Abstract: The topic laid in this article is about the essence of human communication, its types and characteristics. The object of the study is communication as a phenomenon and its subject – etymology and semantics of the concept of communication, and also the various types of communication interactions (interpersonal, mass) and their characteristics. The focus of the article is placed on the similarities and the differences in the meanings of the terms conversation and communication, on the nature of the conversational process examined through the lens of Sociology, Social Psychology and Rhetoric, and also on the specific functions of this process (cognitive, emotional, interacting). Attention is paid to the objectives in interpersonal and mass communication, to the reasons and conditions necessary for the realization of behavioral act of communication, and also to the communication channels needed to transfer information, attitude and ideas between people. Because of the limited size of this representation the author aims not to cover all the studies published until now but to indicate basic concepts and points of view about the topics laid in the text.

Key words: conversation, communication, communicator, communication interaction, interpersonal communication, mass communication, communication channels

Rhetoric and Communications E-journal, Issue 15, January 2015, rhetoric.bg/, journal.rhetoric.bg, ISSN 1314-4464

Read the original of the article (in Bulgarian)