The Communication Process

Communication is the process of sharing our ideas, thoughts, and feelings with other people and having those ideas, thoughts, and feelings understood by the people we are talking with. When we communicate, we speak, listen and observe.

The image illustrates the following:

• Sender/Communicator - person who is sending the message to another person.

There are two factors that will determine how effective the communicator will be. The first factor is the communicator’s attitude. It must be positive. The second factor is the communicator’s selection of meaningful symbols, or selecting the right symbols depending on your audience and the right environment.

• Receiver/Communicator - person who receives the message from the sender.

Communication is only successful when the reaction of the receiver is that which the communicator intended. Effective communication takes place with shared meaning and understanding.

• Encode - is a technique by which the senders uses to send the message into language, symbols or signals
• Message - is the idea or information that the sender wants to pass on to the receiver
• Channel- is the means by which the message is sent through either verbal or non-verbal
• Decode - the reciever interprates and translate the senders message
• Responding- is the way in which the sender or reciever reacts to the message
• Feedback - is the reciever's reaction to the message recieved, this may be verbal or non verbal.

It can be external feedback (something we see) or internal feedback (something we can’t see), like self-examination. It’s the feedback that allows the communicator to adjust his message and be more effective. Without feedback, there would be no way of knowing if meaning had been shared or if understanding had taken place.

Communication is a two-way process. 

The information goes out to a person on the other end. There is a sender and a receiver. Simply put, effective communication is getting your message across to the receiver. It is the sender's responsibility to make sure that the receiver gets the message and the message received is the one sent.

Barrier

At any point in the communication process a barrier can occur. Barriers keep us from understanding other’s ideas and thoughts. Barriers can appear at any point of the communication loop.

There are two types of barriers—internal and external. Examples of internal barriers are fatigue, poor listening skills, attitude toward the sender or the information, lack of interest in the message, fear, mistrust, past experiences, negative attitude, problems at home, lack of common experiences, and emotions. Examples of external barriers include noise, distractions, e-mail not working, bad phone connections, time of day, sender used too many technical words for the audience, and environment. Barriers keep the message from getting through. When communicating, watch out for barriers. Monitor the actions of the receiver. Watch her body language; check to make sure the message the receiver received is the one sent—ask questions and listen.

Summary: 

Communication is a two-way process that involves getting your message across and understanding what others have to say. Communication involves active listening, speaking and observing. Now that you have learned the communication process, you can begin to evaluate your communication skills. Begin to watch yourself in action. Each time you communicate observe what you do, how it went, what went well, and what could have been better.

References:

Wikieducator.org

Web Books

Pdfcast.Org