Principles of Effective Communication

Principles of Effective Communication

General communication skills –

General communication skills apply to every and any form of communication. For any form of communication to happen you need to be communicating with an audience otherwise you are not communicating with anyone. Your audience will determine the types of language that you use such as how you string your sentences together or how you act in general while you are delivering the message. 

Adapting to suit an audience –

Voice modulation and pitch changing – 

When you are modulating your voice, this means that you are changing the pitch from high to low constantly while you are speaking. This keeps the audiences attention drawn on you, as if you were speaking in one dull monotone pitch the audience would become bored and drift their attention away from you as the speaker.

Changing your speaking frequency will also keep the listeners attention on you. Slowing down certain words within a sentence is a great way of providing emphasis on spoken words. It can also be used in an onomatopoeic way such as when you speed up your speaking speed it may indicate to the audience fact movement etc. Raising, lowering, speeding up and slowing down your voice all gives hints to the listener that something is happening and it also draws them to emphasized words etc.

Cultural Differences

Not all words or expressions mean the same thing to everyone. If you are speaking to people of mixed race, religion etc. it may be unsuitable to say some phrases as it could end up causing offence to a group of people. You will need to evaluate the cultural differences within your audience before you begin speaking as this can end up saving you from a lot of hassle. Anything that you think may be at all inappropriate for anyone to hear should not be said at all as it may be misunderstood or taken as a great disrespect.

General communication is necessary as it can stop conversations, addressing an audience etc. from going the wrong way and could help you to not be misunderstood by an audience for being offensive etc. It will help deliver a fair message to your whole audience and refrain from making people feel left out, offended, uninformed etc.

Interpersonal communication –

This kind of communication applies when you are talking to someone on a one to one basis (face to face). These are some interpersonal skills –

Sign Language – 

If you are trying to communicate with someone who is deaf, being able to sign is the best form of interpersonal communication for them. Signing is a physical language that requires the user to use body language (their hands and expressions) to talk to the other person. The people will make shapes or movements with their arms and hands that represent words or letters, as they are unable to hear you verbally speak the words. Having someone with you that has learned how to sign is a good idea if you are going to be presenting to a crowd that may have people in the audience who are either hard of hearing or completely deaf.

Lip Reading – 

Another way to communicate with someone who may be hard of hearing is to use very clear lip movements as you are speaking. This will enable the listener to understand what you are saying as they are then able to read your lips. If you do not do this then any listeners who do not have good hearing will not be able to understand and take in the message that you are trying to convey to the audience and you are then essentially ignoring those people.

Written Communication Skills –

Written communication is the type of communication that cannot be interpreted through the use of tones of voice, body language etc. It is the form of communication that takes into account words written on paper.

Smileys –

Smileys (also known as emoticons), are ‘faces’ that you can write in text form. An example of one is ‘:)’ which represents a smiling face. These are used to represent emotions to the person that the user of the smiley is communicating with. They are most frequently used in SMS, IM, social networks etc. They are not to be used in serious, formal communications however as they are not a part of formal language and look very unprofessional if used in a serious setting. If you are using them in an informal setting they can provide a great way to express emotion where words may not be able to.

Grammar and Spelling –

If you are creating grammatical and spelling mistakes within a professional or generally formal setting this will make you look unprofessional. The mistakes may cause confusion to the reader as they may mistake the word you intended to write but spelled wrong as another word and the message will not have the effect you originally desired. Also using simple things like using capitals at the beginning of sentences, names etc. will make the document look a lot more professional and it will be easier to read.