Page 112 - DENG401_Advance Communication Skills

Unit 5: Improving Informal Communication

Notes
recommends you wait for the colleague to introduce the topic. If they confide that they
have lost their job and seem angry or indignant, express your support and discourage
vengeful actions such as sending a former employer an accusatory e-mail. Encourage your
colleague to assess their strengths, not concentrate on mistakes or failures. According to
Ecker, you should feel free to share job leads and provide books and articles, but don’t
offer client contacts or other types of references if you don’t feel comfortable giving them.
Source: Lee, Louise, “Be Word Wary,” BusinessWeek, April 3, 2009.
5.1.3 Formal and Informal Communication

Informal communication contains facts, deceptions, rumors and unclear data. The informal
channels of communication may transmit completely imprecise information that may harm
rather than help an organization. In addition, it is impossible to fix the responsibility for its
origin or flow of information. However, for the efficient working of any organization both
formal and informal communications are required.
Formal Informal
• Scheduled in advance • Unscheduled
• Arranged participants • Random participants
• Participants in role • Participants out of role
• Preset agenda • Unarranged agenda
• One-way • Interactive
• Impoverished content • Rich content
• Formal language & speech register • Informal language & speech register

Anil is returning to his office when he sees Bhanu backing out of a meeting in an office at the end
of the hallway. Bhanu is unaware of Anil's presence. Anil calls to Bhanu, timing his call by
observing when Bhanu has stopped his engagement in the meeting. Bhanu turns around,
recognizes Anil and acknowledges his presence with a smile. He starts walking toward Anil,
who remains stationary until Bhanu reaches him. Then Anil and Bhanu are walking off together
down the hallway, discussing the difficulties they have had contacting a mutual colleague.

Both Bhanu and Anil abandoned their original goals of concluding a meeting or returning to an
office, respectively. Instead, as a result of serendipitously seeing each other in the hallway, they
were able to pass information about the status of a project and to solve a problem that was
hindering the project's progress. Anil told Bhanu that he had not been able to contact a colleague
and Bhanu suggested a way of doing it. This is a common mechanism through which small
collaborative teams do project management For small groups, this informal project management
serves the production function of coordination and problem solving efficiently, assuming team
members run into each other enough. It has the additional benefit of keeping group members
informed of and involved with many of the minor decisions and crises that occur in any project.
Thus it serves the social functions of groups, by keeping group members committed to the
projects of which they are a part.

5.2 Listening Actively

As we know Listening is one of the most important communication skills you can develop.
Although the higher you rise in an organization, the more listening you are required to do,
most people in the workplace need to improve their listening skills. Studies suggest that people
remember only 25–50 percent of what they hear in informal communication. They overlook,
disregard, misunderstand, or forget the other 50–75 percent. By becoming a better listener, you

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