The following are some of the situations in which oral communication is employed.
Example 1:
Presentations
One form of oral communication in a business setting is a presentation. Presentations are usually an organized conveyance of information to a group of people. Stylistically, they tend to be far more formal than informal, and rely more heavily on data and facts than they do analysis. Presentations may include some dialog after the sender of the message has finished their speech, but they are, by and large, much more monologue reliant. This makes it important for the speaker to anticipate possible objections to the message and address them in the actual speech.
Example2:
Client interaction
Another form of oral communication in business encompasses interaction with clients. Depending on the level of connection between the employee and the client, the communication in these interactions can range from incredibly formal to informal and casual.
These interactions usually include a combination of data and analysis, and will be more persuasive than informative in nature, as the employee is trying to encourage continued and expanded business with the client. Because of the nature of these interactions, the communication is definitely a dialog, making listening skills incredibly important.
Example 3:
Interoffice interaction
Oral communication in the office can be referred to as interoffice interaction. This is comprised of conversations with superiors, subordinates and co-workers. Depending on the levels of power separation between the individuals engaging in conversation, the communication will fluctuate between formal and informal, though it should always remain professional. Conversations in this context may reference data, but will be much more analysis heavy, and will be a dialog by nature. However, it isn’t formal at all times; sometimes it’s a normal, casual conversation amongst employees regarding matters other than business.
If you look in most organization, oral communication is used in majority of the time, written communication is only used when the employee isn’t available or you can’t reach them, which is when emails, memos and notices are sent out. However, there are advantages to why oral communication is used more frequently.
Oral communication is time saving. When quick action is required oral communication is resorted to. Writing again and again is a time consuming process.
Oral communication is less resource consuming. It saves time, energy, material and money.
Oral communication provides instantaneous feedback. The speaker will know the reaction / response of the receiver.
But oral communication isn’t always as effective as it may seem, there are disadvantages to it.
Misunderstandings are possible if the sender and receiver do not share the same perception.
Misquoting and imprecise reporting may lead to undesirable consequences in certain situations.
Oral communication depends on the receiver’s listening skill. If the listener is not proactive, the communication exercise fails.