COMMUNICATION FUNDAMENTALS- LESSON 1

You may not know how frustrated a stutterer feels until you get really mad at someone who doesn’t give you a chance to explain yourself. For the stutterer, the words hang in between his mouth and his heart while he struggles to express himself to the person who is willing to listen. For you, the words are ready to fly off your lips except that the other person you intend to speak with isn’t listening.

Communication involves a speaker, the message, a medium of transmission and a receiver.  Considering this, neither the stutter who has a willing recipient but can’t speak up nor you who has a free flow of speech but an unwilling listener have communicated.

According to Oxford Dictionary, Communication is the impart or exchange of information by speaking, writing or using other medium. It is the successful conveying or sharing of ideas and feelings.

If you have ever spoken to someone in your life or gestured towards them in a way that they understood and responded accordingly, then you are a communicator. Public speaking is no different. It is communication. 

Public speaking simply involves sharing your idea, opinion or feeling with others with whom you may or may not be familiar.

Once you grasp the threads of communication in this course, you will crush all your speaking/communication opportunities.  

Ready?

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

“Effective communication is defined as verbal speech or other methods of relaying information that get a point across. Effective communication is when the person who you are talking to listens actively, absorbs your point and understands it.” (Dictionary.com)

Professors Scott M. Cullip and Allen H. from the University of Winsconsin defined a set of principles known as the 7C’s of communication (1952) ¹. These 7c’s are necessary for communication to effectively occur. An effective communication will be

1. Clear

Be clear about the information you are passing. Have a clear goal in mind and say it a way that your listener understands exactly what you mean. Don’t leave room, for assumption.

2.  Concise

Eliminate irrelevant information. Say only what is relevant and useful to your clear goal. Keep things short. Avoid unnecessary ramble.

3.  Concrete

Be specific. Use facts such as pictures and videos, live demo and figures if possible to support your message.

4. Correct

Misuse of words, poor vocabulary, wrong pronunciation gives room for people to misunderstand you. Take care of those before you speak or write. We will deal with those in module 4.

5. Coherent

Your thought should flow logically. The examples you give should be connected to your main idea.

6. Courtesy

Be friendly and polite when communicating. Respect the other person’s culture, value and beliefs.

7. Complete

Say as much as is required for your listeners to fully understand your message and make a decision or take a required action.

Download worksheet

WATCH RESOURCE VIDEO 1

WATCH RESOURCE VIDEO 2

Foot note

1.  Alessandra Martelli  “7 C’s of communication”https://alessandramartelli.com/en/freebies/characteristics-effective-communication/   (Accessed September 2, 2010)