It was a
bright sunny day, the sky was clear, the crowd was very enthusiastic and it was
a full packed house. This is not about the cricket match, but it was a lecture
hall meant for a Guest lecture by one of the leading HR Professional from an
MNC. The talk was meant for graduating students focusing on their soft
skills, preparation for interviews, personality development etc. Little did we
realize the importance of these skills then, but I do realize that these are
most sought out skills in the industry. Among these, one of the most important topics
that covered was communication.
Imagine a
communication with a kid, it starts like 'ali-lee-lee, ali-lee-lee' :). As the
kid grows, communicating to the child changes and as the kid becomes an adult, parents
ought to treat them like a friend and communicate in a different way.
Communication is contextual; it is quite different in a business set up,
professional set up, friends, family and depends on each individual based on
their behaviour. Communication is a part and parcel of a daily life and 80% of
the time it is the communication that leads to effective business, ideas or
requirements that helps to design a system.
Communication
has transformed enormously in the recent decades. The change has been so
drastic that it has created communication gaps like generation gaps. The older
generation is unable to adept to newer form of communications that technology
has created.
In the olden
days, if someone was about to invade the kingdom, fire used to be the form of
communication indicating the threat. Pigeons were trained to pass on the
information. These forms of communication are history, thanks to the invention
of telegraph and telephone.
'XYZ serious,
start immediately'. ('XYZ might be dead as well that wouldn't have been
communicated') This is not an SMS but this is how a telegram used to be
sent and delivered by the postal department. And the concerned kin used to
travel to the destined place. Telegrams were used in the military for sending
coded information. Though most of us are not using telegram, it exits. (IndianExpress). It appears that it will become
extinct soon. (LiveMint-1 LiveMint-2)
Later,
telephone revolutionized communication and reduced the distance among
people. If computer was the wheel, then web is the vehicle that carries the
information instantaneously. With the advent of the social networks, you know
who has checked in where, what is their location, which restaurant they are in.
You also know if someone has run away and got married :). You can even
find kumbh mele mein bichade hue bhai etc. etc. Without the use of telephone,
web and social networks business seems to be impossible. No doubt these
technologies have almost killed the post, fax and telegram.
No one can
deny that technology has advanced and has made the information accessible
instantaneously. It has also created a vast number of mediums or channels to communicate.
Take for example,
- Product or Service: If I need to report a complaint about a product or service, the mediums that are available are email, online, customer care, social networks like twitter, Facebook where companies like flipkart are leveraging to its best. But, for example, recently I had an issue with a nationalized bank about an ATM card and I lodged a complained through email. Apparently, the issue was closed without even my knowledge but the issue still existed. I even tried toll free number; they redirected me to the branch. After commuting to the branch thrice it got sorted out.
- Office: At office, the professional means of communication are email, Skype, chat, phone or be present physically to present the ideas. Under different scenarios each of the tools needs be used effectively. If by chance you use phone over chat or email that may not be appreciated. Knowing when to use what is an art in itself. Also, you need to be worried about whom all needs to be addressed in an email and who all needs to be out. Also, whom to put in 'CC 'and whom to put in 'To'! These are never taught in any school and its learnt only hard way!
- Individuals: If you are meeting a doctor, he or she may prefer only face to face communication and any communication over phone or email is outright rejected. Each individual may prefer their own way of communicating.
- Rumours: If there is any news that is prominent, then suddenly there is a reaction over the social networks and sometimes it leads to rumours’. I remember the 26/11, it was said that terrorists are absconding in to the city. There are cases of false deaths about famous celebrities and they come alive to prove their mere existence. It just creates confusion and you really do not know how to react!
No doubt
communication medium has been a spoiler but it’s playing a double edged sword,
for example
- Traffic Control: With the enormous increase in traffic, the earlier mode of communicating to traffic by the traffic police by hand signals was given a significant boost with the advent of automated traffic signals. With the ever increase in traffic, things would have been disastrous without the traffic signal.
- Banking: The scenario mentioned earlier might get resolved. Internet banking has made obsolete the visit to a branch. You can transfer amount to any one online.
- Products Purchase: Almost every company is on the web selling their product and has made your life easy by giving you the option of purchasing the item online.
- Education : There are courses available online from renowned universities and one can educate oneself by registering online and taking up the course for example : Coursera
Likewise
there are many innumerable instances where web has played a prominent role to
make life easier but the underlying communication conundrum is increasing due
to increase in the number of communicating channels. The same information might
be present in different channels and the data is exploding exponentially, and
the phenomenon called 'Big Data'.
Businesses are thriving on these
communication channels and the world has become small. Due to these channels,
people across countries are connected and the barrier of language is no
longer a challenge.
People are working on solving the challenges pertaining to Big Data and have evolved with several solutions. From an individual perspective, I wonder if there is a need to consolidate the number of communication mediums and use for example only virtual medium. But, I don't think if consolidation of communication medium would ever take place and there shall be only increase in the number of channels.
The
conundrum shall always remain as the saying goes if you cannot convince, confuse!
