities.
“ Speech dynamics refers to the volume and pitch of your voice and the
speed with which you talk. By varying these, you bring interest to what you
are saying, and by pausing occasionally, you allow the listener to catch up
with you.
“ Speed of speech you are bound to feel a little nervous and the inclination is
to start talking fast to end this monstrous experience. Avoid that temptation
and speak slowly and clearly without obviously turning it into slow motion
presentation.
“ Nature of speech also affects your presentation. If you are naturally a quiet
speaker, use a public address system rather than force your voice and
end up coughing uncontrollably.
Use body language to display your interest in your subject and the audience.
Use gestures sparingly but impressively. If you are using a chalk board, avoid
tossing the chalk into the air as the audience become interested in seeing
when you drop it.
Watch carefully for the responses from the audience so you can be satisfied
that they are attentive. As you talk, watch what parts of your presenta-
tion are well received and which do not create enthusiasm. Eye contact
is equally important in a presentation. Move your eyes around the eyes of
the audience, but avoid staring at one member as that will embarrass him and
be seen by the rest. By being aware of responses you will be able to keep
close to the feeling of the group, and the presentation will be successful.
In short, scan your audience continually for feedback and make sure that you
respond to it in the way that your message is encoded.
16.5.3 Coping with nerves

Many people find giving a presentation something of an ordeal, and suffer
badly from nerves. This is something that gets better with time and experi-
ence, but you must always boost your own ego by telling yourself that the
convener of the meeting has faith in you, otherwise he/she would not have
asked you to talk.

Know your material - The best way to avoid nerves is to have thorough and
detailed knowledge of your topic. If you know it very well indeed, there is
little that can happen to upset your smooth delivery. Similarly, you will be
able to deal with questions fully and with authority. This then, is another
reason why you should always prepare a presentation with great care and
thoroughness. Know the setting – there is need to get to the presentation
room early to check that all is in order. This will give you confidence - and
also prevent your starting to speak while still panting from running up the
stairs. It also means that the room is your own ‘territory’, and that your audi-
ence are your ‘guests’ - a small but significant psychological point which will
do much to make you feel calmer. Prepare the first sentence - If you think
you are going to be nervous, think of a first sentence which is arresting and
precise. Commit it to memory. If you begin with a sentence that you know
off by heart, you will sound authoritative and this will launch your presen-
tation well. ‘good evening ladies and gentlemen.
“ Breathe deeply - protecting your voice is not always easy, especially if you
are nervous. Take deep, steady breaths before you begin, and use plenty
of volume. Do not be afraid of talking too loud. The usual fault is to be too
quiet, and audiences will respect someone with a firm, clear voice.
“ Use short sentences - If you feel nervous, try to speak in sentences of

average or short length. This will prevent you from both running out of breath
in mid-sentence of losing your own sense of what you want to say, both of
which sound awkward and will make you more nervous.
” Avoid self-made distractions Distracting your audience can have a
bad effect on your presentation. The audience remembers better the fact
you waved a pen around or had to keep pushing your hair out of your eyes
than what you said. If your notes are perched precariously on the side of the
podium, they will be watching the pile become more unstable as you put your
finished pages looking to see if it is the next one which cause them all to fall on
the floor.
If you follow these simple principles, you soon find that the fear is taken out of
presentations. Relax; after all, you are the person everyone wants to hear.
16.5.4 End decisively

In the same way that you began in a clear and decisive manner, you should
make it absolutely clear when you have finished. Avoid at all costs coming to
an end slowly and awkwardly. The whole of your presentation should have
been developing towards a strong concluding or moment of climax., so make

it clear when this has arrived. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, to conclude this ad-
dress on the new bus timetables, I will summarise by saying …’
16.5.5 Handle questions fairly

Many formal presentations conclude with a session in which the listeners ask
presenters questions. You should try to think what questions are likely to
cope up and prepare answers for them.
You should also make sure that you take questions from a range of people
and that no one is allowed to dominate the proceedings at the expense of
others. Answer briefly, and be firm but polite in moving on to other
speakers from the audience. Avoid comments such as ‘Weren’t you listen-
ing - I covered that in my talk, the board of directors has a definite responsi-
bility …’
One golden rule is - If you do not know the answer to a question, say so,
Never try to guess an answer or pretend you know as, if someone in the
audience knows the answer and stands up to tell you and everyone else that
you are wrong, that can destroy the whole of your otherwise excellent pres-
entation. Say ‘that is a point I haven’t considered and I really can’t
answer that question. Does anyone in the audience have some information
that can help us in this? If not. I will go into the question and sent a written
reply to the chairman.’
Activity 16.2
1. Which are some of the ways that can help you cope with nervousness?
? 2. At what point in your speech do you give handouts to the audience?
3. According to your own findings, what have been the strengths of the
people you consider to be the best speech presenters? How does
one build these qualities?
16.6 Use of Audio-visual Aids

‘Audio-visual aids’ is the generic term for the various equipment, from the
simplest blackboard sketch to the most sophisticated video equipment that
we use to help us to communicate more effectively.

When you are speaking to an audience, they key word to remember is

‘aid’. Too many speakers either become overwhelmed by the techno-
logical possibilities of the equipment that they allow it to take over, or they are
such nervous speakers that they are relived to hide behind it. Neither
approach promotes effective oral presentation. An ‘aid’ should not
dominate but complement, illustrate and reinforce what we say.
The aid is not given merely to the audience but also to the presenter. How
uninteresting it is to witness a speech literally read from beginning to end.
Even referring to notes, it is difficult to use them unobtrusively while speaking,
but it is more difficult still to speak at length without any prompt.
Prepared visual aids, such as overhead transparencies, can guide the
speaker most effectively and discreetly while helping the listeners to
understand and memorise.
For the effective use of audio-visual aids, you need:

 A basic non-technical knowledge of how to operate the equipment and
what it will and will not do; and
 A little planning and forethought.
16.6.1 Basic techniques

If you feel that some equipment will improve the quality of your presentation
and assist understanding in your audience, follow this sequence.
“First plan the content of what you wish to say and put in it a suitable se-
quence.
“Remember that you need to establish rapport with your audience and that
this must be done before you switch its attention from yourself to the audio -
visual element.
“ Choose the equipment you will use with thought and care, Design your
software to complement your words.
“If you do not have someone to assist you, make sure that you know how to
handle the equipment you will use. Make yourself familiar with the way it
works beforehand and ask yourself the following; Where is the power sup-
ply? Do you need an extension lead? Have spares like bulbs, duplicate
equipment or technical help available?
“ Visual material should never be overbearing. Short films are often more
effective than long ones. A few words on the blackboard or overhead

projector will have more impact than masses of them. It is best to present
several short simple graphics than one overloaded one.
“ Prepared material like slides or overhead projector transparencies need

to be numbered so that if you drop your materials they can be quickly put
back in order.
16.7 Choosing Your Equipment

There is a wide range of options available and these include slide projectors,
tape, records overhead projectors and boards. The following notes give you
some insight to help you to choose the aids that are most suitable for what you
wish to present.
16.7.1 Constraints
In practice the choice is often limited by more practical constraints. If
you have only a chalk board available, it will be adequate for presenting spon-
taneously prepared materials rather than prepared materials like charts and
sketches - though we might have preferred a white board, flip chart or
overhead projector.
Cost and convenience are other constraints. Chalk costs virtually nothing,
but unless you buy dustless chalk, it is messy. Work cannot usually be pre-
pared on the board in advance or retained for future use and so you lose time
and contact with the audience while writing on the board. An overhead pro-
jector needs a much larger capital investment than a blackboard but it more
portable, transparencies are cheaply and easily prepared and may be used
many times. Flip charts are relatively cheap and disposable, but they also can
be used for retaining and re-using material.
Yet another constraint is the environment. If at least partial blackout is not

available, then film and slide projectors cannot be used, but overhead projec-
tors and video tape may well be usable. The size of room and audience is
another factor. A television screen will be too small for a large room and large
audience, but a film can be projected to suitable dimensions, whether the
audience is large or small.
Let us now consider in more detail about audio-visual aids most commonly
used.

16.7.2 Film
Technically, film projection is somewhat demanding. You need:
 a suitable darkened room; and
 some training in loading and operating the equipment – or technician to
do this for you.
Never start your presentation before you have run the film through before-
hand to check its content. You can project films in the normal ways as in a
cinema but this requires a large room and good blinds on windows; or on a
rear projection unit where the image is projected from behind a translucent
screen making it visible from in front of the screen. Although this gives a much
smaller image than is possible using the ‘cinema’ approach, this method uses
much less space between projector and screen making it useful when
space is limited such as on an exhibition stand. Also the image is brilliant so
that only a little darkening of the room is needed.
It is possible to produce your own film aids, usually using 8mm film, but it is
time consuming and a great deal of skill and experience are needed for
success. If you can find a professionally made film that puts over your
message, that is much better. If the event is of great importance, there are film
makers in Zimbabwe who produce films of excellent quality, but they are
expensive.
To a large extent, film presentation has been replaced by video presentation

which we look at next.
16.7.3 Video presentations

A video recorder (which has been replaced by a DVD player) with a televi-
sion monitor has several advantages over film. They are easier to operate
and need minimal blackout, but the smaller screen limits the size of
audience. It is possible, though expensive, to have a larger screen. Video
presentation for briefings and sales have all the advantages of film but they
require only a relatively small amount of space and can be conveniently
used on an exhibition stand.
Colour television cameras are obtainable and easy to operate if you wish to
make your own presentation since they are easily portable, have their own
power supply and require no special lighting conditions. In any presen-
tation, quality and professionalism are important for the image of you
as the presenter and of the concept you are publicizing. Video recordings

have the advantage over film that you can view the material filmed instantly
and improve the quality.
They are easily edited using two machines and they are a most valuable train-
ing aid in any situation where people can learn from observing their own per-
formance. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) is an effective tool, for example
in training people in interview or presentation techniques.
(Please note that video cassettes have been replaced by DVDs.)
16.7.4 Slide projectors

You need a projector to show slides and some are available giving you the
option of showing-
“ A film strip - which is limited in that the sequence of information cannot be

varied,. It has the advantage, however, of being easily handled and
most of those commercially produced include useful supporting notes; or
“ Slides which can also be bought, or else they can be made by you using a
35 mm camera. They are perhaps most conveniently projected by using a
carousel-type
“ Projector which can be loaded in advance with a up to eight slides. The

alternative is the ‘push-pull’ projector where one is in the machine while the
other is being replaced. It is of course essential to load them in the correct
sequence and the right way , and you will do thismore easily if the slides are
carefully marked and stored.
“ The greatest advantage of the slide projection method is that you can keep
the picture in front of the audience for as long as is necessary. The film or
video cannot be controlled in this way.
“ Generally, projection on to a screen requires a darkened room, but this

makes it difficult to retain contact with audience and for the audience to make
notes. Contact can be improved by using a remote control or another person
as the operator. This allows the presenter to stand in front of the audience or
beside the screen where a pointer is to be used to identify important features
of the slide.
Slide projectors can also be operated automatically on a timed sequence or

synchronised with a sound track played on a cassette recorder, which
changes slides by a preset pulse on the tape. Such a slide -tape package can
provide self-instructional material for training or a sales programme which

is left automatically playing and releases the salesman to talk to potential

consumers and clients.
16.7.5 Tape-recorders
Reel-to-reel tape -recorders give the highest quality sound reproduction
although the cassette type which is more easily handled and more portable -
since many are battery operated is more popular.
They can be used to make a record of conversations, or as telephone an-

swering machines, or in the form of a dictating machine, they can save busi-
ness people valuable time.
In a training presentation, they have obvious value in language speech training

where instant playback speedily improves the speaker’s performance. They
can also be used to give instructions, for example to a trainee learning to
operate a piece of equipment. The use of a headset leaves his/her hands
free, and listening will make it easy for him/her to keep his eyes on the proc-
ess without the need to constantly stop and look at a manual.
16.7.6 The overhead projector

The overhead projector is the most versatile of all the aids for a speaker. A
transparency is prepared on a sheet of transparent acetate and this can be
made before or even during the presentation. This placed on a sheet of
glass on the body of the projector, and a bulb beneath this shines through
the transparency which conveys an image to a mirror, bends the light and
shines it through a lens on to a screen. The image on the sheet is projected on
to a screen which may be of any size to enable the device to be used effec-
tively in very large halls for large audiences. No blackout is required, though
in brightly lit rooms, the image loses definition;
It gives the presenter the advantage of facing his audience whilst writing, or
showing a transparency and thus retaining his rapport with them.
If s/he prepares the transparencies before hand, the simplest method is to

write or draw on inexpensive squares of acetate film, using special pens or
markers, in colour if required. Transparencies may also be photocopied
from any printed material. It is possible, though rather expensive, to repro-
duce them in colour from photographs or slides. Finally, transparen-
cies on many subjects are available commercially or they may be specially
commissioned and prepared, if professional results are needed.

No special skill is required to design and prepare transparencies, though since

what you write is going to be considerably magnified by projection, it
helps to be able to write or print very neatly. It is important not to overload
Transparencies. Too many words projected at one time may lead the audi-
ence to stop listening because they are reading (or even writing down) what
they see.
It is possible to ‘build up’ the information projected by means of ‘over-lays’.

For example, you can start with a basic outline diagram and add information
by laying over it a second transparency containing more detail. These
overlays need to be ‘registered’ so that they fit exactly over one another, and
up to four overlays can be added before light and mage clarity are lost.
Another useful technique is ‘revelation’ where parts of the transparency

are initially masked by a card which is removed in sequence to reveal the
content bit by bit.
The disadvantages are more to do with faulty use than with unsuitable design.
The disadvantages are
“ Standing between the lens and the screen results in blocking out the
image for your audience;
“ Writing which is too small and unclear is hard to read, and unless planned,
you may not be able to fit all you want onto the transparency;
“ Poor alignment of screen and projector cause distortion though this can
often be overcome by projecting straight on to a blank wall which offers far
more freedom.
Most overhead projectors are bulky, though not heavy to transport, but
as will all technology more models are becoming available which fold neatly
into a brief case.
16.7.7 Boards - chalk, white, magnetic and flip

In this section we discussed the various boards that are available to present-
ers and these include chalkboards, white, magnetic and flip boards.
The chalkboard is an aid we are obviously familiar with from our school days
and we have seen various teachers use them with great effect.They have a

value in any presentation but the disadvantages are that they can give the
audience the feeling of being back in school which may be resented. You also
need to develop very good clear writing to be able to use one in a presenta-
tion - printing in capital letters or lower case is much better than using your
normal style of handwriting. Above all, because it takes time to write points
onto a chalkboard you may feel the audience is bored and you must avoid the
temptation of ‘talking to the blackboard’ with your back to the audience.
White boards on which coloured felt tip type markers are used are less messy
than chalkboards and more vivid colour can be used.
Magnetic boards allow the user to attach prepared material to the board to
built up a display. They are particularly effective for exhibition or foyer-type
displays and are easily changed and readjusted or re-used.
A flip board or chart is, in effect, a large writing pad of sheets of paper sup-
ported on an easel. You write your messages on the sheets and the used
sheets are flipped over to reveal clean ones or pages that contain prepared
material.
The main advantage of the various types of board available to a presenter is

that they are cheaper and require a minimum of expertise to use. A little prior
practice is however, essential. The chalkboard is at its most effective when
used for very simple visuals, a few key words or simple diagrams built up
spontaneously during a discussion, for example. You need to remember, if
speaking whilst writing, that you will need to raise your voice, since your back
is to the audience. You should aim to keep the board uncluttered by making
sure that you erase material not needed as otherwise it will be a distraction
from new topics.
16.7.8 PowerPoint
In this section we provide a definition of PowerPoint and some hints on use of
PowerPoint. Wendy Russell (About.com Guide) has this to say about
PowerPoint:
The term “PowerPoint presentation” was coined when Microsoft introduced

its software program PowerPoint. PowerPoint is commonly used by pre-
senters as a digital aid when presenting their topic to an audience. Microsoft
has called this type of software a “presentation”, which is a misnomer. Many
presenters often forget that they are the presentation that the audience came
to see, not their PowerPoint presentation.

PowerPoint is probably the most used (and misused) presentation software

program. Microsoft estimates that over 30 million PowerPoint presentations
are given daily around the globe.
http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/pq/g/powerpoint-presentation.htm
According to Seth Godin, PowerPoint is a remarkable tool because it allows

very dense verbal communication. Some companies have no time to read
memos so PowerPoint is a powerful tool to use. PowerPoint presents an
amazing opportunity. You can use the screen to talk emotionally to the audi-
ence’s right brain (through their eyes), and your words can go through the
audience’s ears to talk to their left brain.
Here are Godin’s five rules to remember when presenting using PowerPoint:
 No more than six words on a slide. EVER.
 No cheesy images. Use professional images.
 No dissolves, spins or other transitions. None.
 Sound effects can be used a few times per presentation, but never
(ever) use the sound effects that are built in to the programme. Instead,
rip sounds and music from CDs.
 Do not hand out print-outs of your slides. They are emotional, and they
will not work without you there.
 The home run is easy to describe: You put up a slide. It triggers an
emotional reaction in the audience. They sit up and want to know what
you are going to say that fits in with that image. Then, if you do it right,
every time they think of what you said, they will see the image (and vice
versa).
(Article Really Bad PowerPoint and how to avoid it By Seth Godin
http://www.sethgodin.com/freeprize/reallybad-1.pdf).
Wendy Russell at (About.com Guide) points out some mistakes people make
when making presentations. We will examine some of them so you do not fall
into those pitfalls when presenting using PowerPoint. These are as follows:
 You are discouraged from reading your slides all the time but to refer to
them otherwise, there would be no need for you to present
 You should not put too much information into the slides as you might
end up confusing your audience
 Some people choose an inappropriate template design or theme hence
this might not go well with the audience
 One might also choose colours that audience might not appreciate
 Others might choose font sizes that might not suit those far away from
the screen

 Too many photos and graphs might also bore the audience and might
indicate that you might have not researched your topic thouroghly
 Also, you are discouraged from putting too many different animations
on your slides
(http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/presentationmistakes/tp/
080722_presentation_mistakes.htm).
Activity 16.3
? 1. In this section we have been looking at some of the visual aids you
could decide to use. Take a look at your own working situation, which
one of the above visual aids can you access? And how can you use this
in a particular presentation?
2. In the use of visual aids, the audience is usually impressed by the
elaborate devices and may miss the subject being presented. How can
you keep your audience on track?
3. You have been invited to address the Rotarians on a subject that is
within your working experience. Prepare the speech you would make
assuming that you have 20 minutes after business lunch. If you really
feel up to it, then practice that speech to your partner.
16.8 Summary
In this unit we considered the appropriate skills that are required and the
facilities that can be used to make a good presentation. A well-prepared speech
is always the foundation for this and it is important that the style is appropriate
to the occasion. Sometimes a hand-out is useful and sometimes the speech
can be supported by an audio-visual display.

References
Berko, R.M. Wolvin, A.D. and Wolvin, D.R,(‘1998). Communicat-
ing; A social and career focus (7th ed.) Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Co.
ment Environment Study Guide I. Pretoria: Unisa.
Fielding , M. (1997). Effective Communication in Organisations: Pre-
paring messages that communicate (2nd Ed.) Kenwyn: Juta & Co.
Ltd.
http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/presentationmistakes/tp/
080722_presentation_mistakes.htm accessed 02/04/13.
http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/pq/g/powerpoint-presentation.htm
http://www.sethgodin.com/freeprize/reallybad-1.pdf) accessed on 28/03/13.

Unit Seventeen
Non-verbal Communication
17.0 Introduction
C
ommunication can be verbal or non- verbal. The features that prede
termine the perception that others have of you are influenced by your
job title, your status, your gender and age, your ‘background’ and
appearance; your use of language and accent; your stance and how you make
gestures.
17.1 Objectives
 describe the features of non-verbal communication
 discuss the use of non-verbal communication to make your presentation
more effective
 explain the advantages and disadvantages of non-verbal
communication
17.2 Features of Non-verbal Communications

Non-verbal communication is simply the process of communication
without words and it comprises the use of voice; the arrangement of a room;
dress and personal appearance, commonly called ‘body language’.
17.2.1 Non-verbal communication is closely associated with

verbal communication.
Verbal communication brings the parties closely together and non-verbal com-
munication is generally an ‘add-on’ to that process. On some occasions, it is
possible in written communication to introduce some of the characteristics of
non-verbal communication.
17.2.2 Non-verbal communication is a continuous process.

In verbal communication, the process involves activity by one person fol-
lowed by activity from the other person -there is a flow of ideas between the
parties. Non-verbal communication is continuous in that at one point it will
be enhancing what that person is saying and then it will be in reaction to the
other person’s response.
17.2.3 Non-verbal communication can be intentional or

unintentional.
If a person engages in body language intentionally, it can be interpreted as
showmanship almost to the point of being recognised as an amateur dramatic
presentation. Wild changes of expression and gesticulation are interpreted
as vain attempts to make some sort of an impression. The value of non-
verbal communication lies in being able to recognise and interpret the uninten-
tional surprise, body movements and voice changes.

Unit 17 Non-verbal Communication
17.2.4 Non-verbal communication provides clues rather than

evidence.
It may be possible to see examples of non-verbal communication but you
have still to interpret them correctly. For example, most of us feel guilt
going through the green route at customs because we are inexperienced
and we know the penalties for smuggling - even unintentionally. So we tend
to walk quicker, to talk a bit louder, to laugh at anything - because a person
who is laughing cannot possibly have a guilty secret. The Customs officers
are used to this all day - in our daily meetings we are not. It helps us interpret
body language if we know the other person well, because we will have
seen his/her reactions previously and later events will have enabled us to
place a reliable interpretation on particular behaviour. It is more difficult with
strangers and we can only interpret according to what we have witnessed in
others.
17.2.5 With non-verbal communication you have to

recognise the whole message.
Non-verbal communication comes as a complete signal and often changes
several times while verbal communication is continuing. You may recognise
that although the face has a smile, the knuckles may be white and the feet are
tapping quickly. You also have to recognise that the message is affected by
the culture and gender of the sender, and the context in which transmission is
occurring.
The context in which, for example a wink is used can change its purpose
totally. If a wink is used by of the person speaking, it has a different interpre-
tation to when used while another person is speaking.
17.3 Functions of Non Verbal Communication

Argyle (1988) brings out five primary functions of non verbal communication.
These are:
 Repeating
 Substituting
 Complementing
 Accenting – that is, putting emphasis on certain words to clarify what
we mean
 Regulating – for example, cues to tell us when it is our turn to talk

 contradicting
(www.authorstream.com/presentation/niki2427-1539081-non-
verbalcommunication/)
Activity 17.1
1. Of the three features of non-verbal communication, which one is most
? commonly used? Answer this question after observing about ten
people. Explain why this feature is the most dominant.
2. In what ways is non-verbal communication weaker than verbal
communication?
3. Evaluate the functions of non verbal communication.
17.4 Types of Non Verbal Communication

These can be body language or non body as we discuss them now.
17.5 Kinesics/Body Language

Somebody had to invent a word to mean what we all general call body lan-
guage and then the ‘experts’ invented two options. Body language is a vari-
ety of involuntary activities that give away how we are feeling as we
encode or decode a particular message. Watching people’s actions can
bring you a lot closer to the truth than merely listening to what they say -
which might be a cover- up. Body language can be very revealing - it is
the outward expression of inner feelings.
The general kind of non-verbal communication we are dealing with move-

ment of any part of the body. If someone is constantly fidgeting with his
hands, frequently crosses his legs, taps his feet, drums his fingers or gets up
and walks around the room, it is a sure sign of nervous or agitation. You have
to learn to recognise such signs and deal with them sympathetically.
On the other side of the coin, you are being ‘interpreted’ too. When you are
talking, try to remain still. Movement is distracting and mannerisms can be
extremely annoying - head-scratching, beard-stroking or similar movements
can be very disturbing when you are trying to listen to a complicated
argument.

17.5.1 Body direction and contact

In this section we look at body direction and contact in more detail. We
discuss this under four headings, namely posture, contact and proximity, ges-
tures and orientation.
Posture
There are two basic groups of body language postures that you need to be
able to decode and know how to use: open or closed postures. Posture can
also be standing, sitting, squatting, kneeling or lying.
Open or closed which are the most obvious sets of signals, and which can be
identified in the following ways - An open posture is when the person you are
with has his arms folded and legs crossed and his body turned away. S/he is
signalling that s/he is rejecting your messages.
A closed posture is when the person is showing open hands, fully facing you
with both feet planted on the ground and your message is being accepted.
Forward or back indicates that people are actively or passively relating
to communication, and these can be identified by the following clues.
Forward is when the person is leaning forward and pointing towards
you - s/he is actively accepting or rejecting the message.
Back is identified when s/he is leaning back, looking up at the ceiling, doo-
dling on a pad, cleaning his glasses and generally ‘switched off’ - s/he is either
passively absorbing or actively ignoring your message.
These posture groups combine to create basic modes –

 In responsive mode, open/forward the person is actively accepting and
this the time to close the sale, ask for agreement, demand a
concession.
 In reflective mode, open/back, people are interested and receptive but
not actively accepting. Trying to close the sale or asking for agreement
now may drive them away into fugitive mode. This is the time to present
further facts and incentives, or it may be good time to keep quiet and
let them think.
 In fugitive mode, close/back, people are trying to escape physically
through the door or mentally into boredom. This is the time to spark
interest in any way you can, even irrelevant to the message.
 In combative mode, closed/forward, there, is active resistance.
This is the time to defuse anger, avoid contradiction and outright
argument and to steer them into reflective mode.

How these modes are expressed in posture and gestures often vary from
culture to culture, you must study body language as it is expressed by the
person you are communicating with.
More postures are listed below.

 Openness - open hands, an unbuttoned coat;
 Defensiveness - arms crossed, a sideways glance, touching or
rubbing the nose or eyes, a buttoned coat, drawing away;
 Insecurity - pinching flesh, chewing a pen, thumb over thumb, biting a
fingernail;
 Cooperation - upper body in a forward posture like a sprinter,
open hands, sitting comfortably on the edge of a chair, hand to face
gestures, unbuttoning a coat during the discussion;
 Confidence - hands held in the ‘steeple’ shape, hands behind the
back which is stiffened, hands in coat pockets or on lapels of the coat;
 Nervousness - clearing through, ‘whew’ sound, whistling, smoking,
pinching flesh, fidgeting, covering mouth, jiggling money or keys,
tugging ears, wringing hands;
 Frustration - short quick breath, ‘tsk’ sound, tightly clenched hands,
wringing hands, gestures with a closed hand, pointing index finger, rub-
bing hand through hair, rubbing back of neck.
These are all valuable signs and can give guide to their attitude, especially in
business encounters.
Contact and proximity
This describes how relationships are affected by space or proximity -

‘proxemics’. People have different views about being closed to other peo-
ple. Some find it disturbing to be approached too closely, while others wel-
come friendly and informal contacts. You can see this often in a crowed lift
and we overcome this by creating an artificial barrier of pulling or elbows
close to our side, ‘protecting’ ourselves with a briefcase or bag and staring
at the light that indicates which floor we are on.
The amount of bodily contact that is touch/haptics between people tells us a

lot about their relationship. It can signify how one is feeling, affection, atten-
tion, support and so on. According to Heslin (1983) we have functional /
professional touch, social/polite touch, friendship touch. Clearly, it is
minimal during a business encounter but it is still important. A good, firm
handshake can signal the beginning and end of a meeting and also signify trust
and good faith between the two people involved.

A hand on the shoulder or the arm nearest to you directs a person the right
chair if this is important in your planning of the meeting. A hand on the waist
or the shoulder furthest from you is far more personal. However, always be
very careful of such contacts and approach anything other than the tradi-
tional handshake with caution. While some nationalities - especially from
some parts of southern Europe - use contact without any ulterior meaning,
many cultures lead people to respond differently. A pat on the arm or slap
on the back may be found intrusive or even though you intend it to be a sign of
friendship.
Proxemics and personal space
This involves different types of spatial behaviour which can be proximity,

orientation, territorial behaviour and movement in physical setting. Knapp
(1992) identifies four types of spaces as follows:
Intimate: (15 - 45cm) – intimate relationships
Personal space: (45 - 125cm) – generally no access
Social distance: (1.25 - 3.60cm) friends, colleagues
Public distance: (over 3.6m) strangers, public
The layout of a room and the arrangement of furniture can be very important
in meeting. If only two of you are meeting, you must decide -
If you wish to assert your authority, in which case the classic method is that
the meeting is held across your desk and your chair is higher or more impres-
sive than the other person’s or if you wish to work together or seek advice
from the other person, then you leave you ‘official’ chair empty and
arrange to sit together on the other side of your desk or at a coffee table in
comfortable chairs.
If you are meeting a group, formality is achieved by having a set of tables and
chairs in front of your ‘official’ position as this recreates the schoolroom ap-
proach and discipline is restored through childhood memory. The danger is
that this can give the impression that you are there to lecture to the group, so
no contribution is expected, or the others may feel that this is an insult in view
of your relative positions. The informal approach is to arrange that all the
participants is around a single large table as this indicates a meeting of equals.
The atmosphere is relaxed and the meeting should proceed far more
effectively.

Think carefully when you are arranging the layout of a room. When the mini
skirt is in fashion again, always be sure to give women in the meeting enough
room that they are able to face you bodily without any embarrassment from
having their legs pointing to you.
Gestures
There are a number of different forms of gestures that give an indication of

mood or receptiveness. In some cultures, a pat on the back is acceptable
while in others it is not. Most western cultures, to make a ring with your
forefinger or middle finger and thumb signifies that something is ‘okay’ whereas
in Belgium it means the opposite, in Japan it means money and in Turkey it is
a sexually offensive gesture. Eskimos, nod when they mean ‘no’ and shake
their head for ‘yes’. In some, cultures it is polite to sit as soon as you are in
the presence of someone who you want to give recognition and respect as
being more important than you, while in other cultures you must be invited to
sit.
We have all seen the hitch-hikers signal with a thump, and commuter omnibus
drivers have their own set of gestures that warn of upcoming road and traffic
conditions. The ‘V’ sign is associated with victory - or something less pleas-
ant if the back of the hand is towards the other person.
Gestures may also be used for emphasis.
Orientation
By orientation, we mean the direction in which a person turns their body to

another person. If you face the person who is speaking to you, you give the
impression that you are really listening to him. On the other hand, if you face
away, then it looks as though you have no real interest in what s/he is saying.
Be aware of important signs like this when conducting oral exchanges. If you
someone gets up and walks over to the window during a conversation, it may
suggest a number of things:
 That s/he is bored with the conversation;
 That s/he needs time out to gather thoughts or come to a decision; or
 That s/he is upset or angry and does not want to let you see it.
Look for such responses throughout oral exchanges - and be aware of your
own orientation, too. Once again, they can reveal a great deal about your
attitude. You can use your own orientation to help the person talking to you.You
know what can be interpreted from these movements, and if while you are

listening to somebody you want him/her to stop -may be so that you can ask
a question - or warn him/her that you do not understand him/her, you can
deliberately use one of the signs.
17.5.2 Head and facial signals

There are a number of different signals that can be read from the head and
facial expression. In general these are easier to control, and so if you observe
them in someone else you can ask yourself if s/he is using them deliberately to
send you a message.
Nodding and shaking
These are fairly obvious, intentional forms of communicating in that we know

we are doing them and we can control these movements. However, as well as
the usual meaning by anyone who is not an Eskimo, shaking the head with
a frowning expression may suggest puzzlement, or if accompanied by closed
eyes, it can suggest anger and frustration.
Nodding and shaking is also important when listening to someone speak. It

shows that you are listening carefully and responding to what is being said.
Try to develop the habit of using these signs in an unobtrusive way to indicate:
 By nodding, that you are interested in and understand what is being
said; or By shaking your head, that the speaker is moving into an
area where you have reservations or need clarification.
It gives the speaker confidence and helps him/her to express his/her ideas
fully and freely.
Facial expression
Facial expression is another obvious sign of reasonable smiling in a friendly

way - without a silly grim on your face - encourage the speaker. When
speaking, look for responses shown by expressions -
 Smiles reveal pleasure;
 Withdrawn, vacant expressions suggest boredom;
 Frowns may suggest anger, but more often concentration or deeper
thought.
Facial expression can be exhibited by surprise, fear, disgust, anger, happiness
and sadness.

Eye contact/Occulesics
It is generally accepted that a person who looks straight in to your eyes is

honest and trustworthy. This may not be the case but, in any case, it is a
good idea to look directly at the person you are talking to. Doing this sug-
gests an open, honest nature. In the same way that the grin spoils the impres-
sion given by a smile, it can be overdone and it is wise to avoid an unwavering
stare as many people find this disturbing.
When you are talking to a group of people, however, make sure that your
eyes travel across the room, so that you can look at each person in turn.
Staring at one person makes him/her feel embarrassed.
Arrange the room so that you can maintain eye contact with everyone who is
there. Without this, people quickly become bored, as they feel isolated and
left out. In eye contact ensure that you are aware of the different types of
looking so you choose the appropriate one, for example, we have gaze, gape,
gawk, glance, glimpse, peep and peer.
Activity 17.2
? 1. You go into your manager’s office, and he asks you to sit in a chair
near the door, some distance from his/her desk. What message/s
would this seating arrangement send to you? Are you convinced that
your conclusion is correct?
2. In what ways does posture indicate one’s feelings in non verbal
communication?
3. Do you think eye contact is important in business communication? How
would the different types of looking affect communication? Justify your
answer.
Olfaltics (Sense of smell)
This can refer to natural body odours and concern about not having an offen-
sive odour. Frequent bathing is recommended while use of perfumes and
deodorants can send powerful messages to people one interacts with.

17.6 Vocal Signals

Although an oral sound is made, the point we cover also relate to part of
body language. These include tone of voice and volume, duration, intona-
tion, voice quality, speech clarity, paralinguistics and so forth.
17.6.1 Tone and volume

If you speak calmly and clearly with a reasonable volume and pace, you give
the impression of being in control. On the other hand, if you talk very quickly
in a high-pitched voice and frequently run out of breath, you sound nervous.
Talking louder can emphasise the importance of the point being made. Al-
ways listen carefully to the tone of someone’s voice - it can be as important as
what he/she is saying in conveying a mood or response. Make allowances,
too, for people who are nervous or upset, and try to speak calmly to them.
How the word are emphasised helps interpret the real meaning behind a set
of words that, without expression, could be difficult to decode. For exam-
ple, ‘What do you mean?’ can have a number of interpretations depending on
where the emphasis is placed. Try saying it, emphasising each word at
different times. See what I mean?
17.6.2 Paralinguistics
This word means the noises people make when they are listening to someone
else speak and wish to make a reaction - ‘uh-huh’, ‘mm’ and ‘oh’, for exam-
ple are encouraging sounds. Others are not encouraging and a slow handclap
is showing irritation.
17.6.3 Silence
Silence is also another form of non verbal communication. This can be in the
form of agreement, disagreement, confusion, respect, sadness, thoughtful-
ness and so forth.
17.7 Chronemics
Chronemics is the study of the use of time. It depends on how we perceive,
value and structure time. People can be punctual, willing to wait and so on. If
you keep the other person waiting for some time before seeing him/her, you

are communicating that you regard him/her as a fairly low priority in your
day’s work.
If the telephone rings frequently during your discussion and there are many
interruptions from other callers, it is clear that you regard the person you are
actually with as of little significance. They say in America time flies,life is hec-
tic, in China and Spain, time walks – they take it easy.
17.8 Artefacts/Object Communication

This includes dress code, jewellery, tattoos, piercings, trinkets and other things
related to status symbol. When you are dealing with a certain organisation,
you need to observe the type of offices they have, the furniture, the types of
computers and so on. This might tell you whether or not it is a profit making
organisation.
17.8.1 Dress code

The way that you dress and your general appearance says a lot about the way
you regard the people you are meeting. If you wear smart, clean clothes and
generally look good, you will show that you value the meeting and have shown
courtesy by dressing fairly formally. Conversely, appearing untidy suggests
you are not concerned about them or the meeting and it also suggests a lack
of efficiency since you take so little care over your appearance, you may be
similarly unconcerned about your work.
Be smart without being overdressed. For a man to have a rose in his suit
lapel, a pearly tie-pin or for a woman to dress with an evening dress or wear
a broad-brimmed hat would give the impression of attending a wedding or
funeral, not a formal meeting. Try to give a smart and efficient image to the
world.
17.8.2 Colours
Can our characters in the business world be determined by clothes we wear?
Some suggestions have been made with regard to different colours people
wear. These are as follows:
 Red: assertive, passionate and enthusiastic
 Orange: warm herated, quick-witted and active
 Yellow: cheerfulness, optimism, originality

 Green: responsible, hopeful,into green issues

 Blue: cool, calm, peaceful
 Violet: sensitive,tasteful artistic
 White: innocence, enlightenment, efficiency
 Black: mysterious, unconventional, dominant
 Brown: trustworthy, reliable, home loving
 Grey: anonymous
(file:///J: Languageand%20Communication%20within%20the%20Culture.htm)
The issues discussed on non verbal communication can have a strong effect
on what actually happens. They reveal your attitude, just as clearly as what
you will eventually say. These are the unspoken and subconscious acts of
communication. If you overlook the non-verbal elements such as these in the
way that you organise and approach a meeting, you will lose the advantages
of oral communication because of the bad impression you create by your
underlying message.
Activity 17.3
1. Several aspects of body language have been discussed above.
? Choose four of them that you consider to be the most commonly used
by employees of your organisation at all levels.
2. Describe what they have achieved through this form of communication.
3. If you are interviewing someone and s/he keeps on avoiding eve
contact with you, what conclusions would you draw about her/his
character?
17.9 Summary
In this unit we discussed different types of non verbal communication, that is
kinesics, proximity and space, dress code, chronemics, artefacts, vocal sig-
nals, eye contact and so on.
Remember that is not enough simply to listen to what is being said, sitting
motionless with a fixed stare on your face -if the communication process is to
be fully effective, you must also show that you are listening and that you un-
derstand.

References
Berko, R.M., Wolvin, A.D. and Wolvin, D.R.(1998). Communicat-
ing: A. Social and Career Focus (7th ed.) Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Co.
Cronje G.J. de. et al (1994). Introduction to the Economic and Manage-
ment Environment Studie Guide 1Pretoria: UNISA.
file:///J:/Languageand%20Communication%20within%20the%20Culture.htm
accessed on 7/3/13.
Heslin, R. and Alper, T. (1983). “Touch: A Bonding Issue” in J. M. Weimann
and R. P. Harrison (Eds), Nonverbal Communication. Beverly
Hills, C A: Sage.
Knapp, M. L. (1992). Non-verbal Communication in Human Interac-
tion. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
www.authorstrseam.com/Presentation/niki2427-153901-non-verbal-commu-
nication/

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Bachelor of Commerce

Module BHIR 102

Content Reviewer: E. Mawonera

Editor: Diana Mupunga

Revised by: Constance Kadada

Editor: Barnabas Muyengwa

P.O. Box MP1119

The Zimbabwe Open University is a distance teaching and open

Year: October 2013

Cover design: B. Pillay

Layout and design: C. S. Nhari

ISBN No.: 978-1-77938-812-4

Printed by: ZOU Press

Typeset in Times New Roman, 12 point on auto leading

© Zimbabwe Open University. All rights reserved. No part of this

The six hour tutorials should be so structured that the

Session I (Two Hours)

Session II (Two Hours)

Session III (Two Hours)

Conclusion for this course, but also to prepare yourself to

Unit One: Definition of Communication

Unit Two: The Communication Process

Unit Four: Group Communications

Unit Five: Levels of Communication

Unit Six: Barriers to Communication

Unit Seven: Conflict in Organisations

Unit Eight: Media in Communication

Unit Nine: Use Appropriate Language

Unit Eleven: Memoranda, Notice and Circulars

Unit Twelve: Reports

Unit Thirteen: Electronic Communication

Unit Fourteen: Oral Communication

Unit Fifteen: Interviews

Unit Sixteen: Presentations

Unit Seventeen: Non-verbal Communication

In this module we look at various ways of communicating in business. Our aim

Unit Three is on communication theory and communication models. We de-

We also look at informal group communication in particular grapevine.

In Unit Eight we examine media in communication specifically, written, oral

In Unit Thirteen we look at types of electronic communication, Internet, ad-

2 Zimbabwe Open University

In this first unit, we provide different definitions of communication; investigate

1.2 The Purpose of Studying Communication

It is probably the variety of uses to which good communication skills can be

4 Zimbabwe Open University

Having given you an early definition of communication, let us now start to

1.3 Passive and Active Communication

Passive communication occurs when information is not deliberately dissemi-

Taking another situation, a classic example of passive communication is the

I may be disappointed; I may be pleased as I can now find time to fix a

Active communication is when information is deliberately sent. This is done in

Zimbabwe Open University 5

Such examples of active communication are generally intended to provoke a

We are interested in active communication.

1.4 What is Communication?

I. A. Richards (1928) saw communication as involving voluntary interaction

Fiske (1990) views communication as involving:

Here are other definitions of communication to consider:

6 Zimbabwe Open University

 “The transfer of information, ideas or opinions by the use of speech,

According to Nick Sanchez, communication is:

1.5 The Purpose of Communication

1.5.1 Direct benefits of communication