Communication Process

The process of communication involves passing the information from one source to another receiver which can again act like a source for another receiver and thus the chain information transmission will keep on going.

Thus we could say that communication is a dynamic process not static.

Communication process is a process in which  different elements of communication work to complete a  communication cycle to produce a  meaningful communication to fulfill certain purpose or intent.

Each element plays important role in the communication process because absence or presence of any element could alter the entire process and communication might go wrong or could get misinterpreted.

Flow Chart Diagram

Elements of Communication-

Though there are Five  elements  considered as basic elements of communication but with the evolution of Communication into a more refined process in digital age the number of elements have reached up to nine (9).

Five Basic elements are-

1. The Sender

2. The Receiver

3. The Message

4. The Channel

5. The Feedback

With the span of time now we regard following nine (9) elements as major elements of communication which are required to complete the cycle of any type of communication-

1. Context

2. Sender

3. Encoder

4. Message

5. Channel

6. Decoding

7. Receiver

8. Feedback

9. Noise

 Elaborated explanation of above 9 elements-

1- Context- Context is very important element of communication because it impacts the meaning, effect and interpretation of the communicated subject. This element refers to the background of the subject and the particular environment – in which communication or the interaction is taking place. These all things affect the communication process up to a large extent. For example Context could be social, cultural, historical, political, personal, interpersonal, business related or emotional etc

2- The Sender- The sender is also called as a source of information, that’s why it is regarded as a first element of the communication. Sender may be an individual person or any institution or organization. Sender can share or communicate any kind of information for example- an opinion, idea, concept, feeling, etc. Sender can use any type of communication such as verbal or non-verbal to express its points of view or opinion.

3- Encoding – Encoding involves transfer of any information, feeling, idea or any abstract concept to any individual, group of people or any institution. So in other words Encoding is a process to put up any set of information in form of words or symbols to convey it to the receiver or end target.

4- Message- Message refers to the body of information, opinions, ideas, feelings or thoughts etc. It is a very significant element of communication because if the message is not well formed and clear then it might be misinterpreted and defeat the purpose of entire communication exercise for any given purpose. To form a comprehensible message the sender needs to be very clear with its objectives.

5- Channel- Channel is the medium or tool to transmit the message to the receiver. Channels can be various types depending upon the form of communication. For example- letters, emails, reports could be used as a medium for written communication, whereas telephones, cell phones and mikes are the medium for verbal communication. Likewise for different kinds of communication formats different channels or medium are used.

6- Decoding- This process involves understanding and interpretation of the message. But one of the significant points is that the interpretation or decoding by the receiver depends a lot on his/her educational, socio-economic or cultural background, set of past experiences he/she owns and opinion bias.

7- Receiver- Some communication scholars regard this element as response also.  A receiver simply grabs the information passed to him/her and process it in his/her mind according to the knowledge he/she posses and stores in the memory. Whereas response is the outcome of effect on the receiver drawn by the message. We could also say that response is the reaction or opinion created about the received information by the receiver.

8- Feedback- Feedback is generated at the receiver’s end always. Feedback is the end product of all types of communication process. It can be positive or negative on the basis of understanding of the communicated or conveyed subject by the sender to the receiver.

9- Noise- there are two kinds of noise-

a) Channel Noise- It means any kind of mechanical problem. For example –loss or attenuation of signals, technological problems etc.

b) Semantic Noise- This type of noise is related with the formulation of message. For example- wrong sentence making, ambiguous meanings of the words, spelling and grammar mistakes etc.