Forms of Communication

To achieve its objectives, an organization employs a variety of different techniques of communication, verbal and nonverbal.

Much communication is verbal, which can be either spoken, or in writing.

Oral communication takes place in face-to-face conversation, group discussions, telephone calls, and other circumstances, in which the spoken word is used to express meaning. Managers are found to spend between 50 and 90 per cent of their time talking to people. Oral communication is so prevalent for several reasons. The primary advantage of oral communication is that it promotes feedback and interchange in the form of verbal questions and agreement, facial expressions and gestures. The oral form of communication is easy and it can be done with little preparation (though careful preparation is advisable in certain situations).

However, oral communication also has drawbacks. It may suffer from problems of inaccuracy if the speaker chooses the wrong words to convey meaning or leaves out pertinent details, if noise disrupts the process, or if the receiver forgets part or the entire message.

“Putting in writing” can solve many of these problems, but still written communication is not so common as one might imagine. The biggest single drawback of written communication is that it inhibits feedback and interchange. When one manager sends another manager a letter, it must be written or dictated, typed, mailed, received, routed, opened, and read. If there is a misunderstanding, it may take several days for it to be recognized. A phone call could settle the whole matter in just a few minutes.

Thus, written communication often inhibits feedback and interchange and is usually more difficult and time consuming than oral communication. It is often quite accurate and provides a permanent record of the exchange. The sender can take the time to collect and assimilate the information and can draft and revise it before it is transmitted. The receiver can take the time to read it carefully and can refer to it repeatedly as needed. For these reasons, written communication is generally preferable when important details are involved.

Which form of interpersonal communication should the manager use? The best medium will be determined by the situation. Oral; communication is often preferred when the message is personal, nonroutine, and longer.

Another important element of communication is nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication is any communication exchange that does not use words. It is a powerful, but little-understood form of communication in organizations. It often relies on facial expressions, body movements, physical contact, and gestures. One study found that as much as 55 per cent of the content of a message is transmitted by facial expressions and body five senses of hearing, seeing, feeling, tasting, and smelling.

Nonverbal communication in a business organization is usually visual – pictures, posters, charts, algorithms. Sometimes, complicated ideas can be presented simply by graphical means. Sometimes it is important to catch attention that’s why bright colors and bold design are employed.

Do you know these words?

verbal	вербальный, словесный
prevalent	распространённый, преобладающий
pertinent	относящийся к делу
feedback	обратная связь
drawback	недостаток, изъян
to inhibit	препятствовать, сдерживать
to route	сортировать
to assimilate	усваивать
to draft	отбирать, выделять
medium	средство
chart	диаграмма
bold design	чёткий чертёж

1. Fill in the chart using information from the text.