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Communication Skills-II




                    notes          In fact, oral communication is not only the most popular but also the most powerful and effective
                                   form of communication that occurs between human beings. Compared to it, the volume of written
                                   communication is  small and  confined  to  formal  and  official  contexts.  In  offices  and  business
                                   organizations too, people speak much before and much more when compared to, writing. Oral
                                   communication  takes  place  through  face-to-face  talks  (both  formal  and  informal),  telephone,
                                   loudspeaker, etc.

                                   In  this  unit,  you  will  learn  the  principles  of  oral  communication,  the  role  of  non-verbal
                                   communication in speaking and the tips of improving public speaking skills.

                                   1.1  Principles of effective speaking

                                   The following steps should be taken to make oral communication effective:

                                   1.   Clarity:  The  speaker  should  pronounce  his  words  clearly  and  correctly.  He  must  talk
                                       distinctly and slowly. When a person speaks fast or munches words the oral message is
                                       likely to be misunderstood. The way a person speaks his dialogue exercises much influence
                                       on the audience. Clarity of expression just is the aim at all times.
                                   2.   Brevity: Oral communications often suffer from too much of talking. When a speaker keeps
                                       on talking for long, his message is lost in a sea of words and his listeners tend to become
                                       inattentive. Therefore, the message must be kept as short as possible. However, the speaker
                                       should not appear unclear, abrupt or discourteous.
                                   3.   Precision: An oral message becomes more effective when it is precise and concise.

                                          Example: It is better to say ‘cut down costs by ` 100 instead of saying ‘reduce costs’. The
                                   message should not be vague or incomplete.
                                       Words ought to mean clearly what they are intended to say.
                                   4.   Right words: The first caution is to ensure that you know the meaning of the words that you
                                       use. Some words have more than one meaning while some others carry different meanings
                                       for different persons. Be sure about what your words will convey to a trained reader.


                                          Example: City,  town  and  metropolis  are  three  different  words  and  care  should  be
                                   exercised before using them.
                                       Therefore, words should be chosen carefully and their meaning clarified in the context of
                                       usage. The speaker should not presume that the listener would mean the same thing from
                                       a word, which s/he means.




                                      Task   You  will  find  that  the  word  ‘metro’  has  at  least  three  different  meanings  in
                                     day-to-day  usage.  Find  out  them  for  yourself.  Also  find  more  such  words  that  have
                                     multiple meanings.

                                   5.   Avoid Hackneyed Phrases and Clichés: Speakers often use hackneyed phrases and clichés
                                       like ‘you know’, ‘I see’, ‘you see’, ‘what I mean’, ‘isn’t,’ etc. Such phrases interrupt the flow
                                       of speech and obstruct the quick grasp of meaning besides causing boredom. Speakers
                                       should ensure that they do not use these phrases unconsciously or consciously and a good
                                       way of overcoming these phrases is to be conscious about not using them when speaking.
                                       Most of us use them as connectives, filling up a gap when we do not have the correct
                                       word/phrase. Keeping them consciously out of your usage would mean that you will have





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