What is Communication - Essay Example

What Is Communication? Essay

Communication is an integral aspect of our lives that involves the expression of our feelings and sharing information. Communication starts in the early life of a person. There is communication between a born baby and the mother. The baby communicates with the mother through crying, in case they need something. The older we grow, the more we master how to communicate. We develop new patterns of communication to express our feelings or indicate what we need at the moment.

In case a seven-year-old child feels hungry, they will tell their mother. Speaking is the most common method of communication. Other types of communication methods exist, including reading, writing, and listening.

Authors Hybels and Weaver defined communication as a process in which human beings share information. The definition further included other forms of communication, such as body language, style, and personal mannerisms. The description included any form that added meaning to the piece of information the end person will receive.

Communication is a continuous process, given the fact that the participants proceed with the exchange. Various elements make up communication, such as messages, senders, receivers, feedback, noise, setting, and channels. The use of these elements elicits a different reaction in the continuation of the process.

The communication process starts when the sender creates a message. The sender makes up the message, which can be expressing feelings of sharing information with the receiver.

The second step in the communication process is encoding the message by the sender. The message structure must be in a manner in which the intended will understand the message. Part elements of the encoded message include language, tones, and gestures. The use of either of these elements, however, depends on the case at hand. Take the instance where you conceive a message where you want somebody to come home. The urgency you need the person to arrive home is dependent on how you will encode the messages.

After encoding the information, it ushers the third step in the communication chain, selecting the proper channel. The level involves the selection of a channel which the sender uses to convey the message to the intended. Some common channels which you can use include a mobile phone, email, and letters, among many more. Face to face communication calls for the need for two channels, including sight and sound. Both the sender and the intended should be able to see each other and hear to complete the process.

A proper channel ensures that the sender sends the information, and the receiver ends up receiving the message. It is up to the receiver to decode the message. The receiver gains the power to put meaning to the symbols and the channels used to gain a better understanding of the information. The interpretation process includes gaining insight into what the sender meant. The interpretation process recalls reviewing the personal experiences with the receiver, culture, knowledge, and noted perceptions.

The communication circuit is complete when there is feedback. Feedback is a response by the receiver with regards to the new sent information. Feedback is proof of receiving the message through the channel. Feedback also proves the ability of the intended to conceive, encode, and return the message through the same channel they received the message. A switch of roles happens where the sender of the message becomes the receiver. They perform the actions of decoding, interpreting, and sending feedback.

The process, in its own right, is continuous. Feedback between the receiver and the sender proves the effectiveness of the message on both ends. It also creates a space for clarification with regards to the interpretation of the message. Feedback is an indicator of the lack of communication barriers. It indicates the differences that exist on the ground. It involves a deep-seated emotion reaction process and interpretation period.

Since the chain involves the process of receiving and giving, it forms part of a transaction. The sender and the receiver are engaged in the form of a transaction. Three principles lay the ground for transactional communication. The first principle encompasses the nature of communication, which is continuous and instant. Both participants in the communication switch roles. For example, one could be undergoing a heartbreaking moment, while the other could be consoling them.

Therefore, the other person responds to the grief suffered by the first person and responds by consoling them. Hence, the second person acts as both a receiver and a sender. In this case, the second principle is how transaction communication involves the past, present, and future. We are highly influenced by experiences that occurred in our past.

There is a particular image you hold of a person once they have a specific title in their life. Communication roles come into action. The nature of the relationship between people differs from one to the next. We play different roles in our life. It all boils down to the environment we are currently in. For example, a manager cannot show love to his workers. However, he plays the role of a husband while at home.

Communication is a complicated chain. Even though we are born with it, as we grow, we learn to master it as an essential skill. The mastery of the communication process is influenced by the experienced we go through in life. Our life has many experiences which we go through that shapes our life. Due to the differences that exist in life, various barriers come into being. Such obstacles are as a result of noise, culture, assumption, and language.

Language plays an integral role in helping you understand the communication process. It is because language uses both oral and written channels and does not include the use of words. In case both the sender and receiver have an extensive vocabulary list, the more the messages and be encoded and decoded.

You are better at expressing your feelings or emotions if you have a master of your language. Compared to a person who lacks an understanding of a specific language hence sticks to one course of expressing themselves. Diction is an essential aspect that determines how your piece of information will be understood. When a professor addresses his friends and minors, they have to adjust their diction to fit into the current situation.

Meanings for certain words also shape the way the message conceives and decodes by the receiver. Therefore, the sender should be aware of negative terms whose meanings have a different effect on another culture. Take, for instance, the use of the ‘n’ word that refers to people of color. In case the ‘n’ word is used in any part of the world, it elicits an angry reaction to the people of color. However, when a person of color uses the word to refer to another person of color, it does not create a fuss.

Therefore, both encoders and decoders of messages should be aware of specialized jargon, dialects, and slang with the communication process. Take, for instance, where a medical practitioner simplifies the nature of the condition of the patient using general words. It is because the medical lingo needs a person to learn through medical school to understand.

However, when talking to another medical practitioner, the doctor will use the medical jargon for a more fundamental understanding of the nature of the condition. Adjustment of the conservation basing on the environment and the person forms part of various factors that aid effective communication.

A common barrier that hinders how the sender and the intended receive information is noise. Three categories can be used to classify noise. Internal noise reflects on the interruptions that exist in the mind of the receiver. The noise reflects on the state of their mind, what they are feeling, or thinking about. The understanding of the information can be interrupted in case the receiver is emotional.

Therefore, the noise will affect the understanding and feedback of the message. External noise comes from the physical environment that interrupts the comprehension of the message. The noise can be due to bad weather or chaotic situations. Semantic noise refers to the meaning that comes attached to the use of a word that elicits an emotional reaction. The word varies depending on the nature of the culture and the location. For a complete and understood piece of information without noise, the sender must be in a calm environment with thoughts to form a sound response.

Other communication barriers that come into action include judgment and assumption. Individuals tend to form opinions based on any situation. The basis of these opinions is baseless and uninformed since it bases on first impressions. An example of this situation is forming stereotypes about a certain group of people basing on what most people say about them. People end up taking up the perceived notions about certain people as the overall representation of their personality. Hence, individuals dictate how they will relate with the people.

What is strategic flexibility? Most benefits base their mission to offer quality customer experiences to gain an edge over their competition. Strategic flexibility is a necessary process that leads to the readjustment of the internal environment of a business. It leads to a realignment of the business’s process to tap into its resources to lead to better decisions that correspond to the changing business environment. It creates an environment for testing the effects of strategic decisions. It becomes a learning curve in case of any mistakes that might impact the organization.

The nature of strategic flexibility can correspond to the changing environment. A fitting description is the integration process where people make changes within the organization to correspond with the changes in the world.

Self-concept majorly reflects what one feels about themselves. A positive self-concept eludes confidence while the lack of it shows a lack of it. Perception relates to the views of people of the world around us. Both self-concept and perception relate to a common ground. The basis of our views of the world is dependent on our personalities. It tests the nature of which we can influence what we see in the world.

In an organization, both self-concept and perception relate depending on the nature of how managers view the business world. The flexibility revolves around how the managers view ways of elevating the status of the business. An example is how a new firm has to contend with low profits. The self-concept and perceptions of the managers help in painting the direction of the business. However, the perceptions might not lead to changes in the organization. Flexibility happens when the business does not take cognizance of the flaw that exists and turn it into a strength.

Intercultural communication involves how individuals communicate with others from different backgrounds. The current business world takes cognizance of the success of businesses basing on how the workers relate together. The changing scope of the business world makes it more possible to realize the intercultural differences in the workplace. The differences that exist in the workplace calls for effective flexibility skills for growing businesses.

Businesses can practice strategic flexibility when they harmonize the intercultural communication skills. The businesses need to adapt to the changes in the organization by taking into account the intercultural differences that exist. Intercultural communication should take cognizance of the cultures of the different components that make up the business.

Another critical aspect of strategic flexibility is verbal communication. Business operations within an organization are dependent on how the workers, suppliers, managers, and customers express themselves. The growth of a business depends on how different components relate to each other to solving problems.

Good verbal communication skills help in the transfer of messages between the hierarchies of management within the organization. Strategic flexibility relates to how the management interprets the messages and make decisions. The managers can perceive new opportunities and threats that affect the growth of the business.

An organization needs to interrelate good verbal communication skills and strategic flexibility to ensure it corresponds to the changing business environment. What is communication? Essay is how an organization interprets messages from its managers, customers, and suppliers to make informed decisions for business growth.