Communication 

is the purposeful activity of information exchange between two or more

participants in order to convey or receive the intended meaning through a shared system of
signs and semiotic rules.
The basic steps of communication are the forming of communicative intent, message
composition, message encoding, transmission of signal, reception of signal, message
decoding and finally interpretation of the message by the recipient.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
 
Nonverbal communication
describes the process of conveying meaning in the form of non-word messages. Examples of
nonverbal communication include haptic communication, chronemic communication,
gestures, body language, facial expression, eye contact, and how one dresses.

Verbal Communication
Effective verbal or spoken communication is dependent on a number of factors and cannot be
fully isolated from other important interpersonal skills such as non-verbal communication,

listening skills and clarification.

BARRIERS IN COMMUNICATION
Lack of Focus
The more you add information that isn’t necessary, the greater the risk your listeners will
misinterpret your point.

Distracting Gestures
The majority of individuals I work with fidget with their fingers, rings, pen — the list goes
on. If they don’t fidget, then they unconsciously talk with their hands. Their elbows get
locked at their sides and every gesture looks the same. Or they’ve been told they talk with
their hands so they hold their hands and do nothing.

Lack of Enthusiasm
Do you really believe your product is better than the competition’s? Do you look as confident
as you say you are? The benefits of your product will not be believable if you don’t
communicate your passion, enthusiasm, and commitment through your facial expressions.

ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION
Sender:                                                                                                                                         
The person who intends to convey the message with the intention of passing information and
ideas to others is known as sender or communicator.
  Ideas:                                                                                                                                         
This is the subject matter of the communication. This may be an opinion, attitude, feelings,
views, orders, or suggestions.
Encoding:                                                                                                                                    
Since the subject matter of communication is theoretical and intangible, its further passing
requires use of certain symbols such as words, actions or pictures etc. Conversion of subject
matter into these symbols is the process of encoding.
Communication Channel                                                                                                           
The person who is interested in communicating has to choose the channel for sending the
required information, ideas etc. This information is transmitted to the receiver through certain
channels which may be either formal or informal.
Receiver:                                                                                                                                     
Receiver is the person who receives the message or for whom the message is meant for. It is
the receiver who tries to understand the message in the best possible manner in achieving the
desired objectives.
Decoding                                                                                                                                      
The person who receives the message or symbol from the communicator tries to convert the
same in such a way so that he may extract its meaning to his complete understanding.
 

Feedback                                                                                                                                     
Feedback is the process of ensuring that the receiver has received the message and
understood in the same sense as sender meant it.

BODY LANGUAGE
Body language is a kind of non verbal communication, where thoughts, intentions, or feelings
are expressed by physical behaviors, such as facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye
movement, touch and the use of space. Body language exists in both animals and humans, but
this article focuses on interpretations of human body language. It is also known as kinesics.
IMPORTANCE OF BODY LANGUAGE
Body language is used especially to express feelings.

Firstly, to understand how we come across to other people and be able to send the right
message

And secondly be able to read the signals that another person is sending back.

By adjusting the way we stand, move, dress and interact we can make encounters with other
human beings (and probably most animals too!) much easier and smoother.

HOW TO START A CONVERSATION

Skip the small
talks                                                                                                                                               
                                             “What’s up with this weather?” and “How ‘bout them [insert
local sports team]?” are as bad as cheesy pick-up lines when it comes to starting a
conversation.
  Ask for their opinion                                                                                                                 
Everyone has one! For someone you don’t know well, start with light subjects like the food,
the music, the atmosphere, etc. “Do you like your Margaritas with salt or without?
Ask for their advice or recommendations                                                                                  
This works very well when commenting on someone’s outfit or accessories, as in “What a
great tie! Where did you get it?” or on the food, as in, “Everything looks good. What are you
having?”
Ask them a question                                                                                                                   
that’s easy to answer. This is great when you know or find out that a person has expertise in a
particular field. If you’re talking to your company’s IT guy, for example, you could ask him
whether he’s the guy who installs hardware or software.
Comment on the environment                                                                                                     
No matter where you are, there are things to comment on: the music, the food, the lights, the
guests, and so on
Ask for an update                                                                                                    
If you know someone a little or know them by reputation, ask for an update on something you
know they’ve been doing, for example, “Oh, Mary mentioned you were taking swing dance
classes. How’s that going?”
Ask open-ended questions whenever possible                                                                           
If your question can be answered with a simple yes or no, don’t be surprised if that’s what

you get. 
PRESENTATION SKILLS
Dress smartly                                                                                                          
Don’t let your appearance distract from what you are saying.
Smile: Don’t hunch up and shuffle your feet. Have an upright posture. Try to appear
confident and enthusiastic.
Say hello and smile when you greet the
audience                                                                                        your audience
will probably look at you and smile back: an instinctive reaction.
Speak clearly, firmly and confidently as this makes you sound in control. Don’t speak too
quickly                                                                                                                    
                  you are likely to speed up and raise the pitch of your voice when nervous. Give the
audience time to absorb each point. Don’t talk in a monotone the whole time. Lift your head
up and address your words to someone near the back of audience. If you think people at the
back can’t hear, ask them.
Use silence to emphasise points                                                                                                 
Before you make a key point pause: this tells the audience that something important is
coming. It’s also the hallmark of a confident speaker as only these are happy with silences.
Eye contact is crucial to holding the attention of your audience                                             
Look at everyone in the audience from time to time, not just at your notes or at the
PowerPoint slides.
Walk around a little and gesture with your hands                                                                    
Bad presenters keep their hands on the podium or in their pockets! Don’t stand in one place
glued to the spot hiding behind the podium! Good presenters will walk from side to side and
look at different parts of the audience.
EFFECTIVE LISTENING
Active listening is a communication technique used in counseling, training, and conflict
resolution. It requires that the listener repeat what they hear to the speaker—re-stating or
paraphrasing what they have heard in their own words, to verify what they have heard and

confirm understanding of both parties.

READING AND ITS BENEFITS

Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive
meaning (reading comprehension). It is a means of language acquisition, of communication,
and of sharing information and ideas. Like all languages, it is a complex interaction between
the text and the reader which is shaped by the reader’s prior knowledge, experiences, attitude,
and language community which is culturally and socially situated.

BENEFITS OF READING
                                                                                                                    
 

Mental Stimulation                                                                                                   

Studies have shown that staying mentally stimulated can slow the progress of (or possibly
even prevent) Alzheimer’s and Dementia, since keeping your brain active and engaged
prevents it from losing power.
Stress Reduction                                                                                                       
No matter how much stress you have at work, in your personal relationships, or countless
other issues faced in daily life, it all just slips away when you lose yourself in a great story.
Knowledge                                                                                                             
Everything you read fills your head with new bits of information, and you never know when
it might come in handy.
Vocabulary Expansion                                                                                              
This goes with the above topic: the more you read, the more words you gain exposure to, and
they’ll inevitably make their way into your everyday vocabulary.
Memory Improvement                                                                                             
When you read a book, you have to remember an assortment of characters, their
backgrounds, ambitions, history, and nuances, as well as the various arcs and sub-plots that

weave their way through every story.

WRITING SKILLS
Good writing skills are essential for effective communication.Writing is one of the best ways
of communicating your ideas to others. Every person possesses a unique writing style. The
ability of writing in different forms is a great way of expressing your views and thoughts in

front of the target audience.

 
TYPES OF WRITING SKILLS
Persuasive writing                                                                                                                      
It is written in such a way that it convince the reader completely. The advertisement you
often see in television or hoardings are examples of persuasive writing style. It is written with
a purpose to persuade a reader for performing an action.
 

Descriptive writing 
This style of writing describes a place, person or thing with sensory details. It frames a
picture of that thing, place or person in the minds of readers and enables them to experience
that thing by using their five senses.

  Creative writing   
This form of writing is usually enjoyed by the writers. In creative writing, the writer explains
a poem, story or an event in a creative manner so as to meet the aesthetic needs of readers. It
is written to entertain people and to involve them in reading for a longer time.

 
THE IMPORTANCES OF UNDERSTANDING CULTURE FOR EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
 
Culture” can be defined as the complex collection of knowledge, folklore, language, rules,
rituals, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and customs that link and give a common identity
to a particular group of people at a specific point in time.

All social units develop a culture. Even in two-person relationships, a culture develops over
time. In friendship and romantic relationships, for example, partners develop their own
history, shared experiences, language patterns, rituals, habits, and customs that give that
relationship a special character, a character that differentiates it in various ways from other
relationships.

Groups also develop cultures, composed of the collection of rules, rituals, customs, and other
characteristics that give an identity to the social unit. Where a group traditionally meets,
whether meetings begin on time or not, what topics are discussed, how decisions are made,
and how the group socializes are all elements of what, over time, become defining and
differentiating elements of its culture