FUN - SIX pillars of Effective Communication

Here is a short video explaining SIX pillars that can build the foundation for effective communication skills.

Barriers of Communication

How often have you faced the brunt of a miscommunication and wondered where this actually stems from? Have you ever felt that communication was clear from your end but external factors made the message unclear to the recipient? If you have ever cursed yourself saying that had you been aware of the external forces in action, you would have been careful to ensure that the message reaches the recipient in the intended manner, then this is the perfect place where you can learn about all the barriers and prevent a miscommunication in future. Broadly, there are five types of barriers, namely Language barriers, Physical barriers, Psychological barriers, Organisational barriers and Cross-cultural barriers.

Language / Linguistic Barriers: For effective communication to take place, one of the foremost requirements for both the parties involved is to share a common language. It is very easy to mis-communicate or send wrong signals through a communication which relies primarily on actions or gestures, unless, both the parties are adept are understanding and deciphering actions of people from different cultural backgrounds.

Physical Barriers: Physical barriers are also known as environmental barriers. As the name suggests, any physical obstruction in between the sender and the receiver of message can cause a barrier in their communication. Barrier of space or time may also be included under the broad category of physical barriers. Barrier of space refers to a huge distance between the two parties involved and barrier of time refers to time limitations on the part of the sender or receiver or both.

Psychological Barriers: This barrier refers to the various mental barriers that prevent a communication from being wholesome and effective. Superiority or inferiority complex, hot-headedness, snap reaction, bias or prejudice are all examples of various psychological barriers. These barriers prevent a person from giving all to the communication process and thereby causes gaps or ambiguity in the message which further leads to barriers.

Organisational Barriers: This refers to a specific kind of barrier arising in a business environment where certain rules and regulations or complexity in the organisational structure or individual differences of opinions cause a barrier in communication. An employee with a ground-breaking idea on boosting the company sales failing to deliver his strategy to the top level management due to a complex hierarchical structure and thus never being recognized for his efforts is an example of an organisational barrier in communication.

Cross-cultural Barrier: This refers to a certain barrier in communication which arises due to a limited knowledge of different cultures. Two people with two widely different cultures will often find it difficult to understand each others' actions or phrases. This is an example of cross-cultural barrier.

The following is a beautiful video on how to overcome barriers in communication very briefly

Stay tuned for a detailed discussion on different modes and methods of communication.

Channels of Communication

Before introducing the concept of 'channels of communication', it is imperative to know what the term 'hierarchy' means. Hierarchy is nothing but the 'line of authority'. The formal setup of an organisation which enables it to function smoothly is an example of hierarchy. The powers to take policy related decisions lie with the top level management which consists of the President, Chairman, Board of Directors, etc. The execution of policies may be entrusted to Managing Directors or Divisional Managers who supervise the Departmental Heads in their work. It is the duty of the Departmental Heads to take care of the daily work and needs of each departmental supervisors and officers who handle the greatest work force comprising of Clerks, Operators and Workers. The following diagram clarifies the hierarchical setup of an average organisation.

In a formal setup, there are two primary channels of communication - Formal and Informal. Formal communication is official communication where written messages, having legal validity, are exchanged. An informal communication has no written proof and therefore lacks legal validity. A boss explaining the policy decision to his subordinates and directing them to their work or a subordinate submitting the daily / weekly / monthly / annual report to the superior is an example of formal communication. Whereas, employees exchanging greetings in the canteen or engaging in friendly banter among themselves (both superiors and subordinates inclusive) is an example of informal communication.

 


Formal Communication has three main types - (1) Vertical (2) Horizontal and (3) Diagonal

• Vertical Communication - This type of formal communication takes place among employees at different hierarchical levels. A Chairman communicating to the Board of Directors or the Departmental Heads expressing their approval to the Managing Director are examples of such communication. This type of formal communication has two main types - Upward and Downward.
• Upward Communication - Upward Communication involves formal exchange of information from subordinates to the superiors. The information moves upward in the hierarchical setup and hence the name.
• Downward Communication - It is exactly the opposite of Upward Communication. Here the information flows downward in the hierarchical setup. For instance, Departmental Heads briefing the supervisors on the nature of the task at hand.
• Horizontal Communication - This type of formal communication takes place among employees belonging to the same level in the hierarchy. For instance, different Departmental Heads discussing policy implementation or a group of workers, from all departments, deliberating on their issues with the management.
• Diagonal Communication - This type of communication in an organisation takes place, as the name suggests - diagonally. The Production Head of an organisation issuing a notice to a worker from the marketing department or the clerk from the sales department communicating with the head of supply department are examples of diagonal communication.

The following diagram explains the formal and informal channels of communication in an organisation.

Formal Communication in an organisation is supplemented by a secondary network of communication known as Informal or Grapevine Communication.

Informal Communication - The reason why this network of communication is also called grapevine communication is because there is no particular direction of movement. Messages go upward, downward or even diagonally - all at the same time. There is no guarantee as to the number of people receiving the message at one go. Just like a grapevine has one branch, from which many other branches stem, an informal communication too has innumerable branches. The best example of such communication is a rumor, which spreads like wild fire.

Informal communication does not follow any particular direction as there lacks a line of command. The source is almost always unknown and various versions of the message is known or heard of by almost all workers in the said organisation.

Come back, for a detailed discussion on different barriers of communication.

Objectives of Communication

Like every action, communication too has its own set of objectives. We do not just communicate without expecting to accomplish anything by it. Even mindless chatter is expected to make us feel light, provide an outlet to our emotions, create a bonding with another person and what not! So, here is a compilation of all objectives of communication. Why do we communicate? What are the reasons why we pick up the pen? Why do we feel the urge to say something all the time? The answers to all these questions can be found in the compilation below:

• Social Life: Man is a social animal and cannot help but live in a society. To maintain this relation because of its inherent nature, sometimes, human beings are compelled to communicate. A nod when you see an acquaintance on the road, a smile when someone greets you on the sidewalk, a casual conversation with a fellow traveler or shopper are all instances of communication as a social necessity.
  
• Motivation: Sometimes, when life gives you lemons, it is necessary to find some motivation. And at that time, we refer to stories of those who faced similar adversities as us and try to keep ourselves going. We do so by reading up on them or by listening to someone speak. Reading and writing are both examples of communications which can motivate us. Similarly, we can ourselves motivate someone by writing to them or speaking directly to them. Motivation thus becomes an objective of communication.

       

• Advice: The concept is very close to the aforementioned concept of motivation with only a slight difference. Imagine a situation where you have to advice somebody on any topic without communicating at all. Not even using actions or signs or symbols. Difficult? Impossible? Yes, it is downright impossible. If advice is what you need, communication is what you will get. Therefore, advice is another objective of communication.

• Sharing information: Sharing a thought, feeling, idea or information becomes the core objective of communication. One cannot do so without using words, signs, symbols or actions. Depending on the situation, one may choose verbal or non verbal means of communication. But just like in the case of advice, it is impossible to share information of any kind without resorting to communication. The same goes for warning, order and instructions, persuasion, boosting morale, etc.

• Entertainment: This objective is so important that it deserves to be ranked first among all objectives of communication. There is an entire entertainment industry based on it, worth millions or trillions, or maybe quadrillions! A simple example of a movie is sufficient to explain concepts of all types of communication - formal, informal, verbal, non verbal, written, oral, etc.

The following short video of a classroom presentation describes in detail the objectives of communication in the corporate world:

Stay tuned for a detailed discussion on the various channels of communication.

FUN - Animal Communication

Communication is not just limited to humans. Animals communicate too. Although for entirely different reasons. Their world of communication is way different than ours. Here is a short video that explains how animals communicate with each other. A brief knowledge of their communication paves the way for a better understanding of our own communication. After all, humans are social animals too!

The Elements of Communication

Now, that's a pretty straightforward concept which does not need much explanation or elaboration. Many of the points covered under this topic broadly corresponds to the previous post on Process of Communication. Elements of communication simply refers to all the components of the communication process. Here is a comprehensive list of all the elements of communication.

• Source: The source refers to the sender who wants to transmit his / her thoughts, feelings, ideas or emotions. If there is no source, there will be no sound, action or word, which will then result in no communication.

• Message: Can you think of a communication which does not have any message? Certainly not. A communication can simply not exist without a message. Just like the purpose of a journey is to reach a destination, the purpose of communication is to deliver a message. There may be several objectives of delivering the said message. We shall deal with objectives in a later section.
• Encoding: Encoding, as described in the previous post is nothing but transferring the thoughts and ideas into words and sentences. It is necessary, so as to be able to make the message understandable to the receiver. Although science has proven the existence of telepathy (mind to mind communication) as a means of communication, we cannot rely on it because we shall never know for sure if the message was actually conveyed or just thought in our own mind.

• Channel: This refers to the pathway we use to send our message. We could speak about it, write it down for someone to read, use signs and symbols or even use actions or gestures to send the message. Modern channels of communication include telephone (both fixed lines and cellular), e-mail, text messages, blogs, etc.
• Decoding: As explained in the Process of Communication, decoding refers to transferring the words and sentences back into thoughts and ideas. It is necessary for the sender and the receiver to have similar ideas about the words used, so as to be able to decode properly.
• Receiver: This element of Communication refers to the person who receives the message, hence the term - receiver. One can receive message through any one or a combination of the channels mentioned above. One can also receive messages from one or more channels simultaneously.
• Feedback: Feedback refers to the response given by the receiver, based on the message sent across by the sender. The feedback may be positive or negative, may use words or actions, may simply be the nod or shake of the head. What matters is some response from the receiver. As mentioned in the previous post, this completes the process of communication.

• Context: This is similar to the first step in the process of communication. It basically refers to the origin of thought in the mind of the sender, without which there can not be a communication. Context provides the seed for communication through which grows the various branches and fruits, like the various objectives of communication and feedback.

Coming soon... Objectives of communication... Stay tuned!

The Process of Communication

So, how does communication actually take place? Communication is a simple process with many complexities involved. Babies communicate from the day they are born. Animals communicate with each other constantly. Some pet animals also communicate to their masters. In spite of all the complexities involved, communication is fairly easy. A working knowledge of the steps is essential for one to be able to communicate effectively. Effective communication follows the following steps:

• Origin of thought: The sender of the message needs to first have a thought originating in their mind. Without a well defined thought, the sender can in no way convey the same to the receiver(s). A person can make an attempt to communicate despite having no clear idea about the same. That gives rise to a certain ‘barrier’ in communication. We shall deal with barrier at a later stage. So, the first step at effective communication is having a clear notion of the thought or idea to be conveyed.
  

• Encoding: Encoding basically means transferring the thoughts and ideas into words or language. Linguistically speaking, a language is referred to as a code. So, just like one would embed secret messages in a code, normal communication also encodes the thoughts and ideas into a language. The only difference being that this type of code is not secret and a vast majority of people have access to the ‘key’ that can decode the message. Encoding involves using signs and symbols that will have the same meaning in the mind of the receiver as was prevalent in the mind of the sender.

• Channel: The channel basically means the route. There are a variety of options that one can use to send a message across. One can write it down for someone to read, one can say it out aloud, one can use certain non verbal means of communication (actions, gestures, etc.), one can also use visual or electronic medium to send the message. All this depends on certain factors like the nature of the message, the urgency or the importance, the expense of sending the message, the number of receivers and so on.

•  Decoding: This is exactly the opposite of encoding. In decoding, the receiver transfers the words and sentences into thoughts and ideas. Depending on the care taken by the sender, one can find whether the receiver has received the same thought that the sender wanted to send across.

• Feedback: The last step in the process of communication is feedback. In fact, feedback completes the process of communication. No message can be ever complete without it eliciting a response from the receiver. The feedback maybe verbal or nonverbal, immediate or delayed. It varies across different situations and from person to person. However, communication is considered effective only when feedback is received by the original sender of the message. Hence, feedback is a very essential component in the process of communication. 
  The following video makes the process of communication very clear 

         Keep visiting for the next post dealing with the ‘elements of communication’

Communication - Meaning and Origin

The origin of the word "communication" is believed to have Latin roots. Latin is now a dead language and has contributed significantly to modern English vocabulary. In Latin “communicare” means “to make common”. So, how does “communicare” in Latin become “communication” in English? Well, for instance, imagine you have an idea or a thought in mind and when you share it with someone else, that idea or thought becomes common in both of your minds. Sharing is the act of communication and therefore the word “communication” involves making an idea common between two or more minds. Thus, “communicare”, which means “to make common” becomes “communication”, which means “the activity of conveying”.

Communication, therefore involves the transfer of ideas, thoughts, information, emotions and feelings among different people. Effective communication is one which brings about an understanding of those ideas and thoughts and results in a response. The response may be immediate or delayed, may use a set of words or action, may be verbal or non-verbal; what matters is that there is a response. In communication terminology, we call it “feedback”. We shall deal with feedback in detail, in the future. This kind of communication exists not only among humans, but among animals too. Their objectives differ from our objectives.

American Management Association defines communication as 'any behaviour that results in an exchange of meaning' This means that communication involves:

• A sender who transmits his ideas
• A receiver who receives those ideas
• a feedback or a response to the idea received

The following video describes the history of communication in a beautiful way. Enjoy watching!

Stay tuned for a detailed discussion on ‘The Process of Communication’ in the next post.