Ø Introduction:
Communication Skills are fast becoming a
learned behaviour in our present world due to the high levels of competition
and professionalism. Human beings can‘t live in society without communication.
We can find that people involves in several activities like informal
conversations, discussions, phone calls, teleconferencing, gossiping, chatting,
net surfing and so on. In short, we need to communication in order to interact.
Thus communication is one of the essentials of social interactions. Basically
communication is a systematic effort to share human expressions, thoughts,
ideas, feelings, attitudes, information knowledge with one or more than one
persons.
The word Communication is derived
from the Latin term ― “Communis” which means To Make Common, To Transmit or To
Impart. Out of these three meanings, it is advisable to concentrate on the idea
of making common. When something is made Common, it implies sharing and
interaction.
Ø Definitions of Communication:
· “Communication can be defined as
the exchange of information, ideas and knowledge between sender and receiver
through an accepted code of language.”
· “Communication is the activity or
process of expressing ideas and feelings or giving people information.”
-Oxford Advanced Learning
Dictionary of Correct English
·
“Communication is the process by which information is transmitted
between individuals and/or organizations so that an understanding response
results.‖
-Peter Little
·
“Communication is a process of passing information and
understanding from one person to another.”
-The American Management
Association
· “Communication is the process of
exchanging ideas, thoughts, feelings, emotions, information, knowledge as well
as attitude by words (oral or written), sign or symbols.”
Ø The Process
of Communication:
The
above mentioned definitions reveal some striking features of Communication.
·
Communication
takes place between sender and receiver
·
Exchange of
information between them.
·
This exchange is done through a specific
medium/channel
The process of communication can be
understood as a seven-step procedure with the help of the following figure:
·
Sender:
The process of
communication starts with a sender, the person who has an idea, knowledge,
thoughts, feelings which are in abstract form. Sender tries to give these
abstract thoughts a physical and concrete shape in the form of commonly
accepted codes.
·
Encoding:
Encoding is the next step in the communication process. Before
sending the message, the sender encodes the message because the message is
basically in abstract form. This encoding process is done in order to give
abstract thought into a concrete shape.
·
Medium/Channel:
It
is a vehicle through which a message is carried from the sender to the
receiver. The mediums of communication are many-written, oral, verbal,
non-verbal, mass media like TV, radio, newspapers, books, etc. It is a
complicated task to choose the appropriate medium. Success and failure depends
on the selection of the right channel.
·
Message:
The message itself is oral, written or non
verbal. The communications are affected by the sender’s tone and method.
Message has intellectual and emotional components. With intellect the sender
has the ability to present reason and with emotion to present the motivational
appeals.
· Receiver:
At the end of communication process, the receiver is the recipient
of the message. The receiver gets the message, understands and tries to provide
the total meaning of the message as transmitted by the sender. This process is
done with the help of another process called decoding.
·
Decoding:
Decoding is very important part of the process of communication
where the receiver tries to understand the message of the sender. The process
of decoding involves interpretation and analysis of the message. Effective
decoding is very important for successful communication because any
misinterpretation of the message creates confusion and misunderstanding.
·
Feedback:
It is the last stage in the process of communication. It is the
action or reaction of the receiver to the message. It helps the sender know
that the message was received and understood. The response can be based on
perfect understanding of the message. The success and failure of communication
is decided by feedback only. Feedback is essential as it is a barometer of effective
communication.
Thus, all these above components of communication are very
important for effective and successful communication.
