Communication

Communication is the act of conveying intended meanings from one entity or group to another through the use of mutually understood signs and semiotic rules. The basic steps of communication are the formation of an intention to communicate, the composition of the message, the codification of the message, the transmission of the signal, the reception of the signal, the decoding of the message and finally, the interpretation of the message by of a receiver. Communication, in general, takes place between three categories of main subjects: human beings ( language ), living organisms ( biosemiotics ) and enabled communication devices ( cybernetics ). In a general sense, communication is union, contact with other beings, and can be defined as the process by which information is transmitted from one point to another. Its purpose or objective can be denominated in the action of informing, generating actions, creating an understanding or transmitting a certain idea.

Most important forms of communication

Depending on the kinds of signs used, non-verbal communication and verbal communication are differentiated. In many cases, verbal signs and non-verbal signs are combined in a message, giving rise to mixed forms of communication. An example would be an advertisement, the cinema or a comic. If one takes into account the relationship established between the sender and receiver, a unilateral communication and another bilateral communication is differentiated. The unilateral communication occurs when the receiver does not become issuer. It happens on traffic signals. The bilateral communication occurs when the receiver can be converted in turn emitter. It happens in a conversation.

Non-verbal communication

Non-verbal communication helps people of different languages ​​reach a level of understanding. Non-verbal communication consists of transmitting meanings in the form of non-verbal messages. It uses non-linguistic signs. Examples of non - verbal communication include gestures, the facial expressions, the body language, the eye contact, the dress, the haptic (communication via the touch ), the cronémica (meaning of time in the communication) and kinetics ( body language), among others. The same oral communication contains non-verbal elements such as paralinguistics(nonverbal elements that accompany linguistics, for example, tones of surprise, interest, disinterest, fear, fatigue, insinuations, etc.) According to studies, 55% of human communication is given using non-verbal facial expressions and a 38% through paralanguage. 3 This includes the same written communication in which it is possible to determine meanings in the style of writing, the distribution of spaces between words and the use of emoticons to convey emotions. In this sense, colors are used to transmit a message, such as the blue and red marks of the taps, sounds, like the siren of an ambulance, and gestures, like the wink of an eye.

Some of the purposes of non-verbal communication include the complementation and illustration of the message to reinforce or emphasize it, replace or replace, control or regulate and even contradict. This gives great importance to non-verbal communication because it helps to reinforce the ideas and purposes of the sender and helps the receiver to better decode the message he receives.

Verbal communication

The development of the human voice and the brain made language possible. Verbal communication or linguistic communication is one that uses words as signs. It can not be isolated from some factors to be effective, which includes non-verbal communication, listening skills, and clarification. The language human can be defined as a system of symbols or language, known signs as lexemes and grammatical rules in which the symbols are manipulated. The word "language" also refers to the common properties of it. With these signs, the objects and facts of reality are represented, and uniting them through the rules of grammar, complex messages are constructed, that is, sentences, with which thoughts are represented. In the case that two people speak the same language, they will recognize the signs that each one pronounces, and their meaning, in such a way that it will evoke in mind a thought or an idea that is what will be transmitted. The learning of this occurs normally and intensely during the years of human childhood. Most of the languages in the world use sounds and gestures as symbols that enable communication with other languages, which tend to share certain properties, although there are exceptions. There is no defined line between a language or language and a dialect. Languages ​​built like Esperanto, the programming language, and several mathematical formalisms are not necessarily restricted by the properties shared by human language. Fundamentally verbal communication is oral, using words spoken with the voice. It can also be written. In writing the sounds are transformed into letters, and the words pronounced in graphic words.

Written communication

The invention of writing marked the beginning of the history of mankind. In the image, the so-called papyrus of Artemidoro, which contains the first map of the Iberian Peninsula. 4 It is a 3-meter long scroll written in the 1st century BC, perhaps in Alexandria.

Written communication, unlike the verbal, has another way of interaction between sender and receiver, occurring in time or even never, although the written can endure. Through history, this type of communication has developed thanks to the impact of technology and science. These development processes are divided into three stages: pictograms as the most primitive forms of human writing; the development of alphabets in different languages ​​written on physical supports such as stone, wax, clay,  papyrus and, finally, paper; and finally the information transmitted through electronic means.

This communication requires the interpersonal ability to process, listen, observe, speak, question, analyze, generate and evaluate in such a way that collaboration and cooperation are possible. Misunderstandings can be anticipated and resolved through forms, questions and answers, paraphrasing, examples and stories.

Theory of information

Communication model by Claude Elwood Shannon and Warren Weaver ( 1949 ), represents the source of the information, the encoder that sends the message through the communication medium or communication channel , which could be interrupted or distorted by the noise (represented in the ray that falls) and that arrives at a decoder and from this to the receiver which could in turn issue a response.

The concept of communication in the context of Information Theory is used in a very broad sense in which "all procedures are included by which one mind can influence another". In this way, all the forms that man uses to transmit his ideas are considered: the spoken word, written or transmitted (telephone, radio, telegraph, etc.), gestures, music, images, movements, etc. In the communication process, it is possible to distinguish at least three different levels of analysis: the technical, the semantic and the pragmatic. At the technical level, those problems that arise around the fidelity with which the information can be transmitted from the sender to the receiver are analyzed. In the semantic, everything that refers to the meaning of the message and its interpretation is studied. Finally, at the pragmatic level, the behavioral effects of communication, the influence or effectiveness of the message are analyzed, as it leads to behavior. It is important to emphasize that the Theory of Information is developed as a response to the technical problems of the communication process, even when its principles can be applied in other contexts.

In many cases, communication is often confused with information theory, which corresponds to the mathematical theory of Claude E. Shannon that studies information (channels, data comprehension, cryptography and everything related to it) as a physical quantity. It uses a unit of measurement of the information that it calls the " BIT ", that is, the smallest unit that can be learned. This unit of measurement of the information is based on the alternative yes or no in each determination that can give elements for the knowledge of the objects. Thus, for example, the sexuality of a subject can be given by a BIT, simply, male or female. To fix the position of a chess piece on a board of 64 squares, you will need at least 6 BITS or 6 binary questions. Although the theory of information is fundamental to the study of communication and understanding of its processes, this theory does not respond to the concerns of human communication itself such as the following, among many others of a social nature.

The following are the basic elements of communication:
 * Code semantics decoding foreign


 * Channel


 * Issuer


 * Recipient


 * Message


 * Situation communicative situation context

Refernces: 
 * Frame of reference
 * 1) https://www.thebalance.com/communication-skills-list-2063779
 * 2) https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/what-is-communication.html