Effective Communication

Great leaders and great personalities around the world like Mahatma Gandhi, Mr. Nelson Mandela,
Mr. Narendra Modi, Oprah Winfrey, Malala Yousafzai, and others have been inspirational because of
their effective communication skills. We are all influenced by various role models, family, and
friends, who are good at expressing their thoughts and ideas.

Communication is a transfer of spoken or written information, thoughts, or ideas to create an

understanding between a sender and a receiver. Effective communication implies that the
transmitted content has been received and understood by the receiver in a manner that was
intended by the sender. It means that what you want to say, what you say and what the receiver
interprets, is constant.

Let us see an example of effective communication.

Example: A king once dreamt that his teeth had fallen off. After waking up, he asked the priest what
it meant. The priest said, "The dream means you are going to see all your relatives die, one after
another." The angry king banished the priest from the city and asked his advisor the same question.
The advisor said, "The dream means you have a long life and will outlive all your relatives." The king
was extremely pleased, and he showered rewards on the advisor.

Both the priest and advisor meant the same thing; the king's relatives would die before him, but the
advisor was a more effective communicator since the message he conveyed was better constructed,
and he understood the mindset of the receiver, i.e., the king. This story clearly indicates the power
of effective communication.

GOALS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

 Establishing trust and understanding, changing behaviour, and acquiring information of effective
communication. Anything that interferes with communication can makes it ineffective can be
referred to as 'noise', Ineffective communication can influence our interpretation of message and
affect out relations with others.

FACTORS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Effective communication is conveying a message by clearly interpreting the emotions with the
information. The effective communication consists of the following key factors:

CONTENT
This refers to the language that has been used in the message. We all interpret the meaning of
words differently. Hence, even simple messages can be misunderstood. Some words have different
meanings depending on the context, which may confuse at times. To make communication effective,
construct proper sentences and use the right words.

PROCESS
It refers to the way the message is delivered-the non-verbal elements in the speech like the tone of
the voice, gesture, body language, and the state of mind can be identified during communication.
We often subconsciously trust the accuracy of non-verbal behaviours the the verbal expressions.
Only 7% of spoken interpretation of spoken communication comes words alone, 55% comes from
body language, and 38% comes from intonation. Hence, effective communication happens only
when the verbal message is consistent with the tone and body language.

CONTEXT
It refers to the situation or environment in which the message is delivered, including the physical
environment (e.g., noisy or quiet room, mall, hospital, etc.) and development factors (e.g., the age of
the speaker and the receiver). Communication should be adopted as per the context to make it
impressive.

You had read briefly about 7C's of effective communication in your previous class. Let us learn more
about them.

THE 7C'S OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

The 7C's also known as the seven principle of the communication, helps us to focus our thoughts and
ideas for effective communication. These principles serve as a checklist to communication more
effectively and are more applicable for both verbal and non-verbal communication. During verbal
face-to-face communication, tone and body language of the communicator also helps in conveying
the message. However, in written communication, one needs to be extra careful due to the absence
of non-verbal communication.

The information being conveyed through communication should be:

CLEAR
Constructing message is the first step in any communication. It must be as transparent as possible.
Clarity is also about avoiding the use of complex words, sentences and confusing language.

 The message can be conveyed effectively if the sender has clarity in his thoughts.
 The message should be easily understood by the receiver, this will happen the purpose of
communication is clear.
 The message should have a single goal and not a mixture of ideas.

CONCISE
Conciseness refers to explaining things in a brief yet comprehensive manner. Adding unnecessary
details makes our communication ineffective. The fewer the words, the more impressive and
effective is the communication. Avoid fillers like 'sort of', 'like', 'basically' to make the speech
impressive.

 The must be precise and to the point.

 Short and brief message should be used to maintain the receiver's attention.
 Every word used should be meaningful and of interest to the receiver.

CONCRETE
Concrete refers to communication that is believable and credible, in order to create trust between
the communicators. Concrete communication is bring specific and clear, rather than being vague and
general.

 The message should be supported by facts and figure to eliminate any doubt in the
receiver's mind.
 In case of written communication, citations, or references of the source of information must
be given to increase credibility.
CORRECT
Accuracy is an important element of communication. It avoids miscommunication and mistrust, and
creates a positive image in the mind of the receiver.

 Correct language i.e., grammar, vocabulary, and sentence construction should be used to
ensure a proper response.
 While writing, correct spelling and punctuation should be applied.
 The facts and figures used should be accurate.

COHERENT
A Coherent message is logical and makes sense to the receiver. All sentences in written
communication should be connected and be relevant to the main topic. Coherence deals with the
fluency of communication. Without coherence, the receiver of the message will lose track of what
you want to convey.

To ensure that your communication is coherent:

 Check if the message organized locally has a smooth flow and a proper sequence.
 Check that you had not tried to cover too many points and not delivered from the main
topic.

COMPLETE
A complete message will have all the information the receiver needs to know. To ensure that a
message is complete, it is essential to think of the questions the receiver might have when he
receives the message. The message should address these questions:

 We must ensure that all relevant information is conveyed through the message.
 It should answer all the queries in the mind of the receiver to obtain a better response and
understanding from him.
 Usually in formal communication, the sender is also required to convey what action needs to
be taken by the receiver as a result of the conversation.

COURTEOUS
The message should convey respect for the receiver:

 The feelings and views of the receiver along with his knowledge, experience and age, must
be considered. If shows respect for the receiver.
 The receiver should addressed in a friendly and courteous manner using respectful terms of
gestures.
 One must be sensitive to the culture and background of the receiver, especially when
communicating with people from different ethnicities.
 Even if you disagree with the receive, it is essential for you to understand and respect his
point of view.

BENEFITS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

There are various benefits of effective communication:
  Effective communication reduces misunderstanding prevents us from overlooking important
information. This saves time as situations can be understood accurately. It can also protect
people from embarrassment or awkwardness because of wrong assumptions.
 Effective communication creates a comfortable environment, where people of same or
different genders, religious, and cultural backgrounds., who behave and think differently,
can share their thoughts, feelings and ideas; feel respected and understood so that they can
work together to resolve conflicts and make decisions.
 Effective communication allows the people involved to built trust and remove any negative
emotions. This results in a desire to work towards a common goal.
 Effective communication skills increase our self-respect because we can deliver our message
confidently and receiver the outcome we have hoped for.
 However, the most significant benefit of using effective communication techniques is that it
improves our relationships with others.

If we master these skills, they enable us to handle difficult situations easily, without creating conflict
or decreasing the trust. Thus, the primary purpose of communication is to express one's views in
front of people. At the same time, it is essential to listen to others patiently and understand their
perspective. Such a communication enables its participants to reach a conclusion, and consequently
pushes them on the path of mutual growth and success.

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