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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