Effective communication: Verbal and Non-verbal, Classroom communication

 Important Study Material  Notes Ugc net Communication paper 1

(Effective communication: Verbal and Non-verbal, Inter-Cultural and group communications, Classroom communication)

UGC NET Study materiel on Communication Topics for NET Exam has been covered entirely based on topics  provided in syllabus. In the 5 Parts series which can be referred using below , the first four parts contains important short study notes useful for your paper 1 preparation while the 5th part contains solved question papers of last almost 12 years MCQ Question. 

Please go through them in sequential fashion to understand them in better ways.  

Unit-IV Communication(Based on Latest UGC NET Syllabus)

• Communication: Meaning, types and characteristics of communication.
• Effective communication: Verbal and Non-verbal, Inter-Cultural and group communications, Classroom communication. [This Article]
• Barriers to effective communication.
• Mass-Media and Society.
• Solved Papers Based on Communication [Last 15 Exam solved MCQ]

In this blog we will cover the Communications Notes as below:

• Introduction to Effective communication
• Verbal and Non-verbal, Inter-Cultural and group communications
• Classroom communication

Objective 

After studying this blog, you should be able to cover –

• Understand the meaning Of effective communication
• Understand the types and characteristics of Classroom communication

Objectives/Purpose Of Communication

The objectives of communication are dynamic and ever-changing. Some of the common objectives of official communication are to get or give information, to ask for or give instructions or advice or suggestions, to make requests, to persuade other people to agree with us.

Sometimes, we communicate with the intention of complaining, or warning; but unfortunately, we do this angrily and get into arguments. If we learn to complain and warn in an acceptable and constructive manner, our serious intention can be conveyed quite effectively without damaging relationships.

In order to caution, counsel, clarify, appraise, evaluate, reprimand, organize and numerous such objectives, we make use of communication.

Evaluation Of Communication Effectiveness

Communication is not an end in itself; rather it is a means to attain other ends or goals. Hence, it has to be effective to be able to attain these goals or objectives. Communication effectiveness can be examined in relation to the following criteria:

• Fidelity of Communication: the distortion free quality of a message is called fidelity. An effective person gets the message across to others with minimal possibilities of misunderstanding.
• Economy: In an effective communication a minimum of energy time, symbols and cues are used to encode message without losing its fidelity and impact.
• Congruence: An effective communication integrates both verbal and non-verbal cues.
• Influence: The most important criterion of effectiveness is the influence that the communicator is able to exercise over the receiver of the communication. Influence means the communicator achieve the results he intended.
• Relationship Building: effective communication contributes to the building of trust and a better relationship between the source and the target.

Seven C’s of Effective Communication

These are the Seven terms, starting with the letter C, which makes communication more understandable, valuable and effective.

Below are 7 C’s of effective communication which is applicable to both written as well as oral communication.

These are as follows:

1. Completeness – The communication must be complete. It should convey all the facts required by the audience. The sender of the message must take into consideration the receiver’s mindset and convey the message accordingly. A complete communication has following features:
   • Complete communication develops and enhances the reputation of an organization.
   • Moreover, they are cost saving as no crucial information is missing and no additional cost is incurred in conveying the extra message if the communication is complete.
   • A complete communication always gives additional information wherever required. It leaves no questions in the mind of the receiver.
   • Complete communication helps in better decision-making by the audience/readers/receivers of the message as they get all desired and crucial information.
   • It persuades the audience.
2. Conciseness – Conciseness means wordiness, i.e, communicating what you want to convey in least possible words without forgoing the other C’s of communication. Conciseness is a necessity for effective communication. Concise communication has following features:
   • It is both time-saving as well as cost-saving.
   • It underlines and highlights the main message as it avoids using excessive and needless words.
   • Concise communication provides short and essential message in limited words to the audience.
   • Concise message is more appealing and comprehensible to the audience.
   • Concise message is non-repetitive in nature.
3. Consideration – Consideration implies “stepping into the shoes of others”. Effective communication must take the audience into consideration, i.e, the audience’s viewpoints, background, mindset, education level, etc. Make an attempt to envisage your audience, their requirements, emotions as well as problems. Ensure that the self-respect of the audience is maintained and their emotions are not at harm. Modify your words in a message to suit the audience’s needs while making your message complete. Features of considerate communication are as follows:
   • Emphasize on “you” approach.
   • Empathize with the audience and exhibit interest in the audience. This will stimulate a positive reaction from the audience.
   • Show optimism towards your audience. Emphasize on “what is possible” rather than “what is impossible”. Lay stress on positive words such as jovial, committed, thanks, warm, healthy, help, etc.
4. Clarity – Clarity implies emphasizing on a specific message or goal at a time, rather than trying to achieve too much at once. Clarity in communication has following features:
   • It makes understanding easier.
   • Complete clarity of thoughts and ideas enhances the meaning of the message.
   • Clear message makes use of exact, appropriate and concrete words.
5. Concreteness – Concrete communication implies being particular and clear rather than fuzzy and general. Concreteness strengthens the confidence. The concrete message has the following features:
   • It is supported by specific facts and figures.
   • It makes use of words that are clear and that build the reputation.
   • Concrete messages are not misinterpreted.
6. Courtesy – Courtesy in message implies the message should show the sender’s expression as well as should respect the receiver. The sender of the message should be sincerely polite, judicious, reflective and enthusiastic. The courteous message has the following features:
   • Courtesy implies taking into consideration both viewpoints as well as feelings of the receiver of the message.
   • The courteous message is positive and focused at the audience.
   • It makes use of terms showing respect for the receiver of the message.
   • It is not at all biased.
7. Correctness – Correctness in communication implies that there are no grammatical errors in communication. Correct communication has following features:
   • The message is exact, correct and well-timed.
   • If the communication is correct, it boosts up the confidence level.
   • The correct message has a greater impact on the audience/readers.
   • It checks for the precision and accurateness of facts and figures used in the message.
   • It makes use of appropriate and correct language in the message.

Awareness of these 7 C’s of communication makes you an effective communicator.

[Source –seven-cs-of-effective-communication ]

Four S’s of Communication

Four terms starting with letter S, which add to the value of the message in Communication

Shortness

“Brevity is the soul of wit,” it is said. The same can be said about communication.

If the message can be made brief, and verbosity did away with, then the transmission and comprehension of messages are going to be faster and more effective.

Flooding messages with high sounding words do not create an impact.

Many people harbor a misconception that they can actually impress the receiver if they carry on their expeditious travails.

Little do they realize how much they have lost as the receiver has spent a major chunk of his time in trying to decipher the actual meaning of the message.

Simplicity

Simplicity both in the usage of words and ideas reveals clarity in the thinking process.

It is normally a tendency that when an individual is himself confused that he tries to use equally confusing strategies to lead the receiver in a maze.

Reveal clarity in the thinking process by using simple terminology and equally simple concepts.

Strength

The strength of a message emanates from the credibility of the sender.

If the sender himself believes in a message that he is about to transmit, there is bound to be strength and conviction in whatever he tries to state.

Halfhearted statements or utterances that the sender himself does not believe in add a touch of falsehood to the entire.

Sincerity

A sincere approach to an issue is clearly evident to the receiver. If the sender is genuine, it will be reflected in the manner in which he communicates.

Suppose there is a small element of deceit involved in the interaction or on the part of the sender.

If the receiver is keen and observant, he would be able to sense the make-believe situation and, business transactions, even if going full swing, would not materialize.

[Source – 4s-of-communication]

EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM COMMUNICATION

Classroom communication:  is verbal and non-verbal and  is used by both teacher and learners to ensure that a conducive environment is created which supports learning and understanding of the subject matter. Teachers and learners use it to communicate ideas, feelings, attitudes and values.

Functions of classroom communication:

1. Understanding and insight – Teachers and learners need to understand themselves and each other. Using communication to ask questions that foster reflection is useful in promoting understanding. Teachers use their understanding of learners to deliver content in ways that meet individual needs.
2. Persuasion and influence – The whole process of teaching and learning is one of trying to influence another person. Teachers try to persuade learners and every teacher will influence their learners whether they like it or not. The important question then becomes: what do you say or do in your classroom in order to create a positive influence. Persuasion can take the form of direct words used intentionally to get a learner to do work, answer a question, change behaviour and so forth.
3. Promoting learning skills-Learners develop their learning skills when a teacher allows them time to speak more, read texts and discuss in groups as well participate in writing tasks that involve summarizing key ideas from what the teacher says or from their reading. Effective communication is a strong enabling factor for learning so the teacher should promote the communication skills of learners.
4. Initiate and maintain relationships-Every learner should feel valued and respected by the teacher and other learners. You can imagine a classroom where the positive human connection was absent. Learning would not occur. Communication, in this case, should minimize the need for competition and focus on care and support for others.

Two key roles of classroom communication

There are two main roles in classroom communication: classroom instruction and classroom management.

Classroom instruction

Explaining is a major form of communication in the classroom and it is combined with giving examples, asking questions as well as responding to student answers.  The importance of  preparation and lesson planning which have already been emphasized in the chapter on Teaching Documents cannot be over-emphasized. Structuring the content in small clear steps and moving from known to the unknown is very useful for learners. Communicate always in a manner that shows that the goal of your teaching is to show how knowledge is created progressively from the simple to the complex. Effective communication requires use of a multi-sensory approach that targets as many senses as possible.

Communication and classroom management

Classroom management or control is used by a teacher to ensure that conditions that promote effective and efficient learning are available. Whether you like it or not, you will encounter classrooms where some of your learners will disrupt learning in one way or other. Disruptive behavior or simply student misbehavior has to be handled skillfully and effective classroom communication will help any teacher prevent or deal with inappropriate behavior.

There are many strategies of maintaining classroom control as research in the area of classroom management will reveal. These strategies fall under four general approaches. Let us look at them:

• behaviour modification
• promoting a socioemotional learning environment
• Initiating and managing group process
• the authoritative approach.

Use of questioning technique and feedback

• The quality of the questions asked determines a teacher’s level of success with the lesson. Quality questions promote deep learning as learners apply reasoning and analytical approaches to the facts they know. There are two types of questions: closed type and open-ended.
• Closed questions fall at the bottom of the hierarchy of knowledge (see Bloom’s taxonomy) and deal more with a recall of facts. An effective teacher uses these questions sparingly and shows greater interest in higher-order open-ended questions. Higher-order questions challenge students to think critically and creatively.
• How a teacher responds to student answers requires skilful communication. In providing feedback, you should encourage learners to talk by responding positively to failure. Ask them to clarify, respond in ways that fire their curiosity and work with them to look for an answer, probe their answers and guide them towards alternative points of view.
• Feedback should be given both verbally and non-verbally and also directly and indirectly. Indirect feedback is given to the student in a manner that may not use the learner’s name and the teacher directs it to the whole class. You say, “ I can see a good number of you have taken the advice I gave last time… I am pleased with the way some of you are working on this problem. You have the right resources on the table…Some of you are now asking really good questions..”