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  • Communication – Reflective Listening

    In the last byte, we looked at the role played by richness of the medium. In today’s byte, we look at the concept of reflective listening.

    Reflective listening is the skill that intends to help the receiver and the communicator clearly and fully understand the message sent. The receiver generally listens to the communicator and repeats the message heard to the speaker to correct any inaccuracies or misunderstanding. Thus, the role of the receivers or audience is emphasized to a greater extent than the usual communication process. Managers could use this skill to understand their coworkers and reduce misunderstanding – through the reduction of perception distortion and overcome any interpersonal barriers that could lead to communication failure.

    Given the reflection on the message – it helps the communicator clarify and sharpen the intended meaning. This is extremely important in problem solving.

    We can characterize Reflective Listening on 3 aspects:

    1. Personal
    2. Feeling Oriented
    3. Responsive
    We shall discuss these in the next byte.

  • Communication – Interpersonal Process 5

    In the last byte, we looked at understanding the importance of feedback and language in the context of an organization. In today’s byte, we look at understanding the terms – data, information and richness a bit clearer.


    Data refers to the un-interpreted, unanalyzed elements of any message (in the context of interpersonal communication here). If this data provides meaning to someone through interpretation or through analysis, then it transforms into information.

    All messages need a medium to be conveyed – this could be telephone or face to face or mail etc. Each of these medium differ in their ability to convey the meaning of the message for the receiver – the following table summarizes the comparison.

    [This is a modified representation of the Table 8.1 published in the reference book]
    The attributes of the communication medium affect the richness communicated and any influence seeking behavior that is generated.

  • Communication – Interpersonal Process 4

    In the last byte, we looked a set of definitions related to the interpersonal communications model. In today’s byte we attempt to understand some of these concepts in more detail.

    As described earlier, feedback refers to the information that is fed back to the communicator after the perceiver has received the message. This completes the two – ways of communication loop. The feedback may or may not be active inherently as part of the model itself. It occurs only when the receiver provides the communicator with a response to the message – the channel of response need not be extremely clear; however there could also be a combination of means through which the feedback could be gained. The challenge Intuit Corporation faced in 2003 regarding the customer uproar and the subsequent usage of internet to manage the impending loss of reputation is an interesting case study in how effective handling of the feedback mechanism could be very important to an organization.

    Companies today are operating in a global context. Language of communication is steadily increasing its relevance in this globalization of these firms – the multitude of these multinational organizations (MNC) poses the challenge of language. Language involves not just the words but the pronunciation and the methods of combining them to people around. Language thus could be looked as a possible barrier to communication in such MNC.

  • Communication – Interpersonal Process 3

    In the last byte, we began understanding the various components of the basic interpersonal communications model. In today’s byte, we continue this discussion to look into some definitions that would become more important as we proceed with the discussion further.

    Feedback: Is the information fed back that completes the two-way communication
    Language: Refers to the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a group of people.
    Data: The un-interpreted and unanalyzed facts
    Information: Refers to the data that have been interpreted, analyzed and have meaning to some user
    Richness: Refers to the ability of a medium or channel to elicit or evoke meaning in the receiver

    Without overloading this further, we shall just limit today’s discussion to this point and continue understanding these concepts further in the next few bytes.

  • Communication – Interpersonal Process 2

    In the last byte, we looked at the interpersonal communication model and a few definitions. In today’s byte we begin looking at the model in a greater detail.

    As stated in the definition of perceptual screens, these are windows – windows of the mind. It is these perceptual screens that influence the quality, accuracy and clarity of the message. The screen gives its flavor to the message – it is the one which defines if the message sent and the message received are the same or any distortion has occurred.

    The perceptual screens are generally composed of personal factors – every individual gets into the communication his/her various influences – age, gender, values, and beliefs, past experiences, cultural influences, and individual needs. The extent to which these windows are open or closed significantly influence both the sent and the received messages.

    We have been using the terms message pretty heavily – message refers to the thoughts and the feelings that the communicator is attempting to elicit in the receiver. It has two primary components:

    1. its content
    2. its affect.
    The thought or conceptual component of the message is contained in the words, ideas, symbols and concepts chosen to relay the message. The feeling or emotional component of the message is contained in the intensity, force, demeanor, and sometimes the gesture of the communicator. The feeling component of message is important to give the complete meaning.

  • Communication – Interpersonal Process

    In the last byte, we set the context for the importance of interpersonal communication. In today’s byte, we look at understanding interpersonal communication in a bit more detail.

    Interpersonal communication is important in building and sustaining human relations when in an organizational working context. If one were to ask – with all the sophistication in the present world of information technology were to replace interpersonal communication, the simple answer is – No. Let us try to understand it using the model presented below. We shall subsequently define a few of the words use there but not explain it in the current byte.

    The image has been adopted form the reference book.

    Some Definitions:
    1. Communicator – the person originating a message
    2. Receiver – the person receiving a message
    3. Perceptual Screen – a window through which we interact with people that influences the quality, accuracy and clarity of the communication.

  • Communication

    While concluding the section on stress management we highlighted the importance of communication. Communication is an important aspect in the interpersonal processes segment of Organizational Behavior and we shall begin the discussion on communication here.

    Communication could be understood as the evoking of a share or common meaning in another person. Specifically, interpersonal communication is communication that occurs between two or more people in an organizational set up. In the organizational context, i.e. interpersonal communications aspect, we find some essential skills that would be necessary:

    1. Reading,
    2. Listening
    3. Information Management and Interpretation
    4. Serving Clients
    To be able to understand and begin effectively using the interpersonal aspects of communication, it would be important to begin understanding of the complete interpersonal communication process.

  • Summary Thus Far

    In the last byte, we concluded a long discussion on understanding the individual dimension of organizational behavior with a discussion on how professional help could help reduce stress. It would be to list the various components we have discussed on this dimension thus far to help people relate to, and set the context for the next set of discussions.

    Over the last few months we have discussed aspects like:

    • Personality
    • Perception
    • Attribution
    • Attitudes
    • Values
    • Motivation
    • Learning
    • Performance Management
    • Stress
    All these put the individual as the subject matter, but it is also important to think beyond and begin understanding relations between people. Continuing from here, we will begin looking into the discussion on interpersonal diminution of organization – beginning with the aspect of communication.

  • Stress Reduction: Professional Help

    In the last byte we looked at how opening up leads to reduction in stress. In today’s byte we venture further to understand what sort of professional help would be required when an individual opens up and how this could help reduce stress.

    Professionally helping relationships help people in opening up through confessions. These could be in the form of – psychological counseling, career counseling, physical therapy, medical treatment, surgical intervention and many similar therapeutic techniques.

    Early detection of distress and strain reactions, if combined with prompt professional treatment can be instrumental in many scenarios of permanent physical and psychological damage.

    All this while, we have looked at how organizational stress prevention is done, there is also another approach called COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH PROMOTION that is aimed at establishing a “strong and resistant host” by building on individual prevention and lifestyle change. We would only limit ourselves at giving this direction here and now take a move to the interpersonal processes that form part of the organizational behavior studies.

  • Stress Reduction: Opening Up

    In the last byte, we looked at relaxation and diet as means to prevent/reduce stress. In today’s byte we look at how opening up helps reduces/prevent stress.

    Writing some of our experiences in diaries or discussing with friends are some common things that we do – these activities help reduce stress! Let’s look in closely.

    Almost all of us experience traumatic/stressful/painful event at once instance or another during the course of our life’s journey. Sharing these or discussing these with another person is not always easy but research has shown that through such discussions with others there are health benefits, immune system improvements and even healing that accrue. In fact between people who write about traumatic events and those who write about non-traumatic events it was found that those who wrote about traumatic events were seen to have a significant health benefits.

    It is not just confiding in other people that helps reduce stress – it would suffice even if one were to write a few notes on their daily experience in their personal diary. The typical entry into such personal diaries is about the most troubling thoughts, feelings, and emotions during the course of the day.

    To summarize the above, it is the process of opening up and confession that is found to counter the detrimental effects of stress.