English Language Communication Skills

320 Pages·2010·44.72 MB·English

by  Urmila Rai

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UrmilaRai
Former Principal,
Narsee Monjee College,
Vile Parle, Mumbai.
&
Former Director,
Pillai's Institute of Management Studies,
Panvel, N avi Mumbai.
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UNIT I
1. Role and Importance of Communication 3
2. Verbal and Non-verbal Communication 13
3. Barriers to Communication 29
4. Communication Mediums 42
5. Effective Coinmunication 56
6. Group Communication 64
7. Making Presentations --- 77
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UNIT II
8. Spoken and Written English 87
9. Etiquette and Manners 100
10. Vocabulary Development 112
11. Comprehension 125
UNIT III
12. Principles of Letter Writing 137
13. Layout of Letters . 152
14. Enquiries and Replies 169
15. Complaints and Replies 189
16. Memos, Circulars, Notices 210
17. Paragraph Writing 218
18. Writing Scientific and Technical Reports 226
19. Drafting and Delivering a Speech 242
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UNIT IV
20. Articles 259
21. Tenses 263
22. Active and Passive Voice 276
23. Direct and Indirect Speech 283
24. Degrees of Comparison 290
25. Common Errors 297
26. Concepts of Learning and Listening 305

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1. Role and Importance of
i
Communication
2. Verbal and Non-verbal
Communication
3. . Barriers to
Communication
4. Communication Mediums
5. Effective Communication
6. Group Communication
7. Making Presentations

CHAPTER
ROLE AND IMPORTANCE
OF COMMUNICATION
The word communication is used in common talk, usually, to mean speaking or
writing or sending a message to another person. Communication is really much
more than that. It involves ensuring that your message has reached the target
audience, (that is, the persons to whom it is sent) and that the receiver understands
and responds as you want them to. It also involves ensuring that you yourself are
able to understand, interpret, and respond to messages that you receive.
Communication is an important aspect of behaviour; human communication
is affected by all factors that influence human behaviour.
In the last sixty to seventy years, the study of human communication has
been strengthened by contribution from many disciplines. Definitions, descriptions
of the process, and analyses of the elements of communication have been developed
by many scholars.
Role of Communication in Business
Entry into a good organisation requires excellent communication skills. The
primary element in the skills of management is competence in communication. It is
the tool with which we exercise influence on others, bring about changes in the
attitudes and views of our associates, motivate them and establish and maintain
relations with·t hem.
Communication is central to everything that we do. We do things in organisations;
our family, school/college, office, hobby group, community group, our city/town are
(3)
4 I Unit One English Language Communication Skills
the organisations in which we live and act. Our activities succeed or fail, and our
goals are achieved or not achieved, according to our ability to communicate effectively
with other members.
Communication plays a foundational role in the development of any healthy
relationship. It can strengthen a mutual sense of commitment; it also helps to
bridge the gap between people who have misunderstandings. Indeed, communication
plays a critical role in all phases of interpersonal relations, from creating a
relationship to maintenance of relationships.
Communication is the mortar that holds an organisation together, whatever its
business or its size. Without communication an organisation cannot function at all.
Without effective communication, information cannot be collected, processed, or
exchanged; words and data would remain isolated facts. With effective communication,
multinational organisations which are spread all over the world can function like a .
single unit.
The most important foundation skill for anyone in the new world of work is the
ability to communicate. This means being able to express your ideas effectively in
writing and in spee~h-. Employers have always emphasized the importance of
communication skills, and the current trends in the business environment make
these skills even more critical.
Owing to advances in information technology, companies downsize and
decentralize, and work is increasingly carried out by teams. Team members must be
able to work together to identify problems, analyze alternatives, and recommend
solutions. They must be able to communicate their ideas persuasively to others.
Ability to work well in teams, to manage your subordinates and your relationships
with seniors, customers and colleagues, depends on your communication skill.
Production of goods is of no use if potential buyers have no information about
the product. Communicating to the public about the product is the essence of
business. A large amount of communication in the form of advertisement and public
relations is needed in order to inform the public and to persuade potential customers
to buy the products.
Business Communication
The term business communication is used for all messages that we send and
receive for official purposes like running a business, managing an organisation,
conducting the formal affairs of a voluntary organisation and- so on. Business
communication is marked by formality as against personal and social communication.
It includes both written and oral communication. Letters, reports, memos,
notices are all formal and part of commercial and business activity; so are interviews,
meetings, conferences, presentations, negotiations. Some of these are more formal
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Role and Importance of Communication Chapter 1
than others; a group discussion would be less formal than a company meeting; a
letter is less formal than a report.
Friendly chatting, letters between friends and family, reciting poetry for one's
own pleasure or telling stories to entertain friends, are not included in business
communication.
The study of communication and efforts to develop skills of communication are
needed because communication is absolutely necessary for business. And there is no
one who does not have to engage in some kind of business activity. Persons in all
professions need to cultivate skills as needed for their work. Doctors, engineers,
chartered accountants, actors and others in the entertainment industry, managers
of all kinds of organisations, educators, besides persons engaged in business
enterprises have to engage daily in some kind of business communication.
Attributes of Communication
Communication has four attributes or qualities; understanding these attributes
helps us to improve our competence and skills in communication.
1. Communication is unintentional as well as intentional.
We do not always convey exactly what we want to; the targeted receiver may
receive less or more than what we intended to convey. A casual observer (unintentional
receiver) may receive information or ideas which we did not intend for him/her.
OUf
non-verbal behaviour conveys something about us; what we speak or write is
accompanied by non-verbal behaviour. We cannot "not communicate"; even our non
communication in words communicates something; for example, it may convey that
we wish to be left alone. Communication takes place even when we do not plan it
and when we are not conscious of it; we may communicate something that we had
not intended to communicate.
2. Communication is a dynamic process.
A process is an ongoing, non-static activity. Communication is considered as a
process to emphasize that it is always changing, always in motion. A process is a
series of actions that has neither beginning nor end. The notion of process involves a
time dimension; which means that the characteristics, causes, and consequences of
an act of communication are subject to change while the communication act takes
place. An important element in communication is the concept of "change."
Communication grows and develops; even if the same two persons exchange the
same ideas again, the communication is not exactly the same as it was the first
time, because the two persons have grown and developed and changed since
then. Every time we consciously engage in an act of communication, we bring to it all
our previous experience, feelings, thoughts. attitudes which have been formed by
other communication events.