Out of the Woods Introduction
Without the ability to communicate, human beings would be of no use to one another. Individuals would stumble around unaware of anything outside of their own presence, unable to reach out to one another or to connect in a meaningful way. In fact, they might prefer wandering alone in the woods and running into trees. The purpose of this paper is to explore human communication, to clearly define what it is and to determine how it is successfully achieved.
Human beings use their senses to perceive and understand the world that they live in. We use our eyes to see and our ears to hear. However, these senses do not guarantee a common understanding among all human beings. For example, if James sees that a tree is about to fall on Becky, and Becky has her back to the tree, how can Becky determine that the tree is about to fall without actually seeing it herself? James shouts the message, “The tree is falling! Get out of the way!” and Becky, after receiving the message, runs away from the danger. James is able to send a message to Becky, which she can then interpret and react to appropriately. That is the beauty of successful human communication.
The American Heritage Dictionary (2001) defines communication as “the exchange of thoughts, messages or information.” Naturally, human communication is the exchange of thoughts, messages or information between humans.