PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION_NOTES

VERBAL & NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

 VERBAL COMMUNICATION_ORAL
Verbal Communication
Verbal communication refers to the form of communication in which message is transmitted through words i.e.
word of mouth or by writing. It is further divided into Oral Communication and Written Communication.

Oral Communication:
In oral communication, spoken words are used. It includes face-to-face conversations, speech, telephonic
conversation, video, radio, television, voice over internet. In oral communication, communication is influenced
by pitch, volume, speed and clarity of speaking.

Advantages:
• Immediate feedback
• In face-to-face conversation, by reading facial expression and body language one can decide whether he/ she
should trust what is being said
Disadvantage:
• In face-to-face discussion, user is unable to think deeply about what he is delivering, so there may be gaps in
argument
 VERBAL COMMUNICATION_WRITTEN
Written Communication:
In written communication, written signs or symbols are used. It may be printed or handwritten. The
message can be transmitted via e-mail, letter, report, memo etc. It is influenced by the vocabulary and
grammar used, writing style, precision and clarity of the language used. It is most common form of
communication being used in business. So, it is considered a core business skill.
Memos, reports, bulletins, job descriptions, employee manuals, and e-mail are the types of written
communication used for internal communication. For communicating with external environment in
writing, e-mail, websites, letters, proposals, telegrams, faxes, postcards, contracts, advertisements,
brochures, and news releases are used.

Advantages:
• Messages can be edited and revised many times before being sent
• Every message can be recorded, and thus saved for later study and reference
• Receiver understands it better and can send appropriate feedback
Disadvantages:
• Does not bring instant feedback
• Takes more time in composing and sending a written message as compared to speaking
 NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
• Non-verbal Communication: Kinesics, Proxemics,
Chronemics
• Non-verbal communication is the sending or receiving of
wordless messages. It helps receiver to interpret the
message received, often the non-verbal signals reflecting the
situation more accurately than verbal messages. Sometimes
non-verbal response contradicts verbal communication and
hence affects the effectiveness of message.
 NON-VERBAL_KINESICS
KINESICS
• Kinesics is the study of gesture, posture and eye contact. All three may provide cues as to the attitude or state of mind of
a person e.g. aggression, attentiveness, boredom, relaxed state, pleasure, amusement etc. Kinesics vary culturally e.g. a
person of Mediterranean culture may use hand movements and body gestures as an expression of anger, whereas a
Japanese person may look less excited. Kinesics also facial expressions. An example of a universal emblem is the uplifted
shoulders and upturned hands that indicate “I don’t know” virtually everywhere in the world. An example of a culture-
bound gesture is the encircled thumb and forefinger. It is interpreted as worthless in France, money in Japan, OK in the
United States, a curse in Arab cultures, and an obscenity in Germany, Brazil and Australia.
• Gesture: A gesture is a non-vocal bodily movement intended to express meaning. They are articulated with the hands,
arms or body, and also include movements of the head, face and eyes, such as winking, nodding, or rolling ones' eyes.
• Posture: It is used to determine degree of attention or involvement; the difference in status between communicators; the
level of fondness a person has for the other communicator. Posture is understood through such indicators as direction of
leaning, body orientation, arm position, and open/ closeness of the body e.g. forward lean may signify positive sentiment
during communication.
• Eye Contact: Eye contact is used to convey truthfulness, intelligence, attitude and feelings. 3 to 4 seconds steady eye
contact means the person is listening attentively. Arabs, Latin Americans and South Europeans look directly into the eyes.
Asians and Africans maintain less eye contact as it is considered disrespectful. Americans also consider staring rude and
challenging.
 NON-VERBAL_PROXEMICS
PROXEMICS
• This is the study of how people use and perceive the physical space around them – space between sender and receiver of a message
influences how message is interpreted. Comfortable personal distances also depend on the culture, social situation, gender, and individual
preference. Different cultures maintain different standards of personal space e.g. in Latin cultures the relative distance between people is
smaller, and people tend to be more comfortable standing close to each other; in Nordic cultures the opposite is true.
• Environment involves the communicative value of the physical space, such as room size, color, accessibility and location. Business people,
for example, assume significant meaning about desk size, offices with (or without) windows, and so on. Generally the most important
people in a company occupy the uppermost floor in a building.
• Space includes the concept of territoriality and personal space. Territoriality is making sure others know your territory, e.g. a fence.
Personal space, on the other hand, is a three-dimensional space surrounding you that you don't want people to cross. If they come too
close, you get uncomfortable. Space may be divided into four main categories: intimate, social, personal, and public space.

a) Intimate distance for embracing, touching or whispering

(i) Close phase – less than 6 inches (15 cm) (ii) Far phase – 6 to 18 inches (15 to 46 cm)
b) Personal distance for interactions among good friends or family members
(i) Close phase – 1.5 to 2.5 feet (46 to 76 cm) (ii) Far phase – 2.5 to 4 feet (76 to 120 cm)
c) Social distance for interactions among acquaintances
(i) Close phase – 4 to 7 feet (1.2 to 2.1 m) (ii) Far phase – 7 to 12 feet (2.1 to 3.7 m)
d) Public distance used for public speaking
(i) Close phase – 12 to 25 feet (3.7 to 7.6 m) (ii) Far phase – 25 feet (7.6 m) or more
PROXEMICS_DIAGRAM
INTIMATE SPACE –
<1.5 ft
PERSONAL SPACE – 1.5 ft
– 4 ft
SOCIAL SPACE – 4 ft –
12 ft
PUBLIC SPACE – 12 ft –
25 ft
 NON-VERBAL_CHRONEMICS
CHRONEMICS
• Chronemics deals with the use of time as an element of communication. Formal time is measured in
minutes, hours, days, and so on. Informal time is measured relative to seasons, social customs, lunar cycles,
etc.
• Chronemics involves specifics such as punctuality. Attitudes toward time vary from culture to culture e.g.
the likelihood among Americans of arriving early for business meetings but being “fashionably late” for
social activities, while in Latin American and Arab culture, business people often arrive at a time Westerns
would consider “late,” taking business meetings as occasions for hospitality and socializing.
• Chronemics also considers the use of monochronemics (doing one thing at a time, emphasis on schedules
and promptness, getting to the point quickly) versus polychronemics (doing several things at a time,
emphasis on people and the whole of a relationship).
• U.S. persons are very time conscious and value punctuality. Being late for meetings is viewed as rude and
insensitive behavior; delay also conveys that the person is not well organized. Germans and Swiss people
are even more time conscious; people of Singapore and Hong Kong also value punctuality. People in Arab
cultures have a casual attitude toward time. For Americans, time can be bought, sold, saved, spent, wasted,
lost, made up, and measured. Americans are also future-oriented, in that they take great efforts to plan and
schedule what we expect (or want) to happen. Conversely, to many Arabs, a person who tries to look into
the future is regarded as either irreligious or insane.
 OCULESICS
OCULESICS
• Oculesics deals with eye behaviour as an element of communication, both static or fixed gaze
and dynamic eye movement.
• In the West, direct eye contact (looking into the eyes of the other person) is common about 40
percent of the time while talking and 70 percent while listening.
• In Japan, China and Indonesia, the practice is to lower the eyes because direct eye contact is
considered bad manners.
• In Hispanic culture direct eye contact is a form of challenge and disrespect.
• In Arab culture, it is common for both speakers and listeners to look directly into each others’
eyes for long periods of time, indicating keen interest in the conversation.
• During conversations in the United States, direct eye contact and affirmative head nodding
typically communicate agreement or understanding.
• Even the same eye movement can be interpreted differently e.g. downcast eyes during
conversation can suggest social deference, evasion, insincerity or boredom.
 VOCALICS
VOCALICS
• This deals with vocal cues, more accurately referred to as the non-phonemic qualities of language.
• It overlaps with Paralanguage.
• These include accent, loudness, tempo, pitch, cadence, rate of speech, nasality and tone, insofar as
these convey meaning.
• Vocalics is sometimes subdivided into several categories.
• Vocal characterizers include laughing, crying, yawning, and so on.
• Vocal qualifiers such as volume, pitch, rhythm and tempo also are associated with cultural
distinctions e.g. in Arab culture, speaking loudly connotes sincerity, whereas in North America it is
interpreted as aggressive.
• Vocal segregates (sounds such as mmmm, uh-huh, oooo) likewise also differ among various cultures.
• Vocal rate deals with the speed at which people talk, another factor that offers various
interpretations.
 OLFACTICS
OLFACTICS
• Olfactics is an aspect of nonverbal communication dealing with smells. Olfactics might include
the use of perfumes and spices.
• It is associated with Proxemics in that, the closer people are in communication, the more likely
that the smell will be relevant.
• In some high-contact cultures such as Samoan or Arab, it is customary to get close enough in
conversation to smell the other person.
• A smell can also trigger old memories.
• We can remember what we smell longer than what we see & hear.
• Can even be used as a warning system
• Someone’s smell can have a positive or negative effect on the oral message.
• Many cultures establish norms for acceptable and unacceptable scents associated with the
human body.
• To other cultures, for example, people raised in the United States seem obsessed with
deodorants, perfumes, soaps, and shampoos that mask natural body odors.
 GUSTORICS
GUSTORICS
• Gustorics is an aspect of nonverbal communication dealing with tastes and flavours.
• Gustorics deals with the idea of food and drinks and the habits associated with as
communication.
• It is associated with Olfactics in that, as you eat, you are more likely to smell as well as taste the
food.
• Food can communicate pleasure, displeasure or warning.
• Flavours may be enjoyable or not enjoyable, e.g. what one person perceives as mildly spicy may
be hot and unpleasant to another.
• Eating etiquettes and customs of one culture may seem funny or disgusting to a person from
another culture.
• Effective communication depends upon the successful observation of such intercultural
etiquettes.
 HAPTICS
HAPTICS
• This type of communication focuses on touching as an element of communication, indicating both type of
touch as well as its frequency and intensity.
• Socially acceptable levels of touching vary from one culture to another. In Thai culture, touching someone's
head may be thought rude.
• Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Latin American cultures employ much social touching in conversation,
including embraces and hand-holding; these are called high-contact (or high-touch) cultures.
• In moderate-touch cultures such as North America and Northern Europe, touching is used only
occasionally, such as in handshakes and sporadic shoulder touching or back slapping.
• In low-contact cultures such as in Northern Asian cultures, meanwhile, social touching is rarely used at all.
• Many Asian cultures have established norms that forbid public displays of affection and intimacy that
involve touch. To touch the feet of elders is a sign of respect in India.
• Saudi businessmen often hold hands as a sign of trust, a form of touch behavior that some Americans often
misunderstand. Saudi women, however, are never to be touched in public.
• In Thailand, Sri Lanka, and some other cultures, the head is considered sacred and should not be touched
by others.
 ICONICS

ICONICS
• This is the use of objects or artifacts in communication, also called Objectics.
• Iconics can indicate economic status, marital status, social status, membership,
personality etc.
• Examples are lab coat, i-cards, mobile phones, watches, clothes, jewellery,
piercings, tattoos, valuable artifacts, carpets, pet animals etc.