Oral and Written Communication

Oral and written communication are extremely important parts of the communication process. To send the right message you must learn how to properly use these methods of communication. Oral communication is done through spoken words and written communication I accomplished through things like papers, emails, and text messages. These are 2 very different forms of communication and each need to be used in different ways. There are right and wrong ways to use oral and written communication and it is important to know the right ways to use them.

Oral Communication:

• Be Friendly: When you are speaking to someone face to face it is important to be friendly. People can tell instantly if someone is coming off as not being friendly, if someone scenes this they are not going to want to talk to you much longer. You want people to feel welcome when they are talking to you and have a good experience. If someone walks away under the impression that you are not friendly that is not a good reputation for you to have.
• Think Before You Speak: It is important to think about what you are going to say before you say it. When we speak without thinking we can often say things that are hurtful or disrespectful. Even if you feel something it is not always good to share that feeling, because it could really hurt someone’s feelings and get you into a lot of trouble.
• Be Clear: When talking to someone be sure to speak slowly and clearly so they can understand you. If you talk to fast, it can be hard for people to understand what you are trying to say. When people have trouble understanding you, sometimes they can think you are saying something that you are not.
• Don’t Talk too Much: People often tend to get carried away and talk a little too much. It is important when talking to also listen to what the other person has to say. If you continue to ramble and do not allow the other person to speak it will not be a productive conversation and you can come across as being rude.
• Be Yourself: When talking to new people don’t try to be something that you’re not. People can tell right away when you are pretending to be something you’re not. People will have a lot more respect for you if you just be yourself.
• Speak with Confidence: Speak with confidence and know what you’re talking about, if you do this people will have more trust in you and take what you are saying more seriously.
• Be Concise: Get to the point of what you are trying to say. Do not take 10 minutes to explain something that should only take 2.

Written Communication:

Most of the tips for oral communication also apply to written communication, but it is important to understand a few extra things about written communication.

• Length: Keep your messages short and to the point, it is not useful to ramble on about things that are not important to what you’re trying to say.
• Avoid Big Words: Using big words that people can not understand will not make you seem smart. It will only frustrate the other person and make it seem like you are trying to act smarter than they are.
• Check Your Spelling: Before sending a text or an email it is important to triple check your spelling. Read over what you wrote several times to make sure that there are no errors. Having spelling or grammar errors will make people not take you seriously.
• Think Before You Hit Send: Using written communication instead of oral communication gives you a lot more time to really think about what you are sending. Before hitting send be sure that what are you sending says what you want it to say and is not hurtful or offensive.
• Do Not Abbreviate: From texting friends and family so often most of us have become very used to using abbreviations such as “ok” or “WYD”. It is important when sending a professional message to make sure you are not using abbreviations.