Esha Gowhar
The objective of this article is to enlighten the audience about communication.
Communication is a process that involves sending and receiving messages through verbal or non-verbal modes.
This article will further elucidate on the barriers of communication, remedial measures and significance of conversation, group discussion, close room meetings and non-verbal news bulletins for the physically challenged.
Description of communication:
As per John Adair,Communication is the ability of one person to make contact with another and make himself or herself understood. As per Peter Little,The process by which information is transmitted between individuals and/or organisations so that an understanding response results is termed as communication. As per Louis Allen,
Communication is the bridge of meaning. It involves a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening and understanding. As per William Newman and Charles Summer,
Communication is the exchange of ideas,facts,opinions or emotions of two or more persons. As per Robert Andersion,
Communication is the interchange of thoughts, opinions or information by speech, writing or signs. As per the Oxford English Dictionary, communication means imparting, conveying or exchange of ideas, knowledge, whether by speech, writing, mechanical or electronic media. According to Dewey,Communication is a sharing of experience till it becomes a common possession. According to Adler, Rodman and du Pré,Communication is the process of creating meaning through symbolic interaction. As per Turner and West,
The transactional process using symbols to create shared meaning is called communication. Communication is usually defined as the transmission of information.When information is passed from a sender to a recipient using a medium, it is known as communication.– Wikipedia
Verbal Communication:-
Verbal communication can be defined as showing one’s thoughts such as opinions, directions,dissatisfaction,objections,emotions etc by using words and language in order to speak to one another.It can also be defined as the human interaction through linguistic forms. It is the most obvious and accustomed mode of communication.
For instance, speaking to a friend,teaching in a classroom,asking for directions,having a phone call,etc.
Types of verbal communication:-
Verbal communication is about language,both written as well as spoken.On this basis, there are two types of verbal communication:-
1.Oral communication
2.Written communication
1.Oral communication:-
Communication that is performed face to face and can take place through telephones, video conferencing or simply face to face is called oral communication.
2.Written communication:-
Communication which involves the use of documents,letters,social media,etc in order to interconnect with others is called written communication.
Some other known types of verbal communication are as follows:-
1.Intrapersonal communication
2.Interpersonal communication
3.Small group communication
4.Public communication
- Intrapersonal communication:-
“Intrapersonal” refers to something that exists or occurs within an individual’s self or mind.
This form of communication is extremely private and restricted to oneself, wherein we alter roles between the sender and the recipient who are processing our thoughts and actions. This process of communication when analysed can either be conveyed verbally to someone or remains confined as thoughts. - Interpersonal communication:-
This form of communication takes place between two individuals. Here the involved individuals will swap their roles of sender and receiver in order to communicate in a better way. - Small group communication:-
This type of communication can take place only when there are more than two people involved. Here the number of people will be small enough to allow each participant to interact and converse with others e.g. press conferences,board meetings,etc. - Public communication:-
This type of communication takes place when an individual addresses a large gathering of people. In such cases, there is usually a single sender of information and several receivers who are being addressed e.g. election campaigns,public speeches,etc.
Verbal communication makes the process of conveying thoughts easier and faster, as such remaining the most successful form of communication. Yet, it makes up only seven percent of all human communication.
Importance of verbal communication:-
Verbal communication plays a significant role in the workplace. It is essential to conduct a meeting, make a presentation or to have personal conversations.
Verbal communication can help us to express our thoughts, emotions, experiences,ideas,etc. It can help a person to reflect on his/her individual strengths. It is important for a person to tell his priorities, strengths to others, especially when he is in his workspace. Once the fellow members know his working style and abilities,they can help him to settle into his new role.
The way you communicate or use oral language may also influence your mood. How people interact with each other determines their attitude, behaviour and mind set about them.
Verbal communication further provides clarity, which can improve connection and drive engagement. People tend to remember information more accurately when someone presents it to them directly or when they watch something happening around them.
Merits and demerits of verbal communication:-
There are certain pros and cons of Verbal communication. For instance,
Through this mode of communication,tasks can be done efficiently by avoiding long procedures. As such this method can help us communicate better with others as well as understand what they have to say.
Feedback is necessary for any social scenario where communication is involved.By using verbal communication,we are able to produce a quick response/ feedback to the host’s original message.
Due to its broad acceptance and convenience, individuals prefer to communicate through this very way instead of opting for other modes of communication.
However, there can be certain drawbacks of the same.
Sometimes,the meaning of the intended message can change during the communication and drift far from the actual point. If the message is not conveyed with precision,it can create misunderstanding for a communication gap. At the time of conveying long messages,it can miss certain points and become protracted. This may lead to misinterpretation among the individuals.
When communicating orally, a person can add certain details that differ for the topic which can cause a gap in communication.
Suggesting your ideas to the audience is considered as a critical factor in any kind of communication. Thus verbal communication can cause problems if not taken into consideration properly.
The behavioural elements of human-to-human
messages,besides spoken words, are referred to as non verbal communication. One’s body language,appearance, posture and facial expressions send messages to others and provide further cues to meaning.
Only a small percentage – perhaps 7-10% of what is said is conveyed by the words that are spoken,whereas at least 85% of interpersonal communications are para verbal or non-verbal.
Body language is an essential part of communication as it helps us to send an emotion or feeling to the other person.
The study of nonverbal communication started in 1872 with the publication of The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin. Darwin began to study nonverbal communication as he noticed the interactions between animals such as lions, tigers, dogs etc. and realised they also communicated by gestures and expressions. For the first time, nonverbal communication was studied and its relevance questioned. Today, scholars argue that nonverbal communication can convey more meaning than verbal communication. Some scholars state that most people trust forms of nonverbal communication over verbal communication.
…to be continued
The author is 10+2 student of Kashmir Harvard Educational Institute Department of Humanities.