Communication assumes a vital part in everyone’s life, as individuals exchange their thoughts, information, opinions and feelings by communicating. Communication can be in form of verbal signs i.e. written or oral, or non-verbal i.e. with help of sign language, facial expressions, body movements, eye contact, gestures or rate or pitch of voice.

In any organization, verbal communication could be divided into two forms that are formal and informal. In this article, the distinctions in formal and informal communication are discussed.

Formal Communication

The communication in which the stream of information is by now characterized is termed as formal communication. All in all, this kind of communication is utilized solely as a part of the work environment and the employees have to pursue with it while doing their duties. This type of communication alludes to trade of information in an official way. The stream of communication is an intentional effort and can be controlled. This makes easy for information to get to desired spot with no obstacle, in less cost and properly. This is also called as ‘Through Proper Channel Communication.’

Informal Communication

The communication which does not take after a pre-planned channel for transferring of information is called as informal communication. This sort of communication moves unreservedly in all directions and in this manner this is fast and quick. In any association, this kind of communication is extremely regular as employees interact with one another about their personal or professional life and other matters. Informal communication in the work environment is in correspondence to what happens outside the formal correspondence. A few individuals refer this form of verbal communication as the “grapevine.” Informal communication can happen in the same environment as formal communication.

Public Communication

Public or large group verbal communication takes place when an individual addresses a large gathering of people. It is commonly used in fields of education, public campaigns, public speeches, etc.

Formal Communication vs. Informal Communication vs. Public Communication

These three are types of verbal communication, but they differ from each other and their contrasts are explained below:

Definition

Formal communication is a kind of verbal communication in which the exchange of information is there in the course of pre-planned channels.

Informal communication is a kind of verbal communication in which the trade of information does not take after any channels.

Public communication is the mode used by an individual to exchange information with a large number of people.

Known as

Formal communication is mostly known as official communication.

Informal communication is mostly known as grapevine communication.

Examples

Orders, requests, reports and commands are different examples of formal communication.

Gossips, casual discussion, sharing of feelings are some examples of informal communication.

Public meetings, speeches, campaigns, newspapers, mass advertising are some examples of public communication.

Types

There are four types of formal communication that includes upward or bottom-up, downward or top-down, horizontal or lateral and crosswise or diagonal.

There are four types of informal communication that includes single strand chain, cluster chain, probability chain and gossip chain.

Public communication is the way to communicate with masses. It isn’t divided into any further parts.

Time

Formal communication is a time consuming process.

Informal communication consumes less time as compare to formal communication.

Public communication is less time consuming as the message is conveyed to a large ratio of population in a single glance.

Reliable

Formal communication is more reliable as compared to informal communication.

Informal communication has less reliability as compared to formal communication.

Public communication is highly reliable as there are no chances of extortion of data. The message is directly delivered to the receivers and all receivers get exactly same message at the same time.

Benefit

The main benefit of formal communication is its effectiveness. This is effective because of proper and timely flow of information.

Informal communication is efficient as individuals can talk about issues related to work, this also saves the time and cost of the association.

Public communication is efficient when the sender wants to project his information or propaganda to the general public.

Proof

In formal communication, transfer of information is usually in written form so there is always a written proof of this communication.

In informal communication, transfer of information is usually in oral form so it is difficult to maintain any evidence or proof of this communication.

In public communication, transfer of information can be in written or in oral forms. In both cases, information is stored in writing or as audio-video tapes.

Privacy

In formal communication, privacy can be maintained in a proper way.

In informal communication, privacy can’t be maintained.

Public communication is opposite of privacy. It is a mode of communication that relies on sharing information with all equally.

Drawback

In formal communication, information can be distorted due to lengthy and time consuming chain of communication.

In informal communication, there is chance of increasing the rumours in an organization.

Public communication has one drawback i.e. lack of control over message release.

Speed

In formal communication, speed of understanding the information is slow.

In informal communication, speed of understanding the message is more as compared to formal communication.

Flow of information:

In formal communication, flow of information is only done by means of pre-defined channels.

In informal communication, information can be transferred and conveyed freely.

Conclusion

From this article we come to know that formal communication is mostly called as official communication. It follows predefined channels and it is time consuming and has a lengthy process. Whereas informal communication is mostly known as grapevine communication and it doesn’t follow predefined channel and it is not time consuming. Formal communication has written proof while informal communication doesn’t have such proof. Privacy can be maintained in formal communication while it is not maintained in informal communication. Both methods of communication are effective and efficient to exchange the information with others. Public communication is useful when there is need to share an information with a large group of people.Which form of verbal communication is most effective and useful in your opinion?