Nature & Process

of Communication

Role of Communication
Human beings are poor communicators
Failure in achieving objectives in
-relationships, negotiations or decision
making to a large extent owing to
failure in communicating - purpose and
ideas accurately to other
Failure could be due to content OR
form of message OR both

Role of Communication
Common e.g.s of communication failure in
personal and organizational communications o I would have changed the arrangement, but
nobody told me
o I did not know you wanted me to
o I wasnt aware that someone else was also
making arrangements.
All remarks convey regret and disappointment
felt by the receiver for having failed to
communicate appropriately

Case 1
Vice President to Secretary
Please call an Urgent meeting of all
managers.

Secretary fixed meeting for the next

morning

Case 1
Secretary thought Urgent meant Serious
and
not Immediate

Case 1
Receiver (Secretary) missed
Purpose of communication
VP did not clearly & precisely specify the
time & date of the meeting

Case 2
Vinay Prasad Assistant Engineer
Employer NTPC, Delhi
Specialization High Voltage Power
Generation

Case 2
Reads ad about international power
conference in Chennai
Keen to attend
Writes immediately to Chief Power
Engineer -

The Chief Power Engineer

An international conference on power generation
which would be of great interest to us is being
held in Chennai. The enclosed brochure shows that
the technical information to be presented in the
conference would be of great help in our upcoming
projects. The registration fee is just Rs.5,000/- &
the cost of travel & stay about Rs.8,000/-. Hence,
only Rs.13,000/- will be required. I am informing
you about the conference now, so that you can take
a decision in time for me to make necessary
arrangements for train / flight bookings and stay.

CPE Replies
Vinay Prasad,
Thanks for informing me about the
conference in Chennai. I will certainly
attend it. Please make all the necessary
arrangements for me as suggested in
your memo
Ashok Jha

Definition - Communication
Latin Word

communis

common

Communication
Natural activity of human beings to
convey / share
Opinions, feelings, information & ideas
to others
through words (written or spoken), body
language or signs

Communication
Individuals

Organization
Blood

Social Need

Life

Some Definitions
Communication is essentially the
ability of one person to make contact
with another and to make himself or
herself understood

John Adair

Some Definitions
Purposive interchange, resulting in
workable understanding and agreement
between the sender and the receiver of
a message

George Vardman

Some Definitions
Communication is the interchange of
thoughts, opinions or information by
speech, writing or signs

Robert Anderson

Classification - Communication
Communication

No. of persons

Meta
Communication

Medium

Intrapersonal

Verbal

Interpersonal

Non Verbal

Group

Mass

INTRAPERSONAL
talking to one self
mentally or loudly -

soliloquies or asides

Monologue

INTERPERSONAL
with others 2 or
more people

conversation,
dialogue, interview,
books, letters

GROUP
Small

GROUPS
Lar
ge

E. g. Class room

all individuals retain

their individual
identity
Club members, Organization

MASS COMMUNICATION
MASS large groups
via newspaper, radio, TV
faceless individual
Each person a faceless
individual no
opportunity for personal
response or feedback

Medium VERBAL
VERBAL words written or spoken

speaking, listening, writing, reading,

thinking

Medium NON VERBAL

sign language gestures

action language movements

object language pictures, clothes etc

Non-verbal
Personal space proxemics

(study of distance individuals

maintain between each other while interacting and its significance)

& body language kinesics

(study of how people use body

movements to communicate without speaking e.g. shrugging)

Touch (haptics)
Eyes (Oculesics)
Smell (Olfactics)
Time (Chronemics)
All Non-verbals affect & contradict verbal
communication

META COMMUNICATION
Speakers choice of words
unintentionally conveys something more
than what the actual words state
Ive never seen you so smartly dressed
Could mean regular attire of listener
needs improvement

Forms of communication

Communication
Natural activity of human beings to
convey / share
Opinions, feelings, information & ideas
to others
through words (written or spoken), body
language or signs

Characteristics
of
Successful
Communication

Candidness
Courtesy

Correctness

7 Cs
of
Communi cation

Concreteness

Clarity

Completeness

Conciseness

1. Candidness
Honest & sincere
Speak & listen without prejudice or bias
Fairness to self & others involved guiding
principle e.g. .honest opinion, frankly
speaking etc
Candidness implies consideration of listeners
interests and need to know things objectively
& fairly
If receiver is to understand, communication
should be characterized by you attitude
Also exhibits speakers self-confidence

2. Clarity
Most important in all communications especially faceto-face
Not easy to verbalize ideas accurately on the spot
during conversation, presentation or other form of
interaction
To express clearly, use accurate and familiar words
with proper intonation, stresses & pauses
Spoken language to consist of simple words & short
sentences
Clear and well organized thoughts
In one to one communication, listener can obtain
immediate clarification in case of any doubt due to
lack of clarity

3. Completeness
Clarity also ensured by completeness of message
Possible to miss out some parts of communication while
conversing or during oral presentation. Hence necessary to
be pre-planned and structured
The principle of completeness requires that whatever is
necessary is communicated, provide answers to all possible
questions add extra information etc.
Careful to answer all questions put to us e.g. in an interview
else raise doubts regarding the matter
If no information or answer / unwilling to answer or discuss
any particular question frankly express inability to answer

4. Conciseness
In business and professional communications,
brevity with minimum words is important
Avoid being repetitive
While speaking tendency to be more wordy
Less words doesnt mean making less sense
Without sacrificing essential meaning,
achieve intensity and concentration & brevity
Use single words for wordy phrases

Wordy
1. At this point of time
2. As regards the fact
that..
3. Because of the fact
that
4. Are in need of .
5. In due course of time
6. Not very far from
here

Concise
1. Now / at present
2. Considering..
3. As / because
4. Need
5. Soon / shortly
6. Nearby / close by

5. Concreteness
Be specific / definite in describing

Includes vivid description of event /

state
Avoid vague words
In oral communication not possible
to draw figures, tables graphs etc.

5. Concreteness
Choose precise words, speak with
proper modulation and force to make
sound reflect the sense
E.g. in oral communication avoid
passive voice *
Active voice verbs reflect force &
action
Sound more natural and direct.

6. Correctness
Grammatical errors common in spoken
communication
Speaker tends to forget the number
and person of the subject of the verb if
sentence is too long. Even sequence of
tense is wrong
Pronoun is incorrect especially in
reported speech

6. Correctness
He said to me that I will surely go there
He told me that he would surely go there
Being an experienced manager, we are
sure you can resolve the conflict
As you are an experienced manager, we
are sure you can resolve the conflict

7. Courtesy
An effective speaker maintains proper
decorum whether at meetings,
conversing, GDs etc
Courtesy demands not using words
which are insulting or hurtful to listener
In biz discussions, listen patiently
without interrupting
Wait for chance to speak when its your
turn then speak with force and clarity

7. Courtesy
Tone should reflect respect for listener
(s)
Pitch should not sound as if talking at
each other but to each other
Tone should not be aggressive
Tone should be level and measured
make or break a discussion

Purpose of communication
To inform
To persuade
To inform & persuade - involves both
of the above

Purpose TO INFORM
Expository Communication is directed by the
desire to expose, develop & explain the subject
e.g. scientific writings trying to convince
reader about validity of findings
E.g. Flies are our deadly enemies because
they feed on dirt & rubbish
Focus is on flies our deadly enemy and the
logical presentation of facts associated with
flies convinces us about the danger of flies

Purpose TO PERSUADE
Focus is on receiver and not the message
E.g. Home loan advertisement
Advertisement is reader centric
All communication is a deliberate and
intentional act of persuasion.
A persuasive communicator wants the
reader to understand the message and be
influenced, as intended

Process of Communication
The linear Concept earliest form
Involves 5 basic questions
Who?
Says What?
On which Channel?
To whom?
With What effect?

The linear Concept

Receiver receives message passively

o Acts as directed by sender
o Communication intended to control / manipulate the
receiver
o Assumed that message passing through medium
chosen by sender receives message without
distortion or change

Shannon-Weaver model
C E Shannon & W Weaver first pointed
out that in practice, messages can be
changed or blocked
Basic problem is
message received

message sent

Though feed back was introduced, it was

considered another new act of
communication

Shannon-Weaver model

Shannon-Weaver model

o
o
o

Information source source of message

communication begins.
Sender has raw information.
To be converted to a message to be
communicated
Encoding message thought put into words (
symbols ) Encoding
Channel oral, written, electronic, coded,
signaling system -appropriate medium /
channel chosen

Shannon-Weaver model
Decoding receiver gets message by
-receiving, understanding and
interpreting the message
Acting communication process ends
with receiver putting the interpreted
message into action as intended by the
sender and gives feedback to sender

Shannon-Weaver model
Thus Communication completes full circle.
Both sender and receiver become 2
aspects of a single purpose
This unifying process & role of
communication has made modern
management organisations and systems
consider communication as an essential
skill for successful managers

Noise
Process open to noise
Prevents / distorts
communication
Noise distortion or
hindrance, preventing
transmission of message
from (mind of) sender to
(mind of) receiver
For some noise stands only
for external disturbances
physical environment,
machine telephone, poor
printout or bad handwriting

Filters

Attitudes

Beliefs
Experiences
Personal
Status

Mental in nature Caused by mindset

of sender and
receiver

Include attitudes,
beliefs, experiences,
consciousness of
personal status &
ability to think
clearly

Filters
Misunderstanding & other problems may
arise as senders message passes through
the filters of the receiver

Receivers filters comprise

the senders filters + low interest /
involvement + distraction / fatigue
causing loss of concentration

Problems/Barriers of
communication

Broadly problems occur due to..

Conventions of meaning
Perceptions of reality
Values, attitudes and opinion

Conventions of Meaning
Symbols are sings for things that exist
Connections between signs and their referents are
unique to each individual
Denotations, connotations and euphemism

Perception of reality
Human being sensory perceptions are
limited and each persons mental filter
is unique
We make various abstractions,
inferences and evaluations of the world
around us

Values , Attitudes and Opinions

Favourable and unfavorable information

Closed minds
Senders Credibility
Personal mood of the sender / receiver

Nonverbal Communication
Non verbal messages often contradict
the verbal
Appearance
Body language
Silence, time and space

Communication problems from

senders side
Lack of planning
Vagueness about the purpose of
communication
Objectives to be achieved
Choice of wrong language, resulting in
badly encoded message
Unshared & unclarified assumptions
Different perception of reality
Wrong choice of the channel

Barriers - Receiver

Poor listener
Inattention
Mistrust
Lack of interest
Premature evaluation
Semantic
Difficulties

Bias / Lack of trust

Different perception
of reality
Attitudinal clash
with sender
Not in a fit physical
state

Common barrier

both sender & receiver

Absence of a common frame of reference
Affects smooth interpretation of
thoughts, feelings and attitudes from the
sender to the receiver in a specific social
situation
A well-defined social context in which
communication takes place enables both
the sender & receiver to perceive the
content of communication in a similar way
with similar implications and meaning.

Common barrier

both sender & receiver

Physical noise & other faults in

surroundings & instruments of transmission

of message relate mainly to the channel
They may not distort the overall meaning of
the total message to be communicated
Most listed barriers are easy to
understand, but some still need explanation
.

Barriers
Wrong & unclarified assumptions
All communications are made under some
assumptions, which are never communicated
They may turn out wrong & cause
communication failure
E.g. we often assume that others
See the situation as we do
Should feel about the situation as we do
Think about the matter as we do
Understand the message as we understand it

Conditions for successful

communication

Communication is to share information with others in

an intelligible, participative form through the
medium of words / body gestures / other symbolic
signs

Rule of Five Keith Davis

Role of receiver as important as that of
sender
5 Receiver steps Receive

Understand

Accept

Feedback

Communication incomplete &

unsuccessful if not observed

Use

Rule of Five Keith Davis

Communication is successful when
The message is properly understood
The purpose of the sender is
fulfilled
The sender & receiver of the message
remain linked through feedback