MEDIA AND TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

Media of communication can be classified as:

a. Verbal (Words) Communication (Oral and Written)

b. Non-verbal communication (Sign language, Body language, Para language, Space surrounding and time)

A.   Verbal Communication

The term verbal implies ‘use of words’ which make a language. Human beings alone are gifted with the use of words.

Verbal communication means communication through spoken and written words.  The process of communication involves the use of a common set of symbols between the sender and receiver.

Words are the most accurate and powerful symbols. Therefore, most of the communication in work place takes place through words

Oral Communication

Oral communication means spoken communication or communication through speech. A person learns to speak much before writing. In organizations also people speak much more and much before writing. Therefore, speech or oral use of language is a widely used method of communication. Oral communication takes place through face to face talks (both formal and informal), telephone, loudspeakers, etc.

 Advantages of oral communication:

i.                    Immediate feedback: The biggest advantage of oral communication is that it provides immediate feedback to both the sender and receiver. Each can ask the other for clarification and elaboration on the spot. The speaker can immediately understand the reaction of the audience or group, he is addressing. 

ii.                  Time saving: Oral communication is very fast. It saves the time involved in writing the message.

iii.                Economical:Oral communication saves the money spent on stationery in an organization.

iv.                Personal touch:Oral communication builds upon healthy climate in the organization by bringing superiors and subordinate closer. It is an effective tol for persuasion.

v.                  Flexibility: Oral communication provides an opportunity to the speaker to correct himself and make himself clear by changing his voice, pitch, tone, etc. Body language can be used to reinforce words.

vi.                Secrecy: Oral messages can be more easily kept confidential than written messages.

vii.              Group communications: Oral communication is extremely useful for communicating with groups in meetings, conferences, etc.

Limitation of oral communication

i.                    Poor retention:The listener cannot retain oral messages in his memory for a long time. The speaker himself may not recall what he actually said

ii.                  No record: oral communication provides any record for future reference. In the absence of record, oral communication has no legal validity.

iii.                Time Consuming: Oral communication may not always be time saving. Sometimes meetings continue for a long time without arriving at any satisfactory conclusion.

iv.                Misunderstanding: Oral communications are likely to be misunderstod due t o poor vocal expression and noise. The speaker may not be able to make himself quite clear or the listener may be inattentive. This is likely to be truer when the two individuals are not in good terms with each other.

v.                  Lengthy messages:  Oral communication is not suitable for transmitting lengthy messages. Some parts of vital importance are more likely to be missed when lengthy explanation is required.

vi.                Lack of responsibility: Oral messages are not recorded. Therefore it becomes very difficult to hold persons responsible for mistakes, inaccuracy, untruth in oral communication.

vii.             Imprecise:People usually take less care when speaking than when writing. Therefore,spoken words tend to be less precise than written words. Often the exact point the speaker is trying to make is lost in a mass of words.