Nature of Communication

What is Communication?
The word ‘communication’ comes from the Latin word ‘communis’, which means ‘commons’. To be
common means “to come together” or “to commune”- “to share something in common”.
Communication is the process of exchanging ideas, thoughts, feelings and emotions from one person to
another with the use of symbols which may be verbal and/or non-verbal.
Why study Communication?
1. To understand ourselves as social being
2. To understand ourselves as a person
3. To gain professional competence
4. To preserve cultural values
Elements of Communication
1. Sender -is the one who initiates the communication
2. Receiver -provides the sender with feedback which may prompt the sender to clarify the message
or signal to carry on as planned.
3. Message -is made up of the ideas and feelings that a sender-receiver wants to share with others.
Message can be expressed through:
 Verbal symbols – express through words
 Non-Verbal symbols – express through gestures, inflection, tone, etc.
4. Channel -are means through which we transmit the message in either vocal or non-vocal
messages.
 Vocal messages– are verbal and spoken
 Non-vocal messages– may be expressed in words or non-verbal symbols
5. Feedback -the behavioral response of the sender-receiver to each other. It is the information
that comes back to the sender of the message and informs how well the message is getting
through.
6. Noise -an interference that bars the message from being understood or interpreted. The two
main kinds of Noise are:
 External noise– comes from the physical environment
 Internal Noise– confined within the psychological and sociological nature of individuals
when thoughts and feelings are engrossed on something other than the communication
at hand.
7. Context -refers to the surrounding/environment that helps shape the interaction between
and/or among individuals. The three main kinds of contexts are:
 Physical context– the physical environment where the communication takes place
 Social context– refers to the relationship the participants hold for each other.
  Psychological context– which has to do with the mood and emotions of the
communicators at the moment of communication.
Types of Communication
Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Public, Mass Communication, Technology-Mediated
1. Intrapersonal Communication -operates within the communicator: what to wear for the day,
what activities to engage in, reflecting different situations, talking to oneself
2. Interpersonal Communication -occurs between two or more people. Private conversations with
friends, interview with prospective employer, simple group meeting. The two main types of
interpersonal communication are:
 Face-to-face Interaction -is a conversation between two people which usually occurs in
an informal interaction. This interaction provides a great deal of feedback as compared
to other types of communication.
 Small Group Communication-occurs when each member or participant speaks out or is
actively participating in the process to come up with a consensus. Degree of formality
may range from intimate to formal
3. Public Communication -an enlarged form of group communication that involves a resource
person addressing a specific audience. The speaker or the resource person has a message about
a certain topic which he/she has prepared beforehand and delivers it before an audience.
Feedback is limited.
4. Mass Communication -has highly structured messages and able to reach a larger number of
audiences at the same time through the use of electronic devices or print media like newspapers
and magazines.
5. Technology-Mediated Communication -from electronic emails, texting, instant messaging, social
networking, tweeting, blogs and video conferencing-they all share one thing in common.
 TOP 10 BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
In the lexicon of communication, barriers refer to specific items that can distort or prevent
communication within an organization. Anything that hinders the process of communication at any level
is a barrier to effective communication.
1. Physical Barriers
In the last few years, various research and scientific observations have proven physical barriers
to be the biggest hindrance to effective communication in the workplace. This is the reason why
hundreds of organizations have completely re-structured the way they operate. Large
multinational firms, like Unilever and Procter & Gamble, no longer have managers and executives
behind closed doors or in giant secluded offices. They have a more of an open floor way of
operating where all the managers, employees and directors of the company operate in an open
space with tables sticking side by side and people working face to face in a large wall-less room.

2. Cultural Diversity
Now that the world has openly embraced globalization, you find yourself working in different
countries, with different races of people and sometimes very different cultural and moral
backgrounds. In some countries, religion is considered the ultimate guiding force in the
workplace while in others it’s personal goals. Hence, diversified culture makes it very hard to
maintain a proper working environment. This is why companies tend to promote “organization
culture”, a unique company environment, morals and rules that all members of the organization
must follow and happily accept. Any employee who doesn’t fit into the culture eventually is out
of the company either by choice or force.

3. Language Barriers
Just like diversified culture, you end up working with people speaking different languages. An
Arab (speaking Arabic) might visit India (language: Hindi) for his company’s Raw Materials supply.
Here, there will be a lot of distortion and misinterpretation even in direct contact between the
two people.

4. Limited Or No Feedback
Sometimes people send messages and information that do not require feedback or do not allow
it. Here if the information is misrepresented or misinterpreted, then there is no way to clear the
doubt the receiver has about the message and hence, unable to properly comply.
5. Emotional Distractions
Emotions play a big role in effective communication. People can be shy, confident or just plain
blunt and may not allow full or honest feedback to the receiver. Sometimes people are good
listeners but because of the emotion in the tone the manager or a higher authority exerted, the
employee feels he does not have the authority or confidence to reply back.

6. Distractions
Imagine yourself in a meeting, you are discussing important strategies for the company and there
are people arguing outside the room, or maybe there is a game on and people are all gathered
together. Such noise and distractions create distortions in effectively conveying messages to the
receiver while the sender gets distracted.

7. Personal Behavior
People have their own attitudes, quirks and perceptions of things. Some people just don’t bother
spending too much time in conveying messages and expect people to just understand. Such
behavior can be a serious barrier in communication.

8. Information Overload
Sometimes going into too much detail can also be a distortion. You should try to keep the
messages simple, plain and to the point with hard facts. That is the best form of effective
communication.

9. Presentation
The way a message is represented is crucial. If a “Stop” sign on the middle of a road were not on
laminated material or was too small or didn’t have the word STOP, people would have to spend
too much time figuring out what the sign meant and that time is simply wasted. It could also
mislead.

10. The Medium

Finally, the medium of communication must be as short as possible. Like in the previous example
of the CEO, if the medium of communication is too long and takes too much time, then the
message is likely to be late and loose significance. Use direct e-mails, memos or direct contact
instead.

Adapted from: http://delfiugoconsulting.com/top-10-barriers-to-effective-communication/