Definition Of Communication

Definition of Communication -Communication (from Latin "communis", meaning to share) is the activity of conveying information through the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, visuals, signals, writing, or behavior. It is the meaningful exchange of information between two or a group of person. -Communication is the process where the one person is expressing his or her idea and the other one is listening to the idea being expressed by the one who is talking. When a person talks and nobody listens, then there is no communication happening because there is no understanding.

Any act by which one person gives to or receives from another person information about that person''s needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge, or affective states. Communication may be intentional or unintentional, may involve conventional or unconventional signals, may take linguistic or nonlinguistic forms, and may occur through spoken or other modes. -Two-way process of reaching mutual understanding, in which participants not only exchange (encode- decode) information, news, ideas and feelings but also create and share meaning The Cycle of Communication: -The communication process involves a series of steps and is cyclical in nature.

This makes the process two-way whrere the message is sent by one party, received and responded by the other party. ln case the second party receives the message but does not respond,this will leave the communication cycle incomplete and in order to complete the cycle feedback from the recipient will be necessary. Sender: The process starts with the first component known as sender or encoder. The sender is a person who has a need or impulse to communicate his/her feelings,ideas,emotions or exchange information.

The sender can use one or more than one medium to relay his/her message. Message: Message is the core ideas that the sender wishes to communicate. Following an impulse to coomnicate, the sender will encode the message under a particular context. The sender''s personality and his environmental circumstances will influence the encoding message. Channel/Medium: Once the message is encoded, the sender will have to transmit it to the intended recipient. For this,he/she will require a channel or tools in the form of visual, written, oral or electronic communication .

The choice of medium or channel would largely depend on factors such as time, complexity of message, distance, need for written Receiver: The receiver''s first task in receiving the message is to interpret the codes he sees in the form of language or meaning hidden therein. Like the encoder, the decoder interprets the message under a particular context. The decoder''s personality and his/ her environmental circumstances will influence his/her understanding and interpretation of the message.

Feedback: Feedback is the reaction of the receiver to the sender''s message. With feedback, the cycle of coomunication also gets completed. Feedback is the most important step in the entire process as it will determine the effectiveness of a message and also guard gainst the so many potential barriers and breakdowns in communication. Importance of Communication A. Society Communication aims to empower the community towards collective decision-making and action through enhanced knowledge and skills to identify, prioritise and resolve problems and needs.

Communication for development has thus come to be seen as a way to amplify voice, facilitate meaningful participation, and foster social change. It is also about seeking change at different levels including listening, building trust, sharing knowledge and skills, building policies, debating and learning for sustained nd meaningful change''. Such two-way, horizontal approaches to communication include public hearings, debates, deliberations and stakeholder consultations, participatory radio and video, community-based theatre and story-telling, and web forums.

B. Government -. Communication to carry out a transfer of information. This includes large-scale media campaigns, social marketing, dissemination of printed materials, ''education- entertainment'' and other forms of one-way transmission of information from the sender to the receiver. Governments in the developed world are acutely aware of the eed to communicate effectively both to influence public opinion and maintain their legitimacy, and often construct elaborate structures of press offices, and information ministries to perform the communication function.

C. Field of education - Communication that can either be one-on-one or in small groups. The objectives are to share information, respond to questions, and motivate specific behavioral practices that allows for the learning of new ideas, interpersonal networks encourage the shift from knowledge to continued practice. D. lndividual -Able to express emotions of oneself, share ideas and transfer informations.