The National Communication Association (2002), a professional organization representing communication teachers and scholars in the United States, defines communication as the process through which people use messages to generate meanings within and across contexts, cultures, channels, and media. This definition highlights five features of communication.

First, communication is a process that unfolds over time through a series of interconnected actions. Imagine you and your roommates are discussing how to set up the common areas in your apartment. If they ask for your opinion on furniture placement, you’re likely to give it simply because they’ve asked. Their action of asking a question creates your action of answering. If they dismiss your suggestion and joke about how stupid it is, their actions may hurt your feelings. Later, when they ask you about how to decorate the living room, you may be more cautious about sharing your ideas out of fear of ridicule. Thinking of communication as a process means realizing that everything you and others say and do during encounters shapes what happens in that moment and in the future.

Second, people engaged in communication (“communicators”) use messages to convey meaning. A message is the “package” of information transported during communication. When people exchange a series of messages, whether face-to-face or online, the result is an interaction (Watzlawick, Beavin, & Jackson, 1967).

Third, communication occurs in a seemingly endless variety of contexts, or situations. For instance, you communicate with others in class, at parties, at work, and at home. In each context, many different factors affect how you communicate. These factors include how much time you have, how many people are in the situation, and whether the setting is personal or professional. This is why you probably communicate differently with a friend during an intramural basketball game than when the two of you see each other in class the next day.

Fourth, people communicate through various channels. A channel is the sensory dimension along which communicators transmit information. The most common channels are auditory (sound), visual (sight), and tactile (touch). For example, your professor smiles at you and says, “You did a great job with your speech!” (visual and auditory channels), or a friend comforts you with a hug during a moment of sadness (tactile).

Fifth, to transmit information, communicators use a broad range of media, or tools for exchanging messages. Media can include texting, tweeting, posting, e-mailing, making a phone call, or talking face-to-face. Often people use several different media at once. For example, you text a friend while you’re checking Tumblr or Instagram, you call your mother while you’re scrolling through her latest e-mail to you, or you Google reviews for a movie you’re interested in seeing while Skyping a colleague who’s in a different office. Chapter 3 (Mediated Communication) will explore more about how technology influences your communication.