Communication Skills are an inevitable part of a professional and a must-do for an organization. There are various methodologies, systems, definitions, and explanations of Communication Skills are written in different books, blogs, or tabloids. Many experts in Communication Skills are sharing their videos on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and all other Video Platforms.
Most of them are usually talking about the Importance of Communication Skills, Communication Barriers, Communication Flow Charts, and LSRW. Some experts have gone one mile extra by using anecdotes and examples. But no one is talking about important features, which cover the whole Communication process as omnipresent, yet we don’t feel an imminent need for them.
LSRW is all about Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. But what makes it more effective is understanding what, how, and why. Let me elaborate on this in a very manner. After a long experience of various communication processes at various organizations, I have come to a conclusion that the following 4 Features are most important in a communication process;
This feature talks about the acceptance of the reader or listener. Many of the communications are neglected because the listener or reader does not intend to. All human beings have a perception of every subject and they possess a part of information already with different facts and figures. Most of the time, People in Senior Management usually reflect this in their behavior. Let us take an example of someone’s religious belief or political belief. People in deep rural areas still believe in curing the maladies with a religious touch although Medical Science is improving day by day.
A fact that has been inserted in a mind of a human being during growing up, becomes the psychological truth. This is very dangerous and fatal when practiced meticulously. As an effective communicator, approaching the Psychological Truth is extensive and influential.
This feature has importance because just passing the message from someone else or copying the fact and figures without knowing the backdrop makes the communication idle and untrustworthy. The piece of information must be correct and calibrated by the communicator before sharing it with others. It has to be evaluated with facts and figures and the use of information to be done effectively to reach out to the reader or listener. Many times, managers share the reports or MIS presented by their subordinates. In some cases, they forget to calibrate the information or forget to add the originality by giving some value addition which the reporting officer is expecting. Again, the Psychological Truth comes into play. But the originality of the communication with a touch of psychological truth can prevent the damages.
To grow the sense of originality, it takes a practice of years and a detailed study of various kinds of reports. The manner in which the communication is done is highly advisable but the originality of an individual must reflect in a communication.
It is obvious that communication must contain moral values and the use of words and phrases must be within the moral limits. Again the psychological truth comes into play as while chit-chatting with friends, we can use casual words or phrases. But while working in an office or dealing with relatives, we have to choose the words carefully so that they do not hurt the reader or listener. Most of the managers in the office usually demean the subordinate for poor performance on the job or for mistakes. These immoral communications destroy the sense of ownership and belongingness of the employee. Morality plays a very important part in communication. Even if the disciplinary actions are to be taken by HR, they have to observe the moral values carefully and must give warnings or show-cause notices on a soft note.
Building communication is a technical skill or craftsmanship. The use of the right word at the right place and in the right manner attracts the interest of the reader or listener. If we are making a report or MIS in MS Excel, the use of font sizes, borders, symbols, decimals, and column & row sizes matters the most. Same as when writing any communication on plain paper, the use of the comma, full stop, paragraph, and other punctuation marks is substantial. An attractive look of communication reaches more readers and listeners. Training PPTs with more information in the form of Texts makes the training sessions boring and uninteresting whereas, PPTs with apt Photographs, Videos, or Graphics make it more interesting for the participants.
To summarise, to be a more effective communicator, understanding all 4 features above is highly recommendable. Any beginner with knowledge of these features can become an expert communicator and can successfully send the message to the reader or listener.
Author – Himanshu Desai, HR Professional, and Management Consultant, HR Prism Management Consultants / Content Strategist, HR SUCCESS TALK
A Human Resources professional skilled in HR Management, Organizational Development, Policy Formulation & Implementation, Talent Acquisition, Manpower Planning & Succession Planning, Training & Development, and Behavioral Competency Framework. His potential clientele includes some industry giants in India and abroad for implementing HR Projects and Management Concepts. He operates his knowledge-sharing business with his own firm HR Prism Management Consultants. He can be reached at hr@hrprism.co.in or Cell No: +91 98795 78675.