ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION

 ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION (COMMUNICATION CYCLE)

The communication process is the inter-relationship between several inter-dependent components as follows:

1. SENDER: The communication process begins when the sender feels the need for it and the idea generates in his mind. Sender is the source of the message and wants to transmit it for some purpose. The sender may be a speaker, a writer or an actor. The sender must identify, analyse, and sequentially arrange the idea before transmitting to the receiver.

2. MESSAGE: a message means what is being communicated. It may be verbal or non verbal. Message is the heart of communication.

3. ENCODING: The sender puts his ideas into words, symbols, pictures or gestures which the other person can understand. This process is called encoding.

4. CHANNEL OR MEDIUM: channel connects the sender and receiver. Medium is different from channel. Eg. A letter is a medium whereas a mail service is a channel. Speech is the medium whereas loudspeaker is the channel.

5. RECEIVER: The person or group to whom the message is directed is called a receiver. He represents the destination for the message. He may be a listener, a reader or a viewer. Like the sender, he has an image of himself and of the sender.

6. DECODING: The receiver translates the words and symbols used in the message, into ideas and interprets it to obtain its meaning. This is called decoding. If the receiver is familiar with the codes used and his perception is good he will derive more or less the same meaning as meant by the sender. The message must be accurately reproduced by the receiver’s mind.

7. FEEDBACK:  After deriving meaning, the receiver reacts to the message. If the feedback is in tune with the message, communication is said to be effective. Feedback is the key element in communication as it is the only way of judging the effectiveness of the message.