PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

1.the qualities that good communicators have:Communication skills are an integral

component of a political career.
Despite the many ways to communicate, good communicators share in common important
principles and techniques that enable them to communicate effectively. The characteristics of
good communicators cut across all languages and cultures. Becoming a good communicator has
many benefits and advantages in nearly all careers, the home, and in commerce. Remember that
becoming a good communicator is a lifelong journey and not a destination.
Listening:Good communicators listen. Listening is an important component of communicating
effectively not only because it shows other people that you are sincere and interested in what they are
saying, but it also allows you to correctly respond to people. Listening enables you to weigh and
evaluate various issues before you formulate a response. Listening also affords you a reciprocal
response from your audience because you showed that you were willing to patiently listen to them.
Clarity:Good communicators communicate clearly whether it in writing, speaking or gesturing.
Ambiguous statements or questions amount to a lapse in communication because the truth is unclear.
In terms of speaking, good communicators project their voices with an assertive and unwavering tone to
ensure that people can literally understand them. In terms of writing, good communicators use the
appropriate words to convey different senses of meaning. This limits the potential for ambiguity. Good
communicators must have a strong vocabulary.
Organization:Good communicators organize their thoughts to ensure that what they communicate
comes out in an organized fashion. This allows them the ability to make assertions and then substantiate
those assertions with premises, examples and illustrations. Good communicators also organize what
they say into concise statements that are easy to understand by the listeners. This way it is not too
difficult for listeners to follow what they say.
Sincerity:Good communicators are sincere. When a speaker shows that she is genuine about what she
says, listeners are likely to believe the speaker because of the sincerity with which she speaks. You must
be aware that this is not necessarily always the case because speakers can be misguided despite fervent
belief, but being wrong does not necessarily exclude a person from being a good communicator. Sincere
communicators usually communicate convincingly because they are willing to put their beliefs on the
line for the sake of communicating the truth.
2.WHETHER YOU ARE A GOOD PRESENTER AND WHY:


3. WHEATHER ONE CAN LEARN HOW TO BECOME A GOOD COMMUNICATOR
Communicating clearly is one of the most powerful design tools available, and yet very few of
us ever receive formal training in how to be good communicators.
Much like the word design, which can be both a noun and a verb, communication has many
meanings. It can be both a thing (a letter, e-mail, or fax), or a process. It can be something that
you send or something that you get. Its such a simple word that we all think we know what it
means, but all too often our attempts at communicating can create profound confusion.
Experience tells us that even the simplest instructions can (and will be!) misunderstood.
Confusing communications knows no hierarchywhether up or down the food chain, the
problem is pervasive. We all know that good communication skills are essential to the design
process, because there is a tremendous amount of complex information that must be accurately
conveyed to clients, contractors, and consultants. And yet, try as we might, we never seem to get
it just right. Why is this? Why is simple communication so hard?
The answer, of course, has to do with peoplethe essential element in all communications. To
communicate, there must be both a sender and a receiver, each of whom has one mouth, two ears
and a brain that filters all incoming or outgoing information. Since there can be multiple senders
and dozens if not hundreds of receivers, its easy to see that the problem of communicating
clearly increases geometrically with the distribution (and presumed importance) of the message.
Indeed, rather than wonder why theres so much confusion in trying to get the point across,
perhaps we should be amazed that so much of the intended message actually survives intact!
Communicating clearly is one of the most powerful design tools available, and yet very few of
us ever receive formal training in how to be good communicators. Good communicators
understand the difference between broadcasting a message and receiving it; they know that a
musician performing on stage does not hear the same thing as the audience. Good
communicators are also aware of the many ways messages can be conveyednot just with
written or spoken words, but with inflection, body language, and a myriad of visual clues. Good
communicators know that too many words can garble rather than clarify the intended message,
and that silenceliterally saying nothing at allcan sometimes be the most powerful way to
connect with an audience. Good communicators know how to distinguish signal from noise; they
present information in a way that it is least likely to be misunderstood. They also understand the
human proclivity to listen with a limited attention span, to hear only part of the message, and to
passively or even actively misinterpret whats being said. Finally, good communicators are
empiricists at heartthey know that what they say doesnt really matter, its what the audience
hears that really counts. They dont judge their success by what they were trying to saythey
judge their success by whether or not the audience gets it.
How does one become a good communicator? First and foremost, its important to realize that no
personality transplants are required. You dont have to be P.T. Barnum to move the massesthe
famous mime Marcel Marceau was amazingly eloquent while speaking literally not at all. While
you can learn a great deal from observing effective communicators, dont try to imitate anyone
else. Just be yourself. The more of you that you put into your message, the better your chances of
being understood on your own terms. Remember that communicating is essentially about
creating a linkage between the speaker and the audience, whether that audience is just one person
or a whole roomful. Have something important or interesting to saysomething that you believe
inand youll hold their interest. Here are a few tips:
1. Watch your word count. Generally speaking, the more words you use, the better the chance
that youll confuse things. If you talk for half an hour, people might remember that you gave a
speech, but if you speak for only five minutes, theyll remember what you said. This is the secret
to the Gettysburg address: make your points brief, simple and to the point, and put it in language
the audience will relate to.
2. Write less, say more. As a corollary to #1 above, write with clarity and economy. As a rule,
keep all memos to one page or less. If you feel that you need more space to wax eloquent, write a
one-page summary and include the rest as an appendix. Chances are nobody will read past the
first page anyway, so write accordingly.
3. Let your drawings and models do the talking. Its true that a picture is worth a thousand
words; use this to your advantage. Instead of explaining all the details, say as you can see on the
model (or in the plan) Your drawings and models will say far more in a glance than you can
in an hour, and much more eloquently.
4. Present in reverse. Before starting any presentation, decide what you want the outcome to
be, then design your talk backwards from that. Take as little time as necessary to get to your
point. As you speak, trade places with the audience in your headbe sensitive to how they are
responding. Are you getting good eye contact? Are they paying attention or are they listless? Do
they understand what you are saying? Are they convinced? How do you know?
5. Avoid inconsistency and exaggeration. Dont say one thing if the drawings or models say
something else. Speak the facts plainly and let the audience draw its own conclusions; theyll
appreciate your confidence in their judgment. And while its OK to be dramatic to make a point,
if you blow things out of proportion, nobody will believe the next sentence out of your mouth.
6. Watch the visuals. Your posture, your clothing, and your presentation material do make a
difference. An eloquent speech can easily be derailed by visual distractions. Remember that
presentation is a performance artyou are literally doing theater. Control what your audience
sees as much as what it hears. Graphics are important. Pay attention to the design of your
letterhead, brochures, drawing layouts, proposal formats, etc. Make sure theyre attractive and
easy to read. Like the clothes you wear, they tell a story about you whether you like it or not.
7. Go for closure. The two main purposes of a presentation are to share information or make
decisions. Youll never arrive at a conclusion unless the audience says yes. Make this easy on
them by having all the relevant and required information at hand decision-ready information
then dont be afraid to ask for an answer. If the client cant commit, find out why. Remember
that the largest part of being a good communicator is being a good listener.
8. Know when to stop. Many a cake has been ruined by being left in the oven too long. If you
plan to speak for five minutes, dont take seven. Remember Thomas ONeills famous dictum
that when youve got the votes, count the roll. Your audience will appreciate your brevity and
will reward you with their confidence (and their votes). Over-communicating can be just as
dangerous as under-communicating.
Since the art of communicating clearly is so fundamentally important to the practice of good
design, its extremely odd that this skill is foreign to most practitioners. To be successful, its
essential to understand the clients goalswhat do they really care about and why? Its also
critical to make sure that all the design team members (including consultants and contractors) are
on the same page, working in concert. Yet, for centuries architects have used an arcane symbolic
language (construction documents) that is so complex and confusing that few practicing
professionals, let alone clients, are fluent in it. No wonder theres so much confusion in the
office and on the construction site! Because sharing information is so critical to design, success
will flow to those who know how to communicate well. When all is said and done, the only
power the architect really has is the power of persuasion.


4 .THE MEANS OF WRITTEN AND ORAL COMMUNICATION USED WITHIN
ORGANIZATIONS

Communication
Communication is a process of exchanging information, ideas, thoughts, feelings and emotions
through speech, signals, writing, or behavior. In communication process, a sender(encoder)
encodes a message and then using a medium/channel sends it to the receiver (decoder) who
decodes the message and after processing information, sends back appropriate feedback/reply
using a medium/channel.
Types of Communication
People communicate with each other in a number of ways that depend upon the message and its
context in which it is being sent. Choice of communication channel and your style of
communicating also affects communication. So, there are variety of types of communication.
Types of communication based on the communication channels used are:
1. Verbal Communication
2. Nonverbal Communication
1. Verbal Communication
Verbal communication refers to the the form of communication in which message is
transmitted verbally; communication is done by word of mouth and a piece of writing.
Objective of every communication is to have people understand what we are trying to
convey. In verbal communication remember the acronym KISS(keep it short and
simple).
When we talk to others, we assume that others understand what we are saying because we
know what we are saying. But this is not the case. usually people bring their own attitude,
perception, emotions and thoughts about the topic and hence creates barrier in delivering
the right meaning.
So in order to deliver the right message, you must put yourself on the other side of the
table and think from your receivers point of view. Would he understand the message?
how it would sound on the other side of the table?
Verbal Communication is further divided into:
o Oral Communication
o Written Communication
Oral CommunicationIn 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 influence by pitch, volume, speed and clarity of
speaking.Advantages of Oral communication are:It brings quick feedback.
In a face-to-face conversation, by reading facial expression and body language one can guess
whether he/she should trust whats being said or not.Disadvantage of oral
communicationIn face-to-face discussion, user is unable to deeply think about what he is
delivering, so this can be counted as a
Written Communication
In written communication, written signs or symbols are used to communicate. A written
message may be printed or hand written. In written communication message can be
transmitted via email, letter, report, memo etc. Message, in written communication, is
influenced by the vocabulary & grammar used, writing style, precision and clarity of the
language used.
Written Communication is most common form of communication being used in
business. So, it is considered core among business skills.Memos, reports, bulletins, job
descriptions, employee manuals, and electronic mail are the types of written
communication used for internal communication. For communicating with external
environment in writing, electronic mail, Internet Web sites, letters, proposals, telegrams,
faxes, postcards, contracts, advertisements, brochures, and news releases are
used.Advantages of written communication includes:
Messages can be edited and revised many time before it is actually sent.
Written communication provide record for every message sent and can be saved for later
study.
A written message enables receiver to fully understand it and send appropriate
feedback.Disadvantages of written communication includes:
Unlike oral communication, Written communication doesnt bring instant feedback.
It take more time in composing a written message as compared to word-of-mouth. and
number of people struggles for writing ability.
2. Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication is the sending or receiving of wordless messages. We can say
that communication other than oral and written, such as gesture, body language,
posture, tone of voice or facial expressions, is called nonverbal communication.
Nonverbal communication is all about the body language of speaker.
Nonverbal communication helps receiver in interpreting the message received. Often,
nonverbal signals reflects the situation more accurately than verbal messages. Sometimes
nonverbal response contradicts verbal communication and hence affect the
effectiveness of message.Nonverbal communication have the following three
elements:Appearance:Speaker: clothing, hairstyle, neatness, use of cosmetics
Surrounding: room size, lighting, decorations, furnishings.Body Language
facial expressions, gestures, postures.SoundsVoice Tone, Volume, Speech rate
Types of Communication Based on Purpose and Style
Based on style and purpose, there are two main categories of communication and they both bears
their own characteristics. Communication types based on style and purpose are:Formal
Communication,Informal Communication
1. Formal Communication
In formal communication, certain rules, conventions and principles are followed while
communicating message. Formal communication occurs in formal and official style.
Usually professional settings, corporate meetings, conferences undergoes in formal
pattern.
In formal communication, use of slang and foul language is avoided and correct
pronunciation is required. Authority lines are needed to be followed in formal
communication.
2. Informal Communication
Informal communication is done using channels that are in contrast with formal
communication channels. Its just a casual talk. It is established for societal affiliations of
members in an organization and face-to-face discussions. It happens among friends and
family. In informal communication use of slang words, foul language is not
restricted. Usually. informal communication is done orally and using gestures.
Informal communication, Unlike formal communication, doesnt follow authority
lines. In an organization, it helps in finding out staff grievances as people express more
when talking informally. Informal communication helps in building relationships.