Business Communication

5.
Put the speaker at ease: By your attitude, help the speaker become relaxed and aware of
willing listener. Be not only seen to listen, but felt to listen.
6.
Avoid premature arguments: Don’t interrupt to question or argue about facts, ‘That is
not so…….’, ‘prove it…..’ Good listener interpret the speaker after completing his speech.
7.
Listen patiently: The speaker is entitled to be heard, even if you feel his approach is
wrong.
8.
No personal bias: It is always desirable to drop personal biases and attitudes about a
speaker and his views. This one is the wrong habit and sometime for this reason speaker
feel uneasy.
9.
Observe non-verbal cues: Search out the main points. Observe the non-verbal cues like
tone pitch, physical gesture etc., which too convey meaning to the message. A listener may
note them down as these will help in revealing if the speaker appears to be sincere in his
views.
10.
Avoid fake attention: Many listeners develop the habit of faking attention. They
steadfastly fix their eyes on the speaker and try to project themselves as good listeners. They
usually miss out many important points made by the speaker.

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Oral Communication  / 49
5.5 NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Verbal communication refers to the communication which occurs with the help of words. A verbal
contact, therefore, suggests an oral contact and a verbal evidence denotes oral evidence. Non-verbal
communication refers to the type of communication that does not use words.
Non-verbal communication is closely associated with the power of observation. The receiver of
the communication should be in a position to see, hear and even feel the communicator. The receiver
of the communication should be in a position to clearly see the face, the gesture, the tone, the dress, the
appearance and also hear the voice of the communicator. Since it is through observation, non-verbal
communication may be both intended and unintended. It is intended when the communicator tries to
convey certain messages to the target group through conscious gesture, postures and other forms of
body language. Non-verbal communication is unintended when the body language, posture or
appearance of the communicator is interpreted by the receiver, even though it is not done consciously.
A sloppy posture or a causal attire (cloths) may be interpreted as lack of seriousness, although the
speaker may be quite intent.