Chapter 5 • Sending Interpersonal Messages
Effective communication occurs only when noise is avoided, the sender transmits ideas and feelings completely and accurately, and the receiver interprets the message exactly as the sender intended. In this chapter, we are concerned with senders transmitting messages to receivers with the conscious intent of affecting the receivers’ behavior. This includes all sender behaviors, verbal or nonverbal, that are consciously evoked to obtain responses from others. For example, a person sends the message “How are you?” to evoke the response “Fine,” or a teacher shakes her head to get two students to stop talking. What Skills Are Required to Send Messages Effectively? Consistently effective communication requires considerable skill in sending and receiving information. Research has determined that better transmission of messages can be achieved by increasing the clarity of messages, developing credibility, and soliciting feedback.4 SKILLS FOR INCREASING CLARITY OF MESSAGES A sender should take the initiative in eliminating communication barriers by making sure a message is clear and understandable to the receiver. A number of things can be done to accomplish this goal.5
1. Use multiple channels. The probability of a message being understood accurately can be increased by transmitting it in several different ways. Examples include matching a verbal message with facial and body gestures or diagramming it on a piece of paper. This kind of multiple-mode communication of the same message ensures that the receiver has the opportunity to receive the message through more than one sense. A manager speaking about the need to increase quality of production, for example, could convey the urgency of the message through the multiple channels of words, voice tones, facial expressions, gestures, pictures, postures, and audiovisual presentations. 2. Be complete and specific. When the subject matter of a message is new or unfamiliar to the receiver, the sender can make the message complete and specific by providing sufficient background information and details. Once receivers understand the sender’s frame of reference, they are more likely to interpret the message accurately. By referring to concrete deadlines and examples, a sender can decrease the probability of misinterpretation. 3. Take responsibility. Senders should take responsibility for the feelings and evaluations in their messages by using personal pronouns such as I and mine. General statements such as “Everyone feels this way” leave room for doubt, since someone might not feel that way. “You” messages, as in “you are so self-centered,” most often make the receiver defensive. But an “I” message, such as “I feel angry when I have to wait because you are late,” is not ambiguous, and it describes the sender’s feelings. 4. Be congruent. Make sure your messages are congruent with your actions. Being incongruent by saying one thing and doing another confuses receivers. If, for example, managers tell subordinates that they are “always available” to help them but then act condescending and preoccupied when those people come to them with problems, they are communicating something quite different from the verbal message. 5. Simplify your language. Complex rhetoric and technical jargon confuse individuals who do not use such language. Most organizations develop a lingo, or language that is distinctly the company’s own, made up of words and phrases for people, situations, events, and things. At Walt Disney, for example, all employees are called cast members. They’re “on stage” when they’re working and “off stage” when at lunch or taking a break. Any positive situation or event is a “good Mickey.” Anything less is a “bad Mickey.”
77
