Communication Skills – MCM 301 VU
COMMUNICATION Skills
MCM301
Table of Contents:
Page no.
Lesson 1 Communication 3
Lesson 2 Levels of communication 6
Lesson 3 Interpersonal communication 9
Lesson 4 Communication in the Organization: Guiding Principles 12
Lesson 5 Communication Destination 15
Lesson 6 Listening 20
Lesson 7 Improving your Listening skills 24
Lesson 8 Nonverbal communication 27
Lesson 9 Barriers to communication 31
Lesson 10 Barriers to communication (continued) 33
Lesson 11 Overcoming communication barriers 35
Lesson 12 Speech 38
Lesson 13 Selecting a topic 40
Lesson 14 Thesis statement 44
Lesson 15 Introduction of Speech 47
Lesson 16 Body of Speech 51
Lesson 17 Modes of Delivery 56
Lesson 18 Strategic Oral Delivery 58
Lesson 19 Making a Good Speech 65
Lesson 20 Handling Questions and Answers 69
Lesson 21 Responding Questions & Answers 73
Lesson 22 Significance of the Setting 81
Lesson 23 Visual Aids 89
Lesson 24 Visual Aids(continued) 93
Lesson 25 Group Communication 98
Lesson 26 Elements of Effective written Communication 106
Lesson 27 Elements of Effective written Communication(continued) 112
Lesson 28 Elements of Effective written Communication(continued) 117
Lesson 29 Preparing for Effective Business Writing 120
Lesson 30 Preparing for Effective Business Writing(continued) 122
Lesson 31 Preparing for Effective Business Writing(continued) 126
Lesson 32 Parts of Business Letters 130
Lesson 33 Direct Request Letters 138
Lesson 34 Direct Request Letters (Continued) 142
Lesson 35 Direct Request Letters (Continued) 145
Lesson 36 Good Newsletters 148
Lesson 37 Disappointing Newsletters 155
Lesson 38 Disappointing Newsletters(continued) 159
Lesson 39 Disappointing Newsletters(continued) 161
Lesson 40 Writing Persuasive Message 166
Lesson 41 Writing Persuasive Message(Continued) 171
Lesson 42 Writing Persuasive Message(Continued) 174
© Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 1
,Communication Skills – MCM 301 VU
Lesson 43 Writing Resume 184
Lesson 44 Writing Resume (continued) 190
Lesson 45 Overview 193
© Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 2
,Communication Skills – MCM 301 VU
Lesson 01
Communication
Communication is derived from the Latin word ‘Communico’ which means “to share”. Hence the
word “communication” means: the process of sharing. One may ask, sharing what? Obviously – sharing
information, which could be facts, ideas, thoughts, feelings, needs, etc. This sharing takes place from one
person to another so that it is understood. This process involves systematic and continuous process of
speaking, listening, and understanding. Therefore,
Communication is a process, which involves sharing of information between people through a
continuous activity of speaking, listening, and understanding.
Why is Communication Important?
Communication is a learned skill. Most people are born with the physical ability to talk. But in
order to speak well and communicate effectively you have to learn the art and improve upon your ability
to talk. Speaking, listening, and our ability to understand verbal and nonverbal meanings are the skills we
develop in various ways. We learn basic communication skills by observing other people and changing
our behaviors based on what we see. We also learn communication skills directly through education,
practice and constant evaluation of the responses we get from people around us.
Importance of communication has always been realized in all times because it is the most vital
means by which people are connected together in the society. However, today communication plays a
crucial role in almost all aspects of life. Work in business, government or organizations are impossible
without communication. People have to communicate with each other, exchange information, make
decisions, talk about new ideas, plans, proposals etc. They also have to communicate externally with
foreigners and people of other races and languages.
For a moment, turn your eyes inward and see how much of your waking hours you spend in
communication. Nearly 70% – writing, reading, speaking, & listening. As a college student, 69 percent of
your communication time is spent on speaking and listening. You spend 17 percent of your
communication time on reading and 14 percent writing.
Don’t forget, therefore, that communication is inevitable in one’s life. Today, in this age & world, a
successful person is the one - who can communicate effectively.
Pick up any newspaper and scan the jobs wanted advertisements. You will find that communication skills
are one of the essential prerequisites in most of the occupations. Be it engineers, business managers, sales
officers, operators, etc. Any vocation you choose- oral communication skills are identified as valuable for
both obtaining employment and successful job performance. Big corporations and multinational
organizations need better communication skills in their employees so that they are able to work in teams
and with people from diverse backgrounds.
Remember we are living in a
communications revolution; we are living in
an age of increasing talk. When we have to
talk, we might as well talk well, and talk
wise.
The Communication Process or Cycle
Many of the problems that occur in an
organization are the direct result of people
failing to communicate. Faulty
communication causes the most problems. It leads to confusion and can cause a good plan to fail.
Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another. It involves
a sender transmitting an idea to a receiver. And effective communication occurs only if the receiver
understands the exact information or idea that the sender intends to transmit.
© Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 3
, Communication Skills – MCM 301 VU
Studying the communication process is important because you coach, coordinate, counsel, evaluate, and
supervise through this process. It is the chain of understanding that integrates the members of an
organization from top to bottom, bottom to top, and side-to-side.
Let us look into the details and see:
What is involved in the communication process?
The steps involved in this process are:
1. Idea: Information exists in the mind of the sender (who is the source). This can be a concept, idea,
information, or feelings.
2. Encoding: The source initiates a message by encoding the idea (or a thought) in words or symbols and
sends it to a receiver.
The message is the actual physical product from the source encoding. When we speak, the speech is the
message. When we write, the writing is the message. When we gesture, the movements of our arms and
the expressions of our faces are the message.
3. The Channel: The channel in the communication process is the medium that the sender uses to
transmit the message to the receiver. Care needs to be exercised in selecting the most effective channel for
each message. Even though both an oral and a written medium may be appropriate to transmit a particular
message, one medium may be more effective than the other. To illustrate, let’s assume that an individual
desires an immediate reply to a question. Although the message could be in either an oral or a written
form, the oral medium most likely will be more effective because of the immediacy, if required.
In selecting an appropriate channel, the sender must assess the following factors, as the situation
demands:
-need for immediate transmission of message, (Fax instead of letter)
-need for immediate feedback, (Phone instead of fax)
-need for permanent record of the message, (Written rather than oral)
-degree of negotiation and persuasion required, (Personal meeting – face-to face)
-the destination of the message, and (Far flung area – letter only)
-the nature of the content of the message. (Has to be a contract –written)
In addition, the sender should take into consideration his/her skill in using each of the alternative
channels, as well as the receiver’s skill in using each of the channels.
Communication rarely takes place over only one channel; two or three even four channels are normally
used simultaneously.
Example: in face-to-face interactions, we speak and listen but we also gesture and receive these signals
visually.
4. Decoding: It is the act of understanding messages (words or symbols). This is known as Decoding.
When the sound waves are translated into ideas, we are taking them out of the code they are in, hence
decoding. Thus, listeners and readers are often regarded as Decoders.
During the transmitting of the message, two processes will be received by the receiver. Content and
Context.
Content is the actual words or symbols of the message which is known as language – i.e. spoken and
written words combined into phrases that make grammatical and semantic (meaning) sense. We all use
© Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 4
COMMUNICATION Skills
MCM301
Table of Contents:
Page no.
Lesson 1 Communication 3
Lesson 2 Levels of communication 6
Lesson 3 Interpersonal communication 9
Lesson 4 Communication in the Organization: Guiding Principles 12
Lesson 5 Communication Destination 15
Lesson 6 Listening 20
Lesson 7 Improving your Listening skills 24
Lesson 8 Nonverbal communication 27
Lesson 9 Barriers to communication 31
Lesson 10 Barriers to communication (continued) 33
Lesson 11 Overcoming communication barriers 35
Lesson 12 Speech 38
Lesson 13 Selecting a topic 40
Lesson 14 Thesis statement 44
Lesson 15 Introduction of Speech 47
Lesson 16 Body of Speech 51
Lesson 17 Modes of Delivery 56
Lesson 18 Strategic Oral Delivery 58
Lesson 19 Making a Good Speech 65
Lesson 20 Handling Questions and Answers 69
Lesson 21 Responding Questions & Answers 73
Lesson 22 Significance of the Setting 81
Lesson 23 Visual Aids 89
Lesson 24 Visual Aids(continued) 93
Lesson 25 Group Communication 98
Lesson 26 Elements of Effective written Communication 106
Lesson 27 Elements of Effective written Communication(continued) 112
Lesson 28 Elements of Effective written Communication(continued) 117
Lesson 29 Preparing for Effective Business Writing 120
Lesson 30 Preparing for Effective Business Writing(continued) 122
Lesson 31 Preparing for Effective Business Writing(continued) 126
Lesson 32 Parts of Business Letters 130
Lesson 33 Direct Request Letters 138
Lesson 34 Direct Request Letters (Continued) 142
Lesson 35 Direct Request Letters (Continued) 145
Lesson 36 Good Newsletters 148
Lesson 37 Disappointing Newsletters 155
Lesson 38 Disappointing Newsletters(continued) 159
Lesson 39 Disappointing Newsletters(continued) 161
Lesson 40 Writing Persuasive Message 166
Lesson 41 Writing Persuasive Message(Continued) 171
Lesson 42 Writing Persuasive Message(Continued) 174
© Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 1
,Communication Skills – MCM 301 VU
Lesson 43 Writing Resume 184
Lesson 44 Writing Resume (continued) 190
Lesson 45 Overview 193
© Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 2
,Communication Skills – MCM 301 VU
Lesson 01
Communication
Communication is derived from the Latin word ‘Communico’ which means “to share”. Hence the
word “communication” means: the process of sharing. One may ask, sharing what? Obviously – sharing
information, which could be facts, ideas, thoughts, feelings, needs, etc. This sharing takes place from one
person to another so that it is understood. This process involves systematic and continuous process of
speaking, listening, and understanding. Therefore,
Communication is a process, which involves sharing of information between people through a
continuous activity of speaking, listening, and understanding.
Why is Communication Important?
Communication is a learned skill. Most people are born with the physical ability to talk. But in
order to speak well and communicate effectively you have to learn the art and improve upon your ability
to talk. Speaking, listening, and our ability to understand verbal and nonverbal meanings are the skills we
develop in various ways. We learn basic communication skills by observing other people and changing
our behaviors based on what we see. We also learn communication skills directly through education,
practice and constant evaluation of the responses we get from people around us.
Importance of communication has always been realized in all times because it is the most vital
means by which people are connected together in the society. However, today communication plays a
crucial role in almost all aspects of life. Work in business, government or organizations are impossible
without communication. People have to communicate with each other, exchange information, make
decisions, talk about new ideas, plans, proposals etc. They also have to communicate externally with
foreigners and people of other races and languages.
For a moment, turn your eyes inward and see how much of your waking hours you spend in
communication. Nearly 70% – writing, reading, speaking, & listening. As a college student, 69 percent of
your communication time is spent on speaking and listening. You spend 17 percent of your
communication time on reading and 14 percent writing.
Don’t forget, therefore, that communication is inevitable in one’s life. Today, in this age & world, a
successful person is the one - who can communicate effectively.
Pick up any newspaper and scan the jobs wanted advertisements. You will find that communication skills
are one of the essential prerequisites in most of the occupations. Be it engineers, business managers, sales
officers, operators, etc. Any vocation you choose- oral communication skills are identified as valuable for
both obtaining employment and successful job performance. Big corporations and multinational
organizations need better communication skills in their employees so that they are able to work in teams
and with people from diverse backgrounds.
Remember we are living in a
communications revolution; we are living in
an age of increasing talk. When we have to
talk, we might as well talk well, and talk
wise.
The Communication Process or Cycle
Many of the problems that occur in an
organization are the direct result of people
failing to communicate. Faulty
communication causes the most problems. It leads to confusion and can cause a good plan to fail.
Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another. It involves
a sender transmitting an idea to a receiver. And effective communication occurs only if the receiver
understands the exact information or idea that the sender intends to transmit.
© Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 3
, Communication Skills – MCM 301 VU
Studying the communication process is important because you coach, coordinate, counsel, evaluate, and
supervise through this process. It is the chain of understanding that integrates the members of an
organization from top to bottom, bottom to top, and side-to-side.
Let us look into the details and see:
What is involved in the communication process?
The steps involved in this process are:
1. Idea: Information exists in the mind of the sender (who is the source). This can be a concept, idea,
information, or feelings.
2. Encoding: The source initiates a message by encoding the idea (or a thought) in words or symbols and
sends it to a receiver.
The message is the actual physical product from the source encoding. When we speak, the speech is the
message. When we write, the writing is the message. When we gesture, the movements of our arms and
the expressions of our faces are the message.
3. The Channel: The channel in the communication process is the medium that the sender uses to
transmit the message to the receiver. Care needs to be exercised in selecting the most effective channel for
each message. Even though both an oral and a written medium may be appropriate to transmit a particular
message, one medium may be more effective than the other. To illustrate, let’s assume that an individual
desires an immediate reply to a question. Although the message could be in either an oral or a written
form, the oral medium most likely will be more effective because of the immediacy, if required.
In selecting an appropriate channel, the sender must assess the following factors, as the situation
demands:
-need for immediate transmission of message, (Fax instead of letter)
-need for immediate feedback, (Phone instead of fax)
-need for permanent record of the message, (Written rather than oral)
-degree of negotiation and persuasion required, (Personal meeting – face-to face)
-the destination of the message, and (Far flung area – letter only)
-the nature of the content of the message. (Has to be a contract –written)
In addition, the sender should take into consideration his/her skill in using each of the alternative
channels, as well as the receiver’s skill in using each of the channels.
Communication rarely takes place over only one channel; two or three even four channels are normally
used simultaneously.
Example: in face-to-face interactions, we speak and listen but we also gesture and receive these signals
visually.
4. Decoding: It is the act of understanding messages (words or symbols). This is known as Decoding.
When the sound waves are translated into ideas, we are taking them out of the code they are in, hence
decoding. Thus, listeners and readers are often regarded as Decoders.
During the transmitting of the message, two processes will be received by the receiver. Content and
Context.
Content is the actual words or symbols of the message which is known as language – i.e. spoken and
written words combined into phrases that make grammatical and semantic (meaning) sense. We all use
© Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 4
