Communication is one of the most important elements in society. There is nothing that can take place without communication. To get the best out of any endeavor, the kind of communication that takes place between the parties that are involved has to be effective. This brings out the fact that communication can be effective or ineffective. It is the responsibility of the people involved to ensure that the communication mode that they have adopted meets the standards of effective communication. What are the characteristics of effective communication and what are the communication strategies that can be employed in ensuring that communication is effective? These are the questions that this essay will attempt to answer in addition to determining whether the team has provided effective strategies for communication and the examples of how the strategies they have an employee can be utilized.
Effective communication is specific and clear. The recipient does not have to struggle to understand the message. The recipient is identified and the sender is identified too. In this way, it is not difficult to tell who is sending the message to. Effective communication is also carried out using the best means. Some messages are better conveyed by word of mouth while others are better when sent through written means such as letters. Also, electronic means such as email may be the best means of communication in some cases. Note that electronic communication exists both in verbal form through telephone and written through email. The strategies for good communication include identifying the recipient, the proper identification of the sender of the message that is the main element of the communication, using the right means in message delivery or in carrying out the communication, and proper identification of the purpose of the communication. Also, there is the usage of appropriate language in carrying out the communication as a way of avoiding being misconstrued. The sender intends to convey the right message and inappropriate language can jeopardize this.
A careful examination of the team reveals that they have provided effective communication strategies as a way of making their teamwork more fruitful. These strategies include the identification of the means of communication whereby they have agreed to use the group forum which is essentially an electronic facility for sharing written messages usually called posts. They have also made it clear that the communication between the members of the group has to be respectful. This is a way of ensuring that the conflicts and misunderstandings that emanate from disrespectful or inappropriate communication are avoided. Other strategies that the team has provided include the people who will be sending the messages; who are all the team members, and the people who will be receiving the messages in the communication process; who again happen to be the members of the team. This is ideal given that they are handling group work.
I used these strategies that this team has come up with, some examples can be used. In the case of being respectful while communicating, team member X can make a phone call to another team member Y and if the caller, X, is prompted to leave a voice message because the intended recipient, Y, cannot take the call, A can leave a message telling team member Y that he or she intended to inform him or her about the latest discovery he or she had made on the subject; but since Y is not accessible, X will try calling another time. This is a respectful message that can prompt Y into calling X in a bid to find out more on the subject in general and X’s discovery in particular. But X yelling at Y for not being there to take her calls will constitute disrespectful or inappropriate communication and this can lead to conflicts.
In terms of identifying the best mode of communication, the best example is the fact that the team has chosen electronic means. They have chosen to use the group forum where each member will be able to post their messages. If group member X finds interesting information about the research subject, all that this member has to do is type the message and upload it for the other members to read.
In conclusion, communication is vital in any undertaking. Effective communication strategies are a sure way of success in any undertaking. The group that has been examined in this essay has effective communication strategies since they identify the sender, recipient, and mode of communication.