Communication skills - Refresher

There are three ways in which we communicate: Verbal, Non Verbal and Written.

Eg: of Verbal communication face to face conversation or interviews and group

discussions etc.

Eg: of Non Verbal communication News on T.V for the hearing impaired on Sunday
afternoons, or the traffic policeman or the umpire (Cricket).

Eg: of Written communication are letters, email, faxes.

Distortions occour due to perceptions, complicated messages, lengthy messages, lack of

proper listening, and poor communication.

In order to avoid the message from getting distorted we will have to Keep It Short
Simple as communication is a two way process.

The difference between communication and effective communication is getting the

desired response.

Qualities of an Effective communicator.

1. Confidence – Is the belief in ones self. It is seen in the body language of the
person, the way you walk, sit and stand.
2. Conviction- Is the belief in your product or service, it is heard in the tone of your
voice and seen in the expression on your face.
3. Enthusiasm- Adds life to whatever you say.

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

When you add S in front of the roman letter IX like this SIX, you have converted nine to
six by adding one line

Is S a line? It is a curved line but as we always associate a line with being a straight line
the solution was tricky.

This is the first barrier to communication - Perception

Perception- It is the way we see things. Each person has their own way of interpreting
things. Perceptions are mental blocks based on passed experiences or on what we
have seen or heard.

Story:

There lived a blacksmith with his wife in the woods across the river near jungle . The
blacksmith used to get drunk every night and beat his wife. The wife used to go down to
the village to buy their daily needs. She was having an affair with the shopkeeper. One
day the blacksmith as usual got drunk and started beating his wife. She ran out of the
house crying and went to the boatman and requested him to carry her across the river, the
boatman asked her for Rs. 10/- the woman did not have the money and she pleaded with
the boatman to take her across the river to her lover, but the boatman refused. The bridge
was not safe at night as a tiger used to lay in wait and eat anyone who tried to cross the
bridge. . The woman decided to take the bridge and the tiger killed and ate her.

Who is responsible for the wife’s death? The blacksmith, the boatman, the shopkeeper,
the tiger or the wife herself?

There will always be a different responses to this question in this classic exercise.
This is called as a Bias(Emotional block), the second barrier to perception

Bias – These are emotional blocks. These barriers create hostility or indifference towards
a subject. Biases are caused due to certain things that have been experienced in the past
or through what a person has seen or heard.

The third barrier to communication is semantics. The emphasis of every sentence

changes with different words highlighted.

I didn’t say he stole that money( someone else told me)

I didn’t say he stole that money(maybe I did think about it)

I didn’t say he stole that money(maybe she did or someone else did)

I didn’t say he stole that money(he must have borrowed it)

I didn’t say he stole that money(maybe some other money)

I didn’t say he stole that money( must have stolen some other money)
A short incident to explain how culture barriers exist in the communication process.

An American salesman had gone to Saudi Arabia to a company to sell Pepsi. He had a
brochure with him that had three pictures. The first picture showed a man who was tired
and untidy looking , the second picture showed that he was drinking Pepsi, the third
picture showed that the man was refreshed. However the manager of the Saudi Company
seemed really upset and chased the American salesman out of the company.

People in Saudi Arabia read from right to left so they understood the reverse of what the
picture was trying to convey…in fact the manager thought that it was an alcoholic drink,
which is banned in Saudi Arabia.

This is the he third barrier to communication which is a language or culture barrier called
as the Samantics.

Semantic barrier-This barrier is the one caused by difference in languages and cultures
followed in different parts of the world as well within a particular country. Like in India
we have so many different cultures and traditions.

In order to communicate effectively we need to overcome these barriers to

communication and elicit the desired response.