Typology and Forms of Communication

Several ways of classifying communication have been observed, from the conceptualization of communication concerning self, society, and culture to developments in its role, functions, and applications. More recently, as the Industrial Revolution 4.0 transformed human communication significantly, the need to revisit existing typologies and reconfigure novel forms of communication gained ground. This chapter foregrounds human communication in documented scholarship from the Western and Eastern cultures recounting developments in language, the power of the spoken word, and written communication followed by the descriptive presentation of verbal and non-verbal communication. Drawing from the seminal works on levels of communication on distinguishable characteristics of intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, public communication and mass communication, their distinctive nature with contemporary examples are explained in the chapter. Recognizing the relevance of modes of communication in the modern milieu, mediated communication and interactive communication in the digital age is also explored. This chapter presents unique value propositions for different types of communications based on a myriad of diverse criteria.