LESSON 1
FUNDAMENTALS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
STRUCTURE 1.0
OBJECTIVES
1.1
INTRODUCTION
1.2
THE CONCEPT OF COMMUNICATION 1.2.1 1.2.2 1.2.3
ORAL COMMUNICATION W RITTEN COMMUNICATION NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
1.3
PURPOSE OF COMMUNICATION
1.4
COMMUNICATION PROCESS 1.4.1 1.4.2 1.4.3 1.4.4 1.4.5 1.4.6 1.4.7
1.5
THE SENDER ENCODING TRANSMISSION OF MESSAGE CHANNEL RECEIVER FEEDBACK BACKGROUND / ENVIRONMENT
ASSIGNMENTS 1.5.1 1.5.2
CLASS ASSIGNMENTS HOME ASSIGNMENTS
1.6
SUMMING UP
1.7
POSSIBLE ANSWERS TO SELF-CHECK QUESTIONS
1.8
TERMINAL QUESTIONS
1.9
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED FURTHER READING
1.10
GLOSSARY
1
1. FUNDAMENTALS OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION This Unit deals with a very important subject for any businessman viz., “COMMUNICATION”, a term which has gained considerable importance in recent years. In the three lessons of this unit we will discuss about the various facets of Communication ranging from understanding the concept of Communication, Barriers to effective Communication and Tips for making effective Communication. In this lesson we will cover the following two aspects of communication:
1.0
•
What is communication, and
•
The communication process
Objectives After studying this chapter, you will acquire a basic understanding of:
•
The meaning and concept of Communication
•
And the Communication Process
1.1
Introduction
Communication is an essential part of all human activity. Communication takes place: •
In our personal life (between husband, wife, parents, children, relatives etc.).
•
In our professional life (between boss, colleagues, and subordinates).
•
In our social life, with other members of our society (both in formal and informal situations).
Can human society survive even for a little while, without communication? The answer is obvious. It is impossible to survive without communication. It is only through effective and clear communication that efforts of different persons living in a society are coordinated to create a thing of ‘social value’. Right from the days of cavemen till today, human society has evolved and developed 2
only on account of the exceptional ability of the human being to communicate with other members of the society. Why is communication important to all of us? It is important because to a large extent, success in our family life, professional life or social life depends on how good and effective we are as communicators. On the other hand, if you stop for a moment to analyse the major problems and difficulties that you may have faced in your life, you will realize that in most cases problems in relationships arise mainly on account of misunderstandings caused due to poor communication. The subject of communication is thus of vital importance for all of us, as it touches all aspects of our life.
1.2
The Concept of Communication
Communication has been defined in different ways by different people. Some of the basic definitions are: •
Communication can be defined as the process of transfer of information between people, resulting in a common understanding between them.
•
Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions between two or more persons.
•
Communication is the sum of all things a person does when he wants to create understanding in the minds of others.
•
Communication is the process, whereby, a person attempts to influence the ideas, actions and behaviour of another person.
•
Transfer of information from the sender to the receiver, with the information being understood by the receiver, is known as communication.
Another important aspect of communication relates to understanding the distinction between hearing and listening. Listening is not the same as hearing. In hearing one uses his ears to acknowledge the sound of something. It is purely a mechanical process while in listening one not only hears but also understands from the point of view of the speaker, what the speaker is trying to say. Communication can broadly be classified as: • Verbal or • Non-verbal Verbal communication can be either: 3
• Oral or • Written Any communication which makes use of words is classified as verbal communication. Written communication is also taken to be a part of verbal communication. This is so because words are used in written communication also. As opposed to this, in non-verbal communication, no words are used. Neither written nor spoken; but only gestures, expressions etc. are used. 1.2.1 Oral communication • This communication is the most commonly used form of communication. • It provides a personalised touch. • It provides for two way flow of information. 1.2.2 Written communication • Written communication is desirable when a record of the communication is to be maintained. • When the communication is formal or legal. • When the communication is lengthy. • In this form of communication there are less chances of missing out a point. 1.2.3 Non-verbal communication: • Nearly 90% of all communication is non-verbal. • It is through facial expressions • Eye contact • Posture • Gestures • Artefacts like textile creations, paintings, various crafts etc. We will learn about verbal and non-verbal communication in some more detail in the lesson 3 of this unit. Let us now understand the purpose of communication.
1.3
Purpose of Communication 4
The purpose of communication is to get your message across to others in an effective manner. In fact, a message is successful only when both the sender and the receiver understand it in the same way. Communication is needed to convey facts, ideas and emotions. It is also used in organisations to establish goals, develop plans for the achievement of goals, organize human and other resources of the organization in the most effective way, direct and evaluate members, lead, direct and help people to contribute to the organization and control the performance of people in the organization.
Self-check Questions 1.
1.4
How can Communication be broadly classified?
Communication Process The communication process comprises of:
•
Sender
•
Encoding
•
Transmission of Message
•
Channel
•
Receiver
•
Feedback and
•
Environment (background)
Let us now understand the process of communication through a diagram (Fig. 1.1). Feedback
Transmission
Sender
Encoding
of message Reception
Decoding
Environment
Fig. 1.1 A representation of communication process
Understanding
5
Let us now briefly examine the various aspects of the communication process as has been shown in Fig 1.1. 1.4.1 The sender The sender is the person who originally has the information, thought, idea or emotion which is required to be communicated. 1.4.2 Encoding It is then encoded. Encoding is the process of conversion of information, thought, idea or emotion into a message, in such a way that it can be understood both by the sender and the receiver. The language skills of the sender play an important role at this stage. 1.4.3 Transmission of message Message is the content, which the sender wants to send to the receiver. A message can be written or oral or in the form of gestures. This is a very important part of the communication process since it carries the idea from the sender to the receiver. 1.4.4 Channel Messages are conveyed through a channel. These channels may be of two types; namely Oral or Written. Oral communication can be conducted over the telephone, through seminars, video-conferencing, meetings, etc. Written communication includes letters, fax, email, memo and reports etc. 1.4.5 Receiver Receiver is the person who receives the message. He decodes the message to understand it. It is important to understand that the receiver has his own set of beliefs, ideas and feelings. These beliefs, ideas and feelings affect the way the receiver interprets the message that he receives. There is a possibility of misinterpretation at this stage. Words often mean differently to different people and the receiver may interpret the message on the basis of past experience thus making assumptions about its meaning. That is why you see that the same message evokes different sets of reactions from different people. 1.4.6 Feedback In the process of communication the receiver is not a passive object. A receiver provides ‘feedback’ to the sender in the form of verbal or nonverbal reaction to the communicated message. This feedback is very important because it enables the sender to understand whether the receiver has understood the message in the desired manner or not. 6
1.4.7 Background / Environment The background in which a message is delivered is called the Environment. Environment includes all such factors that can have any positive or negative influence on the communication process. This includes the context in which the communication is being made. It also includes the broader culture. Communication may be made in a formal business environment or in a family environment. The context of communication is also important. If you are communicating with a person with whom you had a fight in the past, your message is more likely to be misunderstood and you will have to be careful in the choice of words. Similarly if you are communicating with a person from another culture, then also you will have to be careful while communicating. Since the process of communication involves a sender and a receiver, there may be mistakes and confusion, resulting in the message being misinterpreted by the receiver. To convey your message effectively, you must keep the following things in mind: •
Convert your idea into a clear and precise message.
•
Understand the capabilities of the receiver, in understanding your message.
•
Anticipate how your message may be misunderstood by the receiver and correct it in advance, accordingly.
•
The responsibility of communicating a message effectively always remains with the sender.
Self-check Questions 2.
1.5
What are the different components and stages of the Communication Process? Enumerate them.
Assignments
1.5.1 Class assignments i)
Play the game known as Chinese Whisper.
(Most of you might have played this game in your school days. You may play this game to understand how distortion can occur in the process of communication. This game is briefly explained below.) 7
Game of Chinese Whisper: All students sit in a circle. A verbal message is whispered in one student’s ear in such a manner that it cannot be heard by the other students. The person, who receives the message, cannot ask for the message to be repeated. This receiver then passes on the message to the next student adjacent to him/ her, who then pass the message to the next person and so on; till the message reaches the last person in the group. The last person then announces the message that he/she has received. It is compared to what the original message was. It is then attempted to determine where distortion in the message took place. Three rounds can be played of this game. This exercise is essentially conducted to illustrate how messages can be distorted in the communication process. 1.5.2 Home assignments i)
1.6
Each of you must have faced one or the other problem during the first semester of your study. In a brief note to your mentor, highlight this problem and suggest a remedy.
Summing Up
In this lesson, we have learnt about some important aspects of communication viz.: •
What is communication?
•
The purpose of communication.
•
The communication process which comprises of : o o o o o o o
1.7 1.
Sender Encoding Transmission of Message Channel Receiver Feedback Environment/background
Possible answers to Self-check Questions Communication can broadly be classified as Verbal and Non-verbal. Any Communication which makes use of words, whether written or oral, is classified as Verbal Communication. While in non-verbal communication only gestures, expressions, postures, eye-contact etc. are used and not words. 8
2.
The Communication Process comprises of: • • • • • • •
1.8
Sender Encoding Transmission of message Channel Receiver Feedback and Environment (background)
Terminal Questions
1.
Why is communication so important for all of us?
2.
Out of the various definitions of communication given in sub section 1.2, which do you favour the most and why?
1.9
References and Suggested Further Readings
1.
D’Souza, Y.H., 1999. Communication Today and Tomorrow. Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi
2.
Narula, U. 2006. Communication Models. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors (P) Ltd., New Delhi.
1.10 Glossary 1.
Communication
Act of exchanging information
2.
Facets
Aspects
3.
Barriers
Obstacles
4.
Subordinates
People under secondary
5.
Cavemen
Prehistoric humans of the stone age
6.
Distinction
Difference
7.
Posture
The position or carriage of the body, To assume an attitude
8.
Gesture
A movement of a part of the body to express something
9.
Feedback
To supply information
the
authority
of
another,
9
10. Environment
Surroundings
11. Misinterpret
Understand or explain incorrectly
12. Distortion
Misrepresentation
13. Encode
To put information into code
10