WELCOME to the world of communication! In this “world,” managers are going to have to understand both the importance and the drawbacks of communication—all forms of communication, even the grapevine. Communication takes place every day in every organization. In all areas. By all organizational members. In many different forms. Most of that communication tends to be work related. But as we’ll see, sometimes communication can cause some unintended consequences. For instance, on the eve of a leadership retreat, the 42-year-old CEO of a branding firm wanted to wish his employees a good night’s sleep and decided to send a pajama-clad bitmoji of himself lifting sheets up over a teddy bear in a bed—with the caption “Sleep Well.” Some of his employees did not find the cartoon message funny, but instead, creepy.1 In this chapter, we’re going to look at basic concepts of organizational and interpersonal communication. We’ll explain the communication process, methods of communicating, barriers to effective communication, and ways to overcome those barriers. In addition, we’ll look at communication issues that today’s managers face.