Communication – Meaning ?
“A process of sharing facts, ideas, opinions, thoughts
and information through speech, writing, gestures or
symbols between two or more persons”.
Communication as a Process :
Sender - The person who sends the message. Also
known as the source.
Receiver - The person who receives the message.
Message - Subject matter of communication. It may
contain facts, ideas, feelings or thoughts.
Feedback - Receiver’s response or reaction or reply to
the message, which is directed towards the sender.
Means of Communication
There are various ways through which we
communicate with each other. These may be called as
the means of communication.
The means to be used in our communication process
depend upon the purpose of communication..
Various Means of Communication
Let us discuss some of the important means of communication
commonly used in business.
Letters:
Letters are a written form of communication.
These can be sent or received by individuals or
organisations.
This method is mostly used where face-to-face
communication is difficult or other means are not
easily available.
It helps in keeping a record of the communication
Telegram:
It is also a form of written communication by which
messages can be sent quickly to distant places.
Generally used when there is an urgency of
communicating any important message.
Telegrams can also be sent by using telephone, which
is called as phonogram.
telegraphic messages are written in brief.
Phones:
Telephone is a very popular form of oral
communication.
It is widely used for internal and external business
communications.
Telephone is mostly preferred as it helps in
establishing instant communication.
In business firms as well as government and private
offices automatic switchboards known as private
automatic branch exchange (PABX) are installed to
facilitate internal as well as external communication.
It possesses many modern features like Short
Messaging Services (SMS).
Telex:
Telex provides a means of printed communication
using teleprinter.
Teleprinters consist of machines installed at different
places which are connected to a central exchange
through cable.
Any message typed by using those keyboards at one
end is automatically typed at the other end.
Instant transmission is possible.
Fax:
This is the most commonly used means of written
communication in business
Fax or facsimile is an electronic device that enables instant
transmission of any matter, which may be handwritten or
printed like letters, diagrams, graphs, sketches, etc.
By using telephone lines this machine sends the exact
copy of the document to another fax machine at the
receiving end.
The main advantages of Fax system are easy operation,
instant transmission of handwritten or printed matters
over any distance, simultaneous transmission to two or
more receivers.
E-mail:
Electronic mail, popularly known as e-mail is a
modern means of communication.
Letters, messages, pictures or sounds can be sent
through one computer to the e-mail accounts of other
individuals.
The information is communicated audio visually and
the process is extremely fast.
This method is gaining popularity with increased use
of internet among the users.
Voice Mail:
It is a computer-based system for receiving and
responding to incoming telephone calls.
The caller can get the required information by dialing
the voice mail number and then following the
instructions of the computer.
The individuals can also record their messages
through voice mail.
The receivers at their own convenience can get the
message from the machines and take action
accordingly.
Pager:
This is an instrument which can be used to receive any
short messages from the sender at any time.
The sender dials a telephone number and gives his
message orally to the company operating the pager
service.
It is a system of one-way communication, which
means, the receiver can only receive the message but
cannot send any message through this machine.
Teleconferencing:
Here people sit together and interact face to face with
each other.
But, teleconferencing is a system through which
people interact with each other without physically
sitting in front of others.
It requires the use of modern electronic devices like
telephone, computers, television etc.
There are two different types of teleconferencing, one,
audio-conferencing and other, videoconferencing.
