ORAL COMMUNICATION

Prof. PK Tulsi

Structure of the Presentation

ImportanceConcept of communicationPrinciples of effective speakingPrinciples of effective listening

‘You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere’ Lee Iacocca

You cannot not communicateOR

You always communicate

When the mind is thinking, it is talking to itself" Plato

• Intra personal communication

• Inter-personal Communication

• A personal communication

Communication Situations

• One to one• Small groups• Large groups• Known• Friends• Unknown/Strangers• Pleasant • Unpleasant• Superiors• Subordinates• Colleagues

Communication and Individual

Dennis Rivers(2004)• More coordinated life activities with the life

activities of people important to you• More respect• More influence• More comfortable with conflict• More peace of mind• More satisfying closeness with others• A healthier life

Time Spent on Communication –80%

Hello, Hello---- Hello, Hello----

Communication Skills

• Speaking

• Listening

• Reading

• Writing

Listening

Speaking

Reading

Writing

45%

30%

16%

9%

TIME SPENT ON

Oral Communication Skills

Speaking

Listening

• Who is a mother?

Communication: Concept

Responses: Mother

• Loving• Affectionate• First teacher• Caring• Understand the

child without his saying anything

• Nurturing-----------

• Person who gives birth to a child

Based on Experience Standard Meaning

Communication: Concept

Sharing of meanings

–Denotative (Standard /Dictionary meaning)

–Connotative (based upon Experience)

“Words have no meaning –

people have meaning”Larry Baker

‘People speak with the vocal organs but communicate with

the whole body’ (Abercrombie, 1968)

Effectiveness of Oral Communication: Speaking

IMPACT OFVerbal content 7%

Tone of the voice 38%

Non verbal behaviour 55%

"Even when you choose your words well, if your tone of voice is hurried, hostile, or defensive, people may hear something very different from what you intended " (Dr Rick Brinkman and

Dr Rick Kirschner,

Dealing with Difficult People )

Principles of Effective Speaking

Principles of Effective Speaking

Know thy subject

Know the objectives

Know your audience

AgeInterestLearning stylesPrevious attainments Social context etc

Principles of Effective Speaking

Organize the messageTopical organization, chronological

organization, Journalistic organization, concept maps

Simple to complex, easy to difficult, known to unknown, concrete to abstract, observation to reasoning

Keep it simple and short Use simple language Grammatically correctTechnically correct

Principles of Effective Speaking: Message

Non Verbal Communication

• Kinesics (facial expression, gestures, body postures, eye contact)

• Paralanguage (tone, volume, pitch, rhythm, articulation, pronunciation)

• Artifacts (clothing, jewellery, cosmetics, tattoos, piercing, hairstyle)

• Chronemics (time)• Proxemics (space)

Principles of Effective Speaking

Maintain eye contact with students

Principles of Effective Speaking

Face is the index of mindEmotions expressed through facial expression

Principles of Effective Speaking

Use appropriate gestures

Pay attention to your posture

Principles of Effective Speaking

Contd

Be audibleCheck your articulation and

pronunciation Check your rate delivery Vary your pitchUse conversational mode Use pause

Principles of Effective Speaking

Dress formally

Avoid verbal virus/filler words– Ok, You see, You know, Look Actually,

Yes, Right

Use silence-"Silence is one great art of conversation" William Hazlitt

I AM NOT OK I AM OK

YOU ARE OK YOU ARE OK

GET AWAY FROM GET ON WITH

I AM NOT OK I AM OK

YOU ARE NOT OK YOU ARE NOT OK

GET NO WHERE GET RID OF

Not OK Perception about oneself OK

No

t O

K P

erc

epti

on

ab

ou

t o

the

rs O

K

Operate from I am OK, You are OK life position

Be friendlyFree yourself from biases and prejudices

Provide time for assimilation

Obtain and provide feedback• Task related• Accurate• Specific• Corrective• Immediate

Principles of Effective Speaking

Improving One’s Speaking Skills

• Record your voice

• Obtain feedback

• Be open to feedback

• Analyze your strengths and weaknesses

• Try to eliminate your weaknesses

• Practice-Practice-Practice

Improving One’s Speaking Skills

• Choose a role model

• Listen him/her

• Imitate the role model

• Practice-Practice-Practice

Principles of Effective Listening

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen" Winston Churchill

Nature has given us two ears, two eyes, but one tongue-to the end that we should hear and see more than we speak

Socrates

‘Listening has been variously called the neglected art or

forgotten skill in Communication’

(Adair,1997)

The higher the quality of listening

the less power externals will be allowed to disrupt communication’ (Adair; 1997)

Purposes of ListeningShow concern and respect for the

speakerMotivates the speaker to speak or

continueGives a signal to the speaker that you are

with himBuilds relationLeads to learning

Listening

• Hearing with understanding

SIGNAL ATTENDING INTERPRETING EVALUATING RESONDING REMEMBERING FIG 2.1: PROCESS OF LISTENING

LISTENING PROCESS

Obstacles to Listening

• Prejudging the communication/

calling the subject uninteresting

• Criticizing the speaker’s delivery/ language

• Listening only for facts

• Getting over stimulated

• Trying to take copious notes

• Faking attention

Contd• Tolerating or creating distractions

• Avoiding technical and difficult

material (Filtering out messages)

• Letting emotionally laden words

detract

• Wasting the differential between

speech speed and thought speed

• Rehearsing a response (Mental rehearsal)

Principles of Effective Listening

Stop talkingMaintain eye contact with the speakerPay attention to what is being saidConcentrate/Focus on what is being saidKeep an open mind Listen without biases and prejudicesListen for both content and emotions

behind it

Listen for the big picture not for specifics

Indulge in empathetic listeningMake use of differential in thought

speed and speech speedRelate with what you already know

Principles of Effective Listening

Contd

Ask questionsAnalyze and evaluate Take notes in your own words

Principles of Effective Listening

Do not prejudge the communicationDo not criticize the speaker’s

delivery/language Do not filter the messageDo not take copious notesDo not interrupt the speakerDo not tolerate distractionsDo not rehearse a response