Factors to Consider in Ensuring That one Gets Favourable Feedback in Communication

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Concreteness in communication means to

- use the right level of language

- choose non-discriminatory expressions

- send proof read messages

- COURTESY.

Courtesy in communication implies being respectful of the recipient's culture, values and beliefs. Also, it involves the need to adopt a register your audience can easily relate to and understand. Courteous communication has a positive impact on the overall communication, as it prompts a more positive and constructive approach to the conversation.

- CLARITY.

Be clear about your goal or message, when writing or speaking to someone. What is your purpose in communicating with this person? Answer this question before addressing the receiver. Make sure that it’s easy for the receiver to understand your meaning. People shouldn’t have to “read between the lines” and make assumptions on their own to understand what you are trying to say. To be effective, communication has also to be clear and specific. To achieve clearness, the message should focus on a single objective, thus emphasizing its importance and catering for a prompt understanding of its contents. Clear communication also requires the adoption of the relevant terminologies, thus reducing ambiguities and confusion in the communication process.

Clarity in communication means;

- brevity-minimize the quantity of ideas in each sentence

- Simplicity-the sender must use familiar terms which the recipient can easily understand that is avoid jargon or technical terms.

- Presentable-this means that the message should be well arranged. i.e it should have an introduction, main body and conclusion.

- ACCURACY.

This means that the message should be correct or verifiable. Besides proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling, correctness means an appropriate communication style that fits your receiver in terms of status, knowledge, and educational background. Beyond that, all information should be accurate and timely. Nothing that is written down or spoken should misinform the recipient. Kaul A. (2009:3) explains that “the formulation of the message is very important, for an incorrect patterning can turn the receiver hostile or make him lose interest.” Accuracy is the basis of effective communication. As an encoder it is your duty to formulate a message in a correct pattern that will fit your recipient(s). Using grammar and syntax correctly vouches for increased effectiveness and credibility of the message. In fact, grammar and syntax mistakes make it harder for the recipient to decode the message and understand its contents. Also, it makes the decoder to have a negative impact on the overall communication, as the communication shows that the sender hasn't taken his or her time to craft his or her message more carefully. A correct use of language has the preference. A correct use of language increases trustworthiness and the receiver will feel that they are taken seriously.

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- TIMING.

Learn to “read” the listener. If the other person seems inattentive or uncomfortable, it is probably not a good time to be carrying on a conversation. Recommend having the conversation at another time. This enhances a favourable feedback to one’s communication. It is vital to understand that doing a right thing at a wrong time will lead to a wrong result.

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- COMPLETENESS.

To be effective, communication should be complete, that is, it should include all the information the recipient needs to evaluate its content, solve a problem or make a decision. Kaul A. (2009:2) States that “the entire burden of communication rests upon the sender or encoder. His choice of images and words and the combination of the two is what goads the receiver to listen carefully.” Complete communication reduces the need for follow-up questions and answers, and improves the quality of the overall communication process. Therefore as a sender, there is need that you embrace your message with the right images and words if you are to receive a favourable feedback. Your message is “complete” when it contains all facts the receiver needs for the reaction you desire.

- BREVITY

Follow this rule “as much as necessary – as little as possible”. A brief message uses concise and to the point sentences, thus, saves time of both the sender and the receiver.

The message should be brief and to the point but brevity should not be achieved at the expense of omitting relevant and important information. As an encoder, you don’t have to over talk a point. It may cause the other receiver to lose interest in the conversation. Brevity is not about keeping the message short, but rather about keeping it to a point. Brevity in communication happens when the message does not include any redundant or irrelevant information. Brief communication prompts a better understanding of the message, because the recipient can focus on the key points and does not get distracted by a wealth of minor details.

- TAKING THE MEDIUM INTO ACCOUNT

Medium or Channel: this refers to the means by which the message will be delivered or move from the sender to the receiver. Tayley Shirley (2005:5) explains that “a wrong decision about how communication is expressed and the method used to convey it could have disastrous results.” To a large extent, the medium used in sending a message says something about the importance or the weight of the message. Often messages sent by letter are regarded to be more official and serious than ones over the phone or via text messages. The richness of each channel is determined according to its capability in eliciting feedback. Hence, for making communication efficient, the sender has to choose the channel depending upon the urgency and complexity of the idea which is communicated. Once the message is transmitted through the channel to the receiver, he decodes it back to the idea and assimilates it. If the right channel has been used, then favourable feedback is an inevitable result.

CONCLUSION

In order to get favourable feedback, It is the sender’s job to

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