Classification of communication methods
COMMUNICATION
ORAL
WRITTEN
INDIVIDUAL GROUP
One-on-one formal meetings
Informal conversations
Interviews
Telephone conversations
Letters
E-mails
Memos
Presentations to groups
Formal meetings
Teleconferences
List-serve e-mails
Web pages
Memos
Posted announcements
Manuals
Reports

Communication and Health Literacy
Managers may be responsible for decisions related to the coding and channels for communicating patient educational information as well.
Managers need to make staff aware of signs that may suggest that a patient has difficulty with basic literacy such as:
-Taking a long time to sign forms
-Relying on others to complete paperwork for them

Asking to take paperwork with them to complete later
-Saying their eyes are bad when given something to read
-Paying more attention to nonverbal cues than verbal messages

Communication Hurdles
Senders and receivers both compete for attention and time to communicate in busy organizations. Oral and written communications are often blocked, dropped rearranged, and inappropriately filtered as they travel through organizations in all directions through many levels.

Overcoming Communication Hurdles
The Message
The Method
Listening
The Grapevine
A Manager’s Responsibility
Communication is the fundamental, underlying responsibility of managers that takes a surprising amount of their time. Although, communicating effectively comes more naturally to some managers than others, its importance demands that everyone make efforts to continuing improve both oral and written communication skills.