BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (22MBA16)
Module -02
Oral communication
Syllabus
Oral communication
Oral Communication: Meaning, Principles of successful oral communication, Barriers to oral
communication, Conversation control, Reflection and Empathy: two sides of effective oral
communication. Modes of Oral Communication, Effectiveness of oral communication. Listening
as a Communication Skill: Approaches to listening, how to be a better listener, Process of
listening, Nonverbal communication: Meaning, classification.
Definition of Oral Communication
Oral communication, also known as Verbal Communication, is the interchange of
verbal messages between sender and receiver.
Oral communication, while primarily referring to spoken verbal communication, can
also employ visual aids and non-verbal elements to support the conveyance of
meaning.
Oral communication includes speeches, presentations, discussions, and aspects of
interpersonal communication.
As a type of face-to-face communication, body language and choice tonality play a
significant role, and may have a greater impact upon the listener than informational
content.
This type of communication also garners immediate feedback.
The study of human behavior
70% spent in communicating
45% listening
30% speaking
16% reading
9% writing
Its necessary that people in business learn to use this time to their best advantage for creating
and sustaining good relationship through their ability to listen and speak effectively.
Need for learning oral communication skills
To help problem solving
To resolve conflict
To influence people to work together.
PROF. MANJUNATHA S, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MBA, SVIT, BENGALURU-64 1
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (22MBA16)
To persuade others to be involved in organizational goals
To be assertive without being aggressive
To develop listening skills
To be an effective negotiator
To make a proposal
Oral communication requires skillful control of tone, voice, pitch and precise use of words.
Comparative Advantages of Oral Communication
Oral communication Written Communication
More personal and informal Better for complex and difficult
Makes immediate impact Better for keeping records of
Provides opportunity for interaction messages exchanged
and feedback Provides opportunity to refer back
Helps to correct Can be read at receivers convince
Better for conveying feelings and Can be revised before transmitting
emotions. Can be circulated
Limitations of Oral and Written Communication
Oral communication
Demands ability to think coherently as you speak
A word once uttered can not be taken back
Hard to control voice pitch and tone, especially under stress, excited or anger
Very difficult to be conscious of body language
Written Communication
Never known if the message is ever read
Impersonal and remote
Immediate feedback is not available for the correction on the spot
Reader is not helped by non-verbal cues that contribute to the total message
PROF. MANJUNATHA S, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MBA, SVIT, BENGALURU-64 2
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (22MBA16)
Many people do not reading
Principles of Successful Oral Communication
1. Brevity.
2. Clarity.
3. Choosing Precise words.
4. Avoids Meaning less Phrases.
5. Sequences.
6. Avoid Jargons.
7. Avoid Verbosity.
8. 7 C’s of Communication.
9. Prepositions.
10. Adjectives & Verbs.
Characteristics of Effective Oral Communication
Consider the objective
Think about the interest level of the receiver
Be sincere
Use simple language, familiar words
Be brief and precise
Avoid vagueness
Give full facts: Great Delivery
Assume nothing
Use polite words: speaking without hurting
Cut out insulting message
Say something interesting and pleasing to the respondent
Allow time to respond
Listener participation
Art of speaking
The Nature of the Spoken Word
The speaker should converse slowly, with proper semantic pause, to enable the
listener receive and register in his mind what ever is heard.
Research has established that an individual speaks nearly 125 words a minute, and the
brain of the listener processes nearly 4-5 times more rapidly.
An important principle of oral communication is to speak fluently, without long pause
or non-stop rushing through word.
PROF. MANJUNATHA S, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MBA, SVIT, BENGALURU-64 3
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (22MBA16)
Fluency
Fluency usually means ease as a condition of speaking.
The listener does not have to strain his mind to receive, register and interpret the
message heard.
Barriers of effective oral communication
1. Status
2. Complexes
3. Closed and all-knowing mind
4. Poor retention
5. Premature evaluation and hurried conclusions as distortions
6. Abstracting
7. Slant
8. Cognitive dissonance
9. Language barrier
Conversation Control
conversation control involves skills of listening and talking in a positive and
meaningful way at an appropriate time.
techniques of changing the direction of conversation smoothly.
The ability to allow a discussion to develop along key issues in an uninterrupted way
towards the desired end.
Conversation Skills Control
How to sell or buy
How to negotiate
How to interview
How to participate in a meeting
How to disagree without being rude
How to protest without offending
How to compliment/ praise
How to respond to personal criticism
Ability to notice cues/clues
A cue is a keyword or phrase a person uses when he/she wants to indicate that something is
important to him/ her.
PROF. MANJUNATHA S, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MBA, SVIT, BENGALURU-64 4
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (22MBA16)
Interpreting signs and signals
While speaking, we all unconsciously keep moving our hands, eyes, head, legs, and other
parts of the body or engage in some other non- verbal behavior.
Signs consist of visual indicators such as frown, smile, eye movements and so on.
Signals are behavioral indicators others an give us.
Parallel conversation
We engage in conversation to explore something. It may be to find out facts, or know the
issues, or seek out situations.
Sequential Conversation
When we converse in a skillfully controlled way, we make statements that are sequence to what
is said by other person. There is a logical link between the statements made by the speaker an the
listener. Sequential conversation between two persons is always fruitful.
Reflection and Empathy
The body language should show the real interest in speech. Make eye contact. Lean forward.
And speak as a person with genuine feeling of other person with concern.
Sense of time as a Skill: The time limits announced in formal oral activities should be
strictly observed. You place of conversation or presentation should not exceed 110-120
word per minute.
Summarizing as an integral part of oral communication: Before you express your
opinion or give your response to other's opinion, you should be able to recognize,
analyses and evaluate what the other person has said.
Two sides of Effective Oral Communication
Listening
Presenting
Modes of Oral Communication
A scripted or formal speech. This mode may allow (or require) the chance to utilize
notecards, a teleprompter, and/or memorization skills. Although resources are available, avoid
simply reading information, since this hinders the important connection you make with your
PROF. MANJUNATHA S, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MBA, SVIT, BENGALURU-64 5
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (22MBA16)
audience. Eye contact is necessary to engage with those in attendance. Pacing depends on time
provided and using it wisely. An advantage for a prepared speech is practicing/rehearsing the
material. Outline the various points of the talk to estimate how much time to spend on each
segment, and factor in the possibility for audience questions and technical difficulties to
develop a presentation that is not rushed to confuse the audience, nor presented at a snail’s
pace to bore the audience.
An extemporaneous or impromptu speech. Occasionally, you may need to offer a quick
presentation or update to a supervisor, client, or coworker. Perhaps you have encountered a
potential client at a conference, or maybe your boss or peer has a looming deadline for a report
they must write. You might even be asked to respond to an emergency or sudden development
that affects your project. In these situations, you will not have the time to create a full script or
even an outline. Without the aid of material resources such as slides or visuals, your focus must
be directed toward presenting relevant and related content in a smooth manner to avoid
straying from the purpose of the communication. Think of keywords that highlight your
message in order to maintain consistency in the delivery of information as you navigate from
one point to the next.
A guided discussion. In this mode, you are responsible for maintaining a relevant thread of
content while people in attendance pose questions, provide information, and analyze the
subject matter being covered. This is a facilitator role in which what you say is equally
important to listening to foster a consistent discussion. Prior knowledge of the topic at hand
and inquiries that may arise during the discussion help create a positive experience for the
audience. Preparation for this mode includes brainstorming and preparing engaging questions
and researching answers to audience queries that are likely to arise. Guided discussions may be
enhanced by the use of visuals, such as questions, directions, or being projected on a screen.
Effectiveness of Oral Communication
1. Clear pronunciation
2. Brevity
3. Precision
4. Conviction
5. Logical sequence
PROF. MANJUNATHA S, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MBA, SVIT, BENGALURU-64 6
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (22MBA16)
6. Appropriate word choice
7. Avoid hackneyed phrases & clichés
8. Natural voice
9. Finding the right register
Listening
Listening is an important component of conversation control.
Definition of listening: It is a physical and psychological process that involves choosing
to listen, understanding, and responding to symbolic messages from others.
To be able to understand appreciate the other person.
Allow the communicator to talk freely without interrupted.
Characteristics of Good Listener and Poor Listener
Good listeners
Do not interrupt
Remain patient
Make eye contact
Show interest
Low attentive
Concentrate
Ask open question
Poor listeners
Over- talkative
Inattentive
Interrupt
Impatient to talk
Poor concentration
Purposes for Listening
To distinguish sounds.
For enjoyment.
To understand a message.
To evaluate a message.
PROF. MANJUNATHA S, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MBA, SVIT, BENGALURU-64 7
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (22MBA16)
Principles of listening
Listen Patiently.
Understanding speakers feelings.
Restatement & Summary.
Time for discussion.
Avoid expressing views.
Less explanation.
Steps in the listening process
Presenting
Cut down habits such as interrupting or showing little interest.
Its advisable to shun ‘yes’, ‘but’ and ‘ifs’.
Try to encourage the other person by body language.
Be an Effective Presenter
Try to present facts
Not your opinions
Keep to the point
Keep the listener’s interest in mind
Support your argument with suitable examples
Ask for feed back and answer questions honestly
Make eye contact
PROF. MANJUNATHA S, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MBA, SVIT, BENGALURU-64 8
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (22MBA16)
Non -Verbal Communication is the message or response not expressed or sent in words -
hints , suggestions , indications.
Actions speak louder than words.
“What you are speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say” -Ralph Waldo
Emerson
There is a distinction between the meanings we ‘give’ in words and the meanings we
‘give –off ’ in NV signals.
Non -Verbal signals are unconscious parts of our behavior which is a deeply rooted
part in our entire makeup.
In fact, it is the most basic part of our personality.
Behavior has no opposite, i.e. there is no such thing as non-behavior.
NVC is the unspoken communication that goes on in every Face-to-Face encounter
with another human being.
It is recognized as the route to discover what the other side wants, without them ever
saying it, like a secret way into their soul.
NVC stands for the innermost, instinctual form of human communication.
Communication researcher Mehrabian found that only 7% of a message’s effect are
carried by words ; listeners receive the other 93% through non -verbal means.
Bird whistell suggested that spoken words account for not more than 30-35% of all
our social interactions.
Over 65 percent of the social meaning of the messages we send to others are
communicated non-verbally.
Kinesic Communication- Body Language
Kinesic communication is a message conveyed through non-verbal acts.
Kinesic communication is also know as body language or body talk
Non-verbal clues influence the perception and understanding of the verbal message.
The bodily gestures, postures, and facial expressions by which a person communicates
non verbally with others”.
KINESICS:
♦POSTURE
♦GESTURE
♦FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
♦GAZE / EYE CONTACT
PROF. MANJUNATHA S, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MBA, SVIT, BENGALURU-64 9
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (22MBA16)
Body Language
Facial expression(s)
Eyes
Lips
Arms
Hands
Fingers
Classification of non-verbal Communication
Symbols of Body Language
Face facts
Positive Gestures
Negative gestures
Signs of nervousness
Gestures of aggressiveness
Gestures of rudeness
Gestures showing self importance
Gestures showing lack of good sense
Gestures showing superiority of position
Lateral Gestures
Physical setting:
arrangements of furniture
Dress:
pay attention to clothes when its needed to impress people
Personal space:
space indicates the level of formality, informality, intimacy or distance between them
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PROF. MANJUNATHA S, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MBA, SVIT, BENGALURU-64 10
