Process & Elements of Communication
Process of Communication:
The process of communication involves seven major elements
-sender, message, encoding, channel, receiver, decoding and feedback.
Sender:
The sender is the person who transmits a message. He is the
communicator. He is the one who gets the entire process of communication
started. He wants to get his opinions, ideas, facts, thoughts or information
across to the receiver. He is, therefore, also said to be the transmitter of a
message.
Message:
A message is the actual information that has to be conveyed.
Communication is unthinkable without a message. A message triggers a response
from the receiver. Messages can broadly be divided into verbal and non-verbal.
The message must be clear, complete, unambiguous and courteous.
Encoding:
The seeds of communication are sown the moment the sender thinks
of transmitting a certain message. These thoughts have to be converted into
suitable words, pictures, charts or symbols so that they can be delivered to
the receiver.
This process of converting thoughts into suitable words, charts,
symbols or any other form in which they can be understood by the receiver is
called encoding. The choice of the method of communication is made here – will
the message be verbal or non-verbal?
Channel:
How does one communicate? This is what a channel deals with.
Communication is achieved through a channel. The channel can be a letter, an
email, a fax, a telephone or memos, reports, bulletins, posters and manuals.
The choice depends on the relationship between the sender and
the receiver as well as on the message that has to be communicated. Other
factors that tend to influence the choice of a channel include the gravity of
the message, the number of receivers, the costs involved and the amount of
information.
Receiver:
The person who receives the message, decodes it and understands
it or attaches some meaning to it is the receiver.
The receiver has to perform three functions:
(i) Reception of the message:
This is the stage when a message sent by the sender is sensorial
taken in by the receiver.
(ii) Decoding the message:
After receiving the message, the receiver has to attach some
meaning to it.
(iii) Understanding the message:
He then has to interpret it in the same way and in the same
sense as the sender meant it.
Feedback:
The return of communication from the receiver to the sender is
known as feedback. It is the response, reaction or reply to the communication.
It is always directed towards the sender. This completes the cycle of
communication. Thus, in feedback, the receiver sends his reply or response to
the sender, indicating that he has understood the message received. In
face-to-face communication.
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