Communication is the conveyance of information, only when the intention is to convey information. The information is gained from the knowledge of certain facts. Knowledge of facts is gained from experience. The information is therefore subjective. Information is independent of communication. Communication is therefore the intentional transfer of information. The information is gained from knowledge, knowledge gained from experience. Information is independent of communication.
What is knowledge?
Knowledge is everything a particular person knows about a particular subject in the real world. Knowledge is gained from exchanging knowledge, from personal experience and from intuition.
Knowledge can only be communicated when it is structured and clear. Information is knowledge that can be learned. Exchanging information is called communication.
What is needed for communication?
A medium is needed to communicate. The knowledge therefore becomes representative through the medium. Different mediums are: oral, written or pictures.
Communication is done through the use of messages. A representation of information is needed: namely data.
Interpretation of what has been communicated
When communicating, the intention is that both participants understand the same thing from the data. Their interpretation of what is communicated must therefore be the same. Without the interpretation, the data has no meaning.
Purpose of communication
Communication is successful when the sender’s knowledge influences the receiver’s knowledge in the way the sender intended. If this is not the case, there may be unintended effects: there is miscommunication. The message must therefore be sent in the correct form so that the recipient can understand the message. The recipient must also have background information that allows him or her to understand the message. Finally, the information must also have a certain news value.
Communication can also be understood as sharing information. An intention can therefore be the exchange of information.
Is art also a form of communication?
Art can be seen as a form of communication. Although art has many ambiguities when it comes to what is communicated. One may wonder whether the artist is clear about what he or she wants to communicate. The viewer of the art cannot determine whether the interpretation he or she has of the work of art is also the real interpretation. There are many different opinions on the question of whether art can also be seen as a form of communication.
The simplest model of communication / Source: JuanOF9 , Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA-4.0 )
The necessities for communication
- Transmitter: the source of information.
- Recipient: the destination for the information.
- Message: the content of the information.
- Medium: the channel from the transmitter to the receiver.