Internal and external communication
The communication process
- Good communication = information sent, received and understood.
- Five parts: a sender, a message, a medium (how it's sent), a receiver, and feedback (the reply that shows understanding).
Practice
In the communication process, feedback shows that:
Feedback is the receiver's reply, confirming the message got through correctly.
Types of communication
- one-way — no reply (a notice); two-way — the receiver can reply (usually better, checks understanding).
- internal — inside the business; external — with customers or suppliers.
Practice
Two-way communication is usually better than one-way because:
Two-way communication lets the receiver give feedback, confirming the message was understood.
Barriers
- a message too long/unclear, a poor medium, language differences, an inattentive receiver.
- Reduce them: keep it short and clear, choose the right medium, and ask for feedback.
Practice
Which is a barrier to communication?
Unclear messages, poor media, language gaps and inattention are barriers; the others help.
You've got it
Key idea
- communication = sender → message → medium → receiver → feedback
- two-way beats one-way (checks understanding); internal vs external
- beat barriers with short clear messages, the right medium, and feedback