Four Types of Communication Communication is exchanging information in the form of messages, symbols, thoughts, signs and opinions.
There are many different types of communication, depending on the medium used for communication or the way in which information is exchanged. Let us discuss the basic four types of communication. Communication of information, messages, opinions, speech and thoughts can be done via different forms of modern communication media, like, e-mail, telephone and mobile. Some of the basic ways of communication are by speaking, singing, sign language, body language, touch and eye contact.These basic ways of communication are used to transfer information from one entity to other.
There are many different types of communication but they can be classified into four basic types of communication. These four types of communication are as follows: Verbal Communication Verbal communication includes sounds, words, language and speaking. Language is said to have originated from sounds and gestures. There are many languages spoken in the world. The bases of language formation are: gender, class, profession, geographical area, age group and other social elements.Speaking is an effective way of communicating and is again classified into two types viz.
interpersonal communication and public speaking. Good verbal communication is an inseparable part of business communication. In a business, you come across people from various ages, cultures and races. Fluent verbal communication is essential to deal with people in business meetings. Also, in business communication self-confidence plays a vital role which when clubbed with fluent communication skills can lead to success. Public speaking is another verbal communication in which you have to address a group of people.
Preparing for an effective speech before you start is important. In public speaking, the speech must be prepared according to the type of audience you are going to face. The content of your your speech should be authentic and you must have enough information on the topic you have chosen for public speaking. All the main points in your speech must be highlighted and these points should be delivered in the correct order.
There are many public speaking techniques and these techniques must be practiced for an effective speech. Non-Verbal CommunicationNon-verbal communication involves physical ways of communication, like, tone of the voice, touch, smell and body motion. Creative and aesthetic non-verbal communication includes singing, music, dancing and sculpturing. Symbols and sign language are also included in non-verbal communication. Body language is a non-verbal way of communication. Body posture and physical contact convey a lot of information.
Body posture matters a lot when you are communicating verbally to someone. Folded arms and crossed legs are some of the signals conveyed by a body posture.Physical contact, like, shaking hands, pushing, patting and touching expresses the feeling of intimacy. Facial expressions, gestures and eye contact are all different ways of communication.
Reading facial expressions can help you know a person better. Written Communication Written communication is writing the words which you want to communicate. Good written communication is essential for business purposes. Written communication is practiced in many different languages.
E-mails, reports, articles and memos are some of the ways of using written communication in business.The written communication can be edited and amended many times before it is communicated to the second party to whom the communication is intended. This is one of the main advantages of using writing as the major means of communication in business activity. Written communication is used not only in business but also for informal communication purposes. Mobile SMS is an example of informal written communication. Visual communication The last type of communication out of the four types of communication, is the visual communication.
Visual communication is visual display of information, like, topography, photography, signs, symbols and designs. Television and video clips are the electronic form of visual communication. These are the four types of communication. The different types of communication media are increasing day by day to ensure clarity and eliminate the ambiguity in communication.
Active listening is a way of listening and responding to another person that improves mutual understanding. Often when people talk to each other, they don=t listen attentively.They are often distracted, half listening, half thinking about something else. When people are engaged in a conflict, they are often busy formulating a response to what is being said. They assume that they have heard what their opponent is saying many times before, so rather than paying attention, they focus on how they can respond to win the argument.
Active listening is a structured form of listening and responding that focuses the attention on the speaker. The listener must take care to attend to the speaker fully, and then repeats, in the listener=s own words, what he or she thinks the speaker has said.The listener does not have to agree with the speaker--he or she must simply state what they think the speaker said. This enables the speaker to find out whether the listener really understood. If the listener did not, the speaker can explain some more.
Often, the listener is encouraged to interpret the speaker=s words in terms of feelings. Thus, instead of just repeating what happened, the active listener might add AI gather that you felt angry or frustrated or confused when@. . . [a particular event happened].
Then the speaker can go beyond confirming that the listener understood what happened, but can indicate that he or she also understood the speaker=s psychological response to it. Active listening has several benefits. First, it forces people to listen attentively to others. Second, it avoids misunderstandings, as people have to confirm that they do really understand what another person has said.
Third, it tends to open people up, to get them to say more. When people are in conflict, they often contradict each other, denying the opponent=s description of a situation.This tends to make people defensive, and they will either lash out, or withdraw and say nothing more. However, if they feel that their opponent is really attuned to their concerns and wants to listen, they are likely to explain in detail what they feel and why. If both parties to a conflict do this, the chances of being able to develop a solution to their mutual problem becomes much greater Communication Barriers - Reasons for Communication Breakdown Communication is a process beginning with a sender who encodes the message and passes it through some channel to the receiver who decodes the message.Communication is fruitful if and only if the messages sent by the sender is interpreted with same meaning by the receiver.
If any kind of disturbance blocks any step of communication, the message will be destroyed. Due to such disturbances, managers in an organization face severe problems. Thus the managers must locate such barriers and take steps to get rid of them. There are several barriers that affects the flow of communication in an organization. These barriers interrupt the flow of communication from the sender to the reciever, thus making communication ineffective.
It is essential for managers to overcome these barriers. The main barriers of communication are summarized below. Following are the main communication barriers: 1. Perceptual and Language Differences: Perception is generally how each individual interprets the world around him.
All generally want to receive messages which are significant to them. But any message which is against their values is not accepted. A same event may be taken differently by different individuals. For example : A person is on leave for a month due to personal reasons (family member being critical).
The HR Manager might be in confusion whether to retain that employee or not, the immediate manager might think of replacement because his teams productivity is being hampered, the family members might take him as an emotional support. The linguistic differences also lead to communication breakdown. Same word may mean different to different individuals. For example: consider a word “value”.
a. What is the value of this Laptop? b. I value our relation? c. What is the value of learning technical skills? “Value” means different in different sentences.Communication breakdown occurs if there is wrong perception by the receiver.
2. Information Overload: Managers are surrounded with a pool of information. It is essential to control this information flow else the information is likely to be misinterpreted or forgotten or overlooked. As a result communication is less effective. 3. Inattention: At times we just not listen, but only hear.
For example a traveler may pay attention to one “NO PARKING” sign, but if such sign is put all over the city, he no longer listens to it. Thus, repetitive messages should be ignored for effective communication.Similarly if a superior is engrossed in his paper work and his subordinate explains him his problem, the superior may not get what he is saying and it leads to disappointment of subordinate. 4.
Time Pressures: Often in organization the targets have to be achieved within a specified time period, the failure of which has adverse consequences. In a haste to meet deadlines, the formal channels of communication are shortened, or messages are partially given, i. e. , not completely transferred.
Thus sufficient time should be given for effective communication. 5. Distraction/Noise: Communication is also affected a lot by noise to distractions.Physical distractions are also there such as, poor lightning, uncomfortable sitting, unhygienic room also affects communication in a meeting. Similarly use of loud speakers interferes with communication. 6.
Emotions: Emotional state at a particular point of time also affects communication. If the receiver feels that communicator is angry he interprets that the information being sent is very bad. While he takes it differently if the communicator is happy and jovial (in that case the message is interpreted to be good and interesting). 7.
Complexity in Organizational Structure: Greater the hierarchy in an organization (i. . more the number of managerial levels), more is the chances of communication getting destroyed. Only the people at the top level can see the overall picture while the people at low level just have knowledge about their own area and a little knowledge about other areas. 8. Poor retention: Human memory cannot function beyond a limit.
One cant always retain what is being told specially if he is not interested or not attentive. This leads to communication breakdown. The definition of business communication has taken a whole new meaning in today's environment with technology, virtual teams, horizontal sharing etc.Business communication is performed by relaying information to people throughout the organization in many different ways. Some of these methods include the phone, email, and in person. All methods have different factors to whether or not they are effective.
The definition of business communication includes all departments, staff, clients, and people involved are aware of what is going on and there is no confusion. Communication is one of the most important factors in any organization or relationship. Without communication, things do not work properly and can be mixed up.When you can communicate properly in a business then things run smoothly and there is no confusion.
Today, technology has allowed for many outlets and highways of communication to take place through the use of cell phones, pagers, email, and even holding old fashioned meetings. Cell phones are one of the most common forms of business communication today. Most companies provide cell phones for their employees and they require them to carry them on and off the job. This allows people to be available when they are off the clock if there is an emergency and they need to be called in.This form of communication is good to be able to get in touch with someone but when you have an important topic to discuss, it is best it is not done over the phone. When it comes to updating the defintion of business communication, email communication would be a standard item to be added.
Email has become one of the most common forms of business communication. There's a set of norms and ethics that come with email communication, considering that it eliminates the interpreation of body language, tone and gestures. An email is a conveyd message that allows interpretations if it is not clearly stated.At the same time an email is an official document that can be saved and used pro or against you.
It is best if you never delete an email from a client or other staff members. This is because you can use it later to refer back to if you need to. Also, email is required to backed up for a business for up to 7 years for legality purposes. Email provides a copy and proof that something was said to you. If you have an agreement through email it can hold up in court. One thing to keep in mind is that if you need to speak to someone about something that is serious it is not always best to use email.
There are certain rules about business communication through email that you must learn also. For example, using capital letters in a sentence can be construed as you screaming at the other person. Although you may not mean anything of the sort, many people follow these guidelines for email. Speaking to someone in person is the best method of business communication. Technology has allowed you to communicate with people around the world through other methods to save company money. However, when you speak to someone in person it is more certain that there will not be any misunderstanding when you walk away from the conversation.
Today, you can set up a web conference if you want to meet with someone in person on the other side of the world. This still allows you to have face-to-face meetings without being in the same room. The defintion of business communication has many forms and many different methods with a company. The goal is to relay a message to another person successfully without there being any confusion about what you mean.
Misunderstandings occur all of the time and some people are easily offended. It is important to be aware of issues that might arise with attitudes and the way messages
