Interpersonal vs. Organizational

When we hear the word communication, we often think of a person speaking (i.e. I studied in the speech communication department, so I must know how to speak well). This is one part of communication, but many more aspects exist.

In the same way, when we hear that a church has a communication problem, we may immediately think the pastor does not preach well. Or we may think the announcement guy makes confusing statements. Or the radio and TV spots are ambiguous. These are all parts that make up the way a church communicates. But before this blog can go further, we must first understand the difference between interpersonal communication and organizational communication.

Interpersonal communication is what we are most familiar with, such as when individuals speak back and forth to each other. This does not mean when more than two people are speaking together, an organization is formed. Instead, interpersonal communication relates to a type of communication that only represents individuals. A large group of 30 can come together to talk, and interpersonal communication still takes place. Within this group, many conversations occur. Someone's dog just died, a guy just got a new job, a young lady just got a zit, a couple is thinking about adoption, a child has to go to the bathroom. None of these conversations present any ideas, beliefs, or actions of anyone but the speakers. The listeners will likely engage back with comments about the zit or the need for a bathroom break, and then perhaps form some statements of their own.

If this explanation was confusing, then just think of it like this: interpersonal communication takes place when people communicate to each other through speaking, listening, and non-verbal cues.

Organizational communication is done on behalf of an organization. This can be achieved through a public relations statement in a press release, but it can also be done through the types of charities the organization supports. Or the type of people the organization hires. Communication even takes place by the work environment of an organization. The most famous understanding of this form of organizational communication takes place at Seattle's Pike Place Fish Market, as made known through the book Fish. This book takes the fish market's culture and turns it into an easy-to-read manuscript on how to create a fun atmosphere at work.



There are clear differences between interpersonal and organizational communication, although much overlap exists as well. Within any organization, interpersonal communication obviously takes place. One of my college professors even argued that there was little reason to seperate these two types of communication, claiming they both fell under the same umbrella. With organizational communication being such an unknown phenomena, however, I think having only one label for communication would prohibit many organizations from knowing how to effectively promote positive change. Interpersonal communication might fire up one or two, but an organization with actions that match its values delivers a message more powerfully than a room full of 100 individual linguistic geniuses.

As we continue to look at organizational communication for churches, I am confident that the theories and practices within this field of study will provide solutions for existing difficulties. Communication is a powerful thing - whether from the mouth of 1 or the hands of 1 million.