the process of communication

7/16/2019 The Process of Communication

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-process-of-communication-568bd0983aba1 1/8

Lesson 3The Process of Communication

Contents: Introduction, Communication process, Basic elementsinvolved in communication process- Sender, Encoding, essage,Channel, !eceiver, "ecoding, #eed$ac%, Barriers, Conte&t orSituation'Learning ($)ectives: To learn a$out the *o+ of communication

To get familiar +ith the $asic elements of communication process

To %no+ +hat are the $arriers and distur$ances in communication

process To %no+ dierent techniues to reduce the distur$ances for

eective communication'



Communication Process There have been several attempts by scholars to explain the process ofcommunication. Depending on their background and objectives, dierentscholars have viewed the process of communication dierently and have

developed dierent models. You may have formed the impression that communication is dicult, if notimpossible, to study and understand. !f it is ongoing, how do we stop it" !f it hasno beginning or end, how do we get hold of it" #lthough the task is dicult, it ispossible.$ommunication establishes relationships and makes organi%ing possible. &verymessage has a purpose or objective. The sender intends '' whether consciouslyor unconsciously '' to accomplish something by communicating. !norgani%ational contexts, messages typically have a de(nite objective) tomotivate, to inform, to teach, to persuade, to entertain, or to inspire. Thisde(nite purpose is, in fact, one of the principal dierences between casual

conversation and managerial communication. &ective communication in theorgani%ation centers on well'de(ned objectives that support the organi%ation*sgoals and mission. $ommunication is the process of passing information andunderstanding from one person to another. The communication process is asystem that involves an interrelated, interdependent group of elements workingtogether as a whole to achieve a desired outcome or goal. +e can studycommunication in much the same way we study biological systems within ourown bodies.



+e can determine the elements involved circulatory and digestive systems, forexample-, analy%e how those elements aect one another, and thus determinethe nature of the process as a whole. #pplying this approach to thecommunication process, we (nd eight elements - a source/encoder of

communication, which sends 0- a message 1- through a channel to 2- areceiver/decoder, which 3- responds via feed$ac% with 4- possibilities ofcommunication breakdowns Barrier- in each stage of communication.5owever, these elements must be understood and analy%ed in relation to 6- thesituation or context, and 7- the s.stem such as relationship-, which iscreated and maintained at some level by the communicators.The Source/Encoder The sender begins the communication process by forming the ideas, intentionsand feelings that will be transmitted. #s the sender, you are re8uired to (lter outthe details that are unimportant and focus your energy on the most relevantinformation. The source, or encoder, makes the decision to communicate. The

source also determines what the purpose of the message will be to inform,persuade, or entertain. You may ask how the message gets from the source tothe receiver. 9irst, the source must encode, or create, a message. That is, theinformation that the source wishes to convey must be put into a form that canbe sent to the receiver. The source generates a message through his or her pastexperiences, perceptions, thoughts, and feelings. &very ounce of your beingmay tell you that you are in love, but until you code those feelings into a formthat can be sent to the person you love, communication cannot take place.



essage The second element of the communication process is the message, or thatinformation which is being communicated. The source encodes an idea and thendetermines whether or not to inform, persuade, or entertain. #fter deciding what

message to send, the source uses symbols to get the message across to others. These symbols stand for other things. The eagle, the :ag, and ;ncle <am are allsymbols of the ;nited <tates, for example. =ut the most important symbols arewords, which can represent objects, ideas, and feelings. These words permit usto share our thoughts with other members of our species. !mportant as wordsare to us, they can be tricky. +e must remember that words are symbols. Theyrepresent things, but are not the things themselves. That lanky, bearded oldman we call ;ncle <am represents the ;nited <tates, but he is not the ;nited<tates>>in fact, he doesn?t even exist. The letters a'p'p'l'e p'i'e represents an#ll'#merican pastry, but they are not an apple pie. To increase the likelihood of successful communication, the source must try to

encode in a way that the receiver understands, so that the receiver can properlydecode interpret- the message. 9or example, many #merican tourists in @arishave discovered that even though their command of 9rench is minimal, it issometimes easier to communicate in halting 9rench than in &nglish. <ome@arisians, despite their :uent knowledge of &nglish, refuse to decode anAinferiorB tongue.Channel$hannels are the means that is, pathways or devices- by which messages arecommunicated. $hannels may be described and analy%ed in two dierent ways. The (rst involves the form in which messages are sent to receivers. 9ormsinclude both verbal and nonverbal channels of communication. +e use our (vesenses to receive messages from others. +e may hear a call'in talk show on the

radio, watch a soccer match on television, smell fresh break baking as we drivepast the local bread industry, taste the :avors in a fresh cappuccino, or hug afriend to console him when his dog died.$hannels may also be described according to the manner of presentationemployed in communication. The source may speak face'to'face with thereceiver, use a public address system to talk with a hundred listeners, or talkover radio or television to million of receivers. &ach of these examples woulddemand dierent manners of presentation. Depending on the situation, thesource would concentrate on verbal and/or nonverbal channels ofcommunication. !f the speaker were on radio, physical appearance wouldn?tmatter, but if he or she were performing on a cable network program or before a

live audience, personal appearance could easily in:uence the reception of themessage. 9or example, when we go to watch a circus, we expect the clowns tohave painted faces and appropriate costumes. !f they were dressed in regularstreet clothes, their performance wouldn?t be as eective. +hatever channels of communication are used, the source must learn to adapt the message to makeuse of the most appropriate channels available for the situation.



!eceiver/"ecoder The person or persons- who attends to the source?s message is the receiver. The act of interpreting messages is called decoding. Ceceivers decode messagesbased on past experiences, perceptions, thoughts, and feelings. +e receive

messages through all our senses, but most often we decode messages bylistening or seeing. +e (rst have a physiological reception of stimuli a noisecauses sound waves to hit our eardrum or a movement catches our eye-. +ethen pay attention to both the verbal and nonverbal stimuli and reduce all thestimuli bombarding us to one or two we can cope with more easily. ext, we tryto understand the stimuli and interpret them into messages we decide that thenoise is a telephone bell or that the movement is a friend waving to us acrosscampus-. 9inally, we store this information for later use so that next time we willbe able to respond to the stimuli more 8uickly. !t is important to remember thatreceivers make immediate decisions about what they will respond to in a givensituation. During a lecture, an audience member may decide to take a nap.

During an argument with your boyfriend or spouse, you may listen only tonegative comments. During a crowded party you may watch the nonverbalbehaviors of your date yawning, standing o in a corner alone, and so on- todecide when it?s time to leave. #s sources of communication, we need to learnto analy%e our prospective receives to determine which communicationmessages will be most eective.Ef course, all of us are both encoders and decodersF that is, we are capable ofboth transmitting and receiving messages. +hen we receive a message, wemust interpret it and then encode a response. The response may be silent,noisy, or somewhere in between, depending upon the situation and theexistence of any barriers to communication.#eed$ac%

#nother element in the communication process is feedback' &ach party in aninteraction continuously sends messages back to the other. This return processis called feedback. 9eedback tells the source how the receiver has interpretedeach message. 9or example, if at the airport you ask your departing friend abouthis itinerary, and he replies that he didn?t pack one, you know your message hasnot been understood. This kind of feedback, which conveys lack ofunderstanding, is known as negative feedback. @ositive feedback, on the otherhand, indicates that the receiver has understood the source?s message. !t doesnot necessarily mean that he or she agrees with the source, just that themessage was interpreted accurately. 9eedback can also be ambiguous, notclearly positive or negative. A! seeB and Amm'hmmB can be examples of

ambiguous feedback. The eective communicator is always sensitive tofeedback and constantly modi(es his or her messages as a result of thefeedback received. #fter a discreet pause, for example, you might ask yourfriend not about his AitineraryB but about the cities he plans to visit.9eedback doesn?t have to come from others. +e can and do get feedback fromour own messages. The fact that we can hear the words we speak and see thesentences we write sometimes lets us correct our own mistakes.



Barriers/0oise The human communication system can be compared with a radio or telephonecircuit. Gust as in radio transmissions, where distortion can occur at any pointalong the circuit channel-, there can be similar barriers in human

communication. The source?s information may be insucient or unclear. Er themessage can be ineectively or inaccurately encoded. The wrong channel ofcommunication may be used. The message may not be decoded the way it wasencoded. 9inally, the receiver may not e8uipped to handle the decoded messagein such a way as to produce the response feedback- expected by the source.*=arriers* are any obstacles or diculties that come in the way of communication. They may be physical, mechanical, psychological cultural orlinguistic in nature. !n business communication, for instance, the major obstaclesarise because of the set'up of an organisation ' the organi%ational barriers. Thesi%e of an organisation the physical distance between employees of anorganisation, the speciali%ation of jobs and activities, and the power and status

relationships, are the main organi%ational barriers. =esides, then are thebarriers, raised by interpersonal relationships between individual and groups,the prejudices of both individuals and groups and the channels they use tocommunicate. =arriers to communication also occur if the sender and receiverare not on the same Awavelength.B This is as true in human communication as itis in radio transmission. En the human level, being on the same wavelengthinvolves shared experiences. That is, the source can encode only in terms of theexperiences he or she has had. This is why two people from completely dierentcultures may (nd it dicult, if not impossible, to communicate.!n the *jargon* of communication, all barriers whatever their natural are clubbedunder a common label' *noise*. # term from modem physics it denotes not onlyatmospheric or channel disturbance, but all barriers that distort communications

in any manner.Ph.sical Barriers9our main kinds of distractions act as *physical barriers* to the communicationprocess. These are)- The $ompeting <timulus in the form of another conversation going on withinhearing distance, or loud music or trac noise in the background. The cawing of crows or a plane passing overhead can, for example, drown out messagesaltogether.0- &nvironmental <tress) # high temperature and humidity, poor ventilation,vibrations felt, a strong glare ' all can contribute to distortions in the sendingand receiving of messages.

1- <ubjective <tress) <leeplessness, ill health, the eects of drugs and moodvariations give rise to forms of subjective stress that often lead to greatdiculties in listening and interpretation.

2- !gnorance of the Hedium) The various media for communication are) oral, written,audio, visual and audiovisual. The use of a medium with which thecommunicators are not familiar would turn the medium itself into a barrier.



Ps.chological Barriers&ach of us has a certain Iframe of reference*, a kind of window through which welook out at the world, at people, and events and situations. # frame of referenceis a system of standards and values, usually implicit, underlying and to some

extent controlling an action, or the expression of any belief, attitude or idea. otwo individuals possess exactly similar frames of reference, even if they areidentical twins. To a large extent our experiences, particularly our childhoodexperiences, and the cultural environment we have grown up in in:uence ourframes of reference.Linguistics and Cultural Barriers# language is the expression of the thoughts and experiences of people in termsof their cultural environment. +hen the same language is made use of in adierent culture, it takes on another colour, another meaning.echanical BarriersHechanical barriers are those raised by the channels employed for

interpersonal, group or mass communication. $hannels become barrier whenthe message is interfered with by some disturbance, which - increased thediculty in reception or 0- prevented some elements of the message reachingits destination or both. The absence communication facilities too would be amechanical barrier. This type of barrier includes any disturbance, which interferes with the (delity of the physical transmission of the message. # telephone that is in poor workingorder, making demands on the yelling ability of <ender and Ceceiver, is amechanical barrier in interpersonal communication. <o also is *cross'talk* oftenheard over an Iintercom? link in an oce, or during long'distance calls. !n Jroup$ommunication, a rundown or *whistling microphone, and wrong placement of loudspeakers are disturbances which are mechanical in nature. the

communicator who stands too close or too far from the mike is another matter-.!n mass communication, mechanical barriers would include such disturbances asstatic on the radio, smeared ink in a newspaper, a rolling screen on television, abarely readable point'si%e, or a (lm projector or video that does not functionperfectly.



!evie+ uestions !dentify and discuss the basic elements of communication process"

Describe how the whole process of communication gets disturbed if any of

the elements is changed or tampered"

E&ercise $onstruct a diagrammatic model of the essential elements and processes

involved in one of the following communication situations. The model?sprimary function should be to describe what elements are involved andwhat processes are operative in the speci(c situation chosen. !t may beuseful to de(ne the situation chosen in more detail before constructingthe model.

$ommunication situation)K <itting silently in a bus.

K +atching TL commercialK $onversing with a very close friend.K Delivering a lecture to a class.K @ersuading an angry crowd to disband.K Ceading a newspaper.K Telephonic conversation with bank representative.K +indow <hopping.

Suggested !eadings <arah Trenholm) Thinking Through $ommunication, <econd &dition, #llyn

and =acon

Gulia T +ood) $ommunication Hosaics, <econd &dition, +adsworth De9leur/ Mearney/ @lax) 9undamentals of 5uman $ommunication, Hay(eld

@ublishing $ompany Meval G kumar) Hass $ommunication in !ndia, Gaico @ublishing 5ouse

$ < Cayudu) $ommunication, 5imalaya @ublishing 5ouse

Hatthukutty H Honipally) =usiness $ommunication <trategies,

=arker/ Jaut) $ommunication,

the process of communication

Documents