Effective Communication in Meetings

Communication is very important for the survival and the existence of the human beings as well as of an organisation. It is the process of forming and sharing the ideas, views, feelings, information etc. among different people for reaching a common understanding (Salck, Corlett & Morris, 2015). It is the key for directing the function of the management. This reflective paper is going to elaborate on providing a brief on certain concepts from the ten different unit readings. The first section of the paper would identify and explain the importance of one weekly concept in terms of my work activities. The second section of the paper would present a literature review on one of the concepts that are identifies in section one. Lastly, it would discuss on how I would apply two of the concepts from section one in my future career aspirations.

1. Week One- From week one, the concept of ‘ethical communication’ has been chosen. It is to note that ethical communication is the practise of conveying the honest details and information in a way that is not intended towards misleading any person. It simply means that the information are to be presented within such a context that make sure that they are not misleading as an outcome of being conveyed in a sort of vacuum. As per Archee, Gurney and Mohan (2013), ethical communication ensures true information. However, if it is not presented in open and fair way, then it basically serves as distorting the understanding of the recipients.
2. Week Two- From week two, the chosen concept is “listening”. It refers to the ability of an individual to receive and interpret the shared messages or information in the process of communication (Santos, Pache & Birkholz, 2015). It is also to mention that it is one of the very important aspect of communication. This is due to the fact that without the ability of listening effectively, messages can be very easily misunderstood and this can make communication process ineffective.
3. Week Three- From week three, the concept of “memos” has been chosen. Memos is one among the most appropriate and effective form of communication, especially in the business environment. The information that are shared through memos is more difficult to dispute as compared to the oral communication. This is because it is an evidence of what the writer have said. In case of any dispute, the managers could refers to the memos for resolving the very conflict.

Week Four- From week four, the chosen concept is “academic writing”. It is very important for the students for gaining good grades in academic careers of their. It can help them in gaining a deeper knowledge and understanding about the different concepts that they learn in their classes for applying them in their daily life.

Week Five- From week five, the concept of “reflective witting” has been chosen. The concept of reflective writing is often describes as the technique of reflecting the experiences, thoughts and ideas of a person. It helps individuals in gaining an understanding about whether or not the use of the learnt concepts influence their real life situations in any way (Sullivan et al., 2013). With the same, reflective writing is referred to be one of the forms of interpersonal skill of communication. It is a two-way processes, acting as a channel that connects people.

1. Week Six- From week six, the chosen concept is “communication apprehension”. It is that fear, prevailing within a person during the communication process in between different people. To overcome this, one can use several ways including preparing speeches earlier and deciding what to say beforehand or by developing a contingency plan. It is very important to overcome this problem in order to ensure effective communication as it can be an obstacle in the way of progression in life.
2. Week Seven- From week seven, the concept of “Intercultural communication” has been chosen. Intercultural communication is the communication that is done among different levels of cultures, i.e., the visible one, the less visible ones and the invisible ones. According to (), it is the “circumstance in which people from diverse cultural backgrounds are engaged in communication” (Pelegrini & Marie Burns, 2014).
3. Week Eight- From week eight, the chosen concept is “organisational communication”. The process of communication in between the internal and external audiences is called organisational communication. It can be done through telephonic conversation, face-to-face interactions or by sending e-mails etc.

Week Nine- From week nine, the concept of “meetings” has been chosen. Meeting is often the most over used and at the same time, the most underutilised management tool. A business make important decisions by conducting meetings. Information sharing, ritual activities and decision making are some of the general categories of meetings.

1. Week Ten- From week ten, the chosen concept is “interpersonal communication”. It is the process of exchanging the information, thoughts and feelings of a subject verbally or non-verbally. It is one of the direct forms of communication that occur when people are close towards communicating face-to-face. It is also very useful when sharing direct messages that need some really immediate actions.

One of the most important concepts of effective communication is that of communication apprehension. According to Walther et al. (2015), “communication apprehension refers to “an individual level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons”. This anxiety is a very notable issue. Although there are some definitions that differ, but it is to note that all of them seem to include the notion of fear, anxiety and distress or negative reactions towards the concept of interactions with the other people. As per Yasir and Majid (2013), there are several levels of communication apprehension. According to him, there are a total of four different types of communication apprehension and they are- a) Traitlike Communication Apprehension; b) Context-Based Communication Apprehension; c) Audience-Based Communication Apprehension; and d) Situational Communication Apprehension. According to Zaman (2017), Traitlike Communication Apprehension is “a relatively enduring, personality-type orientation toward a given mode of communication across a wide variety of contexts”. It can further be classified into the communication apprehension that involve- a) oral communication, or b) writhing, or c) singing. While, the Context-Based Communication Apprehension means that a person can have very high level of Communication Apprehension (ex: delivering of public speech) but have very little or absolutely no apprehension in the other situation that involve communication (ex: group meeting). It is also classified into four levels- a) public speaking, b) meetings c) dyadic situations and d) small group discussions. Furthermore, as per Taylor & Kent (2014), Audience-Based Communication Apprehension is “a relatively enduring orientation toward communication with a given person or group of people”. It is not brought in by the personality of an individual but by the situation that he or she face. Lastly, the Situational Communication Apprehension is “a transitory orientation toward communication with a given person or group of people” (Salck, Corlett & Morris, 2015). It is something that represents a type of anxiety or apprehension which is basically felt only once in a specific situation.

Different Types of Communication Apprehension

I want to become a business manager of my own business and I think organisational communication and ethical communication are the two concepts that would help me in my future career aspiration. Both of these concepts are interrelated with one another. Being a business manager I want to build a concrete and strong communication through which I could easily share my messages and concerns with my people, subordinates as well as my clients and customers, both internally and externally. It would help me in conducting my business in more effective and efficient way and at the same time, it could also ensure me that I am taking the business towards success. With the same, I also require to make sure that the employees working under me are not facing any challenge or difficulty in understanding what I am sharing. Being a manager, I would be very concerned about my business and therefore, I shall ask for their feedbacks on my communication strategy that I am using. This would rest me assured that I am making use of effective communication. Furthermore, I would also try to develop a strong bonding in between my clients and my organisation so that my brand image remains good in the business market. However, for all these to be executed in proper manner, I need to ensure that there is an ongoing and ethical communication always within and outside of my company.

Conclusion

From the analysis done above, it is to conclude that effective communication is of utmost importance on the life of every person no matter to what setting they belong to. Communicating in productive manner is very necessary because it helps in building of a bond in between two individuals. There are many concepts of effective communication and all of them help the individuals in gaining an in-depth understanding of the whole process and encourage them for sharing their messages in right way.

References:

Archee, R., Gurney, M., & Mohan, T. (2013). Communicating as professionals

Pelegrini Morita, P., & Marie Burns, C. (2014). Trust tokens in team development. Team Performance Management, 20(1/2), 39-64. DOI 10.1108/TPM-03-2013-0006

Santos, F., Pache, A. C., & Birkholz, C. (2015). Making hybrids work: Aligning business models and organizational design for social enterprises. California Management Review, 57(3), 36-58.

Slack, R. E., Corlett, S., & Morris, R. (2015). Exploring employee engagement with (corporate) social responsibility: A social exchange perspective on organisational participation. Journal of Business Ethics, 127(3), 537-548. DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2057-3

Sullivan, D., Leong, J., Yee, A., Giddens, D., & Phillips, R. (2013). Getting published: group support for academic librarians. Library Management, 34(8/9), 690-704. DOI https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-03-2013-0026

Taylor, M., & Kent, M. L. (2014). Dialogic engagement: Clarifying foundational concepts. Journal of Public Relations Research, 26(5), 384-398. DOI: 10.1080/1062726X.2014.956106

Walther, S., Stegmayer, K., Sulzbacher, J., Vanbellingen, T., Müri, R., Strik, W., & Bohlhalter, S. (2015). Nonverbal social communication and gesture control in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia bulletin, 41(2), 338-345.

Yasir, M., & Majid, A. (2013). A METHODICAL STUDY OF THE ROLE OF TRUST AT VARIOUS DEVELOPMENT STAGES OF VIRTUAL ORGANIZATIONS. Journal of Information Systems & Operations Management, 7(2).

Zaman, S. B. (2017). Importance of learning the public health leadership. Public Health of Indonesia, 3(1), 1-3.