Question

essay on importance of english communication today

Answer 1

Within this essay I will explore the methods and importance of communication when working as a childhood practitioner. Communication is commonly defined as the “imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs This is a process by which meaning is assigned and conveyed in an attempt to create a shared understanding. This process involves a huge repertoire of intrapersonal and interpersonal skills including listening, speaking, questioning, observing, analysing, and evaluating.  The importance of communication within a team is perfectly demonstrated in this analogy by Wideman (2000): ‘Communication is like engine oil: it needs to be applied to the machinery or the machinery will not start or, if it does, it will quickly falter and grind to a halt. And the oil, like communication, needs to be continuously recycled and regularly replaced with new oil as the old becomes no longer usable. But what of the quality of the oil? Too little or too thin and it is not effective; too thick or too much and everything just gets gummed up.’ (Wideman, 2000).

Effective communication is crucial for a team to be successful. The team needs to communicate regularly with one another because through communication cooperation and collaboration occur. Collaboration with one another is necessary in the workplace because it helps to solve problems, help maintain standards of practice and create a good rapport with all involved. Ebbeck and Waniganayake (2003, p.195) state “shared decision making is one secret of successful management”. In order for this to be achieved communication is essential and necessary in the workplace. Great communication skills are an absolute must it is ‘A vital part of any centre’s functioning is the communication that occurs among staff’ (Ebbeck and Waniganayake,2003: p.197). A lack of teamwork and communication can lead to a stressful working environment and a poor quality service.

In a recent presentation of mine I demonstrated through a communication exercise the importance of communication and how communication is not just verbal in nature. The exercise required all team members to communicate clearly in the communication method appropriate. The team had limitations that prevented them from communicating in the easiest form this forced them to develop a way of overcoming these barriers, communicating in a different fashion whilst also working as a team. They had two attempts to complete the task assigned to them. The first attempt went very badly as they found it very difficult to communicate with the barriers in place. However after a small group discussion they were able to devise a way to accomplish the task.  This simple exercise is a useful one to employ during a staff meeting and it teaches the value of communication and the need for effective and clear communication in order to work as a team.

Communication can be viewed as an active process that is in turn influenced by the complexities and ambiguities of human behaviour. It is riddled with the potential of breakdown. Clampitt sates that ‘We actively construct meanings within a unique vortex that includes the words used, the context of the utterances, and the people involved’ (2005, p.8). It is a process where elements such as any non-verbal actions, individuals own interpretation and own ascribed meaning can have an influence. Communications strategies to construct a clear and unambiguous message can encourage effective and direct communication. There are certain barriers both physical and psychological that can hinder communication as Clampitt states and it is important to be aware of these. Anything that prevents a message being understood is seen as a barrier. These are some barriers that can occur when communicating:

Culture, background, and bias – Our culture, background, and bias can allow us to change the meaning of a message, which can interfere with the communication process

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