Essential Principles of Communication

There are seven essential principles of communication. They work hand in hand with one another and it is important to make sure that all are properly addressed.

The first step is to know and understand your audience, those you are speaking to, know your purpose, what you want the audience to do with the information, and the topic, what it is you are saying. Being aware of these things is the first building block to communication. Another principle of communication is to anticipate objections. If the information that you are presenting is new, then the audience may have a hard time understanding it. “One of the major barriers to communication is our own ideas and opinions” (Principles of Communication, n.d.). Presenting a well rounded picture is also important when communicating. A great way to do that is to incorporate familiar things with unfamiliar things to help the audience gain understanding. This is also a way to eliminate the barriers to communication

Some other principles are to achieve credibility with the audience and following through with what you say. These two go hand in hand. Communications requires ethical consideration in order to make sure that your message is received. Communicating a little at a time makes it easier for the audience to digest what is being given. This principle should be joined with the principle of presenting information in several ways. People learn different ways and it is important to play on their strengths.

“Communication is the “transmission of information, ideas, emotions, skills, etc., by the use of symbols—words, pictures, figures, graphs, etc” (Trenholm, 2011, p. 20). This definition of communication makes it easier to understand many of the principles of communication. I have used the principles of communication many times in work and school. Working at David's Bridal, I have to communicate at work with the brides that come to the salon. Each principle of communication is important in order to give the bride realistic expectations about her big day.

References

Center for Urban Transportation Studies. Retrieved from: http://www4.uwm.edu/cuts/bench/commun.htm

Trenholm, S. (2011). Thinking through communication: An introduction to the study of human communication. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.