that behavior of another—communication is occurring. Communication is our link to the rest of humanity and serves a number of purposes.
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Which of the following quotations, if any, do you find most applicable to your own communication experiences?
Talk and change the world. (Slogan of a group of U.S. senators who happened to be female)
Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill. (Buddha)
We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve. (Bill Gates)
The best way to solve problems and fight against war is through dialogue. (Malala Yousafzai)
Two monologues do not make a dialogue. (Jeff Daly)
What would you say?
Types of Communication
Because our focus is communication, we need to distinguish among the types of communication we use.
During intrapersonal communication, we think about, talk with, learn about, reason with, and evaluate ourselves. We listen and interact with the voice in our head.
When we engage in interpersonal (or dyadic) communication, we interact with another, learn about him or her, and act in ways that help sustain or terminate our relationship.
When we participate in group communication, we interact with a limited number of others, work to share information, develop ideas, make decisions, solve problems, offer support, or have fun. Every person in a group can actively participate with others in the group.
Organizational communication is conducted with larger, more stable collections of people who work together to achieve the organization’s goals. Organizations include corporations, nonprofits, entertainment, sports, health operations, and political, religious, and charitable groups.
Through public communication, we inform others. We also persuade the members of various audiences to hold certain attitudes, values, or beliefs so that they will think, believe, or act in a particular way. We also function as members of different audiences, in which case another person will do the same for us.
During mass communication, the media entertain, inform, and persuade us. Messages are sent to large dispersed audiences using electronic and print media. We, in turn, have the ability to use our viewing and buying habits to influence the media.
When engaged with digital and social media, we navigate cyberspace as we converse, research, exchange ideas, and build relationships with others using computers and the Internet. Social media are more personal than the mass media. The size of the intended audience in social media varies, and the communication itself can be more interactive.
Skill Builder
Communication Self-Assessment and Future Me
Identify five individuals with whom you shared a sustained conversation during the past 7 days. For each person you name, indicate the nature of your relationship (e.g., was the person your instructor, parent, boss, friend, or significant other?), the context in which the interaction occurred (was it a classroom, office, home, or restaurant?), the channel(s) used to communicate the messages that were sent and received (did you communicate face-to face, e-mail, phone, text, or via social media?), and the outcome of the exchange (what happened as a result of your communicating?).
Finally, and this is most important, evaluate your communication effectiveness in each interaction by rating it on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents extremely ineffective and 5 represents extremely effective, giving your reasons for each rating.
Person Context Channel Outcome Rating With Reasons
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
After reviewing your self-evaluations, how would you replay any of the preceding interactions if given the opportunity? Be specific. For example, might you opt not to text while walking down a street with a friend? Would you decide not to answer your phone when dining with a coworker?
If it were up to you, would you opt to increase or decrease the number of online versus face-to-face interactions that you shared? Why?
Essentials of Communication
Whatever the nature or type of communication in which we are involved, the communication act itself is characterized by the interplay of seven elements. All communication interactions have these common elements that together help define the communication process. The better you understand these components, the easier it becomes for you to develop your own communicative abilities. Let’s begin by examining the essentials of communication, those elements present during every communication event.
People
Obviously, human communication involves people. Interpersonal, small-group, and public communication encounters take place between and among all types of senders (people who encode and send out messages) and receivers (people who take in messages and decode). Although it is easy to picture a communication experience beginning with a sender and ending with a receiver, it is important to understand that during communication the role of sender does not belong exclusively to one person and role of receiver to another. Instead, the processes of sending and receiving occur simultaneously. Even if only one person is speaking, others can communicate through facial expression, attentiveness, or raising a hand to ask a question.
Messages
A message is the content of a communicative act. During every communication act, we all send and receive verbal and nonverbal messages. What you talk about, the words you use to express your thoughts and feelings, the sounds you make, the way you sit and gesture, your facial expressions, and perhaps even your touch or your smell all communicate information.
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Some messages we send are private (a kiss accompanied by “I love you”); others are public and may be directed at hundreds or thousands of people. We send some messages purposefully (“I want you to know. . .”) and others accidentally (“I had no clue you were watching . . . or ‘lurking’”).
Everything a sender or receiver does or says is a potential message as long as someone is there to interpret it.
Channels
Channels
