What are different principles of communication?

Effective communication forms the most important part of the human interaction. Its importance can be hardly over looked. Each and every individual who forms a part of a team ought to know the principles of effetive communication in order to work and talk with the rest of the members of the organization and be listened to.

Here communication principles have been explained from different view poiints including litening and speaking.

Communication as we all know is a 2- way process of giving and receiving information through any channel.

The following basic principles apply everywhere irrespective of who the speaker or the listener are:

- Know your topic
- Know your purpose
- Know your audience
- Anticipate objections
- Present a clear picture
- Follow through on what you say in regard to your topic.
- Achieve credibility with your audience.
- Present what you want to say in different catchy ways
- Communicate a little at a time
- Develop a practical way to get feedback from your audience
- Use multiple and effective communication techniques

Communication is a complex process and sometimes even our own thoughts and opinions prove to be a major barrier in the way of effective communication.

Communication between different team members can be influenced by various environmental factors that actually don’t have anything to do with the content of the message.

Some of those factors have been listed below:

- Nature of the place or the room i.e., how cold or warm it is etc.
- Distractions like what is going on at that place.
- Reputation of the speaker.
- Appearance or the personality of the speaker.
- Knowledge of the listener about the topic.
- Language used.

According to a research, people remember most of what they hear and see rather reading or only seeing. To deal effectively with the decision makers, it is important to know and understand their opinions and interests.

Asking following questions will prove to be a great help:
- Whom to persuade?
- Who will make decisions about the change?
- What are the past experiences of the decision makers?
- What is current attitude of the decision maker?
- What is the most effective way to approach decision maker?
- What are the work styles of other team members?
- What programs will the new decision improve?
- How will the decision benefit the decision maker?

While making a formal presentation to the rest of the organization, the following principles hold good:

- Do not over state your case.
- Make appropriate use of understatement.
- Persuasion should be clear and simple.
- Be ready to back up facts or claims.
- Incorporate most anticipated objections.
- Use visuals aids appropriately.
- Try to find out what the other members think about your opinion.

Importance of Idea
- A good idea must always be recognized.
- The idea should be sold to those who can use it effectively.
- Organization must be convinced that the idea has enough merit to be acted upon. - Getting and giving feedback is also another important part of the communication process.
- Be patient and listen to the complete message.
- Don’t ever prejudge the incoming message.
- It’s well said that if you listen then you will be the most listened to!
- Good listeners demonstrate alertness.
- Always keep your attention directed towards the message and judge the content of the message.
- Distractions seriously impair listening.
- Always think critically and efficiently.
- Message should be conveyed in such a way that it discourages rejection and encourages retention.

Where does Exploratory Testing fit with its advantages and disadvantages.

Exploratory testing is called for in any situation where it is not obvious what the next test should be, or when you want to go beyond the obvious tests. More specifically, freestyle exploratory testing fits in any of the following situations:
- when you need to provide rapid feedback on a new product or feature.
- when you need to learn the product quickly.
- when you want to investigate and isolate a particular defect.
- when you want to check the work of another tester by doing a brief independent investigation.
- when you have to find out the single most important bug in the shortest time.
- when you have already tested using scripts, and seek to diversify the testing.
- when you want to investigate and isloate a particular defect.
- when you want to investigate the status of a particular risk in order to evaluate the need for scripted tests in that area.

Advantages of Exploratory Testing

- It does not require extensive documentation.
- It is responsive to changing scenarios.
- Under tight schedules, testing can be more focused depending on the bug rate or risks.
- Improved coverage.

Disadvantages of Exploratory Testing

- Dependent on tester's skills.
- Test tracking not concrete.
- More prone to human error.
- No contingency plan if the tester is unavailable.

What specifics affect Exploratory testing

- The mission of the particular test session.
- The tester skills, talents, preferences.
- Available time and other resources.
- Status of other testing cycles for the product.
- How much the tester knows about the product.