Effective And Transparent Communication

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“The achievement of human knowledge is hampered by the use of words without fixed significance.” (Locke,2011). Language is ambiguous. The words we speak are symbols and the meanings to these words are determined by the individuals that are involved in the conversation. The office is made up of different individuals, from different nationalities and who have different frames of references. Therefore, it will be easy to often have misunderstandings and conflicts about the meaning of various words. Effective and transparent communication is very important during a conversation with others in order to avoid these misunderstandings or to assist in helping to resolve misunderstandings.
According to Louw & Plooy-Cilliers(2015:68) denotative meaning …show more content…

Verbal and written communication is excellent for maintaining a successful work relationship with colleagues and for creating a comfortable working environment. However, a bulk of the meaning of a message constructed in conversations does not come from the words themselves, but also from our non-verbal communication (speakers’ body language, facial expressions and gestures). If I were to send an E-mail to a colleague, there would be a possibility that the message which I sent, with good intentions, may be misconstrued on the other end -as people associate their own emotions with particular words- and could offend, insult or hurt my colleague according to their interpretation of the message. I have to ensure that I at least make a call after sending an E-mail to clarify the message or I go to see the particular colleague I sent the E-mail to, so that they will be able to read my non-verbal cues in conjunction to my message in order to clearly interpret the meaning to …show more content…

It is therefore fundamental for me to be clear right from the beginning of giving out the task about what I expect from the task, simplify the contents of the task and be clear about when and what time the task is due. This ensures that everyone understands the topic of the task in the same way. I will let them know that whenever they do not understand any one thing concerning the task, my door is always open and they should not hesitate to question me about whatever frustrates them in the way in which I interpreted the information about the task. If I’m receiving a task, I will critically listen to the information given about the task and how the task giver wants it to be done. If I do not understand properly, it is always best to ask the boss or more than one of my colleagues, to guarantee that we all share a similar meaning about the