Communication Skills

1. Communication Skills
Lecture –1

2. Definition of Communication
• Communication is an act of transferring information
from one person, place or group to the another.
• It is way of exchanging ideas, opinions, emotions and
feelings.
• Communication can be verbal, non-verbal and
written.
• It helps in connecting people all around the world.

3. Background and History of Communication
• In early times communication was done by using
symbols and signs.
• People used to do carvings on the stones.
• Pictures were also the source of communicating
ideas.

4. Importance of Communication
• It makes or build up one’s culture, society or a
civilization.
• It reduces the chance of conflicts and
misunderstandings between people or different
groups.
• It is fundamental to the existence and survival of
humans as well as to organization.
• It provides information and guidance to people.
• It aids in formulating rules and laws necessary for a
society.
• It helps to transfer cultural traditions and norms from
one generation to another.

5. Process of Communication
• Communication is a continuous process.
• It is mainly consisted of three elements ;
1. Sender
2. Message
3. Receiver

6. Cont…
1. Sender: He starts or initiates the process of
communication. He is the one who generates the
message and conveys it to the receiver. He is the
source of the message and encodes it.
2. Message: It is the idea, information, view, fact or
feeling that is generated by the sender and meant to
be communicated further.
3. Encoding: the message generated by the sender is
encoded symbolically such as in the form of words,
pictures, gestures and symbols before it is being
conveyed.

7. Cont…
4. Media: It is the manner in which the encoded
message is transmitted orally or in written form. The
medium of communication includes telephone,
internet, post or fax etc. the choice of medium is
decided by the sender.
5. Decoding: It is the process of converting the symbols
encoded by the sender. After decoding the message is
received by the receiver.
6. Receiver: He is the one who receives the message
sent by the sender. Once he receives, understands,
interprets the message properly and acts accordingly
only then the purpose of communication is
successful.

8. Cont…
7. Feedback: Once the receiver confirms to the sender
that he has received the message and understood it,
the process of communication is complete.
8. Noise: It refers to any obstruction, problem or hurdle
that is caused by the sender, message or receiver
during the process of communication. For example,
bad telephone connection, faulty encoding, faulty
decoding or inappropriate gestures.

9. Barriers of Communication
1. Cultural Barrier: People who belong to different
norms, traditions, ethics and values. They cannot
work conveniently in a common setting as they are
unable to understand and perceive each other’s
values.
2. Language Barrier: Language becomes hurdle in
communication if two people have different
languages, dialects or jargons even.

10. Cont…
3. Semantic Barrier: It refers to the problem of
understanding the meaning of words in different
contexts. For example, “an owl” in Pakistani context
means a dumb or a lazy person whereas, in
American context it means a wise person.
4. Psychological and Emotional Barrier: It refers to
the problems occur in communication due to
psychological and emotional factors such as anxiety,
tension, depression, mood swings and
overconfidence etc.

11. Cont…
5. Personal Barrier: It refers to the issues or hurdles
one faces in communication due to one’s personal
boundaries and restrictions such as a person in
power will not allow the other person to speak or
express his ideas openly.
6. Gender Barrier: It refers to the problem in
communication due to the gender difference. For
example, in Pakistani society male members feel
reluctant in talking to the female members and vice
versa.