Speech communication is an active process of verbal communicative interaction between its participants (senders and recipients of information), which is characterized by a certain motive and is aimed at achieving a specific goal. The communicative process proceeds based on feedback in specific types of verbal activity.
Speech communication is organically included in all kinds of activities of an individual, for example, professional or social, since activity is impossible without communication. Verbal communicative interaction can be realized between several individuals or at least two. Verbal communication is reciprocal and purposeful as well as social. The form of manifestation of verbal communication is considered to be verbal behavior and responses of communication partners.
Speech etiquette
Speech etiquette and rules of communication represent a system of norms of verbal behavior and unchanging formulas for polite communications. Mastering the etiquette of verbal communication helps to gain authority, creates trust and respect. Mastering the canons of verbal etiquette and observing them contributes to the feeling of being a confident person and not experiencing a feeling of awkwardness and difficulties in communication.
Mandatory adherence to verbal communication etiquette in business interactions leaves partners with a pleasant impression of the individual and the company as a whole, and maintains its positive and attractive image.
The etiquette of verbal communication is determined by national specifics, since each nation, in the process of its evolution, developed its own system of rules of verbal behavior. In our modern society, such qualities as correctness, tact, courtesy, courtesy, tolerance, goodwill, and restraint are of particular value.
Tactfulness is an ethical canon that requires the speaker to understand the interaction partner, avoid inappropriate remarks and questions, and discuss unpleasant topics.
Attentiveness presupposes the ability to anticipate possible interrogative remarks and wishes of a communication partner, a willingness to discuss in detail with him all the important points for the conversation.
Tolerance presupposes a calm attitude towards possible differences in positions and views, and avoidance of sharp criticism in judgments. It is necessary to respect the views of other individuals and strive to understand why they formed this or that position. Closely related to tolerance is the personal quality of self-control, which is the ability to calmly and restrainedly respond to sudden or tactless and questioning remarks from an interlocutor.
Goodwill is necessary not only in relation to communication partners, but also in the process of the conversation itself, in its form and content, in the choice of words and intonation.
The etiquette of verbal communications has a close connection with ethics, which prescribes the canons of moral behavior. Etiquette involves the use of certain styles of behavior and outwardly expressed politeness formulas in specific verbal actions in verbal communications.
Following the requirements of etiquette will be considered deception of others and hypocrisy when violating ethical standards. At the same time, ethical behavior that is not accompanied by adherence to the canons of etiquette will inevitably make an unfavorable impression and lead to doubts about the moral qualities of the individual. Therefore, when communicating verbally, it is necessary to follow a whole set of ethical and etiquette canons, which are closely interrelated. Such a complex presupposes, firstly, a respectful and friendly attitude towards the interlocutor. It is strictly forbidden to inflict insults, insults, or express disdain on your interlocutor using verbal means. It is also recommended to avoid direct negative assessments of the interlocutor’s personality in a conversation; it is only allowed to evaluate specific actions, while maintaining tact.
In the intelligent communication of educated individuals, the use of rude words, obscene expressions, arrogance, and cheeky speech formulas is unacceptable. In practical terms, such verbal formulations are also considered inappropriate, since they will never lead to the achievement of the desired communication results.
Politeness in communicative interaction is aimed at understanding the situation as a whole, taking into account the age category, gender, professional and social status of the interlocutor. The listed factors determine the degree of formality of communications and determine the choice of etiquette formulas and suitable topics for discussion.
The speaking partner needs to be modest in self-assessment, try not to impose personal judgments, and avoid excessive categoricalness and ultimatum in speech.
In addition, you should direct all attention to your communication partner, show interest in his personality, opinion, and take into account his interest in a particular topic. It is also necessary to take into account the interlocutor’s ability to perceive and understand the meaning of the speaker’s statements. Therefore, during the monologue, you should give him time to “catch his breath” and concentrate. For this purpose, you need to avoid overly long statements, it is useful to take small intervals during the conversation, and use verbal formulas to maintain contact. The norms of communication also determine the behavior of the listener.
Speech etiquette and rules of communication for the listener, firstly, require the need to spend time and put things aside in order to be able to listen to the speaker.
During the listening process, a person must treat the speaker with respect and patience, while striving to listen carefully to all the information to the end. In official verbal communication, it is absolutely unacceptable to interrupt a communication partner or insert various comments during his monologue, especially those that negatively characterize the speaker’s judgments and requests. The listener, just like the speaker, must focus on his interlocutor and emphasize his own interest in interacting with him.
Speech etiquette, rules of communication and ethical standards also cover written speech.
Speech means of communication
Verbal (sign) communicative interaction is realized using words. Human speech is considered a verbal means of communication. Studies show that modern “homo sapiens” pronounce approximately 30 thousand words per day, and about three thousand per hour. Words form a variety of speech texts, which are formed depending on the goals of the communicants, for example, to communicate or learn something, to express an attitude or to encourage something. Such texts can be oral or written. They implement language systems, which are systems of signs and methods of their combination. Language systems serve as a kind of tool that facilitates the expression of thoughts, the manifestation of feelings and desires of subjects. They are the most important means of verbal communication.
Language as a means of verbal communication has various purposes. It acts as a core means of communicative interaction. Thanks to this purpose of language systems, people have the opportunity to fully interact in society as a whole and with individuals individually. This purpose of language systems is considered their communicative function. In addition to the communication function, language as a means of verbal communication has a number of other functions, such as cognitive, accumulative, constructive, emotional, contact-building and ethnic.
The cognitive function of language is an expression of the activity of human consciousness. After all, people receive a significant part of information about the outside world through language.
The accumulative function involves the accumulation and preservation of experience, the storage of knowledge for use in later life. In everyday life, people are helped out by keeping diaries or notebooks. And the original “notebooks”, the heritage of all mankind, are all kinds of written monuments and literature.
The constructive function is to form thoughts and various judgments. With the help of language systems, thought seems to acquire a material shell and sound form. Expressed through words, a thought becomes clear and understandable, first of all, for the individual who expressed it.
The emotional function is one of the tools for expressing feelings and emotional states. This function is realized through speech only under the condition of direct expression of the individual’s emotional attitude to the information he communicates. In this case, intonation plays the main role.
The contact-establishing function is expressed in establishing contact between individuals. At times, communication may be aimless, and its information content may be zero, which means preparing the ground for further productive and trusting communication.
The ethnic function lies in uniting the people.
Basic means of communication between people
The perceptual side of communication in psychology
In addition to the most common methods of information exchange, the following types of communication are called:
- Cognitive and active. Exchange of knowledge, skills, information and abilities;
- Material. Takes place in the process of exchanging objects;
- Motivational. Exchange of desires, as well as encouragement to take decisive action;
- Emotional. Exchange of emotions, for example, trying to cheer up a sad interlocutor.
Note! In addition to different types and methods, there are certain communication techniques that are used to achieve certain goals that arise in the process of getting to know a person.
Communication techniques include:
- Business – exchange of information to achieve commercial gain;
- Mask contact is a set of standard words and phrases, combined with facial expressions and gestures, for example, politeness, modesty, courtesy, indifference;
- Manipulative – conversation for the purpose of obtaining benefits;
- Interpersonal – revealing the deep structures of the interlocutor;
- Object-based – occurs both in children (giving toys “consciousness”) and in adults (“talking” to the phone);
- Small talk is a conversation without a specific goal, pointless. Usually they do not say what they think, but express what is accepted;
- Formal-role - when people talk at a level that corresponds to their social status.
Nonverbal
Nonverbal is the communication interaction between interlocutors without the use of words. A smile, a surprised facial expression, knitted eyebrows are all examples of nonverbal communication.
Note! Often, gestures and facial expressions are subconscious in nature, so the ability to identify them in time allows the interlocutor to predict the course of the conversation.
Sometimes gestures say more than words
Nonverbal contact emotionally complements the main conversation, where the human body becomes the instrument of conversation. Among the means of this type of communication are facial expressions (expression of the face, eyes, mouth), gestures (body movements), visual contact and proxemics (distance between interlocutors).
Verbal
Verbal is the verbal interaction between interlocutors. It is not much inferior to non-verbal, since there are different spheres of life: in personal life, it is often “how” the sentence is said (sincerely, emotionally), in the business sphere it is precisely “what” the interlocutor says that is important. This should include clarity in expression, without hints and beating around the bush.
Speech and verbal communication
Speech is the most important component of the communicative interaction of people, which serves to express their thoughts, emotional moods, goals and plans. With the help of verbal communication, an individual has the opportunity to interact with the surrounding society. Any speech is focused on the intellect, feelings, intentions and desires of the listeners.
In the context of communicative verbal interaction, speech is characterized by a number of psychological properties that reflect individual (personal) and group (collective) characteristics of people who have entered into verbal interaction. These include information content, clarity, content, expressiveness, and impact. The listed properties are determined by various skills, such as speaking logically, achieving semantic unity of phrases, using paralinguistic means, applying kinetic techniques, and using extralinguistic details of communication.
The outward expression of feelings and emotional states, as well as the attitude of the speaker himself regarding what he is saying, is called expressiveness of speech. Instruments of expressiveness include facial expressions and gestures, rhythm, intonation, accents, intervals and stress, aphorisms and jokes. Some people, unfortunately, justify rude words and the use of obscene expressions during a conversation with this property of speech. They consider profanity an integral part of the language system, which leaves an imprint on speech culture and etiquette as a whole.
The informative nature of speech is determined by the importance of the voiced message for the interlocutors. A striking example of the low information content of the material is the following statements: “water is wet”, “fish are found in water”, etc. The information content of speech increases by 15% with proper use of intonation and pauses.
The impact of speech represents the possibility of its influence on communication partners, directing their thoughts and actions in the right direction.
Speech communication serves to express the specific communicative intention of the speaker and consists of communicative components that have different functions. The condition for effective communication is a complex, multifaceted category, which represents the unity of linguistic understanding, cultural and social knowledge, and psychological experience.
Effective verbal communication involves not only mastering language and linguistic skills, but also knowledge related to understanding the patterns of verbal communication in the integrity and interconnectedness of all its components, namely the material and spiritual culture of language, the structural and content structure of communication activities; sociocultural canons and models of verbal communication, etc.
Speech as a means of communication
People need to communicate with each other and with themselves, and also receive information from universal human socio-historical experience. All these functions are provided by speech. Speech as a means of communication is the topic of today’s conversation.
Speech is the result of recoding thoughts into sound or graphic structures. When communicating through speech, three main elements function:
- subject of speech communication (who speaks),
- object (recipient) of the message;
- the speech message itself.
This means that success depends on three factors :
- characteristics of the speaker,
- the mental state and state of perception of the person receiving the message;
- quality of speech “products”.
The speech process is associated not only with mental manipulations of the psyche, but also affects the spheres of interpersonal and personal relationships. The attitude towards the situation is also conveyed through speech.
Let's look at what helps transmit speech:
- tone;
- voice volume;
- focus of gaze;
- certain body movements.
The tone of speech is a kind of indicator of the speaker’s mental state. The interlocutor very accurately grasps whether the speaker himself believes in his own words, what meaning he attaches to what was said, how he treats the person with whom he is communicating.
Voice volume . It also shows the intentions of the speaker and his attitude towards those who listen to him. For example, if they want to exert pressure or influence, they speak louder. In Europe, if they are indignant, they also increase the strength of their voice. but in the East in such cases they switch to a whisper.
Focus of gaze . Shows the true mood of the speakers and serves as a channel of communication between them. When embarrassed, the eyes usually droop, and an averted gaze can indicate the speaker’s insincerity.
Body movements. Strengthens the speaker's self-expression. Different cultures have their own norms of body movements, distance between interlocutors and gestures. We talk more about body language in European culture and its influence HERE.
However, the basis of verbal communication is the message itself. One should remember the unity of its content and form .
Content. Some people are used to just chatting, without really thinking about what they say. But any message carries not only information, but also a charge of energy. Later we will talk about how, for example, we program ourselves for ill health with the help of phrases, how we bring disaster upon ourselves. In the meantime, we are talking about speech as a means of communication.
Form. Even the most striking content will be lost and will not have the desired impact on listeners if it is presented in an inexpressive or inappropriate form.
So, if the feelings that we convey in poetry are presented in the form of an information note, then not only will the meaning of what was said or written be lost, but the text will seem pompous and insincere.
Construction of speech according to the laws of speech communication:
- assess (determine) the situation;
- we determine our attitude to the situation (i.e., reaction to the situation);
- explains what one would like to do (motivation for activity).
If the speaker loses control over emotions, then this structure changes. Often, first of all, statements are used that are not confirmed by an adequate assessment of the situation, for example, offensive ones. And when, having calmed down, we carry out the exercise of assessing the situation, we become ashamed. Moreover, such behavior can greatly damage relationships with people.
“Provocateur” words can also ruin relationships with people and cause conflictual communication: read about them HERE.
Usually in such cases the interlocutor either answers in the same spirit or remains silent. Negative emotions of the speaker generate negative emotions in the interlocutor (according to the law of generating emotions in the process of communication).
Conclusion: to avoid unpleasant situations, send messages imbued with positive emotions.
Definition of the situation . The speaker creates a picture of what is happening, records events and his attitude towards them. At the same time, if we want speech to have a greater impact, we look for bright, rich expressions, like a painter, we draw pictures, only with words:
“For one lost day, the enterprise loses so much. How much will it miss for thousands of lost days?! (numbers…)"
In speech, it is better not to use categorical expressions “never”, “always”, “forever”, etc., as well as evaluative cliches: “slobs”, “fools”, “parasites”... You should avoid anything that degrades human dignity.
Reaction to the situation. It is appropriate to express concern, experience, and surprise. Sarcasm and indignation can only be used if you intend to break up with the person.
However, it is better to avoid rage and insults, especially with obscene language, in any case. Such an attitude can temporarily stimulate only uninitiated performers and people-pleasers. Such a negative attitude disorganizes independent, creative and self-sufficient people.
Inspiration to activity. The speaker specifically, clearly, clearly formulates his advice, recommendation, request or reasoning.
Next time we will talk about the properties of good speech in communicating with people.
In the meantime, tell me, what kind of speech in communication would you call high-quality?
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Types of verbal communication
Speech is the main mechanism of verbal communication. Speech communication occurs using language systems. Verbal communication can be internal or externally directed. External verbal communication, in turn, can be oral and written. Oral verbal interaction is divided into monologue speech and dialogic speech.
Types of verbal communication are closely related to each other. They are united by pronouncing words silently or out loud. Along with this, each type of verbal communication has subjective specific characteristics. Thought cannot be formulated without a language system and material verbal processes. In preparation for oral or written speech, an intermediate phase of speaking the text to oneself is distinguished. This phase is called inner speech.
External written speech is mediated by text. It is more concentrated in its content than colloquial. Verbal written speech is understood as a verbal process with the use of written signs. Written speech is formed through a complex relationship of sounds, which are formed due to the perception of letters by the hearing aid, visible to the eye, and speech movements reproduced by the individual. It follows that written speech is based on oral speech.
The audible speech spoken by someone is called spoken language. She is limited by space and time, which is imprinted on her character, since basically, communication partners are within sight or hearing distance of each other. The nature of verbal communication during television broadcasting changes significantly when the audience does not have the opportunity to respond.
Speech communication can be classified according to content, namely material, cognitive (cognitive), conditional (emotional), motivational, activity. It can also be classified according to the interaction techniques used and depending on the tasks, namely mask contact, secular communication, formal-role and business communication, interpersonal, manipulative communication.
Material communication is the exchange of products of activity. Cognitive or cognitive communication involves the exchange of data, knowledge, and experience. Emotional or conditional interaction contains the exchange of emotional moods between individuals who have entered into communication. Motivational interaction is the exchange of intentions, motivations, goals, interests, plans or needs. Activity communication covers the exchange of skills carried out as a result of joint activities.
Contact of masks is called formal communication, which consists in the absence of the desire to understand and take into account the characteristic features of the partner’s personality.
The essence of secular communication lies in its pointlessness. In other words, communicating individuals do not talk about what they think about, but about what they should talk about in the current circumstances.
Formal-role communication consists of regulation and content, where the main role is played by the social status of the interlocutor and his place in the official or social hierarchy.
Business communication is a process of interaction in which data and messages are exchanged in order to achieve the desired result.
Interpersonal communication, or also called intimate-personal communication, consists of revealing deep personal structures. Manipulative interaction is aimed at obtaining benefits from the interlocutor.
Culture of speechN. Garifullina, 2013
1.5. Basic units of speech communication
Speech situation
- this is the context of the statement, this is what helps to understand it. An utterance is made in a certain place at a certain time and has a certain set of participants: the speaker and the listener. Thus, the components of a speech situation:
- speaker;
- listening;
- time and place of utterance.
The speech situation dictates the rules of conversation and determines the forms of its expression. For example, typical dialogues during exams, at a doctor’s appointment, in a legal consultation; small talk at a party, at banquets; public discussions.
It is necessary to take into account that the statement, along with its direct meaning, has a meaning determined by the speech situation (pragmatic meaning). For example, the phrase “see you soon,” said when parting, can mean different things depending on the specific situation: “Don’t be upset, everything will be fine,” “Don’t worry about me,” “You’ll find out everything soon.”
Statements whose direct meaning differs from the pragmatic one are called indirect. Examples of such interpretations:
- I'm not feeling well.
- I do not want to talk to you.
- Call a doctor quickly.
- I won't do this job.
- Leave me alone.
Indirect statements are widely used in speech. They make speech more expressive, concise, and allow you to convey a variety of expressive shades.
The meaning of indirect statements becomes clear only in the context of a speech situation.
The second unit of speech communication is the speech event.
. For example, a lecture, a meeting, a meeting, a conversation in a public place. A speech event consists of two components:
1) verbal speech and what accompanies it (gestures, facial expressions, movements);
2) condition, environment in which communication occurs (speech situation).
Living speech, taken in the event aspect, is called discourse in modern linguistics. Discourse is speech “immersed in life.” In addition to speech, discourse includes facial expressions, gestures, and spatial behavior of interlocutors. Spatial behavior is the extent to which interlocutors tend to be away from each other.
The second component of a speech event is a speech situation, including its participants, their relationships, and the circumstances in which communication occurs.
Components of a speech event:
- verbal speech and what accompanies it;
— speech situation (context of utterance).
Speech interaction
is a very complex phenomenon. It is possible if at least two people participate in it: This is the first condition.
One of them should have a thought, a topic for discussion: This is the second condition.
Third, knowledge of the language in which they communicate is necessary. Only then the thoughts and feelings of the speaker become accessible and understandable to another.
The result of a speech act is judged by its perception and reaction to it, i.e. feedback.
Speech perception (the process of listening or reading) includes the following stages:
— transition from an acoustic or graphic code to an internal speech code;
— deciphering syntactic structures, grammatical forms;
- understanding the general plan of the statement;
- understanding the intentions and motives of the statement;
— assessment of the information received (the content of the statement, its ideas, the speaker’s position, etc.);
- understanding the choice of form and linguistic means.
Understanding (as an integral part of the perception process) includes two levels: linguistic and content. The first without the second is possible, but the second without the first is not. Obviously, complete understanding is not always achieved. Effective perception is possible with the active desire of the perceiver to understand the speech of the author of the statement.
Feedback (i.e. reaction to an utterance) is an important element of control of speech action, allowing one to evaluate its result. The most complete feedback is provided in dialogue.
Communication culture and speech etiquette
One of the most important criteria for an individual’s culture is the level of culture of his speech. Therefore, each person needs to strive to improve their own communication styles and speech etiquette. The level of speech culture depends not only on the ability to avoid mistakes in communications, but also on the desire to regularly enrich vocabulary, the ability to listen and the desire to understand a partner, respect his views, and the ability to choose the right words depending on the interaction situation.
Speech is considered one of the most important characteristics inherent in a person. The impression that people make on the surrounding society depends on the style of communicative interaction.
The speech of an individual has the ability to attract society and other individuals to his personality or, conversely, repel them. Speech can also have a strong impact on the mood of communication partners. Thus, the culture of verbal communications is formed from the ability to listen to the speaker, speech etiquette, and following the rules of good manners.
Often, people, carried away by the topic of conversation, forget about the culture of communication interaction. They try to impose their own judgments, positions and views on the topic of conversation on their partner, do not try to delve into the counter-arguments that the opponent brings and simply do not listen to him, which ultimately leads to neglect of speech etiquette and a cessation of monitoring what they say.
The culture of communication and speech etiquette strictly prohibits putting any pressure on a conversation partner. Besides the fact that imposing one’s own position looks rather ugly from the outside, it is also ineffective. This style of behavior will most likely cause a defensive reaction on the part of the partner, which, at best, will lead to ineffective conversation, and at worst, to conflict situations.
If a communication partner does not listen to his opponent, constantly interrupts him, not allowing him to finish his speech, then this will not only be a demonstration of a lack of cultural speech, but also a manifestation of disrespect for the partner’s personality, which will not characterize the interlocutor who cannot listen at all positively. The ability to listen is an integral part of the culture of communicative interaction.
The verbal tool of communication and speech etiquette today are considered two of the most important components of success, both in communication and in other activities. They help to establish contacts with people, increase the effectiveness of communication, and persuade the mass audience to their own position. The influence of speech culture on the speaker’s behavioral styles is invaluable.
