Basics of Communication


 

Communication 101:

The success of an organization depends on the communication skills of all its employees. When people in the business field are asked to define “communication”, they tend to respond by saying something like this; “Communication is the process of transferring thoughts and ideas from one person to another.” This definition sounds good, but it acknowledges that communication is a process and it includes the idea of communicating our thoughts and ideas to others. A more accurate definition of communication according to Oxford English dictionary lists the Latin root of communicate as communicare, which means “to make common to many, share.” According to this definition, when people communicate, they express their ideas and feelings in a way that is understandable (common) to each other of them. Therefore, communication is the process of people sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings with each other in commonly understandable ways (Communication for Results).

 

The Basic Model of Communication:

Successful business and professional communicators owe a large part of their success to their ability to minimize potential misunderstanding. This ability results from knowing the elements of the communication process and the role that each elements play. The key elements in the communication process are shown below. They include a sender, who is responsible for encoding an intended message into meaningful symbol, both verbal and nonverbal. The message is sent through a communication channel to a receiver, who then decodes or interprets its meaning. The interpretation, importantly, may or may not match the sender’s original intentions. Feedback, when present, reverses the process and conveys the receiver’s response back to the sender.

 

What is effective communication?

 

It occurs when the intended message of the sender and the interpreted meaning of the receiver are one and the same. Although, this should be the goal. Effective communication occurs at minimum cost in terms of resources expended and efficiency of the message.

Communication Barriers

o       Poor Choice of Channels

o       Poor Written or Oral Expression

o       Failure to Recognize Nonverbal Signals

o       Physical Distractions

o       Status Effects