Effective communication. An unfulfilled dream?

Effective communication.

A dream unenforceable?

The ability to express an idea is almost

just as important as the idea itself.

Bernard Baruch

Communication comes from the very origin of life. The desire for survival of the human species to the aggressiveness of the environment brought about the need to band together to achieve individual goals that were impossible to achieve, as in the case of food and the struggle for life.

To achieve this grouping and the maintenance of it was essential ideas spread between them and reach a consensus, that is communication.

Of course, to start this communication was very rudimentary, as well as the lives of early human populations. They passed on their messages through signs, shouts and gestures. So in this way succeeded in creating communities able to hunt large animals drawing up plans and strategies, however still managed to survive one of the least protected naturally. This wonderful adaptation to the hostile environment is largely due to the communication was effective or simply did its job.

In order to improve the communication process was invented language, still using signs and gestures, and help supplement that helps to better understanding of the messages to be transmitted and are sometimes the only means of communication.

However, these same gestures and signs that helped to improve understanding among men that sometimes hinder the desired outcome of a conversation.

Many scientists, philosophers and understood the subject have attempted to chart the process of communication between humans. In general most agree that the communication process occurs as follows:

Issuer: A person who issues the message

Receiver: A person who receives the message

Channel Transmission: Via by transmitting the message

Coded message: Text you want to reach the receiver.

Feedback: Confirmation that the message was received correctly.

Noise, distortion and interference, interruptions in the communication process.

? Internal: Psychological Factors, moods, and so on.

? External: Difficulties in the transmission channel, technical problems, language and culture.

In the process of communication, the issuer decides to issue the message, the channel and the encoding to use. However, the sender is who should deal with that feedback, which is a message itself, comes as clear as possible as this is the necessary way to know if the message was received clearly, otherwise the feedback will come in when the recipient fails or does not perform the indicated task in the body of the message as intended by the issuer solely because of poor communication or interpretation of the message.

Most components of the media have the ability to create distortions, and therefore affect the goal of communicating perfectly. Distortions of basically depends upon the psychological state of the sender and the receiver, the channel used and the type of coding.

For example if the channel coding used are oral language through face to face communication of the message then success depends largely on how they handle the sender's facial expression, tone of voice, etc.. and your see these depend largely on the psychological state of the issuer.

If you want to get a group of individuals the need to immediately undertake a task as the fate of the company depends on the completion of this task and it is transmitted to the receiver in a tone of voice and facial expression or body not show the urgency and seriousness of the matter then the receiver can immediately deduce that the word means a longer time than you trying to convey.

Remember that for a traveler the word "soon? minutes can mean yet that same word can mean to a scientist, wants to say that the language used must be clear and concise. As you can see it is necessary that the communication process are all factors that combine to prevent distortion and noise.

That's why many managers have taken as a key channel through more reliable as the written language and that this involved no bodily expressions or tone of the influence of oral language so reduce the risk of interference, although also written has its risks.

Today, in the process of communication, gives great importance to the feedback as this is the only way to identify and correct the deviations that may occur to the message from its output of the transmitter until it reaches the receiver, unfortunately this feedback , like the original message, is prone to interference and noise for the same reasons, and even as a response to a message already issued, usually there are more risks of psychological influence to interfere with the flow. As the communication process becomes a cycle where the sender and receiver constantly exchanged roles.

How to achieve a more fluid and effective communication? The task is not easy.

First well organized the objectives to be achieved through communication

Second trace the communication strategy to reach with as little distortion as possible bearing in mind that channel will be used and what type of encryption. These two elements are highly dependent on the characteristics of the recipient and your own.

When developers are putting together a software are simply communicating with the computer hardware, but how they do it. Easy, simply "talk? in a language the computer understands, do not cry, do not put a scowl, he did not know that gesture simply because these reactions are not going to achieve your goal.

Why not do the same with people!

For example if you have to send a message to a person with hearing problems and you do not know sign language or not mastered to perfection the best way to convey the message can be writing.

Now if you are going to communicate with a foreigner, who even speaks your language, then you should refrain from using their own words in communicating their region and can be misinterpreted because they possess a different meaning in it.

So when trying to establish effective communication should be ample information on the characteristics of the receiver from the start not to create interference that distort the process.

After the planning process is completed, that is already selected targets, channel coding and then proceeds to start the communication process avoiding unnecessary improvisations. After the issuance of the message should apply to the recipient if it does not do spontaneously, a confirmation of what the message was received thus proving that there have been misrepresentations in the communication process.

This part of the process is extremely important because it is the best way to check if the communication was effective.

Examples of communication are ineffective or incomplete daily, we are all victims or perpetrators of these. We are referring to the rumors.

For many years there was talk of a simple theory but not to downplay it, is the theory of rumor.

How it works rumor theory?

You transmit a message which has not been duly confirmed, the message suffers any interference and disturbances are normally present in the communication process, the appropriate receiver of a message that carries and transmits distortions that way, the other receiver captures the initial message and the deviations which are added in its own process and so on. When the message arrives at the end of the chain this has nothing to do with the original message.

To test this theory simply takes a group of 5 persons listed from 1 to 5 of any cultural or academic level, we ask four of them (2 to 5) to leave the premises where they are and the remaining (1) is shown a picture and the moderator will describe what is observed in the same writing it on a piece of paper. Is asked to tell you number 1 to number 2 what the moderator said that he had in the table, the number two tells the number 3 which had the number 1 spot and so on. At the end is recorded on a paper that tells the number 4 number 5 and compared with what is written at the beginning of the experiment.

It's amazing the result in just 5 people.

Because communication is a daily process will gradually breaking all phases of planning coming to have repeatedly incomplete or unwanted communication processes which we do not realize until a costly mistake. For this reason the communication process will automatically back a certain way and this is automatic where mistakes are made that lead to unwanted communication.

Scholars have researched and developed techniques that foster effective communication and help greatly to achieving the objectives of this process, however these techniques can become barriers if not used the right way.

For example, praise the good qualities of someone is a good "hook? for effective communication, however if this praise is not sincere weather insurance is negatively charged so that it would be best to leave without saying a word.

As King George V said "... Teach me not to make or receive cheap praise bir ¬? always remember that flattery "... ie the other person what you think of yourself ".1

The communication is the key to success of most businesses and if you look at it objectively life is always the negotiation, which is nothing but deal with understanding by way of public or private affairs trying his best achievement.

Let us show an example that Dale Carnegie stated in his book "How to Win Friends and Influence People? and see a case where an executive of Bank of New York managed to arouse a keen interest in the management of the banks in Phoenix.

"... Barbara Anderson, an employee of a bank in New York, wanted to move to Phoenix, Arizona, in search of a better climate for your child's frail ..., written ¬ ceived the following letter to twelve banks in Phoenix:

Dear Sir:

My ten years of banking experience could re ¬ consult the interests of a growing bank like yours.

At various banking operations positions with Bankers Trust Company of New York, to gar ¬ LLE my current position as area manager, I have acquired knowledge ¬ do all phases of the River ¬ banking world, including relationships between depositors, credit ¬ cough, loans and internal administration.

In May I'll move to Phoenix, and I'm sure if I am given the chance I can help grow your institution. I'll get to that city on April 3 and would be grateful to let me show you how I can help your bank achieve its objectives ¬ you.

Sincerely

Barbara L. Anderson ...?

This is a clear example of how to handle communication in achieving the objectives. Mrs. Anderson "... not what she told them that ¬ ria, he wrote exclusively about how he could be of use to them focused on the wishes of the banks, not yours?

From these examples are full of books on the subject, the literature shows is wide, but has not been globally to prime effective communication.

It is very common in a previously selected workgroup or casuistic exist barriers to smooth communication. Interference and interruptions in the process become more and more a problem to be solved immediately.

Now, a colleague of his working group starts talking about a particular issue with you and for some reason is not completely agree with the view he expressed is very likely that before he finished his presentation you either stop verbal or gestural, he in turn will react and defensive forgetting all the fundamental objective which initiated the communication.

This example also find in the work is also found in social life and in our own home.

We must ask ourselves: I am considering the viewpoint of the receiver? Do you control my reactions so as not to interfere with the transmission and reception of the message?

This is one of fundamental bars that prevent good communication, poor listening. Often, instead of analyzing the message issued analyze the issuer of the same, if not completely agree we struck up a "conversation? competition in which I can assure you that nobody will win. By diverting our attention to a discrepancy insignificant pay due attention to the objective of the issuer and therefore the message will never understand the way you want.

Listening is the decoded message recepcionar to do this properly and to avoid interruptions in the transmission thereof, whether verbal or bodily.

In a communication process there are several key points that will allow us to success in achieving the goals, they are:

1 - Interest of the sender when the message arrives with the desired clarity keeping in mind that what really matters is the message coming not being transmitted.

2 - Ability to choose channels and how coding according to the characteristics of the receiver.

3 - Ability to listen patiently waiting without interrupting the transmission is complete the message.

4 - Do not criticize or question, either verbal or gesture, the point of view of the receiver or the sender as the case.

5 - "Demand? and correct interpretation of the feedback.

Generally these are the main barriers that prevent communication process is carried out effectively, however, like all theories, the application of it depends on the situation and given time, and psychological characteristics of individuals persons involved in the process, the environment in which it develops, the objectives pursued.

Bibliography

- Carnegie, Dale "How to Win Friends and Influence People?, 104th edition: September 1996

- Cabrera Perello, Jose Luis? Introduction to Communication Theory and Society?, Havana, Cuba, 2001

- Shein, E (1970). Psychology of the Organization. Prentice-Hall International, New Jersey.

- Calvin, M.A (1998) .- Work in and with groups. Basic Experiences and Reflections. Academy, Havana.

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