Verbal communication is one of the three ways of exchanging information between people, which begins from the birth of a person and lasts his whole life. In childhood, a child expresses his needs, and in adulthood verbal communication is necessary to solve everyday and business problems. The effectiveness of communication is a complex and multifaceted concept. It covers many phenomena and aspects and can be studied both from a general theoretical and from a concrete practical point of view, i.e. for each individual type and level of communication.
One can safely say that verbal communication is the most common method of communication used by the vast majority of people. This term refers to communicative interaction with the help of speech, namely the communication of certain information, its perception and understanding (Vogel et al., 2018). Verbal communication is carried out through speech, both oral and written. Speech can be expressed either by language or by written signs. Thus, communication through verbal communication implies interaction during a conversation or with the help of messages intended for the interlocutor.
Types of verbal communication can be classified depending on their ability to transmit information. Some types of verbal communication, such as face-to-face conversations, are considered especially effective because they are not only allowing the speaker to exchange information on an unlimited number of topics, but are highly individualized and provide an opportunity for immediate reaction. A less valuable type is telephone communication, which is a two—way communication with feedback, but still loses in some cases to live communication, since it excludes such elements as gestures and looks. However, not all types of business communication are two-way flows of information. For example, written information is widely used, calculated for a wide range of readers in the organization and outside it in the form of memoranda reports, appeals to shareholders. The effects of communication can be considered both at the personal level and at the level of social groups. Thus, the acquisition of information necessary for life, a change in the cognitive activity of an individual, the acquisition of special moral and spiritual guidelines, socialization and the implementation of emotional and psychological relaxation are important for the individual.
Now that one has considered various types of verbal communication, it makes sense to determine which of them are most effective and when. Studies aimed at clarifying this problem have shown that communication is most effective when both oral and written communication channels are used. Obviously, oral messages are more effective when an immediate reaction of other people is required, and the subsequent written “portion” of information helps to make communication more stable, which is important when communication is aimed at continuing in the future. Oral messages have the advantage of allowing direct two-way communication between people or groups of people to be possible, while written messages are either one-sided or take time to receive a response. The factors limiting the effectiveness of communication are the environment (external conditions) of communication, technical means of communication and the person himself as the main actor of the communicative act. In order to increase the effectiveness of communication, attention should be paid to the problem of communication barriers and improving practical skills to overcome them.
Thus, the evaluation of the effectiveness of communication is a necessary condition and an important factor in the management of communication processes. It presupposes the choice of criteria and indicators of the effectiveness of communicative activity and is based on a general approach to determining the effectiveness of communication as the ratio of the achieved result to the previously planned goal. Therefore, most managers tend to use the means of communication that best corresponds to the importance and significance for the organization of the information.
Reference
Vogel, D., Meyer, M., & Harendza, S. (2018). Verbal and non-verbal communication skills including empathy during history taking of undergraduate medical students. BMC medical education, 18(1), 1-7. Web.