COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION

Communication is defined as “the process of passing information and understanding

from one person to another, it is essentially a bridge of meaning between people” All
communication is essentially sharing of information or some message.
Communication is the most important of our social activities.

We can classify communication as interpersonal, intrapersonal, group communication,

Meta-communication, upward, downward, lateral, diagonal, formal, informal, oral,
written or non-verbal communication.

In terms of Business “Communication is an important requirement of every business.

A businessman participates in the process of communication in many ways. For
instance, he informs the consumer about his product, he motivates them to do the
work or collects information about the progress of business etc.”

Three Simple Definitions

▪​ Communication means sharing of information

▪​ Communication is the giving and receiving of messages
▪​ Communication is the transfer of information from one or more people to one
or more other people
Meaning of Communication
The term communication is derived from the latin word “communis” or
“communicare” which means to make common. Thus communication means to make
common facts, information’s, thoughts and requirements. Communication, therefore,
is the exchange of thoughts, message, information etc. by way of speech, signal or in
writing.

Communication is a two-way process and works well with feedback, this helps to
confirm that the intended message has been successful.
Scholar Definition of communication
In order to understand further, many scholars have defined the term such as

“Communication is the sum of all things, one person does when he wants to create
understanding in the minds of another. It involves a systematic and continuous process
of telling, listening and understanding.”

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ – Allen Louis

Communication has been defined “As the transfer of information from one person to
another whether or not it elicits confidence.”

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ – Koontz and O’ Donell

“Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more

persons.” – George Terry

“Communication is the process by which information is transmitted between

individuals and/or organization so that an understanding response results”.

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ – By Peter Little

“Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more

persons”.
– By W.H. New man and C.F. summer Jr.

There are many other comprehensive definitions exist and touches all the aspects
of the communication process in general terms such as business communication,
Organizational communication etc.

“Administrative communication is a process which involves the transmission and

accurate replication of ideas ensured by feedback for the purpose of eliciting actions,
which will accomplish organizational goals.”

Process of Communication
Communication is effective when a concise and clear message is delivered well,
received successfully and understand fully. The process of communication has the
following distinct components:
Communication begins with an impulse (or motivation) to pass on a message made up
of bits of information. In the process of encoding, units of information are selected
and organized for transmission. Input is the sum of experiences that build up in the
human brain or computer.

The output is the encoded message transmitted by the information source (an
individual person or group of people). The interpretation of the message is referred to
as decoding.

Feedback is the response or message that the recipient (decoder) returns to the sender
(encoder).

✔​ The sender has an idea

✔​ Sender encodes the idea
✔​ The sender transmits the message through a medium
✔​ The receiver gets the message
✔​ The receiver decodes the message
✔​ Receiver sends feedback

Types and Characteristics of communication

Based on whom the message is addressed

We classify communication according to the number of persons (receivers) to whom

the message is addressed:

​ Intrapersonal Communication:
o​ It is talking to oneself in one’s own mind. Examples are soliloquies or
asides in dramatic works.

​ Interpersonal Communication:
o​ It is the exchange of messages between two persons. For example, a
conversation, dialogue, or an interview in which two persons interact
(others may also be present as the audience). An author communicates
interpersonally with his reader, who is always present as a silent audience in
the author’s mind while he writes. A letter too is an example of
interpersonal communication between the writer and the person to whom it
is written.

​ Group Communication:
 o​ It can be among small or large groups, like an organization, club or
classroom, in which all individuals retain their individual identity.

​ Mass Communication:
o​ It occurs when the message is sent to large groups of people, for example,
by newspaper, radio, or television. In this process, each person becomes a
faceless individual with almost no opportunity for personal response or
feedback.

Based On the basis of the medium employed

​ Verbal Communication:

o​ It means communicating with words, written or spoken. Verbal

communication consists of speaking, listening, writing, reading, and
thinking. It may further be classified as Oral or Written Communication.

​ Non-verbal communication:

o​ It includes using of pictures, signs, gestures, and facial expressions for

exchanging information between persons. It is done through sign
language, action language, or object language. Non-verbal
communication flows through all acts of speaking or writing. It is a
wordless message conveyed through gestures (sign), movements (action
language), and object language (pictures/clothes) and so on.

Further non-verbal communication can be identified by personal space

(proxemics), sense of smell (olfactics) and time (chronemics).

​ Meta Communication:

o​ Here the speaker’s choice of words unintentionally communicates

something more than what the actual words state. For example, a
flattering remark like “I’ve never seen you so smartly dressed” could
also mean that the regular attire of the listener needed improvement.

​ Formal Communication:

o​ A formal channel of communication can be defined as a means of

communication that is formally controlled by managers or people
occupying positions in an organization. The communication flows
through formal channels, that is, officially recognized positions along
the line in the organization. This ensures that the information flows
orderly, timely, and accurately. Any information, decision, memo,
reminder etc. will follow this path.
​ Informal Communication:

o​ Side by side with the formal channel of communication every

organization has an equally effective channel of communication that is
the informal channel. It is not officially sanctioned, and quite often it is
even discouraged or looked down upon.

o​ But, then, it is very much there and has been given the name ‘grapevine’
precisely because it runs in all directions-horizontal, vertical, diagonal.
As the management experts put it, “it flows around water coolers, down
hallways, through lunch rooms, and wherever people get together in
groups”.

​ Downward Communication:

o​ The Communication that flows from Top to Bottom is known as

downward communication. Any organization has an inbuilt hierarchical
system, and in that, in the first instance, communication invariably flows
downwards.

​ Upward Communication:

o​ The Communication that flows from bottom to top, which is from a

lower hierarchical level to a higher level, is called Upward
Communication. The main function of upward communication is to
supply information to the upper levels about what is happening at the
lower levels. It is just the reverse of the previous dimension

​ Lateral Communication:

o​ When communication takes place between two or more persons who are
subordinates working under the same person or those who are working
on the same level, it is called lateral or horizontal communication.

A good example of this kind of communication is between functional

managers. It is necessary for the reviewing of the activities assigned to
various subordinates having identical positions

​ Diagonal Communication:

o​ Diagonal or Crosswise communication includes the flow of information

among persons at different levels who have no direct reporting
relationships.

o​ As an example, the Communication between the Training Supervisor

and Marketing Manager, regarding the Training of a few employees of
the Marketing Department, is Diagonal Communication. This kind of
communication is used to speed up information flow, to improve
 understanding, and to coordinate efforts for the achievement of
organizational objectives.
Characteristics of communication
From the analysis of above-mentioned definitions we get the following essential
features of communication:

1.​ It Involves at Least Two Persons:

Communication involves at least two persons, a sender and a receiver. The
sender is called communicator and the receiver of the message is known as
communicate. A person who speaks, writes or issues some instructions is the
sender and the person for whom the communication is meant or who receives
the message is the receiver or communicates.

2.​ The message is a Must:

A message is the subject matter of communication. e.g., the contents of the
letter or speech, order, instructions or suggestions. Communication must
convey some message. If there is no message there is no communication.

3.​ Communication Maybe Written, Oral or Gestural:

Communication is generally understood as spoken or written words. But in
reality, it is more than that. It includes everything that may be used to convey
meanings from one person to another, e.g., movement of lips or the wink of an
eye or the wave of hands may convey more meaning than even written or
spoken words.

4.​ Communication is a Two Way Process:

It involves both information and understanding. Communication is not
complete unless the receiver has understood the message properly and his
reaction or response is known to the sender. Understanding is the end result of
communication but it does not imply agreement.

5.​ Its Primary Purpose is to Motivate a Response:

The primary purpose of communication is to motivate response or influence
human behaviour. There is no doubt that motivation comes from within but
communicator can also motivate people by good drafting of the message,
proper timing of communication, etc. To create understanding, communication
should be relevant to the situation. It must always be remembered that
communication is a means of motivating and not an end itself.

6.​ Communication may be Formal or Informal:

Formal communication follows the formal channels provided in the
organisation structure. For example, the Managing Director communicates with
the departmental heads, says Finance Manager, finance manager communicates
to the deputy finance manager, the deputy finance manager with accounts
officer and so on.

In simple words, in informal communication, there is no direct communication

between the Managing Director and the accounts clerks. Informal
communication flows from informal channels of communication which are not
 provided in the organisation structure. These channels develop among members
because of personal contacts through working with each other.

7.​ It Flows Up and Down and also from Side to Side:

Communication flows downward from a superior to subordinate and upward
from subordinate to a superior.

It also flows between two or more persons operating at the same level of
authority.

8.​ It is an Integral Part of the Process of Exchange:

It refers to the exchange of ideas, feelings, emotions and knowledge and
information are between two or more persons.

LET US SUM UP
Communication is defined as “the process of passing information and understanding
from one person to another, it is essentially a bridge of meaning between people” All
communication is essentially sharing of information or some message.
Communication is the most important of our social activities.

We can classify communication as interpersonal, interpersonal, group communication,

Meta communication, upward, downward, lateral, diagonal, formal, informal, oral,
written or non-verbal communication.

Reading, writing, speaking and listening are the four skills of communication The
objective of communication may inform, persuade, to train, motivate, educate, to
relate, reprimand, to rectify and so on.
EVALUATION OF COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVENESS
Communication is not an end in itself; rather it is a means to attain other ends or goals.
Hence, it has to be effective to be able to attain these goals or objectives.
Communication effectiveness can be examined in relation to the following criteria:

✔​ Fidelity of Communication: the distortion free quality of a message is called

fidelity. An effective person gets the message across to others with minimal
possibilities of misunderstanding.

✔​ Economy: In an effective communication a minimum of energy time, symbols

and cues are used to encode message without losing its fidelity and impact.

✔​ Congruence: An effective communication integrates both verbal and

non-verbal cues.

✔​ Influence: The most important criterion of effectiveness is the influence that the
communicator is able to exercise over the receiver of the communication.
Influence means the communicator achieve the results he intended.

✔​ Relationship Building: effective communication contributes to the building of

trust and a better relationship between the source and the target.

Seven C’s of Effective Communication

These are the Seven terms, starting with the letter C, which makes communication
more understandable, valuable and effective.

Below are 7 C’s of effective communication which is applicable to both written as

well as oral communication.

These are as follows:

1)​ Completeness – The communication must be complete. It should convey all the
facts required by the audience. The sender of the message must take into
consideration the receiver’s mindset and convey the message accordingly. A
complete communication has following features:

a)​ Complete communication develops and enhances the reputation of an

organization.

b)​ Moreover, they are cost saving as no crucial information is missing and no
additional cost is incurred in conveying the extra message if the
communication is complete.

c)​ A complete communication always gives additional information wherever

required. It leaves no questions in the mind of the receiver.
 d)​ Complete communication helps in better decision-making by the
audience/readers/receivers of the message as they get all desired and crucial
information.

e)​ It persuades the audience.

2)​ Conciseness – Conciseness means wordiness, i.e, communicating what you want
to convey in least possible words without forgoing the other C’s of
communication. Conciseness is a necessity for effective communication. Concise
communication has following features:

a)​ It is both time-saving as well as cost-saving.

b)​ It underlines and highlights the main message as it avoids using excessive and
needless words.

c)​ Concise communication provides short and essential message in limited words
to the audience.

d)​ Concise message is more appealing and comprehensible to the audience.

e)​ Concise message is non-repetitive in nature.

3)​ Consideration – Consideration implies “stepping into the shoes of others”.

Effective communication must take the audience into consideration, i.e, the
audience’s viewpoints, background, mindset, education level, etc. Make an attempt
to envisage your audience, their requirements, emotions as well as problems.
Ensure that the self-respect of the audience is maintained and their emotions are
not at harm. Modify your words in a message to suit the audience’s needs while
making your message complete. Features of considerate communication are as
follows:

a)​ Emphasize on “you” approach.

b)​ Empathize with the audience and exhibit interest in the audience. This will
stimulate a positive reaction from the audience.

c)​ Show optimism towards your audience. Emphasize on “what is possible” rather
than “what is impossible”. Lay stress on positive words such as jovial,
committed, thanks, warm, healthy, help, etc.

4)​ Clarity – Clarity implies emphasizing on a specific message or goal at a time,

rather than trying to achieve too much at once. Clarity in communication has
following features:

a)​ It makes understanding easier.

b)​ Complete clarity of thoughts and ideas enhances the meaning of the message.

c)​ Clear message makes use of exact, appropriate and concrete words.
5)​ Concreteness – Concrete communication implies being particular and clear rather
than fuzzy and general. Concreteness strengthens the confidence. The concrete
message has the following features:

a)​ It is supported by specific facts and figures.

b)​ It makes use of words that are clear and that build the reputation.

c)​ Concrete messages are not misinterpreted.

6)​ Courtesy – Courtesy in message implies the message should show the sender’s
expression as well as should respect the receiver. The sender of the message should
be sincerely polite, judicious, reflective and enthusiastic. The courteous message
has the following features:

a)​ Courtesy implies taking into consideration both viewpoints as well as feelings
of the receiver of the message.

b)​ The courteous message is positive and focused at the audience.

c)​ It makes use of terms showing respect for the receiver of the message.

d)​ It is not at all biased.

7)​ Correctness – Correctness in communication implies that there are no

grammatical errors in communication. Correct communication has following
features:

a)​ The message is exact, correct and well-timed.

b)​ If the communication is correct, it boosts up the confidence level.

c)​ The correct message has a greater impact on the audience/readers.

d)​ It checks for the precision and accurateness of facts and figures used in the
message.

e)​ It makes use of appropriate and correct language in the message.

Awareness of these 7 C’s of communication makes you an effective communicator.

Four S’s of Communication

Four terms starting with letter S, which add to the value of the message in
Communication

​ Shortness

✔​ “Brevity is the soul of wit,” it is said. The same can be said about
communication.
 ✔​ If the message can be made brief, and verbosity did away with, then the
transmission and comprehension of messages are going to be faster and
more effective.

✔​ Flooding messages with high sounding words do not create an impact.

✔​ Many people harbor a misconception that they can actually impress the
receiver if they carry on their expeditious travails.

✔​ Little do they realize how much they have lost as the receiver has spent a
major chunk of his time in trying to decipher the actual meaning of the
message.

​ Simplicity

✔​Simplicity both in the usage of words and ideas reveals clarity in the
thinking process.

✔​It is normally a tendency that when an individual is himself confused that

he tries to use equally confusing strategies to lead the receiver in a maze.

✔​Reveal clarity in the thinking process by using simple terminology and

equally simple concepts.

​ Strength

✔​ The strength of a message emanates from the credibility of the sender.

✔​ If the sender himself believes in a message that he is about to transmit, there

is bound to be strength and conviction in whatever he tries to state.

✔​ Halfhearted statements or utterances that the sender himself does not

believe in add a touch of falsehood to the entire.

​ Sincerity

✔​ A sincere approach to an issue is clearly evident to the receiver. If the

sender is genuine, it will be reflected in the manner in which he
communicates.

✔​ Suppose there is a small element of deceit involved in the interaction or on

the part of the sender.
 ✔​ If the receiver is keen and observant, he would be able to sense the
make-believe situation and, business transactions, even if going full swing,
would not materialize.

Effective Classroom Communication

Classroom communication: is verbal and non-verbal and is used by both teacher
and learners to ensure that a conducive environment is created which supports

learning and understanding of the subject matter. Teachers and learners use it to
communicate ideas, feelings, attitudes and values.
Functions of classroom communication:

1)​ Understanding and insight – Teachers and learners need to understand

themselves and each other. Using communication to ask questions that foster
reflection is useful in promoting understanding. Teachers use their understanding
of learners to deliver content in ways that meet individual needs.

2)​ Persuasion and influence – The whole process of teaching and learning is one of
trying to influence another person. Teachers try to persuade learners and every
teacher will influence their learners whether they like it or not. The important
question then becomes: what do you say or do in your classroom in order to create
a positive influence. Persuasion can take the form of direct words used
intentionally to get a learner to do work, answer a question, change behaviour and
so forth.

3)​ Promoting learning skills-Learners develop their learning skills when a teacher
allows them time to speak more, read texts and discuss in groups as well
participate in writing tasks that involve summarizing key ideas from what the
teacher says or from their reading. Effective communication is a strong enabling
factor for learning so the teacher should promote the communication skills of
learners.

4)​ Initiate and maintain relationships-Every learner should feel valued and
respected by the teacher and other learners. You can imagine a classroom where
the positive human connection was absent. Learning would not occur.
Communication, in this case, should minimize the need for competition and focus
on care and support for others.

Two Key Roles Of Classroom Communication

There are two main roles in classroom communication: classroom instruction and
classroom management.

Classroom instruction

Explaining is a major form of communication in the classroom and it is combined

with giving examples, asking questions as well as responding to student answers. The
importance of preparation and lesson planning which have already been emphasized
in the chapter on Teaching Documents cannot be over-emphasized. Structuring the
content in small clear steps and moving from known to the unknown is very useful for
learners. Communicate always in a manner that shows that the goal of your teaching is
to show how knowledge is created progressively from the simple to the complex.
Effective communication requires use of a multi-sensory approach that targets as
many senses as possible.

Communication and classroom management

Classroom management or control is used by a teacher to ensure that conditions that

promote effective and efficient learning are available.

Whether you like it or not, you will encounter classrooms where some of your learners
will disrupt learning in one way or other.

Disruptive behavior or simply student misbehavior has to be handled skillfully and

effective classroom communication will help any teacher prevent or deal with
inappropriate behavior.

There are many strategies of maintaining classroom control as research in the area of
classroom management will reveal. These strategies fall under four general
approaches. Let us look at them:

✔​ behaviour modification
✔​ promoting a socioemotional learning environment
✔​ Initiating and managing group process
✔​ The authoritative approach.

Use Of Questioning Technique And Feedback

✔​ The quality of the questions asked determines a teacher’s level of success with
the lesson. Quality questions promote deep learning as learners apply reasoning
and analytical approaches to the facts they know. There are two types of
questions: closed type and open-ended.

✔​ Closed questions fall at the bottom of the hierarchy of knowledge (see Bloom’s
taxonomy) and deal more with a recall of facts. An effective teacher uses these
questions sparingly and shows greater interest in higher-order open-ended
questions. Higher-order questions challenge students to think critically and
creatively.

✔​ How a teacher responds to student answers requires skilful communication. In

providing feedback, you should encourage learners to talk by responding
 positively to failure. Ask them to clarify, respond in ways that fire their
curiosity and work with them to look for an answer, probe their answers and
guide them towards alternative points of view.

✔​ Feedback should be given both verbally and non-verbally and also directly and
indirectly. Indirect feedback is given to the student in a manner that may not
use the learner’s name and the teacher directs it to the whole class. You say, “ I
can see a good number of you have taken the advice I gave last time… I am
pleased with the way some of you are working on this problem. You have the
right resources on the table…Some of you are now asking really good
questions.”
COMMUNICATION BARRIERS
The information to be communicated should be clear and accurate. If an individual
sends the message, and the other one receives it and interprets it in the same way as
the sender had intended to express, the process of communication is said to be
complete and successful. However, Communication is not always successful. Certain
barriers in communication affect the clarity, accuracy, and effectiveness of the
message.

Several things can prevent the message from reaching the intended recipient or from
having the desired effect on the recipient. There may be some fault in the
communication system as well.

As the barriers to communication influence the major variables in the communication

process, they may be categorized on various bases.

Main Key Point of barriers to effective communication

The ideas and massage have to reach from the transmitter to receive in the same sense.
If it does not happen, it is on account of barriers to communication.

Main Key Point of barriers can be explained as follows:

​ Semantic barriers

This barrier is related to the process of coding and decoding the message. Various
types of semantic gaps found in the day-to-day use of people are as follows:

✔​ Words having similar pronunciation but multiple meanings: Same

pronunciation but are having many meanings. For example sight, site, cite.

✔​ Badly expressed message: Lack of clarity and precision makes the message
badly expressed. Lack of coherence, awkward sentence structure, jargons etc. is
common faults, which lead to such messages.

✔​ Wrong interpretation: Whenever one interprets a symbol, his understanding

may differ from others.
The Hindi word ‘kaka’ means uncle in one part of the country but the small boy
in another part of the country.

✔​ Technical Language: When technical language is used in the communication

process, it creates barriers in understanding the message in the same sense and
the same spirit. When technical jargon or specialist languages are used in the
communication and conversation process, they create tension, confusion, and
misunderstanding between the sender and the receiver.
New meanings given to ordinary words by computer technology; to people who
are not familiar with computers, “mouse” is only an animal, whereas, in
computer jargon, it is a device.
​ Organizational Barriers

It may originate in contradictory management policies or too many levels of

management or the clash between line and staff operations. The specialized
nature of functions or even the special language of those functions may cause
it.

It may have its source in formal-informal, or grapevine transactions. Following

are the organizational barriers in communication:

✔​ Organization culture and climate: In every organization, there exists a unique

culture and climate. The climate and culture of an organization ultimately
influence the freedom, thrust, and interaction pattern among people in an
organization.

✔​ Organizational rules and regulations: The rules and regulations of the

organization vary widely from one organization to another. They may be so
rigid that they may influence the flow of information in the wrong direction.

✔​ Status relationships: The status, power, and position relationship acts as the
hurdle in the effectiveness of communications. Individuals may not be able to
say what they wish to say because of their fear for the position and power of
the other party in the communication process. The complex hierarchical
structure of the organization like too tall or too much divisionalisation of the
organization may not facilitate the free flow of communication.

✔​ Lack of cooperation between superior and subordinate: There may not be

proper cooperation between the superior and subordinate for various personal
or organizational relationships, which may hold to improper communication in
an organization.
​ Interpersonal Barriers

The effectiveness of Communication depends a lot on the interpersonal

relationship between two people. If and when the sender and receiver are at the
same economic, educational and status level and also have a good rapport with
each other, there is hardly any barrier arising in communication.

But, in case of a difference at any level, there is a greater chance of

Miscommunication. The most common example for this in an organization is
the Barriers relating to Superior and Subordinate.

The subordinate must follow the order of the superior, carry out all work
efficiently, and provide full information related to any matter, which arises in
the organization or any work. Moreover, the superior should have full
confidence in himself and the subordinate.
✔​ Lack of proper channel: There may be complexity in the organizational
structure, which may influence proper and effective communication from the
subordinate. They may not feel free to communicate because of the pressure of
position power and authority.

✔​ No interest to communicate: There may not be any interest on the part of

subordinates to have a dialogue, discussion, and interaction with their
superiors, which affects the communication process adversely.

✔​ Lack of cooperation: lack of cooperation and mutual understanding also leads

to the hiding of certain information between the superior and subordinates in
the organization.

✔​ Lack of trust: There may be a lack of trust and coordination between the
superior and the subordinate, which may lead to infective communication.

✔​ The poor relationship between superior and subordinate: A good relationship

must develop between superiors and subordinates frequently and freely. They
must interact to improve the upward and downward communication system.
The superior must listen to the subordinates’ suggestion, their problems, and
must have faith in them. In the absence of all this, it may so happen that what
the superior speaks, the subordinate may not understand it.

✔​ Fear of penalty: If the subordinate feels that because of free expression and
upward communication he will face some type of penalty, there is a possibility
that he may not provide a full or correct message to the superior.

​Individual / Psycho-sociological Barriers:

Individual or Psycho-sociological barriers are the prime barriers in

interpersonal communication. People have different styles of communication.
People also have personal feelings, desires, fears, hopes, likes, dislikes,
attitudes, views and opinions. The meaning assigned to a message depends
upon the emotional or psychological status of both the parties involved in the
process of communication.

✔​ Style: Style, how a person communicates, involves many elements, though

style overlaps with several of the other factors in the analysis, it adds its
distinct flavor.

✔​ Selective perception: The receiver may make a world of his own around
himself. He projects his interest and expectations as he decodes messages. He
may only take that much piece of information, which may suit his world of
thinking. As a result, the person acquires incomplete and inappropriate
information, which influences the communication process. Having a poor
 self-concept or self-understanding, or a poor understanding of others can cause
perceptual distortions.

✔​ Halo effect: People do not listen carefully because of impressions based on

earlier encounters. Even one of the parties having a halo effect will disrupt the
flow of communication.

✔​ Status relationship: There maybe status and power relationships, which may
hinder the communication process and affect the effectiveness of
communication. Status effects also hinder communication is as much as people
occupying higher positions in the organization tend to “tell a lot to subordinates
but not to listen, effective communication is not possible.

✔​ Poor attention and Retention: About half of the information, if not properly
retained, is lost. The sender may suffer from each problem. It also said that
about 30% of the information is lost in each oral transmission. Human memory
may not always retain what it is told. This causes communication breakdown
and necessitates the repetition of the message using several channels

✔​ Inattention: The preoccupied mind of the receiver and the reluctant

non-listening is one of the major psychological barriers. It is because of it that
people do not react to ideas/messages received in communication.

✔​ Undue importance of written words: The undue importance given to the

written words may lead to loss of information. The successive information is
not accurate and right. Written communication often tells what is to be done but
not why it should be done. It takes the persuasive quality.

✔​ Defensiveness: If one feels threatened by a message, one becomes defensive

and responds in such ways that reduce the understanding. Such defensive
behavior prevents understanding.

✔​ Closed Mind: Limited intellectual background, limited reading, and narrow

interests can cause a person’s mind to be narrow. This limits the ability to take
in new ideas. People with closed minds do not take in any new information or
suggestions to change.

✔​ State of Health: Physical condition can affect the efficiency of all

communication skills. In the case of poor health condition, the communicating
ability is reduced as the mind is not alert and perception is low.

✔​ Filtering: Filtering is the process of reducing the details or aspects of a

message. Each person who receives the message reduces it according to his or
her understanding of the situation. In this process, much of the important
 information may be lost or misinterpreted and the sender will fail to convey
what he wants to convey.
​ Cross-Cultural/ Geographic Barriers:

Culture is a shared set of values and attributes of a group; it is the total of the
ways of living built up by a group and transmitted from one generation to
another. Culture is so much a part of an individual’s manner of talking,
behaving and thinking, that communication style and competence are
influenced by it.

Some of the significant differences between cultures are:

✔​ National Character/ Basic Personality.

✔​ Language

✔​ Values and norms of behaviour

✔​ Social relationships

✔​ Concepts of time

✔​ Concepts of space

✔​ Nonverbal communication

✔​ Perception

✔​ Words, colors, and symbols have different meanings in different cultures. For
example:

●​ In England, an invitation for dinner 8 pm would see most guests arriving at

about 8.15; in Germany punctually is king; in Greece, 9 to 9.30 might be
the norm; in India even later- if at all.

●​ In most parts of the world nodding your head means agreement, shaking
your head means no-except in some parts of India, where the reverse is
true.

●​ When the Japanese say “Yes”, they mean, “Yes, I am listening”. The
Americans may take it to mean, “Yes, I agree”.
 ●​ Wearing white colour on marriage may be forbidden in some cultures,
whereas, in other cultures, the main wedding dress is white.

Physical Barriers/ Channel and Media Barriers

Physical distractions cause a lot of noise, often literally: insufficiently insulated rooms
with car noises filtering through, poor lighting, and such things as frequent movement
of bodies postures, with a pen in the hand, even the arrival of coffee at a critical stage
on the communication process are the causes of communication barriers in
organizations. Constant telephone interruptions are one of the commonest physical
distractions. These obstacles prevent a message from reaching the intended recipient.

The following obstacles are considered under this category:

●​ Noise: Noise is any disturbance that occurs in the transmission process. In

face-to-face conversation without a microphone, the air may be disturbed by
noise in the environment such as traffic, factory work, a typewriter clattering
away in a nearby office and people talking, and so on. Wider connotation of
noise includes many other factors that are likely to hinder communication.
Sometimes, the inner chatting going on in the mind of the listener, which
distracts the message received, is also termed as Noise.

●​ Environment: Interferences may also arise from external transceivers, number

of links in the chain, and circumstantial factors:

The same sort of differentiation in circumstances counts for the channels within
each of the levels and in broader terms for oral, written, and non-verbal
communication.

For example, a speech delivered before a small dinner gathering will be

different from the same speech delivered before an auditorium full of people.
Everyone is markedly different while sitting to watch a cricket match rather
than a legal hearing. Still another circumstantial feature a listener who has to
stand because the seats are all taken is generally not the same as he or she
would be if seated comfortably

●​ Defects in the Medium: Defects in the devices used for transmitting

communication are external and usually not in the control of the sender or
receiver. The telephone, the postal system, the courier service or even the
electronic media may fail or break down.

Technical Aspects In Communication Barriers

A few technical aspects in communication barriers are briefly narrated by Murphy’s
Law on communication: Following are the basics in this law on communication:

✔​ Communication usually fails. Except by chance, it succeeds. On account of

various barriers, the possibility of success in the flow of communication is rare.
 ✔​ If the message can be understood, in different ways, it will be understood in
just the way that does the most harm. People receive massage in their way. In
most of the cases, the most harmful side of communication is considered.

It refers to the sender manipulating information so that the receiver will see it
as more favorable. In organizations, the information is condensed and
synthesized. Objective information does not reach the authority. The more
vertical levels in the organization’s hierarchy, the more opportunities there are
for filtering.

✔​ Meta communication. In a communication apart from the message, there is a

Meta message. Meta message exists in the people’s minds because of their
actions such as being hard to contact. It is the most important thing in seat word
language.

OVERCOMING THE BARRIERS IN COMMUNICATION

Overcoming The Barriers In Communication

Constant effort is required to overcome the barriers which unconsciously creep up in

the process of Communication. Barriers can be overcome if sufficient effort is put into
the communication process and it is desired that communication be effective and
efficient.

One way of reducing the effects of these barriers is to check continuously during the
communication process what the massage is. The actions to be taken by the Sender,
Receiver and together with the two of them, to achieve this are listed below:

Sender: The sender should be clear about the following Ws and H:

WHO To whom should the message go?

WHY Why should I communicate? What are the motives?

WHAT Decide what to communicate. Be clear about what one needs to

communicate.
WHEN The best time for optimum reception is chosen.
HOW Use a language, which the receiver will understand and which is
unambiguous.
WHERE Choose a location which will not interfere with the reception,
understanding and acceptance of the message: Privately? Home or away?
In a group? At work or outside?

Receiver: The receiver can be aware of the following, to overcome the barriers:

✔​ Be fully attentive to the sender.

✔​ Listen actively to the message being sent.

✔​ Ask for clarification and repetition wherever necessary.

✔​ Keep checking the receipt of information with the sender.

Both: Receiver and Sender can make the Communication Flawless if they:

✔​ Realize that misunderstandings are bound to occur, and be alert for all cues to this
effect.
✔​ Listen, listen, listen, and listen again.

✔​ Share opinions, feelings, and perceptions generated by the message.

Measures to Overcome Barriers in Communication

Following are some of the additional measures to overcome the barriers to
communication:

1)​ Fostering good relationship: Strong relationships must be fostered between the
employer and the employee to avoid misunderstanding and accept each other’s
viewpoints to remove the barriers and to facilitate proper communication in the
organization.

2)​ Purposeful and well-focused Communication: Communication should be

purposeful and directed to an individual. At the end of the Communication, the
receiver should not be left to feel that communication had been meaningless or
useless.
3)​ Coordination between superiors and subordinates: In case the superior thinks on
one line, which is different from the subordinate and vice versa, it will affect the
effectiveness of communication. Therefore, there should be good and proper
coordination and cooperation between the superior and subordinate for effective
communication.

4)​ Avoid technical language: The specialized language should be avoided. There
should be all efforts to use the language commonly understood by the receiver and
sender of the message. There should be the least use of technical jargon in the
communication process.

5)​ Feedback: The selective perception of the receiver should be minimized through
proper feedback. The drawback of selective perception should be explained to
minimize the barriers.

6)​ Accuracy: There should be accuracy in the message to be transmitted between

parties to the communication to improve its effectiveness.

7)​ The clarity in the message: The message to be transferred should be clear,
practical accurate and without any ambiguity.

8)​ Communication of organizational philosophy: Efforts have to be made in a

planned way to sensitize people with organizational philosophy. It should be
properly communicated to its employees so that they give proper attention to their
day-to-day communication.

9)​ Flat organizational structure: The organization should have a clear-cut and
simple organizational structure. The tall hierarchical structure should be removed,
and it should be changed to a flat structure to avoid excessive control of
information. Wrong information to be transferred to anyone in the organization
will prove detrimental. Proper redesign of organizational structure will reduce the
status gap. The status effect can occur when one person is considerably higher in
the hierarchy than another.

10)​Division of labour: There should be proper division of labour between the persons
to reduce information overload and prevent delay in information transfer.

11)​Organization policies: The organization should formulate its policies in such a

way that it will give full advantage to all members of the organization. It should be
flexible and easy to implement. While the organization’s goal must be clear,
everyone must know about his position, his right in organizational communication.
The network has to be fully developed so that no such type of barrier exists.
Moreover, there should be consistency when message a passed from sender to
receiver. One should not introduce his view in the message. It must be clear and
understood by everyone easily. The timeline in the message should be there. If it is
not passed in time, such a message will be of no use.

12)​Minimize semantic problem: People use either the same word in different ways or
different words in the same way. One will be surprised to know that there are 15
different meanings of the word ‘charge’ in the English language. They also occur
when people use jargons or professional shorthand which they expect others to
understand, or language which is outside the other’s vocabulary.
13)​Proper communication channels: If one wants immediate action from the
receiver, there is no need to send a lengthy discussion report. One would probably
pick up the telephone or go to his office to tell him what to do. Remember also that
one picture is worth a thousand words, and in this age of computer graphics, the
information can be produced more quickly in this way too.

14)​Right feedback: Although one-way communication is quicker, two-way

communication is more accurate. In complex situations, it helps both the sender
and receiver to measure their understanding and improves their joint commitment
to the task. It enables both parties to identify and correct misunderstandings
leading to a higher quality of reception and acceptance.

To communicate effectively, we need to overcome all the barriers and own skills to
improve the existing communication abilities

LETS SUMMARIZE THIS :

❖​ The Communication Barriers are the negative forces that may affect the
effectiveness of communication by acting upon any or all of the basic elements
of the communication process and sender/receiver/channel.

❖​ The barriers to communication can be categorized as follows:

o​ Semantic Barriers: Arising out of different meanings assigned to the

same words by different people or difference in interpretation

o​ Organizational Barriers: Arising out of Organizational Policies,

Culture, Climate, Rules, etc

o​ Interpersonal Barriers: Arising due to the relationship between the

sender and receiver, especially between Superior and subordinate

o​ Psycho sociological/ Individual Barriers: Arising due to personal

characteristics of the sender and receiver and factors like filtering, style,
state of health, etc.

o​ Cross-Cultural Barriers: Arising due to differences in Cultural Values

and Beliefs of sender and receiver. They may be on account of
differences in Language, National Character, Time, etc.

o​ Physical barriers: Barriers of Distance, Defects of Medium,

Environment, Noise, etc.

o​ Technological barriers: Arising due to Technological advancements.

❖​ To overcome barriers, the Sender should be aware, as to Whom, Why, Where,

What message is to be transmitted and How is it to be transmitted. The
Receiver should listen to the message attentively.
❖​ There are various Measures to Overcome the Barriers to Communication, like
removing Semantic difficulties, giving proper feedback, removing
organizational bottlenecks, and so on
MASS-MEDIA AND SOCIETY
Introduction
Media is the reflection of our society and it depicts what and how society works.
Media, either it is printed, electronic or the web is the only medium, which helps in
making people informed. It also helps in entertaining the public, educate and make
people aware of the current happenings.

There are different media involved in the process of mass communication. They reach
every corner of the world and are very powerful. They invade even the privacy of our
bedrooms. They inform, educate, entertain and persuade. They also help in the
transmission of culture and perform the job of surveillance of society.

They are the mass media. The major functions of mass communication are that it
informs, enriches, educates and entertains.

Social media is becoming one of the most popular and most accessed media of
communication these days. Social media has brought different people from the
different geographical area on one platform on which they can share their feeling,
ideas, emotions, information and much more.

The Manifold social networking sites like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter,
LinkedIn, Google +, and others open the door to share ideas, views, and thoughts on
the same platform.

With the advancement of science and technology, the world has come close to each
other. Today people don’t have to wait for the dissemination process but the condition
is such that every social media user has become a source of information on their own.

The daily news and views to which the social media user comes across to cover a wide
range of topics. These topics or subjects are related to the happenings of our
surrounding. People can like, show emotions through the list of emoticons or even
comment accordingly.

The social media act as an umbrella that constitutes a variety of interesting features
that have our life very easier. Features of tagging friends, location sharing, photo and
video uploads, message chatting, video calling, searching friends etc have made our
life more engaging.

What is Mass Communication & mass media

❖​ Outside the realm of interpersonal communication exists another form of

communication, which involves communication with mass audiences and
hence the name mass communication; and the channels through which this kind
of communication takes place are referred to as mass media.

❖​ Mass communication is the term used to describe the academic study of various
means by which individuals and entities relay information to large segments of
the population all at once through mass media.
 ❖​ Both mass communication and mass media are generally considered
synonymous for the sake of convenience. The media through which messages
are being transmitted include radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, films, records,
tape recorders, video cassette recorders, internet, etc. and require large
organizations and electronic devices to put across the message.

❖​ Mass communication can also be defined as ‘a process whereby

mass-produced messages are transmitted to large, anonymous and
heterogeneous masses of receivers’. By ‘mass-produced’ we mean putting the
content or message of mass communication in a form suitable to be distributed
to large masses of people.

❖​ ‘Heterogeneous’ means that the individual members of the mass are from a
wide variety of classes of the society. ‘Anonymous’ means the individuals in the
mass do not know each other. The source or sender of the message in mass
communication does not know the individual members of the mass. Also, the
receivers in mass communication are physically separated from each other and
share no physical proximity.

What are the Elements & Characteristics of Mass communication

We require a sender, a message, a channel and a receiver for communication to occur.
Further, there is feedback, which is the response or reaction of the receiver, which
comes back to the sender through the same or some other channel. Another element,
which plays an important role in communication, is noise or the disturbances.

It is observed that the term mass communication must have at least five aspects:

✔​ Large audience

✔​ Fairly undifferentiated audience composition

✔​ Some form of message reproduction

✔​ Rapid distribution and delivery

✔​ Low cost to the consumers

Characteristics of Mass communication:

✔​ Directs messages toward the relatively large, heterogeneous and anonymous

audience.

✔​ Messages are transmitted publicly no privacy.

✔​ Short duration message for immediate consumption

 ✔​ Feedback is indirect, non-existent or delayed

✔​ Cost per exposure per individual is minimum

✔​ Source belongs to organization or institutions

✔​ Mostly one way

Types of mass media

Mass media can be classified according to their physical form, the technology
involved and the nature of the communication process.

The general classification on this basis is as follows:

❖​ Traditional Media- The traditional arts and folk arts combine several art forms
like dance, music, songs and theatre to attract audiences. The performances are
spontaneous and most often made on the spot.

❖​ Print Media- Print media served as the major means of communication

reaching a wide audience. Major forms of print media are :
✔​ Newspapers

✔​ Magazines and periodicals

✔​ Books

❖​ Electronic Media- The history of electronic media starts with the invention of
cinematography by Lumiere Brothers who conducted the premiere show of
cinema in 1895. Later the radio was invented by Guglielmo Marconi. The first
radio station was set up in Pittsburg, New York and Chicago in the 1920s.
In short, the term electronic media mainly include Film, Radio & Television.

❖​ New Media/Social Media & Others- Internet and the World Wide Web
opened up several new avenues for mass communication which include e-mail,
websites, podcasts, e-books, blogging, social networking sites, Internet
Protocol Television, Internet radio and the like. These kinds of online and
digital means of producing, transmitting and receiving messages are called new
media.

Social media has brought different people from the different geographical area
on one platform on which they can share their feeling, ideas, emotions,
information and much more.
 The Manifold social networking sites like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram,
Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +, and others open the door to share ideas, views,
and thoughts on the same platform.

Functions of mass media

In a society like ours, mass media have a responsible role to play in fostering
democracy, plurality and communal harmony through the functions listed below.

✔​ Information and education

✔​ Socialization

✔​ Entertainment

✔​ Political awareness

✔​ Cultural transmission

✔​ Catalyst to development
After having a discussion on these ideal functions of mass media in any society, you
will be able to analyze how our mass media perform their function.

Information and education.

Mass media carry a lot of information which are essential for our day to day life. We
get examination results, weather forecasts, current affairs, traffic regulations, alerts,
precautions, government policies etc. from mass media. The core of the media’s
information function is performed by the media content called news. Good media try
to carry accurate, objective and complete information since biased or incomplete
reports will keep the audience away from the media.

News based contents like reports, features, photos, cartoons and editorials and now
news contents like advertisements educate people about the newest trends in their
surroundings. Mass media assist formal education system also, by publicizing
information on educational programmes, publishing special educational supplements
and inspiring society to acquire higher education.

Educational supplements published by various Malayalam newspapers, educational

television and radio channels are examples for educational services of mass media.

Vyas Channel of the Consortium of Educational Communication under the University

Grants Commission and Gyandarshan of Doordarshan are some of such efforts. The
Gyanvani is an educational radio channel of Indira Gandhi National Open University
(IGNOU).
Entertainment

We all need the entertainment to break the monotony of our hectic, stressful life and
divert our attention from the troubles and tensions. All media have entertainment
content. Newspapers publish cartoons, comics, puzzles and special weekend
supplements. The lion’s share of magazine content such as short stories, novels, satires
and comics are also intended to entertain the audience

Socialization

Socialization means empowering people to acquire norms and experiences of the

group as a whole, to maintain cultural consensus and communal harmony. It is
through mass media that we know the cultural and social norms of various groups in
our society.

Based on this information, individuals honour others and behave according to the
common values and thus create an integrated society.

Political awareness

If you analyze the mass media, be it television or newspapers, most of their content,
especially news, is centred on politics in our society. We see our leaders criticize
officials and political leaders and advocate for better living conditions during panel
discussions on television. Similarly, journalists expose corruption, show up
developments, and condemn or praise political activities considering their merits.

These actions of the media make our democracy vibrant. Thus mass media assume a
key role in setting the agenda for the entire political system and policymaking by
forming public opinion on various issues. This process is called an agenda-setting
function.

This function is as important as that of other estates of democracy – the legislature, the
bureaucracy and the judiciary. Thus the media is regarded as the Fourth Estate of
Democracy.

Cultural transmission

Mass media are the bridge between our past and present. They report day to day
affairs which will become the history of tomorrow. The best records of modern history
are newspapers of yesteryears. We get our cultural tradition from history and we
follow the best of them. In keeping our culture flowing, the media play a vital role. It
focuses on the genuine aspects of our culture and points out the undesirable trends.

Catalyst to development

Mass media report problems faced by people in different walks of life and make the
administrators aware of them. Media also make people aware of their rights, the
details of government subsidies, development policies etc. They point out the merits
and demerits of certain projects. In short, the media support development either being
the advocates of government-sponsored development or critics of development
projects which needs to be amended.
This development-oriented function of media is termed as Development
Communication. Development Communication has been recognized as a specialized
area in communication studies and research.

Importance of Mass media

✔​ The pervasiveness of Mass Media

✔​ Mass Communication Informs

✔​ Mass Media Entertains

✔​ Mass Communication Persuades

✔​ Mass Communication Binds

The mass media have an important role in a modern democratic society as the main
channel of communication.

The population relies on the news media as the main source of information and the
basis on which they form their opinions and voting decisions. Any selection of
messages in the mass media will thus have a profound effect on the entire society.

Competition has become increasingly keen in the area of the mass media as they keep
fighting for the attention of the readers, listeners, and TV-viewers.

The life and death of each newspaper and TV station are at stake here when the
income from advertising and sponsoring is proportional to the number of readers or
viewers.

The printed media have problems competing with electronic media as sources of
news. To survive, they are increasingly turning to other strategies such as
entertainment, titillation, scandal-mongering, and spreading fear and spending fewer
resources on serious researching of news.

This is not only about the survival of the fittest of the news media; it is also about the
cultural selection and political selection.

How mass-media Influence us

The degree of influence depends on the availability and pervasiveness of
media. traditional mass media still have great influence over our lives. Books once
were supremely influential because they came first before newspapers, magazines,
radio or television.

Newspapers and magazines became great influences after they were developed. Sound
recordings and film were and still are influential. Radio and then television was very
influential. As the 20th century closed, TV exposed us to untold numbers of images of
advertising and marketing, suffering and relief, sexuality and violence, celebrity, and
much more.

New and influential media-distribution channels have appeared in the 21st century.
Delivered via the World Wide Web across the Internet, we are influenced daily by
blogs, wikis, social networks, virtual worlds and myriad forms of content sharing.

We have put our trust on the media as an authority to give us news, entertainment and
education. However, the influence of mass media on our kids, teenagers and society is
so big that we should know how it works.

The media makes billions of dollars with the advertising they sell and that we are
exposed to, every single moment. We buy what we are told to buy by the media.

After seeing thousands of advertising’s we make our buying decisions based on what
we saw on tv, newspapers or magazines.

These are the effects of mass media especially in teenagers, they buy what they see on
tv, what their favourite celebrity advertise and what is acceptable by society based on
the fashion that the media has imposed on them.

LET US SUM UP
Mass media is an inevitable part of our society. Mass media is all around us in the
form of newspapers, magazines, books, radio, television, film and new media. Their
characteristics, functions and convergence are also dealt with in detail. They give us a
lot of information, educate the masses, entertain our society through various means
and also set some social agenda. Mass media are an essential entity for a democratic
political system.

They are also an effective tool for creating public opinion and support public
demands. Mass media reveal the social realities before their audience. They help in
transmitting culture from one generation to another. We also discussed the need for
every citizen to be media literate to use media in a sophisticated and responsible
manner.