10 Major Points on Active vs Passive Communication

Communication is not an easy task and it is considered the very first step towards expressing yourself in a world that is so interconnected. In an era of social media, the active communication between people and passive communication through the medium of social media and over-the-top (OTT), the boundaries between people have been almost destroyed. While we ponder over how to effectively communicate, let’s first understand the two basic ways of communication that is active and passive communication as well as have a showdown of Active vs Passive Communication.

Ways of Communication

• Active Communication: It involves in-person interaction between two individuals with an exchange of thoughts in real time.
• Passive Communication: Communication where people do not come face-to-face but rather convey or exchange their thoughts via email, letter, or simply an article in a newspaper.

Though both ways of communication have their unique sets of pros and cons, let’s dive into what differentiates between the two.

1. Body Language vs. Written Language :

Active Communication involves understanding cues about the underlying message from the speaker through the gestures (aka body language) e.g. hand gestures, eye movement, facial expression, etc. Whereas, Passive communication requires one to be extra careful about language and correct words to be used while delivering accurate messages. This comes in handy when somebody is involved in diplomatic negotiations.

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2. Intonation vs. Grammatical Accuracy :

The subtle changes in the tone of the speaker which can go up and down convey the meaning and emphasis over certain points while actively communicating, whereas in passive communication while often writing something one has to have special care for grammatical accuracy e.g. this article will deliver its message only if the language is coherent as well as the tenses, the figure of speech and grammar make sense.

3. Rate of speech vs Depth of speech :

Active communication involves the speaker making changes in the rate of speech based on the understanding of their audience e.g. in a personality development course, the course instructor will take into account the understanding of learners to gauge the rate of speech required whereas in passive communication since it often has only one chance to convey your message, the speaker has to employ extra efforts to put in the message and be covered from all dimensions.

4. Micro expressions vs Redundancy :

Catching micro expressions by both parties in active communication is sometimes very important to take the conversation forward. This can be difficult to master but here the best personality development trainer come to the rescue which can help you understand these nuances and master them. Passive communication due to its nature requires repetition to give clarity to listeners and make them fully aware of the message.

5. Inherent understanding :

Active communication can involve a lot of to-fro exchanges of thoughts often increasing the understanding of the listener. Passive communication if correctly done can match the understanding but requires one to have clear articulation.

6. Productivity of communication: A better understanding of the message in active communication reduces misunderstanding, helps in clarifying expectations from the speaker, improves overall problem-solving skills as well and helps divide the work between people properly. Passive communication however builds harmony by keeping the conversation more consensual thus keeping everyone happy. This can sometimes become unproductive but makes the process democratic.

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7. Conflict Resolution :
Active Communication makes exchanging ideas just like a conversation in a park thus whenever some misunderstanding tries to creep in there is always a chance to speak up and clear everything up. Passive communication on the other hand keeps the conflict resolution part before the communication has even begun. Speakers take care of potential resolutions for any conflict that can arise.

8. Personality development and growth :

Active communication while having discussions develops interpersonal skills when people communicate their ideas. It makes people more empathetic, and caring about the thoughts of other listeners develops a deeper understanding of them. Passive communication since it is one-sided misses interpersonal growth but improves upon comprehension skills as it requires an understanding of written communication primarily.

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9. Articulation of ideas :

Active communication does not bring the difficulty of articulation to the table since people involved can often paraphrase themselves and get the ideas in sync by iterative approach whereas passive communication requires clear, crisp articulation as well as a progressive mind to pre-empt the challenges that can come in the future. Active communication thus can involve making these attempts beforehand to be effective.

10. Spheres in which both communications are used :

While active communication is a more iterative and hands-on engagement, it is often suited for public speaking when the audience is very small where the engagement can be established between speaker and listener. Passive communication can be much more formal which is often suitable for official purposes like diplomatic channels, writing in a newspaper, communication in an office via email, etc. It is the one which can be looked back and referred to for information. Joining personality grooming classes will help in improving facial expressions and body language.

Active and passive communication are two facets of communication and require complete balance for a dynamic personality. Active communication is useful in places where a deeper understanding of thoughts is the need of the communication. On the other hand, passive communication is a quick way of conveying thoughts but requires an equal level of mastery over your thoughts and the way of articulation. Thus, when a person knows the major points of active vs passive communication and also when and where to use it, it makes the personality cherished as a person who can express, understand well, deliver better, and make life enjoyable.

Originally published at http://sanjeevdatta.website2.me.