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Executive)Communication)Communication*:*Components,*Flow,*Skills*and*Barriers*

Ayush*Parekh*!! !

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Index!

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Sr.!No.! ! ! Topic! Page!No.!

1.! Introduction! 3!

2.! Components!of!Communication!Process! 4!

3.! Importance!of!Communication!in!an!Organization! 7!

4.!

Communication!flows!in!an!Organization!B Downward!B Upward!B Lateral!!B Diagonal!B External!

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5.! Body!Language!in!Communication! 12!

6.! 7C’s!of!Effective!Communication! 14!

7.! Communication!Barriers! 18!

8.! Communication!Skills! 21!

9.! Presentation!Skills! 25!

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Introduction Communication is neither transmission of message nor message itself. It is the mutual exchange of understanding, originating with the reciever. Communication needs to be effective in business. Communication is essence of management. The basic functions of management (Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling) cannot be performed well without effective communication. Business communication involves constant flow of information. Feedback is integral part of business communication. Organizations these days are verly large. It involves number of people. There are various levels of hierarchy in an organization. Greater the number of levels, the more difficult is the job of managing the organization. Communication here plays a very important role in process of directing and controlling the people in the oragnization. Immediate feedback can be obtained and misunderstandings if any can be avoided. There should be effective communication between superiors and subordinated in an organization, between organization and society at large(for example between management and trade unions). It is essential for success and growth of an organization. Communication gaps should not occur in any organization. Business Communication is goal oriented. The rules, regulations and policies of a company have to be communicated to people within and outside the organization. Business Communication is regulated by certain rules and norms. In early times, business communication was limited to paper-work, telephone calls etc. But now with advent of technology, we have

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cell phones, video conferencing, emails, satellite communication to support business communication. Effective business communication helps in building goodwill of an organization. Business Communication can be of two types: 1 Oral Communication - An oral communication can be

formal or informal. Generally business communication is a formal means of communication, like : meetings, interviews, group discussion, speeches etc. An example of Informal business communication would be - Grapevine.!

2 Written Communication - Written means of business communication includes - agenda, reports, manuals etc.

Components of Communication Process

1. Context - Communication is affected by the context in which it takes place. This context may be physical, social, chronological or cultural. Every communication proceeds with context. The sender chooses the message to communicate within a context.

2. Sender / Encoder - Sender / Encoder is a person who sends the message. A sender makes use of symbols (words or graphic or visual aids) to convey the message and produce the required response. For instance - a training manager conducting training for new batch of employees. Sender may be an individual or a group or an organization. The views, background, approach, skills, competencies, and

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knowledge of the sender have a great impact on the message. The verbal and non verbal symbols chosen are essential in ascertaining interpretation of the message by the recipient in the same terms as intended by the sender.

3. Message - Message is a key idea that the sender wants to communicate. It is a sign that elicits the response of recipient. Communication process begins with deciding about the message to be conveyed. It must be ensured that the main objective of the message is clear.

4. Medium - Medium is a means used to exchange / transmit the message. The sender must choose an appropriate medium for transmitting the message else the message might not be conveyed to the desired recipients. The choice of appropriate medium of communication is essential for making the message effective and correctly interpreted by the recipient. This choice of communication medium varies depending upon the features of communication. For instance - Written medium is chosen when a message has to be conveyed to a small group of people, while an oral medium is chosen when spontaneous feedback is required from the recipient as misunderstandings are cleared then and there.

5. Recipient / Decoder - Recipient / Decoder is a person for whom the message is intended / aimed / targeted. The degree to which the decoder understands the message is dependent upon various

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factors such as knowledge of recipient, their responsiveness to the message, and the reliance of encoder on decoder.

6. Feedback - Feedback is the main component of communication process as it permits the sender to analyze the efficacy of the message. It helps the sender in confirming the correct interpretation of message by the decoder. Feedback may be verbal (through words) or non-verbal (in form of smiles, sighs, etc.). It may take written form also in form of memos, reports, etc.

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The Importance of Communication in an Organization

1. Communication promotes motivation by informing and clarifying the employees about the task to be done, the manner they are performing the task, and how to improve their performance if it is not up to the mark.

2. Communication is a source of information to the organizational members for decision-making process as it helps identifying and assessing alternative course of actions.

3. Communication also plays a crucial role in altering individual’s attitudes, i.e., a well-informed individual will have better attitude than a less-informed individual. Organizational magazines, journals, meetings and various other forms of oral and written communication help in moulding employee’s attitudes.

4. Communication also helps in socializing. In todays life the only presence of another individual fosters communication. It is also said that one cannot survive without communication.

5. As discussed earlier, communication also assists in controlling process. It helps controlling organizational member’s behaviour in various ways. There are various levels of hierarchy and certain principles and guidelines that employees must follow in an organization. They must comply with

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organizational policies, perform their job role efficiently and communicate any work problem and grievance to their superiors. Thus, communication helps in controlling function of management.

Communication flows in an Organization In an organization, communication flows in 5 main directions:

1. Downward 2. Upward 3. Lateral 4. Diagonal 5. External

Downward Flow of Communication Communication that flows from a higher level in an organization to a lower level is a downward communication. In other words, communication from superiors to subordinates in a chain of command is a downward communication. This communication flow is used by the managers to transmit work-related information to the employees at lower levels. Employees require this information for performing their jobs and for meeting the expectations of their managers. Downward communication is used by the managers for the following purposes –

• Providing feedback on employees performance • Giving job instructions • • Providing a complete understanding of the

employees job as well as to communicate

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them how their job is related to other jobs in the organization.

• • Communicating the organizations mission and vision to the employees.

• • Highlighting the areas of attention. Organizational publications, circulars, letter to employees, group meetings etc are all examples of downward communication. In order to have effective and error-free downward communication, managers must:

• Specify communication objective • Ensure that the message is accurate,

specific and unambiguous. • Utilize the best communication

technique to convey the message to the receiver in right form

Upward Flow of Communication Communication that flows to a higher level in an organization is called upward communication. It provides feedback on how well the organization is functioning. The subordinates use upward communication to convey their problems and performances to their superiors. !The subordinates also use upward communication to tell how well they have understood the downward communication. It can also be used by the employees to share their views and ideas and to participate in the decision-making process. Upward communication leads to a more committed and loyal workforce in an organization because the

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employees are given a chance to raise and speak dissatisfaction issues to the higher levels. The managers get to know about the employees feelings towards their jobs, peers, supervisor and organization in general. Managers can thus accordingly take actions for improving things. Grievance Redressal System, Complaint and Suggestion Box, Job Satisfaction surveys etc all help in improving upward communication. Other examples of Upward Communication are -performance reports made by low level management for reviewing by higher level management, employee attitude surveys, letters from employees, employee-manager discussions etc.! Lateral / Horizontal Communication Communication that takes place at same levels of hierarchy in an organization is called lateral communication, i.e., communication between peers, between managers at same levels or between any horizontally equivalent organizational members. The advantages of horizontal communication are as follows: • • It is time saving. • • It facilitates co-ordination of the task. • • It facilitates co-operation among team members. • • It provides emotional and social assistance to the

organizational members. • • It helps in solving various organizational problems. • • It is a means of information sharing • • It can also be used for resolving conflicts of a

department with other department or conflicts within a

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department.

Diagonal Communication Communication that takes place between a manager and employees of other workgroups is called diagonal communication. It generally does not appear on organizational chart. For instance - To design training module a training manager interacts with Operations personnel to enquire about the way they perform their task. External Communication Communication that takes place between a manager and external groups such as - suppliers, vendors, banks, financial institutes etc. For instance - To raise capital the Managing director would interact with the Bank Manager.

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Body Language in Communication

Kinesics or study of body language must be understood by all. Whether it is an interview or a presentation, one must be aware of how to use body language effectively.

1. Eye Contact: Always maintain eye contact with

your audience. However, a person must ensure that he / she should not fix his gaze at one person for more than 5 seconds. Too much fluttering of eyes could indicate lack of confidence. Staring at a person could be daunting and hence is not such a good idea. !

2. Hand Shake: While shaking hands especially in a professional environment, the hand shake should be firm and not loose. An iron handshake [very strong handshake] can indicate that a person is trying to dominate.!

3. Crossing your Arms: Crossing your arms could imply that a person is not open to new ideas / opinion especially in case of giving a presentation. However, in a one-on-one interview if the interviewer has his / her arms crossed, the candidate could do the same.!

4. Sitting Posture: Leaning on a chair is not a good idea. One must sit upright though in a relaxed position. Sitting back in your chair implies lack of interest or rejection. !

5. Gesture: Gesture refers to a type of non verbal communication which uses a part of the body with or without verbal communication. Gestures include facial expressions, nods [which is a sign of approval in most cultures], head bobbling / shaking. !

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6. Facial Expression: The face is a best reflection of what a person feels. More often than not it is easy to recognize if a person is happy, sad, anxious, irritated, or excited. It is very important that in a professional scenario a person must control his / her facial expressions. For e.g. If a presenter gets a feel that his presentation is not going on very well, he / she should not show the sign of losing of hope and instead try for a greater involvement from the participants.

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7C’s of Effective Communication There are 7 C’s of effective communication, which are applicable to both written as well as oral communication. These are as follows:

1. Completeness - The communication must be

complete. It should convey all facts required by the audience. The sender of the message must take into consideration the receiver’s mind set and convey the message accordingly. A complete communication has following features:

a. Complete communication develops and enhances reputation of an organization.

b. Moreover, they are cost saving as no crucial information is missing and no additional cost is incurred in conveying extra message if the communication is complete.

c. A complete communication always gives additional information wherever required. It leaves no questions in the mind of receiver.

d. Complete communication helps in better decision-making by the audience/readers/receivers of message as they get all desired and crucial information.

e. It persuades the audience.

2. Conciseness - Conciseness means wordiness, i.e, communicating what you want to convey in least possible words without forgoing the other C’s of communication. Conciseness is a necessity for effective communication. Concise communication has following features:

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a. It is both time-saving as well as cost-saving. b. It underlines and highlights the main message

as it avoids using excessive and needless words.

c. Concise communication provides short and essential message in limited words to the audience.

d. Concise message is more appealing and comprehensible to the audience.

e. Concise message is non-repetitive in nature.

3. Consideration - Consideration implies “stepping into the shoes of others”. Effective communication must take the audience into consideration, i.e, the audience’s view points, background, mind-set, education level, etc. Make an attempt to envisage your audience, their requirements, emotions as well as problems. Ensure that the self-respect of the audience is maintained and their emotions are not at harm. Modify your words in message to suit the audience’s needs while making your message complete. Features of considerate communication are as follows:

a. Emphasize on “you” approach. b. Empathize with the audience and exhibit

interest in the audience. This will stimulate a positive reaction from the audience.

c. Show optimism towards your audience. Emphasize on “what is possible” rather than “what is impossible”. Lay stress on positive words such as jovial, committed, thanks, warm, healthy, help, etc.

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4. Clarity - Clarity implies emphasizing on a specific message or goal at a time, rather than trying to achieve too much at once. Clarity in communication has following features:

a. It makes understanding easier. b. Complete clarity of thoughts and ideas

enhances the meaning of message. c. Clear message makes use of exact, appropriate

and concrete words.

5. Concreteness - Concrete communication implies being particular and clear rather than fuzzy and general. Concreteness strengthens the confidence. Concrete message has following features:

a. It is supported with specific facts and figures. b. It makes use of words that are clear and that

build the reputation. c. Concrete messages are not misinterpreted.

6. Courtesy - Courtesy in message implies the

message should show the sender’s expression as well as should respect the receiver. The sender of the message should be sincerely polite, judicious, reflective and enthusiastic. Courteous message has following features:

a. Courtesy implies taking into consideration both viewpoints as well as feelings of the receiver of the message.

b. Courteous message is positive and focused at the audience.

c. It makes use of terms showing respect for the receiver of message.

d. It is not at all biased.

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7. Correctness - Correctness in communication

implies that there are no grammatical errors in communication. Correct communication has following features:

a. The message is exact, correct and well-timed. b. If the communication is correct, it boosts up

the confidence level. c. Correct message has greater impact on the

audience/readers. d. It checks for the precision and accurateness of

facts and figures used in the message. e. It makes use of appropriate and correct

language in the message.

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Communication Barriers B Perceptual and Language Differences: Perception is

generally how each individual interprets the world around him. All generally want to receive messages which are significant to them. But any message which is against their values is not accepted. A same event may be taken differently by different individuals. For example : A person is on leave for a month due to personal reasons (family member being critical). The HR Manager might be in confusion whether to retain that employee or not, the immediate manager might think of replacement because his teams productivity is being hampered, the family members might take him as an emotional support. !The linguistic differences also lead to communication breakdown. Same word may mean different to different individuals. For example: consider a word “value”.!

• What is the value of this Laptop? • I value our relation? • What is the value of learning technical skills?

“Value” means different in different sentences. Communication breakdown occurs if there is wrong perception by the receiver.

B Information Overload: Managers are surrounded

with a pool of information. It is essential to control this information flow else the information is likely to be misinterpreted or forgotten or overlooked. As a result communication is less effective.

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B Inattention: At times we just not listen, but only hear. For example a traveler may pay attention to one “NO PARKING” sign, but if such sign is put all over the city, he no longer listens to it. Thus, repetitive messages should be ignored for effective communication. Similarly if a superior is engrossed in his paper work and his subordinate explains him his problem, the superior may not get what he is saying and it leads to disappointment of subordinate.

B Time Pressures: Often in organization the targets have to be achieved within a specified time period, the failure of which has adverse consequences. In a haste to meet deadlines, the formal channels of communication are shortened, or messages are partially given, i.e., not completely transferred. Thus sufficient time should be given for effective communication.

B Distraction/Noise: Communication is also affected a lot by noise to distractions. Physical distractions are also there such as, poor lightning, uncomfortable sitting, unhygienic room also affects communication in a meeting. Similarly use of loud speakers interferes with communication.

B Emotions: Emotional state at a particular point of time also affects communication. If the receiver feels that communicator is angry he interprets that the information being sent is very bad. While he takes it differently if the communicator is happy and jovial (in that case the message is interpreted

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to be good and interesting).

B Complexity in Organizational Structure: Greater the hierarchy in an organization (i.e. more the number of managerial levels), more is the chances of communication getting destroyed. Only the people at the top level can see the overall picture while the people at low level just have knowledge about their own area and a little knowledge about other areas.

B Poor retention: Human memory cannot function beyond a limit. One cant always retain what is being told specially if he is not interested or not attentive. This leads to communication breakdown.

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Communication Skills One can be an extremely hard working and intelligent worker, but to taste success in the fierce competitive world, one has to be a good and impressive communicator. In corporates; you will not get too many chances to win the confidence of your boss and fellow workers, you have to create a positive impression at the first go itself. Doing your work is important but what is more important is presenting your work well. One has to be very careful about his communication skills to perform well at his workplace and have an edge over his fellow workers.

! Understand the second party well. Know more

about their thought process, cultural background and educational background for effective communication. The content must be designed keeping the audience in mind. For instance, if you need to address the front line staff, it is always advisable to keep your speech simple for them to understand well. For interacting with top shots don’t adopt a casual approach. Use professional jargons and corporate terminologies in your speech for the “Bang on” effect. Always be yourself very clear what you want to communicate. If you yourself are confused, you will also confuse others. Whatever thought you want to share with others, carefully put it into sensible and relevant words for others to understand clearly. Careful selection of words is very important for an effective communication. If you want to address your team in the conference room near the cafeteria, please do mention the location very clearly. Don’t keep half of

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your thoughts in mind and expect the others to understand it on their own.

! The pitch and the tone must also be taken care of. During presentations, seminars or business meetings, your tone must be audible to each and every participant to create the desired impact and for others to look up to you. Make sure that the individual sitting on the last bench is also able to hear you properly for him to give his best. Don’t speak too low or shout. Never rush. Speak slowly and clearly what you expect your fellow workers to do. Make your speech interesting. Don’t make long presentations or unnecessarily drag the meeting. During long meetings, monotony creeps in and individuals tend to loose interest. Do include a tea or a snack break.

! At work places never interact at noisy places,

cafeteria, employee’s workstations as noise acts as a hindrance to an effective communication. Prefer a conference room, a board room or a noise free zone for meetings and presentations. The speaker must use whiteboards, markers, pen and paper to highlight the important points. The listeners must also carry a notepad and a pen to jot down the important points as well as their queries. The queries must be asked at the end of the presentation. Jumping in between leads to confusions and misunderstandings and disrespect for the speaker. The question answer round must be kept at the end of presentations, seminars and meetings. The speaker must invite questions from the audience in the end and the listeners must also solve all their queries before leaving for a better understanding.

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Don’t feel shy to ask your queries. ! While sharing any important information, do

verify with the recipients whether they have understood or not. While sharing any important contact number, always crosscheck with the recipient to ensure that they have noted it correctly. Don’t dictate your email id in one go. Always break it into words which must be further broken into alphabets. For better clarity alphabets must be related with the word they stand for. For example a as in alpha, b as in beta, t as in tango, c as in Charlie as so on. Share your business cards than verbally dictating your details as chances of errors get reduced.

! Don’t always depend on verbal communication.

After any meeting, make it a habit to send the minutes of the meeting through mail marking a cc to all the participants for everyone to recall what happened in the meeting. Learn the art of writing business mails. Never use stylish fonts or loud colours in business communication. The agenda of the meeting must also be sent well in advance so that the participants come prepared and do not give blank expressions during the meetings.

! There should be transparency among all the team

members and the subordinates must have an easy access to their superiors. The hierarchy should be simple for easy flow of information among the team members. The employee must know whom to contact in case of a query to avoid dilution of the information. Never call any client or any employee when he is

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about to leave for the day as he would never bother to listen carefully. Also avoid discussing important matters during lunch time as the employee is altogether in a different mood.

! Also take care of your dressing at work place. Never

be shabby and keep your nails clean. Do not wear loud colours to office. Casual dressing is a strict no no at work places. Make sure to carry a planner or an organizer to note down your work against the deadline to avoid forgetting important assignments. In offices, always keep your mobiles in the silent mode as loud ring tones act as a disturbing element and employees find it hard to concentrate at work.

! The most important of all be yourself and be very

confident. Give your best everyday at work and adopt a positive approach. Nervousness and over excitement lead to stammering and ineffective communication. Learn to keep a control on your emotions and be very careful about what you say and how you say? Communicate effectively at work place to be successful.

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Presentation Skills ! The presentation ideas should be well adapted to

your audience. Relate your presentation message/idea to the interests of the audience. A detailed audience analysis must be made before the presentation, i.e., an analysis of the needs, age, educational background, language, and culture of the target audience. Their body language instantly gives the speaker the required feedback.

! A good presentation should be concise and should be focused on the topic. It should not move off-track

! A good presentation should have the potential to

convey the required information. ! ! The fear should be transformed into positive energy

during the presentation. Be calm and relaxed while giving a presentation. Before beginning, wait and develop an eye contact with the audience. Focus on conveying your message well and use a positive body language.

! To communicate the desired information, the speaker should use more of visual aids such as transparencies, diagrams, pictures, charts, etc. Each transparency/slide should contain limited and essential information only. No slide should be kept on for a longer time. Try facing the audience, rather than the screen. The speaker should not block the view. Turn on the room lights else the audience might fall asleep and loose interest. Organize all the

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visuals for making a logical and sound presentation. ! A good presentation must be planned. The speaker

must plan how to begin the presentation, what to speak in the middle of presentation and how to end the presentation without losing audience interests at any point of time.

! Rehearse and practice the presentation. This will

help the speaker to be more confident and self-assured. The more the speaker rehearses the better the presentation turns to be.

! The speaker should encourage more questions from

the audience. He should be honest enough to answer those questions. If any biased question is put forth by the audience, rearticulate it before answering.

! Summarize the presentation at the end. Give final

comments. Leave a positive impact upon the audience.

! The speaker must have a presentable appearance

while giving a presentation. The speaker should stand with feet far apart maintaining a good balance. He must use confident gestures. He must use short and simple words.

! ! Try to gain and maintain audience interest by using

positive quotes, humour, or remarkable fact. ! The speaker must be affirmative and optimistic

before giving presentation. He should ensure all

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tools and equipments to be used in presentation are working well.

! The speaker must state the objectives of the

presentation at beginning of the presentation.