Communication Skills

Definitions,Purpose,Characteristics
and Process of Communication
• DEFINITION:
Man is a social animal and his very existence and quality of life
dependsupon living in a society. Communication is the means through
which he interacts with the society. The English word ‘communication’ is
derived from the Latin word communis, which means common. The term
communication refers to the sharing of ideas in common.Communication
normally means to communicate a message or letter
or information to another person or persons. However, It is defined as:
• Exchange of information or giving or taking of it.

• A process through which facts, ideas, experiences and emotions are

mutually exchanged.
• The process of sharing of information.

• Any behavior that results in exchange of meaning (American Management

Association)

• Communication is the process involving a series of actions and reactions with a

view to achieving a goal.

 In fact all those means through which we communicate our views, facts,
attitudes , feelings to other persons come under the purview of
communication, whether it is through face to face verbal talks or through
telephone, radio, etc or through written letters,fax message, telephones, or
gestures. In short listening, speaking, reading and writing are four means
or components of communication.
 Purpose of communication:

• The same may be understood what is intended to be understood.

• To obtain reply /response /feedback,preferably favorabe.i
• To maintain good relations with communicator.

In business /organizations the communication purposes could be:

• Personal development
• Business/organizatios development
• Solution of problems
• Continuity of business and its critical analysis
• To make the jobs more effective
• Link between management and work force.
• Link between departments.
• Communication /exchange of ideas, messages & experiences .
• Achievement of business / orgorganizational goals
 Characteristics:
The characteristics of communication are as
follows:
i . At least two persons – Communication
involves at least two persons—the sender and
the receiver. The sender sends the message and
the receiver receives the message. There is an
exchange of information between two or more
persons.
ii. Two-way process: Communication is essentially a
two-way process. It does not merely means sending
and receiving messages. It is not complete unless
and until the message has been understood by the
receiver in the same sense.

iii. Form of communication – Communication may take

several forms, e.g., order, instruction, report,
queries, etc. It may be verbal or written. It may be
formal or informal.
iv. Scope – Communication is present in all human relationships. It is
essential in all types of organisations and at all levels of
management. It has a very wide scope.

v. Dynamic process – Communication is influenced by the mood and

thinking of the sender and receiver. It keeps on changing
depending upon the Level of understanding of the sender and
receiver.

vi. Interpersonal relations – The main purpose of communication is

to influence the human behaviour which creates interpersonal
relations.
vii. Circular process – There is circular flow of information in the communication process. After the
feedback, the receiver of the original message is required to transmit another message. The response
indicates the success of the communication.

 COMMUNICATION PROCESS

  Communication process is an interactive process involving two agents i.e.sender and the

receiver. both the agents exert a reciprocal influence on each other through interestimulation and
response. Communication process is a complex process in which our all the senses, experiences and
feelings are involved .
This is not merely letters, gestures or words, but a continuous interaction  between two person.The
interpretation is done not only of words, but of inflexion, face impressions, eye impressions, taping
the floor with heal of shoes, etc ,as well. Our own emotions, feelings, emotions,
feelings,experiences and personal goals also affect them ,but normally the communication process
comprises of five elements:
i. Ideation
It is formation of the idea orselectin of a message to be communicated.
Messages generally have logical and emotional contents.  Logical
content consists of factual information, while emotional content consist of
feelings and emotions.

ii. Encoding
 It is process of changing the information into some form of logical and
coded message. It involves selecting a language, selecting a medium of
communication, and selecting an appropriate communication forumi.e.
(face tofacecommunication, or  group discussion, or written or speaker-
audience communication).
iii. Transmission

It refers to flow of message through a chosen channel. For commun
ication to be effective, right time, right place and right method is
essential.

iv. Decoding
It is the process of converting a message into thoughts by
translating the received stimuli into an interpreted meaning in
order to understand the message communicated. It involves
interpretation and analysis of message.
v. Response
 It is action or reaction to message i.e. feedback

Ideation
Sender has idea

Encoding
Sender Convert the idea into Words or Gestures

Transmission
Message travels over Channel

Decoding
Receiver decodes message

Feedback
ReceiverResponds
In short the idea emerges in the mind of sender due to
some physical or psychological urge or need, which he
interprets according to his experiences,knowledge and
mental state and thereafter converts / encodes into
message. The message is sent to receiver through
any means. the receiver interprets /decodes
the message according to his experiences, knowledge
and mental state and thereafter gives response /feedback
to sender. The sender finally has follow up action to see the
results of his message.