VOICE MODULATION IN COMMUNICATION

 Some people are confident speakers while others get nervous when they have to speak before audiences.

In public speaking, when delivering a speech, your confidence is one of the most important things. And a reflection of your confidence is seen through your voice.

To give a successful and worth remembering speech, voice modulation can work wonders. It may be a difficult task but with practice, practice and more practice, you can master it and bring the best out of your speech.

Voice modulation means to control or adjust your voice according to the requirement of your speech. Your pitch, your pace everything should vary according to the requirement of the sentence you speak. If you are happy or sad, one should be able to make it out from your voice else your speech would become dull.

WHY IS VOICE MODULATION IMPORTANT?

We all happen to get a chance to speak at a family event, in a presentation at office or on the stage sooner or later, so we should be aware of voice modulation techniques.

Voice modulation makes your speech more engaging and interesting for the audience.

An enthusiastic voice depicts your confidence. It helps you convince the people of your point of view. It helps in delivering an effective and impactful message. If you are good at voice modulation, it can open the doors to many professions like marketing, customer relations etc.

If you want to become a master of public speaking, then learning this art is extremely important.

TIPS ON VOICE MODULATION

In voice modulation, a technique namely 4 P’s that is Pitch, Power, Pace and Pauses is quite popular. 

Pitch- Your pitch can play a very important role while you deliver your speech. Females usually have a higher pitch as compared to men. When you are delivering your speech, keep your pitch a little low to avoid the shieling voice due to the microphone. Learn how to use a microphone in public speaking.

Power- Speak powerfully, loudly, and clearly but strictly no shouting. It would be even better if you can practice your speech with a microphone before delivering it on the final day. Also, take care of the sound of your breath. It should not suppress your voice.

Pace- Keeping your pace slow will make your talk more understandable and easier to grasp. Your message would be clearer to the audience.

Pauses – Use adequate pauses at appropriate times. Too many or too long pauses may bore the audience. They should be just enough for solving the purpose they are being used for. Pausing will help you catch the attention of your audience. 

Powerful words should be stressed- Try stressing on some powerful words in your speech to make it more impactful. This would draw the immediate attention of the audience towards you and your message would get straight into their mind.

See and learn from others- Watch your favorite public speaker, politician, orator, celebrity, etc. who influences you in public speaking. Watch them again and again and try to grasp what you like best in them. Learn how they do voice modulation and then keep practicing.

In public speaking, your voice is an important tool. Once you master the art of voice modulation, you can connect and convey your message to your audience in a better way. This will give you confidence in yourself and the audience will also have confidence in you.

When practicing your speech, you may record it and listen to it to find out the areas that need to be improved. Keep repeating this till you are satisfied with the voice modulation in it.

INTERVIEW | PATTERNED INTERVIEW

Q. Explain the types of (patterned) interview.

Ans: In a patterned interview the interviewer controls the direction of conversation.

Patterned Interviews are of two kinds.

1. Direct Interview: In direct interview the interviewer keeps very close control at all times by directing limited and specific question. He / She asks close ended question and does not let the interviewee speak freely.

2. Indirect Interview: In indirect interview the interviewer makes little or no attempt to direct the applicants conversation.

 

Q. What are the different purpose/objectives for which interview is carried?

ANSWER. Interviews are face-to-face communication. It is a form of interpersonal Communication. Interviews are not just for job procurement. The purpose for which interviews are carried may be as follows:

1. COUNSELLING: taken by a supervisor, officer, or counselor who may ask questions relating to work or problem from the employee. In other cases, interviews may be conducted by a doctor/psychiatrist of patients or person facing psychological problems.

2. EVALUATING: taken by supervisor, manager to review and evaluate the performance of the employee(s).

3. DISCIPLINING: taken by an officer, manager if the behavior of the employee(s) require action to maintain discipline.

4. COMPLAINT: taken by an officer, manager if the employee(s) wish to lodge complaint for certain dissatisfaction or action required.

5. TERMINATION: taken by an officer/manager to inform employee(s) about the termination from job.

 Other objectives There are following objectives of patterned interviews.

1. The resume provides a lot of information about the candidate but not all the information so this interview is conducted to evaluate job qualification that the resume can’t provide.

2. Another purpose is to determine the real communication ability of the interview candidate/applicant.

3. This interview also helps the interviewer provide essential facts about the job and company.

4. It also instills a feeling of material understanding and confidence in the applicant, who accepts the job.

5. It promotes good will towards the company, whether the applicant accepts the job or not. It is important to give the right impression to the candidate who is disappointed by a turndown.

 

Q. Discuss briefly various symbols of positive and negative attitude of an interview?

Ans: An interview may have a negative or positive attitude during the time of interview. The summary of these negative or positive symbols is as below.

A.  Direct Interview:

Positive                                          Negative

a) Early arrival                                        Late arrival

b) Alert, responsible attitude                  Intensive, dull attitude

c) Emphatic attitude                               Withdrawn attitude

d) Relaxed manner                               Tension, body tremor

e) Smiles                                                 Frowns

f) Clear voice                                           Choked voice

g) Diligent, responsible, smart                 Lack of concentration, dull, weak

h) Strong and determined attitude           Lack of determination

 

B. Verbal Behavior:

Positive                                                                     Negative

a) Sticking to the main point                                 Changing the subject

b) Relevant responses                                            Irrelevant responses

c) Well organized presentation                                 Disorganized presentation

d) Appropriate use of humor                              uncalled levity

e) Spontaneous replies                                              Long pause before replying

f) Speaking well of people                                      Criticism of others

g) Eye contacting confident                                   Looking sideways cresting eyes downward.

 

Q. How should an effective interviewer behave during interview? What pitfall an effective interviewer avoid? What are the guidelines to an interview to conduct and effective interview? Or what are the responsibilities of an interviewer?

Ans: Giving an interview is equally important as taking interview, one has to be very careful while giving an interview, there are following guidelines in general which could enable an interviewer to conduct a good and effective interview.

a) Preparation b) Conduct during interview c) Evaluation

a) Preparation: The interviewer should prepare himself before the interview, the following points are to be considered in this regard.

1. Reading applicant’s Resume: There is much information provided in his/her resume so the resume should be read in detail. So as to asks the question in the perspective of resume. 

2. Being aware of state Regulation: There are many policies and rules and regulation made by a state about the recruitment of employees. The interviewer should be aware of them so as to avoid any prospective lawsuit.

3. Planning the questions: The interviewer should plan the pattern of question, the number of question types length duration etc. should be clear in the mind of interviewer.

4. Omitting personal bias: There might be many biases in the minds of interviewer about the candidates. In order to make the interviewee fair he should avoid these biases.

b) Conduct during the interview: Having prepared for the interview the interviewer should consider the following points during interview.

1. Letting the candidate speak: The main objective of interview is to have the information from the candidate as much as possible, so interviewer should let the candidate speak as much as possible.

 2. Using the language of candidate: If there is no restoration regarding the language such a language should be used in which the candidate feels easy and free.

3. Avoiding arguing with the candidate: The purpose of interview is to evaluate the candidate not to solve a dispute, so argumentation with the candidate should be avoided.

4. Not interrupting the candidate: The candidate is already under a lot of pressure. So the candidate should not be interrupted.

5. Controlling the emotions: During the interview there are many stages on which the interviewers might get emotional. This may cause failures to the interview process.

6. Establishing eye contact: In order to be confident and the put the candidate at case, the interviewer should establish an eye contact with the candidate.

7. Using body language: Use of body language can play an important to make the question clear the candidate.

8. Asking open ended questions instantly: The close or dead ended questions are not very useful to acquire more information. So open-ended question should be asked as much as possible.

 

c) Evaluation:

After the interview the last step is to evaluate the interviewee. For this purpose there are following points which should be given importance.

1. No personal bias: There might be many candidates with whom the interviewer may have personal bias. This should be avoided in any case so as to hire the potential people.

2. Clear cut standards: The interviewer should try to establish a clear-cut standard for evaluation such as point system.

Q. What pitfall an interviewer should avoid?

Ans: There are many things in which the interviewer can easily be trapped. There are the general pitfalls which should be avoided. They relate mainly to the following biases prejudices and other weaknesses within the interviewer.

1. Halo Effect: It is the tendency of the interviewer to from an overall opinion regarding the applicant on the basis on a single aspect of his or her personality. For example, if the candidate did not comb his hairs properly the interviewer might have an image that the applicant is a careless person.

2. Stereotype Error Trap: It is the tendency to categorize the candidate on the basis of features of surface cleans or some superficial hints.

3. Expectancy Error: It is the tendency of the applicant to anticipate the need and preference of the interviewer and to respond accordingly. For example, the candidate may give an answer, which is correct but not in accordance with the interviewer preference. So the interviewer should give the leverage to the candidate.

4. Ideal image error: Usually, an interviewer has an image of a candidate. This usually happens that the image in the mind interviewer does not coincide with the candidate. So the interviewer should go on for a compromise.

5. Personal bias of the interviewer: The interviewer may have many personal biases against the candidate. Poor handshake, biting of finger, gum, chewing, loud, clothes, poor eye contact etc. these should be ignored.

6. Pseudoscience and myths: Handwriting, outward features, date of birth number of letters n the name lines or makes on the palm of hand and shape and bulges of the skull are not scientific tolls to judge the ability of the candidate. An interviewer should avoid them.

7. Stereotypes: Interviewer might indulge in monotony in different questions in different ways should be asked.

8. Other pitfalls: There are a number of pitfalls other than those mentioned above. These are as follows;

i. Illusion that the previous experience of itself guarantees ability to do the job well.

ii. Being impressed because the applicant needs a job even though the necessary qualification is lacking.

iii. Talking too much by interviewee not listening.

iv. Poor preparation before interview.

v. Asking inappropriate questions.

vi. Being discourteous and rude towards the applicant.

vii. Jumping to conclusion.

viii. Accepting facts without intending to determine meaning and accuracy.

ix. Leaving unexplored gaps.

x. Allowing candidate to guide the interviewer.

xi. Depending on memory to conduct interview and to evaluate the applicant’s qualification.

xii. Asking other questions when the applicant hesitates a moment.

 xiii. Appearing to be critical and cold towards the applicant.

xiv. Not observing non-verbal be clues.

xv. Poor questions (a) leading question (b) loaded question (c) dead ended question.

 

Q What is the role of interview in interpersonal communication? Or what is the purpose / Objective or patterned interview? Or what is the importance or interview?

Ans: Interview plays a very important role in interpersonal communication, since it is between two persons or parties i.e. interviewer and interviewer, its importance is discussed with respect to both aspects.

a) From Interviewer Point of View: Interview has following importance for the interviewer.

1. To Match the applicant and the job: A job has specific requirement. Every person is not suitable for every kind of job, so the interviews enable the interviewer to match the applicant and the job requirement. This matching may be in the following way.

(a) Matching Qualification: A candidate having a master’s degree does not mean that he has the knowledge of master level. Asking questions about the field of candidate enables the interviewer to know as to how much knowledge the candidate has acquired.

(b) Matching Candidate Ability: Different candidates have different abilities. The interview helps know the abilities of every candidate according to the job requirement.

(c) Other Areas: Candidate’s conduct, attitude, confidence, communication skill and other areas are expressed means of interviewers.

2. To develop the image of organization:

Another secondary role of interviews is to establish a good image of an organization before candidate and ultimately before the market.

b) From Interviewee Point of View: An interview is equally important for interviewers as it’s for interview.

This importance is enumerated as follows.

1. To have information: An interviewee can have different information about the organization. This information might be about the organization nature of job salary rule and regulations, etc.

2. To have a suitable job: Interview helps the candidate know about the job. In this way, he / she can choose the best one of him / her.

AGENDA

Agenda in simple words means ‘things to do’. It is a checklist of the matters to be discussed at a meeting. It is prepared by the Secretary in consultation with the Chairperson. It is usually sent with to the members along with the notice of the meeting. It enables the participants to come prepared for discussion to the meeting and helps the Chairperson to guide and control the meeting.

The matters for discussion in the Agenda should be arranged in a logical order. The sequence should not be altered during the meeting without the consent of the members. The first item in the Agenda is usually reading and approving the minutes of the previous meeting. There is a provision to take up ‘Any other matter/s with the permission of the Chair’, but this can be done only after all the listed items have already been discussed. The last item is usually the vote of thanks to the chair. The Agenda of different types of meetings vary in content.

 

Sample 1

Agenda

·        Reading of Notice of minutes

·        Reading of minutes of the last meeting

·        Report of subcommittee to increase membership

·        Consider suggestions to collect funds

·        Any other business with the permission of the chair

·        Vote of thanks to the chair

 

Sample 2

Agenda

For the meeting of the Board of Directors to be held on 2^nd April 2022 at the Company’s Registered Office:

-         Confirmation of the minutes of the last meeting held on _____

-         Matters arising out of the minutes

-         Placing an order for replacement of old and outdated machines of the Manufacturing Plant

-         Report from the Director on his recent visit to the US to explore possibilities of collaboration with the firm US Manufacturing Associates Ltd.

-         Proposal to appoint purchasing agents at Texas, USA

A   Any other business with the permission of the Chair

-         Date of next meeting

-         Vote of thanks to the Chair

INTERPRETATION OF TECHNICAL DATA

 

For communication to be effective, it should not only appeal to logic and reasoning but should also carry visual appeal. It should have variety and color.

Technical and conceptual considerations apart, business communication should carry visual appeal and an aesthetic value. A communicator should seek to express thoughts in a manner that is easy on the eye. Pictorial or graphical representation is an extremely valuable component of writing communication that often substitutes or complements written statements and makes the communication focused and appealing.

Types of pictorial presentation

Pictorial or graphical presentation is a well developed area and, over the years, several innovative colorful methods have evolved. These include:

Charts

Graphs

Pictograms

Maps

Diagrams

Drawings, etc.

All these pictorial presentations have found meaningful expression in business reports and literature. It is important for students of communication to acquire a good understanding of the merits and demerits of each of these so that he / she is in a position to use the most appropriate ones in any given context.

Tables, charts and pictures: It is important to have a clear understanding of the manner in which tables, charts and pictures are introduced in written communication. Business reports constitute an important area for pictorial and graphical presentation. Tables and charts are also used extensively in brochures, sales literature, booklets, advertisements, motivational communication etc.

The positioning of the table or chart has to be carefully decided. It is important to keep in mind the value addition taking place as a result of the insertion of the table or chart. To what extent is the table or chart substituting or complementing the written text needs to be clearly understood.

Tables and charts can be inserted along with the text or towards the end as annexures.

The skill of the communicator lies in introducing an adequate number and variety of charts, graphs and pictures along with the text in such a way that the overall impact is high.

 Choosing the right chart: There are many types of charts, graphs and pictures. Each of them has advantages or merits and limitations. Sometimes, there is scope for using any one of the two or three types of carts in the context. The business writer has to decide on the most appropriate one. The following guidelines can be kept in mind when choosing the appropriate chart:

The appropriateness of the chart of group would depend on the context or subject covered and the target audience addressed by the communicator. While tables and pictures are widely understood, certain kinds of charts, graphs and diagrams call for extra efforts, and may not go down well with the lay reader. When the target group is the general public, and not a highly literate and well-versed section, simpler tables, charts, graphs and pictures would be appropriate.

Emphasis or forcefulness – A table or a chart is often used both for information and analysis. The table or chart may substitute or complement the written text. The table, chart or picture may be in black and white or color. It is important to choose the chart that readily brings out the core message. The size of the bar chart, for example, readily brings out clearly movement or fluctuation. The pie chart gives the share of each component in the table. Choose the graphic that is most relevant to what needs emphasis.

Pictures often carry more appeal than words. A good picture appeals to all sections of people – illiterate, semi-literate and highly literate. A good chart or table rivets attention and gets registered in the mind of the reader.

When tables, charts and graphs are used effectively, the reader is in a position to remember the message much better. The positioning of the graphic should also be appropriate. It should be introduced in right context in the text. Equally importantly, it should have the right size and frequency to enhance the value of the written text. Too frequent and repetitive graphics, however, have to be avoided. Well-inserted tables and charts also serve well in breading the monotony of text reading.

While choosing graphics, keep in mind the specific nature of the subject matter. When the matter is of a technical or scientific nature and the literature is meant for research organizations, professional or industrial establishments, obviously relevant material details will have to be covered. Keeping in view the target sections, more complex charts, graphs, diagrams and drawings may have to be used.

Attention to details – In presenting tables, all the relevant details which make the message clear and complete need to be included. Every table and chart should have a clear title or narration. The heading should be brief and clear. The quantity, amount, etc., should be clearly mentioned. Decimal points need to be given only where relevant. Similarly, rounding off figures should eb considered whenever there is no need to be very precise. For example, when we refer to the growth in bank deposits, it may to be necessary to say that the deposits grew form Rs.54673.6 crore in March 2015 to Rs.65412.8 crore in March 2018. On the other hand, it would be appropriate to say that the deposit growth of the bank increased from 13.6% to 18.8 % in the above mentioned years. Such attention to detail makes the table or chart more reader friendly.

Similarly, charts, graphs, and maps will have to be drawn to scale, and the scale (key) should be mentioned at the bottom. Another detail that needs much attention is the source of the data, which should be clearly mentioned at the bottom of the table.

Omission of relevant details like quality, amount, etc., may often render the entire tale or chart meaningless. Mention of the source will indicate the authenticity or reliability of the data and will also suggest whether it is based on primary or secondary sources of data.

Properly introduced charts, graphs, pictures and other graphics add value to the text and make the business reports and other literature more reader friendly. Advantages of graphs are:

They break monotony.

They simplify and amplify facts and figures.

They strengthen the memory and improve recall value.

They bring out relativity and time values with greater clarity.

They add color and variety to presentation.

They provide scope for creativity in communication.

TABLES

A table consists of an orderly arrangement and presentation of relevant data through rows and columns. The systematic arrangement of data in rows and columns in a table facilitates ready reference. Tables are most commonly used in business communication. They may be presented without any heading or caption amidst the text, or presented separately as an exhibit with an appropriate heading or title. Tabular presentation may cover not only figures, but also concepts and ideas.

Tables can be used for presenting:

Time series data.

Details of several products or items.

Ranking, volumes, prices, etc.

Demand – supply – gap position.

Relationships and ratios.

Several relevant parameters.

In drawing tables, attention should be given to columns, headings, totals and subtotals, decimal points, source of data.

CHARTS

Charts constitute yet another popular mode of visual communication in business. Charts, can be used effectively to depict organizational structure, decision making process, production process, flow in information, etc. Quite often, authors do not differentiate between charts and graphs and use them interchangeably.

Charts are essentially of three types

Column chart

Organization/structure chart

Flow/process chart

GRAPHS

Graphs are commonly used to present volumes, proportions, ratios and relationships. They can be used gainfully in presenting historical or time series data. Graphs are of different types, ranging from the simpler and ubiquitous ones to the complicated ones used in technical reports.

Graphs commonly used are:

Line graph

Pie graph

Bar graph

Apart from these, combination graphs (for charts) such are Bar Chart – Line Graph are used.

 It should be noted that in presenting the graphs, attention to details mentioned below are a must.

Heading or caption

Description of legends

Neatness and proportion

Clarity of composition

Class intervals

Drawing to scale

Source acknowledgements, etc.

If any of the key details are missing, the graph or chart becomes confusing and useless.

 

Line graphs are used to show changes over time of one or more variables.

Pie charts are circular diagrams generally used to show subdivision or components of the whole. The dictionary meaning of a pie is ‘a whole regarded as divisible into shares’. Pie charts are commonly used to depict:

Components and shares of income and expenditure

Market share of different players

Changes in share over different periods

Relative values of various components, etc.

Bar charts are the most commonly used graphs or chars in business communication. They are simple and easy to draw. In view of their versatile feature, they readily fit into almost every context. Pick any annual report or study report relating to any organization or industry and you are more than likely to see a few bar diagrams. Increases and decreases over a period of time, ratios, and relationships, proportion and composition and many other such details can be very clearly presented by way of bar charts.

 

PICTOGRAMS

Pictograms also called pictographs, are diagrams representing statistical data by pictorial forms. In other words, pictograms are bar charts made with pictures. Pictures being more eye catching than lines or bars, pictograms tend to be more reader friendly.

Pictograms are used to give information related to:

Production of cars over the years – picture of a car

Housing units financed by a housing finance company – picture of a house

Number of coconut plantations planted by horticultural department – picture of coconut tree.

MAPS

Maps are used to show geographical positions and locational relationships. Maps help in showing distances and locations. There are road maps, railway maps, tourist maps, etc. Maps may be specific, covering limited aspects such as rivers in an area, important tourist places, holiday resorts, training institutes, bank branches, eateries, etc.

Including too many features in a map may result in crowding and overlapping information. When a map shows more than one subject, an appropriate legend wil have to be included. Maps have to be drawn to scale and if not drawn to scale, specific mention has to be made

DIAGRAMS AND DRAWINGS

Diagrams and drawings are generally used to show how a product works, or hwo to use a gadget and for other such elucidation. A diagram may describe a product, a concept or a process. Diagrams and drawings are often used in technical literature, product manuals, do-it-yourself kits and other written communication where a detailed description or exposition is desirable/required.

OTHER GRAPHICS

Icons

Cartoons

Break-even charts

Fish bone (cause and effect) charts

Scattered diagrams

Histogram

Frequency polygon

Stochastic

Circuit diagram

Triangular bar diagram

 

While using visual communication, skillful and informed use of color while presenting charts, graphs and pictures adds further value to the written communication. The communicator must be careful to use colors that are pleasing and not considered harsh or hurtful to the eyes. The combination of colors used should be in harmony with the overall presentation. 

 

EMAIL COMMUNICATION

Email or Electronic Mail is a computer-based messaging system that transports electronic messages from one computer to another through a communication network. Email allows a message to be communicated to the recipient/s at once. Data transmission through email is both instantaneous and cost effective.

The advantages of using email:

Email communication is swift, in fact instantaneous.

Email communication is extremely economical.

Email communication has a large global reach and access.

Email communication is largely reliable, the sender can know if the message has reached the addressee or not.

Email communication can be readily acknowledged by the receiver. The sender can also seek an acknowledgement from the receiver.

The sender can send copies of the message to many others instantaneously.

Email communication can be stored and retrieved as and when required by both the sender and receiver.

 

Email Etiquette

Don’t overcommunicate by email – Keep your emails to the point. Avoid sharing bad news via email.

Make good use of subject lines – The subject lines help you grab attention, and the reader decides whether to read the message or not depending on the subject line. A blank subject line can get overlooked or rejected as ‘spam’. This is why you must use some well-chosen words to tell the recipient what the email is about.

You may also include a call to action – ‘Please reply be Feb 15^th 2022’ – if the email requires a response.

A well written subject line delivers the most important information to the recipient without having to open the email. It also serves as a prompt that reminds the recipient about an upcoming meeting or event.

Keep messages clear and brief – Emails need to be clear and concise. Keep your sentences short and to the point.  The body of the email should be direct and informative and should carry all the relevant information.

Be polite – Messages you send via email are a reflection of your professionalism. Avoid informal language, jargon, inappropriate abbreviations. Recipients may decide to print emails or share them with others, so be polite.

Check the tone – When we meet people face to face, we use the other person’s body language and facial expressions to assess how they feel. In the case of an email, we are unable to see the other person and we can’t tell when people have misunderstood our messages. It is therefore important to choose our words carefully, check the sentence length and punctuation as well as capitalization before sending an email.

Proofread your emails – Before you hit ‘send’, take a moment to review your email for spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes. Pay careful attention to the length of your email and once you have checked it thoroughly, hit ‘send’,

 

The seven qualities of a successful email are

Concise

Intention focused

Summarize

Well organized

Visually scannable

Polite and tone appropriate

Clear on action

 

How can we solve the email communication problem?  There isn’t a single correct answer, but here are 4 bullet points to help you out:

Be clear. Be brief. – Write short email messages with a crystal-clear point.  Do not write long winded confusing paragraphs that leave room for misinterpretation.

Proofread. – Proofread your message multiple times.  If the email deals with touchy subject matter, have a third-party read it over as well.  This can give you added perspective on how well it will be received by the intended recipient.

Wait. – Write the email, proofread it, and then sit on it for a little while.  Knock off a couple other tasks before you have second look at it.  If your emotions were flaring when you wrote the email, a little time can allow these emotions to settle, allowing you to evaluate the message in a different light.

Pick up the phone! – While email can be a convenient communication channel, certain discussions need to be handled over the phone, or if possible, in person.  If you notice that the situation is starting to deteriorate, don’t send another email, it’s time to pick up the phone or arrange a face to face meeting.