1: Completeness:

A message is complete if it includes all the information the receiver needs to give the desired
feedback. The message should not leave the receiver with questions. Since people have
different backgrounds and viewpoints, the sender must consider the receiver's perspective to
avoid communication barriers.

Complete messages are important because they:

Achieve the desired results without needing follow-up.

Show concern for the receiver, building goodwill.

Prevent legal issues by including all necessary information.

Can be surprisingly important if they are thorough and effective.

To ensure completeness, remember to:

a. Provide all Necessary Information: Answer the who, what, when, where, and why questions.
Be specific in orders, requests, invitations, and announcements.

b. Answer all Questions Asked: Respond to all direct and implied questions fully, not just with
yes/no answers.

c. Give something extra when desirable: Include additional helpful details to avoid confusion,
like giving directions along with your address to a friend new to your city.

2:Conciseness:
Conciseness means keeping your message short and to the point without losing any important
information. It helps emphasize key ideas by getting rid of unnecessary words.

Concise messages are important because they:

Keep the receiver interested and show respect for their time.

Highlight important ideas without cluttering the message with extra details.

To be concise, follow these rules:

a. Eliminate wordy expressions: Replace long phrases with single words where possible, avoid
overused words and phrases, and use active voice instead of passive voice.
b. Include only relevant material: Stick to the message's purpose, delete unnecessary words and
sentences, and don't repeat information the receiver already knows.

c. Avoid unnecessary repetition: While some repetition is okay for emphasis, too much makes
the message boring. Use shorter versions of long names, pronouns, or initials, and join short
sentences instead of repeating them.

3:Consideration
Consideration means thinking about the receiver's feelings and needs when preparing a
message. It's about being empathetic and focusing on them rather than yourself

To be considerate:

a. Focus on 'You' instead of 'I' or 'We': Make the receiver the focus of your message. Use passive
voice for negative statements to avoid putting blame on them.

b. Show audience benefit or interest: Let the receiver know how they will benefit from your
message.

c. Emphasize positive facts: Highlight the positive aspects instead of mentioning unpleasant
ones. Focus on what can be done rather than what can't.

______________________________________________________________________________

Recognizing barriers to effective communication is a first step in improving communication

style. Do you recognize these barriers from your own personal and professional experience?

Encoding Barriers. The process of selecting and organizing symbols to represent a message
requires skill and knowledge. Obstacles listed below can interfere with an effective message.

1. Lack of Sensitivity to Receiver. A breakdown in communication may result when a message is

not adapted to its receiver. Recognizing the receiver’s needs, status, knowledge of the subject,
and language skills assists the sender in preparing a successful message. If a customer is angry,
for example, an effective response may be just to listen to the person vent for a while.

2. Lack of Basic Communication Skills. The receiver is less likely to understand the message if
the sender has trouble choosing the precise words needed and arranging those words in a
grammatically correct sentence.
3. Insufficient Knowledge of the Subject. If the sender lacks specific information about
something, the receiver will likely receive an unclear or mixed message. Have you shopped for
an item such as a computer, and experienced how some salespeople can explain complicated
terms and ideas in a simple way? Others cannot.

4. Information Overload. If you receive a message with too much information, you may tend to
put up a barrier because the amount of information is coming so fast that you may have
difficulty comfortably interpreting that information. If you are selling an item with twenty-five
terrific features, pick two or three important features to emphasize instead of overwhelming
your receiver (ho-hum) with an information avalanche.

5. Emotional Interference. An emotional individual may not be able to communicate well. If

someone is angry, hostile, resentful, joyful, or fearful, that person may be too preoccupied with
emotions to receive the intended message. If you don’t like someone, for example, you may
have trouble “hearing” him or her.

Transmitting Barriers: Things that get in the way of message transmission are sometimes called
“noise.” Communication may be difficult because of noise and some of these problems:

1. Physical Distractions. A bad cellular phone line or a noisy restaurant can destroy
communication. If an E-mail message or letter is not formatted properly, or if it contains
grammatical and spelling errors, the receiver may not be able to concentrate on the message
because the physical appearance of the letter or E-mail is sloppy and unprofessional.

2. Conflicting Messages. Messages that cause a conflict in perception for the receiver may result
in incomplete communication. For example, if a person constantly uses jargon or slang to
communicate with someone from another country who has never heard such expressions,
mixed messages are sure to result. Another example of conflicting messages might be if a
supervisor requests a report immediately without giving the report writer enough time to gather
the proper information. Does the report writer emphasize speed in writing the report, or
accuracy in gathering the data?
3. Channel Barriers. If the sender chooses an inappropriate channel of communication,
communication may cease. Detailed instructions presented over the telephone, for example,
may be frustrating for both communicators. If you are on a computer technical support help
line discussing a problem, it would be helpful for you to be sitting in front of a computer, as
opposed to taking notes from the support staff and then returning to your computer station.

. Long Communication Chain. The longer the communication chain, the greater the chance for
error. If a message is passed through too many receivers, the message often becomes distorted.
If a person starts a message at one end of a communication chain of ten people, for example,
the message that eventually returns is usually liberally altered.

Decoding Barriers. The communication cycle may break down at the receiving end for some of
these reasons:

1. Lack of Interest. If a message reaches a reader who is not interested in the message, the
reader may read the message hurriedly or listen to the message carelessly. Miscommunication
may result in both cases.

2. Lack of Knowledge. If a receiver is unable to understand a message filled with technical

information, communication will break down. Unless a computer user knows something about
the Windows environment, for example, the user may have difficulty organizing files if given
technical instructions.

3. Lack of Communication Skills. Those who have weak reading and listening skills make
ineffective receivers. On the other hand, those who have a good professional vocabulary and
who concentrate on listening, have less trouble hearing and interpreting good communication.
Many people tune out who is talking and mentally rehearse what they are going to say in return.
We’ll see some techniques for improving listening skills in Chapter 2.

4. Emotional Distractions. If emotions interfere with the creation and transmission of a

message, they can also disrupt reception. If you receive a report from your supervisor regarding
proposed changes in work procedures and you do not particularly like your supervisor, you may
have trouble even reading the report objectively. You may read, not objectively, but to find
fault. You may misinterpret words and read negative impressions between the lines.
Consequently, you are likely to misunderstand part or all of the report.

5. Physical Distractions. If a receiver of a communication works in an area with bright lights,

glare on computer screens, loud noises, excessively hot or cold work spaces, or physical
ailments, that receiver will probably experience communication breakdowns on a regular basis.

Responding Barriers—The communication cycle may be broken if feedback is unsuccessful.

1. No Provision for Feedback. Since communication is a two-way process, the sender must
search for a means of getting a response from the receiver. If a team leader does not permit
any interruptions nor questions while discussing projects, he may find that team members may
not completely understand what they are to do. Face-to-face oral communication is considered
the best type of communication since feedback can be both verbal and nonverbal. When two
communicators are separated, care must be taken to ask for meaningful feedback.

2. Inadequate Feedback. Delayed or judgmental feedback can interfere with good

communication. If your supervisor gives you instructions in long, compound-complex sentences
without giving you a chance to speak, you may pretend to understand the instructions just so
you can leave the stress of the conversation. Because you may have not fully understood the
intended instructions, your performance may suffer.