with people.
TOWARDS A DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION
There are numerous definitions of communication in the Oxford English Dictionary. So where should we begin? Before pinning it down to specific definitions, let’s begin by looking at what we understand, within the broader context, communication to be.
| WRITING ACTIVITY 1.1 |
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1 Jot down your own understanding of what the term ‘communication’ means.
2 Based on what you have jotted down, try to shape those ideas into a working definition.
Creating a succinct definition that takes into account everything you have noted is difficult and you could try to compare your notes with what your fellow students have written. Are there any comparisons to be made or are your definitions completely different?
My definition of communication
My initial list of what the term ‘communication’ means was very long. It is what this whole book is all about but, when I came to determine my own definition, my thoughts immediately focused on the notion that communication is about any interaction we have with others. This seemed nice and simple on the surface but as I started to tease the definition out I found several issues that needed to be worked through. The use of the word ‘any’ creates difficulty for me in exploring what I want to focus on and the use of the word ‘others’ over-complicates things too.
‘Others’ could be animals or other living things. I have been known to share my innermost thoughts with my cat (thank goodness he cannot repeat these to other people) and I have been seen talking to plants and vegetables in the garden. At the time of writing I am talking to my computer, not that it ever responds, and perhaps that is the key. I decided to keep my definition simple and, in the context of this book, I define it to be any interaction that takes place between people.
Even though I have tried to keep it simple my definition is still very complicated. Our interactions don’t just take place face to face, they take place on many different levels and we use a variety of different methods and many modes of delivery in getting our message across. So, the rider to my definition is that ‘communication’ is a very difficult term to pin down to one simple statement. When studying definitions of communication it is important to remember that definitions reflect the interest and background of the person making the definition, and may also reflect their perceptions and experiences, so, therefore, their definition is not necessarily true in every context.
How do we communicate?
So my next thoughts turn to the question of how we communicate. I have no doubt that you have considered this in your response to the writing activity. Communication can be anything from a personal text message from a friend, to a public advertisement on the side of a bus. It might be as simple as a smile or something as technically complicated as a piece of software for a computer. Thinking about methods and modes and channels of communication is an important aspect of understanding what we mean by communication and this is explored further later in this chapter.
When we come to study communication it quickly becomes clear just how complex a phenomenon it is, even though we all engage in it from the minute that we are conceived. On a personal level we communicate with the world around us by the things that we say, the way that we say them, and the things that we do and the way that do them. It can be the clothes we wear, how we style our hair, the way we walk, the way we talk, the way we behave, and how we demonstrate our attitude to life. Communication is all of these things and much more.
Communication, values and wellbeing
Communication affects the way we feel about ourselves as well as the way we feel about others. According to Littlejohn and Foss (2005), how we communicate is associated with “personal values”, with our “culture” and how we “value others” as well as ourselves. We live in a multicultural society and we cannot just consider how we communicate (meaning ourselves within our own cultural group) – we must consider others and how they communicate too. The NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework that you read earlier makes it quite clear that Communication (Core Dimension 1) is very closely linked with Equality and Diversity (Core Dimension 6). The Common Core of skills and knowledge for the Children’s Workforce also makes it clear that communication is closely linked with ethical practice and respect for ourselves and others.
Psychologists study communication and have argued that at every age and stage of our lives communication is fundamental to our very being. We all have different levels at which we feel comfortable communicating but we all need to do so to keep us well and functioning (West and Turner, 2007). According to Bowlby (1969) and Crowley and Hunter (2005), in situations where human beings are isolated and consequently forced into non-communication, their mental and physical health deteriorate. In tiny babies non-communication can lead to very severe consequences and be life threatening (Bowlby, 1969).
I am confident that as a result of the writing activity above you are now aware of just how big a subject communication is and, as our main focus is interpersonal skills and communicating with others, perhaps you are now able to summarise this discussion and, as a result, would like to review your own definition before moving on to look at the definitions of others.
Definitions in academic study
In academic study it is always more useful to explore subject-specific definitions or, at least, definitions written by scholars within a particular discipline. Take the following definition, for example. Wood (2004) defines communication as “a process in which individuals interact with and through symbols to create and interpret meaning”. On the surface this could be viewed simply as a collection of words but there are many levels on which you can explore this definition. Let us look at those words and how Wood explains her perceptions and understanding of what communication is. The definition uses the word ‘process’, which is commonly understood to be a series of actions or activities that produce something. The word ‘individuals’ suggests not just communicating with oneself but also with others. So communication, according to this definition, is about taking part or sharing actions with another person or with a group of people.
Symbols
Wood (2004) suggests that we use ‘symbols’ in our communication with ourselves and with others and that we ‘create’ and ‘interpret meaning’ through those symbols. This throws another interesting perspective into the definition. ‘Symbols’ are things that represent something else. They can be in the form of a material object, such as your country’s national flag, or they could be in the form of a symbolic action such as a gesture.
Alongside this idea we need to put the notion that we then ‘create’ and ‘interpret meanings’ from such symbolism, either through a shared activity or via our own internal understanding. That seems relatively simple but the creation and interpretation of symbols can present us with all sorts of difficulty because symbols can be interpreted differently by different people and their use in communication can be a little precarious.
| REFLECTION 1.1 |
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1 Have in front of you a small piece of paper, approximately 2 inches by 3 inches (5cm by 7.5cm), and colour it in red. Paint, felt tip or crayon will do nicely. Look at that piece of red paper. Does it mean anything to you?
2 Now imagine yourself holding that small piece of red paper above your
