INTRODUCTION
Communication using verbal and written language is the single human activity that is at the centre of human activity. It is believed by many scholars as the most important and the only human activity that differentiates human beings from other creatures. Though other creatures can pass to each other different messages, this is at the most rudimental level and not as complicated as it is among human beings when they use language.
Given the importance that communication holds among human beings, it has attracted a lot of attention in terms of what it is and what it involves. The starting point of the debate in understanding communication starts with the definition of the concept of communication. The word communication is derived from the Greek word ‘comunicare’ that is literary translated as ‘to make common’ or ‘to share’. This means that communication is essentially a form of interaction. From this root word, communication can be defined as the process of transmitting information in form of data, messages and instructions from one source to another.
Besides the rudimental definition of communication above, scholars have provided many different definitions of the concept of communication. This means that no single definition of communication is adequate to explain this phenomenon. This is because different scholars define communication to refer to different notions of the concept.
Among the outstanding scholars of communication are (Theodorson and Theodorson 1969) who define communication as the transmission of information, ideas, attitudes or emotions from one person or group of people to another person or group of people. The key concepts in this definition are information which refers to the exchange of knowledge and information. For example if you write to someone a letter telling him/her that on a particular day you are going to pay him/her a visit, you are communicating because you are making them aware of an event or activity that they did not know before.
Idea in this definition refers to new concepts and thoughts. For example in an organisation you may have a problem, therefore if you come up with a way of solving that particular problem during a brain storming session, then you have communicated.
Attitude and emotions go together and they refer to the feelings-either positive or negative about a situation or a person that the individual has. For example if someone under your supervision does not follow instructions in the execution of a task you have assigned him/her, you are likely to reprimand such a person. When you do reprimand such a person, you have communicated but what has been transmitted is your feeling of dislike towards the person or task that was executed.
The other key concept in the above definition is transmission. It is one thing to have ideas, information and emotion, but what is crucial is the transfer of these from one point to the other. This essentially means that for communication to take place there has to be two parties willing or forced by circumstances to participate in the process. There has to be a sender-the one with information and the receiver- one whom the information is meant for. There has to be need for the sender to send and the receiver to receive. In this case communication is any process of getting a message from the source to its intended recipient.
Another important scholar to consider is (Osgood 1957) who defines communication as a situation where one system-the source influences another- the destination, by manipulation of alternative symbols which can be transmitted over the channel that connects them. The key concept in this definition of communication is manipulation of symbols, normally of a common language with the purpose of influencing the behaviour of the other party. For example when one winks or writes a note to someone, he/she has manipulated the linguistic resources at his/her disposal to make someone respond to him. The response is the evidence of successful manipulation of the other party.
This means that Osgood’s definition brings to communication a clear concept that Theodorson and Theodorson’s definition is lacking. The point of reference is that all communication is purposeful. It is not just a matter of transmitting messages but those messages must influence the party they have been sent to. This means that on the reception of the message, the recipient must change his/her behaviour and attitude as a consequence of the message that is the subject of the communication process.
(Garbner 1967) defines communication as a social interaction through messages. Garbner improves upon the definitions and general understanding of communication by introducing the concept of interaction. This means that communication is an end and not a means to an end. Ultimately the function and importance of communication is the facilitation of human interaction. When one makes a speech at a wedding party for example, such a speech is among other reason a manifestation of social interaction. In other words, communication enables human being deal with or relate to other human beings.
From the above definitions of communication, the following concepts become very crucial in the understanding of communication. These are sender, channel, message, receiver, effect and context in which communication occurs. To the above six, one could add encoding and decoding as equally important in the understanding of communication. It is important to analyse each of the concepts listed above in terms of its relevancy and importance to the process of communication.
In the communication equation, the sender refers to the party from whom the communication is initiated. He/she is the person who starts the communication process. The reasons as to why he/she initiates the process are as varied as the different senders in the communication process. The reason could be passing over information, giving directives, making inquiries or socialising.
The channel is another important concept in communication. It refers to the outlet or form through which the message is transmitted. It is good to have a message, but this message is useless unless it can be transferred to the intended party. To ensure that the message reaches the intended audience, it must be transferred through an appropriate channel. The sender must consider the most appropriate channel to use in the sending of the message. The practical issues are always to do with whether the use of verbal or non verbal, oral or written forms in communicating. The message determines the best channel to be used given the message being sent and the reasons why it is being sent. What is important though is the choice of the channel has an impact on the effectiveness of the message.
The receiver is another important concept in communication. This refers to the person or a group of people for whom the message is intended. In a lay man’s language, the receiver is the audience that is targeted by the communication intervention. In other words the message is designed and sent to specific person(s). The receiver/audience is important in the communication process because they determine the type of message and the channel to be employed as well as other nuances that are necessary for effective communication. For example, the type of audience determines the language to use. If you are communicating to the unread, rural people in the case of Uganda, using Oxford type of English will be useless because the audience will fail to understand the message.
In the communication process, the concepts of encoding and decoding are equally important. Encoding refers to the translation of the message into a language or codes that the sender thinks will transmit the message effectively. For example the English word ‘thanks’ has many equivalents. It could be ‘merci’ in French, ‘dankens’ in German, ‘webale’ in Luganda and ‘asante’ in Swahili. Any of the above expressions does express the emotion of thanks or being grateful. Encoding calls on the sender to choose the most appropriate symbols given the channel available to him/her and the nature of the audience. If the audience is non-French speaking, it is useless to use the French equivalent of the word ‘thanks’ and if they are blind writing it down will be useless as well.
Decoding is the concept that is on the reverse side of encoding. It refers to the ability of the audience/receiver to interpret and understand the message that has been sent to him/her. In other words there is need for the principle of double coincidence between the sender and the receiver. In the end what matters is that the receiver should understand exactly what the sender wanted him/her to understand. For this to happen, the receiver must use the linguistic and non-verbal resources at his/her disposal to decipher the message.
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
Communication can be best analysed in terms of levels or the broad social context in which it occurs or operates. This specifically means that the context-that is the place, the purpose and the people involved in the communication event determine how it is shaped, develops and achieves its specific purpose. For example, two neighbours talking about the weather and an administrator addressing a staff meeting have different aims to achieve, will use varied linguistic resources to achieve these aims and will structure their messages and transmit them through different channels. This means that even if the same people are involved in different communication experiences, the different experience will determine how they communicate.
Among the levels of communication is the inter-personal level of communication. This is the type of communication that takes place between two or more people. It is usually face to face and the topics of discussion are drawn from their everyday experiences. The type of communication between work mates at work or husband and wife at home or parents advising their children at home qualify as inter-personal communication. The main characteristic of this type of communication is that it is face to face and as such the communicator is not strained in communicating. The other characteristic is that there is immediate feedback as the responses and reactions of the receiver are there for the sender to see. In other words, the communicator can know for sure whether his/her message has been understood or not. It should be noted that inter-personal communication also uses the verbal channel at most times, though occasionally the written forms are employed.
The second level of communication is the small group communication. As the name suggests, it is the communication between small groups. It is hard to define a small group but it could be roughly three to ten people, though even more than ten people could constitute a small group. The main characteristic of this type or level of communication is the limited number. The limitation is normally associated to the aspects of life that unite them. For example, co-workers in a staff meeting qualify as a small group communicating. The other characteristic of small group communication is that all members are equal in status and if there are differences of title and rank, it is minimal and as such all participate equally in the communication. It should be noted that inter-personal communication and small group communication are similar because they employ the two-way communication model where there is interaction between the sender and the receiver of the message through the use of the feedback loop.
The other level of communication is the large group communication. As the name suggests, this is the type of communication that takes place among many people. Many people could be hard to quantify, but on average you are looking at more than twenty people engaged in a communication event. Large group communication is characterised by the existence of too many people. Therefore, the speaker is addressing many people normally from different backgrounds. For example a pastor preaching on Sunday, will be talking to rich, poor, women, men adults and children. The other related characteristic of large group communication is that participation is limited. Supposing you have one thousand people in a hall, it is inconceivable that all of them will be allowed to talk. In any case some of the context that brings about large group communication, like church services, political rallies, musical concerts to mention but a few, do not allow for audience participation and feedback. Lack of audience participation also means that this type of communication employs the one-way models of communication that do not allow for feedback. This type of communication assumes that the audience need the information from an expert source and therefore have no input to make in the process.
The other level of communication is known as public or mass communication. This is the type that involves one source that communicates to a large audience-hence the name mass communication. The communication takes place through impersonal channels like newspapers, television, radio and of late the internet. It should be noted that the audience for mass communication messages are undefined and anonymous. The concept of Mass communication is best defined by looking at the two words that form the word. These are ‘mass’ and ‘communication’. Mass refers to many and communication is defined as the process of transmitting information, data or knowledge from one party to the other. Therefore in a layman’s language, Mass Communication is the transmission of information for a large, normally of diverse characteristics, group of people.
McQuail (2005:17) defines Mass Communication in terms of mass media, which he says is:
The term mass media refers to the organised means of communicating openly and at a distance to many receivers within a short time of space.
This means that Mass communication is a way or a process of communicating to many within a limited frame of time and space. For example a news broadcast of an international radio station like BBC which can reach millions of listeners instantly is Mass Communication.
McQuail’s definition of Mass Communication is to a larger extent in agreement with that of Baran and Davis (2003:10) who define Mass Communication as:
When an organisation employs technology as a medium to communicate with a large audience, Mass Communication is said to have occurred.
Using the example of professionals at The New York Times, they show that Mass Communication for all purposes and intents-despite a few points of contention like reception of personalised information or generating information out side the organisation, is about the delivery of information to many people unrestricted by distance and time. From the two definitions of Mass Communication by McQuail, Baran and Davis, it is clear that Mass Communication is an important field of social organisation and scholarly pursuit.
The other interest in the levels of communication is to do with how the information moves within an organisation or society. To this effect there are three levels of the flow of information in any organisation. These include, up-down flow, down-up flow and lateral flow of information. The up-down flow of information is the situation where information flows from the top of the organisation-for example from the CEO of the company down to the lowest ranked member of the organisation either directly or through other subordinates. It is used by managers of an organisation to:
1. Assign goals and duties to their employees. For example, the CEO will write a memo to the production manager to the effect that having secured a new firm to supply their goods, production must increase and possibly by what units. Such a correspondence comes directly from the top down to someone response.
2. Giving instructions and specifications is also best done using up-down communication flow. For example a foreman can pin a duty rota on the notice board instructing every one what to do and how to do it for the staff’s notice. This is because if people are allowed to debate what they are to do and how they are to do it, nothing will get done.
3. Up-down type of communication is used to inform members of the new policies of the organisation. Management can decide that the cause of low productivity in the organisation is late coming. After their meeting, they can communicate this to the workers in form of a new policy.
The channels most used by this type of information flow include memos, letters, notices and bulletins. [These forms of communication are handled in the later section of the book.]
The other type of the flow of communication-especially in an organisation- is the down-up ward communication. This is where the information flows from the lower levels of the organisation to the top management. This allows for the lower cadres of the organisation to communicate to the managers of an organisation. It involves the provision of feedback, information on the progress of the tasks and bringing to the notice of management the current problems that the organisation is experiencing. It is also a mechanism through which management is made aware of the current feelings of the employees to the issues that affect their productivity.
Down-upward communication employs some of the following techniques in the transfer of information. Attitude surveys are one of the methods used. This involves management sending out a questionnaire or hiring outside consultant to research on the feelings of the employees about the conditions under which they work. It is important to note that an outside consultant is likely to get better results for management to act on than an insider as the employees will feel free and open to an outsider than someone perceived as an extension of management.
Reports are another technique employed in the down-upward flow of information. This is when management commissions an official to investigate a problem in one of the sections of or the entire company. For example if the productivity of the workers suddenly dips, management can task the production manager to find out why this is the case. After doing his research, he is expected to write a report. This report is an avenue of information flow from the lower levels to the top managers.
The grapevine is another avenue through which information can flow from the bottom to the top. The grapevine is an informal mechanism through which management has eyes and ears among the workers. These confidants of management regularly report to management the mood and attitude among the workers and such information informs the actions and decisions that management takes. It is actually a formalised rumour mill that management depend on.
The value of such a form of communication flow is that it filters information for the managers. This because the employees may be intimidated by the bosses and fail to say what the real problem is. But among themselves, they will be open and candid and therefore the boss who uses the grapevine gets the real feelings of the workers. It also acts a feedback mechanism through which the manager gets information on almost everything from office romance to conflict in the organisation. Such information is crucial in the decision making process of the organisation.
On the negative side, the grapevine can create conflicts in the organisation. The confidant may be motivated by self interest and ends up spreading misinformation about others or so that he is the good books of the boss. If such malicious and inaccurate information is used to make decisions, then wrong people will be victimised. Related to the above is lack of control on what information the confidant of the boss brings to the attention of the boss and also an atmosphere of fear is created where everyone assumes that the next person is the spy for management. In such an atmosphere, the organisation cannot prosper.
The third form of information flow is one that is termed as lateral communication. This is the type that takes place among peers in an organisation. For example when the human resource manager directly communicates to the financial officer, such communication is among people of the same rank without passing through the top managers.
Such communication flow is useful because it cuts the red tape in an organisation which sometimes hinders performance. For example, if the human resource manager writes a memo to the financial officer about the availability of funds so that he/she can hire more employers, such a measure will be quicker and efficient than when he/she writes to the MD, who in turn writes to the financial officer who responds to the MD and then the MD writes back to the human resource manager. By the time the communication chain is complete, a lot of time and consequently productivity of the organisation will have been lost.
This mode of information flow in an organisation is also good because it creates co-ordination among the different heads of section in the organisation. Such co-ordination can improve productive in the organisation and improve on the efficiency among the workers. This is because actions are taken quickly.
On the negative side though, lateral communication can create unnecessary conflicts when formal channels are abused. For example when some officers are jumped, they can feel unappreciated and may deliberately slow the process, especially when top management refer to them for implementation. The bosses may feel insecure if certain actions are taken without their input and knowledge which can lead to conflict, malice and intrigue which can affect the productivity and efficiency of the organisation. It could also create conflicts and cliques in an organisation that can have an adverse effect on the productivity of the organisation.
Another level or classification of communication has to do with how it is produced. From this perspective there is oral and written communication. Oral communication is that type that depends on the manipulation of vocal organs to produce sounds that have meaning to the intended audiences. The advantages of oral communication are that it is rapid in the sense that the message is delivered instantaneously. That is to say once the communicator speaks, the audience listen, understand and take in the message at the same time. The other related advantage is that there is immediate feedback. That is to say the audience respond to the message there and then. Because of feedback it is easy to make corrections and adjust the structure and content of the message that make the message more effective. This also eliminates any distortions that are associated with transmission and environment in the communication process.
Written communication is the type that relies on graphic and graphetic symbols and signs in transmission of the message. Written communication takes many forms. These include, handwritten, typewritten and currently the internet. The advantages of written communication are that the message is tangible in that the receiver can have the message physically in his/her hands as evidence that communication has taken place. The other advantage is that written communication is durable. This means that the message can be stored and retrieved for use at a latter day. Written communication is of advantage because it allows for the communication of complex issues such as legal provisions. It also allows for careful consideration of and correction and arrangement of the message.
The shortcomings of written communication are that it is time consuming. The time spent in drafting and sending the message to the recipient is long compared to oral communication. This means that there is no immediacy in the message and sometimes the message can be overtaken by events. For example, if you wrote a letter and posted, it may take a week to reach the recipient when oral communication like a telephone takes less than a minute to transmit the same message. It does not allow for immediate feedback as is the case with oral communication.
The other level of communication is the non-verbal. This is the type where no word is used in the communication process but communication takes place through the use of paralinguistic features such as gestures, facial expression and silence to mention but a few. For example when someone asks you for something and you shake your head that signal a negative response and the person will understand you-sometimes better than if you had said no. Likewise when someone keeps quiet during a talk, the silence is communicative feedback that could mean he/she is upset, dissatisfied or thinking about the subject.
TYPES OF NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION AND THEIR USE IN COMMUNICATION
Non-verbal communication is sometimes referred to as body talk/language. This means that someone can communicate without speaking or writing but by the movement of the body. Non-verbal communication is useful in a communication process because it sometimes arguments or compliments oral communication. For example if someone says yes while nodding the head, the nodding emphasizes the message being transmitted. It also encourages oral communication in the sense that it compliments oral communication for effectiveness. The fact that a non-verbal sign can have different meaning can be a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that the speaker can easily hide meaning from those who are not familiar with the gesture or body language and curse in the sense that difference meanings can lead to misinterpretation of the message sent especially if the audience interprets the message differently from the sender.
The following are some of the ways in which body language of kinesics of body communication works. One of the ways of how body language can be used in communication is facsics. This called facial communication to whereby facial actions are coded into messages. For example a gloomy face communicates anger, smiling face happiness, a frowning face surprise or thinking to mention but a few.
The other aspect of body language is ocalics. This is communication using the eyes. The eyes can be used to send any message to anyone watching the person. For example a twinkle of an eye would mean that someone is planning something mischievous, laughter in eyes could mean that someone is happy and so on.
The third aspect of body language is gestics. Gestics refers to the use of body movement to communicate. The movements of the body can communicate a multitude of messages such as mood, status, affiliation, ethnicity and identity. For example when someone kneels to greet, the kneeling indicates respect, when someone embraces another person, it is a sign of affection and if two people are walking, the one of a higher status walks ahead therefore a demonstration of who is more important than the other.
Gestures are the other type of body language. Gestures are defined as the movement of the hands and the head specifically to send a message. The gestures are either speech independent in the sense that they can communicate on their own for example a nod means agreement or speech related in the sense that a gesture is accompanied by words. For example if someone says while nodding, then the nod is a speech related gestures.
Gestures are divided into four sub groups. These are emblems the type of gestures that have direct verbal translations for example the language of the deaf where each gesture has a corresponding meaning such as the circular movement of the hand means all.
The illustrators are those gestures that are used to aid verbal messages for example if someone says bring it here while the hand is pointing where the item should be put, the point is an illustrative gesture. The regulators is the gesture that is used by the audience to act as a feedback for example when one listens while nodding the head, it means he/she is following, is impressed or agrees with the speaker while the shaking of the head means the listener is not impressed.
The adaptors are the other aspect of gestures. This is a type of gesture which shows adaptation to the communication situation. For example if someone has a blank expression on the face during a speech, it will mean that he/she is not bored by the speech or can not follow what the speaking is talking about.
Affection displays are the other forms of gestures. This is where a movement of the face communicates a message. For example is someone winks, the person is attracting the attention of someone or indicating that he/she understands what the other person is saying.
Haptics is defined as the use if touch to communicate a message. This is a type of body talk where the contact between the sender of the message and the intend audience is a transmission of the message. For example hugging means affection, love, welcome or happiness and kissing means greeting or love and a handshake means welcome. It should be noted that haptics is culture and gender specific. This is because a hug may mean affection in one culture and intimacy in the other.
The physical characteristics of the person communicating play a role in the transmission of the message. This involves the attractiveness in the sense that attractive or good looking people are responded to positively when they communicate in most occasions. The body size of the person is equally effective in communication. Short and small people are not taken as seriously of those with an imposing figure. In fact most effective speakers in history have been people of big statures. The same applies to height. Tall people are likely to be effective communicators. And in a similar way women are in most case considered to be less effective speakers than men.
Proxemics is another aspect of body language. It is defined as communication using space. During a speaking occasion, people then to use space to supplement their delivery. The space around the speaker expands and contracts according to ones emotional state, cultural background and intentions. For example if a speaker moves closer to the audience, it makes him closer to them. Therefore, the way the speaker exploits the aspects of social, physical, personal and intimate space can enhance his effectiveness.
Paravocalics is the use of vocal effects to accompany the words in oral communication. It involves the tone of voice, the speed of speaking, the volume, pitch, pause and stress in a speech. These aspects have a way in which the reinforce the message of the speaker. This is because they add meaning to the words of the speaker. For example when someone speaks at a high speed, it shows that he/she is either excited or angry. On the other hand people who are angry tend to be loud and a pause will indicate emphasis.
Chronemics is the use of time to communicate to ones self or others. Time is conceived as circular, linear, formal or informal. Following circular time means that one is not under pressure to stick to time. Time in this case depends on seasons, day and night. For example at night people in Africa told stories because the stories did not competed with other activities. Linear time is when each activity has got a specific time slot and therefore the speaker ensures that he/she sticks to the time allocated to him/her.
Olfactics is the use of smell as a means of communication. The way someone smells can affect whether he/she communicates effective. For example imagine listen at close quarters someone who has bad body smell or breath. The way someone smells can have an impact on whether people listen to him/her attentively.
Artiactics refers to the ornaments that the speaker has on during the speech. Personal items like clothing, jewelry and make up have an impact on the effectiveness of the speaker. A well dressed speaker will most likely draw the audience’s attention than one who is shabbily dressed.
FUNCTION OF COMMUNICATION
As pointed out in the introduction, communication is the most important activity that distinguishes human being from other beings. This is because communication plays very many important functions in society. These functions could accrue to individuals or to a group or to the entire human society. For example, when your friend in another university or town writes you a letter, he/she is communicating and in so doing is adding value to your life by telling you of what you do not know. Likewise when you listen to a public service announcement on how to prevent cholera on a radio, communication is saving your life and probably that of your community. The following are some of the functions that communication plays in a society.
1. The most important function of communication is educational. This means that communication is used to educate. For example when you watch a TV documentary on wildlife or when you read a book from a library, you are qualitatively and quantitatively improving your life. Through communication, people come to learn new things that improve their lives for the better.
2. Communication also enables people to search for and receive information. This could be facts, data or figures. Such information obtained gives satisfaction by creating awareness of and understanding social, political and economical realities. The information received especially from credible sources can be used by the receiver in many different ways to improve his/her life.
3. The other function of communication is that it provides entertainment. Communication tends to be attention arousing and gives pleasure to the people accessing such information. For example, reading a novel or watching a movie is some of the means that people use to get entertained. Therefore, the radio, TV, newspapers, theatre, oral performance, the internet and other forms of communication are used by people to make them happy and avoid boredom. By entertainment we mean, an event, performance, or activity designed to give pleasure or relaxation to an audience (McQuail, 2000). Examples of entertainment include: music, films, movies, sports, soap operas, comedies, cartoons, horoscopes, graphics, colour pictures etc.
Entertainment performs various roles in society including motivation where entertainment media provides specific ways to satisfy psychological needs, relaxation by providing users with a variety of opportunities to be amused, to have fun and pleasure, to be enlightened and delighted, in short to be entertained (Vorderer, 2000) and education where entertainment forms of drama, dance or music are used to portray certain messages to achieve a particular causes (Zillmann, 2001).
4. Another function of communication is that it is used to give and receive instructions. The messages sent may give people tips on how to perform a certain task or achieve a certain activity. For example when one reads a map on a journey to unknown place, the map will give him/her the instructions of how to reach his/her destination. Likewise someone who watches or listens to a cooking programme on radio or TV will get tips on how to prepare a particular meal. In this case, communication has not only provided such people with information by also instructed them on how to use that information.
5. Communication also plays a persuasive function in society. According to The Persuasion Handbook: Developments in Theory and Practice, persuasion is a symbolic transaction, which uses reason and/or emotional appeals in an attempt to alter behaviour. Persuasion is thought to fall short of direct coercive force, though the threat of coercion is often present. Both persuasion and coercion attempt to change the behaviour of "others," but they differ in their approach. While coercion actively attempts to apply physical pressures to its targets, persuasion seeks to convince a target to change its behaviour (though persuasive messages may include threats of coercion). Thus persuasive communication seeks to change behaviour without direct force. For example when someone listens to a radio advertisement or attends a political rally, both forms of communication will attempt to influence him/her to change his/her behaviour or attitude towards the objection of the communication
6. Communication is useful to an organisation because it is used to control the behaviour of members in an organisation. The members are informed of their mistakes through communication. At the same time they are praised for their good performance again through communication. Those who do wrong when warned through a letter of warning for example are likely to change and improve on their conduct while those who do well and are complimented, are motivated to do even better through communication. This means that the aims, goals and plans of the organisation will be achieved and efficiency will be realised since feedback is important to the members of an organisation.
7. One of the basic functions of communication is that it fosters social interaction. Whether in a group or individually people are social animals and will always interact with each others. Therefore, when one converses with a friend, asks for direction from a stranger or writes a letter to the editor complaining about the poor social services the government provides to his community, this form of social interaction is made possible through communication. That is why it is believed that without communication human life and existence would loose its meaning.
8. For the case of an organisation and especially those members in that organisation in management positions, communication facilitates the decision making process. Any decision taken means that other alternatives have been discarded. Therefore, to be sure that the decision taken is the right one, the person taking the decision needs information and data about all the alternatives to identify and evaluate the best option to take.
BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
As it has been pointed out in the introductory parts of this book, communication is usefully when the communication link between the sender and receiver is maintained. If for one reason or another, this link is broken, communication can not take place. Therefore, it is important for all involved in the communication event to ensure that the link between the sender and receiver is maintained. It is good to have ideas and information to pass over to others, but quite frustrating is these can not be passed over effectively.
The question then, is what stops the sender reaching his/her intended receiver in a communication event? There are many factors that can lead to the breakdown of the communication link. Some are related to the sender himself and other are outside his control. It is important to identify such obstacles and find ways of minimising their effects and rectifying them or reducing their effects as much as possible. The following are some of the common barriers to communication.
1. One of the common communication barriers that occur without even the knowledge of the communicators themselves is filtering. Filtering refers to the tendency among the communicators to communicate what they perceive their audience want to hear. This means that they edit and restrict what they are going to write or talk about in a given communication scenario. This tends to be common where the relationship between the sender and the receiver is that of a boss-subordinate. The person of the lower rank will tend to say what he/she thinks the boss wants to here. In the process the real message is not delivered. The way forward should be that the speakers or writers should be bold and tell the truths without sugar coating it because in the end their honesty and candour will be appreciated.
2. Another barrier to communication is information over load. This is a situation where the speaker or writer gives to much information. There is a tendency among human being to believe that much is good. Therefore, people will try to impress by giving too much information to their audiences without gauging the ability of their audiences to internalise the information they have been given. For example, there are people who speak for 10 hours or write a one hundred page report. In the case of the speech after one and half hours at the most, the audience will be turned off and if the critical information of the delivery comes at the end, then the bored audience will certainly miss it. In the case of a one hundred page report the intended audience may not read it, especially when they have other responsibilities and if at all they do, they will simply skim or scan through the report. At the end of the day the communicator has failed to communicate because of information overload. The best policy should be moderation. Study your audience and determine how much they can absorb and structure your communication according.
3. The channel that one chooses to transmit his massage can turn out to a barrier to effective communication. Like in the case of information overload, the nature of your audience should determine the channel that you use for the delivery of the message. A channel appropriate to one audience may be inappropriate to another type of audience. For example, with all its advantages, using the written channel to communicate to an illiterate audience is self defeating. This is because they can not read and therefore a message that requires them to read is useless to them. Likewise if you decide to use a TV to communicate health messages to a population that is poor, can not afford a TV set and have no electric poor to operate the TVs, will be useless because the intended audience will not access the information.
4. The communication link can be broken by emotion. The state of emotion that both the sender and the receiver are in determines the effectiveness of the message. The speaker or writer must be in a good frame of mind to effectively communicate. Likewise the audience must be in a good and receptive mood to fully understand the message. If for one reason or the other the parties are not in a good mood the communication exercise will be useless. Take for example a person suspected to be responsible in one way or another for the death of someone to convince the mourners that he/she is wrongly accused of being involved in the deceased’s death.[Professor Nsibambi at Dr. Kiggundu’s funeral] However, good a speaker he/she is, he will not be listened to because the mourners are emotionally charged. Therefore, it is important to gauge the mood of the audience before you address them on controversial subjects.
5. The other barrier to effective communication is source credibility. This refers to the audiences’ perception of the speaker, either as trustworthy or untrustworthy. This comes from the history the audience has with the writer and speaker. If the speaker or writer has consistently exhibited communication behaviours that the audience find untrustworthy, the audience will find it hard to believe him/her even if at this point his/her message is critical. Therefore, it is important that if your job is to deal with the public, try to cultivate a good image of yourself and the organisation you serve. It is only then that the audience will take you seriously.
6. Language is another barrier to effective communication. Language in communication refers to the choice of words to use in a speech or a written text as well as the structures that are employed in the stringing together these words to make the meaning clear. It is important for communicators to gauge their audiences and decide on the type of language that is appropriate to them. It is true that use of ‘big’ and ‘complex’ words and structures is impressive. However, the bottom line is whether your audience can understand these words. It does not matter whether the message is important and of benefit to the audience, if the language used is hard to understand, the audience will not benefit from the message. The advice to communicators is to use simple words and sentence structures to ensure that all the people understand what they are communicating.
7. The other barriers to effective communication are the physiological conditions of the communicator. These are basically the physical and psychological disabilities that the communicator possesses. For example, if someone has got a bad handwriting or poor punctuation as a result of the inability to read and correct his/her mistakes in a written text, these will affect his/her ability to communicate effectively. Likewise someone who lisps or stammers, will create difficulties for the audience to follow his speech and him self to be coherent. Off course, these are natural handicaps that the individual has no power over. In other words you are born with them and there is nothing you can do about them. Nevertheless, if someone is aware of such handicap, he/she should attempt to be relaxed if he/she is giving a speech. This is because these handicaps are pronounced every time they are agitated.
8. Communication is also affected by external factors. The most significant is the environment in which the communication takes place. The atmosphere should be conducive if the communication process is to be effective. One of the factors that do interrupt communication significantly includes noise. If the place in which the speech is taking place is noisy probably because of traffic or rain, the speech will not be wholly understood by the audience. If there is anticipation of natural and environmental disturbances, the speaker and the organisers should plan and employ technological innovations to counter the disruptive effect of nature. The use of public address system could be useful in this case.
There are possibly other barriers to communication that have not been discussed in this section. However, the barriers listed above are the most common and frequently challenging ones. Therefore, all communicators should be aware of what can hinder the message reaching the intended audience and devise means to reduce on the impact of these barriers on the effectiveness of their communication.
THE HISTORY OF LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION
It is important to note that the origin of language is embedded in theory and myth. All the explanations of language carry divine and intellectual assumptions. Nevertheless, they all point at the power and diversity of language. The text concentrates on the impact of the printing press during industrial Europe on language and communication. This is based on the assumption that the printing press lead to the start of modern communication. However, human writing has got an interesting past and to understand the present types of language as a means of communication and more specifically writing, one ought to be familiar with the original types of writing. All types of written communication, it should be noted are related to the technological developments as explored below.
1. Pictograms/ideograms are believed to be the first forms of written language. This took the form of cave drawings such as those found at Attamira in Spain drawn by human beings who lived at that time. They are believed to be over 20,000 years old. They are portrayals of the kind of life and activities that people at that time were engaged in. Later these drawings were developed in such a way that each picture is a direct image of the object it represents. This type of writing has survived up to the present as seen in international sign language in traffic signs and the directions in parks and public places. It should be noted that there is no relationship between the language spoken in the era and the images.
2. Cuneiform system of writing was developed by the Sumerian who lived in Mesopotamia about 5000 years ago. These people were traders and used clay tablets to keep their records. They left a 17 volume dictionary that scholars are translating. However, their form of writing was a form of pictogram that was simplified and conventionalised. The symbols were produced using a wedge shaped stylus that was shaped in soft clay tablet. The symbol represented a sound and an object that it resembled abstractly.
3. The Egyptians, another ancient people who lived on the banks of river Nile developed heliographs system of language. This type of language is translated as the sacred curving. The drawing represented the sound or the word that it referred to. It was borrowed by many people who lived at the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. These included the Greeks who developed it into the modern alphabet that is named from the first letter called ‘alpha’ and the last called ‘beta’. The alphabetic system of writing is where sound systems are primarily phonemic rather than phonetic.
4. The Book and the Library were the beginning of modern communication. McQuail (2005:18) argues that: “The history of modern media and communication begins with the printed book- certainly a kind of revolution, yet only a technical device for reproducing the same, or rather a similar…” This was because of the invention of the printing press that produced cheaply popular and religious books that were very expensive before then. This meant that more and more people could read more especially when these cheap books were translated from Latin to the different vernacular languages of Europe. The critical importance of this development is that a book became another commodity and as a commodity it had value. The fact that a book was a valuable commodity, made it worthwhile for authors to write and with the emergence of the new rich in Europe as patrons of culture, Libraries were set up and with these two factors, the growth of literacy and development of mass media. The book and the library as forms of mass media have endured time and are still important as they were five hundred years ago.
5. Print Media started by the 19th century industrialisation had developed in Europe and with it came the expansion of urban population and consumerism. By its nature, consumerism is insatiable and demanding. Therefore, the book, as a form of mass media, was inadequate, because the large urban populations demanded regular and instantaneous products. With this new development and advances in technology, a new form of mass media emerged. This was the newspaper. In fact earlier classical writers like Dickens, published their novels initially as series to cater for this demand. McQuail (2005:20) argues thus:
In a sense the newspaper was more of an innovation than the printed book-the invention of a new literary, social and cultural form-even if it might not have been so perceived at the time.
The newspaper catered for the needs of the new class that was urban, business and professionally oriented, because it was regular, a commodity, with informational content, secular, free and serving a public function.
The newspaper evolved with time to create three distinct types: namely the political press which were published by the party to organise, inform and create a sense of activism among its members. The second type was the prestige paper for the elite class that had emerged in Europe at this time. The third type was the commercial newspaper, which operated as a business and dependant of advertising revenue to ensure mass readership.
6. Film developed in the middle of the 19th century is another technological novelty. This was the motion picture that as a mass medium created a leisure outlet for the masses and provided the working classes the cultural benefits of the elites. McQuail (2005:23) argues that: “The practice of combining improving message with entertainment had long been established in Literature and drama, but new elements in film were the capacity to reach so many people.” The above fact and the low price for this new form of communication and entertainment, made it attractive to mass audiences, because of its universal appeal and strong social control.
7. Broadcasting. Radio and Television both grew out of existing technologies of the telephone and photography and with their advent came a new era in communication. Their main characteristics that make them endeared to the masses are the large out put, range and reach as well as diverse content that can reach mass audience without restrictions of time and place. Despite heavy regulations of these mediums, they have remained the most popular forms of communication in the world.
8. Recorded Music. Another technological advance was the invention of the phonogram and later the compact cassette and the compact disc and more recently the DVD. These inventions have made it possible for music to get to a mass audience.
Good Language Usage Practices
Take a few minutes to explore the piece of writing below. Note that it could be a piece of writing or speech. Whatever it is does not matter because it does not take anything off it as a good piece of writing.
Jane Namukasa thought she heard the car’s radio. Then she realised the sounds were voices of a cat. And it was mewing from inside a cardboard box. Namukasa freed the white striped cat from the box that it had been left to die.
The four sentences are an apt example of good writing. They are short and direct. They do not dally. The words are unvarnished and are precise. Whatever audience you plan to communicate to and whatever the form of your communication, to be effective, you have to employ the techniques employed by the writer of the passage above. This is because you as a communicator-the source of information, are competing with numerous sources of information and your audience do not have the time to sort out what you are communicating. They want the information crisp, clear and accurate. To ensure that your communication is crisp, clear and accurate, you as a communicator must pay attention to the following.
Precision
A communicator should be like a musician in the sense that he/she should worry about hitting the right notes. He/she should worry about choosing the right words that are not only grammatically correct, but also semantically precise. These are words that should say exactly what the communicator wants to say. This is because the curse and gift of English language is its richness of vocabulary. It offers countless opportunities to get it wrong in choosing a right word to use because superabundance of words. In the same vein, this superabundance has the capability of describing our experiences with a remarkable degree of exactness. Therefore for effectively communicate, do not just use a word: make sure that the word says exactly what you want to say.
For example examine the problem with the passage below. “A blackout of undetermined origin cut of power last night. Lights flickered off throughout the city at 7:26 pm.” The writer wanted to inform his/her audience that the power failed at 7:26 pm. The words he/she chose could not do that. For instance a blackout cannot cut of power, it is what happens when power is cut off. And power that has been cut off cannot flicker on and off.
Note that English gives you the wealth of possibilities to express yourself. However, make sure that you choose well for the possibilities are enormous. Take for example the possibilities of expressing the act of illegally taking someone else’s property which has the following: steal, extort, burglary, rob, blackmail, stickup, pilfer, lift, larceny, sack, swipe, rip off, pinch, shoplift, holdup, mug, plunder, piracy, embezzle, filch, heist, swindle, knockoff, second-story job, poach, purloin and theft. The other example is the expression carrying the meaning that something has been communicated. Said is substitutable with: announced, told, maintained, suggested, stated, exclaimed, added, revealed, shouted, declared, indicated, recalled, charged, argued, noted, insisted, claimed, retorted and pointed out. Therefore, if ones property is taken at gunpoint has he/she been robbed, held up, burglarised or ripped off? The right expression is held up, but the point is the numerous possibilities that for all purposes and intents are wrong and will never say exactly what the communicator wanted to say. To be a good communicator, one must be able sense when he/she is using a wrong expression and ability to find an acceptable substitute. This calls for hard work and study.
Clarity
The question that any writer or speaker should ask him/herself is whether they want to be effective communicators or bad poets. The truth is that the world is full of and the audiences are tied of bad poets. Therefore, one should avoid the trap of unclarity. Take the case of political correctness that requires that instead of saying ‘killing’ one should say ‘unlawful or arbitrary deprivation of human life.’ This is the kind of expression that all communicators should avoid. There is no reason why one should use seven words when one can do. In the same line there is no excuse for substituting an obscure though less upsetting phrase for a blunt direct word. The aim of all communicators should be to tell their ‘stories’ in a simple and straight way.
To ensure that the message is communicated in a clear way, you should try to balance the content and style. Check out the passage below: “In a bloodbath of Homeric proportions, 289 of our brethren saw the hooded spectre of death on the city’s main thoroughfares last year.” The above passage is quite impressive in terms of style but it hardly communicates. The role of the communicator is to engage and entertain but their ultimate role is to communicate. It is true that literary flourishes, obscure terms and jargon as used in the passage above may impress but hardly communicate. One should go for words that are more easily understood. The passage above could have clearly put as: “As of yesterday afternoon, 289 people had died on the roads this year.” Writers and speakers at all times should ensure that their messages are conveyed in simple and unvarnished language.
Difficult Words and Slang
A good communicator must at all times leave words that he/she strains to fit in his/her communication in the dictionary. There is no sense in using a word that a significant number of your audience will not understand. For example consider the passage below and ask yourself if the writer or speaker has communicated. “A court edict has temporarily interdicted the dismissal of Kakoza Henry, Kampala city’s communication director, who has been the subject of considerable contention.” The words, edict, interdicted and contention are not common words and therefore, many people would not understand what the speaker or writer is saying. The speaker would have communicated easily by simply saying that: “Kakoza Henry’s dismissal has been stopped.”
Speakers and writers should avoid the use of slangs. Slang may seem common and current, but in real sense they are unfamiliar to many people and besides it is informal. For example the word ‘can’ in the sentence below is used as slang and as such it can cause problems to the audiences. “A court order has knocked down plans to can James Kuloba.” What the writer should have said: “The court has stopped the firing of James Kuloba,” which would have been clear. Below is a list of words that are difficult, their slang versions and the common words that writers and speakers should endeavour to use. Apprehend, burst, arrest; officer of the law, cop, policeman/woman; exemplary, bad, good; gentleman, dude, man; relieve oneself of stress, chill, calm down and cannabis, pot, marijuana.
Jargon
Jargon is another enemy of clear communication. As it was noted earlier, every profession has its own specialised language. It is wrong on the part of the writer or speaker to assume that because he/she knows the meaning of the word, the audience does as well-unless he/she is speaking or writing to an exclusive audience. Therefore, if one is talking or writing about jargon-infested professions and hobbies, one must take the responsibility to translate the specialised language so that they can be understood by the general public. Failure to translate will leave many in the audience confused. Take the example of the sentence below: “The galaxy is more than 100 light years away.” The question is what are ‘100 light years?’ Such a scientific expression should be explained or translated. The addition of the expression, “The galaxy is more than100 light years away; in other words, it would take light more than 100 years to reach it.” However, if the unfamiliar term is not important enough to force on the audience, then it is wise to replace it completely with a translation. Consider the expression in the sentence below: “Two years of declining apartment occupancy rates have hurt landlords.” The phrase, ‘apartment occupancy rates’ may be common to real estate professional but not to the ordinary person. Therefore, for one to communicate, the sentence should be translated as follows: “Landlords have been hurt by two years in which the percentage of apartments they have been able to rent has declined.”
One should note that in the process of communication, there is a considerable temptation to use the jargon on the assumption that your audience will understand what you are saying. One should never make this assumption. Every profession has its own specialised language which is not understandable to the common person. For example economists will talk of sub prime rate-the interest rate at which favoured customers can borrow; for the undertaker-people do not die but pass away; garbage collectors talk of themselves as sanitary engineers; lawyers talk of affidavits and so on. It is true that using simple language is not easy but then it is not impossible. If one works hard at his/her communication, he/she will surely find a way around the jargon.
Conciseness
The rule that all effective communicators should try to learn and employ is that every word that they use must not only be understood, it must have a purpose. The audience’s time is too valuable to them to just squander. Therefore no word one uses should ever appear as wasted. This is when one uses words that are unnecessary. There are three main causes of unnecessary use of words.
These are redundancy, wasteful phrases and detour words. Redundancy is when a speaker or writer uses a word or words that are not necessary to communicate his/her message. Take the example of the sentence below: “Whenever Manchester United is ahead on points, it is assured of the trophy.” There is no other way a football team could be ahead apart from points. Therefore, the writer or speaker should have avoided redundancy by simply saying: “Whenever Manchester United is ahead, it is assured of the trophy.” To avoid using redundant words and modifiers, one should try replacing them with their opposites. If the resultant sentence does not make sense, then the original word or modifier is unnecessary. For example if something is destroyed you cannot say it is partially or completely because if it is destroyed it is destroyed.
Below are some of the common redundant phrases: over exaggerate, two twins, future plans, quick second, controversial issue, very first, general consensus, true fact, sad frown, past history, personal feeling, assembled crowd, loud scream, dead copse/man, little baby, definite proof, young freshman, an approximate estimate, close down, Jewish rabbi, new record, and 7 a.m in the morning.
Wasted phrases refer to when a phrase is used where a single word can do. For example should one use: ‘The Department of Literature is located in the Faculty of Arts.’ Or ‘The Department of Literature is in the Faculty of Arts.’ The answer is that ‘in’ is a better option than ‘located in’. Below are some of potentially wasteful phrases. These include: at this point in time-now, as a result of-because, strike a tune-play, venture a suggestion-suggest, take action-act, with the exception of-except, was the recipient of-received, is of the opinion that-believes, in the event that-if, along the lines of-like, due to the fact that-because, with reference to-about, having to do with-about, in the near future-soon, at the present time-now, for the purpose of-to, in an effort to-to and in order to-to.
Detour words by their nature are vague and always lead to the creation of a wordy sentence. For this reason a speaker or writer should try as much as possible to avoid such words. On of the commonest detour word is involved. Such a word and others like it, make the description too week to be meaningful. In this case, the writer or speaker should substitute the detour word with a more specific one. For example, instead of saying: “She died after she was involved in a car accident.” One should rather say: She died in a car accident.” The difference between the two sentences is obvious. The first one is wordy and long as compared to the second one. And also the meaning is clear and straight forward in the second sentence.
Directness
All writers and speakers are at a certain level emotionally involved in the subject their write or speak about. That they are so tuned into the complexities of their subjects make them incapable of writing or speaking of the account in a clear and straightforward manner for the listeners or readers to understand. This is because their sentences will appear entangled with the emotion of the subject.
If you are ever in such a situation, the advice that can be given to you is that after the first draft of your speech or essay get time to reread it for clarity. This will eventually help you to revise those sentences that are not direct to make them direct.
The problem that makes the sentence not clear and direct always arises from the use of verbs. As noted earlier, there are two types of verbs-namely the active and passive verbs. In speaking and writing it is advisable to use the active form of the verb. The action verb has one job and this is to describe an action and in fact it is better to say: “President Museveni has grabbed an early lead in the Presidential elections.” Instead of: “An early lead has been grabbed by President Museveni in the Presidential elections.”
The other issue that is of concern when the writer wishes to be direct in his/her communication is the interface between verb and adjective. There is always a temptation for writers and speaker to pay attention to the description of the issue and not the action. Take the example of the sentence below: “The fast-moving bullets went through the wall.” The adjective ‘fast-moving’ diverts the audience from what happened in the case above. Therefore, the speaker or writer, in the example above, would have made his/her point by saying: “The bullets tore through the wall.”
The other reason why verbs do not carry their loads in sentences is the overuse of the verb to be. The verb to be is an auxiliary or helping verb and therefore, wherever it shadows the main verb, the vitality of the verb will get lost. Take the example below: “The passengers were to take the bus to Gayaza.” The sentence above will be more direct if the writer simply said: “The passengers took the bus to Gayaza.
The good practices of language usage above should be complimented by error analysis of whatever one writes or speaks. Good writing and speaking depends on the speaker/writer’s ability to discover and correct errors in his/her expression. It is important to note that even experienced writers and speakers often commit errors. The common of which are faults of grammatical in nature and use and meaning of words. What this section will attempt to do is to give you a guide to finding faults in English language, hoping that if and when this is mastered, speakers/writers will have the capacity to self-edit and consequently communicate effectively. The following are the units of error analysis in both spoken and written English.
Speech as Communication
Speech is one of the most important and frequently used medium of communication. It should be noted that everyone uses speech to communicate. And because of its popularity, it is one of those terms that everyone knows but cannot define. Speech is a productive skill of a language where the speaker uses vocal symbols to pass over a message to his audience.
Speech is defined by Mulgrave as the faculty of uttering articulate sounds or words to express thoughts. This means that when we speak, the aim of doing so is to express or send a message. If this is the reason for speaking, then it follows that we have to be articulate that is to say be able to say want we want to say and be able to transmit this message to our audience. The speaker must then utilise the audible and visible signs involving the physical component s of the body to communicate ideas.
It should be noted that speech is a form of human behaviour which utilizes the physical, psychological, semantic, neurological and linguistic facts to transmit a message. This means that speech is one of the most important instruments of social control and for that matter it should never be conceived just as the utterance of sounds and words. Therefore in the process of making a speech the speaker must note the following:
1. That it is a means of communicating ideas. This means that whenever we speak, we must have ideas, information or feelings we want to exchange with the other party. In other words one can not speak for the sake of speaking; he/she must have a message that they want to pass over to the audience.
2. Speech is also important in the sense that it helps human beings to effectively relate to one another in a social environment. That is to say whether it is a public speech or a conversation, a speech helps one relate to other human beings in a given context. For example, if one asks for directions from a stranger, the act of asking ultimately creates a relationship between them.
3. To communicate effectively, it is imperative that the speaker has a proper understanding of what he/she wants to convey to the audience. This means that the speaker must organise what he/she want to say. It has to do with basic questions such as ‘do you greet first, do you start with the main point or not, do you use local examples or hard language?’ when the speaker considers every aspect of his/her speech, the possibility that they will be effective is high.
4. It is not only important to consider the message you are delivering while speaking, it is equally important to evaluate the effectiveness of your message on the audience. It is important for the speaker to evaluate and analyse feedback from the audience because this will help him/her to adjust his mode of delivery for effectiveness. Watch out for signs of incomprehension, fatigue, uneasiness, attention, agreement and so on from the audience. These will guide you to know whether as a speaker, you are effective or not.
5. To be an effective speaker, one must be aware of the principles and concepts underlying effective speaking in various situations in both the public and private arenas. There are a number of these principles that the speaker can utilize. These include adjustment of the voice to suit the occasion, tone and intonation, use of gesture and many others.
6. It should be noted that an audible and pleasant voice as well as good speech techniques are an asset that one can utilize to make a living. For example, some people are hired and given good jobs on the basis of how they can articulate themselves. On the other hand public speakers are regularly hired to perform at functions.
7. Related to the above is the fact that good speaking skills are an absolute necessity for advancement in a career. In professions like education, law and mass communication, good speech skills is an essential in the career advancement of an individual.
8. To be an effective speaker, one should be able to adjust and adapt to the social and physical surroundings of the speech context. A good speaker is that who analyses the situation and changes accordingly. If the speech is late in the night and the assumption is that people are tired, a good speaker is that who adjust say the duration of his/her speech to fit in the context.
In spite of the many differences among and the many different skills and techniques that speakers given their different social, economic and educational backgrounds, there exists a fundamental process of oral communication. This is because every time a person speaks the same set of elements come into play, interacting with each other to produce a communicative event. This is because a communicative event involves different people with unique needs and interests as speech extends both in time and space.
Therefore, it is important to examine each aspect separately and then putting them together because all the elements interact dynamically to produce the total effect of the speech event. That is to say each element in some way affects all the elements in what should be called the speech transaction process. These elements are the following.
The Speaker
Each speech transactions are shaped by four factors according to the speaker. It is worth noting that it is the speaker who initiates the speech transaction. And because of this fact the onus is on him/her to make his/her message to the audience clear. Therefore, the speaker as a factor in a speech transaction process must be analysed on the following.
1. The speaker’s purpose in the starting point of any analysis of a speech event. It should be noted that each speaker has a purpose of why he/she engages in a speech event. The purpose may be simple as the wish to socialise or to put across a complicated theory about life. It could be a desire to advocate a course of action or to alter cherished customs. It may be the need to entertain or all attention to a problem or for a number of personal or public ends. What is important to note is that public speaking is a purposeful action. And the purpose of the speech controls what and how it is said. Therefore, before one embarks on a speech, such a person should be clear of what his/her purpose is in the process.
2. Speaker knowledge is also important in the speech event. The difference between an excellent speech and a bad one is the level of mastery that the speaker has over his subject. It is not just the desire to speak, but the quality of the information that the speaker passes over to the audience. If the speaker has masterly of content, he/she will take the audience along. If he/she has surface knowledge of the content, the audience will feel cheated. Coherence of the speech depends on what is said, the supporting material, the logical arguments and the ability by the speaker to weave these into a spellbinding speech.
3. The speaker’s attitude to self is also important in the speech transaction process. If the speaker rates him/herself highly, he/she is likely to come off as arrogant and proud. If the audience perceive such an attitude from the speaker, they will be turned off, which will affect their reception of the message. On the other hand, if he/she rates himself lowly, he will make him/herself appear ill at ease and lacking confidence. This will make the audience non-receptive of the message. The key to effective speaking is the ability for the speaker to project him/herself as someone who has to be listened to.
4. The speaker’s attitude to the audience also has an impact on the effectiveness of the speech. This is because his/her attitude to the listeners determines how and what he/she says. If the speaker is patronising to the listeners, the listeners will resent being treated like children and will develop a negative attitude to the speaker and the message. If he/she treats them with respect, they will accept him and take in what he is telling them. However good your message is, the attitude that the listeners think the speaker has towards them, determines how the speech is received.
5. The attitude of the speaker to the subject is also important in determining the effectiveness of the speech. If the speaker is interested in the subject, this passion will be reflected in how he handles him/herself. The enthusiasm will be passed over to the audience making them interested in the message. If the speaker is not interested in the subject, the speech will be boring. For example, a Literature scholar talking about his/her favourite writer will giving an interesting speech that will be enjoyed by even technology majors. But the same speaker will fail miserable if he was to speak on architecture to the same audience. Therefore, to speak effectively, choose a topic that you are interested in.
6. Another factor that has an impact on the effectiveness of a speech is the degree of credibility of the speaker. The question in the minds of the audience is always: ‘does the speaker qualify to speak to them about that topic,’ related to that is the question of whether the speaker has a sound track record that can make the audience believe in him. In simple words, if a speaker has a history of lying, this history will have an impact on how his message is received. For example, many people distrust politicians and do not believe what they say because they always tell lies. Likewise, if the speaker had a bad record, this record will have an impact on the effectiveness of his speech.
The Message
In all speech-communication processes the message plays an important role in the effectiveness of the message. The message is evaluated in terms of the appropriateness of the content, structure and style to the audience. The following are some of the issues to consider in the message in terms of how the message can lead to the effectiveness of the speech event.
1. It is obvious that every message that is transmitted to an audience has content or is about something. The content of a message includes information, data, ideas and your feelings, attitudes and interpretations of the same ideas, information and ideas to the audience. This means that different kinds of meanings, interpretations and analysis make up the content of the speech. Therefore, effective content is that which addresses the needs of the audience. It should be a kind of content that is acceptable to the audience, in terms of a course of action you want them to pursue or an attempt to challenge the beliefs that they have. This means that the choice of what to talk about is very important if the speaker is to be effective.
2. It is true that content is important in a speech transaction process. But equally important is the way the content is structured. Actually there is a saying that ‘it is not what is said but how it is said’ that makes a speech effective. Structure of a speech refers to how it is organised. The speaker must provide a pattern that the speech will follow if the audience is to understand him. He should organise his speech in terms of what he/she will say first, secondly and possibly last. He/she could number his/her points or use transitional phrases like firstly, next etc. The pattern could be simple or complex as the speaker may deem necessary. Nevertheless, what is important is for the speaker to provide a recognisable pattern for the benefit of the listeners.
3. Style in speech refers to the selecting and arrangement of words to be used in a speech. It also involves the labelling of the speaker as a certain type of person. The speaker can choose to use a style that is personal, impersonal, liberal, plain or philosophical. This will affect the vocabulary, the sentence structure, the imagery etc. used to convey the impression of the speaker’s emotions, ideas, attitudes about the subject. Note that the type of audience determines or should have an input in what style is chosen by the speaker. It is useless to use a philosophical style on peasant and a simple style when talking to university dons.
The Listener
Like the speaker, the listener is an important component in a speech transaction process. Listeners come to a speech event with expectations, goals and purposes to be fulfilled by the speech. These always determine how they receive and respond to the massage. It is important to consider the following when analysing a speech from the point of view of the listener.
1. The purpose of the listener to attend or to be part of the communication event must always be put into consideration. The listener gets into a transaction in search for rewards. These could be a wish to be entertained, informed, advised or guided. These constitute the expectations which in turn control how they respond to the speech. If the speaker violates the expectations of the listeners, such a speaker stands the chance of being ineffective. For example, if people have come to be entertained at a concert, and someone starts telling them about salvation, as much as salvation is good, he/she will be booed because such an audience is not expecting such a message. The other case can be an anti-government crowd being told that the government is actually very good. Such a speaker risks being pelted with stones because the purpose of the audience was not to be told that the government is good. Therefore, to be an effective speaker, know what your audience expect and give it to them.
2. The listener’s knowledge and interest in the subject has an influence on how the message will be received. The speaker should always endeavour to address the listener where ‘they are’. Where the listeners’ are is determined by their interest and knowledge about the subject. An audience with little knowledge about the subject is confused with technical terms, while a highly knowledgeable audience is bored with an elementary speech. This calls for audience analysis of the audience by the speaker to know exactly what they know and what they can appreciate. It also calls upon the speaker to gauge the sophistication of the audience and choose the appropriate content to suit them.
3. The speaker is also at task to estimate the listening skills of the audience if he/she is to be effective in his speech delivery process. The speaker must constantly survey the audience for signs of understanding, puzzlement, of acceptance or rejection of the message. These are called feedback reactions. At all times the speaker must ensure that the listeners are with him. This means that he/she must be ware of the listener’s ability to listen to him/her effectively. The speaker must be creative and mindful of what must be done to enhance effective listening. Variation of tone, voice and use of humour can be effective. But more importantly be ware of the length time a particular audience can endure to listen effectively.
4. The attitude of the listener towards him/herself, the speaker and the subject has a significant impact on the effectiveness of the message. This is because people seek messages and speakers are in agreement with their point of view. Such messages and speakers will be listened to effectively and the messages will be retained for longer that messages on subjects or speakers they do not like.
The Channel
All speech communication events are affected for better or worse by the channel through which the speech is transmitted. The speech transaction process links the speaker and the listener through a particular channel. Therefore, it is upon the speaker to choose the best channel to carry his message to the listeners depending on the message and the audience that is targeted. The following are the most appropriate channels that the speaker can choose from.
1. The verbal channel is that which uses the vocal chords and the manipulation of lips, mouth and teach to produce sounds that carry the message to the listeners. This carries the words, phrases and sentences that the message is encoded in. when using this channel the speaker can use the spoken or the written form. At the speaker should also put in mind is that he/she should always choose the best words to pass over his message and also either spell or pronounce them properly.
2. The other channel that the speaker can choose to use is the visual. This involves the use of pictorial forms such as diagrams, charts, graphs and pictures. This is in line with the old Chinese saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. Any speaker should utilise the visual forms of communication to enhance his message.
3. The third channel that a speaker can choose to transmit his/her message in the aural. In linguistic terms this is called the paralinguistic medium. It involves the variation of the voice, the tone and other voice modulations by the speaker to drive home his message. In other words it is not what is said but how it is said that determines the message that the listener gets. For example, if someone says you are stupid while laughing, he may not mean that you are daft and you the listener may also not take it as an insult. This is because the aural quality of the statement gives it a different meaning.
Note that an effective speech is one in which the speaker manages to integrate the three channels discussed about in the transmission of the message. This is desirable because then, the different channels reinforce and complement each other in making the message effective.
The Communicative Situation
All speech communication events to a larger extent are affected by the physical and social settings or context in which they take place. In other words, where and atmosphere in which the speech is conducted matters a lot in determining whether the message is effective or not. The communicative situation involves the physical and social contexts.
1. The physical setting is believed influence the expectancy as well as the readiness of the listeners to listen and respond to the speech. For example people waiting for the service in church have different expectations from those in a theatre, so are those at a political rally. Whereas those at a political rally do not mind external influence of noise, those in church and theatre will be put off if there is a lot of noise interferences. In speech delivered at the road side does not give the speaker the same levels of effectiveness as on that is delivered in a sound proof five star hotel conference room. It is upon the speaker to choose a good physical location to deliver his/her speech if he /she is to be effective.
2. The social context refers the distinguishing features between the audience and the speaker. These features could be educational, class, age, power or etiquette. The assumption that is to large extent true is that if the speaker and the listener have certain things in common such a education, class or race, them the listeners are more receptive to the speaker.
Skills for Effective Speech Making
Some people believe that speaking and oratory is a talent and people are born with the ability to speak well while others are not. The truth though, is that as much as different people have different abilities, even though who are not good at making speeches can improve on their abilities through practice and knowledge of those elements that contribute to a good speech. Therefore, like it is possible to develop the writing skill, the speaking skill can also be improved when attention is given to the following points.
1. Modulation of the voice is the first point that any speaker must take into consideration if his/her speech is to be effective. Any speaker who wants to be effective must use his/her voice very well depending on the venue of the speech and the audience he /she is addressing. The voice should not be too soft and not too loud. If it is soft people will strain to follow what is being said and this will mean that the speech is not effective. If it is too loud, they will be irritated and will channel the energy they have used to understand what you were said to hate you. If you are going to use a public address system, be careful for wind interferences that can be irritating to the listeners. In short use the right volume of voice that is suitable to the audience and venue of the speech.
2. The choice of words is also important in effective speaking. The words that are to be used in a speech should convey the message as simply and effectively as possible without any distortations. It is advisable to use simply words that are understandable to all. Avoid words that have double meaning or those whose pronunciations are complicated. For example beware of words like ‘hurt’ and ‘hut’. When you are to sue such words be careful that it is the right pronunciation, otherwise the meaning will be lost.
3. Calmness and confidence is another important factor in successful and effective speech making. No listener will take seriously a panicking and nervous speaker. So it pays to be calm, collected and confident while giving a speech. Confidence comes with preparation of what you are going to say as well as adequate knowledge of the content of the subject of the speech. If possible rehearse and revise the speech before actually presenting it.
4. The other important factor that should be taken into consideration is the choice of an appropriate tone suitable to the topic of discussion. The tone you adopt should be in line with the subject and context of the speech. For example if you are talking at a funeral attempt to be calm, mournful, respectful and serious. If you are a farewell party of a friend, be relaxed and humorous and not serious as if you where in church or at a funeral.
5. To get endeared to the audience requires that you present yourself as simple and not pompous. It is better to use simple language and sentence structures in the delivery of your speech. Try to appear like you are one of them and avoid showing then audience that you are different from them. In fact try to make the audience like and accept you as one of them. Show respect to your audience despite their educational and social class they belong to. Whatever provocation never hurt the feelings of the audience by insulting or humiliating them in any way.
6. Make your speech coherent and as accurate as possible. Your points should be accurate, precise and to the point. Do not beat about the bush. Avoid generalisations and structure your message in a simple and logical sequence that the audience can follow easily. To ensure that your meaning is grasped by the audience, use visual, aural and other extra linguistic features to drive home your points.
7. It is pays to be smart and presentable when giving a speech. Being smart and presentable does not mean dressing fashionably and expensively. It means dressing in a way that reflects seriousness and responsibility on your part. It should be a model of dressing that communicates to the audience that you respect and take them seriously. Never dress provocatively as this diverts the attention from the speech to your body and it is worse when you are woman.
Public Speaking
One of the many types of speaking is public speaking. This is a type of speech or speech context where the speaking addresses a large audience. The term ‘large audiences’ is hard to define, but it essentially means a group of people totalling over 20 and composed of different categories and characteristics. The limit is infinitive for example a radio present can effectively speak to millions of people. In public speaking it is easy to conceive the idea but very hard to deliver. One writer has said that: “speeches are like babies; easy to conceive but difficult to deliver.” Basing on the above quotation, public speakers must consider the following to ease the difficulty of delivering speeches.
1. To be an effective public speaker it is important for one to have the art of persuasion. This means that you should be able to get people not only to listen to you but also to accept what you are telling them and consequently modify their behaviour or way of thinking about issues being communicated.
2. The other strategy that the speaker must adapt is to use techniques that can enable him capture and retain the attention of the audience from the start to finish during the speech. It is of no use to continue talking if the audience is not paying attention. To capture and retain the attention of the audience, the speaker can use both verbal and non-verbal dynamics such as gestures, telling stories, use of humour to mention but a few in his speech.
3. The speaker must also know his audience. Knowledge of the audience will help him choose and arrange the content of his/her speech in a manner that is effective. It also involves choice of appropriate language and other speech techniques.
4. The speaker must be aware of the general tendency among people to resist change. This means that he/she must be careful in cultivating them to believe or agree with his point of view. This involves the use of the basics of persuasion such as appeal to authority, presentation of a scaring alternative if they do not change to mention but a few.
5. There are cases when a speaker is faced with a hostile audience. For example if you were to give a speech to staunch Catholics about contraceptives, it is plausible to assume that such an audience will be hostile to your message. In such a situation a good speaker should gain entry by using something that is popular and from there persuade the listeners to take on his point of view.
Factor to Consider in Public Speeches
For a speaker to give a good speech, he/she must be aware of the following components that inform the speech. These are the following:
The Speaker
The speaker must be aware of and take care of the following factors to ensure that his/her speech is effective:
1. He/she should know the audience. This is in terms of the composition of and the characteristics of the audience. For example, what is the dominant religion, tribe, are they educated or not and many other issues. This will help him/her in the choice of the content, the language to use and the angle he/she is to take during the speech.
2. The speaker must have effective command of the language. It is true that not everyone has the same command of language. But it is important that a speaker has a good grasp of the language. This is because the message is delivered through language and therefore, if one can not use the language effectively then his/her message will fail to reach the audience.
3. The speaker must be aware of the techniques of public speaking. This may include the use of intonation, gestures, using stories and many others. Acquisition of these techniques makes it very easy for the speaker to pass over his/her message effectively.
4. The speaker must equally have a sense of organisation. This is both physical and mental. This has to do with how he organises and structures his message. For example, what will come first, next and last. It involves how he/she dresses, uses the stage and so forth. A well organised person motivates people to listen to unlike someone who is disorganised.
5. The good speaker is that who has a sense of purpose. In other words the speech should clearly indicate that is taking the audience to some place. Therefore, the speaker must clearly show the benefits that the audience are going to gain in listening to him/her given that they have alternatives that they have foregone. For example the speech may provide them with information, skills, and techniques or for pure entertainment. Whatever, the reason the audience must clearly see the benefit of listening to the speaker.
The Audience
Like the speaker, the audience is very important in the effectiveness of a speech. This means that the audience must be evaluated by the speaker in terms of the following if his/her communication is to be effective.
1. The special interests of the audience must be put into consideration. In other words, the speaker must ask him/herself is the speech is going to satisfy the interests of the audiences. This is accomplished when the speakers ask questions such as: ‘why are they listening, what they want to achieve, how I can give them what they want?’ Such questions will help the speaker understand the motivation of the audience in the speech.
2. The speaker must also consider the level of formal education of the audience. This is important in the sense that it helps him/her choose the most appropriate language and content as well as the sequencing of this content for effective delivery of the message.
3. The size of the audience must also be taken into consideration. The speaker must measure the audience and determine the best voice volume to use. For example if the audience is large- probably more than 1000 people in the hall, the speaker must speak loudly otherwise some will not hear. In the case were the audience is small shouting at the top of one’s voice may instead irritate the audience. Therefore, the size of the audience and the venue of the speech are important if the speech is to be effective.
4. The speaker must find out the cultural background of the audience. This is because cultural background has an impact on the reception of the message. For example, if the audience was predominantly Muslim, using images of dogs and pigs may offend them, and therefore, make them hostile to the speaker.
5. The other issue to consider are the interests of the audience. The speaker must ask him/herself what it is that the audience what to hear, why they have foregone other activities to be in the meeting? These will give the speaker an idea of what he/she should talk about and probably how. People who have a valid reason to listen to the speaker are mostly likely to be attentive.
The Speech
The goal of public speaking is to impart knowledge. In this sense public speaking should be considered as a ‘teaching event’ where the audience has come to receive new, interesting and useful information. Therefore, the speech itself is very important. The speaker must evaluate the speech in terms of:
1. The purpose of the speech. One should ask him/herself what it is that he/she wants to pass over to the audience. Is he/she interested in providing information, changing attitudes and behaviour or entertain the audience. It should be noted that the purpose determines whether the speech is effective or not and to a larger extent how it is presented.
2. The content of the speech is equally important. It should be noted that there are many topics that one can talk about. But ultimately want is talked about during the speech should be determined by the purpose, the nature of the audience and other facts deemed necessary for the speech to be effective.
3. Language is the most important aspect in speech delivery. For this matter the language that the speaker is to use should be evaluated in terms of content, purpose and nature of the audience. If this is not done, the speaker may deliver a wonderful speech which unfortunately his/her audience cannot understand.
4. The organisation and the structure of the speech is another critical area. This involves the manner of how ideas are arranged and presented. The guiding principle in this case should be logic. The different parts must be organised in such a way that one leads into the other.
The way the purpose, content, language and structure of a speech are conceived determine to a larger extent the effectiveness of the speech. It does not matter whether it is a demonstrational speech in which the audience is show how to do something to the audience, a description speech where the speaker is describing the properties or characteristics of an object or an explanatory speech where a new and often abstract concept is being explained to the audience, the above issues must be addressed.
Structuring a Persuasive Speech
Persuasive speeches are probably the most lively and emotional speeches that anyone can give. This is because a good speech can convince the audience of a belief or a concept and in the process motivate them into action as this new belief inspires and encourages them to change. For this to happen, the speaker must establish credibility by careful use of language in the delivery of the speech. This is in the sense that the speech must show respect to the audience, language and the purpose of speaking. For a persuasive speech to be effective it must be designed using the following formants.
1. The problem-solution design is that where the speaker identifies a problem that the audience are not aware of. After which the speech is structured in such a way that the speaker after introducing a problem proceeds to give a solution to the problem
2. The statement-of-reason design is where it expected that the audience are aware of and agree with a topic. However, they need more justification to change their minds or behaviour or perform the required action. The speaker in this case introduce the fact that they agree on and then systematically give reasons to support whatever course of action he/she wants.
3. The comparative –advantages design is where the audience is not clear of the many alternatives or options they are to take. What the speaker does to facilitate their choices, is to compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of the two possibilities.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
