COMMUNICATION
Communication is a two-way process of connecting to both living and
non-
living things. It is also a means of sharing and exchanging messages,
information,
ideas, and feelings for mutual understanding (Gregoriom, J.C., 2015).
Communication connects people and the world they live in. It is
through
communication that people are able to express their thoughts and
ideas or convey
information and messages through word of mouth, gestures and
signals, signs, and
others. People have always communicated with one another in
various forms.
Let us further define communication using the two key terms stated
above,
"message" and "understand".
1. Communication is a message understood.
Unless a message is understood we cannot say that communication
has taken
place. Let us send a message to someone and say, "where came
first”. The person
who gets this message would wonder what it means for the
arrangement of the words
does not make any sense. The message is sent but the receiver does
not understand
it. Therefore, for communication to take place we have to consider two
conditions
First, there should be a clear message. Second, the message must be
understood by
the receiver for whom it is meant.
2. Communication is social interaction through messages.
Think of someone telling, "It is very warm today." In this case, we are
communicating what 'we experience! The weather being warm is what
we feel or
experience physically. In this scenario, we are sharing our feeling or
experience with
someone else. Thus, we may say that “communication is a sharing of
experience." In
our society, we all interact with messages. Without interactions, a
society cannot
survive. Social interaction is always through messages.
We discuss problems and arrive at solutions. We exchange ideas and
interact
with others. We transact, and then we negotiate. In doing all these, we
use
communication. Imagine a situation where we are not able to speak
and interact with
others or think of a family living in the same house without speaking to
each other
or relating any form of message to one another. Such situation can be
very lonely
and problematic. Without communication, all forms of human
relationships will
vanish and die. Communication is therefore crucial in building
and maintaining
relationships.
THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
There are also times when we fail to communicate adequately and
experience
misunderstanding or miscommunication. Why do you think this thing
happens?
What are the ways to avoid them?
We are sometimes misunderstood by the level of speech we use
during
conversation - by the volume or rate we talk with friends or
acquaintances. We may
sometimes be misunderstood by the non-verbal actions that we
project or incorporate
in our speech when talking face-to-face with people. Also, when we
send text or chat
messages, we are misinterpreted because those messages are often
brief and devoid
of emotion.
Let us now try to consider the process of communication. How does
communication take place? Who are involved? What processes are
considered? By
understanding the communication
process, we can also duly avoid
misunderstandings and / or miscommunication.
Our everyday transactions with people follow the communication
process.
As seen in the illustration, communication begins when the speaker or
source
of communication responds to a stimulus and decides to encode or
transmit it in
the form of a message (or a "code") through a particular channel or
means of
communication.
The receiver decodes or interprets the message sent and responds
accordingly
based on his interpretation of the message. This response comes in
the form of a
feedback sent the original source of communication (sender). As the
communication transaction continues, the sender and receiver may
exchange roles
until understanding is achieved. Barriers to communication sometimes
block the
transmission of the message thereby creating misunderstanding. T
Through this process, we are able to understand that communication
is systematic.
In the advent of technology, the exchange of information and
messages
in society has advanced and has been a subject of many studies
.
FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION
Why do we communicate?
Since communication is certain in our lives, it comes naturally and
unknowingly.
unknowingly. Communication serves many purposes. The following
are some of the
many reasons why we, humans, communicate:
-inform
-clarify
-buy
-teach
-accept
-criticize
-mininform
question
-confuse
-learn
-affirm
-deny
-counsel
-express
-confirm
-persuade
-clarify
-conceal
-sell
-promote
-advise
-reveal
motivate
-and many more