1. There are 4 types of media.
Oral Media. Oral communication is the best when you need to encourage interaction, express emotions, or monitor emotional responses. (Textbook, page 96)
Advantages – Provide opportunity for immediate feedback. Promote interaction. Allow the expression of the emotions behind the message.
Disadvantages – Restrict participation to those physically present. In most cases, reduce communicator’s control over the message. Other than for messages that are prewritten and rehearsed, offer no opportunity to review or edit spoken words. (Textbook, page 100)
Written Media. Printed messages have been replaced in many instances by electronic media, although the print medium still has a place in business today. (Textbook, page 96)
Advantages – Allow planning, and control of message. Reach geographically dispersed audiences. Can help control the emotional aspects of an interchange by eliminating interpersonal communication. Disadvantages – Usually not conducive to speedy feedback. Lack the rich nonverbal cues provided by oral media. For elaborate documents, can require special skills in preparation and production. (Textbook, page 100) Visual Media. In some situations, a message that is predominantly visual, with text used to support the illustration, can be more effective that a message that relies primarily on text. (Textbook, page 98) Advantages – Can convey complex ideas and relationships quickly. Often less intimidating than long blocks of text, particularly for nonnative readers. Can reduce the burden on the audience to figure out how the pieces fit. Disadvantages – Can require artistic skills to design. Require some technical skills to create. More difficult to transmit and store than simple textual messages. (Textbook, page 100) Electronic Media. In general, use electronic media to deliver messages quickly,