Types of Speech Communication

Today in class: In your journal/notebook, please read and take notes on the following information about communication:

There are two types of basic communication that we, as humans, engage in. They are:

1. Interpersonal communication: communication between two or more people, usually through words, symbols, gestures, or expressions.

and

2. Intrapersonal communication: communication with the self. Thoughts, feelings, and prayers are often different types of intrapersonal communication.

We are going to focus on interpersonal communication in this class. There are several general types of interpersonal communication:

• 1. One-to-one communication: talking with one other person. Conversation is the most basic form of this, either face-to-face, or in an interview, or on the telephone, but it can also be writing (the author communicating with a reader, for example) or texting or typing an email.
• 2. Group discussion: talking with more than one other person (usually 2 or more) with a common purpose in mind. Often this common purpose is to solve a common problem, to share an idea or information, to make a decision about something, or to answer a question.
• 3. Public communication: a form of interpersonal communication in which one or more people communicate with an audience. A typical example might include the communication that happens between a performer and an audience in a theatrical production, for example, or public speaking. Public communication also includes oral interpretation, reader's theater, improv, all sorts of performances or even film.
• 4. Mass communication: one person (or several people) communicate with a very large group of listeners or an audience. Usually the listeners/audience are not physically present when the person sends his/her message. Delivery of the sender's message is usually through technology, like television, the computer, or through film or radio.

Make sure you've written down and noted the difference between these types of interpersonal communication techniques. You will be tested on this information.