Written Assignment Unit 1-

University of the People

BUS 1105- Business Communication

Instructor Barbara Anderson

September 13, 2023

 Written Assignment Unit 1

Every day around the world, we communicate in one way or another. Whether writing a

letter, sending a text, speaking with each other, or even signing, we are all participating in the

communication process. One key aspect of understanding communication is context. Author

John Maxwell highlighted how important context is when he said. “Great communication

depends on two simple skills. Context, which attunes a leader to the same frequency as his or her

audience, and delivery, which allows a leader to phrase messages in a language the audience can

understand”(Maxwell,n.d.as cited AZ quotes, n.d.). This paper will highlight the five types of

contexts of communication and give examples of a time I have experienced them and which is

my favorite and least favorite context.

The first context is intrapersonal communication. The definition can easily be defined by

breaking the word apart. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, intrapersonal means

“occurring within the individual mind or self”(n.d.). In other words, it means the communication

is one had with yourself or an internal dialogue. I do it all the time. Just today, I was driving

home. It was about a two-hour drive by myself. I started by listing the chores I had to do at

home. Then, I talked myself through the order in which I would tackle them. I remind myself to

ensure my school papers are at the top of the list because passing this class is necessary. I tell

myself I have to stay committed and make it a priority. The context of the communication was a

positive one, by reminding myself I have to make it a priority, but also of a scolding nature as I

had yet to get done much of the assignments, and due dates were rapidly approaching. In many

cases, when engaging in intrapersonal dialog, I am very critical of myself.

Next is interpersonal communication. It is when there is a conversation between two

people, but because it can be between them, the context is essential, as you would not have the
same level of intimacy in a conversation with your mother, a coworker, or a stranger. Because

the intimacy levels are different, it sets the tone of a discussion (Saylor Foundation, 2010). I

participated in several interpersonal conversations today. For example, today, I was in the store

with my sister. We were joking around and laughing while we shopped. When we were ready to

go, we got in line and continued to chat in a friendly way. But once we got to the cashier, the

conversation text shifted. I was very polite and offered the standard greetings of hello, how are

you, and very minimal chit-chat while in line and when she took our payment. Then the standard

thank you and have a good day. Both conversations I had in store were interpersonal, but based

on who I was talking to, there was a pre-determined context.

Group communication is when a few people get together and have a conversation. At a

minimum, there are three people because any less than three would be interpersonal, but usually

less than eight because as the groups grow, they tend to break into subgroups and have separate

communications (Saylor Foundation, 2010). I participate in group conversations daily, and the

context will vary based on the group, just like it does with interpersonal communications. For

example, I sit down to dinner with my nephew, brother and sister-in-law, and husband every day.

As we eat dinner, we participate in a group discussion. Our conversations are usually lively and

open, as we are a close group.

Next, public communication is usually a large group of people listening to one or two

speakers. This differs from group discussions because public communication has a source, and

the rest of the participants are receivers, whereas, in group communication, multiple people may

be sources and receivers(Saylor Foundation, 2010). An example of public communication is

when I attend monthly town hall meetings. There is usually one speaker who covers the new
happenings and, a couple of speakers who want to bring new items up for potential votes, and the

rest of the audience listens.

The last type is mass communication. Mass communication is used when you need to

send the same message out to a lot of people by handing out flyers, advertisement mailings,

social media site ads, commercials on radio or TV, or even email ads (Saylor Foundation, 2010).

The way the message is sent will not be all intended because of the format, because it gets

thrown away or put in a junk folder. But they do work to reach enough people to continue. For

example, I receive several advertisement emails, I choose to pick only the ones that I am looking

to buy something at to see if there are any discount coupons. Beyond that, I trash the rest.

The type of communication I like the least is public communication, mainly because it is

a large group of people and is typically one speaker relaying a message, with little to feedback

being provided. I like to be more engaged in communication. That is why I lean towards the

types of communication with fewer people. This one would be worse than mass communication

because at least then I can filter out what I want to look at or listen to when it comes to mass

communication.

The type of communication context I prefer would be interpersonal. I like to have a

conversation with an equal back and forth. I want to raise my concerns or thoughts and allow the

other person to do so. It is possible to accomplish valuable participation in a group setting, but it

usually comes at the cost of missed feedback..

In conclusion, context is essential. Context is used to determine the tone of the

communication and decipher the intended message. Because of the value of communication

context, it is a valuable skill to learn.

 References

Maxwell, J. (n.d.). AZQuotes.com. Retrieved September 13, 2023, from AZQuotes.com:

https://www.azquotes.com/author/9639-John_C_Maxwell

Merriam-Webster, (n.d.). Intrapersonal. Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved September

12,2013 from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intrapersonal.

The Saylor Foundation. (2010). Business commnications for success. Li Licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 3.0