There are (arguably) six major forms of communication:
1. Intrapersonal Communication is communication on our own using internal vocalization or reflective thinking. Like other forms of communication, intrapersonal communication is triggered by some internal or external stimulus. We may, for example, communicate with ourselves about what we want to eat due to the internal stimulus of hunger, or we may react intrapersonally to an event we witness. We may as well think and organize a message to express a thought or to respond to others’
message. Unlike other forms of communication, intrapersonal communication takes place only inside our heads. The other forms of communication must be perceived by someone else to be considered communication.
2. Interpersonal Communication is communication between two persons or among a small group of persons. It’s communication between or among intimates or those involved in close relationships— friends, romantic partners, family, and coworkers, for example. These relationships are interdependent, meaning that the actions of one person have some impact on the other person (whatever one person does influences the other person). Sometimes interpersonal communication is pleasant, but sometimes it erupts into conflict— making each person’s communication especially significant for the other.
There are basically two types of interpersonal communication:
i. Dyadic Communication is communication between two persons. For only two persons participate in this type of communication, they can share themselves openly to each other, if they want to, without any hesitation which makes dyadic communication the most intimate form of communication. An interview, another form of communication, is also a communication between two persons. But, interview and dyadic communication are not same.
ii. Small Group Communication is communication among members of groups of about three to eight people. Small group communication serves relationship needs such as those for companionship, affection, or support as well as task needs such as balancing the family budget, electing a new chairperson, or designing a new ad campaign. Through small group communication, we interact with others, solve problems, develop new ideas, and share knowledge and experiences. We live our work and social life largely in groups, from school orientation meetings to executive board meetings; from informal social groups to formal meetings discussing issues of local or international concern. Nowadays, many of us also live a good part of our lives in online chat rooms and social media sites where we have the opportunity to interact with people from different cultures living thousands of miles away.
Another type of communication, Impersonal Communication, takes place in the same way interpersonal communication does, but it’s not interpersonal communication. In impersonal communication, people interact based on social roles, such as communication between a sales representative and a potential customer or a Rickshaw-puller and a passenger. The manner of communication is informal and superficial, covering topics necessary to instigate a sale or similar transaction.
3. Public Speaking, also termed public communication or presentational speaking, is communication between a speaker and an audience. Audiences range in size from a few people to hundreds, thousands, and even millions. Through public communication, others inform and persuade us. And we, in turn, inform and persuade others— to act, to buy, or to think in a particular way. Though traditionally considered as a form of interpersonal communication in face-to-face situation, many scholars today consider sharing of thoughts through mass media and social networking sites as public speaking too.
4. Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) is a general term that includes all forms of communication between people that take place with the aid of computer or computer-like devices (such as, smartphone), for example, e-mail, texting, blogging, instant messaging, tweeting, or chatting on social network sites such as Facebook or MySpace or on our phone. All of these computer-mediated forms, like their face-to-face counterparts, are used both socially and in the world of business.
Some CMC (such as e-mail or blogging) is asynchronous, meaning that it does not take place in real-time. A person may send your message today, but the receiver may not read it for a week and may take another week to respond. Consequently, much of the spontaneity created by face-to-face real-time communication is lost in asynchronous communication.
Other forms of CMC (such as tweeting, chatting on social network sites, interactive websites, and instant messaging) are often synchronous— they occur at the same time and are similar to phone communication. It was not so long ago when CMC was largely text-based, but now there are opportunities in CMC to interact almost like in face to face situation.
5. Organizational communication can be understood as the sending and receiving of messages among interrelated individuals within a particular environment or setting (an organization) to achieve individual and common goals. Organizational communication is highly contextual and culturally dependent. Individuals in organizations transmit messages through face-to-face, written, and mediated channels.
Organizational communication largely focuses on building relationships and interacting with internal organizational members and interested external publics.
6. Mass Communication Simply put, mass communication is the public transfer of messages through media or technology-driven channels to a large number of recipients from an entity, usually involving some type of cost or fee (advertising) for the user. The sender often is a person in some large media organization, the messages are public, and the audience tends to be large- ranging from a few hundred to billions, scattered over a wide area (could be the whole world) and diverse in terms of age, sex, race/ethnicity, educational qualification, political ideology, religion, nationality, etc. In mass communication, the same message is sent to all and it is purposefully organized. Traditionally, there’s very limited or no space for feedback in mass communication. Even if there’s a space for feedback, it’s often indirect and needs to go through a long procedure. Live phone-in programs, online versions of the newspapers, etc. are exceptions in this regard.
With the advent of the Internet and social media new opportunities have been created for both the media organizations and individuals. Nowadays even an individual can produce media content and distribute it almost without any investment among a large audience.