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How Does Communication in the Workplace Affect Morale?

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How Does Communication in the Workplace Affect Morale?

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The way a speaker phrases their sentence is the process of encoding. If a message is not encoded properly, the message will be unclear which will cause the receiver to perceive the message differently than what was originally intended. Depending on the context of what is being talked about encoding a message poorly could potentially offend the receiver and end the conversation on bad terms.

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Whether in a marketing strategy, a client-server model, or just day-to-day conversation, communicating effectively is an amalgamation of art and science. In fact, when technology advanced rapidly through the turn of the 20 th century, a new theoretical field, Communication Theory, was introduced alongside Information Theory. Notable products of that field (livelier today than ever) are the Elements of Communication, for which there exists a basic model. Naturally, debate abounds over what these elements are in what order they should appear, but a general blueprint survives to help us better understand the tangibles and intangibles behind the art of communication.

Over the years, and with the help of distinguished communication theorists Claude Shannon, Wilbur Lang Schramm and Robert Craig, among others, a simple model of communication has evolved to signify the aforementioned "elements of communication." Again, there is no universally accepted archetype, and dissidents will flock to anything claiming to be such. Still, what follows is not only an accurate assessment of the basics; it is also an informative lesson for anyone with a desire to better understand the mechanics of communication.

1. Source

The source is the person (or thing) attempting to share information. The source can be a living or non-living entity. The only qualifications necessary for a source are an origin of information (in Information Theory, the source generates data that one would like to communicate) and an ability to transmit this information, through a channel, to a receiver.

2. Message

At first glance, the message is simply the information you want to communicate. But it goes deeper than that. Communication theorists examine messages from a semiotic perspective (the study of signs and symbols, and how meaning is created through them; note: it is not the study of meaning, just how meaning is created). For example, a commencement speaker produces meaning through several criteria. First, there is the object (in this case, the speaker has an inherent meaning, maybe through being a local celebrity or famous alum). The second criterion would be his or her image, acting as a symbol or representation of the meaning of the object (a well-dressed, professional and successful person). The third criterion is interpretation or derived meaning. If the object and image (and, in this case, speech) are successful, then the audience will leave with an understanding of how to proceed toward a life of personal fulfillment.

3. Encoding

Encoding is the process of assembling the message (information, ideas and thoughts) into a representative design with the objective of ensuring that the receiver can comprehend it. Communication is only established when it results in both the source and the receiver understanding the same information. People who are great communicators are great encoders; they know how to present their message in a way that their audience (receivers) can easily understand. They are also able to identify information that is superfluous, irrelevant or even accidentally offensive, and eliminate it in advance through anticipation.

4. Channel

An encoded message is conveyed by the source through a channel. There are numerous channel categories: verbal, non-verbal, personal, non-personal, etc. A channel could be the paper on which words are written, or the Internet acting in the client-server model that is allowing you to read these words right now.

A good communicator is one who understands which channels to use under different circumstances. Unfortunately, there is no perfect channel. All channels have strengths and weaknesses (smartphones are great, for example, but a marriage proposal is best done in person).

5. Decoding

Now would be an appropriate time to remind yourself that you can just as easily fill the role of decoder as you can encoder. This is where listening, and reading directions carefully, makes its claim to fame-decode with care, my friends. As we discussed in Encoding, communication is only successful when it results in both the source and the receiver understanding the same information. For this to happen, there can be no errors in processing. The most common among these would be, for example, a first-grader sitting in on a lecture on differential equations, i.e. decoding is impossible if the decoder cannot even understand the message.

6. Receiver

Ultimately, the message is delivered to the receiver. A good communicator takes the receivers preconceptions and frames of reference into consideration; how they will react, where common ground is shared, their sense of humor, their moral conduct, etc. All of these things will affect how the receivers decode messages.

7. Feedback

A better word might be "reaction" or "responses." The source judges its success based on the feedback it receives, so pay close attention. If Google's servers crashed tomorrow, there would be a lot of confused sources. The same would be true if you delivered a flawless marriage proposal, only to receive a look of bewilderment and horror. And then there are famous marketing nightmares, such as Aqua Teen Hunter Force's LED signs that were mistakenly identified as explosive devices. Feedback is the moment of reckoning. Whether things go right or wrong, it serves as one of the most important learning opportunities we have.

8. Context

Context is simply the environment in which your message is delivered. For Bob Dylan, the context was the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, with a heavy focus on The Big Apple (though he would probably disagree). Context could be a boardroom meeting focusing on international expansion or the 2006 World Cup final in Germany (poor choice, Zidane). Needless to say, context can easily make or break the effectiveness of communication.

Chain Reaction

It's a tired old cliché, but these eight elements truly are only as strong as their weakest link. The best communicators master them all. If these tips have you feeling ambitious, learn Italian and see if you can do it in another language. Ciao!

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The Elements of Communication: A Theoretical Approach

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Whether in a marketing strategy, a client-server model, or just day-to-day conversation, communicating effectively is an amalgamation of art and science. In fact, when technology advanced rapidly through the turn of the 20 th century, a new theoretical field, Communication Theory, was introduced alongside Information Theory.

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Body language accounts for 93% of communication and facial expression is 58% of communication through body language.
Eye contact conveys the message that you are focused, confident, and honest. When maintaining proper eye contact people will note that you are listening to what they have to say which would make you more personable.
If eye contact is not used correctly or at all it can make you appear as bored, uninterested, and dishonest. This is what happened in the activity. My partner was maintaining proper eye contact but when I asked for the middle paper she looked away from me and would not make eye contact.

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Ask any hiring manager and they will tell you that eye contact is a key component in how they judge an applicant during a job interview. Eye contact says a lot about the candidate, which is why for the next three posts we will discuss the importance of making eye contact and ways to train yourself to make better eye contact throughout the interview.
Why is Eye Contact Important?
Human beings communicate more with nonverbal cues than with words. Frowning tells others you are unhappy. Winking tells others you think they're sexy. Shifting uncomfortably in your chair... Well... You get the idea.

Eye contact is one of the most common non-verbal cues we have. Eye contact says a lot about who you are. Making eye contact throughout the interview shows the employer that you have:

Not making eye contact throughout the interview may say things about you as well. When you do not make eye contact there are a variety of negative connotations:

Lying/Deceit - It is a natural human response to not make eye contact when we are lying. This is because it is subconsciously believed that if the individual looks into your eyes they will catch you in your lie.

Bored/Distracted - When you don't make eye contact you may appear distracted, as though your mind is elsewhere. You want to make sure the employer knows you are ready and eager throughout the interview.

Shy - Shyness may not make you a bad employee, but shyness can cast doubts about your ability to handle the corporate environment.

In addition, our eyes show a great deal of emotion. We can see imperceptible shifts in someone's eyes and see how their emotion has changed, even if we do not realize it. Seeing someone's emotion brings us closer to them. That is why making eye contact can help someone like you more as a person, even beyond the employer/applicant relationship.
Cultural Differences
Eye contact can be misleading. For example, in some cultures looking someone in the eye is considered rude. Corporations, however, value eye contact a great deal, so it is important that you learn to make eye contact for your job interview.

Eye contact is one of the most important non-verbal ways of communicating during an interview. It is vital that you learn to make eye contact to improve your chances of having a successful job interview. In the next post we will look at ways to train yourself to make eye contact.
Take Away Interview Tips Read More

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Ask any hiring manager and they will tell you that eye contact is a key component in how they judge an applicant during a job interview. Eye contact says a lot about the candidate, which is why for the next three posts we will discuss the importance of making eye contact and ways to train yourself to make better eye contact throughout the interview.

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This activity required strong communication and clear description in order to transfer the information of how my picture looked accurately enough that my partner could replicate it. When I was drawing based off of what my partner was explaining certain words like medium were not descriptive enough which caused the pictures to not be identical. Using shapes made it easier because it is easy to describe a shape and what shape it is near.

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To choose the "X" in this activity, non-verbal communication such as body language must be considered as my partner choose to say yes for every sheet making it impossible to trust the verbal communication

When doing this activity, I choose the X at the very end because my partner looked away when saying yes to the paper, it turned out to have the X. By looking away for only that paper it was obvious that it had to be that piece because otherwise the eye contact would be persistent

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When sending a message there is a stage where the receiver must interpret the message. When using negative communication the reciever could get offended or upset depending on the subject of conversation and the way in which the message is conveyed.

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The problem with speaking using negative terms is that it can make others perceive you in a negative way.
When constantly using words such as can't, don't, didn't, won't it makes other people perceive you as lethargic and pessimistic which can turn people off from interacting with you

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This game consisted of having a conversation with someone while a mediator was watching to ensure positive language. Phrases including can't, don't, didn't, won't it were t be re-worded into a more positive phrase
In this activity, I noticed myself having to stop and think of how to rephrase my thoughts so that I would be able to avoid negative language.

An example of a negative phrase I used was "I didn't like how small my room was"

I fixed this by instead saying "Despite crammed accommodations..."