MONOLOGUE AND DIALOGUE

Speaking is an action by which we create or produce vocal sounds. By means of this action, we
communicate our thoughts to others. The communication of thoughts may take place in the form of
a monologue or dialogue.

Monologue
A monologue is the act of speaking by a single person. The speaker in a monologue speaks to
himself/herself with or without a listener. The word monologue is derived from the Greek words
'monos,' which means 'alone' and logos, meaning 'speech'. The term is variously defined. In the
world of theatre, cinema or television show, it is termed as a long speech or utterance by one person.
For some people, it is a prolonged talk or discourse by a solitary speaker without allowing others to
participate in the conversation.

Monologues are of two types: Interior Monologue and Dramatic Monologue.

Interior Monologue: In an interior monologue, the speaker expresses his/ her thoughts, feelings,
and impressions to the listener or audience so that the latter could form an idea of the speaker's
inner thoughts. Interior monologues can be categorised into two sections - direct and indirect. In a
direct monologue, others get an opportunity to know what is going on inside the mind of the
speaker. But in an indirect monologue, the speaker's role is taken over by the writer who acts as a
guide, commentator, presenter and selector in throwing light to the inner thought processes of the
character.

Dramatic Monologue: A dramatic monologue, which usually occurs in a poem, is a speech made by
someone speaking to an unseen listener about important events or thoughts. Here, the speaker may
be alone or in the presence of a silent listener, and engaged in a one way communication. As the
setting of the poem is generally dramatic in nature, the monologue is called as a dramatic
monologue. The device helps in revealing the inner thoughts and feelings of the speaker. Browning,
Tennyson, T.S. Eliot etc. were masters in using dramatic monologues in their poems.

Dialogue
A dialogue is a verbal communication process between two individuals or a group of persons on
certain issues. It is derived from the Greek words dia (through) and logos (meaning). Together the
words seem to suggest a process where 'flow of meaning' takes place in the conversation between
two persons or a group of persons. It is also a conversation between two people in a book, film or
play.

In today's world, dialogue has a significant role. It helps in narrowing and overcoming differences,
building consensus, promoting empathy, exploring new ideas and perspectives, and bringing
unexamined assumptions into the open.
Difference between Monologue and Dialogue
Though monologues and dialogues are speaking skills, they are quite distinct from each other:

• The first and foremost difference between a monologue and a dialogue is that the former is a
speech made by a speaker to express his/her thoughts and feelings to others who are silent.
Dialogue is also a conversation but between two or more interactive persons.

• Monologue is one-way communication process where only the speaker is active. Dialogue is a two-
way communication as both sides participate in the process.

Monologue is generally a speech, whereas dialogue is a conversation.

• Monologue has a single speaker. But in a dialogue there are two or multiple speakers.

• A monologue expresses only personal thoughts and feelings of the speaker. A dialogue is a process
where all parties get an opportunity to discuss or negotiate in order to come to an understanding.
GROUP DISCUSSION
A group discussion, or what is popularly known as GD, is an interview tool used by employers to
assess the personality traits of an individual. Apart from the evaluation of a candidate's personality
traits, his/her decision-making abilities, problem-solving skills and adaptability to work in a team
environment are put to test in a GD. In this technique, a group of 5-15 candidates are given a
common topic for discussion under the observation of a panel of experts. The panellists record the
observations and prepare an analytical report on the performance of each candidate.

Importance of Group Discussions

Sometimes there is a mismatch between subject knowledge and its application in the field of work. A
person with high academic credentials may not always be the fit person to work in a group
environment. Employers generally try to recruit a person who is academically brilliant and also
possesses the skills to be a team player. GD plays an important role in the selection procedure of a
candidate who has the right balance. Its importance lies in the following:

1) When candidates express their views on a given topic, the panellists in the GD try to gauge the
confidence level of each participant.

2) A team member not only asserts his/her point of view but also listens to what others say. A GD
helps in focusing on the candidate having the attitude to swim along with other team members.

3) GD enables employers to detect candidates who can provide leadership to a team of workers for
completing a task.

4) A person having clarity of thought and expression can easily connect with others. GD panellists
look for a candidate with excellent communication skills.

5) A group discussion comes in handy to assess certain skills that an interview cannot evaluate.

Conducting a Group Discussion

A group discussion is conducted in the following manner:

Step 1: The group of selected candidates are asked to sit in a semi-circular or circular seating
arrangement.

Step 2: A group of subject experts called panellists oversee the entire process and mark individual
scores in scoring sheets.

Step 3: A single topic is given for discussion by the panellists.

Step 4: Candidates are generally given 5-15 minutes to develop strategies and points of view.

Step 5: Each candidate is allotted a fixed period of time to discuss the topic and exchange the ideas
with other candidates.

Step 6: Panellists stop the discussion after all the candidates have participated in the discussion.
INTERVIEW
The word interview is derived from the French word, entrevue, meaning to "see each other." In
simple terms, it means an interface meeting between two persons or a group of persons involving a
session of questions and answers. The person(s) responsible for putting forth the questions is/are
called interviewer(s). On the other hand, the person answering the questions is called an
interviewee. Ideally, it is an exercise to bring out the maximum amount of information from the
person being interviewed. It strives to evaluate the person's credentials, family background, work
experience and personality traits like manners, communication and interpersonal skills.

Objectives of an Interview
An interview is an appropriate technique for an organisation to know where it stands. It also helps in
eliciting information on the qualities of the people involved in it. Generally, it serves the following
objectives:

• Sometimes information received through applications, tests and group discussions are not
sufficient in knowing a person. So interviews assist in knowing a person better.

• Interviews help in validating the accuracy of information already submitted by a candidate at the
time of applying.

It has mutual benefits for the interviewers and the interviewees. Both come to know each other,

• Interviews come as handy in measuring the ability of a person to perform the tasks with minimal
supervision.

• Valuable insights on a person's ability to interact, response to issues, to think critically, and capacity
to work in a group can be gained from an interview.

Types of Interviews
1) Evaluative Interviews: An evaluative interview is one that tries to examine the interviewee's
knowledge, exposure to work, attitude, skills etc. Generally questions on situational, knowledgeable
and behavioural aspects are asked in an evaluative interview. The main purpose of such an interview
is to have a proper assessment of the strengths and limitations of the person interviewed.

2) Persuasive Interviews: A persuasive interview is a face-to-face meeting between interviewers and

interviewees to evaluate whether the latter possesses persuasive skills to promote the interests of
the former. Here, the interviewers ask questions to find out whether the interviewee would be able
to achieve realistic targets or solve problems encountered in the process of achieving the goals.

3) Structured Interviews: In structured interviews the interviewers ask a group of pre-planned

questions. The questions are generally arranged in a particular sequence and based on the
requirements of the interviewers. All the candidates are required to answer the same set of
questions. Its main aim is to eliminate the subjective element and biasness that may creep in the
form of gender, physical attractiveness, race etc. Performance of the candidates is evaluated through
a rating system using scorecards.
4) Unstructured Interviews: Unlike structured interviews, interviewees are not supposed to respond
to a pre-fixed pattern of questions in an unstructured interview. In this type of interview, questions
are itself based on the responses of the candidates or a variety of topics. But it is less reliable and
precise because one cannot rule out the pull of the subjective element influencing the judgement of
the interviewers.

5) Promotional Interviews: Organisations hold promotional interviews when some of its members
become eligible to progress to higher responsibilities. Here, the conversation generally focuses on
evaluating the professional competency of the candidate to assume the responsibilities that come
with the promotion. Part of the interview is also meant to evaluate whether the person is mentally
fit to cope with the challenges of a new assignment.

6) Telephonic Interviews: A telephonic interview is an interview conducted on the phone between

an employer and a job seeker. Some employers use this type of interviews in order to cut the
expenses involved in organising traditional face-to-face interviews. Though it is a smart and cost
effective process, failure to read the body language of the respondent prevents the interviewer from
collecting certain key information.

7) Online Interviews: An online interview is a computer based interview. Here, interviewers collect
information from the interviewees by means of text messages, email or video conferencing. Through
this computer driven interview, interviewers try to evaluate the thought processes of the
interviewees. It allows them to gain proper understanding of their experiences, attitude, ideas and
the like. Interviews in the online mode are gaining popularity by the day.

8) Group Interviews: A group interview is one designed to interview multiple number of persons at
the same time and same place. Candidates participating in group interviews have to respond to a
topic common to all. In this type of interview, the panel of interviewers get the scope to compare the
interviewees side by side and select the best one from the group. Group interviews help in selecting
leaders required to work especially in a team environment.

9) Stress Interviews: There are some works which are strenuous in nature and located in unfriendly
terrain. People required to work in such conditions have to be mentally alert and physically fit at all
times. A special type of interview called as stress interview is conducted to recruit these people.
Here, interviewees are placed in stressful situations to observe how they react and absorb the
pressure. This type of an interview is mandatory if the work field is filled with stress.

10) Exit Interviews: An exit interview is an interaction between an employer and an employee when
the latter decides to leave the workplace. The idea behind such an interview is to know the reasons
why the concerned employee is leaving the organisation. It also tries to know from the employee the
positive and negative aspects of the organisation. Such feedback helps the organisation in identifying
its loose ends and plug in the gaps.
PUBLIC SPEECH
Public speech or public speaking is the act, art, or process of making effective speeches to an
audience which is active or live. It is intended to inform, motivate, persuade, educate or entertain
the listeners in a face-to-face manner. The process enables a speaker to form connections, influence
decisions and motivate change in the listeners.

Importance of Public Speaking

• Public speaking gives the speaker an opportunity of direct connection with the audience to express
why a particular idea, service or product is beneficial to them.

• In public appearances, speaking without fumbling and stammering helps the speaker in building
his/her self-confidence.

• In order to keep the audience interested and engaged, the speaker has to think about new ideas.
This leads to critical thinking.

• Speaking at length on a particular topic is very challenging. It becomes easier if the speaker is
familiar with the ins and outs of the topic. Researching on the area increases the knowledge base of
the speaker.

• Effective public communication paves the way for developing leadership skills.

• Good public speakers are always in demand. More and more people love

to hear them speak. This gives the speaker an opportunity to enlarge his/ her social connections.

• Interaction with the audience makes the speaker a good listener as well develops his/her
argumentative skills for driving the point home.

Types of Public Speeches

Ceremonial Speech: Speech delivered on the occasion of marriage ceremonies, funerals, birthday
celebrations, official parties etc. is called a ceremonial speech.

Demonstrative Speeches: A demonstrative speech is one which is informative in nature. Through

effective demonstrations, the speaker educates his/her listeners how to complete a particular
process or work.

Persuasive Speech: A persuasive speech is one in which the speaker tries to convince the audience to
accept their point of view. Such a speech is arranged and transmitted in a manner which compels the
listeners to accept at least a part of the expressed view, if not the whole.

Informative Speech: An informative speech is one which makes the listeners enlightened about a
topic which they are not aware of previously. It aims to help the audience to understand and
remember the information presented before them.

Impromptu Speech: A public speech made on the spot without any prior preparation is called as an
impromptu speech. Impromptu speeches may be on a wide range of topics. Speakers having interest
in diverse areas qualify for such speeches.