Fundamentals of Communication

Introduction to Communication

• Communication is essential for human existence, survival, and organizational functions
• It involves creating and sharing ideas, information, views, facts, etc., to achieve a common understanding

Importance of Communication Skills for Managers

• A manager's skills become irrelevant without good communication
• Effective communication is vital for managers to direct subordinates and ensure tasks are done correctly

Communication Process Elements

• The communication process comprises a sender, a message, and a receiver
• Sender: Generates and conveys the message; the source and initiator
• Message: An idea, information, view, or feeling generated by the sender, intended for communication
• Encoding: Symbolically representing the message using words, pictures, or gestures
• Media: How the encoded message is transmitted, orally or in writing, like telephone, internet, or e-mail, chosen by the sender
• Decoding: Converting the symbols encoded by the sender for the receiver
• Receiver: The message's intended recipient whose understanding the message completes the communication cycle
• Feedback: Receiver's confirmation to the sender that the message was received and understood closes the cycle
• Noise: Obstructions by the sender, message, or receiver during communication like bad connections or inappropriate gestures

Importance of Communication

• Provides coordination between employees and departments, serving as its basis in any organization
• Enables smooth and efficient organizational management involves the human and physical elements of an operation
• Enables proper communication to provide a manager with useful information for decision making
• Increases managerial efficiency by communicating targets, instructions, and allocating tasks to subordinates
• Increases cooperation and organizational peace through two-way communication promoting mutual understanding, reducing friction
• Improves employee morale by helping workers adjust to their work environment, improving relations, and motivating subordinates ultimately increasing morale

Types of Communication

• Formal Communication: Follows official channels in the organizational chart between superiors, subordinates, or same-level employees
• Formal communications are recorded and filed and can be classified as vertical or horizontal

Vertical Communication

• Flows upwards or downwards through formal channels
• Upward communication is from a subordinate to a superior, for example, leave applications or progress reports
• Downward communication is from a superior to a subordinate, for example, notices or delegating work

Horizontal Communication

• Lateral communication between divisions where, for example, a production manager may contact a finance manager

Diagonal Communication

• Across cross-functional levels of employees from different departments

Formal Communication Networks

• Single Chain: Flows from each superior to their subordinate through a chain
• Wheel: Subordinates communicate only through one superior
• Circular: Communication moves in a circle; each person interacts with only two adjacent people
• Free Flow: Everyone communicates freely with anyone else
• Inverted V: A subordinate communicates with their immediate superior and that superior's superior, limiting communication to ordained channels in the latter case

Informal Communication

• Takes place outside formal channels and disregards authority levels
• Often referred to as "the grapevine"
• Can spread rapidly and be distorted, leading to rumors affecting behavior
• Sometimes, useful for rapid information dissemination or gauging subordinate reactions

Verbal Communication

• Interacting through speaking, using voice, gestures, and body language
• Examples include speeches, conversations, phone calls, and announcements
• Comprises 4 forms: intrapersonal, interpersonal, small-group, and public communication

Verbal Communication Forms

• Intrapersonal: Communication with oneself e.g., self-talk or imagination
• Interpersonal: Communication between two people, usually one-on-one sharing feelings, thoughts, and information
• Small-Group: Conversation among a few people, like friends or family
• Public: Giving a speech to a large audience, where everyone receives one message

Non-Verbal Communication

• Interacting without speaking or making noise
• Includes body language, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, touch, appearance, and artifacts
• Sign language is also an example

Written Communication

• Done with written words to convey thoughts and feelings through letters, emails, reports, articles, memos, etc
• Can be edited and leaves a trail
• Can be time-consuming and unsuitable for confidential information

Visual Communication

• Communicates ideas and information using visual elements
• Includes signs, typography, drawing, maps, color, graphic design, illustration, industrial design, advertising, animation, electronic resources, movies, and video clips

Effective Communication Characteristics

• Various properties or characteristics must qualify communication activities and processes

Clear Communication

• Primary is stating the message clearly, using short, simple sentences and active voice
• Separate bulleted points is convenient when conveying several messages

Concise Communication

• Is essential because the normal attention span is short
• Effective communication has to be concise

Concrete Communication

• Includes a well-footed message, data-backed arguments, and tangible reasons

Coherent Communication

• Well-planned, logical, and sequential presentation of information with differentiated main ideas

Courteous Communication

• Should be honest, respectful, considerate, open, and polite
• Bad or offensive influence on an audience needs to be avoided

Listening for Understanding

• Involves receiving information, with qualifiers for the receiver
• Detects hidden messages with non-verbal cues
• The listener should also be emotionally intelligent, mature, objective, and practical, filtering through limitations to relay the intended message

Focused Communication

• Requires a certain level of focus while receiving or transmitting information in multitasking environments

Emotionally Aware and Controlled Communication

• Is the most important aspect of effective communication
• Requires emotional maturity and intelligence when relaying or receiving information, maintaining an emotionally stable state

Interpersonal Skills

• Describe people's ability to interact and communicate productively within an organization
• These skills are developed over time through socialization
• Strong interpersonal skills equates to efficiency and success in the workplace

Interpersonal Skills Components

• Incorporate a range of skills including verbal and non-verbal skills, teamwork, mediation and resolution, and decision-making

Barriers to Communication

• May prevent communication, carry incorrect meanings, and/or create misunderstandings so managers must identify and overcome such occurrences

Semantic Barriers

• Concerns problems with the encoding and decoding of messages using wrong words, faulty translations, and different interpretations

Psychological Barriers

• Are mental issues like stage fear, speech disorders, phobias, and/or depression
• Require trust and psychological soundness for the sender and receiver

Organizational Barriers

• Include misinformation or lack of transparency, organizational structure, rigid rules, and cumbersome procedures

Personal Barriers

• Are factors of both sender and receiver that can come from a superior suppressing communication or a lack of confidence

Linguistic Barriers

• Occur due to language differences that are compounded by even thick dialects

Emotional Barriers

• Stem from someone's emotional IQ that could allow emotions like/with anger, or frustration to cloud decision-making

Cultural Barriers

• The world has globalized so any large office may have people from all parts of the world with many backgrounds and values

Attitude Barriers

• Include people with huge egos, introverts, or personality traits like shyness, anger, and social anxiety

Physical Barriers

• Obstruct effective communication with examples like noise, closed doors, or faulty equipment

Perception Barriers

• Result from different people perceiving things differently; knowledge of levels is also crucial

Physiological Barriers

• Disorders, diseases, or limitations like shrillness of voice or dyslexia also prevent effective communication

Technological & Socio-Religious Barriers

• Arise from difficulties in keeping up with technology and its high costs
• Societal factors concerning women and transgender people also create difficulties

Overcoming Barriers to Effective Communication

• Making ideas clear
• Ensuring communication at the right time
• Using understandable language
• Keeping messages concise
• Checking for understanding
• Using mindful body language and a professional tone
• Actively listening
• Avoiding interruption
• Speaking without judgement