Meaning of communication

Communication is how information or deals are exchanged either between or among individuals through a system or the use of symbols. Communication may also be defined as giving, receiving, or exchanging information, options, or ideas by writing, speech, or visual means. The material communicated is entirely understood by everyone concerned.

Importance of communication

1. Communication aids in coordination. Proper effective communication acts as a unifying factor on members of an organization or department into a well-directed team.
2. It helps in coordinating the different activities undertaken at other workstations within an organization.
3. It enhances decision-making.Aids in management decision making by analyzing various problems faced by an organization, seeking information from its workforce and all other organizational stakeholders.
4. It helps in leadership.It allows management to transmit ideas, suggestions, and opinions to employees and enables employees to communicate their responses and problems to the management.
5. Communication assists in the delivery of products or services to customers—the message being the prices, brand name, product features being delivered to customers in the market. Also, without communication, advertising and promotion of products may not be possible.
6. It brings about effectiveness. Communication also leads to greater effectiveness; it keeps people in the picture.
7. It gets people committed.It gets people involved with the organization and increases motivation to perform well, and increases its commitment.
8. Good communication calls for better relationships and understanding between the people in the organization and outside.

Internal and external communication

1. Internal Communication

Internal communication is the transmission of information within an organization. It involves the sharing of information, knowledge, ideas, and beliefs between the company members—for example, an employer and an employee or even between an employee and an employee.

Internal communication can be formal or informal. It depends upon the persons to which we are communicating. For example, we use informal or not-so-standard language with our colleagues. However, the language used while communicating with the head of the company is formal.

Effective Internal Communication

Effective internal communication must have the following:-

1. The open and apparent reason for communication.
2. Understanding the need of the audience.
3. Consistent and regular communication.
4. Clear, jargon-free, to the point, and brief language.
5. Two-way communication.
6. Good use of vocabulary.

Importance of Internal Communication

1. One can easily find the importance of internal communication. some of them are
2. It increases productivity.
3. Effective and responsive customer service.
4. The easy attainment of goals.
5. Reduce day-to-day conflict between team members.
6. Enable fast response.
7. Enable fast decision-making.
8. It helps in motivating the employees.

Common Internal Communication

1. Group meetings.
2. Company blogs.
3. Employee training within an organization.
4. Personal meetings.
5. The telephonic conversation between employees.
6. Inquiry of employee.
7. Emails within an organization.
8. Staff communication.
9. Company newsletter.

2. External Communication

External communication is the transmission of information between two organizations. It also occurs between a business and another person in the exterior to the company. These persons can be clients, dealers, customers, government officials or authorities, etc. A customer’s feedback is also external communication. An organization invests a lot of time and money to improve its image through external communication.

Effective External Communication

Effective external communication should possess some specific features for it to be effective. Some of these features are:-

1.  Clear ideas, thoughts, and statements or the reason for communication.
2.  It must be two-way communication.
3.  Precise, error-free, formal, jargon-free, and easy language.
4.  Understanding the need of the audience.
5.  Proper choice of words for communication.

Importance of External Communication

1. It presents a favorable image of an organization.
2. It provides information about products and services to customers.
3. It helps to advertise the organization.
4. Promote an organization
5. It reduces the risks of mistakes.

Common External Communication

1. Advertisement of an organization.
2. Response to a customer.
3. Press conference.
4. Annual reports and letters.
5. Print media.
6. A face-to-face meeting of two organization heads.
7. Tender documents.

Types of communications

There are several different ways we share information. For example, you might use verbal communication when sharing a presentation with a group. On the other hand, you might use written communication when applying for a job or sending electronic mails. There are four main categories or communication styles, including verbal, nonverbal, written, and visual:

1. Verbal Communication – Verbal communication is the use of language to transfer information through speaking or sign language. It is one of the most common types, often used during presentations, video conferences, phone calls, meetings, and one-on-one conversations.
2. Nonverbal Communication – It is the use of body language, gestures, and facial expressions to convey information to others. Nonverbal communication is helpful when trying to understand others’ thoughts and feelings.
3. Written communication – Written communication is writing, typing, or printing symbols like letters and numbers to convey information. It is helpful because it provides a permanent record of information for reference. It is commonly used to share information through books, pamphlets, blogs, letters, memos, emails, and more.
4. Visual communication – Visual communication uses photographs, art, drawings, sketches, charts, objects, samples, and graphs to convey information. Visuals are often used as an aid during presentations to provide helpful context alongside written and verbal communication.

Principles of effective communications 

1. Have a Goal – The need to determine what you want your audience to do or get out of your communication.
2. Listen – Good communication is never one way. For communication to be effective, enough listening skills will be needed.
3. Adjust to Your Medium – Context about where and how your communication is being consumed is a vital factor to consider. For example, you wouldn’t say certain things through written communication because the tone and inflection of the spoken word isn’t there
4. Stay Organized – Always create a cohesive, high-level outline that includes your goal, your main point(s) to get across, and the main ways you’re going to illustrate them for your audience. Stay relevant and avoid being irrelevant.
5. Be Persuasive – This is the whole reason you’re communicating, so do it well! Different people are persuaded differently. So, if appropriate, appeal to their rational side with relevant facts to back up your main argument.
6. Be Clear – Keep your writing clear and concise. Moreover, explicitly state what you’re arguing, keep it as short as possible, avoiding long stories or wordings when a short one will do.
7. Visuals Are Important – When communicating with an audience, variety can go a long way. Humans comprehend new information in several ways, but many are primarily visual people. You can understand visual data in as little as 13 milliseconds!
8. Use Stories – Another way to connect with your audience and communicate your ideas is with relevant illustrative stories.
9. Less Is More – Your audience is likely busy. So don’t waste your (or their) time with irrelevant stories, repeated information, or details that may be related but don’t help you with your main communication goal.
10. Be Curious – Finally, resolve always to be learning. While some things remain the same, the how and what we communicate are constantly evolving. Read lots, talk to mentors, and never assume you know everything when it comes to good communication.

Communication process

The communication process refers to a series of actions or steps taken to communicate successfully. It involves several components such as the sender of the communication, actual message being sent, encoding of the message, the receiver, and the decoding of the message and the feedback. The components are described below:-

1. Sender – This is the initiator of the communication process and plays the following roles in the communication process.

• They are the source of the information
•  Initiates the communication process
•  Encodes the message by choosing the appropriate language, symbols, words, signs, and sounds to convey the message
•  Evaluate the availability of the medium of communication and settles for the best alternative
•  Meets the cost of communication although the receiver can decide it

2. Encoding – The sender expresses his ideas or opinions in words, signs, gestures to convey the message. It is a psychological process where the sender engages his mind to select the appropriate words or characters to describe the message.

3. Message – This is the idea, feelings, information, or opinion transmitted from the sender to the receiver. The physical form in which the sender encodes the idea/thought/feelings to pass it across to the receiver. Its primary role in the communication process is to bring understanding between the sender and the receiver.

4. Medium/channel – The means through which information is carried/transmitted from one place to another or from the sender to another. Its role in the communication process is to bridge the gap between the sender and receiver.

5. Receiver – This is the intended target of the message. They decide the message and gives feedback as expected by the sender. If they fail to achieve the information as intended, a communication breakdown occurs. Therefore, to facilitate decoding the message, it should be encoded correctly in the receiver’s mind. The receiver performs the following role:

• Receives the message
• Decodes the message, i.e., interpreting the message and accordingly
• Response to the sender must be given an appropriate feedback
• They meet the cost of the feedback medium lost

6. Decoding – The process through which the receiver interprets the message in order to give meaning and hence appropriate feedback.

7. Feedback – This is the reaction or response of the receiver to the sender of the message. Feedback completes the communication process and brings about a reversal of roles where the initial sender becomes the receiver.

The illustration below describes the communication process.

Barriers to effective communication

These are factors that interfere with the exchange of information between the sender and receiver or any factor that reduces the effectiveness of the communication process. The barriers include:-

1. Difference perception. It occurs when the sender and the receiver look at the same point from totally different points of view, bringing about conflict in their perception. Such differences may be caused by education status, cultural backgrounds, levels of experience, etc.
2. Noise – It is any factor that disturbs or interferes with the communication process by reducing the concentration of the sender and the receiver.
3. Age difference – Age may create a difference in understanding or interest between the two parties hence affecting communication. This is because there is a lack of shared common experience, the difference in knowledge, and levels of awareness.
4. Attitude – The sender or receiver’s attitude towards one another is likely to influence communication to a higher degree, either positively or negatively.
5. Mistrust, threats, or fear – The credibility of the message, to a large extent, is dictated by the trust parties have for each another. If the sender provides an environment of mistrust or fear, any message will be received with suspicion.
6. Inability to Listen to Others – Active listening is an essential aspect of effective communication. You cannot engage with someone if you are not listening to them because you tend to make assumptions about their needs based on your perceptions versus reality.
7. Language Barriers – Our language may present barriers to others who are not familiar with our expressions, like jargon over-complicated, unfamiliar, or technical terms.
8. Physical and physiological barriers – These include distance, background noise, malfunctioning equipment, bad hearing, bad eyesight, speech impediments.

Solutions to these barriers to communication 

1. Ensure the environment is noise-free
2. Use the proper channels for effective delivery of messages
3. Strive for the right attitude on the information being sent or received
4. Plan before giving out a message to ensure that all principles are observed
5. Avoid assumptions on the receiver’s side
6. Sufficient time for adjustment should be given
7. Practice and training should be used as instruments to improve listening and reading
8. Conciseness should be aimed at but should not create ambiguity