Communication Patterns

Preface

Communication underlies pretty much everything you do, from your facial expression showing disapproval or enjoyment, to your email about the latest project update, to what you say in a meeting or presentation. But what is communication, and how do you make it successful?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines communication as “the activity or process of expressing ideas and feelings or of giving people information.” This encompasses many of the important aspects of communication but doesn’t indicate what would make it successful. The same dictionary defines communicate as “to share or exchange information, news, ideas, feelings, etc.” This definition provides more detail, but we still need to go further to work out how to make communication successful.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary adds that communication is “through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior,” introducing the idea of commonality and how the ideas or information is conveyed.

Here’s what we have so far:

• Expresses ideas and feelings

• Gives people information

• Shares or exchanges information, news, and so on

• Uses a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior

That gives a good idea of what communication is, but what makes communication successful?

The polyglot linguist Michel Thomas put it simply when he said the aim of communication is to “get the ball over the net.” None of the definitions we’ve seen so far cover this critical element of understanding.

Let me take a stab, then:

Successful ...