Steve Lunsford

Ultimately, what we learn from examining this definition is that communication when broken down to its most simple form is the transmission of information from one source to another that can be done in a variety of different ways.

The means by which this information is transmitted is not necessarily the way by which this term is defined, but it is most certainly an important consideration, and can be filed into two different categories, verbal and nonverbal. All communication can be categorized under one of these two areas of communication and can be verbal or nonverbal, but often the two overlap with each other.

Verbal communications are simply communication that is transmitted by voice, and is understood by the receiving party hearing the message, whether they are able to comprehend it or not. For instance, if someone were to say “Please pass the salt” it would be heard and ideally understood that the person sending the initial communication, is conveying that they would like the salt to be handed to them. Now, suppose, the person might be speaking a different language, then no matter how much they asked for the salt, though they might be still verbally communicating, the message would not likely be effective, and would likely be dependent upon nonverbal communication for understanding of this message to occur.

Nonverbal communications make up the majority of communications, and they are made up of everything ranging from electronic communications to body language and gestures that accompany verbal communications. Not only are nonverbal communications the most widely used but they are the most widely understood. This type of communications is for the most part (there are some exceptions, cultural body language, for example) universally understood across cultures, regardless of language. This area could be further broken down into categories such as electronic, body language, and inflection.

There can be interaction between verbal and nonverbal, which can take on several different forms such as substitution of nonverbal for verbal, conflicting messages between the verbal and nonverbal signals, or complementing nonverbal and verbal communication. (Knapp & Hall, 2007, pg. 9-10) The areas in which verbal and nonverbal communications interact can result in either enhanced communication, better conveying the intended message, such as the gesturing in a way that helps facilitate the message. In other cases, nonverbal communication may conflict with or impede the verbal message causing the verbal message to be misunderstood or not understood at all.

Yet with all of the ways that communication occurs in today’s world, it becomes increasingly common for the meaning of a communication to be missed, lost, or misunderstood. George Bernard Shaw said, “The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” (Shaw) With the more technologically advanced ways that we have in our increasingly global world and all the distractions that this provides, the difficulties that we see from the early 1900’s hold true the same as ever.

Communications is dependent upon multiple ways of expression in order to effectively convey a message from one party to another, and that ultimately is how it is defined. The key to communications is finding the way to combine all the various elements that it is made up of in order to get information transferred from one party to another.

Works Cited

Communication. (2008). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
Retrieved September 2, 2008, from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/communication

Knapp, Mark L., & Hall, Judith A. (2007) Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction. (5th ed.) Wadsworth: Thomas Learning. ISBN 0-15-506372-3

Shaw, G. B. ThinkExist.com. Retrieved September 2, 2008, from Think Exist: http://thinkexist.com/quotation/the_single_biggest_problem_in_communication_is/155222.html