TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
2.0 Objective of the lesson:
The objective of this lesson is to assist you in understanding the
- Various kinds of communication
- Intrapersonal
- Interpersonal
- Group communication
- Mass communication
Structure of the lesson :
- Types of communication
- Intrapersonal communication
- Interpersonal communication
- Group communication
- Summary
- Technical Terms
- Model Questions
- Reference Books
When we talk to others or write to them, communication takes place between us. But for such a communi- cation, language is essential. Communication with the help of words is known as verbal communication.
Similarly when we meet our friends, we shake our hand with them. This also conveys some meaning. This is an example of non-verbal communication. Communication without any use of words is called non-verbal communication. Let us known further about these two.
Verbal communication is made through words, either spoken or written. Communication through spoken words is known as oral communication, which may be in the form of lectures, meetings, group discus- sions.
conferences, telephonic conversations, radio message etc. In written communication, message is trans- mitted through written words in the form of letters, memos, circulars, notices, reports, manuals, maga- zines, handbooks, Non-verbal communication may be ‘Visula’,’Aural’ or ‘Gestural’. Sometimes you look into some pictures. graphs, symbols, diagrams etc. and some message is conveyed to you. All these are different forms of visual communication, For example, the traffic policement showing the stop sign, a teacher showing a chart of different animals are visual communication. Bells, whistles, buzzers, horns etc. are also the instruments through which we can communicate our message. Communication with the help of these type of sounds is called ‘aural’ communication. For example, the bell used in schools and colleges to inform students and teachers about the begining or end of periods, siren used in factories to inform the change of work-shift of the workers are examples of aural communication. Communication through the use of various parts of the human body, or through body language is termed as gestural communication.
Saluting our national flag, motionless position during the singing of national anthem, waving of hand, nodding of head, showing anger on face, etc. are examples of gestural communication.
Types of Communication
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Verbal Non-Verbal
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Oral Written Visual Aural Gestural
Intrapersonal communication is language use or though internal to the communicator. Intrapersonal communication is the active internal involvement of the individual in symbolic processing of messages. The individual becomes his or her own sender receiver, providing feedback to him or herself in an ongoing internal process. It can be useful to envision intrapersonal communication occuring in the mind of the individual in a model which contains a sender, receiver, and feedback loop.
For the majority of people, communication only means having interaction with others. This a great fallacy because communication also takes place between ourselves. In fact, all forms of communication origi- nated from with in us in the form of intra-personal communication and only then it leads to communication which involves other. The though going on in our minds like thinking whether to say or not to say some- thing is just one example of intra-personal communication. According to some experts, we communicate with ourselves 50,000 times a day, which indeed is a lot of communication, and which needs great atten- tion.
Intra-personal communication is also known by many other names like self-dialogue, self-talk, inner monologue, inner dialogue, inner speech and self-verbalisation. The understanding of Intra-personal communication and improving it can tremendously improve the quality of our lives. The following are some of the points which emphasises the importance of self-talk.
1. IT AFFECTS OUR PERFORMANCE
Intra-personal communication begins with thoughts which leads to feeling and finally, ends up in actions. Positive intra-personal communicational leads to positive feelings, which in turn generates positive actions. Likewise, negative self-will generate negative self-feelings and negative actions and performance. People who affirm their capabilities, strength and good qualities perform better than those who oppress them- selves with negative self-dialogue.
2. IT INFLUENCES OUR COMMUNICATION WITH OTHERS
There are many examples of people who stammer, cannot express themselves clearly or face identical handicaps which stems not from any physical defect, but rather from their low self-esteem due to negative intra-personal communication. They face these problems because in their minds, oppressing dialogues like “I am scared”, “They don’t like me”,”What will they think?”,”My English is not good”, etc, are repeatedly played. When we convey this type of message to ourselves we feel uncomfortable and lose confidence. this behaviour relayed through our body language put us in negative vibration with others and thus stops us from effective communication. It is known of world class communication that before they deliver public speeches they affirm and reinforce themselves with positive intra-personal communication. Our intra- personal communication has either a positive or negative implications on our communication with others.
1. STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING INTRA-PERSONAL COMMUNICATION
The important of intra-personal communication and its impact on our personality, life and performance should motivate us to improve it. There are many ways in which we can imporve our self-talk. The follow- ing are some of the strategies which can help us acquire healthy intra-personal communication styles.
a. AWARENESS
It is unlikely that people consciously indulge in negative intra-personal communication. Rather, they may do so due to ingrained style of thoughts, similar to how people automatically drive. By consciously focusing on our thoughts we become aware of its natural and only then can we do something about it. Closely monitoring how we communicate with ourselves and what we communicate will enable us to know abou the nature and the quality of our intra-personal communication.
b. CHOICE
After focusing on intra-personal dialogue, one can evaluate its quality. It is not necessary that people indulge all the time, either in negative or positive self-talk, rather they hav a pattern either negative or positive which prevails most of the time. It is necessary to choose thoughts which are positive and con-
sciously stop those which are negative. Initially it will be very difficult to do so due to old habits, but through mental discipline, persistence and will power one can choose self-supporting thoughts thus improving intra-personal communication.
c. TAKING ACTION
Nothing happens without action and in terms of the subject of intra-personal communication, action means continuously engaging ourselves in self-dialogue which is positive, self-supportive and affirmative. At times when one is feeling down, depressed and indulges in negative intra-personal communication, a deliberate self-dialogue like telling ourselves “stop it”, etc. will help in giving it up.
Intrapersonal communication is often linked to various personal characteristics
Source : eddiecorrales.com/fmt/Intrapersonal2.gif
d. PRAYERS
Finally, one effective way of improving intra-personal communication is through prayers. Prayers help people to get positively reinforces and feel connected to a force bigger than them thus giving them hope and security. Intra-personal communication which take place among ourselves has strong bearings on our thoughts, feelings and actions. Our actions sum up to our performance and people are either known for their performance or remain unknown because they do not perform. Therefore, we need to improve our intra-personal communication. By disciplining our thoughts, taking conscious efforts to indulge in positive self-talk, and avoiding negative self-verbalization, any individuals can learn to improve themselves and become proactive people.
Interpersonal communication may be defined as “a symbolic interaction between people rather then between a person and an inanimate object”.
“Interpersonal communication is a symbolic process by which two people, bound together in a relationship, provide each other with resources or negotiate the exchange of resources”.
The Contextual View of interpersonal communication
One way of defining interpersonal communication is to compare it to other forms of communication. In so doing, we would examine how many people are involved, how physically close they are to one another, how many sensory channels are used, and the feedback provided. Interpersonal communication differs from other forms of communication in that there are few participants involved, the interactants are in close physical proximity to each other, there are many sensory channels used, and feedback is immediate. An important point proximity to each other, there are many sensory channels used, and feedback is immedi- ate. An important point to note about the contextual definitions is that it does not take into account the relationship between the interactants.
The Developmental View of interpersonal communication
We have many different relationships with people. Some researches say that our definition of interpersonal communication must account for these differences. These researches say that interacting with a sales clerk in a store in different than the relationship we hav with our friends and family members. Thus, some researchers have proposed an alternative way of defining interpersonal communication. This is called the developmental view. From this view, interpersonal communication is defined as communication that occurs between people who have known each other for some time. Importantly, these people view each other as unique individuals, not as people who are simply acting out social situations.
Functions of Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal communication is important because of the functions its achieves. Whenver we engage in communication with another person, we seek to gain information about them. We also give off information through a wide variety of verbal and nonverbal cues.
Gaining Information : One reason we engage in interpersonal communication is so that we can gain knowledge about another individual. Social Penetration Theory says that we attempt to gain information about others so that we can interact with them more effectively. we can better predict how they will think, feel, and act if we know who they are. We gain this information passively, by observing them; actively, by having others engage them; or interactively, by engaging them ourselves. Self-disclosure is often used to get information from another person.
Building a Context of Understanding : We also engage in interpersonal communication to help us better understand what someone says in a given context. The words we say can mean very different things depending on how they are said or in what context. Content Messages refer to the surface level meaning of a message. Relationship Messages refer to how a message is said. The two are sent simulta- neously, but each affects the meaning assigned to the communication. Interpersonal communication helps us understand each other better.
Establishing Identity Another reason we engage in interpersonal communication is to establish an identity, The roles we play in our relationships help us establish identity. So too does the face, the public self-image we present to others. Both roles and face are constructed based on how we interact with others.
Interpersonal Needs Finally, we engage in interpersonal communication because we need to express and receive interpersonal needs. William Schutz2 has identified three such needs: inclusion, control, and affection.
Inclusion is the need to establish identity with others.
Control is the need to exercise leadership and prove one’s abilities. Groups provide outlets for this need Some individuals do not want to be a leader. For them, groups provide the necessary control over aspects of their lives.
Affection is the need to develop relationships with people. Groups are an excellent way to make friends and establish realtionships.
Four Principles of Interpersonal Communication
These principles underlie the working in real life of interpersonal communication. They are basic to com- munication. We can’t ignore them
Interpersonal communication is inescapable
We can’t not communicate. The very attempt not to communicate communicate something. Through not only words. but through tone of voice and through gesture, posture, facial expression, etc., we constantly communicate to those around us. Through these channels, we constantly receive communication from others. Even when you sleep, you communicate. Remember a basic principle of communication in gen- eral: people are not mind readers. Another way to put this is: people judge you by your behavior, not your intent.
Interpersonal communication is irreversible
You can’t really take back something once it has been said. The effect must inevitably remain. Despire the instructions from a judge to “disregard that last statement the witness made,” the lawyer knows that it can’t help but make an impression on the jury. A Russian proverb says, “Once a word goes out of your mouth, you can never swallow it again.”
Interpersonal communication is complicated
No form of communication is simple. Because of the number of variable involved, even simple requests are extremely complex. Theorists note that whenever we communicate there are really at least six “people” involved: 1) who you think you are: 2) who you think the other person is; 30 who you think the other person thinks you are; 4) who the other person thinks/she is; 5) who the other person thinks you are; and 6) who the other person thinks you think s/he is.
We don’t actually swap ideas, we swap symbols that stand for ideas. This also complicates communica- tion. words (symbols) do not have inherent meaning; we simply use them in certain ways, and no two people use the same word exactly alike.
Osmo Wiio gives us some communication maximum similar to Murphy’s law : If communication can fail, it will.
If a message can be understood in different ways, it will be understood in just that way which does the most harm. There is always somebody who knows better than you what you meant by your message. The more communication there is, the more difficult it is for communication to succeed. These tongue-in-cheek maxims are not real principles; they simply humorously remind us of the difficulty of accurate communica- tion.
Interpersonal communication is contextual
In other words, communication does not happen in isolation. There is:
Psychological context, which is who you are and what you bring to the interaction. Your needs, desires, values, personality, etc., all form the psychological context. (“You” here refers to both participants in the interaction.)
Relational context, which concerns your reactions to the other person-the “mix.”
Situational context deals with the psycho-social “where” you are communicating. An interaction that takes place in a classroom will be very different from one that takes place in a bar.
Environmental context deals with the physical “where” you are communicating. Furniture, location, noise level, temperature, season, time of day, all are examples of factors in the environmental context.
Cultural context include all the learned behaviors and rules that affect the interaction. If you come from a culture (foreign or within your own country) where it is considered rude to make long, direct eye contact, you will out of politeness avoid eye contact. If the other person comes from a culture where long, direct eye contact signals trustworthiness, then we have in the cultural context a basis for misunderstanding.
Small-group communication refers to the nature of communication that occurs in groups that are between 2 and 12 individuals. Small group communication generally takes place in a context that mixes interper- sonal communication interactions with social clustering. Group communication is communication that occurs between various members of a group.
“Some of the most important communication takes place in one group or another. It is estimated that over 11 million meetings are held each day and that at least 40 percent of work life will be spent attending group meetings and conferences. A recent survey showed that the typical executive spends about 700 hours per year interacting in groups. That is the equivalent of two of every five days on the job.
Thus, knowledge how to relate to others in a group setting is not only vital if you are to attain personal success but also if you are to attain professional success.” (Gamble & Gamble, communication
Definition of a Small Group
It is important to intially define a small group. Read how most researchers define a small group and then complete the interactive activity and quiz at the end of this section.
Size Most researches define a small group as having at least three and no more than twelve or fifteen members. A group needs to have at least three members, otherwise it would simply be a dyad. With three members, coalitions can be formed and some kind of organization is present. Too large of a group (more
than twelve or fifteen members) inhibits the group members’ ability to communicate with everyone else in the group.
Interaction A group’s members must be able to communicate freely and openly with all of the other members of the group. Groups will develop norms about discussion and group members will develop roles which will affect the group’s interaction.
Goals A group must have a common purpose or goal and they must work together to achieve that goal. The goal brings the gorup together and holds it together through conflict and tension.
Types of Small Groups
Groups form to accomplish some objective may be to complete some kind of task or it may be to promote the interpersonal relationships between the group members. Many groups, however, fulfill both of these functions.
Social Groups While all groups will have both social and task dimension, some groups are predominantly social in their orientation. Examples of these groups would be families and social clubs. These groups provide for our safety and solidarity needs and they help us develop self-esteem.
Work Groups Work groups function to complete a particular task. In a work group, the task dimension is emphasized. The group members pool their expertise to accomplish the task. Examples of this would be workplaces, campus organizations, or juries. There are several types of work groups, based on the work of Ivan Steiner3:
Additive Work Group : All group members perform the same activity and pool their results at the end. An example of this would be gathering signatures for a petition drive.
Conjunctive Work Group : Group members perform different, but related, tasks that allow for the completion of a goal. Every group member must complete their task in order for the group taks to be completed. An example of this would be an assembly line, in which each worker performs tasks that together build a completed car.
Disjunctive Task : Members meet to determine the best alternative for a problem or issue. There are two types of disjunctive tasks:
Judgment Task : Group members must choose one correct answer from all alternatives.
Decision-Making Task : Group members must choose the best alternative from a set of options. There is no one correct answer for a decision-making group.
Contrived or Emergent Groups : Some groups form spontaneously, such as a group of friends. Other groups are contrived, that is, they are formed for a specific purpose. Organized clubs, social groups, or committees are contrived groups.
Communication within a group
Communication within a group deals with the spoken and the unspoken, the verbal and the non-verbal, the explict and the implied messages that are conveyed and exchanged relating to information and ideas, and feelings.
Group communication-a historical perspective
The first important research study of small group communication was performed by social psychologist Robert Bales and published in a series of books and articles in the early and mid 1950s. This research entailed the content analysis of discussions within groups making decisions about “human relations” problems(i.e., vignettes about relationship difficulties within families or organizations). Bales made a series of important discoveries.
First, group discussion tends to shift back and forth relatively quickly between the discussion of the group task and discussion relevant to the relationship among the members. He believed that this shifting was the product of an implicit attempt to balance the demands of task completion and group cohesion, under the
Presumption that conflict generated during task discussion causes stress among members, which must released through positive relational talk.
Second, task group discussion shifts from an emphasis on opinion exchange, through an attentiveness to values underlying the decision, to making the decision. This implication that group discussion goes through the same series of stages in the same order for any decision-making group is known as the linear phase model. Third, the most talkative member of a group tends to make between 40 and 50 percent of the comments and the second most talkative member between 25 and 30, no matter the size of the group. As a consequence, large groups tend to be dominated by one or two members to the detriment of the others.
The most influential of these discoveries has been the later; the linear phase model. The idea that all groups performing a given type of task go through the same series of stages in the same order was replicated through the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s; with most finding foru phases of discussion. For example, communication researcher B. Aubrey Fisher in 1970 showed groups going sequentially through an orienta- tion stage, a conflict stage, a stage in which a decision emerges and a stage in which that decision in reinforced. Much of this research had two fundamental flaws.
First, all group data was combined before analysis, making it impossible to determine whether there were differences among groups in their sequence of discussion.
Second, group discussion content was compared across the same number of stages as the researcher hypothesized, such that if the researcher believed there were four stages to discussion, there was no way to find out if there actually were five or more.
In the 1980s, communication researcher Marshall Scott Poole examined a sample of groups without making these errors and noted substantial differences among them in the number and order to stages. He hypothesized that groups finding themselves in some difficulty due to task complexity, an unclear leader- ship structure or poor cohesion act as if they feel the need to conduct a “complete” discussion and thus are more likely to pass through all In a group, two-way communication is possible implying a situation where not only do the groups talk to each other, but that they are listening to each other as well.
This helps in
- Clarification of doubts, confusions and misconceptions
- Both parties understanding each other
- Receiving and giving of feedback
stages as the linear phase model implies, whereas groups feeling confident due to task simplicity, a clear leadership structure and cohesion are more likely to skip stages apparently deemed unnecessary.
Another milestone in the study of group discussion content was early 1960s work by communication researchers Thomas Scheidel and Laura Crowell in 1964 regarding the process by which groups examine individual proposed solutions to their problem.
They concluded that after a proposal is made, groups discuss it in an implied attempt to determine their “comfort level” with it and then drop it in lieu of a different proposal. In a procedure akin to the survival of the fittest, proposals viewed favorably would emerge later in discussion, whereas those viewed unfavor- ably would not; the authors referred to this process as “spiralling.” Although there are serious methodologi- cal problems with this work, other studies have led to similar conclusions.
For example, in the 1970s, social psychologist L.Richard Hoffman noted that odds of a proposal’s accep- tance is strongly associated with the arithmetical difference between the number of utterances supporting versus rejecting that proposal. More recent work has shown that groups differ substantially in the extent to which they spiral.
None of this work has attempted to link discussion content with task output. The most successful attempt at that can be found in 1980s research program of communication researcher Randy Y.Hirokawa (1985).
The implication of this program is that to an extent, depending upon task, the quality of a group’s decision appears to be associated with the extent to which the group examines the problem it faces, identifies the requirements of an ideal solution and evaluates the positive and negative features of proposed solutions.
Although this reads like Bales’s linear phase model, Hirokawa (like Poole at about the same time) demon- strated that these decision functions need not occur in any particular order. Communication researches Renee Meyers and Date Brashers have also had some success in correlating group decisions with the pattern of arguments (in the sense of argumentation theory) that occurs during discussion.
Tips for effective group communication
- Have a circular seating arrangements so that everyone can see and interact with everyone else
- If there are two facilitators, they should sit apart so that communication flow is not in one direction
- Respect individuals-let everyone call everyone else by name respectfully
- Encourage and support the quiet members to voice their opinions
- Try and persuade the people who speak too much to give others a chance
- Ensure that only one person speaks at a time or no one else will be heard
- Discourage sub groups from indulging in side
Communication is basically of two types – verbal and non verbal. Verbal communication is made through words, either spoken or written.
Communication through spoken words is known as oral communication, which may be in the form of lectures. meetings, group discussions, conferences, telephonic conversations, radio message etc.
Non-verbal communication may be ‘Visula’, ‘Aurla’ or ‘Gestural’, Sometimes you look into some pictures, grphs, symbols, diagrams etc. and some message is conveyed to you.
Intrapersonal communication is language use or through internal to the communicator, Intrapersonal communication is the active internal involvement of the individual in symbolic processing of messages. The individual becomes his or her own sender and receiver, providing feedback to him or herself in an ongoing internal process. It can be useful to envision intrapersonal communication occurring in the mind of the individual in a model which contains a sender, receiver, and feedback loop.
Intepersonal communication may be defined as “a symbolic interaction between people rather then between a personal and an inanimate object”.
“Interpersonal communication is a symbolic process by which two people, bound together in a relationship, provide each other with resources or negotiate the exchange of resources”.
Another important type of communication is group communication. Small-group communication refers to the nature of communication that occurs in groups that are between 2 and 12 individuals.
Small group communication generally takes place in a context that mixes interpersonal communication interactions with social clustering. Group communication is communication that occurs between various members of a group.
Communication within a group deals with the spoken and the unspoken, the verbal and the non-verbal, the explicit and the implied messages that are conveyed and exchanged relating to information and ideas, and feelings.
In a group, two-way communication is possible implying a situation where not only do the groups talk to each other, but that they are listening to each other as well. This helps in
- Clarification of doubts, confusions and misconceptions
- Both parties understanding each other
- Receiving and giving of feedback
Verbal communication Communication that makes use of voice/sound
Non-verbal communication Communication that occurs without sound, with gestures etc. Intrapersonal Communication Communication that is confined to one person, communication within oneself
Interpersonal Communication Communication between two people
Group communication Communication within members of a group
- List the various types of
- What is intrapersonal Explain the characteristics of intrapersonal communication?
- Illustrate the features of interpersonal communication with
- What are the characteristics of group communication?
