COMMUNICATION SKILLS

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is an introductory course to the study of communication and the dynamics that come into play for the
successful transfer and transmission of information. The course is based on the rationale that in today’s work
environment in irrespective of the career one chooses to pursue, communication skills are important either for
entry and/or advancement. It is a multi-disciplinary approach towards the analysis of the concepts and theories of
communication. It will be biased towards those aspects; conceptual as well as theoretical frameworks needed of
ensuring effective communication professionals in the field of or related to literature. It will explore the conditions
and aspects of communication in the literary field and examine the new innovations and trends in the field of
communication

Course Objectives:
The main objectives of this course are:
• Introduce students to the theories of communication
• Create awareness of the dynamics and complexities of the process of communication
• Equip students with the skills for effective communication across a variety of professions
• Explore the opportunities and challenges associated with ICTs in communication.
Mode of Delivery and Evaluation
This course will be taught in 45 hours in semester one using lectures, tutorials and seminar presentations. It will be
graded out of 100% of which 50% will consist of course work, project or seminar presentation and 50% will be out
of the final examination.
Course Outline

Introduction to communication
• The nature of communication
• Basic concepts of communication
• Forms of communication
• Models of communication
Listening as communication
⚫ Barriers to listening
⚫ skills for effective listening
Speaking as communication
• Introduction
• speaker
• Message
• Channel
• Situation
• Effective speaking
• Public speaking
• persuasive speaking
Reading as Communication
• What is READING?
• improve comprehension during reading
• The SQ4R Method
•
Writing as Communication
• Specialised forms of writing
• letter writing
• Editing and Proofreading
• Writing minutes

1
 • writing reports
• writing memos

Internet and communications

⚫ Introduction
⚫ issues to watch out for
⚫ types of Internet Communication
⚫ websites and blogging as Communication

Definition of communication
Communicating using verbal language is a single human activity that is at the centre of human activity.
Communication therefore, is believed by many scholars as the most important and the only human activity that
differentiates human beings from other creatures. Though other creatures can pass to each other different
messages, this is at the most rudimental level and not as complicated as it is among human beings when they use
language.

Given the importance that communication holds among human beings, it has attracted a lot of attention in terms
of what it is and what it involves. The starting point of the debate in understanding communication starts with the
definition of the concept of communication. The word communication is derived from the Greek word
‘comunicare’ that is literary translated as ‘to make common’ or ‘to share’. This means that communication is
essentially a form of interaction. From this root word, communication can be defined as the process of transmitting
information in form of data, messages and instructions from one source to another.

Besides the rudimental definition of communication above, scholars have provided many different definitions of
the concept of communication. This means that no single definition of communication is adequate to explain this
phenomenon. This is because different scholars define communication to refer to different notions of the concept.

Among the outstanding scholars of communication are (Theodorson and Theodorson 1969) who define
communication as the transmission of information, ideas, attitudes or emotions from one person or group of
people to another person or group of people. The key concepts in this definition are information which refers to
the exchange of knowledge and information. For example if you write to someone a letter telling him/her that on a
particular day you are going to pay him/her a visit, you are communicating because you are making them aware of
an event or activity that they did not know before.

Idea in this definition refers to new concepts and thoughts. For example in an organisation you may have a
problem, therefore if you come up with a way of solving that particular problem during a brain storming session,
then you have communicated.
Attitude and emotions go together and they refer to the feelings-either positive or negative about a situation or a
person that the individual has. For example if someone under your supervision does not follow instructions in the
execution of a task you have assigned him/her, you are likely to reprimand such a person. When you do reprimand
such a person, you have communicated but what has been transmitted is your feeling of dislike towards the person
or task that was executed.

The other key concept in the above definition is transmission. It is one thing to have ideas, information and
emotion, but what is crucial is the transfer of these from one point to the other. This essentially means that for
communication to take place there has to be two parties willing or forced by circumstances to participate in the
process. There has to be a sender-the one with information and the receiver- one whom the information is meant
for. There has to be need for the sender to send and the receiver to receive. In this case communication is any
process of getting a message from the source to its intended recipient.

Another important scholar to consider is (Osgood 1957) who defines communication as a situation where one

2
system-the source influences another- the destination, by manipulation of alternative symbols which can be
transmitted over the channel that connects them. The key concept in this definition of communication is
manipulation of symbols, normally of a common language with the purpose of influencing the behaviour of the
other party. For example when one winks or writes a note to someone, he/she has manipulated the linguistic
resources at his/her disposal to make someone respond to him. The response is the evidence of successful
manipulation of the other party.

This means that Osgood’s definition brings to communication a clear concept that Theodorson and Theodorson’s
definition is lacking. The point of reference is that all communication is purposeful. It is not just a matter of
transmitting messages but those messages must influence the party they have been sent to. This means that on
the reception of the message, the recipient must change his/her behaviour and attitude as a consequence of the
message that is the subject of the communication process.

(Garbner 1967) defines communication as a social interaction through messages. Garbner improves upon the
definitions and general understanding of communication by introducing the concept of interaction. This means
that communication is an end and not a means to an end. Ultimately the function and importance of
communication is the facilitation of human interaction. When one makes a speech at a wedding party for example,
such a speech is among other reason a manifestation of social interaction. In other words, communication enables
human being deal with or relate to other human beings.

From the above definitions of communication, the following concepts become very crucial in the understanding of
communication. These are sender, channel, message, receiver, effect and context in which communication occurs.
To the above six, one could add encoding and decoding as equally important in the understanding of
communication. It is important to analyse each of the concepts listed above in terms of its relevancy and
importance to the process of communication.

In the communication equation, the sender refers to the party from whom the communication is initiated. He/she
is the person who starts the communication process. The reasons as to why he/she initiates the process are as
varied as the different senders in the communication process. The reason could be passing over information, giving
directives, making inquiries or socialising.

The channel is another important concept in communication. It refers to the outlet or form through which the
message is transmitted. It is good to have a message, but this message is useless unless it can be transferred to the
intended party. To ensure that the message reaches the intended audience, it must be transferred through an
appropriate channel. The sender must consider the most appropriate channel to use in the sending of the message.
The practical issues are always to do with whether the use of verbal or nonverbal, oral or written forms in
communicating. The message determines the best channel to be used given the message being sent and the
reasons why it is being sent. What is important though is the choice of the channel has an impact on the
effectiveness of the message.

The receiver is another important concept in communication. This refers to the person or a group of people for
whom the message is intended. In a lay man’s language, the receiver is the audience that is targeted by the
communication intervention. In other words, the message is designed and sent to specific person(s). The
receiver/audience is important in the communication process because they determine the type of message and the
channel to be employed as well as other nuances that are necessary for effective communication. For example, the
type of audience determines the language to use. If you are communicating to the unread, rural people in the case
of Uganda, using Oxford type of English will be useless because the audience will fail to understand the message.

In the communication process, the concepts of encoding and decoding are equally important. Encoding refers to
the translation (sorting and packaging) of the message into a language or codes (experiences) that the sender
thinks will transmit the message effectively. For example the English word ‘thanks’ can be encoded as a smile, a
hug, a gift, etc. Any of the above does express the emotion of thanks or being grateful. Encoding calls on the sender
to choose the most appropriate symbols given the channel available to him/her and the nature of the audience.

3
For example, if the receiver is blind writing it down will be useless.

Decoding is the concept that is on the reverse side of encoding. It refers to the ability of the audience/receiver to
interpret and understand (unpackage) the message that has been sent to him/her. In other words there is need for
the principle of double coincidence between the sender and the receiver. In the end what matters is that the
receiver should understand exactly what the sender wanted him/her to understand. For this to happen, the
receiver must use the linguistic and non-verbal resources at his/her disposal to decipher the message.

The communication process

Communication is a process that involves the transmission of meaningful information from one party to another
through the use of shared symbols. Communication is considered successful when the meaning is understood. The
communication process model illustrates communication between two people, but can also apply to more complex
communication situations. The communication process using the communication model consists of two main
phases: the transmission phase (from sender) where the information is shared between two or more individual and
the feedback phase (from receiver) where a common understanding is reached.
Communication barriers can pop – up at every stage of the communication process (which consists of sender,
message, channel, receiver, feedback and context- see the diagrams of the models) and have the potential to
create misunderstanding and confusion. A message is successful only when both the sender and the receiver
perceive it in the same way.
Semiotics is the use of pictures or drawing to carry specific messages. This involves pictures such as road signs,
labels on toilets doors, or pictograms communicating specific messages. The most important aspect of pictures is
that meaning expressed is not restricted to any specific language. It cuts across languages at it does not matter
which language one speaks, he will be able to understand the language expressed in a picture.

The Communication process model

Transmission
Noise

Encoding Context
Decoding
Communication
Sender Message Receiver
Channel/medium
Decoding
Encoding

Feedback

Communication Channels
When dealing with communication, one of the most influential determinants of effective communication is the
communication channel or medium, it determines the richness of the information being communicated. Richness

4
is the amount of information a channel or medium can carry and how effective it will be in facilitating a common
understanding between the sender and the receiver. Channels with high information richness are able to carry a
lot of information and ensure a common understanding between the two parties even when the information is
complex. The figure below helps to clarify the explanation:
High information low information
Richness channel
- Physical presence - interactive channels - personal static impersonal (Face to face)
(telephone , electronic channel medium fliers)

- Best for non-routine media) (Memos, letter, bulletin, general

- Ambiguous, difficult report tailored to reports)Message receiver

- Best for routine clear Simple messages.

The 5Ws and 1H of the Communication Process

5Ws and 1H: Why? Who? Where? When? What? How?

Whatever communication task you are undertaking, asking these six simple questions before you start will give
your communication a better chance of success and make the task easier.

Why? (Purpose)
Why am I communicating?
What is my real reason for writing or speaking?
What am I hoping to achieve? Change of attitude? Change of opinion?
What do I want from the receiver (s) to do as a result of my communication?
What is my goal purpose? To inform? To persuade? To influence? To educate? To sympathize? To entertain? To
advise? To Explain? To provoke? To stimulate thought?

Who? (Receiver)
Who exactly is my audience?
What sort of people are they? Personality? Education? Age? Status? Cultures? Interest? Ability?
How are they likely to react to the content of my message?
What do they know already about the subject of my message? A lot? Not much? Nothing? Less/more than I do?

Where and when? (Place and Context)

Where will they be when they receive my message? In their office close to other relevant material or isolated from
the problem so that I my need to remind them of the facts?
At what point in the total matter does my message come? Am I replying to something they have raised? Or will my
message represent the first they have heard about this topic/problem/issue?
What is my relationship with the receiver? Is the subject of my message the cause of controversy between us? Is
the atmosphere strained or cordial?

The answers to these questions will help you to find answers to the next set of questions more easily than if you
jump straight in with “What do I want to say?”

What? (Subject)
What exactly do I want to say?
What do I need to say?
What do they need to know?
What information must I include in order for me to be:

5
 - Clear – Constructive
- Concise – Correct
- Courteous – Complete
- Considerate
These are the seven Cs of Effective Communication
Principles of Communication

Clarity
It refers to clarity of thought and expression. Clarity of Thought in the communication cycle begins with the
generation of an idea in the mind of the transmitter. A great deal of clarity is needed at this stage. If the beginning
is fuddled then it is likely to mar the entire communication process. The communication must always be clear
about these three aspects:
1. What is the objective of communication?
2. What is to be communicated?
3. Which medium will prove to be the most suitable for this purpose?

Clarity of Expression is where the receiver learns about the idea in the transmitter’s mind through the coded
message. If encoding is faulty, the message may be misinterpreted. So it is important to be careful while encoding
the message. Since most of the messages are transmitted with the help of words, the transmitter should be careful
about the meanings and organizations of words. The following points about the choice of words deserve attention:
• Use simple words remember that simple and short words are more effective than pompous and
complicated. It is better to use “tell” or “inform” for “Acquaint” or “familiarize”. Note that the goal of
communication is a common ground of understanding and not a display of terminology or diction. It is to
the best interest of the receiver that the known rather than unknown language is used.
• Use concrete expression Concrete expressions create visual images that are easy to register. So instead of
vague, generalized statements give definite facts unless you can derive a particular advantage from being
general and other such words. These may be described as opinion or contextual words, for many and a
few are a matter of opinion or context. For example; ten students who are absent in a class of thirty are
many whereas ten members absent in a group of five hundred are a ‘few’. Therefore, ‘many’ and ‘few’ are
relatively general words that are expressively different in context of their usage.
• Prefer active constructions for they are easier to understand if you deliberately want to create an
impersonal style, you may be justified in using passive constructions. But in ordinary circumstances it is
better to use active construction. For instance; I saw a man rather than I had seen a man.
• Avoid excessive use of the infinite the use of infinitive (to-verb-to give, to learn) tends to make the style
impersonal and formal.
• Avoid Jargon ‘Jargon’ refers to special language of a trade, profession, or field of study. It may refer to
words as well as the style of writing. In the medical field, jargon will be mostly confined to the choice of
words. Legal jargon is primarily stylistic jargon when creates difficulties of understanding, and it makes the
style formal, so better avoid jargon. In the business field, jargon consists the use of words like ‘instant’,
ultimo’ proximo’, ‘as per’, ‘we beg to’, and oblige’, same etc. It is better to give the date instead of sign
words like ‘instant’ and ultimo’. We bet to and oblige can be easily omitted.
• Avoid Ambiguity If your message can mean more than one thing, it is ambiguous. Ambiguity is very often
caused by careless use of personal pronouns. For instance; I saw a man with a microscope.
• Use short sentences whether your communication is oral or written, use very short sentences. Long
sentences tend to be complex and demand greater concentration. However, many people do not have
time or patience for long sentences. An as a rule, if a sentence runs beyond thirty words, it is better to
break it up into two sentences.

Completeness
In business communication, for instance, completeness of facts is absolutely necessary. Incomplete communication
irritates the reader and leaves him baffled. If a wrong message is delivered, actions may follow an incomplete
message and can also be expensive. Let’s take an example that you are ordering shirts by mail. Your communication

6
must include all the relevant facts like the size, colour, catalogue number, mode of payment, mode of dispatch, the
date by which you need the shirts, etc. In the absence of any of these details, your order may not be filled to your
satisfaction. You should organize your message in such a way that the receiver is not in doubt about anything
contained in it. In this regard, the following aspects should be taken into consideration.
• While answering a letter makes sure that you have answered all the questions if your customer has four
queries and should you responded to only two of them then your actions will not bring out the desired
answer. While answering the letter, devote each paragraph to all his questions and number the
paragraphs. This practice will save your answer from getting lost in a jungle of words.
• Checking for the “five W” questions – who, what, where, when and why and any other essential points
like how also helps to make your message complete. While announcing a meeting, specify when the
meeting is to be held, where it is to be held, why it is being held, what is to be discussed in the meeting,
who is to attend the meeting and may be how members are expected to arrive at the venue.

Conciseness
A reader’s time is valuable. Don’t make him or her feel that he or she is wasting his time in going through your
unnecessary lengthy letter. Be as brief as possible. Brevity in expression effectively wins the attention of the
readers. However; brevity should be affected at the cost of appropriateness, clarity, correctness, completeness or
courtesy. In fact, there is no hard and fast rule for the length of a letter. A letter should be as long as short as is
necessary to tell the story effectively. A two page letter may seem short, while a ten-line letter may seem all too
long. There are two tests to ascertain whether a letter is too long. Ask yourself these two questions. “Does it say
more than what needs to be said?” Does it take too many words for what it must say?”
The following simple rules will help you to achieve consciousness in your messages;
• Include only relevant facts make sure your message does not get encumbered by unnecessary details.
• Avoid repetition induces monotony or irritation. You might repeat information or a requesting order to
stress it. The reader would naturally expect you to say something additional. But when he discovers that
you are repeating something, he feels initiated.
• Avoid trite and wordy expressions In other words, know what you want to say beforehand and say it well.
• Organize your message well Use simple and short words as well as sentences. Ensure that your message is
coherent.
Consideration
In our letter, we must show consideration for the reader. This can be done in the following ways;
Adopt you-attitude: we know that we are primarily interested in ourselves. Naturally, every other person is
interested more in himself or herself than in a third party. It follows, therefore, that when we write letters to
others, they are effective and the readers respond to our- letters well only when we write from their point of view.
It is an accepted truth that one of the most pleasant sounds to the average individual is his own name or self. To
make our letter more effective, we must avoid it’s and we’s and have as many yours as possible. In any case we
should not forget the reader’s point of view in the whole of our letter.
• Emphasize positive, pleasant facts on many occasions you may have to refuse, say no, regret, disagree,
complain or say sorry. To say sorry. To say this in plain words and a straightforward style is not difficult,
but its effect on the readers mind the repercussions on the firm are bad and far-reaching. We swallow
sugar coated pill without any grumble.
• Impart integrity to your messages Showing integrity is perhaps the best way of showing considerations
integrity involves the observance of ethical principles-sincerity and fair treatment. These values should
not be discarded as redundant to the modern materialistic world they are the staple food to nourish
growth. Nothing will impress the receiver of your message than these two simple virtues.

Courtesy
In business we must create friendliness with all those to whom we write. Friendliness is inseparable from courtesy.
And courtesy demands a considerate and friendly behavior towards others. The following principle helps to
promote courtesy.
• Answer the letters promptly in business it is a general practice to answer a letter the same day it is
received. Sometimes you might need a back reference, or may have to refer to different departments for

7
 clarification of certain points or may need the consent of higher authorities. In all these cases, you should
at least acknowledge the letter received and intimate the probable time you require sending a full reply.
• Omit irritating expressions some words and expressions are negative in connotation and irritate the
readers. Particularly, when used with ‘you’ they become provocative. Expressions like ‘you forgot, you
failed, your irresponsible approaches are bound to irritate or hurt the reader. So scrupulously avoid them.
• Apologize sincerely for an omission/thank generously for a favour If you have overlooked or failed to do
something, express your regrets I promptly and sincerely and make up for the omission at the earliest. If
omission is on the part of someone else and the regrets it, promptly tell him that you do not mind and a
sort of normalcy of situation has been restored. If someone does a favour to you, acknowledge it promptly
and thank the person generously for being kind to you.

Correctness
• Give correct facts: Business communication often leads to expensive operations so you should be sure
that you are using correct facts and expressing them in correct language. In fact, you should not transmit
any message unless you are absolutely sure of its correctness. If you aren’t you should immediately verify
it from an encyclopedia, an office file, a colleague, a dictionary, or even a grammar book. If your message
involves any legal matter, you should know the correct legal position before you commit anything.
• Send your message at the corrective time all messages must be transmitted and responded to at the
most appropriate time. Outdated information is useless in fact since communication is an expensive
process; transmitting outdated information involves wastage of time, money and human resources. The
principle of correct timing also stipulates that you communicate your message at a time when it is likely to
prove most effective.
• Send your message in the correct style. This may also be described as the principle as the principle of
adaptability. You must adapt your message to the needs of the receiver. You must consider his educational
background, the width of his vocabulary, specialized knowledge of the subject, his psychological makeup
etc. If he is a layman, all jargon must be excluded and facts should be explained in a simple language. If he
is an expert in a subject, you may perhaps go into the subtleties of the issue. While adapting your message
to the needs of your receiver, you must so change it that your preserve it’s factual as well as emotional
content.

The Nature of Communication

Dynamism

Communication is dynamic. It changes according to circumstances and environment. It also changes according to
recipient/ audience. We must always adjust what we communicate depending on who we are talking to; where we
are or according to the circumstances or events taking place at the time we communicate. There are many factors
that can influence our communication at each time given the opportunity. If we look at the recipient, our
communication may change according to; age, social status, mood at the time, how long we have known the
person, how often we have interacted with him, gender differences, our relationship with him, education level etc.
just imagine you have a problem and would like to inform the following people about it. Course mate, parent,
counselor, any authority … you would find yourself addressing the same subject to different personalities
differently. In same case, you may have to take time thinking on how to express yourself on the issue.

We also communicate differently because of the environment. If you meet an individual in a market, or in his office
or if you attend with him a meeting or meet him at home, you will often address him or sat whatever you want to
say differently because of different environment. If an individual has just lost a relative, or lost some money or
property or any other unfortunate circumstance has occurred to him, you cannot talk to him as if you sound as
though he has just got married, been re-elected in a poll or been promoted.

Therefore, with or without our deliberate effort, we are always changing our communication approaches
depending on various circumstances. These changes are noticed in our choice of words, arrangement of our

8
statements, our body movement, our facial expression and our gesture. If we do not change our communication
depending on different factors at play, we may be deemed as careless communicators and our communication may
usually not achieve the impact we desire to get. At worst, we may irritate our recipients and archive negative
impact.

Irreversibility

When we say something, we cannot ‘unsay’ it. This means we must always take a lot of care before we speak or
write down anything for the consumption of an individual or an audience. If we make careless remarks which me
might later on regret having said, we must be aware that it may disadvantage us as initiators of communication. It
is, for example, not wise to make angry statement in the heat of anger to other people. We have no good
mechanisms of withdrawing them once they are made. An apology may do but it is better not to carelessly annoy
people in the first place. Words have such a great force that sometimes an apology may not undo the damage
done.

Pro- activity

Communication is pro-active. This means that both participants; speaker and listener, must be active/ involved.
Communication is not individual. The sender must ensure that his message is organized. The recipient must also
put an effort to interpreted the message correctly and give an appropriate feedback. On the surface, it may appear
that the recipient needs no effort to listen. This is not exactly true. Listening is not just hearing. It calls for an effort.
For example, we must get rid of psychological and environmental interruptions which may hinder our
communication. We must dutifully attend to our communication.

Interactivity

Communication is both intrapersonal and interpersonal. Intrapersonal means it is a product of communication with
the mind. Take a picture of a person who wants a job as an example. He must first think of how he will approach
the prospective employer or people with connections to what he wants. He may desperately want the job but he
may not show that he needs as desperate as he feels. He will have to synthesize an appropriate approach. On the
other hand, the sender may have to picture himself as a recipient. He must have the capacity to judge the impact
of his communication on the recipient. He must have some empathy. Communication is also inter-personal. The
message must be well communicated to the recipient. The recipient must equally actively give a feedback.
Communication will flow normally if good rapport is created between the two parties.

Conceptuality/ Contextual

Communication takes place with a particular context. Both the sender and the recipient must understand the
context as well determines the use of language. The context as well puts into consideration the time an
environment. For instance, if one says; ‘I am not feeling well’. This could mean that he is hungry if he has not eaten
for a whole day or he is sick if he looks so, or he is uncomfortable in some way. The interpretation will depend on
the context. If a person who is not naked says; ‘ I have not yet dressed’, me may understand that he, probably, has
not yet put on well enough to go out of his compound, our interpretation will be different from the one who says; I
have not yet dressed’, while still in the bathroom or in a bedroom. Sometimes context may be determined by
previous discourse in the communication process. It may sometimes, be hard to understand people who are in the
middle of conversation if you were not originally part of it. This is because it will be hard for you to put their
conversation into context.

Types of Communication

There are two types of communication, Verbal and nonverbal. We shall look at nonverbal communication later.

9
However, the verbal communication is a form of communication which is delivered either by word of mouth or
written down and sent to the recipient. This type of communication can be best analysed in terms of levels or the
broad social context in which it occurs or operates. This specifically means that the context- is the place (which is
physical or psychological), the purpose and the people involved in the communication event determine how it is
shaped, develops and achieves its specific purpose. For example, two neighbours talking about the weather and an
administrator addressing a staff meeting have different aims to achieve, will use varied linguistic resources to
achieve these aims and will structure their messages and transmit them through different channels. This means
that even if the same people are involved in different communication experiences, the different experience will
determine how they communicate.

Intrapersonal communication takes place with one person. It is meant to reflect oneself to clarify something.
There are three concepts of intrapersonal communication namely; Self- Conception which determines how a
person sees him or herself as oriented to others (Self-awareness). Self-awareness is affected by the following
factors; belief (what is true or false); Values (what’s good or bad) and attitude (Emotional status). Complete
intrapersonal communication manifests as Solo Communication either vocally or Written. Solo- Vocal is when one
utters out what they are thinking for more clarity or rehearsing commonly known as self –Talk and Solo- written
deals with writing for oneself and not for others. There are times when you are faced with a problem which you
can’t discuss with anyone else. It’s advisable to engage in this form of communication.

Among the levels of communication is the Inter-personal level of communication. This is the type of
communication that takes place between two or more people. It is usually face to face and the topics of discussion
are drawn from their everyday experiences. The type of communication between work mates at work or husband
and wife at home or parents advising their children at home qualify as inter-personal communication. The main
characteristic of this type of communication is that it is face to face and as such the communicator is not strained in
communicating. The other characteristic is that there is immediate feedback as the responses and reactions of the
receiver are there for the sender to see. In other words, the communicator can know for sure whether his/her
message has been understood or not. It should be noted that inter-personal communication also uses the verbal
channel at most times, though occasionally the written forms are employed.

Another level of communication is the Small Group Communication. As the name suggests, it is the
communication between small groups. It is hard to define a small group but it could be roughly three to nine
people, though even more than ten people could constitute a small group. The main characteristic of this type or
level of communication is the limited number. The limitation is normally associated to the aspects of life that unite
them. For example, co-workers in a staff meeting qualify as a small group communicating. The other characteristic
of small group communication is that all members are equal in status and if there are differences of title and rank,
it is minimal and as such all participate equally in the communication. It should be noted that inter-personal
communication and small group communication are similar because they employ the two-way communication
model where there is interaction between the sender and the receiver of the message through the use of the
feedback loop.

The other level of communication is the large group communication. As the name suggests, this is the type of
communication that takes place among many people. Many people could be hard to quantify, but on average you
are looking at more than twenty people engaged in a communication event. Large group communication is
characterised by the existence of too many people. Therefore, the speaker is addressing many people normally
from different backgrounds. For example a pastor preaching on Sunday, will be talking to rich, poor, women, men
adults and children. The other related characteristic of large group communication is that participation is limited.
Supposing you have one thousand people in a hall, it is inconceivable that all of them will be allowed to talk. In any
case some of the context that brings about large group communication, like church services, political rallies,
musical concerts to mention but a few, do not allow for audience participation and feedback. Lack of audience
participation also means that this type of communication employs the one-way models of communication that do
not allow for feedback. This type of communication assumes that the audience need the information from an
expert source and therefore have no input to make in the process.
The other level of communication is known as public or mass communication. This is the type that involves one

10
source that communicates to a large audience-hence the name mass communication. The communication takes
place through impersonal channels like newspapers, television, radio and of late the internet. It should be noted
that the audience for mass communication messages are undefined and anonymous. The concept of Mass
communication is best defined by looking at the two words that form the word. These are ‘mass’ and
‘communication’. Which refers to many and communication is defined as the process of transmitting information,
data or knowledge from one party to the other. Therefore in a layman’s language, Mass Communication is the
transmission of information for a large, normally of diverse characteristics, group of people.
McQuail (2005:17) defines Mass Communication in terms of mass media, which he says is:
The term mass media refers to the organised means of communicating
openly and at a distance to many receivers within a short time of space.
This means that Mass communication is a way or a process of communicating to many within a limited frame of
time and space. For example a news broadcast of an international radio station like BBC which can reach millions of
listeners instantly is Mass Communication.

McQuail’s definition of Mass Communication is to a larger extent in agreement with that of Baran and Davis
(2003:10) who define Mass Communication as:
When an organisation employs technology as a medium to communicate
with a large audience, Mass Communication is said to have occurred.
Using the example of professionals at The New York Times, they show that Mass Communication for all purposes
and intents-despite a few points of contention like reception of personalised information or generating information
outside the organisation, is about the delivery of information to many people unrestricted by distance and time.
From the two definitions of Mass Communication by McQuail, Baran and Davis, it is clear that Mass
Communication is an important field of social organisation and scholarly pursuit.

The other interest in the levels of communication is to do with how the information moves within an organisation
or society. To this effect there are three levels of the flow of information in any organisation. These include, up-
down flow, down-up flow and lateral flow of information. The up-down flow of information is the situation where
information flows from the top of the organisation-for example from the CEO of the company down to the lowest
ranked member of the organisation either directly or through other subordinates. It is used by managers of an
organisation to:
1. Assign goals and duties to their employees. For example, the CEO will write a memo to the production
manager to the effect that having secured a new firm to supply their goods, production must increase and
possibly by what units. Such a correspondence comes directly from the top down to someone response.
2. Giving instructions and specifications is also best done using up-down communication flow. For example a
foreman can pin a duty rota on the notice board instructing everyone what to do and how to do it for the
staff’s notice. This is because if people are allowed to debate what they are to do and how they are to do
it, nothing will get done.
3. Up-down type of communication is used to inform members of the new policies of the organisation.
Management can decide that the cause of low productivity in the organisation is late coming. After their
meeting, they can communicate this to the workers in form of a new policy.
The channels most used by this type of information flow include memos, letters, notices and bulletins. [These
forms of communication are handled in the later section of the book.]
The other type of the flow of communication-especially in an organisation- is the down-up ward communication.
This is where the information flows from the lower levels of the organisation to the top management. This allows
for the lower cadres of the organisation to communicate to the managers of an organisation. It involves the
provision of feedback, information on the progress of the tasks and bringing to the notice of management the
current problems that the organisation is experiencing. It is also a mechanism through which management is made
aware of the current feelings of the employees to the issues that affect their productivity.

Down-upward communication employs some of the following techniques in the transfer of information. Attitude
surveys are one of the methods used. This involves management sending out a questionnaire or hiring outside
consultant to research on the feelings of the employees about the conditions under which they work. It is
important to note that an outside consultant is likely to get better results for management to act on than an insider

11
as the employees will feel free and open to an outsider than someone perceived as an extension of management.

Reports are another technique employed in the down-upward flow of information. This is when management
commissions an official to investigate a problem in one of the sections of or the entire company. For example if the
productivity of the workers suddenly dips, management can task the production manager to find out why this is
the case. After doing his research, he is expected to write a report. This report is an avenue of information flow
from the lower levels to the top managers.

The grapevine is another avenue through which information can flow from the bottom to the top. The grapevine is
an informal mechanism through which management has eyes and ears among the workers. These confidants of
management regularly report to management the mood and attitude among the workers and such information
informs the actions and decisions that management takes. It is actually a formalised rumour mill that management
depend on.

The value of such a form of communication flow is that it filters information for the managers. This because the
employees may be intimidated by the bosses and fail to say what the real problem is. But among themselves, they
will be open and candid and therefore the boss who uses the grapevine gets the real feelings of the workers. It also
acts a feedback mechanism through which the manager gets information on almost everything from office
romance to conflict in the organisation. Such information is crucial in the decision making process of the
organisation.

On the negative side, the grapevine can create conflicts in the organisation. The confidant may be motivated by
self-interest and ends up spreading misinformation about others or so that he is the good books of the boss. If such
malicious and inaccurate information is used to make decisions, then wrong people will be victimised. Related to
the above is lack of control on what information the confidant of the boss brings to the attention of the boss and
also an atmosphere of fear is created where everyone assumes that the next person is the spy for management. In
such an atmosphere, the organisation cannot prosper.

The third form of information flow is one that is termed as lateral communication. This is the type that takes place
among peers in an organisation. For example when the human resource manager directly communicates to the
financial officer, such communication is among people of the same rank without passing through the top managers.

Such communication flow is useful because it cuts the red tape in an organisation which sometimes hinders
performance. For example, if the human resource manager writes a memo to the financial officer about the
availability of funds so that he/she can hire more employers, such a measure will be quicker and efficient than
when he/she writes to the MD, who in turn writes to the financial officer who responds to the MD and then the
MD writes back to the human resource manager. By the time the communication chain is complete, a lot of time
and consequently productivity of the organisation will have been lost.

This mode of information flow in an organisation is also good because it creates co-ordination among the different
heads of section in the organisation. Such co-ordination can improve productive in the organisation and improve on
the efficiency among the workers. This is because actions are taken quickly.

On the negative side though, lateral communication can create unnecessary conflicts when formal channels are
abused. For example when some officers are jumped, they can feel unappreciated and may deliberately slow the
process, especially when top management refer to them for implementation. The bosses may feel insecure if
certain actions are taken without their input and knowledge which can lead to conflict, malice and intrigue which
can affect the productivity and efficiency of the organisation. It could also create conflicts and cliques in an
organisation that can have an adverse effect on the productivity of the organisation.

Another level or classification of communication has to do with how it is produced. From this perspective there is
oral and written communication. Oral communication is that type that depends on the manipulation of vocal
organs to produce sounds that have meaning to the intended audiences. The advantages of oral communication

12
are that it is rapid in the sense that the message is delivered instantaneously. That is to say once the communicator
speaks, the audience listen, understand and take in the message at the same time. The other related advantage is
that there is immediate feedback. That is to say the audience respond to the message there and then. Because of
feedback it is easy to make corrections and adjust the structure and content of the message that make the message
more effective. This also eliminates any distortions that are associated with transmission and environment in the
communication process.

Written communication is the type that relies on graphic and graphetic symbols and signs in transmission of the
message. Written communication takes many forms. These include, handwritten, typewritten and currently the
internet. The advantages of written communication are that the message is tangible in that the receiver can have
the message physically in his/her hands as evidence that communication has taken place. The other advantage is
that written communication is durable. This means that the message can be stored and retrieved for use at a latter
day. Written communication is of advantage because it allows for the communication of complex issues such as
legal provisions. It also allows for careful consideration of and correction and arrangement of the message.

The shortcomings of written communication are that it is time consuming. The time spent in drafting and sending
the message to the recipient is long compared to oral communication. This means that there is no immediacy in
the message and sometimes the message can be overtaken by events. For example, if you wrote a letter and
posted, it may take a week to reach the recipient when oral communication like a telephone takes less than a
minute to transmit the same message. It does not allow for immediate feedback as is the case with oral
communication.

The other level of communication is the non-verbal. This is the type where no word is used in the communication
process but communication takes place through the use of paralinguistic features such as gestures, facial
expression and silence to mention but a few. For example when someone asks you for something and you shake
your head that signal a negative response and the person will understand you-sometimes better than if you had
said no. Likewise when someone keeps quiet during a talk, the silence is communicative feedback that could mean
he/she is upset, dissatisfied or thinking about the subject.

Types of Non Verbal Communication and Their Use in Communication

Non-verbal communication is sometimes referred to as body talk/language. This means that someone can
communicate without speaking or writing but by the movement of the body. Non-verbal communication is useful
in a communication process because it sometimes arguments or compliments oral communication. For example if
someone says yes while nodding the head, the nodding emphasizes the message being transmitted. It also
encourages oral communication in the sense that it compliments oral communication for effectiveness. The fact
that a non-verbal sign can have different meaning can be a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that the speaker can
easily hide meaning from those who are not familiar with the gesture or body language and curse in the sense that
difference meanings can lead to misinterpretation of the message sent especially if the audience interprets the
message differently from the sender.

The following are some of the ways in which body language of kinesics of body communication works. One of the
ways of how body language can be used in communication is facsics. This called facial communication to whereby
facial actions are coded into messages. For example a gloomy face communicates anger, smiling face happiness, a
frowning face surprise or thinking to mention but a few.

The other aspect of body language is ocalics. This is communication using the eyes. The eyes can be used to send
any message to anyone watching the person. For example a twinkle of an eye would mean that someone is
planning something mischievous, laughter in eyes could mean that someone is happy and so on.

The third aspect of body language is gestics. Gestics refers to the use of body movement to communicate. The
movements of the body can communicate a multitude of messages such as mood, status, affiliation, ethnicity and
identity. For example when someone kneels to greet, the kneeling indicates respect, when someone embraces

13
another person, it is a sign of affection and if two people are walking, the one of a higher status walks ahead
therefore a demonstration of who is more important than the other.

Gestures are the other type of body language. Gestures are defined as the movement of the hands and the head
specifically to send a message. The gestures are either speech independent in the sense that they can
communicate on their own for example a nod means agreement or speech related in the sense that a gesture is
accompanied by words. For example if someone says while nodding, then the nod is a speech related gestures.

Gestures are divided into four sub groups. These are emblems the type of gestures that have direct verbal
translations for example the language of the deaf where each gesture has a corresponding meaning such as the
circular movement of the hand means all.

The illustrators are those gestures that are used to aid verbal messages for example if someone says bring it here
while the hand is pointing where the item should be put, the point is an illustrative gesture. The regulators is the
gesture that is used by the audience to act as a feedback for example when one listens while nodding the head, it
means he/she is following, is impressed or agrees with the speaker while the shaking of the head means the
listener is not impressed.

The adaptors are the other aspect of gestures. This is a type of gesture which shows adaptation to the
communication situation. For example if someone has a blank expression on the face during a speech, it will mean
that he/she is not bored by the speech or cannot follow what the speaking is talking about.
Affection displays are the other forms of gestures. This is where a movement of the face communicates a message.
For example is someone winks, the person is attracting the attention of someone or indicating that he/she
understands what the other person is saying.

Haptics is defined as the use of touch to communicate a message. This is a type of body talk where the contact
between the sender of the message and the intended audience is physical. For example hugging means affection,
love, welcome or happiness and kissing means greeting or love and a handshake means welcome. It should be
noted that haptics is culture and gender specific. This is because a hug may mean affection in one culture and
intimacy in the other.

The physical characteristics of the person communicating play a role in the transmission of the message. This
involves the attractiveness in the sense that attractive or good looking people are responded to positively when
they communicate in most occasions. The body size of the person is equally effective in communication. Short and
small people are not taken as seriously of those with an imposing figure. In fact most effective speakers in history
have been people of big statures. The same applies to height. Tall people are likely to be effective communicators.
And in a similar way women are in most case considered to be less effective speakers than men.

Proxemics is another aspect of body language. It is defined as communication using space. During a speaking
occasion, people then to use space to supplement their delivery. The space around the speaker expands and
contracts according to one’s emotional state, cultural background and intentions. For example if a speaker moves
closer to the audience, it makes him closer to them. Therefore, the way the speaker exploits the aspects of social,
physical, personal and intimate space can enhance his effectiveness.

Paravocalics is the use of vocal effects to accompany the words in oral communication. It involves the tone of
voice, the speed of speaking, the volume, pitch, pause and stress in a speech. These aspects have a way in which it
reinforces the message of the speaker. This is because they add meaning to the words of the speaker. For example
when someone speaks at a high speed, it shows that he/she is either excited or angry. On the other hand people
who are angry tend to be loud and a pause will indicate emphasis.

Chronemics is the use of time to communicate to one’s self or others. Time is conceived as circular, linear, formal or
informal. Following circular time means that one is not under pressure to stick to time. Time in this case depends
on seasons, day and night. For example at night people in Africa told stories because the stories did not competed

14
with other activities. Linear time is when each activity has got a specific time slot and therefore the speaker
ensures that he/she sticks to the time allocated to him/her.

Olfactics is the use of smell as a means of communication. The way someone smells can affect whether he/she
communicates effective. For example imagine living at close quarters with someone who has a bad body smell or
breath. The way someone smells can have an impact on whether people listen to him/her attentively.

Artiactics refers to the ornaments that the speaker has on during the speech. Personal items like clothing, jewelry
and make up have an impact on the effectiveness of the speaker. A well-dressed speaker will most likely draw the
audience’s attention than one who is shabbily dressed.

Function of Communication
As pointed out in the introduction, communication is the most important activity that distinguishes human being
from other beings. This is because communication plays very many important functions in society. These functions
could accrue to individuals or to a group or to the entire human society. For example, when your friend in another
university or town writes you a letter, he/she is communicating and in so doing is adding value to your life by telling
you of what you do not know. Likewise when you listen to a public service announcement on how to prevent
cholera on a radio, communication is saving your life and probably that of your community. The following are some
of the functions that communication plays in a society.

• The most important function of communication is educational. This means that communication is used to
educate. For example when you watch a TV documentary on wildlife or when you read a book from a
library, you are qualitatively and quantitatively improving your life. Through communication, people come
to learn new things that improve their lives for the better.
• Communication also enables people to search for and receive information. This could be facts, data or
figures. Such information obtained gives satisfaction by creating awareness of and understanding social,
political and economic realities. The information received especially from credible sources can be used by
the receiver in many different ways to improve his/her life.
• The other function of communication is that it provides entertainment. Communication tends to be
attention arousing and gives pleasure to the people accessing such information. For example, reading a
novel or watching a movie is some of the means that people use to get entertained. Therefore, the radio,
TV, newspapers, theatre, oral performance, the internet and other forms of communication are used by
people to make them happy and avoid boredom. By entertainment we mean, an event, performance, or
activity designed to give pleasure or relaxation to an audience (McQuail, 2000). Examples of
entertainment include: music, films, movies, sports, soap operas, comedies, cartoons, horoscopes,
graphics, colour pictures etc.

Entertainment performs various roles in society including motivation where entertainment media provides
specific ways to satisfy psychological needs, relaxation by providing users with a variety of opportunities to
be amused, to have fun and pleasure, to be enlightened and delighted, in short to be entertained
(Vorderer, 2000) and education where entertainment forms of drama, dance or music are used to portray
certain messages to achieve a particular causes (Zillmann, 2001).
• Another function of communication is that it is used to give and receive instructions. The messages sent
may give people tips on how to perform a certain task or achieve a certain activity. For example when one
reads a map on a journey to unknown place, the map will give him/her the instructions of how to reach
his/her destination. Likewise someone who watches or listens to a cooking programme on radio or TV will
get tips on how to prepare a particular meal. In this case, communication has not only provided such
people with information by also instructed them on how to use that information.
• Communication also plays a persuasive function in society. According to The Persuasion Handbook:
Developments in Theory and Practice, persuasion is a symbolic transaction, which uses reason and/or
emotional appeals in an attempt to alter behaviour. Persuasion is thought to fall short of direct coercive
force, though the threat of coercion is often present. Both persuasion and coercion attempt to change the

15
 behaviour of "others," but they differ in their approach. While coercion actively attempts to apply physical
pressures to its targets, persuasion seeks to convince a target to change its behaviour (though persuasive
messages may include threats of coercion). Thus persuasive communication seeks to change behaviour
without direct force. For example when someone listens to a radio advertisement or attends a political
rally, both forms of communication will attempt to influence him/her to change his/her behaviour or
attitude towards the objection of the communication
• Communication is useful to an organisation because it is used to control the behaviour of members in an
organisation. The members are informed of their mistakes through communication. At the same time they
are praised for their good performance again through communication. Those who do wrong when warned
through a letter of warning for example are likely to change and improve on their conduct while those
who do well and are complimented, are motivated to do even better through communication. This means
that the aims, goals and plans of the organisation will be achieved and efficiency will be realised since
feedback is important to the members of an organisation.
• One of the basic functions of communication is that it fosters social interaction. Whether in a group or
individually people are social animals and will always interact with each other. Therefore, when one
converses with a friend, asks for direction from a stranger or writes a letter to the editor complaining
about the poor social services the government provides to his community, this form of social interaction is
made possible through communication. That is why it is believed that without communication human life
and existence would lose its meaning.
• For the case of an organisation and especially those members in that organisation in management
positions, communication facilitates the decision making process. Any decision taken means that other
alternatives have been discarded. Therefore, to be sure that the decision taken is the right one, the person
taking the decision needs information and data about all the alternatives to identify and evaluate the best
option to take.

Barriers to Communication
As it has been pointed out in the introductory parts of this book, communication is usefully when the
communication link between the sender and receiver is maintained. If for one reason or another, this link is broken,
communication cannot take place. Therefore, it is important for all involved in the communication event to ensure
that the link between the sender and receiver is maintained. It is good to have ideas and information to pass over
to others, but quite frustrating is these cannot be passed over effectively.

The question then, is what stops the sender reaching his/her intended receiver in a communication event? There
are many factors that can lead to the breakdown of the communication link. Some are related to the sender
himself and other are outside his control. It is important to identify such obstacles and find ways of minimising
their effects and rectifying them or reducing their effects as much as possible. The following are some of the
common barriers to communication.
1. One of the common communication barriers that occur without even the knowledge of the
communicators themselves is filtering. Filtering refers to the tendency among the communicators to
communicate what they perceive their audience want to hear. This means that they edit and restrict what
they are going to write or talk about in a given communication scenario. This tends to be common where
the relationship between the sender and the receiver is that of a boss-subordinate. The person of the
lower rank will tend to say what he/she thinks the boss wants to here. In the process the real message is
not delivered. The way forward should be that the speakers or writers should be bold and tell the truths
without sugar coating it because in the end their honesty and candour will be appreciated.
2. Another barrier to communication is information over load. This is a situation where the speaker or writer
gives to much information. There is a tendency among human being to believe that much is good.
Therefore, people will try to impress by giving too much information to their audiences without gauging
the ability of their audiences to internalise the information they have been given. For example, there are
people who speak for 10 hours or write a one hundred page report. In the case of the speech after one
and half hours at the most, the audience will be turned off and if the critical information of the delivery
comes at the end, then the bored audience will certainly miss it. In the case of a one hundred page report

16
 the intended audience may not read it, especially when they have other responsibilities and if at all they
do, they will simply skim or scan through the report. At the end of the day the communicator has failed to
communicate because of information overload. The best policy should be moderation. Study your
audience and determine how much they can absorb and structure your communication according.
3. The channel that one chooses to transmit his massage can turn out to a barrier to effective
communication. Like in the case of information overload, the nature of your audience should determine
the channel that you use for the delivery of the message. A channel appropriate to one audience may be
inappropriate to another type of audience. For example, with all its advantages, using the written channel
to communicate to an illiterate audience is self-defeating. This is because they cannot read and therefore
a message that requires them to read is useless to them. Likewise if you decide to use a TV to
communicate health messages to a population that is poor, cannot afford a TV set and have no electric
poor to operate the TVs, will be useless because the intended audience will not access the information.
4. The communication link can be broken by emotion. The state of emotion that both the sender and the
receiver are in determines the effectiveness of the message. The speaker or writer must be in a good
frame of mind to effectively communicate. Likewise the audience must be in a good and receptive mood
to fully understand the message. If for one reason or the other the parties are not in a good mood the
communication exercise will be useless. Take for example a person suspected to be responsible in one way
or another for the death of someone to convince the mourners that he/she is wrongly accused of being
involved in the deceased’s death. [Professor Nsibambi at Dr. Kiggundu’s funeral] However, good a speaker
he/she is, he will not be listened to because the mourners are emotionally charged. Therefore, it is
important to gauge the mood of the audience before you address them on controversial subjects.
5. The other barrier to effective communication is source credibility. This refers to the audiences’ perception
of the speaker, either as trustworthy or untrustworthy. This comes from the history the audience has with
the writer and speaker. If the speaker or writer has consistently exhibited communication behaviours that
the audience find untrustworthy, the audience will find it hard to believe him/her even if at this point
his/her message is critical. Therefore, it is important that if your job is to deal with the public, try to
cultivate a good image of yourself and the organisation you serve. It is only then that the audience will
take you seriously.
6. Language is another barrier to effective communication. Language in communication refers to the choice
of words to use in a speech or a written text as well as the structures that are employed in the stringing
together these words to make the meaning clear. It is important for communicators to gauge their
audiences and decide on the type of language that is appropriate to them. It is true that use of ‘big’ and
‘complex’ words and structures is impressive. However, the bottom line is whether your audience can
understand these words. It does not matter whether the message is important and of benefit to the
audience, if the language used is hard to understand, the audience will not benefit from the message. The
advice to communicators is to use simple words and sentence structures to ensure that all the people
understand what they are communicating.
7. The other barriers to effective communication are the physiological conditions of the communicator.
These are basically the physical and psychological disabilities that the communicator possesses. For
example, if someone has got a bad handwriting or poor punctuation as a result of the inability to read and
correct his/her mistakes in a written text, these will affect his/her ability to communicate effectively.
Likewise someone who lisps or stammers, will create difficulties for the audience to follow his speech and
himself to be coherent. Off course, these are natural handicaps that the individual has no power over. In
other words you are born with them and there is nothing you can do about them. Nevertheless, if
someone is aware of such handicap, he/she should attempt to be relaxed if he/she is giving a speech. This
is because these handicaps are pronounced every time they are agitated.
8. Communication is also affected by external factors. The most significant is the environment in which the
communication takes place. The atmosphere should be conducive if the communication process is to be
effective. One of the factors that do interrupt communication significantly includes noise. If the place in
which the speech is taking place is noisy probably because of traffic or rain, the speech will not be wholly
understood by the audience. If there is anticipation of natural and environmental disturbances, the
speaker and the organisers should plan and employ technological innovations to counter the disruptive
effect of nature. The use of public address system could be useful in this case.

17
 9. Perceptions
No two individuals can perceive the same message in exactly the same way; people normally perceive
things in a manner consistent to their belief, experiences, culture and general upbringing. People also tend
to perceive selectively; selecting out of the message what they want to hear and ignoring what they don’t
want to hear. (Bias and stereotyping).
10. Semantics/ambiguities
Words have different meanings to different people from various parts of the world and cultures. Semantics
is the meaning of words and can be the cause of miscommunication or hindrance to effective
communication (for example ‘the girl is hot’, can mean the that the girl is beautiful to some and it can
mean the girl is heating up, maybe from fever)

Overcoming/managing Barrier to Effective Communication

There will always be communication barriers due to human errors, technology failures, etc, but they must be
managed if possible completely eradicated. To deliver your message effectively, you must commit to breaking down
the barriers that exist at each stage of the communication. The difference between effective and ineffective
communication can be traced to how well the communication parties deal with these other elements:
• Use of feedback-The feedback helps the sender check whether the message has been accurately received
by the receiver by deducing from his/her response.
• Simplified language-The use of simple understandable language that can be understood by the receiver
will facilitate effective communication; this excludes the use of foreign, flashy accents, sophisticated words
or jargons.
• Active listening-The receiver should pay close attention to the message in its fullness without interrupting
or giving premature judgment. The same applies to the sender when feedback is sent.
• Restraining emotions- Both parties should recognize when emotions are running high and try to tame and
control it in order to avoid its effect from hindering the communication.
• Matching verbal and nonverbal communication- It is obvious that actions speak louder than words
therefore it is important that both actions and words convey the same message in order to make
communication more effective.
• Build trust- An atmosphere of trust must be cultivated in the organization to overpower rumors and the
grapevine. This will make every communication trustworthy and effective.
• Avoid triggering defensiveness –Criticizing, arguing and even giving advice can trigger some listener’s
defensiveness because they want to protect their self-image. The best thing is not to react immediately
and action should be delayed for a convenient time depending on the person’s mood/attitude.
• Clarify ideas before communicating-The planning of the message and choice of the right communication
channel will make communication effective and reduce confusion.

There are possibly other barriers to communication that have not been discussed in this section. However, the
barriers listed above are the most common and frequently challenging ones. Therefore, all communicators should
be aware of what can hinder the message reaching the intended audience and devise means to reduce on the
impact of these barriers on the effectiveness of their communication.

Assessment Questions

1) In your own words, formulate a definition of communication stating the basic communication elements;
sender. Receiver, message, encoding, decoding, channel, context and noise. (50-100 words) Reflect on
your definition In the light of the following questions.
a) How does it differ from the definition in the book
b) Why did you choose to define communication the way you did?
2) Within your daily environment and with consent (of the people you are videoing), create short video
clips of verbal or non-verbal communication and present during a class. Explain how they influence you
and why?
3) In your groups, create written scenarios/skits that illustrate the four aspects of communication pro-

18
 activity, dynamism, contextual and irreversibility and you either act / present during the class.
4) Request to meet with your head of department as a group and write notes on the following;
a) What were some of the communication barriers encountered?
b) How were you able to mitigate them?
5) Look at the principles of communication and apply them in your daily life and explain whether you
found them helpful or not?
6) You say it better when you say nothing” Savage Gardens 2002. Discuss the relevancy of the above
quotation paying close attention to non-verbal forms of communication.

Models of Communication
After the definition of communication, it is important to look at the models of communication. A model can best be
defined as the simplified description in graphic form of a piece of reality. It seeks to show the main elements of any
structure or process and the relationship between those elements. For example in communication, models help us
understand the relationship say between the sender and the receiver and what other elements that are involved in
the communication process such as channel to mention but a few.

(Deutsch 1966) notes several advantages of models in the social sciences in general and communication in
particular. In the first place a model plays an organising function by ordering and relating the systems to each other
thus providing us with the images of the wholes that we might otherwise fail to perceive. It gives a general picture
of a range of different particular circumstances.

Models also help in explaining, by providing in simplified way information which could otherwise be complicated or
ambiguous. This enables us to understand the key points of a process or system of communication. For example
communication is complicated to explain but with the use of a model, it is easy to highlight the main components
of the process and how they relate to each. The case in point is that when the sender communicates, there has to
be a message and a suitable channel for the message to reach the receiver or the audience.

The third advantage of a model is that it can enable scholars of communication predict outcomes or the course of
events. It is the basis for assigning probabilities to the various outcomes and forming hypothesis of what may or
may not occur given a set of conditions. For example models will help us predict if communication has taken or
failed to take place in a situation where one gives a speech in a very noisy place. If the noise is an impediment to
communication, if a speaker finds himself/herself in such an environment, then what is he/she supposed to do to
ensure that he/she communicates effectively.

There are two categories of models. These are: those that describe the structure of the phenomenon. These are
known as structural models. Linear Models are part of Structural Models and explains a one way communication to
others. For example describing how the telephone works, by showing the main components of a phone and how
these components relate to each other in the communication process. It consists of the sender encoding a message
and channelling it to the receiver in the presence of noise. The linear model assumes that there is a clear cut
beginning and end to communication. It also displays no feedback from the receiver.

The other types of models are known as functional models. These describe the systems in terms of energy, forces
and their direction, the relationship between parts and the influence of one part on the other parts. Functional
Models are further divided into two types; Interactive and Transactional.
In the Interactive Model, the sender channels a message to receiver and the receiver then becomes the sender too
when s/he channels the message back to the original sender. The model has added feedback, indicating that
communication is not a one way but a two way process.
Transactional Model assumes that people are connected through communication; they engage in transaction.
Firstly, it recognises that each of us is a Sender-Receiver, not merely a sender or a receiver. Secondly, it recognises
that communication affects all parties involved. So communication is fluid/simultaneous. For example, while your
friend is talking you are constantly giving them feedback on what you think through your facial expression verbal

19
feedback without necessarily stopping your friend from talking.
It is true that models are useful in the study of communication but in using models to explain the process of
communication, one should beware that they are sometimes incomplete, oversimplified and involve some
concealed assumptions. This means that there is no model that is suitable for all purposes and levels of analysis of
communication. Therefore, one should choose a correct model for the purpose he/she is trying to study.

Some Basic Models of Communication

Below some common models of communication are discussed and analysed. Note, though, that the models
discussed below are not exhaustive in any way. The discussion is a sample of some of the common and relevant
models in the process of communication that most people are likely to come across or use during their professional
or social lives.

Lasswell’s Transmission Model

Lasswell, an American political scientist put forward a convenient way of describing the communication process by
suggesting five key questions to ask and to be answered about the communication process. These are ‘who’ says
‘what’ in which ‘channel’ to ‘whom’ and with what ‘effect’. The questions are graphically represented as

WHO WHAT CHANNEL WHOM EFFECT

This could also been shown as below

COM MESSAGE MEDIUM RECIEVER EFFECT

NOTE:
(Braddock 1958) found the Lasswell model useful but somehow simplistic. This prompted him to make adjustments
by adding two more aspects. These are:
i) The circumstances under which a message is sent. This includes the conditions under which the
communication event takes place. For example the consideration of the physical and emotional
conditions in which the communication is to take place. Take for instance an angry mob, is not likely
to be reasoned with because it is emotional charged and any attempt to do so will fail. In a similar
way if one is to communicate to a crowd in an iron-roofed hall while it is raining, such an activity may
not deliver the anticipated results because of the interferences from nature. Therefore, the
circumstances under which the message is sent are crucial to the successful delivery of the message.
ii) The other aspect that Braddock identifies is the purpose of the communicator. What does the
communicator wish to achieve by engaging in the communication process? The purpose or intention
of the communicator is crucial to the way the message is structured. For example, a communicator
whose intention is to persuade will construct his/her message differently from that who is simply
reporting. The purpose determines what is and how it is said. The incorporation of the above aspects
improves the model as shown below.
Under What Circumstance?
For What Purpose?
With What Effect?

WHO WHAT MEDIUM WHOM

20
The relevancy of the model to the communication process includes the following:

The Lasswell (Linear) model of communication assumes that the intention of the communicator is to influence the
receiver. Hence the primary function of communication according to Lasswell was persuasion. It should be noted
that the model exaggerates the effects of communication which explains its propaganda usage in political
communication.

The model omits the element of feedback. The assumption that the speaker is central to communication is
erroneous since the audience is critical in the process of communication. This means that for the communication
process to be fruitful, the audience must put in its input in the process.

The Shannon and Weaver Model

This model was developed by the mathematician Shannon in collaboration with Weaver, under sponsorship of the
Bell Telephone company. The research that these two scholars carried out was supposed to evaluate how the
message and communication for that matter was affected by external factors.

The central questions that guided the study were what kind of communication channel can bring through the
maximum amounts of signals and how much of the transmitted signal can be destroyed by the noise and other
interferences between the transmitter and the receiver.

Their research concluded that external interferences such as noise had a greater impact on the amount of the
message that reached the intended audience and suggested that for communication to be effective there was need
to minimise the external interferences.

The model that they developed was linear and took communication as a one way process from the speaker to the
receiver. The model states five functions to be performed in communication and one dysfunctional factor which is
noise. The model is shown in the figure below.

The Shannon and Weaver Model

MSG SGN SGN MSG

Information source Transmitt Receiver Destination

er

Noise Source

As pointed out earlier, the model states five functions to be performed by communication. These are the
information source that produces a message or a series of messages to be communicated. After the messages have
been created, they are then formed into signals by the transmitter. These should be adapted to the channel
leading them to the receiver. The function of the receiver is the opposite of that of the sender. The receiver
reconstructs the message from the signal. After this has been done the message then reaches the destination.
However, the message is hostage to interference in the process.

Shannon and Weaver highlighted noise as the most significant interference to the message. In other words, the less
amount of noise in the process the more likely that the message will reach the destination without any distortion
and the reverse being true-that is the more noise in the process, the less likely that the message will reach the
destination as it was intended by the sender.

21
This practically means that in the process of sending a message, if there is a lot of noise, the message constructed
by the sender and reconstructed by the receiver will not have the same meaning. The core assumption of the
Shannon and Weaver model is the fact that the message sent and that received are never identical. This means
that the communicators should pay attention to those factors like noise that are likely to distort the message to
ensure that the effects of these on the message are minimised.

Osgood and Schramm Model

(Schramm and Osgood 1952) originated a model that countered the existing models that assumed communication
was linear. That is to say that the communication process moved in a straight line from the sender to the receiver.
Schramm and Osgood came up with a model that was circular since their main assumption was that what were
keys in the communication process were the behaviours of the main actors in the process-that is the sender and
the receiver.

Osgood and Schramm Circular Model of Communication

Message

Encoder
Decoder
Interpreter
Interpreter
Decoder
Encoder

Message

This model treats the sender and the receivers as equals performing identical functions that is decoding, encoding
and interpreting the meaning from the information that is transmitted from each end. In other words, what the
sender does while sending the message is replicated by the receiver and in turn the receiver sends a feedback that
goes through the same process as before.

This model breaks with the misleading conception of communication that separated the roles of the sender and
receiver and assumed communication was a process that started at a particular point and ended at another
particular point. It assumes that communication is an endless activity where senders and receivers act as
switchboards handling and re-routing an endless current of information.

The importance of this model is that it helps in describing the interpersonal communication which is anchored on
the concept of feedback. In cases where the communication is between an individual and another individual or an
individual(s) and a group of people, such communication is complete only when there is an interaction between
the sender(s) and the receiver(s).

The possible short comings of this model are that it assumes equality between the sender and the receiver. In
reality communication is unbalanced with one centre having a lot of power, resources and time to communicate.
For example when the head of department is talking to those employees under his control, the power he has over
them determine how they responding. Sometimes those who assume that they have little power in the
communication process may feign understanding and thus send a false feedback because of fear.

22
Newcomb’s ABX Model
It is a simple representation of the dynamics of communicative relationships between two individuals but can be
applicable to complex relationships such as attitude change, opinion formation and propaganda.

(Newcomb 1963) builds on the work of the psychologist Heider who theorised that in case two people had an
attitude of like or dislike towards each other and towards an external object or person, some pattern of
relationship will exist. Newcomb’s assumption is that communication plays an essential function of enabling two or
more people maintain an orientation towards each other or towards an object of an external environment. In other
words the model explains who and why we communicate with other people.

The model takes the form of a triangle the points of which represent the two parties and the external object where
communication is seen as the process that supports their orientation to the structure by transmitting information
about and from the external object. In simple words, communication occurs when the two parties relate with each
other to the external object.

Newcomb’s ABX Model

x

A B

Newcomb further argues that communication is likely to occur under the following conditions. These are a strong
attraction between the two persons, when the object is important to at least one of the persons or the object has
joint relevancy to both the persons. For example the First Year University Students in any university will meet on
the first day as strangers but at the end of the semester they may have become best of friends. What brings them
together is the external object, the university (facilities and lecturers) or a liking they have of each other.

The relevancy of this model to communication is the assumption that people are likely to engage in communication
processes that provide information that is consistency with their views, attitudes and perception of the universe or
use the process to seek for information that supports their behaviour and general perceptions.

The model also holds that there is always selectivity of what communication process to engage in as the underlying
motive are the expectations of the individual person. People will always be biased towards those communication
experiences that reinforce their existing opinions, attitudes and behaviours. For example one person will pass by a
religious crusade and go to a political rally and the reverse, because each of the communication process reinforces
different opinions or attitudes.

Note though that it is not good to generalise that the tendency to consensus is the only cause and effect of
communication. For example people form new relationships and get in touch with divergent views in the world. In
this process they form new alliances and develop new perception of reality.

Riley and Riley Sociological Model

The (Rileys 1959) criticised the traditional view of communication as a process that took place in a vacuum. They
argue that communication is part of the social structures and their model attempts to portray communication as
one of the social systems among the many in society. Their criticism of the traditional view of communication was
based on the traditional view of communication assuming that the communicator’s intention was to influence the
listener and the message acted as stimuli. The assumption that the receiver would react to the message in a

23
vacuum was what they objected to. They reasoned that the receiver reacted to the message using the
psychological and sociological reference points in his/her society.

Riley and Riley Sociological Model

Primary Primary
Group Group
Primary Primary
Group C R Group

Larger SS Larger
SS

OVER-ALL SOCIAL SYSTEM

KEY
C=Communicator R=Receiver SS=Social Structure

They argue that people respond to any communication as a result of the influence of those people who are
intimate to them. These, they called the primary groups such as friends and family that help people define
attitudes, values and behaviour. For example if one comes from ‘a born again family’, such a person may not be
receptive to secular music simply because his realm of socialisation biases him/her against such forms of
communication. They further point out that the primary group is part of a large group that like the family or friend
influence the person and is in turn influenced by a larger group(s). For example, the family may in turn be
influenced by their church. The large influencing group is referred to as the reference group.

They further argue that the primary and reference groups do not operate in a vacuum; they are too influenced by
the larger society in which they live. This means that both the communicator and the receiver in a communication
process are shaped or influenced by the social environment in which they live. The sender is influenced in the way
he structures, selects the medium and shapes his message for effectiveness and the receiver is guided by the group
in how to select, perceive and react to the messages. This means that the two parties are connect in the
communication process to the large/primary societies or groups to which they belong.

The significance of this model to the study of communication lies in the fact that it suggests that communication
should be seen as a social process and not occurring in a vacuum. It also highlights the point of influence in
communication. It is not only the message that has influence. The receivers as well as the communicator are both
influenced by the society one in structuring what to send and the other in analysing what has been sent. This
model also puts the role of mediating or helping factors of psychology and social norms at the front of analysing
communication. These factors have an impact on how individuals and members of groups communicate and react
to messages

The Katz and Lazarssfeld Two Step Flow Model

24
This model emerged out of the study of communication effects on the public. Prior to the study there was an
assumption that communication and most especially the mass media messages were key in shaping the political
choices of and the formation of the opinions of the masses. However, the assumed influence of media and
communication was found to be limited. This meant that the message of a communication to have an impact had
to pass through another source for interpretation. The second centre is composed of the opinion leaders that
interpret the message for the masses. The assumption that the message needed to be interpreted to the masses by
a source that is knowledgeable, lead to the creation of a two-step flow model of communication and information
transmission. This model is based on the following assumptions.

The first assumption of the two-step flow model is that individuals are not socially isolated but rather members of a
social group and this group has an impact on how they perceive the message that is communicated to them. In
other words, the people we interact with have a bearing on how we perceive the messages that we come across.
For example if you came across information about contraceptives, your appreciation of such information depends
on your priest who is an opinion leader.

The Katz and Lazarssfeld Two Step Flow Model

Communication
/Message

KEY
Opinion leaders

Followers

Note
That the response and reaction to the message is not immediate but is influenced by the social relationships. That
is to say, any opinion that one may hold as a result of the message communicated depends on the people that the
person interacts with. These determine whether the message will be taken positively or negatively.

That two processes are involved in accessing the message. One process is to do with reception and the other with
acceptance or rejection of the message. All these processes depend on the influence that the receiver surrounded
with in the process of receiving the information. All of us have at one time or another thought that a specific piece
of information was good only to change that opinion after talking to our friends or family.

The individuals are not always equal in the communication process. There are those that actively receive the
information and pass it over to others and those who receive the information from the first group. The first group
are the opinion leaders and the second the influenced group. The opinion leaders are the ones that get the most
from a communication process and are usually more knowledgeable.

As much as the model emphasises the fact that communication takes place in a social context, it is nevertheless
misleading. In reality, the people are not divided into active and passive and sometimes the perceived opinion
leaders can equally be influenced by those who they are supposed to influence. The other criticism is the fact that
the mediation of the message does sometimes take more than two steps that the model prescribed.

25
Uses and Gratifications Model
This model comes up as a challenge to communication effects research in terms of how people are influenced by
the message. This model looks not at what communication does with people but what people do with the
message. It assumes that people consciously seek out and consume communication content because these serve a
purpose in their lives.
The Uses and Gratification Model
Resulting in
need
Expectations gratifications
There are Differential
of
social and patterns of
communicati
psychological Needs which message And other
on messages
origins generate exposure consequences
which lead

It is derived from the work of scholars such as Lazarsfeld, Herzog and Berelson. They argue that people use
communication content for obtaining gratifications or to fulfil a need. That is to say, if someone watches TV or
reads a newspaper, he/she is using that media to satisfy a need or an interest, which might be a desire to know or
to get entertainment. This means that if people did not have use for the media as a way of gratifying their desires,
then, possibly they would not consume media content.

This model is divided into two camps the classical and the modern uses and gratification theorists. Despite the
labels, there is agreement as to what are the main assumptions of the model. The model is concerned with the
social and psychological origin of needs that generate expectations of communication to expose them to activities
that will satisfy their needs and generate other consequences. That is to say, that if one needs social interaction,
he/she is forced to read or watch TV that will give him/her fulfilment to his/her needs but can make him/her
dependant on the media that he/she seeks out to gratify his/her needs.

The strengths of this model is that it explains how people use communication, describe differences and similarities
of different media in terms of their functions as related to the needs and gratification basis, assesses the
satisfaction especially of children derived from the media, functions of media to inform, interpret occurrences,
ritual and giving prestige.

The weaknesses of the theory include the fact that it microscopic in analysis, it is mentalist, assumes that the
audience is fairly active, does not take into consideration the content and it is a pretext of producing poor content
on the excuse that the content is filling a need.

In the following units of this hand book, we go through the four communication skills of Listening, Speaking,
Reading and Writing. The order of presentation follows the psychological pattern of language acquisition which
confirms that a person develops communication abilities by first listening (baby), Speaking (before school) and then
Reading and Writing after attaining some level of literacy.

Section Assessment (questions)

1. “Social interaction through messages” (Garbner1966) Discuss the efficacy of the above quotation.
2. What are the differences between interactive and transactional models of communication? Which one
would adopt and adapt, and why?
3. Discuss each of the models and explain how and where you are going to apply that new knowledge

26
 The Speaking SKILL

AIMS OF THE UNIT

⚫ The student by the end of this unit should be able to distinguish speech from other forms of
communication
⚫ Evaluate and discuss the determinants of a speech
⚫ Write and make appropriate speeches according to context and situations
⚫ Discuss and evaluate factors that affect effective speeches.
⚫ Acquire skills for effective public speech making and Presentation

Introduction
Speech is one of the most important and frequently used medium of communication. It should be noted that
everyone uses speech to communicate. And because of its popularity, it is one of those terms that everyone knows
but cannot define. Speech is a productive skill of a language where the speaker uses vocal symbols to pass over a
message to his audience.
Speech is defined by Mulgrave as the faculty of uttering articulate sounds or words to express thoughts.
This means that when we speak, the aim of doing so is to express or send a message. If this is the reason for
speaking, then it follows that we have to be articulate that is to say be able to say want we want to say and be able
to transmit this message to our audience. The speaker must then utilise the audible and visible signs involving the
physical component s of the body to communicate ideas.
It should be noted that speech is a form of human behaviour which utilizes the physical, psychological,
semantic, neurological and linguistic facts to transmit a message. This means that speech is one of the most
important instruments of social control and for that matter it should never be conceived just as the utterance of
sounds and words. Therefore in the process of making a speech the speaker must note the following:
• That it is a means of communicating ideas. This means that whenever we
speak, we must have ideas, information or feelings we want to exchange with
the other party. In other words one cannot speak for the sake of speaking;
he/she must have a message that they want to pass over to the audience.
• Speech is also important in the sense that it helps human beings to effectively
relate to one another in a social environment. That is to say whether it is a
public speech or a conversation, a speech helps one relate to other human
beings in a given context. For example, if one asks for directions from a
stranger, the act of asking ultimately creates a relationship between them.
• To communicate effectively, it is imperative that the speaker has a proper
understanding of what he/she wants to convey to the audience. This means
that the speaker must organise what he/she want to say. It has to do with basic
questions such as ‘do you greet first, do you start with the main point or not, do
you use local examples or hard language?’ when the speaker considers every
aspect of his/her speech, the possibility that they will be effective is high.
• It is not only important to consider the message you are delivering while
speaking, it is equally important to evaluate the effectiveness of your message
on the audience. It is important for the speaker to evaluate and analyse
feedback from the audience because this will help him/her to adjust his mode
of delivery for effectiveness. Watch out for signs of incomprehension, fatigue,
uneasiness, attention, agreement and so on from the audience. These will
guide you to know whether as a speaker, you are effective or not.
• To be an effective speaker, one must be aware of the principles and concepts

27
 underlying effective speaking in various situations in both the public and
private arenas. There are a number of these principles that the speaker can
utilize. These include adjustment of the voice to suit the occasion, tone and
intonation, use of gesture and many others.
• It should be noted that an audible and pleasant voice as well as good speech
techniques are an asset that one can utilize to make a living. For example, some
people are hired and given good jobs on the basis of how they can articulate
themselves. On the other hand public speakers are regularly hired to perform
at functions.
• Related to the above is the fact that good speaking skills are an absolute
necessity for advancement in a career. In professions like education, law and
mass communication, good speech skills is an essential in the career
advancement of an individual.
• To be an effective speaker, one should be able to adjust and adapt to the social
and physical surroundings of the speech context. A good speaker is that who
analyses the situation and changes accordingly. If the speech is late in the night
and the assumption is that people are tired, a good speaker is that who adjust
say the duration of his/her speech to fit in the context.
In spite of the many differences among different speakers and difference in skills and techniques given their
different social, economic and educational backgrounds, there are existing fundamental processes of oral
communication. This is because every time a person speaks the same set of elements come into play as they
interact with each other to produce a communicative event. This is as a result of a communicative event that
involves different people with unique needs and interests as speech extends both in time and space.Therefore, it is
important to examine each aspect separately and then putting them together because all the elements interact
dynamically to produce the total effect of the speech event. That is to say each element in some way affects all the
elements in what should be called the speech transaction process. These elements are the following.

The Speaker
Each speech transactions are shaped by four factors according to the speaker. It is worth noting that it is the
speaker who initiates the speech transaction. And because of this fact the onus is on him/her to make his/her
message to the audience clear. Therefore, the speaker as a factor in a speech transaction process must be analysed
on the following.
1. The speaker’s purpose in the starting point of any analysis of a speech event. It should be noted that each
speaker has a purpose of why he/she engages in a speech event. The purpose may be simple as the wish
to socialise or to put across a complicated theory about life. It could be a desire to advocate a course of
action or to alter cherished customs. It may be the need to entertain or all attention to a problem or for a
number of personal or public ends. What is important to note is that public speaking is a purposeful
action. And the purpose of the speech controls what and how it is said. Therefore, before one embarks on
a speech, such a person should be clear of what his/her purpose is in the process.
2. Speaker knowledge is also important in the speech event. The difference between an excellent speech and
a bad one is the level of mastery that the speaker has over his subject. It is not just the desire to speak,
but the quality of the information that the speaker passes over to the audience. If the speaker has
masterly of content, he/she will take the audience along. If he/she has surface knowledge of the content,
the audience will feel cheated. Coherence of the speech depends on what is said, the supporting material,
the logical arguments and the ability by the speaker to weave these into a spellbinding speech.
3. The speaker’s attitude to self is also important in the speech transaction process. If the speaker rates
him/herself highly, he/she is likely to come off as arrogant and proud. If the audience perceive such an
attitude from the speaker, they will be turned off, which will affect their reception of the message. On the
other hand, if he/she rates himself lowly, he will make him/herself appear ill at ease and lacking
confidence. This will make the audience non-receptive of the message. The key to effective speaking is the
ability for the speaker to project him/herself as someone who has to be listened to.
4. The speaker’s attitude to the audience also has an impact on the effectiveness of the speech. This is

28
 because his/her attitude to the listeners determines how and what he/she says. If the speaker is
patronising to the listeners, the listeners will resent being treated like children and will develop a negative
attitude to the speaker and the message. If he/she treats them with respect, they will accept him and take
in what he is telling them. However good your message is, the attitude that the listeners think the speaker
has towards them, determines how the speech is received.
5. The attitude of the speaker to the subject is also important in determining the effectiveness of the speech.
If the speaker is interested in the subject, this passion will be reflected in how he handles him/herself. The
enthusiasm will be passed over to the audience making them interested in the message. If the speaker is
not interested in the subject, the speech will be boring. For example, a Literature scholar talking about
his/her favourite writer will giving an interesting speech that will be enjoyed by even technology majors.
But the same speaker will fail miserable if he was to speak on architecture to the same audience.
Therefore, to speak effectively, choose a topic that you are interested in.
6. Another factor that has an impact on the effectiveness of a speech is the degree of credibility of the
speaker. The question in the minds of the audience is always: ‘does the speaker qualify to speak to them
about that topic,’ related to that is the question of whether the speaker has a sound track record that can
make the audience believe in him. In simple words, if a speaker has a history of lying, this history will have
an impact on how his message is received. For example, many people distrust politicians and do not
believe what they say because they always tell lies. Likewise, if the speaker had a bad record, this record
will have an impact on the effectiveness of his speech.

The Message
In all speech-communication processes the message plays an important role in the effectiveness of the message.
The message is evaluated in terms of the appropriateness of the content, structure and style to the audience. The
following are some of the issues to consider in the message in terms of how the message can lead to the
effectiveness of the speech event.
1. It is obvious that every message that is transmitted to an audience has content or is about something. The
content of a message includes information, data, ideas and your feelings, attitudes and interpretations of
the same ideas, information and ideas to the audience. This means that different kinds of meanings,
interpretations and analysis make up the content of the speech. Therefore, effective content is that which
addresses the needs of the audience. It should be a kind of content that is acceptable to the audience, in
terms of a course of action you want them to pursue or an attempt to challenge the beliefs that they have.
This means that the choice of what to talk about is very important if the speaker is to be effective.
2. It is true that content is important in a speech transaction process. But equally important is the way the
content is structured. Actually there is a saying that ‘it is not what is said but how it is said’ that makes a
speech effective. Structure of a speech refers to how it is organised. The speaker must provide a pattern
that the speech will follow if the audience is to understand him. He should organise his speech in terms of
what he/she will say first, secondly and possibly last. He/she could number his/her points or use
transitional phrases like firstly, next etc. The pattern could be simple or complex as the speaker may deem
necessary. Nevertheless, what is important is for the speaker to provide a recognisable pattern for the
benefit of the listeners.
3. Style in speech refers to the selecting and arrangement of words to be used in a speech. It also involves
the labelling of the speaker as a certain type of person. The speaker can choose to use a style that is
personal, impersonal, liberal, plain or philosophical. This will affect the vocabulary, the sentence structure,
the imagery etc. used to convey the impression of the speaker’s emotions, ideas, attitudes about the
subject. Note that the type of audience determines or should have an input in what style is chosen by the
speaker. It is useless to use a philosophical style on peasant and a simple style when talking to university
dons.

The Listener
Like the speaker, the listener is an important component in a speech transaction process. Listeners come to a
speech event with expectations, goals and purposes to be fulfilled by the speech. These always determine how
they receive and respond to the massage. It is important to consider the following when analysing a speech from
the point of view of the listener.

29
 1. The purpose of the listener to attend or to be part of the communication event must always be put
into consideration. The listener gets into a transaction in search for rewards. These could be a wish to
be entertained, informed, advised or guided. These constitute the expectations which in turn control
how they respond to the speech. If the speaker violates the expectations of the listeners, such a
speaker stands the chance of being ineffective. For example, if people have come to be entertained at
a concert, and someone starts telling them about salvation, as much as salvation is good, he/she will
be booed because such an audience is not expecting such a message. The other case can be an anti-
government crowd being told that the government is actually very good. Such a speaker risks being
pelted with stones because the purpose of the audience was not to be told that the government is
good. Therefore, to be an effective speaker, know what your audience expect and give it to them.
2. The listener’s knowledge and interest in the subject has an influence on how the message will be
received. The speaker should always endeavour to address the listener where ‘they are’. Where the
listeners are is determined by their interest and knowledge about the subject. An audience with little
knowledge about the subject is confused with technical terms, while a highly knowledgeable audience
is bored with an elementary speech. This calls for audience analysis of the audience by the speaker to
know exactly what they know and what they can appreciate. It also calls upon the speaker to gauge the
sophistication of the audience and choose the appropriate content to suit them.
3. The speaker is also at task to estimate the listening skills of the audience if he/she is to be effective in
his speech delivery process. The speaker must constantly survey the audience for signs of
understanding, puzzlement, of acceptance or rejection of the message. These are called feedback
reactions. At all times the speaker must ensure that the listeners are with him. This means that he/she
must be aware of the listener’s ability to listen to him/her effectively. The speaker must be creative and
mindful of what must be done to enhance effective listening. Variation of tone, voice and use of
humour can be effective. But more importantly beware of the length time a particular audience can
endure to listen effectively.
4. The attitude of the listener towards him/herself, the speaker and the subject has a significant impact
on the effectiveness of the message. This is because people seek messages and speakers are in
agreement with their point of view. Such messages and speakers will be listened to effectively and the
messages will be retained for longer that messages on subjects or speakers they do not like.

The Channel
All speech communication events are affected for better or worse by the channel through which the speech is
transmitted. The speech transaction process links the speaker and the listener through a particular channel.
Therefore, it is upon the speaker to choose the best channel to carry his message to the listeners depending on the
message and the audience that is targeted. The following are the most appropriate channels that the speaker can
choose from.
1. The verbal channel is that which uses the vocal chords and the manipulation of lips, mouth and teach to
produce sounds that carry the message to the listeners. This carries the words, phrases and sentences
that the message is encoded in. when using this channel the speaker can use the spoken or the written
form. At the speaker should also put in mind is that he/she should always choose the best words to pass
over his message and also either spell or pronounce them properly.
2. The other channel that the speaker can choose to use is the visual. This involves the use of pictorial forms
such as diagrams, charts, graphs and pictures. This is in line with the old Chinese saying that a picture is
worth a thousand words. Any speaker should utilise the visual forms of communication to enhance his
message.
3. The third channel that a speaker can choose to transmit his/her message in the aural. In linguistic terms
this is called the paralinguistic medium. It involves the variation of the voice, the tone and other voice
modulations by the speaker to drive home his message. In other words it is not what is said but how it is
said that determines the message that the listener gets. For example, if someone says you are stupid
while laughing, he may not mean that you are daft and you the listener may also not take it as an insult.
This is because the aural quality of the statement gives it a different meaning.
Note that an effective speech is one in which the speaker manages to integrate the three channels discussed about
in the transmission of the message. This is desirable because then, the different channels reinforce and

30
complement each other in making the message effective.

The Communicative Situation

All speech communication events to a larger extent are affected by the physical and social settings or context in
which they take place. In other words, where and atmosphere in which the speech is conducted matters a lot in
determining whether the message is effective or not. The communicative situation involves the physical and social
contexts.
1. The physical setting is believed influence the expectancy as well as the readiness of the listeners to listen
and respond to the speech. For example people waiting for the service in church have different
expectations from those in a theatre, so are those at a political rally. Whereas those at a political rally do
not mind external influence of noise, those in church and theatre will be put off if there is a lot of noise
interferences. In speech delivered at the road side does not give the speaker the same levels of
effectiveness as on that is delivered in a sound proof five star hotel conference room. It is upon the
speaker to choose a good physical location to deliver his/her speech if he /she is to be effective.
2. The social context refers the distinguishing features between the audience and the speaker. These features
could be educational, class, age, power or etiquette. The assumption that is to large extent true is that if
the speaker and the listener have certain things in common such an education, class or race, them the
listeners are more receptive to the speaker.

Skills for Effective Speech Making

Some people believe that speaking and oratory is a talent and people are born with the ability to speak well while
others are not. The truth though, is that as much as different people have different abilities, even though who are
not good at making speeches can improve on their abilities through practice and knowledge of those elements that
contribute to a good speech. Therefore, like it is possible to develop the writing skill, the speaking skill can also be
improved when attention is given to the following points.
1. Modulation of the voice is the first point that any speaker must take into consideration if his/her speech is
to be effective. Any speaker who wants to be effective must use his/her voice very well depending on the
venue of the speech and the audience he /she is addressing. The voice should not be too soft and not too
loud. If it is soft people will strain to follow what is being said and this will mean that the speech is not
effective. If it is too loud, they will be irritated and will channel the energy they have used to understand
what you were said to hate you. If you are going to use a public address system, be careful for wind
interferences that can be irritating to the listeners. In short use the right volume of voice that is suitable to
the audience and venue of the speech.
2. The choice of words is also important in effective speaking. The words that are to be used in a speech
should convey the message as simply and effectively as possible without any distortions. It is advisable to
use simply words that are understandable to all. Avoid words that have double meaning or those whose
pronunciations are complicated. For example beware of words like ‘hurt’ and ‘hut’. When you are to sue
such words be careful that it is the right pronunciation, otherwise the meaning will be lost.
3. Calmness and confidence is another important factor in successful and effective speech making. No
listener will take seriously a panicking and nervous speaker. So it pays to be calm, collected and confident
while giving a speech. Confidence comes with preparation of what you are going to say as well as
adequate knowledge of the content of the subject of the speech. If possible rehearse and revise the
speech before actually presenting it.
4. The other important factor that should be taken into consideration is the choice of an appropriate tone
suitable to the topic of discussion. The tone you adopt should be in line with the subject and context of
the speech. For example if you are talking at a funeral attempt to be calm, mournful, respectful and
serious. If you are a farewell party of a friend, be relaxed and humorous and not serious as if you were in
church or at a funeral.
5. To get endeared to the audience requires that you present yourself as simple and not pompous. It is better
to use simple language and sentence structures in the delivery of your speech. Try to appear like you are
one of them and avoid showing then audience that you are different from them. In fact try to make the
audience like and accept you as one of them. Show respect to your audience despite their educational and
social class they belong to. Whatever provocation never hurt the feelings of the audience by insulting or

31
 humiliating them in any way.
6. Make your speech coherent and as accurate as possible. Your points should be accurate, precise and to
the point. Do not beat about the bush. Avoid generalisations and structure your message in a simple and
logical sequence that the audience can follow easily. To ensure that your meaning is grasped by the
audience, use visual, aural and other extra linguistic features to drive home your points.
7. It is pays to be smart and presentable when giving a speech. Being smart and presentable does not mean
dressing fashionably and expensively. It means dressing in a way that reflects seriousness and
responsibility on your part. It should be a model of dressing that communicates to the audience that you
respect and take them seriously. Never dress provocatively as this diverts the attention from the speech
to your body and it is worse when you are woman.

Public Speaking
One of the many types of speaking is public speaking. This is a type of speech or speech context where the
speaking addresses a large audience. The term ‘large audiences’ is hard to define, but it essentially means a group
of people totalling over 20 and composed of different categories and characteristics. The limit is infinitive for
example a radio present can effectively speak to millions of people. In public speaking it is easy to conceive the idea
but very hard to deliver. One writer has said that: “speeches are like babies; easy to conceive but difficult to
deliver.” Basing on the above quotation, public speakers must consider the following to ease the difficulty of
delivering speeches.
1. To be an effective public speaker it is important for one to have the art of persuasion. This means that you
should be able to get people not only to listen to you but also to accept what you are telling them and
consequently modify their behaviour or way of thinking about issues being communicated.
2. The other strategy that the speaker must adapt is to use techniques that can enable him capture and
retain the attention of the audience from the start to finish during the speech. It is of no use to continue
talking if the audience is not paying attention. To capture and retain the attention of the audience, the
speaker can use both verbal and non-verbal dynamics such as gestures, telling stories, use of humour to
mention but a few in his speech.
3. The speaker must also know his audience. Knowledge of the audience will help him choose and arrange
the content of his/her speech in a manner that is effective. It also involves choice of appropriate language
and other speech techniques.
4. The speaker must be aware of the general tendency among people to resist change. This means that
he/she must be careful in cultivating them to believe or agree with his point of view. This involves the use
of the basics of persuasion such as appeal to authority, presentation of a scaring alternative if they do not
change to mention but a few.
5. There are cases when a speaker is faced with a hostile audience. For example if you were to give a speech
to staunch Catholics about contraceptives, it is plausible to assume that such an audience will be hostile to
your message. In such a situation a good speaker should gain entry by using something that is popular and
from there persuade the listeners to take on his point of view.
Factor to Consider in Public Speeches
For a speaker to give a good speech, he/she must be aware of the following components that inform the speech.
These are the following:
The speaker must be aware of and take care of the following factors to ensure that his/her speech is effective:
1. He/she should know the audience. This is in terms of the composition of and the characteristics of the
audience. For example, what is the dominant religion, tribe, are they educated or not and many other
issues. This will help him/her in the choice of the content, the language to use and the angle he/she is to
take during the speech.
2. The speaker must have effective command of the language. It is true that not everyone has the same

32
 command of language. But it is important that a speaker has a good grasp of the language. This is because
the message is delivered through language and therefore, if one cannot use the language effectively then
his/her message will fail to reach the audience.
3. The speaker must be aware of the techniques of public speaking. This may include the use of intonation,
gestures, using stories and many others. Acquisition of these techniques makes it very easy for the
speaker to pass over his/her message effectively.
4. The speaker must equally have a sense of organisation. This is both physical and mental. This has to do
with how he organises and structures his message. For example, what will come first, next and last. It
involves how he/she dresses, uses the stage and so forth. A well organised person motivates people to
listen to unlike someone who is disorganised.
5. The good speaker is that who has a sense of purpose. In other words the speech should clearly indicate
that is taking the audience to some place. Therefore, the speaker must clearly show the benefits that the
audience are going to gain in listening to him/her given that they have alternatives that they have
foregone. For example the speech may provide them with information, skills, and techniques or for pure
entertainment. Whatever, the reason the audience must clearly see the benefit of listening to the speaker.
Audience Analysis
Like the speaker, the audience is very important in the effectiveness of a speech. This means that the audience
must be evaluated by the speaker in terms of the following if his/her communication is to be effective.
1. The special interests of the audience must be put into consideration. In other words, the speaker must ask
him/herself is the speech is going to satisfy the interests of the audiences. This is accomplished when the
speakers ask questions such as: ‘why are they listening, what they want to achieve, how I can give them
what they want?’ Such questions will help the speaker understand the motivation of the audience in the
speech.
2. The speaker must also consider the level of formal education of the audience. This is important in the
sense that it helps him/her choose the most appropriate language and content as well as the sequencing
of this content for effective delivery of the message.
3. The size of the audience must also be taken into consideration. The speaker must measure the audience
and determine the best voice volume to use. For example if the audience is large- probably more than
1000 people in the hall, the speaker must speak loudly otherwise some will not hear. In the case were the
audience is small shouting at the top of one’s voice may instead irritate the audience. Therefore, the size
of the audience and the venue of the speech are important if the speech is to be effective.
4. The speaker must find out the cultural background of the audience. This is because cultural background
has an impact on the reception of the message. For example, if the audience was predominantly Muslim,
using images of dogs and pigs may offend them, and therefore, make them hostile to the speaker.
5. The other issue to consider are the interests of the audience. The speaker must ask him/herself what it is
that the audience what to hear, why they have foregone other activities to be in the meeting? These will
give the speaker an idea of what he/she should talk about and probably how. People who have a valid
reason to listen to the speaker are mostly likely to be attentive.

The Speech
The goal of public speaking is to impart knowledge. In this sense public speaking should be considered as a
‘teaching event’ where the audience has come to receive new, interesting and useful information. Therefore, the
speech itself is very important. The speaker must evaluate the speech in terms of:
1. The purpose of the speech. One should ask him/herself what it is that he/she wants to pass over to the
audience. Is he/she interested in providing information, changing attitudes and behaviour or entertain the
audience. It should be noted that the purpose determines whether the speech is effective or not and to a

33
 larger extent how it is presented.
2. The content of the speech is equally important. It should be noted that there are many topics that one can
talk about. But ultimately want is talked about during the speech should be determined by the purpose,
the nature of the audience and other facts deemed necessary for the speech to be effective.
3. Language is the most important aspect in speech delivery. For this matter the language that the speaker is
to use should be evaluated in terms of content, purpose and nature of the audience. If this is not done,
the speaker may deliver a wonderful speech which unfortunately his/her audience cannot understand.
4. The organisation and the structure of the speech is another critical area. This involves the manner of how
ideas are arranged and presented. The guiding principle in this case should be logic. The different parts
must be organised in such a way that one leads into the other.
The way the purpose, content, language and structure of a speech are conceived determine to a larger extent the
effectiveness of the speech. It does not matter whether it is a demonstrational speech in which the audience is
show how to do something to the audience, a description speech where the speaker is describing the properties or
characteristics of an object or an explanatory speech where a new and often abstract concept is being explained to
the audience, the above issues must be addressed.
Structuring a Persuasive Speech
Persuasive speeches are probably the most lively and emotional speeches that anyone can give. This is because a
good speech can convince the audience of a belief or a concept and in the process motivate them into action as
this new belief inspires and encourages them to change. For this to happen, the speaker must establish credibility
by careful use of language in the delivery of the speech. This is in the sense that the speech must show respect to
the audience, language and the purpose of speaking. For a persuasive speech to be effective it must be designed
using the following formants.
1. The problem-solution design is that where the speaker identifies a problem that the audience are not
aware of. After which the speech is structured in such a way that the speaker after introducing a problem
proceeds to give a solution to the problem
2. The statement-of-reason design is where it expected that the audience are aware of and agree with a
topic. However, they need more justification to change their minds or behaviour or perform the required
action. The speaker in this case introduce the fact that they agree on and then systematically give reasons
to support whatever course of action he/she wants.
3. The comparative –advantages design is where the audience is not clear of the many alternatives or
options they are to take. What the speaker does to facilitate their choices, is to compare and contrast the
advantages and disadvantages of the two possibilities.

Presentation Skills
A presentation is a means of communication that can be adapted to various speaking situations, such as talking to
a group, addressing a meeting or briefing a team. A presentation can also be used as a broad term that
encompasses other ‘speaking engagements’ such as making a speech at a wedding, or getting a point across in a
video conference. A presentation requires you to get a message across to the listeners and will often contain a
'persuasive' element. It may, for example, be a talk about the positive work of your organisation, what you could
offer an employer, or why you should receive additional funding for a project. Presentation skills are the skills you
need in delivering effective and engaging presentations to a variety of audiences. These skills cover a variety of
areas such as the structure of your presentation, the design of your slides, the tone of your voice and the body
language you convey. To be an effective presenter, step-by-step preparation and the method and means of
presenting the information should be carefully considered.

Planning your Presentation

It can be helpful to plan your presentation in terms of key steps, as follows:

34
a) Set your objective. A simple sentence can be a good means of defining your purpose in giving the presentation,
and will begin to determine the content.
(Objective is a short statement which tells what you plan to achieve. For example, you may plan that) Try to
complete the following sentence:
‘As a result of my presentation, my audience will be able to…..
i) Explain the methods of preventing HIV/AIDS.’

ii) See their role in interdisciplinary learning more clearly,

b) Decide what the main purpose of your talk is e.g;-

-to inform, persuade, motivate or change things.
-What do you want your audience to do as a result of your talk?

c) Understand your audience: Try and have a basic idea of the size of the audience and who they are. Think about
what they will be expecting from the presentation, but be realistic about this. Find out what level of knowledge
and experience those attending will have about your topic, so that you know where to aim the material. Is the
audience likely to have any preconceptions or misconceptions about the subject that you need to address and put
right? How might your audience use what you have to say?
d) Know your setting: Find out about the equipment –audiovisual aids etc. that will be available. Check out the
location of the presentation; the size of the room (to help you decide on type of seating arrangements), and other
facilities.
e) Write down the ‘central theme’ of the talk.
f) Write your outline: Ask yourself: What are the main points I need to make to get my message across? What
supporting information will I need? Where will I get this? How much time will I need?
g) Structure your talk.

Structuring Your Presentation

This is one of the most important aspects of the presentation. The structure should be clear to both you and your
audience. Develop your visual aids: For example, will you use a flipchart, whiteboard power point, overhead
projector or data projector etc. to clarify important points and aid understanding?
NB: Do not use too many slides/points.
Prepare your delivery notes, according to the structured outline.
Different authors advocate different formats for structuring a presentation, each of which has their merits (Hartley
and Bruckman, 2002; Hargie et al, 2004; Adler and Elmhorst, 1999).
The structure of a presentation should have an introduction, body and conclusion.

i) Introduction:
Through the introduction you should grab your audience’s attention and set the scene. Ways of getting your
audience’s attention include;
• asking a rhetorical or intriguing question,

• providing a relevant and interesting fact,

• giving an anecdote,

• outlining the valuable information you hope the audience will gain from the presentation,

• telling them why they need to know the information,

• giving a quote or making a dramatic prediction.

Your theme should be made clear from the start. Start the audience thinking about the subject matter of your
presentation by, for example, a statement of your main objective. It can also be helpful to present the structure to
your talk, by explaining briefly how you plan to proceed with it.

35
ii)The Main Body:
Select the main points that support your argument but only include as much detail as your audience needs. Also,
be aware that people will not remember too many points. Once you have decided on the key points, organize
them into a sequence that makes sense to you. This sequence may take various forms, including being
chronologically based, problem-solution based, simple-complex based etc. (Hargie et al, 2004; Adler and Elmhorst,
1999). Explain and build your points using supporting information and evidence.

iii) Conclusion:
There are various ways of concluding a presentation including; changing the pace, using a new visual aid,
summarizing your main points, drawing the conclusion and its importance, making recommendations, asking for
questions, getting feedback, asking for or recommending particular actions, getting some sort of commitment
from the group to the advocated course of action and finally end by thanking the group for their time and
attention.

Do not end suddenly. Give your audience some idea that you are coming to a close; eg. ‘And now, before I finish’
or ‘In conclusion’ etc. Try to end on a strong note through the use of tactics detailed above. Research has long
since shown that we tend to remember the opening and closing parts of a presentation over the detail in the
middle.

Delivery
DeVito (1990) outlines four main types of delivery:
1. Impromptu: This involves giving a talk with no prior planning, and is often the least preferred method.
Sometimes however, we do not have an opportunity to prepare and are called on to speak at short notice. Take a
few moments to write some key points down on a card to help give you some structure, and do not panic. Others
will be aware that you had only a short time to prepare. Also keeping the style relaxed and conversational, so that
it seems impromptu (even if this is not the case) can be a very effective style.
2. Extemporaneous: Extemporaneous speech is a “carefully prepared, but delivered without notes or text.” It is
speaking before a group on a topic you are familiar with, using very few notes. Extemporaneous speeches are
presentations that must be given without any notes or slides and with minimum preparation time, usually less
than 30 minutes. This involves cue cards or slides on which you summarize the main points which you then flesh
out.
3. Memorized: This approach involves learning and repeating a manuscript. This is more difficult when giving
longer presentations in that there is a lot of material to be memorized. However, a useful tip is to memorize the
first few lines to get you started.
4. Reading from a manuscript: It is sometimes referred to as Dictation. This involves speaking from a prepared
manuscript. However, while this can feel the safest option, it can also lead to the listeners to assume that you are
not very familiar with the topic/subject you are presenting

SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. Discuss Mulgrave's determinants of a good speech
2. How does the speaker, listener, channel and content determine the effectiveness of a speech?
3. Discuss how you can improve your public speaking performance. Give examples of how you can do this.
4. You have a colleague who is poor at making public speeches. Explain how you would coach such a
person to become an effective speaker?

36
 The Listening Skill

AIMS of the UNIT

⚫ By the end of this unit, the student should be able to discuss and evaluate the barriers to effective
listening
⚫ interrogate good listening practices

Introduction
Listening is a receptive skill of any language that is very important in communication. It is the process through
which people acquire information, knowledge and data from the speakers. The importance of listening is twofold.
On one hand, it enables people acquire information that they can later use in writing and speaking. On the other
hand they enable the audience participate fully in a communication event. However, listening is useful only if
people listen carefully and creatively; picking out positive aspects, problems, difficulties and tensions, is the most
fundamental skills in communication and therefore we should try to understand what can hinder listening, so as to
improve our listening skills.

The Theory of Listening

Active Listening is one of the communication skills that you will need to acquire here at university in order to
succeed in your studies. Various skills relate to Active Listening; these include note-taking, effective questioning,
non-verbal communication plus semantic markers. However, you will find that all these skills are relevant and
necessary in other sections of this text, such as reading skills, study skills etc. In study skills for instance, you have
covered some topics on note making.

Note taking is a crucial skill and one that we would encourage you to develop as early as possible in your studies.
It is very much about listening actively as opposed to passively. This means making sense of what you are listening
to at that particular point in time and keeping a record for yourself, a record that you can go back to later on,
whether for revising for examinations or for making links with later parts of the course.

Effective Questioning is another important skill under Active Listening that you need to acquire here. In order to
coordinate your study life and activities and the work of other people, most of the times you need to know more
of what other people are thinking, wanting, planning and you want to understand your lecturers’ explanations
thoroughly.

Nonverbal Communication is also one of the most important skills you need to master. It is comprised of various
important elements, such as good posture that will help you to concentrate more on the speaker and avoid other
distractions such as dozing, a talkative neighbour, etc. Likewise, it will give the speakers motivation to speak
because they know you are interested; gesture a non-vocal bodily movement is intended to express meaning. Be
aware of the gestures you show as you listen to others, such as nodding of the head, they help the speaker to
know if you are following the speech or conversation. In addition, observe speakers’ gestures, such as speech
related gestures; they are used to emphasize the message that is being communicated; eye contact is the meeting
of the eyes between two individuals. It is important to maintain eye contact with your lecturers and speakers, as
eye contact has a positive impact on the retention and recall of information and may promote more efficient
learning and finally, semantic markers, usually phrases that cue speakers’ gestures. Active listening requires,
taking full attention to even the small aspects, such as semantic markers. Small as they may appear, they play a
very significant role as they point out to the speaker’s meaning.

In order to benefit more during lectures and conversations in general, we require you to learn these skills and
develop them as early as possible. In so doing, you will acknowledge how easy it will be for you to acquire the
information you need to succeed in your studies. Active Listening requires the use of all these skills in every

37
learning context, both in the classroom and outside. Nevertheless, there are obstacles and / barriers to active
listening that you need to be aware of and know how to handle them when they arise.

In this chapter, you will learn about the skills that will help you become a successful active listener. These are
introduced above and discussed in detail below.

Outcomes
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
• Distinguish types of listening.
• Apply the appropriate type of listening in a listening situation.
• Take comprehensive and accurate notes.
• Ask questions more creatively and open-ended.
• Observe speakers’ nonverbal signals.
• Apply all necessary nonverbal skills in every listening situation.
• Maintain eye contact with conversational partners.
• Maintain good posture when listening to speakers.
• Recognize different types of barriers to active listening

WHAT IS ACTIVE LISTENING?

Active listening is a structured way of listening and responding to others. It focuses attention on the speaker.
Active listening is intent to "listen for meaning". Active Listening encompass three major important points:

• 1. Purpose
When interacting, people often are not listening attentively to one another. They may be distracted, thinking
about other things, or thinking about what they are going to say next, (the latter case is particularly true in
conflict situations or disagreements).

Suspending one’s own frame of reference and suspending judgment are important in order to attend fully to
the speaker.

• 2. Tactics
It is important to observe the other person's behaviour and body language. Having the ability to interpret a
person's body language allows the listener to develop a more accurate understanding of the speaker's words.
Having heard, the listener may then paraphrase the speaker’s words. It is important to note that the listener
is not necessarily agreeing with the speaker—simply stating what was said. In emotionally charged
communications, the listener may listen for feelings. Thus, rather than merely repeating what the speaker has
said, the active listener might describe the underlying emotion (“You seem to feel angry” or “You seem to feel
frustrated, is that because…?”).

Individuals in conflict often contradict one another. This has the effect of denying the validity of the other
person’s position. Either party may react defensively, or they may lash out or withdraw. On the other hand, if
one finds that the other party understands, an atmosphere of cooperation can be created. This increases the
possibility of collaborating and resolving the conflict.

In the book Leader Effectiveness Training, Thomas Gordon states, "Active Listening is certainly not complex.
Listeners need only restate, in their own language, their impression of the expression of the sender…. Still,
learning to do Active Listening well is a rather difficult task..."

38
• 3. Use
Active listening is used in a wide variety of situations, including tutoring, medical workers talking to patients,
HIV counselling, helping suicidal persons, management, counselling and journalistic settings. In groups, it may
aid in reaching consensus. It may also be used in casual conversation to build understanding, though this can
be interpreted as condescending.
The benefits of active listening include getting people to open up, avoiding misunderstandings, resolving
conflict and building trust. In a medical context, benefits may include increased patient satisfaction,
improving cross-cultural communication, improved outcomes, or decreased litigation.

TYPES OF LISTENING:
There are two major types of listening, informational and reflective.

• 1. Informational Listening
The process of informational listening focuses on the ability of an individual to understand a speaker’s
message. It is a huge part of everyday life, and failing to understand the concept of informational listening can
be very detrimental to one's contribution to society, and indeed, detrimental to quality of life in general. Much
of the listening people engage in on a regular basis, falls under the blanket of listening for information. In the
office, people listen to their superiors for instructions about what they are to do. At school, students listen to
teachers for information that they are expected to understand for quizzes and tests. In all areas of life,
informational listening plays a huge role in human communication.

• 2. Reflective listening
This is a communication strategy involving two key steps: seeking to understand a speaker's idea, then offering
the idea back to the speaker, to confirm the idea has been understood correctly. It attempts to "reconstruct
what the client is thinking and feeling and to relay this understanding back to the client". Reflective listening is
a more specific strategy than the more general methods of active listening. It arose from Carl Rogers' school of
client-centred therapy in counselling theory.

When listening for information, you need to remember the purpose for which you are listening. This requires
you to distinguish between the following subcategories of informational and reflective listening: discriminative,
critical or evaluative, therapeutic or empathic, appreciative and self-listening.

Discriminative listening covers the conscious reception of all pertinent auditory and visual stimuli. This may
include listening for comprehension where, basic efforts on the part of the listener to retain and understand a
speaker’s message are necessary.

Critical or evaluative listening describes situations where the listener makes judgments about the speaker’s
message. As such, critical listening often accompanies persuasive speaking. The critical listener attends closely to
such matters as speaker and evidentiary source credibility and the structure of and support for the speaker’s
arguments.
In contrast, therapeutic or empathic listening emphasizes understanding a message from the speaker’s
perspective in situations where the speaker needs to be heard or talk through an issue. In these moments, the
listener provides the minimum necessary direction for the speaker’s perspective to be clear. Counselling and
psychology provide excellent exemplars of this type of listening.

Appreciative listening occurs when we listen for enjoyment, aesthetics, or sensory impressions, such as consuming
a television sit-com or occupying ourselves with music.

Self-listening often gets neglected, but conscious engagement with one's own physical reactions, attitudinal biases
and prejudices, or mental markers while listening comprises a helpful listening category. Such reflection mostly

39
takes place in one’s head, but still requires conscious application techniques similar to those one would apply
while listening to the talk of another person.

Now that you understand what Active Listening is, it is time to look at the various skills that make up Active
Listening; these include; note-taking, effective questioning and non-verbal communication. Let us look at these
skills one by one.

Note-taking
Note taking is one of the active listening skills that you will need to acquire in order to record accurately what you
hear in lectures. However, you will find that this skill is relevant and necessary in other chapters of this text, such
as reading skills, study skills etc. In study skills for instance, you have covered some topics on note making. It is
important that you learn the difference between note making and note taking.

Note taking is a crucial skill and one that we would encourage you to develop as early as possible in your studies. It
is very much about listening actively as opposed to passively. This means making sense of what you are listening
to at that particular point in time and keeping a record for yourself, a record that you can go back to later on,
whether for revising for examinations or for making links with later parts of the course. Therefore, taking notes
does not imply simply taking things down more or less word for word, of what the speaker says. Rather, it is a
selection and it needs to be organised and it will include the most important or interesting parts of the lecture that
you have been listening to.

Active Listening requires concentration, you need to give all your attention to the lecturer and where appropriate,
you have to summarize and reflect on what they say. You also need to be aware of the factors that may be
personal and environmental that can interfere with your ability to receive and interpret signals. These may include,
among other things, clarity of speech, noise outside the room and room temperature.

How to Take Notes1

Trying to get everything down is very time consuming. One way of both cutting down the time spent taking notes
and keeping them to an appropriate length is to make use of symbols, shorthand and abbreviations. You might
already know some, to which you can add others that you make up throughout your time as a student. We use a
whole range of symbols and abbreviations some of which are reproduced right.
In addition, we use our own form of shorthand, which sometimes entails leaving out vowels or cutting off the end
of words. This method is particularly effective where longer words are concerned. For example, concentrated
becomes cone, advantage and disadvantage become adv. and disadvantage. Respectively, and consequently
becomes consequence. Developing your own version that makes sense to you can be extremely time efficient and
after a while it becomes a language of your own which flows from the pen easily.

How to Organise Notes

Organising notes happens after the lecture, as soon as you find time. You can make notes in an organised way that
is useful to you in several ways. We encourage you to use the Cornell Note Taking System (refer to Study Skills
Chapter, Note Taking section), identify of a list of key points and draw a diagram. Apart from using the Cornell
Note Taking System to organise notes, you can use it during the actual process of taking notes from the lecturers.
However, the following two strategies also work:
1. Identify for yourself a list of key points; probably no more than five or six, that is what we would imagine
from an hour lecture. Then under each of those, you might put some subsidiary points or examples that
illustrate what these main points are and so in that way you are organising your notes as you make them

40
 and when you come back to them, they are much easier to understand and they are much easier to
remember later on.
2. Draw a diagram. You need to have a piece of paper on which you will draw circles or boxes and put some
of the central questions or themes into the shapes. Then make links between ideas in one circle and
another big idea in a different circle. You could have little subsidiary circles that make further links. (See
diagram below). The emphasis is to identify some sort of pattern or organization.

In this section, the emphasis is on taking notes using your own words, using your own thoughts in that process, but
it is also important that you keep reflecting on how you take notes. It is also important to develop a formula that
works for you. As you keep on refining that process, you will realize that the notes you are taking towards the end
of this course, are rather different from the notes you are taking now.

In order to check your progress in acquiring the note taking skill, you need to sit down and do some self-
evaluation. Here are some activities that you can start with:
1. Take your notebooks and check your notes; whether you have incomplete sentences and instances where
the logic in the sentence is lost.
2. After that, you should check how short your notes are. Your notes need to be short, because it will be
easy for you to revise as you prepare for examinations, long notes are tedious.
3. While looking at your notes, ask yourself the following questions:
o Do I use abbreviations and symbols when taking notes?
o What formula do I use to organise my notes?
4. If you do not have a formula that you use to organise the notes, this probably means that you have not
revisited your notes. Ask yourself; when was the last time I revisited my notes.

Take the notes that you evaluated above and this time, meet in your groups and do the following:
1. Compare the different ways each one has used to organise the notes.
2. Compare the central question or themes each one has extracted from the notes.
3. Compare if you have similar subsidiary points.
4. Debate on the issues in 2 and 3 and come up with the best central questions or themes and subsidiary
points.
5. Write the central themes and subsidiary points individually in your notebooks. These are your main
ideas from that lecture.

41
Note taking is one of the skills in active listening. It is a crucial skill and one that develops over time. In this section,
among other things, you have learnt how to keep up with the lecturers’ speed, by using abbreviations, taking the
important parts of the lecture and avoid copying word for word. You have also learnt how to organise your notes
using the Cornell Note Taking System, identification of the main points and drawing a diagram. It is very important
to keep practicing using the ideas spelt out in this section in order to perfect your note taking skill. This will help
you excel in your studies.

Effective Questioning
As we wrestle with each new challenge in life, we ask others and ourselves a continuous stream of questions.
Asking questions is one of the main ways that we try to get a grip on whatever is going on, but we are usually not
very conscious of the quality of questions we ask. Asking questions is one of the important skills within Active
Listening. Asking questions helps you to focus or concentrate more on what the speaker is saying; it helps you
when making a summary of what you heard, when reflecting and interpreting the material. However, not all
questions can help you get the information you are looking for. In this section, you will look at closed questions
and open-ended questions and see which ones you need to attach great value. There are two major categories of
questions:

CLOSED QUESTIONS
Closed questions are those that invite yes/no responses. People usually ask these types of questions but actually,
they tend to shut people up rather than letting them open up.

Compare the following two questions:

1. “Did you like the food/movie/speech/doctor?”
2. “How did you like that food/movie/speech/doctor?”

The first one is an example of closed question. It requires you to answer either yes or no. The second one is an
example of open-ended question and it will evoke a more detailed response than the first one.

Also, consider the difference between two versions of the same question, as each might occur in a conversation
between two people in a close relationship:
1. “Well, honey, do you want to go ahead and rent that apartment we saw yesterday?”
2. “Well, honey, how do you feel about us renting that apartment we saw yesterday?”

The first version suggests a “yes” or “no” answer, it however, favours “yes” and does not invite much discussion. A
person hearing such a question may feel pressured to reach a decision, and may not make the best decision.

Both versions imply a suggestion to rent the apartment, but the second question is much more inviting of a wide
range of responses. Even if our goal is to persuade, we cannot do a good job of that unless we address our
listener’s concerns, and we would not understand those concerns unless we ask questions that invite discussion.
When you are under time pressure, it is tempting to push people to make yes/no decisions. Nevertheless, pressing
forward without addressing people’s concerns has played a key role in many on-the-job accidents and
catastrophes.

OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
Open-ended questions are those that allow for a wide range and detailed responses. Using open-ended questions
in your studies here and life in general could help you in:
• solving problems in a way that meets more of everyone’s needs,
• getting to know and understand subjects better and people around and
• Creating richer and more satisfying conversations, both academic and social.

42
In the sub-section above you have come across two examples of open-ended questions. Below, are more examples
of open-ended questions:
• “How comfortable are you with Plan B?”
• “How could I modify this proposal to meet more of your requirements?”
• “What kind of information do you need in order to go forward?”
• “What do you think about moving the office to the Aquaculture department?”
• “How are you feeling about all of this?”
• “How ready are you to ...?”

• ASKING QUESTIONS MORE CREATIVELY

What sort of questions are truly worth asking? When we ask questions, we are using a powerful language tool to
focus conversational attention and guide our interaction with others. Nevertheless, many of the questions we have
learned to ask are totally fruitless and self-defeating. Such as this question asked by a parent to a pregnant teen;
“Why!? Why have you done this to us?” In general, it will be more fruitful to ask “how” questions about the future
rather than “why” questions about the past, but there are many more creative possibilities as well. Of the billions
of questions we might ask, not all are equally fruitful or illuminating; not all are equally helpful in solving problems
together.

Learning to ask conscious, fruitful questions of others, of oneself, and about one’s situation or task, is an important
part of the training of many professionals: psychotherapists, engineers, architects, mathematicians, doctors and
others. All of these groups ask deeply penetrating questions. They do so in order to apply a body of knowledge to
solve problems in a way that respects the unique elements of each new situation, person, piece of land, broken
leg, canyon to be bridged, and so on.

QUESTION ASKING: A TOOL FOR EVERYONE!

The many examples of exploratory questions given by Donald Schön in The Reflective Practitioners, suggest that we
use questions to make a kind of ‘space’ in our minds for things we do not know yet (in the sense of understand), or
have not decided yet, or have not invented yet, or have not discovered yet. “Hmmm,” an architect might think,
“how could we arrange this building so that it follows the contour of the land?” The answer will involve a complex
mix of discovering, inventing, understanding and deciding, all pulled together partly by the creative power of the
question.

This thinking process is easier to imagine when we use visual examples, such as designing a house to blend into a
hillside (but not cause a landslide!). However, these same elements are present in all our problem-solving
activities. Asking questions can allow us to start thinking about the unknown, because questions focus our
attention, and provide a theme for continued exploration. Questions are like the mountain climber’s hook-on-the-
end-of-a-rope: we throw the hook into the unknown, and we pull ourselves into the future. However, we need to
learn how and where to throw, so that we pull ourselves into a better future.

Asking conscious, creative and exploratory questions is not just for professionals; it is for all of us as students. We
are each engaged in the process of trying to build a better life, a better student, a better family, a better
workplace, a better world, etc. We can apply in our studies some of the styles of creative questioning that
engineers use to build better bridges, psychotherapists use to help their clients and negotiators use to reach
agreements.

As far as we know, there is no straightforward set of rules about how to ask questions, which are more helpful or
more tuned to the needs of a particular situation. However, you can get an intuitive sense of how to do it by
studying a wide range of creative questions. The seminar activity below will give you a chance to try out some of
your best questions ever asked.

43
 SELF STUDY ACTIVITY:
Open Ended Questions

In order to practice and gain success in the skill of writing open-ended questions we would like you to complete
the following tasks:
1. Take each of these examples of open-ended questions and rewrite each question as an open-ended
question that includes some content from your life:
• “How comfortable are you with Plan B?”
• “How could I modify this proposal to meet more of your requirements?”
• “What kind of information do you need in order to go forward?”
• “What do you think about moving the office to the Aquaculture department?”
• “How are you feeling about all of this?”
• “How ready are you to ...?”

The list of questions presented below contains the most intense and creative questions we have been able to find,
drawn from the works of many deep question-askers. Next to each question in the table below, we have given the
field in which the question was encountered.
• In your groups, take each question on the list and imagine a situation in your life in which you might ask
that question. (In real life, it works better if you let people know what kind of conversation you want to
have, before you start a conversation that includes challenging questions or intimate inquiries.)
• As a group brainstorm on possible situations then,
• Each member of the group should come up with their own answers,
• Compare your answers and appreciate the similarities and differences that may have been generated.

When and where you could ask

Question Source Fields these questions in your own
life
1. How does this feel to me?
Gestalt therapy and general
psychotherapy.
2. What (am I/are you)
experiencing right now?
3. How could I have done that
differently? How could you
have done that differently? General psychotherapy
4. What could (I / you) learn
from this... (situation, mistake,
painful experience)?
5. What kind of explanations do
I give myself when bad events Martin Seligman’s research on
happen? learned helplessness, optimism
6. How easy would it be for me and explanatory style 6.
to view this difficult situation as
temporary, specific to one Conflict resolution,
location and partly the result of Negotiation and management.
chance?

44
7. What is the most important
thing that I want in this
situation?
8. What solutions might bring
everyone more of what they
want?

Asking questions is one of the skills that you would need here in order to get other people to clarify their points
and explain more. However, not every question brings up these results. Some questions, closed questions, tend to
shut people up. If you are fond of using closed questions, this is the time to realize that they will only waste your
precious time here and elsewhere. Go for the open-ended questions that open people up. These are the questions
to which you should attach great value. Remember, questions are like the mountain climber’s hook-on-the-end-of-
a-rope: we throw the hook into the unknown, and we pull ourselves into the future. However, we need to learn
how and where to throw, so that we pull ourselves into a better future! Asking questions is everyone’s tool, it is
your tool; grab it now! You will see how it will help you succeed!

Nonverbal Communication
Another important aspect of active listening is nonverbal communication (NVC). NVC is usually understood as the
process of communication through sending and receiving wordless messages. NVC can be communicated through
gesture and touch, by body language or posture, by facial expression and eye contact. NVC can be communicated
through object communication such as clothing, hairstyles or even architecture, symbols and info-graphics.
Humans send and interpret such signals unconsciously. Speech contains nonverbal elements known as
paralanguage, including voice quality, emotion and speaking style, as well as prosodic features such as rhythm,
intonation and stress. Dance is also regarded as a nonverbal communication. Likewise, written texts have
nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words, or the use of emoticons.

Posture
Posture can be used to determine a participant’s degree of attention or involvement, the difference in status
between communicators, and the level of fondness a person has for the other communicator. Posture is
understood through such indicators as direction of lean, body orientation, arm position, and body openness.

Studies investigating the impact of posture on interpersonal relationships suggest that mirror-image congruent
postures, where one person’s left side is parallel to the other’s right side, leads to favourable perception of
communicators and positive speech; a person who displays a forward lean or a decrease in a backwards lean also
signify positive sentiment during communication.

Leaning forward also helps you to concentrate more on the speaker and avoid other distractions such as dozing or
a talkative neighbour. Likewise, it gives the speaker motivation to speak because they know you are interested. In
this way, you both benefit from the communication. In order to listen actively, try leaning forward. This way you
will be physically and psychologically active in every lecture you take and you will excel in your studies.

Gesture
A gesture is a non-vocal bodily movement intended to express meaning. Gestures may be articulated with the
hands, arms or body, and include movements of the head, face and eyes, such as winking, nodding, or rolling ones’
eyes.

Gestures can also be categorised as either speech-independent or speech-related. Speech-independent gestures

are dependent upon culturally accepted interpretation and have a direct verbal translation. A wave hello or a
peace sign are examples of speech-independent gestures. Speech related gestures are used in parallel with verbal
speech; this form of nonverbal communication is used to emphasize the message that is being communicated.

45
Semantic markers
Usually the speaker will make it clear which ideas s/he wishes to emphasize by the way in which s/he present
them. In other words, the main ideas are cued. The speaker does something (a facial expression and /or gesture)
that points out to her/his meaning. This guides the listener on the action they must take. Semantic markers are
usually phrases that cue speakers’ gestures. For example,
• I would like to emphasize ...
• The general point you must remember is…
• It is important to note that…
• I repeat that…
• The next point is crucial to my argument…

Often also, examples and points of lesser importance are cued. The speaker may use such phrases as,
• Let me give you some example…
• For instance…
• I might...
• To illustrate this point…

Active listening requires noticing even the smallest aspects of communication such as semantic markers. Small as
they may appear they play a very significant role in pointing out the speaker’s meaning.

Eye Contact
Eye contact is the meeting of the eyes between two individuals. The study of the role of eyes in nonverbal
communication is sometimes referred to as oculesics. Eye contact can indicate interest, attention and involvement.
Gaze comprises the actions of looking while talking, looking while listening, amount of gaze, and frequency of
glances, patterns of fixation, pupil dilation, and blink rate. In human beings, eye contact is a form of nonverbal
communication and is thought to have a large influence on social behaviour. Eye contact plays a role in effective
communication.

Communicating attention
A person's direction of gaze may indicate to others where his or her attention lies. Everyone knows what attention
is. It is the taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously
possible objects or trains of thought. Focalization, concentration and consciousness are of its essence. It implies
withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others, and is a condition which has a real opposite
in the confused, dazed, scatter-brained state which in French is called distraction.

Facilitating learning
Recent studies suggest that eye contact has a positive impact on the retention and recall of information and may
promote more efficient learning. We get useful information from the face when listening to someone.

Good posture, paying attention to speakers’ gestures and semantic markers and looking into the speaker’s eyes,
facilitate and promote learning. Paying attention to what your lecturer and/or speaker is saying and doing is key to
success in your studies and life in general.

Barriers to Effective Listening

All elements of communication, including listening, may be affected by barriers that can impede the flow of
conversation between individuals. It is important for you to know the barriers to listening, so that you are able to
deal with them. The following are the major types of barriers to listening: shift response, interrupting, glazing over,
pseudo listening, ambushing and content-only response.

46
Shift Response
Shift response occurs when one competes for attention in a conversation by changing the subject in order to
favour oneself. The opposite of this occurrence is support response, which is constructive to appropriate listening.
Both genders use shift response in conversation, but men utilize shift response more often than women. The
overuse of this practice is an obstacle to competent listening because it leads to conversational narcissism, which
marks inefficiency in the ability to share interest in the others’ topics in conversations because of an excess of shift
response and a deficiency of support response.

Interrupting
Interrupting is something we all do. It's natural for listeners to evaluate a speaker, but our impressions should not
interfere with our listening. The content (what the speaker is saying) should be judged on its own value to you and
the speaker. Sometimes you may be tempted to tune out the speaker because of his or her appearance. If an
instructor is sloppily dressed and careless about their appearance, you may conclude that what is being said isn't
worth listening to. Avoid the temptation and do not let your personal feelings interfere with your learning.

Glazing Over
Glazing over occurs when the listener’s attention wanders, dozes off or daydreaming begins.

Pseudo Listening
This happens when someone pretends to listen during a conversation and attempts to disguise inattention. Typical
responses include “Mm-Hmm”, “Really?”, and “Uh huh”. During this time of inattention, the pseudo listener is
unfocused, therefore, it can be very frustrating for the speaker.

Ambushing
Ambushing is an example of negative listening in which the listener ignores the strength of the message, instead
looking for weaknesses in order to attack what the speaker says. Although the listener is attentive, the problem
stems from the fact that responses are rebuttals and refutations of the speaker’s message.

Content-Only Responses
This type of response occurs when one focuses on the content of the message, but ignores the emotional side. This
type of response does not recognize feelings and comprehends only the literal meaning of messages.

1. Make a copy of the following list. After the next lecture, decide if the behaviour described in the first column is
true of you. Yes answers indicate the need for a change in your behaviour in order to be a better listener and
overcome common barriers.

I usually think of this class as boring. YES NO

I pretended to be paying attention. YES NO
I didn't like the instructor's mannerisms (e.g. pacing, phrasing, cough). YES NO
I tried to make notes on everything that was said in class. YES NO
I tried to write my notes in complete sentences. YES NO
The subject for this class was way too difficult for me. YES NO
Some personal problems kept my mind busy during the lecture. YES NO
I didn't waste paper in copying down information from the chalkboard or the
YES NO
overhead transparencies
I was really angry about something the instructor said in class YES NO

47
 I definitely enjoyed distractions (e.g. late student, books falling) more than the
YES NO
lecture.
I spent much of the lecture having a good daydream. YES NO
I didn't really understand the lecture but asking questions is not my thing. YES NO

2. In order to gain success in acquiring good posture, maintaining eye contact and paying attention to speakers’
gestures, here is evaluation exercise that you can try out. Next time you attend a lecture, ask yourself the
following questions:
• Am I seated appropriately (congruent) and close enough to the lecture/speaker?
• Am I leaning forward?
• Am I able to see the lecture’s face really well?
• Am I maintaining eye contact with the lecture/speaker?
• Have I focused all my attention on the speaker’s message?
• Am I acknowledging the points in the speech non-verbally; nodding when I am following or shaking
my head when I cannot follow?
• Am I actively responding to questions and directions?

All questions above require you to have a ‘Yes’ response. However, if you have a ‘No’ response to some of the
questions, list them down. In your free time, before another lecture if possible, try to identify any problems
that made it difficult to do what you were supposed to do.
• After identifying the problems, sit down and try to find some workable solutions for each of the
problems.
• Before the following lecture, go through the list of solutions to remind yourself.
• During the lecture, apply all the solutions to the problems.
• After the lecture, sit down and check how it all worked out.
• Continue this evaluation exercise, until you are able to answer ‘Yes’ to all questions above, after each
and every lecture.

This is a constant evaluation exercise. If you get into the habit of doing this, you will acknowledge how easy it is to
listen meaningfully to lectures and gain success in your studies!

• Summary
In this chapter, you have learnt about the skills that will help you become a successful active listener. Note taking is
one of the skills in active listening. It is a crucial skill and one that develops over time. In this chapter, among other
things, you have learnt how to keep up with the lecturer’s speed, by using abbreviations, taking the important
parts of the lecture and avoid copying word for word. Also by now, you have learnt how to organise your notes
using the Cornell Note Taking System, identification of the main points and drawing a spider diagram.

In addition, question asking has been discussed. It is also one of the skills that you need, in order to get other
people clarify their points and explain more. However, not every question brings up these results. Some questions,
closed questions, tend to shut people up. It is clear from this chapter that you need to go for the open-ended
questions that open people up. These are the questions to which you should attach great value. Also most
importantly, is to learn how and where to throw the questions, so that we pull ourselves into a better future!

Furthermore, good posture, paying attention to speakers’ gestures and semantic markers and looking into the
speaker’s eyes, facilitate and promote learning. These are some aspects of nonverbal communication that we have
covered in this chapter. Emphasis has been put on paying attention to what your lecture and/ speaker is saying
and doing as it is key to success in your studies and life in general. This is why we have listed the common

48
obstacles/barriers to listening; by being aware of the barriers that exist in conversational situations, one is able to
avoid them and/or find remedies. In order to succeed in your studies, you need to employ all the aspects of Active
Listening discussed in this chapter as these aspects do not work in isolation!

• EDUCATION – FOR WHAT?

There are three kinds of education in Africa. There is the old tradition; there are the remains of the colonial
schooling, which varied according to the way the European power, saw African requirements; and there is the
post-Independence attempt to find an education suitable for the needs of modern Africa.

In all tribal communities, as well as passing on skills, traditional education transmitted values of loyalty, unity and
respect for elders or those above one in an organization. From an early age, the child was taught to maintain the
correct relationship with others, the dead as well as the living. (The interdependent relationship between the living
and the ancestors was constantly emphasized because it formed the basis of our religion).

The unity and interest of society as a whole were central to our philosophy of life. Land ownership was communal,
although land use and grazing were practiced individually. However, there was an insistence in sharing what was
available as widely as possible.

This traditional form of education had the advantage of preparing a child for life in the community; in general, it
did not encourage him to be ambitious or independent or teach him the needs of the modern world. In the
colonial years, the mission schools taught the kind of things that children in Europe were taught, and these often
had little to do with African needs. In Nyerere’s world, colonial education was ‘motivated by a desire to inculcate
the values of the colonial society and to train individuals for the service of the colonial state’.

The state interest in education in Malawi was in those days based on the needs for cheap labour for the
plantations, mines and manufacturing industries within the three British colonies of Malawi, Zambia and
Zimbabwe (then called Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia respectively): hence the
comparatively well-developed primary school education system.

The secondary school system was much smaller, dictated mainly by the need for local clerks and junior officials.
There was thus a heavy emphasis on subservient attitudes and white –collar skills. Yet paradoxically, the products
of these schools tended to be indoctrinated with ideas of superiority and elitism, thus dividing them from the mass
of the people.

In sum, the kinds of education provided, served the purpose of disengaging young people from traditional
economy, which was self-sufficient, and pushing them into the labour market.

In the post-Independence era, African needs are being rethought. Not all African countries approach the problem
of education from the same point of view, but they all share very similar practical concerns. For example, how
many universities should a country have, when half of the age group may not gain formal education at all? Highly
trained engineers are needed for the countries power stations and industries, yet Africa also needs men skilled in
the relatively simple skills of wooden bridge construction, laying roads, building houses, servicing vehicles and
railway locomotives, and so on. Civil servants especially need a good secondary education if they are to deal with
matters ranging from organising finance for a new agricultural scheme to collecting information for government
approval of a new road system. To respond to these needs, a developing continent must clearly be practical.

While an expanding education system is therefore necessary, it also has drawbacks. In many countries in Africa,
secondary and college education means that young people have to leave rural areas for the towns, and later, as

49
men, they are not returning to work on the farms and produce the food: the opportunities, amenities and leisure
attractions of the towns are too tempting. Thus, a huge country like Nigeria is currently a net importer of food. It is
for reasons like this that, in Malawi, attempts have been made to develop education in the rural areas.

2. Question Asking
(a) Adapt each of the following yes/no questions into an open-ended question.
(i) On talking with a person who looks disappointed...)
“So you didn’t like that, huh?”
(ii) (A pilot to a new co-pilot...)
“Did you know how to fly this thing?”
(iii) (A nurse to a patient...)
“Have you been taking your medication?”
(iv) (Parent to teen...)
“Don’t you think it would be better if you did your homework first?”

(b) Write down what problems could arise from each of the yes/no questions above.

(c) Create a table with two columns and in the 1st column record ten yes/no questions that you have
encountered in your life that would have been better stated as open-ended questions. Record your open-
ended question next to each yes/no question in the 2nd column.

Listening Barriers
On-off listening is the first barrier to effective listening. This comes from the fact that most people think four times
faster than the average person can speak. Thus the listener has about ¾ minute “space thinking time” in each
minute of listening. Sometimes she/he uses this extra time to think about her/his own personal affairs and
troubles instead of listening, relating and summarizing what the speaker has to say. This can be overcome by
paying attention to more than just the speech, but also watching body language like gestures, hesitation and other
extra linguistic aspects demonstrated by the speaker.
The second barrier to effective listening is red-Flag listening. To some people, certain words are like a red flag to a
bull. When they hear them, they get upset and stop listening. Some words are so “loaded” that they tune out the
speaker immediately. The listener loses contact with the speaker and fails to develop an understanding that with
the speaker.
Open ears – closed mind listening is another barrier to effective listening. Sometimes “listeners” look at people
intently, and seem to be listening although their minds may be on other things or far away. They drop back into the
comfort of their own thoughts. They get glassy-eyed, and often a dreamy or absent-minded expression appears in
their faces. If we notice many participants looking glassy-eyed in sessions, we have to find an appropriate moment
to suggest a break or change in pace.
Too-deep-for I listening is a situation when listening to ideas that are too complex and complicated, we often need
to force ourselves to follow the discussion and make a real effort to understand it. Listening and understanding
what the person is saying, might result in us finding the subject and the speaker quite interesting. Often if one
person does not understand, others do not either and it can help the group to ask for clarification or an example if
possible.
Don’t-rock-the-boat listening is another barrier to effective listening. People do not like to have their favourite
ideas, prejudices, and points of view overturned; many do not like to have their opinions challenged. So, when a
speaker says something that clashes either with what they think or believe as right or acceptable, they may
unconsciously stop listening or even become defensive. Even if this is done unconsciously, it is better to listen and
find out what the speaker thinks, in order to get the other side of the question.
Therefore, when people are listening they should try to avoid the pitfalls to effective listening that are discussed

50
above. They should adopt the following good listening behaviour and minimise the negative listening behaviour
listed below. A positive listener will show interest in the speaker and subject of discussion. He/she will try to be
understanding and express empathy to the speaker. If there is anything you do not agree with note it down and
bring it up during the time of question. And lastly try to cultivate the ability to be silent when silence is necessary.
On the negative side avoid the following bad behaviours of listening. These are: do not rush the speaker, argue with
the speaker in the course of the speaker, and interrupt as he/she speaks as this will derail him/her from the speech.
Never pass judgment too quickly in advance and give advice unless it is requested by the other person and never
jump to conclusions about the speech. Absorb all the speaker has to say and if there is anything to challenge, do it
at the end. This is because at the end of the speech you are in a better position to challenge what the speaker said
from an informed position.
Facilitative Listening Skills
Paraphrasing is one of the positive listening skills. Paraphrasing is a fundamental listening skill. It is the foundation
for many other facilitative listening skills, including mirroring, gathering, and drawing people out. This is when the
speakers message is transferred into the listeners own words or understanding. Preface your paraphrase with a
comment that will make the paraphrase your own later on. When you have completed the paraphrase, look for the
speaker’s reaction to find out if you have actually got his message.
When listening to hard to comprehend subjects try using the ‘drawing people out’ skill. Drawing people out is a
way of supporting people to take the next step in clarifying and refining their ideas. It sends the speaker this
message, I am with you; I understand you so far. Now tell me a little more. Drawing people out is most effectively
used along with paraphrasing, not instead of paraphrasing. There is nothing rewarding to a speaker than the
perception that people are listening to what he/she is saying.
Mirroring is another important listening skill. Mirroring captures people’s exact words. It is highly formal version of
paraphrasing, in which the listener repeats the speaker’s exact words. Some people need this degree of precision
in order to feel that they are truly being heard. When used well, it enables the listener to move at the same pace as
the speaker and in doing so; the listener gets a lot out of the speech communication process.
Stacking is another important listening skill. Stacking is a procedure for helping people take turns when several
want to speak at once. Stacking is a four-step procedure. First, the speaker asks those who want to speak or to ask
a question in response to his/her speech to raise their hands. Then she/he creates a speaking order by assigning a
number to each person. Third, she/he calls on people when their turn to speak or ask questions arrives. When the
last person has spoken, the speaker checks to see if anyone else wants to speak. If so the speaker does another
round of stacking. This is of benefit to both the speaker and the listener because it gives immediate feedback. The
speaker’s points which were not clear can be addressed immediately. For the listener any doubt is cleared for
him/her immediately.
Tracking is another important listening skill. Tracking means keeping track of the various lines of thought that are
going on simultaneously within a single discussion. It is a three-step process. For example, suppose a group is
discussing a plan to hire a new employee. Two people are talking about roles and responsibilities. Two others are
discussing financial implications, and another two are reviewing their experiences with previous employee. In such
cases, people need help keeping track of all that’s going on, because they are focused primarily on clarifying their
own ideas.
Encouraging can equally lead to effective listening.Encouraging is the art of creating an opening for people to
participate, without putting any one individual on the spot on one hand. On the other hand it encourages the
speaker to continue speaking as it shows the listener’s interest in what he/she is saying. Body reactions like
nodding the head and silence are some of encouraging gestures that can do wonders in a listening situation.
Though intentional silence is highly underrated, it is quite effective in listening. It consists of a pause, usually
lasting no more than few seconds, and it is done to give the speaker that brief extra “quiet time” to discover what
they want to say. With eye contact and body language, stay focused on the speaker Say nothing not even “hmm” or
“uh huh.” Do not even nod or shake your head. Just stay relaxed and pay attention. If necessary, hold up a hand to
keep others from breaking the silence. Sometimes everyone in the group is confused or agitated or having trouble

51
focusing. At such times, silence may be very helpful. Say, “let us take a minute to think what this means to each of
us”.
Listening for common ground is another important listening skill.Listening for common ground is a powerful
intervention when group members are polarized. It validates the group’s areas of disagreement and focuses the
group on their areas of agreement. It is a four-step process. First, indicate that you are going to summarise the
group’s differences and similarities. Second, summarise the differences. Third, note areas of common ground.
Lastly, check for accuracy.
For speakers developing and employing the skill of active listening helps create an atmosphere in which members
feel they are an important part of the group. When people experience active listening they are more inclined to
bring their skills, experiences, expertise and ideas into the group relationship.

Active listening is more than simply listening to someone. It is absorbing what is being said and letting the speaker
know that she or he has been heard. It is about ensuring that the speaker feels “listened to. The following are
some of the things that the listener must do and the speaker must watch out for to ensure that the communication
situation is effective.

Facial expression gives clues on the speaker. Our faces express our emotions. Allow it to do so during a session.
The speaker needs to be able to quickly decide which emotions she/he will/won’t express, always keeping in mind
the safety of the group. The listener should use his/her face as a means of communication to provide the speaker
with a feedback.

Establish eye contact with the speaker shows that the listener is interested in what the speaker is saying. In other
words it encourages a speaker to continue because it makes him/her to feel appreciated and the speech an
important transaction. In this way the listener offers support to the speaker. This establishes mutual respect and
understanding between the two parties.

Watch for the body language of the speaker. The way a listener or speaker stands, sits, and holds her/his body,
transmits a message of interest or boredom. When listening to someone, the listener should lean towards that
person slightly, turning her/his body towards the speaker, indicating a relaxed and attentive stance

Pay attention to the speaker’s gestures because these are supplementary to the speaker’s message. Helpful
gestures include open handed circular actions which encourage participation; an open hand while questioning or
clarifying; a reaching-out gesture supports a speaker; an open hand or palm towards the speaker says “over to you”
Give the speaker some personal space. Leave a comfortable distance between the speaker and the listener. Lack of
space or intrusion into someone’s personal space can cause discomfort. Some people who feel that they are being
intruded upon, may begin to move back to maintain her/his personal safe space and many people get distracted
and nervous when non-intimate enters their personal space

Timing is also important. Do not interrupt a speaker unnecessarily. By using a combination of verbal and non-
verbal active listening skills a listener can judge when best to interject. Otherwise, unnecessary interventions will
put the speaker on defensive and interrupt the flow of his/her message. If there is a point you feel strongly about,
note it down and raise it during the time of question. Never cat call, jeer or whistle when someone is talking. It is
not only uncultured, but also unnecessary because there is always chance to disagree with the speaker in a more
constructive manner.

There are cultural and gender variations in how non-verbal language is used and in the meaning assigned to
different movements. Watch women and men operating in groups, to learn the gender variations (for example,
women more so than men tend to reach over and touch someone when they are engaged in dialogue). When
working with people from different cultural backgrounds take extra care about getting these messages accurately
(for example, some age groups or ethnic groups may find mixed sex groups difficult). Body language message may
be clarified with the sender for example, “you are sitting with arms folded and look very cross are you okay?”

52
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. What are some of the barriers to effective listening? Illustrate with examples from your professional
experience.
2. With relevant examples explain how a person's listening skills can be improved.

The Writing Skills

AIMS OF THE UNIT

⚫ By the end of this unit, the student should be able to define writing as a form of communication
⚫ identify and explain the causes of poor writing
⚫ demonstrate how punctuation affects effective writing
⚫ Familiarise him/herself with the writing of different types of correspondences in an educational
institution context.
What is writing?

Writing-sometimes referred to a literary communication- is one of the most important skills that are employed in
the field of communication. It is defined as the art of communicating through written symbols. In this literary world
writing is of paramount importance. It eases the transfer and exchange of information from one person or one
source to another. It also makes the storing of information without straining one’s memory. It involves the reading,
recording and analysing the written material. It is important to note that written communication largely depends
on the ability of the communicators to read and write. It involves the use of newspapers, books, letters, reports
and journals.

With the invention of the printing press during the industrial revolution, literary/written communication has
become more available and largely used in public communication. The information that was previously transmitted
orally is now transmitted through the written form. For example in medieval Europe, it was the priest who read the
bible to the people but today everyone can read the bible for him/herself. This has also been made possible by the
increase in literary-especially the UN MDGs of universal primary education access to all children in the world.
However, the challenge to writing is the new audio-visual technologies that have attracted people from reading and
writing.

People write for various reasons. Sometimes we write to ourselves for example note taking and making during
lectures or meetings. In such situations we the writers are at the same time the audience. When the writer is
his/her own audience the burden of communicating effectively is relatively small. However, in many cases writers
write for different audiences and with specific communicative objectives in mind that they want to achieve. To get
the desired goals there is need to have the necessary skills in writing. This entails abiding by certain principles to
ensure that the communication link between the writer and the reader is not broken. There are a number of things
that can break the communication link between the writer and the reader. These include:
1. Poor Punctuation is where the writer may fail to punctuate his text adequately. He/she may use the
punctuation marks without any justification, use the wrong punctuation marks and sometimes not use
them at all. The scenarios pointed out above makes it difficult for the readers to make sense of the
writer’s ideas and consequently the communication link is broken.
2. Ordering of ideas is another area that always leads to the breakage of the communication link between
the writer and the reader. The writer may fail to present his/her ideas in a manner that makes sense to the
reader. He may start with an idea that would have come last and vice versa. He/she may fail to be precise
or straight to the point where it is supposed to be made.
3. Relating idea is another weakness that the writers should look out for. The communication link is broken
when the writer fails to relate his/her ideas properly. This is in most cases due to the inappropriate use of

53
 linking words and phrases like though, besides, however and many others that show transition within and
between ideas.
4. Irrelevancy and repetition is another weakness that writers should watch out for to ensure that the
communication link is maintained. When a text contains ideas that are not relevant to what the writer
wants to express, it becomes a turn off for the readers. Inadequacy of ideas and improper use of words
are the main causes of this problem, therefore, writers are cautioned to prepare and cross check their
work before they put pen to paper.
5. Poor choice of words (diction) to use is another frequent cause of the breakdown of the communication
link between the writer and the audience. Always but the audience in mind when choosing words to use
and choose those words that are appropriate and those that will be understood by the audience that you
are writing for. It does not pay to go for complicated words when a simple one can do. Sometimes some
writers fail to get the right terminologies and end up being bombastic for no good reason. The writer
needs to know that clarity is more important and unless he/she cannot help it, simple words should be
preferred to the complicated ones.
6. Spellings are another problem that writers have to watch out if they are to communicate effectively. It is
true that the English language authography is very complicated. But then this should call for caution on
the part of the writer. This is because a simple change of a letter changes the meaning of the word and
hence the entire meaning of what the text intends to communicate. Remember that there is no
relationship between the way words are pronounced and the way they are written. Therefore, all writers
should take care on how the spell in their writings. For example the words ‘thought’ would not carry its
meaning if the write omit the /t/ at the end. Instead it becomes /though/. If this is put in the sentence
such as’ I though he came yesterday.’ The meaning is completely lost.

What are writing Skills?

Ability to put sounds down on graphic form according to the conventional sound-spelling rules. Ability to spell
English words correctly, including using correct punctuation and capitalization. Ability to do writing practice, such
as dictation, grammar exercises, constructing dialogues according to the model, simple translation exercises.
Ability to write short compositions, including functional writing skills, such as writing simple letters, taking notes,
writing outlines and summaries.

The process of writing

1. Planning
Involves gathering ideas and focusing on the topic: Topic selection, gathering ideas, extensive reading and
interpretation. When planning one must ask himself/herself the following questions:
What is the purpose of my writing?
-Who is my audience?
-What are the special requirements of my writing task?
2. Shaping -Considering how best to organize your ideas on pen and paper. Shaping involves:
-Determining the tone
-Drafting a thesis statement
-Outlining ideas
3. Drafting
4. Revising
5. Editing
6. Proof reading

Basic Guideline for Effective Writing

Effective writing calls upon the writer to be much organised in the process that he/she is engaged in. Always the
use of the simplest construction and style to convey the basic facts and ideas is the way forward. According to
Graham Hart effective writing should follow the following basic guidelines.
1. Avoid complex words where the simple ones can do. Short common words which are easy to understand

54
 and read should form the basis of effective writing. Using complex words makes writing more complicated
to understand and may also sound old fashioned and pompous. Long and complex words should be
restricted to technical terms or names of places. The guiding principle should therefore be the use of a
simple word when a simple word can do.
2. At the level of a sentence, it is better to use simple sentence constructions with the key points coming
first. The writer should always aim to get the main point quickly in a sentence and to make the meaning
clear as soon as possible. This can be achieved easily by using simple sentence constructions.
3. It is important to make sure that as many sentences as possible are self-contained. This means that each
sentence should work alone without needing the preceding or following sentence to set it in context for it
to be understood.
4. Writers should avoid the use of passive sentence construction as much as possible where active sentences
can do. It is advisable that the writer should always be looking for the most direct and or active form of
the verb. Active verbs make the writing more dynamic and easy to understand.
5. To write effectively, one should try as much as possible not to mix the forms. This means that if you are
writing; decide on using either the formal or informal types of writing according to the communicative
situation. The writer should also attempt not to mix the written and spoken forms of the language. For
example, when writing a letter of application, do not use the informal opening of ‘Hi?’ Instead use ‘Dear
Sir/Madam’ as the situation may require.
6. The other issue that writers should pay attention to is punctuation. Well punctuated sentences or
paragraphs are easy to read and follow. Therefore, if one wants to be an effective writer, he/she must
understand the use of at least the common punctuation marks and use them effectively. It is irritating to
read a 200 word sentence or a one page paragraph. As it is to you the writer, so it is to your readers. Such
readers will decide not to read what you have written, if it is hard to follow.
7. Writing in English is problematic because of the nature of English language spellings. Therefore, if
someone wants to be an effective writer, he/she must learn how to spell words in English correctly. They
should not write words as they are spoken. This is because the English language has queer pronunciations
and spellings. For example, the words, ‘though and rough’ all end with /gh/ but this is pronounced /zo/ in
‘though’ and /fu/ in ‘rough’. This means that if one attempts to write them as they are pronounced,
he/she will end up with completely different words.
8. All the problems associated with writing arise in most cases because the English language is a foreign
language to most of the people who use it to communicate. This means that they are not familiar with the
spellings and sentence structures of the English language. On top of that the interjection of the mother
tongue spellings and sentence structures make the problem even worse. The way around this problem is
that all writers who want to be effective must get familiar with the English language. They should do this
through reading widely. If they have access to different type of reading materials, then they can get access
to the spellings of different words and a variety of sentence structures that they can use in their own
writing.

Why Write?2
Of all aspects of studying, writing is probably the most challenging. That is because when you write down an
account of your ideas for other people to read you have to express yourself particularly carefully. You can't make
the mental leaps you do when you are in conversation with others or thinking about something for yourself. To
make your meaning clear, using only words on a page, you have to work out exactly what you think about the
subject. You come to understand it for yourself in the process of explaining it to others. So writing makes you really
grapple with what you are studying. In other words, it forces you into a very deep and powerful kind of learning.
That is what makes it so demanding. When you write you are really putting ideas to use.

In some writing that you have done previously you may have ‘taken in’ ideas from books, articles, TV and so on.
But it is only when you can use these ideas to say something for yourself that you have really ‘learned’ them. Ideas

2 Adapted from OpenLearn: http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=210753 ( CC: BY-NC-SA)

55
only become a properly functioning part of your thought-processes when you can call on them as you
communicate with other people. It is very valuable to debate issues with other students in discussion groups. But
an even more exacting way of using ideas in argument is to do it in writing.

A key part of using ideas effectively is to be able to write clearly, pleasantly and persuasively. In our society this is a
very valuable skill. It puts you on a much better footing with other people if you can present your point of view
forcefully in writing. Perhaps you started out on your studies with the idea only of learning more about Biology,
Chemistry or Mathematics, but you may discover that one of the most valuable things you gain is the ability to
write much more effectively. Whether you start with a rather weak writing style or a fairly well-developed one,
there is always plenty of progress to be made.
So writing tends to be both the most demanding and the most rewarding part of any course of study. And, because
it contributes so much to what you learn, you have to put a lot of your time and energy into it.

• OUTCOMES
By the end of this chapter you should:
• be able to explain why writing is so important;
• have an understanding of and be able to use critically the main criteria of good essay-writing;
• be aware of the basic technical and stylistic considerations involved in writing;
• be able to write appropriately any given form of writing;
• state the rationale for referencing and citation;
• quote texts from different sources in different ways in scholarly documents;
• write endnotes/footnotes and references/bibliographies from different sources using the APA and MLA
formats.

• What is an Essay?
The different science, arts and humanities subjects make their own particular demands on you. You may have to
do various kinds of writing – projects, logs, lab reports, and case-studies – or even write creatively. In this chapter,
though, we are going to concentrate on the essay because that is by far the most common form of writing in
higher learning.

The word ‘essay’ originally meant ‘an attempt’ or try at something, but now it usually means a short piece of
writing on a specific subject. It is a complete piece of writing that can stand alone – it must make sense to the
reader ‘in itself’. You are given an essay title or question, which sets out the issues you need to address, and a
word limit of around one or two thousand words – possibly a bit shorter to begin with. You work from the title,
putting together an argument that leads the reader towards a conclusion. Your lecturer marks your essay, making
comments not only about what you have said but also the way you have structured and written the essay. These
‘criticisms’ are meant to help you develop both your grasp of the subject and your powers of expression. So an
essay opens up a teaching–learning dialogue between you and your lecturer. In fact, it does still have some of the
original sense of ‘trying your hand’ at something, with the idea that you can get better at it through practice.

Your lecturer will usually grade your essay too, so that you can see where you ‘stand’ in relation to whatever
standards apply to your course. This means that, over time, you can see what kind of progress you are making.

• KEY POINTS
Writing essays is a very important part of studying because:
• it deepens your learning of the subject you are studying;
• you learn to use ideas to argue a case;
• it enables you to enter into a dialogue with your audience like lecturer through which you can extend and
refine your thinking, and your writing skills;

56
 • it enables your lecturer or supervisor to assess your progress.

• What is a Good Essay?

• CRITERIA FOR GOOD ESSAY-WRITING

When a lecturer reads your essay, she or he will be asking the following questions:
• Have you answered the question in the title?
• Have you drawn on the relevant parts of the course for the main content of your essay?
• Do you show a good grasp of the ideas you have been studying in the course?
• Have you presented a coherent argument?
• Is the essay written in an objective, analytical way, with appropriate use of illustration and evidence?
• Is the essay clearly written and well presented?

Show a Good Grasp of the Ideas

To show your grasp of the ideas you have been studying, you have to express them for yourself, in your own
words. Your lecturer will certainly be looking out for signs that you understand the centrally important issues. Your
lecturer has to be able to see your thought-processes at work in this way in order to give you the kind of advice
and support that will help develop your understanding. So what you must avoid doing is using other people's
words.

Plagiarizing
When you are writing an essay you are often working with ideas and terms you are not familiar with. This makes it
difficult for you to produce a clear, coherent argument and you may become anxious about whether you will ‘get it
right’. To be on the safe side, some students are tempted to ‘lift’ sections of words from textbooks and articles and
put them in their essays without using quotation marks or acknowledging the source. In other words, they try to
pass these words off as their own. This is known as ‘plagiarism’.

Lecturers are usually very familiar with the difference between the way students write and the way experienced
authors write, and soon notice when a student lurches between an ‘expert’ and a ‘beginner’ style. A particular
giveaway is when most of the words are as in the original except for one or two (changed for purposes of
camouflage), which stick out like sore thumbs because they are in a different style. Another is when smoothly
flowing sections of writing are interspersed with short, inelegant linking phrases. It seems that most people write
particularly badly when they are trying to stitch together someone else's words. Because you are not in control of
‘making’ the sense as you write, plagiarizing actually makes your writing worse.

This approach will not get you good marks. Indeed, when lecturers spot what is going on (which is not difficult)
they will tend to assume you understand very little and mark you down. Worse, you do not develop your own
writing style. If you become locked into the sterile and tedious business of parroting other people's words rather
than expressing thoughts for yourself, then you are likely to remain a beginner for a long time. And you will not
learn much about the ideas in the course either.

There is only one way to learn to use ideas in writing and that is to practise expressing them in your own words.
They may not come out very well to begin with but, like a learner in any field, you have to be prepared to make
mistakes sometimes. It is through letting your weaknesses show that you learn how to do something about them,
and allow others to help you learn.

57
 • Present a Coherent Argument
Presenting a coherent argument is closely linked to ‘answering the question’. The essence of an essay is that it sets
out to be an argument about the issues raised in the title. Even if you have a lot of good material in it, it will not be
judged ‘a good essay’ unless the material is organised so that it hangs together. This implies two things:
1. You need to sort out your points into groups so that they can be presented in a structured way, giving
the essay a beginning, a middle, and an end.
2. You need to keep a thread of meaning running through your essay. Each sentence should flow on
from the previous one, with adequate signposting to help your reader follow the moves you are
making.

Presenting a coherent argument is also closely linked with ‘showing your grasp of ideas’. One of the reasons why
your writing tasks are set in the essay form – the form of an argument – is because that makes you use the ideas
you have been studying to say something. Anyone can copy material from books. The point of an essay is to make
you think. When you present a coherent argument you are showing that you can take hold of the ideas and
organise them to do some work for you. The writer must be objective, precise, logical, and concerned to back a
case with evidence.

• Take an Objective, Analytical Stance

An essay should be ‘objective’. What does that mean? Being objective about something means standing back from
it and looking at it coolly. It means focusing your attention on the ‘object’, on what you are discussing, and not on
yourself and your own (subjective) feelings about it. Your ideas should be able to survive detailed inspection by
other people who are not emotionally committed to them.

An essay should argue by force of reason, not emotion. You must make deliberate efforts to develop a style of
writing that is cool, dispassionate and fair to all sides. That means you yourself must be open to doubt and
criticism. Your arguments should be presented in the spirit that your reader might not agree with them. And if you
want to dispute a claim someone else makes, you are expected to have analysed that claim carefully, to argue your
case and provide evidence for your point of view, rather than setting out to criticise or cast doubts on your
opponent's character or motives. You should be respectful to other writers. You should assume that you are
writing as a member of a community of equals, all of whom are intelligent, open-minded, fair people. You should
write on the assumption that your readers are also members of that community, and that they will be interested
only in your reasons for thinking what you do. They will not be interested in you as a person, or in your ideas
because they are your ideas.

• Write Clearly
A good essay is easy to read. Grand-sounding phrases and elaborate sentences do not make an essay impressive.
Clarity and economy are what count. Such ease of reading is achieved at several levels.

• Technical Considerations

• Handwriting
Nowadays most people use a word processing package to write essays while some people may use a typewriter.
However, if you don't have access to either of these you will need to hand-write your essay. Should this be the
case, the ease of reading depends on the quality of your handwriting. It is only fair to your lecturer to try to make
your writing as legible as possible. This will take time and care. But when you have spent a long time putting an
essay together, it is a waste if what you say is misunderstood just because your writing is misread. It is also
prudent to take care. It would be an angel of a lecturer who was not a bit impatient at having to spend ages trying
to make out your handwriting. If it is really dreadful you will have to get someone to tell you which letters are
hardest to read and practise straightening them out, rounding them more, or whatever is required. Having said
that, most lecturers have resigned themselves, in the course of duty, to becoming expert at deciphering all kinds of

58
scrawl. They will usually do their best not to be too influenced by it. (Actually, a lot of students complain that they
can't read their lecturers’ or supervisors’ scribbled comments on their essays or reports. Therefore, this is not a
one-way street.)

• Layout
When using a word processing package, it is best to use a font like Times New Roman which is sober and easy to
read. Set the font size to 11 or 12 points and use double line spacing. You should also make sure that there are
generous margins – the default settings are usually sufficient. If you are writing by hand, your essay is easier to
read if it is set out neatly on the page. You should use lined A4 paper and leave generous margins for your lecturer
to write comments. Write on one side of the paper only – this makes it much easier to cross-refer from one section
of the essay to another. Make sure you leave spaces between paragraphs. This is all straightforward stuff, but the
point is that you should ‘stand back’ from your finished essay and look at it as an ‘object’ you have created. Does it
look inviting to read? It is surprising how many essays have words squashed onto every square centimetre of the
page. Be ‘page-proud’ and generous with space. Unless your essays look as if you care, why should anyone else?

• Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling

As we have seen, these contribute enormously to ease of reading. The whole point of punctuation is to help the
reader approach your words in the right way, and the rules of grammar are what enable the reader to construct
the sense intended by the writer. Mistakes in either make the reader stop to work out what is being said. Poor
spelling can also cause frequent interruptions. Meanwhile, the reader ‘loses’ the thread of your meaning. None of
these abilities is easy to improve quickly, and all fall beyond the scope of this book. But if you think you are
particularly weak in them you should seek help. Take comfort from the thought that your lecturer will usually try to
‘read through’ to your intended meaning, and will also try to help you improve. A common grammatical mistake is
the ‘dangling modifier’. Let’s take a closer look at this common grammar problem:

• Dangling Modifiers
When writing it is always important that you communicate your meaning clearly. A common error amongst
student writers is to create dangling modifiers. This normally occurs when you leave out the subject or only infer a
subject in your sentence. Inserted additional information (the modifier) then seems to describe the object instead.
Consider this example3;

“Walking down Main Street (no subject), the trees were beautiful.”

Here the "walking down" participle or modifier seems to connect to "the trees" because the sentence has no
subject, when on reflection it really should connect to the invisible speaker of the sentence. The speaker is the one
walking down the street (and finding the trees beautiful). Strunk and White's, The Elements of Style, provides
another kind of example, a misplaced modifier (another participle):

“I saw the trailer peeping through the window.”

Presumably, the speaker means he or she was peeping through the window, but the incorrect placement of
"peeping through the window" makes it sound as though the trailer was peeping through the window. Because the
modifier has been placed at the end of the sentence instead of at the beginning it seems to describe the object
rather than the subject. Ambiguous modifiers have sometimes been used for humorous effect. A famous example
of this is by Groucho Marx as Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding in the 1930 film, Animal Crackers:
“One morning I shot an elephant in my pyjamas.
How he got into my pyjamas I'll never know.”
Groucho Marx

3Adapted from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dangling_modifier (CC: BY_SA)

59
Though under the most plausible interpretation of the first sentence, Captain Spaulding would have been wearing
the pyjamas, the line plays on the grammatical possibility that the elephant was somehow within his pyjamas. So
make sure that when you compose a sentence as part of a report, essay or assignment you have clearly identified a
subject and an object and that the modifier or participle is located next to the correct subject or object.

Let’s see if you can do it?

Study the examples of dangling modifiers below and:.

1] Identify sentence does not work why each properly.
2] rewrite the sentence so that it is expressed correctly.

• Examples:
“Having completed the essay, the radio was turned on.”
“Having been thrown in the air, the dog caught the ball.”
“While walking across the street, the bus hit her.”
“After reading the article, the newspaper is aimed at the working class.”
“The self-study activity was a failure, not having studied the paragraph on ‘Dangling Modifiers’ carefully.”
“Last week I caught a cold at school.”

• Language
Your language should be direct rather than fancy. Don't strive for effect. You should always go for short and simple
sentences where you can – especially when you are building up a basic essay-writing style. You can play with more
elaborate words and grammatical structures later, when you have established a secure basic technique. Don't beat
about the bush; pitch straight into answering the essay question in a direct, purposeful way.

• Fluency
Try to make your essays flow from one sentence to the next. As we have seen, this is partly a matter of structure
and partly of signposting. It is vital to think of your essay in terms of its overall structure – to move points around,
and cut and trim, in search of a clear sequence for your ideas. Then, having worked out a structure, you have to
‘talk’ your reader through it, emphasizing the key turning points in the essay, summarising where you have got to,
showing how each new point follows from the last, and finally bringing it all to a conclusion.

• Explaining
You need to be able to think of things from your reader's point of view. The reader cannot see into your mind so
you have to explain your points quite fully and carefully. You need to give examples to illustrate what you are
talking about and to justify what you say. In other words, you need a sense of your ‘audience’ and you have to
work out how to ‘speak’ to these readers in the right ‘tone of voice’.

• ALSO…
Finally, a few key messages to take from this unit. One is that there is no great mystery or magic about what good
writing is. We can recognize it just by reading it. The difficulty is how to produce it. However, since there are
different aspects of writing well, you will find it useful to return to the ‘Criteria of good essay writing’ from time to
time to consider how your writing is developing. When you are about to submit an essay or report to a lecturer, or
after you get it back with comments on it, you can check through the list to see what progress you are making on
each front.

60
Last, take away the knowledge that you don't have to get your writing perfect before submitting it. In fact, there
isn't such a thing as ‘perfect’ anyway. There are many different ways of writing a good essay. A good learner in any
field is prepared to make mistakes and learn from them.

Paragraphs
A paragraph is a group of sentences that work together in unity to explain an idea. It can also be described as a
group of sentences that work to develop a unit of thought. It is a selection of sentence which is related because
they are all talking about the Paragraphing permits you to subdivide material into parts and arrange those parts
into a unified whole that effectively communicates its message.

Paragraphs can be classified as:

1. Topical
A topical paragraph is basically a paragraph made up of a group of sentences arranged around one main idea, or
one topic. This is the type of paragraph you are most familiar with. Topical paragraphs are probably the only type
most student think of as a paragraph. They are also called developmental paragraphs or body paragraphs. They are
usually found after the introductory paragraph and before the concluding paragraph. Topical paragraphs consist of
a statement of a main idea and specific, logical support for that main idea.

Characteristics of a topical Paragraph

i) Must have a topic sentence which should appear early in the first few lines of the paragraph
preferably the 1st, 2nd or3rd line. The topic sentence tells you what the paragraph is about. Because
there's only one topic developed in each paragraph, there should only ever be one topic sentence.
The topic sentence of a paragraph is developed, or built on, by the addition of supporting information
and details.
ii) Unity
iii) Coherence
iv) Grammatical
v) Order (Direction of Movement)

2. Special: Introductory, concluding and transitory

Introductions
Introductions or introductory paragraphs perform very important functions. First, they must attract the reader,
influencing him/her to read the remainder of the essay. Second, they must not only introduce readers to the essay
topic but they must also limit that topic and identify the writer's attitude toward the topic. Finally, they must
provide readers with information regarding what is to be expected within the remainder of the essay.
Every paper you write should have a main point, a main idea, or central message. The argument(s) you make in
your paper should reflect this main idea. The sentence that captures your position on this main idea is what we call
a thesis statement. The thesis statement comes in the introductory paragraph and must be concise and well-
written. This will enable your reader to a) establish your position and (b) give your reader a sense of direction. Your
thesis statement should be (a) clear (b) specific (c) Short (d) In line with your argument (e) Must indicate your
position

Types of introduction Paragraphs

The introduction must be a road map for the rest of your essay. It can be an anecdotal; Regular Triangular;
Inverted Triangle; Summary; A wise word; Provoking question; Corrective introduction; Historical Review

Concluding Paragraph
This should be the last paragraph in the essay. Its purpose is to bring the essay to a graceful end. The concluding
paragraph gives the writer one final chance to leave a lasting impression on the reader.
Ways of writing a concluding paragraph
You are not limited to any specific format but you may choose to conclude by (i) a brief summary of the paper's
main points(ii) Restate the main idea of your essay, or your thesis statement (iii) a provocative question (iv) a
quotation (v) Evoke a vivid image (vi) Call for some sort of action.

61
(vii) End with a warning (viii) Universalize (compare to other situations) (ix) Suggest results or consequences.

It is important to have a strong conclusion, since this is the last chance you have to make an impression on your
reader. The goal of your conclusion isn’t to introduce any new ideas, but to sum up everything you’ve written.

Types of Essays
An essay is a written composition of moderate length, exploring a particular issue or subject.
There are 4 types of essays in writing namely:
1. Narrative: Giving an account of events. It is mainly used in Fiction, creative writing, history and literature review.

2. Descriptive: Describe people, events, places, things e.g. history

3. Expository/Explanatory: This is advanced descriptive writing that describes events and people in depth. It
involves defining explain and expounding on an idea

4. Argumentative/ persuasive also called Academic writing

1. Narrative

Narrative writing involves recounting events in an orderly manner. Narratives are mainly fictions or creative
writing. Narratives are mainly used in Literature, history and writing stories. They may recount: (a) a series of
events; a report (b) biography or autobiography (c) historical events
(d) Fiction or nonfiction .Narrative writing is imaginative and subjective or factual and objective.

2. Descriptive writing
This is writing that is used to describe a person, a place or a thing or event. There are different types of descriptive
writing e.g.
a) Static description describes something that is still/not moving
b) Cause and Effect describes how one thing causes the effect of another
Descriptive writing can be either objective or subjective in content. A description of something contains full factual
and quantifiable information about it. Such information may be personal, touching or sensory impressions and
feelings.
Descriptive writing is a domain of arts and history.

3. Expository/Explanatory writing
This is advanced description and focuses on explaining, defining and expounding an idea. Such writing explains and
analyses: (a) a process (b) an opinion or point of view (c) event(s) and phenomena (d) instructions and directions

4. Argumentative Essays
Argumentative writing is an academic writing which is also called persuasive writing. It is a rational effort to
defend or refute a claim and does not have place for emotions, or anger. Most academic writing falls under this
category. Argumentative writing is done argumentatively. The writer collects all his/her points and presents them
logically and constructively. The aim of an argumentative writing is to persuade the audience and convince them to
accept the writer’s point of view. Argumentative essays are expected to be clear and coherent. The writer must be
clear about his/her argument.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

1. Clarity

2. Complete

3. Accurate

4. Based on sound premises

62
5. Logical Avoid arguing in circles

6. Reasonable

7. Be based on evidence

8. Must acknowledge opposition

9. Avoid fallacies i.e. unqualified generalizations

Functional Writing
Functional writing is a type of writing that is geared towards a student’s academic and professional life. It is writing
that equips a student with the necessary skills to write documents required in both academic and professional life
such as: Formal correspondence; official letters, emails, memos, reports, curriculum vitae (CV), Business plans
among others.

Letter writing

Introduction
Many people believe that letter writing is an art and a talent that either one has or does not. The facts that support
this assertion is the general observation that some people write good letters and others do not. In fact it is
common for those who are not good at letter writing to consult and employ the services of those who are good at
it.
The truth of the matter is that letter writing in neither an art nor a talent. It is all about knowledge of the
aspects and characteristics of letter writing and constant practice to perfect the process. But before we get at the
tips of writing good letters, it is important to define what a letter is. The Oxford International Dictionary defines
letter as, “a message that is written down or printed on paper and usually sent to somebody.”
A piece of communication or a message or a missive through which one party communicates to the other
would be an apt definition of a letter. There are basically two types of letters and these are differentiated by the
social distance between the writer of the letter and the addressee or the person he/she is writing to on one hand,
and the purpose of the writing on the other hand. Generally there are two types of letters and these are:

Informal Letters
Informal letters are sometimes referred to as personal letters or friendly letters. This is a type of correspondence or
communication between two parties or partners whose social distance is close. The relationship between the two
parties is informal or personal. The purpose of writing is equally personal and informal. This is because the people
that the writer writes to are close to him/her. Such people may include the following: members of one’s family,
friends and acquaintances.
The main characteristic of this type of letter is the informality of the language and expressions used. This is
based on the premise that the writer is known to these people and therefore there is no need for him/her to stand
at ceremony with them so to speak.
Another distinguishing feature of personal letters is the subject of these letters. Normally, the assumption
is that the writer’s purpose of writing is of a personal nature. Basically what this means is that you are either
informing or requesting for something that the person can grant personally.

NOTE: Will look at the nature of informal language later on.

Formal / Official letters
These are sometimes also referred to as business letters. They are letters, which are written to persons
whose main relationship or connection with the addressee is an official one. Such instances include: writing to a
head of an institutions asking for a vacancy, making a formal apology, or a requisition and as many cases as will be
described later.
The main characteristic of formal letters is the adherence to formal language. The assumption is that there

63
is zero social distance between the writer and his/her correspondent and as such, it calls for utmost respect and
the need to ensure that there is less familiarity. Therefore the language ought to be neutral.
The other main characteristic of a formal letter is it adherence to a formulaic formant. This means that a
formal letter must at all times follow a specific arrangement, and with specific aspects. Any divergence from this
accepted formant means that the letter is wrong. It is important to be aware of these aspects, so that when one
writes-and there is no doubt that in one’s professional life time, he/she will write many of such letters- does it
according to accepted standards and thus saves him/her self-embarrassments.

Differences between Formal and Informal Language

The English Language is quite uniform in the sense that the words, their meanings and spellings rarely change.
However, as a language, English has strict rules governing its usage. One of these has to do with choosing either to
use the formal or informal option of the language. It should be noted that the differences between formal and
informal English is not in the grammar, nor the vocabulary, but in the context of usage in terms of the content of
the expression.
This gives raise two types of English Language namely: the formal and the informal. A formal piece of
writing refers to that piece that is meant for non-personal audiences. In other words when the piece of
communication is meant for officially transacted business, it is said to be formal. This means that all official or
formal letters make use of the formal variety of the English Language.
On the other hand informal writing is that piece that involves unofficial business between the
communicator and the audience. It is meant for the people with whom the writer is familiar. All letters to friends,
members of one’s family and all acquaintances use a variety of the English Language that is informal.

The differences between formal and informal language is in the context of use of the English Language. This means
that there are things that are acceptable in informal language that are not acceptable in formal language. These
include the following:

1. Abbreviations are acceptable in informal writing and not in formal writing. Therefore, when writing a formal
letter, try as much as possible to avoid abbreviation, unless those that are acceptable like C.C which is the
abbreviation for copy to: used in a situation where the letter is copied to several people though it is addressed to
someone specific, or P.S which is the abbreviation for post script: that is to say providing further information after
completing the letter, in case you are writing a formal letter.
2. Clips are not accepted in formal pieces of writing. Clips are the shortened form of words such as can’t for cannot
or don’t for do not. These clips are acceptable in informal pieces of writing because they reflect laxity that is
associated with familiarity.
3. Slangs are not accepted in formal pieces of writing, while they could be accepted in an informal piece of writing.
Slang is a word whose meaning is restricted to a social group and normally used as a form of identification to that
group. Therefore, using it in a formal piece of writing is assuming that everyone knows it meaning, which in most
cases is wrong. However, in informal writing, given the closeness of the audience and the writer, it is a right
assumption that the meaning of such a word is known to both parties.
4. Colloquialism is not accepted in formal pieces of writing, whereas it could be accepted in informal writing.
Colloquialisms are expressions that are considered rude in polite society. Therefore, given the fact that in official
pieces of communication, the relationship between the writer and the intended audience is not a close
relationship, colloquialism an aspect of informal language is unacceptable.
5. Jargons which are technical language normally associated to a particular profession are sometimes accepted in
both formal and informal letters. The point to be noted here, is that if one is writing about a professional or
technical subject, it is sometimes hard to get synonyms of some key technical terms, which means that these
jargons can be used in all the types of letters

Personal, Unofficial, Informal or Friendly Letters

As stated earlier a personal or unofficial or an informal letter is the type of letter that is a piece of communication
between parties whose social distance is minimal or people who are close to each other. These may include letters
to friends, family and acquaintances.
As it has also been stated, the main characteristic of the personal letter is the informality of the language.

64
The assumption is that since you are writing to someone personally known to you or in most cases someone you
are close to, you need not to be very formal. The case in point is when you are writing to a friend or a relative,
these are people you are familiar with.
The truth of the matter is that there are different types of informal letters as has been hinted upon earlier.
However, different kinds of informal letters follow almost similar style, though with some minor modifications and
differences. An informal letter: like the one written to a brother, sister, father, mother or a friend, will be similar in
as far as the style is concerned. Note, though that there will be similarities in the two examples of letters
mentioned above; there will also be degrees of differences. This is because informality itself has different degrees
and shades, that a letter to a friend or a brother may not look exactly like that to one’s parent. Nevertheless, there
are aspects that these will share. And these aspects that all informal letters share are what constitute the informal
style of letter writing.

Aspects of an Informal Letter

The following are some of the elements or aspect of style that make an informal letter different from the other
types.
1. The Address and Date is the most visible and in fact the start of a pointing when writing an informal letter. It is
written in the top-right hand corner of the page. There are two styles of writing the address. One is known as the
Standard English Version and the other is the American version. When using the Standard version, the writer
should slant the address up to the point of the city or town of the address. When using the American Version, the
address is written as a block.
The following are some of the components that are to be found in the address. The physical address, the
postal address and the location or place. Remember that this is or acts as a description of or the location of the
writer.
The address should appear, depending on the formant that one has chosen, as shown below:

Standard English Version

Open University,
P.O BOX 8382,
Kampala.

23rd October,2007.

Note that the address is written using the title heading formant: that is only the initial letters are capitalised and
the post office box direction. Make sure that the date is not slanted.

American English Version

Open University,
P.O BOX 8382,
Kampala.

23rd October, 2007

In case the postal box that you are using is not yours or belongs to an institution that you are an employee or a
student in, it is important to specify that you are using it as a reference to you. In this case indicate this by using the
abbreviation c/o as indicated below:

65
Standard English Version when the address is not personal but rather of an institution.

c/oOpolot James,
Open University,
P.O BOX 8382,
Kampala

23rd October, 2007

American English Version when the address is not personal but rather of an institution.

C/o Opolot James

Open University,
P.O BOX 8382,
Kampala.

23rd October, 2007

The purpose of c/o (care off) is for prudence, that is to say, the reply if any to your letter, not getting lost in the
company or institutional correspondence. That is to say when ‘care off’ is used, it clearly shows that this letter is for
a particular person in the company and not for the company.

2. Salutation is the second aspect or element of an informal letter. Like in the army, a salutation is a kind of call or
acknowledgement of the presence of the person being addressed. It is literary the call for attention. This should
come two lines below the address on the margin on the left hand side of the page.

The salutation involves the use of the words of endearment like Dear, Hullo, My Dear John and many other
formations depending on the writer. However, care should be taken in choosing the right phrase of salutation in
relationship to the degree of formality between the writer and the addressee. For example the level of intimacy
between the writer and a friend is not the same between him/her and an uncle. Try choosing the neutral if there is
need to show a degree of social distance or respect to the addressee. The salutation is to be shown as below:
Dear John,
Remember to punctuate the salutation properly with a comma and start it with a capital letter. This is to indicate
that the thought pattern is still going on after the salutation.

3. Introduction is the first part of the letter. This, as all introductions, does set the pace of the letter. This is when
the writer gives information about him/herself and asks for information about the one he/she is writing to.
Expressions like: How are you? How is the family? Such expressions are valuable. The next step is to inform your
addressee what you think he/she needs to know about you. This could include personal life information, new
developments and if the letter is a reply, the acknowledgement of receipt of the letter that was written to you as
well as measures taken to address the issues that he/she had asked of you.

4. The Body is the largest part of the informal letter. It is in this part that the writer says what he/she intended to
say to the addressee. Note that each paragraph of this section should contain one reason. Therefore, the number
of paragraphs that this section must have depends on the number of issues or reasons that the writer intends to
communicate to the addressee. Remember to indent the paragraphs if you are using the Standard English Version.

66
 6. Conclusion is the last part of an informal letter. This is when the writer concludes the letter. Indicate that
you are about to end the letter. Expressions like “Let me end here” or “I think I have covered enough” or
any other phrase could do. However, it is important to wish him/her well and ask him/her to greet or
pass on good wishes to the people that you two have or know in common, where he/she is. End with a
formulaic phrases like “Yours faithfully, sincerely your brother” and any phrase that is appropriate in the
situation. Lastly sign yourself. This could be at the left hand bottom of the page if you are using the
American version or the centre or the right hand bottom of the page if you are using the Standard
English Version as shown below:

Left-hand corner
Yours Sincerely,
Signature/name in small letters
First name (Christian/Islamic) surname

OR Middle/centre
Yours Sincerely,
. Signature/name in small letters
First name (Christian/Islamic) surname

OR Right-hand corner
Yours Sincerely,
Signature/name in small letters

First name (Christian/Islamic) surname

Finally below is a sample personal letter that shows how the different parts can be put together to write a good
personal letter. Note that this may not be the best of all personal letters ever written or to be written. However, it
gives one a perspective of what is involved in writing a personal letter, the arrangement of the different parts and
the style commonly associated with this type of letter.

67
 C/o Kibuuka Nicholas Kirega,
EntebbeSecondary School,
P.O BOX 1235,
Kampala.

13th September, 2006

Dear Patrick,
I do hope you are fine and the family is doing well. How is your new wife and Mamma
Brian? How is work? I was told you are expecting a promotion at the end of the year. Let’s pray
that you get it because you deserve it. On my part, there is nothing to complain about. Yes, our
last born had a fever two weeks ago but she is now fine. Gladys is preparing for the annually
women’s conference in Nairobi and I guess soon I will be a bachelor for a week.
Gladys told me about the conversation she had with Miriam over the weekend when
they met upcountry during the burial of my late uncle Ssemakula. You know, they have always
been close since our days at the University and therefore, Miriam would not lie to her. So I took
what she told Gladys and Gladys later told me seriously and hence this missive now. My point is
that it is well to take a second wife and I know how gracious the second wife is. Naturally, she
will feel envious.
Let me hope my candour and openness does not offend you. You know that under no
circumstance will I not be forthright with you. You have gone through a lot with Miriam and if
you have decided to take a second wife, so be it. But make sure that you treat her with the
utmost respect she deserves.
I have to confess that I have hastened to rebuke you without hearing your side of the
story. Off course there are always two sides to any story and I look forward to your reassurance
over the issue.
Let me end here eagerly expecting your reply that will put to rest this issue that has
greatly perturbed me.

Your true friend

Nick.K. Ekotu

68
Aspect of an Official Letter
An official letter is different from an informal letter both in content and lay out. The differences between the two
types of letters are in terms of their purpose, and it is the purpose which determines what form of letter to be
written. The main components of a formal letter include: address, which is the physical, postal and cyber location
of the writer of the letter.
It is usually placed in the right hand corner of the page. When writing an address, try to be consistent in
punctuation and lettering. Each line should be separated from the next by a comma and at the end of the address;
there should be a full stop. Note that if you choose to use upper case lettering in the address, then this should be
used consistently. However, it is advisable to use heading capitalisation-where only the initial letter of each word is
capitalised. With the advances in technology, the formal letter has adopted new features that were not included
twenty years ago. These are the email address and the mobile phone number which are mandatory when writing
an official letter. As stated earlier about the informal letter, the address should be determined by what type or
version of English you want to use. The choice of either style is a decision that the writer must take depending on
what version will appear normal to his/her addressee. The point to focus on is that if you are writing to an
American company, the American version is preferable and to a British audience the alternative version is
recommended. There are commonly two types to choose from and these are:

Standard English Version

Open University,
P.O BOX 8382,
Kampala.

23rd October, 2019

Email:openuniversity@gmail.com
Tel:+256784286628

OR The American English Version

Open University,
P.O BOX 8283,
Kampala.

23rd October, 2019

Email:openuniversity@gmail.com
Tel:+256784286628

23rd October, 2007

The next aspect or component of an official letter is the Addressee, which comes just below the address starting at
the left hand side margin of the page. This is where title and person to whom the letter is intended is written. This
is standard for all types and variations of English language. The example below could suffice to illustrate the
addressee is followed by the Salutation. This is a formal greeting which takes the neutral, ‘Dear sir or Madam’.
Note: however, if you are aware of the gender of the person you a writing to. It’s advisable to choose the right title,
but when in doubt use Dear Sir/Madam.

The Managing Director,

Oxymoronic Investments,
P.O BOX 297845, 69
Kampala.
Reference (Re or Ref) is the next component of an official letter. It is the title or the heading of the letter, which
indicates the subject of communication. It should be capitalized or written as a typical heading. However, it’s so
important to underline it.

The introduction is the first sentence of an official letter which summarizes what and why you are writing at that
particular moment to that person or organisation. It is advisable that you make this one sentence and of not more
than 20 words that clearly and precisely states what and why you are writing. If you are applying for a job, say so as
clearly as possible.

Body is the most important component of an official letter. What is included in the body varies from one type of
the letter to the other. However, this is a section in which we give the details about your topic. The illustration that
will come later on will clearly demonstrate this. It should be noted that the body of an official letter should not
exceed four paragraphs. The rationale is based on the fact that the addressee is normally busy people who do not
have the time to read a length missive.

Conclusion is the last component of the formal letter. Usually use one sentence that concludes your letter by
recouping on your message. You should try to be courteous. Then sign yourself and attach your name and title
where applicable as will be demonstrated in the examples later. If there are attachments to the letter, these should
come at the end of the letter.

Types of Official Letters

A Letter of Application
The purpose of the letter of application is to impress a prospective employer of your suitability for the post that
he/she wants to fill. This means that you must give him or her all the necessary details of the skills and
competences that you have. It is also useful to provide information of what would apparently be your weaknesses.

By nature of time constraints attached to many official positions, the employer normally does not have the time to
read and internalize an exhaustive autobiography of yourself, which means that the letter should highlight the most
important and essentials aspects of your personality that is relevant to the post you are applying for.
In order to save the employer from being duped (deceived) by an insincere employee or to stop an employee
exaggerating his or her qualities in a letter of application; it has become mandatory that the writer provides
independent sources that should provide a cross referencing mechanism. This verification mechanism will reduce
on the details you provide in the letter certainly deliver you from temptation of exaggerating your abilities.

The verification mechanism is attached at the end of the letter (PS) that is placed on the left hand side of the page
immediately after the signature. (PS) is translated as post script from Latin meaning after the letter. And it is under
this section that you provide the references- the people that can verify what you have said (given in the letter). It
normally starts with a statement:
“For further information, you may contact the following “
The references are normally 3 and must include the following categories of people
a) An academic mentor
b) Spiritual leader
c) Anyone
However, none of your reference should be a close friend or a relative because of any question of objectivity.
Sometimes the employer will specify to you what references he/she wants.
The format below is what should be followed when presenting the referees,
a) Full name and title, Dr. Wasajja James or Prof. Nambi Rebecca.
b) Their physical addresses e.g. the Faculty Education, Open University, and P.O.Box 25454, Kampala.
c) Telephone numbers both mobile and office telephone.
d) Email address
Note: if the letter is hand written, it’s preferable to write this in block letters not a must but prudent for purposes
of clarity. However, if the letter is type set, use the title format.

70
2. The other likely attached on the letter of application is the curriculum vitae (CV). This is an elaborate
presentation of yourself. The sections in a CV vary from 4 to as many as you want to provide but the most key are;
a) Bio data (personal data) where you have the name, sex, date of birth, marital status,
number of dependants (children), contact address (like the one above)
b) Academic qualification (record) (P1- degree certificates)
c) Employment/professional record; the year, title or position you held and institution in
which you were working.
d) The skills you have; this may include the languages spoken (used), hobbies and then
the 3 referees

Maziwa Kenneth,
P.O BOX 20000,
KAMPALA.
28th FEBRUARY, 2019
Tel: 0784286628
E-MAIL:maziwa@yahoo.Com

THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

RURAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING KIGADI
P.O.BOX 298
KARUGUZA
Dear Sir,
RE: APPLICATION FOR A TEACHING POST
I am expressing my interest to fill the above mentioned post in reference to your
advertisement that appeared in The New vision of 19th January 2007.

I am a Ugandan male aged 25 years, and I am currently pursuing a bachelor of

Arts with Education at Kampala International University majoring in English and
Literature. Currently, I am in my last semester and my graduation is set for June
22nd 2020.

I have through my training attained skills in e-Learning and learner centred

methodologies which are key qualities of a millennium teacher and I believe my
expertise will enrich your institution.

I look forward to hearing from you if my application meets your utmost

consideration.

yours faithfully,
maziwa Kenneth

Kenneth Maziwa

The application letter above is an example of a standard application in which the applicant states the purpose of
his/her application and the qualities that make him/her suitable for the post. The second example goes a step
further by providing the addressee with possible sources of cross-referencing the information he/she has given.
From an employer’s point of view, the second applicant is quite serious when compared to the first. Therefore, the
ball is in your court, do you want the addressee to consider you serious and treat you so?

71
Letters of Apology
It is believed that sorry is one of the most powerful words in any language. Since to err is human, in our
professional lives we are bound to err and if we do it is human to say sorry and acknowledge our fault. In a
professional environment sorry is expressed through letters of apology.

A letter of apology is like any other official letter in terms of formant. It has the address, the addressee, salutation
and reference. The only difference is that it is addressed to the person one wronged and the heading is
categorically stated as an apology and expressly stating the wrong done. The other common feature of a letter of
apology is the C.C-copy to section in which the writer gives copies to other people who either know about his
mistake or those hurt indirectly by his action. Below are some samples of letters of apology.

OPEN UNIVERSITY
P.O.BOX 8382
KAMPALA
25th MARCH 2007
THE GUILD PRESIDENT
OPEN UNIVERSITY
P.O.BOX 8382
NEW CAMPUS
Dear Madam,
RE: APOLOGY FOR MISSING THE LAST TWO CABINET
MEETINGS
I humbly apologize for missing the above-mentioned meetings and
consequently not fulfilling my obligations that I swore to.

I contracted malaria on 18th March 2007 and from then to date, I was
admitted at Mulago Hospital. Now that I am steadily recovering, I hope to
resume my full service in a few days to come.

I will be very thankful if my sincere apology is put under your utmost

consideration.

Yours Faithfully
K.J
KAKURU JACKSON
Guild Minister of Education.

In the letter above, the writer apologies for not fulfilling his obligations to the guild president and it should be
assumed that since they are colleagues, there was no need to copy the letter to someone else. The next letter of
apology demonstrates when such a letter needs to be copied to other officials.

72
 MANI MARTHA

C/O OPEN UNIVERSITY

P.O.BOX 8382
KAMPALA
19 MARCH 2007
th

THE VICE CHANCELLOR

OPEN UNIVERSITY
P.O.BOX 8382
KAMPALA
Dear Sir,
RE: APOLOGY FOR A FORDGED A BANK SLIP

I hereby tender in my apology to your office for having forged a bank slip
for my tuition fees for the second semester of the academic year2006/07.

I am a third year Bachelor of Arts students offering English and

Literature. This was because I had financial constraints and we were
drawing nearer to the end of second semester examinations, and failure
to pay meant that I would miss the examinations. It is this fear that drove
me to do something that is wrong and I promise never to do it again.
I am looking forward for your positive consideration
Yours faith fully,
Mani martha
MANI MARTHA

Letters of Invitation
Another type of official letter is the letter of invitation. As the name suggests, the purpose of this letter is to
formally invite a person or a group of people to a function or an activity. Of recent, invitation cards have in a way
replaced the invitation letter. Nevertheless, an invitation letter is quite crucial if you are inviting key officials to a
function.

In formant terms, it is no different from any other type of official letter. It is different in terms of content. The
reference of such letters should clearly spell out that the person is being invited and for what he is being invited. If
possible the heading of the letter should specify where and when the function or the activity is going to take place.

The introductory statement reinforces the heading of the letter by again stating that the person or people have
been invited for a specific function at a particular place and time. This should be done in a sentence of not more
than 20 words.

The body paragraph should give details of the function/activity to which someone is being invited. Indicate to the
person clearly the place, how to get to it and what time the function is starting and ending. Such information is
crucial if someone is to either attend or decline the invitation.

End courteously by requesting the person or people to attend and indicate how or what a honour it would be to
have them present at the function or activity. In other words, you are inviting them because they are important,
therefore, make them feel important. Please always attach a copy of the programme of the function/activity. Below
are some samples of invitation letters.

73
 THE HEAD TEACHER,
KAKUNGULUHIGH SCHOOL,
P.O.BOX 20,
BOMBO.
28th FEBRUARY 2007
TO THE HEAD TEACHER,
NAMALIGASECONDARY SCHOOL,
P.O.BOX 168,
BOMBO.
Dear Sir
RE: INVITATION FOR A NETBALL MATCH
I humbly invite your school netball team to a friendly netball championship to be
held at our school sports ground on the 9th April 2007.
The purpose of the championship is to prepare our respective teams before the
National Championships later in the year. Five more schools have been invited and these
are: BomboSeniorSecondary School, NalinyaLwantale Girls, ShanamuHigh School,
NdejjeSeniorSecondary School and NdejjeHigh school. The programme of the day is
attached to this letter.
Your presence is highly appreciated
Yours Faithfully
mibeiagnes
MIBEI AGNES
HEADTEACHER
KAKUNGULUHIGH SCHOOL

Requisition Letters
This is another type of letter, and as the name suggest it is that letter in which you the writer writes for the express
purpose of asking for something from someone. What can be said about letters of requisition is that like any other
form of asking, the one doing the asking must be very courteous. Otherwise the formant is like that of any other
official letter.
C/O NAKALANZI MARTHA,
MINISTER OF INFORMATION,
OPEN UNIVERSITY,
P.O.BOX 8382,
KAMPALA..
19th MARCH 2007
THE GUILD PRESIDENT
OPEN UNIVERSITY,
P.O.BOX 8382,
KAMPALA
Dear Sir,
RE: REQUEST FOR STATIONERY FOR GUILD AFFAIRS OFFICE
I hereby humbly request for stationery to be used in guild affairs. The items
needed are; twenty counter books for office use, eight file folders for keeping records, three reams of
paper for office use like writing minutes in a meeting, one box of ball point pens for writing or
The next letter of
recording requisition
down is in all filing
information, parts similar
cabinstofor
the first letter.
keeping The only
records, difference
punching is that the
machine second
which letter
helps lists
in filing,
the items requested
one stapling for. Listing
machine for items
putting works to help
papers achieve
together forclarity and brevity
easy keeping, of the letter
furniture andchairs,
like the the request.
tablesItand
is
cupboard
advisable anditems
to list the the computer for data processing
you are requesting for, because and storage
this makes as well.
them clear to your addressee.
I will be very grateful if the request is granted

Yours in service
Nakalanzi Martha
NAKALANZI MARTHA
c.c University Bursar
c.c Financial Minister
c.c Dean of students

74
 OPEN UNIVERSITY,
P.O BOX 8382,
KAMPALA
1st JUNE, 2007
THE DEAN OF STUDENTS
OPEN UNIVERSITY,
P.O BOX 8382,
KAMPALA
Dear Sir,
RE: REQUEST FOR STATIONERY
I am here by writing to request for stationery to be used for the distribution of information
about the forth-coming meeting of the guild cabinet to take place on the 10th of June.
I would like to be given the following items;
1. Four markers: one blue, two black and one red,
2. Six manila papers, green in colour,
3. One bottle of office glue, office pins.
I would be grateful if my request is put into consideration.
Yours Faithfully
Lawino Rebecca
LAWINO REBECCA
Information Minister
Open University
c.c Guild Secretary, Open University

Open Letters
Open letters are by definition, those letters addressed to no specific person. By this we mean that an official letter
is written, but without anticipating the official going to read it. In fact these are letters we write in anticipation that
they will be required. Open letters include letters of introduction and letters of recommendation. In the two cases
listed above, the writer is not sure who is going to read the letter but is quite sure that that letter will be requested
for.

When writing an open letter, we specify the writer’s address and position in the address and the signature and we
make the person being recommended or introduced the subject of the letter. At the same time the addressee is left
open with the statement, “To Whom It May Concern.” For further assessment, examine the samples below:

Royal Open University

P.O.BOX 8382,
KAMPALA
19th MARCH 2007
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
Dear Sir/Madam,
RE: NATALIE NORIS
This is to notify you that the above mentioned is a bon fide student of Royal Open University. She is a
third year female student and resides in Kateregga hall at the Mutundwe Campus.
The above student has lost her identity card. It has been missing since the sixth of June 2007. Please
render her services required

Yours faithfully,
lawinorebecca
LAWINO REBECCA
DEAN OF STUDENTS ROYAL OPEN UNIVERSITY

At state above, most introductory and recommendation letters have no specific addressees. Nevertheless,
there are times when the addressee is known beforehand. In this case when writing such a letter, it is
advisable to address it to those specific officers. The sample of a recommendation letter below could be
useful to illustrate the point below.

75
 NAKALANZI MARTHA,
KAMPALA SCHOOL,
P.O BOX 30363
KAMPALA.
10th MARCH 2007

THE HEADMISTRESS,
MARYHILLHIGH SCHOOL,
P.O.BOX 26,
MBARARA.
Dear Madam,
REF: RECOMMENDATION OF NAMBI RACHEAL FOR A VACANCY IN YOUR
SCHOOL
I hereby write this letter in reference to your letter, which was dated on the 8 th
March 2007 seeking recommendation of Nambi Rachael to your school.
Nambi Rachael is a well behaved student and has been a student in Saint Joseph’s
Nagalama S.S for the last four years. She is a good sports lady who successfully excelled in
volleyball, netball and academics as well. She is also a very disciplined and hardworking
student.
She left her former school because her parents are no longer living in Mukono but
shifted to MbararaTown and it is prudent that she goes to a school that is near to her new
home.
Looking forward to your assistance.
Yours Faithfully,
Nakalanzi Martha
NAKALANZI MARTHA
HEADMISTRESS

Letters of Appointment
After your University education, you will apply for many vacancies that you come across and for sure you will be
given a job. If an organisation offers you a job, it is a standard practice that they will write to you informing you of
the good news that they have decided to give you a job. The letter that is written to formally offer you employment
is called an appointment letter.

The other scenario is that as by your training some of you will become Human Resource managers of your
organisations. In this position, one of your responsibilities is to hire the competent manpower for your
organisation. On deciding who among the normally many applicants, you are expected to offer them a letter of
appointment. This means that one must be familiar with the formant and content of a letter of appointment.

Like any other type of letter, an appointment letter is no different in terms of structure and formant. It must have
the address, which in this case it is the organisation that is offering employment, the addressee in this case the
person to whom employment is being offered and the reference is the job being offered. Remember it is prudent
to state exactly the post or opening that is being offered to the person.

The introduction of an appointment letter expresses happiness and pleasure in offering the job to the person and
the date when the appointment goes into effect must be clearly specified. If it is an initial offer of employment, it is
standard that a certain period is probationary and this fact must be clearly stated. If it is not, the possibility that the
person who under performs and therefore, must be let go will legally demand for dismissal or retirement benefits
that he/she does not qualify for.

In the body of the letter, state exactly the remuneration that the addressee must expected from the organisation.
This should include the basic pay and all other allowances and entitlements. It is normal that an entrant in an
organisation starts at a lower salary compared to older employees. This fact should be specified and so should the
class/scale in which the employee falls in. In the body of the appointment letter, you must specify the immediate
boss of the employee. In other words tell him/her to whom and where to report for deployment. It is one thing to

76
give someone a job and quite another if you do not direct him/her to whom she/he should report. In this section
also specify the documentation needed to make the employment formal. These will include and not limited to
terms and conditions of services, the job acceptance form, medical report as well as identity.

As you conclude the letter, be courteous and wish him/her a pleasant stay in the organisation and success in
his/her career. Sign the letter and indicate the position that gives you the power to hire him/her and as a post
script copy the letter to relevant officers that will participate in the deployment or integration of the officer in the
organisation.

Sample I Appointment Letter.

S-Communication Initiatives,
P.O Box 2345,
Kampala.
www.s-communicationinitiatve.com
24/10/2008
Our Ref: HR/D/O8
Mr.Okello Boniface,
P.O Box 6789,
Kampala.
Dear Sir,
RE: APPOINTMENT AS CREATIVE DIRECTOR
I am pleased to inform you that following the interviews held on the 4/5/2008 held at our company head
quarters, plot 234 Lumumba Avenue, the Human Resource Department decided to appoint you as a Creative Director
effective 1/11/2008. This offer is on a two year contract renewable depending on satisfactory performance and mutual
consent.
Initially you will serve on a six (6) months probation after which the offer of a permanent appointment will be
given depending on the review of your performance. If your performance is below the company’s expectation, the
company reserves the right to terminate your services with no liabilities even before the end of the probation period if it
is deemed to be in the interest of the company.
The salary attached to this post is S-C/3 starting from 5.405.129 Uganda shillings to 10.342.240 Uganda
shillings per month including housing and utilities allowances before taxes. The entry point in your case is 5.405.129
Uganda shillings
You will be reporting to the Vice President-Marketing and Advertising who will provide you with a copy or the
terms and conditions of services as well as your job description. Study the two documents carefully, after which submit
a written acceptance and a comprehensive medical examination report from a registered physician in 14 days.
Wishing you God’s blessing for success in your work with S-Communications.
Yours Sincerely
Archie Burton
ARCHIE BURTON
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER
CC.
CEO
Financial Controller
VP Marketing and Advertising

77
Sample II Appointment Letter- Standardised Form.

King’s College Masaka,

NyendoMasaka,
P.O Box 8976,
Masaka.
Date…………………………………….

Ref: SA/08/G
TO:
Mr./Mrs./Miss…………………………………………….

APPOINTMENT LETTER
Dear Sir/Madam
I am pleased to inform you that King’s College Masaka Board of Governors have directed me to offer
you appointment as ……………………..
Teaching………………………………………and……………………………………

The appointment is subject to the terms and conditions of King’s College Masaka, and may be
amended from time to time.
In addition, your appointment will include the following terms:
a) Salary scale …………………………………………………………….
b) Starting salary………………………………………………………….
c) Date of appointment………………………………………………….
d) Incremental date…………………………………………………………
e) Probation period………………………………………………………
I have to request you to inform me in writing if you are prepared to accept this offer on the stated
terms and if so report to the nearest Doctor for a medical examination.

Wishing all the best in your career at King’s College Masaka.

Yours faithfully
………………………………….
…………………………………….
HEADMASTER
CC
Chairman B.OG
School Bursar
Chairman P.T.A
School File

Confirmation Letters
Most forms of employment are contractual and even those that permanent and pensionable, there is always a
probation period that the employ must fulfil before the temporality terms are changed. The period of probation
varies from one institution to the other. In some, the period is 3 month, in others it is 6 months but the standard is
two years.

After successfully serving the company or institution for the mandatory period of probation, the Human Resource
Manager on behalf of the institution or company must let the employee know whether he/she has satisfied the
company or institution. This is through a confirmation letter. This spells out whether the employee is being given
permanent status in the company or institution acknowledging that the company or institution is pleased with
his/her services.

Like it is the case with all other types of letters, the confirmation letter has the usual aspects like the address which
in this case is that of the company, the addressee who is the employee being confirmed and the different parts like
the introduction, the body and the conclusion.

Where the confirmation letter differs from other types of letters is in its content and the language used. Like it is

78
the case with the appointment letter, the writer should express happiness in communicating to the addressee on
this subject in the first paragraph or introduction which should follow the heading which in this case is confirmation
in a particular position in the organisation. In the body of the letter refer to the instrument that warranted the
current communication and specify what the candidate must fulfil if he is interested in the position being offered.
Refer the said candidate to any legal and contractual obligations that he/she should be aware off. In conclusion, be
courteous and which the appointee a happy and prosperous stays in the organisation.

Note that not all people employed in an organisation impress the management and do their work well. This means
that as others are confirmed, others are let go. To many people, letting someone go is the hardest thing to do. Hard
as it may be, someone has to do it. This means that a dismissal letter has to be written. In case the person has been
incompetent or indiscipline meaning he/she has been warned several times the writing of the letter and the actual
action is not hard. For someone who despite he/her commitment does not fit in the profile of the organisation, the
letter and the action can be very difficult.

Therefore, when writing a dismissal letter have the following points in mind. Let the letter be short but to the
point. Do not outline what you assume are his weakness or shortcomings. Be courteous and apologetic to the
person and wish him a successful career elsewhere. Below is a sample confirmation and dismissal letter. Use them
as a reference when you get need to write one.

SAMPLE CONFIRMATION LETTER

PROTONS INCORPORATED
P.O BOX 12357,
KAMPALA.
31ST JULY, 2023.
MR. KANGULI DEO,
Dear Sir/Madam,

RE: CONFIRMATION OF APPOINTMENT AS COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR

I’m pleased to inform you that the Board of Director during their fifteenth annual sitting reviewed the
performance of your probation period and in minute 23/BOD/23[34] directed that you be confirmed in your
appointment as a communication director and be admitted to the mid-level management with all benefits
related to this category of employees.
Your attention is drawn to the conditions and terms of service and specifically to the company official
secrets and disclosure expectation as outlined in chapter 1 sub-section a-d paragraph 5-8.
If you are ready to take the appointment and abided by the expectations referred to above, inform this
office in writing in a period not exceeding 14 days from the reception of this letter.

Yours faith fully,

………………….
Gordon Gideon
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER.

79
SAMPLE OF A DISMISSAL LETTER

PROTONS INCORPORATED
P.O BOX 12357,
KAMPALA.
31ST JULY, 2023.
MR. KIGULI ALEX,
Dear Sir/Madam,
RE: TERMINATION OF SERVICE
I hereby regret to inform you that the Board of Directors during their
fifteenth sitting on the 23rd of July, 2007 directed that your services with the
company be terminated immediately. It has revoked article 12 sub-section a-f in
your contract that specifies that your annual salary and gratuity will be paid to you
immediately and holds the indemnity of paying half your current salary if you are
not employed two years from the date of your termination.
The company is restructuring its core operations as a result of the Financial
Markets meltdown and it regrettably feels that your core competencies are not what
it requires at this critical time.
We wish you a prosperous career.
Yours faithfully
……………………….
Gordon Gideon
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER.

Writing Agreements and Other Legal Documents

Most of you will be expected to transact business on behalf of the organisations that you work for. In the good old
past people would keep they word and what they promised to do, they would do so. The concept of shaking hands
after concluding a deal comes from this period when ones word was his/her bond. Currently though people will say
one thing and in a blink of an eye will say the opposite of what he had promised.

Assuming that you will deal with honest and upright kind of people, you should know that human life is transient.
Yes you could make a deal with someone and fifteen minutes after, this person may pass away. In his/her death, so
vanishes the agreement you made. Sometimes you may transact business with someone and after inquiry, he/she
will be influenced to change his/her mind and so doing the understanding that you thought you had goes up in
smoke.

It is the scenarios listed above that calls upon any one to al least have a rudimental understanding of and ability to
write some of the common legal documents. It is true that some of the organisations that you will work for will
have a legal secretary whose job description will be drawing some of these documents, but there will be times
when he/she is not available and you will need to draw these documents. Therefore, it is important to know how
they are drawn. Below are some samples of common legal documents.

80
AGREEMENTS SAMPLE I
TENANCY AGREEMENT
I NakiwanukaProssy hereby accept to let my house which is at
Nansana West Zone I to Mr.Kawuki Boniface of Kampala.

THE CONDITIONS OF TENANCY ARE AS FOLLOWS

• The tenant will be required to pay a monthly
rent of 200,000 (shilling) per month.
• The tenant shall pay twelve month’s rent in
advance totalling to 2.400.000shillings) after
which the tenancy agreement shall be
renewed on terms that will be agreed upon
by both parties.
• The tenant will pay all utility bills for the
duration of his/her tenancy.
• The landlord will periodically renovate the
building to accepted standard.
• The tenant will be required to care for the
house and maintain it to reasonable
standard approximate to the state it was
found in.
This agreement is made this day 7th of December, 2009 between
the fore mention person, NakiwanukaProssy and Kawuki Boniface
and is effective from the above stated date.

If the above terms and conditions are acceptable to both parties

indicate by affixation of their respective hands and seals.

TENANT SIGNATURE
……………………………... …………………………….
LAND LORDS:
…………………………… ………………………….
WITNESSED
1. ……………………… ………………………….
2…………………………… ………………………….

81
AGREEMENTS SAMPLE II

THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA

CAR SALE AGREEMENT

THIS CAR SALE AGREEMENT made this 17th day of March 2013

BETWEEN
HOOD BALILUNO of P.O Box 2341, Kampala [Hereinafter referred to as the
‘vendor’] which expression shall where the context so admits include her
assignees and successors in title of one part
AND

GUMA GUMISIRIZA OF P.O Box 9087Masaka [Herein referred to as the

buyer/purchaser] which expression shall where the context so admits include
his/her assignees or successors in title of the other part.

WITNESSTH that

WHEREAS the vendor is the owner of car TOYOTA CORONA ST190,

registration number UAJ231K he is desirous of selling.

AND WHEREAS the buyer/purchaser is desirous of purchasing the said car.

It is now hereby agreed as hereunder:
1. That the vendor has agreed to sell the said car to the purchaser for the
total amount of Uganda shillings Ten Millions [10,000,000]
2. That the purchaser has agreed to purchase the said car at the above
stated price.
3. That the money will be paid in cash to the vendor at which he will hand
over the log book of the car and sign the transfer forms signalling
transfer of ownership.
4. That the purchaser will take the “as it is” and is liable to any
malefactions not noticed at the sale.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the vendor and the buyer have hereunto set their
respective hands the day and month and year first above-mentioned

SIGNED by the said

HOOD BALILUNO ………………………. VENDOR

In the presence of: ………………………WITNESS

SIGNED by the said

GUMA GUMISIRIZA ………………………PURCHASER

All in the presence of: ……………………..L.C.I CHAIRMAN KAZO

DRAWN BY AKIKI & CO. ADVOCATES 82

P.O BOX 6784, KAMPALA.
Writing Press Statements and Releases

No organisation is immune to the media. In its lifespan at one point any organisation will have to deal with the
media. This could be voluntarily or forcefully. This is because the media is very influential in people’s perception of
the organisation. The media informs people of the activities that an organisation performs as well as helping to
form people’s opinions and perceptions of an organisation. Because of these and other important roles that the
media plays, any organisation and especially people who work in these organisation should have a working
knowledge of how the media works and how they write.

Like all professions, the media is guided by strong ethical guidelines on what to publish-more specifically the ideal
that they should publish the truth and should always go to all length to establish the truth. In real life, sometimes
the media gets it wrong and when they do it is hard for them to admit that they got it wrong. In cases when they
do admit culpability, the correction is hidden in the inner pages and in tiny font and print that it essentially does
not correct the harm done.
If the media, because of the laziness or the unprofessionalism of a reporter does not write false hoods about an
organisation, it may completely ignore the good work that the organisation is doing. This is because media is a
business and may decide that writing about an NGO fighting for people’s human rights may jeopardise its
relationship with the government from whom they get advertising revenue and ignore the stories about the
company.

In both the case above, the organisation has a way out and this is through the publication in the media either a
press release or statement. The name, release and statement really do not differentiate from or in the content of
each text. Under whatever name, it is a paid for communication by the organisation either to report its
achievement or refute allegations made about it. Of course the organisation can hire a media consultant to write
this text for them, but the problem with outsiders, is that they are not familiar with the work of the organisation
and as such may not capture the reality of the company or organisation. Therefore, the people in the organisation
must give a hand and this is possible if they have a clue on how it is written. Below is a sample of a standard press
release.
SAMPLE OF A PRESS RELEASE

STAR ENTERPRISES UGANDA LIMITED

P.O BOX 12312

KAMPALA
TEL:0392345987
0412324567
EMAIL:con@starenterprise.co.ug
PRESS RELEASE
This is to inform the general public that the allegation made in the story entitled, “MD FLEES
WITH COMPANY FUNDS” in The Nation Star of July 2nd 2009 on page 14 was false and should
be disregarded.
This is to inform our clients and the general public that we do not have the person
named in the story in our management team and that no funds of the organization are missing.
The story if it is not a concoction of the reporter, it might be about another company and the
reporter would have known this had he attempted to cross check with our company.
We regret any inconveniences such information might have caused to our investors and
clients.

Amos Wejuli
Public Relations Officer.

Public Notice
Sometimes the press release could take another name and this could be a public notice. In form and content the

83
two are similar. A press release and public notice have the same features. These are clear address and location of
the firm clearly at the top of the page. This should include the symbol/seal of the organisation. This should be
followed by the clear heading entitled press release or public notice. Then, a brief communication that clearly
states the issue and the organisations perspective. Lastly it should be signed by a competent official that the public
can believe. Below is a sample of a public notice

CAA
CONSTITUTIONAL ACADEMIC AGENCY
PROTECTING YOUR RIGHTS AND FUTURE

PUBLIC NOTICE
CONSTITUTIONAL ACADEMIC AGENCY HAS FULL
CONFIDENCE IN THE UGANDAN COURTS
We refer to the article in The Courier of 23rd may, 2009
entitled “Agency Condemns Judiciary.”
This is to clarify that the CONSTITUTIONAL ACADEMIC
AGENCY has not drafted or issues a statement raising concern or
commenting on the state of the judiciary in Uganda. This article
was misleading and malicious and we distance ourselves from it.
CONSTITUTIONAL ACADEMIC AGENCY would like to reassure
the public that it has confidence in the Ugandan Judiciary and by
large is satisfied with its work and will continue working with it to
achieve acceptable levels of constitutionalism in the country.

DdunguKatoma
CHAIRMAN

Writing an Affidavit
An affidavit is a legal document in which a person makes a bidding legal oath that is taken or administered before
the commissioner of oaths or a magistrate. The purpose of the affidavit is to legally state the truth to the best
recollection of the despondent. It is in effect the traditional telling the truth by swearing before something sacred.
It is assumed that a person is telling the truth about the subject if he/she takes the affidavit.

As much as an affidavit is a legal document that must be drawn and administered by legal professionals, everyone
ought to have knowledge of how it is drawn and below is a sample standard affidavit

84
 THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA

IN THE MATTERS OF THE OATHS ACT CHAPTER 52

AND

IN THE MATTER OF AN AFFIDAVIT IN LIEU OF OWNERSHIPS

AFFIDAVIT

• Editing
I, KIGUNDU PIUS, OF andKAWEMPE
Proofreading KAMPALA, P.O BOX 7865, do
• Writing minutes
solemnly make oath and swear as follows:
• writing reports
• writing memos
1. THAT I am a male adult of sane mind, a Ugandan by descent and
therefore competent to depone the contents of this affidavit.

2. THAT on the 23rd of June, 2006 I purchased from GungaBosco a

motor car Honda CRV registration number UAK234L at a cost of
twelve million shillings that I paid in cash.

3. THAT the said GungaBosco acknowledged receipt of the money in

the presence of three witnesses attached in the agreement and
surrendered the car key and log book to me.

4. THAT I assumed legal ownership of the said car and would now
wish to transfer it into my names.

5. THAT what I have stated herein above is true and correct to the
best of my knowledge and belief.
Sworn by the said
GungaBosco ……………………………..
At Kampala on this 28 day of June, 2006
th DEPONENT
BEFOR ME …………………….
COMMISIONER OF OATH

Writing Minutes
Minutes are defined as a record of what transpires during a formal meeting of any organisation. They are
sometimes defined as a report kept about the meeting. Whatever, name they are given, what is important is that
minutes record what happens or what is discussed in the meeting with the express purpose of having a record for
reference in implementing the activities of the organisation. As the organisation meets, it sets out plan and to
check whether these plans have been implemented, the surest way is to check the minutes. The other purpose of
minutes is for attribution. In this case they are a record of what said what and when.

For purpose of this document, our interest is not necessarily the merits of keeping minutes, but rather how they
can be properly kept. The following are some of the main components of minutes.
1. Title or the heading is the first component of minutes. When writing the heading of minutes, make
sure that they are stated as minutes. In addition, name the organisation, they type of meeting, the

85
 date on which it was held, the venue and last the time of the meeting. The time could either be
reflected from when it started or from when it started to when it ended.
2. Agenda is the next component. This specifies the general topics that guided the discussion. There are
some mandatory items like: prayer, communication from the chair, reading of minutes and matters
arising that must always be there. Other items will depend on what the meeting is set to discuss.
3. Attendance is a list of members present, absent with apology and those absent without apology. In
other words, you should have an attendance list that lists all those who are supposed to attend
whether they attend or not. Always start with the chair person and end with the secretary, following
the formant of name and position or title.
4. Minutes are the main section of the minutes. For each item of the agenda, create a minute. This
should have a heading with an abbreviation of the minute, the name of the item and the number of
the minute. You can start with number one and number consecutively to the last item or you can
number cumulatively from the last meeting. For example if the last minute in the last meeting was 10,
then the first minute in the next meeting is 11.
5. Signature comes at the end of the items of the agenda and the closing prayer. Provide a space for
signing the minutes after they have been read and accepted as a true record of what was discussed.
The minutes are signed by the chair person and the secretary. Below are two samples of minutes.

86
MINUTES OF THE OPEN UNIVERSITY FOREIGN STUDENTS ASSOCIATION 3 RD
GENERAL HELD ON 24TH MARCH 2007 AT KAMPALA CAMPUS AT 11:00 AM
MembersPresent
Ms.Brumen Alice Chairperson
Mr.Onze Charles Secretary
Ms. Dough Peter Member
Ms.Kroges Rebecca Member
Ms. Kips Agnes Member
Mr. Matt Oga Member
Mr. Joe Fida Member
Members Absent With Apology
Ms. Cox Peters Member
Mr.CowfordAcham Member
Mr.BendictGonen Member
Members Absent without apologies
Ms. Justin Inka Member
Ms. Amelia Akol Member
Min 1/3rd-GEN-24/07: Adoption of the Agenda
The agenda was adopted as proposed. The motion to adopt the agenda was moved
byMs.Kroges Rebecca and seconded by Mr. Matt Oga.
AGENDA
1. Adoption of the agenda
2. Opening prayer
3. Recording of membership
4. Communication from the chair
5. Reading of the previous minutes
6. Reaction to matters arising
7. About launching of Association
8. Nomination of the speaker
9. Closing prayer
Min 2/3rd-GEN. 24/07: Opening Prayer
The opening prayer was led by Mr.Onze Charles
Min 3/3rd-GEN-24/07: Introduction
The members were recorded as indicated above.
Min 4/3rd-GEN-24/07: Communication from the Chair
I. The chairperson welcomed everyone to the meeting and apologized for the
delay.
II. Expressed appreciation to Mr. and Mrs. Matt oga, Ms Kips Agnes for the
production of the constitution.
III. Informed members of the registration of the Association. Suggested that flags
to all countries should be raised during the launching.
Min 5/3rd-GEN. 24/07: Reading of Previous Minutes
The members read the previous minutes and acknowledged they were a true record of
what transpired in the 3rd General meeting. The motion to adopt the minutes was
moved byMs. Kips Agnes and seconded by Mr. Joe Fida
Min 6/3rd-GEN. 24/07: Reactions from Matters Arising
It was suggested that the information system should be re-arranged. One of the
members suggested that one flag should be used to represent all countries
Min 7/3rd-GEN-24/07: Launching of the Association
It was agreed that the launching should be on 8th April 2007 at Gaba Campus at 2:00
Pm
Min 8/3rd-GEN-24/07: Nomination of the Speaker
Mr.GitenKinde was nominated as the speaker for Mutundwe and Keiza Brandy as
speaker of Gaba Campus
Min 9/3rd-GEN-24/07: Closing Prayer
Theclosing prayer was led by Ms.Krugen Rebecca 87

Sign……………… Sign………………….
Secretary Chairperson
MINUTES OF END OF YEAR 2007 STAFF MEETING HELD ON WEDNESDAY 24th NOVEMBER 2007 AT
10:00 AM IN THE PHYSICS LABARATORY
AGENDA
1. Devotion/prayers
2. Head teachers report
3. Minutes of the previous meeting
4. Reports i.e. Discipline and Academic committee
5. Matters arising 2, 3, and 4 above
6. End of term and holiday arrangement
7. A.O.B
Members Present
1. Mr.SesangaMedi
2. Mr.Lukwago Cyrus
3. Mr.Katula Steven
4. Mr.Senyuzi Richard
Min 1/11/2007: Opening prayer
CALLED: The meeting to order at 10:00 am
REQUESTED: Mr.Senyuzi Richard led the opening prayer.
Min 2/11/2007: Chairperson Remarks
EXTENDED: Extended sympathies to those who had lost their dear ones.
THANKED: The lord for his Devine Protection, members for their input.
CONGRATULATED: Members on the successful completion of the year.
OBSERVED:
• Spiritually growth among students
• Teacher – student relationship has been good
• Increase in commodity prices had curtailed the schools capacity to carry
out all the programmes
Min 3/11/2007: Minutes of Previous Meeting
The minutes were read and approved after a few corrections
Min 4/11/2007: Committee Reports
The discipline committee
REPORTED:
• There were a few theft cases compared to previous terms
• Other offences include, trespassing and insubordination
• Muwonge Tony was suspended for two weeks for sneaking out of school
The academic committee
REPORTED:
• Reference to be made to the recommendation of the meeting held in the middle of
the term
Min 5/11/2007: Matters Arising
Matters arising from chairman’s remarks
NOTED
• Matters arising from the chairman’s communication
Matters Arising from the Previous Minutes
NOTED
• All members were called upon to abide by the domestic regulation
• The administration asked to provide plates and cups to students
• Students who tress pass to bring a roll of barbed wires
Min 6/11/2007: End of Term arrangements
NOTED
• End of term on 24th November 2007 at 8:00 Am
Min 7/11/2007: A.O.B
RAISED
• Food rations to be dished out
• Staff excursion to be in foreign countries
------------------------------ ----------------
Secretary Chairman

88
Writing a Speech
A speech is a form of communication delivered to an audience through the oral form of communication. In any
language, there are two productive skills and these are writing and speaking. Speeches are mainly a form of the
productive skills and as such mainly use the oral function to communicate.
As much a speech as a form of communication is oral, it is prudent that if one is delivering a speech in a
formal setting or to a large audience, he/she needs to write it done. This is mainly because a written speech is more
effective and is not subjected to venue or time interruptions that can distort the message. It is not practical to cram
your speech, because a slight interference can make you forget the whole speech and hence look a fool to your
audience.
Therefore, the importance of a written speech is that it is a reference that the speaker constantly refers to
while making a speech. There are two ways of writing a speech. The first type is the less structured formant. This is
when the speaker lists down the main points of his speech and expounds on them as he delivers the speech. If one
has access to the computer, then the programme PowerPoint can be useful in providing a lay out of making these
notes for the speech. This type is recommended in a situation where the speech is delivered to a less formal
situation.
The second type is the written speech. This is a must when you are delivering a speech in a formal situation.
Sometimes a copy of a speech is required to be given to the key members beforehand. And sometimes a copy is given
to the audience and they follow your presentation from their own copies. It is prudent that in such situations the
speech must be written in advance. Though is not part of this document, it must be emphasised that even when the
speech is written, it should never be read. Below are some samples of written speeches of the different types.

A THANKSGIVING SPEECH
Kasunga A Village Kibiito Sub County Kabalore District 29th March 2007
The area member of Parliament
Hon Tanka Bern Guest of Honour
The Chairman LC III
KibiitoSubCounty
The chief priest
Yerya Catholic Parish
The chair person LC 1
KadindimaVillage
Ladies and Gentlemen
It’s by the grace of the almighty God that we have gathered to join in spirit and passion to celebrate with our brother and
Sister Joseph and Jennifer for having achieved the best of the achievements among the achievers and those known in our area.
Today we are celebrating various things achieved in a number of years; Mr.Magezi Joseph was awarded a Doctorate degree
in 2005 he highest level indeed, to be achieved in our area, Madam Jennifer was crowned the best investor of the year 2006 – 2007 in
Uganda. Their two illustrious children; Jack and Diana passed their advanced level examinations in flying colours in what’s known as
Government scholarship scheme at University. All these victories among the very many other achievements, we should. In respect to

the above achievement s, we should always fall on our knees and thank God for whatever we get from above.
Down in my memory, when I was still young, I could not tell the difference between my biological father and
mother from the family of Joseph and Jennifer because they brought me up as immaculate as a crystal! I think, the
best achieved are the rewards from God for the Good things done by the family:
The chief guest, invited guests ladies and gentlemen; thank you: Kakuru Jackson
Family Friend.

From the sample above, it is important to highlight the following aspects of a thanksgiving speech. One of the main
aspects is the heading or title of the speech. The tile should specify the type of speech, the address and the speaker
must observe protocol.
Protocol is very important in formal speech and should be treated with a lot of care. The rationale is that you should

89
acknowledge every important person present. This should take the following formant. Mention the person’s name
and his title and where possible his/her position. One should be aware of how certain people are addressed. For
example a Minister is honourable and a President or Ambassador is His/Hers Excellency. Another thing to note is start
with the most important and end with the least important.

Below is an example of a vote of thanks, yet another type of a written speech. Ideally a vote of thanks is supposed to
be an impromptu speech given immediately after the main speaker has delivered his/her speech. But for prudence
sake, if you have a copy of the speech in advance, it is advisable to write your thanks in advance as well.

In a vote of thanks, give it a title specifying that it is a vote of thanks and to a specify person or group of people
presented to them on a particular date and place. This should be followed by the observance of protocol, an
introduction and the thanks. The tone of the speech should reflect thanks and you can thank for as many things that
you think are relevant. But most importantly a vote of thanks should be short; if possible it should not take more than
5 minutes.

SAMPLE I OF A VOTE OF THANKS

A VOTE OF THANKS (SPEECH) PRESENTED TO THE AUDIENCE ON 20 th JANUARY 2006
AT PAUL’S GRADUATION

The District Education Officer, Mr. John Ssekaddu, the Chairman Local Council, Five Lubaga
Division the head of this family Mr.Ssekamatte Denis, together with his wife, the grandaunds
around, ladies and gentlemen. You are warmly welcome for this special function in this home
and I would love to greet you all in the lord’s name.

My name is NambiTinah, a second year student of Open University and I am the grandaund’s
closest friend. I would like to thank all of you, for coming to make this a very special day.
Your presence has really made the function colourful.

I would like to thank each one of you, for your contribution. I really don’t know how to
express this but am so delighted and happy. Let me leave God to pay you back for all your
contributions. May God bless you all1 Thank you so much for listening to me.

NambiTinah
Open University
Below is another of a vote of thanks speech.

90
SAMPLE II OF A VOTE OF THANKS

A VOTE OF THANKS PRESENTED TO THE PARENTS, STAFF MEMBERS AND STUDENTS

OF IGANGA GIRLS SECONDARY

SCHOOL AT 3.15 PM ON THE SCHOOL OPEN DAY

I recognize the presence of the Guest of honour, Honourable Nimulod Enoch, The chairman
Board of Governors, The chairman parents` teachers` Association, our dear Head mistress,
parents, ladies and Gentlemen.

On behalf of the school administration, I thank you all for responding to our call and thank you
for making this day a success. Special thanks go to the guest of honour, honourable Nimulod
Enoch who has greatly contributed to the academic performance of the students. He personally
opened two newly constructed chemistry and Biology laboratories. He is a man behind their
construction. Thank you Honourable Nimulod Enoch.

I wish to express our heart-felt gratitude to our parents without which this day would never
have been. We thank the parents for their support and for paying up their children’s school
materials. Our disciplinary measures taken and for taking good care of the students while on
holidays. Thank you.

There is a special group of people, who normally take control guide and protect the children
while they are here. We have not forgotten the teaching staff who work as hard to see to it that
our school stays at the top. Teachers have done good work. Thank you very much

Lastly but not least, we thank the students whose duty it is to work hard and achieve the set
aims and goals. Students have been disciplined and there have been no cases of suspension or
expulsion. Keep this up and e shall stay at the top.

I thank you all for the individual attention, for sacrificing your time to share with us this
occasion. Thank you ladies and gentlemen. Good day.

Lawino Rebecca
Head of Department
English literature

Writing Reports
A report is document written from one official to giving information about a specific issue to another official.
Normally it is from a junior official to a senior official about a task that is assigned to him/her. For example a senior
marketing officer may task his/her junior to finding out why the company’s new product is not doing well as
anticipated. The junior officer will carry out a research and at the end of the day will find out why the product is
doing badly. This information is to presented as a report to the senior officer
Reports are crucial documents in a day to day running of any organisation that it is important to know how they are
written. Any action to be taken must always be based on information and this information is best presented in
reports. In fact without reports, neither action nor decision can be taken.
Reports vary in as far as their purposes are concerned. There are what can be referred to as simple and less
structured reports and very structured reports. Whether it is simple or highly structure, their formant remains the
sample. A report must have the following components. These include the title of the report, which specifically state
that it is a report, must indicate to whom and from whom the report is to and from, it must have an introduction. The
introduction briefly explains what the report is about and how or why it was conceived, including the mode of
research used. The main body of the report specifies the different issues that the report communicates.

91
For prudence’s sake, if your report is long-that is more than five pages, always cover it with an executive summary of
not more than one page. As stated earlier, officials that are written to, normally do not have the time to read the
whole report. Therefore, an executive summary will highlight the key issues of the report for the audience and if need
be it can direct the officer to the necessary sections of the report for further scrutiny. Below is a sample of a report.

REPORT ON STAFF UNREST AND LOW MORALE

FROM: EKANYA JOHN,
DEPUTY HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER,
WARID TELECOM, UGANDA.
TO: DVAND ALI,
SENIOR HUMAN MANAGER,
WARID TELECOM, INTERNATIONAL.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This report is in response to your memo dated 19th May, 2007 that hinted on the general unrest,
unexplained resignation and low morale of the work force in Warid, Uganda. According to your
specifications and advice, I conduct a research to ascertain the root cause of this phenomenon.
Below are the findings of the study carried out.
1.1 METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURE
The research used mainly to methods of data collection. These were the questionnaire and
interviews. A total of 100 workers were used in the study. Of these 60 were given questionnaires
and 40 were interviewed. For triangulation purposes, the grapevine was used especially in
respect to those views that people were hesitant to air out. The study took a maximum of 4
weeks, of which two were for the collection of views and opinions and 1 for the analysis of the
data collected and 1 for writing the report.
1.2 FINDINGS
The study in the analysis of the data collected discovered three main patterns that explain the
low morale, unrest and unexplained resignation of the key staff members in the company. These
were:
1.2.1 LACK OF PROMOTIONS
The study observes that the main explanation for the de-motivation and constant resignations is
the apparent lack of promotional channels for the staff. It was noted that any opening in the
company is filled by expatriate staff, normally of low quality compared to the current staff. To
most, their jobs were dead end from which for purposes of professional growth, they should
leave.
1.2.2 PAY PACKAGE
The research found out that the staff members are not satisfied with the total take home package
they receive. The discontent is twofold. In the first place, they are discontented because of the
reductions instituted last year across the board. They believe this was done arbitrary and
without their input. Secondly they feel that they are paid less than what other people in the
industry are getting.
1.2.3 POOR RELATIONS WITH MANAGEMENT
Most members of staff feel that they are badly treated by management. In all staff meetings they
are addressed with disrespected and constantly referred to as lazy and thieves. They also
complained that their views, especially about their welfare are not listened to.
1.3 CONCLUSIONS
This report draws the following conclusions in regards to the task given and the conditions on
the ground.
i. That there is a serious morale and employee dissatisfaction amongst the workers in the
Sample Questions
company.
ii. There is poor communication link between top management and the workers.
1. In yourthere
iii. That opinions whatpolicy
is no are the factors
and an that affectto
attempt effective
addresswriting
the and suggest and
problems ways interests
how these of
canthe
be local
addressed.
workers.
2.
1.4 With examples, explain the proper use of three frequently misused question marks.
RECOMMENDATIONS
3.
TheDescribe
report and explain the main
recommends that components
to avert theof a good paragraph
deplorable labourandrelations
explain how
in figures can be used
the company, serious
correctly
reforms be undertaken on promotions, payments and communication. The report also
in a document.
should
recommends that more worker-management dialogue is instituted and this should be done
regularly. 92
 4. Distinguish between a formal and informal letter. With examples explain the different parts of a formal
letter.
5. Prepare an end of year report that you will present to the Parents Annual General meeting of your
school.
6. Discuss the main components of minutes. Suggest how as a secretary to the Board of your school you
will present minutes that are easy to read and understand.
7. You have been given powers by your BOG to employ the critically needed staff. Write two samples of
possible letters of appointment that you would write and explain the different components of each.
8. You have been empowered to buy land annexed to your school to build a classroom block. The school
has no lawyer draw a proper agreement for this purchase and explain the key areas you would
emphases in the document.

THE READING SKILL

AIMS of the UNIT

⚫ The student by the end of this unit should be able to construct meaning from texts
⚫ To Improve their comprehension during reading
⚫ Demonstrate how SQ4R work

INTRODUCTION
Reading is one of the language skills that you will study and practice in this textbook. Remember reading is one of
the most important activities any successful student does in any course of study. It is important to note that
reading is an active process; you need to apply strategies that will enable you make sense of what you read.

The chapter aims at making you a good reader; somebody who will be able to monitor your rate of progress as you
read and improve your understanding. To do this you will be introduced to a number of strategies or approaches at
both surface and deeper levels. There will also be opportunities for you to practice. Specifically, you will be
introduced to strategies of reading namely: skimming, scanning, SQ3R, active reading, reading for comprehension.
You will also be introduced to resources within a text such as graphics conventions, symbols, layout, punctuation,
figures, diagrams, tables, pictures and word roots in sciences. Then the chapter will also discuss some barriers or
obstacles to effective reading.

OUTCOMES
By the end of this chapter you should be able to:
• Describe a variety of reading strategies effective readers use as they read a text for comprehension.
• Apply a chosen strategy to read an identified passage
• Discuss common barriers to effective reading
• Suggest ways of solving problems readers experience during their reading activities.
• Read any resource efficiently using any of the reading strategies discussed
• Read texts critically to help you evaluate the given information.

A good way of getting started on developing your reading skills is to think about how you read a text or passage.
There are three main reading techniques that you can use: scanning, skimming, and focused reading. Let's discuss
each in turn.

93
Scanning4
The technique of scanning is a useful one to use if you want to get an overview of the text you are reading as a
whole – its shape, the focus of each section, the topics or key issues that are dealt with, and so on. In order to scan
a piece of text you might look for sub-headings or identify key words and phrases which give you clues about its
focus. Another useful method is to read the first sentence or two of each paragraph in order to get the general gist
of the discussion and the way that it progresses.

Scanning is used to find a particular piece of information. Run your eyes over the text looking for the specific piece
of information you need. Use scanning on schedules, meeting plans, etc. in order to find the specific details you
require. If you see words or phrases that you don't understand, don't worry when scanning.

Scanning is what you do to find an answer to a specific question. You may run your eyes quickly down the page in
a zigzag or winding S pattern. If you are looking for a name, you note capital letters. For a date, you look for
numbers. Vocabulary words may be boldfaced or italicized. When you scan for information, you read only what is
needed.

• Examples of Scanning
• The "What's on TV" section of your newspaper.
• A telephone number in the directory
• A horoscope guide

Skimming
Skimming is used to quickly gather the most important information, or 'gist'. Run your eyes over the text, noting
important information. Use skimming to quickly get up to speed on a current business situation. It's not essential
to understand each word when skimming.

Skimming is covering the chapter to get some of the main ideas and a general overview of the material. It is what
you do first when reading a chapter assignment. You don’t read for details at this point.

Here is how you skim a chapter:

• Read the first paragraph of the chapter line by line.
• Next, read all the bold print headings starting at the beginning.
• Read the first sentence of every paragraph.
• Study any pictures, graphs, charts, and maps.
• Finally, read the last paragraph of the chapter.

As you skim, you could write down the main ideas and develop a chapter outline.

• Examples of Skimming:
• The Newspaper (quickly to get the general news of the day)
• Magazines (quickly to discover which articles you would like to read in more detail)
• Business and Travel Brochures (quickly to get informed)

4Adapted from OpenLearn, Available at http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=200709&direct=1(CC: BY NC SA)

94
Focused Reading
Focused reading employs two sub skills namely extensive and intensive reading. However, the idea is to have an
area of emphasis or focus. In other words, it is a purposeful kind of reading, during which you target a specific area
of study. Let us examine how the two skills relate to and differ from each other.

EXTENSIVE READING
Extensive reading is used to obtain a general understanding of a subject and includes reading longer texts for
pleasure, as well as business books. Use extensive reading skills to improve your general knowledge of business
procedures. Do not worry if you do not understand each word.

• Examples of Extensive Reading

• The latest marketing strategy book
• A novel you read before going to bed
• Magazine articles that interest you

INTENSIVE READING
Intensive reading is used on shorter texts in order to extract specific information. It includes very close accurate
reading for detail. Use intensive reading skills to grasp the details of a specific situation. In this case, it is important
that you understand each word, number or fact.

• Examples of Intensive Reading

• A laboratory report
• A journal or newspaper article
• A business letter

SEMINAR ACTIVITY:
Skimming

As a group think of various situations where you would use the three skills above and answer these questions:
• Explain when and why you would use the skimming technique in the context of your studies?
• Who in your seminar group is an effective reader? Discuss and justify your choice.
• To what extent is reading an active process?

Once you get the skimming, scanning and focussed reading down pat, you are ready to move on to the SQ3R
reading method which employs each of these three techniques.

What is the SQ3R?

SQ3R was first developed by researchers at Ohio State University. SQ3R is a useful technique for understanding
written information. It helps you to create a good mental framework of a subject, into which you can fit the right
facts. It helps you to set study goals and prompts you to use review techniques that will help you to remember.

The acronym SQ3R stands for the five sequential techniques you should use to read a book: Survey, Question,
Read, Recite and Review.

Survey(S)
Scan the entire assignment to get an overview of the material. Read the headings to see the major points. Read

95
the introductory paragraphs and the summary at the end of the chapter. Do not forget to look at the tables,
pictures, etc. Remember, you are scanning the material and not actually reading every sentence.

Question(Q)
Make questions that can be answered during the reading of the material. This will give a purpose to your reading.
Take a heading and turn it into a question. For example, if a heading in a chapter about Cell Division is in your
biology text, make a question by turning the title around: “How does cell division occur?” or “How many steps are
involved in cell division?”

Read(R)
Now you read the material trying to find answers to your questions. This is a careful reading, line by line. You may
want to take notes or make flashcards.

Recite (R)
As you read, look away from your book and notes and try to answer your questions. This checks your learning and
helps put that information in your memory.

Review(R)
To check your memory, scan portions of the material or your notes to verify your answers. Review the material
and note the main points under each heading. This review step helps you retain the material.

The SQ3R method is just one technique that can be used to retain information you collect while reading. Students
learn in different ways. Therefore they should be aware of their learning styles. Knowing whether you are an
Auditory (learn by hearing), Visual (learn by seeing) or Kinaesthetic (hands-on) learner helps you to understand
your best learning environment. The SQ3R technique of reading can help to enhance your reading skills no matter
what your style is.

SELF STUDY ACTIVITY:

Scan, Skim and Focus

1. Scan Action Aids article below for the following key words and phrases. In which paragraphs do they appear:
• Environmental management policies
• Flood induced migration
• Climate related activities
• Disaster preparedness

2. Now skim the article and see if this time you can also work out the meanings of the terms above using the
context in which they are used. Also develop a set of questions for further investigation.

3. Though you are familiar with content of the article, read it again, this time in a more focused way. Think about
each section of the text, breaking off at regular intervals and ...
• Extract the main points or examples about climate change in Malawi.
• Jot down some notes and questions that come to mind as you read.
• Use other reading resources that discuss issues of climate change in Malawi answer the questions you
developed in ‘2’ above.

What is READING?
Reading means to construct meaning from text. Reading is a process that must include thinking before, during,
and after reading. We read in order to MEANING and UNDERSTANDING. The correct READING SPEED is the one
that gets you that meaning and understanding. Reading is an art form and good readers do certain things that get
them the meaning that the process is designed to extract.

96
How to improve your comprehension during reading:
a) Begin from what you already know (activating prior knowledge).
b) Always try to make sense of what you are reading (context).
c) Ask yourself questions; before, during and after reading.
d) Predict and think about what will happen next in the text, or how your questions will be answered.
e) Read with a purpose. Know why you are reading and what you are reading to find out.
f) Know that as a good reader you often REREAD parts of, or even, the whole text two or more times in
order to make sense of what you are reading.

The SQ4R Method of reading effectively

SQ4R is a flexible reading strategy because it engages the reader during each phase of the reading process.
Readers preview/SURVEY (S) the text material to develop predictions and set the purpose for the reading by
generating QUESTIONS (Q) about the topic. They READ (1R) actively, searching for answers to those questions.
They monitor their comprehension as they summarize WRITE (2R) & RECITE (3R). They evaluate their
comprehension through REVIEW (4R) activities. Two general learning components must be addressed as you begin
the reading process and the SQ4R method will activate them:
First, place the reading in CONTEXT. What is the reading about and do you have any prior knowledge about this
subject to help you extract the meaning that you are looking for? The SURVEY and SYSTEMATIC reading puts this
process into motion. You get an overview that will "jog your memory" as you search for prior knowledge on the
subject. Ask questions about what you don't know. Make the questions simple and general if you don't have much
prior knowledge and more specific if this is an area of study that is familiar to you. Using these questions will guide
your speed and comprehension as you attempt to answer them.

Remember, the Student who is Engaged in Reading is Motivated, Strategic, Knowledgeable, And Socially Interactive.

How to Use SQ4R

1. Survey what you are about to read
• Systematic Reading
• Think about the title: What do you know about this subject?
• What do I want to know?
• Glance over headings and/skim the first sentences of paragraphs.
• Look at illustrations and graphic aids.
• Read the first paragraph.
• Read the last paragraph or summary.

2. Question
Turn the title and sub-titles into wh-element question. This becomes the major purpose for your reading.
• Write down any questions that come to mind during the survey.
• Turn headings into questions.
• Turn subheadings, illustrations, and graphic aids into questions.
• Write down unfamiliar vocabulary and determine the meaning.

3. Read Actively
• Read to search for answers to the questions set.
• Respond to objectives and use context clues for unfamiliar words.
• React to unclear passages, confusing terms, and questionable statements by generating additional
questions.

4. Recite

97
 • Look away from the answers and the book to recall what was read.
• Recite answers to the questions aloud or in writing.
• Reread text for unanswered questions.

5. write
• Make "maps" for yourself.
• Reduce the information
• Reread or skim to locate and prove your points.
• Write down the key terms and ideas in outline form.
• Always read/question/recite before marking or taking down notes.
• Check yourself against the text. Correct and add to your answer.

6. Review
• Answer the major purpose questions.
• Look over answers and all parts of the chapter to organize the information.
• Summarize the information learned by creating a graphic organizer (concept map) that depicts the
main ideas, by drawing a flow chart, by writing a summary,
• You can also summarize by participating in a group discussion, or by writing an explanation of how
This material has changed your perceptions or applies to your life.

Active Reading5
Whatever the specific objective of reading, as a student you will always need to read in an active way. Active
reading involves reading with a purpose; that is reading in order to grasp definitions and meanings, understand
debates, and identify and interpret evidence. It requires you to engage in reading and thinking at one and the
same time in order to:
• Identify key ideas.
• Extract the information you want from the text.
• Process that information so that it makes sense to you.
• Re-present that information in assessments, using your own words.

It may involve you pausing at intervals to think about what you have just read, checking that you have grasped the
main point and perhaps even noting down questions that come to mind or highlighting key words that you might
want to return to at a later date. A crucial part of active reading is matching the way you read to the purpose you
have in mind – that is reading for a purpose.

Active reading includes:

• Applying what you know (prior knowledge)
• Interacting with the author (responding critically to the text)
• Predicting (trying to determine the importance of the selected text)
• Solving problems (slowing to understand confusing passages)
• Summarizing (at the end of each page or where convenient)

5 Adapted from Learn NC. http://www.learnnc.org/reference/active+reading (CC: BY NC SA)

98
 • Resources within a Text

Word Relationships
One of the graphic organizers is the use of synonyms, antonyms and homonyms which readers use when learning
vocabulary in the course of reading any resource. This is done with the understanding that in some ways words are
similar in one way or another. To begin with, synonyms are words that mean the same despite having some
morphological differences. For example, words like cute/beautiful; huge/gigantic are synonyms. An antonym, on
the other hand, is a word that has an opposite meaning of another word. Words such as pretty/ugly; strong/weak;
tall/short exposes different meaning and should be used differently. Further, homonyms are words that have
similar sounds if pronounced and somebody might hardly recognize their difference if carelessly done so. Think
about words like their/there; reach/rich; fit/feet. Reading in this case which has to go with pronunciation has to
take care of the possible differences that ought to be there.

Note: Synonym is for sameness in meaning

Antonym is for an opposite meaning
Homonym is a word which can be heard like another word

So, from the forgoing, it is observed that words are related in many other ways such that they are alike, different
and related to each other. This means that understanding how words relate to each other helps readers to
increase their vocabulary, enables them to analyse and synthesize any information they read from any reading
resource at any level of study which leads to one’s building of a useful vocabulary.

• GRAPHIC AND SEMANTIC ORGANIZERS

Graphic organizers illustrate concepts and relationships between concepts in a text or using diagrams. Graphic
organizers are known by different names, such as story maps, chain of events/webs, graphs, charts, cause and
effect, etc. Graphic organizers do help readers focus on concepts and how they are related to other concepts. They
also help students read and understand textbooks. Therefore, graphic organizers can:
• Help students focus on text structure ‘differences between fiction and nonfiction’ as they read.
• Provide students with tools they can use to examine and show relationships in a text.
• Help students write well-organized summaries of a text.

Advanced Organizers:
Students pre-read the science text to understand its structure and the scope of its content. By consciously
analysing and recording the author’s outline and advance organizers, students are better prepared to understand
the text when they read it.

Mind Map
A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a
central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in
study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing. The elements of a given mind map are arranged
intuitively according to the importance of the concepts, and are classified into groupings, branches, or areas, with
the goal of representing semantic or other connections between portions of information. Mind maps may also aid
recall of existing memories of what is read6.

Concept Map
A concept map is a way of representing relations between ideas, images or words, in the same way that a sentence
diagram represents the grammar of a sentence, a road map represents the locations of highways and towns

6 Adapted from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_mapping (CC: BY-SA)

99
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept. They are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge.
Concepts, usually represented as boxes or circles, are connected with labelled arrows in a downward-branching
hierarchical structure. The relationship between concepts can be articulated in linking phrases such as "gives rise
to", "results in", "is required by," or "contributes to". The technique for visualizing these relationships among
different concepts is called "Concept mapping"7.

Kwl Tables and Charts

A KWL table, or KWL chart, is a graphical organizer designed to help in learning. The letters KWL are an acronym
for "what we know", what we want to know, and "what we learned". A KWL table is typically divided into three
columns titled Know, Want and Learned. The table comes in various forms as some have modified it to include or
exclude information. It may be useful in research projects and to organize information to help study for tests.

The chart is a comprehension strategy used to activate background knowledge prior to reading and is completely
student centred. The teacher divides a piece of chart paper into three columns. The first column, 'K', is for what
the students already know about a topic. This step is to be completed before the reading. The next column, 'W', is
for students to list what they want to learn about the topic during the reading. This step is also to be completed
before the reading. The third column, 'L', is for what the students learned from the reading. This step, of course, is
done after finishing the reading. The KWL chart can also be used in reading instruction at the beginning of a new
unit.
Here is what the KWL chart can look like:

K W L
What I know What I want to know What I learned
Write the information about Write the information about After the completion of the lesson or
what the students know in what the students want to unit, write the information that the
this space. know in this space. students learned in this space.

A KWL chart can be used to drive instruction in the classroom. The teacher can create lesson plans based upon.
KWL chart activates students' prior knowledge of the text or topic to be studied. By asking students what they
already know, students are thinking about prior experiences or knowledge about the topic. Next, KWL charts set a
purpose for the unit. Students are able to add their input to the topic by asking them what they want to know.
Students then have a purpose for participating and engaging in the topic. Also, using a KWL chart allows students
to expand their ideas beyond the text used in the classroom8.

Root Words
Students learn how to construct and decipher scientific words by understanding the meanings of roots, prefixes
and suffixes common to biology, chemistry, physics, and the earth and space sciences.

Cloze
This is a reading activity in which a passage has some missing words for the reader to fill in either before or after
reading. The activity is used to assess the readability of a passage. The higher the cloze scores for a given
population, the more readable the passage. In this chapter we introduce cloze as a technique for developing and
accessing reading comprehension.

7 Adapted from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_mapping (CC: BY-SA)

100
Jigsaw
Jigsaw is a technique whereby students develop reading skills by dialoguing with others, preparing notes, and
teaching their peers. Initially, students are given some reading texts to master and in this case each student
becomes an expert of his/her text. After mastery is when then they share with others either in pairs or groups. It is
a best method because it promotes a 100% participation in the reading task.

Cognates
The word cognate derives from Latin cognatus "blood relative". In linguistics, they are words that have a common
etymological origin. An example of cognates within the same language would be English shirt and skirt, the former
from Old English scyrte, the latter loaned from Old Norse skyrta, both from the same Common Germanic
*skurtjōn-. Words with this type of relationship within a single language are called doublets. Further cognates of
the same word in other Germanic languages would include German Schürze and Dutch schort "apron".

Cognates need not have the same meaning: dish (English) and Tisch ("table", German) and desco ("table",
medieval Italian), or starve (English) and sterben ("die", German), or head (English) and chef ("chief, head",
French), serve as examples as to how cognate terms may diverge in meaning as languages develop separately,
eventually becoming false friends. The understanding of this relationship helps readers of texts to know word
meanings easily by referring to other words with similar structures 9.
Cause: You are out of fuel.
Effect: Your car won't start.

Sometimes, many causes contribute to a single effect or many effects may result from a single cause 10.

Language Comprehension
The comprehension of language includes linguistic knowledge, background knowledge, making inferences, and the
self-regulation of comprehension (or Meta cognition).

Linguistic Knowledge
Comprehension of a text is reliant on an individual’s knowledge of the language system. We build up this
knowledge with repeated exposure to how language is used. As we interact with the language so we begin to
understand certain nuances. A language system is made up of phonology, semantics (this includes word meanings
and also morphology), and its grammatical structure. For example phonology is about how a language sounds and
how sounds are used to communicate differences in meaning. Semantic knowledge looks at the various meanings
of words, phrases or sentences that allow us to comprehend knowledge. In order to improve your linguistic
knowledge you need to read widely and be exposed to words and meanings in varying contexts. In addition, word
study and instruction that includes orthography, morphology and spelling can strengthen your vocabulary learning.

Background Knowledge
We are constantly building our background knowledge. By the end of your secondary school education you have
already amassed background knowledge of the world and its social and cultural contexts. Continued reading and
reading broadly will grow this knowledge further.

Inferences
Comprehension beyond the word level requires the reader not only to activate background knowledge but also
integrate meaning across sentences. As the message becomes less familiar, the reader needs to make inferences.
Readers need to actively construct a mental model of the text that draws upon the text and their own background

101
knowledge. This is sometimes called active construction of meaning from text whereby we need to infer the
meaning.

Self-Regulated Comprehension
To be a good reader one needs to reflect and evaluate your understanding of what you have read. Self-regulated
comprehension involves activating knowledge, making predictions about meaning, reflecting on what has been
understood, and if necessary drawing new conclusions about your understanding. Readers need sufficient
background knowledge to be able to understand what they read.

Interacting With the Text

An effective reader engages actively with the text. There should be a swopping of ideas between the reader and
the text, or the speaker and the listener. This is called a transaction. The transaction enables readers to negotiate
the meanings of the texts they read. Transactions increase motivation and can further develop comprehension.

Word Roots
One of the ways of understanding the content of a subject through reading is to know the appropriate meaning of
words used in a text. Words are used to communicate ideas. There are two types of words: content and functional
words. Content words usually contain ideas, concepts and the latter, links words for clarity following grammar of a
particular medium of instruction. Words also have denotative and connotative meanings: a literal or intended
meaning like in the example, ‘She is a star’, meaning she is one of the heavenly bodies and an evaluative or deeper
meaning she performs well.

Specific Ways to Determine Meaning11

Incidental learning of vocabulary occurs through one’s own reading of a variety of resources either for leisure or
focused. As the reader does this some new words are mastered on how to pronounce and use them. Readers may
also get to know a number of new vocabulary words by participating in a conversation with other speakers of the
language. The conversation can be in form of a debate, an ordinary chat or a discussion of a topic at hand. It is
imperative therefore that any reader interested in increasing his/ her vocabulary should engage in some
conversation.

Through direct instruction. This is enhanced through teacher’s well thought lessons meant to teach learners some
lesson based words, activities on new words and giving learners possible meanings of words.

Self-instruction is done as students consciously try to learn new words on their own. In this case the teacher’s role
is to provide strategies for learning new words.

Using context to predict meaning, for example:

• Definition / description : words are directly defined by a sentence e.g. a king cup is a yellow flower
• Appositive phrase meaning of a word is in phrase set by commas e.g.
▪ Damiano and Goria, Bunda students, are hard working.
▪ Chambo, a type of fish, is very delicious

Authentic settings: natural environment in which words are used. For example in a laboratory there are: spatula,
crucible, etc which can best be understood in that environment. Think about your examples.

Extensive reading: wide reading of self-selected material provides rich source of new words.

Intensive reading: in depth reading in a particular area/ subject. Check on examples above.

102
Capsule vocabulary: readers listen, speak, read and write words related to a particular topic to this environment as
possible. For example, you take a laboratory situation and write as many words as possible.

Use a dictionary especially a subject dictionary to learn how particular words are pronounced, used and what they
mean.

Word detectives (e.g. math morpheme)

morpheme math usage general usage

bi (two) bisect, bimodal bicycle, bilingual
poly (many) polygon polygamy
equi (equal) equilateral equator, equinox

Or we may use the following sequence to easily understand how we can use word roots to master some
vocabulary:

Think about Physics as a course of study and:

• Identify 15 technical words from Physics and ensure they have prefixes
• Say what the prefixes mean, and;
• Construct a possible definition of each of the word based on your knowledge of the prefixes.

What do the following words mean?

• Epidermis
• Hydroponics
• Equilateral
• Magnify
• Macroscopic
• Precede
• Tripod

`Summary
In this chapter you have learnt that reading is an active process through which you understand the writer’s
meaning. Readers use a variety of reading skills to enhance their understanding of the reading resource. Careful
readers apply a number of strategies to decipher the meaning of any new vocabulary whether functional or
content word. However, as we read we may display or face a number of obstacles or barriers which affect our
uptake of the text. However, care must be taken each time we read in order to understand the read materials.
• Glossary

WORD DEFINITION
Intensive reading Intensive reading is used on shorter texts in order to extract
specific information. It includes very close accurate reading for
detail
Extensive reading Extensive reading is used to obtain a general understanding of a
subject and includes reading longer texts for pleasure, as well as
business books.

103
 Prefix Word element attached before a word root
Word root Main part of a word which cannot be further segmented
Barrier Any disturbance as we read a passage
SQ3R Survey, question, read, recite, recall
Graphic organizers Word relationships which uses of synonyms, antonyms and
homonyms which readers use when learning vocabulary in the
course of reading any resource.
Homonym Word which can be heard like another word
Synonym Words with similar meaning
Antonym Words with opposite meaning
Skimming Reading focusing on general information
Scanning Reading for specific information
Meta cognitive Thinking about thinking

The Internet and Communication

AIMS OF THE UNIT

⚫ By the end of this unit, the student should be able to evaluate the values and advantages of internet
communication
⚫ discuss the bottlenecks of using the internet as a communication tool
⚫ interrogate the methodologies of utilising the internet a communication tool
⚫ evaluate and discuss the different forms of internet communication
Introduction
The internet is the new rage of communication in the world. Its importance and impact is so wide spread that
already pundits are predicting that the future of human interaction, development and actually the future of the
globe depends on how the Internet will be harnessed to solve current and future problems of the world. It is true
that the Internet is the technology of the future and its impact is so much seen in its application in the world of
communication.

The Internet is synonymous to the World Wide Web commonly referred to as http://www. It is a connection of
computers through the use of software known as a browser and a computer special language known as hypertext
marker language (html) that enables the computers to receive and send data amongst them.

The new form of communication came with several benefits and applications across all fields of human activities
and has consequently been utilised. However, it impact has been tremendous in the field of communication. It has
changed the way communication practitioners transmit their messages to their audiences. This is proved by the
fact that every newspaper and broadcast entity; academic institution and business has an online version alongside
the mainstream mediums of communication. This is true to all other organisations both non-governmental and
public that have websites at which information about them is provided to the public.

104
The Internet as a new medium of communication and given its characteristics: namely; less control, easy access
and the fact that it is open to anyone who has the soft and hard ware, becomes crucial in the communication
process. This is because it mitigates the weakness of the other mediums of communication, for example radio, that
are easy prey to government control and interference. Tetley observes that, “…the political space for unfettered
operation of the media continues to be non-existent in so many so called democratic countries.” That the main
stream media is constrained to provide a free public forum for the discussion of political issues, gives credence to
the Internet as an alternative public space through which the masses can access information and debate issues.

The Internet can play this role in communication through the creation of list servers/mailing lists through which
like-minded people can exchange views online and thereby inform their participation. Another method the Internet
can be used is through web casts, pod casts and blogs. These are on-line versions of television, radio and print
media. Unlike their mainstream cousins, these are not easily controlled. This means that through such transmission
of information, the masses can get information that informs their decision in almost any field of human activity.

The use of websites is another way through which the Internet can be used to foster communication. Dedicated
sites for discussion of the political, economic and human rights issues have been set up by the civil society with the
aim of sensitizing and raising the consciousness of the masses to seek accountability from their leaders and take
decisions from an informed point of view.

The other likely way the internet can be used for purposes of communication is through the email and messaging.
The social worker who wishes to change the welfare of the people can send information to the people through
these mediums and in so doing shape the opinions and improve the lives of the people.

It is true that the Internet has the potential of advancing the communication abilities of people. The question is
whether this has been attempted in Africa and with what success? It has played a role in the communication
process because it allows plurality of viewpoints and multiplicity of actors to engage in social, economic and
political debates. Related to that, is the fact that the Internet is interactive by nature and therefore allows people
to comment on the issues, get feedback to their inquiries and most importantly provide a forum at which issues
can be discussed.

The other role that the Internet plays in communication is that it facilitates free flow of information. Through the
use of chat rooms, mailing lists and websites, people are free to exchange information without any hindrance. This
is because regulation online is not as easy as in the main stream media. The other reason is that online
communication does not have obstacles that other types of communication have. For example to have a face to
face conversation there is need for the two parties to be present. In the case of internet physical presence is not
required for communication to take place.

As it has already been pointed out above, the value of the Internet is the fact that by it nature and technology, is it
reduces government interference. That there is no physical address that the police storm and capture equipment,
means that it is hard to crack down on. For example, if the state does not like the message or the deliverer of the
message, all it has to do is use force by any means to curtail the communication of that message. This is impossible
with the use of the internet which the government cannot control.

The other importance of Internet in communication lies in its sense of convenience to the public. This includes both
the audience and the communicator. Convenience means that the information will reach the audience in a timely
manner. For example someone in a remote area that is hard to access, need not to worry about the inaccessibility
of his area. This is because through the use of the Internet and the email, he/she can easily transmit the
information to anyone in any corner of the globe. For the case of the audience, they can also get the information as
it becomes available. For example international news agencies such as www.bbc.com or www.cnn.com update
their information every minute. This means that one can get the information literary hot.

The internet allows participatory equality and reduces the information dualism and the disparities based on
gender, class and education. According to Mwesige (2004), the internet is a valuable tool in the improvement of

105
education, health and generally the quality of life of the people. This recognition informed for example Uganda’s
ICT policy 2002 and the communication acts of 1996 and 1997. An educated and informed public is crucial to
development and makes it easy to mobilize the population to demand for accountability and developmental
projects from its leaders.

The rosy picture of what the Internet can do to facilitate communication can belie the hardships associated with it.
One of the serious constraints is access and infrastructure in Africa. For example in Uganda by the year 2000, there
were only an estimated 60,000 internet users which improved to 200,000. For a country with a population of about
30 million people, such coverage is too small. In fact over 90% of the population in the country has no access to the
Internet. Another problem is to do with the fact that the default language of the Internet is English. This means
that with a very high rate of illiteracy, the majority of the population cannot benefit from the Internet.

Mwesige (2004) argues that the prices of and speed Internet access in Uganda are too high and too low
respectively for most people to afford considering that around 90% of the population lives on less than 2 dollars a
day. He acknowledges the initiatives such as cyber cafes have brought the internet and ICT closer to the people in
developing countries; the bad news though, is that these initiatives especially when they are commercially based
may be only increasing the digital divide within poor countries and therefore, their impact on communication is
contestable.

The use of the Internet and the demographics of Internet use are the other hindrances it faces in as far as its
communication role is concerned. Most of the people, who use the Internet as a source of information, use it for
social and economic reasons and not in search of development oriented data. At the same time, according to
Mwesige (2004), the users are stereotypical and come from predominantly a class that is either not interested in
developmental discussion. The class/group that uses the Internet frequently is the under 25s, who use the Internet
to send/read emails or to chat and basically socialize in cyberspace. This means that as much as the Internet is
being used, it is used for other reasons and not developmental sensitization, thus limiting its role in meaningful
communication.

In conclusion, one can argue that since the Internet is the future of communication and given that technology is
changing very fast, its potential in democracy cannot be underestimated. As Africa gets connect and use saturates
the continent as well as prices go down and speeds increase, the Internet will become a vital tool for ensuring
democracy. However, at the moment its impact is limited despite its potential. It so far has not been exploited to
the maximum.

Issues to Watch Out For in Internet Communication

The new form of communication has come with several benefits and applications across all fields of human
activities. One such area where the Internet offered several benefits and applications has been communication and
research. Since the most outstanding constraint of communication and research has been the cost, the Internet
was embraced by many researchers and communicators because it was quite inexpensive compared to the
traditional methods of data collection. Wimmer and Dominick (2003:430) argue that a 20 minute telephone
interview when studying 400 respondents could cost about $15,000. The same is applicable to other types of
communicators using the same medium.

Such an amount is out of reach of many researchers and communicators. They argue that because of cost most
researches and communications are planned around the costs, until the Internet came on board. It does not only
substantially reduce the cost of doing research and communication, but in some cases eliminates the cost all
together. Despite the issue of low cost in using the Internet as a data collection tools, is the fact that using the
Internet does not require skills and expertise and can be tailored to any project.

Also important to note, is the fact that it has created the possibility of accessing a variety of materials as most
university libraries and research institutions are online. To be taken into consideration also is the fact that using the
Internet can enable the researcher or communicator reach a population that would be impossible to reach due to
geographical and natural barriers.

106
As advantageous as it may seem, the Internet is not fool proof as a tool of communication. It inherently has
weakness and obstacles that any one intending to use ought to be aware of and guard against. Cutting costs may
be admirable but at the end of the day serious issues are raised about Internet research and communication.
Among the many questions that come to mind are issues of validity and reliability- in other words is the data
collected correct? The other issue is to do with the respondents and audiences, raising the question of whether the
right population has been used or reached by the message and how this fact can be verified.

Because of the critical issues pointed out above, the quotation,“Online research requires a critical eye. ‘Best advice
is on-line researcher beware”, is a timely advice to any potential on-line researcher and communicator. The low
cost, convenience and accessibility of Internet research and communication may be tempting, but some element of
caution is demanded from the researchers and communicators if they are to get the best out of using the Internet
as a tool of data collection and communication. If they get into Internet research and communication with open
eyes, some of the potential obstacles and hardship associated with this new method of data collection and
communication can be minimised or controlled. Therefore, the following are some of the issues that an on-line
research communicator must watch out for.

One of the critical issues that Internet researchers and communicators should watch out for is the credibility of the
source. In most cases the communicator does not exactly know who he/she is communicating to and more
importantly whether they have the authority, knowledge and expertise in the subject of communication. That it is
difficult to assess the sources and audiences on the above points creates a scenario where one collects data from
impostors. This means that the validity, credibility and reliability of the study is compromised. Since it is difficult to
verify the subjects of the study, the communicator according to Wimmer and Dominick (2003:439) must:
Look at the data to search for outliers. In other words, if respondents are asked
how many hours they watch TV each day and the average shows 3.5 hours (that
is hypothetical) and a few respondents “more than 15 hours” or something
significantly different from the other respondents, the outlier can be dropped
from the data.
The point that Wimmer and Dominick make is that the communicators must develop mechanisms that weed out
the impostors. If the impostors are removed from the information, then the credibility of the information is
restored. That is why an online communicator must be cautious; least he/she uses contaminated data or
information.

The online communicator must be wary of the purpose of the information he/she gets on the Internet. The
Internet communicator must always question the motives and purpose of the information that he/she comes
across on the Internet. The truth of the matter is whoever gives out information has a purpose for this transaction.
For example information about HIV on www.unaids.org and the information on the same subject at
www.ministryofhealth.gov.ug may be posted for different reasons. A government sponsored site may try to
projected the country’s fight against HIV as positive and as such ignore or put less emphasis of the negative issues
of the campaign. This means that the data is contaminated or manipulated to suit the purposes or intention of the
sponsor of the data.

Another issues to watch out when using the Internet as a communication tool, is the issue of bias. The point here is
that different sites have different motives of posting their data on the Internet. For example if one visited a site like
www.bmw.com in search for data about the safety of cars, he/she is likely to get data that praises the BMW
company brands. As Smith (2000:1) states that, “It’s a great media land grab-corporate mergers are dominating the
Internet landscape, affecting what and how you read.” Smith’s observation may be about News Corporation, but it
is applicable to all online information on the Internet.

The interest of the parent company always has a bearing on what data is posted on the Internet. And this data in
most cases is designed to spruce the company in an effort to make more money. To mitigate or reduce of the bias,
the communicator must among many things assess the URL addresses of the sites. For example a .gov indicates
that a site is a government department and a .com is a private company. The communicator should be careful

107
when accessing data say from a government site of the propaganda nature of the information and the inherent bias
to make the government look better.

Many commentators argue that the Internet has given the words ‘media jungle’ a new dimension. This is because
there are many on-line sources of news and information on the Internet. Smith (2000:1) observes that, “The sheer
number of current web sites dedicated to news is staggering: 6000 and counting.” This implies that there are many
online sources of not only news, but also any other kind of information that may be of interest to any
communicator. For example a simple www.google.com search of the key word research could yield over 1,000,000
results. With literary a ‘jungle’ of information, the online communicator should be wary of getting credible
information from the Internet.

The simple truth is that the online communicator is overwhelmed by the information returned from the search.
Paul (1999:38) gives suggestions that can make any Internet search sensible. These tips include knowing the
difference between the search tools-the human indexed such as www.yahoo.com and search engines such as
www.google.com . Choice of each depends on what the communicator is searching for on one hand, and can be
helpful to strategies his/her search on the other hand. Other issues to consider include; thinking through the task
of the search, the tool to use, logical search parameters or protocols and more importantly knowing when to stop.

Internet communication is problematic because of the too much information available and therefore, the
communicator should be careful to search for relevant information. Using search strategies like Boolean, Host,
Domain, Title, Link and URL searches limit and refine the search and consequently enable the communicator get
reliable information from a lot of information on the web.

An online communicator ought to have a critical eye because of the ethical issues of consent. Wimmer and
Dominick (2003:440) raise the issue of informed consent of the participants before participation and through
debriefing sessions before use of information generated from such discussions. Such safeguards are not readily
available to an on-line communicator. For example in the case of sending a standard email questionnaire, such
ethical problems may be addressed. The problem is more complicated when dealing with and using data obtained
from bulletin boards, newsgroups, list servers or chat rooms. The ethical question is whether these discussions are
in the public domain and hence require no consent from the subjects or are they private and hence need informed
consent. The differences between public and private are fuzzy in cyberspace and the communicator must be wary
of such conflicts.

Another important point to watch out for when using the Internet as a communication tool is the representation of
the sources and audiences. It is true that the Internet has been able to conquer obstacles of space and time. What
is not true is that in many parts of the world many potential sources and audiences do not have access to the
Internet due to infrastructural and cost constraints. This means that the information collected or transmitted using
the Internet will in most case be from people who have access and therefore, the representativeness of the
information and audiences will be compromised. In such a case, the on-line communicator ought to compliment
his/her on-line strategies of information collection with more mainstream ones that can access those that cannot
be reached by the Internet.

One of the handicaps of a communicator is information overload. This is when the communication process
generates a lot of data to the extent that it becomes very difficult to analyse such data. Wimmer and Dominick
(2003:440) observe:
A researcher who decides to post a questionnaire on the web should keep in
mind that there is a potential audience of many millions of people who might
respond.
The potential of a million participants in a discussion points to the fact that on-line data collection can result into
information overload and consequently information fatigue. These are the issues that call upon the on-line
communicator to be careful while conducting on-line communication. In other words, there are many things to
consider and take care of before and after using the Internet as a communication tool that any oversight can prove
to be catastrophic to the communication process.

108
The related problem of Internet communication is the time that the process of communication can take. Ideally the
process can take as long as the communicator wants it to. This is because there is no time limit on how long the
communication process can take on the Internet. Wimmer and Dominick (2003:439) argue that, “telephone
interviews should have a maximum length of about 20 minutes, but this information is not available for Internet
communicator.” The problem of lack of an indicator as to how long the communication process can take means that
potentially it can go on and on. The communicator should be cautious of the time schedule in which he/she must
complete the communication process, least they are tempted to conduct unending communication.

Many people are scared of communicating using the Internet because of the questions of security on the Internet.
Wimmer and Dominick (2003:439) observe that the fears of the possible users are:
People think their answers will be available to anyone in the world; and their
identity will be used for the sales of products or services; or they will receive
unsolicited emails from the researcher or other companies
This is a problem that an on-line communicator must address, since such fears are real and are hindrance to the
possible users in participating in on-line communication. What the Internet communicator ought to do is assure the
users of how he/she will ensure their identity is kept secret and promise them of utmost confidentiality.

In the final analysis, it is important to point out that the Internet has revolutionized how communication is
conducted. This is mainly due to the advantages that the Internet offers to the on-line communicator. These
include reduced costs, easy access to subjects and convenience to the subjects to mention but a few. Nevertheless
there are problems that the new tool of communication has as shown in the preceding discussion.

These problems should not discourage the on-line communicator and drive him away from the Internet as a
communication tool. However, he/she should be aware of the problems associated with the Internet as a
communication tool and must employ caution in using the Internet for communication. Caution on the part of the
communicator, means that he/she will be able to mitigate the problems discussed above and thus get the best out
of the Internet as a communication collection tool.

Types of Internet Communication

Instant Messaging

One of the fastest-growing forms of Internet communications is instant messaging, or IM. Think of IM as a text-
based computer conference between two or more people. An IM communications service enables you to create a
kind of private chat room with another individual in order to communicate in real-time over the Internet. Typically,
the IM system alerts you whenever somebody on your buddy or contact list is online. You can then initiate a chat
session with that particular individual.

One reason that IM has become so popular is its real-time nature. Unlike e-mail, where you will wait for the
recipient to check his or her e-mail and send a reply, if a person you want to reach is online and available in your
IM contact list, your message appears instantly in a window on their screen.

While IM is used by millions of Internet users to contact family and friends, it's also growing in popularity in the
business world. Employees of a company can have instant access to managers and co-workers in different offices
and can eliminate the need to place phone calls when information is required immediately. Overall, IM can save
time for employees and help decrease the amount of money a business spends on communications.

While different IM clients offer slightly different features and benefits, the look and feel of an IM client is basically
the same. Public IM clients and services available include ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), Microsoft MSN

109
Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger. For businesses and enterprises looking for a more secure method of IM, there
are enterprise IM packages available such as Microsoft Live Communication Server 2005 and IBM Lotus Instant
Messaging. Third-party software is available to help businesses make using public IM services in the workplace
more secure.

Some problems and issues associated with IM include spam and virus propagation. Spam is the IM equivalent of
spam and is perpetuated by bots that harvest IM screen names off of the Internet and simulate a human user by
sending spam to the screen names via an instant message. The spam typically contains a link to a Web site that the
spammer is trying to market. Spam is a bit more intrusive than spam due to the nature of IM itself. These
advertisements and junk messages will pop-up in your IM window and you need to deal with the messages
immediately, where with e-mail you can usually filter a lot of it out and deal with it later. Additionally, viruses and
Trojans can be spread through IM channels. These malicious programs are usually spread when an IM user receives
a message that links to a Web site where the malicious code is downloaded. The message will appear to be from a
known IM contact, which is why recipients are more likely to click the hyperlink and download the file. Using safe
chat rules (such as never clicking the link) and keeping an updated anti-virus program on your system will help
reduce the chances of becoming infected by malicious programs being spread through instant messaging.

Internet Telephony & VoIP

Internet telephony consists of a combination of hardware and software that enables you to use the Internet as the
transmission medium for telephone calls. For users who have free, or fixed-price Internet access, Internet
telephony software essentially provides free telephone calls anywhere in the world. In its simplest form, PC-to-PC
Internet telephony can be as easy as hooking up a microphone to your computer and sending your voice through a
cable modem to a person who has Internet telephony software that is compatible with yours. This basic form of
Internet telephony is not without its problems, however. Connecting this way is slower than using a traditional
telephone, and the quality of the voice transmissions is also not near the quality you would get when placing a
regular phone call.

Many Internet telephony applications are available. Some, such as Cool Talk and NetMeeting, come bundled with
popular Web browsers. Others are stand-alone products. Internet telephony products are sometimes called IP
telephony, Voice over the Internet (VOI) or Voice over IP (VoIP) products.

VoIP is another Internet-based communications method which is growing in popularity. VoIP hardware and
software work together to use the Internet to transmit telephone calls by sending voice data in packets using IP
rather than by traditional circuit transmissions, called PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). The voice traffic
is converted into data packets then routed over the Internet, or any IP network, just as normal data packets would
be transmitted. When the data packets reach their destination, they are converted back to voice data again for the
recipient. Your telephone is connected to a VoIP phone adapter (considered the hardware aspect). This adapter is
connected to your broadband Internet connection. The call is routed through the Internet to a regular phone jack,
which is connected to the receiver's phone. Special hardware (the phone adapter) is required only for the sender.

Much like finding an Internet service provider (ISP) for your Internet connection, you will need to use a VoIP
provider. Some service providers may offer plans that include free calls to other subscribers on their network and
charge flat rates for other VoIP calls based on a fixed number of calling minutes. You most likely will pay additional
fees when you call long distance using VoIP. While this sounds a lot like regular telephone service, it is less
expensive than traditional voice communications, starting with the fact that you will no longer need to pay for
extras on your monthly phone bill.

110
E-mail

Short for electronic mail, e-mail is the transmission of messages over communications networks. The messages can
be notes entered from the keyboard or electronic files stored on disk. Most mainframes, minicomputers and
computer networks have an e-mail system. Some e-mail systems are confined to a single computer system or
network, but others have gateways to other computer systems, enabling you to send electronic mail anywhere in
the world.

Using an e-mail client (software such as Microsoft Outlook or Eudora), you can compose an e-mail message and
send it to another person anywhere, as long as you know the recipient e-mail address. All online services and
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer e-mail, and support gateways so that you can exchange e-mail with users of
other systems. Usually, it takes only a few seconds for an e-mail to arrive at its destination. This is a particularly
effective way to communicate with a group because you can broadcast a message or document to everyone in the
group at once.

One of the biggest black clouds hanging over e-mail is spam. Though definitions vary, spam can be considered any
electronic junk mail (generally e-mail advertising for some product) that is sent out to thousands, if not millions, of
people. Often spam perpetrates the spread of e-mail Trojans and viruses. For this reason, it's important to use an
updated anti-virus program, which will scan your incoming and outgoing e-mail for viruses.

IRC

Short for Internet Relay Chat, IRC is a multi-user chat system that allows to people gather on "channels" or
"rooms" to talk in groups or privately. IRC is based on a client/server model. That is, to join an IRC discussion, you
need an IRC client (such a mIRC) and Internet access. The IRC client is a program that runs on your computer and
sends and receives messages to and from an IRC server. The IRC server, in turn, is responsible for making sure that
all messages are broadcast to everyone participating in a discussion. There can be many discussions going on at
once and each one is assigned a unique channel. Once you have joined an IRC chat room (chatroom discussions are
designated by topics), you can type your messages in the public chatroom where all participants will see it, or you
can send a private message to a single participant. With many IRC clients you can easily create your own chatroom
and invite others to join your channel. You can also password protect your chatroom to allow for a more private
discussion with just people whom you invite.

Once you become familiar with your IRC client you'll find many options available to help you moderate and take
part in a channel. One problem commonly associated with IRC is lag. IRC relies on the connections between the
servers, and the connections or the servers can slow down. If you're in a discussion and people do not respond, or
you notice that people are responding to things you types several minutes ago, then you can attribute this to lag. If
you continue to experience lag, you can try connecting to the IRC network on a different server.

Videoconferencing

Videoconferencing is a conference between two or more participants at different sites by using computer
networks to transmit audio and video data. Each participant has a video camera, microphone and speakers
connected on his or her computer. As the two participants speak to one another, their voices are carried over the
network and delivered to the other's speakers, and whatever images appear in front of the video camera appear in
a window on the other participant's monitor.

In order for videoconferencing to work, the conference participants must use the same client or compatible
software. Many freeware and shareware videoconferencing tools are available online for download, and most
Web cameras also come bundled with videoconferencing software. Many newer videoconferencing packages can
also be integrated with public IM clients for multipoint conferencing and collaboration.

111
In recent years, videoconferencing has become a popular form of distance communication in classrooms, allowing
for a cost efficient way to provide distance learning, guest speakers, and multi-school collaboration projects. Many
feel that videoconferencing provides a visual connection and interaction that cannot be achieved with standard IM
or e-mail communications.

SMS & Wireless Communications

Short message service (SMS) is a global wireless service that enables the transmission of alphanumeric messages
between mobile subscribers and external systems such as e-mail, paging and voice-mail systems. Messages can be
no longer than 160 alpha-numeric characters and must contain no images or graphics. Once a message is sent, it is
received by a Short Message Service Center (SMSC), which must then get it to the appropriate mobile device or
system. As wireless services evolved, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) was introduced and provided a way to
send messages comprising a combination of text, sounds, images and video to MMS capable handsets.

Communication on wireless devices such as mobile phones and PDAs is frequently changing. Today you can use
your wireless device to not only make phone calls, but to send and receive e-mail and IM. While you can use e-
mail, IRC or IM for free if you have an Internet account, you will end up paying fees to you mobile carrier to use
these services on a wireless device.

The advantages of Internet-based communications are many. Since you're already paying for an Internet account
(or your employer is), you can save money on phone calls by sending someone an instant message or by using VoIP
instead of standard local telephone services. Of course, no technology is without a downside and Internet-based
communications has plenty, such as viruses, privacy issues and spam.

Like all technologies (and especially technology tied to the Internet), the way we can communicate online is
constantly evolving

Website and Blogging as Communication

What are Blogs?

Blogs are collections of articles, ideas, news, facts, opinions or inspirations that are “posted” on the internet. They
are usually structured, organized by category and are updated often, if not daily. The owner of the blog is able to
control the content.

The term, which stands for "Web log," was coined in 1999 and has caught on like wildfire. There are now about 4
million blogs on the Internet.

Blogs & Your Business

So how could blogs fit into a business? They provide great supplemental content and direct attention to areas of
your business that you want to feature or highlight. Use it as a unique, informal way to:

• Communicate with colleagues, partners, suppliers, existing or potential customers

• Showcase industry/company news, introduce new products or services, marketing promotions or provide
tips
• Establish a company or individual's reputation or brand
• Improve operations (e.g. project management or tech support knowledge-sharing)
• Demonstrate expertise
• Establish competitive differentiation
• Simplify and accelerate the publishing process

112
You direct the content but let your readers guide you. You will also need to establish when you will post more
articles and adhere to it. Let your readers know what to expect and when to expect it.

Enormous Marketing Potential

Blogs are highly strategic, here-to-stay desktop tools. Think of the potential for your e-newsletter strategies:

• Articles within newsletters can be linked to a blog, extending life and creating a massive conversation.
• You can offer a bidirectional forum to customers to get true, personal opinions on your products and
services.
• Company experts can start a blog and become industry experts, helping your company edge out
competition.
• You can layer your blog with editorial controls!

Creating a Blog

There are numerous online tools that can be used to create a blog. You can use an html editor, such as
Dreamweaver to create your posts. The content is then sent via FTP to a web server.

If you are unfamiliar with html editors and using FTP programs, then there is free software on the Internet to
create and post your blog. You can use your personal email to sign up with; Wordpress.com, Wixsite.com,
blog.com, blogger.com, etc

When you set up a Blog you select a template that will house your information. Once you have the Blog set up, you
can post whatever information you like.

Reading a Blog

• Use your standard browser and post comments on the content of the Blog.
• Use a RSS (real simple syndication) reader program. You can subscribe to whichever blogs that you want
to and they are available immediately in the reader. Using an RSS reader allows you to have all of the
blogs that interest you in one place and you don't have surf all over the Internet to read them.

Benefits and Advantages of Blogs

1. Easy to maintain and easy to start

If you don’t know html to set it up, using a template from one of the many tools available online makes it easy to
start. You just post your info into the template.

2. Post as often as you like

Post as much and as often as you like.

3. highly interactive

Posters get to see the results of a post immediately as the post appears simultaneously after posting. Blogs may
also use a “TrackBack” system that allows the visitor to see who has written the original post and any other entry
concerning it. The system works by sending a 'ping' between the blogs, and therefore providing the alert. Blogs can
also alert you when new or updated content is added.

113
TrackBack typically appears below a blog entry and shows a summary of what has been written on the target blog,
together with a URL and the name of the blog.

4. No lists to maintain, or spam filters

Email spam filters do not block Blogs because they are not an email communication. E-mail delivery of newsletters
and e-zines has become difficult with the advent of spam filters. Blogs are not delivered, and therefore, no
methods of defeating filters are needed, and no "non-deliverables" occur.

5. Number of blogs you create is limitless

You can make as many Blogs as you like on any subject.

6. Search Engine Friendly

Search Engines are constantly "searching" for new content and blogs fit this perfectly because of the constantly
changing content that appears daily on blogs. There are numerous websites that act as "blog search engines". Be
sure to submit your sites to these websites to increase your exposure. This will also help with your page rank.
Below are some of the places to list your blog:

Blog search engines: www.blogstreet.com

Globe of Blogs: www.globeofblogs.com
Blog Universe: www.bloguniverse.com
Blogs Canada: www.blogscanada.ca/directory
Blog Search Engine: www.blogsearchengine.com

7. Economical

Since no lists are maintained, there are no list server costs. Blogging software and blogging services are also very
reasonably priced. Some blogging services charge others to "read", while others charge writers to "write", but
overall the monthly charges are rather minimal either way.

8. Educational

There are such a variety of informative and educational blogs available now that a search for any subject usually
turns up hundreds of offerings

9. Syndication

Syndication is a great way to ensure that your writing and your views are exposed to as much of the general public
as possible. Syndication is many times included in blogging services now, and this has drawn individuals to the art
of blogging continuously.

Elements to Be Successful

To be successful, Blogs need to contain the following elements:

• Compelling, well-written content. No one, either online or Offline, wants to read material that is poorly
written, difficult or boring to read.

114
 • Updated material. Just as in newsletters or e-zines, if material is not updated continually, then the
audience eventually dies.
• Rousing topics. Topics of interest to a wide range of readers succeed more than topics that appeal to very
few, or are rather dull topics.
• A nice layout and visual appeal. A blog is akin to a Web site for written materials, and just like in the
design of a Web site, every care should be made to have the blog be visually appealing and friendly to
visitors.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. Define internet communication and explain how it can be used in communication
2. Assess the advantages of internet communication
3. With examples explain and evaluate the problems that are associated with internet communication
4. How can a novice use the internet effectively?

References

Cary W.C (1989) Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society. Belmont, Wadsworth.
Corner, J and Hawthorn J eds. (1993) Communication Studies: an Introductory Reader. Belmont, Wadsworth.
De Boer JJ (1977) Basic Language: Messages and Meanings. New York, Harper and Row.
DeFluer, M.L and Dennis, E.E (2002) Understanding Mass Communication: A Liberal Arts Perspective. Boston,
Houghton Mafflin.
Fiske, J. (1990) Introduction to Communication Studies. New York, Harper and Row
Fitikides, T. J. Common Mistakes in English. London: Orient Longman, 1984.
Guffey, Mary Ellen. (2000)Essentials of Business Writing. Ohio: South-Western College Pubg.,
Hall, Edward, T. (1959),The Silent Language. Greenwich, Conn,: Fawcett
Hasson, Gill. (2012), Brilliant Communication Skills. Great Britain: Pearson Education
Hughes, Shirley. (1990) Professional Presentations: A Practical Guide to the Preparation and Performance of
Successful Business Presentations. Sydney: McGraw-Hill
Kalish, Karen. (1996), How to Give a Terrific Presentation. New York: AMACOM
Kratz, Abby Robinson. (1995) Effective Listening Skills. Toronto: ON: Irwin Professional Publishing,
Kroehnert, Gary. (2010), Basic Presentation Skills. Sidney: McGraw Hill
Lesikar, Raymond V and Marie E. Flatley. (2002) Basic Business Communication: Skills for Empowering the Internet
Generation: Ninth Edition. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill,

115