The Communication Process - Essay Example

In this paper, I will explain the model of the communication process and describe its development and related variables that affect it. The Communication Process There are numerous definitions to the communication process. But one of the most excellent descriptions that capture its essence is that one provided by Reddy (2004). He explained that the process “involves the sender, the transmission of a message through a selected channel and the receiver” (14). The definition can be illustrated in the following figure: Fig.

1: The Communication Process What this means is that the process may involved the exchange of messages through speaking, signals, writing or behavior and may occur either as verbal or nonverbal (Marquis and Huston 2009, 443). According to Steinberg, there are three basic models of the communication process, emphasizing different aspects of communication and these are: linear, circular and transactional (Steinberg 2006, 17). Fundamentally, there are four elements involved, which must play their respective parts and interact in order for the process to be completed and become successful.

These are the sender, the message, the channel or medium and the receiver. The sender initiates the process by encoding or expressing his or her thoughts or ideas in such a way that they will be understood by the intended receiver of the message. The codified or expressed thought is now the message, which, for its part, is conveyed or transmitted through a channel. This variable is the platform used for the message and effectively links the sender and the receiver in the process. For example, if the message is written, the channel may be a letter through the post or through the email using a computer.

The receiver then receives the message and decodes it into his or her thoughts. After which, a message would then be conveyed in response, which is identified in the process as the feedback. Noise Noise is an element in the communication process. But unlike the other four, it is not an integral component, required to make the process complete or effective. This is because noise hampers communication. It affects the process negatively and could muddle a message so that it is not interpreted correctly or never understood at all.

Noise can literally be sound interference but it generally refers to the variables that disrupt the exchange of messages. For example, it can be the faulty encoding or decoding, personal biases of the people involved or their focus in the process, strong emotions such as fear and a host of other tangible and intangible variables. Feedback The significance of feedback, which is the final step in the process, rests on the fact that it is the only barometer to determine whether the process has been completed and effective.

It tells the sender of the message that the conveyed information was successfully received and decoded. Feedbacks assume many forms and may not resemble the nature of the message received. For example, a girl giggles after I told her that she is beautiful. The giggle is the feedback. Feedback also provides the mechanism to determine the nature of the noise involved and to correct the faulty process. Also, feedback may also suffer from the same noise by which a