Categories of Communication

Interpersonal Communication

These principles underlie the workings in real life of interpersonal communication. They are
basic to communication. We can't ignore them

Interpersonal communication is inescapable

We cannot fail to communicate. The very attempt not to communicate communicates something.
Through not only words, but through tone of voice and through gesture, posture, facial
expression, etc., we constantly communicate to those around us. Through these channels, we
constantly receive communication from others. Even when you sleep, you communicate.
Remember a basic principle of communication in general: people are not mind readers. Another
way to put this is: people judge you by your behavior, not your intent.

Interpersonal communication is irreversible

You can't really take back something once it has been said. The effect must inevitably remain.
Despite the instructions from a judge to a jury to "disregard that last statement the witness
made," the lawyer knows that it can't help but make an impression on the jury. A Russian
proverb says, "Once a word goes out of your mouth, you can never swallow it again."

Interpersonal communication is complicated

No form of communication is simple. Because of the number of variables involved, even simple
requests are extremely complex. Theorists note that whenever we communicate there are really
at least six "people" involved: 1) who you think you are; 2) who you think the other person is; 30
who you think the other person thinks you are; 4) who the other person thinks /she is; 5) who the
other person thinks you are; and 6) who the other person thinks you think s/he is.

We don't actually swap ideas, we swap symbols that stand for ideas. This also complicates
communication. Words (symbols) do not have inherent meaning; we simply use them in certain
ways, and no two people use the same word exactly alike.

Osmo Wiio gives us some communication maxims similar to Murphy's law (Osmo Wiio, Wiio's
Laws--and Some Others (Espoo, Finland: Welin-Goos, 1978):

If communication can fail, it will.

If a message can be understood in different ways, it will be understood in just that way
which does the most harm.
There is always somebody who knows better than you what you meant by your message.
The more communication there is, the more difficult it is for communication to succeed.

These tongue-in-cheek maxims are not real principles; they simply humorously remind us of the
difficulty of accurate communication. (See also A commentary of Wiio's laws by Jukka Korpela.)
Interpersonal communication is contextual

In other words, communication does not happen in isolation. There is:

Psychological context, which is who you are and what you bring to the interaction. Your
needs, desires, values, personality, etc., all form the psychological context. ("You" here
refers to both participants in the interaction.)
Relational context, which concerns your reactions to the other person--the "mix."
Situational context deals with the psycho-social "where" you are communicating. An
interaction that takes place in a classroom will be very different from one that takes place
in a bar.
Environmental context deals with the physical "where" you are communicating.
Furniture, location, noise level, temperature, season, time of day, all are examples of
factors in the environmental context.
Cultural context includes all the learned behaviors and rules that affect the interaction. If
you come from a culture (foreign or within your own country) where it is considered rude
to make long, direct eye contact, you will out of politeness avoid eye contact. If the other
person comes from a culture where long, direct eye contact signals trustworthiness, then
we have in the cultural context a basis for misunderstanding.

Within

Intrapersonal Communication

Intrapersonal Communication is defined as the communication process within an individual. The

way that society communicates in our complex daily lives may only be understood after we are
able to comprehend that communication utterly relies on our particular perceptions.

Intrapersonal skills are those skills and communications that occur within a person's own mind,
and are not to be confused with interpersonal skills, which refer to interactions with other people
or personalities.

Intrapersonal skills initiate an appropriate reaction and attitude because of positive internal
dialogue, occurring within the mind. Meditation, prayer, visualization and affirmations are
amongst the intrapersonal techniques that people use to sort out and evaluate situations and
proposals. Awareness of your personal inner dialogue is the first step to improving your
intrapersonal skills.

How to improve intrapersonal communication

Visualization is an intrapersonal skill used by athletes, actors and musical performers to prepare
them to give the best performance they are capable of before they embark on an event. Mental
preparation skills are considered as important as physical skills in overall performance
assessment.

After all, it is the mental skills that drive the physical ones and attitude and confidence are
considered crucial for a top performance. Visualization techniques are taught in special
workshops and courses and develop naturally over time once the basic techniques are mastered.

Having compassion for others is an intrapersonal skill that allows you to see things from the
perspective of others, and is important for teachers, team leaders and anyone working closely
with other people. Your personal views can sometimes taint your attitude toward others
unconsciously, but with a measure of compassion, you can see things in a different light. Some
people have a natural ability for compassion, while others need some guidance and tutoring to
acquire intrapersonal compassion.

Using positive affirmations is similar to using visualization for changing intrapersonal dialogue
patterns occurring within. After recognizing that some negative inner dialogue is occurring, the
best way to reverse this is to include some positive affirmations, which can automatically reverse
the effect of the negative thought. A positive affirmation changes your inner dialogue and allows
you to see things differently.

Positive decision making is a necessary intrapersonal skill required for many professions as well
as for a healthy, happy personal life. Well-developed intrapersonal decision-making skills can be
achieved with practice. When faced with the decision-making process, you must be able to scan
through the available choices in your mind, consider each alternative and come to a practical
decision without inner conflict and confusion.

In result,

For effective communication, it is necessary that you have to set up strong mindset and to be
familiar with your intrapersonal communication.
Small Group Communication

Successful working groups are marked by a range of different communication behaviors

actions people do with words and gestures, which they can practice and improve over time.
Among the behaviors you should practice this semester are:

1. Listening: hear and make sense of what your colleagues are saying; use good, active non-
verbal behaviors like looking at people when they speak, nodding your head when you agree
with something, and sitting forward to show involvement.

2. Making clarifying statements: offer an explanation of a concept or issue the group is trying to
understand.

3. Deliberating and discussing: respond to other people, dont simply push your agenda
regardless of what anyone says; engage them by agreeing and extending what they say or by
respectfully disagreeing with it and offering reasons.

4. Keeping the discussion on task: if the conversation drifts, bring the group back onto task.

5. Eliciting viewpoints from others: ask people who havent spoken what they think about an
issue.

6. Offering feedback: give a colleague constructive comments on a project they did.

7. Mediating conflicts: if there are disagreements and conflicts, try to find middle ground that
satisfies everyone.

Public Communication
Public communications denotes communications between persons as equals. It is the receipt and
exchange of messages, ideas and opinions. Means of public communications evolved over time
with the development of technology and mediums of communications. Likewise, public
opinions, policies and ideas evolved as society's attitudes and opinions changed. However, the
exchange or transaction of ideas remains constant. People respond and react within public
groups, thereby contributing to and shaping public discourse.

Mass Communication
Mass communications is the broadcast of an unanswerable voice to a large audience. In contrast
to public communications, mass communications does not involve an exchange of ideas, but is,
rather, the delivery and receipt of a mass message or messages. The inhabitants of a mass society
may dissent or disagree with the mass message transmitted, but there is still uniformity and
universality of the message.
Interpersonal Communication
Communication between 2 - 4 people, where they pass message from one person to another. It is affected by:
Psychological context
Relational context
Situational context - Deals with the psycho - social "where" you are communicating
Environmental Context - Deals with the physical "where"
Cultural context

Intrapersonal Communication
Skills involve:
Compassion for others - allows you to see in another person's point of view
Using positive affirmations - involves changing personal dialogues
Positive decision making - necessary for healthy happy personal and professional life.

It is necessary that one has a strong mindset and be familiar with one's intrapersonal communication.

For business to be ethical, one must be grounded inside so that they project a positive character.
One is able to possess confidence as they have a strong inward base.

Small Group Communication

Involves min 3 people max 20 people. It is a forum for interpersonal communication.
The following is behaviour of small group communication:
Listening
Good active non verbal behavior e.g. nodding with head, eye contact.
Making clarifying statements
Deliberating and discussing
Keeping the discussion on task
Points of View from others
Offer feedback
Mediating conflict
Example
Board Room Meeting
Accountability Meeting

Extrapersonal Communication

Communication with non human entities

Public Comm
Importance:...

Mass comm

Broadcast , targeted at general population, and not tailored specifically to each person's personality but rather to the key properties
of the people.

Examples
Adversitements