Elements of the Communication Process

The Journey of a Message and Ways to Reduce Interference

Communication seems so natural and one generally assumes that there is no need of working on it. It is so untrue. Most fights or arguments with spouses, children or friends are the result of bad communication. How much of an argument is caused by ineffective communication? How much of what is said is taken in the wrong context? How much of the meaning was changed or lost? How much was totally misunderstood or came out wrong? All of those are examples of broken communication.

Communication Process

Communication is a process and as such contains many elements susceptible of defect. Here are the elements of the communication process (see picture):

• A message: what need to be communicated
• A messenger: the person who has something to communicate
• A receiver: the person who will receive the message
• Encoding: verbal and non-verbal convention of communication
• Decoding: reading by the receiver of the encoding done by the messenger
• Channel: the means of communication

This process works as follows: The messenger has something to communicate, a message. This message has an intent. The messenger will encode his message with words, behaviour and body language that he senses will help him to best communicate this message according to his intent. The message will go through a channel, a means of communication such as e-mail, face to face or phone conversation, letter, presentation. The receiver will then decode the message using conventions, cultural or contextual background, and language skills. The message he receives might or might not meet the intent of the messenger.

Reducing Interference

It seems a straightforward process, a message goes from point A to point B, but so much can go wrong at any stage of this process. When communication is broken it happens most often because interference occurs in the communication process. Here are some examples:

• The message can be unclear. If the messenger uses words unknown to the receiver, expressions typical of an area, slang or too many acronyms for example, the receiver might have trouble to decode the message.
• The state of mind of the messenger can influence the message. Anger, frustration, joy can all change the way the message will be perceived. The tone used to say a simple sentence can lend tons of meaning, as well as the body language accompanying the words. These play a role at the receiving end of the process as well. If in a bad mood, the receiver might perceive what is being said in a different way than when in a good mood, for example.
• If the wrong channel is used for the content and intent of the message they might get lost. For example, when a supervisor asks one of his employees to come and see him in his office, the message might not be perceived the same if communicated in person or through a note left on the employee’s desk.

Those are only a few examples and they all need to be taken into consideration when communicating. Being aware of all the steps in the communication process, and of the numerous possibilities for interference at each step, is important for effective communication.