Figure 1.

6 Levels of Communication
5.1. Intrapersonal Communication
Intrapersonal communication refers to communication with the self. It may be silent or verbal type
of communication. Intrapersonal type of communication approximates with the thinking process, in
which the person consciously sends information to himself/herself in order to analyze a situation.
This communication strategy is particularly useful when someone has to make important life
decisions or is facing a conflicting situation. Positive self-talk is a type of intrapersonal
communication that can be used as a tool to improve the nurses or client's health and self-esteem.
5.2. Interpersonal Communication
It refers to one-to-one interaction between two persons that often occurs face to face. The
purpose of interpersonal communication is to share information, opinion, ideas, and so on (Figure
1.7). Interpersonal communication can be further divided into three types:



Figure 1.7 Types of Interpersonal Communication
5.2.1. Assertive Communication
It is a type of interpersonal communication that has the following characteristics:
Confidently expressing what you think, feel, and believe.
Raising voice for your rights while respecting the rights of others.
Conveying meaning and expectations without humiliating or degrading others.
Based upon respect for you and respect for other people's need and rights.
It is noteworthy here that, unfortunately most of the nurses are not using assertive
communication in their professional life because of so many reasons. There is a need to change
the current situation, and the responsibility lies on young budding nurses so that the professional
image of the nurses can be improved in India.
5.2.2. Nonassertive Communication
Nonassertive communication is characterized as follows:
Inability to express consistently what you think, feel, and believe.
Allowing others to violate your rights without challenge.
Reflecting lack of respect for your own preferences.
Others can easily disregard your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.
It cannot be considered a good communication strategy for a professional nurse.
5.2.3. Aggressive Communication
Aggressive communication takes place when someone expresses himself/herself in ways that
intimidate, demean, or degrade another person, pursuing what you want in ways that violate the
rights of another person. It is considered as an unsuitable communication technique for a
professional nurse.
5.3. Transpersonal Communication
Communication that occurs within a person's spiritual domain is referred as transpersonal
communication. The purpose of transpersonal communication is to realize self-hood, enhance
spirituality, and answer the questions that are spiritual in nature.
5.4. Small-group Communication
This type or level of communication takes place within a small group. The purpose of small-group
communication is to communicate information that is of common interest to group members or
sometimes to know the opinions of group members to arrive at a decision.
5.5. Public Communication
Public is usually considered as a large group of people or laypersons with a vast difference in a
number of factors, e.g., socioeconomic status, literacy level, occupation, and habitat.
Communication to public serves some purposes that benefit the common man (e.g., health
education) or sometimes to make requests or to get favors from the public in general elections.
Public communication requires special communication skills as the size of the group is very large
with so many differences among the group members as described earlier. There is a need to
maintain different types of eye contact with the public, gestures, and voices, and media materials
should be used to communicate messages effectively.
5.6. Social Communication
Social communication takes place in the social context. Being a social animal, human beings
establish relationship with other people to accomplish several purposes throughout their life span.
In order to keep these social relations alive and being social, one has to communicate with others.
Good morning. How are you? How are your children? This type of communication is one's social
obligation to communicate within his/her social group to which he/she belongs.