What is communication?

Communication is the process of exchanging information among people through a given medium.

According to Silas Saleem, communication is the process of giving, receiving, or exchange of information, opinion or ideas by writing, speech or visual means or any combination of the two, so that material communicated is completely understood by everyone concerned. The information transmitted may be in a form of pictures, writings, audio, videos, or symbols.

The medium used might be verbal (oral) communication, written communication, visual communication, audio-visual communication, or non-verbal communication.

Objectives/purposes of effective communication

i)      To inform/educate – through communication, individuals get to know and learn about something. For example, a manager informing workers on the new changes in an organization.

ii)    To persuade/influence – through communication, someone can convince others into agreeing with their ideas or doing something. For instance, advertisements persuade customers to purchase certain products.

iii)  To express emotions and feelings -individuals can share their feelings and emotions they go through by communicating with others. For example, a grieving individual can share their sorrow with others and receive comfort.

i)      To build and sustain relationships –through communication, individuals can create and maintain relationships. For example, employees at work may make new friends through exchanging of interests and ideas.

ii)    To enable decision-making - through communication, certain decisions can be made after discussions. The leadership of an organization, for instance, may come together and discuss the action to be taken against an indiscipline employee.

iii)  To facilitate problem-solving – through communications, individuals are able to put their minds together and solve issues. For instance, a company’s management may come together to handle theft within an organization.

iv)   To Enhance coordination/collaboration – through communication, organization can plan events of functions together. For example, Kenya Red Cross and Kenya army coordinating disaster response during emergencies.