oral communication

• Seek clarification to avoid miscommunication.
• Pay attention to nonverbal cues as they can help you understand any part of a person’s utterance that you may have misunderstood.
• Listen attentively to what others are saying as listening is important for understanding what is truly meant by the speaker and contributing to a knowledge which might be different from what you expect.
• When the reporting verb is in the past tense, replace past tense with past perfect (had + past participle).
• Social relationships can be greatly affected by the words we speak as gracious words can improve our relations while careless words destroy them.
• Always be polite in your communication as politeness will always be appreciated by people you communicate with.
• When making offers, use phrases such as "Would you like to have/ try some <items>?", "May I offer you some <items>?", "May I interest you in some <items>?", "I would like to offer you <items>".
• When rejecting offers, use phrases such as "No", "I’m okey."
• Use communication strategies to overcome possible communication breakdown.
• When accepting offers, use phrases such as "Yes, I would like to try/ taste one/some", "Thank you."
• How we construct our utterance determines the quality of relationships we have with the people around us.
• Carefully chosen words can increase or decrease the impact of an idea being expressed as words have the power to arouse emotions, stir up memories, and conjure images in the minds of the listeners.
• When the reporting verb is in the past tense, replace present tense with past tense.
• <name of the person> is unavailable/not around right now.
• Would you like to leave a message?
• Some questions may not be asked unless you are at a level of intimacy for such question or comment.
• Showing a willingness to listen shows your sympathy towards others.
• Understand that some questions or comments require a level of closeness.
• Remembering what others have already said involves understanding and digesting what is being said.
• The worst result of backbiting is when people feel a sense of exhilaration talking about the negative characteristics or actions of people.
• Do not talk negatively about others, this is called backbiting.
• Sensitivity to other participants’ desire not to speak sometimes, other people simply do not want to speak but are willing to let you and others speak.
• Your nonverbal language-gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact must show humility in conversation.
• Avoid questions or comments that may embarrass your listeners.
• Be patient in whatever the situation you are in, though you experience difficulty in relating to others, we must give allowance for each other’s faults.
• Your tone of voice, loudness and softness, and rhythm must all show humility in conversation.
• Instead of building relationships, backbiting creates divisions and cultivates ill-felling towards others.
• Doing so merely creates a drug-like dependence on negativism causing people to seek more.
• Being polite in conversation strengthens social bonds and lessens any existing disagreements.
• Engaging others to speak builds inclusivity and helps create an atmosphere of camaraderie.
• Sensitivity to other participants’ desire to speak is a highly valued skill as it shows selflessness and sends the message that other people are important to you.
• Being humble in conversation means your speech must not sound as if you are showing a condescending attitude towards others.