CHAPTER TWO

Media of Communication

Introduction

Medium (singular form of media) is the method used to deliver a message. As a business
communicator, you can often choose whether to put your message in writing as a letter or
memo. You can deliver it by hand or send it via regular mail or use delivery services like fax
or electronic mail. Or you can communicate it orally, either over the phone or in person. You
might also opt for non-verbal form of communication.

Whether you are a leader or a participant in a certain discussion or decision, you will use both
written and oral means of communication. Frequently a position paper or a request for action
will be written, and then followed by an oral discussion of the proposal. Persuasion of either
the leader or the listener is a central purpose in these media.

In numerous business meetings a written problem-solution organization is presented as

background, and then followed by oral discussion that may lead to a decision. That decision is
then further supported and defended orally against opposition by others. In this chapter, you
will get introduced to various media of communication: oral, written, and non-verbal. The
detailed discussion on these media will be presented in the next consecutive chapters.

2.1 The Basic Forms (Media) Of Communication

Communication occurs in many forms. You can pick up the phone and have a conversation
with your supervisor or leave him e-mail message if he is not available. In turn, he can
respond to your message in the form of his choice. The form in which a message is
communicated changes constantly. The two basic forms of communication are non-verbal
communication and verbal communication. The most basic form of communication is non-
verbal communication.

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2.2 Non Verbal Communication

Non verbal communication is all intentional and unintentional messages that are neither
written nor spoken. All the cues (symbol), gestures, facial expressions, spatial relationships,
and attitude toward time that enable people to communicate without words. Anthropologists
theorize that long before human beings used words to talk things over, our ancestors
communicated with one another by using their bodies. They gritted their teeth to show anger;
they smiled and touched one another to indicate affection. Although we have come a long
way since those primitive times, we still use non-verbal cues to express superiority,
dependence, dislike, respect, love and other feelings.

Non verbal communication differs from verbal communication in fundamental ways. For one
thing, it is less structured, so it is more difficult to study. Even experts do not really know how
people learn non-verbal behavior. No one teaches a baby to cry or smile, yet these forms of
self – expression are almost universal. Other types of nonverbal communication, such as the
meaning of colours and certain gestures, vary from culture to culture.

Non verbal communication also differs from verbal communication in terms of intent and
spontaneity. When you use verbal communication, you plan your words. You have a
conscious purpose; you think about the message, if only for a moment. However, when you
communicate nonverbally, you sometimes do so unconsciously.(laughing)

2.3 Types Of Non Verbal Communication

Under our definition of communication, the types of non verbal communication are almost
limitless. However, in this part of our discussion, we will cover only those types of non verbal
communication those are most applicable to business communication:

 Facial expressions and eye contact

 Other body movements and gestures

 Clothing and personal appearance

 Distance and personal space

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  Physical environment

 Time

Facial expressions and eye contact

The eyes and face are especially helpful means of communicating nonverbally. They can
express hidden emotions – anger, annoyance, confusion, enthusiasm, fear, hatred, joy, love,
interest, sorrow, surprise, uncertainty and others. They can also contradict verbal statements.

Direct eye contact (but not staring) is usually desirable when two people converse face to
face. The people whose eyes droop or shift away from the listener is thought to be shy or
perhaps dishonest and untrustworthy. But we must be careful not to over generalize.

Although the eyes and the face are usually a reliable source of meaning, people sometimes
manipulate their expressions to stimulate an emotion they do not feel or to mask their true
feelings.

Other Body Movements and Gestures

Movements and gestures of other parts of the body are more closely tied to culture than facial
expressions and eye contact. Therefore, it is extremely misleading to isolate single body
movements (such as crossing the legs) and give it a precise meaning. You should keep in
mind, however, that your body movements and gestures may be given specific meaning by
others regardless of your intentions. For example, poor posture during an interview may be
interpreted as disrespect, lack of enthusiasm, or indicative of poor work habits. The way a
person stands may indicate self confidence, status, friendliness, and mood and so on. Even
weak or overly strong hand shakes will be given some significance by many people.

Skilled communicators also make sure that their body movements and gestures do not
contradict their verbal messages. Stress may cause us to send non-verbal indicators that

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contradict the confident message we are trying to convey. Such stress indicators include
rubbing the eyes, pulling on the cheeks, rubbing the back of the neck, or rubbing the forehead.
Suppose you were a customer trying to negotiate a price reduction on a certain item. Any non-
verbal stress indicators employed by the salesperson would probably indicate to you that the
salesperson was weakening, and you would renew your efforts to reduce the price.

As a business or professional person, you can improve your communication techniques by

monitoring your conscious and unconscious body movements and gestures. Ask colleagues
and family for feedback, and review a video tape of yourself (taped during a meeting,
interview, or oral presentation).

Clothing and personal Appearance

Clothing and personal appearance also communicate non verbal messages. Your appearance
and clothing help others determine your status, credibility and persuasiveness. Clothing,
jewellery, hairstyles, cosmetics, fingernails, neatness, stature are parts of personal appearance.
They can convey impressions regarding occupation, age, sex, nationality, social and economic
level, job status, and good or poor judgment, depending on circumstances. If your goal is to
make a good impression, adopt the style of the people you want to impress.

Distance and personal Space

The informal distance rules for conversing in various situations differ from culture to culture,
family to family, and person to person. When others violate an individual’s personal space
requirements, that person becomes uncomfortable and will move to correct the distance.
Many people are completely unaware of their personal distance requirements because, as we
mentioned earlier, such requirements usually fall into the informal level of culture. For
example, in Ethiopia some of us unknowingly or knowingly hug a person we don’t know with
out worrying about his or her distance requirement.

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Knowledge of distance requirements of individuals is important to your business or
professional success. Although there may be times when you wish to deliberately ignore the
unwritten rules of appropriate distances (for example, to demonstrate power or status),
generally you will want to improve communication by making sure every one feels
comfortable.

Physical Environment

Dear learner, have you ever noticed how some rooms and offices seem friendly and inviting,
while other rooms (or buildings) seem cold and unfriendly? Do you feel comfortable talking
to your boss in his or her office? If you don’t, you may simply be reacting to the fact that the
office is the boss’s territory, which gives the boss the upper hand.

Your negative reaction, however, may be caused by the room it self. Physical environments
not only reveal to visitors characteristics of the owner of the territory, but also actually affect
how a person communicates.

Psychologists state that each person reacts emotionally to the environment with “approach”
(positive) or “avoidance” (negative) behaviours. Various researches have found that when
participants perform tasks in “ugly” rooms, they experience “monotony, fatigue, headache,
discontent, sleep, irritability, and hostility”. However, when performing tasks in “attractive”
rooms, participants experience “feelings of pleasure, comfort, enjoyment, energy and desire to
continue the activity.”

You may notice that in some factories and business firms, lower status employees may work
in small, crowded, unattractive areas. Thoughtful managers can help improve morale and
efficiency when they perceive employee attitudes, toward surroundings and follow
suggestions for improving appearance.

Time

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Time is another non verbal communication factor in the business world. If you have an
appointment to discuss a production problem with a supervisor, do you arrive thirty minutes
late? What non verbal messages would this behaviour communicate to you? Your
interpretation of time depends on your cultural and regional background, on the situation and
on the other people involved. Whether it is acceptable to arrive late for an appointment often
depends on whether you are meeting with someone of equal rank, some one more important,
or some one less important. Also, any one who is consistently late for appointments or in
completing work assignments is often deemed inconsiderable or even undependable.

2.4 Oral Communication Media

Although you can express many things nonverbally, there are limits to what you can
communicate without the help of language. If you want to discuss past events, idea, or
abstractions, you need symbols that stand for your thoughts. Verbal Communication consists
of words arranged in meaningful patterns. Verbal communication can further be divided into
two categories oral communication and written communication. Here, under this topic, we
will discuss oral communication.

Primary oral communication media include face – to – face conversation (the richest
medium), telephone calls, speeches, presentations and meetings. Your choice between a face
–to – face conversation and a telephone or video conference call would depend on audience
location, message importance, and your need for the sort of nonverbal feedback, the only
body language can reveal.

The chief advantage of oral communication is the opportunity it provides for immediate feed
back. This is the medium to use when you want the audience to ask questions and make
comments or when you are trying to reach a group decision. It is also the best channel if there
is an emotional component to your message and you want to read the audience’s body
language or hear the tone of their response.

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2.5 Written Communication Media

Written messages also take many forms. They might be informal like the notes you use to jog
your own memories or formal like elaborate reports you submit to your supervisor.
Regardless of the form, written messages have one advantage. They let you plan and control
the message.

A written format is appropriate when the information is complex, when a permanent record is
needed for future reference, when the audience is large and geographically dispersed, and
when immediate interaction with the audience is either unimportant or undesirable.

Although many types of written communication are specialized, the most common are letters,
memos, and reports. Most letters and memos are relatively brief documents, generally one to
two pages. Memos are the work horses of business communication, used for the routine, day –
to – day exchange of information within the organization. You often use memo to designate
responsibility, communicate the same material to many people, communicate policy and
procedure, confirm oral agreements or decisions, and place specific information on record. In
contrast, letters frequently go to outsiders, and they perform an important public relations
function in addition to conveying a particular message.

Letters and memos are organized according to their purpose; the relationship between writer
and reader dictates their style and tone.

Reports and proposals are factual, objective documents that may be distributed to either
insiders or outsiders, depending on their purpose and subject. Reports are generally longer and
more formal than letters and memos, and they have more components. Generally, written
communication increases the sender’s control but eliminates the possibility of immediate
feedback

Table 1: Media of Communication

When choosing among the following channels and media consider the
urgency, formality, complexity, confidentially, emotional content and cost of

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 sending your message as well as your audience’s expectations and your need
for a permanent record.

An Oral Channel is Best A Written Channel is Best

When When
 You want immediate  You don’t need immediate
feedback from the audience feed back
 Your message is relatively  You do need a permanent
simple and easy to accept verifiable record
 You don’t need a permanent  Your message is detailed, is
record complex and requires
 You can assemble the careful planning
audience conveniently &  You are trying to reach an
economically audience that is large &
 You want to encourage geographically dispersed
interaction to solve a  You want to minimize the
problem or reach a decision chances for distortion that
occur when a message is
passed orally from person to
person

Written Media include

Oral Media include
 Letters, memos, reports,
 Face – to – face proposals
conversation, speeches,
 Electronic mail
meetings
 Regular and special mail
 Telephone and voicemail
 Faxes
 Audiotape and video tape
 Teleconference and video
conference