1. What do you understand by the term “Communication Compentence”? Many people see communication as just ‘talk’. This is not so, communication is a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behaviour. I recently learnt that the communication field focuses on how people use messages to generate meanings within and across various contexts, cultures, channels and media. So a more precise definition for communication is “the management of messages for the purpose of creating meaning”.
We communicate to transmit information so that it can be received and interpreted. Therefore the main goal of communication is to share meaning and the main function of communication research is to generate new knowledge about how best to maximise the achievement of goals. A goal is nothing more than something one wishes to achieve. Communication Competence is the impression that communicative behaviour is both appropriate and effective in a given situation. This means that when information is exchanged between individuals (during the communication process), it is properly/correctly understood and interpreted.
This shows that communication is only effective when it achieves the desired goal/goals, and is appropriate when it thoroughly projects what is expected in a situation. From my point of view, communication competence is truly dependent upon the context in which the interaction takes place. Perceptions of competence depend in part on personal motivation , knowledge and skills. This is true because if we are motivated when communicating we may be more confident and our communication skills will be improved.
Knowledge is obviously important because the more knowledge we have about how to behave in a given circumstance, the more likely we are to develop successful communication competence. Skill is important also because we need to know how to act in ways that are consistent with our communication knowledge. In addition to skills, knowledge and motivation we must be able to communicate with social ease. This is communicating without anxiety or nervousness. If we are unable to communicate with social ease, we would not be referred to as competent communicators despite being motivated, skilled, and knowledgeable.
