Process of Communication

The process of communication as shown in fig 1.2 involves exchange of ideas and it can be verbal or nonverbal in nature. The prerequisite of communication is a message and this message must be conveyed through some medium to the recipient in such a way that it is understood by the recipient in the same manner as intended by the sender. The recipient must respond within a period. The response from the recipient to the sender is called feedback. Therefore, communication is said to be a two way process, which is incomplete without a feedback from the recipient to the sender on how well the message is understood by him.

Following are the components of the process of communication.

• Context: Communication is affected by the context in which it be physical, social, chronological or cultural. Every communication proceeds with context. The sender chooses the message to communicate within a context. E.g. usage of the term Labour in relation to manpower or workload.

• Sender / Encoder: Sender / Encoder is a person who sends the message. A sender utilizes symbols (words, graphic or visual aids) to convey the message and produce the required response. For instance, a training manager conducting training for induction of new joinees. Sender may be an individual, a group or an organization. The views, background, approach, skills, competencies and knowledge of the sender have a great impact on the message. The verbal and nonverbal symbols chosen are essential in ascertaining interpretation of the message by the recipient in the same terms as intended by the sender.

• Message: Message is a key idea that the sender plans to communicate. It elicits the response of recipients. Communication process begins with planning the message to be conveyed. One must ensure that the main objective of the message is comprehensible.

• Medium: Medium is a means used for exchanging/transmitting the message. The sender must choose an appropriate medium for transmitting the message, as there are high probabilities of the message not being conveyed to the target recipients. The choice of appropriate medium of communication is essential for making the message effective and correctly interpreted by the recipients. This choice of communication medium varies based on the features of communication. Written medium, for instance, is chosen when a message has to be conveyed to a small group of people, while an oral medium is chosen when spontaneous feedback is required from the recipient and queries are addressed on the post.

• Recipient / Decoder: Recipient / Decoder is a person for whom the message is intended / aimed / targeted. The degree to which the decoder understands the message is depends on various factors like knowledge of recipient, their responsiveness to the message and the reliance of encoder and decoder.

• Feedback: Feedback is the main component of communication process as it permits the sender to analyze the efficacy of the message. It helps the sender in confirming the correct interpretation of message by the decoder. Feedback may be verbal or nonverbal (in form of smiles, sighs, etc.). It could also be in written form (memos, reports, etc).

COMMUNICATION PROCESS: MODELS AND THEORIES

There are many communication process models and theories available for understanding the process involved in it, as developed by different people. It is very tedious, time and space consuming to consider all the communication models. It is, therefore, desirable to familiarize with some significant and important models that serve the purpose of understanding the process of communication.

1. Linear Model

According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, one of the most productive schematic models of a communications system that has been proposed as an answer to Lasswell’s question (Who (says) What (to) Whom (in) What Channel (with) What Effect?) in relation to communication that emerged in the late 1940s, largely from the speculations of two American mathematicians, Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver. The simplicity of their model, its clarity and its surface generality proved attractive to many students of communication in various disciplines; although it neither is the only model of the communication process extant nor is, it universally accepted. As originally conceived, the model contained five elements—an information source, a transmitter, a channel of transmission, a receiver and a destination—all arranged in linear order. Messages (electronic messages, initially) were supposed to travel along this course, to be transformed into

electric energy by the transmitter and to be reconstituted into intelligible language by the receiver. In due course, the five elements of the model were renamed to specify components for other types of communication transmitted in various manners. The information source was split into its components (both source and message) as a provision for wider range of applicability. The six constituents of the revised model are:

• A source

• An encoder

• A message

• A channel

• A decoder

• A receiver

Some communication systems have simple components. For instance -

• A person on a land-line telephone

• The mouthpiece of the telephone

• The words spoken

• The electrical wires along which the words (now electrical impulses) travel

• The earpiece of another telephone

• The mind of the listener

In other communication systems, the components are more complicated to isolate e.g., the communication of the emotions of an artist through a painting to people who may act in response to the message long after the death of the artist.

Begging a multitude of psychological, aesthetic and sociological questions concerning the exact nature of each component, the linear model appeared, from the commonsense perspective, at least, to explain generally the ways in which certain classes of communication occurred. It did not indicate the reason for the inability of certain communications—obvious in daily life — to fit its neat model.

2. Aristotle’s Model

Aristotle took the first step towards the development of a communication model. He developed an easy, simple and elementary model of the communication process in the figure 1.4, in a communication event, there are three main ingredients,

• The Speaker
• The Speech and
• The Audience

Subsequently, a number of experts have formulated modern models of communication that are more complex and dynamic.

3. David K. Berlo’s Model

David Berlo’s process theory is one of the fundamental theories for all communication theorists. The various theories of process models specify the idea persuasively to another person; Berlo's model is of general importance in developing other communication models and identifying elements of communication. Berlo's process theory has contributed largely to the subject of communication. In this model, he identified essential elements and other factors affecting them (the five senses). However, the model does not consider verbal and nonverbal stimuli. As shown in figure 1.5, the nine components are included in his model are: Source, Encoder, Message, Channel, Receiver, Decoder, Meaning, Feedback and Noise.

4. Harold D. Lasswell Model

The communication process of Lasswell, in its broader analysis, spawns to four basic and important questions. They are: Who? What? Whom? Which? These behavioural aspects of the sender in the communication process are well defined.

Lasswell's model ignores the essential elements of the communication process. However, Lasswell's model indicates the major elements in the process by posing some questions related to the act of communication. They are:

1. Who?
2. Says What?
3. In What Channel?
4. To Whom?
5. With What Effect?

1. Why?

Why do we want to communicate? What is the purpose of the communication? Is it to persuade or to inform? Is any particular action required?

2. What?

What do we want to communicate? It may be an order, an idea, an attitude or a feeling. What form of words or possible actions suits the situation?

3. How?

How are we going to communicate? In what form will the communication get home the message fastest? What impact will a particular form have on the recipient?

4. Who?

Is there a key to the communication situation? How does he feel about me, about this situation?

5. When?

Finally, when is the right time to get across this message? When is the receiver likely to give it the most attention? Is timing critical to the success of the communication?

In this model, he covers the five elements in the process by putting forth the above questions. The model emphasizes on the effects of communication and the response of the receivers. The behavioral aspects of the sender are the important element in the process.