Nature of Communication

Communication goes far beyond just speaking—it's about sharing ideas, information, and creating understanding between people. Derived from the Latin word "communicare" (to share), communication makes societies possible and distinguishes humans from other species.

Communication is a dynamic process that's constantly changing with no clear boundaries. Your past conversations influence your current interactions, which then shape future exchanges. Multiple factors like personality, relationship history, and environment all work together to affect how messages are sent and received.

When you communicate, you're participating in a systematic exchange where both parties simultaneously send and receive messages. Even when you're just listening, your nonverbal cues (like nodding or smiling) send important feedback to the speaker.

Remember this! Once something is said, it cannot be unsaid—communication is irreversible. Those words that slip out in anger or frustration cannot truly be taken back, which is why thinking before speaking is so crucial.

Key Characteristics of Communication

Communication is proactive, meaning you actively construct meaning from messages based on your perception of the content and the speaker's credibility. This is why ten people can hear the same speech and walk away with different interpretations.

The symbolic nature of communication means we use representations (words, gestures, images) to share our thoughts and feelings. Interestingly, only 35% of communication is verbal—the remaining 65% is nonverbal, including facial expressions, tone of voice, posture, and eye contact.

Communication is also individually construed, meaning everyone gives their own meaning to messages based on their background knowledge, experiences, and attitudes. What seems perfectly clear to you might be confusing to someone else.

These characteristics explain why miscommunication happens so easily—we're all processing information through different filters shaped by our unique experiences and perspectives. Recognizing these aspects can help you become more intentional and effective in how you communicate.

Elements & Process of Communication

Effective communication follows a structured process with key elements that work together. The sender initiates communication by generating and conveying a message, using their credibility (ethos), emotional appeal (pathos), and logical reasoning (logos) to make their point.

Through encoding, the sender transforms thoughts and ideas into a form that can be transmitted—choosing specific words, gestures, or symbols that represent their message. The message itself is the actual idea or information being communicated.

The medium is the channel used to transmit the message, which could be oral communication, written text, non-verbal cues, or digital platforms. The choice of medium significantly impacts how effectively your message reaches its destination.

Pro tip! Match your communication medium to your message and audience. Some messages are better delivered face-to-face, while others work perfectly in an email or text message.

Communication Process (Continued)

The receiver is the person for whom the message was intended. For communication to be successful, the receiver must not only receive the message but understand it correctly and respond appropriately.

Decoding happens when the receiver interprets the message, translating the words or symbols into meaningful information. The effectiveness of decoding depends on the receiver's familiarity with the language and context used by the sender.

Feedback is the receiver's response, indicating whether the message was understood as intended. This crucial part of the loop helps confirm or clarify understanding between communicators.

Throughout this process, noise refers to any obstruction that interferes with communication. Noise can be external (like background sounds), physiological (hearing problems), psychological (preconceived ideas), or semantic (language barriers). Identifying and minimizing these disruptions is essential for clear communication.

Principles of Communication

Clear communication follows several key principles that help ensure your message is understood as intended. Clarity means using straightforward language and being specific about your intentions—instead of saying "We need to improve our processes," say "We need to streamline our invoicing process to reduce payment delays."

Cohesiveness refers to how well all parts of your message fit together logically. Stick to one main idea per message and ensure all information supports that central point. Avoid mixing unrelated topics that can confuse your audience.

Completeness involves providing all necessary information so the recipient can fully understand without needing further clarification. Include relevant details like who, what, when, where, why, and how. For example, "Please submit the monthly sales report, including customer feedback analysis, by 3:00 PM Friday."

Communication tip: When in doubt, ask yourself: "Does my audience have all the information they need to understand and act on my message?" If not, you need to be more complete in your communication.

Communication Principles (Continued)

Conciseness means conveying your message using as few words as possible without losing essential meaning. Get straight to the point, avoid unnecessary details, and use bullet points when appropriate. Replace wordy phrases with simpler alternatives: "due to the fact that" becomes "because," and "at this point in time" becomes "now."

Concreteness ensures your communication is specific, detailed, and vivid. Use facts and figures rather than vague generalizations. Instead of saying "The project is going well," say "The project is 75% complete, and we've met all key milestones for this month."

These principles work together to make your communication more effective. When you're clear, cohesive, complete, concise, and concrete, your audience is much more likely to understand your message exactly as you intended. Applying these principles takes practice, but they'll dramatically improve your ability to communicate purposefully in any situation.

Communicative Competence

Communicative competence refers to your ability to use language effectively in various authentic situations. Rather than focusing solely on grammatical correctness, it emphasizes successfully communicating ideas. This concept, developed by linguists Canale and Swain, includes four key components that work together.

Grammatical competence (also called linguistic competence) involves your knowledge of a language's grammar rules, including morphology, syntax, semantics, and phonology. This is about constructing grammatically correct sentences with proper word forms, sentence structure, meaning, and pronunciation.

Sociolinguistic competence is your ability to produce appropriate language based on social context. This means knowing when to use formal versus informal language, understanding cultural references, and adapting your communication style to different situations and audiences.

Think about it: Have you ever accidentally used slang or casual language in a formal setting? That's a momentary lapse in sociolinguistic competence! Being aware of context is crucial for effective communication.

Communicative Competence (Continued)

Discourse competence refers to your ability to combine different speech types and create coherent, unified communication. This includes knowing how to structure narratives, descriptions, arguments, and procedures. It's the difference between randomly stringing sentences together and crafting a logical flow of ideas.

Strategic competence involves using verbal and nonverbal strategies to overcome communication breakdowns. When you can't find the right word, you might use gestures, adjust your volume, rephrase your statement, or even code-switch between languages to get your point across.

We assess communicative competence based on two main criteria: effectiveness (achieving the purpose of speech and generating accurate understanding) and appropriateness (using tact, following social norms, and selecting suitable responses based on context).

You can improve your communicative competence by stating ideas clearly, communicating ethically, recognizing appropriate timing, identifying communication goals, selecting effective mediums, demonstrating credibility, managing misunderstandings and conflict, keeping an open mind, and listening attentively.