Kommunikationsmönster

Kommunikationsmönster, a Swedish term meaning patterns of communication, refers to the recurring ways people exchange information, construct meaning, and organize social interaction. The concept covers verbal and nonverbal behavior, including turn-taking, directness or indirectness, pace and volume, silence, facial expressions, gestures, and feedback. It also encompasses the situational and relational cues that shape interaction, such as context, culture, language, power, and institutional roles.

Patterns occur across settings—between individuals, within families, in teams, and across organizations—and can be explicit rules or tacit expectations. They arise from social norms, organizational structures, technological tools, and historical experience, and they are reinforced by repeated communication.

Functions of Kommunikationsmönster include coordinating activity, signaling status and relationships, reducing uncertainty, negotiating identity, and shaping trust. They influence outcomes such as efficiency, satisfaction, collaboration, and conflict management. Cross-cultural variation is common: some contexts favor high-context, indirect, or relationship-oriented patterns, while others favor low-context, direct, or task-focused patterns.

Researchers analyze Kommunikationsmönster using qualitative methods (such as conversation analysis, discourse analysis, and ethnography) and quantitative approaches (for example, social network analysis or communication audits). Findings emphasize that patterns are dynamic, sensitive to context, and susceptible to change through experience, training, technology, or organizational restructuring.

Critically, it is important to avoid overgeneralization and to consider power, inclusion, and individual agency within any pattern. Understanding Kommunikationsmönster can support clearer communication, better collaboration, and more effective conflict resolution.