Types of Communication
There are many types and varieties of communication, depending on the medium used or the way in which information is exchanged. For example, communication can be done through the internet, telephono, mobile phones, speaking, singing, dancing, sign language, touch and eye contact, body language and even the way one dresses. All these inform the types of communication that exist. Teaching is also a type of communication because a teacher passes information to students through channels such as face-to-face in the class. by means of speech, visual aids and experiments, through written notes, on the intemet which could be through Skype, video conferencing or blogging. In addition, there is human (verbal, non-verbal, business or written) and non-human (occurring among animals, plants and fungi, and bacteria) communication. Generally, the following are the types of communication.
1.Verbal communication:
This, as the name implies, is communicating using words. This includes sounds, words, language and speaking. Speaking is an effective way of communicating: it is classified into interpersonal communication and public speaking (Aarti, 2011). Interpersonal communication occurs when one person speaks directly to another. Here, communication would be informal: one can say what one really feels, though this is bound by the social norms guiding
English the sender and the receiver. Public Speaking occurs when one person speaks to a large group. In this case, communication is formal; rule bound and centred more on the speaker getting some kind of result. In all of these, speakers may want to entertain, inform, persuade or argue. Verbal communication can also be referred to as oral or spoken. It can make use of visual aids and non-verbal elements to facilitate meaning and enhance rapport and achieve high level of understanding by removing ambiguity and gamering immediate feedback.
2. Non-verbal communication:
Non-verbal communication is the process of conveying meaning in the form of non-word messages. It covers all information, mes. sages and ideas we convey without using words, making use of physical communication such as tone of voice, touch, smell and body motion. Non-verbal communication includes music, dance, painting, drama and sculpture. Symbols and sign language are also included (cf. Daniel. 2016). This is because body language, facial expressions, clearing of the throat, physical contact and dress convey a lot of information. A good example of non-verbal communication is sign language, which can be used by anyone at anytime.
3. Written communication:
This means communicating with other people through written words. Good written communication is practised in many different languages. Email and text messages, reports, articles and memos are some of the ways of using written communication, both for business and personal purposes. An advantage of written communication is that it can be edited and amended many times before it is finally sent to the person intonded. Historically, written communication first emerged through the use of pictograms, which were made on stone (Yulo, 2010). Later, writing began to appear on paper, papyrus, clay and wax. Now, communication is carried on by the transfer of information through controlled waves and electronic signals. Note that the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) are used in communication but writing is the most complex. Each of these skills is discussed extensively in the subsequent chapters.
4. Visual communication:
This is a visual display of information such as topography, photography, signs, traffic codes, symbols and designs. Television and video clips are the electronic form of visual communication (Aarti, 2011)
5. Non-human communication:
Non-human communication essentially has to do with the communication that does not involve human beings. This is usually described as extra communication. It does suggest that plant and animal communication can be put in this category. In the same vein, cellular communication among micro-organisms could be described in this manner. One could safely describe the transfer of chemical reactions among bacteria and fungi as non-human communication. Even the transfer of viruses as well as the multiplication of cancer cells could be categorised as this kind of communication. Animal communication can be defined as any behaviour of one animal that affects the behaviour of other animals within the same environment, either now or at a later time.
6. Mass Communication:
Daniel (2016) describes mass communication as massive. This is because it is usually from a single source to a very large group or audience. The message sent out is not limited to one or two people as with the interpersonal kind of communication. As the name suggests, its audience is usually a very large group of people. For this reason, such media as the newspapers, radio, television or the internet are used to pass the message. Simply then, it can be said that mass communication is another means of communicating information, ideas, and messages through varous print or electronic media to a large number of people.