Communications

Communications is the act of transferring information through a medium from a sender to a receiver. It is essential that the sender and receiver be able to communicate on a common level. The communication is typically performed in a speaking, writing, physical or visual mode. Communication is the process of assigning and coveying a specific meaning in a message for the purpose of creating a shared understanding between the sending and receiving parties.

Communication is usually defined as to the content, form, source, channel, purpose, and destination. The content is what information is being communicated. Form refers to the form of the transmission, such as a spoken language. Source refers to the sender or the encoder. The medium used in the channel of communication. Purpose is the reason and destination is the receiver or receiving target.

Communication is where at least two individuals or agents socially interact by using a common set of signs and semiotic rules. The semiotic rules include: formal properties of symbols and signs, relationships between the signs and the agents, and relationships between the symbols and sign being used in the communication.

The act of communication is a dynamic and creative process as opposed to a singular information exchange between individuals or agents. Communications has multiple parts: voice, words, body language and the words themselves. A research study performed by Mehrabian and Ferris found that the impact of a communication is roughly 55% on the body language (getures, postures and eye contact), 38% on the tone of voice, and 7% from the content in the communication.