Verbal Communication: Oral/Spoken & Written Communication

Verbal communication stands for using appropriate words to communicate your message effectively. As it directly relates to words, oral and written communication falls under verbal communication.

VERBAL = WORDS

VERBAL= ORAL & WRITTEN

Oral or Spoken Communication is essential to our personal or professional life. In oral communication, we speak words to communicate our message. This communication occurs through face-to-face communication, mobile phones, or video conferencing.

Advantages of Oral/spoken Communication:

1. Speedy delivery of the message:

   The message can be sent quickly, whether via face-to-face conversation, cell phone, or laptop. It does not necessitate time spent dictating, drafting, printing, proofreading, and re-copying, as it does with written communication.

2. Time-saving:

   Oral communication saves time as you can communicate a message instantly, unlike written communication, where a person first drafts his message, then checks the grammar and structure of the sentence, proofreads it, or gets its printout at last. Besides, if the message is urgent, one can directly communicate it without wasting time writing it. Next, if the action needs to be taken immediately, the sender prefers to deliver it orally as it is less time-consuming.

3. Immediate clarification:

   When receiving the message, if a listener has any queries or doubts, he can easily clarify them immediately. However, immediate clarification is not possible in written communication.

4. Promotes Healthy Relationships:

   Oral communication is quite reliable and helps build healthy relationships among employees and external parties. Oral communication helps to build trust among people because they can easily express their feelings and emotions, and therefore, it helps to promote healthy relationships.

5. Persuasion:

   Oral communication is an extremely effective medium of persuasion. It is too easy to convince people through oral communication. The more effectively the sender speaks, the more chances the receiver will be convinced. Besides, oral communication is effective in convincing illiterate people, too.

Disadvantages of Oral/spoken Communication:

1. No Legal Record:

   Oral communication can’t become legal evidence until and unless the message is recorded, but recording every conversation is impossible. Moreover, it is highly impractical to maintain a written record of every conversation.

2. Overloaded Information:

   If the message is packed with a plethora of information, there is a strong chance that the listener will lose interest in the message or they may skip part of the crucial information. This may result in doubts and misunderstandings.

3. Insufficient information:

   If the speaker provides inadequate or incomplete information, it may result in dilemmas and doubts. The listeners will get confused after getting half of the information.

4. Chances of misinterpretation:

   There are many chances that a message can be misinterpreted during the exchange of information because if the sender has communicated the message perfectly, it may be possible that the receiver has not understood it completely. That’s why the chances of misinterpretation are very high in oral communication.

5. Sentiments:

   Written communication doesn’t have any scope for emotions. However, in oral communication, the speaker may get emotional or sentimental while conveying his message to the audience. This results in the disinterest of the listeners.

Let us discuss how you can make your oral/spoken communication more effective by following these seven steps:

• Use the 7 Cs of Communication:In business communication, when you frame your message, always consider the 7 Cs of communication, which include completeness, clarity, conciseness, concreteness, correctness, courteousness, and candidness. Considering all the factors in your oral communication can help you deliver your message effectively.

• Follow logical sequence:Most speakers deviate from the topic when they deliver their message to a large number of gatherings. It is crucial that you develop your message in a logical sequence so that the listeners can have a clear understanding of the message.

• Use Positive Body Language:People give equal attention to your body language, so make sure you use positive body language when expressing your message. Body language includes gestures, posture, facial expression, and appearance.

• Be Confident: Confidence is the key element in oral communication. Whether you communicate through phone or face-to-face communication, try to speak confidently. You can improve your confidence by practicing regularly and confronting people.

• Focus on Intonation: You can make your oral communication effective by following intonation patterns. Generally, people’s speech gets monotonous, and the audience loses interest in your message. That’s why you should use both rising and falling pitches, as they help make your message interesting to others.

• Maintain Natural Voice: In oral communication, many second language learners try to imitate the foreign accent to sound sophisticated, but such an accent looks fake. So, the speaker must maintain clarity and a natural voice while communicating.

• Practice, Practice, and Practice: Practice is essential in oral communication. Most speakers don’t feel confident, so they should practice if they have to address a large gathering.

Written communication is the process through which we can convey our ideas and information by using written symbols, such as letters, words, and sentences. It is generally used in a formal setting such as the workplace, but it is also used casually by people to exchange WhatsApp chats. Compared to oral communication, it enables people to express themselves more effectively and systematically, communicate over great distances, and store information for future reference. But unlike face-to-face talk, it lacks the immediacy and nonverbal clues.

Advantages of Written Communication

1. Permanent Record: As organizations can maintain the written record of documents for future use, written communication is extremely effective.

2. Clarity and Precision: In written communication, the writer can write and edit the information as often as he wants. That’s why the information is more structured, clear and precise.
3. Reach a Wider Audience: Written communication can be used to share information for a large number of audiences. For instance, an entire school and college read a one-page notice about summer and winter holidays. Besides, with the advent of the internet, people can share their thoughts and information through social media and reach audiences beyond geographical boundaries.
4. Less Room for Misinterpretation: As the information is clear, structured, and precise, it does not give any scope for misinterpretation to the readers.
5. Serves as Evidence: Written communication can serve as evidence in court when workplace disputes occur.

Disadvantages of Written Communication:

1. Lack of Immediate Feedback: Written Communication lacks the scope of instant clarification or follow-up questions. The receivers may misunderstand the message and cannot get an immediate response.
2. Time-Consuming: Written Communication is more time-consuming than oral communication because the writer focuses on the structure, clarity, and coherence of the messages. That is why he needs to draft, edit and proofread it multiple times.
3. No Non-verbal Cues: In written communication, there is no scope for body language, facial expressions and tone of voice, which plays a significant role in conveying emotions.
4. Requires Literacy: this communication entirely depends on the sender and receiver’s ability to read and understand the language. Suppose they don’t know how to read and write the message. It will become a barrier.
5. Inflexibility Once Sent: If there is a mistake in the message and it has been sent, there is no scope to change the message, which is possible in oral communication.

7 Tips to Make Written Communication More Effective

• Be Clear and Concise: Avoid unnecessary jargon or complex language. Aim for brevity while still conveying the full meaning of your message.
• Know Your Audience: Tailor your language and tone according to your audience. What works for formal business communication may not be appropriate for a casual email.
• Use a Structured Format: Break your text into paragraphs and use headings, bullet points, or numbers for clarity. This makes your message easier to read and digest.
• Proofread Before Sending: Spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes can make a poor impression. Always proofread your communication to ensure it is error-free.
• Emphasize Key Points: Highlight or bold, vital information to ensure your main message is noticed. Avoid overuse, though, as this can detract from the overall impact.
• Be Polite and Professional: Even in informal written communication, maintain politeness. Avoid using slang, harsh language, or inappropriate tones.
• Provide a Call to Action: If you need the recipient to respond or take action, clearly state what you expect them to do next. This reduces ambiguity and ensures smoother communication.

Conclusion

While written communication has its pros and cons, the effectiveness of your message largely depends on how you craft it. By being clear, concise, and considerate of your audience, you can ensure that your written communication is both impactful and efficient. Incorporating the above tips can help you overcome the common challenges associated with written communication and make your messages resonate better with your audience.

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