NATURE AND ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION
FUNDEMENTALS OF COMMUNICATION
Communication:
- Communication is from the Latin word
“communicare” which means “to impart”
- Communication is defined as an act or
process of imparting and sharing
information between people in order to
express desires, needs, aspirations, dreams,
goals, ideas, thoughts, and all various kinds
of information.
List of definitions and concepts of
communication from varied sources:
 Schramm states communication is
“a tool that makes societies possible
and distinguishes humans from
other societies.” (we need
communication in our daily lives to
live In a society)
 Berelson and Steiner define
communication as “the transmission
of information, ideas, and emotions,
skills through the use of symbols,
words, pictures, figures and graphs.
 Rogers states that “communication
is the process of transmitting ideas,
information, and attitudes from the
source to a receiver for the purpose
of influencing with intent.” (merong
intention)
 Kar visions communication as “all
those planned or unplanned
processes through which one person
influences the behavior of others.
Nature of Communication:
1. Communication is a process
 Means it is a step-by-step activity
and it is essentially a two-way
process that involves the active
participation of both the sender and
receiver. It is the act or process of
using words, sounds, signs, or
behaviors to express or exchange
information or to express your ideas,
thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone
else.
 It is a complex process too. By
complex process, it means, one
message may be interpreted in
many ways by different people.
2. Communication is much more of an ART
than a science.
 There is no right or wrong way to
communicate – no set of absolute
rules to be followed but there are
underlying principles to guide us
into effective communication.
3. Communication has a sender and
receiver
 Communication occurs between two
or more people acting as the
speaker or the receiver of the
message. In other words, it is a two-
way process of reaching mutual
understanding.
4. Communication is verbal or non-verbal
 Communication can be expressed
through written or spoken words
(verbal) or actions (non-verbal) of
both spoken words and nonverbal
actions at the same time.
5. Communication is inevitable
  Inevitability means communication
is taking place even when someone
does not want or intend to
communicate. This “does not want
to communicate” feeling of
someone actually does
communicate something. What does
this mean? It simply means that you
cannot avoid communicating.
6. Communication is irreversible
 This means that what you have said
can never be unsaid. Irreversibility
happens the very minute you click
the “OK” button for a comment or
post on your social media and that it
would be too late to take it back
when a lot of people have already
reacted, and commented to it.
7. Communication is unrepeatable
 Unrepeatability means that an act of
communication can never be
duplicated. We may say the same
thing over and over again but the
effect of what you said the second
or third or fourth time will not be
the same as the first time you said it.
Five commonalities for successful
communication:
 Knowledge
 Experience
 Language
 Culture
 Interest
The natural flow of the communication
process:
9 Elements of Communication:
Communication is divided into elements
which help us better understand its
mechanics or process.
 Speaker/Sender - the source of
information or message.
 Message - the information, ideas, or
thoughts conveyed by the speaker in
words or in actions.
 Encoding - the process of converting
the message into words, actions, or
other forms that the speaker
understands.
 Channel - the medium or the means,
such as personal or non-personal,
verbal or non-verbal, in which the
encoded message is conveyed.
 Decoding - the process of
interpreting the encoded message of
the speaker by the receiver
 Receiver - the recipient of the
message, or someone who decodes
the message.
 Feedback - the reactions, responses,
or information provided by the
receiver.
 Context - the environment where
communication takes place.
 Barrier/Noise - the factors that
affect the flow of communication
Five Functions of Communication:
These are control, social interaction,
motivation, emotional expression, and
information dissemination.

 Regulation/Control -
Communication functions to
regulate/control behaviour.
 Social interaction - Communication
allows individuals to interact with
others.
 Motivation - Communication
motivates or encourages people to
live better.
 Emotional Expression -
Communication facilitates people’s
expression of their feelings and
emotions.
 Information - Communication
functions to convey information.