Lecture Sheet: 3

Oral Communication and Major media of oral communication.

Oral Communication:

When a message is exchanged orally between sender and receiver, it is called oral
communication

When communication takes place with words of mouth, it is called oral communication. In
oral communication spoken words are used to express meaning.

In this system of communication, mes sages are exchange between a communication and a
communicatee directly through face to face conversation or group discussion.

Media of Oral Communication:

Oral
Communication

Non Mechanical Mechanical

Meeting Land phone & mobile phone

Interview Voice Over Internet
Speech TV
Counseling Radio
Advising Teleconferencing
Group Discussion Seminar Video conferencing
Conference

Benefits/importance/advantage/merits of Oral communication.

Merits of oral communication:

Oral communication enjoys many advantages and thereby many managers prefer oral
communication. Some important merits of oral communication are:

1. Easiness:
2. Effective for illiterate receivers
3. Economy
4. Time saving
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 5. Quick feedback:
6. Complete understanding
7. Flexibity
8. Absence of strict formality
9. Motivation
10. Reliability
11. Creating harmonious relations

1. Easiness:
It is an easy means of communication because it needs little preparation for transmitting a
message. Like written communication, it does not require pens, pencils and other writing
equipments.

2. Effective for illiterate receivers:

Illiterate people cannot read or write. So it is the most appropriate means of
communication for the illiterate mass.

3. Economy:
It does not require any expenditure in the collection and maintenance of pen, paper,
computer or any other such materials as are needed for written communication.

4. Time saving:
Where rapid action is desired, it is better to send a message orally. Oral communication
helps them expedite work and thus, it saves time.

5. Quick feedback:
Another primary advantage is that it provides rapid feedback and interchange in the form
of verbal questions or agreements.

6. Complete understanding:
Due to the availability of feedback opportunity, the receiver of a message can get
clarification of the message through questioning.

7. Flexibity:
Written communication takes time to change some comtents of the message if needed,
for it needs formalities to be observed.

8. Absence of strict formality:

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 In oral communication, no much formalities are to be observed as are needed in written
communication.

9. Motivation:
In oral communicatin, superiors and subordinates can sit face-to- face and exchange their
views directly.

10. Reliability:
It is true that employees feel more secure when they receive written messages, but they
find the oral messages more reliable because they get an opportuninty for immediate
feedback and clarification.

11. Creating harmonious relations:

Oral communication facilitates creation of harmonious relations among the employees.

Disadvantage/demerits of oral communication.

Demerites of oral communication:

Oral communication also suffers from certain drawnbacks, which are discussed below:

1. No record:
2. Inaccuracy:
3. Not easy to fix responsibility:
4. Distorted meaning:
5. Possibilites of conflicts and misunderstandings:
6. Over emphasis on presentation:
7. Leakage of secret information:
8. Delayed decisions:
9. Time consuming to have considered feedback
10. Influence fo vested interest:

1. No record:
In oral communication, message are not usually preserved and hence they are nowhere to
be found in the record book.

2. Inaccuracy:

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 There is every possibility of inaccurate messages to reach the destination particularly
when noise disrupts the process or the receiver forgets parts or all of the messages.

3. Not easy to fix responsibility:

Responsibility for any mistake cannot be specifically assigned to anybody involved in
communication because of lack of any proof of oral communication.

4. Distorted meaning:
As oral message are not filed, their meanings may easily be distorted.

5. Possibilites of conflicts and misunderstandings:

Due to the limitations of human memory, oral messages cannot be kept in mind for a
long time.

6. Over emphasis on presentation:

In oral communication, a communicator tries to prove himself as a good speaker through
presinting the message in a very attractive style.

7. Leakage of secret information:

At the time of conversation, a speaker may not always be careful about srcrecy.

8. Delayed decisions:
In most cases much time is killed in the discussion,some undesirable leakage of
information may take place.Besides, time is also wasted for irrelevant discussion.

9. Time consuming to have considered feedback:

In two-way oral communication, sufficient time is needed for well organized, throughful
and considered feedback by the reciver or for introducing many new ideas.

10. Influence fo vested interest:

Oral communication does not have any documentary proof.The vested interest groups
may take a chance to involve in henious conspiracy of fulfilling their ill motive.

When Oral communication is more effective?

The advantages emerging from oral communication makes it more effective (than written
communication) in certain conditions.

Under the following circumstances, oral communication plays a more effective role than that
of written communication.

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 1. Need for oral explanation:
2. Maintaining secrecy:
3. Immediate response
4. Quick exchange of views:
5. Illiterate receivers:

1. Need for oral explanation:

If any instruction or method of doing a work needs elaborate discussion, oral
communication will best serve the purpose.

2. Maintaining secrecy:
In the case of oral communication, the contents can be kept confined between the sender
and the receiver only.

3. Immediate response:
For effective communication feedback is a must. If any response is expected
immediately, it can be ensured better through oral communication.

4. Quick exchange of views:

If sufficient time is not available to exchange views between the communicator and the
communicatee within a short span of time.

5. Illiterate receivers:
If receivers are illiterate, written communication has noting to do with them. In such a
situation, oral communication is the best way to inform the receivers.

Meeting & Purpose/importance/advantages of Meeting.

Meeting:

When two or more persons gather or assemble together for making decisions through mutual
discussion, a meeting takes place. Different organizations arrange different meeting on
different occasion.

Meeting are arranged to inform the people concerned important aspects relating to the
organization to assess their opinions and to take necessary courses of actions

Purpose/importance/advantages of Meeting

. The specific purposes/impotence/advantages of meeting may be:

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 1. Making Decision
2. Informing changes:
3. Solving problem
4. Building unity
5. Informing progress
6. To inform objectives and operational plans:
7. Increasing sense of responsibility

1. Making Decision:
Important decisions are made in meeting, generally on consensus, after proper discussion.

2. Informing changes:
The employees usually suspect any change and try to resist it. Through meeting company
can inform these changes to its employee.

3. Solving problem:
Problems may arise any time and these cannot be solved singly by one person. Meeting
helps to solve that problem.

4. Building unity:
Meetings are held to ensure unity among the members of the organization.

5. Informing progress:
In large organizations management has to let the shareholders know about the
organizational progress from time to time through meeting.

6. To inform objectives and operational plans:

One of the main objectives of meetings is to convey the organizational objectives and
plans to the executives of various departments, sections or work units.

7. Increasing sense of responsibility :

Employees of the organization may be demotivated working all the time in unhealthy
environment.

8. Resolving conflict:
Conflict is a common phenomenon in organizations. Conflict may have negative impact
on performance.

Different demerits/disadvantages of Meeting.

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Disadvantages of Meetings

Meetings not only provide advantages, they have some disadvantages as well. The major
disadvantages are as under:

1. Minority Interest May Get Upper hand

2. Require Formalities
3. Time Consuming
4. Costly
5. Maintaining Formalities:
6. Difficulty in Satisfying Participants

1. Minority Interest May Get Upper hand :

A few powerful members may dominate the processing and in this way the interests of
the majority suffer

2. Require Formalities:
Meetings require maintaining formalities. Sometimes it is found that the committee is
busy just in maintaining formalities, not the businesses itself.

3. Time Consuming:
Completing all the proceedings of a meeting is time consuming. If it an annual general
meeting, for a example, it may take the whole day to complete.

4. Costly:
A meeting is not only time consuming but is also costly. The arrangements of a meeting
may often incur huge cost which often becomes a burden to a company.

5. Maintaining Formalities:
Calling a meeting requires maintaining several formalities including serving notice,
setting date and agenda, determining venue and arranging refreshment, etc.

6. Difficulty in Satisfying Participants:

Participants may represent different interest groups and it may be difficult to satisfy all.

Face to Face Conversation. Different purpose/importance/advantages of Face to Face

Conversation

Face to Face Conversation

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It is an important medium of oral communication. People exchange their ideas and opinions
through face to face communication. It is a widely used technique of direct communication.

When two or more persons talk to each other and see each other physically, it can be termed
as face to face communication. It is kind of two-way oral communication since both the
parties involve themselves in conversation.

Advantages of Face to Face Conversation

Face to face conversation is very effective as a means of oral communication. It provides

various advantages to its users which are discussed below:

1. Quick Feedback:
2. Very Effective:
3. Easy to Transmit Message:
4. Difficult to Establish Legal Validity:
5. Used widely:
6. Benefits to Free Exchange of Message:
7. Direct Communication:
8. Reliability

1. Quick Feedback:
Face to face conversation is particularly suitable for quick feedback. In face to face
conversation, both the sender and the receiver get the opportunity for discussion and
adjustment.

2. Very Effective:
Here the words of mouth are supplemented by body language and facial expressions.
Thus the solution of any problem becomes easy since both the parties can see and
observe each other`s reactions very quickly.

3. Easy to Transmit Message:

Face to face communication provides an opportunity to continue with little preparation.
Interactions between the sender and the receiver help both to go about.

4. Difficult to Establish Legal Validity:

In the absence of any record of such communication, it cannot be used as a legal
evidence in case there arises any confusion or litigation.

5. Used widely:
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 Usually it does not involve any cost and is widely used for its inherent benefits. In most
of the cases we use this type of communication for teaching, training, conflict resolution,
etc.

6. Benefits to Free Exchange of Message:

It provides the advantage of informal communication. The sender and the receiver can
exchange message freely and openly and that helps them to establish relationship quickly.

7. Direct Communication:
Face to face conversation is very much direct which helps to establish rapport quickly.
The parties involved here exchange message directly without using any media which, in
fact, reduces noise. No other communication technique provides these advantages.

8. Reliability:
Since the communication takes place in direct face to face situation, there remains little
or no reason to have any doubt about the sincerity and honesty of the parties concerned.

Different demerits/disadvantages of Face to Face Conversation

Disadvantages of Face to Face Conversation

Face to face conversation has some drawbacks as under:

1. Less Effect in Large Gathering

2. Unsuitable for Decentralized Organizations
3. Priority of Emotion
4. Ineffectiveness due to Nervousness
5. Possibility of Rumor

1. Less Effect in Large Gathering:

It is very difficult to get a message across large gatherings even though the speaker is
addressing them with good preparation.

2. Unsuitable for Decentralized Organizations:

It is extremely difficult to be used in large organizations, particularly if they have units
or departments situated at different places.

3. Priority of Emotion:
Speakers may become emotional while talking to people face to face.
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4. Ineffectiveness due to Nervousness:
In such type of communication many people get nervous and fail to convey the message
effectively.

5. Possibility of Rumor:
Face to face conversation often causes the spread of rumor which may hamper the image
of the organization.

Interview & different merits/ advantages of Interview.

Interviews

Interview is a kind of face to oral communication. The purpose of an interview is to assess

the qualities, ideas etc. of the interviewee. The interviewee can also have an idea about the
skill and ability of the interviewer.

It is a test of both the parties engaged in the process of interview. Knowledge, attitude,
intelligence, personality and character of the parties are revealed in an interview.

Advantages of Interviews

The advantages of interviews are:

1. Easy to persuade:
2. Choosing the Best Candidate
3. Exchanging Information
4. Enhancing Understanding:
5. Provides Counseling:
6. Solving Problems:
7. Providing Advice:
8. Reviewing Performance
9. Reducing Grievances:
10. Educating and Correcting Employees:

1. Easy to persuade:
Interviews provide a scope of persuading the interviews to revels facts.

2. Choosing the Best Candidate:

Employment interview aims at finding out the best candidate from the potential ones. In
such interviews candidates are asked different questions for testing their qualities.
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3. Exchanging Information:
Exchanging information is a major aim of interviews. In interviews both the interviews
and the interviewee find scope to exchanging their opinions, views, attitudes, facts, ets.

4. Enhancing Understanding:
Interviews help to increase understanding between the parties concerned in different
areas. Interview is a kind of discussion session where all the parties exchange their views,
opinions, information and suggestions freely. \

5. Provides Counseling:
Counseling the mentally distressed employee may be done effectively through
interviews. Through problem interview, the problem employees may be given necessary
counseling so that they can overcome their deficiencies and advance in career.

6. Solving Problems:
In interviews, the parties may exchange their feelings, ideas, opinions, attitude and
perception towards the issue and thus the solution of the problem becomes easy to find.

7. Providing Advice:
Necessary advice may be given to the concerned people through interview. Advices are
given so that they can improve or overcome the problem faced.

8. Reviewing Performance:
Employee performance may be reviewed by performance appraisal interview.

9. Reducing Grievances: Through interviews managers hold talks with the employees to
learn their grievances and to take steps to mitigate those in effective ways.

10. Educating and Correcting Employees: Managers find it easy to educate subrogates
through interviews. Some ties the errors and mistakes of employees can also be corrected
through effective interviews.

Different demerits/disadvantages of Interview.

Every communication has some advantages as well as disadvantages. Interviews have also
some limitations or drawbacks as under:

1. Biasness of the Interviewer

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 2. Time Pressure
3. Objective Evaluation is Difficult
4. Interview Objectives may fail due to Bad Interview:
5. Halo Effect
6. Lack of Documentary Evidence
7. Causal Attention

1. Biasness of the Interviewer:

Interview results can be highly influenced by the personal interference of the interviewer.
Also the attitude, emotion, perception, etc.

2. Time Pressure:
Interviews usually take place within a time limit and the interviewer is to do everything
within the stipulated time duration.

3. Objective Evaluation is Difficult:

Interviews provide much opportunity to assess the subjective aspects of the interviewee
but objective evaluation of the candidate is difficult.

4. Interview Objectives may fail due to Bad Interview:

If the interviewer and interviewee have any hidden intention, the outcome will be
defeated. In such a case the interview will be a simple eye-wash.

5. Halo Effect:
Objectively of interviews are often influenced by halo effect. It occurs when the
interviewer evaluates the interviewee by observing only his appearance, speaking style,
etc.

6. Lack of Documentary Evidence:

Interviews do not produce written document and thus there remains no proof of what are
being discussed.

7. Causal Attention:
Interviews require proper attention from both the interviewer and the interviewee in
order to make it effective. If any of the parties loses attention, it will be ineffective.

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