• COMMUNICATION IS THE ACT OF GIVING, RECEIVING, AND SHARING INFORMATION -- IN OTHER WORDS,

TALKING OR WRITING, AND LISTENING OR READING. GOOD COMMUNICATORS LISTEN CAREFULLY, SPEAK
OR WRITE CLEARLY, AND RESPECT DIFFERENT OPINIONS

• WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
CONVEY IDEAS AND INFORMATION THROUGH THE USE OF WRITTEN LANGUAGE.

• ORAL COMMUNICATION
CONVEY IDEAS AND INFORMATION THROUGH THE USE OF SPOKEN LANGUAGE.

• NON-VERBAL AND VISUAL COMMUNICATION

CONVEY IDEAS AND INFORMATION THROUGH THE USE OF IMAGERY OR WORDLESS CUES.
• WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION IS THE MEANS BY WHICH EMPLOYEES EXCHANGE INFORMATION AND IDEAS.
COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY IS A CRITICAL ASPECT OF GETTING ANY JOB DONE, WHETHER IT OCCURS
IN-PERSON OR VIRTUALLY AND IS PART OF THE INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS EFFORTS WITHIN AN
ORGANIZATION.

• COMMUNICATION BARRIERS ANYTHING THAT PREVENTS OR DISABLES COMMUNICATORS TO DELIVER THE RIGHT
MESSAGE TO THE RIGHT PERSON AT THE RIGHT TIME, OR A RECEIVER TO GET THE RIGHT MESSAGE AT THE RIGHT TIME.

• COMMON BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION.

• EMOTIONAL BARRIERS AND TABOOS. SOME PEOPLE MAY FIND IT DIFFICULT TO EXPRESS THEIR EMOTIONS AND
SOME TOPICS MAY BE COMPLETELY 'OFF-LIMITS' OR TABOO. TABOO OR DIFFICULT TOPICS MAY INCLUDE, BUT ARE
NOT LIMITED TO, POLITICS, RELIGION, DISABILITIES (MENTAL AND PHYSICAL), SEXUALITY AND SEX, RACISM AND
ANY OPINION THAT MAY BE SEEN AS UNPOPULAR.

• DIFFERENCES IN PERCEPTION AND VIEWPOINT.

• Language differences and the difficulty in understanding unfamiliar accents.

•Physical disabilities such as hearing problems or speech difficulties.

•Physical barriers to non-verbal communication. Not being able to see the non-verbal cues, gestures,
posture and general body language can make communication less effective. Phone calls, text messages and
other communication methods that rely on technology are often less effective than face-to-face
communication.

•CULTURAL DIFFERENCES. THE NORMS OF SOCIAL INTERACTION VARY GREATLY IN DIFFERENT CULTURES, AS DO THE WAY
IN WHICH EMOTIONS ARE EXPRESSED. FOR EXAMPLE, THE CONCEPT OF PERSONAL SPACE VARIES BETWEEN CULTURES AND
BETWEEN DIFFERENT SOCIAL SETTINGS.

•SELF-ESTEEM REFERS TO WHETHER YOU APPRECIATE AND VALUE YOURSELF. YOUR SELF-ESTEEM DEVELOPS AND
CHANGES AS A RESULT OF YOUR LIFE EXPERIENCES AND INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER PEOPLE. SELF-CONFIDENCE
IS YOUR BELIEF IN YOURSELF AND YOUR ABILITIES. THIS CAN CHANGE DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION.
• HEALTHY SELF-ESTEEM

• THERE ARE SOME SIMPLE WAYS TO TELL IF YOU HAVE HEALTHY SELF-ESTEEM. YOU PROBABLY HAVE HEALTHY SELF-ESTEEM IF YOU:

• AVOID DWELLING ON PAST NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES

• BELIEVE YOU ARE EQUAL TO EVERYONE ELSE, NO BETTER AND NO WORSE

• EXPRESS YOUR NEEDS

• FEEL CONFIDENT

• HAVE A POSITIVE OUTLOOK ON LIFE

• SAY NO WHEN YOU WANT TO

• SEE YOUR OVERALL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES AND ACCEPT THEM

• LOW SELF-ESTEEM

• LOW SELF-ESTEEM MAY MANIFEST IN A VARIETY OF WAYS. IF YOU HAVE LOW SELF-ESTEEM:

• YOU MAY BELIEVE THAT OTHERS ARE BETTER THAN YOU.

• YOU MAY FIND EXPRESSING YOUR NEEDS DIFFICULT.

• YOU MAY FOCUS ON YOUR WEAKNESSES.

• YOU MAY FREQUENTLY EXPERIENCE FEAR, SELF-DOUBT, AND WORRY.

• YOU MAY HAVE A NEGATIVE OUTLOOK ON LIFE AND FEEL A LACK OF CONTROL. 4

• YOU MAY HAVE AN INTENSE FEAR OF FAILURE.

• YOU MAY HAVE TROUBLE ACCEPTING POSITIVE FEEDBACK.

• YOU MAY HAVE TROUBLE SAYING NO AND SETTING BOUNDARIES.

• YOU MAY PUT OTHER PEOPLE'S NEEDS BEFORE YOUR OWN.

• YOU MAY STRUGGLE WITH CONFIDENCE.

• WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-CONFIDENCE AND SELF-ESTEEM?
• WHEN YOU VALUE YOURSELF AND HAVE GOOD SELF-ESTEEM, YOU FEEL SECURE
AND WORTHWHILE. YOU HAVE GENERALLY POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS
AND FEEL CONFIDENT ABOUT YOUR ABILITIES. YOU'RE ALSO OPEN TO LEARNING
AND FEEDBACK, WHICH CAN HELP YOU ACQUIRE AND MASTER NEW SKILLS.