Types of Communication

Verbal Communication: It is a structured type of communication which provides physical information. 1.Oral: It is quick & natural. It is more effective and widely used in the following situations_ Face to face talk Debate & Discussions Telephonic Conversations, Radio, Interviews Speeches, Gossips and other conversations,etc. Oral Communication needs both speaking and listening skills. Tone, accent, styles of speaking, body-language, pitch,etc. makes communication more effective & impressive. Advantages: It is quick It is Cheap It is Time-saving Immediate feedback is obtained Quick solution is available It is very effective Disadvantages: It has a temporary appeal It cannot provide legal evidence It is quickly forgotten You cannot remember each & every point It is not suitable to convey long & important messages It cannot be preserved

2.Written: It is used while drafting letters, memos, hoardings, newspapers, magazines, etc. Advantages: It is permanent & can be preserved It can be carefully drafted & corrected if necessary It is very accurate It has a legal value It can be referred frequently It helps to fix the responsibility of a person It can be circulated to more than one person at a time. Disadvantages: It is costly It is Time consuming There is no immediate feedback It is not as effective as Oral Communication It is difficult to manage file, papers & records. It needs trained & skilled people for effective & proper drafting. 3.Listening: This involves five activities_ Sensing Interpreting [Analysis] Remembering [Conclusion] Responding There are four types of Listening_

 Discriminative Evaluating Emphatic idea] Appreciative

[Differentiate] [Being open to others

Purpose of Effective Listening _ It increases overall efficiency It increases productivity It helps in solving problems & maintain healthy relationship Keys to effective Listening_ Stop talking and let the speaker talk Make the speaker comfortable Show interest in listening Remove destruction Ask relevant questions Empathize with the speaker Support through non-verbal communication Listen attentively & patiently Be polite Judge content & not the delivery Participate genuinely in the discussion 4.Reading: Reading involves four processes_ Sensing Grasping Remembering Thinking Types of Reading: Reading at a glance The important elements in an article are paid attention to & other unimportant elements are skipped.
E.g. Newspaper.

Reading before the audience

While reading to the audience one has to maintain an eye-contact and use nonverbal communication.
Eg.Body-language.

Active Reading This is used while studying important topics. One has to activate the brain to make-out/understand the real meaning of the topic. Barriers to effective Reading: Mental Barrier If the reader is upset , he cannot comprehend the topic properly. Physical Barrier Noise is one of the physical barriers which do not allow the person to concentrate. Moreover a person cannot concentrate if he is physically sick. Vague printing/Complex topics Keys to effective Reading_ You have to cultivate interest in reading Peaceful & comfortable surrounding is required Sound mental & physical health is needed Motivation to achieve goals should be there Advantages of Verbal Communication: Explanation is possible in verbal communication It gives scope to the responses It helps in filing & recording Limitations of Verbal Communication: It is very Formal It is a laborious activity which involves physically & mental activity. A speaker or a writer has to choose words carefully while communicating. It has many barriers like Language barrier, Social barrier, Psycho-sociological barriers, etc. Personal inhibitions also act as barriers to communication.
Eg.Shyness

Non-verbal Communication: It is unstructured and spontaneous. It provides information consciously or unconsciously. It regulates the flow of conversations. It expresses emotions, qualifies content, complements, contradicts & expands the Verbal Communication. 1.Body Language: The study of body language is known as Kinesics, which means body movements which communicates without the use of words. According to experts, communication can be broken into the following data_ o Verbal Communication - 7% o Body-movements/Gestures -55% o Voice/Tone -38%

The body movement is guided by our feelings and thought process. E.g. Nods, Shrugs, Frown, etc. It is both conscious and unconscious effort through which truth can never be hidden. Generally those who are in control.
E.g. Boss appears to be large, strong & fearless whereas the subordinate always have a stiff and tense body-posture, which shows subservierence.

Face: Face is the index or the mirror of the mind. It conveys whatever we feel deep inside. The frown on the face or the lines on the forehead is conveying something or the other to the person before us. So it is important to exercise restraint and control our feelings. Constant practice shows positive results. Eye-contact: It is a very important factor in face-to-face communication. Our eyes adopt different positions and shapes in different situations. We have smiling eyes, starring eyes, fixed eyes, evasive eyes and so on which shows different feelings like anger, fear, nervousness, embracement, etc.

Gestures: Movement of legs, hands, arms and head are called gestures. E.g. pounding the fist on table shows anger, fiddling with your hands shows nervousness, etc.

Head: Holding your head high is a very important factor because its a sign of honor, self-respect, confidence and our interest in the person before us. A bent head shows modesty, politeness or diffidence. Head drawn back shows pride, etc. Body-shape & Posture: It affects the way we think about ourselves how we relate to others and how others relate to us. No matter what our body-shape is, we should try to make the best possible impression by trying to be graceful and confident instead of being unnecessarily a show-off or appearing unduly self-conscious. It comes through a regular practice. 2. Para-Language: This is a very close ally to verbal communication but it is a non-verbal communication. Para means like hence Para-language means like-language. It is a non-verbal communication because it does not consist of words but shows how the words are spoken. i.e. it is based on Voice. Voice: It is the first signal we receive or use. It tells us about the speakers sex, background, education, training and temperament. The clearer the voice the most effective the communication will be. However, we must take car of the following points in the use of voice_ (a) Pitch Variation: This is necessary to catch the listeners attention and keep him interested. Speaking at a length on the same level of speech makes the speech monotonous & boring.

(b) Speaking speed: Speaking fast is often misunderstood as fluency which isnt true. Different speed should be used on different occasions & while conveying different parts of message. As a general rule, we should present easy parts at a fast speed as it can be easily understood while difficult, technical & complex parts should be presented at a slower pace. (c) Pause: Speaking speed is accompanied by pauses which should be at the right moment. Incorrect use can create problems. It is effective in emphasizing the up-coming subject and in gaining the listeners attention. (d) Volume Variation: Speech should be loud enough to be audible to the audience but not too loud to put them off. It should be adjusted to the size of the audience and also according to the different parts of message. (e) Non-fluencies: Utterances like oh, well, ok, you know, etc., are known as non-fluencies. They give the speaker some breathing time and the audience the time to think over on what has been said. If it is carefully and judiciously used, it adds to the fluency of the speaker. If it is frequently used it may sometime also irritate the listener. (f) Word-stress: Word-stress is crucial in communication. By putting stress on a word here and there in the same sentence we can change the meaning of the message conveyed by the sentence.
E.g. 1. My new book. This sentence puts stress on word my

2. My new book, This sentence puts stress on new

Advantages of Voice: As it is closely allied to oral-communication, oral-communication is incomplete without voice. It is an indicator of the speakers place or position in an organization. A persons background & education can be judged. A persons regional or national background can be known.

Limitations: It is not completely reliable. It can sometimes unnecessarily prejudice the receiver. It is difficult to achieve uniformity because speaker can belong to a different speech community. 3. Space, Surrounding & Time Language: It is sending signals which are mutually understood by the sender and the receiver. These signals may originate in various sources. One such source is the space around us which communicates in a unique way. This is called Proxemics or Chronemics which is the study of how we communicate with the space around us. It is also calls the space language. Here we need to first demarcate the distance between two people or groups who communicate_ Intimate Space Language: (physical contact 18 inches) Here we maintain a very close contact within the space of the specified distance.

Most of our body moments originate within this area. So it is most suitable distance for the effective use of body language. Family members and closest friends enter in this area. In this area not many words are used but we may talk through eye-contact, hand-shake, and a pat on the back, a touch, a hug, etc. This type of communication is suitable for highly confidential conversation and decision regarding sensitive matters. Personal Space Language: (18 inches 4 feet) This distance is maintained with fiends, colleagues, visitors, etc. Here we rise above the close circle of intimacy around us. Though conversation here is personal it is casual & relaxed most of the time. However, certain important discussion may be taken in this circle. Social Space Language: (4 feet 12 feet) This is used for the formal purposes and business purposes. It is dominated by reasoning and planning. Public Space Language: (12 feet as far as visible) This should adopt an attitude of detachment of perception, objectivity of approach and formality of communication. Here we need to raise our voice while communicating. Use of Space: The way people use space assigned to them show their respective places and interaction patterns.
E.g. People who start conversation and those seated in front are usually the leaders.

Types of Spaces:

These are very important implications in communication. (a) Fixed Space: Fixed space is a permanent feature like walls, room-size, cabins building and its total capacity, corners, counters, etc. This effect communication by marking out who interacts with whom and for what purpose. (b)Semi-fixed Space: Here, physical features are changeable or likely to be re-arranged. These flexibility in arrangement helps to conduct different types of communication.
E.g. the same furniture can be arranged in different patterns for an interview, class-room, group-discussion or a presentation.

Public Social Personal Intimate