Communication
is the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another;
it involves a sender transmitting an idea, information, or feeling to a
receiver .Effective communication occurs only if the receiver understands the
exact information or idea that the sender intended to transmit.
Communication
is a process
of exchanging verbal and nonverbal messages. It is a continuous process.
Pre-requisite of communication is a message. This message must be conveyed
through some medium to the recipient. It is essential that this message must be
understood by the recipient in same terms as intended by the sender. He must
respond within a time frame. Thus, communication is a two way process and is
incomplete without a feedback from the recipient to the sender on how well the
message is understood by him.
The
main components of communication process are as follows:
1.Context
- Communication is affected by the context in which it takes place. This
context may be physical, social, chronological or cultural. Every communication
proceeds with context.
2.
Sender is a person who sends the message. A sender makes use of symbols (words
or graphic or visual aids) to send the message and produce the required
response. The verbal and non-verbal symbols chosen are essential in
ascertaining interpretation of the message by the recipient in the same terms
as intended by the sender.
3. Message
- Message is a key idea that the sender wants to communicate. It is a sign that
elicits the response of recipient. Communication process begins with deciding
about the message to be conveyed.
4. Medium
- Medium is a means used to exchange / transmit the message. The sender must
choose an appropriate medium for transmitting the message else the message
might not be conveyed to the desired recipients. This choice of communication
medium varies depending upon the features of communication. For instance -
Written medium is chosen when a message has to be conveyed to a small group of
people, while an oral medium is chosen when spontaneous feedback is required
from the recipient as misunderstandings are cleared then and there.
5. Recipient
is a person for whom the message is intended / aimed / targeted. The degree to
which the decoder understands the message is dependent upon various factors
such as knowledge of recipient.
6. Feedback
is the main component of communication process as it permits the sender to
analyze the efficacy of the message. Feedback
may be verbal (through words) or non-verbal (in form of smiles, sighs, etc.).
It may take written form also in form of memos, reports, etc.
For more information see:
