Communication vs expression. What’s the difference and why should you care?

I’ve been in the business of communication for 40 years. During that time, I have often been paid to express myself.

This may seem like a strange thing for me to write. But there is a difference between communication and expression – and I’ve been reflecting on what it is and why it’s important.

If you’re a regular reader of my blogs, you’ll know that I often like to start with the definition and origin of words.

Here’s the definition of communication (in this context):

The imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium.

The origin of the word is in the Latin, communis, meaning common, ordinary, commonplace, universal, of or for the community.

That speaks to the importance of communication as something that can be understood by as many people as possible – the ordinary people – which to me is the essence of journalism. There’s also the theme of community, and what brings a community together is shared experience and a common language. But the emphasis is on information – which by its nature tends to be more factual.

Let’s move on to expression. Here is the definition:

The action of making known one’s thoughts or feelings.

The origin of expression can be found in the Latin word expressionem, which literally means “the action of pressing out”, and therefore an action or creation that expresses feelings.

What I’m getting from that is the idea that expression is perhaps more dynamic and creative than communication, and that it has emotional energy behind it.

The story told by the etymology is resonant for me in that it describes more vividly the difference between the two nouns. Communication has a more logical and collective feel, whereas expression is more emotional and individual (even though it’s possible to have a collective expression of something).

The beauty of self-expression

I have nothing against communication – it’s vitally important to communicate clearly in the written and spoken word. But expression is what speaks to my soul.

So, let’s expand on the definition.

Self-expression: The expression of one’s feelings, thoughts or ideas, especially in writing, art, music or dance.

Artistic expression: The conscious use of the imagination in the production of objects intended to be contemplated or appreciated as beautiful, as in the arrangement of forms, sounds, or words.

Yeah, baby, that’s what lights me up – consciously using my imagination to arrange words in a beautiful way. I’m a big fan of singing and dancing too, but just for fun.

Where expression and communication meet

I was speaking to my friend and mentor Nick Williams last week, and he also found it intriguing to consider the difference between what you might describe as manufactured communication and authentic expression.

As we continued our discussion, I realised that I’ve spent most of my life exploring what it is that wants to be expressed. It goes all the way back to primary school when I started writing stories that were read out to class, developed when I was a journalist, and continues now as a blogger, editor, author, coach and leadership communications trainer.

What I’ve learned – and continue to learn – on this journey is not only the importance of self-expression for personal wellbeing, but also being able to find the wider, more universal resonance within it.

And maybe this is where communication and expression meet – when an individual’s ability to express themselves in an artistic way is received and understood by the community.

As a blogger, I write what wants to be expressed through me. I don’t give it much thought beyond the initial idea – then I start writing, and see what unfolds. I often don’t know where a blog will end up, but I trust that it will complete in a way that will resonate with other people.

Can you learn how to express yourself?

I believe that being a good communicator is a skill you can learn, but being a good expresser is something that can’t be taught. It’s innate. It emerges from within. However, I also believe you can give yourself permission to be better at expression, particularly in the written word.

Anyone who has heard of Julia Cameron’s best-known book, The Artist’s Way, will be aware of the Morning Pages – a tool that can help you develop your expression, which the author refers to as “the bedrock tool of a creative recovery”.

I’ve been writing Morning Pages every day for six weeks now, and not only has the practice helped me with my expression and intuition, but it has also stopped me ruminating on unhelpful thoughts.

There’s another tool that I find useful for encouraging expression – a much more therapeutic tool, called expressive writing. It’s the brainchild of Dr James Pennebaker, who has conducted a lot of research on the mental health benefits of writing down thoughts and feelings about stressful or traumatic life events. It has a particular structure, which you check out here. But I think you can adapt it to express thoughts and feelings about all kinds of experiences, not just difficult ones.

In summary…

To summarise, here are the three differences I see between communication and expression:

1. Communication is about imparting information; expression is about sharing your thoughts and feelings with the world.
2. Communication is designed to be understood by everyone; expression is about allowing your creativity to be understood.
3. Communication is mostly logical; expression is mostly emotional.

You may disagree with my summary. But in neurolinguistic programming (NLP), one of the presuppositions is: “The meaning of the communication is the response you get.” So I will leave it to you, dear reader, to let me know if I have been successful in expressing my thoughts and feelings about communication and expression, and whether or not this blog has resonated with you.