Importance of Communication Skills Essay

Importance of Communication Skills Essay Communication is very important for all beings. Animals and humans, alike, use their own separate languages to communicate with one another, because no one can survive without communicating. Communication skills are a part of the spoken and written language. These are the extra factors, which complete a communication process. Communication refers to the exchange of thoughts and ideas with the intention of conveying information. Communication is a two way street that includes vocalization as well as gesticulation. The purpose of communication is to convey ones beliefs, ideas, thoughts or needs with clarity so as to reach a consensus or a mutually acceptable solution. The importance of communication skills cannot be underestimated. It has been known, that long before when language was yet to be invented, people used hand gestures, body language etc to converse with one another. Good communication skills are necessary in all walks of life. The lack of effective communication skills has a negative impact on the personal as well as professional life of a person. Good communication skills are a prerequisite for professionals, in all walks of life. For example: Ineffective communication, rather than incompetence, precludes the doctor from conveying to the patient that the former has the best interests of the patient in mind. For instance, a doctor may be knowledgeable and may have considerable expertise in his area of work. However, a patient may feel neglected or ignored if the doctor is not particularly good at communicating. The disillusioned patient may also consider getting a second opinion. A simple miscommunication, especially when a one is ill, makes one feel awful. A good health care provider, who is able to put patients at ease with a few comforting gestures and words, will definitely be an asset to any hospital. A teacher, who is able to communicate well with students, can inspire them to learn and participate in class. Workplace communication can be improved by participating in a facilitated workshop. A workshop facilitator needs to be able to communicate. Without effective communication, even the goal of workshop facilitation cannot be realized. The facilitator needs to be able to identity dormant participants and encourage them to come forth with their views without seeming overly patronizing. All this is impossible unless the facilitator has astounding communication abilities coupled with a natural empathy towards fellow beings. Good communication skills are an invaluable asset to a sales person also, since he/she is entrusted with the task of convincing the prospective buyer about the wisdom of investing in a product. This is done by assessing the needs of the buyer and suggesting a product that would meet the buyers requirements. The product may offer a vast array of easy to use features that would definitely help in improving the quality of life of the user. Who is better to convince the buyer, about the multitude of features that the product has to offer, than a salesperson with a flair for words! While the importance of verbal communication cannot be underestimated, one cannot do away or ignore written communication. A simple billboard, carrying a well written message, manages to hold our attention at a crossing. Authors have been mesmerizing voracious readers by the power of their words. The enthralled reader flips through the pages, reading well into the night, without giving much thought to the mode of communication. The above examples would have clearly illustrated the importance of communication skills. Communication does not refer only to articulating words. Using sign language and the sense of touch to express and feel are also important modes of communication. Ultimately, communication should be effective. As long as there is clarity in communication, the goal of communication will be accomplished. There are several ways, through which a person, can enhance their communication skills. And people require these extra methods, to grow and improve their existing language. Some techniques are that, People can attend workshops, or they can read about the topic. Certain authors have come up with self help books, which make the task of understanding the concept very simple. And people, can practice, skills like writing etc. This will allow them to improve their written language and communication skills. Communication skills are a required for maintaining relationships also. When with friends and relatives, good communication skills are needed to avoid confusion, miss-communication and fights etc So, effective communication skills are very important, for sustaining in the society. Most people judge another person on the basis of his/her body language and form an opinion based on their perception. Hence, effective communication skills are as important to humans as, growling is to a dog, to communicate and express himself. What the spoken language fails to express ,that is easily expressed with certain hand and facial gestures. IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS If all my possessions were taken from me with one exception, I would hope to keep my power of communication for by it I would regain all the rest. Woody Allen WHAT IS COMMUNICATION Communication is the method by which people share their ideas, information, opinions and feelings. People sharing ideas, information, opinions and feelings may contribute to the operations of teams and the work of individuals. Communication is a two-way activity between two or more people. There are various modes of communication, some of which are used more commonly in some workplaces than others. Transfer of information and knowledge from source to receiver. Its the process by which the sender/ source reaches the receiver/ destination with thoughts, ideas, feelings, facts values. Successful communication is said to be accomplished when the receiver not only receives the message but also accept, interpret and use it in the manner intended by the source Communication is the art of transmitting information, ideas and attitudes from one person to another. Communication is the process of meaningful interaction among human beings. ITS ESSENCES: PERSONAL PROCESS OCCURS BETWEEN PEOPLE INVOLVES CHANGE IN BEHAVIOUR MEANS TO INFLUENCE OTHERS EXPRESSION OF THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS THROUGH WORDS AND ACTIONS. TOOLS FOR CONTROLLING AND MOTIVATING PEOPLE. IT IS A SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL PROCESS Communication is the most important way of expressing any feeling towards any person or thing. There are various forms of verbal and non verbal communication. Human evolved in life through communicating his thinking and understanding others point of view. Communication help people relate, interact, understand, believe and get connected to others. Globalization is also a result of communication. Communication is required everywhere, be it business, personal life, entertainment or for knowledge. Communication can be a one way or a two way process, depending on the way people react. For instance, some times while a teacher is trying to interact with the students, students dont respond, therefore, although it was to be a two way communication it has became a one way communication process. Communication as already talked about helps in gaining knowledge, interacting with other communities, and provides entertainment. The various forms of entertainment through communication are: novels, newspapers, bulletins, online interactions, watching TV, talk shows, etc. According to me the best way of communication is reading, this helps you gain knowledge, helps you invest your time with yourself and is also a means of entertainment. If a person wants to gain knowledge then he can approach to some biographies, or newspapers or magazines. This will help the person know the world around him in a better manner. For some more people who want both can go for fiction or again biographies as in a biography you try to live the life of another person which will for sure provide you the insight and entertain you for time being. In recent days I was reading a few short stories of Manto  [1]  , who has written them in order to give his point of view and his experiences at the time of Indo-Pakistan partition. His stories informed me a lot about the kind of people living in India, their mindset and their liking and disliking. I was to some extend able to relate to all those stories. One of the most terrific story was The Assignment it is a story about a Muslim boy who comes to a Hindu family to give them a pack of sweets as his father has asked him to do so on the eve of some Hindu festival. The Hindu family is very afraid of the man but finally allows him in. the boy give the pack of sweets to them and goes away, and after him comes a huge crowd which burn this family to a crisp. There was another short story about the people in army, at the point of partition they were asked to go to the country according to their religions, some did but others did not. In this chaos were two real brothers one remained in India and the other went to Pakistan. After a few years a war broke between the two countries and both these brothers were standing in front of each other, giving the order for the battle. One of the brother died on the spot, and the other dig his grave, there it self and carried on with his work. These kinds of stories help you understand what the scenario of the people was at that point in time. According to me, reading helps one gain imaginations power and it is a self depended thing, for watching TV its a must that some good thing is coming on it, and you do need electricity. Communication is the articulation of sending a message through different media, whether it be verbal or nonverbal, so long as a being transmits a thought provoking idea, gesture, action, etc. Communication is a learned skill. Most babies are born with the physical ability to make sounds, but must learn to speak and communicate effectively. Speaking, listening, and our ability to understand verbal and nonverbal meanings are skills we develop in various ways. We learn basic communication skills by observing other people and modeling our behaviors based on what we see. We also are taught some communication skills directly through education, and by practicing those skills and having them evaluate COMMUNICATION OCCURS BETWEEN HUMANS THROUGH: SPEECH Evolution of the brain differentiated humans from animals, as among other things it allowed humans to master a very efficient form of communication speech. SYMBOLS The imperfection of speech, which nonetheless allowed easier dissemination of ideas and stimulated inventions, eventually resulted in the creation of new forms of communications, improving both the range at which people could communicate and the longevity of the information. All of those inventions were based on the key concept of the symbol: a conventional representation of a concept. CAVE PAINTINGS The oldest known symbols created with the purpose of communication through time are the cave paintings, a form of rock art, dating to the Upper Paleolithic. Just as the small child first learns to draw before it masters more complex forms of communication, so homo sapiens first attempts at passing information through time took the form of paintings. PICTOGRAMS A pictogram (pictograph) is a symbol representing a concept, object, activity, place or event by illustration. Pictography is a form of proto-writing whereby ideas are transmitted through drawing. IDEOGRAMS Pictograms, in turn, evolved into ideograms, graphical symbols that represent an idea. Their ancestors, the pictograms, could represent only something resembling their form: therefore a pictogram of a circle could represent a sun, but not concepts like heat, light, day or Great God of the Sun. Ideograms, on the other hand, could convey more abstract concepts, so that for example an ideogram of two sticks can mean not only legs but also a verb to walk. WRITING The oldest-known forms of writing were primarily logographic in nature, based on pictographic and ideographic elements. Most writing systems can be broadly divided into three categories: logographic, syllabic and alphabetic (or segmental); however, all three may be found in any given writing system in varying proportions, often making it difficult to categorise a system uniquely. Communication can often be improved by identifying the appropriate media. Written, verbal or electronic methods, while impersonal, are fast and can be effective. Meetings, interviews and video conferencing require personal, face to face communication and thus interpersonal skills. Telephone and public address systems should be used only where personal communication methods are difficult. Written communication is very often the most suitable and clearest means of communication and can take many forms: memoranda; occasional or annual reports (fundamental in communicating accounting information); forms; notices; house journals and other forms of standard documentation such as rules and procedures, manuals and job descriptions. Visual communication is a powerful communication media and is often overlooked. Charts, slides, videos or films provide an immediate and clear message. Electronic means of communication are increasingly becoming more relevant. Document imaging, telex, fax, the Internet and e-mail are instantaneous and provide clear and fast communication possibilities. The type of communication and the medium used will depend to a greater or lesser extent on organizational structure. This will in turn be a function of the product or service and its environment. There are many forms of communication within an organization, formal and informal. Generally, in formal organizations information flows through quite clear channels and in defined directions. Traditionally, the direction of the three main information flows is downward, upward and lateral. CONCLUSION Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after. The colossal misunderstanding of our times is the assumption that insight will work with people who are unmotivated to change. Communication does not depend on syntax, or eloquence, or rhetoric, or articulation; but on the emotional context in which the message is being heard. People can only hear you when they are moving toward you, and they are not likely to when your words are pursuing them. Even the choicest words lose their power when they are used to overpower. Attitudes are the real figures of speech. Some proverbs When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen The problem with communication is the illusion that is has been accomplished. The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously. Communication works for those who work at it. John Powell