communication: The exchange of information between a sender (the source) and a

receiver (the audience or reader).

communication audit: A systematic program for collecting and evaluating information

about the effectiveness of an organization's communication efforts.

communication medium: The channel through which a message is transmitted. The

term includes face-to-face discussions; oral presentations to groups; telephoned
messages; written memos, letters, notices, and instructions; printed matter; radio and
television broadcasts; and electronic media such as e-mail, teleconferencing, and Web
sites.

decoding: The process by which the receiver interprets the symbols used by the source
of the message by converting them into concepts and ideas.

downward communication: Messages that flow from those farther up to those more
subordinate in the organizational hierarchy.

empathic listening: Listening from the standpoint of the sender of a message to

receive the full message that the sender intends without distorting it because of
personal interests, biases, or inattention.

encode: To convert a message into groups of words, symbols, gestures, or sounds that
represent ideas or concepts.

feedback: (1) Information concerning results of activity that is conveyed to the

policymakers or authority figures, enabling them to confirm, amend, or abandon the
policy in question; (2) The receiver's response to the sender's message, communicated
back to the sender.

functional illiteracy: Inability to read and understand relatively simple written

communications such as memos, instructions, and descriptions and to understand and
complete typical business forms.

gender-exclusive language: Masculine words or terms that are used to encompass

both men and women or that inappropriately disregard the inclusion of one of the
genders. An example is the use the male singular pronoun (he or him) to signify all
people regardless of gender.

grapevine: An informal and unstructured communication channel that cuts across

formal channels of communication in almost all organizations and that usually is
characterized by rumour, gossip, and even outright fabrication, but that sometimes
conveys factual information that has not been officially released.
horizontal communication: Messages that flow, either formally or informally, between
or among peers, that is, those who are not in positions of subordinate/superior to each
other.

interpersonal communication: Communication between two people or among a

relatively small group of people.

jargon: Words or terms that sound superficially as if they had precise meanings but, in
fact, do not. Often used by people within particular groups, kinds of work, or
professions, and relatively unintelligible to people not in those groups.

media richness: The extent to which media convey all of the message, including not
only the express words but also the associated characteristics such as tone of voice,
volume and speed, body language, and other attitudinal factors.

medium of transmission: A means of carrying an encoded message from the source

or sender to the receiver.

message: The content of the communication.

noise: Interference that reduces the possibility that the receiver will receive the same
message as the sender sends or that makes it more difficult to interpret and understand.

nonverbal communication: Conveying a message by means other than words, and

including factors such as tone of voice, facial expression, and body language.

oral communication: Communication using the spoken word to convey a message.

selective perception: The subconscious process through which receivers screen out
all or some parts of a message that are inconsistent with their assumptions, beliefs, or
background, or that they particularly do not want to hear.

source credibility: The degree of confidence and trust the receiver has in the sender or
the source of the message.

upward communication: Messages that flow from those more subordinate to those
farther up in the organizational hierarchy.

verbal communication: Any communication that conveys a message by means of

words. Often mistakenly used to mean oral communication.

written communication: Communication using written words, symbols, or designs to

convey a message.