Communication

Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal communication can be described as the process of sending and receiving information between two or more people. It can be done talking face to face with another person or via telephone, email, letters or meetings.
It involves a speaker who sends a message to a listener. They receive the message, develop and send a response and so it continues. The content of a message during interpersonal communication is important, however other aspects to fully understand the message are important such as body language, facial expressions and tone of voice. The content of the discussions must match the non verbal cues to make communication effective.
Interpersonal communication is defined by communication scholars in numerous ways, though most definitions involve participants who are interdependent on one another, have a shared history. Communication channels are the medium chosen to convey the message from sender to receiver. Communication channels can be categorized into two main categories: Direct and Indirect channels of communication.
Direct channels are those that are obvious and can be easily recognized by the receiver. They are also under direct control of the sender. In this category are the verbal and non-verbal channels of communication. Verbal communication channels are those that use words in some manner, such as written communication or spoken communication. Non-verbal communication channels are those that do not require silly words, such as certain overt facial expressions, controllable body movements (such as that made by a traffic police to control traffic at an intersection), color (red for danger, green means go etc), sound (sirens, alarms etc.).
Indirect channels are those channels that are usually recognized subliminally or subconsciously by the receiver, and not under direct control of the sender. This includes kinesics or body language, that reflects the inner emotions and motivations rather than the actual delivered message. It also includes such vague terms as "gut feeling", "hunches" or "premonitions".
Channels means mode of communicating the messages.
Participants is the communicators who are both senders and receivers.
Context refers to the interrelated conditions of communication. It consists of everything that is not in the message, but on which the message relies in order to have its intended meaning. Ultimately, context includes the entire world, but usually refers to such salient factors as the following:
Physical milieuSituational milieu, for example: classroom, battlefield, supermarketCultural and linguistic background of each participant, how similar? how different?Emotional state and developmental stage of each participantSocial role enacted by each participant, for example: boss, employee, teacher, student, parent, child, spouse, friend, enemy, partner, competitor
Interpersonal communication
Another facet of communication in the organization is the process of face-to-face, interpersonal communication, between individuals. Such communication may take several forms. Messages may be verbal (that is, expressed in words), or they may not involve words at all but consist of gestures, facial expressions, and certain postures ("body language"). Nonverbal messages may even stem from silence.
Ideally, the meanings sent are the meanings received. This is most often the case when the messages concern something that can be verified objectively. For example, "This piece of pipe fits the threads on the coupling." In this case, the receiver of the message can check the sender's words by actual trial, if necessary. However, when the sender's words describe a feeling or an opinion about something that cannot be checked objectively, meanings can be very unclear. "This work is too hard" or "Watergate was politically justified" are examples of opinions or feelings that cannot be verified. Thus they are subject to interpretation and hence to distorted meanings. The receiver's background of experience and learning may differ enough from that of the sender to cause significantly different perceptions and evaluations of the topic under discussion. As we shall see later, such differences form a basic barrier to communication.
Nonverbal content always accompanies the verbal content of messages. This is reasonably clear in the case of face-to-face communication. As Virginia Satir has pointed out, people cannot help but communicate symbolically (for example, through their clothing or possessions) or through some form of body language. In messages that are conveyed by the telephone, a messenger, or a letter, the situation or context in which the message is sent becomes part of its non-verbal content. For example, if the company has been losing money, and in a letter to the production division, the front office orders a reorganization of the shipping and receiving departments, this could be construed to mean that some people were going to lose their jobs — unless it were made explicitly clear that this would not occur.
A number of variables influence the effectiveness of communication. Some are found in the environment in which communication takes place, some in the personalities of the sender and the receiver, and some in the relationship that exists between sender and receiver. There are different variables and suggests some of the difficulties of communicating with understanding from one person to another. The sender wants to formulate an idea and communicate it to the receiver. This desire to communicate may arise from his thoughts or feelings or it may have been triggered by something in the environment. The communication may also be influenced or distorted by the relationship between the sender and the receiver, such as status differences, a staff-line relationship, or a learner-teacher relationship.
Whatever its origin, information travels through a series of filters, both in the sender and in the receiver, before the idea can be transmitted and re-created in the receiver's mind. Physical capacities to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch vary between people, so that the image of reality may be distorted even before the mind goes to work. In addition to physical or sense filters, cognitive filters, or the way in which an individual's mind interprets the world around him, will influence his assumptions and feelings. These filters will determine what the sender of a message says, how he says it, and with what purpose. Filters are present also in the receiver, creating a double complexity that once led Robert Louis Stevenson to say that human communication is "doubly relative". It takes one person to say something and another to decide what he said.
Physical and cognitive, including semantic filters (which decide the meaning of words) combine to form a part of our memory system that helps us respond to reality. In this sense, March and Simon compare a person to a data processing system. Behavior results from an interaction between a person's internal state and environmental stimuli. What we have learned through past experience becomes an inventory, or data bank, consisting of values or goals, sets of expectations and preconceptions about the consequences of acting one way or another, and a variety of possible ways of responding to the situation. This memory system determines what things we will notice and respond to in the environment. At the same time, stimuli in the environment help to determine what parts of the memory system will be activated. Hence, the memory and the environment form an interactive system that causes our behavior. As this interactive system responds to new experiences, new learnings occur which feed back into memory and gradually change its content. This process is how people adapt to a changing world.
Differences in Background
Communication between persons brings individual personalities and individual views of the environment into contact. People can agree on many things if they are products of the same experiences. But the fact that they have had different experiences may lead to disagreement. Extremely different backgrounds can cause serious communication problems. In other words, if you and I are trying to communicate with each other but do not see the same world, we are simply not talking about the same things. There are several possible consequences:
Can assume that I know what I am, talking about and you don't. This can cause inattention and create an emotional impression in such basic reactions as: "You are wrong, I am right," and even "You are evil, I am good." The struggle over differences may thus intensify.
I can assume that since I am right, my objective must be to get you to agree with my point of view. At first, this may lead me into trying to be logical. I assume that you will be convinced once the facts are set straight. If I fail in this, I may resort to strategies of winning at any cost. I will dominate the discussion, talk instead of listening, and generally demean your ideas. All of these things would tend to heighten emotions and increase frustration, leading to an impasse in which we both would lose.
I will interpret what you say according to my understanding of the situation. In many cases, this would be about as appropriate as trying to find a city in Russia using a map of France. Carl Rogers has described this "tendency to judge, to evaluate, to approve (or disapprove) the statement of the other person" from the listener's point of view as the major barrier to interpersonal communication. Rogers' remedy to this problem is what he calls "listening with understanding" — that is, trying to understand through a deliberate effort to see the other person's point of view, to see the world as he sees and experiences it. In other words, we must abandon the "I-know-what-I'm-talking-about-you-don't" attitude and, instead, open our minds and our ears to the other person's viewpoint. This means that we must admit to ourselves that there may be ideas that, though they are different from ours, are just as valid and just as worthy as our own. We may, in fact, learn something if we listen. This attitude is clearly difficult to achieve, since few people like to admit they may be wrong. But opening our minds to others' opinions is the only way we can gain the advantage of perceiving another side of the problem.
Really listening (and not just "hearing") has another important advantage. If I listen attentively to another person, I am expressing to him a form of respect, and in a very substantial way contributing to his feeling of self-worth. This strengthens his ego and at the same time evokes in him a feeling of respect for me. These mutually supportive feelings help to chase out antagonisms, fears, and defensive tactics. A supportive attitude can lead the way to cooperative problem solving, in which both of us emerge winners.


Levels of Communication
Differences in perception are not the only sources of misunderstanding and difficulty in interpersonal communication. Communication is also complicated by the fact that it takes place at different levels simultaneously. As we send verbal messages by word and voice, we also send nonverbal messages by our gestures, expressions, posture, status, and even by the way we dress and comb our hair. We cannot avoid these silent comments on what our words are meant to say. Sometimes we may deliberately twist or distort messages to achieve our purposes, and sometimes we send distorted messages without being aware that they are distorted. Occasionally, we may be able to transmit what we mean so that it means the same thing to the person on the receiving end.
One way to think about the different levels from which messages emerge is the Johari Window. Imagine that the human personality could be divided into four parts according to the level or degree to which each part is "open" and "known" to both the sender and the receiver of a communication. This structure could then be represented in matrix form. Each of the areas in the figure can now be defined. The "Open" area contains motivations and behavior whose meanings are shared by the individual and others with whom he is in contact. The individual's feelings and his understanding of these feelings and what he communicates (verbally and nonverbally) are consistent, and they are received and understood by others in the same sense as they are understood and sent by the sender. There is no cover-up and no confusion between his words and his gestures, his expression, and how others interpret his meaning. This is free, honest, and relevant behavior, unburdened by cynicism, distrust, naivete, or any other hidden attitude or feeling. The meanings experienced and sent are the same as those that are experienced and received.
The "Hidden" area includes concealed motivations that are known to the sending individual but unknown to others. In this category are all the "little white lies" in which we indulge, including the bigger deceptions we sometimes use in communicating with others. One illustration is the use of ingratiating behavior for our own gain, aimed at a manager whom we do not like or with whom we privately disagree. Or suppose a friend goes by and calls out, "Hello, how are you!" It is a social convention in our culture that such greetings are not to be taken at face value. They are most often merely a form of recognition. But we cannot always be sure. Is our friend merely using her greeting as a form of recognition, a signal of acknowledgment, an automatic pleasantry to which we automatically respond, "Fine! How are you?" Or is she genuinely concerned with the state of our health and should we tell her that we feel lousy and just lost money in the stock market? In this case, the greeting may be influenced by some hidden agenda or concealed motive that is not clear to us. And to that extent, our communication is not on the same wavelength.
The "Blind" area includes motivations and behavior that are known to others but to which the individual is blind. This is sometimes indelicately called the "bad breath area." We have all known people who have feelings that they do not verbalize, but that manifest themselves in little mannerisms, nervous tics, habitual gestures, grimaces, and the like, which actually change the implications of things they say to us. As an example, think of the person who says, "I'm not scared!" while his face whitens and tightens with visible nervous tension.
Consider the spectacle of high government officials arriving at the White House to discuss the nation's energy crisis in their big limousines on a wintry day, keeping the motors running and the heaters on during the meeting, and later driving off as news cameras clicked and passersby stared. These public servants seemed blissfully unaware of the inconsistency between what they were saying and how they were behaving. In other words, their "blind" side was showing in a way that would have been comical if it had not been so serious.
The "Unknown Potential" area is unknown to both the individual and to others. It is the area that Freud describes as the "unconscious." This area probably contains aspects of ourselves that, if available to us, could increase our general effectiveness as persons. By definition, however, this area is available only through a process of self-discovery, sometimes requiring deep and prolonged psychoanalysis. For our purposes here, we need say only that this unconscious part of our personality influences in unknown ways our communications with other people, as well as affecting our internal communication with ourselves.
To increase our effectiveness in interpersonal communication, it would appear helpful to enlarge the "Open" area of our personality, while at the same time reducing the "Hidden" and "Blind" areas. This may be accomplished through the two interdependent processes of exposure and feedback. If we trust others in a relationship, we may be more willing to reveal some of the motives that we would otherwise keep hidden out of fear of consequences, should our motives become known. At the same time, by giving us information about those nonverbal messages that originate in the "Blind" area, others can help us become aware of the effect that such messages have on the meanings we are trying to convey. This feedback, however, must be in a form that helps to create a supportive, nonthreatening psychological climate. Lacking this emotional support, we would probably continue to be defensive.
Sometimes we complicate the clarity and reliability of verbal messages by either unknowingly or perhaps purposely expressing something that is inconsistent with what we think or feel. Such behavior is not always dysfunctional. For example, we may occasionally feel the need to defend our self-esteem against threats, for example, a seemingly (to us) unfair reprimand by a teacher or a friend that might reduce our personal effectiveness in a particular situation. In addition, there are social conventions that require that we mask our true feelings to avoid hurting someone unnecessarily. These social conventions often help us to maintain stability in relationships with other people.
On the other hand, hidden agendas and blind spots can be dysfunctional if they hide information that could improve rather than hinder our ability to solve the problems we share with others. If someone appears to feel one way about something when in fact he does not, and we base our plan for dealing with him on a mistaken impression, we may miss an opportunity to solve a mutual difficulty. Or, if we are unknowingly doing something that garbles our messages but, if brought to our attention, could be corrected, we would increase our potential for effective communication and for effective action.
Research Methodologies
The Oxford learner’s Dictionary defines research as a "careful study or investigation, especially in order to discover new facts or information." Examples would include scientific, clinic and historical researches. It can be also defined research as "the systematic and objective search for and analysis of data with a new to generating information necessary for the solution of problems.
These definitions highlight the fact that it is not engaged in research for the fun of it. Research can be done because it's important to discover new facts, correct misconceptions, extend the definition also points out the fact that it is needed to be orderly, systematic and scientific in carrying out the research otherwise the finding will be of no value. Methodology refers to the ways and means of doing something. Research will be conducted for effective result. torically, organizational communication was driven primarily by quantitative research methodologies. Included in functional organizational communication research are statistical analyses (such as surveys, text indexing, network mapping and behavior modeling). In the early 1980s, the interpretive revolution took place in organizational communication. In Putnam and Pacanowsky's 1983 text Communication and Organizations: An Interpretive Approach. they argued for opening up methodological space for qualitative approaches such as narrative analyses, participant-observation, interviewing, rhetoric and textual approaches readings) and philosophic inquiries.
During the 1980s and 1990s critical organizational scholarship began to gain prominence with a focus on issues of gender, race, class, and power/knowledge. In its current state, the study of organizational communication is open methodologically, with research from post-positive, interpretive, critical, postmodern, and discursive paradigms being published regularly.
Organizational communication scholarship appears in a number of communication journals including but not limited to Management Communication Quarterly, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Communication Monographs, Academy of Management Journal, Communication Studies, and Southern Communication Journal


Four Principles of Interpersonal Communication
These principles underlie the workings in real life of interpersonal communication. They are basic to communication. We can't ignore them
· Interpersonal communication is inescapable
We can't not communicate. The very attempt not to communicate communicates something. Through not only words, but through tone of voice and through gesture, posture, facial expression, etc., we constantly communicate to those around us. Through these channels, we constantly receive communication from others. Even when you sleep, you communicate. Remember a basic principle of communication in general: people are not mind readers. Another way to put this is: people judge you by your behavior, not your intent.
· Interpersonal communication is irreversible
You can't really take back something once it has been said. The effect must inevitably remain. Despite the instructions from a judge to a jury to "disregard that last statement the witness made," the lawyer knows that it can't help but make an impression on the jury. A Russian proverb says, "Once a word goes out of your mouth, you can never swallow it again."
· Interpersonal communication is complicated
No form of communication is simple. Because of the number of variables involved, even simple requests are extremely complex. Theorists note that whenever we communicate there are really at least six "people" involved:
1) who you think you are;
2) who you think the other person is;
3) who you think the other person thinks you are;
4) who the other person thinks /she is;
5) who the other person thinks you are; and
6) who the other person thinks you think s/he is.
We don't actually swap ideas, we swap symbols that stand for ideas. This also complicates communication. Words (symbols) do not have inherent meaning; we simply use them in certain ways, and no two people use the same word exactly alike.
Osmo Wiio gives us some communication maxims similar to Murphy's law (Osmo Wiio, Wiio's Laws--and Some Others (Espoo, Finland: Welin-Goos, 1978):
If communication can fail, it will.
If a message can be understood in different ways, it will be understood in just that way which does the most harm.
There is always somebody who knows better than you what you meant by your message.
The more communication there is, the more difficult it is for communication to succeed.
These tongue-in-cheek maxims are not real principles; they simply humorously remind us of the difficulty of accurate communication.


· Interpersonal communication is contextual
In other words, communication does not happen in isolation. There is:
Psychological context which is who you are and what you bring to the interaction. Your needs, desires, values, personality, etc., all form the psychological context. ("You" here refers to both participants in the interaction.)
Relational context which concerns your reactions to the other person--the "mix."
Situational context deals with the psycho-social "where" you are communicating. An interaction that takes place in a classroom will be very different from one that takes place in a bar.
Environmental context deals with the physical "where" you are communicating. Furniture, location, noise level, temperature, season, time of day, all are examples of factors in the environmental context.
Cultural context includes all the learned behaviors and rules that affect the interaction. If you come from a culture (foreign or within your own country) where it is considered rude to make long, direct eye contact, you will out of politeness avoid eye contact. If the other person comes from a culture where long, direct eye contact signals trustworthiness, then we have in the cultural context a basis for misunderstanding.

Verbal Communication
The basis of communication is the interaction between people. Verbal communication is one way for people to communicate face-to-face. Some of the key components of verbal communication are sound, words, speaking, and language.
At birth, most people have vocal cords, which produce sounds. As a child grows it learns how to form these sounds into words. Some words may be imitative of natural sounds, but others may come from expressions of emotion, such as laughter or crying. Words alone have no meaning. Only people can put meaning into words. As meaning is assigned to words, language develops, which leads to the development of speaking.
The actual origin of language is subject to considerable speculation. Some theorists believe it is an outgrowth of group activities such as working together or dancing. Others believe that language developed from basic sounds and gestures.
Over 3,000 languages and major dialects are spoken in the world today. The development of languages reflects class, gender, profession, age group, and other social factors. The huge variety of languages usually creates difficulties between different languages, but even within a single language there can be many problems in understanding.
Through speaking we try to eliminate this misunderstanding, but sometimes this is a very hard thing to do. Just as we assume that our messages are clearly received, so we assume that because something is important to us, it is important to others. As time has proven this is not at all true. Many problems can arise is speaking and the only way to solve these problems is through experience.
Speaking can be looked at in two major areas: interpersonal and public speaking. Since the majority of speaking is an interpersonal process, to communicate effectively we must not simply clean up our language, but learn to relate to people.
In interpersonal speaking, etiquette is very important. To be an effective communicator one must speak in a manner that is not offending to the receiver. Etiquette also plays an important role in an area that has developed in most all business settings: hierarchical communication. In business today, hierarchical communication is of utmost importance to all members involved.
The other major area of speaking is public speaking. From the origin of time, it has been obvious that some people are just better public speakers than others. Because of this, today a good speaker can earn a living by speaking to people in a public setting. Some of the major areas of public speaking are speaking to persuade, speaking to inform, and speaking to inspire or motivate

How to improve verbal communication
Verbal communication requires the use of words, vocabulary, numbers and symbols and is organized in sentences using language.
Mastering linguistic skill is not reserved for the selected few. It is a skill that each and every one should develop for personal growth and to improve relationships and interactions.
Everyone's brain is forever having thoughts and they are primarily with words. Words spoken, listened to or written affect your life as well as others. They have the power to create emotions and move people to take action. When verbal communication is delivered accurately and clearly, you activate the mind and encourage creativity.
You create your reality with your senses, the eyes, ears and feelings and words and symbols are used to create the meanings. This is why you are encouraged to read and watch informative materials, listen to motivational audio programs and attend classes or seminars that relate to your line of work or objectives. Positive and uplifting spoken or written messages motivate and inspire.
You can do the same to inspire others. Motivation comes from within each individual but you can become the source and when your are able to affect their thinking, you can help them improve their lives.
How to improve your verbal communication.
· Using positive words to challenge limiting beliefs.
Verbal communication includes phrasing your words clearly and positively. Your words and the explanations you give affect thoughts and determine emotions.
Verbal communication that includes questions helps you challenge beliefs. According to Michael Hall, a belief is a thought to which you have said "yes", and you have affirmed by saying, "I believe this". It takes questions worded specifically before you can fully agree.
Your customers, children or partners agreeing and saying "Yes" to your suggestions and opinions indicate that you were able to influence and change their beliefs and thoughts from your spoken or written persuasion.
· Telling or narrating a story.
One of the ways to let others understand your message is by telling a story, reading a quote or telling a joke. Verbal communication through stories carries power to induce the person to relate to what you are saying or suggesting. A joke usually helps people relax more and is opened to listen to you.
The way you deliver the story can affect the thinking, emotions and behavior of the listeners. He is able to imagine the experience and will reproduce a response. A story narrated with eloquent can give hope to people who are in dire need for encouragement.
· Asking the right questions.
Questioning yourself or others with precise words allow for answers. It make a difference if you were to ask a "why" or a "how" question. The former gives you a lot of reasons, understandings and explanations while the later set your brain thinking for a solution, useful information and a strategy.
By asking questions and wording them specifically, you will invite a positive debate and interaction that will benefit all involved. You become a better listener and entice others to do the same. Unnecessary arguments are reduced when you are able to express yourself with great command of your language skills.
· Think and prepare before you speak.
Whether you are going to speak in public, talk to your boss, spouse or children, you have to think before you utter those words. Verbal abuse happens when you express yourself without thinking and instead allow your emotions to take over.
You have to project your thoughts first in your mind or in writing before speaking them out. Doing this will enable you to prepare yourself with any objections that may arise. Thinking, preparing and imagining the most desirable outcome in your mind allow you to practice your presentation and getting them right.
· Reduce your usage of verbal pauses.
Have you ever listened to how you speak and render your conversations? If you haven't and are unaware, request for someone to do so. How many times did you stop your sentences and added an "ah", "um" or "well"? You can also record your verbal communication and listen back to your style of speaking.
Too many of these will irritate your listeners or is perceived as uneasiness or uncertainty in what you are saying. In order to reduce the unnecessary verbal cues, listen to yourself and become aware of it. Then when you realize it coming, condition yourself to just a silent pause.
· Avoid careless language.
Use your phrases with care. Talk and write in ways that allow for accurate description of your experience, thoughts or ideas. Don't expect people to assume and guess what you are trying to say.
Speak with specificity by avoiding words like always, never, every, or all. When you say to your spouse that he is always late when in fact he was late only twice, you are attracting an argument.
Quote
"Whenever we use language, namely with the words that we use, we always do or accomplish something. Our words, sentences, syntax, etc. always accomplish and achieve specific things". - L. Michael Hall