Assignment 2

Q1. a) Communication is an essential part of human interaction. The benefits of effective

communication are many and obvious as they enhance all aspects of our personal and professional
lives. Ineffective or misunderstood communications in our personal lives may give rise to problems
or embarrassment but in our professional lives the results of misunderstandings may have much
more serious results.

Q2. a) Nonverbal communication is the form of communication which is not encoded in words. It
plays a significant role in the process of communication. Nonverbal communication and verbal
communication are the two primary channels which are studied in business communication. They
support each other in various ways. Nonverbal communication has many functions and types.

Burgoon, Buller, and Woodall say that nonverbal behaviours are “typically sent with intent, are used
with regularity among members of a social community, are typically interpreted as intentional, and
have consensually recognized interpretations.”

Many scholars have disagreed with this opinion. They said that nonverbal communication brings
forward one’s unconscious thoughts and feelings. It honestly reveals the sender’s thoughts and
feelings about a certain thing.

In real life we unconsciously move our body throughout the day. Most of the times a person
presents himself nonverbally in an organisation unconsciously. Even so, others can get meaning from
one’s nonverbal behaviours whether they are intentional or unintentional. For example, a person on
a higher position can notice the nonverbal communication of his employees during a meeting or a
presentation. Their body movements and facial expressions can explain their attitude towards what
is being said. If somebody is leaning back in the chair, or looking at his watch, it shows that he is
uninterested and bored. These assumptions are usually based on acts that are typically done
unintentionally. So, nonverbal communication is comprehensively defined as ‘any meaning
conveyed through sounds, behaviours, and artifacts other than words.’

One of the most important functions of nonverbal communication is that it is used to conceal one’s
real ideas and thoughts from others and to defend oneself when necessary. It is consciously
employed to generate particular meanings, and also to conceal one’s specific thoughts about a
particular thing. This channel of communication is not a strict and rule-governed system of symbols.
It can be spontaneous and unintentional as well as intentional for conveying meanings to the
persons in an organisation. It may not follow formalized symbolic rule systems. For example, a frown
is used for showing irritation in general but it can also be consciously used by a person to pretend
that he is empathizing with the other in his unpleasant experience.

For hiding motives a person combines verbal and nonverbal communication and uses both trickily to
fulfill his purpose. For example, when one wants to know somebody’s mind about something, he
speaks in a soft tone and uses friendly facial expressions. He uses empathetic gestures to assure his
loyalty with that person. It may include nodding of the head, agreeable facial expressions, etc. In
addition, he may sit near him in order to show intimacy with him. Moreover, a person in an
organisation may want to sit away from his opponents in order to hide his thoughts and feelings
from them and to secure his privacy. Thus body movements and proxemics play a primary role in an
organisation.

In the same way, one who wants to get a favour from his colleague may try to be nice with him all
the time and agree with him in his opinions. He may also pretend that he identifies with him and
understands his problems. The use of paralinguistic features such as speaking in a soft and friendly
tone can be of great help in this respect. Thus he uses verbal and nonverbal communication
simultaneously to achieve his ends.

Another example can be that a person is in anger but he speaks softly with moderate expressions on
his face, showing neither sadness nor joy, so, consequently, the other person may not notice his
anger. Even if he uses a bit harsh language, it can be covered with the help of polite tone and decent
facial expressions. In addition, one can use sarcastic language but try reducing its severity by using
hand movements and positive facial expressions such as a calm, smiling face.

Silence is also a very important tool of nonverbal communication which can be used as a way of
hiding one’s true feelings about some matter. If somebody has bad feelings about something said or
done, one can try hiding it by being silent and keeping his face expressionless. Silence can also be a
technique to let others reveal certain feelings and attitudes that may be hindering effective
communication. Here silence means holding nonverbal elements them to a minimum. For example,
a higher-up does not give angry looks to his subordinate so that he may speak without hesitation.

Another significant aspect of nonverbal communication is to create favourable environment for

saying or doing something. For example, playing background music during a presentation can give a
gentle touch to the whole environment and the attention maybe diverted towards it making the
language less important. Noise can also play an important role in this connection. It can distract the
listener from the actual thing and reduce the impact of unpleasant words being used. For example, if
a person is speaking offensively to the other but the listener can also hear the noise of the traffic
through the window, he may not be able to hear attentively each and every word of the
disagreeable speaker and thus may feel less harmed.

In an organisation, avoiding eye contact can also be a way of hiding one’s real expressions from the
other person. A person may lower his eyes while speaking to the other in order to hide the feelings
of sadness, fear or anger that may appear in his eyes. Sometimes one uses direct eye contact to
demonstrate his self-confidence and to defend himself in a difficult situation.

So, nonverbal communication has different aspects which help verbal communication in achieving
its aims. Both verbal and nonverbal communications are used for concealment of one’s motives and
intentions. The important aspects of nonverbal communication which are used as defence include
body movements, paralinguistic features, proxemics, environment, etc. which should be employed
wisely along with language in order to defend oneself or to conceal one’s thoughts.

Q2. b) A presenter’s voice is a potentially powerful tool to make an oral delivery effective and
impressive. Professionals whose careers depend on skilled communication take seriously the need to
develop positive and powerful vocal attributes.

The quality of a speaker's voice is determined by four characteristics: pitch, volume, rate, and
tone. An effective speaking voice is well modulated, meaning the pitch, volume, rate, and lone are
altered to give appropriate and interesting expression to the message. A voice that is pleasing and
easy to listen to is mellow, meaning it is rich in tone and sounds fully mature. It is moderate; the
pitch is not too low or too high, volume is not too loud or too soft, and the rate of speech is neither
too fast nor too slow.

To add to the effectiveness of a delivery, the qualities of a speaker's voice should be varied and
congruent with the message. Vocal qualities should also be varied to provide contrast. In addition,
since it is often perceived that the nature of a person's voice reflects something of the nature of the
person, a presenter should develop and communicate with a steady, resonant, and mature voice.

Pitch
The term pitch refers to the degree of highness or lowness of a sound. A high pitch sound
corresponds to a high frequency and a low pitch sound corresponds to a low frequency. Every voice
has a normal pitch in terms of what is '"normal" for the speaker. The norm for an effective
communicator is a pitch that can be raised a few levels without sounding squeaky and lowered a few
levels without sounding grumble. Such a range allows a speaker to vary pitch for contrast while
maintaining a vocal quality that is pleasing to the ear.

Pitch has a notable impact on how a presenter is perceived. In every species that makes audible
sounds, the young have higher-pitched voices than do grown adults. Consequently, a high-pitched
voice is associated with immaturity. An excessively high-pitched voice is shrill and unpleasant to
listen to for long. A person who speaks in a high-pitched voice will be taken more seriously if the
pitch is lowered.

An effective presenter uses pitch changes to indicate a change in the message. At the end of a
sentence, dropping the pitch signifies a statement; raising the pitch signifies a question. For that
reason, repeated lifts in pitch at the end of declarative statements create an impression of a speaker
who is uncertain. Occasional and appropriate variations in pitch can be used to accentuate meaning.
Rapid, frequent, and meaningless changes in pitch make it difficult for an audience to listen
attentively, and may suggest that the speaker is highly emotional or frantic.

"Perfect pitch" or "absolute pitch" refers to the ability of some persons to recognize the pitch
of a musical note without any discernable pitch standard, as if the person can recognize a
pitch like the eye discerns the color of an object. Most persons apparently have only a sense
of relative pitch and can recognize a musical interval, but not an isolated pitch.
As an example in our daily life we see some people particularly some female singers having
shrill voices and some people particularly politicians having a grave voice, which shows the
importance of pitch. There are also some people who have low-pitched voices naturally and
they are not capable of changing it but it is not necessary, pitch is something that can be
altered intentionally which is evident from the fact that some of the actors nationally and
internationally have gained popularity among the public because of their skill of producing
changed –pitch voices.

Volume
Listeners want to clearly hear a speaker without straining to do so and without being blasted out of
their chairs. A presenter who speaks too loudly may be perceived as bombastic, aggressive, or
insensitive to listeners. On the other hand, one who speaks too softly may convey the impression of
being passive or insecure.

It is commonly thought that a point is emphasized by voicing it more loudly. The reverse is true. An
audience is more attentive to a point that is stated at a lower (but still clearly audible) volume.
Emphasis is added by lifting the pitch, slowing the rate, and/or changing the tone of voice. (Vocal
emphasis is further strengthened with appropriate visual cues.)

For example,

If a person is talking to his parents his volume would be low and not high. If he speaks in a loud
volume he will be considered as misbehaving with his elders. Therefore the use of appropriate
volume is very important for effective communication.

Rate
An average rate of speech is 140 words per minute. As with other vocal characteristics, the rate of
speech should be varied during a presentation. For emphasis, a speaker may periodically slow down
to less than 100 words per minute to voice a point in a deliberate manner. To elevate the level of
energy or quickly convey a point of lesser importance, a speaker may occasionally accelerate the
rate to more than 170 words per minute.

A consistently slow rate of speech conveys fatigue or disinterest. Flailing speech can suggest that the
speaker has difficulty formulating thoughts. Presenters who consistently speak at a rapid rate may
be perceived to be nervous, impatient, or hurried.

For example, in a foreign country if we ask somebody for his guidance about some address and he
tells us the address in a very fast way; we wouldn’t be able to get it because of his fast speed which
shows that it is important to control the rate of delivered words per minute for effective
communication.

Tone
The quality of tone is a combination of pitch, strength, and character. Character refers to the sense
or meaning a particular tone conveys. For example, a tone of voice may be described as gentle,
angry, sarcastic, childish, or serious. The tone of voice with which a speaker expresses a point says
more to an audience than the words themselves. As with other vocal characteristics, tone also says
something to an audience about the speaker. A faltering tone of voice is perceived as timid or
indecisive, a harsh tone of voice as aggressive. A nasal lone lacks the depth that adds authority to a
voice. A monotone or flat tone that lacks variations suggests a lack of interest or energy.
In our routine life if we are annoyed with someone then naturally or intentionally the tone of our
voice would become harsh while talking with him, which would make it clear to the other person
that he has made us angry.

Q3. a) Listening is a core component to a healthy relationship. Many relationships

fail simply because one or both partners in a relationship aren’t taking the time and
effort to really listen to what their partner is saying.

You can keep banging your head against the wall, or you can learn and practice good
listening skills:

1. Concentrate on the person who is speaking.

 Set aside distractions.

 Suspend your agenda.
 Interrupt as little as possible. If you do interrupt, it should be to encourage the
speaker to say more.

2. Try to grasp what the speaker is trying to express.

 Don’t react to just the words–listen for underlying ideas and feelings.
 Try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes.
 Try to understand what the other person is getting at.

3. Let the speaker know that you understand.

 Use silence, reassuring comments, paraphrasing.

 Offer empathetic comments.
 Make opening-up statements (tell me more; what else) versus closing-off
statements (I get it; the
same thing happened to me).
Q3. b) Good listening is a communication technique that requires the listener to feed back what
they hear to the speaker, by way of re-stating or paraphrasing what they have heard in their own
words, to confirm what they have heard and moreover, to confirm the understanding of both
parties. Bad listening is tending to listen and think about something else at the same time.

Q3. c) Once received, the receivers need to decode the message, and successful decoding is also
a vital skill. Individuals will decode and understand messages in different ways based upon
any Barriers to Communication which might be present, their experience and understanding of the
context of the message, their psychological state, and the time and place of receipt as well as many
other potential factors. Understanding how the message will be decoded, and anticipating as many
of the potential sources of misunderstanding as possible, is the art of a successful communicator.
Q4. a) Some reasons for loss of considerable information in the listening process are:

1. Prejudice Against the Speaker: At times we have conflict in our mind as to the speaker.
Whatever he speaks seems to be colored and we practically don’t listen what he says.#

2. Rehearsing: Your whole attention is on designing and preparing your next comment. You
look interested, but your mind is going a mile a minute because you are thinking about what to
say next. Some people rehearse whole chains of responses: I’ll say, then he’ll say, and so on.

3. Judging Negatively: Labeling people can be extremely limiting. If you prejudge somebody as
incompetent or uninformed, you don’t pay much attention to what that person says. A basic rule
of listening is that judgments should only be made after you have heard and evaluated the
content of the message.

4. Identifying: When using this block, you take everything people tell you and refer it back to
your own experience. They want to tell you about a toothache, but that reminds you of your oral
surgery for receding gums. You launch into your story before they can finish theirs.

5. Advising: You are the great problem solver. You don’t have to hear more than a few
sentences before you begin searching for the right advice. However, while you are coming up
with suggestions and convincing someone to just try it, you may miss what is most important.

6. Sparring: This block has you arguing and debating with people who never feel heard
because you are so quick to disagree. In fact, your main focus is on finding things to disagree
with.

7. Being Right: Being right means you will go to great lengths (twist the facts, start shouting,
make excuses or accusations, call up past sins) to -avoid being wrong. You can’t listen to
criticism, you can’t be corrected, and you can’t take suggestions to change.

8. Derailing: This listening block involves suddenly changing the subject. You derail the train of
conversation when you get uncomfortable or bored with a topic. Another way of derailing is by
joking.

9. Placating: Right. . . Absolutely. . . I know. . . Of course you are. . .Incredible ... Really? You
want to be nice, pleasant, supportive. You want people to like you. So you agree with
everything.

10. Dreaming: When we dream, we pretend to listen but really tune the other person out while
we drift about in our interior fantasies. Instead of disciplining ourselves to truly concentrate on
the input, we turn the channel to a more entertaining subject.
 11. Thinking Speed: Most of us speak between 60 to 180 words per minute, and people have
capacity to think at the rate of 500 to 800 words per Minute. The difference leaves us with the
great deal of mental spare time. While it is possible to use this time to explore the speaker’s
ideas, we most often let our mind wander to other matters - from the unfinished business just
mentioned to romantic fantasies.

12. Premature Evaluation: It often happens that we interrupt the speakers before they complete
their thought, or finish their sentence, or state their conclusions. Directly as a result of our rapid
thinking speed, we race ahead of what we feel is the conclusion. We anticipate. We arrive at the
concluding thought quickly although often that is quite different from what the speaker intended.

13. Semantic Stereotypes: As certain kind of people bother us, so too do certain words. When
these words are repeated time and again, they cause annoyance in the mind and effective
listening is impaired.

14. Delivery: A monotonous delivery by the speaker can put listeners to sleep or cause them to
lose interest.

15. External Distractions: The entire physical environment effects the listening. Among the
negative factors are noisy fans, poor or glaring lights, distracting background music, overheated
or cold rooms, a conversation going on nearby, and so on.

Q4. b) Barriers to effective communication are categorized into the following.

Language Barriers
Clearly, language and linguistic ability may act as a barrier to communication. However, even when
communicating in the same language, the terminology used in a message may act as a barrier if it is
not fully understood by the receiver(s). For example, a message that includes a lot of specialist
jargon and abbreviations will not be understood by a receiver who is not familiar with the terminology
used. Regional colloquialisms and expressions may be misinterpreted or even considered offensive.
See our page: Effective Speaking for more information.

Psychological Barriers
The psychological state of the receiver will influence how the message is received. For example, if
someone has personal worries and is stressed, they may be preoccupied by personal concerns and
not as receptive to the message as if they were not stressed. Stress management is an important
personal skill that affects our interpersonal relationships. Anger is another example of a psychological
barrier to communication, when we are angry it is easy to say things that we may later regret and also
to misinterpret what others are saying. See our pages: What is Anger?, Anger
Management and Anger Management Therapy for more information. More generally people with low
self-esteem may be less assertive and therefore may not feel comfortable communicating - they may
feel shy about saying how they really feel or read negative sub-texts into messages they hear. Visit
our pages on Improving Self-Esteem and Assertiveness for more information.

Physiological Barriers
Physiological barriers may result from the receiver’s physical state: for example, a receiver with
reduced hearing may not grasp to entirety of a spoken conversation especially if there is significant
background noise.

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

Systematic Barriers
Systematic barriers to communication may exist in structures and organisations where there are
inefficient or inappropriate information systems and communication channels, or where there is a lack
of understanding of the roles and responsibilities for communication. In such organisations,
individuals may be unclear of their role in the communication process and therefore not know what is
expected of them.

Attitudinal Barriers
Attitudinal barriers are behaviours or perceptions that prevent people from communicating
effectively. Attitudinal barriers to communication may result from personality conflicts, poor
management, and resistance to change or a lack of motivation. Effective receivers of messages
should attempt to overcome their own attitudinal barriers to facilitate effective communication.