Developing Communication Skills
Contents:
Techniques to improve communication: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.
Introduction:
Communication includes all the activities of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The aim of developing effective communication skills is to develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills of an individual. LSRW skills are given highest importance among all the skills required for the selection of candidates for various positions in the organization. These language skills are extremely important for a person’s personal and professional development. RANKIN, a notable linguist, carried out a research in communication. RANKIN observed that human beings spend 70% of their working time in one or other type of communication. Out of that 70 % of the time, three forth of the time is spent in listening and speaking. In 1950, WILT MIRAIME presented a paper entitled, A Study of Teacher Awareness of Listening as a Factor in Elementary Education. WILT observed that human beings spend 45 % of their working time in communication. Out of the 45 % of the time, 30 % of the time is invested in speaking, 16 % in reading, and 9 % in writing. Effective LSRW skills are essence of language acquisition and communication.
3.1 Developing Listening Skills:
Listening is the basis of language learning and language acquisition. A child acquires language by listening and imitating the sounds, noise, calls of the parents and external surrounding. Listening is essence of human communication. Without proper listening skills, effective communication is impossible.
Unfortunately, human beings do not give more importance to the development of proper listening skills. Many people take their listening ability for granted. Listening is mostly neglected by communicators. Listening is considered as natural process, whereas it requires systematic and methodological training. Listening enables effective communication. It is