Definitions and Types of Communication
This article introduces you to communication and its various dimensions of it. This is another vital component that determines your success or failure in life. Your ability to communicate clearly and effectively is a significant bedrock for success in life, work, and in society.
According to Kuhnke (2013: 1) no matter how innovative your ideas, how sincere your feelings are, or how passionate your beliefs are, if you fail to connect with other people and communicate in a way that persuades, inspires, or motivates, your efforts will be in vain.
The world in which you live, function, and relate with others requires effective communication. If you observe your environment very well, you will notice that several people find it challenging to communicate effectively.
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This limits them in virtually every area of their lives and hinders progress in their endeavors. The ability to communicate clearly and effectively facilitates understanding and engenders intimacy. Therefore, you must develop and successfully apply communication skills.
Effective communication is learned. If you do not work on it, it will not work for you. In the words of Kuhnke, communication works for those who work at it. Communicating effectively is not a given. You must make conscious and concerted efforts to understand, develop and apply communication skills in your entire academic journey and beyond.
Definitions of Communication
Communication is a common word that connotes different meanings to different people. What comes to your mind when you are faced with the question: what is communication? Your answer might be, communication is the exchange of ideas or thoughts or information.
Communication involves the transfer or sharing of ideas, between two or more people. This is defining communication in very simple terms. The Captain‘s announcement as the aircraft is preparing to land, the teacher in the classroom discussing information storage in the 21st century and the Nurse discussing birth control methods with nursing mothers are all sharing thoughts, ideas, and information.
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In other words, they are communicating. As you are reading this text, I am sharing with you my knowledge, thoughts, and information on this subject of communication. The word communication derives from Latin, which means to share or common. It belongs to the family of words that includes communion, communism, and community. Until you have shared information with another person, you have not communicated it.
Arising from this premise, the Entrepreneur Handbook (2019: np) sees communication as the sharing of information between different individuals. It includes the sharing of ideas, concepts, imaginations, behaviors, and written content. It is simply defined as the transfer of information from one place to another. This transfer of information can be conducted in different ways.
Therefore, the sharing or exchange of information between persons or systems forms the root of every communication. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2009: np) defines communication as a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior.
It is the sending and receiving of information from one point to another or between two or more persons. According to Ojomo (2004: 78), communication is the sharing of ideas, feelings, thoughts, information, and messages with others.
Looking through the various definitions, the authors are agreed on the meaning of communication. It involves sharing or exchange. Communication binds humans together. Davito (2012: 1) writes that of all the knowledge and skills you have, those concerning communication are among the most important and useful.
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Your communication ability will influence how effectively you live your personal and professional life; it will influence your effectiveness as a friend and lover. It will often make the difference between getting a job and not getting it.
Your communication skills will determine your influence and effectiveness as a group member and your emergence as a group leader. Your communication skills will increase your ability to communicate information and influence the attitudes and behaviors of others in a variety of public speaking situations.
Communication is essential in your life, studies, career, and general interaction with others. Every activity of your life, career, or pursuit involves communication. Communication is a bridge that connects people, places, and/or machines.
The world and all its systems cannot exist without one form of communication or the other. In fact, without communication, the world is flat, motionless, and uninteresting. Communication is vital to the advancement of our environment and society in general.
Effective communication helps students or employees eliminate confusion and turn every member into a valuable team player. However, when employees communicate poorly, whole projects fall apart‖ (Zook, 2019: np).
The National Planning on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) (2019: 7) writes that the success of a leader, manager, teacher, or any professional depends on his/her ability to communicate. Success is directly proportionate to one’s ability to communicate. Communication failures, especially in a professional context, are very costly because they can affect productivity.”
Types of Communication
There are several forms of communication which can be formal or informal. This includes:
- Verbal communication
- Non-verbal communication
- Intrapersonal communication
- Interpersonal communication
- Mass communication
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