Communication in team and group settings

¶ … communication?

In general, communication refers to the sharing of ideas by transmitting those ideas from at least one individual to at least one other individual. Communication can involve several different mediums: it includes verbal transmission of ideas, visual transmission of ideas, and it can involve both deliberate and unintentional or even unconscious transmission of ideas. Communication is not necessarily limited to same species either: individuals from different species often communicate using postures, mannerisms, and sounds that are universally associated with particular concepts, such as aggression and dominance or submission and fear, among many others.

What is the purpose of communication?

Communication has many different purposes. Most generally, it is intended to allow another individual to understand the state of mind of another individual. That state of mind may include myriad different ideas such as aggression, non-aggression, interest, non-interest, possessiveness over resources, and even deception, such as in the case of certain species of birds that purposely distract potential predators from their nests by pretending to be injured and, therefore, an easy meal.

What is good communication?

In principle, good communication is simply the effective transmission of ideas rather than the ineffective transmission of ideas. Since the main purpose of communication is to allow another individual to understand what the state of mind is of the communicator, communication is only as good as it manages to accomplish that objective.

What is your understanding of the differences between verbal and nonverbal communication?

Verbal communication obviously consists of auditory means of transmitting ideas. In adult humans, verbal communication takes the form of spoken language. However human infants also communicate verbally through sounds even before they are able to use formal language. Non-human animals also communicate verbally through sounds, some of which appear to be part of structured language whereas others appear to be much more general sounds without sufficient structure to constitute a language, at least in so far as we are able to determine. Non-verbal communication can be deliberate, such as when human beings use hand signals to aid in communications or to overcome language barriers. Non-verbal communications can also be automatic or unconscious, such as when an individual tenses up in apprehension of danger or engages in "preening" behavior in the presence of the opposite sex without even realizing it.

What is your experience with team or group communication?

I have worked in teams that communicated very well within the group and also in teams that did not communicate very well. In almost every instance, teams that communicated well performed much better and accomplished their goals more efficiently than teams that did not communicate well. In my experience, there is a dual value to communication within teams. First, there is the value of the actual transmission of ideas. Second, there seems to be an additional value to the belief and perception among individual team members that they have an opportunity to communicate and that other team members value their contribution, wholly apart from the actual value or importance of the message itself.