Types of Modern Communication

Overview: How Are Types of Communication Classified?

In a business organization, communication happens in many ways. To understand all of them clearly for your exam, we classify Types of Communication on three major bases:

1. Based on Organizational Structure: Formal vs. Informal Communication

A. Formal Communication

• Meaning: Communication that flows through the officially prescribed hierarchy (chain of command) and official channels of an organization.
• Examples: Official circulars, appointment letters, board meeting minutes, annual reports, departmental memos, and formal performance appraisals.
• Merits: Authentic and reliable, creates permanent legal record, maintains discipline and authority.
• Demerits: Slow (has to pass through many bosses), rigid, lacks personal warmth.

B. Informal Communication (“The Grapevine”)

• Meaning: Spontaneous, unofficial communication that grows naturally out of social and friendly relationships among employees — during canteen tea breaks, lunch tables, carpools, or WhatsApp groups — without following any official hierarchy.
• Because it spreads in all directions like a creeping vine plant, it is famously called The Grapevine!
• Keith Davis’s 4 Types of Grapevine Chains:
  1. Single Strand Chain: Person A tells B → B tells C → C tells D in a straight line.
  2. Gossip Chain (Wheel): One person (A) sits at the centre and tells everyone they meet (B, C, D, E, F).
  3. Probability Chain: Information is passed randomly to anyone the speaker happens to meet.
  4. Cluster Chain (Most Common in Offices): Person A tells 3 trusted friends (B, C, D); then B tells 2 of their close friends, and so on in clusters!

2. Based on Direction of Flow

Inside an organization chart, messages travel in 4 directions:

1. Downward Communication (Top → Bottom)

• Flows from a superior (higher authority) to a subordinate (lower level) — e.g., CEO → General Manager → Supervisor → Worker.
• Purpose: Giving job instructions, explaining company policies, assigning sales targets, and giving performance feedback.

2. Upward Communication (Bottom → Top)

• Flows from subordinates up to superiors — e.g., Workers/Salesmen → Manager → CEO.
• Purpose: Submitting daily work reports, sharing customer feedback, raising grievances/complaints, applying for leave, and giving creative suggestions (via suggestion boxes or open-door policy).

3. Horizontal (Lateral) Communication (Side-to-Side)

• Flows between employees or managers working at the same hierarchical level across different departments.
• Example: The Sales Manager talking to the Production Manager and Finance Manager to coordinate a urgent festive order.
• Purpose: Fast inter-departmental coordination, teamwork, and problem-solving without bothering the CEO every time.

4. Diagonal (Crosswise) Communication

• Flows between people who are neither in the same department nor at the same level of hierarchy!
• Example: A junior Payroll Executive in HR directly emailing the Vice President of Marketing to verify the attendance of marketing interns.
• Purpose: Saves huge time in modern matrix and project-based organizations.

3. Based on Medium / Expression: Verbal vs. Non-Verbal

1. Verbal Communication (Using Words)

Any communication that uses language / words — either spoken or written:

• Oral Communication: Spoken words — face-to-face talks, phone calls, meetings, interviews, seminars, voice notes. (Fast, personal, immediate feedback).
• Written Communication: Written words — business letters, emails, reports, circulars, notices, memos, manuals. (Permanent legal record, precise, suitable for complex policies).

2. Non-Verbal Communication (Without Words)

Communication without using spoken or written words — conveying meaning through:

• Kinesics (Body Language): Facial expressions, eye contact, posture, hand gestures.
• Paralanguage (Vocalics): Tone of voice, pitch, loudness, speaking speed, pauses.
• Proxemics (Space Language): Physical distance maintained during conversation.
• Chronemics (Time Language): Punctuality (arriving on time shows respect).
• Sign Language: Visual symbols, charts, sirens, bells, and colours.

💡 DAVV Exam Tip

Question (10 Marks): “Discuss the various types of modern communication in detail.”

• Divide your answer into the 3 clear classifications: 1. Formal vs. Informal (Grapevine), 2. By Direction (Downward, Upward, Horizontal, Diagonal), and 3. By Expression (Verbal — Oral/Written & Non-Verbal).
• Draw small arrow diagrams (⬇ Downward, ⬆ Upward, ↔ Horizontal, ⤢ Diagonal) and mention Keith Davis’s 4 Grapevine chains!