What is Communication?

     When I first read this question my reaction was, how could I ever put it into words, everything that is or could be communication. My first response is that it is my body, my expressions, words and touch are ways that I communicate. According to Merriam-Webster.com communication is "the act or process of using words, sounds, signs or behaviours to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone else."
     In one of my MBA courses I had a professor define communication as the act of transferring information from one place to another. She further went one to explain that the way information could be communicated could be broken into four main groups: verbal, non-verbal, written and visualization. This explanation has always stuck with me. I believe that everything we do is a form of communication; intentionally or unintentionally.

Here is my list of 20 ways to communicate:
1. body language
2. eye contact
3. written word
4. tone
5. art
6. hand gestures
7. touch
8. braille
9. songs
10. face to face
11. skype
12. blogging
13. mimicking
14. storytelling
15. texting
16. symbols
17. journals
18. laughing
19. shaking/nodding of the head
20. codes

     Have you ever had a conversation and had the conversation end without knowing what the person was trying to say? I have! We all know people who are able to convey their message accurately and succintly while others talk for minutes an sat absolutely nothing.
Effective communication is vital to people and takes a great deal of work to achieve it. In order to have effective communication there must be: joint attention, communication partner and the users must have a common language.