What is Communication?
The act in which information is transferred from one person, group, or place to another is known as the act of communication. In every communication, there is one sender, one receiver, and a message. However, this transmission of information from sender to the recipient is affected by many factors which include, cultural situations, our emotions, our location, and the medium which is used to communicate. Communication in an organization involves internal communications which include messaging around an organization, employee training modules, interpersonal communications between employees, and external communication which includes customer feedback.
Internal Communication
When a piece of information is transmitted within the organization, internal communication takes place. It is the lifeline of business that usually occurs between an employee and the employer or among employees.
Internal communication includes sharing of ideas, knowledge, information, and beliefs between the members of the company. It can either be formal or informal and is dependent upon the persons who are communicating. However, while communicating with the head of the company the language should be strictly formal. Some of the examples of common internal communication are company blogs, group meetings, inquiries of employees, staff communication, and so on.
Internal Communication- Importance
Some of the importance of internal communications are listed below-
The easy attainment of goals.
Increased productivity.
Fast response.
Fast-decision making.
Reduction of day-to-day conflicts among employees.
External Communication
When a piece of information is transferred between two organizations, external communication takes place. It usually occurs between an entity and another person exterior to the company and this exterior person may be a dealer, a client, customer, government official, and so on. Another example of external communication is customer feedback. With the help of effective external communication, an organization can improve its image rather than investing a lot of time and money.
Some of the examples of external communication may include response to the customers, advertisement of a business, press conference, brochures, feedbacks, print media, and so on.
External Communication- Importance
Some of the importance of external communications are listed below-
Reaction of risks of mistakes.
Helps to promote the organization.
A favourable image of the organization is presented.
Helps in advertising the organization.
Easy communication about the information of products and services.
More About the Topic
Communication is the pillar on which organizational success depends. There are mainly 2 kinds of communication that happen in a corporate environmrnt, and they are internal and external communication. The main difference between internal and external communication lies in the audience to which the message is delivered, and both forms of communication support different business goals. Both internal and external corporate communication are significant resources for the business.
Let us understand this with an internal and external communication example. Suppose you need to convey an important idea to your project manager. There would be some internal communication tools that you would employ in achieving this. Now, if the same idea is to be used to pitch for your company in some other firm, there would be different means and methods used for presenting this information. This is where the difference between internal and external communication comes into play.
What is Internal Communication?
The exchange of information between members of an organization or different parts (or departments) of an organization comes under the internal communication umbrella. The different means used to transmit this information could be emails, phone, personal contact, intranet, or other modern employee communication platforms. Internal communication helps employees of an organization perform their work effectively and gives them a clear sense of the organization's mission.
There are 5 Types of Internal Communication
- Vertical – This happens between employees present at different hierarchical positions in the company.
- Horizontal - This happens between employees present at the same hierarchical positions in the company.
- Downward – This internal communication happens from managers, leaders, or executive directors to their assistance or other employees.
- Upward – This is the communication from employees and assistants to their managers or leaders.
- Diagonal – There are situations when vertical (either upward or downward) channels need to be filled. This is where diagonal communication happens.
Internal communication could also be categorized as informal or formal internal communication.
Formal Internal Communication – Any communication that goes through a predefined channel falls under formal internal communication. This flow of information is controlled and follows a chain of command.
Informal Internal Communication – This is multi-dimensional communication that moves freely around the organization. This is a very natural form of communication among people and arises out of social and personal needs.
Different Ways of Internal Communication
The different means of internal communications are:
Emails
Staff meetings
Personnel meetings
News bulletins
Company’s internal server
Telephone
Company blog
Online tools like Google calendar and Google drive
What is External Communication?
External communication encompasses interaction within the company as well as with the outside environment like customers, vendors, clients, investors, government agencies, society, etc. These are mostly documented pieces of information. External communication happens between organizations and the outside world daily. The two broad categories of external communication are:
Formal External Communication – This kind of communication is the first step in creating an image of the company and brand awareness. Various media like letters, reports, web pages, or presentations are used to showcase a favorable image of the organization. It is also used to provide information about the company’s products and services.
Informal External Communication – The organization does not directly regulate this kind of communication. It mostly happens when employees talk about their organization and its quality to other people outside the company. Employees are daily absorbing tons of information about the company. When these employees with in-depth information about the company speak about it to the outside world, it forms a channel for external communication.
Different Ways of External Communication
The ways in which external information can transpire within and outside the organization are:
Print and broadcast media.
Pamphlets.
Press conference.
Annual reports and letters.
Business meetings.
External electronic communication like emails, phones, etc.
Comparison Between Internal and External Corporate Communication
Here is a table outlining the key differences between internal and external corporate communication.
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FAQs on Internal vs. External Communication Explained
1. Define the Process of Communication
The process of communication involves a cycle beginning as a message from the sender to the receiver and ending as feedback from the receiver to the sender. The elements involved in this process are shown in the diagram below.
- Sender – It is the person who transmits the information in the form of an idea, picture, report, etc.
- Message – This is the information conveyed in words or write-ups. The form of the message depends on the nature and importance of information passed.
- Encoding – This is the process of putting the target message in a suitable medium. The medium could be verbal or non-verbal. This is an important step since a wrong encoding can defeat the purpose of communication.
- Channel - This is the mode or link between the sender and the receiver through which information flows. The various channels could be phones, emails, memorandums, etc.
- Receiver – The person or the group, receiving the message.
- Decoding – This is the process of converting the received message into an understandable form.
- Noise – This is the hindrance in effective communication; a few examples are language barriers, physical distractions, etc.
- Feedback – The response of the receiver to the sender is termed as feedback. This is the ultimate purpose of the whole communication process since it implies that transmitted information has been successfully encoded, decoded, and comprehended.
2. What are the Rules and Principles of Communication?
All the interested parties who take part in either internal or external communication should follow a few basic principles of communication, which are:
- Promptness – The receiver must respond to the sender’s message with efficiency (usually within 24 hours). In case it is not possible to give a detailed response in the given timeframe, one must send a preliminary response to the sending party stating that a complete response would follow soon.
- Validity – The information presented must be true, valid, and documented. They must be based on facts.
- Confidentiality – There is an obligation to not disclose trade secrets and other confidential information outside the sending and receiving parties. This reliability of correspondence must exist irrespective of the subject matter of the information being shared.
- Clarity – Information shared must be concise and precise. What one wants or decides must be unequivocally pointed out in the medium of exchange.
3. Why do Internal and External Communication Go Hand in Hand?
Internal and external communication do not work in silos in a business context. Even if internal and external communication has different audiences, they need to align their efforts to give a unified message. Some of the reasons why they need to go hand in hand are:
- Strategic Alignment - Various stakeholders cannot come to a strategic alignment if the employees are not aware of what the external communication departments are working on. They need to align to understand the overall business strategy.
- Aligning Brand Image - Business must strive to have no gaps as far as their products, advertising efforts, and customer services are concerned. It is achieved by aligning the brand from inside out. This means they need to equip every employee with knowledge and tools to deliver what is expected as a brand promise.
- Staying up to Date with Industry Trends - The important news about company events and trends must be imparted to both the employees and the customers. Employees must know what the business is trying to convey to the customers. For this, internal and external communication channels must work in tandem to create personalized message feeds for both parties.
4. What are some of the differences between external and internal?
The most primary difference between external and internal communication involves the environment in which both the communications happen. Internal communications occur within the organization while external communication occurs outside the organization. Another key difference is that internal communication can be both formal and informal while external communication must be conducted formally. External communications are usually carried out by using advertisements, service calls, press releases, social media posts, and so on. On the other hand, internal communications are usually carried out using letters, memorandums, emails, video conferencing, circulars, conference calls, and internal websites.
5. What are some of the points which should be considered while effective internal communication?
Effective internal communication must possess the points that are listed below-
The openness and clarity of the reason for communication.
Communication should be two ways.
There should be consistency and regularity in the communication.
The need of the audience should be clear and properly understood.
The language used should be to the point, clear, and jargon-free which means it should be too technical.
There should be a good use of vocabulary.
6. What are some of the points which should be considered while effective external communication?
Effective external communication must possess the points that are listed below-
The ideas of the thoughts, statements and the reason for communication should be very clear and straight-forwarded.
The communication needs to be two-way.
The language used should be clear and easy to understand.
There should not be any errors in the language used.
The needs of the audience must be understood and the communication should be done accordingly.
The words chosen for communication should be proper and easily understandable.
7. What is meant by the 7 C’s of communication?
To communicate effectively, there is a certain principle of communication which includes 7 C’s. These 7 C’s of effective communication helps to compose an effective written or oral message while communicating with your organizations, clients, or the community. These 7 Cs are-
Clarity
Correctness
Conciseness
Courtesy
Concreteness
Consideration
Completeness
These 7 C’s will help you to communicate in the most engaging manner which will help you to increase your productivity in work. To learn more about communication, students can visit Vedantu’s study material on Communication to have a better understanding of the concept.
8. What are some of the various types of communication in an organization?
The most primary types of organizational communication can be classified into 4 types which include formal communication, informal communication, horizontal communication, and vertical communication. When in a workplace information is conveyed in the form of formal, clear, and specific means are used, the communication is formal whereas when informal means are used to communicate in an organization, it is informal organization. When the organization occurs between individuals or groups of the same hierarchical level, the organization is horizontal. On the contrary, when the communication is between a head and a subordinate it is described as vertical communication.
