Communication styles: description of styles, functions, principles of organization

Communicative communication allows a group of people to interact effectively. Therefore, they began to teach it to managers and those who need to quickly and effectively convey their thoughts to their interlocutor. In itself, communication is not a means of service. Communication involves the exchange of information between two subjects, in contrast to interaction (activity) and perception (cognition of the interlocutor). Because of this, communication can be considered active interaction. Its success strongly depends on how fully the information conveyed by one person can be perceived by the other participants in the conversation.

A short introduction

Communication is a term that in the English-speaking segment sounds like communication or communication. We do not pronounce this long and complex word, since our language has a simpler synonym. Nevertheless, its essence does not change from this - communication gives people the opportunity to interact and develop together. With its help, we not only find friends and partners, we also adopt the experience of our ancestors, study something new written by those who lived long before us, learn new things by looking at news feeds, etc.

In a word, without communication everything would collapse and cease to have the meaning we are accustomed to. Indirectly or subconsciously, every person understands this, although they rarely think about this phenomenon. But what people think about even less often is communication styles, that is, how exactly we communicate and what information we prefer to perceive and what we reject. Are there really certain frameworks for the transmission and perception of material within the framework of familiar society? Yes, and we define them for ourselves.

What does this depend on?

Every person is unique. He has his own character, his own experience, and against this background his attitude towards the world around him is formed. This attitude turns into interaction with society, and, as a result, becomes a communication style for a particular person. A similar phenomenon can be traced both in the everyday sphere and in the work sphere, and there are cases when a person is united in his behavior in both places, and sometimes he seems to split into two.

For example, an experienced and seasoned lawyer in a business environment behaves extremely dryly, extremely professionally, he is perceived exclusively as a busy and strict person. But when he comes home, he becomes a sweet, caring, cheerful, story-reading dad and gentle husband. He allows himself to compliment, smile, laugh and even fool around. This means that a person approaches his work extremely professionally and understands that his line of work does not involve “lisping.”

But at home he is himself - everything is fine, and he is “white and fluffy.” A completely different situation will occur in the life of a woman who works as a teacher in a kindergarten, but at the same time she has problems on the personal front. She will be very kind to children at work, but at home she can act extremely cold and unemotional.

Main classification

In fact, one or another communication style inherent in a particular person depends not only on his profession or “the weather in the house,” but also on many other factors, such as upbringing, life experience, character, and nationality. That is, this is both information embedded in genes and the influence of the society in which a person grew up. For example, if a Russian is born in Russia, then, as they say, everything is the same in him - both genetic memory and environment.

If an Italian is born in Russia, he will become a mix of the cultures of these two countries. From all this diversity, the so-called basic communication styles were derived, which can be applied to a person from any cultural environment. There are four of them, and we will now look at each one separately.

What is communicative communication and how is it different from ordinary communication?


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Communication differs from communication in the following ways:

  • directional information from the source of information to the listener;
  • there is a specific goal of the conversation;
  • there are no emotional connections, no personal reactions between the participants in the conversation.

If the exchange of information occurs between equal subjects, then this can no longer be called communication - it is communication. The same thing happens if emotions appear in a conversation, various sharp reactions appear, likes and dislikes for certain objects appear. Proper communication is essential for business and interpersonal relationships.

Communicative communication can only be built by creating a certain interaction. Also, both parties, on equal terms, must be ready to participate in the exchange of information.

The structure of communicative communication has such important components as:

  • source of information - the subject of interaction who is going to share the information he has;
  • transmitter - indicates the method of transmission (speech, writing);
  • communication channel - the path that information travels before being perceived by the subject (personal communication, letter, newspaper);
  • receiver - deciphers information into signals understandable to the brain; the receiver refers to vision, hearing and thinking;
  • recipient - the person who should receive the information.

It is also worth understanding that communication can be not only business, but also everyday. The first includes professional, which is seriously influenced by various rituals and traditions.

Focused

Such people, as they say, will go over their heads, but will always achieve what they want. Incredibly strong individuals who do not make mistakes: they call them experience, and having stumbled, they immediately get up and move on. They are generally not susceptible to criticism and bullies: they have a goal and they achieve it. A goal-oriented communication style is characteristic of people who love order and prosperity.

They always dress discreetly, strictly, but at the same time very expensively, they do not like excess accessories, they choose one, but a worthy one. They speak and communicate just as strictly, concisely and strictly to the point. Their catchphrase can be considered: “Do you have a minute?” - after which you will immediately receive a huge amount of information in a compressed form. Among goal-oriented people, there are rarely beggars or lost individuals - these are two mutually exclusive factors.

Initiator

This is a style of interpersonal communication in which a person is extremely active, loud, looks bright and constantly comes up with something new. These people are often called “clowns,” “jesters,” or “the life of the party.” Moreover, this pattern of behavior can be the basis of both business relationships (surely you have met such an overly bright and exuberant, but brilliant artist at least once in your life), and serve as the foundation for building love and friendship.

Such people look exactly the same as they behave - bright, bold, and sometimes even tasteless. They always speak very loudly, can afford to go beyond the bounds of decency, and at the same time they are replete with ideas, in everything they see something of their own, based on impressions. Their words and thoughts seem crazy, but brilliant.

Emotional

This style of communication in communication is a mirror image of the previous one. It also lacks order, linearity and clarity, but at the same time the person ceases to be bright and loud, but becomes calm, melancholy, and thoughtful. People who have a “cute mess” going on in their heads and in their words. In communication, they can be inconsistent, jump from one topic to another, often become thoughtful and fly off into their fantasies right in the middle of the dialogue. These are creative individuals, but due to a lack of ambition, they rarely reach the top.

How to choose a style of communication with clients?

When choosing a communication style, you need to take into account the characteristics of the business, as well as the needs of the target audience:

  • age of clients. After drawing up a portrait of the target audience, it is necessary to perform segmentation, dividing clients according to various characteristics, including age. Age plays a primary role when choosing a communication strategy, because people under 25 years old accept free and friendly communication, while people aged 35-45 years and older prefer a more business-like style with elements of interest;
  • audience. For the B2C segment, engaging, dramatic, and calming styles will be optimal. Business representatives are guided not by emotions, but by benefits, so it is better to communicate with them in a businesslike tone, using elements of an impressive and precise style;
  • purchasing power and average bill. The more a client spends in an online store, the more demanding he is about communication policy. Wealthy clients require special attention, high interest, combined with a business style. The dominant number of such clients are confident that they are right, so they expect politeness and absolute interest from the manager, and also love personalization.

Priority communication channels need to be identified. Today, more than 70% of all dialogues take place in instant messengers, which involve quick questions and answers. Phone calls are allocated about 25%, email and other communication channels - less than 5%. During a telephone conversation, the manager has the opportunity to quickly establish contact with the client; instant messengers and online chats on the website of an online store require higher professionalism, as well as the ability to use punctuation marks, emoticons, and content to add emotional color to the conversation.

Analyst

This style of mass communication can be compared with a “gray mouse” that says almost nothing in response. But at the same time, it’s difficult to guess what’s going on in her head. Analysts are people who love order and minimalism, and it is in this “genre” that they communicate with everyone around them.

They are always dressed strictly and angrily, but not particularly expensive. When communicating with you, they will ask short leading questions, and in response to yours they may remain silent, and all because at the moment they are analyzing the information received. Like representatives of the previous style, they rarely achieve career heights because they do not have enough ambitions.

Side

What does the communicative side of communication involve?

Communication is not just the movement of information, but a mutual exchange.

General meaning is developed when information is not only accepted, but also comprehended.

Accordingly, communication becomes possible when the source of information and its recipient have a similar encoding and decoding system . In other words, they must communicate in “the same language.”

Communication barriers often hinder the building of interaction. For example, an adult cannot explain to a two-year-old a question that is beyond the child’s understanding.

This is explained by the presence of an age barrier, due to which the subject and object of interaction have significantly different levels of intellectual development.

Also, a scientist will not be able to clearly convey information on a scientific issue to an athlete, since they have different levels of knowledge about the subject of discussion.

At work

Professional activity is one of the key areas of our lives. As given in the example above, it happens that a person transforms for successful self-realization at work, and it happens that he “pulls all his life baggage into the office.” Whether this is good or bad depends on the profession and the team, so you need to look at the situation individually.

However, in the field of work, business communication styles have been identified, which involve communication between management and the team. There are only two of them, and each of them is correct to one degree or another. You just need to focus on the employees, their views and the essence of the work being performed.

Psychological techniques for communicating with clients

Online store managers must adhere to a consistent communication style and also use scripts. However, sometimes they will have to go beyond the limits, which is especially important for buyers with non-standard requirements and a complex character. The psychology of communication with a client includes several basic rules that will prevent outbursts of anger and loss of loyalty:

  • determination of solvency. Customers with a minimal budget will be happy to receive a discount or other benefits; customers with solid financial resources will be put off by a minimal discount or offers related to low-budget goods;
  • the ability not to interrupt. Many clients are quite verbose, so managers must be able to listen to a monologue to the end. In a ton of unnecessary information, they will find important facts that will help persuade the client to a positive purchasing decision;

Tone of communication with clients

  • stay on the same level. The manager knows more about products, manufacturers and properties than the client, but he should not use this information to rise above the interlocutor. Devaluing the knowledge of a potential buyer, interrupting and presenting information in an authoritarian style are unacceptable;
  • backup plan. Each manager should have spare dialogues and phrases that will be used to communicate with demanding, picky and other difficult clients;
  • dragging out the conversation. Most clients want to receive the information they are interested in immediately, without wasting time on long conversations. If a manager intentionally increases the timing of the conversation, then this only causes irritation;
  • not only hear, but also listen. By letting the client's speech fall on deaf ears, as well as ignoring the given requirements, the manager risks losing the buyer and profit. For example, if a client mentions during a conversation that he has a dog, then in addition to the main product, the manager will be able to offer promotional products for pets, which will increase the check and help demonstrate interest.

During communication, the manager can change styles, but he must use a set of mandatory phrases that are the basis of the communication strategy: greetings and farewells, listing the benefits and offers of the online store, a standard package of additional products, etc. You should not ask the following questions, which raise doubts in the client and highlight the manager’s uncertainty:

  • “Have you already chosen a product?”, alternative – “Can I help you choose?”;
  • “You will pay for the goods, how?” – “Do you want to pay in cash, by bank transfer or do you prefer cash on delivery?”;
  • “When will you call back to clarify the details of the transaction?” or “Can we call you back?” – “Let's agree on a time at which we will call you to discuss the details of cooperation?”;
  • The list of questions depends on the target audience and the characteristics of the business, but the use of vague formulations and hackneyed phrases causes rejection in the client. The user should have the choice and opportunity to refuse the services of a consultant, but the manager should try to take the initiative into his own hands in order to bring the client to the final stage of the transaction.

Authoritarian

Decision-making is coordinated only by management, while the executive team only carries out the instructions of those who are above them. In this type of communication between subordinates and bosses, there is a control factor, a system of punishments and rewards.

Such a concept as initiative on the part of employees is unacceptable - it is only important to accurately and routinely carry out their instructions. Gradually, this type of communication is dying out in a working society, but for some areas of activity it is the only source of existence.

Reading between the lines

We found out how people with different communication styles communicate with each other in a given environment. Well, we shouldn’t forget that we all share with the world additional information about ourselves and our opinions regarding a particular issue using non-verbal signals. On a subconscious level, they are perceived by others and make us, in their eyes, who they think we are. If your speech completely coincides with the thinking process, there is no dissonance and there will not be, you will look convincing even in the eyes of inveterate skeptics.

If your communication style is falsified - you decided to be in a different skin, or you are already accustomed to constantly changing roles, people may notice this. As a rule, styles of nonverbal communication are no different in structure from types of verbal communication. However, if they do not correspond to each other within the same personality, it is difficult for us to interact with such a person.

Communication style

What is the point of view of the world, what is the point of view this is the case with the other áûõ ñèòóàöèÿõ. In this regard, the Russian Federation, the Russian Federation in other words è sòèëü îáùåíèÿ, êàê ñ÷èòàþò ó÷åíûå, çàâèñèò îêà îíäèâèäóàëüíûõ î sysnoy and vulgaris (vysyl, vulgar, in this case, in this case, in this article yel, yazh, yazh, yav, yav, y, y. What is the difference between the world and the other side of the world? this is the case with the Russian Federation, the official version of the in other words, in the Russian Federation, in the Russian Federation .

Effective intercultural communication requires knowledge and ability to use all its components. Among these components, an important place belongs to the style of verbal communication. In this aspect, communication style is a kind of meta-message that indicates how individuals should understand and interpret a verbal message - the context of communication. It represents an individual stable form of human communicative behavior, manifested in any conditions of interaction, in any situation. Here the skill of the communicator is manifested not only in the culture of his speech, but also in the ability to find the most accurate and most suitable stylistic means of language for each specific case. Verbal communication presupposes mastery of all speech! genres: from a remark or comment to a lecture, report, information message, public speech.

Communication styles also vary significantly across cultures. There are usually four groups (classes) of verbal communication style:

• direct and indirect;

• elaborate, precise and concise;

• personal and situational;

• instrumental and affective.

4.1.3.1. Direct and indirect communication styles

Thanks to these styles, the degree to which a person expresses his inner motives and intentions in the process of communication is revealed, that is, the degree of openness of a person is determined. Direct style is associated with expressing a person's true intentions. An indirect style allows you to hide a person’s desires, needs and goals in communication. The choice of communication style is, of course, related to the contextuality of communication in different cultures. A direct, tough communication style, according to researchers, is characteristic of low-context American culture. There is little room for understatement. Americans strive to engage their interlocutor in a direct and clear conversation, for which the following statements are very typical: “Say what you mean,” “Let’s get to the point,” etc. This style shows more concern for preserving the speaker’s face and clearly justifying one’s own position on the topic of conversation. Most often, this style develops in individualistic cultures.

For high-context cultures, the leading style of communication is the indirect style. In such cultures, indirect, ambiguous communication is preferred due to the importance of respecting the other person's face. Most often these are collectivist cultures. Thus, Koreans do not give negative answers like “no” or “I don’t agree with you.” They usually use evasive answers such as “I agree with you in principle” or “I sympathize with you.” It is necessary to understand that these are forms of refusal from the context of the situation.

4.13.2. Skillful, precise and concise communication styles

These styles show the degree of use of expressive means of language, pauses, silence.

Artful, or artsy, style involves the use of rich, expressive language in communication. Thus, in Arab cultures, when refusing a treat, it is not enough to simply say “no”; refusal is accompanied by oaths and assurances that are completely inappropriate from the point of view of a European or American. After all, they are accustomed to using a precise style, which involves the use of laconic, restrained statements. Precise style consists of using the necessary and sufficient minimum of statements to convey information (no more, but no less than necessary). The condensed style, in addition to laconicism and restraint, includes evasiveness, the use of pauses and expressive silence.

The use of an ornate style is characteristic of many Middle Eastern cultures, a precise style is characteristic of Western Europe and the United States, and a compressed style is characteristic of many Asian cultures and some American Indian cultures.

An elaborate style makes it possible to smooth out your speech and preserve both your face and the face of your interlocutor.

Precise style is associated with concern for preserving one’s own face and the desire for sincerity in communication. Having a high level of adaptability to unpredictable situations, representatives of these cultures always want to be themselves.

A concise style, which involves managing the situation with the help of pauses and understatements, allows you not to offend the face of your interlocutor without losing your own face. It usually dominates in collectivist cultures, the goal of which in communication is to preserve and maintain group harmony.

4.1.3.3. Personal and situational communication styles

The personal style of communication emphasizes the individual’s personality, while the situational style focuses on his role. In the personal style, self-identity is strengthened by verbal means, in the situational style - role identity. We can say that the personal style uses language that reflects social equality and is characteristic of individualistic cultures, the situational style reflects the hierarchy of social relations and is characteristic of collectivist cultures.

Thus, Americans avoid formal codes of conduct, titles, deference, and ritual manners in their interactions with others. They prefer to directly address the interlocutor by name and try not to make gender differences in the style of verbal communication. The Japanese consider formality the most important thing in their human relationships. It allows communication to be smooth and predictable. The Japanese language tends to place conversation participants in appropriate role positions and give each a place in the status hierarchy.

4.1.3.4. Instrumental and affective communication styles

These styles differ in their orientation towards one or another participant in verbal communication. The instrumental style of communication is mainly focused on the speaker and the goal of communication, while the affective style is mainly focused on the listener and the communication process. The instrumental style relies on precise knowledge to achieve the goal of communication. The affective style uses analogies to achieve certainty and gain the approval of a partner. The instrumental style allows a person to assert himself, maintain his own identity, and also maintain a sense of autonomy and independence from the interlocutor. The affective style, on the contrary, is focused on the communication process itself, on adapting to the feelings and needs of the interlocutor, and on achieving group harmony. This leads to the fact that with an affective style a person is forced to be careful in his speech and avoid risky statements and positions. To do this, he uses inaccuracies and avoids direct statements or denials. If both interlocutors adhere to this style of communication, then the problem of interpreting what was said and checking it, which is again carried out indirectly, constantly arises. In such a situation, it is not what is said that is important, but what is done. With an affective style of speech, the context of communication is of particular importance.

A typical example of an affective communication style is the Japanese style of communication. His main goal is the process of understanding the interlocutors of each other. Interlocutors are expected to show intuitive sensitivity to the meanings between words. The words themselves, verbal expressions serve only as hints at the real content; no one expects them to be perceived as accurate facts reflecting reality. This style is characteristic of collectivist cultures.

The instrumental style of communication is represented in European cultures and the United States. Here people strive to present themselves to their interlocutor in speech, they want to be understood through verbal communication. This style is also present in Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, which are individualistic cultures.

The named variants of communicative styles are present in almost all cultures, but in each of them they are evaluated in their own way, all of them are given their own meaning. In each case, the style of communication reflects the values ​​and norms underlying a particular culture, its culturally specific picture of the world. It is acquired by a child in early childhood and constitutes a characteristic integral feature of his inherent way of interacting with the outside world and other people.

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