Unit 2

Oral Communication

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What is Oral Communication
Oral communication implies communication through mouth. It includes
individuals conversing with each other, be it direct conversation or
telephonic conversation.
Oral communication is the process of verbally transmitting
information and ideas from one individual or group to another. Oral
communication can be either formal or informal.
Speeches, presentations, discussions are all forms of oral communication.
Oral communication is generally recommended when the communication
matter is of temporary kind or where a direct interaction is required. Face
to face communication (meetings, lectures, conferences, interviews, etc.)
is significant so as to build a rapport and trust.
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Advantages of Oral Communication

• There is high level of understanding and transparency in oral communication as it is

interpersonal.
• There is no element of rigidity in oral communication. There is flexibility for allowing
changes in the decisions previously taken.
• The feedback is spontaneous in case of oral communication. Thus, decisions can be
made quickly without any delay.
• Oral communication is not only time saving, but it also saves upon money and
efforts.
• Oral communication is best in case of problem resolution. The conflicts, disputes and
many issues/differences can be put to an end by talking them over.
• Oral communication is an essential for teamwork and group energy.
• Oral communication promotes a receptive and encouraging morale among
organizational employees.
• Oral communication can be best used to transfer private and confidential
information/matter.
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Disadvantages/Limitations of Oral Communication

• Relying only on oral communication may not be sufficient as business

communication is formal and very organized.
• Oral communication is less authentic than written communication as they are
informal and not as organized as written communication.
• Oral communication is time-saving as far as daily interactions are concerned,
but in case of meetings, long speeches consume lot of time and are
unproductive at times.
• Oral communications are not easy to maintain and thus they are unsteady.
• There may be misunderstandings as the information is not complete and may
lack essentials.
• It requires attentiveness and great receptivity on part of the
receivers/audience.
• Oral communication (such as speeches) is not frequently used as legal records
except in investigation work.
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Principles of Effective Oral Communication

• Well-Planned
Before presenting something, there should be proper planning
regarding the audience, topics to be delivered, timing, and other
factors: So, a person must be well-prepared to deliver his speech.
• Clear pronunciation
To make oral messages meaningful to receivers, words should be
clearly and correctly pronounced. There should not be any lack of
clarity, otherwise, the communication would be a confusing one.

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• Brevity
Effective oral communication desires that a message should be brief.
If the sender took a long time for talking, his message may not get the
attention of the receiver.
• Precision
Precision is needed to make oral communication effective. There
should not be any confusing words rather message to be delivered
should be specific so that there is no misunderstanding.

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• Natural voice
Any sort of unnatural voice may distort the message. A natural voice
can do a lot to make oral communication effective.
• Logical sequence
Ideas should be organized in a sequential way to make the message
communicative and attractive. Unorganized ideas do not provide a
clear sense while a logical sequence of ideas gives a clear sense.

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• Suitable words
Words have different meanings to different people in different
situations in oral communication, a speaker should use common,
simple, and familiar words so that the receiver can react to the
message without any problem.
• Courteous
Courtesy costs nothing but can earn many things. So, a speaker
should be courteous while addressing listeners. It helps create a
good impression in the mind of listeners regarding the speaker.

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• Attractive presentation
It is another principle to make oral communication effective. A
speaker should deliver his speech in a very nice and sweet language so
that the receiver is attracted to take part in the communication.
• Avoiding Emotions
Speaker must control his emotions to make oral communication
effective. Too much emotion will take the speaker away from the main
subject.

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• Emphasis
The speaker must be knowledgeable regarding the portion of the
speech where he should give emphasis. Giving emphasis on respective
points will help draw the attention of the audience.

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Two sides of Oral Communication

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 Example 1
She made me angry when she was rude at
dinner.
This paraphrase is an example of a
rewording which shortens and
simplifies while maintaining the
same meaning.
Example 2
Her impoliteness, gossiping, and general lack
of respect at dinner infuriated me.
This rephrasing maintains the same
meaning but is rearranged in a
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 Effective Listening
• Listening might be defined as the art of hearing and understanding what
someone is saying. Each letter of the word “Listen” will guide you towards
becoming a better listener.
• Listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the
communication process.
• Listening is key to all effective communication, without the ability to listen
effectively messages are easily misunderstood.
• Listening is one of the most important skills you can have. • An active
process of getting information, ideas.
• “Listening is the process of receiving, constructing meaning from, and
responding to spoken.
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How you can be a good listener
• Look – Your understanding from listening will improve if you can see
the order and consistency in the speech/talk and anticipate the next
topics and words.
• Identify – Identify why, what the instructor is saying important to you.
You need a reason from wanting to listen or you will be unmotivated
during the lecture.
• Set up – Set up your position to maximize the possibility of listening
and staying in touch with the lecture.

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• Tune in – Learn to increase your attention span by timing just how
long you can concentrate before you think of something else.
• Examine – Examine the context to determine the main points. Not all
the content is essential. Check the agenda or ask the speaker about
the topics that are going to be covered.
• Note – Taking notes while you listen will improve your concentration.

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 2 types of listening
• Active Listening – Active listening involves verbal feedback. One type
of feedback involves questioning. You ask for additional information
to clarify the speaker’s message.
• Passive Listening – It occurs when the does not verbally responds to
the speaker. The Listener intentionally or unintentionally sends non
verbal messages through eye contact, smiles, yawns or nods.

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 Process of Listening
• In order to be a good listener, it is necessary to understand the
various stages of listening. These are as follows

1) Sensing/Selecting Stage – The listener selects from among a

multiple of stimuli, the only one that seems important at that point
in time and converts it into a message.
2) Interpreting Stage – The listener is engaged in the act of decoding
the message.

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• Evaluating Stage – The listener assigns a meaning to the message,
draws inferences, takes an overview of the messages, and seeks
accuracy of information and evidence.
• Responding stage – This is the stage where listener is ready to
respond. This feedback stage is important for a speaker.
• Memory Stage – This is the final stage of listening. Effective listening
helps listeners retain chunks of what they have heard.

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 Advantages of Listening
• It breaks up barriers between people.
• We can understand each other more.
• It prevents miscommunication of objectives.
• It also prevents time lost because of having to communicate a second
or third time to get things straightened out.

We listen to obtain information, solve problems, share experiences and

persuade or dissuade.

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 Types of Listening
• Informative Listening (to understand the message; vocabulary,
concentration & memory)
• Attentive listening (goal is to understand & remember what they are
hearing)
• Relationship Listening (to help an individual or improve relationship
between people)
• Appreciative listening – (quality of appreciative listening depends on 3
factors - presentation, perception , previous experiences)
• Critical listening – Ethos (credibility of speaker is important. 2 factors
of speaker’s credibility are expertness and trustworthiness.
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Logos – Even speakers with high ethos often make errors in logic, not by
intention but by accident, carelessness or lack of analysis. Critical
listeners have a right to expect well supported arguments from
speakers.
Pathos – The psychological or emotional element of communication is
often misunderstood or misused. Effective critical listeners carefully
determines the focus of the speaker’s message.

Effective critical listening depends on the listener keeping all the three
above mentioned elements of the message.
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 Discriminative Listening
• Discriminative listening may be the most important type of listening,
for it is basic to the other five. (Hearing ability, Awareness of sound
structure, Integration of non-verbal cues)

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 Barrier to Effective Listening
• Content
• Speaker
• Medium
• Distractions
• Mindset
• Language
• Feedback
• Listening Speed

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 Strategies for Effective Listening
• Decide what your goals are for Conversation.
• Be aware of your options.
• When to speak and when to listen.
• Planning what to say when you speak - Focusing & Clarifying.
• Pay Attention. Give the speaker your undivided attention, and
acknowledge the message. ...
• Show That You're Listening. Use your own body language and gestures
to show that you are engaged. ...
• Provide Feedback. ...
• Defer Judgment. ...
• Respond Appropriately.

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 Benefits of Effective Listening
• Helps in making better policies.
• It forms a bond of respect.
• It breaks up barrier between people.
• It increases accuracy.
• It helps in providing feedback.
• Better listening leads to a better reallocation of important facts and issues.
• It is important for the success of the open-door policy
• It forms a bond of respect
• It increases productivity
• It can calm down people
• It mollifies complaining employees
• It helps in knowing an organisation
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How listening can be improved of
participants in public speaking
• The main way speakers achieve this is through planned redundancy.
Planned redundancy refers to purposeful ways of repeating and restating
parts of the speech to help the audience listen and retain the content.
• The speaker uses a relevant introduction to emphasize the interest and
importance of the subject,
• uses a preview of the main points to forecast the plan of the speech,
• uses connective statements between points to remind the audience of the
plan and re-emphasize the content, and then uses an overall summary in the
conclusion to help the audience remember or do something with the
information.
• make the information meaningful through the planned redundancy as well as
through examples, stories, support, and appeals.
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• A speaker can also help the audience’s listening abilities by
using visual aids, stories and examples, audience interaction or
movement at key points in the speech (if appropriate and if
your instructor approves it), and specific attention-getting
techniques.

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 THANK YOU

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