#58, Article: Developing Communication Skills

Developing Communication Skills

by Z. N. Patil, The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad & Yeasmin Sultana, Ph.D. Research Scholar, Assam University, Silchar

Life is a process of communication. Our activities and relationships depend on our ability to connect and communicate. A large part of our private and professional life is a series of communication events. We communicate with family, friends, visitors, acquaintances, colleagues and casual passers-by. We can communicate through body language and verbal language. Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, and Mr. Bean are probably the best examples of communication through body language. However, most of us communicate through verbal language and body language together. We use body language to complement, contradict and highlight what we say through verbal language.

All of us know that language is an instrument. It’s a tool like a saw, a hammer, and a drill. It’s a tool of communication. We communicate our ideas, thoughts, feelings, opinions, attitudes, information and even misinformation through language. We’re sure you’ll have noticed that different people express the same idea in different words. They use different sentence patterns. That’s why we say that style is the man. Let’s cite an example. Suppose, there are two young men who want to express their love for their girl friends. One of them is a realist and doesn’t believe in expressing his love in a poetic manner. He would like to say to his beloved, “I’ll love you till I die. That’s it.” The other one is a poet and would like to express his feelings in a poetic way. He would like to say, “I’ll love you till all the mountains in the world melt due to the heat of the sun, till all the oceans go dry, and till the all the deserts fly away.”

Words are necessary for us to do things. Therefore, we need to master the art of doing things with words. When we look at the way we use language, we realize that it’s a tool serving four main functions. Let’s take a close look at these functions briefly. As you know, we meet lots of people every day. We meet our friends, relatives, acquaintances, teachers, etc. We greet them and ask questions of them and their families and friends. We pay compliments to them and congratulate them on their achievements. We thank them for their help and apologize to them for our mistakes. What do we achieve when we do these things through language? The answer is very simple. We want to establish relationships, build rapport with them and strengthen ties with them. This is called the “social function” of language. Imagine a day when we don’t greet anyone, thank anyone, say sorry to anyone! Don’t you think that day will be a drab day?

Then, there’s the “informative function” of language. In our everyday life we ask questions to get information about people, places, objects, processes, etc. These questions differ from classroom questions, examination questions and interview questions. The latter type assumes that the questioner has the answers whereas the former type assumes that the information seeker doesn’t have the answers. Newspapers, journals, magazines and encyclopedias have funds of information of all kinds. Travel brochures and railway timetables provide us information about tourist destinations and arrivals and departures of trains respectively. We can take them as illustrations of the content function of language. By the same token, books on history, physics, chemistry, and so on are examples of informative function of language.  You’ll agree with us that a major part of our daily life is spent seeking and providing information about a whole gamut of things and issues.

A botanical description of the daffodil flower is an instance of informative function of language. But, William Wordsworth’s poem on daffodils and Robert Herrick’s poem on the same flowers are illustrations of the “expressive function” or “poetic function” of language. The botanist is not interested in the impact of the daffodil flower on our minds and in our response to them. His aim is to analyze the flower and describe its various parts objectively. On the other hand, the poets use the flower as an objective correlative, an excuse, a catalyst, to portray their response to the beauty of the flower and to express their worldviews. Wordsworth is delighted to see the daffodil flowers dancing in the breeze; Herrick is sad to see the daffodils fade away so quickly. Thus, for Wordsworth the flowers represent the optimistic side of life, whereas for Herrick they represent the pessimistic side of life and symbolize the brevity of human life.

The fourth function of language is the “directive function”. As children we’re constantly subjected to our mothers’ several dos and don’ts. At school we have to follow instructions and do exercises according to textbook rubrics. As adults we refer to manuals for gadgets. When we drive, roadside traffic instructions and directions designed for our safety draw our attention. All these illustrate the directive function of language.

Now, keeping in mind these four important functions of language, let’s examine if our students are effective communicators in English. We’re sure you’ll bear us out that most of our graduates are good at writing beautiful and very literary answers to questions on Shakespeare, Wordsworth and other great writers. However, their literary competence isn’t enough for them to be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in everyday situations. The ability to communicate requires us to use language to perform interpersonal functions such as starting a conversation, joining and leaving a conversation, making the hearer feel comfortable, giving options, and so on. Mere linguistic competence isn’t sufficient. Of course, there’s no denying the value of linguistic mastery, which is the basis for communicative competence. Unless we have words and grammar patterns, we can’t think of building communicative competence. However, rules of use are more essential than rules of grammar. Many of our graduates don’t know how to introduce themselves and how to introduce others; they don’t know how to ask for information politely, how to disagree tactfully, how to offer suggestions, etc. This is one very significant aspect that we need to pay attention to. Secondly, their English is bookish. They don’t know that choice of syntax and vocabulary depends on the topic, the occasion, and the relationship between the speaker and the listener. As you know, it’s important to know what to say, when, to whom and how. Thirdly, they need to be told that the vocabulary and syntax of spoken English are different from vocabulary and grammar of written English. They seem to be unaware of the fact that the words and grammar of spoken English are simpler than those of written English. As a result, they don’t use contracted forms and question tags while conversing and their English sounds bookish.

In this context we’d like to make a case for a proper exploitation of literature for language teaching. Some scholars and experts oppose the use of literature for language teaching on the grounds that literature teaching doesn’t equip our learners with the skills required for handling communication situations. However, I’d like to note that it’s not literature that’s detrimental to communication skills; it’s the way literature is used in our language classes. Most literature teachers lay too much emphasis on the content of literature at the cost of linguistic resource available in the form of literature. Let me explain the issue in some more detail. Many of us teach one act plays and short stories, among other genres. We rivet our attention on aspects such as the plot, the story, the theme, the characters, and the setting, but don’t tap the linguistic richness that literature offers us. For example, we don’t draw our learners’ attention to how characters interact, how they agree, disagree, advise, apologize, complain, criticize, compliment, congratulate, and so on. Neither do we draw their attention to the salient features of spoken English such as contracted forms, question tags, hesitation markers, fillers, rewordings, regressions, self corrections, etc. It’s mainly because of these lacunae that our graduates speak in a bookish and stilted manner.

To remedy this situation we need to connect literature teaching with life outside. Sadly, the academic world and the real world stand apart as islands. From the standpoint of the learner, the great waste in the school/college comes from the learner’s inability to utilize the experiences he gets outside the school/college in any complete and free way within the school/college itself; while, on the other hand, he’s unable to apply in daily life what he’s learning in school/college. That’s the isolation of the school/college-its isolation from life. As soon as the learner gets into the school/college, he has to put out of his mind a large part of his ideas, interests and activities that predominate in his home and neighbourhood. Similarly, no sooner does the learner leave the school/college campus than he throws out of his mind whatever literature and language (vocabulary and grammar taught without context) he has studied in school/college.

In addition, we need to develop our listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. These language skills are the foundation of communication skills. A good communicator is a keen and interested listener. Many of us hear what we want to hear and therefore we can’t understand others. Even if you’re a good listener, you may not be an effective speaker. In order for you to be a good speaker, you need to master the accent, the rhythm and the intonation of the English language. Moreover, you need to mind your tone of voice and make an effective use of your facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, and posture. An excellent communicator uses his verbal and non-verbal language to achieve the best effect. A refined listener listens to the lines, listens between the lines, and listens beyond the lines.

Let’s look at the game we play with communication. Quite often we communicate in a roundabout manner. Let’s consider the following example:

“The door is open.”

On the surface level, the utterance has just one meaning; but it may have several messages depending on who says it to whom, on what occasion, and with which tone. Accordingly, it may mean the following things and a lot more:

Please come in.

Please leave. I’m not holding you back.

Let’s enter.

Please don’t do it. Someone might walk in any time.

I’m afraid. I don’t know what to do.

Please close the door.

Why didn’t you close the door? Do I have to tell you again and again?

The maid leaves the door open every day.

We’re so lucky. We don’t have to break in.

Speak softly. Walls have ears.

We can start the negotiations any time.

The border between the two countries is porous. Therefore, infiltration continues.

You’re welcome to Kashmir.

Developing communication skills means knowing how to discover the hidden agendas and how to exploit the language beautifully to inform, persuade, entertain, instruct, and above all, how to make others feel at home. Developing communication skills also means overcoming barriers to communication. There are many obstacles or roadblocks that make our communication slow and inefficient. Here are the seven major stumbling blocks:

One reason is differences in perspective or perception. The same phenomenon is interpreted variously by various people depending upon their temperament, education, worldview, cultural background, etc. Another reason is differences in knowledge or expertise levels. For example, a farmer and a fisherman will perceive the significance of rain differently. Lack of common language/dialect/accent is yet another reason. There is a popular joke about an Australian girl who visited the United States. One day the girl was crossing a road ignoring the traffic signal. Consequently, she was almost hit by a taxi. The driver stopped and asked her, “Dear lady, have you come here to die?” In reply the girl said, “No sir, I came here yesterdie (yesterday)”. Adoption of stereotypes is another hurdle. Many of us think in black and white terms. Most of our judgements are based on personal preferences and biases. Like all these factors, strong emotions influence what we hear, what we say and how we say what we say. In other words, these factors act as filters for selective speaking and listening

Communication is one of the commonest things people do. It’s like eating and breathing. Everyone can do it- the educated and the uneducated, the literate and the illiterate, the rich and the poor, the young and the old, the male and the female- and all with reasonable success.  Understandably, we assume our ability to communicate effectively. As soon as there’s a serious misunderstanding, the speaker puts the onus on the listener and the listener blames the speaker.

All of us are like the blind people and the elephant and we assume that our perception is the only right one and a complete one. In fact, all perceptions are incomplete and fragmented. Communication may break down because of different levels of knowledge shared by the two communicators. The speaker may have certain assumptions, which the listener may not share. As a result, there is a mismatch between the intended meaning and the perceived meaning. Sometimes, people having unfamiliar accents may not be able to understand each other well. The speaker may be intelligible locally, but not so nationally and internationally. Stereotype kind of thinking may be detrimental to understanding. Many of us have prejudices, which don’t let us understand the message properly. Quite often our strong sentiments create stumbling blocks in the way of smooth communication. We have very hardened likes and dislikes for people and those affect our perception of meaning and messages. Some people think that they can never go wrong. At times, our laziness is responsible for lack of proper understanding.

In conclusion, we’d like to say that in order for all of us to be good communicators, we need to

-develop our listening, speaking, reading and writing skills,

-to be able to use language to perform various functions,

-master the rhythm, accent and intonation of the language,

-understand the differences between spoken and written language,

-remember the difference between meanings and messages and

-overcome the barriers to communication.