Communication

Communication – Area of Improvement Introduction Communication is an essential part of our life as every day we communicate with each other in some way or the other. We communicate when we are at home, at office or when we go out for enjoyment with friends or relatives; communication takes place everywhere. With so much communication involved in our daily lives, we should ask ourselves as to how good we are when it comes to communication. This question must come under consideration by every individual because if during communication, miscommunication takes place, it can drastically change the result or even change our lives (Grimshaw & Hussain, pg . 67).
One very important area of communication where I feel need for personal improvement is oral and public communication. Oral and public communication forms a major part of our lives as the communication that takes place, majority of them takes place in oral form. Thus, it is very important to focus on this part of communication as it can really make or change our lives. There are many examples in our daily lives that can be linked to this type of communication. For instance, relationship manager in a bank is responsible for approaching the customers and develop relationship with them through this type of communication. Similarly, a lecturer in a university transfers most of the data to its students by communicating orally. A politician a leader or a reformer addresses the public by communicating with them orally. However, what if a manager is not able to communicate with the customers effectively because of poor oral and public communication skills, a lecturer fails to make his student understand the topic, or a politician fails to draw attention of the mob towards what he has to say? In order to avoid this scenario, we must focus on certain aspects that can make us better at oral and public communication. Following things should be kept in mind for oral communication:
Voice
A speaker should always use appropriate volume level. It should not be too low so people have difficulty in listening to you and it should not be too high. The volume should be adjusted according to the situation as for instance, when addressing a mob speaker must be loud and clear so that he can effectively transfer his message. Similarly, if we are talking to a person who is standing near us then we should talk with a polite tone. The main goal should be to ensure that everyone understands what we want to say without straining their ear or by irritating them by speaking too loudly.
Assertive Approach
The speaker should be assertive in what he has to say. For instance, the speaker should use “ I” statements while sharing his opinions or feelings to others, so the listener may not feel that he is being accused and at the same time, he has delivered the message. This approach is very effective when a sensitive topic is under discussion. At the same time, speaker must also try to control his emotions and only portray what he wants the listeners to know.
Body Language
The body language is very important part of verbal communication as it complements what we say perfectly. Good body language can often overcome the weaknesses in our oral speech but good oral speech with bad body language will spoil the mood of the audience. Proper eye contact should be maintained with the listener at all time as it sets the mood for better understanding of what the speaker has to say (Thayer, pg. 102).
Appropriate Language
The speaker must use appropriate language one that can be understood by most of them. In addition, the speaker must choose simple words so it can be understood by everyone. He should also try to convey his message clearly to the audience so the basic theme of the message can reach comprehensively to the listener (Thayer, pg. 109).
All these factors if worked upon can enhance our ability to communicate effectively in our daily lives, thus opening endless opportunity for ourselves.
Works Cited
Grimshaw, Caroline and Iqbal Hussain. Communication. Chicago: World Book in association with Two-Can Pub., 1997.
Thayer, Lee. Communication. [S. l.]: Xlibris, 2009.