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Communication is broadly classified as verbal and non-verbal. (formal and informal)

(a)Verbal communication: The verbal form of communication is conducted with useof words. It is of two types written communication and oral communication.

The written communication is conducted through written words while the oral

communication is conducted through spoken words. The main advantage of the

written communication is that it serves as a record and is taken more seriously

than the oral communication. Another advantage is that a written communication

can be made more effectively by revising its draft two-three times. But, the

problem with the written communication is that a good number of employees in an

organization mat not bother to read it or may not have enough time to go through

it. As a result, they may miss important information.

(b)Non-verbal communication: Communication is not just the art and skill oflanguage and oratory, as it is normally perceived to be, because words or verbal

communication constitutes a relatively smaller part of the overall communication.

It is now an established fact that over 70 percent of the interpersonal

communication is non-verbal. Non-verbal communication refers to the tools other

than the words that are employed (consciously and unconsciously) by the sender to

communicate ideas and thoughts to the receiver of message. It is conducted as

gestures, body language, sitting and standing postures, touch, etc. Unfortunately,

non-verbal communication has not received the desired importance. The receiver

is generally keen to comprehend the non-verbal communication to decipher the

true attitudes and motives of the sender that might not have been directly

articulated by the sender.

Although people generally consider the verbal part as the communication, non-

verbal communication is equally vital because it conveys a much larger part of the

overall communication in comparison to verbal communication. It must be

remembered that words, gestures and body language that are generally perceived

to be communication are merely the tools of communication. These are in essence

the codes that have been developed over the centuries to convey the meaning andunderstanding of the senders message to its receiver.

Unfortunately the tools of communication have been misunderstood to be

equivalent to communication. The implication of this misunderstanding is that all

the efforts to develop communication skills are not directed at the essence of

communication (meaning and understanding) but not the tools that facilitate

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communication between two persons. A communication proves to be really

effective if the following conditions associated with its sending and receiving are

satisfied.

(i) The receiver receives the same message as it was sent by the sender(ii)

The receiver understands the message in the same way as was intended bythe sender

(iii) If the receiver agrees with the message, he/she feels encouraged andempowered to act upon it. If the receiver is not in agreement with the

message, he/she feels encouraged and empowered to freely express his/her

views

(iv) The sender of the message is also open-minded to listen to and act upon thefeedback or response of the receiver if he/she finds merit in it

(v) This cycle goes on with open-mindness of both the parties till an agreementis reached to their mutual satisfaction

DIFFERENT FORMS OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Organizational communication represents an exchange of information by an

individual or a group within a collective establishment for the achievement of a

common set goals and objectives. On the basis of its flow and direction

communication takes four forms: upwards, downward, lateral and grapevine.

(a)Downward Communication: This type of communication originates fromthe superior and is intended for the subordinates down the chain ofcommand in an organization. It includes sharing of organizations mission,

values, strategies, goals, objectives, latest rules and regulation, and

individual job description, task explanations, procedure, instructions, etc.