Communication is the interpersonal transfer of information from one entity to another. Apart from human beings, communication is also believed to exist between all other living creatures. Therefore this means communication can either be verbal or non-verbal in a conscious or unconscious manner. Therefore communication can be said to exist because of various reasons, some of the reasons may be as stated below. To pass information or at times give instructions, to express one's needs, opinions or ideas, to learn new things. Also, communication is the reason behind relationships with others, and to understand or get understood from your point of view hence reduce ambiguity.
Therefore for there to be any form of communication we need to have the sender who generates the information, the message being transferred, the intended receiver of the particular message and the medium through which the message would be passed. Also at the sender, there is the encoding of the message, and it will be decoded at the receiver in a form understood by the receiver. In any channel of communication also exists noises that can be a general term to denote all the barriers of effective communication. Also for communication to be complete, the receiver is expected to give back a feedback to the sender in a reverse process as the originator did.
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Communication in broader terms is classified into two factions, verbal and non-verbal communication. Verbal communication involves explicit use of words that can be articulated at the receivers end. This may be in the form of instructions, opinions or even written documents. Non-verbal communication on the other end involves the use of body movements or better known as kinesics, facial expressions gestures, tonal variations in the sounds and pitch, or time the distance between the communicating parties also given better term proxemics. These non-verbal cues are essential in communication as they compliment verbal communications and at times form the basis of whether senders are credible or not or judge the reception of the message at the receiver’s end.
Communication skills, therefore, are the basic of any profession as for one to better communicate with purpose one needs to understand all the dynamics of any communication process. Verbally one can be told to do a task, and that forms the basis of the communication process. Verbal communication can either be formal or informal. Formal communication may involve giving of instructions by the boss or giving feedback to a request or directive by those in authority. Informal communication is majorly in a casual environment. Also, written information falls within this two divisions. Memos and formal letters can be said to be formal. Short messaging and chats, on the other hand, is an informal communication and often exists among peers or in general the communication that happens everywhere outside formal settings.
Non-verbal communication on the other hand also exists for us to gather extra information that encompasses the basic verbal communication. Although some form of non-verbal communications can fully deliver information, it is often accompanied by verbal transmission of messages. For example, the facial expression tells a lot about the information being offered. Facial expressions involve having a staunch face when talking meaning it is a serious conversation, lazy eyes, on the other hand, may mean poor reception on the receiver's part. The body posture also may denote someone’s attention with fidgeting giving a less receptive receiver. Maintenance of a solid eye contact may tell that one has put a total concentration on the subject of discussion. Also, the first impression in any situation matters a lot that’s why the outfit one puts to an interview matters a lot. Therefore this means, how someone dresses, walks, sits and even displays his facial expression gives a lot of judgment on the side of the receiver. Therefore nonverbal cues help us a lot to create an impression or better yet give us the ability to judge the credibleness of the sender and the importance put behind any information. We need to practice these cues to improve our communication skills.
With a score of ninety-two in the students listening inventory, I can say I am quite good at listening but this means I still have areas that I need to improve on to become an outstanding listener. In areas of considering the speaker’s point of view concerning their information and also not judging or creating a fast impression, I can say I am quite well. Also matching of non-verbal cues with the verbal cues can be much of a quality of a good listener. Putting off one’s emotions is also a habit I have avoided and put all my focus to whoever is speaking. Whereas when it comes to familiarizing myself with new words used by the speaker or assessing the credibility of the speaker, I can be quite Poor. On other skills, I am average, though, but improvement can make me a good audience. By changing on these minor things that I am poor on meaning, I can be an excellent listener. The purpose of learning such communication skills, therefore, is to further improve on one’s communication skills.
Reference
Patrickson, M. & Bambacas, M. (2017). Interpersonal communication skills that enhance organisational commitment: Journal of Communication Management: Vol 12, No 1 . Emeraldinsight.com . Retrieved 8 February 2017, from http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13632540810854235
