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- Lesson 12 COMMUNICATION AND HUMAN RELATIONS
Communication Communication is a critical tool for holding people together in families and in organizations. Most job and family disputes are the result of communication problems.
Process of communication There are three technical steps for any communication to occur: (1) Encoding (putting ideas into symbols) The source initiates a message by encoding the idea (or a thought) in words or symbols send to the receiver. (2) Communication media The channel in the communication process is the medium that the sender uses to transmit the message to the receiver. Although the message could be in either an oral or written form, the oral medium most likely will be more effective because of the immediacy, if required. (3) Decoding (understanding the message) It is the act of understanding message (words or symbols).When the sound waves are translated into ideas; we are taking them out of the ode they are in, hence decoding. Thus reader or listeners are often regarded as decoders.
- If decoding is successful, it leads to action.
- Noise , or unwanted interference, can occur at any step in the communication process.
- Difference between noise and voice
- Nonverbal communication is used primarily to convey the feeling behind a message.
- A substantial amount of communication on and off the job is nonverbal.
Factors of communication A. Environment or Setting The setting of the message often communicates something about the sender, such as seriousness of purpose.
B. Distance from the Other Person The physical distance the sender places between himself or herself and the receiver may communicate a message, such as the degree of liking or warmth.
C.Posture Receivers generally note the sender’s posture even without realizing it Good posture sends out positive messages. Offing is less Intimate and inviting than standing.
D.Hand Gestures Hand gestures are universally recognized as conveying specific information to others. An example is that open-palm gestures toward the other person typically convey positive attitudes.
E.Facial Expression and Eye Contact The most reliable nonverbal signals are emitted by the head, face, and eyes, as is well known; maintaining eye contact with another person improves communication with him or her. A person’s current state of happiness is often reflected in his or her face.
F.Voice Quality How things are said exerts a heavy influence on how the message is received, As a consequence, voice training is important A forceful voice, which includes a consistent tone without vocalized pauses,
connotes power and control. Gesturing can be used to improve a monotonous voice quality because itdocsity.com
G. Personal Appearance Among the many reasons that personal appearance is important is that people pay more respect and grant more privileges to people they perceive as being well dressed and attractive. The meaning of being well dressed depends heavily on the situation. Being perceived favorable, and as physically attractive.
H. Lying as Revealed by Nonverbal Communication A person’s nonverbal behavior is often used to gauge whether he or she is telling the truth. Highly practiced liars are less revealing. Key facial clues of lying included a crocked smile, failure to look you in the e forced eye contact, and frequent nose rubbing.
Interpersonal communication and IT Advances in information technology had both positive and negative impacts on interpersonal communicative- E-mail and tele-comrnunication are two key domains for changes in communication created by information technology. A. E-Mail and Communication among People
- E-mail has replaced many telephone and In-person exchanges. E-mail is likely to expand and include photographs, audio, video, and chunks of voice mail.
- Instant Messaging (I. M.) is a fast-growing variety of e-mail. Instead of picking up messages at times you choose, you are exposed to them whenever at the computer.
- E-mail encourages indiscriminate sanding of messages, including spamming, or flooding someone with unwanted messages.
- Other problems include using e-mail fur political purposes, managers avoiding contact with group members, and using e-mail to reprimand others impersonally.
- A recent study with 2,500 workers suggests that e-mail is being used wisely and is under control.
B. Telecommuting A telecommuting is an employee who works at home full-time, and send out put or part-lime, and sends output electronically to a central office. Nearly eight percent of the workforce telecommutes. Telecommuters miss out on the face-to-face interactions so vital for dealing with complex problems. Limited face-time can also limit promote-ability. Another communications problem with telecommuting is that it lacks a solid human connection.
Barriers to communication: Communication rarely proceeds as effectively as we would like. Barriers are most likely to occur when a message is complex, emotionally arousing, or clashes with the receiver’s mental set. If you are aware of barriers, you will be better able to overcome them. A. Limited Understanding of People Communication will often break down if you misread people and their needs. Limited understanding can also take the form of making false assumptions about the receiver, thus creating a communication roadblock.
- Different Interpretation of Words If the receiver makes another interpretation of a key word than intended, the message may not get through.
B. Creditability of the Sender and Mixed Signals The more the sender of the message, the greater the probability that the message will get through clearly. A disconnect can also occur from mixed signals—sending different messages about the same topic to different audiences. A mixed signal also refers to sending one message to a person about desired behavior, yet behaving in another way yourself.
C. One-Way Communication Effective communication proceeds back and forth. Face-to-face communication helps to clarify
meanings. Instant messaging helps overcome the one-way barrier because the receiver reactsdocsity.com
F. Combat Info Overload You can decrease the chances of suffering from communication overload by such measures as carefully organized and sorting information before plunging ahead with reading. Being selective about your e- mail and Internet reading is a good technique.
G. Establishing Rapport To build rapport you need to empathize and think from the mind of the other person.
H. Engage in Small Talk and constructive Gossip The effective use of small talk and gossip can help a person melt communication barriers. Small talk helps build rapport. A new perspective on gossip is that being a source of positive gossip brings a person power and credibility. Workmates are eager to communicate with a person who is a sower of not-yet-verified developments.
J. Improve Your Telephone and Voice-Mail and Speakerphone Communication Skills A direct way of overcoming communication barriers is to use effective telephone and voice-mail communication skills because these two communication media often create communication problems. Many businesses attract and hold onto customers because their representatives interact positively with people through the telephone and voice mail.
K. Use Presentation Technology to Your Advantage
- The communication challenge with presentation technology is that during an oral presentation the predominant means of connection-between sender and receiver is eye contact. One of the biggest challenges is to learn how to handle equipment and maintain frequent eye and voice contact at all times. One suggestion is to talk to the audience and not the screen.
- Improving one’s receiving of messages is another part of developing better communication skills. Unless you receive messages as intended, you cannot perform your job properly or be a good companion. Listening is a major communication activity. Insufficient listening is extraordinarily costly, leading to such problems as re-shipping orders and recalling defective products. A major component of effective listening is to be an active listener. The active listener listens intensely, with the goal of empathizing with the speaker.
- Empathy simply understands another person’s point of view. By listening actively, the listener can feed back to the speaker what he or she thinks the speaker meant.
- To be an active listener, it is also important to paraphrase, or repeat in your own words what the sender says, feels, and means.
- To help become an active listener, keep papers and your computer screen out of sight when listening to somebody else. Be sure to let others speak until they have finished.
Improving gender barriers to communication Another strategy for overcoming communication barriers is to deal effectively with cultural differences. Two areas of cultural differences are those related to gender and geography. Gender differences in communication style have amused considerable interest, but they must be regarded as cultural stereotypes. Individual differences in communication style are usually more important than group (men versus women).
The major gender differences in communication patterns are as follows:
- Women prefer to use conversation for rapport building.
- Men prefer to use talk primarily as a means to preserve independence and status by displaying knowledge and skill.
- Women want empathy, not solutions when discussing problems.
- Men prefer to work out their problems by themselves, whereas women prefer to talk out solutions with another person.
- Men tend to be more directive and less apologetic in their conversation, whereas women are more
polite and apologetic. docsity.com
- Women tend to be more conciliatory when facing differences, whereas men become more intimidating.
- Men are more interested than women in calling attention to their accomplishments and hogging recognition.
- Men and women interrupt others for different reasons. (Men want to introduce a new topic whereas women want clarification.)
- During casual conversation, women focus more on other people, whereas men emphasize sports and leisure activities.
- Women are more likely to use a gentle expletive, whereas men tend to be harsher.
Understanding these differences will help you interpret the communication behavior of people.As noted in the chapter, how you combine verbal and nonverbal communication becomes part of your personal communication style, or your unique approach to sending and receiving information. Hundreds of styles are possible.
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