Business Communication Introduction

Communication in simple terms is a transfer of information between people, resulting in common understanding between them.

• It is unavoidable
• It is a two-way exchange of information
• It is a process
• It involves a sender and a receiver of information
• It could be verbal or non-verbal
• It is successful when the receiver interprets the meaning in the same way as that intended by the sender.
• It is a dynamic process
• It enables understanding

Communication Process and its key elements :

• Sender or Encoder : the person who transmits a message
• Receiver or Decoder : the person who notices and decodes or attaches some meaning to a message.
• Message : any signal that triggers the response of a receiver.
• Channel : the medium or method used to deliver the message.
• Feedback : Receivers respond to messages.
• Context :
• Physical : the physical surroundings.
• Social : the relationship between the sender and receiver.
• Chronological : time related factors that could influence the communication
• Cultural : similarity of the backgrounds like age, language, nationality and gender etc. of sender and receiver.

Barriers to Communication :

A communication fails when the message received is not the same as that is sent. 'Noise' refers to these external factors that disrupt the communication and can be classified as :

• Physical : poor acoustics, disturbing sounds or information overload.
• Physiological : fatigue, hearing disability or physical illness.
• Psychological : emotions within the sender or receiver like lack of interest, fear etc.

Some other barriers to communication :

• Environmental barriers 
• Individual barriers 
• Organizational barriers 
• Channel barriers 
• Linguistic and cultural barriers 
• Semantic barriers 
• Non-verbal barriers 

Overcoming the barriers to communication :

Certain steps can be taken at both organizational level as well as individual level to overcome the barriers to communication.

Organizational action:
Some of the steps which an organization can take to overcome the barriers to effective communication are :

• Encourage feedback 
• Create a climate of openness
• Use multiple channels

Individual action:
An individual can take certain steps to overcome the barriers to effective communication. These could help improve interpersonal relationships. These are :

• Active listening
• Careful wording of messages
• Selection of appropriate channels
• Avoidance of technical language
• Right feedback

Classification of communication

Interpersonal Communication : usually involves direct face-to-face contact between the sender and receiver. Interpersonal communication classified based on number of people involved are:

• Dyadic communication : involves two people
• Group communication : involves three or more people, usually happens for decision making or problem solving.
• Public communication : involves large number of people, usually happens for information sharing.

Intrapersonal Communication : is self-communication, usually happens in analysis or clarifying ideas. It involves the following activities :

• Internal discourse : analysis, concentration and contemplation
• Vocal communication : talking loud to oneself
• Written communication : making entries in journals or diaries

Group Communication : Usually happens between three to twenty members. The basic resource of any group is its members. Hence communication is really important for creating and sustaining groups. It can be achieved in the forms :

• Verbal
• Non-verbal
• Written
• Electronic

The various factors that affect group communication are :

• Nature of task
• personalities and abilities of the members in a group
• Environmental factors

Mass Communication : the type of communication that employs some form of medium to communicate to a very large audience. The characteristics of mass communication are :

• Source
• Message
• Channel : radio, television, transmitters etc
• Audience 
• Feedback : communication is one-way, so feedback is usually minimal and delayed.
• Noise

Importance of communication in workplace : communication is very important in this age of technology. A huge amount of money is spent on training higher management in communication skills. Effective communication is more vital to job success. Effective communication can serve the following purposes :

• Greater awareness of organizational goals and teamwork
• Better employer-employee relationships
• Problem solving
• Improved performance
• Stronger link between managers and external environment

Next Topic : Types and Channels of Communication