ELEMENTS OF THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION

While the following is present in chapter 1, it is given in detail in this post for the convenience of students and friends.

Elements of the Process of Communication 

Communication works by exchanging information or messages. The process of communication involves a sender, a receiver and the message. This is the basic concept. However, to have a complete process of communication it need many elements. "The elements in the communication process determine the quality of communication. A problem in any one of these elements can reduce communication effectiveness" (Keyton, 2011).

Communication process thus involves the following basic elements: 

• Source/Sender
• Message
• Medium or Channel
• Receiver
• Feedback 
• Noise

SOURCE/ SENDER: The Sender is the individual who initiates the process of communication by sending a message or information. It is the sender who elicits a response from the recipient of the message or information. The process by which the translation of thoughts is done in order to send it as a message is called Encoding. The sender encodes the message in order to send it to a recipient. "Encoding is the performing and composing of communicative signs within the brain and then their external expression is speech." (Burton and Dimbleby, 1983:3)

MESSAGE: A sender sends the idea, concept or Information to another recipient. This is the message in the field of communication. It is the formulated content in the process of communication. Denis McQuail (1975) says that the simple way of regarding human communication is ‘to consider it as the sending from one person to another of meaningful messages’.

CHANNEL: When a sender sends message to a receiver, the Sender may choose a means for communicating or for transferring this message. The sender may use words, speech, gestures or tools. In the study of communication, these are called a medium or a channel. The primary medium is the human body; all other media are extensions of the body (McLuhan).

RECEIVER: Communication does not happen in Vacuum. The sender sends a message to a recipient of the message. There is a person who receives the message that was sent by the sender. This is the receiver. When the encoded message is re-translated into thoughts, by the receiver in order to understand what was sent by the sender, it is called Decoding. Decoding is basically the receiver decoding and understanding the information received. "Decoding is considered as the physical acceptance of external signals like hearing and understanding or the construction of meaning from those signals" (Burton and Dimbleby, 1983:3)
There may be times that a recipient may choose to refuse to accept the message. In this case, the message was sent, but the recipient responded negatively, however there was communication occuring. If however, there was no one to receive the message, then communication is incomplete.

FEEDBACK: A feedback in communication means the receiver’s response or reaction to the message sent by the sender.

The response of the receiver can further carry on the process of communication. A feedback also helps the sender to understand if the recipient has received the message as desired by the sender.

NOISE: A Noise or Barrier includes anything that impedes the message from being fully received and understood by the receiver. The concept or term ‘Noise’ was introduced in communication theory in 1940's by Shannon and Weaver while working on a mathematical model in Bell Laboratories. While, this term was coined initially as a disturbance in the receptivity of signals by Shannon and Weaver, researchers later realised that in the field of communication 'barrier or noise' could be external or internal.

There is sharing of information or message transmission between the sender and the receiver. The sender sends a message to a receiver. This message could be sent through any medium. The receiver receives the message and interprets it. These terms are technically defined below:

• The sender makes a message based on what  one wants to communicate. it could be a concept or an idea. This process is called 'Encoding'.
• After encoding, the sender transmits this message through the medium.
• The medium may vary based on how the sender wants to send the message to the receiver.
• The recipient receives the message and starts deciphering or understanding it. This process is called 'decoding'.
• The recipient further gives a reaction or a response. This is called a feedback. This feedback could be direct or through the use of a medium and channel.
• This is gradually followed by the decoding of the feedback received.  
• The concept of 'Noise' includes any element that causes disruption or disturbance in the process of communication. It could also be anything that distorts the message.
• If feedback does not occur for any given reason, it is called one-way communication.

Communication always occurs in a context. Some reseacrh scholars include Context while discussing the basic elements of Communication.

CONTEXT: There is always a context in which a sender sends the message and the receiver receives it. The are both influenced by the context they are in while Communication occurs. The information sent by the sender depends upon the age, background, economic status, and cultural factors that define the lifestyle of the sender. On the other hand, the recipient receiver the message based on the cultural background and lifestyle that the receiver has grown in. 

Context is an important factor in the field of Communication. It is essential to know the background of the receiver for communication to occur smoothly. For instance, a joke in Western Countries may be considered as highly offensive in Asian or Arab countries. The reason being the cultural context of each country being entirely different. 

The above mentioned are the basic elements a students can normally refer to as the elements of Communication. But Scholars always go a step further. 

Today, the field of communication includes different elements of Mass Communication. In such a case, Communication Scholar, Uma Narula presents seven elements in the process of Communication. In her book, 'Dynamics of Mass Communication: Theory and practice', She summarises the process of communication in the following way- 'The essential elements are: there is interaction so there is sender/s and receiver/s within a context. There is a message to be conveyed through a  channel. The object of the interaction is to have intended or unintended effects on receivers (targeted audience), to assess the effectiveness, there should be loops of feedback to the sender and receiver. The need for communication channels, messages and audience for the focused issues varies and develops over time.

Thus, communicator, objective, audience, message, channel and effects, feedback loops, are the essential seven elements of Communication process.' (Narula, 2006)

P.S: The Books and Online materials have been mentioned for the convenience of the students. You may read them online, or read the books available on the mentioned authors from your library for further study or buy the same online.