Communication and Adoptation

COMMUNICATION AND ADOPTION 3(3+0)

Lesson 4 : Classification of Communication

Group communication

When communication occurs among three or more members it is termed as group communication. Based on the number of individuals involved in communication it has been classified either as small group or large group communication

Small Group Communication:
Small group communication is the communication that is carried out within a group that consists of at least three members and at the maximum around twelve to fifteen members. A group that has just two members or more than fifteen members would not come in the category of a small group. For example a small group may be a professional group, an educational group or a social group. All the members belonging to these groups will have a common bond or interest or goal that brings them together.

The small group may also be a family of three talking at dinner table, or a meeting of an organization with just a few members.
Some examples of small groups are: committees, families athletic or sports teams, group of classmates and friends etc

Large group communication:
Large group communication normally refers to communication in big organizations having a large numbers of individuals. Large group contexts can include communities brought together by need or self-identification. They can be people of a particular geographic area as the people of the village or town. People who have gathered in hundreds to attend conventions, seminars or conferences are also large group.
In an organization, there are basically two ways of communication namely:

• Formal communication and
• Informal communication