PRINCIPLES OF

COMMUNICATION &
COMMON PROBLEMS
KUNDAN DAS UKIL
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
 PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION:
• CLARITY: CLEAR AND PRECISE COMMUNICATION IS ESSENTIAL TO ENSURE THAT THE
INTENDED MESSAGE IS ACCURATELY UNDERSTOOD BY THE RECEIVER. AVOIDING
AMBIGUITY AND USING SIMPLE LANGUAGE FACILITATES CLARITY IN COMMUNICATION.
AMBIGUOUS STATEMENT: "THE PROJECT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED SOON."
CLARITY IMPROVED: "THE DEADLINE FOR COMPLETING THE PROJECT IS NEXT FRIDAY,
MARCH 15TH, BY 5:00 PM."
AMBIGUOUS STATEMENT: "PLEASE SEND ME THE REPORT."
CLARITY IMPROVED: "COULD YOU PLEASE EMAIL ME THE QUARTERLY SALES REPORT
BY THE END OF THE DAY?
AMBIGUOUS STATEMENT: "LET'S MEET SOMETIME NEXT WEEK."
CLARITY IMPROVED: "COULD WE SCHEDULE A MEETING FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 19TH, AT
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10:00 AM TO DISCUSS THE PROJECT UPDATES?
• CONCISENESS: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION CONCISELY CONVEYS THE MESSAGE,
AVOIDING UNNECESSARY DETAILS OR VERBOSITY. BEING CONCISE HELPS MAINTAIN
THE ATTENTION OF THE RECEIVER AND PREVENTS INFORMATION OVERLOAD.
VERBOSE STATEMENT: "THE PATIENT'S TREATMENT PLAN INVOLVES A COMPREHENSIVE
ASSESSMENT OF THEIR MEDICAL HISTORY, PHYSICAL CONDITION, RANGE OF MOTION,
MUSCLE STRENGTH, JOINT FLEXIBILITY, AND PAIN LEVELS. BASED ON THIS ASSESSMENT,
VARIOUS THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS WILL BE IMPLEMENTED, INCLUDING MANUAL
THERAPY TECHNIQUES, EXERCISES TARGETING SPECIFIC MUSCLE GROUPS, MODALITIES
SUCH AS ULTRASOUND AND ELECTRICAL STIMULATION, AND PATIENT EDUCATION ON
POSTURE AND ERGONOMICS. PROGRESS WILL BE MONITORED THROUGH REGULAR
EVALUATIONS AND ADJUSTMENTS TO THE TREATMENT PLAN AS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE
OPTIMAL OUTCOMES."
CONCISE STATEMENT: "THE PATIENT'S TREATMENT PLAN INCLUDES ASSESSMENTS,
TARGETED THERAPIES, AND EDUCATION FOR OPTIMAL RECOVERY."
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• CONSISTENCY: CONSISTENCY IN COMMUNICATION ENSURES THAT THE MESSAGE
REMAINS COHERENT AND ALIGNED WITH PREVIOUS COMMUNICATIONS.
CONSISTENT MESSAGING BUILDS TRUST AND CREDIBILITY AMONG THE
AUDIENCE.
• LISTENING: ACTIVE LISTENING IS A CRUCIAL COMPONENT OF EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION. IT INVOLVES PAYING ATTENTION TO THE SPEAKER,
UNDERSTANDING THEIR MESSAGE, AND PROVIDING APPROPRIATE FEEDBACK.
EMPATHETIC LISTENING FOSTERS BETTER UNDERSTANDING AND PREVENTS
MISUNDERSTANDINGS.

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• FEEDBACK: FEEDBACK IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
AS IT ENABLES THE SENDER TO ASSESS WHETHER THE MESSAGE WAS RECEIVED
AND UNDERSTOOD AS INTENDED. CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK FACILITATES
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT IN COMMUNICATION.
SCENARIO: DURING A TEAM MEETING, A MANAGER PRESENTS A NEW PROJECT
PLAN TO THE TEAM MEMBERS.
FEEDBACK EXAMPLE: "THANK YOU FOR PRESENTING THE PROJECT PLAN, JOHN. I
APPRECIATE THE THOROUGH OVERVIEW YOU PROVIDED. ONE SUGGESTION I HAVE
IS TO CLARIFY THE TIMELINE FOR EACH PHASE OF THE PROJECT. IT WOULD HELP
US UNDERSTAND THE DEADLINES BETTER AND PLAN OUR TASKS ACCORDINGLY.“

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• EMPATHY: EMPATHETIC COMMUNICATION INVOLVES UNDERSTANDING THE EMOTIONS
AND PERSPECTIVES OF OTHERS. BY EMPATHIZING WITH THE RECEIVER,
COMMUNICATORS CAN TAILOR THEIR MESSAGE TO RESONATE WITH THEIR NEEDS AND
CONCERNS.
SCENARIO: A CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE IS RESPONDING TO A CUSTOMER
COMPLAINT ABOUT A DELAYED DELIVERY.
EMPATHETIC COMMUNICATION EXAMPLE: "I'M TRULY SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE
CAUSED BY THE DELAY IN YOUR DELIVERY. I UNDERSTAND HOW FRUSTRATING IT MUST BE
TO NOT RECEIVE YOUR ORDER ON TIME, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU WERE COUNTING ON IT
FOR A SPECIAL OCCASION. PLEASE KNOW THAT WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING TO RESOLVE
THE ISSUE AND ENSURE THAT YOU RECEIVE YOUR ORDER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. IN THE
MEANTIME, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN ASSIST YOU WITH OR ANY ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION YOU NEED?"
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• NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: NONVERBAL CUES SUCH AS BODY LANGUAGE,
FACIAL EXPRESSIONS, GESTURES, AND TONE OF VOICE CONVEY ADDITIONAL
MEANING ALONGSIDE VERBAL COMMUNICATION. BEING AWARE OF NONVERBAL
CUES ENHANCES THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COMMUNICATION.

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 COMMON PROBLEMS IN COMMUNICATION:

• MISINTERPRETATION: MISINTERPRETATION OCCURS WHEN THE RECEIVER

ASSIGNS A DIFFERENT MEANING TO THE MESSAGE THAN INTENDED BY THE
SENDER. FACTORS SUCH AS CULTURAL DIFFERENCES, LANGUAGE BARRIERS,
AND AMBIGUITY CONTRIBUTE TO MISINTERPRETATION.
• NOISE: NOISE REFERS TO ANY FACTOR THAT DISRUPTS THE COMMUNICATION
PROCESS AND INTERFERES WITH THE ACCURATE TRANSMISSION OR RECEPTION
OF THE MESSAGE. EXTERNAL NOISE (E.G., LOUD SURROUNDINGS) AND INTERNAL
NOISE (E.G., PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS) CAN IMPEDE COMMUNICATION.

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• LACK OF FEEDBACK: COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWNS OFTEN OCCUR WHEN
THERE IS A LACK OF FEEDBACK FROM THE RECEIVER. WITHOUT FEEDBACK, THE
SENDER CANNOT CONFIRM WHETHER THE MESSAGE WAS UNDERSTOOD,
LEADING TO MISUNDERSTANDINGS AND INEFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION.
• EMOTIONAL BARRIERS: EMOTIONAL BARRIERS SUCH AS FEAR, ANGER, OR
ANXIETY CAN HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION. STRONG EMOTIONS MAY
CLOUD JUDGMENT, DISTORT MESSAGES, OR LEAD TO DEFENSIVE RESPONSES,
IMPEDING THE RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS.

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• INFORMATION OVERLOAD: INFORMATION OVERLOAD OCCURS WHEN THE VOLUME
OF INFORMATION EXCEEDS THE RECEIVER'S CAPACITY TO PROCESS IT EFFECTIVELY.
TOO MUCH INFORMATION CAN OVERWHELM THE RECIPIENT, LEADING TO
CONFUSION AND REDUCED COMPREHENSION.
• SELECTIVE PERCEPTION: SELECTIVE PERCEPTION REFERS TO THE TENDENCY OF
INDIVIDUALS TO INTERPRET MESSAGES BASED ON THEIR OWN BIASES, BELIEFS,
AND EXPECTATIONS. THIS SELECTIVE FILTERING CAN LEAD TO
MISUNDERSTANDINGS AND DISTORTED COMMUNICATION.
• CULTURAL DIFFERENCES: CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN COMMUNICATION STYLES,
NORMS, AND VALUES CAN CREATE BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION,
PARTICULARLY IN MULTICULTURAL OR GLOBAL CONTEXTS. AWARENESS OF
CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND SENSITIVITY TO CULTURAL DIFFERENCES ARE
ESSENTIAL FOR SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION.
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