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What is the order of colors in a rainbow?

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What is the order of colors in a rainbow?

The order of the rainbow is ROYGBIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet). It is caused by a breakup of white light wavelength (all colors) when it hits water. It is refracted as it passes through the water droplets in the sky (moisture after rain) and breaks into 7 different sizes of wavelengths. The largest of the color wavelength is Red and the smallest is Violet. They have the different sizes due to the amount of energy they come with as they travel from the sun to our eyes!

Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red.

You must remember though that red is the longest wavelength in the visible spectrum and appears at the top of rainbows and to the left-hand side on a horizontal wavelength spectrum while violet is the shortest wavelength in the visible spectrum and appears on the bottom of rainbows and to the right-hand side on a horizontal wavelength spectrum. So, reading left to right, the order of the colors is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet:

ROYGBIV

These are the seven colours on the visible spectrum. Beyond violet are the ultraviolet rays and before red are the infrared rays.

Why did the United States enter World War I?

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World War I is the “Great War”, the war to end all wars. The United States wanted the world to know, we were NEUTRAL, but were we really?

Politically, economically and psychologically, we were not isolated by any means. The U.S. did not want to commit to a war, continents away. Let those in war’s path do the dirty work, we would make money off of their involvment. It was enevitable and we were doing our part in other ways.

We sold our allies war supplies, remember the Lusitania and so many ships traveling cross-Atlantic?

We made gained ecomonic profits, we did see our young men rally, volunteer and die with our allies, and yes we provided strategic support in many realms.

Did we have a choice? Neutrality in its pure form was not an option. The Industrial Revolution bound the world together. We could not publically commit in 1914, but in 1917 we had little choice due to the losses of our allies.

The United States people saw itself as the “savior” of the righteous, but our politicians had already set us up by involving the U.S. behind closed doors.

This was a war that resulted from Industrialization, Nationalism and Imperialism. The world was changed forever. Larger countries felt a moral duty to defend and profit.

Consider this, the world was in a great depression and the world was left in a greater depression following WWI.

One thing we would never stand for was the “Zimmerman” telegraph event. The Monroe Doctorine would be defended, no matter what the cost.

The United States, led by President Woodrow Wilson, did not want to be involved in World War I. When Wilson ran for re-election in 1916, his campaign slogan was “He kept us out of the war” referring to the European conflict that was then referred to as the “Great War.” However, by 1917, sentiment was changing with regard to the war.

Although the U.S. had yet to become officially involved in the war, most Americans supported the Allies and saw the Germans as aggressors. Americans felt a connection to Great Britain, in particular, because of cultural similarities. Germany angered Americans with their U-boats sinking American ships suspected of aiding the Allies. With the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915, a British cruise ship, 128 Americans were among those who lost their lives. The Germans temporarily halted such actions but in 1917 resumed unrestricted Naval warfare. At the same time, the British intercepted a message, called the Zimmerman Note, asking the government of Mexico to declare war on the U.S., if war broke out between the U. S. and Germany. The note also promised to help Mexico regain the territory of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico if Mexico declared war on the United States. This note was the final push that Wilson needed to turn public sentiment towards war. The U.S. Congress declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917.

What does “X” mean after Malcolm’s name?

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The X is meant to symbolize Malcolm’s true family name from Africa, which he does not know, since white slave traders violently severed his family.

In his autobiography, Malcolm X writes,

“X” replaced the white slavemaster name of “Little” which some blue-eyed devil named Little had imposed upon my paternal forebears. The receipt of my “X” meant that forever after in the nation of Islam, I would be known as Malcolm X. Mr. Muhammad taught that we would keep this “X” until God Himself returned and gave us a Holy Name from His own mouth.

He speaks about hearing Elijah Muhammad speak about how black men in America were mentally, morally, and spiritually dead because of their mistreatment and brainwashing by white people. One of the things Muhammad discussed that Malcolm X took note of was how black people weren’t able to keep their family names. Their names were replaced with the names of the slaveowners who purchased them.

Muhammad believed that the true knowledge of themselves would help lift up black men in America. Malcolm X learned about the Nation of Islam while he was in prison. He converted and, in the process, changed his name. Later in life, he converted from the Nation of Islam to standard Islam. At that point, he began using the name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.

Malcolm’s original family surname was Little. When in prison, he became part of the Nation of Islam. This religious group believed that blacks had originally been Muslims when taken captive and brought to America as slaves. The group wanted to separate itself from white culture and promote black culture and independence.

Malcolm actually legally changed his last name from Little to X when he was released from prison in 1952. He felt that Little was a name that had been imposed on his family in the past by white slaveowners. The last name X brought him back, he thought, to his lost African roots and helped him develop a sense of black pride and separation from white culture. It worked out to be a distinctive name that helped him remain memorable after he rose to prominence.

Reported Speech: Direct and Indirect speech

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Reported Speech: Whenever you are quoting someone else’s words, you use two kinds of speeches – Direct or Indirect speech. In this chapter, we will learn all about Direct and Indirect speech and how to convert one into another.

Reported speech- How does it work?

Reported speech- How does it work

Whenever you report a speech there’s a reporting verb used like “say” or “tell”. For example:

Direct speech: I love to play football.

Reported speech: She said that she loves to play football. (Note 1 : Assume a gender if not mentioned already.

Note 2: Using “that” is optional. This sentence could also have been written as “She said she loves to play football.”)

The tense doesn’t have to be changed in this case of reported speech. But of the reporting verb is in the past tense, we do change the tense of the sentence.

Reported speech- Play of the tenses:

Direct speech tense Indirect/Reported speech tense
Simple present simple past
present continous past continuous
simple past past perfect
past continuous past perfect continuous
present perfect tense past perfect tense
past perfect tense past perfect tense

This is a summary table that will be crystal clear to you as you read further. Just come back to this table after this section and use this as a summary table:

Tense Direct speech Reported speech Changed tense
Simple present I like to swim in the ocean She said she liked to swim in the ocean Simpe past
Simple present I live in New Orleans He said he lived in New Orleans Simpe past
Past simple I went to school in the morning She said she had gone to school that morning Past perfect
Present continuous I was going to the Himalayas He said he was going to the Himalayas Past continuous
Past continuous I was walking near the beach She said that she had been walking near the beach past perfect continuous
Present perfect I have caught a few fishes She said she had caught a few fishes past perfect
Past perfect I had trekked the Himalayas this time last year He said he had trekked the Himalayas this time last year Past perfect

Some word transitions from direct to reported speech that will come in handy:

  • Will becomes would
  • Can becomes could
  • would stays would
  • should stays should
  • must stays must or had to(matter of choice)
  • shall becomes should

Exception: A present tense in direct speech may not become a past tense in the reported speech if it’s a fact or something generic we are talking about in the sentence. For example-

Direct speech: The sun rises from the East.

Reported speech: She said that the sun rises/rose from the East.

Reported speech- Handling questions:

What happens when the sentence we are trying to report was actually a question? That’s something we are going to deal with in this section. Reported questions- It’s quite interesting. let’s get into it:

Well the good news is that the tense change you learnt above stays the same in reported speech for questions. The only difference is that when you report a question, you no more report it in the form of a question but in the form of a statement. For example:

Direct speech: Where do you want to eat?

Reported speech: She asked me where I wanted to eat.

Notice how the question mark is gone from the reported speech. The reported speech is a statement now. Keep that in mind as you read further.

Remember the tense change? Let’s apply that to a few questions now.

Direct speech Reported speech
Are you going to my house? She asked me if I was going to her house.
Where were you going? He asked me where I was going.
Where have you been? She asked me where had i been.

Now these are questions that have wordy answers to them. What about the questions that has yes/no answers to them? In these type of questions just add “if” before asking the question. For example:

  • Direct speech: Would you like to eat some cupcakes?
  • Reported speech: He asked me if i would like to eat some cupcakes.
  • Direct speech: Have you ever seen the Van Gogh paintings?
  • Reported speech: She asked me if I had ever seen the Van Gogh paintings.
  • Direct speech: Are you eating your vegetables?
  • Reported speech: She asked if I was eating my vegetables.

Reported speech- Reported requests:

Well not all questions require answers. Some questions are polite requests. Remember? Could you please try to remember? And then there are request statements. Let’s see how do we convert these into reported speech.

Reported request = ask me + to + verb or requested me + to +verb

Just add this rule to your reported speech and you have what is called a reported request.

Direct speech Reported speech
Could you please shut the door? She asked me to shut the door.
Can you please help me? She requested me to help her.

Reported speech- Reported orders:

Well, not everyone is going to be polite. Sometimes, we get orders. Now how will you report them? Unlike the request, the reporting verb isn’t ask but told or tell. Also, when in orders, sometimes subjects are omitted but while reporting we have to revive the subjects. Let’s see a few examples:

  • Direct speech: Sit down!
  • Reported speech: She told  me to sit down.
  • Direct speech: don’t worry!
  • Reported speech: She told me not to worry.

Reported speech- Time transitions:

Direct speech Reported speech
now then / at that time
today yesterday / that day / Tuesday / the 27th of June
yesterday the day before yesterday / the day before / Wednesday / the 5th of December
last night the night before, Thursday night
last week the week before / the previous week
tomorrow today / the next day / the following day / Friday

With that, you have everything it takes to understand reported speech. you are all se to change the direct to reported speech. Go ahead and try a few examples. All the best!

Types of Sentences: Declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory

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You come across so many sentences every day. And all of these sentences can be categorized into 4 types of sentences: declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory; each with its own specific purpose. Punctuation also plays a role in differentiating between these types. Let’s understand the types of sentences.

Types of Sentences:

Declarative sentences:

As the name suggests, a declarative sentence simply declares a statement or an opinion. A declarative sentence has a neutral tone, meaning it ends with a period mark “.” A few examples of declarative sentences:

  • I live at 24, East street.
  • I like ice-cream.
  • The wind is blowing from the west.

Notice how both these sentences declare some feelings but not very strong feelings, feelings like ” I absolutely love ice cream!”. This sentence becomes an exclamatory sentence ending in the exclamation mark – “!”

Exclamatory sentences:

As the name suggests, exclamatory sentences express strong feelings and excitement or extreme dislike. These sentences are quite loud, in the sense that they explain full emotions. These are declarations just like declarative sentences but with much stronger emotions. That’s why they end in the exclamation mark.

  • Wow, she must love scuba diving!
  • Red sea blue holes are out of this world!
  • I can’t believe she ran that fast to grab the bone!

Imperative sentences:

Whenever a demand is expressed, it’s an imperative sentence. It could also be instructions, requests, a wish or demands. Basically anything you want to make happen can be expressed in what we call, imperative sentence.

  • Come to the ball dance with me! (Expressing an invitation)
  • Sop moving in circles! (Expressing a command)
  • Move in circle just once a day. (Expressing an instruction)
  • Have fun at the ball dance! (Expressing a wish)
  • Please get out of the room! (Expressing a command)

Notice how imperative sentences above are expressing something to happen, maybe strongly or mildly followed by an exclamation mark or a period respectively. Remember this while forming imperative sentences. Depending upon the sentence’s mood, the sentence is followed by an exclamation mark or a period. Very strong emotions are of course followed by an exclamation mark.

Important note: Do not confuse imperative sentences with exclamatory sentences. One clear cut difference is that there’s always a command in the imperative sentence whereas there never will be a command in the exclamatory sentence. Exclamatory sentences are declarations but really strong ones. Both sentences have exclamatory marks at the end, but they are two different ones.

Interrogative sentences:

Interrogative sentences as the name suggests, express e=interrogation or questions and naturally end in the question mark – “?” Remember that these sentences have which, when, where, how and what in them.

  • When do you get off work?
  • Who do you trust the most in the world?
  • Where do you live in California?
  • Which city is your favourite?
  • How can I get to this karate teacher?

It may not contain the “wh” questions but could simply be a yes/no question.

  • Is she a student of Arts?
  • Do you like to eat ice-cream?

Now you should just identify the following sentences:

  • Where is her house?
  • Wow, she swims like a fish!
  • I would love to take you to the dinner!
  • She is sitting on the couch.

Let’s see if you can identify these. Have fun!

Order of Words: Basic Rules with Examples, Concepts, Questions, Videos

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Compare the two sentences- ‘English is an easy language’ and ‘language English is an easy’. Definitely, the first sentence is a winner here. What’s the problem with the second sentence? Just like every language’s grammar, English grammar also follows an order of words.

Basic English Order of Words
In English grammar, the rule of thumb is that the subject comes before the verb which comes before the object. This means that most of the sentences conform to the SVO word order. Note that, this is for the sentences that only have a subject, verb and object. We’ll discuss more complex sentences and their order of words afterwards, but for now, we need to remember that for any type of sentence, we normally put the verb and object together. Some examples are:

I (S) am cleaning (V) the house (O).

He (S) loves (V) the cold breeze (O).

Basic English Order of Words

Now as we know about the basic word order used in simple sentences, we need to step our game up and learn about complex sentences. These sentences can contain, adverbs of place, time, two verbs, an indirect object, etc. The most used word order is:

Subject + Verb + Object + Adverb Of Place + Adverb Of Time

Again note that the verb and object are placed next to each other. An important thing to realize is that the time usually comes after the place. Hence the adverb of the place is kept before the adverb of time. Try to understand this with the help of the following example :

He (S) meets (V) George (O) at the park (Adverb of place) every day (Adverb of time).

We can also use the adverb of time at the beginning of a sentence in the order of words (except early and late). For example,

Every Monday he goes to the orphanage.

Note that there are some adverbs that can be used before the verb in the sentence. Always, also, sometimes, probably, often, never, rarely, almost, definitely, only are some examples.

Some sentences contain more than one verb, i.e. a formal verb and other informal verbs. In such cases, we usually put the adverb after the first verb which is the finite verb. To recall, a finite verb is the main verb in the sentence that directly relates to the subject of the sentence. Let’s have a look at some examples of such sentences:

I like (Finite verb) a lot (Adverb), when it rains (verb) in the morning(Adverb of time).

You may speak (Finite verb) slowly (Adverb) to the judge when we ask(Verb) you to.

Indirect objects

Lastly, there are certain sentences that have an indirect object couples with a direct object. Regardless of this, the sentence stays true to the SVO word order. In such cases, we follow the SVOI or the SVIO word order. A key point to remember is that if the indirect object is a noun or a pronoun we follow the SVIO order. On the other hand, if the indirect object is preceded by a ‘to’, then we follow the SVOI word order. We can understand this with the help of the following examples:

She gave her mother the present. ( SVIO)

She gave the present to her mother. (SVOI)

A Solved Example for You

Q: Arrange the following sentences:

  1. she/there/ every day/to work/goes.
  2. in this world/ looking/everybody/for happiness.
  3. a movie/was/I/when you called/watching.

Ans:

  1. She goes there to work every day.
  2. Everybody is looking for happiness in this world.
  3. I was watching a movie when you called.

Phrases, Clauses and Sentence Structure: Definition, Concepts, Examples

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Phrases, Clauses, and Sentences are the most important structural units of language. They provide structure and meaning to almost all the languages. The phrases and clauses provide a sense to a sentence. Here we will discuss this and learn about the constituents of a sentence structure with the help of interesting example sentence for each.

Phrases, Clauses, and Sentences

A complete understanding of the structural parameters is crucial to the understanding of the meaning of sentences. Here we will study all of the three components of a sentence structure, one by one. Let us begin with phrases.

Phrase

sentence structure

Any group of meaningful words that don’t make complete sense is a phrase. If taken alone i.e. without other words, it will not be meaningful at all.preposition and a However, a phrase occurs inside a sentence as its structural part.

Some of the examples of phrases are: in ten steps, the great man, a pink flower, the thick canopy, expansion term, etc. Phrases are of several types as follows:

  • Prepositional Phrase: This group of words begin with a preposition. The preposition precedes a noun or a pronoun or something which acts as a noun or a pronoun. Let us see some examples. Eid is a wonderful occasion. She was lost at sea. I am writing this essay for the entire class. The entire prepositional phrase acts as an adverb or an adjective most of the times.
  • Noun Phrase: This is a phrase that acts as a noun in a sentence. A noun or a pronoun and its modifiers make up a noun phrase. For example, The man takes a bus every day to work. Arif has a very beautiful bag with him.
  • Verb Phrase: This phrase will contain a main verb and one or more helping verb. These two will have a link that connects them together. This phrase will define the various times of the action in a sentence. For example, The car is moving in a circle. Will he be eating the entire buffet? How are you doing? These are some of the common examples and the structure is auxiliary/modal verb + auxiliary verb + auxiliary verb + main verb (as in the sentence above).

Clause

A clause is also a group of words but this group must contain the subject and a predicate. Hence, a clause can make complete sense even when present outside the sentence. A clause is that part of a sentence that contains the subject and the predicate. For example, I have a dog. The snow is falling since yesterday. Clauses are of following types:

  • Main or Independent Clause: The main clause is that part of a sentence that not only contains the subject and the predicate but also makes perfect sense if we take it out of the sentence. in other words we can say that this clause does not need a context to make sense. For example, China is growing at a very fast rate and this has surprised many economists. The clauses in bold are independent clauses.
  • Subordinate or Dependent Clause: A subordinate or a dependent clause must also contain the subject and the predicate. The only condition is that these kinds of clauses won’t make proper sense without another clause. The dependent clause depends on the main clause for deriving a proper meaning. Let us see some examples: The country is going from bad to worse. Asif has a dog who can stand on two legs. That is the umbrella which I bought online. Iran has a very beautiful culture which is also one of the oldest cultures in the world. The words in bold are the subordinate clauses.

Sentence and Sentence Structure

We define a sentence as a collection of words that make a certain intended sense. The definition is also sometimes put as a collection or group of words that make sense to a reader. Grammatically, we say that a sentence must have a predefined structure. A sentence may contain a subject, a predicate, verbs and auxiliary verbs etc.

A sentence could be a command, a statement, an exclamation, a question. It has a main clause and sometimes many clauses with at least one main clause. The sentence has to end with a full stop and must have a finite verb in it. For example: Wait here. Put it on. I am a very strong person but I also need to know more. The sentence structure has the following basic parts:

  • Subject: About which something is being said.
  • Predicate: Tells us something about the subject.
  • Direct object: A person or thing that is affected by the verb.
  • Indirect object: Usually followed by direct objects.
  • The object of the preposition: Functions as a noun or pronoun and comes right after the preposition.
  • Verbs: Indicates action, the occurrence of something or state of being.
  • Phrases: Makes sense but not complete sense, thus can’t stand alone.
  • Complements: It provides complete meaning to a subject, an object or a verb.

Solved Examples for You

Q: A sentence has only one clause. What type of clause is it and why?

Ans: The clause has to be the main clause or an independent clause. An independent clause is a clause that makes complete sense. Since a sentence also has to make sense to its reader, every sentence that has a single clause must have a main clause. The main clause makes a sentence in itself.

Sentence Types and Word Power: Phrases, Clauses & English Sentences

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Can we pinpoint when exactly did we speak a proper sentence for the first time? Not really! The reason is we acquire our first (and sometimes even our second language) and start speaking without any conscious effort. So, we are usually unaware of the technicalities or the appropriate structure that governs our speech. But, to make our mark in a formal or official environment both- speaking and writing efficiently and effectively is crucial. So, let’s begin to learn the details of English sentences.

Barriers of Communication: Types of Barriers to Effective Communication

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Barriers of Communication: This far we have seen what we mean by the process of communication. But, at times even after taking care of every other detail some misunderstandings arise. So, to eliminate these misunderstandings, we have to understand the most common barriers to effective communication. Let us see what these Barriers of Communication are!

Barriers To Effective Communication

The process of communication has multiple barriers. The intended communique will often be disturbed and distorted leading to a condition of misunderstanding and failure of communication. The Barriers to effective communication could be of many types like linguistic, psychological, emotional, physical, and cultural etc. We will see all of these types in detail below.

Linguistic Barriers

The language barrier is one of the main barriers that limit effective communication. Language is the most commonly employed tool of communication. The fact that each major region has its own language is one of the Barriers to effective communication. Sometimes even a thick dialect may render the communication ineffective.

As per some estimates, the dialects of every two regions changes within a few kilometers. Even in the same workplace, different employees will have different linguistic skills. As a result, the communication channels that span across the organization would be affected by this.

Thus keeping this barrier in mind, different considerations have to be made for different employees. Some of them are very proficient in a certain language and others will be ok with these languages.
Psychological Barriers
There are various mental and psychological issues that may be barriers to effective communication. Some people have stage fear, speech disorders, phobia, depression etc. All of these conditions are very difficult to manage sometimes and will most certainly limit the ease of communication.

Emotional Barriers

The emotional IQ of a person determines the ease and comfort with which they can communicate. A person who is emotionally mature will be able to communicate effectively. On the other hand, people who let their emotions take over will face certain difficulties.

A perfect mixture of emotions and facts is necessary for effective communication. Emotions like anger, frustration, humour, can blur the decision-making capacities of a person and thus limit the effectiveness of their communication.

Physical Barriers to Communication

They are the most obvious barriers to effective communication. These barriers are mostly easily removable in principle at least. They include barriers like noise, closed doors, faulty equipment used for communication, closed cabins, etc. Sometimes, in a large office, the physical separation between various employees combined with faulty equipment may result in severe barriers to effective communication.

Cultural Barriers of Communication

As the world is getting more and more globalized, any large office may have people from several parts of the world. Different cultures have a different meaning for several basic values of society. Dressing, Religions or lack of them, food, drinks, pets, and the general behaviour will change drastically from one culture to another.

Hence it is a must that we must take these different cultures into account while communication. This is what we call being culturally appropriate. In many multinational companies, special courses are offered at the orientation stages that let people know about other cultures and how to be courteous and tolerant of others.

Organisational Structure Barriers

As we saw there are many methods of communication at an organizational level. Each of these methods has its own problems and constraints that may become barriers to effective communication. Most of these barriers arise because of misinformation or lack of appropriate transparency available to the employees.

Attitude Barriers

Certain people like to be left alone. They are the introverts or just people who are not very social. Others like to be social or sometimes extra clingy! Both these cases could become a barrier to communication. Some people have attitude issues, like huge ego and inconsiderate behaviours.

These employees can cause severe strains in the communication channels that they are present in. Certain personality traits like shyness, anger, social anxiety may be removable through courses and proper training. However, problems like egocentric behaviour and selfishness may not be correctable.

Perception Barriers

Different people perceive the same things differently. This is a fact which we must consider during the communication process. Knowledge of the perception levels of the audience is crucial to effective communication. All the messages or communique must be easy and clear. There shouldn’t be any room for a diversified interpretational set.

Physiological Barriers

Certain disorders or diseases or other limitations could also prevent effective communication between the various channels of an organization. The shrillness of voice, dyslexia, etc are some examples of physiological barriers to effective communication. However, these are not crucial because they can easily be compensated and removed.

Technological Barriers & Socio-religious Barriers

Other barriers include the technological barriers. The technology is developing fast and as a result, it becomes difficult to keep up with the newest developments. Hence sometimes the technological advance may become a barrier. In addition to this, the cost of technology is sometimes very high.

Most of the organizations will not be able to afford a decent tech for the purpose of communication. Hence, this becomes a very crucial barrier. Other barriers are socio-religious barriers. In a patriarchal society, a woman or a transgender may face many difficulties and barriers while communicating.

Solved Examples on Barriers of Communication

Q1: What do you mean by a barrier to communication? List all the important Barriers to effective communication?

Answer: Any parameter that limits the purpose or channel of communication between the transmitter and the receiver is a barrier to communication. A communication barrier may limit or reduce the ease at which we communicate and hence the name barrier. Although the barriers to effective communication may be different for different situations, the following are some of the main barriers:

  • Linguistic Barriers
  • Psychological Barriers
  • Emotional Barriers
  • Physical Barriers
  • Cultural Barriers
  • Organisational Structure Barriers
  • Attitude Barriers
  • Perception Barriers
  • Physiological Barriers
  • Technological barriers
  • Socio-religious barriers

This concludes our discussion on the topic – barriers of communication.

Characteristics of Effective Communication: Emotions, Focus and Control

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Effective Communication is the bloodline of any business. A slight misunderstanding can lead to a financial disaster. An organization relies on effective communication to sustain and maintain itself. Here we will see the various characteristics of effective communication.

The Characteristics of Effective Communication

Several researchers have stressed the importance of communicating one’s feelings effectively. This is as important to a social structure as breathing is to life. Hence we have to understand the various properties or characteristics that must qualify our communicating activities and processes. A varied set of skills are thus essential. Here we will list them.

Clear

The primary character of any spoken or written form of transmission of information should be to state the message clearly. There are several ways to do it. For example, the sentences should be short and simple. We should prefer the active voice over the passive voice. If we have to convey several messages then it is convenient to state it in separate bulleted points.

Concise

Time is an essential parameter in communications. The normal attention span is just a few minutes long. If you present your message in a clear and beautiful manner which is very long, the crux of the report or the message may be lost altogether. Long and lengthy communique is boring and avoided by most. So to summarize this point, effective communication has to be concise.

Concrete

Whatever message or information or data is present in your communique, it should be well-footed. Your arguments should have data that suitably backs it up. A tangible argument is always easy to understand.

Coherent

Suppose you are telling a story. What if you start from the middle part? Or what if you state the end in the beginning? Of course, the whole point of narrating a story would become vain. Similarly, when you are presenting your communique, you need to be coherent. You need to understand what goes where and what comes when.

The key to a coherent write-up is a well-planned, logical and sequential presentation of the information. The main ideas should be differentiable and they should follow each other in a way that is derivative of some rules.

Courteous

We know that all business communications should have some degree of formal flavor. The presenter should try his best to be honest, respectful, considerate, open and polite with the receiver of the information. The message when supplemented with proper care and kindness will definitely find an audience.

A rude presenter will have no audience even if the message he delivers is perfectly effective and important. Offensive words can put off certain factions of people. You should take ample care to not be racist or misogynist or any other bad influence on the audience. Even while using humor you should be very careful that you are not being inconsiderate or cruel to anyone.

Listening For Understanding

Communication doesn’t only mean presenting or generating information. It also means to receive it. In fact, an effective communication channel must have a transducer and a receiver. Half of the faculty for the process is thus a receiver. For the purpose of effective communication, a receiver should have certain qualifiers.

He should be able to detect the message which may be hidden deep within the chatter or gibberish. The good listener observes not only what a person speaks of but also the non-verbal cues. This is what helps in the complete and full understanding of the transmission.

A good listener will have some qualities. He would be emotionally intelligent and mature, objective in approach and practical. His understanding of the message should not be influenced by his own personal judgments of either the topic or the presenter. A good listener should be able to filter through all of these limitations and reach the actual message that the presenter is relaying before them.

Focus And Attention

Multitasking is the name of the game these days. However, while receiving or transmitting information, a certain level of focus is essential. Suppose you are in a star communication channel and are relaying information to multiple sources. You are replying to emails, sending emails, and answering phones.

Any misplaced communication could be disastrous. Also, while receiving information, if you lose focus, you may miss the important parts of the message altogether. Hence we say that focus and attention are very crucial for effective communication.

Emotional Awareness And Control

This is the last but certainly the most important aspect of effective communication. Emotions will guide you through any situation of life. Whether you accept a message with the intention it is relaying with or not, depends on the emotional maturity and your emotional intelligence. Both while relaying information or while receiving it, you have to take extreme care in keeping yourself in an emotionally stable state.

Solved Examples for You

Q1: What are the various characteristics of effective communication?

Answer: The following is a summary of all the characteristics of effective communication:

  • Clear
  • Concise
  • Concrete
  • Coherent
  • Complete
  • Courteous
  • Listening for Understanding
  • Focus and Attention
  • Emotional Awareness and Control