Communication
Communication is the process of sharing information. In a simplistic form information is sent from a sender or encoder to a receiver or decoder. In a more complex form feedback links a sender to a receiver. This requires a symbolic activity, sometimes via a language. Communication is based on the idea of respect, promises, and the want for social improvement. Specialised fields focus on various aspects of communication, and include the following:
Nonetheless, communication is usually described along three major dimensions:
With the presence of "communication noise" these three components of communication often become skewed and inaccurate. Between parties, communication content include acts that declare knowledge and experiences, give advice and commands, and ask questions. These acts may take many forms, including gestures (nonverbal communication, sign language and body language), writing, and speech. The form depends on the symbol systems used. Together, communication content and form make messages that are sent towards a destination. The target can be oneself, another person (in interpersonal communication), or another entity (such as a corporation or group).
A particular instance of communication is called a speech act. A speech act typically follows a variation of logical means of delivery. The most common of these, and perhaps the best, is the dialogue. The dialogue is a form of communication where both the parties are involved in sending information. There are many other forms of communication but the reason the dialogue is good is because the dialogue lends itself to clearer communication due to feedback. (Feedback being encoded information, either verbal or nonverbal, sent back to the original sender (now the receiver) and then decoded.)
There are many theories of communication, and a commonly held assumption is that communication must be directed towards another person or entity. This essentially ignores intrapersonal communication (note intra-, not inter-) via diaries or self-talk.
There are many different areas of communication.A few are: nonverbal communication, verbal communication, and symbolic communication. Nonverbal communication deals with facial expressions and body motions. 93% of “emotional meaning” we take from other people is found in the person’s facial expressions and tone of voice, the other 7% is taken from what the person actually says (More Than Talk). Verbal communication is when we communicate our message verbally to whoever is receiving the message. Symbolic communications are the things that we have given meaning to and that represent a certain idea we have in place, for example, the American flag is a symbols that represent freedom.
Interpersonal conversation can occur in dyads and groups of various sizes, and the size of the group impacts the nature of the talk. Small-group communication takes place in settings of between three and 12 individuals, and differs from large group interaction in companies or communities. This form of communication formed by a dyad and larger is sometimes referred to as the psychological model of communication where in a message is sent by a sender through channel to a receiver. At the largest level, mass communication describes messages sent to huge numbers of individuals through mass media, although there is debate if this is an interpersonal conversation.
Communication is also the name for the academic discipline which studies communication.
The next lesson will be on zonal marking
Communication is the process of sharing information. In a simplistic form information is sent from a sender or encoder to a receiver or decoder. In a more complex form feedback links a sender to a receiver. This requires a symbolic activity, sometimes via a language. Communication is based on the idea of respect, promises, and the want for social improvement. Specialised fields focus on various aspects of communication, and include the following:
- Non-verbal communication, the act of imparting or interchanging thoughts, opinions, or information without the using words;
- Symbolic communication, the exchange of messages that change a priori expectation of events
- Animal communication, the discipline of animal behavior that focuses on the reception and use of signals
- Mass communication
- Development communication
- Communication studies
- Interpersonal Communication
- Organizational communication
- Sociolinguistics
- Conversation analysis
- Cognitive linguistics
- Linguistics
- Pragmatics
- Semiotics
- Discourse analysis
- Communication as a named and unified discipline has a history of contestation that goes back to the Socratic dialogues, in many ways making it the first and most contestatory of all early sciences and philosophies. Seeking to define "communication" as a static word or unified discipline may not be as important as understanding communication as a family of resemblances with a plurality of definitions as Ludwig Wittgenstein had put forth. Some definitions are broad, recognizing that animals can communicate with each other as well as human beings, and some are more narrow, only including human beings within the parameters of human symbolic interaction.
Nonetheless, communication is usually described along three major dimensions:
- Content
- Form
- Destination
With the presence of "communication noise" these three components of communication often become skewed and inaccurate. Between parties, communication content include acts that declare knowledge and experiences, give advice and commands, and ask questions. These acts may take many forms, including gestures (nonverbal communication, sign language and body language), writing, and speech. The form depends on the symbol systems used. Together, communication content and form make messages that are sent towards a destination. The target can be oneself, another person (in interpersonal communication), or another entity (such as a corporation or group).
A particular instance of communication is called a speech act. A speech act typically follows a variation of logical means of delivery. The most common of these, and perhaps the best, is the dialogue. The dialogue is a form of communication where both the parties are involved in sending information. There are many other forms of communication but the reason the dialogue is good is because the dialogue lends itself to clearer communication due to feedback. (Feedback being encoded information, either verbal or nonverbal, sent back to the original sender (now the receiver) and then decoded.)
There are many theories of communication, and a commonly held assumption is that communication must be directed towards another person or entity. This essentially ignores intrapersonal communication (note intra-, not inter-) via diaries or self-talk.
There are many different areas of communication.A few are: nonverbal communication, verbal communication, and symbolic communication. Nonverbal communication deals with facial expressions and body motions. 93% of “emotional meaning” we take from other people is found in the person’s facial expressions and tone of voice, the other 7% is taken from what the person actually says (More Than Talk). Verbal communication is when we communicate our message verbally to whoever is receiving the message. Symbolic communications are the things that we have given meaning to and that represent a certain idea we have in place, for example, the American flag is a symbols that represent freedom.
Interpersonal conversation can occur in dyads and groups of various sizes, and the size of the group impacts the nature of the talk. Small-group communication takes place in settings of between three and 12 individuals, and differs from large group interaction in companies or communities. This form of communication formed by a dyad and larger is sometimes referred to as the psychological model of communication where in a message is sent by a sender through channel to a receiver. At the largest level, mass communication describes messages sent to huge numbers of individuals through mass media, although there is debate if this is an interpersonal conversation.
Communication is also the name for the academic discipline which studies communication.
The next lesson will be on zonal marking
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