Characteristics and elements of communication

Communication is known as that process in which two or more individuals want transmit some kind of information between them, effectively managing to send a message through a channel of their choice in which it can be received and understood.

Communication can be divided into various types, among which oral and written are the basic and the main ones; although thanks to the technological advance that has existed in recent decades, completely new and effective forms of communication have been achieved, reaching places that had never been thought to reach before.

In order to complete a communicative process, it is necessary that all the elements of communication exist in its realization, among which are included senders, receivers, message, channel, code, and context.

There are some components that can affect the communication process, such as noise that is capable of preventing two or more people from communicating orally, perhaps preventing messages from arriving properly, making the process confusing, as well as interference that affects more than anything else. types of current communications, due to signal losses, among others.

What is communication?

Communication is a process by which information is transmitted, experiences, feelings are shared, stories are told, among others, in which the participation of a sender who is the one who wants to transmit, and a receiver, being the one, is extremely necessary. that receives the message, which is the information that you want to send through a certain channel, with a code and a context to give it meaning and meaning.

So that a person can communicate effectively It is necessary that you have communication skills, which will help you to be able to forge the necessary attitudes to carry out an eloquent and understandable communication process, among which are empathy, the ability to understand, verbal and non-verbal speech, respect towards listeners, among others.

Types of communication

Communication is basically divided into two types, among which are verbal and non-verbal, although due to the extensive studies carried out on these, it has been determined that, thanks to technological advance, approximately 30 different types of communicationAs well as it can also be said that information can be transmitted with some body senses such as smell and taste, the only important thing being that there are all the elements of communication in the process.

Verbal and non-verbal communication

These two types of communication are the most common among human beings, differing only by observing and perceiving whether the message is verbal or not.

Verbal communication

This type of communication is characterized by presenting words in its realization, which in itself can be divided into two types, which are oral communication, and written communication, because in both the presence of the verb can be noticed, thanks to the fact that the words are used in them.

• Oral communication: This type of communication can be distinguished because those who practice it, make mention of the words or some gesture that is of this type, such as crying. Communication of this type is the most common in everyday life.
• Written communication: In this type of communication you can also appreciate the use of words, but in this case graphically, because they can be done on almost any surface, such as paper, which is the most common, or on walls like ancient civilizations that made Hieroglyphics, within this type there are also some virtual methods, in which people can communicate verbally in written form such as chat conferences.

Non-verbal communication

In this type of message, you can see that the elements of communication participate in a totally gestural activity, in which the sender almost unconsciously send a message through gestures, signs or movements involuntary to the receiver, this being their respective channel.

Non-verbal communication can be ambiguous in nature because in most cases it is misinterpreted, because some gestures can be taken in bad taste, by people who consider them extremely normal.

New forms of communication have been developed that have helped people with both visual and auditory disabilities, in order to help them in their communication process, because it is a human need to be able to transmit any information.

Sign language was created for people with hearing disabilities, which is very common today to see in the news so that these people can understand the day-to-day events that they transmit, while for the visually impaired, despite to be able to listen and to be able to communicate verbally, they also have an option through braille, which is raised writing, which can be read by touch.

Apart from these two basic types of communication, subdivisions can also be found guided by other factors, such as the number of people who participate in the communicative process, according to the sensory channel through which the message is sent, according to its purpose, and currently a new subdivision has also been created which is classified by the technological channel that transmits the information.

Comunication elements

In order for this process to be carried out effectively, the participation of all elements of communication is necessary, among which 6 can be mentioned, which are the sender, the receiver, the message, the code, the channel and the context, that among all they are the ones that give structure and meaning to it.

Transmitter

Issuers are defined as being the people who They are in charge of transmitting the information, It could well be to share their feelings, experiences, experiences, a story, jokes, news, or any type of information, which can be done through a wide variety of channels, which thanks to technological advance have been able to be developed.

Receptor

These are characterized by being one or a group of people to whom the message reaches, being able to analyze, interpret and understand it, being the end of the message path, so that it finally fulfills its purpose, that of transmitting information. The receivers after receiving and understanding the message, usually go on to become the senders, being the same process in the previous ones.

Message

The messages are simply and nothing more than the information to be transmittedThis being developed in a very diverse number of codes, and capable of traveling through a large number of channels as long as the receiver can perceive it.

Canal

The channel can be defined as the medium in which the information is transmitted, which can be of two types, the artificial one, an example of this can be a disk, or a virtual document, and the natural one, which can be air, through which speech is naturally transmitted.

Custom code

The codes are translated as a set of signs that give shape and structure to language, Between the different types of communication you can find different codes such as symbols that serve as a signal for some activity, or the different languages ​​that can be found in all the territories of the world.

Context

This can be understood as the situation in which the communication process is found, precisely focusing on the message, which among the determining factors of this can be mentioned the time, the place, the state of mind, among others.

Factors that can affect the communication process

There are many factors capable of altering this process, because in most of these it can be observed how to affect the communication elements in some way, intervening in the channel, causing the message to be distorted, ultimately causing the receiver does not understand the message, and that the sender cannot establish what he wanted to communicate.

One of the most common factors is noise, because when two or more people want to establish a communication process, it can be difficult for them in any of the channels, because if it is oral communication, the message will not be heard well, so it will not be understood.

This can affect various types of communication, although the vast majority are subdivisions of oral communication, such as video talks over the Internet, telephone calls, radio, and television.

For most technology channels, one of the factors that can affect this process in a critical way is interference, or the lack of signal that can cause that communication does not exist or that it is a really slow and tedious process, in which At the end, some of the elements of the communication may lose interest or its function, the main participants being the senders and receivers.

Communication is a very important process for humanity, because with it the great cultures that exist and that have existed throughout history have been developed.

It is a process that must be cared for and valued for its great benefits, and at the same time for the need that any individual feels to communicate everything they feel, and what they know, this being one of the main purposes of humanity, which is the to share what they have learned to new generations.