“EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION”
Being a human we interact with different people in our society and communicate with them in many ways. We can simply say that communication is the lifeline of any society. Communication is the way of conveying information from one person to other. The word communication has been derived from the Latin word ‘communis’, meaning “to share”. It involves a sender, a message, and a receiver. It is communication that joins people of any society together. It is considered a natural process to send information or feelings from one person to another. Society moves forward with the help of human interactions and the exchange of ideas, thoughts, and feelings with one another. Any relationship builds up through communication. Lack of communication among different people in society will severely affect social behavior. Progress and prosperity cannot be achieved if there is no effective communication. Communication is a factor through which one can easily maintain good relations. It enables us to understand the behavior of each other. Communication is as much important and meaningful in individual life as in any society. According to Millet, “Communication is the bloodstream of a society”.
Effective communication is a process of exchanging ideas, thoughts, feelings, knowledge, and information in a way that the purpose is fulfilled in the best possible manner. In simple words, it is nothing but presenting our views in a way best understood by others. Just giving a message to someone is not enough; it must meet the purpose. There are the following elements that make communication effective:
The message which one wants to convey must be simple and easily understandable for the other. The information which is sending must not be false in any sense. Communication is the basis for making decisions in any field. If the giving information is incomplete, it may lead to wrong decisions which can harm society. The message sent by anyone must be short and concise in its structure. The person which is receiving the message must have trust in the person who is sending it and can rely on the message sent. The medium and other physical settings of communication must be planned, keeping in mind the attitude, language, knowledge, education level, and position of the person who is receiving the message. Through the following communication skills one can easily communicate with others effectively:
There are many barriers to effective communication due to which communications fail in society. In many of the communications, the message is not received exactly in the way the sender intended. To remove obstacles in the way of communication the person who is sending the information should be very clear in his mind about what he wants to say. The sender of the communication should not prepare the structure of the message according to his own level but he should make that structure by keeping in mind the level of understanding, education, and environment of the receiver. The tone of the message should not hurt the feelings of the person who is receiving that message. The need and interest of the receiving person should be kept in mind. In face-to-face communication, the reaction on the face of the receiver tells either he is understanding the message or not. To make the communication more effective one should try to know the weaknesses of his communication with others regularly. Ineffective communication, both persons should be good listeners. They should listen to each other’s points of view with attention, patience, and a positive attitude.
In short, communication is an active process that is used every day in our lives. Effective communication requires an intentional and ongoing exchange of ideas, feelings, and gestures. A good level of communication not only involves communicating clearly and completely with others but also respecting others and listening carefully to what they are communicating. Miscommunications lead to serious consequences, but most misunderstandings can be resolved if everyone remains careful about what he is saying and remains respectful. Those who are conscious about effective and good communication skills will continually improve.
