The Main Forms Of Communication And Oral Communication

Communication is the key to effectiveness. If getting things done is what management is all about, then communication is the single most important managerial skill. A person is successful to the extent his communication

Communication is a two way process. Communication being a two way process; we, each of us, are a communicator and a receiver. As such understanding the role of the communicator and that of the receiver are both important. We need to know and develop skills in both the dimensions – as a communicator and as a receiver.

Hence, oral communications will highlight both listening and speaking skills and written communication will focus on both reading and writing skills.

In an organizational context, various types of communications

It is the single most used mode of communication. Speaking and listening are two sides of verbal communication. They go together. Every time somebody speaks, it is to another person (or persons) who is expected to listen.

Introduction to speaking

Speaking can be one to one or one to many. True, that in the context of meetings or discussion, technically, the communication is many to many, but even there, at any given point in time it is either one to one or one to many. Narratives, conversations, discussions and speeches (or oratory) are the most common forms of verbal communication.

Narratives

One uses a narrative - narrates – when describing something relating to a sequential flow of events. Thus, one narrates a story or narrates an experience or an event or an incident.

In an organizational context one generally uses a narrative when

• sharing about an event one participated

Questions can be direct, open, clarifying or loaded. Situations determine the kind of question best suited for them. One category of questions is not necessarily better than another. It is best to select the type of questions needed for the situation. Figure 1.1.2: Types of oral communication

A. Direct questions are designed to:

• Gather specific information.

• Give the other person an idea of what you want to know.

• Eliminate misunderstanding of what answer is required.

• Guide the discussion towards a specific problem.

These are useful to get information but can be limiting. It can make the speaker sound like an attorney conducting a cross examination. To people who are not prepared to answer questions, direct questions can be counterproductive.

B. Open questions are designed to get a wide range of answers and require several sentences or more in reply. Open questions are used to:

• Seek an opinion,

• Get the explanation about how something is done,

• Get the reasoning behind an action or,

• Find out about attitudes and feelings.

They:

a. Help in getting information without creating defensiveness.

b. Allow the person to express a personal point of view.

c. Leave room for the conversation to branch

d. Give scope to gather additional information.

Open questions are characterized