BVOC SEMESTER 1

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

UNIT 1 -
INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION
(MEANING & DEFINITION, PROCESS, FEATURES)
 Meaning and Definition of Communication

Communication is as old as man himself. Without

communication we cannot work or live together. It makes us
able to understand others and also to make ourselves
understandable to others. It is the process by which we
exchange meanings, facts, ideas, opinions or emotions with
other people. At every moment we share our ideas, views,
opinions with others in the form of speech or in the written
form.

Man is a social animal who communicates with others.

Communication means to convey a message by one person
to the other so that the other person may understand, follow
and implement the message. If one person is unable to
understand the message then it will not be called effective
communication.

Basically communication is a two - way process and the two

terminals should be connected with mutual understanding if
communication is to be purposefully effective.
Communication does not mean the written or the oral
messages only. It includes everything to convey the message.
 “Communication in its simplest form is
covering of information from one person to
another.” -Cyril L. Hudson

“Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas,

opinions or emotions by two or more persons.”
-Newman and Summer

“Simply stated, communication means the

process of passing information and
understanding from one person to another.”
-Theo Haimann

Thus communication may be defined as a

process of exchanging ideas and information
between two or more persons for Mutual
understanding. It involves sending a message
and the response to it. Communication is not
complete without feedback.
 Process of
communication
 Communication involves the sender and the receiver of
the message. Sender may be the individual or group of
individuals or any any organisation who share
SENDER information for a purpose. The process starts the
moment an idea strikes the mind of the sender. The
sender must have a clear vision of the communication
and the receiver.

In encoding, the message is given a concrete shape. In

it the message is transferred into words, symbols,
pictures, diagrams, gestures, etc. its purpose is to
translate the internal thought into language so that the
receiver is able to understand. It requires common
ENCODING
media which both the sender and receiver can
understand. Receiver needs to understand the message
in a way that the sender wants him to. The language,
symbols and the gestures should be common to both
receiver and sender.
 The message sent by the sender can be understood by
the receiver in one or more senses. Communication
process facilitates to transmit the message in the form
of words, symbols or any media which carries the
MESSAGE information to the sender which he wants to convey
the receiver with a purpose. The meaning of the
message is in the mind of the sender but not in the
message itself. The message is the content of the
information that enters into the channel.
In this stage he message is sent and the information in
transferred. The technological revolution has brought
about a wide range of telecom methods. To make an
intelligent decision before sending a message the
CHANNEL/MEDI sender should keep in mind these things - speed, cost,
A quick receipt, printer record, confidentiality, etc. if the
wrong medium is chosen then the time and money is
wasted. Selection of suitable channel assures effective
communication and feedback. They will also reduce
noise during communication process.
 The person or the group who perceives the message
and attaches some meaning to it is the receiver the
RECEIVER message. Without any receiver there is no
communication possible. There will be no feedback if
the receiver does not understand the message.

It is the translation of the message that is received, into

a message that can be understood. Until and unless the
message is understood, it will not accomplish its
purpose. After getting the message, the receiver must
understand it. There should be proper encoding of the
DECODING
message for its decoding. If the decoding id done
according to the expectations of the sender, only then
will the communication become effective. This can be
effective if the receiver is familiar to the language and
the vocabulary used in the message.
 Feedback is the response of the receiver to the message sent to
him by the sender. In this stage serious distortions take place
sometimes and such distortions are due to the receiver’s value
system, attitudes, past experience, etc. sometimes it so happens
that the message sent by the sender has a different meaning from
FEEDBACK what the receiver perceives. Therefore feedback is necessary to
ensure whether the receiver has understood the message or not
as desired by the sender. In spoken communication, the feedback
is immediate. It is advantageous for the sender to clear the
doubts, to modify or to change the topic of information so as to
make the communication more effective.

Noise is an integral part of the communication process.

It is an interference in the normal flow of understanding
from one person to the other. Noise may be physical
regarding the channel or the message or sometimes the
NOISE external environment. The psychological noise may be
within the sender or the receiver eg. egotism, hostility,
prejudices, etc. noise reduces the effectiveness of the
communication process. So it is necessary to take some
steps to reduce it to make communication effective.
 FEATURES OF COMMUNICATION

1. It involves more than one person

2. Existence of a message
3. Communication is a continuous process
4. Communication is a two-way process
5. Communication may be written, oral or
gestural
6. Primary purpose is to motivate a response
7. Communication may be formal or
informal
8. Communication may be downward,
upward, horizontal, diagonal
9. Communication cannot be avoided
10. A universal process
11. A social process
Upward and downward
communication

Horizontal
communication

Diagonal
communication
 ESSENTIALS/PRINCIPLES OG GOOD
COMMUNICATION

Effective communication is the life blood of

business. When communication stops, organised
activity ceases to exist. The essentials of effective
communication are generally presented in the
form of seven C’s. It is so because they are seven
in number. Each of them begins with the letter
‘C’. These are:

1. Completeness
2. Conciseness
3. Courteousness
4. Clarity
5. Correctness
6. Concreteness
7. Candidness
 completeness. An incomplete message
creates misunderstanding and
misinterpretation. It results in the wastage of
time and energy. There should be relevant
information and logical sequence. It should
contain all the details of the matter. It should
have the answers to all those questions
which can crop up in the mind of the
receiver. A complete message helps in
creating goodwill.

2. CONCISENESS: the message should be

concise and to the point. There should be no
digression and no superfluidity in it. Nobody
has the patience to read long and winding
messages. More should be said in fewer
words. However, clarity should not be
sacrificed at the cost of conciseness. The
3. COURTEOUSNESS: courtesy plays a vital role
to ensure effectiveness of communication. The
communicator of the message should be
courteous to the receiver of the message. He
should not be insolent or offensive in his
deportment. Even while disagreeing, he should
be tactful. The social status should not come in
the way of effective communication. Even
hard-hearts can melt before politeness.

4. CLARITY: clarity is another essential of

effective communication. It includes clarity of
thought, expression and vision. Only a clear
mind and clear heart can produce clarity in
communication. The message should be free
from ambiguities which create confusion and
misunderstanding. The message should be
simple, clear and direct.
 5. CORRECTNESS: correctness in message is
no less important for effective communication.
Correctness does not merely mean correct
grammar or correct sentences or correct
spellings. No doubt they have their importance,
but correctness here means correctness of
statements. Incorrect statements mislead the
receiver and tarnish the impression of the
communicator. Therefore the communicator
must first verify the correctness of the
information before releasing it.

6. CONCRETENESS: the message of the

communicator should be concrete and specific
rather than vague or incoherent. There should
be solid facts and figures, details and
descriptions in his communication.
7. CANDIDNESS: the communicator should
be candid (frank and straight-forward) in his
communication. Instead of beating about the
bush, he should hit the bull’s eye. It will leave
no space for doubts and prejudices in the
sincerity of the communicator.
 TYPES/MEANS OF COMMUNICATION

(A) FORMAL COMMUNICATION

It refers to the flow of messages along with the routes prescribed
in the organisation structure, which flows through a formal
channel. These are to represent the authority, responsibility
structure. It is to solve the official problems. For example, if the
branch manager wants to send a message to the chairman of the
bank, he has to pass his message through the area manager and
the regional manager and finally to the chairman according to
hierarchy.

For the smooth flow of messages, these channels are to be formal.

It is often slow and rigid.

Formal communication is generally in the form of:

1. Policy manuals
2. Procedural handbooks
3. Memoranda
4. Scheduled meetings
5. Orders
6. Conferences
7. Special interviews
8. Company news bulletins
9. Information regarding - promotion, suspension, termination
 Features of Formal Communication:

1. Authorised way of communication

2. Provides authentic information
3. Proof of receiving information
4. Messages are communicated through
scalar chain
 Advantages of Formal Communication

1. It is proper and systematic

2. It ensures orderly flow of
communication
3. It helps in fixing responsibility
4. It helps in locating the source of
communication
5. Helps in managing and controlling
business affairs

Disadvantages of Formal Communication

1. Slow moving communication system

2. Lacks personal warmth and touch
3. Overloads higher authority with work
4. No free and frank opinion
5. Rigid rules are to be followed