Facts for Kids

People use the word communication to mean sending and getting information. For example, when you tell a friend a secret, you are sending a message. When your friend nods, they are sending a signal back. Some people think communication only happens on purpose, and some think it includes accidental signals, like a cough or a plant turning toward light.

Scientists and students who study how messages travel are part of a field called communication studies. They look at how messages move, how people understand them, and how sometimes communication not only sends meaning but helps make new meaning between people.

Intrapersonal communication is the conversation you have inside your own head or when you write notes to yourself. It can be thinking through a problem, saying steps out loud while playing, or writing a list to remember things. Kids often talk to themselves quietly to plan or calm down; this helps focus and learn new things.

Intrapersonal communication can begin from things around you—like a teacher’s instruction—or from inside, like hunger or an idea. Even your body sends messages to itself, such as feeling hungry and deciding to eat. This inner talk helps you control actions and remember what to do next.

Non-verbal communication means sending messages without words. A smile, a frown, a nod, or crossing your arms all say something. These signs can tell others how you feel, what you think, or how you want to be treated. For example, a raised eyebrow might show surprise and a thumbs-up can mean “good job.”

Because people share many of these signs, we learn to read them. Some are planned, like waving, and some happen on their own, like blushing. Non-verbal messages often add extra meaning to words or can even show what someone really feels when their words say something different.

Communicative competence means knowing how to send and understand messages so they work. A message needs a sender, a receiver, and a channel — the way the message travels. Channels can be your senses (hearing, seeing, touching, smelling, tasting) or tools like books, phones, TV, and radio.

Different channels let us use different kinds of signals. For example, a phone call keeps your voice but hides your face, so you lose facial expressions. Some channels last a short time (a spoken word) and some last a long time (a book). We can switch codes — write down speech or use sign language — and use several channels at once to help understanding. Picking the right channel for your idea and the other person helps make communication work better.

Different people define communication in different ways. A simple idea is that it is the sending and receiving of a message. To tell this story more fully, we use words like sender (the one who starts the message), message (what is sent), channel (how it travels, like speech or a text), and receiver (the one who gets it).

Some definitions include animals and plants, because they send signals too. Other ideas say communication must be conscious and between people. People also disagree about whether meaning is just passed along or whether it is created as people interact.

Channels are the ways messages move from one place to another. A channel can be your voice in a face-to-face chat, a written note, a text message, a picture, or even your own thoughts. Each channel carries different parts of a message: in person you get words and body cues, while a text gives only written words and maybe emojis.

People disagree about which kind of communication comes first. Some say talking to yourself is basic because it helps you control your actions. Others say talking with people is first because parents and teachers guide children before they learn to guide themselves. Choosing the best channel helps a message get understood.

Interpersonal communication is how people send messages to each other—using words and actions together. Often the body and voice help make what we say clearer: a friendly tone and a smile can show we mean something nicely. Sometimes non-verbal actions are done on purpose, such as shaking hands, or happen without thinking, like sweating when you’re nervous.

These signals include body movement (kinesics), how close we stand (proxemics), touch (haptics), voice sounds (paralanguage), and even clothing. When words and body signals match, the message is stronger; when they don’t match, listeners can get confused about what was meant.

The study of animal communication is called zoosemiotics. Animals pass information to each other using sounds, smells, body moves, and colors. They can warn, attract mates, or show feelings. For example, some monkeys and prairie dogs give different warning sounds for different dangers.

Animals share some things with people, like copying movements to show care. But animal signals are usually non‑verbal (no human words). Some scientists call certain patterns “animal language” because they look like parts of our language, while others say human language is more complex. Still, animals use clever, reliable ways to send important messages in their world.

When people study spoken or written talking they often use different models to explain how words travel. Early models are called linear because they show messages moving in one direction from a sender to a receiver. One popular linear idea is Lasswell’s model, which asks five short questions: Who? Says what? In which channel? To whom? With what effect? This helps us notice important parts.

Another well-known model is Shannon–Weaver, which shows a source, signal, channel, and destination, and warns about noise—things that make the message harder to hear. Later models, like Schramm’s interaction model, add feedback so the receiver can answer. Barnlund’s transactional model goes further: it shows people creating meaning together, not just sending one-way messages.

A model of communication is a simple picture or map that shows the main parts of how messages move. Models give a clear way to see what happens first, next, and last. For example, many models show a sender, a message, a channel, and a receiver.

Models are useful because they help scientists and students test ideas and solve problems. But models are simple by purpose: they leave out some details so the main idea is easier to study. Often you will see these models drawn as boxes and arrows to show the steps.