Communication is a way of life for sociable organisms on earth. There are many forms of communication and several are used without saying a word or making a sound. Communication is the sharing of ideas and information. Most people communicate in many different ways: in order to give or provide information; to express their emotions, thoughts, feelings; to get to know each other; to develop (physical, intellectual, emotional, social skills and language).
Different types of communication
Four types of communication
1. Group communication
Taking part in a group discussion involves some additional issues as compared to one-to-one communication.
* Group leaders: some groups such as team meetings have a leader or chairperson. Having a leader is very useful because they can help people to express their ideas; group leaders often encourage people to focus on a particular task within a group.
* Group ‘ambiance’: group discussion only works well if people want to be involved. Sometimes people feel threatened if they have to speak within a formal group of people or they might stay quiet because they are worried about the reaction of others. It is important that the groups have the right emotional atmosphere. Formal groups often use humour or other friendly behaviours to create the right group feeling to encourage people to talk.
* Thinking through what you are going to say: in formal groups it is important to think through your points before sharing them with the whole group, because of this extra preparation, talking to a group can feel very different from talking in one to one circumstances.
* Taking turns: when a group does not have a leader or chairperson it is important that group members have the skills to take turns in talking. When a speaker is finishing, they usually signals this by lowering their voice tone, slowing the pace of talking and looking around at other people in the group. The next person to talk knows that it is their turn by watching the eyes of other people in the group.
2. One-to-one conversations
It is important to create the right emotional atmosphere before you can go on to discuss complicated issues or give people information. It is important that other person feels happy and relaxed to talk to you. Very often people will start with a greeting such as “good morning”. You need to help other people to relax by showing that you are friendly and relaxed. Once you have created a good feeling, you can move on to the business. When it is time to end the conversation, you will want to leave the other person with the right kind of emotions. Formal conversations can be understood as involving a three-stage model where it is important to have an emotional warm-up stage a winding down stage as well as a business.
3. Non-verbal communication
Is the message that we send without using words. We send messages using our eyes, the tone of our voice, our facial expressions, our hands and arms, gestures with our hands and arms, the tension in our muscles and body postures.
Gesture
Body posture
Non-verbal communication
Touch
Signs, symbols, pictures
Facial expressions
Eye contact
Body postures: The way a person stand or sit can send messages. Sitting with crossed arms can mean, you are not taking any notice, leaning forward can show intense involvement or interest. Leaning back can send the message that you are relaxed or bored.
The way you move: As well as posture, your body movements will communicate messages. For instance, the way you walk, move your head, sit etc will send messages about whether you are happy, tired, bored or sad.
Gestures: These are hand and arm movements that can help us to understand what a person is saying. Some gestures carry a common meaning in most communications in the uk.
Facial expressions: our face often shows our emotional state. When a person is sad they may signal this emotion by looking down. There may be tension in their face and their mouth will be closed. The muscles