4.2: Levels of Communication I: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Small Group
Interpersonal communication focuses on the exchange of messages between two people.
We can participate in these relationships through verbal, nonverbal, and mediated communication. We engage in verbal communication when we use words during our interaction to convey specific meanings. On the other hand, nonverbal communication refers to various factors that can impact how we understand each other—for example, facial expressions.
We interact with others using mediated technologies like the telephone, email, texting, Facebook posts, Tweets, and so on.
Intrapersonal communication describes communication patterns that originate from or are influenced by an individual's self. Some intrapersonal communication techniques can mimic talking to oneself.
Intrapersonal communication is not just the internal self-talk we engage in but also how the human body helps or hinders our communication ability.
We use self-talk to make decisions or make sense of the world around us. For example, when we choose what to pick from a list, memorize through repetition, etc.
A group is defined as at least three individuals working together toward a common objective. These groups may occasionally number up to fifteen, but larger groups are far more challenging to control and tend to cause more issues. The ability of every group member to communicate with every other group is one characteristic of a small group.
Small group communication is considered a part of life as we participate in group conversations at different stages of life.
For example, We're all born into a family, a specific type of group relationship. Group projects in school or college require group communication. As we enter the professional world, you will probably be on a work "team," which is just a specialized group. In other words, group communication is a part of life.
