Verbal and Communication Skills

Used in the IT Industry

Prepared for

Chief Officer of Communications

Pandora Technical Enterprises

Prepared by

Mark Longden

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 Table of Contents

Introduction........................................................................................................................3
Principles of Communication.............................................................................................5
Human Communications Theory.......................................................................................7
Verbal and Non-Verbal Communications..........................................................................8
Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Skills.............................................................................11
Barriers to Effective Communication...............................................................................12
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................13
References.......................................................................................................................16

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 Introduction

This report covers:

 What communication is
 How communication works as a process
 Different types of communication
 What some barriers are to the communication process
 The importance of effective communication in a business

Communication can be defined as "the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions,

or information by speech, writing, or signs”. Communication is derived from the Latin
word ‘Communico’ which means “to share”. Hence the word “communication” means:
the process of sharing. One may ask, sharing what? Obviously – sharing information,
which could be facts, ideas, thoughts, feelings, needs, etc. This sharing takes place
from one person to another so that it is understood.

Communication is thus a process by which information is conveyed in an attempt to

create shared understanding. This process requires skills in intrapersonal and
interpersonal processing, listening, observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing, and
evaluating. It is through communication that collaboration and cooperation occur.

In a communication process information is enclosed in a package and is channeled and

imparted by a sender to a receiver via some medium. The receiver then decodes the
message and gives the sender a feedback. All forms of communication require a
sender, a message, and a receiver. Communication requires that all parties have an
area of communicative commonality. There are auditory means, such as speech, song,
and tone of voice, and there are nonverbal means, such as body language, sign
language, paralanguage, touch, eye contact, and writing.

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 Principles of Communication

Communication is a process. A basic example of this process follows these

steps:

 Idea: Information exists in the mind of the sender/source. This can be a concept,
idea, information, or feelings.

 Encoding: The source initiates a message by encoding the idea (or thought) in
words or symbols and sends it to a receiver. The message is the actual physical
product from the source encoding. When we speak, the speech is the message.
When we write, the writing is the message. When we gesture, the movements of
our arms and the expressions of our faces are the message.

 The Channel: The medium that the sender uses to transmit the message to the
receiver. Care needs to be exercised in selecting the most effective channel for
each message. Even though both an oral and a written medium may be
appropriate to transmit a particular message, one medium may be more effective
than the other.

 Decoding: The act of understanding messages (words or symbols). When the

sound waves are translated into ideas, we are taking them out of the code they
are in, hence decoding. Thus, listeners and readers are often regarded as
Decoders.

 Feedback: Will tell the sender that the receiver understood the message, its level
of importance, and what must be done with it. So the feedback loop is the final
link in the communication process. Feedback is the check on how successful we
have been, in transferring our messages as originally intended. It determines
whether understanding has been achieved or not. The purpose of feedback is to
change and alter messages so the intention of the original communicator is
understood by the second communicator. It includes verbal and nonverbal
responses to another person's message.

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In 1948 an American scientist devised a mathematical model which layed the
foundation for communication theory, using the basic steps outlined above. Shannon's
theory provided, for the first time, a general model of the communication process. Part
of its success is due to its structuralist reduction of communication to a set of basic
constituents that not only explain how communication happens, but why communication
sometimes fails.

According to Shannon and Weaver's model (pictured above), a message begins at an

information source, which is relayed through a transmitter, and then sent via a signal
towards the receiver. But before it reaches the receiver, the message must go through
noise (sources of interference). Finally, the receiver must convey the message to its
destination.

Suppose you have an idea in your head (information source) that you want to tell
someone about. You must first move the idea from your brain to your mouth
(transmitter). Since you cannot actually share your gray matter, you must select words
for your transmitter to use. Once you speak, your voice (signal) is carried through the air
toward the listener's ear (receiver). Along the way, your signal is joined by a myriad of
other sounds and distractions (noises). The receiver then takes everything it receives
and tries to maximum the message and minimize the noise. Finally, the receiver
conveys its message to the other person's mind (destination).

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 Human Communications Theory

Human communication occurs when one or more people send and receive messages.
Traditionally, communication is seen as involving a sender and a receiver of a
message.  However, the problem with this way of seeing a relationship is that it
presents communication as a one-way process, i.e., one person sends the message
and the other receives it; which is a lateral or linear process.  
Today, it is recognised that communications are almost always complex, two-way
processes, with people sending and receiving messages to and from each other, in any
interaction, i.e., an interactive process.

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 Verbal and Non-Verbal Communications

Verbal communication includes sounds, words, language and speaking. Language is

said to have originated from sounds and gestures. There are many languages spoken in
the world. The bases of language formation are: gender, class, profession, geographical
area, age group and other social elements. Speaking is an effective way of
communicating and is again classified into two types; interpersonal communication and
public speaking. Since the majority of speaking is an interpersonal process, to
communicate effectively we must not simply clean up our language, but learn to relate
to people.

Good verbal communication is an inseparable part of business communication. In a

business, you come across people from various ages, cultures and races. Fluent verbal
communication is essential to deal with people in business meetings. Also, in business
communication self-confidence plays a vital role which when paired with fluent
communication skills can lead to success.

When we communicate verbally with others, either in a conversation or in a

presentation, our usual goal is to have people understand what we are trying to say. In
order to accomplish this, we should remember the acronym KISS (Keep It Short and
Simple). When we talk to others, we assume they will understand us. We know what
we are trying to say, so obviously our message will get through. Unfortunately this is
not always the case. People bring their own attitudes, opinions, emotions and
experiences to an encounter and this often clouds their perception of our message.
When we communicate verbally, we need to put ourselves in our listeners' shoes. Put
yourself on the other side of the table. How would the message sound if you were not
fully versed in the topic? Would you understand the message or would its meaning be
lost on you?

When we speak, only approximately 10% of the words we use get through to others.
Spoken words are unlike written words where a person can go over a passage several
times to ensure understanding. It is our responsibility to make sure our message gets
across to our audience. Therefore, if we want our message to be understood, we must
be careful of the words we use.

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Non-verbal communication involves physical ways of communication, like, tone of the
voice, touch, smell and body motion. Creative and aesthetic non-verbal communication
includes singing, music, dancing and sculpturing. Symbols and sign language are also
included in non-verbal communication. Body language is a non-verbal way of
communication. Body posture and physical contact convey a lot of information. Body
posture matters a lot when you are communicating verbally to someone. Folded arms
and crossed legs are some of the signals conveyed by a body posture. Physical
contact, like, shaking hands, pushing, patting and touching expresses the feeling of
intimacy. Facial expressions, gestures and eye contact are all different ways of
communication. Reading facial expressions can help you know a person better.

Types of Non-Verbal Communication:

 Object communication
The most common form of object communication is clothing. The types of
clothing that people wear are often used to assess, accurately or inaccurately,
their personality traits. Social groups often use a common form of clothing to set
themselves apart from other, presumably unaligned social groups. Object
communication extends beyond clothing to other body adornments, such as
wedding rings or bind is to indicate marital status, tattoos, piercings, and brands.
Also included in object communication is anything used as a status symbol.

 Touch
Touches that can be defined as communication include handshakes, holding
hands, kissing (cheek, lips, hand), back slap, "high-five", shoulder pat, brushing
arm, etc. Each of these sends non-verbal messages as to the touching person's
intentions/feelings. They also cause feelings in the receiver, whether positive or
negative.

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 Eye Contact
Studies have found that people use their eyes to indicate their interest and with
more than the frequently recognized actions of winking and slight movement of
the eyebrows. Eye contact is an event when two people look at each other's
eyes at the same time. It is a form of nonverbal communication and has a large
influence on social behavior. Frequency and interpretation of eye contact vary
between cultures and species. Eye aversion is the avoidance of eye contact.
Eye contact and facial expressions provide important social and emotional
information. People, perhaps without consciously doing so, probe each other's
eyes and faces for positive or negative mood signs.

 Voice
Things such as tone, pitch, loudness, duration, intonation and tempo, voice
quality, speaking style and speech clarity, and accent can all give off nonverbal
cues. Significant information is given by a person's voice and voice patterns.

 Body language
Body language is a broad term for forms of communication using body
movements or gestures instead of, or in addition to, sounds, verbal language, or
other forms of communication. In everyday speech the term is most often applied
to body language that is considered involuntary, even though the distinction
between voluntary and involuntary body language is often hard to distinguish.
Voluntary body language refers to movement, gestures and poses intentionally
made by a person (i.e., conscious smiling, hand movements and imitation). It can
apply to many types of soundless communication. Generally, movement made
with full or partial intention and an understanding of what it communicates can be
considered voluntary. Involuntary body language quite often takes the form of
facial expression, and has therefore been suggested as a means to identify the
emotions of a person with whom one is communicating. Body language is
particularly important in group communication, in human courtship, and as a
subconscious or subtle method of communication between potential mates,
spouses and family members.

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 Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Skills

Interpersonal communication is the process by which people exchange information,

feelings and meaning through verbal and non-verbal messages.  This definition
highlights the important fact that interpersonal communication is not only concerned
with what is said, i.e., the language used, but how it is said, e.g. the non-verbal
messages sent, such as tone of voice and facial expressions.

Interpersonal communication is defined as having the following characteristics:

 Communication from one individual to another.

 Communication which is face-to-face.
 Both the form and the content of the communication reflect the personal
characteristics of the individuals as well as their social roles and relationships.

What you do matters as much as what you say. It's now accepted that the words
account for only 7-11% of a communication. Your behaviour will 'read' unconsciously to
other people.

Interpersonal communication can be used to:

 Give and collect information.

 Influence the attitudes and behaviour of others.

 Form contacts and maintain relationships.

 Make sense of the world and our experiences in it.

 Express personal needs and understand the needs of others.

 Give and receive emotional support.

 Make decisions and solve problems.

 Try to anticipate and predict behaviour.

 Regulate power.

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Intrapersonal communication is a type of communication that a person carries with him
or herself. That does not mean talking loudly and crazily in the literary context but
figuratively it is a methodology of communicating to oneself that is important in the
psychological development of a person, for developing openness to his/ her ideas and
gaining access into the psychodynamic dimension of the personality. Its purpose is to
think, reason, analyze and reflect the thought procedure.

The skills that are required for effective intrapersonal communication include high self-
esteem, knowing yourself well and being sensitive to your attributes. It also requires
improving problem-solving skills and analyzing abilities. Moreover the need for
increasing self-control and reducing the level of stress is a vital one. Lastly the effective
management of intrapersonal conflicts is important in the carriage of a smooth
intrapersonal communication.

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 Barriers to Effective Communication

Many errors often occur during the communication process, usually when the
information is muddled by the sender, or misinterpreted by the recipient. When these
errors aren’t detected, they can cause tremendous confusion, wasted effort and missed
opportunity. Communication can only be successful when both the sender and the
receiver understand the same information as a result of the communication.

When you successfully send your information to a recipient, you convey your thoughts
and ideas effectively. When unsuccessful, the information that you actually send does
not necessarily reflect what you think, causing a communications breakdown and
creating obstacles that stand in the way of your goals – both personal and in the
workplace.

No matter how good the communication system in an organisation is, unfortunately

barriers can and do often occur. This may be caused by a number of factors which can
usually be summarised as being due to physical barriers, system design faults or
additional barriers.

Communicating in the workplace isn't an easy task. We all come from different
backgrounds and bring different experiences to the table. Whether problems come from
dealing with cultural differences or with messages stemming from nonverbal
communication or body language, the barriers to effective communication can be a
disruptive force in the workplace.

Unclear language can create a hindrance in understanding, as can delivering in a tone

or manner that is counterproductive to the meaning of the message. Closing off your
body while suggesting you are open to communicating, for instance, creates a barrier.
Also, listening is one of the biggest barriers to effective business communication. Not
listening actively can create large gaps in meaning.

In a situation where there are cultural barriers to enjoying effective communication,

overcoming the problem can involve learning more about acceptable forms of

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communicating and listening in your partner's culture. But how do you improve your own
communication skills?

Conclusion

No matter how brilliant and invaluable your ideas and experiences are, they are
worthless unless you can share them with others. For this reason, effective
communication is crucial at every level of an organization. However, the ability to
communicate effectively does not come easily to many people, and it is a skill that
requires practice.

Effective communication is essential in order to be able to:

• Work successfully alongside others

• Overcome obstacles

• Maintain successful relationships

• Accomplish tasks, both in a group and as an individual

• Motivate others

You can prevent barriers stemming from miscommunication by listening more actively.
Paraphrase the message to be sure you understand and ask questions for clarity. When
delivering a message, keep your body open and available in order to strengthen a
message communicating this. Preparation is also important - when you have to give a
speech, prepare what you'll say beforehand in order to prevent talking in circles.

In spite of the increasing importance placed on communication skills, many individuals

continue to struggle, unable to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively –
whether in verbal or written format. This inability makes it nearly impossible for them to
compete effectively in the workplace, and stands in the way of career progression.

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Good communication skills are one of the most highly sought after qualities that
recruiters from companies look for in prospective employees. Skills like being able to
successfully converse and work alongside others, do written and oral presentations, and
just being able to listen effectively, are all contributing factors to job success.

Good communication has many advantages for a business:

 Motivates employees
 Easier to control and coordinate business activity
 Makes successful decision making easier for managers
 Better communication with customers will increase sales
 Improve relationships with suppliers and possibly lead to more reliable delivery
 Improves chances of obtaining finance

Being able to communicate effectively is therefore essential if you want to build a

successful career. To do this, you must understand what your message is, what
audience you are sending it to, and how it will be perceived. You must also weigh-in the
circumstances surrounding your communications, such as situational and cultural
context.

Finally, everyone communicates differently. A forceful message may motivate one

person and overwhelm another. Understanding individual differences is an important
way to keep your business communication effective and barrier-free.

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 References

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/communication

http://www.cosmicfingerprints.com/shannon_comm_channel.JPG

http://www.web-conferencing-zone.com/4106-barriers-to-effective-communication.htm

http://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/people_communication_introduction.htm

http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/CommunicationIntro.htm

http://www.blurtit.com/q878077.html

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