The 28 types of communication and their characteristics
The communicative act can take many forms and can be classified in several ways.
Communication is the action of exchanging informationbetween two or more people, the purpose of which is the transmission and reception of information (written, emotional, etc.). The person (or persons) who sends the information is the sender, and the person who receives it is the receiver. The medium through which the message is transmitted is the channel.
But this relatively simple scheme does not cover all the complexity of the process, because in reality there are many types of communication. in reality there are many types of communication, not just one.. In this article we will see their characteristics and what it means to know how to master them well.
The main communication skills
Being a good communicator is key for personal relationshipsThe key to good communication skills is the success of your professional career and, moreover, the emotional health of people. In other words, being a competent communicator is necessary to be successful in this life.
If there is one thing that characterizes the happiest people, it is that they are competent communicators, which helps them to deal with their daily life situations in the most satisfactory way. helps them to deal with the situations of their daily lives in the most satisfactory manner.. For example, when it comes to solving an argument with their partner or when presenting their candidacy in a job interview. Fortunately, communication skills can be learned.
However, in order to master the communicative activity, we need to be aware of all the different forms of communication that exist, otherwise we will be sticking to a very reductionist definition of this concept and, therefore, we will miss opportunities to connect with others, miss opportunities to connect with others in an effective way.. This may occur because there are certain kinds of communication that are more popular or showy than others, although that does not mean that those outside that focus are less important or useful.
But... what are these communication skills? Good communicators are characterized by mastering these skills:
- Active listening
- Empathy
- Emotional validation
- Non-verbal language
- Conflict resolution
- Negotiation
- Verbal language
- Read
- Writing
- Respect
- Persuasiveness
- Credibility
You can learn more about these aspects in our article: "The 10 basic communication skills". However, to understand how to make the most of the act of communicating, it is necessary to know the types of communication.
Types of communication
As we have seen, beyond the basic scheme of the process of transmitting a message, there are different types of communication, since the senders may be different and the information sent and the channel through which it circulates may also be different. Below you can find the classification of the various forms of communication, according to different criteria.
Verbal and non-verbal communication
Two types of communication that are often talked about are verbal and nonverbal communication.. This dichotomous classification refers to whether the message is verbalized or not.
Verbal communication
Verbal communication is characterized by the use of words in the interaction between the sender and the receiver. At the same time, it is believed to be a type of communication exclusive to humans, since although there are animals that use sounds that can be associated with quite specific concepts of their environment (as occurs, for example, with prairie dogs), they are not used following the rules of a grammar nor are they given new meanings depending on the context.
There are two types of verbal communication, since words or language can be expressed in spoken or written form:
- Oral communicationOral communication: is carried out through oral signs or spoken words. Shouting, crying or laughing are also oral communication.
- Written communicationWritten communication: it is done through written codes. Hieroglyphs, alphabets or logos also belong to this type of communication.
Although verbal communication is the most explicit and obvious, given that it is regulated by a series of rules and signifiers (i.e. the words that shape a language) that we take several years to learn and that allow us to transmit relatively clear and often even concise units of meaning, we must bear in mind that behind it there is also another that is as or more important than the former, which can also modify the meaning of the former. This is non-verbal communication, which we will see below.
2. Non-verbal communication
This type of language is carried out without the use of words and, in many cases, unconsciously. Body movements, postures, gaze, the way of sitting or walking are some examples.
In most cases, both the emission of messages and their interpretation are automatic, even involuntary, processes. This is so because this type of communication is the one that has been most important throughout our evolutionary history, in stages of evolution in which the use of words did not yet exist.
However, However, messages linked to nonverbal communication are relatively ambiguous and difficult to interpret, as they are often and difficult to interpret, since, unlike the previous type, they are not governed by explicitly learned and consensual rules.
Depending on the number of participants
The type of communication may vary depending on the number of people involved in the communicative interaction.
3. Individual
In this type of communication only one sender and one receiver interact, that is to say, communication takes place from individual to individual. It is a framework of interactions characterized by privacy and by the impossibility of trying to impact an audience or a third person who observes.
4. Collective
This type of communication occurs when there are more than two people exchanging messages.. In these cases, it may happen that although one person addresses the other in his speech, he intends to have an effect not on him, but on the rest of the people.
5. Intrapersonal
This type of communication occurs when a person communicates with himself. For example, when someone has to make a decision and reasons out solutions. It is debated whether this can really be considered communication.
6. Interindividual
Interindividual communication occurs when two people communicate, either verbally or nonverbally, basically expressing feelings.
7. Intragroup
This type of communication occurs when two or more people belonging to the same group or collective communicate with each other..
8. Intergroup
Intergroup communication refers to communication that exists between groups. For example, between the interpreters and a group of spectators.
9. Mass communication
Mass communication refers to the interaction between a single sender and a mass receiver or audience. interaction between a single sender and a mass receiver or audience.. The receiver must be: a large group of people, be heterogeneous and anonymous.
Depending on the sensory channel
Depending on the sensory channel, it is possible to differentiate different kinds of communication:
10. Visual communication
In this type of communication, messages (e.g., ideas) are conveyed through the visual medium and are perceived through sight.
11. Auditory communication
This is a type of communication in which messages and information are is perceived through hearing. For example, music. Of course, it is one of the most widely used types of communication, since it can connect two people over a relatively long distance and, in addition, it makes it easy to locate the source of the message, something that does not happen with olfactory communication, for example.
12. Tactile communication
In tactile communication the information is perceived through touchusually through the skin or by means of Braille writing.
13. Olfactory communication
The message received through the olfactory pathway shapes the olfactory communication. For example, the act of perceiving the information given by a person through his smell.
Like auditory communication, the message can cross long distances, but in this case it is not easy to locate the source or to establish a sequence of information. However, the message remains in the environment much longer than with sounds.
14. Taste communication
It is a type of communication in which information is sent through the taste. For example, when a "chef" prepares a recipe for a group of diners. Unfortunately, in this type of communication the information is usually limited to the chemical properties of the element being tasted, and there are no precise data or chains of information.
Depending on the technological channel
Depending on the technological channel, the types of communication can be:
15. Telephone communication
This is the communication that is carried out through the telephone apparatus. Whether fixed or mobile. It allows interacting with people who are far away.
16. Virtual or digital communication
Virtual or digital communication is the communication that is produced thanks to the world connected through the Internet.. It includes both a Skype conversation and the sender's writing and the receiver's reading of an article published in a blog.
17. Television communication
The communication that takes place through the television is television communication.
18. Cinematographic communication
It is the communication that takes place through the big screen and thanks to feature films or cinematographic productions.
According to the use or purpose
Depending on the purpose or objective of the communication, it can be:
19. Advertising communication
This type of communication occurs when a company sends a message, generally to a group of consumers, to make its brand known or to sell a product.. In this case, the main interested party is the sender, who wants to sell something.
20. Journalistic communication
It is the communication that is made through different media with the purpose of informing the with the purpose of informing the receiver from a journalistic point of view.
21. Educational communication
The content of this type of communication is of an educational nature.. For example, when a student attends a class in which his teacher is teaching a subject.
22. Political communication
The information of this type of communication is of a political nature and the content usually has a strong ideological content. For example, when someone attends a debate in which the speaker is a politician seeking to win his vote. Unlike advertising, propaganda does not aim to encourage buying, but to change the mentality of the recipients.
Other types of communication
There are also other types of communication:
23. Sign communication
This type of communication refers to that used by deaf and deaf-mute people and the people around them** to establish a channel of communication and the people around them** to establish a communication channel with their social circles, either made up of other deaf people or people without hearing problems.
24. Organizational communication
Organizational communication refers to the communication that occurs within companies and from companies to the outside world.. It is also called corporate communication.
25. Vertical communication
Vertical communication is a type of communication that between different levels or hierarchical positions within an organization. within an organization. There are two types:
- Upward communication.From employees to higher management.
- Downward communicationFrom top management to employees.
26. Horizontal communication
Another type of organizational communication that occurs within the same level.. For example, between departments with the same hierarchical rank or between workers in the same office.
27. Sexual communication
The content of the communication is of a sexual nature. Either through verbal language or by sending pictures via WhatsApp, which is known as "Sexting".
28. Emotional communication
Emotional communication refers to the fact that the content is of an emotional nature.. It can be verbal, when expressing feelings, or non-verbal, for example, when laughing or crying.
(Updated at Apr 14 / 2024)