Oral communication helps to build rapport, whether it's happening face-to-face or over the phone lines, especially when there was no relationship before. But there's more to oral communication than just building a connection, there's information to be passed backwards and forwards during interviews, meetings and conferences. And that's in addition to lectures, speeches and presentations.
Oral communication, though, does have a certain amount of advantages over, say, written communication. A quiet whisper can pass on private and confidential information - and both parties know that the information has gone to where it was supposed to go - and nowhere else. Another advantage of oral communication over written communication is its spontaneity: sitting at a computer and typing an e-mail, or thumbing a text message on your mobile takes time, and by the time you've finished the situation you're sending a text or e-mail that may have changed so much you need to go back to the beginning and alter your message.
On the subject of alterations, oral communication makes it easy to hop back a few subjects to something you were talking about earlier on, comment on or change what you said about it... and then return to the present once more. That's flexibility. And if whoever you're talking to wants to make their feelings known about your hopping back to that previous subject, they can do so straight away. Oral communication is about immediacy. There are very few hard and fast rules when it comes to oral communication, but it's always worth remembering that even in these busy times, politeness still counts for a lot.
Reading through a report or letter will tell you a certain amount, but oral communication also encompasses tones of voice, inflections and - if the conversation is being carried on in person - body language. Psychologists tell us that only a certain amount of our communication comes through in the words we use - and much more in the way we actually use them. E-mails and texts, however, are a different matter: there are always those funny little smiley faces and emoticons to help the recipient get the gist of the message.
There's a great deal to be said for oral communication - though far too many people these days have forgotten about the most effective part: listening.
Oral communication, though, does have a certain amount of advantages over, say, written communication. A quiet whisper can pass on private and confidential information - and both parties know that the information has gone to where it was supposed to go - and nowhere else. Another advantage of oral communication over written communication is its spontaneity: sitting at a computer and typing an e-mail, or thumbing a text message on your mobile takes time, and by the time you've finished the situation you're sending a text or e-mail that may have changed so much you need to go back to the beginning and alter your message.
On the subject of alterations, oral communication makes it easy to hop back a few subjects to something you were talking about earlier on, comment on or change what you said about it... and then return to the present once more. That's flexibility. And if whoever you're talking to wants to make their feelings known about your hopping back to that previous subject, they can do so straight away. Oral communication is about immediacy. There are very few hard and fast rules when it comes to oral communication, but it's always worth remembering that even in these busy times, politeness still counts for a lot.
Reading through a report or letter will tell you a certain amount, but oral communication also encompasses tones of voice, inflections and - if the conversation is being carried on in person - body language. Psychologists tell us that only a certain amount of our communication comes through in the words we use - and much more in the way we actually use them. E-mails and texts, however, are a different matter: there are always those funny little smiley faces and emoticons to help the recipient get the gist of the message.
There's a great deal to be said for oral communication - though far too many people these days have forgotten about the most effective part: listening.
About the Author:
Sazneo.com is a group communication system that helps users develop a greater sense of team cohesion when it comes to business communication and projects. This allows a streamlined flow of communication within the work force that can greatly contribute towards team cohesion.
