COMMUNICATION

Definition of Communication
Communication is one of the human activities that cuts across
all aspects of human life. Just as food, water and air are
important to human beings, so is communication. Every human
society is bound together by communication. From conception
till death, we are involved in one type of communication or the
other. No human society or community exists without involving
in one form of communication or the other. All creatures on
earth have developed means in which to convey their emotions
and thoughts to one another. It is the ability of humans to use
words and languages to transfer specific meanings that
differentiates them from animals.
 Communication cont.
According to Norquist (2019) Communication is a process of
sending and receiving messages though verbal or nonverbal
means, from a sender to the receiver.
Babatunde (2003) defines communication as any means by
which a thought is transferred from one person to another
while Soola (2000) sees communication as the process by
which any person or group shares or impacts information
with/to another person (or group) so that both people (and
groups) clearly understand one another. More simply,
communication is said to be the creation and exchange of
meaning.
 Definition of communication Contd.
There is no single universally From there, you now see that
accepted definition of communication is a purposeful effort
communication. Psychologists, to establish commonness between a
philosophers, sociologists, medical source and a receiver. Whatever is
practitioners or even being shared could include
communication specialists all knowledge, thoughts, ideas,
define communication according to suggestions, opinions, information,
their orientations and perspectives. feelings and the like. From the
Originally however, communication academics point of view,
is derived from a Latin word- communication can be defined as a
commons which means common or conscious process of exchanging or
shared understanding. sharing information, ideas and
feelings between the sender and the
receiver.
 Elements and Process of
Communication
Communication as a process is dynamic, recursive, ongoing continuous and cyclical.
There is no recognizable beginning and end. There is no rigid sequence of interaction.
This is how the process begins:
Simulation.
This is the point at which the source or sender or initiator sees the need to communicate.
He/she feels within him or her to share an idea with someone else. This is the beginning
of communication. It is called simulation.
Encoding
The source or sender then processes the message he wants to communicate into a form
that will be understandable to the receiver.
Transmission
The message is passed across to the receiver through a chosen channel or medium. The
receiver gets the message that is sent from the source.
Decoding
The message is processed, understood and interpreted by the receiver.
Feedback
This is the reaction of the receiver to the message received. It is the response of the
receiver sent to source.
 The Communication Process
James, Ode and Soola (1990 cited in Sambe 2005:3) state that the communication process
involves an action, reaction and interaction. By action, it refers to the initiative taken by
the sender to share information, either through speaking, writing, gesturing, etc. By
reaction, it means the response to the action of the sender. The kind of response determines
whether or not the receiver is willing to be a party to the communication encounter.
Reaction in communication process may come by way of reply, rejoinder, answer,
acknowledgement, etc.
By interaction, it means that communication is the spontaneous reciprocity of messages
between a sender and a receiver. It is the stage of exchange of messages between two or
more persons sharing common experiences, codes or symbols. Interaction as a process of
communication creates an overlap of field of experience between a force and a recipient.
 Noise in Communication
Noise is the technical term used to describe any interference that keeps a message from
being understood or accurately interpreted. It is a potent barrier to effective
communication. Noise may be in different forms:
Physical Noise
This comes from the environment and keeps the message from being heard or
understood. It may be from loud music, market place, airport or any noisy
background.
Psychological Noise
This comes from within the encoder or sender as a result of depression, poor, mental
attitude, emotional stress or disability.
Physiological Noise
This results from interference from the body in form of body discomforts, feeding of
hunger, tiredness, etc.
Linguistic Noise
This is from the encoder’s inability to use the language of communication
appropriately. It may be a grammatical noise-faulty sentence construction or semantic
noise, arising from wrong use of words, ambiguous expressions. It could also be
misspelling. We also have phonological noise manifested in incorrect pronunciation.
All these are barriers to effective communication.
 Types of Communication
There are two types of communication. They are verbal and nonverbal. Verbal
communication is any communication that uses language to convey meaning . It
includes oral communication such as speaking to another person over the
telephone, face-to-face discussions, interviews, debates, presentations, etc. Oral
communication means communication by word of mouth (speaking). It is a
natural gift to all mankind with no physical or speech-related problem. Oral
communication is the most commonly used where no one can write. It is very
rare to have a community of human beings who does not talk. It is possible for
one not to write a single word in a day; but difficult not to talk in a whole day,
under normal circumstances. The effectiveness of verbal communication
depends on the tone of the speaker, clarity of speech, volume, speed, body
language and quality of words used in the conversation.
 Written Communication
Written communication is a type of verbal communication which
involves writing. When you write letters, essays, books, notes,
text message, etc. you are involved in written communication.
Remember that writing is an offshoot of oral communication.
While we have many languages without the written form, there is
no written form of language without its oral or spoken form.
 Non-Verbal Communication
Non-verbal communication is any form of information that is
passed or communicated without using words. Some people
call it non-talk communication or silent language. It is also
known as body language, to some extent. Body language
includes gestures, eye-movement, gestures, waving of hands,
nodding of the head, or all forms of facial expressions,
symbols, signs, action, keeping distance and paralanguage.
All these are channels of non-verbal communication. Indeed,
some estimates suggest that around 70% to 80% of
communication is non-verbal.
 Introduction to Effective
Communication
The essence of any communicative encounter is to share meaning between the
sender and the receiver For communication to be effective, there are some basic
factors to be put into consideration. From ideas to packaging through the
channel/medium to the receiver, there are tendencies that the intended message
might not be appropriately understood by the receiver. To ensure efficiency and
effectiveness, some factors come to play as will be discussed in this unit.
 Effective Communication cont.
For effective communication to take place, whether verbal or non-verbal, inter-
personal or group communication, the following points must be put into consideration.
a. Be clear about what you want to say. This means that you and the sender must have
something to say, when, and where to say it. b. Make thorough preparations
beforehand. c. Have answers to such question as: what goal do I want to achieve
(purpose) from the communication? ho is my audience, primary or secondary? What
style do I adopt for the communication? Remember that communication is a form of
transaction; be prepared to shift ground, that is, assume roles of sender and receiver
simultaneously.
Be a good listener too.
Be brief and go straight to the point. You should try to avoid vague expressions. Just
make sure you are clearly understood.
 Effective Writing
Writing is one of the four basic language skills. Writing, like
reading is a learned skill, unlike listening and speaking skills
that are acquired naturally. Writing is a complex skill that
involves the use of graphic symbols to create a text. Remember
that writing is another form of language in print. It is a form of
communication in print. It is a form of social behaviour limited
to elites or literate people. The success of written
communication is determined by the sense made of it by the
reader. The process of writing therefore involves a way of
thinking and putting down ideas, thoughts, feelings and any
other form of communication. Writing is one of the most
important human activities of a literate community.
 Writing Skills
The skill to be developed in writing include: entering into correspondence in
terms of casual letters to friends, formal letters or official letters of
application. It also includes official letters to relevant authorities and writing
or responding to advertisements in a newspaper, filling prescribed forms or
questionnaire, answering examination questions and giving acknowledgment
receipts. Other skills include developing powers of creative expression in
terms of narration and description. You also need the skill to be able to
record observations in terms of experience in science, personal experience, as
in a diary and even recording commercial or business transactions. You need
to adjust your tone of language according to the audience you are writing to. It
is Important also to develop a simple logical sequence in your writings.
Remember, that you are not in a face-to-face encounter with your readers. It is
therefore important that you write in simple clear, unambiguous language, so
that your reader understands you very well. This is what makes writing
effective.
 Effective Writing
Effective writing is a skill you can learn. Practice they say makes
perfect. Remember that you are in a form of communication. Be
conscious of your reader, in terms of his/her level of maturity and
literacy. There are many reasons why we write. Whether you write
to describe a phenomenon or action, or even to entertain, to invite or
complain, the audience determines your tone, that is, your choice of
words. Effective writing is readable, that is, clear, accurate, and
concise. When you write, try to get your ideas across in a way that
your audience will understand tem effortlessly, unambiguously, and
rapidly, i.e. write in a straightforward way. The fundamental issue is
to make sure you are well understood by your prospective reader(s).
There are five main features of effective writing.
The following are five qualities of good writing: focus,
development, unity, conference, and correctness. Focus: an essay
should a single clear central idea. Each paragraph should a clear
main point or topic sentence.
Development: each paragraph should support or expand the
central idea of the paper. The paragraph should be explained and
illustrated through examples, details, and descriptions.
Unity: every paragraph in an essay should be related to the main
idea. Each paragraph should stick to its main point.
Coherence: an essay or paper should be organized logically, flow
smoothly, and stick together. In other words, every word in the
writing should make sense to the reader.
Correctness: a writing should be written in generally correct
Standard English, with complete grammatically correct sentences
and should be relatively error-free.
 Essay Writing
Writing is a social behaviour that requires some basic skills which you must learn.
This section dwells on specific skills required for effective writing of different essay
types such as Narrative, Descriptive, Argumentative and Expository essays.
The Narrative Essay
As the name rightly denotes, narrative writing tells a story. It relates mainly a
sequence of events. It tells us what happened, when, how and possibly where it took
place. It tells the characters involved in such an event. Narrative could be stories,
minutes of meetings, biographies and autobiographies. In writing any of these or
other narratives, the following points should guide you:
be clear about the story you are going to tell.
make a point outline of the main events in the order in which they naturally
occurred.
be clear and specific about what the characters say and do.
past tense is predominantly used in this essay type.
 Descriptive Essay
Just as the name suggests, this type of essay predominantly describes.
However, there may be some elements of narrative as you describe. We
describe every aspect of human life, such as sports, politics, architecture,
lectures, writing scenes, machines, movies, music, places, events, persons,
ceremonies, wars, buildings, human beings, vehicles and host of other
uncountable events.
Descriptive calls for a very high sense of imagination, comparison and
expression. A vivid description calls for all the necessary details, so that the
reader grasps the correct mental picture of what is described. The main
purpose of a descriptive essay is to impress the reader with a picture as
clear and as accurate as that in the mind of the writer.

In a descriptive writing, we appeal to the various senses of sight, smell,

touch, taste and hearing through appropriate comparisons. Thus, we resort
to such literary forms as simile, metaphor, personification and hyperbole, as
the need arises.
 Argumentative Essay
Before an argument occurs, there must be two or more opposing views on a subject
matter. In other words, there must be a dispute in which people take sides and argue to
defend their stand. In order to have a persuasive and forceful argument, there must be
some relative objectivity in your argument. It must be well organized and logical.
The following strategies will guide you in argumentative essay:
At the beginning of the argument, state your stand. Let your position be known clearly
and present the weak points first. The stronger ones should be presented last. By this
approach, the stronger points may gain more strength.
Separate arguments ‘for’ and those for ‘against:’ they should not run parallel to each
other.
Show the weaknesses in your opponents’ points. (It is assumed that you have read your
opponents’ stand and you now write to oppose them.)
Avoid over stating a particular point in the course of your argument or dispute.
Avoid such expressions as:
It is known to everybody that; or it is obvious that……
None among you will fail to realize that……
Everybody knows without doubt that……
 Expository Essay
Expository means detailed explanation of all the main aspects of the subject
or topic. In expository writing, a great deal of description and narration is
involved. In addition, it gives detail explanation of how things work or
operate and goes further to show their relationships to each other. This type
of essay is mainly to give specific information about:
how things are made;
how certain processes are carried out;
how machines work; and
definition of concepts.
Expository writing calls for every high sense of imagination and more
detailed expressions. Thus, one should be a good observer and good at
comparing similar things or things or events with similar qualities.
Expository writing is the highest level of writing among the essay types. It
therefore calls for greater imagination, high level of vocabulary, relevant
registers and good expression.
 Essay Writing Cont.

Essay writing calls for your sense of imagination, creativity and

resourcefulness. It tasks and helps you to develop your writing skills. Essay
writing is a productive language skill that allows you to express your
feedings, thoughts and belief in writing for others to read. Remember that
you might never know who your readers are. Therefore, you should be
careful in your choice of words and expressions to suit your perceived or
your intended readers. You should be careful with your content, mechanical
accuracy and your expressions generally.