Communication skills

Learning Objectives

• Understand key elements, types and principles of effective communication.

• Differentiate between verbal, non-verbal and visual communication and apply each appropriately.

• Analyse and use communication styles (assertive, passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive).

• Construct grammatically correct, well-structured sentences for clear communication.

• Apply public-speaking, listening, feedback-giving and barrier-overcoming techniques.

Inspirational Quote

• “Effective communication is 20\% what you know and 80\% how you feel about what you know.” – Jim Rohn

  • Emphasises emotional connection over raw information.

Introduction to Communication

• Definition: Exchange of information, ideas, emotions & messages via words, gestures, symbols & technology.

• Core purposes: Inform, influence, express.

• Builds relationships, spreads knowledge, achieves collective goals.

Evolution of Communication (Chronological)

• Pre-historic gestures & cave paintings (tens of thousands of years ago).

• Oral tradition (e.g., Vedic chanting in India – precise intonation preserved knowledge).

• Written systems (~3200\,\text{BCE}): Cuneiform, hieroglyphics → record keeping, laws.

• Print revolution (15ᵗʰ C): Printing press → mass literacy.

• Telecommunication (19ᵗʰ–20ᵗʰ C): Telegraph, telephone, radio → real-time long-distance.

• Digital age: Computers, Internet, mobile → e-mail, social media, video calls.

• AI & automation: Chatbots, translation software, virtual assistants reshape interaction.

Elements of Communication (Shannon–Weaver inspired model)

1. Sender – originator.

2. Encoding – thoughts → symbols, words, code.

3. Message – core idea/emotion.

4. Medium / Channel – pathway (speech, writing, digital).

5. Decoding – receiver interprets.

6. Receiver – target audience.

7. Feedback – receiver’s response (confirms understanding).

8. Context – physical, social, cultural setting.

9. Noise – any interference (physical, semantic, technical).

• Classroom example: Teacher (sender) explains maths concept (message) orally & on board (channel); students decode & ask questions (feedback); door slam = noise.

Perspective in Communication

• Messages are shaped & interpreted through individual perspectives.

• Influencing factors:

  • Past experiences (failed interviews → “We’ll get back to you” feels like rejection).

  • Culture (bowing in Japan vs. Western formality).

  • Emotions (anxious employee misreads “Can we talk?”).

  • Knowledge (engineer grasps “debugging”).

  • Language (idioms like “breaking the ice”).

  • Visual perception (abstract art).

  • Prejudice.

  • Personality (introvert e-mails; extrovert meets in person).

• Understanding perspectives ↓ misunderstandings & ↑ thoughtful dialogue.

7 Cs of Effective Communication

Major Modes of Communication

• Verbal (oral & written)

• Non-verbal (body language, paralanguage, proxemics, emojis)

• Visual (charts, icons, videos, infographics)

Verbal Communication

Oral

• Informal (chat) vs. formal (meeting, speech).

• Tone, pitch, pace, clarity determine effectiveness.

Written

• Informal: SMS, WhatsApp (“See you at 5!”).

• Formal: e-mails, reports – structured, precise.

Public Speaking (3 Ps)

1. Prepare – research, structure, audience analysis.

2. Practise – rehearse timing, delivery.

3. Perform – engage audience: eye contact, gestures, vocal variety.

Non-Verbal Communication

• Facial expressions – universal emotions.

• Gestures – wave, thumbs-up.

• Body language – posture (arms crossed = defensive).

• Eye contact – attentiveness vs. avoidance.

• Haptics – touch (handshake, pat).

• Proxemics – personal space.

• Chronemics – use of time (punctuality).

• Paralanguage – tone, pitch, volume, pace.

• Emojis: add emotion/tone; risk misinterpretation (😊 seen as sarcastic by Gen-Z; 💀 = “I’m dying laughing”).

• Advantages: cross-language, quick emotion, engagement.

• Disadvantages: ambiguous, culture-bound, limited complexity.

Visual Communication

• Forms: Icons, pictograms, symbols, memes, maps, illustrations, GIFs, photos, videos, infographics, graphs/diagrams/charts.

• Pros: simplifies complexity, grabs attention, transcends language, high retention.

• Cons: design ambiguity, resource-heavy, may alienate text-preferring audiences.

Pronunciation & Phonetics

• Pronunciation: correct articulation, stress, rhythm, intonation; prevents confusion (“dessert” vs. “desert”).

• Tools: Google “How to pronounce…” + practice feature.

• Homophones (peace/piece) – same sound, diff. spelling.

• Heteronyms (read/read) – same spelling, diff. sound.

• Phonetics studies speech sounds – articulatory, acoustic, auditory.

• International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcribes exact sounds: “school” → /sku:l/.

• English: 26 letters but 44 phonemes; Hindi: 52 letters yet additional nasalised sounds.

• Categories:

  • Vowels (open vocal tract).

  • Consonants (obstruction).

  • Diphthongs (vowel glides).

Communication Styles

Developing Assertiveness

• Use \text{I}-statements.

• Be direct & specific.

• Calm tone & open body language.

• Active listening.

• Set boundaries (polite ‘no’).

• Stay solution-focused.

AEIOU Refusal Model

A – Ask questions → Clarify.
E – Engage politely → Appreciation.
I – Include reason.
O – Offer alternatives.
U – Understand → Empathise.

• Example with Amrita & presentation request (see transcript case study).

Grammar & Writing Foundations

Conjunctions (Connecting Words)

• Organise ideas, smooth flow, show relations.

• Types:

  1. Coordinating (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

  2. Subordinating (because, although, since, while…).

  3. Correlative (either…or, neither…nor, both…and).

Parts of Speech (Core 5 + Support 4)

• Noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb.

• Support: articles (a, an, the), conjunctions, prepositions, interjections.

Sentence Anatomy

• Subject – actor/topic.

• Predicate – verb + rest.

• Objects – direct (what/whom), indirect (to/for whom).

• Complement – completes meaning (John is a doctor).

• Modifiers – adjectives/adverbs providing detail.

Voice

• Active: Subject acts (Chef cooked meal).

• Passive: Subject receives action (Meal was cooked by chef).

• Active = clarity; passive useful when actor unknown/irrelevant.

Sentence Purpose

• Declarative (statement).

• Interrogative (question).

• Exclamatory (emotion).

• Imperative (command/request).

Punctuation Essentials