Basic Elements Of Communication
Simply, we can define communication as “sharing of ideas or feelings with others.” Communication takes places when one person transmits information and understanding to another person. There is a communication when you respond or listen to someone. Movements of lips, the wave of hands or the wink of an eye may convey more meaning than even written or spoken words. The basic elements of communication process include communicator, communicatee, message, channel and feedback.
- Communicator is the sender, speaker, issuer or writer, who intends to express or send out a message.
- Communicatee is the receiver of the message for whom the communication is meant. The communicatee receives the information, order or message.
- Message, which is also known as the subject matter of this process, i.e., the content of the letter, speech, order, information, idea, or suggestion.
- Communication channel or the media through which the sender passes the information and understanding to the receiver. It acts as a connection between the communicator and the communicatee, i.e., the levels of communication or relationships that exist between different individuals or departments of an organization.
- Feedback, which is essential to make communication, a successful one. It is the effect, reply or reaction of the information transmitted to the communicatee.
Firstly, the communicator develops an exact idea about concepts, beliefs or data that he wants to convey. Then he translates the idea into words, symbols or some other form of message which he expects the receiver to understand. The communicator picks out an appropriate medium for transmitting the message. The message is then received by the communicatee. The communicatee acts upon the message as he has understood it. Finally, the effectualness of communication is assessed through response or feedback. If the communication brings in the desired changes in the actions, it is said to be successful communication.
- Physical (time, environment, comfort, needs, physical medium)
- Cultural (ethnic, religious, and social differences)
- Perceptional (viewing what is said from your own mindset)
- Motivational (mental inertia)
- Experiential (lack of similar experience)
- Emotional (personal feelings at the moment)
- Linguistic (different languages or vocabulary)
- Non-verbal (non-word messages)
- Competition (noise, doing other things besides listening)
- Words (we assign a meaning to a word often because of culture -- note the difference in the meaning of "police" (contrast Berrien Springs versus Benton Harbor or any inner city perspective) or "boy" (contrast white male with black male perspectives)
- Context (high / low)
- Purpose (example: note the difference in communication between men versus women; for men it's report-talk versus rapport-talk or information versus bonding
- Mode (differences in way a message is sent). Note the black versus white modes:
| Black | White |
| High keyed Argument Spontaneous Boasting Person Oriented | Low keyed Discussion Controlled / Self-Restrained Understanding Task Oriented |
| Blacks perceive whites as detached, devious, impersonal, condescending, hypocritical, avoiding eye contact, and too silent | Whites perceive blacks as aggressive, over-emotional, angry, confrontational, interruptive, too personal, showboating |
- Gestures (misunderstood gestures are a major barrier see discussion on non-verbal language)
- Variations in language – accent, dialect
- Slang - jargon - colloquialism
- Different forms or reasons for verbal interaction
- Dueling – seeing who can get the upper hand (playing the dozens)
Repartee conversation – taking short turns rather than monologue
Ritual conversation – standard replies with little meaning to words themselves (i.e. most US greetings)
Self-disclosure. The level of self-disclosure is culturally determined. Not all cultures wish to give personal information; some want to do business without knowing the other person while others insist on full knowledge first.
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