THE COMMUNICATION CrCLE
Process
The process of communication has the following basic components that operate
within a particular context: sender, encoding, medium/message, decoding
receiver and feedback. Fig. 1.1 illustrates a basic model of the communication
process.
Message
Encoding media Decoding
Communication
Ideas Sender Receiver ldeas
process
Decoding Feedback Encoding
media
Sender
The sender is the initiator of the communication process. S/he is the person who
feels the need to communicate and express certain ideas or thoughts in her/his
mind, prompted by the context in which the need to communicate arises. The
prompting could also be some external and/or internal stimuli. The sender's com-
municative environment must not only have reasons to communicate but must
also have the medium in which the ideas or thoughts could be encoded. The choice
of medium is guided by both availability of the opportunity of use of that medium,
but more importantly that there is a sharing of access to that medium by the re-
ceiver.
For example, the sender may choose to speak to a distanced receiver if s/he has
access to a telephone but only if the receiver too has a phone. 5/he may speak in
English if the receiver understands that language. The sender must choose the
appropriate words to encode the thought so that the receiver can understand the
message. The encoding must convey the proper meaning so that the desired feed-
back can be elicited from the receiver. To a great extent, the sender as originator and
transmitter of the message has the responsibility of appropriate encoding keeping
in mind the several circumstances that surround the communication process.
Encoding
Encoding is the process by which the senders translate their thoughts/ideas into
appropriate messages, using the medium that is shared between the sender and
the receiver. Encoding is guided by the sender s own communication skills as also
her own estimate of the receiver's communication skills of comprehension. Encod
ing is in a way, a method of providing a structured message using shared codes of
communication (medium) that may be verbal or nonverbal. It is like giving sub-
stance to the abstraction of ideas, like
or
providing logical
codes of language sys-
tems to the unformulated ideas in the mind. The effectiveness of encoding deter-
mines the quality of the message that ultimately gets tested by the receiver's com
prehension of the message.
Medium/Message
The encoding prepares the message in a particular medium that would enable the
receiver to decode and understand the original idea that the sender wanted to con-
vey. The medium is a system of codes and signs that have a somewhat determin-
able meaning system that is shared between the sender and the receiver. The trans
ference of message must
necessarily depend on some medium, or else the message
can neither be encoded nor sent.
The message is like water and the medium (words, gestures, signs, etc.) is the
container in which the message is to be transferred. In addition to the medium, the
is sent through a 'channelr. To use the image of water again, channel
message also
(telephone, leter, computer, etc.) is like the water pipe that conveys water (mes-
rom medium is determined by the requirements of
sage) point
one
to another. The
the message, the availability of channels, and the communicative skills and
circumstances of the receiver.
Decoding
Once
the message reaches the receiver, it its communicative purpose
can serve
only if it is understood. Decoding is this process of comprehending the sense and
meaning of the message so that it registers in the mind of the receiver as an under
standable idea. Decodingdepends on the 'medium' skills of the receiver as also on
of of sender.
the quality encoding the the reception of the message is better
Further,
if there is no or a few interferences in the transnmittal. Interferences or'noise', as it is
referred to the reduces the quality of the incoming
in oral communicative context,
message and may lead to faulty decoding.
It may be remembered that there is always a possibility of transmission losses
that occur when a message travels. One reason is that the meaning intended in the
process of encoding may not be the same as in decoding. Misinterpretations often
occur due to
inadequate knowledge of the code. Interference may add further
losses to the decoding process.
Receive
The receiver should be receptive to the message, that is, s/he should be alert, atten
to multiple and perceptive particularly to the nonverbal media that
tive signals verbal medium. In the case of oral communication, the
often accompanies the
receiver must listen with care, since the sound signals exist only momentarily. The
receiver's cooperation in the communication process is essential, or else the
exchange itself is at stake.
The receiver's skill of comprehension of the message is another important
tor in the success of the process. The sender and receiver must share the medium of
fac
exchange and attach similar set of meanings to the words and symbols in their
respective encoding and decoding Avoiding ambiguity is another principle that
helps the message to be decoded properly. Often, a mix of media helps in eliminat-
ing misunderstanding, for example, when body language conveys meaning along
side oral communication.
Feedback
The
communication cycle remainsisincomplete in the absence of feedback. The
receiver's
sender.
response to the message then encoded feedback message for the
as a
becomes, in effect, reversal of the communication
The receiver's feedback a
process where the receiver becomes the sender and the sender becomes the
The message allows the sender to
receiver.
has
feedback whether the receiver
assess
the message and whether the message has had the desired impact.
understood
In case of doubt by the receiver, s/he may also ask for further clarification of some
parts of the original message. Even silence is a kind of feedback as a certain mes-
sage does get conveyed in the process.
There are, of course, exceptions: the communication process does not allow for
feedback as in the case of one-way communication, for example, in the case of
memos, newsletters and announcements. In such cases, there is always a risk of the
intended message not being understood by the receiver. In the workplace,
managers may have difficulty in assessing the effectiveness of their communica
tion in the absence of feedback.