Methods of Human Communication

• Talking on the phone is one advanced form of verbal communication technology. Kathrin Ziegler/Photodisc/Getty Images

  Communication is the process by which information is sent to a recipient by a sender, where the recipient and the sender have a means of expression in common. While almost all animals and some other living things are capable of some rudimentary forms of communication, human beings have evolved sophisticated methods of communication that shape almost all interaction and transactions in human society.

Auditory and Verbal Communication

• Human beings are capable of complex expressive and receptive speech. This means that they can communicate complex ideas and information through elements of verbal speech. Verbal and auditory communication includes forms of sound-based communication that aren't explicitly speech, such as singing, tone of voice and vocal noises humans make to communicate information to each other. Etiquette is a culturally-grounded code for socially acceptable verbal communication in polite society.

Non-verbal Communication

• A large part of how humans communicate consists of non-verbal communication. This includes body language, eye contact, gestures, touch and facial expressions. One branch of behavioral psychology, the study of microexpressions, studies the ways in which human beings communicate through tiny contractions in facial musculature, which communicate subtle and often subconscious expressions to the recipients. Some gestures and means of non-verbal communications vary among cultures, but some are universal among humans. Sign language is a form of non-verbal communication using pre-set hand gestures and body postures as an alternative to the spoken word.

Written and Visual Communication

• Thousands of years ago, human beings began to create visual expressions of communication through cave paintings and art, recording their experiences on cave walls and stones. This evolved into written language, a method of human communication that involves written symbols as visual representatives of the spoken word. In modern times, this method of communication has gotten increasingly specialized and sophisticated, evolving into art, hieroglyphics, poetry, literature, sculpture, even aspects of drama and dance. Graphic designers make use of visual communication in advertisement, combining graphical elements with visual clues, written words and photographs to communicate the ad's intent. Internet and mobile device users use written communication to text and transmit information over an Internet connection. Visual communication is technically a subset of non-verbal communication.