A Summary Of Interpersonal Communication

of communication. Signs of the exchange (e.g dialogue, discussion) could be observed. Interpersonal communication dominates our activities at home, in the church, in the club, in the market, and almost everywhere. In business industry and similar organizations, interpersonal communication helps to break the barrier of formal relationships, generates warmth and creates harmony essential for increased productivity. It is therefore a very significant form of communication.

Its effective application depends on our objectives, knowing the needs of the person we want to speak to and taking into consideration these needs and making sure that our message is appropriately worded to suit the occasion. This is because interpersonal communication has the

Group communication, therefore, involves the exchange of ideas and information among members of a group (Sybil et al., 2006). Group exists in several areas of our lives at home, in the office, in the club, etc.

Other examples of group include workers in the various sections of an organization-production, marketing, engineering or personnel section, people who work in the same department, members of a class, or social organization, and people who belong to the same political party. Groups vary in size and composition. In modern day business, each unit or stratum establishes small groups for purposes of production, target setting, problem identification and resolution as well as decision-making

Members within a given group share ideas and information with one another and this enables them to accomplish the tasks they set for themselves. As a result, if you are a member of any of the groups mentioned above, you will take part in group communication. The group decides collectively who should lead, how to raise money, what tasks to undertake and how to carry out the tasks undertaken. In this kind of situation, the mode of communication is peculiar to the group and essential to its

(Ottih, 2006). Studies conducted in the past two or three decades show that there are six commonly used networks for communication (Ottih, 2006). These are the chain, the Y, the wheel, the circle, the all channel, and the comcon.

The chain represents a normal hierarchical network which allows only upward and downward communication. The strongest power in the chain is located at the top and the least at the bottom. The “Y” represents a situation of two top members and if inverted, a case of two subordinates reporting to a supervisor and having two other superiors above him. The wheel is structured with a header or manager at the center. All communication must pass through him. The subordinates are not quite free to communicate.

The circle allows communication of members with other adjacent members and can represent some form of decentralization. It can signify equal power of members or a hierarchy with the greatest power at the top where members communicate with supervisors and lateral communication also takes