Oral Communication – Advantages and Disadvantages

Verbal communication where words are used in speech is termed as Oral Communication.

Oral Communication happens both in a formal and informal manner in organizations. Oral Communication in organizations acts as a binding factor since it adds a personal touch between people who interact with each other in an organization.

Advantages of Oral Communication

• One of the main advantages of getting involved in oral communication is the immediate response it elicits out of people. Whenever one needs an immediate response and cannot afford to wait for a long period of time, oral communication comes in handy. It offers the advantage of elaborating, justifying or clarifying issues within a short span of time since there is no intermediary between the concerned parties communicating.
• It increases the understanding levels between the speaker and the receiver(s). This enables all people concerned to be on the same page at all points of time
• It saves a lot of time and energy to all concerned by facilitating quick decision making during conversations
• It enables the speaker to groom his public speaking skills in terms of body language, choice of words and confidence levels while addressing a group of people
• It breaks the barrier between different management levels in the organizations bringing team players close to each other
• Oral Communication helps to save money spent on stationery and communication tools since it happens between the concerned individuals in a direct manner
• It provides a personal touch to the issue discussed. This makes interactions positive and pleasant fostering a healthy climate in organizations

Limitations of Oral Communication

• Oral Communication in organizations typically takes place between groups of people belonging to different Departments. When sensitive or crucial issues are discussed, making one or few people responsible becomes a tough job
• Oral Communication in meetings or brain storming sessions may extend for long duration of time. This will be highly detrimental due to the delay it causes in related activities
• It is not a suitable medium to pass on lengthy information since such information requires assimilation at the receivers end
• It may many a times defy the memories of both the speaker as well as the listener.
• It is generally considered invalid for legal and statutory purposes.
• It calls for cogency and proper presentation, lack of which may cause undesirable misunderstanding between what is communicated and what is understood.
• It has the risk of getting into the wrong alleys since the emotions of the speaker get influenced by the reaction of the listener. This necessitates handling the communication with high maturity levels in an objective manner

Importance of listening in Oral Communication

Listening plays a crucial role when it comes to Communicating Orally. Oral Communication is incomplete without listening. While the speaker communicates the intended information orally, the listener plays an equally crucial role to make the communication a successful one. Speaking and Listening go hand in hand. The success of a Communicator lies mainly in the patience level of a Listener. While good listeners elicit the maximum value out of the speakers, bad listeners tend to spoil the very intention of oral communication.