Effective communication involves the exchange of ideas between a sender and receiver to progress toward a shared goal. It has key elements - a sender who encodes a message, a receiver who decodes it, the message itself, and a medium used to transmit the message. For communication to be effective, there must be feedback from the receiver to the sender. Barriers like poorly expressed messages or inattentive listening can interfere with the process, but these barriers can be remedied through actions like clarifying ideas, building trust, and actively listening. Overall, effective communication is necessary to coordinate work and further interpersonal relationships.