COMMUNICATION PROCESS: ELEMENTS, STAGES AND EXAMPLE - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The communication process refers to the transmission of information or message from a sender to a receiver through a channel, overcoming the barriers that affect its rhythm. Therefore, they are the steps that must be taken to achieve successful communication. Communication is a process, and if this process breaks down, then it will fail.

The communication process is cyclical, as it begins with the sender and ends with the sender himself in the form of feedback. It is carried out up, down and laterally throughout the organization.

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This procedure as such must be a continuous and dynamic interaction, affecting and being affected by many variables. It consists of certain steps where each one constitutes the essential of effective communication.

Bidirectional process

Communication is a dynamic two-way process where a message in the form of ideas, thoughts, feelings or opinions is transmitted between two or more people with the intention of creating a shared understanding.

This begins when the sender conceptualizes his ideas, and then transmits the message to the receiver through a channel, who in turn provides feedback in the form of some message or signal, within a given period of time.

Therefore, communication is called the act of transmitting the desired information and the understanding of one person with another. The term communication is derived from the Latin word "communis", which means to share.

Elements

- Issuer

The sender or communicator is the person who starts the conversation and has conceptualized an idea with the intention of transmitting it to others.

The very basis of the development of communication is established by the person who transmits or sends the message. He is the sender of the message, which can be a thought, an idea, an image, a symbol, a report or an order, as well as postures, gestures and even a momentary smile.

Therefore, the sender is the initiator of the message to be transmitted. After having generated the idea, information, etc., the sender encodes it in such a way that the receiver can understand it well.

- Message

The message is known as the information conveyed by words, such as in speech and communications, in addition to signs, images or symbols, depending on the situation, and the nature and importance of the information to be sent.

The message is the heart of communication. It is the content that the sender wants to transmit to the receiver.

It can be written, oral, symbolic, or non-verbal, such as body gestures, silence, sighs, sounds, or any other signal that triggers a receiver's response.

- Communication channel

Channel refers to the form or mode in which the message flows or is transmitted. It is the means of transmitting the message to the receiver. The message is transmitted through a channel that connects the sender with the receiver.

The means of communication can be speaking, writing, pointing, gesturing, etc. The message can be oral or written and can be transmitted through a memo, a computer, telephone, mobile, applications or televisions.

- Receiver

It is the person or group for whom the message is intended. Try to understand it in the best possible way so that the communication objective is achieved.

It can be a listener, a reader or a viewer. Any negligence on the part of the recipient may cause communication to be ineffective.

The degree to which the receiver decodes the message depends on his knowledge of the subject, his experience, trust and relationship with the sender.

The receiver is as important a factor in the communication process as is the sender, being the other end of the process.

You must be able to receive the message, having an active communication channel and where you avoid being distracted by other thoughts.

- Other elements

The communication process is not as smooth as it seems. From its transmission to its reception, the message can be interfered with or disturbed at any stage by many factors, known as barriers to effective communication.

Noise

It can be any type of interference that affects the message that is sent, received or understood.

It can be as literal as static on a telephone or radio line, or as far-fetched as misinterpreting a local custom.

Context

This is the setting and the situation in which the communication takes place. Like noise, context can have an impact on the exchange of information. The context can have a physical, social or cultural aspect.

For example, in a private conversation with a trusted friend, more personal information or details about the weekend would be shared than in a conversation with a coworker or in a meeting.

Stages

Development of the idea by the issuer

In this first stage, the communicator develops or conceptualizes an idea to be transmitted. It is also known as the planning stage, since in this phase the issuer plans the subject of communication.

Coding

Coding means converting or translating an idea into a perceptible form that can be communicated to others.

Therefore, encoding is placing the message that is transmitted in an appropriate medium, which can be verbal or non-verbal, depending on the situation, time, space, and the nature of the message to be sent.

The sender begins with the encoding process, where he uses certain words or non-verbal techniques such as body gestures, signs, symbols, etc., to convert the information into a message that will be communicated to the intended recipient.

Knowledge, skills, perception, background, aptitudes, etc. sender have a great impact on the success of the message.

Encryption is an important step in the communication process, as incorrect and inappropriate encryption can misrepresent the true intent of the communication process.

Message development

After encoding, the sender generates the message that can be transmitted to the receiver. The message can be oral, written, symbolic or non-verbal.

For example, when people speak, the message is speech. When people write a letter, the words and sentences are the message. When people cry, the message is crying.

Media selection

Once the sender has encoded his idea into a message, the next step is to select the appropriate channel or medium through which he wants to convey his message to the receiver.

The choice of medium depends on the interpersonal relationships between the receiver and the sender, and also on the urgency of the message being sent. Some of the most used communication channels are oral, virtual, written, sound and gestural.

It must be carefully selected for the message to be effective and to be correctly interpreted by the recipient.

Since each channel has its advantages and disadvantages, choosing it properly is paramount for effective communication.

Transmission of the message

In this step, the sender actually transmits the message through the chosen medium. In the communication cycle, the sender's task ends with the transmission of the message.

Receiving the message by the receiver

This stage simply involves the receipt of the sender's message by the receiver. The message can be received in the form of hearing it, seeing it, feeling it, etc.

Decoding

After receiving the message, the receiver interprets it, converts it into thoughts and tries to analyze and understand it in the best possible way.

Decoding refers to interpreting or converting the sent message into an intelligible language. It simply means understanding the message.

To do this, he processes it mentally in order to understand it. If you can't decode it, the message fails.

For example, sending a message in a foreign language that the receiver does not understand will likely result in a decoding error.

Feedback

It is the final step in the communication process. It refers to the response of the receiver regarding the message sent by the sender.

It increases the effectiveness of communication, since it allows the sender to know the effectiveness of his message. It is the essence of two-way communication. The receiver's response can be verbal or non-verbal.

Feedback is necessary to ensure that the message has been effectively encoded, sent, decoded and understood. That is, the receiver has correctly interpreted the message as intended by the sender. It is essential for communication to be effective and useful. Feedback analysis helps improve future messages.

Example

Brenda wants to remind her husband Roberto to stop by the store after work and buy milk for dinner. He forgot to ask her in the morning, so Brenda sends Roberto a reminder via WhatsApp.

He responds and then shows up at home with a gallon of milk under his arm. However, something is wrong: Roberto bought chocolate milk and Brenda wanted normal milk.

In this example, the issuer is Brenda. The receiver is Roberto. The medium is a text message. The code is the Spanish language they are using. The message itself is: "Remember the milk!"

In this case, the feedback is both direct and indirect. Roberto sends Brenda a picture of the milk from the store (direct) and then comes home with her (indirect).

However, Brenda did not see the sent photo of the milk because the message was not transmitted (noise) and Roberto did not think to ask her what kind of milk she wanted (context).

References

1. Shawn Grimsley (2018). What is the Communication Process? - Definition & Steps. Study. Taken from: study.com.
2. Business Jargons (2019). Communication Process. Taken from: businessjargons.com.
3. Tutorials Point (2019). Effective Communication – Process. Taken from: tutorialspoint.com.
4. The Business Communication (2019). What is communication process? Steps of communication process. Taken from: thebusinesscommunication.com.
5. Richard Nordquist (2019). The Basic Elements of the Communication Process. ThoughtCo. Taken from: thoughtco.com.
6. Smriti Chand (2019). 7 Major Elements of Communication Process. Your Article Library. Taken from: yourarticlelibrary.com.