Basic Model of Communication

COMMUNICATION

Basic Model Of Communication

Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages between parties.

While all of the complexities of human communication can not be captured in a single model, this diagram will offer a reasonable begining. A sender source has a message in mind. The source intends to “encode” the message into language that will be understood by the receiver. Perhaps it is a statement of the sender’s preference for a particular outcome in a negotiation. The message may be encoded into verbal language or it may be encoded into nonverbal expression. Once encoded, the message is then transmitted –sent via voice or facial expression, or written statement, and through face-to-face interaction, video, letter, telegram, etc.- to the receiver.The receivers receptors pick up the transmission, and “recode” the message to give it meaning to the receiver. In a one way of communication cycle this would constitute a completed transmission. A source who puts his message in writing and sends it by mail to the receiver generally assumes that the message is received and understood. However, most communication –particularly in negotiation- involves continued dialogue and discussion between at least two parties. As a result, the receiver takes on a more active role in the communication process in two ways.

First the receiver provides information on how the message was received, and second, the receiver becomes a “sender” himself and respons to, or builds upon, the earlier message of the sender. For the current discussion, we shall refer to both of these processes as “feedback.” In the feedback process, the receiver encodes the message –through reading or listening- to assure his own understanding and comprehension of what the sender said , and what the message meant. He then ascribes “ meaning” to the communication –a comprehension of the information content of the message, as well as an “interpretation” of that content. The receiver then becomes a “sender” of communication back to the source. The encoded message may take multiple forms: questions or other communications to obtain clarification or better understanding of the earlier message; exclamations or reactions to the information content of the message; or rebuttals to the content of the first message. All of these are encoded, transmitted through various channels, received, and decoded by the original source. The entire sequence may be as simple as a question by one person, “Want to go for a cup of coffeee?” and an affirmative headshake by the other, to complex statements and responses used by negotiators in shaping a contract.

This model of communication “works” to the degree that a wide variety of information –facts, opinions, feelings, preferences, and experiences- are completely and thoroughly shared between parties. However, human communication systems seldom perform with this high degree of efficiency and effectiveness. Most of the linking elements in the model are subject to external factors that distort messages and their meaning, hampering them from getting through accurately.

THE NATURE OF COMMUNICATION

What does it mean to communicate? Everyone read and talk a lot about communication, but it means different things to different people. Someone may think of communication as casual conversation, the formal use of mass media, books, letters, friendly notes, or formal public speeches. Regardless of the many different meanings that people give to the word communication, everyone seems to agree that it is important.

Each elements in the sequence;

1-Senders and Receivers

Senders and receivers each have goals and objectives –things that they want to accomplish. The sender may want to change the receiver’s mind, or secure concessions toward a negotiated agreement. The receiver may not want to have his mind changed, and not want to make concessions; moreover, the receiver may have the identical objective in mind fo his opponent. The more diverse the goals of the sender and receiver, or the more antaonistics they are in their relationship, the greater likelihood of distortion and error in communication. Similarly, senders and receivers differ in their individual makeup –each is likely to have a different pattern of personel values, attitudes toward certain issues and objectives, previous experiences, life history, and personality characteristics. Each of these elements contributes to a different way of viewing the world.

2-Transmitters and Receptors

Tranmitters and receptors are simply the equipment by which information is sent. Information can be sent verbally and nonverbally. The choice of transmitters can affect outcomes, i.e., some messages may be better spoken, while others need to be written. Moreover, when presenting information face-to-face, congruence or incongruence between multiple transmission channels is often a problem. The old expression that “your lips tell me ‘no,no’ but there is ‘yes,yes’ in your eyes” highlights the incongruity of messages sent simultaneously by both verbal and nonverbal channels, and the possible error introduced by this dublicitous communication. On the receiver’s end, poor eyesight or faulty hearing may similarly diminish the ability to accurately receive a message.

3-Messages and Channels

Messages and channels are the vehicles by which information is communicated. As noted by many writers on communication, human beings are unique in their ability to use “symbolic” forms of communication –primarily the written or spoken language- to transmit information. Some messages are direct expressions of meaning –I lean over the table and grab the pencil that I want- while others are “symbolic representations” –I ask the person seated across the table, “Please pass me the pencil.” The more we are prone to use symbolic communication, the more likely that symbols may not accurately communicate the meaning we intend. In the simplest example, if the person does not understand English, or if there are several pencils on the table, there is increased likelihood that the communication will be less than effective.

Channels are the vehicles by which messages are carried. If we speak directly, it is the airwaves; if we write, it is the paper and pen or type-writer; if we talk over the telephone, it is the telephone circuitry and microwaves. Both messages and channels are prone to disortion from “noise,” which we will use as a broad descriptive category of various forms of interference in the communication process. Messages can be transmitted more clearly in a quiet room than in a loud, distracting hotel ballroom. The greater the sources of distraction and confusion in the communication environment, the more that “noise” will interfere with accurate and complete message transmission.

4-Decoding, Meaning, and Encoding

Decoding, meaning and encoding are the processes that the individual uses to interpret the messages of others, and to formulate messages themselves. Decoding is the process of translating messages from their symbolic form into interpretations that we can understand.

If the parties speak the same language, or use the same common nonverbal gestures to communicate messages, the process is reasonably simple and error-free; if they do not, decoding is prone to contribute a high degree of error. While “translators” may help to decode the other’s messages, full translation may not be possible, i.e., understanding the other’s meaning or tone, as well as the words –or may introduce additional error into the communication.

Meanings are the facts, ideas, feelings, reactions, or thoughts that exist whitin individuals, and act as a set of “filters” through which the decoded messages are interpreted. If a party has asked the other to “please pass me that pencil,” and the other party has said “no,” the encoded “no” back to us is likely to stimulate a variety of reactions in the search for “meaning.” Did the other hear the message? Was the “no” a direct refusal to the request? Why did the other say “no”? Does he need the pencil too? Is he being obstinate and intentionally blocking me? Answers to these questions will vary depending upon a variety of other aspects of the communication sequence and the relationship between the parties, and will lead to different ascriptions of “meaning” to the word “no.”

Finally, encoding is the process by which messages are put into symbolic form. The encoding process will be affected by varying degrees of skills in encoding, e.g., fluency in language, skill at expression in written and verbal form, etc. It will also be affected by the meaning attached to earlier communication- what we want to communicate, how we have reacted to earlier communications, etc. Senders are likely to choose to encode messages in a preffered form; this form may not be the same preffered by receivers. Two managers may need to distinguish a negotiated contract; while one may prefer to “get together and discuss it over lunch,” the other may prefer to have each one prepare a written draft that they can exchange and revise individually. How this contract will eventually be prepared may thus be the subject of the negotiation itself.

5-Feedback

Feedback is the process by which the receiver “reacts” to the sender’s message. Even in a one-way communication cycle, feedback is essential. It is necessary to let the sender know that the message was (a) actually received, (b)encoded, and (c) ascribed with the same meaning that the sender intended. The absense of feedback can contribute to significant distortions in communication, since senders never know whether their message is being received, much less understood. Anyone who has ever talked to a large audience may find himself directing his comments to the individual who is nonverbally shaking her haed “yes”, or similing, or in some other way acknowledging that the communication is being received and even appreciated. The sender is unlikely to direct comments to a receiver who is shaking his head “no”, or asleep, unless the comments are specifically designed to change the receiver’s disposition.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION

· It is impossible to avoid communicating

· Communication is largely nonverbal

· Context affects communication

· Meanings are in people, not in words

· Communication is irreversible

· Noise affects communication

· Comination is circular

· Creating common goal is essential

· Communication has effects

A first principle of communication is that it is impossible to avoid communicating. In other words, there is no such thing as noncommunication. DeVito (1988) notes that communication is inevitable, that people cannot not communicate and people cannot not respond. Some of ramifications of this principle are obvious, and some may not be as clear.

Communication is largely nonverbal. Impressions are made largely in response to nonverbal cues.

A third principle that has a direct relationship to successful communication is that context(environment) affects communication. Where (under what conditions) ideas are presented makes a difference in how they are interpreted. Physical conditions are one aspects of context.

A fourth principle important for success is that meanings are in people, not in words. Meanings are in the perception of decoders; people “mean”, but words do not. The message remembered by people often is not what communicator intended to say. The message remembered is whatever the listeners interpret it to be.

An other important principle is that communication is irreversible. At once time or another people may have wished they could change what they have said or done. Unfortunately, that is simply impossible. People may give additional information or a rationalization for their previous actions, but they can only modify the impession they have already made.

A sixth principle of communication is that noise is a factor in any communication situation. Noice is any factor that interferes with the clear and accurate transmission of a given message.

Communication is circular, not linear. This means that people send and receive communication simultaneously. Because of its simultaneously aspects, the communication process could be considered a circle or spiral rather than a line. People process feedback while they speak to others, and they speak to themselves –think- while others are speaking.

An eight principle is that communication is most efficient when the participants share a considerable amount of common experience. Common experience is achieved by using shared symbols and speaking from a shared history. Misunderstandings are less likely in such situations.

And the last principle is that communication always has an effect of some kind. For every communication act, there will be consequences. People can even feel a sense of accomplishment in a communication exchange in which a listener does not respond verbally.

VERBAL AND NONVERBAL MESSAGES

Primary to effective communication is a message. Any human activity has message value. That is, human activities can convey or symbolize meaning to others. In its simplest sense, a message can be a idea, nemotion, desire, or emotion that one person shares with another. This can be occur whether or not a person intends to send such a message. When people think they are listening patiently to someone, but their eyes drift away from that person and become fixed on some object, they have sent a message. Another person, observing their behavior, can assign a meaning to it.

Before a person can improve his or her skills he or she must be aware of the basic ways in which people send and receive messages. These can be classified in two major groups: verbal messsages and nonverbal messages.

Verbal Messages

Messages sent verbally are messsages expressed in words. Since we already know that people communicate with words, it may seen unnecessary to talk about that kind of behavior. However, people need to be aware that their effectiveness in a given situation will often depend on the words they choose to use. There is a whole science devoted to the study of meaning in words, the science of semantics. Because of the study done by the specialists in this area, people know a great deal more about meanings and how they are conveyed through words.

Meaning is a product of what goes on in the minds of both the sender and the receiver. Meaning is not permanently assigned to words. It is carried about in the human mind and is often the result of an individual’s experiences with language and meaning. Thus, a word may have many shades of meaning. Effective communication depends on finding meanings shared by the sender and the receiver. Understanding this simple fact makes the role of feedback clear. People can not know if the other person meanings are shared if they giving a reactions to each other in a communication situation.

Language is symbolic. It stands for impressions and notions people have. It is impotant in sending messages that the person knows as much as possible about those with whom he communicating. People also need to aware that words stand for things, but the words are not those things. Thus, labelling an idea or a person does not make the label true. It merely indicates a feeling or an idea that one holds about the thing or person.