Communication Skills

COMMUNICATION: 

Is to convey facts, feelings, ideas or/and to have an edge over others (to influence).

The word ‘Communication’ comes from the Latin word commūnicāre, meaning ‘to share’. 

Communication is the ‘sharing’ of information between two or more individuals or within a group to reach a common understanding.

Elements of communication: Communication is a two-way exchange of information, i.e., giving and receiving.

Skill: Ability to do something well, It can refer to the ability to perform a task or the expertise in a specific area.

Skill Levels

Skill Acquistion

Types: Hard & Soft

Hard V/S Soft Skills.

Perspectives in communication :  Perspectives are ideas, views, or fixed ways of thinking. These sometimes affect our communication. For example, if you have a fixed idea that your teacher or father is strict, even when they are being friendly, you may think they are scolding you even though they are polite.

Factors affecting perspectives in communication Sometimes, we are not able to communicate clearly because of barriers that stop us from sharing and understanding messages.

Exercise: 

Effective communication:  Effective communication can happen if we follow the basic principles of professional communication skills. 

These can be abbreviated as 7 Cs, i.e., Clear, Concise, Concrete, Correct, Coherent, Complete and Courteous.

Methods of Communication : which include verbal, non-verbal and visual.:

Verbal Communication : Verbal communication is the sharing of information by using words. It is what most people use as a method of communication. We will learn about non-verbal and visual communication in the next session. Verbal communication is important because if you do not use the right words, you will cause confusion and you will not be able to communicate what you want

Type of Verbal Communication: 

Oral or Spoken Communication: Communication which involves talking.

Written Communication: Communication which involves written or typed words.

Advantages of verbal communication: 

• Verbal communication is easy and quick. 
• You can say what you want and get a quick response. 
• It is an easier form of communication when you have to exchange ideas. 
• You keep changing your communication as per the other person’s reply. 

Disadvantages of verbal communication:

• The most common disadvantage of verbal communication is the cultural differences between the sender and receiver of the information. 
• These differences may be due to the use of different languages, the inability to understand the colloquial phrases used by the other individual and the accent. 
• Since verbal communication depends on words, sometimes the meanings become confusing and difficult to understand if the right words are not used.

Non-Verbal Communication: Non-verbal communication is the message we send to others without using any words. We send signals and messages to others, through expressions, gestures and body postures. In this session, you will learn about the non-verbal method of communication, its types and importance. You will learn to use the correct body language, like gestures, eye contact, handshake, etc.

Visual communication : Another important method of communication is visual communication, which involves sending or understanding messages only through images or pictures. The main advantage of this type of communication is that you do not need to know any particular language for understanding it. It is simple, easy to understand and remains same across different places. Table 1.6 shows some common types of visual communication.