COMMUNICATION: CONCEPTS & PROCESS

Unit I: [Introduction to Communication]

1. Communication: Concept, Definition, Elements and Process
2. Types of Communication
3. 7 C’s of Communication
4. Barriers to Communication

TOPIC-1 Communication: Concepts, Definition, Elements and process

INTRODUCTION (What is communication-concepts, definition)

Communication is the exchange of perceptions, messages or information through speeches, visuals, signals, symbols,
writings or attitudes. It is defined as ‘the passing of information and understanding from one person to another’. The
English word ‘communication’ is derived from the Latin noun ,’communis’ and Latin verb ‘communicare’ which means
to share or make common. The closest Indian language equivalent to the original concept of communication is
’sadharanikaran’.

Communication is the process of sending and receiving information. It is the vehicle through which we develop,
maintain and improve human relationship. Communication, in its simplest sense, is a human relationship, involving
two or more persons who come together to share, to dialogue and to commune, or just to be together say at a
festival or a time of mourning. Communication is thus not so much an act or even a process but rather social and
cultural togetherness’.

Definitions

• “Communication is a process which increases commonality – but also requires elements of

commonality for it to occur at all” – Dennis Mc Quail.

• “Communication is transfer of information from one person to another, whether or not it elicits
confidence. But the information transferred must be understandable to the receiver” –G.G. Brown.

• “Communication is the intercourse by words, letters or messages”- Fred G. Meyer.

• It is the transmission of commonly meaningful information. It is a process that involves the

exchange of behaviours – Luther

• Communication is the process of meaningful interaction among human beings. It is he process by

which, meanings are perceived and understandings are reached among the human beings – Dr McFarland

THE FACT OF COMMUNICATION

Communication is a fact in the world of human beings, animals, and plants, and is an ever-continuing process going
on all the times. It is necessary to human, animal and vegetables existence as life itself. Halt communication and the
life processes wither and die.

THE NEED FOR COMMUNCATION (Why do we communicate)

A human being’s need for communication is a strong and as basic as the need to at, sleep, and love.it is both an
individual and a social need.
 WE COMMUNICATE TO:

• INFORM REVEAL LEARN CONFIRM ADVISE CRITICISE

• PERSUADE ACCEPT MOTIVATE TEACH CONFUSE BUY

• AFFIRM CLARIFY COUNSEL SELL CONCEAL

FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION

Communication is the heart of all social action and interaction. It functions as a tool that creates understanding and
strengthens collective living among people. The primary function of communication is to inform, educate, Persuade
and entertain.

1. Information function – to find out or explain something. Information is power.

2. Education/instruction function- to educate or instruct. It provides skill, knowledge, expertise to the

people and helps them operate them in a better way.

3. Persuasion function- to persuade, persuasion helps people in reaching decision. It is also possible
that one may resort to persuasion with a bad motive.

4. Debate & Discussion function leads to building of viewpoints and opinion.

5. Entertainment function- communication provides boundless entertainment to people.

6. Integration function- communication is a great integrating tool. Cultures, individuals, groups learn to
appreciate each other.

CHARACTERISTICS/FEATURES OF COMMUNICATIONS ARE GIVEN BELOW:

1. Two or More Persons: The first important characteristic of communication is that there must be a
minimum number of two persons because no single individual can have an exchange of ideas with himself. A
listener is necessary to receive one’s ideas. Therefore, there must be at least two persons-the sender of
information and the receiver.
2. Exchange of Ideas: Communication cannot be thought of in the absence of exchange of ideas. In order to
complete the process of communication there must be an exchange of ideas, orders, feelings, etc., among two or
more than two persons.
3. Mutual Understanding: Mutual understanding means that the receiver should receive the information in
the same spirit with which it is being given. In the process of communication, it is more important to understand
the information rather than carry it out.
4. Direct and Indirect Communication: It is not necessary in communication that the receiver and giver of
information should be face-to-face with each other. Communication can be both direct and indirect. Direct
communication means face-to-face conversation, while indirect communication is through other means.
5. Continuous Process: Communication is an endless process, as is the case with business where the manager
continuously assigns work to his subordinates, tries to know the progress of the work and gives directions.
6. Use of Words as well as Symbols: There can be many means of communication, like the written, the oral
and symbolic. The examples of symbolic communication are the ringing of bell for closing a school or a college,
 saying something by the movement of the neck, showing anger or disapproval through eyes, giving some decision
by the raising of a finger in cricket, etc.

ELEMENTS IN COMMUNICATION & HOW IT FUNCTIONS (IT’S PROCESS)

The communication process is the guide toward realizing effective communication. It is through the communication
process that the sharing of a common meaning between the sender and the receiver takes place. Individuals that
follow the communication process will have the opportunity to become more productive in every aspect of their
profession. Effective communication leads to understanding.

Communication is a process of exchanging verbal and non-verbal 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.

Communication Process

The main components/elements 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. The sender chooses the
message to communicate within a context.
2. Sender / Encoder - Sender / Encoder is a person who sends the message. A sender makes use of
symbols (words or graphic or visual aids) to convey the message and produce the required response. For instance
- a training manager conducting training for new batch of employees. Sender may be an individual or a group or
an organization. The views, background, approach, skills, competencies, and knowledge of the sender have a
great impact on the message. 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. It must be
ensured that the main objective of the message is clear.
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. The choice of appropriate medium of communication is essential for making the message effective and
correctly interpreted by the recipient. 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 / Decoder - Recipient / Decoder 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, their responsiveness to the message, and the reliance of encoder on decoder.
6. Feedback - Feedback is the main component of communication process as it permits the sender to
analyze the efficacy of the message. It helps the sender in confirming the correct interpretation of message by the
decoder. 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.
 TOPIC -2 TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION-Communication takes place at all the levels between peoples and between institutions, through
many channels both inter-personal and mediated. It encompasses a multitude of experiences, actions and events, as
well as a whole variety of happening and meanings, and technologies too.

Thus, a conference or a meeting or even a Mela or procession is a ‘communication event’, newspapers, radio, video
and television are ‘communication media’ phones pagers and email are ‘communication technologies’ and journalist,
advertisers, public relations personnel, and even camera crew and news –readers are ‘communication professionals’.

How do we communicate?

We communicate verbally and non-verbally.

 Spoken/oral or Verbal Communication: face-to-face, telephone, radio or television and other

media.
 Written Communication or Verbal Communication: letters, e-mails, books, magazines, the Internet
or via other media.
 Non-Verbal Communication: body language, gestures, how we dress or act - even our scent.

 Visualizations: graphs and charts, maps, logos and other visualizations can communicate messages

For communication to be effective we also have to be able to understand what others are trying to communicate to
us.

 Understanding language
 Hearing
 Ability to see
 Reading skills
 Ability to recognise and use information
 Memory to recall and understand information

And the levels/types of communication are intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Group communication, Public
communication, and Mass communication.

NOTE-Refer FORMS OF COMMUNICATION notes (handouts)

TOPIC-3 EFFECTIVENESS OF COMMUNICATION -7 C’s

INTRODUCTION-

Communication is the process of sharing information, thoughts and feelings between people through speaking,
writing or body language. Effective communication extends the concept to require that transmitted content is
received and understood by someone in the way it was intended. The goals of effective communication include
creating a common perception, changing behaviors and acquiring information. There are 7 C’s of effective
communication which are applicable to both written as well as oral communication. These are as follows:
1. Completeness - The communication must be complete. It should convey all facts required by the
audience. The sender of the message must take into consideration the receiver’s mind set and convey the
message accordingly. A complete communication has following features:
 Complete communication develops and enhances reputation of an organization.
 Moreover, they are cost saving as no crucial information is missing and no additional cost is
incurred in conveying extra message if the communication is complete.
 A complete communication always gives additional information wherever required. It leaves
no questions in the mind of receiver.
 Complete communication helps in better decision-making by the audience/readers/receivers
of message as they get all desired and crucial information.
 It persuades the audience.
2. Conciseness - Conciseness means wordiness, i.e, communicating what you want to convey in least
possible words without forgoing the other C’s of communication. Conciseness is a necessity for effective
communication. Concise communication has following features:
 It is both time-saving as well as cost-saving.
 It underlines and highlights the main message as it avoids using excessive and needless
words.
 Concise communication provides short and essential message in limited words to the
audience.
 Concise message is more appealing and comprehensible to the audience.
 Concise message is non-repetitive in nature.
3. Consideration - Consideration implies “stepping into the shoes of others”. Effective communication
must take the audience into consideration, i.e, the audience’s view points, background, mind-set, education level,
etc. Make an attempt to envisage your audience, their requirements, emotions as well as problems. Ensure that
the self-respect of the audience is maintained and their emotions are not at harm. Modify your words in message
to suit the audience’s needs while making your message complete. Features of considerate communication are as
follows:
 Emphasize on “you” approach.
 Empathize with the audience and exhibit interest in the audience. This will stimulate a
positive reaction from the audience.
 Show optimism towards your audience. Emphasize on “what is possible” rather than “what is
impossible”. Lay stress on positive words such as jovial, committed, thanks, warm, healthy, help, etc.
4. Clarity - Clarity implies emphasizing on a specific message or goal at a time, rather than trying to
achieve too much at once. Clarity in communication has following features:
 It makes understanding easier.
 Complete clarity of thoughts and ideas enhances the meaning of message.
 Clear message makes use of exact, appropriate and concrete words.
5. Concreteness - Concrete communication implies being particular and clear rather than fuzzy and
general. Concreteness strengthens the confidence. Concrete message has following features:
 It is supported with specific facts and figures.
 It makes use of words that are clear and that build the reputation.
 Concrete messages are not misinterpreted.
6. Courtesy - Courtesy in message implies the message should show the sender’s expression as well as
should respect the receiver. The sender of the message should be sincerely polite, judicious, reflective and
enthusiastic. Courteous message has following features:
  Courtesy implies taking into consideration both viewpoints as well as feelings of the receiver
of the message.
 Courteous message is positive and focused at the audience.
 It makes use of terms showing respect for the receiver of message.
 It is not at all biased.
7. Correctness - Correctness in communication implies that there are no grammatical errors in
communication. Correct communication has following features:
 The message is exact, correct and well-timed.
 If the communication is correct, it boosts up the confidence level.
 Correct message has greater impact on the audience/readers.
 It checks for the precision and accurateness of facts and figures used in the message.
 It makes use of appropriate and correct language in the message.

Awareness of these 7 C’s of communication makes you an effective communicator.

CONCLUSION

The communication process is the perfect guide toward achieving effective communication. When followed properly,
the process can usually assure that the sender's message will be understood by the receiver.

TOPIC-4 BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

The communication process seems simple, it in essence is not. Certain barriers present themselves throughout the
process. Those barriers are factors that have a negative impact on the communication process.

Note- Barriers to communication notes are in -Book, Mass communication in India by Keval.J.Kumar(pg 26 to31,this
is according to old edition )
Note-Do learns the above mentioned chart of barriers to communication as well.

CONCLUSION

Communication can best be summarized as the transmission of a message from a sender to a receiver in an
understandable manner. The sharing of meaningful information between two or more people with the goal of the
receiver understanding the sender's intended message.