Approaches in communication

An increase in the amount of communication

Successful organisational change programmes will often establish additional types of
communication to support the change process. This could involve a change newsletter for all
staff distributed at regular intervals, establishing a change area within a website, regular email
messages explaining what has happened and so forth.

Basically, increasing the amount of communication usually involves both increasing the
frequency of regular communications and introducing new communication vehicles.

A focus on producing accurate and high quality

communications
Communicating about change should involve all those personnel with specialist knowledge.
Messages should not be entrusted to a general manager or to a communications specialist alone.
For example, communications about targets, timelines, progress and such matters should be
reviewed by the project manager, communications about HR issues should be reviewed by the
HR manager and so forth. It is very important to ensure communications are clear and
accurate.

The use of multiple channels of communication to

accommodate a range of personal preferences
It is very important to ensure that messages about change and progress are relayed via
appropriate channels. This will often involve using multiple channels. For example, specialist
websites, email, question and answer sites, blogs, memos, posters, large group briefings, small
group briefings, and personal contact.

For example, the Mullin[i] review of the City of Glasgow College merger process stated that,

"A considerable effort was made to use a wide variety of communication channels to keep staff
informed of merger issues. This included regular briefing from the Principal Designate both in
written and oral form, the appointment of communication facilitators to collate and address
questions and so forth."

Repetition and explanation of key messages.

Too often at times of change, important messages may only have been transmitted on one
occasion, but with an expectation that everyone will receive them as intended. This will not
happen. The most important messages, such as around structure change, change in roles, change
in major procedures and similar areas that affect both the effectiveness of the organisation and
the working arrangements for staff, need careful and repeated transmission.

Associated with accurately describing change, it is important to at least answer the question -
Why is this being done? If an explanation is not given, a motive will be interpreted by the
message recipient. During times of change, turbulence and stress, individuals are more likely to
assume the worst, unless matters are explained to the contrary. Remember, it is not the fault of
staff if they interpret matters incorrectly - it is likely to be because they were not
communicated properly.

It is critical to ensure that key message are regularly transmitted, re-enforced and
explained.

A common approach to communication across all merging

or federating institutions
All mergers and federations by their nature involve more than one organisation. Organisations
are highly unlikely to have exactly the same styles of communication. It is generally considered
to be good practice in the lead up to merger and federation to ensure consistency of approach to
communication across different colleges.

Staff across all organisations will benefit from the same regular communication and same focus
on key messages. This does not preclude additional communication on matters relevant to
individual colleges, but it is very important to ensure there is consistency in approach and
message content. It will be a particular challenge when dealing with federations, rather than a
single merged institution, to maintain a consistent approach to communication.

Horizontal as well as vertical (both downward and upward)

communication
Horizontal communications are aided by putting in place effective staff engagement channels,
such as appointing communication facilitators across colleges, holding small group discussions,
and enabling staff to post questions and have them openly answered.

Upward communication is aided by engaging staff in identifying local issues and feeding them
up to project managers and other senior specialists. For example, staff in the front line are more
likely to understand the needs of particular groups of learners, to be aware of where there are
opportunities to simplify processes such as at enrolment, and to be aware of important but often
forgotten needs, such as the production of new telephone directories.
Five Types of Communication
Communication is a very basic and fundamental process for human beings. However, when a
brand wants to communicate with their customers, then the communication takes another form.
Similarly, there is communication involved between teams as well. There are various types of
communication between people as well as between teams.

Page Contents

What is communication?
Communication is the act of sending information or ideas via speech, visuals, writing or any
other such method. The Communication model has a sender who is sending the message and the
receiver who is receiving the message. In between, the speech or ideas need to be simple enough
to be decoded and understood by the receiver. If the ideas are not presented properly, then
decoding is improper and the receiver does not understand.

Based on the types of senders and receivers involved, we can define various types of
communications. If we take an example of communication between teams, you will see the
higher amount of formal communication as compared to informal. On the other hand, when we
consider personal communication and communication between the group of personal friends,
you will find these types of communication to be more informal in nature.

In essence, below we discuss the various types of communication used between people or
between teams.

5 Types of Communication
Let us delve deep into the 5 types of communication observed between the group of people or a
formal team.

1) Verbal Communication
Verbal communication can also be called as Oral communication. In very simple terms, any
communication that happens orally between people is known as verbal communication. The
objective of such communications is to ensure that people understand whatever you want to
convey. Because of its very nature, verbal communications is more quick and precise then email
communication.

In the era of messaging via Whatsapp or using email, people still prefer personal meetings or
phone calls (or face to face skype calls) because they are effective and much more convenient in
conveying the message.

Nowadays, Verbal communication is an important aspect and is looked as a key strength in an

individual.

A manager or an executive needs to have good verbal communication skills. A manager has to
handle a team of people and he needs to be skilled to convince the team of people in acting like
he wants them to. Executives meet many customers who are each different in terms of their
understanding and talking skills. Thus, Executives to need excellent verbal communication skills.

The higher up an organization you go, the better should be the verbal skills that you have. This is
because you need to ensure that your speech is precise and to the point and does not leave any
scope for any misunderstanding.

An M.D or a C.E.O may be giving a television interview which is being watched by 100’s of
stakeholders of the company. Their speech and verbal communication need to be precise so that
they don’t mess up or are not misunderstood. Even in tough times, the verbal communication
skills of these leaders play a major part in consoling the crowd.

Example of people who were great at the verbal type of communications.

 Nelson Mandela
 Martin Luther King
 John F Kennedy
 Mahatma Gandhi

2) Non-verbal / Interpersonal communication

How do you make people feel when you enter the room? Is your body language strong and are
you standing straight and erect or are you slouched and tired? Are you clean shaven, looking
your immaculate best for a team meeting or are you shabby with shirts that are not ironed? When
you shake hands, do you do so strongly or do you just brush your hand against others?

The above were some examples of Non-verbal communications or interpersonal

communications. One of the HR requirements for new joiners in an organization is for them to
have good interpersonal skills. This basically means that the employees should brush up on their
non-verbal skills.

If you were in a sales meeting and you have not achieved your target, how will you react? Will
you be steady and calm or will you panic and stutter? These are important non-verbal skills and
your growth might depend on them.

A manager who panics and who is not good at non-verbal communication will generally not be a
favorite with his team members. This is because his team members do not look up to him. A
manager who stutters, who is not well dressed, who has the wrong body language or someone
who is not a strong personality, will not gather a huge following behind him.

However, people with good personalities go a long way in motivating the employees below
them. If an employee is demotivated, just keeping a hand on their shoulder and saying a few
motivating words is enough for the employee. Taunting them or making faces when talking to
them, ignoring them completely or imitating them will demotivate the employee even further.
Thus, non-verbal skills play a major role in office culture.

As employees grow into managers and as managers grow into leaders, they become better and
better at a non-verbal type of communications. They know that their own calm headed behavior
at times of panic is what will keep the team in check. Similarly, they don’t let their teams get
complacent when the going is good.

Example of the Non-verbal type of communications

In Customer service, non-verbal and interpersonal skills play a huge role. Imagine you were
unhappy with a product and you went to the customer service department. Instead of
understanding your problem, the customer service executive gives a rude reply. Repeatedly you
visit them and even though the problem is not resolved, you don’t get a satisfactory answer.

Compare that with a customer service department which smiles when you come in. They
reassure you that they are on top of your problem. They are proactive and update you themselves
on when to expect the problem to be resolved. Later on, they follow up whether you were
satisfied with the response and if there was anything they could do further.

This smile, the body language of reassurance, the listening ability are all non-verbal type of
communications. A good customer service executive will pay special attention to them and will
ensure that you leave satisfied! Hiring good customer service executives, who have great
interpersonal skills, is the sign of a good organization which is focused on customer satisfaction.

3) Written Communications
There are many many ways that written communications can be used. The number of ways is
ever increasing with the penetration of smartphones and the internet. One of the most common
forms of written communications used till date is Email. But slowly, written type of
communications is becoming more informal with Whatsapp and other online messaging apps
being used regularly.

All different forms of written communication can be formal or informal. If today, we visit a court
of law, you will find that even Whatsapp messages are considered to be legal in nature. In fact,
there have been so many cases of celebrities brought under the scanner because of wrong written
communications on their social media account.

Thus, the above example is further proof that written communication needs to be used safely and
effectively. In fact, written communication between friends can be informal but this type of
communication between working professionals should always be formal so that any misquoted
words are not misused with ill intent.

The advantage of written communication is that it acts as the final word once a decision has been
taken. When you quote your prices to the customer, when you rank a dealer on top, when you
promote an employee or when you launch a new product, you use written communication to
communicate the update to your team and your employees.

A problem with written communication is that it becomes too formal and might incite ego or
various political problems when written communication is used. Newspapers are perfect
examples of written words which create controversy.

There is a very apt quotation “Words are mightier than swords”. A wrong email delivered in the
wrong hands can cause the world to turn upside down. The many emails and documents released
by Edward Snowden which brought the US government under the scanner, are perfect examples
of how to use written documents safely and privately otherwise they can bring a whole
organization tumbling down (whether justified or not is a different discussion)

4) Formal &Informal
There are two types of communication when considering the formality of the communication.
One is the formal and official type of communication which can be emails, letterheads, memos,
reports and other such kinds of written material. These are considered as documentary evidence
and certain formality is associated with them. You cannot submit such formal documents and
later deny them.

Informal communication is one where there is nothing official about the communication that is
happening. It can be known as Grapevine communication. There is no specific channel of
informal communication because there is Social media, Whatsapp, SMS which are all vehicles of
informal communication which can be used by people.

Advantages of formal communication

 When you want to finalize policy and want to decide a course to adopt, then formal
communication is more effective
 Formal communication can help in establishing procedures and ensuring that the steps are
followed.
 Any promises or any official plans need to be formally documented so that they can be
referred to later.

Advantages of informal communication

 informal communication helps the “Open door policy” and makes people more confident
and forthcoming with their ideas and creativity.
 Informal communication does not incite fear into peoples mind
  Informal talks encourage people to share their problems.

The problem with formal communication is that it is not personal and a distance is maintained if
you use only formal communications. Whereas on the other hand, informal conversations can get
out of hand and there can be negative grapevine generated.

5) Visual Communication

One of the industries which most prominently uses Visual communication is the medical
industry. New medicines which come into the market have to be shown to doctors and the
advantages have to be explained. At such times, the medical representatives carry informative
pamphlets which are shown to the doctors and dropped with the doctors.

These informative pamphlets have all the information about the medicine so that doctors can feel
confident in suggesting the medicine to their patients. Similarly, many different industries are
using visual communication to help interaction with their customers so that they can
communicate their ideas better. Explainer videos as a concept is rising and is becoming as one of
the best types of communication observed on websites.

There are many elements in visual communication that can be used by marketers or
companies.

 Colors (such as brand colors)

 Design (logo and brand design)
 Advertising
 Animations
 Illustrations
 Typography
 Presentations
 Video resume’s
In person to person communication too visual communication plays a role. Consider the
diagrams made by teachers on blackboards when explaining a concept to a class of students. Or
we can also take the example of graphs made in powerpoints by managers when doing a
powerpoint presentation to a team of executives or seniors.

To summarize, the type of communication most common are

In teams

 Formal Communication
 Verbal Communication and Non-verbal communication
 Written communication
 Visual communication

In group of people

 Informal Communication
 Verbal and Non-verbal communication
 Informal written communications

Above were all the different types of communications used by a group of people or between the
team.

The 7 characteristics of effective

communication
Communication can be defined as the combination of the processes we implement to share and
convey information. Sounds easy, right? And yet, it isn’t. Because effectiveness can only be
achieved when the sender of the message pays attention to specific elements that might affect
how the message is perceived and decoded by the receiver.

Over time, the concept of effective communication has been associated with persuasive
communication. But that’s wrong, because the terms imply different communication objectives:

 Persuasive communication aims at prompting change in the receiver’s behaviours, beliefs,

values or preferences.
 Effective communication is about delivering an information unambiguously, so that the
receiver can decode it correctly.

But what does it take to compose and deliver an effective message?

In Effective Public Relations (1952), University of Winsconsin professor Scott M. Cutlip and
Allen H. Center defined a set of principles, known today as the 7 C’s of communication. The
list has been widely adopted – with or without slight variations – and is now considered as a
staple in public relations studies.

Characteristics of Effective Communication

Effective Communication is the bloodline of any business. A slight misunderstanding can lead to
a financial disaster. An organization relies on effective communication to sustain and maintain
itself. Here we will see the various characteristics of effective communication.

The Characteristics of Effective Communication

Several researchers have stressed the importance of communicating one’s feelings effectively.
This is as important to a social structure as breathing is to life. Hence we have to understand the
various properties or characteristics that must qualify our communicating activities and
processes. A varied set of skills are thus essential. Here we will list them.

(Source: Wikimedia)

Clear

The primary character of any spoken or written form of transmission of information should be to
state the message clearly. There are several ways to do it. For example, the sentences should be
short and simple. We should prefer the active voice over the passive voice. If we have to convey
several messages then it is convenient to state it in separate bulleted points.

Concise

Time is an essential parameter in communications. The normal attention span is just a few
minutes long. If you present your message in a clear and beautiful manner which is very long,
the crux of the report or the message may be lost altogether. Long and lengthy communique is
boring and avoided by most. So to summarize this point, effective communication has to be
concise.

Concrete

Whatever message or information or data is present in your communique, it should be well-

footed. Your arguments should have data that suitably backs it up. A tangible argument is always
easy to understand.

Coherent

Suppose you are telling a story. What if you start from the middle part? Or what if you state the
end in the beginning? Of course, the whole point of narrating a story would become vain.
Similarly, when you are presenting your communique, you need to be coherent. You need to
understand what goes where and what comes when.

The key to a coherent write-up is a well-planned, logical and sequential presentation of the
information. The main ideas should be differentiable and they should follow each other in a way
that is derivative of some rules.

Courteous

We know that all business communications should have some degree of formal flavor. The
presenter should try his best to be honest, respectful, considerate, open and polite with the
receiver of the information. The message when supplemented with proper care and kindness will
definitely find an audience.

A rude presenter will have no audience even if the message he delivers is perfectly effective and
important. Offensive words can put off certain factions of people. You should take ample care to
not be racist or misogynist or any other bad influence on the audience. Even while using humor
you should be very careful that you are not being inconsiderate or cruel to anyone.

Listening For Understanding

Communication doesn’t only mean presenting or generating information. It also means to receive
it. In fact, an effective communication channel must have a transducer and a receiver. Half of the
faculty for the process is thus a receiver. For the purpose of effective communication, a receiver
should have certain qualifiers.

He should be able to detect the message which may be hidden deep within the chatter or
gibberish. The good listener observes not only what a person speaks of but also the non-verbal
cues. This is what helps in the complete and full understanding of the transmission.

A good listener will have some qualities. He would be emotionally intelligent and mature,
objective in approach and practical. His understanding of the message should not be influenced
by his own personal judgments of either the topic or the presenter. A good listener should be able
to filter through all of these limitations and reach the actual message that the presenter is relaying
before them.

Focus And Attention

Multitasking is the name of the game these days. However, while receiving or transmitting
information, a certain level of focus is essential. Suppose you are in a star communication
channel and are relaying information to multiple sources. You are replying to emails, sending
emails, and answering phones.

Any misplaced communication could be disastrous. Also, while receiving information, if you
lose focus, you may miss the important parts of the message altogether. Hence we say that focus
and attention are very crucial for effective communication.

Emotional Awareness And Control

This is the last but certainly the most important aspect of effective communication. Emotions
will guide you through any situation of life. Whether you accept a message with the intention it
is relaying with or not, depends on the emotional maturity and your emotional intelligence. Both
while relaying information or while receiving it, you have to take extreme care in keeping
yourself in an emotionally stable state.

Completeness

Effective communications are complete, i.e. the receiver gets all the information he needs to
process the message and take action. A complete message reduces the need for follow-up
questions and smoothens the communication process.

Conciseness

Conciseness is about keeping your message to a point. This is more about the content of your
message rather than its length. Even a short memo can include irrelevant or redundant
information. Conciseness helps the receiver focus on what’s important, speeds up the
processing of information and caters for improved understanding.

Consideration

Effective communication takes into account the receiver’s background and points of view. If
your message hits a nerve or sounds as disrespectful, the emotional reaction of the receiver might
affect the perception of your message. Also, tailoring your message to your audience – e.g. by
using argumentations and examples which are relevant to their experience – makes it easier for
them to process the contents.
Concreteness

A concrete message is specific, tangible, vivid. It’s supported by facts and figures for enhanced
credibility. It helps your audience gain an overview of the broader picture. Concreteness
mitigates the risk of misunderstanding, fosters trust and encourages constructive criticism.

Courtesy

Courtesy and consideration complement each other in effective communications. Courtesy

means respecting the receiver’s culture, values and beliefs – i.e. crafting a message that is
genuinely polite and unbiased.

Clearness

The clearer your message, the easier it gets for the receiver to decode it according to your
original intent. While this sounds obvious, most communication pitfalls originate from lack of
clarity. Want to deliver an effective message? Start with a clear communication goal and
accurate thoughts. Clear communications build on exact terminology and concrete words, to
reduce ambiguities and confusion in the communication process.

Correctness

Correct grammar and syntax vouch for increased effectiveness and credibility of your message.
Formal errors might affect the clarity of your message, trigger ambiguity and raise doubts. They
might also have a negative impact on the overall perception of the message, which could be seen
as sloppy or negligent.

Building Rapport
Rapport is a connection or relationship with someone else. It can be considered as a state of
harmonious understanding with another individual or group. Building rapport is the process of
developing that connection with someone else.

Sometimes rapport happens naturally. We have all had experiences where we ‘hit it off’ or ‘get
on well’ with somebody else without having to try. This is often how friendships start. However,
rapport can also be built and developed consciously by finding common ground, and being
empathic.

This page examines rapport and how it can be built, especially when meeting new people.

Understanding Rapport
rapport n. relation: connection: sympathy: emotional bond: spiritualist touch. Fr.

Source: Chambers English Dictionary, 1989 edition.

Rapport, therefore, is basically an emotional connection with other people.

Building rapport is the process of establishing that connection. It is usually based on shared
experiences or views, including a shared sense of humour. Building rapport tends to be most
important at the start of an acquaintanceship or working relationship. The rapport created,
however, can last for many years.

Why Does Rapport Matter?

Rapport is important in both our professional and personal lives.

Employers are more likely to employ somebody who they believe will get on well with their
current staff. Personal relationships are easier to make and develop when there is a closer
connection and understanding between the parties involved – i.e. there is greater rapport.

When we first meet someone new, we start to try to build rapport. Like it or not, this is why
small talk exists: it is a way to try to find things in common with other people and build that
shared bond. This bond is important because we all have a tendency to want to be with ‘people
like us’.

It is much easier to build rapport with someone who is very like you, or who shares a lot of your
interests.

You have shared ground, and things to talk about. You also have a shared frame of reference.
This makes both building a relationship, and communicating more generally, much easier.

However, we have probably all found ourselves thinking:

“He/she is lovely, I’m sure, but we really have nothing in common.”

Under those circumstances, working together is likely to be harder, and communication more
difficult, because you lack a shared frame of reference. You will need to work harder to build
rapport and develop your relationship - but this is still possible.

Break the Ice

For many, starting a conversation with a stranger is a stressful event. We may be lost for words,
and awkward with our body language and mannerisms.
Creating rapport at the beginning of a conversation with somebody new will often make the
outcome of the conversation more positive. However stressful and/or nervous you may feel, the
first thing you need to do is to try to relax and remain calm. By decreasing the tension in the
situation communication becomes easier and rapport grows.

When you meet somebody for the first time, there are some easy things that you can do to
reduce the tension. This will help both of you to feel more relaxed and communicate more
effectively. These include:

 Use non-threatening and ‘safe topics’ for initial small talk. Talk about established
shared experiences, the weather, how you travelled to where you are. Avoid talking too
much about yourself and avoid asking direct questions about the other person.

See How to be Polite for more ideas.

 Listen to what the other person is saying and look for shared experiences or
circumstances. This will give you more to talk about in the initial stages of
communication.

See our page on Active Listening to learn how to listen effectively.

 Try to inject an element of humour. Laughing together creates harmony, make a joke
about yourself or the situation/circumstances you are in, but avoid making jokes about
other people.

See Developing a Sense of Humour for more.

 Be conscious of your body language and other non-verbal signals you are sending.
Try to maintain eye contact for approximately 60% of the time. Relax and lean slightly
towards them to indicate listening, and mirror their body-language if appropriate.

See Non-Verbal Communication for more information.

 Show some empathy. Demonstrate that you can see the other person’s point of view.
Remember rapport is all about finding similarities and ‘being on the same wavelength’ as
somebody else. Being empathic will help to achieve this.

See our page What is Empathy? for more information.

Make sure the other person feels included but not interrogated during initial conversations. Just
as you may feel tense and uneasy meeting and talking to somebody new, so may they.

Put the other person at their ease. This will enable you to relax and conversation to become more
natural.
Non-Verbal Rapport Building

Initial conversations can help us to relax. However, quite a lot of rapport-building happens
without words and through non-verbal communication channels.

We create and maintain rapport subconsciously through matching non-verbal signals, including
body positioning, body movements, eye contact, facial expressions and tone of voice with the
other person.

Watch two friends talking when you get the opportunity and see how they sub-consciously
mimic each other’s non-verbal communication.

We create rapport instinctively. It is our natural defence from conflict, which most of us
will try hard to avoid most of the time.

It is important to use appropriate body language. We read and instantly believe what body
language tells us, whereas we may take more persuading with vocal communication. If there is a
mismatch between what we are saying and our body language, then the person we are with will
believe the body language. Building rapport, therefore, begins with displaying appropriate body
language. This usually means being welcoming, relaxed and open.

As well as paying attention to and matching body language with the person we are with, it also
helps to match their words. Reflecting back and clarifying what has been said are useful tactics
for repeating what has been communicated by the other person. Not only will it confirm that you
are listening but also give you opportunity to use the words and phases of the other person,
further emphasising similarity and common ground. (See Reflecting and Clarifying for more
information)

The way we use our voice is also important in developing rapport. When we are nervous or
tense, we tend to talk more quickly. This in turn can make you sound more stressed. We tend to
vary our voices, pitch, volume and pace to make what we are saying more interesting, but it also
has an effect on how we come across. Try lowering your tone and talk more slowly and softly.
This will actually help you develop rapport more easily.

Helpful Rapport Building Behaviours

There are certain behaviours that are particularly helpful in building rapport. These include:

 If you are sitting, then lean towards the person you are talking to, with hands open and
arms and legs uncrossed. This is open body language and will help you and the person
you are talking to feel more relaxed.
 Look at the other person for approximately 60% of the time. Give plenty of eye-contact
but be careful not to make them feel uncomfortable.
 When listening, nod and make encouraging sounds and gestures.
 Smile!
 Use the other person’s name early in the conversation. This is not only seen as polite
but will also reinforce the name in your mind so you are less likely to forget it!
 Try to ask the other person open questions (the type of questions that require more than
a yes or no answer). These questions are more comfortable to answer, because you are
not being put on the spot to give a clear opinion (see our pages: Questioning and Types
of Question)
 Avoid contentious topics of conversation. It is much easier to stick to the weather, the
last speaker, and travel arrangements than risk falling out over politics.
 Use feedback to summarise, reflect and clarify back to the other person what you think
they have said. This gives opportunity for any misunderstandings to be rectified quickly.
 Talk about things that refer back to what the other person has said. Find links
between common experiences.
 Try to show empathy.Demonstrate that you can understand how the other person feels
and can see things from their point of view. (See: What is Empathy? for more)
 When in agreement with the other person, openly say so and say why.
 Build on the other person’s ideas.
 Be non-judgemental towards the other person. Let go of stereotypes and any
preconceived ideas you may have about the person.
 If you have to disagree with the other person, give the reason first, then say you
disagree.
 Admit when you don’t know the answer or have made a mistake. Being honest is
always the best tactic, and acknowledging mistakes will help to build trust.
 Be genuine, with visual and verbal behaviours working together to maximize the impact
of your communication.
 Offer compliments, avoid criticism and be polite.