SAGE UNIVERSITY, BHOPAL

SANJEEV AGRAWAL GLOBAL EDUCATION UNIVERSITY

UC20B102 COMMUNICATION SKILLS

AUTUMN SEMESTER 2022
BBA | Semester 1

INSTRUCTOR: MS. ADITI MITTAL

[email protected]

UNIT III

CONTEXTUAL CONVERSATION
Contextual communication is the bidirectional transfer of information between two parties
where both parties are aware of the relational, environmental, and cultural context of the
exchange. It is basically about both sides actually knowing what the conversation is about.
Communication occurs in a context – the literal time and place and the larger historical
conversations.
Communication is the basis of human interaction because we use communication to create
shared meaning. As you’ve experienced, though, that meaning is not received or
understood the same all of the time. That’s because communication is contextual. It
happens in a particular time and place. Each context has an influence on the
communication process. Sometimes contexts can also overlap, creating an even more
dynamic process.

Factors that influence communication:

Situational: Where and why you are communicating. A conversation about how you are
doing at work will be different in a restaurant over a bowl of Alfredo pasta than in your
boss’s office during a performance review.

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Psychological: Who you and the other person are--your personality, emotional state and
purpose. How you communicate with your boss, who controls your workload and
paycheque, will be different from how you communicate with your peers and people who
report directly to you.
Environmental: The physical nature of where you are communicating. A conversation in
an open workspace with no privacy will be different than a conversation in a comfortable
office with a closed door or a bus stop outside your workplace.
Cultural: All your learned behaviours and rules. These come from your family, friends,
teachers, hometown, country, religion and so forth. In other words, all the experiences you
have had in your life influence every communication that you have.

DO’S AND DON’TS OF CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Do: Listen
• Practice active listening. Be totally present and focus on the speaker’s words and
affect, without judgement or agenda. Hear what the person is really saying; not what
you expect them to say.
Do: Keep it simple
• Two syllable words are much easier to understand than three syllable words, and
one syllable words are better than two syllable words.
Do: Take turns talking
• Make the conversation flow more freely by taking it in turns to speak.
• Particularly when people are speaking English as their second language it’s better
to talk to them in short exchanges rather than delivering a long monologue that
might be difficult for them to follow.
Do: Accept that you’ll make a mistake
• Don’t take it personally if you make a mistake. Do your best to be self-aware and
actively learn from your mistakes and apologise if you offend anyone or cross
boundaries.
• Mistakes will happen but it is an opportunity to learn from the mistake and
improve your communication skills.
Do: Be supportive

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• Effective cross-cultural communication is about all parties feeling comfortable. Do

your best to communicate clearly and give encouragement when they respond.
• This will help to build their confidence and trust.

Don’t: Assume you’ve understood correctly or that they’ve understood you correctly
• Summarise important points using different words or ask them to summarise their
understanding of the important point.
Don't: Use idioms, colloquialisms, or slang
• Using idioms and colloquialisms do not translate easily into other languages.
• Even among countries that use English as their native language, they don’t
necessarily share the same expressions.
Don’t: Make jokes
• Standard jokes don’t communicate well across cultures. What is funny in one
culture often makes no sense in another. You could easily inadvertently offend
someone, make them perplexed, or convey an undesired image of yourself.
• If you do decide to use humour, make sure that it will be understood and
appreciated in the other culture and not cause offence.
Don’t: Use yes or no questions – instead ask open ended questions
• Open-ended questions will give you a lot more information since they will need to
explain or outline their point in more detail.
• This will make it easier for you to understand and respond to them which will lead
to a more open and inviting conversation.

VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Verbal communication consists of getting your message across using sounds, words, and
languages, while nonverbal communication involves unsaid things like eye movement,
body language, and tone. Think about it: a lie is visible in the eye, nervousness can be
gauged from shaking hands or legs, and happiness is easily understood from the tone
someone uses when speaking. When you are talking to someone face-to-face, you tend to
use verbal and nonverbal communication at the same time.

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VERBAL NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION

Medium of Verbal communication uses Nonverbal communication

communication language, words, uses body language, facial
sentences, and voice as the expressions, tone, and
medium of communication. pauses in speech as the
medium of
communication.

Channels of Verbal communication uses Nonverbal communication

communication a single channel of uses multiple channels of
communication, the human communication including
voice, which speaks a single your entire body, facial
word at a time. expressions, and tone of
voice.

Examples of Verbal communication can Nonverbal communication

communication take place over a phone can only occur when all the
call, in a face-to-face parties in the conversation
conversation, over can see each other. This
loudspeakers, through helps them properly
audio recordings, and so understand what they are
on. communicating
nonverbally.

Mode of communication Verbal communication is Nonverbal communication

linear and voluntary. You is a continuous process. It
set out to say something, is not well-thought-out and
gather your thoughts, form is largely involuntary,
your sentences, and then although you can train
start delivering your yourself to use it more
message. It is a purposefully. Unlike verbal
well-thought-out process in communication, nonverbal
which the speaker focuses communication is not
linear. It depends more on

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on communicating their how one uses their body

message effectively. language and other cues to
respond to external
stimuli.

Consciousness in Verbal communication is a Nonverbal communication

communication conscious process. It happens on an
involves thinking, unconscious level. One
processing, and doesn’t really think about it
articulating. actively

Decoding the Verbal communication is Nonverbal communication

communication fairly easy to decode if you is a little harder to decode
understand the language than verbal
and the words being used. communication. You have
When you pay close to pay attention to many
attention to the person factors including the
who is speaking, you will speaker’s body language,
understand what they are facial expressions, and
saying. tone to decode what the
other person is trying to
convey.

WHAT IS BODY LANGUAGE?

Body language is nonverbal communication that involves body movement.
“Gesturing” can also be termed as body language which is an absolutely non-verbal
means of communication. People in the workplace can convey a great deal of
information without even speaking; through nonverbal communication. Not all of
our values, beliefs, thoughts and intentions are communicated verbally. In an
ongoing communication, most of those are communicated non-verbally.
In Non-verbal communication, our human body expresses our feelings and
intentions through conscious and unconscious movements and postures,
accompanied by gestures, facial expressions, eye contacts and touch. This

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collectively forms a separate language of the body within the ongoing

communication. This is called Body Language.
Why is Body Language Important? Since interpretations of body language differ
from people to people and cultures to countries it is important to learn about them.
Body language alone comprises 55% of total communication whereas spoken
words comprise 7% and tone of voice comprise 38%.
Parts of the body
From head to toe, here are the groups when grouped for body parts:
● The Head - Movement and placement of the head, back to front, left to right,
side to side, including the shaking of hair.
● Facial Expressions - The face has many muscles (anywhere between 54 and
98, depending on who you ask) that move several areas of the face. Each
combination of movements of the following face elements communicates a
state of mind:
○ Eyebrows - Up, down, frowning.
○ Eyes - Left, right, up, down, blinking, eye dilation.
○ Nose - Wrinkle (at the top), flaring of the nostrils.
○ Lips - Smiling, snarling, puckered, kissing, opened, closed, tight.
○ Tongue - In, out, rolled, tip up or down, licking of lips.
○ Jaw - Open, closed, clinched, lower jaw left or right.
○ Body Posture - The way you place your body and arms and legs, in
relation to each other, and in relation to other people:
○ Body proximity - How far or close to other people.
○ Shoulder movements - Up, down, hanging, hunched.
○ Arm placement - up, down, crossed, straight.
○ Leg and feet placement - straight, crossed, weight placement, feet
towards speaking partner or pointing elsewhere, dangling of shoes.
○ Hand and finger gestures - How you hold and move your hands and
fingers are particularly insightful in reading people.
○ Handling and placement of objects (eg. pens, papers, etc). - The odd
one out... technically not a body part, but objects do play a big role in
reading body language.

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TIPS TO IMPROVE BODY LANGUAGE

Make Eye Contact

Appear confident by maintaining eye contact in social interactions. Good eye
contact shows others that you are interested and comfortable. Look the other
person in the eye about 60% of the time. If direct eye contact feels too intimidating,
start by looking at a spot close to the person's eyes.
Lean Forward
When you are in a conversation, leaning forward indicates interest and attention.
While it can be tempting to maintain distance if you are socially anxious, doing so
conveys the message that you are disinterested or aloof.
Stand Up Straight
Don't slouch! Those with social anxiety tend to try and take up as little space as
possible, which can mean sitting slumped over in a protective pose. Straighten your
back, pull your shoulders away from your ears, and uncross your arms and legs.
Taking up space helps you present yourself as more confident.
Keep Your Chin Up
Do you look at the ground when you are walking? Is your head always down when
you are talking? Instead, walk with your head up and your eyes looking forward. It
might feel unnatural at first, but eventually, you will become used to this more
confident pose. Then you can use it when you are standing and speaking as well (it
will make eye contact easier, too).
Don't Fidget
Fidgeting is an obvious sign of anxiety and nervousness. Appear more confident by
keeping fidgeting to a minimum. Nervous movements, like bouncing your knee or
tapping your fingers on a table, draw attention away from what you are saying and
make it hard for others to focus on your message.
Avoid Your Pockets
Though it can be tempting to shove your hands in your pockets, particularly if you
are worried about them shaking, doing so makes you look more anxious and less
confident. Keep your hands out of your pockets to look more self-assured.

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Slow Your Movements

Fast movements make you appear more anxious. Everything from hand gestures to
your walking stride can make a difference; slow down and notice how you feel more
confident when you take your time.
Take Larger Steps
As you slow down, try to take longer strides when you walk. Confident people take
larger steps and walk with authority. Doing so will make you feel less anxious.
Watch Your Hands
Be careful about touching your face or your neck; both are indications that you feel
anxious, nervous, or afraid. Confident people don't make these types of
movements. However, making a steeple with your hands or holding your palms out
can imply confidence.
Give a Firm Handshake
A weak or limp handshake is a sign of a lack of confidence, so work on making sure
that you offer a firm hand when meeting others. After practice, it will come
naturally.
Mirror the Body Language of Others
We often do this subconsciously: Sit up straighter when our companions are doing
so, or gesture more frequently when we're around people who talk with their
hands. Mirroring another person's body language shows you are paying attention
to them, which can build understanding and strengthen a relationship. When you
feel that bond, you may feel more comfortable and confident.
Speak Slowly and Clearly
Feeling nervous can often lead to rushing through our talking points and comments
to end a conversation sooner. But speaking quickly can make your nervousness and
self-consciousness evident. Slow down and give your audience a chance to hear
what you're saying. This is a way to command respect.

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BIAS AND PREJUDICE

Bias is an inclination for or against one person or group, especially in a way

considered to be unfair. It is a belief that some ideas, people, etc. are better than
others. When one person is biased towards a certain thing, it is difficult to make a
fair judgement. This is why we say that judges should always be biased. Bias is
always linked to unfairness.
For example, imagine that you are a teacher, and you see two students fighting.
You personally know one of them. So you jump to the conclusion that it was the

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other student who started the fight. Here you are being biased towards the student
you personally know. But in reality, you really have no idea who started the fight.
Prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on actual experience or
reason. It is often considered to be negative, unfair towards a person based on that
person’s membership in a particular social group. Prejudice can be based on factors
like religion, gender, age, caste, and race.
For example, some people may consider all Muslim women to be illiterate and
uneducated. This is actually a prejudice against religion and gender.

PRACTICE QUESTIONS FROM UNIT III

Q. What is contextual conversation?

Q. Write the do’s and don’ts of cross-cultural communication

Q. What is body language? Explain in detail its various aspects.

Q. How can one improve their body language?

Q. What is the difference between bias and prejudice?

Q. Differentiate between verbal and non-verbal communication.

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