Research Paper

Communication is a two-way process in which there is an exchange and progression of ideas towards a mutually accepted direction or goal. For communication to materialise it is essential that the basic elements of communication be identified and these include the sender, the receiver, message, medium and feedback. Communication is important in our daily lives and so we can’t but communicate. Even when we are not saying a word, everything we do is a form of communication. Human communication is predominantly in two broad categories namely social communication and business communication. This essay will discuss what constitutes the levels of communication and tally them with the models of communication. The levels of communication include interpersonal communication, group communication and mass communication. Intrapersonal communication is more than just thinking. It is how one communicates with one self and includes the concept of inner speech. Intrapersonal communication is a very normal human process. It can take the form of ‘pep talk’ where an individual boast his own morale when faced with a crisis. This happens unintentionally or subconsciously because it is a type of communication that takes place within one self. Intrapersonal communication is mostly practised by those in public speaking professions like teachers, pastors and so on. Self esteem is a very important aspect in this type of communication. It is about how well we think of ourselves, try to convey an idea that how well we think of our selves affects how well we communicate with others, as well as the idea that everyone has things that they are good at and can feel good about. The extent to which it occurs varies from person to person. Intrapersonal communication can encompass day dreaming, nocturnal dreams and lucid dreaming.
Decker (1995: 25) explains that; we can not avoid been part of the communication process. Every where we turn, meaning is created within us and we are creating meaning in others, we read and talk, we listen and react. Communication is a human activity as breathing and eating. We could say that communication is human imperative. An imperative is something we must do. Intrapersonal occurs when you communicate on one to one basic usually in an informal, instructional setting. It occurs between two people, though it may include more than two. Their message consists of both verbal and non-verbal symbols and the channels used are sight and sound. It includes all aspects of communication such as listening, persuading, and asserting non verbal communication. A primary concept of intrapersonal communication looks at communicative acts when there are few individual involved. It also offers the greatest opportunity for feedbacks. To understand the concept of intrapersonal communication, one needs to compare it to other forms of communication. It differs from other forms of communication in that there are few participants involved, the interactants are in close physical proximity to each other, there are many sensory channels used and the feedback is immediate. In this level of communication, the communication process can either be through writing, visual or orally. It could also be formally or informally depending on the context. This type of communication occurs when ever we communicate to someone on one to one basis. Whenever someone smiles back at us, it is a positive response and constitutes intrapersonal communication. Individuals also communicate at different interpersonal levels depending on who they are engaging in communication with. For example, if an individual is communicating with a family member, that communication will more likely differ from the communication used when engaged in a communicative act with a friend or significant. Other overall intrapersonal communication can be conducted using both direct and indirect mediums of communication such as face to face interaction as well as computer mediated communication successful. Intrapersonal communication assumes that both the message sender and the message receivers will interpret and understand the message being sent in a level of understood meanings and implications. (Sillars 1988)
In this regard, group communication involves more than two participants. Group communication allows many people to come together to share their skills and to reach a conclusion agreeable to the majority. They gather the information well in advance and thus obtain knowledge from the fore-ground research to bear on the subject matter. This happens mostly in colleges and universities where students may form group discussions. Normally, each member is made aware of the subject matter to be discussed. They reinforce their input with personal experience and observations relating to matters of fact. Apart from the distinction in communication styles, group communication in most cases requires certain reliability guarantee in terms of the message sent from sources to members of the group. Group communication makes it easy to recognise that one or two people could have reached the same conclusion without the help from others. (Stanton 2004)
Mass communication is defined as a device by which a group of people working together transmits information to a large heterogeneous and anonymous audience simultaneously. In mass communication, messages reach far beyond the immediate proximity of the sender and could even get to the uttermost of the world. The encoder communicates to a large and diversified audience. For instance, the mass media complex via television or radio production. Mass communication involves one person disseminating information to a much wider audience often electronically. When a radio broadcaster disseminates information through a radio wave to capture a large number of listeners country wide or beyond. The message is delivered rapidly and it reaches large groups of different kinds of people within a short period of time. In mass communication, feedback occurs when the receiver process or decodes the message and sends the response back to the encoder or source of that message. (Woolcot 1983)
Furthermore, these levels of communication can be tallied with their models of communication. In intrapersonal communication, the model of communication is a one way activity because it involves one person. It involves the message being sent by the encoder through the medium and then to the decoder without feedback from other people.
Wehlage (1989: 120) stresses this point when he says that, “communication is a two-way process, one person signals while the other person interprets the signal. When you have full communication, you have skill in both signalling and interpreting signals. With feedback in our communication model, we can understand why we say that communication is a circular. In interpersonal communication, the model of communication is a two way activity. This involves the transmission of the message from the encoder to the decoder with feedback. The encoder or sender transmits idea to the receiver. When one talks to a friend on a mobile telephone, he or she is practicing this form of communication. This kind of communication takes place mostly between two people though it may include more than two. When two people are communicating, there are many sensory channels used and the feedback is immediate. One would examine how many people are involved, how physically close they are to one another and thus understanding each other without problems. (Baran 2002)
In group communication, the model of communication is a transactional activity. It involves interactive discussions where we have open ended free-flow of ideas. Every participant communicates to any other participant without a rigid format regarding who receives or sends information. This is because it is interactive. One person communicates in a particular way on a certain position with relation to other group members. Individuals present the ideas that role as more than one meaning and that one can talk about maintenance and task roles as opposed to self oriented roles. This kind of model of communication may describe the relationship between the various departments of an organisation. (Stanton 2004)
Mass communication uses all he three models of communication can be a one-way activity where one person sends information to large group through the media without getting the feedback. It can be a two-way activity in that a person can be interviewed through the phone and the feedback is necessary. Mass communication can be a transactional activity because the panel discussion on television is based on the transactional system of communication. In mass communication, the model of communication is a one way activity. it involves the message being sent by the encoder through a medium and then to the decoder without feedback. Usually what happens is that the encoder sends or gives information to a large group of people. The encoder may use an electronic device. The sender may also use written information through newspapers, magazines, books, brochures and posters. In this regard, there is only one encoder giving information to a large group. (Kaul 2000)
In conclusion, communication traverses every fact of human life. Without communication nothing can be done. In other words, communication holds the foundation of every human society. It is the process of exchanging, transmitting, transferring, expressing or importing ideas, sentiments, attitudes, feelings or opinions between individuals or organisations. In business, communication is a key function of management. It has levels and each level goes with its own model. There is intrapersonal communication which is a one way activity, interpersonal which is a tow way activity, group communication which is a transactional activity and mass communication which is a one way activity.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Baran, S.J. (2002) Introduction to Mass communication. New York: McGraw Hill. Decker, C.A. (1995) Children: The Early Years of Communication. Illionois: The Goodheart. Willcox Company.
Kaul, A. (2000) Effective Business Communication. New Delhi Prentice Hall of India: Private Limited.
Sillars, S. (1988) Success in Communication. London: John Murray Publishers.
Stanton, N. (2004) Mastering Communication. Basingstoke: Palmgrove MacMillan. Wehlage, N. (2001) Goals of Living: Managing Resources Through Communication. Illionois: The Goodheart. Willcox Company.
Woolcott, L. And Unwin W. (1983) Mastering Business Communication Palgrave Publishers.

Bibliography: Baran, S.J. (2002) Introduction to Mass communication. New York: McGraw Hill. Decker, C.A. (1995) Children: The Early Years of Communication. Illionois: The Goodheart. Willcox Company. Kaul, A. (2000) Effective Business Communication. New Delhi Prentice Hall of India: Private Limited. Sillars, S. (1988) Success in Communication. London: John Murray Publishers. Stanton, N. (2004) Mastering Communication. Basingstoke: Palmgrove MacMillan. Wehlage, N. (2001) Goals of Living: Managing Resources Through Communication. Illionois: The Goodheart. Willcox Company. Woolcott, L. And Unwin W. (1983) Mastering Business Communication Palgrave Publishers.