Oral Communication

Oral CommunicationDefinitionOral Communication also known as Verbal CommunicationInterchange of verbal messages between sender and receiverMore immediate than written communicationIt is more natural and informal

The study of human behaviors shows that 70% of our waking life is spent communicatingOut of the total spent in communicating, normally, 45% relates to listening, 30% to speaking, 16% to reading, and 9% to writing.Thus, 75% of our time, we spend in listening and speaking

Need To help problem solvingTo resolve conflictTo influence people to work togetherTo persuade others to be involved in organizational goalsTo be assertive without being aggressiveTo develop listening skillsTo be an effective negotiator

It is said that it does not matter what you say, what matters is how you say itObjectivesManagers maximum time is devoted to oral CommunicationHe is engaged in one of the following tasks:MeetingsDiscussionsNegotiationsSeminarsPresentationsInterviewsPeer conversationSubordinate instructions Telephonic Conversations

Choice of Form of CommunicationDepends on the purpose and nature of the subject of communication - one may choose oral or written communication

Comparative Advantages of Oral and Written CommunicationsOral CommunicationWritten CommunicationMore personal and informalBetter for complex and difficult subjects, facts and opinionsMakes immediate impactBetter for keeping records of messages exchangedProvides opportunity for interaction and feedbackProvides opportunity to refer backHelps us to correct ourselves (our messages according to the feedback and non-verbal cues received from the listener)Can be read at receivers convenience or pleasureBetter for conveying feelings and emotionsCan be revised before transmittingCan be circulatedLimitations of Oral and Written CommunicationsOral CommunicationWritten CommunicationDemands ability to think coherently as you speak Never know if the message is ever readA word once uttered cannot be taken backImpersonal and remoteHard to control voice pitch and tone especially under stress, excitement or angerReader is not helped by non-verbal cues that contribute to the total messageVery difficult to be conscious of our body languageMany people do not like reading especially if it an official or business messageTime consumingPrinciples of Successful Oral CommunicationThe purpose of effective talking is to be heard and understood by the audienceOur communication should have the rhythm and tone of a living voiceOur language should have the ease of commonly used words, and short and simple sentencesThe pitch of our voice should take into consideration the distance between the listener and youThe tone should be marked by the accent of sincerity and confidence

Albert Mehrabiams research reveals the contribution of different factors to oral communicationVerbal 7 %Tone of Voice- 35%Visual 55%Nature of the spoken wordUnlike the printed word, the spoken word is ephemeralThe listener cannot turn back to the spoken word as the reader can, in case he misses its meaning, while reading itTo overcome this limitation, the listener has to listen closely and attentivelyThe speaker has to converse slowly with proper semantic pauses to enable the listener receive and register in the mind whatever is heard

Research has established that an individual speaks 125 words a minute, and the brain of the listener processes nearly 4-5 times more rapidly Hence an important principle of oral communication is to speak fluently, without long pauses or non-stop rushing through wordsCharacteristics of effective Oral CommunicationAccording to Francis J Bergin Oral Communication is Characterized by Seven Cs CandidnessClarityCompletenessConcisenessConcretenessCorrectnessCourtesyThe following needs to be considered by the communicatorConsider the objectiveThink about the interest level of the listenerBe sincereUse simple language, familiar wordsBe brief and preciseAvoid vagueness and generalitiesGive full factsAssume nothingUse polite words and toneCut out insulting messageSay something interesting and pleasing to the recipientAllow time to respond Barriers to effective Oral CommunicationManagers have to communicate individually with people at different levelsThe oral mode of communication is easy, time saving and of functionally helpful in resolving issuesIt demands great control and communicative competence to be successfulLike written communication, Oral Communication also has a number of barriers

Poor listeningForemost barrier to oral communication is poor listeningListening is a psychological act affected by several factors such as :StatusHalo effectComplexesClosed mind and all-knowing mindPoor retentionAbstractingSlantPremature evaluation and Hurried conclusionsCognitive dissonance

The impressions of the listener and not the intrinsic worth of the message determine the validity of communicationIn poor retention, the listener fails to relate what he hears, with what he had heard beforeCognitive Dissonance interferes with the acceptance of new information as it is Language BarrierThe language of communication should be the medium shared by both speaker and listener

The listener should be familiar with the accent of the language in use

Case StudyOutsourcing backlash gets Abusive, UglyI dont want to speak to you. Connect me to your boss in the US, hissed the American on the phone. The young girl at a Bangalore call centre tried to be polite as she could be.At another call centre, another day, another young girl had a Londoner unleashing himself on her, Young lady do you know that because of you Indians we are losing jobs.The outsourcing backlash is getting ugly. Handling irate callers is the new brief for the young men and women taking calls at these outsourced job centres. Supervisors tell them to be cool.

Case StudyOutsourcing backlash gets Abusive, UglyAvinash Vashistha, Managing partner of NEOIT, a leading UD-based consultancy firm says, companies involved in outsourcing both in the US and India are already getting a lot of hate mail against outsourcing and it is hardly surprising that some people should behave like this on the telephone. Vashistha says Indian call centres should train their operators how to handle such calls.Indeed, the furor raised by the western media over job losses because of outsourcing has made ordinary citizens there sensitive to the fact that their calls are being taken not from their midst but in countries, such as India and PhilippinesCase StudyOutsourcing backlash gets Abusive, UglyThe angry outbursts the operators face border on the racist and sexist, says the manager of a call centre in Hyderabad. But operators and senior executives of call centres refuse to go on record for fear of kicking up a controversy that might result in their companies losing clients overseas.Its happening often enough and so lets face it, says a senior executive of a Gurgaon call centre, adding, This doesn't have any impact on business.(HT Dec 21, 2003, New Delhi)Questions to Answer1. Assume you are working as an operator at call centre in India and are receiving irate calls from Americans and Londoners. How would you handle such calls? Imagine a situation and state your response2. Keep you cool. What does this mean in terms of conversation control?3. Do you agree with the view that such abusive happenings on the telephone do not have any impact on Business? Give reasons for your answer.