NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL AND
MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING

Name: KUDZANAI NKALA

Student Number: N02017235M
Course and Course Code: PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING AND
COMMUNICATION SKILLS EIE 1106
Lecturer: ENG SIBANDA
Assignment number: 1
Assignment Question: Why does oral communication sometimes result
in over communication? How can this problem be overcome?
Due Date: 2 December 2020
1.0 INTRODUCTION
According to Berko et al (1998), communication in general, refers to the exchange of
information between two or more people. Oral communication can be viewed at as spoken
interaction between two or more individuals. This type of communication is very crucial and has
got strengths and weaknesses. Though considered to be less formal than the written alternative, it
is an important form of communication in which formal meetings, interviews, lectures or
presentations, planned but informal encounters as well as telephone calls can be carried out.

Although oral communication has many advantages such as quick response, providing room for
further discussions leading to clear conclusions, ability to catch greater audience, it also has
many disadvantages that lead to over communication whereby a lot of unnecessary detail gets
mixed up with important and wanted detail due to repetition of words (Braunmüller, 2013)

According to Mawonera E and Leed (2004), oral communication is the main root and influential
base of grapevine within workplaces. Information ends up being distorted and mixed up in such a
way that formal and informal messages cannot be juxtaposed. Skills and experiences affect oral
communication. A lot of information fed through advertising orally may make intended group of
people fail to make an informed decision. Receiver must listen attentively, audibility is a
challenge as voice projections differ and most of the times a person has to repeat the same
speech twice. In chance encounters, oral communication might cause anger or resentment to the
recipient depending with his or her attitudes as a result; this will also affect the way the message
will be relayed to the next recipient.

Due to over communication, some people end up with “’better things to do’’ than attending
meetings. Thus information may fail to reach its desired destination unless written work such as
handouts, letters, reports and invoices are used. At times, visual aids should be used in
presentations. Visual presentations also have a greater impact than simply oral. Use of body
language, gestures and facial expressions may also improve oral communication skills ( Miles,
2009)

2.0 CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, the disadvantages or weaknesses of oral communication such as the one
discussed of ‘’over communication’’ over weigh the advantages or strengths. It can be
widely used but at times hand in hand with written work.

3.0 REFERENCES
Berko, R.M., Wolvin, A.D. and Wolvin, D.R., 1998. Communicating: A Social and Career Focus,
7tf editio.
Braunmüller, K., 2013. Communication based on receptive multilingualism: advantages and
disadvantages. International Journal of Multilingualism, 10(2), pp.214-223.

Fielding M (1997), Effective communication in organizations, Preparing messages that communicate 2 nd

ed. JUta and Co Ltd Kenwyn

Mawonera E and Leed (2004), Communication and Scholarship module CSC 101.The Zimbabwe Open
University Mt Pleasant Harare

Miles, R., 2009. Oral presentations for English proficiency purposes. Reflections on English
Language Teaching, 8(2), pp.103-110.