Verbal Communication

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Verbal Communication

Introduction

The act of communication among the human beings has been subject to consistent evolution and upgradation from time to time. In the pre-historic times, people used to communicate with their fellow beings through grunts, barks and roars just like the animals. But gradually they developed an elaborate set of sounds to express their feelings and convey their messages. Now it is a systematic use of language that differentiates human beings from animals. Only human beings have been blessed with the gift of language.

The different languages used by human beings do differ from the other codes used by them to communicate amongst themselves. Human language has the property of recursiveness and creativity which suggests that there are signals within signals within signals but each signal has its own significance. In any language, with a definite set of graphic symbols and their corresponding phonological symbols it is possible to form and communicate infinite number of messages. On the other hand, other codes only permit a limited number of messages. For example, animal system of communication allows only a few (five to six) messages because they emit a limited number of signals. Their messages include messages like “I am hungry”, “I have found some food; come and share it”, There is danger; be careful”, “This is my territory; get out” or “ I am ready to mate”. (Das et al., nd, 39). Among the bees, an interesting pattern of communication exists as regard collection of honey. When the Queen Bee locates the source of honey anywhere, she performs an intricate pattern of dance b making an angle with the sun to inform the other working bees to move in a particular direction at the same angle and reach the source of nectar.

Role of Language in Verbal Communication

Because of the various functions it can perform, language has a great role in communication. Whatever codes we use to convey our message within a fixed frame of reference in a given language, they serve different functions. The basic functions of language can be grouped into three categories: descriptive, expressive and social.

• Descriptive Function: Under descriptive function, we can include travel writing (description of places), biography, autobiography and writing about other people, diary and personal letters, technical and scientific works. We can also include the verbal description of people, places and things under this head. While attempting descriptive writing or speaking, it is essential that the writer or speaker has obtained all necessary information about the object of writing or speaking.

• Expressive Function: Under expressive function, we have interjections, exclamations, use of special words and phrases for emphasis. Using interjections, we can express satisfaction, excitement, surprise, pain, hurt and disgust. In order to lay emphasis, we either use a word with a stress or use an extra word/phrase to add emphasis(You have never been fair to us at all). We also use question tags, rhetorical questions, auxiliary ‘do’, fronted negation ( Starting a sentence with a negative word: Never have I seen a fool like you) to put emphasis on a statement or a particular idea.

• Social Function: Under social function of language we can include functions like greeting people, bidding farewell to people, giving a command or order, asking a question, making a request, advising, offering a suggestion, expressing agreement or disagreement, accepting or declining an invitation, expressing wishes, thanks, apologies, regrets, condolences, sending seasonal greetings, offering help, giving instructions, expressing obligation, expressing the necessity for doing something, expressing certainty. Under each function, we have multiple sub-functions. For example, under the function ‘request’, we have ‘request for permission’, ‘request for help’, ‘formal request’, ‘informal request etc’. When we choose a particular language function, we need to use the code that is appropriate for that function. The words, structures and sentences used to perform a particular function do differ from the words, structures and sentences used to perform a different function. While expressing a polite request, for instance, we use ‘could’ or ‘would’ whereas for formal requests we use ‘may’ and for making informal requests we use either ‘can’ or ‘will’.

The word order in an assertive sentence is different from an interrogative or an imperative sentence. In an assertive sentence we follow the normal sentence pattern (Rahim is a sincere boy) but in an interrogative sentence we have an inverse order (Is Rahim a sincere boy?) and in an imperative sentence we do not have a visible subject (Do this work at this moment). Likewise, for sentences expressing suggestions we have quite different structures (Why don’t you go to the police station? How about joining a new party next week? Let’s have picnic at this weekend. You had better consult a doctor).

One more important point to be noted in regard to the use of language for communication. The language we use should be simple enough for the receiver to understand the message intended but at the same time it should not be jerky. Too many small sentences in a passage also spoil its beauty. If we use long and complex sentences with a lot of ideas packed into one sentence, the receiver/addressee will be confused and the message will not be properly transmitted. Therefore the best way is to maintain a balance between the two. Small sentences connected with suitable connectors impart clarity, conciseness and grace to a passage and make it worth reading/listening.

While performing a particular language function, we actually have a purpose in our mind. In order to see the purpose translating into action, we need to use the words, structures and sentences that are grammatically correct, socially acceptable and meaningful. Moreover, we must try to understand whether the receiver has the same competence as us to receive the message, process it, understand the import inherent in it and wherever possible, provide the necessary feedback to the sender regarding the effectiveness of the message being transmitted.

Activity

What are the different functions of language? Explain each of them with examples.

Receptive and Productive Language Skills

Within a linguistic community, one is said to be a successful communicator if s/he has mastered the basic language skills, the receptive and productive skills required to make effective use of a language for performing different activities and satisfying various purposes. Under receptive skills we have the listening and reading skills whereas under productive skills we have speaking and writing skills. To be a good communicator, one should be able to have a balanced knowledge both the receptive and productive skills. Unless we are able to listen to people with patience, we wont be able to be good speakers. In order to speak well, we must listen how individual words are pronounced, how sentences are pronounced with proper pauses and what tonal modulations are adopted in long speeches. These skills help us speak the words and sentences with proper accent, stress and intonation and make our speech intelligible to others. Not only this, listening to great people also helps us pick out the important ideas in the talk and filter out the irrelevant ones. Similarly, if we are not able to read well, we will not be able to write well. All good writers are voracious readers. Reading new books help us get new ideas, understand unique and attractive ways of presenting old ideas and integrating the new and old to bring out the best.

The receptive skills and the productive skills are interdependent. It is a general assumption among people that unless one is not a good speaker of a language, s/he cannot be a good communicator. But speaking skills are just one fourth of the set of skills required for the use of language for both personal and professional communication. Listening skills, reading skills and writing skills are equally important. In order to communicate properly, one should be able to use the language automatically in response to the needs of various contexts. This linguistic behaviour of ours is conditioned by the context where we are communicating with others to connect to them. While talking/writing to our own people, relatives, friends, we follow the rules of language but we are relaxed and do not bother to be polite. On the other hand, while talking/writing to our officers in the office, teachers at school and other people on official occasions, we try to be as formal and polite as possible so as not to offend the person we communicate with. The former situation is informal and the later is formal.

When a language is spoken over a large geographical area, it acquires regional variations to cater to the needs of people living in that particular area. These regional varieties of languages, known as dialects, share the original syntactic features of the language but as regard semantic and phonological rules, they show variations. The same word may have different names and may be pronounced in different ways in different dialects. This variation is the most distinct at the phonological level. That’s the reason why people using a particular dialect are not understood by people with a different dialect. This variation occurs not only at the level of dialect, it can also happen at the level of individuals because no two people speak the same language in the same way. The regional variations occur in the level of dialect or individual variations occur at the level of idiolect.

The language spoken by people of a particular profession is often marked by the presence of words and phrases peculiar to that language. A computer engineer, for example, may use the word ‘booting’ which an ordinary user of the language may not be able to understand. Similarly, an engineer may use the term ‘oxidation’ to explain the rusting of iron implements. This special use of the language to meet the requirements of a specific profession is called a register. Registers vary from each other as well as the standard language in terms of the profession-specific vocabulary items and some fixed expressions that are frequently used in that particular type of register. Of course, variations in regard to the rules of grammar often appear, but they are quite infrequent. Our knowledge of the dialects and registers used by the target group helps us improve our communication with them.

Need for Using Bias Free Language

Being sensitive to the context is not the whole thing. One also needs to be aware of the biases s/he might be susceptible to. When the act of communication is being transacted within a community, there is little chance of the message being misinterpreted or misunderstood. On the other hand, in case of inter-community or inter-cultural communication, there might be interruption in the transmission of the message due to socio-cultural biases like class/caste-based bias, racial/ethnic bias, disability bias and gender bias. Being the citizens of an open and globalised world, we should be sensitive to the issues which affect the lives of common people. Both in spoken and written communication we should avoid words and expressions that may hurt people belonging to a certain gender, caste, class, religion, race or ethnicity. It is always wise to use neutral language which does not favour a particular community at the cost of another. In stead of saying ‘salesman’ or ‘saleswoman’, it is better for us to use ‘salesperson’ which includes people from both the genders. Likewise, it is better to use the phrase ‘all communities’ than to use ‘people belonging to the scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, general and other backward categories’. Now-a-days, a new trend has started coming up. Now we have started using the word ‘actor’ to mean both the ‘actor’ and the ‘actress’. It is heinous to call people by the disabilities they suffer from. If we call someone blind, we directly attack his/her disability and remind him/her of the pain that he/she has been suffering from. But if we call the same person ‘visually challenged’, we just hint at his disability but with a lot of respect, in a more polite and mild tone. In the same manner, we can use ‘hearing impaired’ for the ‘deaf’ people, ‘speech-impaired’ for the dumb people and differently-abled for the ‘physically handicapped’ people.

Types of Verbal Communication

By verbal communication, we mean the type of communication which is rooted in language. Verbal communication among human beings is possible both at the spoken level and written level. Both in the spoken and written level, communication is possible through different formats

Spoken Communication

Spoken communication is either private or public. We can have the following kinds of spoken communication.
(a) Private Speaking-1: Speaking to Oneself (monologue, self-recording)
(b) Private Speaking-2: Speaking to One person (one-to-one communication: conversations, telephonic discussions)
(c) Private Speaking-3: Speaking in Groups (one to many)
(d) Public Speaking-1: Speaking to Oneself (Monologue on stage)
(e) Public Speaking-2: Speaking to One(Personal interviews)
(f) Public Speaking- 3: Speaking to Many (Films/ Documentaries/ Presentations/Speeches/ Teleconferences/ Audio-conferences/ Videoconferences )
(g) Public Speaking-4: Speaking in groups (one to many)
(h) Public Speaking-5: Speaking in groups (group-to-group)

Francis J bergin finds oral communication more effective because it has several important features. It has to be candid, clear, complete, concise, concrete, correct and courteous. It is useful because it saves time, saves money and is more forceful than other modes of communication. With oral communication, it is possible to convey different shades of meaning, the listeners can get immediate clarification from the speakers and the speakers can get immediate feedback from the listeners. It can be effective in both face to face communication and public interactions or public speaking.

The disadvantages of oral communication often reduce its effectiveness. It is not possible to connect to distant people without the aid of technical devices. It is not possible to transmit long messages through oral communication. If it is not being recorded on any technical device like tape recorder or video recorder, it is not easy to reproduce the oral communication between two persons as evidence. That’s why it does not have legal validity as people can keep on changing their oral versions from time to time. In case of any misunderstanding due to wrong communication, it is not possible to fix responsibility.

Written Communication

Written communication is possible through: (a) Private Correspondence-1: Writing about oneself (Diary writing) (b) Private Correspondence-2: One to One (Personal letters, personal notes, messages, letters of invitation/request/thanks/congratulations) (c) Private Correspondence-3: One to many (Invitations, pamphlets, posters, poems, stories, novels, articles, books) (d) Official correspondence-1: One to one (Memos, Orders, Reports, proposal ) (e) Official correspondence-2: One to many (Advertisements and hoardings, Notices, Agenda Notes, Circulars, pamphlets, posters) (f) Official Correspondence-3: Many to many (Government Orders, Gazette Notifications, Minutes of Meetings)

Most of the languages in the world exist both in the spoken and the written form. But in every language the spoken language precedes the written language. Initially people combine sounds in meaningful ways to make words and then sentences to convey their messages. Subsequently with the necessity of using the language in its written form, their invent a script to codify the language. Some sounds are there in all the languages but some are unique to each language. Hence when we combine sounds, we must know whether it is possible to combine these sounds in a particular language or not. This knowledge of right combination of sounds is natural with the native speakers but for the non-natives it happens to be the most challenging part in speaking the language in question.

It is not enough if we just have knowledge of the phonological rules of a language, rules that we need to combine to make meaningful words and sentences. We should also know the semantic rules to be able to organize and manage meanings in the same language. The frames of reference for different words would be different in a given language. The words used for kinship terms in the Indian languages are altogether different from the their counterparts in English. The word ‘uncle’ for example is used to denote multiple kinship terms in English (mother’s brother, father’s brother, mother’s sister’s husband, father’s sister’s husband, etc) whereas in the Indian languages we have different words for each of these relationships. Sometimes, it so happens that we have different meanings for a single word. The word ‘bank’ for example can be used to mean ‘the banks of a river’, “the place where we keep money’ and ‘depend upon’. A word does not have any meaning in isolation, it becomes meaningful in a context, within a frame of reference.

The way the words combine to form sentences is controlled by a set of rules called the syntactic rules or rules of grammar. These rules are very significant particularly when we are engaged in written communication. While communicating in English, we often tend to transfer the rules of our native language to English. Resultantly, we end up with hackneyed sentences. In all the Indian languages the basic sentence pattern is ‘SOV’, the object in a sentence is preceded by the subject and is followed by the verb whereas in English the basic sentence pattern is ‘SVO’, the Verb is preceded by the subject and followed by the object. This also happens at the phonological level. When we speak a particular language, we must know the sounds that are existent in that language. If we replace one sound of language A with another sound of language B, then there are chances of our not being understood or at least being misunderstood. The sound ‘ә’ in ‘about’ is often replaced by ‘e’ or ‘o’ by the Indian speakers as it is not there in the native languages. The use of the sound ‘bh’ in place of the English ‘v’ often sounds funny when the Oriya speakers speak English.

As we have already indicated, no single word is meaningful unless it occurs in s sentence, in a context. If we use a single word ‘fan’, it may mean both a ‘a very keen supporter/follower of a sport, performing art or famous person’ or ‘an instrument for making a flow of air’. But when I put the word in a sentence, “ I am a great fan of Katrina Kaif” we mean “ I am a great supporter of Katrina Kaif”. The totality of a word’s meaning is visible only in a given context. Likewise, the other words in the sentence “ I am a great fan of Katrina Kaif” like ‘I’, ‘am’, ‘a’, ‘great’, ‘of’, ‘Katrina’ and ‘Kaif’ do not convey any particular meaning. Each of them carry some meaning but in combination with ‘fan’ in a certain order (Iama greatfanofKatrinaKaif) they give us a complete meaning. They all together exemplify the fact that I am great supporter of Katrina Kaif. A slight change in the order of the words of the above sentence can also bring about a change in the form as well as meaning of the given sentence. If I say “Am I a great fan of Katrina Kaif?” I express my doubt regarding my support to Katrina Kaif. Similarly if I replace the word ‘I’ with ‘You’ my focus changes from me to the person I am speaking to. It is also possible to convey two different types of messages with the same forms or structures. If I utter two sentences, “ Who can beat Sachin in cricket?” and “ Who will inaugurate the match tomorrow?”, I use the same form or structure(the interrogative one), but my intentions in both the sentences are entirely different. In the first sentence I want to assert that nobody can beat Sachin, though it looks like a question. In the second question, however, my intention is completely different. I simply want to have information about the person who is going to inaugurate the match tomorrow. The rules which help understand the purpose or intention behind an act of communication are called the pragmatic rules. Sometimes it may so happen that we use a single word in place of a full sentence to say what we want to say. For instance, if someone asks me “How are you?” and I answer “Fine”, I really mean to say “I am fine”. Of course, this meaning will not be obvious unless this word is preceded by the question “How are you?”. I other words, unless the context is provided, a word does not acquire any significance or meaning.

If one knows how to use words only, s/he may not be a good communicator. In everyday speech, we not only use sentences, but also use sequences of connected sentences or discourses to express complex thoughts. This sequencing is not possible if we do not know how to logically connect sentences with the help of connectors. In this act of communication, where a sequence of sentences is to be used, the participant may be singular or plural. A single person can speak sentences one after another or two persons may engage themselves in a conversation where one responds to the other. A successful communicator should be able to know the discourse rules in order to put the sentences in right sequence so that they are organized in a coherent manner. The sentences put in a sequence should be logically and meaningfully connected to one another in order to be coherent and need to be linked through connectors like conjunctions, pronouns, possessives to remain coherent. Hence it is not enough if two sentences are just put one after another and there is some logical link between the two. There should also be some grammatical link between the two to show that one is the logical output of the other. Once again, we must remember that these rules for discourse are more significant for written communication than for spoken communication.

Dyadic Communication

Though it is possible for us to talk to ourselves, we hardly take recourse to such form of communication. Communication, as indicated earlier, is an act of sharing of some information/message/idea/feeling/attitude with another and getting the corresponding feedback. Unless we know how we are received by others, it is meaningless to think that our act of communication has been successful. Though it is possible for more than two people to engage in an act of communication, it is dyadic communication or communication between two persons that occupies an important position in our day-to-day communication. The exchange of meaning between the sender and the receiver is the highest in dyadic communication as it is marked by the highest degree of fidelity and allows reversal of roles. Face to face communication or inter-personal communication, telephonic conversation, interviews, instruction and dictation are a few important forms of dyadic communication.

Face to Face Communication

Face to communication or inter-personal communication, as the name suggests, is the direct face to face interaction between two persons for personal or social reasons, about a topic of mutual interest. This kind of communication occurs between friends, relatives, colleagues whom we come in contact with on a regular basis and like or trust them. While engaging in such type of communication, we need to check whether the participant is ready to participate in this or not, whether it is possible to initiate a discussion or not, whether there is mutual trust and respect or not. It may so happen that one of the participants may mar an act of communication by dominating the conversation by talking only about himself/herself, by having no respect for the time and interest of the co-participant, by being over-conscious about is/her own language (grammar, pronunciation and articulation), by giving less or no chance to his/her co-participant to give his/her views and having annoying mannerisms disapproved by others. When the conversation is going on, both the participants must take care that the conversation goes on. Besides, they should keep on adding and changing their views as per the requirements from time to time and maintain an environment of friendliness and warmth. The participants should be courteous and cheerful and show interest in each other’s views. They should also avoid using unnecessary and superfluous words and phrases (like wow, wonderful, mind set, deadlock, bad habit etc) which they might be using frequently. Being extraordinarily polite one loses the attention of the co-participant as it mars the pleasant informal atmosphere. As soon as the conversation turns into an argument, the participants should become cautious and make all possible attempts to save the discussion being dogmatic and argumentative. It is better to wind up a conversation than to prolong it over an irrational argument.

Face to face communication involves expressions and gestures which make the act of communication very effective. It is suitable for discussions but unsuitable for large organizations and large gatherings. But the effectiveness of this type of communication depends upon the attentiveness of involvement of the listener. If the listener does not take interest, this communication may collapse all together.

Telephonic Communication

Telephonic conversations are the next important kind of dyadic conversation we perform in our everyday life. Though it does not involve the use of body language and eye-contact, it is the commonest and fastest means of contacting people and with the increasing use of the mobile phones, the best way to connect to people wherever they are. It can be both formal and informal. In telephonic conversation with official, we must choose the right time to talk to them. Making a call to an officer during busy hours will spoil everything as there is every likelihood of his/her getting annoyed. If the officer has got a PA, it is always wise to check from the PA if the officer is free or not. In formal telephonic conversations, one needs to be as polite and courteous as one is during face to face communication or direct contacts. Hence enough care should be taken to make the voice as clear as possible, the language as slang-free and clear as possible and the duration of conversation should be as minimum as possible. When required, the duration of the conversation should be increased with due permission from the co-participant as the other person may not be in a position to listen to us for more than particular spell of time. Apart from this, each and every word should be spoken very clear so as to avoid wrong interpretation or mis-communication of the messages. Most importantly, repeated calls should be avoided as much as possible to avoid the annoyance of the authorities. All these rules are equally applicable to the listeners also. While listening to an official call, we should reveal our identity, listen clearly to what is being conveyed to us, remain calm even if we are being told something that we don’t deserve and wait for our turn. If the message is not directly for us, we should collect the name and contact number of the person we are listening to and write down the exact message being conveyed. If we are not able to understand, we should seek clarification with due permission. It is better to seek clarification and annoy a person for a minute than to convey a wrong message and create greater annoyance later on. In informal communication, one may not have to follow all these guidelines but being careful about these will improve inter-personal relationships and create space for successful future communication.

Activity

How is face to face communication better than telephonic conversation?

Communication during Interviews

An Interview, to go by its literal meaning, is the ‘sight between’ two persons. When any act of conversation happens between two persons, over purposes mutually agreed upon for the sake of eliciting information or providing information. This one-to-one interview may take place between an expert in a field and a person who has interest in obtaining information regarding a particular topic of mutual or common interest. The purpose of the interview determines the type of interview. For example, a research scholar may interview a historian or a scientist on a particular topic and note down his views on the same for the benefit of the common people. Likewise, a journalist may interview a minister or a Secretary over a policy decision and take it to the common people through radio or television. In counseling interviews, the personal and private conversation between the educational psychologist, counselor or psychiatrist attains different forms in response to the gravity of the situation. It may simply have inputs for guidance and psychological support from the counselor or some corrective therapy recommended for the victim. In employment interviews, the situation is a little different though most of the guidelines remain the same. In such interviews care is taken to judge the suitability of a candidate for a particular job through the analysis of his/her sense of values, attitude to work, respect for fair play, sense of justice and honesty in discharging duties, positive personal qualities and dependability. All these qualities can be tested in various ways. Hence while planning to attend an interview, one needs to very careful. The dress we wear, the hairstyle we have, our footwear, the way we walk and talk, our gestures and postures and on the top of it, our personal appearance should be pleasing. Good personal qualities like these can be learnt or imbibed from celebrities who have a high degree of success in social life. Artificiality in both language and behaviour should be avoided as much as possible. When the interview is going on, one should sit with right posture, listen carefully and then answer the questions. At the same time, trying to be over-smart in interviews may spoil the chances of getting selected for a job. Since our future depends upon an interview, we should do whatever we can to acquire all good qualities that go into the selection of a candidate in an interview.

Visul Communication

Visual communication occurs when we want to communicate with the help of visual aids like facial expressions, gestures, posters, slides, film strips, printed pictures etc. It is suitable for communicating elementary and simple ideas. Only visual communication is not very effective but when combined with other media it can be very effective.

Audio Visul Communication

Audio-visual communication is useful and effective for mass publicity and mass education. Telecasts, short films on the film screen, video tapes, are various channels which can be explored for audio-visual communication. The films and the slides have to be interesting to arouse and sustain interest among the public. Besides, the narration has to be clear, precise, lucid and understandable. The main disadvantage of audio-visual communication is that it requires technical expertise to produce the audio-visual materials and resources are also required to show them to the public. Only large organizations and governments can spare their resources to go for audio-visual productions. Small organizations, due to resource crunches, often manage with the traditional modes of communication. Another disadvantage of this medium is that unless it is very interesting, it fails to arrest and sustain the interests of people for longer durations. Hence the films and video clips produced for the purpose of mass publicity are kept very short. In the recent past, audio-visual media, integrated with the print media, have been very effective in making the instructional transactions exciting and useful.

Dictation

Dictation is a purely official and formal kind of communication that occurs between an officer and a steno/PA. While giving dictation, one should be careful to pronounce each and every word clearly so that the person taking the dictation is able to hear properly. Besides, the officer should plan beforehand, at least mentally, what should go into the text. Extempore dictations often lead to improper communication or missing out on important aspects. Hence care should be taken to see that there is not any scope for information gaps. When corrections are made, both the officer and the steno should take care that there are no dangling words or phrases. Likewise, while taking notes one should try to listen carefully and note down each and every word being spoken. Officers being over-busy, often tend to miss out some parts and should be asked for clarification if something is missing. The most important part of a dictation is that both the officer and the PA concerned should check the proof thoroughly before the final print is taken. Once the letter goes out of the office, it is almost next to impossible to get it back and make the amendments. Anything that goes out in print is a documentary evidence for all the right and wrong that we have done. Hence it is better to be careful beforehand than to be ashamed when somebody points out the lapses.

Interview for Data Collection

When someone is holding an interview with an expert in order to collect data regarding a project, an event or an incident, necessary formalities are to be maintained in order to make the interview successful. Before going to interview somebody on a topic, one should have thorough knowledge about the different dimensions of the topic and have the questionnaire ready so that there are no digressions. The interviewer should be very clear about what s/he is planning to ask. While conducting the interview, utmost care should be taken to record accurate data verbatim, to avoid hot and long discussions over silly things, and to monitor the interview in the right direction so that it does not go off the track. If the interviewee is not ready or reluctant to answer a question, s/he should not be insisted upon. The interviewer should not hesitate to seek clarifications as and when required. As far as possible recording devices should be used to record the interview, to fall back upon them whenever there is some doubt or gap of information. When the interview is reproduced in the electronic or written format, it has to be clear, self-contained and complete in all respects so that it serves the purpose for which it had been conceived.

Technology Aided Communication

This is the age of information and technology. In every walk of human life, computers have brought have significant changes. Hence it is no wonder that they have impacted communication of all kinds. Both in the official spheres and personal spheres we have started using e-mails, fax, voice-mail, cellular phones, telephone answering machines, teleconferencing, video conferencing, webinars, cyber-conferencing for both synchronous and asynchronous modes of communication. Because of these technological interventions the whole world has now shrunken into a global village and we are able to connect anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Technology-aided communication is the quickest as it has conquered the barriers of time and place. Apart from this, it has enabled us to reduce expenditure on orientation programmes in terms of the travel and accommodation expenses as people can undergo orientation and training Programmes at their workplaces only. Hence they have replaced personal meetings in most of the cases. The data collected through such technological gadgets are easy to store and retrieve. With the availability of an international communication network, now transmission of information has become easier and hence beneficial for the business organizations to ensure the satisfaction of their customers. But it is also not without its weaknesses. In the developing countries, where ‘food, clothes and shelter’ are the main needs, technological advancement is the last priority. In many countries, communication and education through cyber network do not have legal validity. Most importantly, computer-mediated communication has the danger of breaking down when it is infected by VIRUS. Many governments and business organizations often lose precious data due to VIRUS infections.

Activity

What are the advantages of technology-aided communication? How is it different from human communication?