Communication Process

Discuss about the Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication.

The process of exchange of information through verbal, written or any other medium  is known as communication. Communication process makes use of words, symbols, signs or behavior to engage and exchange information among people. In order to understand the value of communication, and shape it to make it more effective, it is important to estimate the current effectiveness of the communication process. Communication, and its effectiveness, should be paid attention to, because it is a fundamental process, playing an important role in all facets of life(Management, 2012). Effective communication skills can help in facilitating and maintaining good relationships and also contributes to the growth of individual, both personally and professionally. The purpose of this reflective practice is to study the effectiveness and competency of our communication skills(Government of South Australia, 2006). For this, the diagnostic tools used to analyse communication effectiveness and feedback will be used, to reflect on the communication skills and practices. The motive of this practice is to identify the areas  of personnel capability which we need to improve on, and working on which will also increase our communication effectiveness. Self reflection on the communication skills and practices will help in promoting the use of current best practices and identify the communication practices that can be addressed for improvement.

With the right communication style and skills, a person can leverage the resources and get best result in the most efficient ways. Therefore, it is important to reflect and study one’s communication style and constantly work towards its improvement in order to succeed in life.In this section, diagnostic tools for measuring communication effectiveness are used to analyse my communication style to understand the pros and cons of it, and for self awareness and personal development. A very common tool used for understanding communication effectiveness and relationships is the Johari window model. This comprises of a 2 x 2 matrix representing information about the person being analysed.

The four regions or quadrants of the Johari window and the information represented in them is listed here: 1)  what a person knows about himself and others also know about him; this is called the open area 2) what a person does not know about himself, but others know about him; this is called blind area 3) what a person knows about himself but the other people don’t know about him; this is called the hidden area 4) what a person does not know about himself and neither do the other people; known as the unknown area. On the analysis of my communication style and practices and applying that to the Johari window model, I got the following results(CAPS, 2011).

Diagnostic Tools for Measuring Communication Effectiveness

Another theory to study the human personality and the behaviour of the people is known as trait theory. In this theory, the traits or the disposition of a person is measured to understand their personality and communication style over a period of time. The personality traits of an individual become relatively stable over a period of time, due to their social and environmental surroundings. These traits make and shape the behaviour of the individual. According to this theory, all the traits of an individual personality are categorized into 3 sets. These categories are: 1) Central traits 2) Common traits 3) Cardinal traits. The central traits of a person are the most important traits influencing their behaviour, the common traits of an individual are dependent on their culture and environment and the cardinal traits are the ones that help in the identification of a person and asserting their recognition in the society(Deloitte, 2015). The analysis of my behaviour on the basis of trait theory is given in the table below:

The learning we get from the society is also a contributor to our growth and development and plays a part in shaping our relationship with the people around us by impacting our communication style. The social learning involves passive gain of knowledge by learning from the environment and the people around us. According to this theory, there are three primary factors that define our communication style and behaviour. The communication style of a person is also impacted by these factors and they determine the behaviour of the individual in various ways. The figure below shows the three groups into which these factors are classified.

The cognitive factors also known as personal factors are made up of the knowledge of a person, expectations they have from others, and from themselves, and their attitude towards people or things. The behavioral factors are the factors that are determined by the skills that person gains by practice, over a period of time(Mendoza, 2015). The third set of factors is the environmental factors, which are made up of the social norms and the influence that the environment has on a person and a person has on their environment. Carrying out an analysis of my behaviour and measuring them against the three sets of factors; cognitive, behavioural and environmental factors, I found out the following about myself.

Most commonly practiced communication styles are: assertive, aggressive, passive and passive-aggressive. The assertive communication style is when a person tries to find a solution or a  point of mutual agreement between the people communicating. This allows Idea sharing and is considered the healthiest communication style. The aggressive communication style is when a person manipulates the people to reach the goal by making use of emotions like guilt, intimidation etc. When a person is not ready to compromise and is only concerned about being straight forward, the aggressive communication style is said to be practiced. A passive communication style is when a person chooses not to react and avoids confrontation. This usually happens when a person does not feel strongly about the subject being discussed or the topic of communication. The goal for passive communicator is not to get noticed. A combination of the passive and aggressive communication styles is known as passive-aggressive communication. This is practiced when a person is trying to avoid conflict, but still wants to communicate. Sarcasm is an example of passive aggressive communication style(The University of Maine, 2015). The communication theories are used to understand and systematically summarize the nature of the entire communication process. There are a number of theories that have been experimented with, and adopted, by studying the requirements and the agenda for communication. The most commonly referred theory of these, is the diffusion theory, that allows us to understand how humans tend to behave when trying something new and how they reach an important decision step by step. The five stages of the process of diffusion are defined as 1) awareness 2) interest 3) evaluation 4) trial and 5) adoption.The theory helps us understand how innovations and new ideas are spread across the populations. Innovation is communicated through various channels among the members of a society by the process of diffusion as explained in this model.

Johari Window Model

Improving the communication skills is a continuous process that happens both intentionally and unintentionally for every person, over a period of time. This report is a compilation of a critical analysis of my communication skills and styles, in order to understand how I communicate and to find out the areas of improvement in the same.By doing this, I will be able to communicate more effectively and also gain an understanding and advanced knowledge about the practices that make workplace communication even better. This section also involves the identification and explanation of two areas where my communication skills need improvement, and how I can carry out the same by studying the key models or behaviours related to the development of both theoretical and interpersonal skills. The development of communication issues can lead to conflicts and confusion in both personal and professional environment(FEMA, 2005). Personal communication challenges and issues can get reflected in the professional environment as well, and may lead to serious consequences at times. Therefore, they need to be addressed and taken care of on time.The analysis of my communication skills with the help of various models and diagnostic tools helped me to realize that there are a few areas that need improvement and should be worked out on. The first area where I found out the need for a lot of improvement was that I tend to avoid confrontation. This can be attributed to my introvert nature, and my tendency to avoid difficult conversations. Avoiding difficult conversations and confrontation can cause further problems and most of the times make small problems grow bigger and sometimes even blow out of proportion(APR, 2014). Therefore, I need to prepare and learn how to handle these difficult situations by encouraging myself to be more confrontational.For practicing this, I will evaluate my thoughts and feelings, and try to identify the actual issue that needs my attention. I will think less about the tangential factors and emotions that are not relevant to the discussion that needs to be carried out. I will also be better prepared for the situation by having a clear idea in my mind of what needs to be said when having these conversations. I will make sure that the conversation happens in a non emotional and a fact based manner. It is important in such a situation to let the other person respond, and I will also make sure that I listen to them. I will constantly reassure myself about the possibility of a resolution that is mutually satisfying in such situations(Library, 1998). Both positive and negative possibilities in a difficult situation need to be discussed and a follow up after a confrontation will help in reaffirming the connection with the other party. The other major flaw that I found in my communication style was not being assertive enough.Assertiveness is defined as, “being able to stand up for your own, or other people’s rights in a calm and positive way, without being aggressive, or passively accepting”. This skill can be of great help and can be applied for the improvement of all aspects of life. An assertive person is passive and weak. To practice being assertive, I will start recognizing and speaking up for the changes I need in a situation(Cobley, Schulz, & Peter , 2013). Keeping a journal will help me in recording my passive, compliant and intimidated behaviour in order to keep myself in check.I will start figuring out appropriate ways to express myself in each of the situations listed in the journal for practicing purposes. Being aggressive is also considered being  unassertive. I will continuously practice giving assertive responses to situations that intermediate me the most first by speaking to myself and later on with other people around.In most situations, it is not just one person assertively asking for changes, but rather two people wanting to express their feelings, opinions or wishes(Foulger, 2004). Therefore, I will take turns being assertive and then listen with empathy while practicing with my friends and family initially to ease myself. A good communication is the one that results in satisfactory compromises. For practice I will start being assertive in real life situations in order to build my confidence. I will make changes and adjustments in my communication skills as needed. As I continue practicing this, I will start by being assertive in less stressful situations that are easier to handle and slowly develop towards being assertive in more complicated situations. Self reflection on my communication skills and practices will help me in promoting the use of current best practices and identify the communication practices that can be addressed for personal improvement(PSNACET, 2012).

Trait Theory

Management and leadership require exceptional communication skills for both the written and oral communication. On the basis of this analysis I have realized  the areas where my communication skills need improvement and refining. For doing that, I have designed a comprehensive communication plan that I will follow in order to acquire the required skills and polish my communication behaviour. The first step that I am going to take towards this is the maintenance of a personal journal, in which I will list the positives and negatives of my communication practices after every formal communication. One book that I plan to read as soon as possible is ‘how to win friends and influence people’ by Dale Carnegie. This book is a renowned self help book which is recommended by a lot of people for anyone looking to enhance their communication skills. Another step that I am going to take is to list the potential benefits that I am going to reap by working on the improvement of my communication skills, and achieving the same(Sluková, 2013). This would help in motivating me and act as a constant reminder of where I want to be in future. This would also help me in prioritizing and planning accordingly. The following are a few actions that will be included in my communication development plan.

I have decided to set SMART goals in order to improve my communication and make it more effective. A SMART goal is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. This will help me in bringing a structure to the entire planning process and let me track my progress over a period of time. One area where I need to specifically work very hard, is to learn to listen to people. For this, I will constantly practice paraphrasing so that I am able to communicate that I actually heard the other person, and also able to clarify what I heard was what they wanted to communicate(Thompson, 2015). A major hindrance in this process is my constant thought about what to say next, when listening to somebody who is speaking to me. I will practice listening with a clear mind and try to focus more on the message that is being sent my way. Both verbal and nonverbal messages need to be carefully listened to, in order to effectively communicate with the people.

Conclusion

This assessment required us to carry out a reflective practice on our communication competency. For this, we were asked to make use of  the diagnostic tools related to communication, in order to analyse our communication style in both verbal and nonverbal communication. Based on this analysis, we were asked to identify the communication issues in our communication practices that required improvement. On carrying out the analysis, I identified the issues with my communication styles and outlined the behaviours and the theoretical concepts that I need to understand related to the communication skills, to bring about improvement in the same. This report ends with an action plan that I have made of the events and activities that I plan to undertake over a period of next 6 months, to work on the skills and behaviours identified in this report.

References

APR. (2014). Communication Models and theories. Retrieved from https://www.praccreditation.org/resources/documents/APRSG-Comm-Models.pdf

CAPS. (2011). Learn To Communicate Effectively. University of Sydney. Retrieved from https://sydney.edu.au/dam/students/documents/learn-to-communicate-effectively.pdf

Cobley, E., Schulz, P., & Peter , J. (2013). Theories and Models of Communication. Retrieved from https://www.degruyter.com/view/product/44608

Deloitte. (2015). Effective communication skills. Retrieved from https://ballsbridge.wholeschoolvle.com/pluginfile.php/4255/mod_resource/content/1/effective-communication-skills.pdf

FEMA. (2005). Effective Communication: Independent Study. Retrieved from https://training.fema.gov/emiweb/downloads/is242.pdf

Foulger, D. (2004). Models of the Communication Process. Retrieved from https://foulger.info/davis/research/unifiedModelOfCommunication.htm

Government of South Australia. (2006). Introduction to Effective Communication. Retrieved from https://ofv.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/8447/effective-communication-presentation-notes.pdf

Library, T. P. (1998). Basic communication model. Retrieved from https://home.snu.edu/~jsmith/library/body/v25.pdf

Management, N. I. (2012). Training Program on Effective Communication. Retrieved from https://www.manage.gov.in/studymaterial/EC.pdf

Mendoza, L. (2015). Developing effecTIve communication skills. USC Kortschak Center for Learning and Creativity. Retrieved from https://kortschakcenter.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Workshop-Presentation-condensed.pdf

PSNACET. (2012). Concepts Of Advertising. Retrieved from https://www.psnacet.edu.in/courses/MBA/ASPM/4.pdf

Sluková, P. (2013). Communication of Information.

The University of Maine. (2015). Effective communication. Retrieved from https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/wp-content/uploads/sites/82/2015/04/6103.pdf

Thompson. (2015). Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication. Retrieved from https://communicationtheory.org/shannon-and-weaver-model-of-communication/