Effective Communication Paper

Effective Communication Paper
Effective communication is vital in the workplace. Communication can be verbal or nonverbal. Communication is a five step process. The ability to know the difference between listening and hearing is another component in communication. Effective communication is vital to any criminal justice organization yet there are many barriers to overcome.
Verbal and Nonverbal Communication
Verbal and nonverbal communication plays a large part in the day to day life of a law enforcement agent. Each work day there are numerous interactions between an officer and another officer, or a citizen or group of citizens. “An officer must understand the significance of paralanguage (inflection, tone of voice, and pitch), the difference between hearing and listening, and the messages behind kinesics (facial expressions, posture, and other body movements),” stated Pritchett, (1993). Verbal communication can be oral or written communication. It also involves listening from the receiver and giving feedback to the sender confirming the message was understood. Nonverbal communication is the use of body language to communicate your message. An officer must be aware of his or her body language because a misunderstanding of the message being communicated could lead to a possible life or death situation.
Communication is a five step process. These steps are transmitting an idea, sending an idea through a medium, receiving the message, understanding the idea, and providing feedback to the sender (Wallace & Roberson, 2009). The first step is forming your ideas and thoughts to form the message. Then decide if it is going to verbal or nonverbal means of communicating your message. Next the receiver interprets the message and understanding the message comes from how he interprets the message. Finally, feedback is provided to the sender. If any of these steps fail, the communication is ineffective (Wallace & Roberson, 2009)....