Media and Types of Communication
Presented by: Anuj Shrestha
Overview

Communication Media
◦ Physical media
 Examples of physical media
◦ Mechanical media
 Examples of mechanical media

Types of communication
◦ Based on communication channels
 Verbal communication
 Non-verbal communication
◦ Based on style and purpose
 Formal communication
 Informal communication
Communication Media
Communication
Channels
Physical
Media
Mechanical
Media
Physical media
Person who is talking can be seen and heard by
the audience
 Not only hear the messages but also to see
body language and feel the climate
 Does not need to be two way channel
 Especially used when dealing with high concern
messages - organizational change or down
sizing

Examples of Physical media

Large meetings, town hall meetings

Department meetings (weekly meetings)

Up close and personal (exclusive meetings)

Viral communication or word of mouth
Large meetings

Great symbolic value
and should be used only
at special occasions

Excellent when a new
vision or
strategy, information
about reorganization are
to be presented
Weekly departmental meetings
Communicate daily operative issues, exchange
status reports and discuss problems
 Opportunity to build the big picture, prepare for
change, create ownership of important
strategies and goals

Up close and personal

Form of meetings where, often, a senior
manager meets with a “random”
selection of employees to discuss and
answer questions

Used in specific projects or campaigns
e.g. launching new strategies
Viral communication

Marketing techniques that
use pre-existing social
networks to increase brand
awareness (such as product
sales)

Can be delivered by word of
mouth or enhanced by the
network effects of the
Internet

May take the form of video
clips, interactive flash
games, ebooks, images, or
text messages.
Mechanical Media

Second of the two types of
communication medium

Written or electronic channels

Used as archives for messages or for
giving the big picture and a deeper
knowledge
Examples of Mechanical media
E-mail
 Weekly letters or newsletters
 Personal letters
 Billboards
 Magazines or papers
 Social media

E-mail
Good channel for the daily
communication to specific target groups
 Suitable mainly for up-to-date and
“simple” messages where there is no risk
of misunderstanding

Weekly letters

Generally used by managers that have
large groups of employees and who have
difficulties in meeting all of them

They can also contain summaries and
status in tasks, projects or issues –
yesterday, today and tomorrow
Personal letters


At special occasions it can be justified to
send a personal letter to employees in order
to get attention to a specific issue
Can be a letter with your personal
commentary on an ongoing reorganization
that affects many employees
Billboards
One of the most
forgotten types of
communication media
 Good thing - Inform
people who do not have
computers and/or access
to the internet

Magazines or papers
Offers the opportunity to deepen a specific
issue, explain context, describe consequences
or tell a story
 Create a broad internal understanding of
strategic messages

Social media

Media designed to be
disseminated through social
interaction, created using
highly accessible and
scalable publishing
techniques

Supports the human need
for social interaction, using
Internet- and web-based
technologies to transform
broadcast media
monologues (one to many)
into social media dialogues
(many to many)
Types of communication
Types of
communication
Based on
communication
channels
Verbal
Based on style
and purpose
Non-verbal
Oral
Written
Formal
Informal
Verbal Communication
Communication is based on language
 An inseparable part of business communication
 Two types of verbal communication

◦ Oral Communication
◦ Written Communication
Oral communication
Involves the exchange of ideas, opinions and
information through verbal means
 Communication takes place orally
 Word communication (not written)
 Messages are exchanged between a
communicator and a communicate

Oral communication(contd.)

Oral communication could take a variety of forms
or types, such as:
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Private discussions
Conversations
Oral instructions and orders
Gossip
Telephone conversation
Formal meetings
Informal meetings
Interviews
Oral presentations
Conference/seminars
Written communication
Message communicated in a written form
 Generally used when the audience is at a
distance or when a permanency of record is
needed.

Non-Verbal Communication

Often referred to as body language

Includes the overall body language
of the person who is
speaking, which will include the
body posture, the hand
gestures, and the overall body
movements

Facial expressions also play a major
role

Can also be in the form of pictorial
representations, signboards, or
even photographs, sketches and
paintings
Formal
Communication
Includes all the instances where communication
has to occur in a set formal format
 Official conferences, meetings and written
memos and corporate letters are used for this
form of communication
 Straightforward, official and always precise and
has a stringent and rigid tone to it

Informal Communication

Includes instances of free
and unrestrained
communication between
people who share a casual
rapport with each other

Does not have any rigid
rules and guidelines

Need not necessarily have
boundaries of time, place
or even subjects for that
matter
QUERIES??
Thank you!!