Effective Communication

Effective Communication

March 17, 2012

Lance Spivey

Effective Communication

Yogi Berra once said “It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much.” This highlights the problem with ineffective communication, no meaningful transfer can be had due to all of the meaningless transfer detracting from the situation.. Effective communication is a vital part of any situation, from that of a police officer to a suspect, to the husband and wife. There are quite a few factors that lead to effective communication, becoming an effective listener and communicator requires taking note of and comprehending these processes. We must also bear in mind that communication involves both the transmitter and receiver, and much like the function of an X-ray tube and scintillation crystals, if there is a breakdown on either the transmitting or receiving end, it can result in a flawed image containing artifacts.

Communication can be defined as the exchange of information between two or more parties (Wallace and Roberson, 2009). In a law enforcement environment this may be a memorandum making it's way down the chain of command, or an interview with a suspect. There are a set of skills and practices that aid in effective communication within a police department. These steps range from the manner in which the information is communicated and how it is interpreted by the person who is listening. For instance, if the message the transmitter is sending in not received by the receiver with the same interpretation, a portion of the message has been lost in transmission. This can be visualized by the game of telephone you used to play as a kid, where one person would whisper in the ear of the person next to them, and on down the line, until the last person's message has become a twisted skeleton of the original message.

Within a law enforcement environment, there are several guidelines to note in order to master communication both as a transmitter and a receiver. The first of these guidelines consists of the four regions of knowledge. The four regions of knowledge, known as the Johari window, represent the basic areas of information held by the transmitters and recievers of information (Wallace & Roberson, 2009, p32). The model uses the four main areas of information collected from a manager and other people, to ascertain their ability to communicate with one another. The two basic kinds of communication are made up of exposure and feedback (Wallace & Roberson, 2009). Exposure symbolizes the superior's ability to provide information and the transmission manner in which it is delivered to the recipients. Feedback involves the echo response of the information, once it has reached the intended receiver and verification of transmission and comprehension occurs.