What is communication?

COMM 101
 What is communication?
• Communication is one of those human
activities that everyone recognizes.
• Communication is talking to one another, it is
television, it is spreading information, it is our
hair style, it is literary criticism: the list is
endless.
 What is communication?
• Communication is the activity of conveying
information through the exchange of
thoughts, messages, or information, as by
speech, visuals, signals, writing, or behaviour.
• Communication is ‘any act by which one
person gives to or receives from another
person information about that person's
needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge, or
affective states’.
 What is communication?
• Communication is sharing information, whether in
writing or orally.
• The act of communicating draws on several
interpersonal and intrapersonal skills. These include
speaking, listening, observing, questioning,
processing, analyzing and evaluating.
• W.H. Newman and C.F. Summer Jr. defines
communication as, “Communication is an exchange
of facts, ideas, opinions, or emotions by two or
more persons”.
 What is communication?
• All communication involves signs and codes. Signs
are artefacts or acts that refer to something other
than themselves; that is, they are signifying
constructs. Codes are the systems into which signs
are organized and which determine how signs may
be related to each other.
• These signs and codes are transmitted or made
available to others: and that transmitting or
receiving signs/codes/communication is the practice
of social relationships.
 What is communication?
• Communication is central to the life of our
culture: without it culture of any kind must
die. Consequently the study of communication
involves the study of the culture with which it
is integrated.
• The general definition of communication as
‘social interaction through messages’.
• Communication is essential for life process.
 What is communication?
• The communication as the transmission of
messages. It is concerned with how senders
and receivers encode and decode, with how
transmitters use the channels and media of
communication.
• It is concerned with matters like efficiency and
accuracy. It sees communication as a process
by which one person affects the behaviour or
state of mind of another.
 What is communication?
• Communication: is the transmission of
information, ideas, attitudes or emotion from
one person or group to another or others
primarily through symbols.
 What is communication?
• According to Adler and Towne (1978), all that
ever has been accomplished by humans and
all that ever will be accomplished involves
communication with others.
• Many social and organizational problems
derive from unsatisfactory relationships
brought about by inadequate communication
between people.
 What is communication?
• Adler and Towne describe communication as a
process between at least two people that begins
when one person wants to communicate with
another.
• Communication originates as mental images
within a person who desires to convey those
images to another. Mental images can include
ideas, thoughts, pictures, and emotions. The
person who wants to communicate is called the
sender.
 What is communication?
• The importance of Communication:
• The world without communication is
unthinkable.
• Communication is essential for human
relationship and progress.
 What is communication?
• To transfer an image to another person, the
sender first must transpose or translate the
images into symbols that receivers can
understand. Symbols often are words but can
be pictures, sounds, or sense information
(e.g., touch or smell).
 What is communication?
• The communication as the production and exchange of
meanings. It is concerned with how messages, or texts,
interact with people in order to produce meanings; that is,
it is concerned with the role of texts in our culture.
• It uses terms like signification, and does not consider
misunderstandings to be necessarily evidence of
communication failure—they may result from cultural
differences between sender and receiver.
• The study of communication is the study of text and
culture. The main method of study is semiotics (the
science of signs and meanings)
 What is communication?
• According to G.G. Brown, Communication is
transfer of information from one person to
another, whether or not it elicits confidence.
But the information transferred must be
understandable to the receiver.
• According to Fred G. Meyer, Communication
is the intercourse by words, letters or
messages.
 What is communication?
• Communication is giving, receiving or
exchanging ideas, information, signals or
messages through appropriate media,
enabling individuals or groups to persuade, to
seek information, to give information or to
express emotions.
• It includes body-language, skills of speaking
and writing.
What is communication?
 What is communication?
• The communication has been defined as the act of
giving, receiving or exchanging information, ideas
and opinions so that the message is completely
understood by both parties.
• The sender sends a message with a certain
intention in mind. The receiver of the message tries
to understand and interpret the message sent. He
then gives feedback to the original sender, who in
turn interprets the feedback. This process, repeated
continuously, constitutes communication.
 What is communication?
• There are several major elements in the
communication process- a sender, message,
channel, receiver, feedback, context.
• There is both a speaker’s intention to convey a
message and a listener’s reception of what has
been said. Thus, listening skills are just as
important as speaking skills in order for
communication to be effective.
 What is communication?
• What factors are affecting the commnucation?
• 1. Status/Role: The sender and receiver of a
message may be of equal status within a
hierarchy (e.g. managers in an organisation) or
they may be at different levels (e.g.
manager/employee, lecturer/student, business
owner/clients). This difference in status
sometimes affects the effectiveness of the
communication process.
 What is communication?
• 2. Cultural Differences: Cultural differences,
both within or outside the organisation (for
example, inter-departmental dealings and
communication with outside organisations or
ethnic minorities) may impede the
communication process
 What is communication?
• 3. Choice of Communication Channels: Before
you choose your communication channel, you
should ask yourself whether the channel is
appropriate for a particular purpose and the
person/receiver you have in mind. Sending
messages via inappropriate channels can send
out wrong signals and end up creating
confusion.
 What is communication?
• 4. Length of Communication: The length of
the message also affects the communication
process. You need to be sure that it serves the
purpose and is appropriate for the receiver. Is
the message too long or too brief?
• 5. Use of Language: Poor choice of words or
weak sentence structure also hampers
communication. The same goes for
inappropriate punctuation
 What is communication?
• 6. Disabilities Disabilities such as impaired
sight, dyslexia and poor mental health can also
be barriers to good communication, and
should be taken into consideration when
evaluating the effectiveness of the
communication process. You may need to use
hearing aids, sign language, magnifying
systems, and symbols to alleviate problems
caused by disabilities.
 What is communication?
• 7. Known or Unknown Receiver: Whether the
receiver is known or unknown to you also plays a
major role in determining the effectiveness of your
communication. A known receiver may be better
able to understand your message despite having
insufficient information as both of you probably
have common experiences and a shared schemata.
An unknown receiver, on the other hand, may
require more information and time to decode the
message.
 What is communication?
• 8. Individual Perceptions/Attitudes/Personalities
Sometimes, the method of communication needs to
take into consideration the receiver’s personality
traits, age and preferred style. The elderly and
children, for example, have different communication
needs and preferences when compared to young
adults. Is the receiver of your message a visual,
auditory, or kinesthetic sort of person? How do you
think they will react to your message? Can you
adapt your communication style to suit theirs?
What is communication?
 What is communication?
• Verbal communication is refers to the form of
communication in which message is
transmitted verbally
• Verbal communication is done by words,
mouth or a piece of writing.
• The aim of each communication is to have
people understood what we are trying to say.
 What is communication?
• Nonverbal communication is the transfer of
information through the use of body language
including eye contact, facial expressions,
gesture, posture, tone of voice etc...
• It can be through signs and symbols.
 What is communication?
• Written Communication: It includes writing
through letters, posters, manuals, bulletins...
• It is formal type of communication.
What is communication?
 What is communication?
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