Formal and Informal communication
Learning the difference between formal and informal communication
What is Grapevine?
Most of the time informal communication occurs through the grapevine. What do we mean by this? It means the circulation of rumors, gossips and unofficial information, not only in our daily lives, but at work.
It is important to know how to separate formal and informal communication depending on the situation. Using slang terms in a business setting may be inappropriate, but using formal vocabulary in a casual setting can seem awkward or arrogant as well.
Formal communication is usually used in a professional or business setting, often between those with differing levels of authority, such as an employee and their employer.
Informal communication is generally used between friends and acquaintances, for general conversation. Formal speech and writing is usually more thought-out and pre-planned, using very few slang terms or abbreviations, while informal speech and writing is spontaneous and casual, using more colloquial vocabulary and slang.
Examples of informal communication at work:
Among employees, such as: email, instant messages, phone calls, face to face conversations, team blogs
Examples of formal communication at work:
Planned communications following the company’s chain of command:
Email, memos, conference calls, reports, presentations, executive blogs
We invite you to join our free webinar “Communicating Effectively” Learn about some rules that we refer as “register use” The way language is used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. It will help you have good communication skills
October 25th (Wednesday)
