COMMUN IC A T IO N

MS. ALONA C. JACINTO

GOAL

BY THE END OF THE LESSON, YOU WILL HAVE BEEN ABLE TO

EXPLAIN THE NATURE AND PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION

DIFFERENTIATE VARIOUS MODELS OF COMMUNICATION
DIFFERENTIATE VARIOUS MODELS OF COMMUNICATION
DISTINGUISH THE UNIQUE FEATURES OF ONE COMMUNICATION PROCESS FROM THE OTHER;
WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?
COMMUNICATION IS A PROCESS OF SHARING AND CONVEYING MESSAGES OR INFORMATION FROM ONE PERSON
TO ANOTHER WITHIN AND ACROSS CHANNELS, CONTEXTS, MEDIA, AND CULTURES (MCCORNACK, 2014). THERE IS
A WIDE VARIETY OF CONTEXTS AND SITUATIONS IN WHICH COMMUNICATION CAN BE MANIFESTED; IT CAN BE A
FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTION, A PHONE CONVERSATION, A GROUP DISCUSSION, A MEETING OR INTERVIEW, A
LETTER CORRESPONDENCE, A CLASS RECITATION, AND MANY OTHERS.
NATURE OF COMMUNICATION
1. COMMUNICATION IS A PROCESS.
2. COMMUNICATION OCCURS BETWEEN TWO OR MORE PEOPLE (THE
SPEAKER AND THE RECEIVER).
3. COMMUNICATION CAN BE EXPRESSED THROUGH WRITTEN OR SPOKEN
WORDS, ACTIONS (NONVERBAL), OR BOTH SPOKEN WORDS AND
NONVERBAL ACTIONS AT THE SAME TIME.
ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION IS DIVIDED INTO ELEMENTS WHICH HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND ITS MECHANICS OR
PROCESS. THESE ELEMENTS ARE THE FOLLOWING:
1. SPEAKER – THE SOURCE OF INFORMATION OR MESSAGE
2. MESSAGE – THE INFORMATION, IDEAS, OR THOUGHTS CONVEYED BY THE SPEAKER IN WORDS OR IN
ACTIONS
3. ENCODING – THE PROCESS OF CONVERTING THE MESSAGE INTO WORDS, ACTIONS, OR OTHER FORMS
THAT THE SPEAKER UNDERSTANDS
ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION

4. CHANNEL – THE MEDIUM OR THE MEANS, SUCH AS PERSONAL OR NON-PERSONAL, VERBAL OR NONVERBAL, IN
WHICH THE ENCODED MESSAGE IS CONVEYED
5. DECODING – THE PROCESS OF INTERPRETING THE ENCODED MESSAGE OF THE SPEAKER BY THE RECEIVER
6. RECEIVER – THE RECIPIENT OF THE MESSAGE, OR SOMEONE WHO DECODES THE MESSAGE
7. FEEDBACK – THE REACTIONS, RESPONSES, OR INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE RECEIVER
8. CONTEXT – THE ENVIRONMENT WHERE COMMUNICATION TAKES PLACE
9. BARRIER – THE FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE FLOW OF COMMUNICATION
MODEL OF COMMUNICATION

1. SHANNON-WEAVER MODEL - KNOWN AS THE MOTHER OF ALL COMMUNICATION MODELS, THE

SHANNON-WEAVER MODEL (1949) DEPICTS COMMUNICATION AS A LINEAR OR ONE-WAY PROCESS
CONSISTING OF FIVE ELEMENTS: A SOURCE (PRODUCER OF MESSAGE); A TRANSMITTER (ENCODER OF
MESSAGE INTO SIGNALS); A CHANNEL (SIGNALS ADAPTED FOR TRANSMISSION); A RECEIVER (DECODER
OF MESSAGE FROM THE SIGNAL); AND A DESTINATION.
THIS MODEL, HOWEVER, HAS BEEN CRITICIZED FOR MISSING ONE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT IN THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS: FEEDBACK.
WITHOUT FEEDBACK, THE SPEAKER WILL NOT KNOW WHETHER THE RECEIVER UNDERSTANDS THE MESSAGE OR NOT.
MODEL OF COMMUNICATION

2. TRANSACTION MODEL - UNLIKE THE SHANNON-WEAVER MODEL, WHICH IS A ONE-WAY PROCESS, THE
TRANSACTION MODEL IS A TWO-WAY PROCESS WITH THE INCLUSION OF FEEDBACK AS ONE ELEMENT.
AS SHOWN IN FIGURE 2, THIS MODEL IS MORE INTERACTIVE. THERE IS A COLLABORATIVE EXCHANGE OF MESSAGES BETWEEN
COMMUNICATORS WITH THE AIM OF UNDERSTANDING EACH OTHER. IT ALSO SHOWS THAT A BARRIER, SUCH AS NOISE, MAY INTERFERE WITH
THE FLOW OF COMMUNICATION
MODEL OF COMMUNICATION
3. SCHRAMM MODEL (1954) - MODIFIED THE
SHANNON-WEAVER MODEL.