Human Communication - Why We Communicate

Why We Communicate

We need to communicate by nature and we communicate by choice. There are physical needs, identity needs, social needs, and practical goals; and all of these are ways we use to communicate. When it comes to physical needs communication is so important that its presence or absence affects physical health. It is almost like a survival tool if we find ourselves in danger we need to communicate to find help or vice versa. Beyond that there comes identity needs where communication does more than enable us to survive. It is the way – indeed, the only way – we learn who we are. Are we smart or stupid, attractive or ugly, skillful or inept? The answers to these questions don’t come from looking in the mirror. We decide who we are based on how others react to us. Besides helping to define who we are, communication provides a vital link with others. That’s where we have social needs. Researchers and theorists have identified a whole range of social needs that we satisfy by communicating. These include pleasure, affection, companionship, escape, relaxation, and control. All of these are done with our interpersonal relations. The author adds, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. –Ecclesiastes 4:9,10 Then we have practical goals, besides satisfying social needs and shaping our identity, communication is the most widely used approach to satisfying what communication scholars call instrumental goals: getting others to behave in ways we want. Some instrumental goals are quite basic: Communication is the tool that lets you tell the hair stylist to take just a little off the sides, lets you negotiate household duties, and lets you convince the plumber that the broken pipe needs attention now! These are main ways we communicate and all of them include talking, looking, nonverbal communication, listening. Also showing how by nature or choice we react and communicate differently.