Week 4: Discussion#4 (How to Avoid Communication Breakdown)

 How can communication breakdowns be avoided?

There are a lot of ways to avoid communication breakdown.

Based from Ronnie Peterson, there are 5 ways to avoid communication breakdown namely: have clarity of thought to before speaking, learn to listen, take care of your body language and tone, build up your confidence by asking feedback and observing others, and communicate face to face on the important issues.

There are also other methods to avoid this such as: keep focused, speak intelligibly, listen with your ears and eyes, be specific, and do not jump to conclusions.

You could also use the 7Cs of Effective Communication by Broom, Cutlip, and Center from their book Effective Public Relations. These are completeness, conciseness, consideration, concreteness, courtesy, clearness, and correctness.

Do you agree that becoming a strong and effective communicator takes time and practice? Why or why not?

It depends upon the person. Communicating is a skill that needs practice. Although, others seem to have a talent that gives them a headstart and takes them less time and practice on doing so. For those who haven't, it may take time and some practice because they have so many things to learn about it such as appropriating your way of communicating depending on the person and medium, communicating fluently, and being observant specially on body languages.