COMMUNICATION
Interaction, interchange,
transaction, dialogue, sharing, communion and commonness are ideas that crop up
in any attempt to define the term 'communication'.
According to Denis McQuail, 'communication is a
process which increases commonality but also requires elements of commonality
for it to occur at all.'
A common language, for instance, does bring people together but
language alone does not suffice for communication to take place. There are
other factors too at play such as a shared culture and a common interest which
bring about a sense of commonality and more significantly, a sense of community. Since
the world of man, bird and beast too possesses and communicates such a social
relationship, the need arises to speak of human communication' rather than
'communication' alone in our study, though many communication researchers
do not like the distinction.
Denis McQuail sees 'human communication in linear terms as the sending of meaningful messages from one person to another. These messages could be oral or written, visual or olfactory. He also takes such things as laws, customs, practices, ways of dressing, gestures, buildings, gardens, military parades, and flags to be communication.
In contemporary urban culture, shopping malls, department stores, multiplexes, fairs and exhibitions may also be considered as forms of communication since they bring people together to shop, share and experience a new ambience. Ashley Montagu and Floyd Matson go a step further. In their view 'human communication', as the saying goes, is a clash of symbols, and it covers a multitude of signs. But it is more than media and message, information and persuasion; it also meets a deeper need and serves a higher purpose.
Whether clear or
garbled, tumultuous or silent, deliberate or fatally inadvertent, communication
is the ground of meeting and the foundation of the community. It is, in short,
the essential human connection.
W.S. Cardon, a leading exponent of kinesics, the science of body language, develops the argument still further. He stresses that interaction within a culture is governed not so much by language, but by 'body synthesizers' set in motion almost immediately after birth and thereafter conditioned by culture. Communication, therefore, is not a matter of 'isolated entities sending discrete messages back and forth, but a process of mutual participation in a common structure of rhythmic patterns by all members of a culture'. For sociologists like Thompson, however, communication is a 'form of action' which takes places in a social context and is related to questions of economic, political, coercive and symbolic power in society.
The mass media and the new digital media, in terms of this prospective,
'involve the
creation of new forms of action and interaction in the social world, new kinds
of social relationship and new ways to relating to others and to oneself... in
a fundamental way, the use of communication media transform the spatial and temporal organisation of
social life, creating new forms of action and interaction and new modes
of increasing power, which are no longer linked to the sharing of a common
local.'
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
Communication has been classified into several types: in terms of the verbal and non-verbal; the technological and non-technological; the mediated and non-mediated, the participator and the non-participatory, and so on.
Most of these typologies however, are primarily for pedagogic or instructional purposes in actual practice, there is much overlapping and mixing of the various types.
The typologies must be seen as attempts at coming to grips with the apparently simple but really complex phenomenon of communication.
One common typology relates to the size of a social group or the number of people involved in the experience of communication. Such a typology ranges from the intrapersonal and interpersonal and transpersonal, to the group and the mass. Another typology relates to the extent of interactivity between the participants in the context of different technologies. So, we can speak of face-to-face non-mediated communication', 'mediated communication' and computer-mediated communication, for instance.
• Intrapersonal Communication
Intrapersonal Communication is individual reflection, con-temptation and meditation. Transcendental meditation, for instance, is an example of such communication. Conversing with the divine, with spirits and ancestors, may be termed intrapersonal communication. This is a vital experience in the religious and monastic life, and in ashrams and places of prayer.
• Interpersonal/Face-to-face Communication
Interpersonal Communication is direct face-to-face communication between two persons. It is, in other words, a dialogue or a conversation without the intervention of another person or a machine like the telephone or a two-way radio or television set- up. It is personal, direct, and intimate, allowing for maximum interaction and exchange in word and gesture. Indeed, it is the highest, the most perfect form of communication that two persons can attain. It is more persuasive and influential than any other type of communication such as group communication or mass communication, for it involves the interplay of words and gestures, the warmth of human closeness and in fact all the five senses. All interpersonal exchange is, therefore a communion and a sharing at the most intimate and open level. It is total communication for it takes within its compass words, body movements, physical characteristics, body odors, and even clothes.
This is not to deny that interpersonal exchanges can be used by
confidence tricksters and conman to throw wool over people's eyes. A man may
smile and smile and yet be a villain for all we know. That perhaps explains why
we cherish our privacy
so much and are constantly on our guard in face-to-face encounters, much more
so than in group or mass gatherings. Only the ones who have our trust, and have
proved themselves are allowed to cross the barriers of an intimate
relationship. Most are kept at a distance.
In the area of
business communication that distance is ritualized. For instance, interpersonal exchanges
between a medical representative and a doctor or that between a manager and a
clerk, are generally carried out on a professional level. As the saying goes,
they usually 'talk shop', but on occasions, even business chatter can lead to
close and abiding friendships. That potential lies in the nature of
interpersonal communication hence the frequent barriers we raise lest people invade
out space our territory'. Interpersonal communication involves the sharing of a
common space and time. Co-presence in a shared locale is imperative for this
type of communication.
Konrad Lorenz and
Desmond Morris have reported how animals and birds often turn aggressive when
their territories are invaded by outsiders.
•Focused and Unfocused Interactions
Interpersonal communication is conducted on the basis of focused and unfocused interactions. In his study of Behaviour in Public Places, Erving Goffman argues that most interpersonal communication is of an unfocused nature. It takes place whenever we observe or listen to persons with whom we are not conversing, for instance in buses, trains, lifts or in public places like stations, bus stops, or on the street. It's the kind of activity we indulge in when we are 'people watching' without their being aware we are doing so. And what do we come to know about them? Our inferences may not all be valid or meaningful, but the fact remains that we do make inferences all the time about people. The young man who passes us by in a street dressed in nviama and kurta evokes different associations from one clad in jeans and a jazzy shirt, depending of course on our own background, and the location of the street. The girl in a simple cotton sari, with her hair tied in a 'plait' say in a city like Bombay, conveys different impressions from the girl in a dress and with her hair bobbed. Additional sources of information about these persons are height, weight, and build. For instance, a well-built tall man is regarded as handsome, a stout fat woman as ugly, a thin wiry figure as athletic.
Body movements such as gestures, the manner of standing, sitting
or walking to convey certain meanings to us. Very broad gestures and loud talk,
for example, are considered uncouth in polite society, but not necessarily so among working
class groups. Thus, it is that we draw conclusions on a person's qualities,
cultural and religious background, socioeconomic status, political ideology and
other preferences without ever speaking to him or to her.
•Focused interactions
Focused interactions, on the other hand, result from an actual encounter between two persons. The persons involved are fully aware that they are communicating with each other. Sitting or standing face-to-face either close or distant, they know fully well that they are exchanging both verbal and non-verbal messages, though they may not realize how these messages are being interpreted. Also, they are generally not conscious of the meanings they are conveying through 'body language'.
An unfocused interaction usually
is set off by eye contact. The meeting of eyes indicates that both parties are
willing to have an interpersonal
exchange the turning away of eyes, on the other and, cuts off the attempts to
come together and start a conversation It shows lack of interest. Similarly,
reduction in eve involvement during a conversation is a non-verbal signal which
indicates that it is time to bring the conversation to a close. Indeed, there
is no more effective way of ending a face- to-face interaction than refusing to
continue eye contact.
•The Three Stages of Interpersonal Communication
The Phatic Stage: The initial exploratory stage of communication determines the course conversation will take This first stage is known as the phatic period (from the Greek phases", an utterance). It begins with a "Hi!" or a "Hello! How are you?". "Good Morning" or even a simple 'namaste' or vanakkam or Jairam. The accompanying gestures are the meeting of the eyes, a smile, perhaps a handshake, and moving in closer to a talking distance. In a formal encounter, the distance is greater (though not among all cultures) than an informal friendly meeting.
The conversation then may veer to talk about the weather or
queries like "How's life?", "How are things with you? What have
you have been doing with yourself?", "What's the news?",
"How are the folks at home?
The Phatic stage
is, therefore, a warming-up time during which ritualized greetings are
exchanged. In themselves, the words and gestures exchanged during this period
do not mean
much. Indeed, the questions asked are not meant to be taken literally. They are
only a formalised manner of showing interest and attention.
They are a way of saying "I am glad to have met you. Let's
have a chat". The answers we give to the queries made are equally
formalised. "I'm fine, thank you", for example is a stock reply even
if you're not doing too well. No deception is involved at all: what we are
doing through words is merely sending signals that we would like to have a
conversation.
So at this stage we don't literally mean what we say, but we mean
well. It's the 'meaning after all, and not the words that really matter.
The words are only symbols or ways of getting across The meaning is more often
than not behind the words rather than in them. More accurately, meaning lies in
a situation and a context, seen not so much in isolation but in a social and
cultural environment. This is as true of verbal as of non-verbal communication.
For instance, the North Indian's gesture of touching an elder's feet connotes
respect and reverence among people of that culture, but is considered a
demeaning gesture in some cultures of the south and the north-east.
The phatic stage then is patterned according to social and
cultural norms and rituals.
The Personal
Stage: The second stage, called the personal stage, introduces a more personal
element into the conversation. During this period we generally lower our social
guard a little and are prepared to take some risk in exposing ourselves and our
feelings. Having moved on to this personal stage, we are likely to be willing
to talk about personal matters such as one's profession, the family, health
problems and the like. If, on the other hand, we were hesitant to enter this
stage, we would have broken off the conversation at the phatic stage itself or
continued talking in a formal manner. Professional discussions rarely go beyond
the personal stage. Most business communication, therefore, takes place at this
level, for it does involve personal interests and we are ready to go along to
promote them.
The Intimate Stage: This stage is reserved for friends and
relatives, the degree of intimacy depending upon the closeness of the
relationship. To some we open our hearts out completely; to others, though good
friends, we are reluctant to tell all. Nevertheless, it's a stage when social
barriers fall and we are at ease; interpersonal communication achieves its
highest form in this mode, and words seem inadequate. Says Robert Shuter,
"In this period, communicators reveal their innermost thoughts and
feelings Marked by intimate revelations, this stage is reserved for individuals
who have established a deep union, one based on -their fears and joys,
weaknesses and strengths.
• Group Communication
Group communication shares all these qualities, though in much less measure. The larger the group the less personal and intimate is the possibility of exchange. In fact, as the group grows in size communication tends to become more and more of a monologue, for participation becomes problematic. The degree of directness and intimacy, therefore, depends upon the size of the group, the place where it meets, as also the relationship of the members of the group to one another, and to the group leader Group communication is thus a more complex process than interpersonal communication.
The level of mutual participation and understanding among the
members suffers as a result. In Interpersonal Communication too understanding
and participation may not be complete, especially if the non-verbal cues and
the sociocultural contexts are not paid attention to. However, the possibility
of checking up and correcting misunderstanding is much quicker and easier in
much interpersonal communication.
Feedback is the key word here. While in interpersonal
communication, feedback is instantaneous, it is not so in group communication,
especially in large groups. What is more, it allows for instant response to
feedback received. In Group Communication, on the other hand, feedback is more
difficult to measure, and to respond to. It takes time before meanings are
clarified and responses assessed. That explains why the art of effective public
speaking (an example of one-way top-down communication) is more necessary at
the group level than at the interpersonal level. Feedback is a term from
cybernetics, the study of messages, particularly of effective message control.
When feedback is employed for this kind of social engineering. as in consumer
advertising, it is no more communication but propaganda and manipulation.
Face-to-face communication, nevertheless, is more persuasive and
influential, particularly in an unequal communication situation. It involves
the interplay of words and gestures and above all, the warmth of human
closeness No wonder, advertising people still depend on door-to-door salesmen
and salesgirls even where the mass media such as radio, television and the
press are widespread. Sincerity and enthusiasm are far easier to convey, and to
react to in a face-to-face situation.
In Group Communication, particularly where the group is large,
deception and pretense cannot be detected immediately. That must be the reason
why 'acting' is associated with Group Communication. The theater, religious
services, dance performances, carnivals, the Kumbh Mela, Rama Lila, Rasa Lila
and other folk events, are examples of Group Communication. Village markets,
bazaars and melas too are instances of informal Group Communication. Then there
are 'gossip groups', 'tea-shop groups' and other informal traditional groups that
come together either regularly or occasionally for sharing information. These
are 'micro-groups' that communicate among and within themselves in terms of
their status and the nature of their relationships.
• Mass Communication
Group Communication has now been extended by the tools of mass communication: books, the press, the cinema, radio, television, video and the Internet. Mass Communication is generally identified with these modern mass media, but it must be noted that these media are processes and must not be mistaken for the phenomenon of communication itself. Exaggerated claims have been made for the 'power' of the mass media. Daniel Lerner termed them 'mobility multipliers' and Wilbur Schramm considered them to be 'magic multipliers' Indeed, both the terms 'mass communication' and 'mass media are inappropriate in the context of developing societies.
None of the 'mass media' reach the masses of people in these
societies, though increasing numbers are acquiring access to them with every
passing decade. Yet, where access to, and distribution of, the mass media in
India is concerned, only the comparatively well-off in urban and rural areas
are at an advantage. They are elite media in another sense too: the stories
they tell and the information they disseminate are more relevant to elite
interests: the poor, marginalized groups and minority groups are barely
visible.
Newspapers, transistors, films and television are still beyond the
economic reach of at least 20% of our population that lives below the poverty
line. Traditional community media like the keertana and yakshagana, and the
whole treasure-house of folk song, folk dance and folk theatre are the real
organs of mass media in India. They are far less expensive organs, are easy of
access, are frequently participatory in nature and communicate much more
effectively than the electronic media and at a direct and personal level. Their
reach too is far and wide in the country However, the modern mass media are
produced and distributed like other consumer and industrial products - on a
mass scale. Mass communication then is 'communication at a distance with
technology mediating production, transmission and reception. To Thompson this
is a form of 'mediated quasi-interactive communication'. In all types of mass
communication, he observes, the context of production is generally separate
from the context of reception... the flow of messages is a structured flow in
which the capacity of recipients to intervene or contribute to the process of
production is strictly circumscribed. Phone-in-programs and SMS voting in
television contests and game shows have made little difference to this
fundamental separation of producers and receivers.
• Mass-line Communication
Mao Zedong, who led the Chinese Cultural Revolution, used a type of communication to talk to the masses. He termed it mass-line' communication. Mahatma Gandhi too employed a similar type of communication, the essence of which was personal example, respect for the peasant's knowledge, and non- manipulative information. Kusum J Singh's comparison of the two leaders' use of the mass-line type of communication brings out the relevance of this type of grass-root level communication even today for mobilizing the masses in developmental efforts.
•Interactive Communication
Communication via the 'new' media such as video, cable, videotex, teletext, video-on-demand, teleshopping, computers the Internet and mobile telephony is usually termed 'interactive communication'. Telecommunication-based services such as telephones, pagers, cellular or mobile phones, electronic mail are also considered to be interactive. They are point-to-point communication systems, and can approximate to the inter- personal (as in the basic telephone and the various "value-added' services), the group (as in teleconferences and video conferences) or the mass (as in the Internet's World Wide Web where companies or people with their own web-sites can reach millions of individuals across the globe at their own convenience. A major characteristic of interactive communication is 'a synchronicity', that is the sending and receiving of messages is at one's convenience, rather than at the same time, as in radio, television. Audio, video and digital recording facilitates listening and watching at a time later than the time of transmission; voice mail, electronic mail and SMS/MMS messages, can be sent and accessed at times convenient to communicators.
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