Some Important Facts About Communication

It Will be noted with interest that successive transmissions of the same message are decreasingly accurate. Note the following carefully:

1. In oral communication around 30 percent of the information is lost in each transmission.

2. Even written communication is subject to some loss of meaning in transmission.

3. Equally serious is poor retention of information. Studies show that employees retain only       50 percent of communicated information, and supervisors only 60 percent.

Another study shows that there is a tremendous loss of information, which is 37 percent between the board of directors and the vice president level. General supervisors loss 44 percent of the information, plant managers 60 percent, and general foremen lose 70 percent of what had been transmitted downward to them.

4. An average of only 20 percent of the communication sent downward through the five               levels of management finally gets to the workers level.

Communication activities fill the business day. An analysis of time spent is communication shows approximately 10 percent in writing, 15 percent reading, 35 percent speaking, and 40 percent listening.