Oral versus Written

Being a person who would simply love to listen and observe in discussions, I would say that I love to engage more in written communication. It is when I can freely and comfortably express myself. But written communication has a lot of limits. As it is described in one of my readings, written communication transfers information in communication in a more static way while oral communication is more dynamic. The process of communication is dynamic as seen in the never-ending changes in the nature of communication, so engaging in oral communication is more of the times told to be a more effective way of communication.
For us Filipinos, I can say that we are more of oral communicators. We are storytellers by nature. The legends and epics from our ancestors lasted because they were passed by word of mouth until it was written and published in books. We have writers but I think there are just a few of them. Even until now, in the Internet, even if websites are available to read the news from the leading newspapers in the country, most of my friends would still watch the TV, videos from the Internet or sometimes wait and ask someone to talk about the news with them.
But for me, I think it depends on the communication’s purpose. I would prefer reading a letter from a friend when he or she is not really comfortable talking about a topic in a face to face situation or through oral communication but there are also times that I prefer talking things face to face, most especially when I think that an urgent feedback is needed, oral communication helps because you can see the person’s emotion and movements right before your eyes.
The oral and written communication possesses strengths and weaknesses that should be considered in deciding on what mode or type of communication to use in a given situation or in a particular person. Both would offer important and powerful ways of communicating even how dynamic the nature of communication will be in the future.



http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/speech/differences.htmhttp://www.nmc.org/evolution-communication/questions