WHAT IS COMMUNICATION? 

According to Wikipedia, communication is a process of transferring information from one entity to 

another. 

 WHAT IS EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION?

Effective communication is where a message is received and understood in the manner that the 

sender intended it to be.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATIONVERBAL/NON-VERBALONE WAY/TWO WAY

According to experts, our non-verbal language communicates about 50% of what we really mean (voice tonality contributes 38%) while words themselves contribute a mere 7%.

Our bodies send out messages constantly and often we don't recognize that we're 

communicating a lot more than we realize.

BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

•Time •Status•Prejudice•Age•Sex•Not Listening or Paying Attention•Attitude•Physical Distance•Noise•Interruptions•Having an Agenda•Timing•Filtering or Prejudging•Being Over Emotional•Perception•Words Mean Different Things•Listener Hears Only What He Expects

Filtering

All people constantly filter information that is sent to them because we are exposed to a tremedous amount of information daily and have become very selective in what we want to receive. We usually select to hear and sense what we judge to be most important for us to understand. If we don`t think the information is important, or if there is too much of it, we will filter out unnecessary or unwanted information.

As communicators of information we can help reduce filtering of important information by:

•Keeping the message brief and timely

•Stressing the important points

•Eliminating unnecessary additional channels or persons

•Putting messages in writing

•Using visual aids

What Is Perception?Perception is the process by which we become aware of and interpret our sensations about the world around us.

 As it relates to Learning; what we interpret may be a function of what we have  experienced and learned in the past, also we 

tend to perceive things as we need or want them to be rather than as they are. Of course, a lack of experience may cause a person to misinterpret what he or she  has seen or heard. In other words, perception represents our comprehension of a present situation in terms of our past experiences, or, as stated by the philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804): “We see 

things not as they are but as we are.” 

To be perceptive, or to be able to see other people’s perceptions, we must try to bury pre-conceived ideas, to listen objectively and to evaluate on facts and results…not on emotion, assumption or history.

 People develop set ideas but it is important to realize that there are often several ways of interpreting what we see. In almost 

everything we do – at school, home, play, etc. – there is nearly always more than one way to see things. However, even when this is pointed out to us it can be difficult to go beyond our limited perception of it, for example, the young lady or 

the old lady. Furthermore, because we are part of our environment we can experience difficulty in being objective. This can either result in a complete distortion of the facts or a total inability to perceive them. Our perceptions may also be 

considerably influenced by our many different motives, needs and desires at the moment of the perception. 

Our biggest barrier to success is our resistance to change. 

The secret of improving effectiveness is to be open to new perceptions and to evaluate each idea on its own merits. In order that discrepancies of interpretation do not occur, it is important that meanings, intentions, numbers, etc. are clearly defined. We must try to keep an open mind and to become aware of the various factors which can influence our perceptions.

Techniques to Improve Communication

•Use many channels•Be sensitive to the receiver•Tell - show - do•Write it out•Use repetition and rephrasing•Ask questions as probing technique•Solicite two way communication•Determine the comfort level of students with your communication style•Have receiver repeat information•Use simple language•Reinforce words with actions•Redundancy•Pay attention to non-verbal communication