Types of Communication

There are four types of communication

1. Written communication.
2. Oral Communication.
3. Visual Communication
4. Nonverbal Communication 

1.      Written communication.  Memo, staff newsletter, report, minutes record) notice/circular, E-mail etc

2.      Oral Communication.       Face-to-face discussion, telephone, meeting/conference etc

3.      Visual Communication.    Charts, visual aids, television, movie, slide shows etc

4.      Nonverbal Communication:   Body Language

Written Communication:

Communication through words may be in writing or oral. Written communication requires transmission of message in black and white. It mainly consists of diagrams, pictures, graphs, etc. Reports, policies, rules, orders, instructions, agreements, etc have to be conveyed in written form for proper functioning of the organization.

The main advantages and disadvantages of written communication are as follows: -

Merits of written communication

• It ensures transmission of information in uniform manner.
• It provides a permanent record of communication for future reference.
• It is an idealistic way of conveying long messages.
• It ensures little risk of unauthorized modification in the message.
• It is well suited to express messages to a large number of persons at the same time.
• It can be quoted as legal evidence in case of any disputes.

Demerits of written communication

• It is costly and time consuming.
• It is rigid and doesn’t provide any scope for making changes for inaccuracies that might have crept in.
• It is very formal and lacks personal touch.
• It improves red-tapism and involves so many formalities.

Oral Communication: Face-to-face discussion, telephone, meeting/conference etc are the examples of Oral communication.           Oral communication may take the form of

• Staff meeting reports, face to face discussions,

• Presentations, audio tapes, telephone chats,

• Teleconferences, or videotapes 

Advantages of Oral communication

• The oral communication brings back immediate feedback

• It has a conversational nature with shorter words and sentences             

• It stresses on interpersonal relations

• This medium needs less technical details

• Its sentence structures are simple

Methods of Effective Oral Communication

• Think clearly. 
• Listen intelligently.
• Select appropriate media. 
• Time your communication appropriately. 
• Use appropriate language.
• Obtain feedback. 

Similarities in Written Communication and Oral Communication are listed below.

In written communication we must know the purpose when reporting. We need to collect, classify, interpret, and organize our material. We may use visual aids. We adjust the reader in the beginning, give details in the text, and summarize at the end.

In oral Communication we must know the purpose before reporting. We must know to collect, classify, interpret, and organize our material. We may use visual aids. We orient the listener in the beginning.

Differences are:

In Written communication it is more difficult to express, we write less so we have to less practice in written expression, Spellings, punctuations and mechanics are essential and troublesome. Non verbal facilities cannot be used. It is difficult to adjust the message while in oral communication It is easier is express. We speak more, so we have more practice in speaking and expressing. Spellings and punctuation are no problem. But accent is. It is easy to adjust the message to the type of listener. We have the aid of facial expressions, tone of voice, and gestures in expression.