Page 55 - DENG102_COMMUNICATION_SKILLS_II

Communication Skills-II

notes 3.1.4 Persuasion

Persuasive communication may be defined as the process through which people attempt to
influence the beliefs or actions of others. In many cases persuasive communication involves
people who are important to each other. In a persuasive communication process one wants to
alter the beliefs, attitudes, intentions, or behavior of another by the conscious and unconscious
use of words and non-verbal messages. (Ilardo, 1981). Persuasive communication is used to
influence both individuals and groups to accept a particular position or belief. If one wants to
influence other person or group he or she must have a clear understanding of the audience.

Process of Persuasion

In a persuasive communication the desired result can be achieved through a process of
communicating to other. This process has different stages which are as follows:

1. Making the audience aware to the problem
2. Making them understand the problem
3. Understanding the proposed solution
4. Visualisation of the proposed solution

5. Understanding how audience will act in response.
On the very first stage, the awareness stage of the persuasive communication, there is an
introduction to the nature of the problem or situation. Audience understanding of the problem
requires a concise and clear problem statement from the speaker’s point of view. It is important
at this stage to show how the problem is relevant to the audience or in other words how it is
affecting them. The second stage of this communication is to find out the solution, which in many
cases is prepared in advance. Now the speaker explain the solutions and guides the audience
to imagining how the proposed solution will be beneficial to them. Finally, the speaker gets the
feedback from the audience, finalises the solution and deciding what actions, individually and
collectively, must be taken.

3.1.5 Participating in Discussion

The Group Discussion is a personality test, most popular with public/private sector undertakings,
government departments, commercial firms, and other organizations, used to screen candidates,
after the written test. It is a part of oral communication.

The entire study of communication would remain incomplete if there was no analysis of the
system of Group Discussions (GDs). To gauge/judge the mettle of students prior to their entry
into any organization, the communication skills of each one of them are tested vis-á-vis other
equally, academically, competent candidates.
It primarily evaluates one’s ability to interact in a group on a given topic. One’s group behaviour
means so much for one’s success as a manager or an executive, responsible for co-ordination and
organization of activities of groups of individuals. The GD evaluators, therefore, focus on group
dynamics rather than contents of the discussion.
Qualities needed for group discussion: GDs are held with a particular purpose in mind. It may
be to select a suitable candidate for a job or suitable candidate as student for admission to a
particular course. In any of these cases, the aim is to select a person owning distinct leadership
qualities. There are certain qualities, which are looked for during a GD.

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