Human Communication Theory
Human communication can be defined as the processes and methods that are used to deliver information from one person to another. Examples of human communication can be anything that transmits information, including spoken word, text on a page, or symbols on a road sign. The purpose of human communication is to transmit information in a way that the recipient can understand. With this being the case, it is imperative that both parties participating in the communication are able to decipher the symbols that contain the information. If the receiving party cannot decode the message, then the message is not understood and the information is not successfully transmitted. Humans communicate in many different ways, including verbal, oral, and non-verbal forms of communication.
Verbal communication uses words to transmit information and convey meaning to the recipient. In order for verbal communication to take place, both parties need to communicate in a language that can be understood (not necessarily the same language). An example of verbal communication would be words in a book. Books use symbols in the form of letters to represent words. These words contain the information that is transmitted to the reader. If the reader of a book cannot comprehend the language that the book is written in, the symbols on the page will be incomprehensible and the information will not be transmitted to the reader.
Oral communication uses speech to transmit information. In the same way that a book uses words to deliver information, oral communication relies on a human’s ability to speak and listen. When using oral communication, much like verbal communication, the receiver must be able to comprehend the language being used in order to decode the message. If there is a difference in language between people, they will not be able to orally communicate with one another because they will not be able to understand one another.
Communication can also be classified as non-verbal. Non-verbal communication relies on symbols in the form of body language to convey a message. Examples of non-verbal communication could be a shrug of the shoulders to convey “I don’t know” or an up and down nod of the head to mean “Yes.” Just like oral and verbal communication, non-verbal communication can only be understood when the two communicating parties understand the meaning of the symbol. A thumbs-up hand gesture in America mean “good job”, while in the Middle East this same gesture can be taken as an insult.
Verbal, oral, and non-verbal forms of communication consist of methods and processes that are used to transmit information from one human to another. Humans can only communicate when both parties understand and comprehend the symbols and language that are being used to transmit the message. In any form of communication, the information is lost when the recipient does not comprehend the meaning of the message.