Most often than not, communication is always defined as the process of exchanging information, values, or ideas through a medium between two or more parties.
However, this definition doesn’t really capture the true meaning of communication in its entirety. Communication has to be defined in a way that clearly shows the difference between communicating and just exchanging information. Just like production in economics, communication is never complete or accomplished until its purpose is fulfilled.
In economics, they say, production is only complete when the goods get to the final consumer, likewise, in communication, it is never completed until the receiver or recipient has a total understanding of the message or idea passed across. Therefore, we can safely say that communication is the process of exchanging information, values, or ideas through a medium between two or more parties in a way that the message is perfectly received and understood. Having established the true definition of communication, it can be easily understood that Communication Gap as the state or defect in communication when the intended message is not well understood by the recipient. In synopsis, Communication Gap is simply incomplete communication.
Communication Gap between countries is when information is inadequately exchanged between two or more countries. This can be caused by a plethora of factors which are but not limited to differences in language, cultural differences, a varying level of language proficiency, inadequate use of technology, the difference in technological advancement, perception, amongst others. Between countries, this breakdown can not only affect the efficiency of communication but also has the tendency of affecting other areas. Due to the communication gap, there might decrease in the diplomatic relationship, loss of money, verbal threats or war, global crises, technological loss, as the list goes on. This highlights the fact that the importance of communication cannot be overemphasized especially when it has to do with bigger entities like countries.
Therefore, it is pertinent that enough attention should be directed to ensure that the occurrences of the communication gap are drastically reduced through collective effort.
There are various ways of bridging communication gaps and with the advent of modern technology, it has been made even easier. One of the insentient ways the communication gap has been effortlessly and effectively reduced in the 21st century has been through social media and the internet. The advent of social media has bridged several barriers and seamlessly linked people of different languages and language proficiency levels together. It can be safely said that this has been championed by the need to socialize and partake in online exchanges of goods and services.
However, there are still several steps that have to be intently taken in other to build a more professional bridge. Some of the steps that can be taken include understanding cultural differences, interpreter assistance, use of regional language, use of visual aids, repetition of unclear words, unaccentuated words and intonations, use of technological aids, etc.
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