Communication : Components, Flows, Skills and Barriers

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Executive)Communication)
Communication*:*Components,*Flow,*Skills*
and*Barriers*
Ayush*Parekh*
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Index!
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Sr.!No.! ! ! Topic! Page!No.!
1.! Introduction! 3!
2.! Components!of!Communication!Process! 4!
3.!
Importance!of!Communication!in!an!
Organization!
7!
4.!
Communication!flows!in!an!Organization!
B Downward!
B Upward!
B Lateral!!
B Diagonal!
B External!
8!
5.! Body!Language!in!Communication! 12!
6.! 7C’s!of!Effective!Communication! 14!
7.! Communication!Barriers! 18!
8.! Communication!Skills! 21!
9.! Presentation!Skills! 25!

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Introduction
Communication is neither transmission of message nor
message itself. It is the mutual exchange of
understanding, originating with the reciever.
Communication needs to be effective in business.
Communication is essence of management. The basic
functions of management (Planning, Organizing, Staffing,
Directing and Controlling) cannot be performed well
without effective communication. Business
communication involves constant flow of information.
Feedback is integral part of business communication.
Organizations these days are verly large. It involves
number of people. There are various levels of hierarchy in
an organization. Greater the number of levels, the more
difficult is the job of managing the organization.
Communication here plays a very important role in
process of directing and controlling the people in the
oragnization. Immediate feedback can be obtained and
misunderstandings if any can be avoided. There should be
effective communication between superiors and
subordinated in an organization, between organization
and society at large(for example between management
and trade unions). It is essential for success and growth of
an organization. Communication gaps should not occur in
any organization.
Business Communication is goal oriented. The rules,
regulations and policies of a company have to be
communicated to people within and outside the
organization. Business Communication is regulated by
certain rules and norms. In early times, business
communication was limited to paper-work, telephone
calls etc. But now with advent of technology, we have

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cell phones, video conferencing, emails, satellite
communication to support business communication.
Effective business communication helps in building
goodwill of an organization.
Business Communication can be of two types:
1Oral Communication - An oral communication can be
formal or informal. Generally business
communication is a formal means of
communication, like : meetings, interviews, group
discussion, speeches etc. An example of Informal
business communication would be - Grapevine.!
2Written Communication - Written means of business
communication includes - agenda, reports, manuals
etc.
Components of Communication Process
1. Context - Communication is affected by the context
in which it takes place. This context may be
physical, social, chronological or cultural. Every
communication proceeds with context. The sender
chooses the message to communicate within a
context.
2. Sender / Encoder - Sender / Encoder is a person
who sends the message. A sender makes use of
symbols (words or graphic or visual aids) to convey
the message and produce the required response. For
instance - a training manager conducting training
for new batch of employees. Sender may be an
individual or a group or an organization. The views,
background, approach, skills, competencies, and

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knowledge of the sender have a great impact on the
message. The verbal and non verbal symbols chosen
are essential in ascertaining interpretation of the
message by the recipient in the same terms as
intended by the sender.
3. Message - Message is a key idea that the sender
wants to communicate. It is a sign that elicits the
response of recipient. Communication process
begins with deciding about the message to be
conveyed. It must be ensured that the main
objective of the message is clear.
4. Medium - Medium is a means used to exchange /
transmit the message. The sender must choose an
appropriate medium for transmitting the message
else the message might not be conveyed to the
desired recipients. The choice of appropriate
medium of communication is essential for making
the message effective and correctly interpreted by
the recipient. This choice of communication
medium varies depending upon the features of
communication. For instance - Written medium is
chosen when a message has to be conveyed to a
small group of people, while an oral medium is
chosen when spontaneous feedback is required from
the recipient as misunderstandings are cleared then
and there.
5. Recipient / Decoder - Recipient / Decoder is a
person for whom the message is intended / aimed /
targeted. The degree to which the decoder
understands the message is dependent upon various

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factors such as knowledge of recipient, their
responsiveness to the message, and the reliance of
encoder on decoder.
6. Feedback - Feedback is the main component of
communication process as it permits the sender to
analyze the efficacy of the message. It helps the
sender in confirming the correct interpretation of
message by the decoder. Feedback may be verbal
(through words) or non-verbal (in form of smiles,
sighs, etc.). It may take written form also in form of
memos, reports, etc.

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The Importance of Communication in an
Organization
1. Communication promotes motivation by informing
and clarifying the employees about the task to be
done, the manner they are performing the task, and
how to improve their performance if it is not up to
the mark.
2. Communication is a source of information to the
organizational members for decision-making
process as it helps identifying and assessing
alternative course of actions.
3. Communication also plays a crucial role in altering
individual’s attitudes, i.e., a well-informed
individual will have better attitude than a less-
informed individual. Organizational magazines,
journals, meetings and various other forms of oral
and written communication help in moulding
employee’s attitudes.
4. Communication also helps in socializing. In todays
life the only presence of another individual fosters
communication. It is also said that one cannot
survive without communication.
5. As discussed earlier, communication also assists in
controlling process. It helps controlling
organizational member’s behaviour in various ways.
There are various levels of hierarchy and certain
principles and guidelines that employees must
follow in an organization. They must comply with

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organizational policies, perform their job role
efficiently and communicate any work problem and
grievance to their superiors. Thus, communication
helps in controlling function of management.
Communication flows in an Organization
In an organization, communication flows in 5 main
directions:
1. Downward
2. Upward
3. Lateral
4. Diagonal
5. External
Downward Flow of Communication
Communication that flows from a higher level in an
organization to a lower level is a downward
communication. In other words, communication from
superiors to subordinates in a chain of command is a
downward communication. This communication flow
is used by the managers to transmit work-related
information to the employees at lower levels.
Employees require this information for performing
their jobs and for meeting the expectations of their
managers. Downward communication is used by the
managers for the following purposes –
• Providing feedback on employees performance
• Giving job instructions
•• Providing a complete understanding of the
employees job as well as to communicate

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them how their job is related to other jobs in
the organization.
• • Communicating the organizations mission and
vision to the employees.
• • Highlighting the areas of attention.
Organizational publications, circulars, letter to
employees, group meetings etc are all examples of
downward communication. In order to have
effective and error-free downward
communication, managers must:
• Specify communication objective
• Ensure that the message is accurate,
specific and unambiguous.
• Utilize the best communication
technique to convey the message to the
receiver in right form
Upward Flow of Communication
Communication that flows to a higher level in an
organization is called upward communication. It
provides feedback on how well the organization is
functioning. The subordinates use upward
communication to convey their problems and
performances to their superiors.
!The subordinates also use upward communication to
tell how well they have understood the downward
communication. It can also be used by the employees
to share their views and ideas and to participate in the
decision-making process.
Upward communication leads to a more committed
and loyal workforce in an organization because the

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employees are given a chance to raise and speak
dissatisfaction issues to the higher levels. The
managers get to know about the employees feelings
towards their jobs, peers, supervisor and organization
in general. Managers can thus accordingly take actions
for improving things.
Grievance Redressal System, Complaint and
Suggestion Box, Job Satisfaction surveys etc all help
in improving upward communication. Other examples
of Upward Communication are -performance reports
made by low level management for reviewing by
higher level management, employee attitude surveys,
letters from employees, employee-manager
discussions etc.!
Lateral / Horizontal Communication
Communication that takes place at same levels of
hierarchy in an organization is called lateral
communication, i.e., communication between peers,
between managers at same levels or between any
horizontally equivalent organizational members. The
advantages of horizontal communication are as
follows:
• • It is time saving.
• • It facilitates co-ordination of the task.
• • It facilitates co-operation among team members.
• • It provides emotional and social assistance to the
organizational members.
• • It helps in solving various organizational problems.
• • It is a means of information sharing
• • It can also be used for resolving conflicts of a
department with other department or conflicts within a

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department.
Diagonal Communication
Communication that takes place between a manager
and employees of other workgroups is called diagonal
communication. It generally does not appear on
organizational chart. For instance - To design training
module a training manager interacts with Operations
personnel to enquire about the way they perform their
task.
External Communication
Communication that takes place between a manager
and external groups such as - suppliers, vendors,
banks, financial institutes etc. For instance - To raise
capital the Managing director would interact with the
Bank Manager.

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Body Language in Communication
Kinesics or study of body language must be understood
by all. Whether it is an interview or a presentation, one
must be aware of how to use body language effectively.
1. Eye Contact: Always maintain eye contact with
your audience. However, a person must ensure that
he / she should not fix his gaze at one person for
more than 5 seconds. Too much fluttering of eyes
could indicate lack of confidence. Staring at a
person could be daunting and hence is not such a
good idea.!
2. Hand Shake: While shaking hands especially in a
professional environment, the hand shake should be
firm and not loose. An iron handshake [very strong
handshake] can indicate that a person is trying to
dominate.!
3. Crossing your Arms: Crossing your arms could
imply that a person is not open to new ideas /
opinion especially in case of giving a presentation.
However, in a one-on-one interview if the
interviewer has his / her arms crossed, the candidate
could do the same.!
4. Sitting Posture: Leaning on a chair is not a good
idea. One must sit upright though in a relaxed
position. Sitting back in your chair implies lack of
interest or rejection.!
5. Gesture: Gesture refers to a type of non verbal
communication which uses a part of the body with
or without verbal communication. Gestures include
facial expressions, nods [which is a sign of approval
in most cultures], head bobbling / shaking.!

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6. Facial Expression: The face is a best reflection of
what a person feels. More often than not it is easy to
recognize if a person is happy, sad, anxious,
irritated, or excited. It is very important that in a
professional scenario a person must control his / her
facial expressions. For e.g. If a presenter gets a feel
that his presentation is not going on very well, he /
she should not show the sign of losing of hope and
instead try for a greater involvement from the
participants.

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7C’s of Effective Communication
There are 7 C’s of effective communication, which are
applicable to both written as well as oral communication.
These are as follows:
1. Completeness - The communication must be
complete. It should convey all facts required by the
audience. The sender of the message must take into
consideration the receiver’s mind set and convey the
message accordingly. A complete communication
has following features:
a. Complete communication develops and
enhances reputation of an organization.
b. Moreover, they are cost saving as no crucial
information is missing and no additional cost is
incurred in conveying extra message if the
communication is complete.
c. A complete communication always gives
additional information wherever required. It
leaves no questions in the mind of receiver.
d. Complete communication helps in better
decision-making by the
audience/readers/receivers of message as they
get all desired and crucial information.
e. It persuades the audience.
2. Conciseness - Conciseness means wordiness, i.e,
communicating what you want to convey in least
possible words without forgoing the other C’s of
communication. Conciseness is a necessity for
effective communication. Concise communication

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a. It is both time-saving as well as cost-saving.
b. It underlines and highlights the main message
as it avoids using excessive and needless
words.
c. Concise communication provides short and
essential message in limited words to the
audience.
d. Concise message is more appealing and
comprehensible to the audience.
e. Concise message is non-repetitive in nature.
3. Consideration - Consideration implies “stepping
into the shoes of others”. Effective communication
must take the audience into consideration, i.e, the
audience’s view points, background, mind-set,
education level, etc. Make an attempt to envisage
your audience, their requirements, emotions as well
as problems. Ensure that the self-respect of the
audience is maintained and their emotions are not at
harm. Modify your words in message to suit the
audience’s needs while making your message
complete. Features of considerate communication
are as follows:
a. Emphasize on “you” approach.
b. Empathize with the audience and exhibit
interest in the audience. This will stimulate a
positive reaction from the audience.
c. Show optimism towards your audience.
Emphasize on “what is possible” rather than
“what is impossible”. Lay stress on positive
words such as jovial, committed, thanks, warm,
healthy, help, etc.

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4. Clarity - Clarity implies emphasizing on a specific
message or goal at a time, rather than trying to
achieve too much at once. Clarity in communication
a. It makes understanding easier.
b. Complete clarity of thoughts and ideas
enhances the meaning of message.
c. Clear message makes use of exact, appropriate
and concrete words.
5. Concreteness - Concrete communication implies
being particular and clear rather than fuzzy and
general. Concreteness strengthens the confidence.
Concrete message has following features:
a. It is supported with specific facts and figures.
b. It makes use of words that are clear and that
build the reputation.
c. Concrete messages are not misinterpreted.
6. Courtesy - Courtesy in message implies the
message should show the sender’s expression as
well as should respect the receiver. The sender of
the message should be sincerely polite, judicious,
reflective and enthusiastic. Courteous message has
following features:
a. Courtesy implies taking into consideration both
viewpoints as well as feelings of the receiver of
the message.
b. Courteous message is positive and focused at
the audience.
c. It makes use of terms showing respect for the
receiver of message.
d. It is not at all biased.

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7. Correctness - Correctness in communication
implies that there are no grammatical errors in
communication. Correct communication has
following features:
a. The message is exact, correct and well-timed.
b. If the communication is correct, it boosts up
the confidence level.
c. Correct message has greater impact on the
audience/readers.
d. It checks for the precision and accurateness of
facts and figures used in the message.
e. It makes use of appropriate and correct
language in the message.

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Communication Barriers
BPerceptual and Language Differences: Perception is
generally how each individual interprets the world
around him. All generally want to receive messages
which are significant to them. But any message which is
against their values is not accepted. A same event may
be taken differently by different individuals. For
example : A person is on leave for a month due to
personal reasons (family member being critical). The
HR Manager might be in confusion whether to retain
that employee or not, the immediate manager might
think of replacement because his teams productivity is
being hampered, the family members might take him as
an emotional support.!The linguistic differences also lead
to communication breakdown. Same word may mean
different to different individuals. For example: consider
a word “value”.!
• What is the value of this Laptop?
• I value our relation?
• What is the value of learning technical skills?
“Value” means different in different sentences.
Communication breakdown occurs if there is wrong
perception by the receiver.
BInformation Overload: Managers are surrounded
with a pool of information. It is essential to control
this information flow else the information is likely
to be misinterpreted or forgotten or overlooked. As
a result communication is less effective.

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BInattention: At times we just not listen, but only
hear. For example a traveler may pay attention to
one “NO PARKING” sign, but if such sign is put
all over the city, he no longer listens to it. Thus,
repetitive messages should be ignored for effective
communication. Similarly if a superior is
engrossed in his paper work and his subordinate
explains him his problem, the superior may not get
what he is saying and it leads to disappointment of
subordinate.
BTime Pressures: Often in organization the targets
have to be achieved within a specified time period,
the failure of which has adverse consequences. In a
haste to meet deadlines, the formal channels of
communication are shortened, or messages are
partially given, i.e., not completely transferred.
Thus sufficient time should be given for effective
communication.
BDistraction/Noise: Communication is also affected
a lot by noise to distractions. Physical distractions
are also there such as, poor lightning,
uncomfortable sitting, unhygienic room also
affects communication in a meeting. Similarly use
of loud speakers interferes with communication.
BEmotions: Emotional state at a particular point of
time also affects communication. If the receiver
feels that communicator is angry he interprets that
the information being sent is very bad. While he
takes it differently if the communicator is happy
and jovial (in that case the message is interpreted

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to be good and interesting).
BComplexity in Organizational Structure: Greater
the hierarchy in an organization (i.e. more the
number of managerial levels), more is the chances
of communication getting destroyed. Only the
people at the top level can see the overall picture
while the people at low level just have knowledge
about their own area and a little knowledge about
other areas.
BPoor retention: Human memory cannot function
beyond a limit. One cant always retain what is
being told specially if he is not interested or not
attentive. This leads to communication breakdown.

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Communication Skills
One can be an extremely hard working and intelligent
worker, but to taste success in the fierce competitive
world, one has to be a good and impressive
communicator. In corporates; you will not get too many
chances to win the confidence of your boss and fellow
workers, you have to create a positive impression at the
first go itself. Doing your work is important but what is
more important is presenting your work well. One has to
be very careful about his communication skills to
perform well at his workplace and have an edge over his
fellow workers.
! Understand the second party well. Know more
about their thought process, cultural background and
educational background for effective communication.
The content must be designed keeping the audience in
mind. For instance, if you need to address the front
line staff, it is always advisable to keep your speech
simple for them to understand well. For interacting
with top shots don’t adopt a casual approach. Use
professional jargons and corporate terminologies in
your speech for the “Bang on” effect. Always be
yourself very clear what you want to communicate. If
you yourself are confused, you will also confuse
others. Whatever thought you want to share with
others, carefully put it into sensible and relevant
words for others to understand clearly. Careful
selection of words is very important for an effective
communication. If you want to address your team in
the conference room near the cafeteria, please do
mention the location very clearly. Don’t keep half of

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your thoughts in mind and expect the others to
understand it on their own.
! The pitch and the tone must also be taken care of.
During presentations, seminars or business meetings,
your tone must be audible to each and every
participant to create the desired impact and for others
to look up to you. Make sure that the individual sitting
on the last bench is also able to hear you properly for
him to give his best. Don’t speak too low or shout.
Never rush. Speak slowly and clearly what you expect
your fellow workers to do. Make your speech
interesting. Don’t make long presentations or
unnecessarily drag the meeting. During long
meetings, monotony creeps in and individuals tend to
loose interest. Do include a tea or a snack break.
! At work places never interact at noisy places,
cafeteria, employee’s workstations as noise acts as a
hindrance to an effective communication. Prefer a
conference room, a board room or a noise free zone
for meetings and presentations. The speaker must use
whiteboards, markers, pen and paper to highlight the
important points. The listeners must also carry a
notepad and a pen to jot down the important points as
well as their queries. The queries must be asked at the
end of the presentation. Jumping in between leads to
confusions and misunderstandings and disrespect for
the speaker. The question answer round must be kept
at the end of presentations, seminars and meetings.
The speaker must invite questions from the audience
in the end and the listeners must also solve all their
queries before leaving for a better understanding.

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Don’t feel shy to ask your queries.
! While sharing any important information, do
verify with the recipients whether they have
understood or not. While sharing any important
contact number, always crosscheck with the recipient
to ensure that they have noted it correctly. Don’t
dictate your email id in one go. Always break it into
words which must be further broken into alphabets.
For better clarity alphabets must be related with the
word they stand for. For example a as in alpha, b as in
beta, t as in tango, c as in Charlie as so on. Share your
business cards than verbally dictating your details as
chances of errors get reduced.
! Don’t always depend on verbal communication.
After any meeting, make it a habit to send the minutes
of the meeting through mail marking a cc to all the
participants for everyone to recall what happened in
the meeting. Learn the art of writing business mails.
Never use stylish fonts or loud colours in business
communication. The agenda of the meeting must also
be sent well in advance so that the participants come
prepared and do not give blank expressions during the
meetings.
! There should be transparency among all the team
members and the subordinates must have an easy
access to their superiors. The hierarchy should be
simple for easy flow of information among the team
members. The employee must know whom to contact
in case of a query to avoid dilution of the information.
Never call any client or any employee when he is

! 24!
about to leave for the day as he would never bother to
listen carefully. Also avoid discussing important
matters during lunch time as the employee is
altogether in a different mood.
! Also take care of your dressing at work place. Never
be shabby and keep your nails clean. Do not wear
loud colours to office. Casual dressing is a strict no no
at work places. Make sure to carry a planner or an
organizer to note down your work against the deadline
to avoid forgetting important assignments. In offices,
always keep your mobiles in the silent mode as loud
ring tones act as a disturbing element and employees
find it hard to concentrate at work.
! The most important of all be yourself and be very
confident. Give your best everyday at work and adopt
a positive approach. Nervousness and over excitement
lead to stammering and ineffective communication.
Learn to keep a control on your emotions and be very
careful about what you say and how you say?
Communicate effectively at work place to be
successful.

! 25!
Presentation Skills
! The presentation ideas should be well adapted to
your audience. Relate your presentation
message/idea to the interests of the audience. A
detailed audience analysis must be made before the
presentation, i.e., an analysis of the needs, age,
educational background, language, and culture of
the target audience. Their body language instantly
gives the speaker the required feedback.
! A good presentation should be concise and should
be focused on the topic. It should not move off-track
! A good presentation should have the potential to
convey the required information.
!
! The fear should be transformed into positive energy
during the presentation. Be calm and relaxed while
giving a presentation. Before beginning, wait and
develop an eye contact with the audience. Focus on
conveying your message well and use a positive
body language.
! To communicate the desired information, the
speaker should use more of visual aids such as
transparencies, diagrams, pictures, charts, etc. Each
transparency/slide should contain limited and
essential information only. No slide should be kept
on for a longer time. Try facing the audience, rather
than the screen. The speaker should not block the
view. Turn on the room lights else the audience
might fall asleep and loose interest. Organize all the

! 26!
visuals for making a logical and sound presentation.
! A good presentation must be planned. The speaker
must plan how to begin the presentation, what to
speak in the middle of presentation and how to end
the presentation without losing audience interests at
any point of time.
! Rehearse and practice the presentation. This will
help the speaker to be more confident and self-
assured. The more the speaker rehearses the better
the presentation turns to be.
! The speaker should encourage more questions from
the audience. He should be honest enough to answer
those questions. If any biased question is put forth
by the audience, rearticulate it before answering.
! Summarize the presentation at the end. Give final
comments. Leave a positive impact upon the
audience.
! The speaker must have a presentable appearance
while giving a presentation. The speaker should
stand with feet far apart maintaining a good balance.
He must use confident gestures. He must use short
and simple words.
!
! Try to gain and maintain audience interest by using
positive quotes, humour, or remarkable fact.
! The speaker must be affirmative and optimistic
before giving presentation. He should ensure all

! 27!
tools and equipments to be used in presentation are
working well.
! The speaker must state the objectives of the
presentation at beginning of the presentation.

Communication : Components, Flows, Skills and Barriers

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