What is Communication?
Different scholars have proffered
various definitions to describe communication. However, for the purpose of this
study we will make do with Hybels’ and Weaver’s (2001:6) proposition that
“Communication is any process in which people share information, ideas and
feelings. It involves not only the spoken and written word but also body
language, personal mannerisms, and style - anything that adds meaning to a
message”.
Going ahead to stress the importance
of communication in daily existence, they also say that:
It
is vital in all areas of life. You use it to persuade; to influence
relationships, to inform and to share, to discover and uncover information...
Communication, and how to communicate, is so important to daily life that it
spawned [sic] an entire industry of books, articles, and seminar explaining how
to do it better.
To
live…is to communicate. To communicate effectively is to enjoy life more
(2001:5-6).
Communication Skills
There are a number of skills involved
in the art of communicating. Beck, Bennet and Wall (2002:125) highlight a
general list of communication skills as:
§ Speaking,
listening, empathizing
§ Reading
and observing
§ Identifying
and using sources of information
§ Planning
and structuring a presentation
§ Oral
presentation skills
§ Dealing
with questions
§ Reviewing
own performance
§ Using
IT to communicate
However, in
this discourse we shall focus only on the four major communication skills,
which are also known as the four language arts. They are:
§ Listening
§ Speaking
§ Reading,
and
§ Writing
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