Communication:

An Introduction

COMMUNICATION: NATURE AND PROCESS

Communication is derived from the Latin word communicatus which means “to
impart” or share. It can be understood as making some information common.
It is giving or exchanging of information, signals or messages by means of
Ml Communication Skills for Engineers and Scientists |
talking, gestures or writing. American College Dictionary defines communica-
tion as “the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by
speech, writing or signs”.
Today is the world of communication. We are surrounded with all sorts of
gadgets that help us in communicating. To send urgent information to someone,
all you need to do is to give that individual a call or send him an e-mail. When
a mishap or accident occurs in an organization, you hear a siren. The very
nature of the sound either alarms or cautions you. The door bell of your house,
the early moming siren of a factory, the terrifying sound of an ambulance, the
rotating red light on the vehicles of important officials are all messages,
however different their natures may be. When you have a message to deliver,
you decide the channel and also think about the capability or accessibility of the
receiver. Thus, in all communications, we find that there are something very
common. The sender has an idea, which he wants to communicate to the
receiver with the help of some channel. The receiver’s background helps the
sender to decide the channel. The message may be in the form of words or
symbols, which both the parties are familiar with. The elements of
communication are: sender, message, channel, receiver and response. See
Figure 1.1.

Medium Receiver/Response

Feedback

Figure 1.1 Schematic representation of a communication model.

Thus, communication in any form or any medium is an interaction between

individuals. This interaction at times may be for resolving a crisis, settling a
deal, asking a question, or having a conversation not only for a specific
purpose, but also for fun. Communication can be defined in a number of ways.
Let us look at some definitions of communication.
[ Technical Report Writing: An Overview ©

Communication is social interaction through symbols and message systems.

George Gerbner, “On Defining Communication: Still Another View, Journal
of Communication, 16 (2), 99, June 1966
Considered as a process, communication can be defined and classified
in many ways: as internal or external, verbal or non-verbal, as impressing
content or relationships, as being intentional or unintentional and so on.
Larmy L. Barker and Robert J. Keller
Communication is the process involving the transmission and reception of
symbols eliciting meaning in the minds of the participants by making common
their life experiences.
E John Baird Jr.
Communication is the transfer of information and understanding from one
person to another person. It is a way of reaching others with facts, ideas,
thoughts and values. It is a bridge of meanings among people so that they can
share what they feel and know. By using this bridge a person can cross safely
the river of his understanding that sometimes separates people.
Keith Davis in Human Behaviour at Work

A close analysis of the above-mentioned definitions results in the following

common observations:
1. Communication is the transmission of signals from one person to
another.
2. It involves the conscious use of symbols directed towards some goal.
3. Communication involves the perception of commonly understood
symbolic stimuli of language.
4. Communication may bring about a change in a person or in an
organization if used for a specific purpose.
From these points, we can frame our own definition of communication as:
“A dynamic process in which man consciously or unconsciously
affects the knowledge or experiences of another through the use of
words or symbols™.
Communication, then, is a process—a two-way process. The various
components of communication are sender, receiver, message, channel, response
and a feedback as shown previously in Figure 1.1.
All of us have ideas which we want to convey to others. Our
communication is successful when our ideas are expressed meaningfully and
have an effect on others. Communication is a process, and for this process to
be complete, you have to understand the various elements/components
involved. In any communication there are two, or more than two parties
involved. The person who sends his idea is the sender and the person who
receives this idea is called the receiver. The sender selects a medium or channel
to send his idea. The receiver decodes the sender’s message. The message is
considered successful if the receiver sends a response. The response of the
 Communication Skills for Engineers and Scientists |

receiver gives the sender the clue to understand the effectiveness of the
message. This observation by the sender is called feedback. We can understand
the nitty gritty of communication with the help of Figure 1.2 that shows a
model given by C.E. Shannon and W. Weaver.

@ Feedback
<+

Figure 1.2 Shannon-Weaver model.

Sender
The sender is the first important element of a communication process. He
transmits or disseminates information to those he wants to and to those who are
in need of it. Much depends on the sender of a message. During hours of crucial
importance, the background. attitude and mood of the sender come under
scrutiny. A slight lapse on the part of the sender may affect the fortune of a
group, community or even of a nation. The sender has to be responsible enough
while sending a message lest he should create disharmony or invite unnecessary
trouble.

If the sender is the first important element in a communication process, then the
message is also equally important. Message is the information that the sender
sends. It is an idea, sometimes data, a meaningful utterance or statement issued
by the sender. The message may be in the form of words, symbols, gestures,
etc. Nowadays, the beep of your cell phone, electronic traffic lights, icons on
your computer are all messages. You will read about such messages in detail
in Chapter 11. Communication is not only verbal but it is also non-verbal.
When we communicate without words, it is called non-verbal communication.

Channel
The medium through which the sender transmits his message or idea is called
the channel. The selection of channel depends on the sender’s mood and
receiver’s expectation, and also the situational need. You may think of sending
[ Technical Report Writing: An Overview

a message by using technology. viz. telephone, computer, fax, or sometimes

through post. But on many occasions, you may want to have a personal
interaction. So, think for a while before you decide the channel through which
you will send the message. You want to send birthday wish to one of your
distant relatives. Wishing him through phone, e-mail or SMS will be more
effective than sending a greeting card by snail mail. But when you have to offer
your condolence to a friend who lost his father, you would certainly want to do
it in person. Moreover, when dealing with official responsibilities, verbal
messages appear more effective.

Receiver
The person for whom the message is intended is the receiver. For the success
of a communication process, the relation between the sender and the receiver
comes into the picture. In this case, familiarity facilitates decoding. People
working in similar types of organizations can understand and decode each
other's messages better than others. On many occasions, letters, mails, phone
calls from unknown quarters make us doubt the content and credibility of the
message. In official circles, messages sent by official medium are not only liked
less, but also ignored. This may lead to difficulties too. Like the sender, the
receiver also has to be careful while decoding the message and sending the
response. Never jump to conclusions in haste for a hasty response may result
in wastage of time and undue problems.

Feedback
When a sender sends a message, he waits for a response. There are times when
the sender doesn’t receive a response. The sender in such a situation starts
checking what went wrong. This examination or evaluation of the receiver’s
response is called feedback that helps the sender to understand the effectiveness
of the message. Nowadays, feedback is one of the best measuring scales to
bring further improvements and overcome lapses in one’s work. Feedback helps
in the improvement of not only organizations, but also individuals. Care,
however, has to be taken that feedback is not confused with response. While
response is the reaction of the receiver, feedback is the analysis of the nature
of the response.

COMMUNICATION: SUCCESS OR FAILURE

We have discussed that interaction between two parties with a meaningful

purpose and proper medium results in successful communication. But on many
occasions two parties communicate, yet there is no response. Think for a while.
You speak to your colleague but he shows no reaction. You repeat your
 Communication Skills for Engineers and Scientists ]
message and ask the colleague the reason for not responding. You come to
know that he was lost in thoughts or some other anxiety kept his mind
occupied. Thus, the success of communication depends on the cooperation
between the two parties. At times people grumble that their messages didn’t
v

carry any response. We can’t say that the process didn’t take place. Rather there
were certain reasons that either impeded the response or obstructed the receiver
from sending onc. We come across such situations quite often. Our
communication breaks down many a time. We will study various reasons for
the breakdown of communication, which is also called communication barrier.
Such barriers are discussed in detail in Chapter 2.
For instance, what happens when you send a message in Kannada to a
person and wait for a response? Only after 15 days do you discover from a
friend of yours that the person in question is a Kannada, indeed but he can’t
speak or write the language as he has been living in England right after his
birth. Hence, the reason for breakdown of communication here is because of a
language barrier.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
We come across different situations in life. As human beings, we have to
communicate with various people and in different environments. Sometimes,
we converse with our friends and yet at other times we communicate with our
superiors or subordinates. There are also occasions when we have to address a
group, participate in a meeting and deliver a talk to a large gathering. All these
occasions necessitate human communication to be of different natures.
Human communication can be divided as illustrated in Figure 1.3.

Human Communication

I I ]
Interpersonal Intrapersonal Extra personal Mass and Media
Communication Communication Communication Communication

Figure 1.3 Various divisions of human communication.

Interpersonal Communication
This form of communication takes place between two people. When one person
communicates with another using words or symbols, it is called interpersonal
communication. The success of this form of communication depends on the
familiarity of knowledge, background and experience of the individuals
[ Technical Report Writing: An Overview n

involved. People with similar backgrounds, beliefs and experiences

communicate better. Their fields of experience often overlap, such a process is
called homophily. In an environment of better and greater homophily,
interpersonal communication becomes meaningful. You often find it interesting
to talk with a friend about a book you both have read or a movie you both have
seen. John Steward says that interpersonal communication is concemned with
what might be called relationship communication since the meanings in
interpersonal communication grow 1o a large extent from the notions we form
about others while actively interacting with them. Examples of interpersonal
communication are conversation, small group meetings, some interviews and
letters. (John Steward, “An Interpersonal Approach to the Basic Course”, The
Speech Teacher, 21, (1) 1972.) See Figure 1.4.

Figure 1.4 Interpersonal communication.

Intrapersonal Communication
There are times when human beings actively communicate with themselves
without any visible companion. In this type of communication, a person talks
to himself, that is, he talks to his own self. The word ‘intra’ means within and,
thus, intrapersonal communication is talking to one's own self without the
involvement of a second person or party. In such a communication, the
electrochemical and electrotechnical activities of the bodily senses are involved.
Eyes become the transmitters of electrochemical impulses, the central nervous
 Communication Skills for Engineers and Scientists ]

system becomes the medium, the brain acts as the receiver, and feedback is
produced by the activation of muscles.
Such a communication occurs both in group and in isolation when
a person concentrates more on any of the past actions or events. He isolates
himself from others, and moves within to interact. We can find a person
thumping at the desk or blabbering suddenly without any other individual's
participation. Thus, communication can bring a change in a person’s
self-concept, self-determination and self-motivation. It may help an
individual realize his faults and, at other times, infuriate him also. Examples of
such communications are soliloquies in dramas and afterthoughts of an
individual when he comes out of a meeting on a crucial matter with his boss.
See Figure 1.5.

Figure 1.5 Intrapersonal communication.

Extrapersonal Communication
Human beings also communicate with animals, inanimate objects and their
surroundings. This is termed as extrapersonal communication. This is most
often a communication with less chances of exchange in terms of words
between the sender and the receiver. The sender in such a case may use words
but may receive response in the form of gestures as in the case of animals. In
the case of inanimate objects, the sender depends solely on his sense
perceptions and makes this communication a medium to express his sense of
joy, sorrow or frustration. See Figure 1.6.
[ Technical Report Wiiting: An Overview

Figure 1.6 Extrapersonal communication.

Mass and Media Communication

There are times when we have to communicate with large groups. In such a
communication, the sender uses electrical/mechanical device to send his
message. The channel could be newspaper, radio, TV, video, or some other
medium. Thus, in this type of communication, though it involves two parties,
yet the receiver has less chances to participate actively. The receiver acts as a
listener, and the sender too has the limitation of not making a personal rapport
with him or her. Feedback and response are difficult to be sought or expected
through this medium of communication. See Figure 1.7.

Figure 1.7 Mass and Media communication.

 Communication Skills for Engineers and Scientists ]
COMMUNICATION FLOW
Communication has been called the life blood of an organization. The success
of any organization depends on the dissemination of communication. Every
organization has its own system of sending and receiving information. You
would certainly like to know how communication is managed in a company or
an organization.
An organization is a group of individuals of diverse background and
responsibilities. Individuals differ in their attitude and their attachment to the
company they work for. Organizational commitments enable individuals to seek
and hide information according to the requirement of the circumstances. Hence,
communication flows in an organization both in formal and in informal ways.
Every individual uses both formal and informal means of communication to
update himself.
An organization uses formal means of communication to inform, encourage
and enrich the employees with the latest developments. But there are certain
limits beyond which information is revealed or concealed according to the
exigencies of situations. When information and ideas are exchanged within the
organization, it is termed internal communication. It helps the employees in
performing their jobs and also in understanding the aims and objectives of the
organization. But when such ideas and information are sent outside the
organization, it is called external communication. The functions of external
communication include responding to queries from outside; persuading
customers to buy products, collecting bills, and replying to customer’s claims
and adjustments.
Internal communication also has formal and informal forms. The formal
forms or channels of communication can be categorized into the following:
¢ Downward Flow
e Upward Flow
* Horizontal Flow
Downward Flow of communication, as the name suggests, moves
downwards. When communication from higher authorities is sent to the people
at the bottom, it runs downward. Usually, notices, new announcements,
instructions, orders and reminders come under this category. This mode of
communication keeps the employees aware and informed of company
procedures and their performance. Caution needs to be exercised while sending
downward communication as it may create displeasure and also halt work. A
little bit of restraint while disseminating information through downward mode
may bring better coordination between the employer and the employee. Depending
on an organization's hierarchical structure, downward flow of communication can
come across some obstacles. If communication has to pass through different
levels of hierarchy, there are chances of the message getting distorted.
[ Technical Report Writing: An Overview

Upward Flow of communication comes from subordinates to their

superiors, and junior level employees to their bosses. Communication through
this mean aims at helping the bosses perform their tasks efficiently and keeping
them informed of the recent developments. Since it is difficult for executives
to keep an eye over the progress in all divisions and departments, they seek
honest feedback from their immediate subordinates. The present organizational
structure of firms aims at ensuring better coordination between employees at all
levels. Upward flow of communication process proves its significance only
when there exists trust between the boss and his subordinates. Trust and
confidence between both the sides can make upward flow of communication an
effective tool for the growth of an organization. The medium for upward flow
of communication can be phones, e-mails, memos, reports and meetings. The
flexible attitudes of employers in a fast changing scenario of today may affect
the accurate flow of upward communication. This can be regulated by
encouraging more interaction between the employer and the employees.
Horizontal Flow of communication takes place between people of equal
status and peer groups. This flow of communication arises when some
important decision is to be made. We can find such communication not only
among superiors, but also among subordinates. Decisions regarding
employment and retrenchment, signing contracts or collaboration, passing new
policies, enhancing or curtailing benefits and several group meetings come
under horizontal flow of communication. This flow of communication can
ensure better decisions provided people are free from biases and individualistic
beliefs.
Communication also flows through informal means. The informal network
of communication is called grapevine. It is less structured and can be between
all groups and individuals depending on their relationships. Communication
occurs in the form of casual conversations and whispers during official hours
and even outside the organization in small gatherings. Considered as rumour
mill, grapevine also, at times, provides information difficult to procure through
official sources. It is a medium to reveal some very important and secret
information before time. Communication of this form is unethical by nature, yet
people make use of this medium without spreading the message to everyone.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Whether you communicate with individuals or organizations, your concern for
the other party becomes important. With the changing working climate and
culture, it has become inevitable to care for ethical behaviour. In an open and
candid communication atmosphere of today, we have the choice either to be
ethical or to be unethical. Ethics means the right conduct by individuals or
organizations, and is most important while conducting businesses. You often
wonder how to maintain ethical conduct if you have to compete in this crass
 Communication Skills for Engineers and Scientists ]

commercial world. Let us understand the kinds of ethical challenges we come

across. Imagine you have been appointed to increase the sale of a product that
doesn’t have a good market. In order to keep your position, you convince
customers by making tall and exaggerated claims. Much to the ire of other
organizations involved in selling the same kind of product, you criticize their
products just to prove yours is better. On an another occasion, you are deputed
to visit 30 dealers and report about the market conditions. You visit only five
dealers and give a false report to your boss or supervisor. Not only this, you
discuss a business plan with one of your colleagues and prepare the proposal
in your name including the ideas suggested by him without giving him credit.
All these are violations of ethical codes. You may taste success for some period
of time but eventually you will be exposed and then stand helpless.
One should be responsible and accountable. Organizations respect honesty,
integrity, reliability and, hence, expectation of high ethical standards has
become a must. Companies today aim for long and lasting relationships, which
stand on the firm grounds of reliability. As individuals, we should respect our
cthical standards. The maintenance of individual standard is a reflection of an
organization’s ethical considerations. Every employee should consider himself
as his organization's ambassador and the organization too should have
transparent dealings with employees so that a balance is maintained between the
ethical standards of the duo.