Elements of Effective Communication

Abstract

Communication is central to the success of human beings and organizations. The ability to effectively communicate at work, home and in life is probably one of the most important sets of skills a person needs. Effective communication is not just a business skill-it is a life skill and the most important source of personal power at work, family and social situations. Communication is the process of understanding and being understood through ideas, facts, thoughts and emotions. Good communication is determined not by how well we say things but by how well we have been understood. (www.careerindia.com)

Communication is a process by which message is conveyed to someone or a group of people. If the message is conveyed clearly and unambiguously, and is received by the receiver in the same way as intended by the sender, then communication is said to be effective. If the message reaches the receiver in a distorted form or somehow fails to create meaning or understanding, the communicator should realize that his/her communication has been affected by barriers. So we can say that communication becomes successful only if the receiver understands what the sender is trying to convey. The feedback received by the sender from the receiver allows the sender to determine how the message was interpreted and, if necessary, whether there is an opportunity to modify future messages.

A careful communicator will remember that “to effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with other.” An effective communicator anticipates the unlimited ways a message can be understood or misunderstood. Thus the communicator must not only take care of his/her message but also he/she has to keep his/her audience’s background in mind to ensure his/her communication receives desired feedback and his/her communication goal is achieved. In this context, John Powells’s observations sound sensible: “Communication works for those who work at it.” You can be sure of your communication skills when you get the ability to act and react quickly at a subconscious level.