What Communication Is (and Why It Matters)

Let’s fig­ure out what com­mu­nic­a­tion is.

Effective com­mu­nic­a­tion goes bey­ond merely trans­mit­ting inform­a­tion; it’s about ensur­ing the mes­sage is received and under­stood as inten­ded, fos­ter­ing a mutu­al under­stand­ing between all parties involved.

Here we go:

What Communication Is (and Why It Matters)

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What Communication Is (and Why It Matters)

At its core, com­mu­nic­a­tion is the pro­cess of exchan­ging inform­a­tion between two or more parties. It can take vari­ous forms, includ­ing verbal, writ­ten, non-verbal, and digital. 

• Verbal com­mu­nic­a­tion. Involves the spoken word in per­son, over the phone, or through video calls. It’s instant­an­eous and allows for imme­di­ate feed­back, mak­ing clear and con­cise exchanges essential.
• Written com­mu­nic­a­tion. Includes emails, reports, let­ters, and social media posts. It’s cru­cial for doc­u­ment­ing inform­a­tion and provid­ing detailed instruc­tions or feedback.
• Non-verbal com­mu­nic­a­tion. Encompasses body lan­guage, facial expres­sions, and ges­tures. It often con­veys more about our inten­tions and feel­ings than words alone.
• Digital com­mu­nic­a­tion. Encompasses all forms of com­mu­nic­a­tion that occur through elec­tron­ic devices. It’s vital for con­nect­ing with audi­ences glob­ally and instantly.

Why does com­mu­nic­a­tion mat­ter? Well, as opposed to inform­a­tion (one-way), com­mu­nic­a­tions (two-way) are the build­ing blocks of relationships.

Communication:

• Builds rela­tion­ships. Effective com­mu­nic­a­tion is the corner­stone of strong rela­tion­ships. Whether it’s between col­leagues, cli­ents, or per­son­al con­nec­tions, clear com­mu­nic­a­tion fosters trust, under­stand­ing, and respect.
• Facilitates innov­a­tion. Open com­mu­nic­a­tion chan­nels encour­age shar­ing ideas and col­lab­or­a­tion, lead­ing to innov­a­tion and cre­ativ­ity. Teams that com­mu­nic­ate effect­ively are more likely to find nov­el solu­tions to challenges.
• Strengthens crisis man­age­ment. In times of crisis, effect­ive com­mu­nic­a­tion is cru­cial. It enables organ­iz­a­tions to con­vey their responses promptly and clearly, mit­ig­at­ing poten­tial dam­age to their reputation.
• Supports decision-mak­ing. Clear com­mu­nic­a­tion ensures that all rel­ev­ant inform­a­tion is shared, enabling informed decision-mak­ing. It helps in align­ing teams towards com­mon goals and strategies.
• Promotes engage­ment, brand loy­alty, and sales. Engaging com­mu­nic­a­tion cap­tiv­ates your audi­ence, wheth­er it’s your employ­ees or the pub­lic. It helps con­vey your mes­sage more effect­ively and build a loy­al fol­low­ing — and more customers.

Effective com­mu­nic­a­tion is not just about being heard; it’s about under­stand­ing, cre­at­ing con­nec­tions, and facil­it­at­ing actions that drive pos­it­ive outcomes.

“Modern organ­iz­a­tion­al com­mu­nic­a­tion should be man­aged as a social integ­rat­or rather than a mech­an­ist­ic man­age­ment tool, requir­ing a spe­cif­ic concept of inter­per­son­al com­mu­nic­a­tion.”
Source: Journal of Communication Management ¹Varey, R. (1996). Conscious cor­por­ate com­mu­nic­a­tion: A con­cep­tu­al ana­lys­is. Journal of Communication Management, 1, 134 – 144. https://​doi​.org/​1​0​.​1​1​0​8​/​E​B​0​2​6​040

Learn more: What Communication Is (and Why It Matters)

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Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication

The Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication

The Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication, also known as the Shannon-Weaver Theory, is a found­a­tion­al concept in com­mu­nic­a­tion stud­ies. Developed in 1948 by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver, the mod­el was ini­tially cre­ated to improve tech­nic­al com­mu­nic­a­tion, par­tic­u­larly for tele­phone and radio tech­no­lo­gies. ²Shannon, C. E., & Weaver, W. (1949). The Mathematical Theory of Communication. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ³Shannon – Weaver mod­el. (2023, December 21). In Wikipedia. https://​en​.wiki​pe​dia​.org/​w​i​k​i​/​S​h​a​n​n​o​n​-​W​e​a​v​e​r​_​m​o​del

The Shannon-Weaver Model breaks down the pro­cess of com­mu­nic­a­tion into sev­er­al components:

The Shannon-Weaver Model is sig­ni­fic­ant for sev­er­al reasons:

The Creators of the Model

Claude Shannon—An American math­em­atician, elec­tric­al engin­eer, and cryp­to­graph­er known as “the fath­er of inform­a­tion the­ory.” Shannon’s work laid the ground­work for the digit­al revolution.

Warren Weaver—An American sci­ent­ist, math­em­atician, and sci­ence admin­is­trat­or, Weaver col­lab­or­ated with Shannon to artic­u­late the com­mu­nic­a­tion mod­el, extend­ing its applic­a­tion bey­ond tech­nic­al fields.

Learn more: The Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication

Why Communication Is Important

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Why Communication Is Important

Strategic com­mu­nic­a­tion is the delib­er­ate and pur­pose­ful exchange of inform­a­tion designed to achieve spe­cif­ic object­ives. It involves care­ful plan­ning, mes­sage tail­or­ing, chan­nel selec­tion, and feed­back mech­an­isms to ensure the inten­ded mes­sage is received, under­stood, and acted upon effectively. 

“Effective com­mu­nic­a­tion involves cog­nit­ive com­plex­ity and social per­spect­ive-tak­ing, which are related to adapt­ing per­suas­ive mes­sages to recip­i­ents.”
Source: Human Communication Research ⁴Clark, R., & Delia, J. (1977). Cognitive Complexity, Social Perspective-Taking, and Functional Persuasive Skills in Second- to Ninth-Grade Children. Human Communication Research, 3, 128 – 134. … Continue read­ing

Communication is pivotal across all levels and sec­tors of an organ­isa­tion, from lead­er­ship to front­line employ­ees, mar­ket­ing to cus­tom­er ser­vice, and intern­al oper­a­tions to extern­al relations.

• Leadership and decision-mak­ing. At the lead­er­ship level, stra­tegic com­mu­nic­a­tion is essen­tial for artic­u­lat­ing vis­ion, set­ting dir­ec­tion, and mak­ing informed decisions. Leaders must com­mu­nic­ate with clar­ity and con­vic­tion to inspire and guide their teams. Equally, open chan­nels for upward com­mu­nic­a­tion are vital for lead­ers to receive feed­back, under­stand ground-level chal­lenges, and adjust strategies accordingly.
• Team-col­lab­or­a­tion and mor­ale. Strategic com­mu­nic­a­tion fosters col­lab­or­a­tion, innov­a­tion, and a pos­it­ive work cul­ture. It ensures all team mem­bers are aligned with their goals, under­stand their roles, and feel val­ued and heard. This align­ment is crit­ic­al for main­tain­ing high mor­ale and motiv­a­tion, which drives pro­ductiv­ity and job satisfaction.
• Customer engage­ment and repu­ta­tion man­age­ment. Externally, stra­tegic com­mu­nic­a­tion shapes the organ­isa­tion’s inter­ac­tions with cus­tom­ers, stake­hold­ers, and the pub­lic. It is instru­ment­al in build­ing brand iden­tity, man­aging repu­ta­tion, and enga­ging with cus­tom­ers mean­ing­fully. In today’s digit­al age, where inform­a­tion spreads rap­idly, effect­ive com­mu­nic­a­tion can dif­fer­en­ti­ate between a loy­al cus­tom­er base and a pub­lic rela­tions crisis.
• Overcoming chal­lenges and embra­cing oppor­tun­it­ies. Organisations face an ever-evolving land­scape of chal­lenges and oppor­tun­it­ies. Strategic com­mu­nic­a­tion equips them to nav­ig­ate these with agil­ity and resi­li­ence. Whether respond­ing to crises, man­aging change, or cap­it­al­ising on new oppor­tun­it­ies, com­mu­nic­a­tion ensures that all parts of the organ­isa­tion are informed, pre­pared, and united in their approach.

Communication is not just about speak­ing or writ­ing; it’s about con­nect­ing, under­stand­ing, and achiev­ing togeth­er. That’s why com­mu­nic­a­tion is not just import­ant; it’s imperative.

• Communications are the build­ing blocks of relationships.

Learn more: Why Communication Is Important

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Communication Definition

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The Communication Definition

Based on the Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication, this is the defin­i­tion of com­mu­nic­a­tion: ⁵Silfwer, J. (2022, February 18). The Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​s​h​a​n​n​o​n​-​w​e​a​v​e​r​-​m​o​d​e​l​-​o​f​-​c​o​m​m​u​n​i​c​a​t​i​on/

Communication = the pro­cess of encod­ing a mes­sage by the inform­a­tion source, trans­mit­ting it through a selec­ted chan­nel, and ensur­ing it is decoded by the receiv­er to con­vey inform­a­tion or achieve understanding.

From a pub­lic rela­tions (PR) per­spect­ive, the inten­tion­al dis­sem­in­a­tion of inform­a­tion to influ­ence and per­suade is added to the con­text, provid­ing us with this defin­i­tion of stra­tegic communication:

Strategic Communication = the stra­tegic pro­cess of encod­ing a tailored mes­sage by the inform­a­tion source, trans­mit­ting it through an optim­al chan­nel to effect­ively over­come noise, and ensur­ing it is accur­ately decoded by the receiv­er to achieve the desired impact on the destination.

As a stark remind­er of the import­ance of con­text, and the fact that “no com­mu­nic­a­tion” also tells us some­thing, PR pro­fes­sion­als often repeat this pop­u­lar mantra:

• Everything com­mu­nic­ates.

Learn more: Communication Definition

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PR Resource: Free Communication PR Course

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Doctor Spin’s PR School: Free Communication PR Course

Discover the power of effect­ive com­mu­nic­a­tion in this free Communication PR Course. Explore now to elev­ate your pub­lic rela­tions game — abso­lutely free!

• What Communication Is (and Why It Matters)
• The Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication
• Why Communication Is Important
• The Communication Definition
• Communications Synonyms (With Explanations)
• Communications or Communication?

Communication Skills

• Active Listening
• Small Talk
• Presenting Slides
• Asking Questions
• Drafting

Learn more: All Free PR Courses

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