Abraham Maslow on the Five Stages of Communication

The way we communicate can be explained in stages that were described by a man named Abraham Maslow. He divided our communication into 5 stages. The 5 stages go from most basic to most abstract needs of communication. The first of these needs is physical. This describes the things we need to survive. Air, food, water, and sex would be great examples of these needs for humans. In order to meet these needs we communicate with others to get them. Babies will alert others by crying. When we age, we get better with our skills and learn to talk we can tell people when we need food or water. If we are unable to speak we may learn other ways such as sign language or hand signals.

We also survive by keeping ourselves safe. If there is an unsafe situation you use communication to make it safe. Tell someone you trust or need to fix it. A plumber may be called to fix a stopped toilet. A sheriff if someone is breaking into your house. We alert people as soon as we can of what we need to help us whatever the safety issue is so we can get it resolved as soon as we can.

Belonging is another of the stages of needs. We need to feel like we belong socially. Without that we cannot survive. We need the interaction of others to learn and grow properly. We need to be taught the survival skills. Next on Maslow’s list is self-esteem needs. We need to feel good about ourselves before we can feel good about anything. How we feel about ourselves is a mirror of others images of us. If others are calling us names and making fun all the time, we don’t feel very good about ourselves. We need to make sure our communication with others is respectful and not hurtful of their feelings. On the top of Maslow’s list is self-actualization needs. This describes growing as people. We need to make choices on our own and have our own ideas and thoughts. Our own likes and dislikes. Sometimes we need to grow spiritually, or mentally, or find new talent. Sometimes we need to try