Communication--- Definition

Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place, person or group to
another. Every communication involves (at least) one sender, a message and a recipient. This
may sound simple, but communication is actually a very complex subject.
The transmission of the message from sender to recipient can be affected by a huge range of
things. These include our emotions, the cultural situation, the medium used to communicate,
and even our location. The complexity is why good communication skills are considered so
desirable by employers around the world: accurate, effective and unambiguous communication
is actually extremely hard.
Communication is the imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using
some other medium. The successful conveying or sharing of ideas and feelings. As this
definition makes clear, communication is more than simply the transmission of information. The
term requires an element of success in transmitting or imparting a message, whether
information, ideas, or emotions.
A communication therefore has three parts: the sender, the message, and the recipient.
The sender ‘encodes’ the message, usually in a mixture of words and non-verbal
communication. It is transmitted in some way (for example, in speech or writing), and the
recipient ‘decodes’ it.
We live in a society. Besides ourselves, there are others who may also belong to different
religions and communities, often speaking different languages. But still all of them can speak or
interact with one another. Such interaction is essential for societies to survive. We ask questions
and get answers, seek information and get it. We discuss problems and come to conclusions.
We exchange our ideas and interact with others. For doing all these we use communication.
So communication can help us to understand each other and solve problems.
“Communication is a message understood”. Unless a message is understood we cannot say
that communication has taken place. So for communication to take place, there are two
conditions. First, there should be a clear message. Secondly, that message must be understood
by the receiver, for whom it is meant. In society, we all interact with messages.. Without
interactions, a society cannot survive. Social interaction is always through messages. So we can
also define communication in the following words. “Communication is social interaction
through messages.” It is also said that “communication is sharing of experience.”
1. ” Communication is transfer of information from one person to another, whether or not it elicits
confidence. But the information transferred must be understandable to the receiver – G.G.
Brown.
2. “Communication is the intercourse by words, letters or messages”- Fred G. Meyer.
The exact meaning of the word communicate is ‘to share’ or ‘to participate’. The dictionaries say
that communication is the transmission of a message or information by speaking or writing.
Another dictionary declares that communication is giving or exchanging information, signals,
messages by talk or gestures or writing. Yet another definition says that communication is social
intercourse. Communication is all this and much more.
Communication is giving, receiving or exchanging ideas, information, signals or messages
through appropriate media, enabling individuals or groups to persuade, to seek information, to
give information or to express emotions. This broad definition includes body-language, skills of
speaking and writing. It outlines the objectives of communication. It emphasizes listening as an
important aspect of communication.
Effective communication is defined as communication between two or more persons in which
the intended message is − properly encoded, delivered through appropriate channel, received
and properly decoded and understood by the recipient(s)
In other words, communication is said to be effective when all the parties (sender and receiver)
in the communication, assign similar meanings to the message and listen carefully to what all
have been said and make the sender feel heard and understood.
In a business organization, communication is said to be effective when the information or data
shared among the employees effectively contribute towards organization’s commercial success.
In the words of R.W. Griffin, "Effective communication is the process of sending a message in
such a way that the message received is as close in meaning as possible to the message
intended".