Understanding the

Basics of Communication
COMMUNICATION
 Communication Process
• Communication is a two-way process wherein the message in the form of
ideas, thoughts, feelings, and opinions is transmitted between two or more
people to create a shared understanding.

• Effective communication is when the message conveyed by the sender is

understood by the receiver in the same way as it was intended.

• Communication happens in all domains of life and all directions-

Downwards (from employer to employee)
Upwards (from employee to employer)
Sideways (among peers/colleagues/friends)
 The Need for Communication

• To enhance interaction
• To build interpersonal relationship
• To motivate people to get accepted and accept others
• To build an environment of inclusiveness
 Interpersonal Skills
• Accomplishing Goals: Work is ultimately about "doing" stuff, whether building a house or
fixing a clunky interface for a website. Everyday workplace tasks involve motivating and
coordinating individuals to accomplish collective goals.
• Relationships: Strong relationships are the engines of productive workplaces.
Relationships are built and sustained only through interpersonal communication.
• Leadership: Effective leadership involves motivating team members to achieve a common
goal. To do so, leaders must possess the interpersonal communication skills needed to
motivate their teams.
• Listening: Interpersonal communication is not just about talking. It also involves listening,
a crucial ingredient of problem-solving and decision-making.
• Conflict Resolution: Working with other people usually involves negotiating some form of
conflict. To resolve conflicts, workers must first be able to voice their concerns and
advocate for themselves, while sustaining vital relationships.
 Intrapersonal
communication
• Intrapersonal communication can be defined as communication with one’s self, and that may
include self-talk, acts of imagination and visualization, and even recall and memory (McLean,
2005).

• You read on your phone that your friends are going to have dinner at your favorite
restaurant. What comes to mind? Sights, sounds, and scents? Something special that
happened the last time you were there? Do you contemplate joining them? Do you start to
work out a plan of getting from your present location to the restaurant? Do you send your
friends a text asking if they want company? Until the moment when you hit the “send”
button, you are communicating with yourself.
Intrapersonal Communication

The reasons you may be using intrapersonal communication is to reflect

on something that happened, make goals and plans, visualize the
future, and get closer with your own feelings.
 Characteristics of Intrapersonal
Skills
• Self-Concept: One’s own self concept is at the center of intrapersonal
communication. It includes an evaluation of one’s own beliefs, values and
attitudes, and how that evaluation plays into what occurs in the outer
world.

• Perception: Perception is how people interpret what is going on around

them. Perception can influence intrapersonal communication.

• Expectation: Expectations are based upon intrapersonal communication

with one’s own self, and are predictions of what will happen based on
perceptions of what has happened.
 How To Improve Intrapersonal Skills
• One of the most important parts of being intrapersonal is awareness — awareness
of your own mind, of yourself in situations, and awareness of how you are
perceived by others.

• While it may not be so obvious, one way to improve intrapersonal skills is by

reaching outward — asking others how you are doing! By asking other people for
their perceptions of your ideas and actions, you become more aware of what you
are doing and how you are acting.
NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
 Interpreting Non-Verbal Communication
• When the messages we send verbally and non-verbally are the same (or
congruent), the receiver accepts what we are saying more readily.

• Non-verbal communication is individual and situation-specific.

• It varies from culture to culture.

• Understanding others’ non-verbal communication helps us communicate

better because we understand the limit or extent of relationships, and thus,
we can get a more complete message.
 Non-verbal Communication
When you are trying to understand a communication, words are only part of the
story. To analyse it properly you need to see and feel what is being said as well.

• Only 7% of meaning is in the words spoken.

• 38% of meaning is paralinguistic (how the words are being said).
• 55% is in facial expression.

• Take into account the following while communicating:

Facial expressions, Eye contact, Interpersonal distance, Touch, Body orientation
and posture, Hand and other gestures, appearance
 Positive effects of Non-verbal
communication
• You can increase the impact of your communication by increasing the
number of times you:
• smile
• nod your head when listening
• gesture in support
• sit in an appropriate posture, e.g. head up, body forward
• listen closely
• act in an understanding and empathetic manner
Facial Expressions
Some of the most widely used facial
emotions:
• Surprise
• Fear
• Sadness
• Anger
• Happiness
• Disgust
Eye contact

• Eye contact shows interest/attraction

• Look more frequently when we’re
interested
• Staring can be unnerving.
 Interpersonal Distance
The “bubble” we like to have around us.
• How close do you feel comfortable standing to someone else?
• What do distances mean?

The usual comfort zones of an average individual are as follows:

• Intimate zone
• Personal zone
• Social zone
• Public zone
Body Orientation and Postures
• We turn to people we are interested
in.
• We usually turn away from those we
dislike or are not interested in
• Postures can be indicative of-
• Aggression
• Defensiveness
• Interest
• Tension
Hand and other gestures
• Can give more emphasis to what is
said
• Examples: head nodding, moving your
hands when you give directions
• Some hand gestures are universal,
whereas some are culture-dependent.
• Not all gestures are deemed to be
polite!
Para-language
Includes:
• Pitch
• Stress
• Timing
• Pauses
• Emotional tone of voice
• Accent
• Speech errors (um, err)
• Speed of speech
• Interruptions
 Appearance

We make instant judgments based on appearance –

this process is known as “Impression Formation.”

An informal or untidy appearance will give people

an impression that you are informal in the work-
aspects of your life (Implicit Personality Theory).

So, dress accordingly. You can start smart and

become casual, but not the reverse!
Barriers to Effective Communication
 What is a Barrier to Communication?
• Barrier - Lack of Commonness

• A barrier to interpersonal communication is anything that prevents,

restricts, or impedes the conveyance of meaning by words or
gestures between two or more persons in a social setting.

• The term ‘Barriers,’ ‘Obstacles,’ ‘ Hindrances’, and ‘Noise’ are all

used to describe the distracting stimuli associated with the
communication process.

• Various types of communication barriers- Social, Psychological,

Cultural, Physiological, Physical, barriers in system design, barriers
at the receiver’s end
Social Barriers

Gender
Age
Race
National/Cultural Origin
Socio-economic Class
Education Level
Urban or Rural Residence
 GENDER

• A major influence on the way we

communicate with others
• When men and women work together in a
group, men tend to be more assertive and
self-confident.
• Women are more likely than men to express
their emotions, to reveal how they feel
about a situation.
 AGE

• Young people and old people communicate in

different ways.
• We tend to judge a statement by different
standards if we know the speaker’s age.
• A person’s age or gender is not essential in
judging the truth or wisdom of what that person
says. Their maturity, educational backgrounds,
and the different eras they grew up make the
generation gap inevitable.
Psychological Barriers

• Attitude towards self

• Fear
• Attitude towards the audience
• Attitude towards the message
• You are not convinced with the subject.
• Knowledge of subject
• Personality/Status of the communicator
 PERCEPTION
• Our physical limitations are a screen through
which we perceive things that exist in our
environment.

• Our perception is also limited by

psychological screens that we have developed.

• Choosing from among the many things within

our range of perception those that we will
notice and block out the rest is called
“Selective Perception.” It is most clearly seen
in the human tendency to stereotype others.
 TUNNEL VISION

• A closed way of thinking, especially about abstract topics, such

as religion and politics.

• A person with tunnel vision has firmly fixed ideas.

• Opposite to open-mindedness
• A person with tunnel vision has an attitude that seems to say,
“I’ve already made up my mind. Don’t confuse me with the
facts!!!”
 EGO DEFENSIVENESS
• A response pattern in which a person who follows this
pattern sees a disagreement as a personal attack.

• A self-centric form of
communication

• More than just being selfish

 Cultural Barriers
• Semantic Problems: Distortion in communication comes from semantics (the
use of words/expressions which have a different meaning for the sender and
the receiver)
• Created when communicators use technical jargon (usage common to a
particular field or specialization)
• Language (dialect, individual linguistic ability, use of difficult words,
inappropriate words, pronunciation)
• Norms and values
• Belief
• Social practices and traditionsthat
 Physiological Barriers
Effective communication can get disrupted due to-
• Individuals’ physical discomfort
• Ill health, poor eyesight, hearing difficulties
• Speech and voice defects
• Feelings of inferiority
• Chronic diseases
 Barriers in the System Design
• Unclear Organizational Structure (to whom to communicate)
• Insufficient or inappropriate information systems
• Information overload
• Lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities
• Lack of supervision or training
• The distortion of the message is any loss, deformation, misrepresentation, or
alteration taking place in the original message while sending it to the
audience.
• Types of Distortion :
1. Systematic Distortion – Message intentionally changed
2. Fog Distortion – information is lost
3. Mirage Distortion - extra, unwanted information
 Physical Barriers
• Channel
• Availability of channel to the receiver (Common channel); Handling of
the channel by communicator; Reach: depending on the size of the
audience, mike, etc.; the Noise level in Channel; Muddled messages (e.g.
“Dogs for sale. Will eat anything. Especially likes children. Call 888-
3599 for more information.”)
• Climate
• Extreme temperature (Hot/Cold); Bright/ Dim Light; High Humidity
• Distractions
• Noise (Co-workers, Doors etc.); Photographer; Sudden announcements;
Circulation of Instruction Sheets; Late Comers
• Physical Setting of Classroom/ Lecture Hall
• Sitting Arrangement; Audio-Visual Aids
 Barriers at the Receiver’s End
• Absenteeism/Day Dreaming/ Pretending Listening

• Strayers: Constantly takes the group off the track/out of context

• Gabbers: Likes to talk first and try to dominate the discussion
• Silent: Rarely contributes to the discussion verbally

• Problem of homogeneity: The more homogeneous the audience is, the greater the
chances for successful communication.
• Problem of cooperation and involvement: The listeners must cooperate and get
actively involved in the communication process; they must try to get tuned with the
communicator.
• Negative attitude of the audience towards the communicator: If the audience has
negative attitude for the communicator or if the credibility of communicator as
perceived by the audience is low, no successful communication will take place.