Communication is defined as the process of understanding and sharing meaning. Communication is the relationship that involves interaction between participants.

A process is a dynamic activity that is hard to describe because it changes. To understand is to perceive, to interpret, and to relate our perception and interpretation to what we already know. Sharing means doing something together with one or more people. Meaning is what we share through communication.

Communication is key to your success—in relationships, in the workplace, as a citizen of your country, and across your lifetime.

We all share a fundamental drive to communicate. Communication can be defined as the process of understanding and sharing meaning.

Being unable to communicate might even mean losing a part of yourself, for you communicate your self-concept—your sense of self and awareness of who you are—in many ways.

On the other side of the coin, your communications skills help you to understand others—not just their words, but also their tone of voice, their nonverbal gestures, or the format of their written documents provide you with clues about who they are and what their values and priorities may be.

You need to begin the process of improving your speaking and writing with the frame of mind that it will require effort, persistence, and self-correction.

You learn to speak in public by first having conversations, then by answering questions and expressing your opinions in class, and finally by preparing and delivering a “stand-up” speech.

As you study business communication, you may receive suggestions for improvement and clarification from speakers and writers more experienced than yourself.

Remember, luck is simply a combination of preparation and timing. You want to be prepared to communicate well when given the opportunity. Each time you do a good job, your success will bring more success.

Communication forms a part of your self-concept, and it helps you understand yourself and others, solve problems and learn new things, and build your career.

The communication process involves understanding, sharing, and meaning, and it consists of eight essential elements: source, message, channel, receiver, feedback, environment, context, and interference. Among the models of communication are the transactional process, in which actions happen simultaneously, and the constructivist model, which focuses on shared meaning.

The source imagines, creates, and sends the message. The message is the stimulus or meaning produced by the source for the receiver or audience. The channel is the way in which a message or messages travel between source and receiver. The receiver receives the message from the source, analyzing and interpreting the message in ways both intended and unintended by the source. Feedback is composed of messages the receiver sends back to the source. The environment is the atmosphere, physical and psychological, where you send and receive messages. The context of the communication interaction involves the setting, scene, and expectations of the individuals involved. Interference is anything that blocks or changes the source’s intended meaning of the message.

Summarized from : Business Communication for Success, by Scott McLean.