Some general principles which are useful as guidelines for all kinds of communication are stated below.

PRINCIPLE 1: Be aware of the importance of communication.
Communication is like breathing. Life is impossible if we stopped breathing, yet we pay little attention to this activity, taking it entirely for granted.

Communication is just as important for sustaining life as breathing, yet it too is something that we usually take for granted. However, the need for proper communication is so great in the modern world that we can no longer afford to take it for granted. Communication education has become as necessary as health education; in fact, the health of a society is, to a great extent, dependent on the quality of communication among its members.

Many people think that the ability to communicate is an inborn talent. However, it is possible to develop the skills of communication through effort and understanding of the principles involved.

When we communicate, our personal experience and view of the world have a strong influence on the messages that we form in our minds and communicate to others. Each one of us sees the world through a mental filter, which colors our communication.

The sender sees the world through one set of filters and the receiver sees it through a different set. Each message has to pass, therefore, through two sets of filters.

The filters aren't only mental or psychological, but they can also be cultural. For example, an American sees the world differently from an Indian, because of cultural filters.

Language itself acts as a filter, because each language forces its users to view the world differently.

A filter can sometimes be so powerful that it blocks or prevents communication altogether. The filter then turns into a barrier.