What Will I Find Here?

Objectives

At the end of this module, you will be able to recognize and demonstrate the basic principles of communication and discover how it works in remote working environment by:

• Defining communication and underlining its importance
• Differentiating the types of communication
• Explain the impact of various communication contexts and its role in effective communication
• Comparing communication in traditional office and remote work setups

In this module, we will explore the following topics to help you understand communication and its components:

1. Understand Your Communication Competency
2. Define Communication
3. The Types of Communication
4. Communication in Context
5. Communication in Traditional Office and Remote Work Setups

Defining Communication

Communication is the process of people understanding and sharing information in a mutually comprehensible way. Communication can be in the form of writing, oral, or visual. Let us look at this definition deeper:

Process

Communication is a set of dynamic activities that interact to produce an outcome. For instance, whenever we talk to people we need to know how they would prefer to be addressed first (example: Mr., Ms., Dr., John, Emily, etc.). When you talk to people you are closer with, your chosen words are more casual and you converse more comfortably. On the other hand, when you speak with a prominent person or with someone unfamiliar, you use words that are formal and polite. Moreover, your level of language may change depending on how the recipient responds to your approach. (Collins, 2009)

Understanding

It is to perceive and associate information and to relate to them that we already know. If a friend tells you about riding an e-bike for a long trip and showed you a photo of the motorcycle, your association of the e-bike could be a transportation to travel similar to a motorcycle. This concept is embedded in the communication process.

Sharing

An action done by people or a group of people collectively. In communication, sharing happens when you express your thoughts, ideas, and feelings with other people or yourself. Today, the term sharing is also applicable in social media where you give information viewed by the mass.

Meaning

It is the main idea or thought being shared through communication. In the example of the e-bikes, they look similar to a motorcycle. Since you have an association with the e-bike, you will clarify its difference from the motorcycle to have a better understanding and association.

Comprehensible

It is the ability to be understood and getting the message across. It is important to learn how the recipient will receive your message. You must consider the following factors to be understood:

1. Recipient’s profile
2. Construction and language of the message
3. Channels or tools for communication

According to a survey of corporate recruiters, good communication skills and the ability to work with others are the main factors contributing to a successful job. Essentially, effective communication skills are the building blocks in work relationships.

Why is Communication Critical?

In the next lesson, find out how communication and its importance in remote work setup is described.

Communication in Remote Work Setup

Types of Communication

Different Context in Communication

Traditional Office vs. Remote Work Communication

Module Summary

Great! You have completed this module.

You have learned to:

• understand communication and its importance and types
• differentiate the different contexts of communication
• compare communication in traditional office and remote work setups

Explore the other topics to learn how to become a remote working pro! For the meantime, please take time to complete a quick evaluation to help us improve our design and content.