what is the definition of communication?

Answer 1

If you type "define: communication" in google, this is what you get:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rls=DVFC,DVFC:1970--2,DVFC:en&q=define%3A+communication

The top definition there is:

# the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information; "they could not act without official communication from Moscow"
# something that is communicated by or to or between people or groups
# a connection allowing access between persons or places; "how many lines of communication can there be among four people?"; "a secret passageway provided communication between the two rooms"

Answer 2

What is communication?

What activities does communication deal with?

What is not communication?

Why study communication?



Communication is a word that we commonly use and therefore it is difficult to come up with a scientific definition for it. The origin is Latin, communicare, meaning to make common to many.



Three elements on which to evaluate definitions of communication:

1. Level of observation

Some definitions are broad and inclusive, others are restrictive.

What kind of phenomena does the definition account for?

2. Intentionality

Some definitions include only intentional message sending and receiving. Others do not impose this limitation.

3. Judgment

Some definitions include a statement of success or accuracy.



Dean Barnlund (1962)—Radical Unintentional Communication

Communication describes the process of creating a meaning. Meaning is created whenever significance is assigned. Therefore communication occurs whenever significance is assigned to internal or external stimuli. Minimum external stimuli are sensations, such as might arise as a person watches the New York skyline disappear at dusk. Minimum internal stimuli are unintentional thoughts, such as the fading images of a frightening dream.



According to this definition, communication is a perception of the receiver. Communication does not require a speaker, message, or listener. Accordingly, for communication to occur neither is there a need for another person to be present or involved, nor is there a need for another person to have any sort of intention in relation to the communication.



Watzlawick, Beavin, and Jackson—Moderate Unintentional Communication

There is no opposite to behavior, therefore one cannot not behave. Any behavior in an interactional situation has message value, that is, constitutes communication. Therefore, one cannot not communicate.



Within this scheme, an interaction is a finite series of two or more messages and a single communication is a message.

According to this definition, communication is a behavior of a person in the presence of other persons. Communication does not need to be intentional, conscious, or successful, in the sense that mutual understanding occurs.



Gerald Miller—Moderate Intentional Communication

Communication has as its central interest those behavioral situations in which a source transmits a message to receiver(s) with conscious intent to affect the latter’s behaviors. Conscious intent is meant to be distinct from unconscious motivation and is determined through the test of intersubjective reliability. Transmission of a message is at minimum behaving in the presence of others.



That is, where there exists a high degree of inter-observer agreement that intent is involved the behavior will be understood as intentional.



Affecting the receiver’s behavior is equivalent to creating receiver responses or message effects on belief and attitude.



According to this definition, communication is a behavior of a person in the presence of other persons, where the behavior is accompanied by the conscious intention to affect the receiver’s behavior. The intention to affect the receiver’s behavior need not be fulfilled.



John Searle—Radical Intentional Communication

Communication is rule-governed language behavior and the basic unit of communication is the illocution. The rules that govern illocutions are constitutive, that is they make the form of language behavior possible. The general form of a constitutive rule is “X counts as Y in context C” where X is the saying of certain words, Y is an illocution, and C are the circumstances conducive to the performance of Y. When illocution occurs, a speaker makes an utterance with the intention that the hearer will recognize that the speaker intends to perform a certain illocution. Once the hearer recognizes the speaker’s intention to perform the illocution, it is consummated and communication has occurred.



According to this definition, communication is language behavior in the presence of other language users, where the behavior is accompanied by the intention of the speaker that the hearer understand the utterance, that is recognize that the speaker is attempting to commit a certain illocution. The intention that the hearer understand must be fulfilled for communication to occur.



Nature of illocutions

Assertives—Express the speaker’s understanding of the world: state, complain, conclude

Directives—Commit someone other that the speaker to a future act: order, request, inquire

Commissives—commit the speaker to a future act: promise, contract

Expressives—express the speaker’s psychological state: congratulate, thank, apologize

Declarations—establish the existence of an institutional fact: hire, fire, declare war



Communication—The act of meaning something, of conveying a propositional attitude (belief, desire, intention, regret, etc.) to an audience, by linguistic or other means.

Answer 3

# the activity of communicating; the activity of conveying information; "they could not act without official communication from Moscow"
# something that is communicated by or to or between people or groups
# a connection allowing access between persons or places; "how many lines of communication can there be among four people?"; "a secret passageway provided communication between the two rooms"

Answer 4

Keeping It Simple, Simon:-

Communication is the sharing of knowledge by a number of means. These include visual methods such as sign language, auditory, such as voice and music, and physical, such as touch.

Answer 5

The exchange of information between two or more people.

ie; verbal,gestures, expressions,written,visual are all forms of communication

Answer 6

Do you want to understand one of the factors common Law of attractionproduct does not work for numerous people?Think it like a diet. If you want drop weight and you work hard to lose it

Answer 7

An exchange of information in and out. (Like talking and listening)