Written communication and its historical development

Written communication and its historical development:

Over time the forms of and ideas about communication have evolved through the continuing

progression of technology. Advances include communications psychology and media

psychology, an emerging field of study.

The progression of written communication can be divided into three "information

communication revolutions":

1. Written communication first emerged through the use of pictographs. The pictograms

were made in stone, hence written communication was not yet mobile. Pictograms

began to develop standardized and simplified forms.

2. The next step occurred when writing began to appear on paper, papyrus, clay, wax,

and other media. with commonly shared writing systems, leading to adaptable

alphabets. Communication became mobile.

3. The final stage is characterized by the transfer of information through controlled

waves of electromagnetic radiation (i.e., radio, microwave, infrared) and other

electronic signals.

Communication is thus a process by which meaning is assigned and conveyed in an attempt

to create shared understanding. Gregory Bateson called it "the replication of tautologies in the

universe. This process, which requires a vast repertoire of skills in interpersonal processing,

listening, observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing, gestures, and evaluating enables

collaboration and cooperation.

Misunderstandings can be anticipated and solved through formulations, questions and

answers, paraphrasing, examples, and stories of strategic talk. Written communication can be

clarified by planning follow-up talks on critical written communication as part of the

everyday way of doing business. A few minutes spent talking in the present will save

valuable time later by avoiding misunderstandings in advance. A frequent method for this

purpose is reiterating what one heard in one's own words and asking the other person if that

really was what was meant (paraphrasing).