Journal of critical reviews 697 Journal of Critical Reviews ISSN- 2394-5125 Vol 7, Issue 12, 2020 THE EFFECTS OF VERBAL COMMUNICATION BEHAVIORS ON COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY Zulhamri Abdullah¹*, Tham Yee Ling², Nuzatul Shima Sulaiman³, Ras Afirina Mohd Radzi  , Kinkin Y. S. Putri  ¹²³⁴Department of Communication, Faculty of Modern Language and Communication Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia. ⁵Program Studi Ilmu Komunikasi, Fakultas Ilmu Sosial, Universitas Negeri Jakarta Received: 16.03.2020 Revised: 18.04.2020 Accepted: 19.05.2020 Abstract Making a smart decision requires effective verbal communication. Communication is crucial in different contexts, particularly in an organization. This is because face-to-face and oral communications are still the gold standards in communication abilities. The drawback is that it is prone to all communication problems, such as miscommunication, communication barriers, and challenges in the respective competencies. Therefore, this study aims to identify these communication behaviors that are learned socially and taken place in a leading cosmetic company in Malaysia. This study is guided by the interpersonal skill model to examine the relationship between verbal communication behaviors and communication competence in the workplace. The objectives of this study are to identify the effects of verbal communication behaviors on communication competencies of these behaviors based on the workplace communication behavior inventory, communication competency instruments measured communication competency. Using a simple random sampling method, 277 usable responses were collected. The information-sharing factor was found to be the most commonly practiced verbal communication behavior subscale. Thus, this paper contributes to the existing literature on interpersonal skill model by showing that the importance of communication competence and its relationship with verbal communication behaviors in the pharmaceutical industry Keywords: Verbal Communication behaviour, communication competent, pharmaceutical industry © 2020 by Advance Scientific Research. This is an open-access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.31838/jcr.07.12.125 INTRODUCTION Communication is crucial in different contexts, particularly in a cultural diversity workplace [1]. It enables employees in an organization to interact and work effectively and efficiently. According to [2], the mass usage of new technology in the workplace, global nature of organizing and the changing person- organization relationship also emphasize the importance of communication in the workplace as this contributed to the accomplishments at work. Communication behavior consists of acts, interacts, and double interacts behaviors that work together to achieve conversational goals [3]. Therefore, it is captivating to identify these communication behaviors that are learned socially and taken place in any business organization. Looking at the importance of communication at work, competency and effectiveness in business communication have been receiving considerable attention from scholars. Numerous studies have conducted on communication competence on human-computer interaction, marketing, gerontology, intuitional aspects, conflicts management [4] and entrepreneurial skills [5]. Communication competence is described as an individual's capability and willingness to responsibly take part in a transaction to maximize the results of shared meaning [6]. In such a dynamic and fast-moving working environment, it is interesting that most of the daily operational tasks in a leading cosmetic company are based on individuality and human communication. It can be seen clearly that effective communication in the workplace plays a vital role in reaching success in the workplace, and this is depending on the capability of employees' communication skills. Several scholars [7], [8], [9], [10], [11] have conducted similar studies on communication competency via cognitive approach, but little has ventured into the behavioral approach. The research identifies such a gap in the knowledge of studying effective communication behavior in the workplace. Does the researcher also wish to determine what exactly the verbal communication behaviors that take place in this company on an everyday basis are? And to what extent are these communication behaviors contributed in terms of the communication competency among the employees in the organization. In this study, the verbal communication behaviors are categorized into four subcategories based on the workplace communication behavior inventory [11] namely: information sharing that includes persons seek information and can answer questions; relational maintenance that involves persons like to talk and enjoy jokes; expressing negative emotion refers to persons often express their grievances and always complaint; and lastly organizing encompassing persons like to prioritize works and manage others. By breaking down the daily communication behaviors into these four subscales, it will provide a more unobstructed bird eye view on the importance of verbal communication behaviors, and allow the evaluation of the corresponding communication competency. Hence, this study aims at identifying the effects of verbal communication behaviors on communication competencies in a leading cosmetic company. LITERATURE REVIEW The term "communication" is originated from the Latin words communicate (meaning to 'share' or 'impart') and 'communis' ('share in common') [12]. In short, communication emphasizes how people utilize messages to create meanings within and across various contexts, cultures, channels, and media to achieve the primary goal – understanding [13]. Verbal communication refers to the use of sounds and language to relay a message or to express, especially in contrast to using gestures or mannerisms [14]. There are several goals to be achieved in a communication process. Communication goals vary across individuals [13]; it is generally summarized into three