The Curb: at the edge of a street, where two hearts meet

Communication

Communication is really a very broad subject. For some, communication is when there is an exchange of thoughts between two parties and nothing more. But for me, communication is so much more than just exchanging information and thoughts. It is also about responsibly relaying information to others. It is not enough that the sender sends the message to the receiving party. The sender should think about the effects of the information being sent out to the receiver first before disseminating it because communication is so powerful that it should not be done inappropriately. For example, when a parent is talking to his/her child, bad words should not be used because the child may think that using those words is okay because the parent uses them and the child may also use those words in the future without knowing what those words really mean.

Communication is also about the meanings being assigned to the symbols. The information should be clear to both the sender and the receiver. When the message is not clear to both parties or to the other party, the message may not affect the receiving party as intended by the sender. Sometimes, when the message is not clear, though the sender did not plan for the message to affect the receiver, it sill affects the receiver in another way because the receiver interpreted the message differently.

Communication would not be complete if we focus only to the sender and receiver. In communication, the channel being used to relay the message is also important. The sender and receiver depend on the channel or medium because without it, the sender would not be able to transmit the message to the receiver. But of course, like the sender and the receiver, the medium also has its fair share of flaws. The sender should use the medium that would let the receiver understand the message clearly so that the sender would get the feedback that he/she wanted.

In the end, no matter how much I try to explain what communication is and how it works in my own words, one thing would never change. Communication is vital to everyone. Everyone communicates and that is why our world becomes a better place to live in. We connect, we interact, and we share with other people but we should always remember that we have the responsibility to always use the information or message we have or get for the betterment of others.

Aiza Acoba of 1CA3