FUN - Video on Personal Space in Communication

Everyone has a personal space around him / her. Personal space refers to a certain area around one's body that one considers one's own and when any person invades that space, it makes one feel downright uncomfortable.

Watch this funny video to know what exactly personal space is:

Maintain safe distance, folks! ;)

7 Cs of Communication

There are 7 qualities of effective communication and each one of them begin with the alphabet "C". This brings us to the interesting topic called 7 Cs of Communication. The 7 Cs are:

1. Completeness
2. Conciseness
3. Consideration
4. Concreteness
5. Clarity
6. Courtesy
7. Correctness

Completeness:  One cannot have effective communication without completing it in the first place. Every communication must therefore be complete. The communication must convey all facts that are required or requested by the audience. The communication must answer all the WH questions - What?, When?, Who?, Why?, Where? and How?. Answering all these questions ensures that the communication is complete in all respects.

Conciseness: Although completeness is desired in a communication, care must be taken to ensure that only relevant information is provided. Any extra information that are not required by the audience can lead to waste of time and energy too. This is because the receiver then has to spend time to sift through the details to separate the relevant from the irrelevant.

Consideration: Consideration basically refers to remembering where the interest of the receiver lies and then communicating to satisfy that interest. One needs to think from the receivers' perspective and provide information as per their liking. This helps in striking a better deal due to effective communication.

Concreteness: It is always better to send messages that are specific instead of general. General messages often create an ambiguity which does not render itself to proper understanding at the first attempt. Sometimes ambiguous messages are so vague that the entire essence of the communication is lost.

Clarity: Clarity emphasizes on sending across a specific message or achieving a particular goal at a time rather than trying to achieve too much at once. One needs to use precise and familiar words to achieve clarity. Use of slang in communication makes the message unclear.

Courtesy: This C of communication refers to the 'You Attitude'. A message is never well received as long as it does not demonstrate professional courtesy. It is therefore very important to keep the feelings and perspective of the receiver in mind as the effectiveness of the communication is lost if the sender comes across as rude or offensive. 

Correctness: This C of communication does not just mean delivering the apt message. It also involves usage of proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. All mechanics of writing must be followed and the message should be adjusted according to the situation - formal or informal, etc. 

Etiquette

Etiquette is nothing but a set of unsaid rules governing socially acceptable behaviour. There are different types of etiquette, depending on the type of situation one is in. We have restaurant etiquette, handshake etiquette, e-mail etiquette, phone etiquette, apart from the most important - business etiquette. As action speaks louder than words, I have chosen a few videos that explicitly deal with the aforementioned etiquettes. Have fun watching them.

Restaurant Etiquette: Here is an interesting video which deals with the whats and hows of dining out

Handshake etiquette: Shaking hands is an integral part of a business environment. Needless to say, there are rules governing that too. Have a look at the video to ensure that you do not mess up the next time.

E-mail Etiquette: How quick is it to send an e-mail and get done with your intended communication! But, as always, there are etiquettes that one need to follow here as well.

Phone Etiquette: In the increasingly gadget centric world, we spend most of our times on the phone, talking, texting, gaming, browsing and what not! Follow these rules to ensure that your phone manners are immaculate.

Business Etiquette: Last, but not the least, business etiquette. This must be followed to build up trust among the customers as well as employees. It helps in creating and retaining goodwill in the market.

Apart from the ones mentioned above, there are other etiquettes too. The over all gist is that one must not feel offended or troubled by any of your actions. The moment we learn that, more than half of all kinds of etiquette is taken care of.

Stay tuned for a complete analysis on the 7 Cs of communication.

Face to Face Communication - Advantages and Disadvantages

Face to face communication is synonymous with oral communication. Therefore most of the advantages and disadvantages mentioned for oral communication apply in this case too. However, this particular type of communication warrants a special discussion for the reason that it is possible to distinguish between face to face communication and oral communication in certain situations. It is a sum total of both verbal and non-verbal communication. This type of communication can be defined as a type of communication wherein people meet personally to discuss and deliberate on certain issues or facts, etc. Given below are the advantages and disadvantages of face to face communication.

Advantages of Face to Face Communication:

Addition of Non-verbal Cues: Facial expressions, gestures and tone of voice help us to communicate in a better manner as all these non-verbal cues supplement our oral communication. Can u imagine talking to a person without any facial expressions or gestures whatsoever? No, we cannot!! It is not for nothing that we make fun of Kristen Stewart for having and maintaining the same look and expression in the entire movie. Compare the two images below to understand the point.

Particularly Suitable to Discussion: Face to face communication helps in better discussion of matters at hand. Since one can see the other people involved and guess from their expressions and reactions about what exactly is in their minds, it becomes easier to arrive at a decision or conclusion.

Instant Feedback: This point is common to advantages of oral communication. During face to face communication, it is always possible to get instant feedback from the receiver of the message. There is no delay caused due to any external factors.

Disadvantages of Face to Face Communication:

Difficult to Employ in a Large Setup: A large sized organisation has various departments and a complex hierarchical structure. Often times, it may not be possible to discuss each and every policy or rule with each employee before implementing them. So, in spite of all the aforementioned benefits, it isn't feasible at all times.

Not Effective in a Large Gathering: In a large gathering, the personal touch is often missing. The speaker cannot connect to each and every listener and give personal attention to each. Hence, although the speaker and the listeners face each other and there is discussion involved, the effectiveness of face to face communication is curtailed.

Ineffective if the listener is not attentive: In spite of all the benefits of face to face communication, if the listener involved engages in passive listening, or simply hearing without listening, the whole purpose of a face to face communication is lost in this conversation. There has to be some involvement from the listener too. After all, communication is a two way process.

The following video highlights three steps for effective face to face communication.

Stay tuned for a fun-filled discussion on etiquette..

Written Communication - Advantages and Disadvantages

Written communication is the most common and sought after mode of communication in a business environment. Various types of letters, memos, reports and paragraphs are examples of business correspondence. There are a plethora of reasons why written communication is the preferred mode of communication for any business. At the same time, there are reasons which does not make it very viable enough. The following points will elaborate the pros and cons of written communication, in the light of business environment.

Advantages of written communication:

Legal Evidence: The first and foremost reason why written communication is sought after is because it works as a legal evidence in case of any glitch arising in the future. Written documents need to have the signature of the sender / writer and therefore work as evidence in a court of law.

Permanent Record: Whatever we write can be preserved and referred to in the future. This also helps in maintaining a permanent record of the organisation. This permanent record creates a goodwill not only among the employees but also among the shareholders / investors, who can get access to information if they so desire.

Accurate and Precise: There is usually no chance of a miscommunication in written communication. The information is almost always relevant and error free because the writers are expected to make special efforts in that direction.

Wide Circulation: Multiple copies of the written communication can be made which makes it easier to circulate among a wide group of readers / learners. It is not always possible to hold oral conversations with a huge number of people.

Fixing of Responsibility: The fact that written communication automatically forms a permanent record as well as that it bears the signature of the writer / sender, helps to fix the responsibility in case of an error. Even credit cannot be taken by someone else, in case of some good work and therefore prevents the occurrence of fraud in an organisation.

Suitable for Lengthy Messages: Written communication is especially suitable for lengthy messages as it is tiring and often impossible to convey lengthy messages during oral conversation.

Corporate Image: When care is taken to write the content in a persuasive and innovative manner, it can help in building and maintaining the corporate image of the firm in the market and among the investors.

Disadvantages of Written Communication:

Time Consuming: It takes a lot of time for the writer / sender to draft the content and then send it through post / courier or some other channel. It may also take time for the reader to finally open and read it. It may take further time for the reader to comprehend what the message is all about. Therefore, written communication is very time consuming.

Expensive: Compared to oral communication, written communication is expensive as it consumes stationery, ink and the cost of sending through post or courier. Moreover, the time of the writer also costs  money. So, written communication is considered a dent in the pocket of the firm.

Problem of feedback: Written communication can always receive feedback BUT it is not instantaneous. Instant feedback completes the process of the communication and that correspondence ends there. In case of written communication, it drags on because of a slow feedback. Sometimes, the feedback may not even arrive altogether.

Problem of instant clarification: Doubts or questions in the mind of the receiver cannot be addressed immediately due to the time-consuming nature of written communication. This creates the problem of instant clarification.

Problem of writers: Some writers may not be great communicators, their grammar may not be up to the mark and their choice of words may be poor. This can often create a misrepresented image of the form in the minds of the readers. This can also create doubts or raise questions in the minds of the readers.

Secret Information: Written communication can always be intercepted or they may fall into the wrong hands. This makes it difficult to convey secret or sensitive information.

Will be right back with the pros and cons of face to face communication. Stay tuned.

Oral Communication - Advantages and Disadvantages

If people were given a choice, we would all rather talk to each other than write to each other. It takes hardly any time and there is no question of rewriting, editing or distributing. Oral communication also provides immediate feedback. Oral Communication, however, limits the scope of legal validity to the message and increases the chances of miscommunication. This means there are both advantages and disadvantages of oral communication. The following post will run through the advantages and disadvantages of oral communication briefly.

Advantages of Oral Communication:

• Saves Time: Oral Communication saves a lot of time when compared to other kinds of communication. One need not spend time on writing, editing, sending and waiting for feedback. Everything happens instantly in oral communication.
• Less expensive: Since oral communication does not need stationery and ink and does not incur postal charges in sending the message, it is least expensive. Most of the times, oral communication is also totally free.

• Instant Feedback: As discussed above, the only form of communication that gives a scope for instant feedback is oral communication. One need not wait at all for the message to reach its intended recipient and for the intended recipient to get back to the original sender. All that happens fairly quickly within the blink of an eye.
• Develops Relations: Gone are the days when you had a pen friend in Australia or Germany. Now you have several friends who are in constant touch over the phone or social networking sites, especially the ones which offer facilities of video chat, etc. Talking frequently with someone develops relationship with the person and helps better understanding.

• Motivates The Speaker: Since there is instant feedback, the speaker is often motivated to continue speaking and does so with a renewed vigour. This lacks in written communication, where the original sender is not able to even see the reader of the message.
• Confidential and Secret Information: Oral communication can be used to deliver confidential and secret information. The confidentiality can be maintained by ensuring that no other person is within hearing distance and the surroundings are not bugged by electronic surveillance devices.

Disadvantages of Oral Communication:

• Problem of Retention: Not all of oral communication is always retained. Even while receiving the information, there is always a chance that some part may be missed or not understood at all. In written communication, one can always go back to the text.
• Lacks Legal Validity: Oral communication usually has not record and therefore lacks legal validity. In case of any dispute, the speaker can easily deny the facts and figures which he may have spoken. Therefore, oral communication lacks legal validity.

• Lacks Accountability: One cannot be held responsible for what one said or uttered due to the lack of permanent record of oral conversations. Therefore, one can easily get away with it as one cannot be held accountable for one's words.
• Chances of Misunderstanding: Oral communications are at a greater risk of being misunderstood. The audience may not pay attention and therefore fail to grasp the essence of the message or the manner of speaking of the speaker (pronunciation or accent) may also affect the quality of the message being conveyed and thus aid miscommunication.

• Problem of Distance: Oral communication may not always be suitable for extremely long distances due to technical glitches in the telephone network or the instrument itself. This, although not a drawback of oral communication by itself, is another factor which makes it unreliable at times.
• Not suitable for lengthy official messages: Imagine a friend recollecting the complete details of a legal contract. One does not have the patience to listen to such long message nor is it feasible. Long messages must always be written down to make it easier to be understood and comprehended at the same time.

• Diversion of subject matter: It is quite easy to get distracted and deviate from the topic being addressed during an oral conversation. Unlike, in written communication, the person can go back and edit the irrelevant matter, here, the damage has already been done and cannot be rectified.

Advantages and disadvantages of written communication.. Coming soon.. Stay tuned..

Methods of Communication - Part II

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

As the name suggests, this type of communication, transfers messages without the use of any word from any language. Messages here, are conveyed through gestures, postures, facial expressions, tone of voice, head movements, eye contact, etc. In general, non-verbal communication can also be referred to as communication through body language. This is because, in all the ways of non-verbal communication, stress is laid on some or the other body movement or position. Let us analyse some of the common types of non-verbal communications.

Gestures: Gestures mean actions. Many a times, in fact on a daily basis, we communicate using, not words, but actions. We wave at our best buddy, we wink when we indulge in some mischief, we give the thumbs up sign to someone we support. All these actions and many more convey the desired intention or meaning without using any particular word or sentence. These actions are so universal that the meaning doesn't change as you move from place to place. The only exception is the thumbs up sign, which in some places is considered a form of insult. However, the same culture attributes universal meaning to the same action.

Posture: Proper posture can convey a lot about the speaker or communicator. This type of non-verbal communication assumes greater importance in situations where impressions matter, for instance, a job interview. In a job interview, the first impression created is usually the last impression and candidates get selected on the basis of many such non-verbal aspects apart from their qualifications and eligibility. For instance, a person with an upright posture has a greater chance of being selected for a position than another person with similar qualifications and experience but carrying himself / herself in a slouched manner or with the shoulders drooping.

Tone of Voice: This is where the subtlety of language comes in. When talking about the tone of voice, we do not mean the words we choose, but the tone we choose to utter them. The same sentence can have different meaning when said in different tones, laying stress at different positions. Sometimes, the tone of voice also is a clue to hidden sarcasm in a sentence.

Head Movements: Head movements often convey straight forward messages across. The nod of one's head during a discussion always means an agreement or positive response from the receiver whereas a shake of the head means a negative response or disagreement. Head movements are also a great way of offering instant and quick feedback to the sender.

Eye contact: Eye contact shows confidence. This is also another requirement during formal situations to create a lasting impression. However, too much of eye contact can be intimidating and hence a judicious use of eye contact is necessary during any situation - formal or informal. In informal situations, eye contact conveys support and expresses love.

The following video explains the aspects of non-verbal communication in greater detail.

Stay tuned for a detailed discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of various channels of communication