Communication is a process that involves sending and receiving messages through the verbal and non-verbal methods. Communication is a two-way means of communicating information in the form of thoughts, opinions, and ideas between two or more individuals with the purpose of building an understanding.

Communication is the giving, receiving or exchanging of information, opinions or ideas so that the message is completely understood by everybody involved. A two-way process, communication comprises the following elements ă the sender, message, channel, receiver, feedback, and context.

Non-human forms of communication include animal and plant communication. Researchers in this field often formulate additional criteria for their definition of communicative behavior. Example are the requirement that the behavior serves a beneficial function for natural selection and that a response to the message is observed.

Most communication takes place between members of the same species. The reason is that its purpose, as a tool, is usually some form of cooperation, which is not as common between species. However, there are also forms of interspecies communication, mainly in cases of symbiotic relationships.

The field of communication includes various other issues, like communicative competence and the history of communication. Communicative competence is the ability to communicate well. It applies both to the capability to formulate messages and to understand them. Two central aspects are that the communicative behavior is effective, i.e. that it achieves the individual's goal, and that it is appropriate, i.e. that it follows social standards and expectations.