Communication Skills PDF

PART-A: EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS UNIT-1 COMMUNICATION SKILLS ⮚ Communication skills are those skills which are needed to speak and write properly. ⮚ One should have the ability to listen carefully, write and speak clearly in any situation. ⮚ Listening, Speaki...

PART-A: EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS UNIT-1 COMMUNICATION SKILLS ⮚ Communication skills are those skills which are needed to speak and write properly. ⮚ One should have the ability to listen carefully, write and speak clearly in any situation. ⮚ Listening, Speaking Reading and Writing skills are essential for effective communication. ⮚ The word ‘Communication’ comes from the Latin word commūnicāre, meaning ‘to share’. ⮚ Communication is a two-way exchange of information, i.e., giving and receiving. ⮚ Speaking and writing to someone are examples of giving information. ⮚ Reading and listening to someone are examples of receiving information. (Repetition) Elements of communication Sender: Communication is a two-way exchange of information, i.e., giving and receiving (Fig. 1.2). Speaking and writing to someone are examples of giving information. Reading and listening to someone are examples of receiving information. Message: The subject matter of communication is termed as messages. It includes ideas, feelings, suggestions, order, etc., which a sender wants to convey to the receiver. Encoding: The process of converting messages into communication symbols, which may be understood by the receiver. It includes words, pictures, body language gestures, symbols, etc. Encoding translates the internal thought of the sender into a language which can be understandable. Channel: The path, channel or medium through which encoded message is transmitted to the receiver is known as media. It is the carrier of the message. It can be in written form, face to face, through telephone, letter, internet, etc. Decoding: The process of translating the encoded message into an effective language, which can be understood by the receiver is known as decoding. In this, the encoded symbols of the sender are converted. KVS ZIET MYSORE 17 Receiver: The person who receives the message of the sender is known as the receiver. E.g., Students are receivers in the classroom. Factors affecting perspectives in communication Sometimes, we are not able to communicate clearly because of barriers that stop us from sharing and understanding messages. Some of these are Factor How the factor can become a barrier In case of use of incorrect words, unfamiliar language and lack of detail, language can act as a barrier to communicate what one wishes to convey. For example, language can act as a Language barrier when an Indian who only knows Hindi and a Chinese who has the knowledge of Mandarin only wants to interact with each other. Visual perception is the brain’s ability to make sense of what we see through our eyes. For Visual perception example, completing partially drawn pictures with visual perception whereas they may be something else. Letting our earlier experience stop us from understanding or communicating clearly. For example, “This shopkeeper cheated me last Past experiences time. Let me be careful or “I scored low marks in my Maths exam, so I am scared to ask and answer questions in class.” Fixed ideas, such as thinking “No one in my Prejudices class likes me. Our feelings and emotions, such as lack of interest or not trusting the other person affect Feelings communication. For example “I am not feeling well, therefore, I don’t want to talk.” Noise or disturbance in the surroundings may make communication difficult. Example, Environment talking to a friend in a function where there is loud music being played by the orchestra. KVS ZIET MYSORE 18  Personal factors include your own feelings, habits and ways of thinking. For example, Personal Factors fear, and low confidence may make communication difficult. Signs’ which have a different meaning in different cultures, such as showing a thumb Culture may mean ‘good job’ done for some people but may be insulting to others. Basic principles of professional communication skills. These can be abbreviated as 7 Cs, i.e., Clear, Concise, Concrete, Correct, Coherent, Complete and Courteous. Different Methods of Communication There are different methods of communication, which include non-verbal, 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. Type of Verbal Communication Oral or Spoken Communication: Communication which involves talking Examples: ⮚ Face-to-face conversation ⮚ Talking on a phone ⮚ Classroom teaching, business discussion and public speeches Written Communication: Communication which involves written or typed words. Examples: Writing letters, notes, email, etc KVS ZIET MYSORE 19  Advantages of verbal communication ✔ Verbal communication is easy and quick ✔ Effectively convey the message ✔ Fastest mode of Communication ✔ Useful for illiterates Disadvantages: ✔ Less creative ✔ Require attention throughout ✔ Increases the chance of mistakes Non-Verbal Communication ✔ Non-verbal communication is the message we send to others without using any words ✔ Non-verbal communication makes our message stronger. ✔ Using the right gestures while speaking makes our message more effective. ✔ Knowing non-verbal communication helps us understand our audience’s reaction and adjust our behaviour or communication accordingly. Types of Non-verbal communications Type What it implies How to make use of non-verbal communication effectively? A facial expression, many a Keep your face relaxed time, shows the feelings of a Try to match your expression person. with what you are saying Facial Expression For example, when we are If you agree with something, happy, we express it through a you may nod while listening, smile or when we are sad we which indicates that it has show a gloomy face. your assent Postures are positions of the body. They show our Keep your upper body relaxed confidence and feelings. and, shoulders straight For example, straight Sit straight, rest hands and Posture body posture is seen as feet in relaxed position confidence. Holding your Keep hands by your sides head may be taken as while standing tiredness. KVS ZIET MYSORE 20  Gestures describe movements of parts of the Avoid pointing at people with body, especially hands or your finger head, to express an idea Instead of keeping your hands or meaning. This includes Gestures or in pocket while talking, try to waving, pointing and using Body Language keep your hands on the sides our hands while speaking. Bend your head a little while For example, raising a talking or listening to show hand may mean asking a that you are paying attention. question. Biting nails show nervousness. We communicate a great deal through our touch, Shake hands firmly such as shaking hands and Avoid other touch gestures, patting on the back. For such as stroking your hair, Touch example, a firm handshake scratching your nose, tugging shows confidence. Sports on your clothes, etc., during coaches pat on the back of communication. the players to encourage the players. Maintain proper space’ The space between depending on the relationship, two persons while which could be formal or Space communicating, generally informal or the closeness with depends on the intimacy or the person with whom you are closeness between them. talking Maintaining an eye contact Look at the person who is with the person you are speaking talking, indicates interest, Eye Contact Keep a relaxed, pleasant look whereas, looking away can Break the look every few make the other person feel seconds ignored. KVS ZIET MYSORE 21  Paralanguage is the tone of our voice, speed and volume that makes a difference in the meaning Use a proper tone and volume of the communication. while speaking Paralanguage Speaking too fast may show Maintain a moderate rate excitement or nervousness. (speed) of talking Speaking too slow may show seriousness, sadness or making a point. Visual communication Another important method of communication is visual communication, which involves sending and 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. Examples of Visual Communication ✔ Traffic symbol which communicates not to blow horn ✔ Sign for ladies and gents toilet ✔ Sign for flammable substances Writing Skills ✔ Writing skills include all the knowledge and abilities related to expressing ourselves through the written word. ✔ It is a sound understanding of language through grammar, spelling and punctuation. ✔ People with excellent writing skills can tailor their tone and word choice to different situations and people Punctuation It is a set of marks, such as the full stop and the comma, which help us separate parts of a sentence and explain its meaning. Basic parts of speech The part of speech indicates how the word functions in meaning as well as grammatically within a sentence. There are eight basic parts of speech in the English language. noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, KVS ZIET MYSORE 22  conjunction interjection. ⮚ Nouns are words that refer to a person, place, thing or idea. These are ‘naming words.’ ⮚ A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun ⮚ Adjectives are the words that describe the noun. ⮚ Verbs are the words that show action ⮚ Adverbs are the words that add meaning to verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They answer the questions — How? How often? When? And Where? Articles: The words ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ are known as articles. Articles are generally used before nouns. ‘An’ is used before words with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) sound A is used before nouns with a consonant (all other alphabets) sound ‘the’ is used to refer to specific or particular words Conjunctions: Conjunctions are the words that join two nouns, phrases or sentences. Some common conjunctions are ‘and’, ‘or’ and ‘but’. Prepositions connect one word with another to show the relation between them. They usually answer the questions ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘how’. Sentences: A sentence means a group of words that makes complete sense. It begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. It always contains a finite verb. A sentence may be a statement, question, exclamation or command. It consists of a main clause and one or more subordinate clause also. Parts of a sentence ❖ A subject is the person or thing that does an action ❖ A verb describes the action. ❖ Object is the person or thing that receives the action Examples: Sentence Subject Verb Object I ate an apple. I ate an apple. He cooked dinner. He cooked dinner. She kicked the football. She kicked the football. Dia and Sanjay broke the bottle. Types of sentences Sentences where the subject does an action are known to be in the Active voice Sentences in which the subject receives an action are known to be in the Passive voice. KVS ZIET MYSORE 23 Example: Active Voice Passive Voice She wrote a letter. A letter was written by her. He opened the door. The door was opened by him. Mohan played the flute. The flute was played by Mohan Pronunciation Basics ⮚ Correct pronunciation will help us express ourselves in a clear and confident manner. ⮚ It will also help others to understand our words easily. Types of sounds All English words are made of three basic types of sounds Vowels: The English alphabet has five vowels (a, e, i, o and u) but 12 vowel sounds. This means most vowels can be pronounced in different ways. We make a vowel sound when we read a vowel in a word. Diphthongs (combination sound of two vowels): We make a diphthong sound when we combine two vowels. Diphthongs start as one vowel sound and go to another. Consonants: A consonant sound is any sound that is neither a vowel nor a diphthong sound. Multiple Choice Questions (1 mark each) 1. Which of the following methods are used to receive information from the sender through a letter? a) Listening b) Speaking c) Reading d) Writing 2. Which of these is a positive (good) facial expression? a) Staring hard Smiling b) Nodding while listening c) Wrinkled forehead d) Looking away from the speaker 3. Which of these sentences use uppercase letters correctly? a) I am Hungry. b) Divya and Sunil are reading. c) The bucket is Full of water. d) She lives in Delhi. 4. The process of converting messages into communication symbols, which may be understood by the receiver is called ------------ KVS ZIET MYSORE 24  (a) Encoding (b) Decoding (c) Feedback (d) compilation 5. Which of these sentences are punctuated correctly? a) Where are you going. b) I have a pen a notebook and a pencil. c) I am so happy to see you! d) This is Abdul’s house. 6. Fill in the blank with correct articles He is ------------- University student a) the b) an c) a d) None of the above 7. Which of these sentences is in passive voice? a) They are watching a movie. b) The clock was repaired by Raju. c) He is sleeping in the room. d) My pet dog bit the postman. 8. Which of the following is NOT an element of communication? a) Sender b) Message c) Receiver d) Gateway 9. Sharing of information by using words is a ____________ type of communication a) Verbal b) Non-verbal c) Visual d) All of the above 10.Words that describe nouns are called -------------- a) Articles b) Adverbs c) Adjectives d) Verbs 11.Which of the following does not come under 7Cs of basic principles of communications a) Clear b) Complete c) Correct d) Clever 12.--------- is the brain’s ability to make sense of what we see through our eyes. a) Visual perception KVS ZIET MYSORE 25  b) Past experiences c) Feelings d) Prejudices 13. “Speaking too fast may show excitement or nervousness”- is an example for which type of visual communications? a) Poster b) Touch c) Space d) Paralanguage 14.Identify the subject in the sentence, “The children played football.” a) The children b) Children played c) Played d) Football 15.What are the different types of sounds used in English pronunciation? a) Vowel sounds b) Diphthong sounds c) Consonant sounds d) All of the above ANSWERS: 1) d 2) a 3) d 4) a 5) d 6)c 7) b 8) d 9) a 10) c 11) d 12)a 13) d 14) a 15) d SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS (2 Marks each) 1. What are communication skills? Communication skills are those skills which are needed to speak and write properly. One should have the ability to listen carefully and write and speak clearly in any situation. 2. Write down the elements of communications? Sender, message, media, encoding, decoding, receiver and feedback 3. Write down the factors affecting perspectives in communication. Language, Visual perception, Past experiences, Prejudices, Feelings, Environment, Personal Factors and Culture 4. Explain briefly the 7Cs basic principles of communications 1. Conciseness In formal communication, we should be very careful about the briefness/conciseness of the message. It is always helpful for both the sender and the receiver because it saves their time. Concise messages are helpful in getting the meaning. 2. Correctness KVS ZIET MYSORE 26  Correctness means the accuracy of thoughts, figures, and words. If the given information is not correctly conveyed, the sender will lose reliability. 3. Concreteness While communicating one should be very specific. Concreteness is an important aspect of effective communication. It is about being specific and definite rather than general. 4. Clarity Clarity is one of the principles of formal communication. Whatever we speak/communicate should have clarity. The idea of the message should be very clear in the mind of the sender. 5. Completeness Effective communication depends on the completeness of the message. Incomplete messages create ambiguity in the audience. 6. Consideration It is an act of consideration. While sending a message the sender should look from the angle of the audience. The sender should understand the feelings and emotions of the receivers. It shows that in communication we should consider the audience. 7. Courtesy Courtesy means polite behaviour. While communicating, everybody should show politeness towards others. It facilitates communication. 5. What are verbal communications? Give one example for oral communications Verbal communication is the sharing of information by using words. It is what most people use as a method of communication. Examples: Face-to-face conversation: Talking on a phone Classroom teaching, business discussion and public speeches 6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of verbal communications? Advantages of verbal communication Verbal communication is easy and quick Effectively convey the message Fastest mode of Communication Useful for illiterates Disadvantages: Less creative Require attention throughout Increases the chance of mistakes 7. Define nonverbal communications? KVS ZIET MYSORE 27  Non-verbal communication is the message we send to others without using any words. Non-verbal communication makes our message stronger. Using the right gestures while speaking makes our message more effective. Knowing non-verbal communication helps us understand our audience’s reaction and adjust our behaviour or communication accordingly 8. How to make use of eye contact communication effectively? Look at the person who is speaking Keep a relaxed, pleasant look Break the look every few seconds 9. What are visual communications? Give examples It is that type of communication, which involves sending and 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. Examples of Visual Communication Traffic symbol which communicates not to blow horn Sign for ladies and gents toilet Sign for flammable substances 10. What are conjunctions? Give examples Conjunctions are words that join two nouns, phrases or sentences. Some common conjunctions are ‘and’, ‘or’ and ‘but’. 11. Explain the different parts of a sentence A sentence means a group of words that makes complete sense. It begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. It always contains a finite verb. A sentence may be a statement, question, exclamation or command. It consists of a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses. Parts of a sentence A subject is the person or thing that does an action A verb describes the action. Object is the person or thing that receives the action 12. Do convert the following active voice in to passive voice. a. She wrote a letter. A letter was written by her. b. He opened the door. The door was opened by him. 13. Explain any two non-verbal communications. Posture: Postures are positions of the body. They show our confidence and feelings. For example, straight body posture is seen as confidence. KVS ZIET MYSORE 28  Gestures or Body Language: Gestures describe movements of parts of the body, especially hands or head, to express an idea or meaning. This includes waving, pointing and using our hands when speaking. For example, raising a hand may mean asking a question. 14. What is the importance of writing skills in communications? Writing skills include all the knowledge and abilities related to expressing ourselves through the written word. It is a sound understanding of language through grammar, spelling and punctuation. People with excellent writing skills can tailor their tone and word choice to different situations and people. 15. What are the different types of sounds of words in English All English words are made of three basic types of sounds Vowels: The English alphabet has five vowels (a, e, i, o and u) but 12 vowel sounds. This means most vowels can be pronounced in different ways. We make a vowel sound when we read a vowel in a word. Diphthongs (combination sound of two vowels): We make a diphthong sound when we combine two vowels. Diphthongs start as one vowel sound and go to another. Consonants: A consonant sound is any sound that is neither a vowel nor a diphthong sound. 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