Elements of Communication
COMMUNICATION- The process of human beings responding to the symbolic behavior of other persons.
-First Characteristic of Definition: Communication is a “Process.”
Communication is “Process” several reasons:
1.We do not communicate to other people, we communicate with other people.
To understand difference, we first need to talk about the components of communication:
-Sender, Receiver…
-Message Encoding, Message Decoding…
-Psychological Noise, Physiological Noise
-Communication Channels,
-AND Communication Environment.
Sender-The person or persons responsible for creating a message to be sent.
Ex. A teacher gives a lecture
A parent a child an instruction to follow
…All these people are sending messages.
Receiver- The person or persons who are receiving the created messages.
Ex. An student receives the teachers lecture
The students are the recipient of the teacher lecture…
Communication Channel- The medium a receiver uses to send his or her message.
**Channels may be verbal or nonverbal**
Ex. Speech is a channel…
Writing is a channel…
Non-verbal gestures are channels…
Voice Tones are channels…And so on.
Encoding- When a sender attempts to replicate his or her internal thoughts or feelings into some kind of external message medium for the sake of transmitting those thoughts or feelings to another person or persons.
It’s easy to tell if sender(teacher ) encodes message poorly because he or she say things like:
“That’s not what I meant to say,” or…
“That’s not what I mean,” or…
“What I really wanted to say was…” and so forth.
If teacher is a skilled “encoder,” we call him or her “articulate,” “well spoken,” or even “eloquent.”
And research has shown that good speakers are considered more trustworthy, intelligent, competent, and personable than poor speakers…
…even if speaker’s are saying exact same thing.
Obviously, there isn’t always a relationship between speaking well & intelligence & competency…
This phenomena -known as Halo Effect- refers to the fact that if people identify you as skilled in one area……They often will assume you are skilled in other areas as well.
Message Decoding- Occurs when the receiver attempts to ascertain the meaning of the sender’s message.
And figuring out what other people “mean” isn’t easy.
I’m sure all of us had times when we’ve had others become frustrated w/ us because we didn’t understand what they meant…
I’m sure we’ve all became frustrated w/ other people when they didn’t understand what we meant.
**There are several factors that prevent human beings from decoding other’s messages effectively…
Noise- Any force that interferes with effective communication.
Three types: External noise, physiological noise, psychological noise.
External Noise- Refers to any physical phenomenon that might impair a receiver’s ability to decode a message.
Physiological Noise- Involves biological factors in the receiver or sender that interfere with accurate reception.
Psychological Noise- Involves mental forces within a receiver or sender that might inhibit his or her ability to either encode or decode a message correctly.
Ex. If a receiver suffers from low-self esteem, might interpret a sincere compliment as sarcastic or condescending even though it wasn’t.
Environment- Fields of experience or cultural backgrounds that influence the way communicators encode and decode messages.
Now lets defined components of communication…Let’s get back to our definition of communication as a “process”
Essentially, defining communication as process means communication does not work linearly but circularly instead.
Communication in Interpersonal situations involves sending and receiving messages at the same time.
Ex. While I’m lecturing, you’re giving me nonverbal feedback about your opinion of the lecture:
Yawning, stretching, sleeping, nodding off, doodling in your notebook, etc.
teachers both sending and receiving messages at the same time!
Sometimes we consciously plan our communication…sometimes we don’t.
Misunderstandings occur when we assume all communication is planned.
Ex. If one of you yawns or nods off, you might be intentionally acting rudely…
…Or maybe you’re trying to be good listener, but are tired because you were up all night studying for another test.
If I jump to a conclusion about the reason for your yawning, I may end up unjustly punishing you in participation points department.
Sometimes our own unconscious communication has negative consequences for ourselves and the person we’re communicating with.
Ex. If your supervisor is instructing you and you fold your arms…
…He or she may interpret the arm folding as an act of defiance and become more stern in future when interacting with you…
…So you weren’t trying to be defiant, but your unconscious communication gave impression that you were.
The important lesson here is that most people assume messages are easily created and easily interpreted…but this is just not the case.
When we’re decoding each other’s messages…
…We have to remember that many factors are continually influencing our ability and intent when we’re encoding and decoding messages.
Miscommunication, resentment, anger and hostility often result in relationships when communicators unaware of influence factors have.
Bottom line: If you remember that communication is process…
…You’ll communicate more effectively because you’ll be aware of many factors involved in any given communication event:
You’ll be less likely to assume, less likely to rush judgment…
…More likely tailor your message to your audience correctly,
More likely to correctly encode and decode other’s messages.
Second aspect of our definition is that this class deals with HUMAN COMMUNICATION only.
Third, COMMUNICATION is “Symbolic.”
Symbols- Are things used to stand for or represent something else.
Symbols not limited to words; symbols include nonverbal displays or objects.
Ex. “Red light” symbolizes an order to “Stop.”
Colors “red, white, and blue” symbolize patriotism.
Wearing “Oakland Raiders Gear” symbolizes you can’t read and
probably abuse drugs…
*So symbols are anything that stands for something else.
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