COMMUNICATION, THE TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION

Today, The Grandma has been reading about communication.

Communication, from Latin: communicare, meaning to share or to be in relation with, is usually defined as the transmission of information.

The term can also refer just to the message communicated or to the field of inquiry studying such transmissions. There are many disagreements about its precise definition. 

John Peters argues that the difficulty of defining communication emerges from the fact that communication is both a universal phenomenon, because everyone communicates, and a specific discipline of institutional academic study.

One definitional strategy involves limiting what can be included in the category of communication. By this logic, one possible definition of communication is the act of developing meaning among entities or groups through the use of sufficiently mutually understood signs, symbols, and semiotic conventions.

An important distinction is between verbal communication, which happens through the use of a language, and non-verbal communication, for example, through gestures or facial expressions.

Models of communication try to provide a detailed explanation of the different steps and entities involved. An influential model is given by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver, who argue that communicative motivation prompts the sender to compose a message, which is then encoded and transmitted.

Once it has reached its destination, it is decoded and interpreted by the receiver.

More information: Creately

Communication is studied in various fields. Information theory investigates the quantification, storage, and communication of information in general. 

Communication studies is concerned with human communication, while the science of biocommunication is interested in any form of communication between living organisms.

Communication can be realized visually, through images and written language, and through auditory, tactile/haptic, olfactory, electromagnetic, or biochemical means or any combination thereof. Human communication is unique in its extensive use of abstract language.

Models of communication are conceptual representations of the process of communication.

Their goal is to provide a simplified overview of its main components. This makes it easier for researchers to formulate hypotheses, apply communication-related concepts to real-world cases, and test predictions. However, it is often argued that many models lack the conceptual complexity needed for a comprehensive understanding of all the essential aspects of communication. They are usually presented visually in the form of diagrams showing various basic components and their interaction.

Verbal communication is the spoken or written conveyance of a message. Human language can be defined as a system of symbols (also known as lexemes) and the grammars (rules) by which the symbols are manipulated.

Over time the forms of and ideas about communication have evolved through the continuing progression of technology. Advances include communications psychology and media psychology, an emerging field of study.

Nonverbal communication explains the processes that convey a type of information in a form of non-linguistic representations. Examples of nonverbal communication include haptic communication, chronemic communication, gestures, body language, facial expressions and eye contact. Nonverbal communication also relates to the intent of a message. 

More information: Network for Good

Effective communication is 20% what you know
and 80% how you feel about what you know.

Jim Rohn