Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Principles of Communication

Before even considering the multicultural or international aspects or conflicts in communication I believe it is important to understand the core aspects of communication in general first. I found an interesting article that highlighted many important aspects of communicating. I would argue that to understand the principles of effective communication would lead to a greater ability to connect with anyone, even trans-nationally.
In this article communication is defined well in a single and concise point, “communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another”. This is followed by great lengths of in depth information about the different types and aspects of communication including, context, culture, environment, feedback, nonverbal, hints, emotion, language, etc. I found it to be one of the most conclusive documents on the art of communication that I have ever read. One thing that I was reading in the article was about active listening. I would like to point out the vast importance of critical and active listening in the process of communication. In considering multicultural communication especially, it is important to listen and receive and reiterate what has been said to you in order to avoid misunderstanding or conflict in communication. While one can improve upon their communication skills by following the advice of an article like this, it may not help all of the situations in which you may find yourself in conflict communicating between cultures, however, it will definitely improve chances of being better at communicating! (247)

1 comment:

ARK said...

I found the article very informative and I like your response to understanding the principles of effective communication. Though you did not list these in your response, I found the barriers to effective communication also interesting in regards to multicultural communication. Past experiences can change the meaning of a message that is delivered. I agree that critical and active listening is vital to communication but barriers to understanding this message occur too often, not only in face to face conversations but even on discussion boards.
(85 words)