III.Basics of Communication

1.The Definition of Communication

People have different definitions about communication.The definition of communication in theWebster’s Dictionaryis “sending,giving,or exchanging information and ideas”,which is often expressed nonverbally and verbally.Communication is the exchange of messages between people for the purpose of achieving common meaning.Or it can be defined as the process by which information is exchanged and understood by two or more people.

Here we follow this definition:the act and process of sending and receiving messages among people.

2.The Process of Communication

The process of communication can be illustrated as follows(see Figure 1-5).There are ten components of communication process:sender,encoding,message,channel,noise,receiver,decoding,receiver response,feedback,and context.

(1)Sender.The sender is the person with an idea he or she desires to communicate.

(2)Encoding.Unfortunately(or perhaps fortunately),humans are not able to share thoughts directly.The communication is in the form of a symbol representing the idea you desire to communicate.Encoding is the process of putting an idea into a symbol.

(3)Message.It identifies the encoded thought.Encoding is the process.The message is the resulting object.

(4)Channel.It refers to the mean by which the encoded message is transmitted.

(5)Noise.It refers to anything that distorts the message the sender encodes.Noise can be of many forms.External noise can be the sights,sounds,and other stimuli that draw your attention away from the message.Internal noise refers to your thoughts and feelings that can interfere with the message.Semantic noise refers to how alternative meanings of the sender’s message symbols can be distracting.

(6)Receiver.The receiver is the person who attends to the message.

(7)Decoding.Decoding is the opposite process of encoding.The receiver is actively involved in the communication process by assigning meaning to the symbols received.

(8)Receiver response.It refers to anything the receiver does after having attended to and decoded the message.

(9)Feedback.Feedback is information available to a source that permits qualitative judgments about communication effectiveness in order to adjust and adapt to an ongoing situation.Although feedback and responses are not the same thing,they are closely related.Response is what the receive decides to do about the message,while feedback is information about communicative effectiveness.They are related because receiver’s response is a normal source of feedback.

(10)Context.The final component of communication is context.Generally,context can be defined as the environment in which the communication takes place and which helps define the communication.If you know the physical context,you can predict with a high degree of accuracy of the communication.The choice of the environment,the context,helps assign the desired meaning to the communicated words.

3.Types of Business Communication

Business communication can be of three types:

(1)Oral communication.It primarily refers to spoken communication which relies on words,visual aids and non-verbal elements to support the conveyance of the meaning.An oral communication includes discussion,speeches,presentations,interpersonal communication and many other varieties.An oral communication can be formal or informal.Generally business communication is a formal means of communication,such as meetings,interviews,group discussion,speeches,etc.

(2)Written communication.It is the conveyance of ideas and information through written words or creation of visual representations.Primarily it includes words,signs,typography,drawing,graphic design,illustration,colors,and electronic resources.

(3)Non-verbal communication.Non-verbal communication describes the process of conveying meaning in the form of non-word messages through,e.g.,gesture,body language or posture,facial expression and eye contact,etc.Non-verbal communication is also called silent language and plays a key role in human day to day life.

4.The Intercultural Communication

Intercultural communication in its most basic form refers to an academic field of study and research.It seeks to understand how people from different countries and cultures behave,communicate and perceive the world around them.The findings of such academic research are then applied to “real life” situations such as how to create culture synergy between people from different cultures within a business or how psychologists understand their patients.

The definition of intercultural communication must also include stands of field that contribute to it,such as anthropology,cultural studies,psychology and communication.

Intercultural communication can be defined as the interpersonal between members of different groups,which differ from each other in respect of the knowledge shared by their members and in respect of their linguistic forms of symbolic behavior.

Effective communication with people of different cultures is especially challenging.Cultures provide people with ways of thinking,ways of seeing,hearing,and interpreting the world.Thus the same words or same non-verbal communication can mean different things to people from different cultures.