About the Author
Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan (1906-2001) was one of the most renowned and respected Indian writers in English. In 1960, he was awarded with the Sahitya Academy Award which is one of the most prestigious awards for writers in India. Narayan's works are filled with realism, irony and humor where he paints the foolish acts of people in the most artistic and psychological way, hitting mercilessly on it. The style of his writing and his expression tugs at the heartstrings of the reader. Narayan's bibliography incorporates a variety of works including, ‘The Guide (Novel), ‘Next Sunday’ (Collection of essays) and ‘Lawley Road’ (collection of short stories). Narayan's short story “A Snake in the Grass” is a satirical tale taken from “An Astrologer’s Day and Other Stories.”
Summary
In his story “A Snake in the Grass”, R.K. Narayan depicts a family with a problem. The people depicted within the story are confronted by a paradox generated by one of their most deeply-ingrained superstitions. On the one hand, they worship snakes especially king cobra, which implies that they treat these deadly, poisonous snakes with honor and veneration. On the other hand, however, they still have to remove these dangerous creatures from their midst so as to avoid being bitten and killed by them. This contrast is emphasized by the presence of a cobra in the family's garden which is therefore, both a blessing and a curse. The paradox is generated when family in the story realizes they have a cobra somewhere in their yard. A cyclist sees the snake enter the family's yard and informs them of it, however the snake is nowhere to be found. Narayan finds some humor during this precarious situation which is characteristic of his writing.
The family in Narayan's story consists of the mother and her four sons. The family also has old servant Dasu who lives with them although he spends most of his time sleeping. After finding him asleep while everyone seems to be searching for the snake, Dasu is reprimanded for not being more alert.
Several superstitions or rituals are indicated in the conversation with the old beggar woman who arrives at the gate to beg for money. The mother tells her what is happening. The old woman takes it as an indication from the god Subramanya also called Murugan which is related to snakes. Abhishekam, in the southern Indian community, is a ritual performed to honor a deity. The person will pour milk on the god that's esteemed. Some milk in a pot which contains the cobra is taken into account as a religious duty to invoke the snake’s aid. Snakes aren't to be killed in India if possible. Great care is to be taken to not hurt it or inflict it pain. It would be a grievous sin to bruise the head of the cobra which could be an omen of calamity for the family.
The family sends for a snake charmer who is however, after all efforts, unable to find the snake. As the night arrives, the family gives up on finding the snake and sits up on the couch. Dasu, their servent, comes with a sealed pot in his hands. He tells the family that he has caught the snake, and he's getting to take it to the snake charmer. The mother wishes that she could have put some milk inside the pot for good luck.
After Dasu leaves, the youngest son spots the cobra coming through a hole within the compound barrier. The snake slithers across the yard to go out the front gate. When the snake gets to the gate, he turns and glances at the family with his hood half up.
It crawled under the gate and disappeared along a drain. When they recovered from the shock they asked: ‘Does it mean there are two snakes here?’ The college-boy murmured: ‘I wish I had taken the risk and knocked the water-pot from Dasu’s hand; we might have known what it contained.'
The clever old servant fools his family by producing a pot without a snake. The writer portrays the frantic rummage around for the snake; in contrast, when the snake does show up, his cool demeanor seems to mention “There is not a problem.”
The Satavahana Kingdom or Satavahana dynasty is an Indian family that, according to some interpretations based on the Puranas (ancient religious and legendary writings), belonged to the Andhra jati (“tribe”) and was the first Deccanese dynasty to build an empire in daksinapatha—i.e., the southern region. At the height of their power, the Satavahanas held distant areas of western and central India.
On the strength of Puranic evidence, the beginnings of Satavahana ascendancy can be dated to late in the 1st century BCE, although some authorities trace the family to the 3rd century BCE. Initially, Satavahana rule was limited to certain areas of the western Deccan. Inscriptions found in caves, such as those at Nanaghat, Nashik, Karli, and Kanheri, commemorate the early rulers Simuka, Krishna, and Shatakarni I.
The accessibility, from the early Satavahana kingdom, of the western coastal ports, which prospered in this period of Indo-Roman trade, and the close territorial proximity with the western Kshatrapas resulted in an almost uninterrupted series of wars between the two Indian kingdoms. The first stage of this conflict is represented by Kshatrapa Nahapana’s penetration into the Nashik and other areas of the western Deccan. Satavahana power was revived by Gautamiputra Shatakarni (reigned c. 106–130 CE), the greatest ruler of the family. His conquests ranged over a vast territorial expanse stretching from Rajasthan in the northwest to Andhra in the southeast and from Gujarat in the west to Kalinga in the east. Sometime before 150, the Kshatrapas recovered most of these areas from the Satavahanas and twice inflicted defeats upon them.
Gautamiputra’s son Vashisthiputra Pulumavi (reigned c. 130–159) ruled from the west. The tendency seems to have been to expand to the east and the northeast. Inscriptions and coins of Vashisthiputra Pulumavi are also found in Andhra, and Shivashri Shatakarni (reigned c. 159–166) is known from coins found in the Krishna and Godavari regions. The distribution area of Shri Yajna Shatakarni’s (reigned c. 174–203) regional coins is also spread over Krishna and Godavari, as well as the Chanda region of Madhya Pradesh, Berar, northern Konkan, and Saurashtra.
Shri Yajna is the last important figure in the history of the Satavahana dynasty. He achieved success against the Kshatrapas, but his successors, known mostly from Puranic genealogical accounts and coins, ruled over a comparatively limited area.
The “local” character of later numismatic issues and their distribution pattern indicates the subsequent fragmentation of the Satavahana empire. The Andhra region passed on first to the Iksvakus and then to the Pallavas. Different areas in the western Deccan experienced the emergence of new local powers—e.g., the Cutus, the Abhiras, and the Kurus. In the Berar region the Vakatakas emerged as a formidable political force in the early 4th century. By this period the dismemberment of the Satavahana empire was complete.
Despite the achievements of the northern Mauryas in the Deccan in the 4th–3rd century BCE, it was under the Satavahanas that the historical period proper began in this region. Although there are no clear indications as to whether a centralized administrative system was evolved, an extensive system of currency was introduced throughout the empire. The Indo-Roman trade reached its peak in this period, and the resultant material prosperity is reflected in the liberal patronage of Buddhist and Brahmanical communities, enumerated in contemporary inscriptions.
- Britannica
Figuring out how to spell words is one of the most helpful long-lasting abilities and it fabricates the fundamental establishment that all individuals will require all through their training and life when all is said in done. Figuring out how to spell is significant for other fundamental abilities, including reading and writing. In addition, being acceptable at spelling may affect the future vocations of understudies.
Spelling in English language can be very complicated. Words are often not spelled the way they are pronounced. There are silent letters and invisible letters in various words which make it difficult for one to use correct pronunciation while speaking and write the spelling correctly. Therefore, it is significant to be acquainted with various spelling rules in order to be good at writing in English.
Following are some basic rules that one can follow if they found themselves in a spelling dilemma:
- Rule 1: Double Consonants
Double consonants can often change the meaning and pronunciation of a word. It’s is difficult to figure out double consonants when a word is spoken, especially if the word has only one syllable. Double consonants can be usually found with words having suffixes added to them.
Example: She dropped her keys on the floor by accident.
Some words can be pronounced as either mono syllabic or bi syllabic.
Example: Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.
Here the word ‘blessed’ is pronounces as Bless-ed.
Whereas in the sentence below, blessed is pronounced as ‘blest’.
Example: He got blessed by both his father and mother.
2. Rule 2: “I before E, except after C”
Although this rule got many exceptions it can be used as a general guideline. This rule states that if a word got both I and e in it, then I will come before e. But if the word also has a c before I and e, then the I will come after e.
I before E
Example: This game is a piece of cake.
Except After C
She received a suspicious package on her birthday.
3. Rule 3: Plural Words
The rule is this: if a word ends in ‑s, ‑sh, ‑ch, ‑x, or ‑z, the suffix –es should be used.
Example: The Genie granted Aladdin three wishes but gave Jaffar only one wish.
For all other kinds of words the suffix ‘s’ can be used.
Example: Jake got three chocolates while Julie got only one chocolate.
There are also a number of words that don’t change spellings when their plural forms are used such as, Moose, fish, sheep.
Also there are a number of words that change their vowels when converted to plural forms such as foot-feet, goose-geese, mouse-mice etc.
4. Rule 4: The Silent E
Usually the ‘e’ at the end of a word which is preceded by a consonant is silent. This however, does not affect the way the vowel before the last consonant is pronounced. It is essential to be careful while using ‘e’ at the end of a word as it might change the meaning of said word.
Example:
The monkey bit me. Keep your fingers out of the cage: the monkeys bite.
Here the tense of the word ‘bit’ changed after adding the suffix ‘e’.
The addition of ‘e’ might also create a completely different word such as in cut – cute.
While adding suffixes such as –ed, -er, or –est, the silent ‘e’ is usually dropped from the end.
Example: She had blue eyes. She had the bluest eyes I had ever seen.
5. Rule 5: Suffixes to Words Ending With ‘y’
Examples: Baby – Babies, Cry – Cries, Family –Families.
If the suffix –ing is added to a word ending with ‘y’, the ‘y’ is not removed.
Examples: Carry – Carrying, Cry – Crying
If a word contains two consonants before the ‘y’ one should change the ‘y’ to ‘I’ before adding the suffix ‘ly’
Example: Happy – Happily, Lucky – Luckily.
- Spelling in English language can be very complicated. Words are often not spelled the way they are pronounced.
- Double consonants can often change the meaning and pronunciation of a word. Double consonants can be usually found with words having suffixes added to them.
- Some words can be changed into plural forms by adding suffixes like ‘s’ and ‘es’. The question remains where to use the ‘s’ suffix and where to use the ‘es’ suffix.
- When a suffix is added to a word that starts with E (such as -ed, -er, or -est) to a word that ends in Y, the Y typically will change to an I.
Commonly misspelt English words are some of the most used words that are unintentionally misspelt by users in day-to-day writing. Although it is difficult to determine which words are more prone to spelling mistakes, words with double consonants, multiple connected vowels, and long arduous words are more commonly misspelt compared to other words.
Below are some of the most commonly misspelt words in the English Language:
The first column represents the correct spelling of the word followed by the mistake commonly made by writers and the last column represents the misspelt form of the word used.
business | begins with busi- | buisness |
calendar | -ar not -er | calender |
Caribbean | one r, two bs | Carribean |
cemetery | ends with -ery | cemetary |
chauffeur | ends with -eur | chauffer |
colleague | -ea- in the middle | collegue |
coming | one m | comming |
committee | double m, double t, double e | commitee |
completely | ends with -ely | completly |
conscious | -sc- in the middle | concious |
curiosity | -os- in the middle | curiousity |
definitely | -ite- not –ate- | definately |
dilemma | -mm- not -mn- | dilemna |
disappear | one s, two ps | dissapear |
disappoint | one s, two ps | dissapoint |
ecstasy | ends with –sy | ecstacy |
embarrass | two rs, two s’s | embarass |
environment | n before the m | enviroment |
existence | ends with -ence | existance |
Fahrenheit | begins with Fahr- | Farenheit |
familiar | ends with -iar | familar |
finally | two ls | finaly |
fluorescent | begins with fluor- | florescent |
foreign | e before i | foriegn |
foreseeable | begins with fore- | forseeable |
forty | begins with for- | fourty |
forward | begins with for- | foward |
friend | i before e | freind |
further | begins with fur- | futher |
gist | begins with g- | jist |
glamorous | -mor- in the middle | glamourous |
government | n before the m | goverment |
guard | begins with gua- | gaurd |
happened | ends with -ened | happend |
harass, harassment | one r, two s’s | harrass, harrassment |
honorary | -nor- in the middle | honourary |
humorous | -mor- in the middle | humourous |
idiosyncrasy | ends with -asy | idiosyncracy |
immediately | ends with -ely | immediatly |
incidentally | ends with -ally | incidently |
independent | ends with -ent | independant |
interrupt | two rs | interupt |
irresistible | ends with -ible | irresistable |
knowledge | remember the d | knowlege |
liaise, liaison | remember the second i: liais- | liase, liason |
Key Takeaways
1. Commonly misspelt English words are some of the most used words that are unintentionally misspelt by users in day-to-day writing.
Marks of punctuation play an extremely significant role in giving proper meaning to the language. Use of incorrect mark of punctuation or even wrong position of mark of punctuation can change the meaning of the sentence totally and sometimes even change the sentence to absolute nonsense.
Punctuation is essential for the following reasons:
- Punctuation separates sentences.
- Punctuation shows us when to pause.
- Punctuation shows us where to place emphasis.
- Punctuation clarifies the meaning of the sentence.
Ambiguous, unpunctuated sentences can change the meaning and confuse the reader.
Let us see the following sentences:
- Let us eat, daddy.
- Let us eat daddy.
In the primary sentence daddy is being called for dinner. On the other hand, in the next sentence, daddy himself has become a thing to be eaten. Slip of comma in this case has changed the primary sentence to absolute non-sense.
- Hang him, not let him free
- Hang him not, let him free.
In above sentences, just changing comma by one place has entirely misrepresented the meaning of the sentence.
In 1872, incorrect placement of comma cost millions of dollars in import duties to US government. In a tariff act approved in 1872, list of duty-free items added: “Fruit plants, tropical & semi tropical.”
A government officer put the mark of comma at wrong place, which made the sentence read: “Fruit, plants tropical & semi tropical.”
Importers productively contested in the courts that the course as written meant that all tropical & semitropical plants were free from expense of duty.
Next pairs of can also encourage anybody on the subject of right use of marks of punctuation sentences:
- The murderer protested his innocence an hour after he was hanged.
- The murderer protested his innocence. An hour after, he was hanged.
The primary sentence without comma is an absolute nonsense. It means that the murderer protested his innocence after he was hanged!
- Private- No swimming allowed.
- Private? No. Swimming allowed.
In the second sentence, addition of a question mark and full stop has transformed personal possessions to public possessions.
- I am sorry you cannot come with us.
- I am sorry. You cannot come with us.
- The butler stood by the door & called the guests’ names.
- The butler stood by the door & called the guests names.
- The criminal, says the judge, should be hanged.
- The criminal says, the judge should be hanged.
Changing the comma by just one place has entirely misrepresented the meaning of the sentence. In the next sentence, it is not the criminal but the judge who should be hanged.
& finally
- The inspector said, “The teacher is a fool.”
- “The inspector,” said the teacher “is a fool.” (Here the inspector is called a fool)
The above given sentences are to show the significance of use of not only correct mark of punctuation, but their right position also.
- Punctuation marks play an extremely significant role in giving proper meaning to the language as use of incorrect mark of punctuation or even wrong position of mark of punctuation can change the meaning of the sentence totally and sometimes even change the sentence to absolute nonsense.
- The comma is considered a real villain among marks of punctuation. Incorrect position of comma can give different meaning to sentence depending upon where it is positioned.
Talking about the weather is a way of breaking the ice (starting a conversation). Conversations about the weather take place both on the telephone and in person. It also forms a friendly conversation among friends and family before they discuss other topics. Colleagues talk about the weather before starting a hard day of work. Even strangers discuss the weather to start a conversation. Given below are the proper vocabulary and expressions that will help you start a conversation anytime and anywhere with anyone you meet.
Common questions and responses about weather
- What's it like out?
It's miserable out.
- How's the weather?
It's ten below. (-10 degrees)
- Is it raining there?
We haven't had a rain here for weeks.
- What's the temperature there?
It's 22 degrees Celsius.
- It's snowing here, what's it doing there?
It's pouring outside. (raining heavily)
- Beautiful day, huh?
Couldn’t have asked for a better day than this.
- What's the weather forecast?
They're calling for blue skies all week.
Common errors
Example 1: How's the weather?
- It is snow (noun). incorrect
- It is snowy (adjective). correct
- It is snowing (verb). correct
Example 2: What's it like out?
- It is rain (noun). incorrect
- It is rainy (adjective). correct
- It is raining (verb). correct
Example 3: What's the weather like?
- It is sun (noun). incorrect
- It is sunny (adjective). correct
- The sun is shining (verb). correct
Vocabulary for Talking About the Weather
Hot / Warm
- I prefer clothes like t-shirts when the weather is warm.
- Today is so hot that I’ve been sitting under the air conditioner all day long.
Cold / Cool
Cold refers to very low temperatures, sometimes even close to freezing—the sort of weather that demands a heavy coat to go outside. With cool, however, we’re talking about fairly low, spring-like temperatures when you may only have to wear a sweater out.
- On cool days like today, you ought to be fine with a denim jacket.
- Don’t forget your coat; it’s cold outside.
Sunny / Rainy
Sunny weather means there’s lots of sunshine. Its opposite is rainy weather, which implies ample rain.
- On sunny days, I prefer to take the children to the beach.
- Rainy days are the best time to stay home, drink hot coffee and read a book.
Clear / Cloudy
- Clear days like today are a blessing here believe me.
- It looks cloudy; you must bring an umbrella just in case it rains.
Dry / Humid
Dry weather refers to the absence of rain or moisture in the air. But when it’s humid, the air is moist and contains larger quantities of water vapor. Humid weather usually makes us perspire (sweat) more.
- Forest fires are common around here when the weather is dry.
- It is impossible to go outside without breaking a sweat in this humid weather.
Foggy / Misty
These two adjectives relate to hazy conditions caused by small droplets of water in the air that make it difficult to see. Fog (noun) forms closer to the ground and is thicker and harder to see through. On the other hand, Mist (noun) usually forms on hills and mountains and isn’t as thick as fog but can still limit vision.
- Remember to keep your headlights on when driving through foggy areas.
- It’s misty up at the mountains in the mornings.
Gusty / Windy
These adjectives describe the wind. Gusty weather implies a sudden brief burst of wind while windy refers to a stronger than usual wind blowing.
- It was so gusty in the afternoon that her umbrella was blown away.
- As we were walking along the beach, it began to get windy.
Thunder / Lightning
These two nouns are often used together when talking about storms. Thunder refers to the loud booming sound which usually follows a flash of lightning in the sky.
- Whenever there’s thunder and lightning, my little nephew rushes into the house in fear.
Key Takeaways
- Talking about the weather is a great conversation starter. It also forms a friendly conversation among friends and family before they discuss other topics. Colleagues talk about the weather before starting a hard day of work. Even strangers discuss the weather to start a conversation.
- One common mistake that takes place while talking about the weather is mixing up the noun, adjective and verb forms of weather words.
- When we say it’s hot, we’re talking about very high temperatures, such as you find in the middle of summer when the heat can get quite uncomfortable. Warm weather on the other hand, refers to temperatures that are fairly high but bearable.
- A clear day is bright with no signs of overcast weather or rain. A cloudy day, however, means the skies are full of clouds with little or no sun.
Communication is a process through which two or more persons transmit or exchange thoughts and concepts among themselves. W. H. Newman and C. F. Summer define communication as, “Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more persons.”
Communication is the process of transferring information by means of speaking, reading, listening and writing. Although the act of communication is heavily dependent on these four skills, it goes beyond these and also incorporate non-verbal elements such as body language, expressions, sign language, electronically transmitted codes (Morse code etc.) etc. It is both an art and a science.
Although every individual communicates simply by being in the world, learning effective communication skills requires hard work and determination. Developing good verbal and body language skills involves learning and consciously using your skills to improve.
One must be thoroughly familiar with all styles of correspondence in order to facilitate effective communication. The form of communication intrinsically depends upon the purpose and the central idea of the message to be conveyed. For example, it is feasible to acquire information or provide information using a formal phone call or an email whereas while conveying bad news to a particular individual a face-to-face conversation is considered rather apt.
Communication can be formal or informal
- Formal communication: Formal Communication is the exchange of official information that flows along the different levels of the organizational hierarchy and conforms to the prescribed professional rules, policy, standards, processes and regulations of the organization.
- Informal communication: Informal Communication is the casual and unofficial form of communication wherein the information is exchanged spontaneously between two or more persons without conforming the prescribed official rules, processes, system, formalities and chain of command.
Communication Process
The communication process comprises of the following components:
- Sender: Sender is the individual who wants to send the message to the receiver. A sender makes effective use of words, symbols, pictures, graphs etc. available to him to construct the message. The views, background, approach, skills, competencies, and knowledge of the sender determine whether the message is approachable or not.
2. Encoding: Since the subject matter of communication is theoretical and intangible, its further passing requires use of certain symbols such as words, actions or pictures etc. Conversion of subject matter into these symbols is the process of encoding.
3. Message: The message comprises of the information that is to be exchanged between the sender and the receiver. The central idea of the message must be clear and should be easily understood by the receiver.
The process of communication can be easily understood from the following flowchart:
4. Channel: The medium of communication should be chosen with respect to the purpose of the message and the ability of the receiver to comprehend it. Hence, the sender must choose an appropriate medium for transmitting the message. The channel can be oral or written, the use of oral medium is preferred when the message is urgent and requires an immediate response, the written medium is preferred when the message is technical and there is a need for it to be documented.
5. Decoding: The person who receives the message or symbol from the communicator tries to convert the same in such a way so that he may extract its meaning to his complete understanding.
6. Receiver: The receiver is the individual to whom the message is addressed. The ability of the receiver to decode the message depends on the knowledge of the receiver, the reliance of the encoder, responsiveness of the receiver to the message.
7. Feedback: After the receiver receives the message, he tries to decode it, understand it and tried to provide a proper feedback to the sender, who then tries to interpret the feedback.
8. Noise: It is the hindrance in the process of communication. It can take place at any step in the entire process. It reduces the accuracy of communication e.g. 1) Disturbance in the telephone lines, 2) An inattentive receiver 3) Improper Decoding of Message etc.
Characteristics of Good Communication (The 7Cs of Communication)
The seven C’s of communication is a list of principles that you should ensure all of your communications adhere to. Their purpose is to help ensure that the person you’re communicating with hears what you’re trying to say. The seven C’s of communication include: clear, correct, complete, concrete, concise, considered and courteous.
1. Clear
There are several stages to clarity.
Firstly, it’s important to be clear about the purpose of the message you’re delivering. The recipient should be made aware of why they are receiving the message and what you’re trying to achieve by delivering it. If there are multiple goals, each should be laid out separately.
Secondly, it’s essential that the content of the communication is itself clear. The use of jargon must be avoided, use simple language and simple structures and always focus on the core points of your message.
2. Correct
It’s essential that both the factual information and the language and grammar you use are correct. If your audience spots errors in either, they will be distracted and your credibility will be greatly reduced. This will reduce the effectiveness of your communication.
3. Complete
Completeness is often one of the most important of the 7 Cs of communication.
When creating a message, it’s important to give the recipient all of the information they need to follow your line of reasoning and to reach the same conclusions you have. This level of detail will be different in different situations, and you should adjust your communications accordingly.
In addition, you should make things as easy as possible for the recipient. For example, if you are issuing a “call to action”, provide explicit guidance on that action. Increasingly it’s common to include things like hyperlinks in written communications or to attach FAQs, both of which help audiences access a complete set of information while also ensuring that core communications focus on core messages.
4. Concrete
When shaping your communication, you must ensure that you are specific and that the logic and messages that you’re using fit together, build on each other and support each other. Your arguments should be based on solid facts and opinions from credible sources and you should share irrefutable data to support your argument.
It may be important to help bring the solid nature of what you’ve created to life for your audience through examples that show the relevance of your messages for them as individuals.
5. Concise
When communicating messages of this nature it’s important to stick to the point and keep your messages short and simple. If a message can be given in five words, don't make it ten. Don’t repeat your messages.
6. Courteous
Not everyone knows how to use the 7 Cs of communication. You can increase the effectiveness of your communications by being polite and showing your audience that you respect them. Your messages should be friendly, professional, considerate, respectful, open and honest.
To help ensure you are courteous, you should always use some empathy and consider your messages from the point of view of the audience.
7. Coherent
The last of the 7 Cs of communication is coherence. If your communications are not coherent they will not be effective. To help make sure your communications are coherent you should have a logical flow and your style, tone and language should be consistent throughout.
In addition to making sure that each correspondence that is issued is coherent within itself, you should also ensure consistency of message when delivering multiple communications.
Key Takeaways
- “Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more persons.” It is a process through which two or more persons transmit or exchange thoughts and concepts among themselves.
- Communication is the process of transferring information by means of speaking, reading, listening and writing.
- Formal Communication is the exchange of official information that flows along the different levels of the organizational hierarchy and conforms to the prescribed professional rules, policy, standards, processes and regulations of the organization.
- Informal Communication is the casual and unofficial form of communication wherein the information is exchanged spontaneously between two or more persons without conforming the prescribed official rules, processes, system, formalities and chain of command.
- The seven C’s of communication is a list of principles that you should ensure all of your communications adhere to. They are clear, correct, complete, concrete, concise, considered and courteous.
- The recipient should be made aware of why they are receiving the message and what you’re trying to achieve by delivering it.
- It’s essential that both the factual information and the language and grammar you use are correct.
- When creating a message, it’s important to give the recipient all of the information they need to follow your line of reasoning and to reach the same conclusions you have.
- Your arguments should be based on solid facts and opinions from credible sources and you should share irrefutable data to support your argument.
- The more you say, the more risk there is of confusion. Avoid that risk by focusing solely on the key points you need to deliver.
- You can increase the effectiveness of your communications by being polite and showing your audience that you respect them.
- To help make sure your communications are coherent you should have a logical flow and your style, tone and language should be consistent throughout.
- “Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more persons.” It is a process through which two or more persons transmit or exchange thoughts and concepts among themselves.
- Communication is the process of transferring information by means of speaking, reading, listening and writing.
- Process of Communication – Sender, Encoding, Message, Channel, Decoding, Receiver, Feedback, Noise.
- Feedback is crucial in communication as it allows the sender of the message to know whether his message is received by the receiver and if the message is understood by the receiver in the same manner as it was intended by the sender.
- The need for business communication extends to: Employee communication, Public relations, Internet marketing, Customer communications, Investor relations, Non-profit agencies, Entertainment, sports and travel, Government and military, Education.
References
- Oxford Guide to writing and speaking, John Seely, O.U.P
- A Communicative Grammar of English, Leech, G.N. and Jan Svartvik
- Better English Pronunciation, J.O O’ Corner, Cambridge.
- Effective Technical Communication, M.Asraf Rizvi, Tata McGraw Hill
- Technical Communication Today, Bovea et al. Pearson.
- Practical English Usage. Michael Swan. OUP. 1995.
- Remedial English Grammar. F.T. Wood. Macmillan.2007
- Communication Skills. Sanjay Kumar and Pushp Lata. Oxford University Press. 2011.
- Exercises in Spoken English. Parts. I-III. CIEFL, Hyderabad. Oxford University Press