The Nature of Communication

To know what the nature of communication is we have to know what communication means. Communication comes from the Latin communis, "common." When we communicate, we are trying to establish a "commonness" with someone. That is, we are trying to share information, an idea or an attitude. Communications is the mechanism through which human relations exist and develop. Or it can be said that communication is the process whereby one person tells another something through the written or spoken word.

The nature of communication is the exchange of information between two people. It is required that there be both a sender and a receiver for communication to take place. Communication is reciprocal. So, at any time the sender is sending a message the receiver is also sending messages so that they both know what they are talking about. There would be a misunderstanding between the sender and the receiver if they do not speak the same language.

In the sender’s head, the sender knows what he/she wants to say. So he/she puts it into words in a language he/she knows and he/she "sends it" to the receiver. The sender can send it through talking, posting it on a message board, sending an e-mail, etc. This goes through a channel, which can have "noise" which interferes with the message. The receiver gets the message and "decodes" it. If this is done successfully they will understand the sender’s message. Things that might hinder this would be if the receiver does not speak the same language as the sender. Of course that create barriers. So, language can create barriers.

The following are the natures of communication:
1. It is dynamic: this is because it is not static and also it is ongoing.
2. It is behavioral interaction
3. It is receiver’s phenomenon
4. It elicits responses
5. It is complex