Some Practical Aspects of Communication

Abstract

Communication takes many forms, some oral and some written, from face-to-face conversations, meetings and the telephone to typewriting and the teleprinter. Communications are conveyed in many ways from dictated tapes to pneumatic tubes, radio to messenger services. Which method to use depends upon circumstances and the factors on which to judge whether any particular way is to be preferred to another may be given as follows

• 1. Speed: How important is it that the communication reaches the recipient in the shortest possible time? Will a delay of one hour or one week have any effect on the use of the information conveyed? An hour’s delay might cost a life in medical circles; a week’s delay in the delivery of a circular will normally be insignificant.

• 2. Accuracy: Some forms of communication are notoriously inaccurate compared with others. Examples are telephone conversations compared with letters, verbal instructions conveyed through a third party compared with a memorandum and, particularly, rumour compared with official notices.

• 3. Impression: In many cases the impression created in the mind of the recipient is of utmost importance. The ways of creating impressions are limitless and range from face-to-face contact by the managing director with an important customer to an obviously duplicated first reminder to a slow payer (to create the impression that this is a routine reminder to the forgetful). The impression of urgency and importance can be generated by sending a cable although a telephone call would be quicker.

• 4. Circumstances: These include the distance between the parties, the purpose of the communication, the question as to whether the parties are at fixed points or not and so on. For example, communication between a service department and its mobile engineers may call for short-wave radio.

• 5. Safety: Some forms of transmission are more secure than others — for instance, registered post against ordinary letter mail. Sometimes evidence of delivery is needed, which may be provided by registered or recorded mail or a receipt collected by a special messenger. The ease or difficulty in replacing or reconstructing the document if lost is also involved under this heading.

• 6. Copy: Many communications require the retention of a copy for records purposes, others do not. There is a tendency to copy absolutely everything, which should be resisted, but a large proportion of the communications carried on in an organisation do require copies to be kept. Normally this would be as a reminder of what was written, but occasionally as proof or to provide legal evidence. Where an exact copy is essential, some form of written communication is required of which an exact duplicate is made at the time of preparation. This is usually done by taking a carbon copy, preferably signed by the signatory to the original. Copies made by other means, such as photocopying, may need certification of authenticity if required for legal purposes. Notes made of a verbal exchange may be suspect if the two parties’ notes disagree. Even a mechanical recording of a verbal discussion may not be accepted as evidence where doubt can be thrown on the identity of the recorded voice. The type "of copy kept, therefore, will depend upon the possible subsequent use to be made of it.

• 7. Confidence: Much communication is confidential and for the eye or the ear of the recipient only. In these cases a method of communication must be chosen which will give conditions of secrecy. In ordinary correspondence marking the letter and the envelope ‘Confidential’ (or, preferably, ‘Confidential and Personal’) is usually sufficient, but in some cases more stringent precautions must be taken. Some means can never be taken as secret. The postcard, cable or unsealed envelope are obviously not, but neither is the telephone nor the unmarked letters even if addressed personally.

• 8. Expense: The cost of communication is a factor that has to be considered, though it should be secondary to any of the previous seven mentioned. Speed usually costs money and, therefore, the fastest means should be used only where essential. Unfortunately modern conditions cause us to think in terms of speed, a habit which should be resisted in considering methods of communication. The cost of any form of communication includes not only the prime cost of materials but also the expenses of labour entailed in originating the communication, depreciation of machinery, rent of office space and so on. In addition, there are factors to be taken into consideration that cannot be costed. Thus, the cost of correspondence by letter involves not only the value of the dictator’s and typist’s time, the paper, envelope and stamp, but also the cost of providing the typewriter and the space it occupies, as well as consideration of the delay in receiving a reply to any questions asked. This last may be insignificant or important depending upon circumstances.