Formal communication: what is it and what are its characteristics

We all know different communication styles and we use one or the other depending on the context in which we find ourselves.

One of the most important is that of formal communication. In these paragraphs we can learn everything about this style, discover the frameworks in which it is usually use and what are its main characteristics and advantages compared to other models of communication.

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What is formal communication and what are its characteristics

Formal communication is a communicative style that is used in professional and institutional contexts. It is a regulated method in which colloquial words are not allowed, since the tone used must always be cultured and aseptic. Likewise, we can also call formal communication the flow of information that occurs between the different echelons within the hierarchy of an organization, and that will be framed within the set of rules that we mentioned.

The flow of formal communication can take place in a spoken or written way. Generally, briefly resolved interactions are conducted in oral conversation. However, communications that require more extensive or complex information, it is usually chosen to carry out writings and transmit them to the interlocutors by the chosen means (circulars, emails, postal mails, memo, etc.

Another characteristic of formal communication is that works through protocols known to senders and receivers, which are part of the organization in which this communication process takes place. These protocols imply, for example, the paths that messages must take, within the hierarchy. Thus, an employee will know that he must send certain information to the person in charge of him, and this in turn must transmit the information to his superior, but they cannot skip the intermediate step.

That is, each member of the organization that participates in this formal communication You must know in advance what message is to be addressed to which person, in what form it should be done and what is the route that such information should follow to reach your destination in a correct way.

Types of formal communication

Depending on the address we use to transmit the information, we can establish up to four different types of formal communication. Let's proceed to look at all of them in more detail.

1. Upward formal communication

When in the organization, an employee tries to communicate with one of those responsible for him, either the one immediately above or someone who is above him, we would speak of upward formal communication. It is a form of transmission of the message of vertical type and with direction of bottom up. An example of the messages that can be sent in this mode would be the reports that have been requested, but also requests for a specific matter and even complaints that they want to leave patents.

2. Formal downward communication

The opposite case to the previous one would be the one of the descending formal communication. In this model, the information is also transmitted vertically, but this time it is transmitted from the top down. That is to say, it is the managers and managers who are transmitting information to the employees under their charge. They can send, for example, instructions on the tasks to be done and how they should do it. They can do it orally or in writing, depending on the information they want to send.

3. Horizontal formal communication

Not all formal communication in the organization is directed to people at another hierarchical level. When the message is sent to another worker who occupies the same rank, we are talking about horizontal formal communication, since the flow of information is directed laterally.

This model is clearly observed in the meetings of the different department heads, since they are several individuals from independent sections communicate, but all of them are in the same position as managers or managers.

4. Diagonal formal communication

There is a less frequent type of formal communication that can still occur, and it is diagonal. This modality would occur when the two interlocutors belong to different departments but also to different hierarchical levels.

It may be the case that a head of a specific section of the company needs to transmit a information to employees who are not under their charge, but who are in a lower echelon in the structure of the company. This would be an example of a diagonal formal communication case.

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Strengths of this communicative style

Formal communication has a number of advantages over informal communication. We are going to see the most important ones.

1. Standardization

Using this method ensures equality in all communication processes of the organization, so that all members can know how to proceed when transmitting information, choosing the right way and way, and at the same time all of them know how to interpret the messages that reach them without any doubt. It is a standardized model that allows a clear understanding of the rules and procedures.

2. Without errors

The fact of using pre-established rules and always following the same procedures has an additional advantage, and is that it does not allow errors to be generated, beyond the human errors that could be committed outside of said rules. The important thing is that following the indicated protocols, the information must flow through the organization without any difficulty and without generating doubts among the interlocutors.

3. Paw print

Formal communication has another clear advantage, and that is that all interactions that occur in writing are archived and therefore can be reviewed at any time to be able to retrieve specific information.

Logically, the same does not happen with formal oral communication, but we had already mentioned that this type of interaction occurs to send very concise messages. All those that have a certain level of complexity must be transmitted in writing, and therefore will be registered.

Formal communication weaknesses

Logically, not all the qualities of formal communication are positive. There are also several disadvantages that we must be aware of.

1. Time cost

The fact of following fairly rigid protocols sometimes means that formal communication involves an unnecessary waste of time for a transmission of information that could actually be done in a much shorter time. This is the case of those endless meetings in which the message is transmitted among the attendees in an inefficient way, when in In reality, it could be done more directly, but it would mean giving up the organization's standardized communication channels.

2. Coldness

Formal communication causes messages to be conveyed in a cool manner, often without a human touch that makes interactions warmer and that makes this communication much more impersonal than the informal style. In addition, that rigidity of the rules also greatly limits the communicative style of the sender, sometimes dehumanizing the transmission of the message and causing the receiver to perceive it in a warmer way.

3. Confusion

The rules of formal communication should not allow it, but sometimes it is inevitable that a certain confusion is generated around the received message. This happens when the transmission of information requires several jumps between different interlocutors, generating the possibility of that at each of these points the original message is distorted and the one ultimately received is not exactly the same as the first.

Ways of improvement

Formal communication has room for improvement, and for this there are several recommendations that can make this way of transmitting information within companies more efficient. These are some of them.

1. Limit formalism

It is evident that a formal communication requires a decorum in the emission of the message, but sometimes that excess of formal expressions can generate an extremely serious tone that the receiver could interpret as negative, when the message can be neutral and even go on the line opposite. For example, a department manager can send an email to his subordinates to talk about his performance, which in principle is good, but use a tone so serious that they interpret it in a negative.

2. Revision

This recommendation should apply to any type of communication, but much more to the formal one. It is essential to review the texts before sending, because sometimes the rush can lead us to commit a series of errors of spelling, grammar or even content, which can generate problems in the interpretation of the message, and this can have serious repercussions within the organization. Imagine, for example, that we instruct a worker to ship 5,000 units of a product, instead of 500.

3. Reception

A good rule of thumb is to ask the receiver for confirmation that you have received the message correctly. Currently There are tools in the emails that inform us when the recipient has received our email, so in those cases we don't even have to ask for such confirmation explicitly.

4. Correct use

The last recommendation would be the use formal communication only for organizational matters. Any matter outside the company should not be dealt with in these ways, and try to send a personal message through an institutional channel will not cause more than problems, since it is not the channel appropriate.

Bibliographic references:

• Andrade, H. (2005). Internal organizational communication: process, discipline and technique. Netbiblo.
• Rojas, D. (1994). Executive communication techniques. McGraw-Hill Interamericana.
• Simon, H.A., Gómez, J. (1993). The communication. Administrative behavior.