Choosing Methods of

Communication

Types of communication Examples Usefulness

Written Word
-in any language and various
media, the written word is basis
to literate societies
Letters, memos, reports,
proposals, minutes etch.
The written word is the basis of
the organizational
communication, and is used
because it is relatively permanent
and accessible.

Spoken word Conversations, interview, Verbal exchanges in person & by

-communication that is
effective only when it is heard
by the people.
Symbolic Gestures
-any positive or negative
behavior that can be seen or
heard by the intended target.
meetings, phone calls, etch.
Gestures, facial expression,
posture, tone of voice,
presence, absence.
phone are used because of their
immediacy; they are chief means
by which organization work on a
day-to-day basis.
Actions & body language
unconsciously affect people-
propaganda depend on the
manipulations.

Visual Images Photographs (slides & print) Visual images are used because
-image that can be perceive by paintings drawings, graphics, they convey powerful conscious
a target group cartoons, charts, logos, & unconscious messages.
videos etch.

Multimedia Television, newspaper, Media are especially useful when

-combination of different magazines, video, CD rooms, they can be participative. The
methods above, often involving etch. more professional use this the
IT. more it will be productive.

COMMUNICATING BY BODY LANGUAGE

Posture is all important in body language. On a first meeting, this two posture
would create very different impressions. The positive posture might have the best effect
on the outcome by encouraging open communication, while the negative one would
make communication difficult.
Reading Body Language
Body language is difficult to read-and control. However, a broad understanding of
body language is one of the routes to understanding the real opinions of others.
Example: if people are inwardly feeling uncomfortable because they are lying, their
awkward body language will betray the lie.
Giving Body Signals
 Supportive gestures, such as making an eye contact & nodding while somebody is
talking, create empathy.
GIVIVG BODY LANGUAGE
1.Hands on chin indicate approval
 Listening with Approval
-approving listening is shown her by slight tilt of the head together with friendly
eye contact.
2.Raised eyebrows indicate interest
 Listening with Approval
-eyes making contact & body leaning forward show alertness & readiness to
assist the speaker.
3.Gesturing with your hand adds emphasis
 Emphasizing a Point
-using a hand to gesture emphatically is one way of reinforcing a verbal point.
4.Indirect gaze & pen-biting adds to sense of uncertainty
 Showing Uncertainty
-pen-biting is a throwback to the need to be nursed. This shows fear & lack of
confidence.
5.Arm wrapped around the body is a form of self comfort
 Needing Reassurance
- one hand on the neck portion & other on the waist show a need for
reassurance.
6.Knitted brow & closed eyes show doubt
 Experiencing Conflict
The closed eyes nose pitching reveal inner confusion & conflict about what is
being heard.
COMMUNICATING by BODY LANGUAGE
 Direct gaze &broad smile show friendly attention
 Hands on hips indicate determination & ability to take control
 Body facing front & open posture show confidence
 Direct gaze shows attention
 Chin up & relaxed arms show lack of tension
 Indirect gaze is evasive
 Body turned away signifies rejection of what other person is saying
 Slight slumping shows lack of confidence
 Head pulling indicates doubt
ROLE OF LANGUAGE
 Language is the medium of interpersonal communication preferred by leaders
and the spoken word is the essential and most natural form of language.
 Managerial communication implies much more than effective use of language.
Managers attitudes towards workers, how managers embellished their words
with actions, and how employees perceive superiors are part of the chemistry of
communication.
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
 Verbal Communication
1. Written Communication: occurs through a variety of means, such as business
letters, office memoranda, reports, resumes, written telephone messages,
newsletter & policy manuals.
2. Oral Communication: or a spoken word, takes place largely through face-to-face
conversation with another individual, meetings with several individuals, and
telephone conversations
 advantages of Oral communication
• being fast,
• being more generally personal
• Providing immediate feedback from others involved in the communication.
 disadvantages of Oral communication
• time consuming
• more difficult to terminate
• Additional effort is required to document what is said if a record is necessary.
 Non-verbal Communication
- Communication by means of elements and behaviors that are not coded into
words.
1. Kinesics Behavior -body movements, such as gestures, facial expressions, eye
movements, and postures.
2. Proxemics -the influence of proximity and space on communication.
3. Paralanguage -vocal aspects of communication that relate to how something is
said rather than to what is said.
4. Objects language -communicative use of material things, including clothing,
cosmetics, furniture & architecture.
Basic Components of the Communication Process
• Sender : the initiator of the message
• Encoding : process of translating the intended message into words and gestures.
• Message : the encoding process outcome. Which consist of verbal & nonverbal
symbols that have been developed to convey meanings to the receiver.
• Medium : the method use to convey the message to the intended receiver.
• Receiver : the person with whom the message is exchange.
• Decoding : the process of translating the symbols into interpreted message. A
messenger is decoded by receiver who interprets symbols, words, pictures, or
gestures to give them meaning.
• Noise : any factor in the communication process that interferes with exchanging
messages & achieving common meaning.
• Feedback : the receiver’s basic response to the interpreted message; a response
or acknowledgement that a message has been received & understood.
=the process is not over until communication completes a full cycle back to the sender.
Feedback occurs when a receiver responds to sender’s message with an understandable
return message.=
One- way Communication:
• The communication that results when the communication process does not allow
for feedback.
Ex. implementing policies etch.
Two-way Communication:
• The communication process explicitly includes feedback.
Ex. business meeting etch.
Making the process Effective
Peter F. Drucker views the communication process from the receivers
perspective. He believes that communication is the act of receiving information, of
perceiving language & gestures with total environment; the spoken word has no
meaning apart from the receivers cultural & social interpretation of it.
Drucker views:
• It is the recipient who communicates. The so-called communicator, the person
who emits the communication, does not communicate. He utters. Unless there is
someone who hears, there is no communication. There is only noise. The
communicator speaks or writes or sings- but he does not communicate. Indeed,
he cannot communicate. He can only make it possible, or impossible, for a
recipient- or rather, “percipient”- to perceive.
• To be a good communicator, then, you have to initiate messages clearly,
encoding them carefully and choosing appropriate channels for transmission.
However you must also be a good listener. You cannot be an effective
communicator unless you are both an able transmitter and an able listener. The
challenges for the managers is to improve the like hood that their messages will
be received and understood, while being receptive to messages sent to them by
others.
Influences on Individual Communication and Interpersonal processes.
 PERCEPTUAL PROCESS
1. Perception: the process that use individuals use to acquire & make sense out of
information from the environment.
Three Stages:
selecting- the filtering of stimuli that we encounter so that only certain
information receives our attention.
organizing-the pattering of information from the selection stage.
interpreting- attaching meaning to the information that we have selected&
organized.
2.Stereotyping : the tendency to attribute characteristics to an individual on the basis of
an assessment of the group to which the individual belongs.

Two Steps occur:

=the one categories the individual as belonging to a group whose members are
perceive as sharing certain common characteristics.
 = he uses those perceive characteristics to draw conclusions about the individual,
rather than acquiring particular & specific information about the individual more
directly.
Stereotyping- the belief that certain people have attributes based on characteristics
such as sex, race, & ethnic group that make them superior of inferior.
3.Halo Effect: the tendency to use the general impression based on one or a few
characteristics of an individual to judge other characteristics of the same individual.
4.Projection: the tendency of an individual to assume that others share his or her
thoughts, feelings, and characteristics.
5. Perceptual Defense : the tendency to block out or distort information that one finds
threatening or that challenges ones beliefs.
 ATTRIBUTION PROCESS
1.Attribution theory :a theory that attempts to explain how individuals make
judgments' or attribution about the cause of another's or their own behavior.
2. Fundamental Attribution Error : the tendency to underestimate the importance of
situational influences & to overestimate the importance of dispositional influences in
explaining behavior.
3. Self-Serving Bias : the tendency to perceive oneself as responsible for success &
others responsible for failures.
4.Semantics : the study of meanings and choice of words
5. Semantic Net: the network of words & word meanings that a given individual has
available for recall.
6. Semantic Blocks : the communication difficulties that arise from word choices.
Receivers decode word & phrases in conformity with their own semantic networks,
which maybe different from those of the sender.
7.Professional Jargon: language related to, or used by a specific profession but
unfamiliar to those outside the profession.
CULTURAL CONTEXT IN COMMUNICATION
• High- context cultures- cultures in which the emphasis in the communication
process is on establishing and strengthening relationship in the course of
exchanging information.
• Low- context cultures- cultures in which the emphasis in the communication
process is on exchanging information & is less focused in building relationship.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
• Active Listening-the process in which the listener actively participate in
attempting to grasp the facts & the feelings being expressed by the speaker.
• Passive Listening- the listener follow the general gist of the words spoken.
• Feedback- other interpersonal communication skills that are particularly
important for managers center around the issue of feedback, both giving &
receiving. It deals with specific observable behavior rather than generalized.
ORGANIZATIONAL &GROUP COMMUNICATION
• Communication Network: the pattern of information flow among task group
members.
• Wheel Network: the most centralized, all messages must floe through the
individual at the center of the wheel.
• Chain Network: some members can communicate with more than member of
the network, but the individual in the center of the chain tends to emerge as the
controller of messages.
• Y Network: the member at the folk of the “Y” usually becomes the central person
in the network.
• Circle Network: each member can communicate with the individual on either
side.
• Star Network: most decentralized, each member can communicate with any
other member.