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2- Ways of Managerial Communication

As we have already discussed what is managerial communication, now we will discuss


the ways of managerial communication.
Managers, Chief executive officers (CEO) or the directors of the organization need to
communicate with their workers to get the maximum productivity and maintain the
peace within the organization (Juneja,n.d.) Communication takes place in various forms;
however, it is broadly categorized into two forms or ways which are discussed
below (Surbhi S, April 2, 2015).

1- Verbal Communication
2- Nonverbal Communication

1- Verbal communication
Verbal communication is the form of communication in which words are used to convey
the message which uses both spoken or written words. The main purpose of every
communication is to make sure that the message is conveyed and understand properly
(Surbhi S, April 2, 2015). In some reports and articles only, oral communication
(Communication through speech) is considered as the part of verbal communication
Verbal communication takes place in two ways;

1.1. Oral Communication:


In this type of communication spoken words are used to convey the message. It is
considered as the most common way to communicate.
Oral communication may be in the form of direct communication like face to face
communication, meeting, conference and seminars etc. or it may take place in the form
of indirect way in which the medium is involved to communicate like telephone,
smartphone or internet (Surbhi S, April 2, 2015).
Some of the benefits and drawbacks of oral communication are as follows.

1.1.1. Benefits of Oral Communication:


 It is the fastest way of communication.
 Immediate response can be given.
 Literacy is not required

1.1.2. Drawbacks of Oral Communication:


 No proof is found
 There is a high risk of misunderstanding
 It is not reliable
1.2. Written Communication:
In this type message is transmitted in written form either by hand written or printed form.
It is an indirect way of communication and message is transmitted through e-mails,
letter or memo etc.  
Although the communication is not as fast as oral, but it is more reliable, and we also
have a documented proof (Surbhi S, April 2, 2015).
Some of the benefits and drawbacks of oral communication are as follows.

1.2.1. Benefits of Written Communication:


 It is more reliable.
 The is very low risk of misunderstanding as the words are chosen wisely
 Legal proof is available

1.2.2. Drawbacks of Written Communication:


 Literacy is required
 Response is not immediate
 Slowest way of communication as the sender never knows whether the message
has been read or not

There are two types of verbal communication which are discussed below

A- Formal Communication:
The type of communication in which specified or well-defined channel is followed to
transmit the information in the organization. This is also known as official
communication. It is more reliable and effective but time consuming (Surbhi S, April
2, 2015).
Examples are formal letters, reports, memos etc.

B- Informal Communication:
The type of communication in which no proper channel is followed to transmit the
information. It is not reliable but can save time. The information may be in single
strand chain, cluster chain, probability chain and gossip chain (Surbhi S, April 2,
2015).
Examples are Gossip and sharing of feeling etc.

B.1. Sigle Strand Chain:


The pattern in which the information is shared from one person to another person in the
network in such a way that, one person will share the information to another person who
then will pass the same information to the other person and the chain goes on.

B.2. Gossip Chain:


The information is shared by a single person to all the members of the group directly is
known as gossip chain
B.3. Probability Chain:
The information is passed randomly from person to person in a way that a person which
acts as medium transmit the information to a random person and that person transmit to
another random person and the chain goes on.

B.4. Cluster Chain:


The information is passed from a person to the group of people and then the person
from that group pass the information to another group and the chain continues.

2. Nonverbal Communication:
Nonverbal communication is a part of communication in which signs and symbols are
used to communicate (Surbhi S, April 2, 2015). In other words, we can say that it is the
wordless communication. Although no words are spoken or written but it reflects great
influence and have great importance.   

According to one report only 7% of the communication is based on words while 38%
accounts for paralanguage like the tone and volume of speech and rest 55% accounts
for nonverbal communication which include gesture, body language & other nonverbal
communication tools (Mehrabian, 1981).

There are various types of Nonverbal communication some are as follows:

 Chronemics
 Vocalics
 Haptics
 Kinesics
 Proxemics
 Artifacts

2.1. Chronemics:
It is the part of nonverbal communication in which we study about the use of time and
how we manage the time which reflects the personality of a person like the punctuality
and speed of speech. We may classify the time into many categories, which include
biological, personal, physical, and cultural time (Andersen, 1999).

2.2. Vocalics:
It is also known as paralanguage in which sender tends to communicate the message
by changing the tone or pitch of a voice. Our vocals have great importance in
communication as if we talk in a strong tone of voice which might be considered as if we
are confident & on the other hand if we talk in hesitate tone of voice we might be
considered as unconfident (Andersen, 1999).

2.3. Haptics:
In this type we use touch to communicate like hand shake and hugging which reflects
the great deal of emotions and feelings. It may be negative or positive like when the
deal is done we usually shake hands which shows the positive sign, similarly
withholding of hands may show the negative feelings or we use tap for appreciation etc.
(Jones, S. E, 1999).

2.4. Kinesics:
The word Kinesics means movement which is the study of communication in which we
study about the movement of body including the use of hands, arm or body to convey
the message (Communication in the Real World: An Introduction to Communication
Studies,Types of nonverbal communication,2013 University of Minnesota Libraries
Publishing)
Following are some of the types of kinesics.

A- Gestures:
Gestures are the movements of body part specially by hands or head which we use
deliberately to communicate. There are different types of gesture like waving to greet
someone or using fingers to tell the numeric value etc. Research have found that
gestures can improve the worth of our message by 60 percent (Holler and Beattie).
There are three main types of gestures: adaptors, emblems, and illustrators (Andersen,
1999).

A.1 Adopters: Adopters refers to the touching behavior which is almost unaware
especially towards the object which shows our anxiety like fake coughing when we are
nervous or shake our legs when we are not comfortable. (Andersen, 1999). A person
need to adapt to the specific situation during communication.

A.2 Emblems: Emblems are the type of gesture which have the specific and unique
meaning, but it may vary from culture to culture like a victory sign (Andersen, 1999).

A.3 Illustrators: These gestures are used to illustrate our verbal communication which
emphasize the meaning of verbal communication like when we illustrate the size of
something either large or too small. It is different from emblem as it does not have a
specific meaning & are used more subconsciously than emblems (Andersen, 1999).

B- Postures:
Postures are the movement of body or how we use our body while communicating.
There are four general human postures: standing, sitting, squatting, and lying down
(Hargie, 2011). Together these postures make many kinds of variation including how
you change your direction or putting our hands on our hips while communicating etc.
which has some positive as well as negative impact depending on your behavior (Pease
& Pease, 2004).

C- Facial expressions & Eye Contact:


Facial expression says a lot about you and it is a very important part of communication
because it is recognized universally. There are basically four types of expressions
universally recognized that are happiness, sadness, fear, anger (Anderson, 1999).
Smiles are the powerful communicating tool as it shows positivity. Always make sure to
match your facial expression with your content. Audience can get confuse and may start
to question your credibility if the content of your speech didn’t match with your
expressions (Communication in the Real World: An Introduction to Communication
Studies,Types of nonverbal communication,2013 University of Minnesota Libraries
Publishing)
The eyes are equally important, as when communicating we first make eye contact. We
may break and re-establish eye contact many times during the discussion. It is also a
very important part of communication as it shows how confident a person is.
Ekman, P. & Friesen, W. V. (1969)

2.5. Proxemics:
It explains the space a person maintained while communicating with others depending
on the relationship with others. According to Edward T hall there are four types of zone
intimate, personal, social and public (Edward T Hall,1966)

 Intimate zone: 0 to 18 inches for close and emotional relationships

 Personal zone: 18 inches to 4 feet common zone for interpersonal


communication

 Social zone: 4 feet to 10- 12 feet normal distance used in work settings

 Public zone: 10- 12 feet and beyond for formal communication   

2.6. Artifactual Communication:


It is the physical appearance of a person that how he or she dresses, lifestyle etc. which
express about his personality which is called artifactual communication. It is highly
variable from culture to culture. Researches also suggest that there is a co-relation
between your dressing with your identity. (Powell & Gilbert,2009).

Conclusion:
Communication plays a vital role in any organization specially a manager must be
perfect in communicating with other manager or workers. We have two ways by which
manager communicate, verbal and nonverbal. Both the communications are important
and used simultaneously.

Glossary:
1. Adaptors: Unconscious touching behavior towards the object shows anxiety.
2. Artifacts: The physical appearance of a person.
3. Chronemics: The use and management of time.
4. Cluster Chain: Passing of information from random person to random person
and so on
5. Emblems: A type of gesture with unique meaning.
6. Facial Expression: The expressions we make during communication like angry,
sad and happy etc.
7. Formal Communication: Communication in which pre-defined or proper
channel is followed.
8. Gestures: Movements of body part specially by hands or head
9. Gossip Chain: Passing of information from single person to group
10. Haptics: Touching behavior use to communicate like hand shake and hugging.
11. Illustrators: These gestures are used to illustrate our verbal communication.
12. Informal Communication: Communication in which no pre-defined or proper
channel is followed.
13. Intimate Zone: 0 to 18 inches for close and emotional relationships.
14. Kinesics: The study of movement of body.
15. Nonverbal Communication: Communication which take place through sign and
signals.
16. Oral Communication: Type of verbal Communication which take place through
spoken words.
17. Personal Zone: 18 inches to 4 feet common zone for interpersonal
communication
18. Postures: The movement of body or how we use our body while communication.
19. Probability Chain: Passing of information from single person to the group and
the individual from the same group pass the information to another group
20. Proxemics: The distance a person should maintain while communicating.
21. Public Zone: 10- 12 feet and beyond for formal communication   
22. Single Strand Chain: Passing of information from single person to another
person.
23. Social Zone: 4 feet to 10- 12 feet normal distance used in work settings
24. Verbal Communication: Communication which take place through words
25. Vocalics: Communication by changing the tone or pitch of a voice
26. Written Communication: Type of verbal communication in which written words
are used
References:

1. Mehrabian, A. (1981). Silent messages: Implicit communication of


emotions and attitudes (2d ed.). Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Pub. Co.

2. Wood, J. (2010). Interpersonal Communication: Everyday Encounters.

Boston, MA: Wadsworth-Cengage Learning.

3. Holler, J., Shovelton, H., & Beattie, G. (2009). Do Iconic Hand Gestures

Really Contribute to the Communication of Semantic Information in a

Face-to-Face Context? Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 33(2), 73-88. DOI:

10.1007/s10919-008-0063-9

4. Andersen, P. A., Nonverbal Communication: Forms and Functions

(Mountain View, CA: Mayfield, 1999), 36.

5. Jones, Richard G.. (©2013) Communication in the real world :an

introduction to communication studies Irvington, NY : Flat World

Knowledge,

6. Hargie, O., Skilled Interpersonal Interaction: Research, Theory, and

Practice, 5th ed. (London: Routledge, 2011), 63.

7. Hall, E. T., “Proxemics,” Current Anthropology 9, no. 2 (1968): 83–95.

8. Powell,J, & Gilbert, T (2009), Aging and Identity: A postmodern Dialogue,

Newyork: Nova Science Publishers.

9. Hall, Edward T. (1966). The Hidden Dimension. Anchor Books.a

10. Jones, S. E. (1999) “Communicating with Touch,” in The Nonverbal

Communication Reader: Classic and Contemporary Readings, 2nd ed


11. Pease, A. and Barbara Pease, The Definitive Book of Body

Language (New York, NY: Bantam, 2004).

12. Juneja,P. (n.d.) Managerial communication. Retrieved from


https://www.managementstudyguide.com/managerial-communication-
importance.htm

13. Surbhi S, (April 2, 2015) Difference Between Verbal and Nonverbal


Communication Retrieved from https://keydifferences.com/difference-
between-verbal-and-non-verbal-communication.html

14. Cherry. K (2018) Types of Nonverbal communication Retrieved from

https://www.verywellmind.com/types-of-nonverbal-communication-

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15. Surbhi S, (April 2, 2015) Difference Between Written and Oral


Communication Retrieved from https://keydifferences.com/difference-
between-oral-communication-and-written-communication.html

16. Communication in the Real World: An Introduction to Communication


Studies,2013 University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing Retrieved from
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Categories,origins,usage and coding.semiotica

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