Communication Process Model

How does it work theoretically?

The communication process is difficult at best. Although always communicating, human beings
are rarely capable of making themselves perfectly understood. The failure of the process lies in
the process itself. This document will present the components of the communication process,
will discuss the dynamic of the process, and will suggest where the problems occur in the
process.

A. Components of the Communication Process Model

As suggested by the Communication Process handout distributed in class, the model requires the
following elements:

1. A sender
2. A message to be sent
3. A channel through which to send the message
4. A receiver
5. A response to the message sent back to the sender by the receiver.

Throughout the communication process, unintentional interferences occur, distorting or

interrupting the process. These interferences are called noises. Noises can be real noises,
auditory stimuli, like phones ringing, people talking, or street workers jack hammering. Noises
are also distractions like a streaker running across a stage during a commencement address.
Noises are distortions as well: static over a phone, solar flares altering a television’s reception, or
psychological illnesses modifying how people perceive the world. Communication without
noises has yet to happen. Therefore, recognizing the sources of noise and attempting to minimize
its effect is essential to improving the efficiency of one’s communication.

B. Dynamic of the Communication Process

The communication process has a dynamic of its own. The process goes through several phases.
Here is a description of those phases.

1. The sender has an idea.

Difficult to think of someone “trying to make common,” to communicate, if that person has
nothing to share. Yet, thinking of the sender as needing to have an idea in order to start the
communication process is misleading since everything people do and everything people are
communicates something to others.

The intent of this phase is to start the process at a time when a sender intentionally decide to send
a message to someone else. So, the sender has an idea.
2. The sender encodes the idea.

Human beings are not a telepathic breed. They do not transmit pure ideas from one’s brain to
another. Human beings have learned to transmit symbols, representations of their ideas. These
symbols are varied.

Throughout the world, humans use a multitude of symbols to represent their ideas. Some
symbols are linguistic (verbal or written) code developed into complex languages. Languages are
many: the Morse code, the Braille language, the American Sign Language, and all the spoken and
dead languages of the world. Other symbols are also in use to communicate: mathematical
formulas, paintings, pictographs, hieroglyphs, traffic signals, zip codes, baseball gestures
signaling instructions from managers to players.

The word TREE written on a blackboard is not a tree, nor is a drawing of a tree a tree. Both are
agreed upon representation of some reality.

The responsibility of the sender to choose a code that will best carry the message is obvious.
When encoding one’s idea, one has to pick the code that will fit the message and that will allow
the receiver to understand. So, the sender encodes the message.

3. The sender transmits the message

In order for the sender to transmit the encoded message, the sender has to choose a channel, a
medium through which to send the message. Senders can send information verbally or
nonverbally. In nonverbal communication, messages are sent through gestures, tone of voice, use
of space, etc. In verbal communication, messages are sent through speeches or through
documents. In all case, messages are sent through a variety of media such a telephones,
computers, papers, faxes, radios, videocassettes, DVDs, CDs, etc.

Some channels are better suited for some messages than others. A five-page memo is a poor
choice for an invitation to lunch. The characteristics of each medium somewhat dictates its
ability to serve a given purpose. These characteristics describe the richness of a medium.

A rich medium is one that (1) can convey a message using more than one type of clue (visual and
verbal and vocal), (2) can facilitate feedback, and (3) can establish personal focus. The richest
medium is a face-to-face conversation. Face-to-face conversations allow the receiver to get the
sender’s message verbally, through the words spoken, nonverbally, through the facial expressions
or the gestures, and vocally, through the tone of voice or the pace of the speech. Face-to-face
conversations allow for immediate feedback from the receiver and allow the sender to control
some of the environmental noises. Face-to-face conversations can be personalized by the sender
to each receiver involved. The leaner medium is a mass mailing or any kind of unaddressed
documents. Junk mails send the message only in a written format, without possibility of
feedback, without control of noises, without personal touches.

In addition to its richness, the medium chosen should be analyzed for its other characteristics.
The speed of the medium may be a criteria for its choice. How quick is a message prepared on a
given medium (memo versus formal letter) or delivered (email versus snail mail) may be the
reason to choose that medium. The ability of the medium to be permanently kept may be a
criteria for its choice. Whether a record of the message can be kept on a given medium (3M note
versus email) may be the reason to choose that medium. Other criteria include the medium’s
feedback capacity (telephone conversation versus letter), the medium’s capacity to convey the
intensity or the complexity of a message (causal conversation versus formal written report), and
the medium’s level of formality (email versus formal letter) or level of confidentiality (sealed
hand-delivered letter versus fax).

The sender is responsible for choosing the medium that will convey the message efficiently and
effectively. When choosing a media, one has to choose one that will convey the message
properly to the intended audience. So, the sender transmits the message.

4. The receiver gets the message

Unless he or she has a hearing problem or he or she is affected by noises distorting the reception
of the message, the receiver receives the signal sent by the sender.

5. The receiver decodes the message

The receiver always decodes the message using his or her knowledge of the code used to encode
the message. A receiver with a poor knowledge of the language used will likely decode the
message poorly. A receiver trying to decode contradictory verbal and nonverbal messages will
likely decode the intended message incorrectly.

The receiver chooses the code he or she will use to decode the message. Choosing the wrong
code is like using the wrong key: the message will not yield its secret if the wrong code is used.
The receiver will choose a code based on his or her background and his or her environment. In
Louisiana, a pea row is a boat, a beignet is a donut, and coffee comes in light roast, dark roast,
and . . . between roast (not medium roast).

The receiver has the responsibility of choosing the right code to decode the message. More
fundamentally, the receiver also has the responsibility of listening to the sender. So, the receiver
decodes the message.

6. The receiver send feedback to the sender

Using the same phases as the sender, the receiver send a message back to the sender providing
information on his or her level of comprehension of the message.

C. Problems with the Communication Process

What are the problems that prevent good communication? Since the process is based on the
interactions of two people, it appears that the problems reside on the shoulders of these two
people.
1. Problems with the sender

A lot of weight rests on the sender’s shoulders. The sender is responsible for making all the
choices that should incur the highest level of congruity between the intended message and the
message received. The sender can make several mistakes from which problems will stem.

Problem: The sender may not know what he or she wants to communicate. Solution: The sender
has to decide clearly what ideas he or she wants to get across.

Problem: The sender does not chose his or her code properly given his or her objectives. If the
sender wants to convince a reluctant receiver, the sender should not be yelling at the receiver.
Solution: The sender has to match his or her goals with the verbal and nonverbal tools he or she
uses.

Problem: The sender is not centered on the receiver. He or she does not think of the level of
understanding of the receiver, of the vocabulary of the receiver, of the cultural experiences of the
receiver. Solution: The sender has to tailor his or her message to the intended receiver.

Problem: The sender is sending contradictory verbal and nonverbal messages. Solution: The
sender should be aware of his or her nonverbal messages.

Problem: The sender choose an inappropriate medium or an ineffective medium. Each channel
has its advantages and its disadvantages. Solution: Depending on the purpose of the message,
different media should be chosen.

Problem: The sender does not pay attention to the existing noises while sending the message.
Solution: The sender needs to try to control as much noises as possible.

2. Problems with the receiver

The receiver is not without responsibilities. In all interactions, the receiver’s role will become
that of a sender when the feedback phase is reached. So, the receiver needs to pay attention as
well.

Problem: The receiver is not listening to the sender. The receiver is not paying attention, is
trying to interpret the total message before the message is complete, is trying to judge the sender
based on his or her look, is trying to formulate an answer, or is doing something else. Solution:
The receiver should concentrate on listening only.

Problem: The receiver is not decoding the message properly. The receiver does not use the right
code. The receiver does not have the same vocabulary. Solution: The receiver should ask
questions to verify his or her understanding of the code.

Problem: The receiver omits to send feedback. Solution: The receiver should always send
feedback.