communication skills

• Communication is a process of sharing ideas, information, and knowledge through speaking, writing, or other mediums
• Communication has 3 important parts:

  • Transmitting: sender sending a message through some medium
  • Listening: receiver receives and understands the message
  • Feedback: receiver provides feedback regarding the message
• Various elements of the communication cycle include:

  1. Sender: person beginning the communication
  2. Message: the information the sender wants to convey
  3. Channel: the medium by which the information is sent
  4. Receiver: the person to whom the message is sent
  5. Feedback: the receiver's acknowledgment and response to the message
• Types of verbal communication:

  • Interpersonal: one-on-one communication between 2 people
  • Written: communication that includes writing of words
  • Small group: communication between more than 2 people
  • Public: person speaking in front of a large crowd
• Advantages of verbal communication:

  • Takes less time
  • Feedback is quickly received
  • Provides complete understanding of the communication
• Disadvantages of verbal communication:

  • Words can be misinterpreted and cause confusion
  • Has no legal standing which can cause issues in some circumstances
• Non-verbal communication:

  • Sharing information without speaking or writing words
  • 55% communication is done by body movements
  • 38% communication is done by voice tones
  • Only 7% communication is done by speaking words
  • Examples: gestures, emotions, body language
• Visual communication:

  • Done by images (e.g., construction signs, no parking sign)
• Importance of Feedback:

  • Validates effective listening
  • Motivates
  • Tells us how the message is interpreted
  • Boosts learning
  • Improves performance
• 7 Cs of effective communication:

  • Clear
  • Concise
  • Concrete
  • Correct
  • Coherent
  • Complete
  • Courteous
• Types of feedback:

  1. Positive
  2. Negative
  3. No feedback
• Barriers while communicating:

  • Physical Barriers
  • Linguistic Barriers
  • Interpersonal Barriers
  • Organisational Barriers
  • Cultural Barriers
• Ways to overcome barriers:

  • Listen actively to the speaker
  • Use simple language
  • Give proper feedback
  • Be respectful
  • Use visuals
• Capitalisation rules:

  • Sentences begin with capital letters
  • 'TINS' is a set of 25 simple rules for capitalising words correctly
• Parts of speech:

  • Indicates how a word functions in meaning and grammatically within a sentence
  • Examples: nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs
• Active voice vs. Passive voice:

  • Active voice: subject does an action
  • Passive voice: subject receives an action