Communication can be defined in many ways. It can be a process of expressing ideas or exchanging information. It can also be a process of transaction or negotiation of messages toward the understanding of all the parties involved. Nonetheless, communication is a process; thus, it involves various elements and a series of actions performed to reach a goal.

The following are examples of communication situations:

What is the goal of each communication situation? How are these communication situations similar? What makes each one different?

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Models of Communication

The process of communication can be explained through the various models of communication constructed by experts through the years.

Linear Model

The linear model presents a straight path of relaying information. It is one-directional, which means that information from a source or sender is conveyed directly to the receiver. Consider a speaker delivering a speech in front of an audience. The speaker is the source and he or she conveys his or her message directly to the audience, which is the receiver of the message.

The concept of a straight path of relaying information was first proposed by Aristotle and later on expounded by various scientists and communication experts. Eventually, Claude Shannon (a mathematician and an electronic engineer) and Warren Weaver (a scientist and a mathematician) introduced an important concept in the linear model of communication-noise, or physical disturbances, such as environment and people, that hinder the sending of the message to the receiver. Shannon and Weaver explained that noise makes the sending of the message difficult; thus, it becomes a barrier to effective communication. The Shannon-Weaver model was primarily used in technical communication, or the process of communication that conveys scientific, engineering, or other technical information. This is one of the earliest models of communication that shows the linear movement of message from a source to a destination. There was already a feedback mechanism introduced; however, the feedback exists in its technical sense only. Study the Shannon-Weaver communication model in figure 1.1. Notice how the feedback is merely shown as an arrow and not necessarily detailing the process, which makes the model still linear in nature. There was no deeper explanation yet as to how the destination becomes a source and undergoes the process, which later models would introduce.

Fig. 1.1 The Shannon-Weaver communication model

Source: https://www.businesstopia.net/communication/shannon-and-weaver-model-communication

Later on, a communications professor and author David Berlo developed another model that indicates that a source encodes a message before sending it and the receiver decodes it before receiving it. This model identifies four key elements of the communication process: source, message, channel, and receiver. His model is called the SMCR model of communication, which is shown in figure 1.2.

4. Receiver – The receiver is the one who receives the message. The receiver’s interpretation and reception of the message are influenced by the same factors that influence the source of the message.

Fig. 1.2 Berlo’s sender-message-channel-receiver (SMCR) model of communication

Source: https://www.communicationtheory.org/berlos-smcr-model-of-communication/

Mass media, especially TV and radio, are good examples of the linear model of communication. The message that comes from a broadcast travels through airwaves in a straight path going to the receiver, who is the person watching or listening. In this example, noise, such as intermittent signals from the channel that transmits the airwaves, will adversely affect the success of the transmission of the message.

Shannon and Weaver emphasized the role of noise as a barrier in communication. Meanwhile, Berlo introduced the idea that the knowledge, attitude, communication skills, and sociocultural system of the source and the receiver affect how they respectively encode and decode the message. These concepts were used by later models of communication to further explain the nature of communication.

Interactive Model

The interactive model takes the feedback from the receiver into consideration. Thus, the message in this model originates from two sources: the message from the source and the feedback from the receiver. When the receiver gives feedback, he or she becomes the source. Meanwhile, the original source becomes the receiver of the feedback. Your everyday conversations with friends are good examples of the interactive model—one gives a message, the other receives it, and then gives feedback accordingly.

Wilbur Schramm, an authority in mass communication, introduced the interactive model in 1954. This was groundbreaking at that time because it introduced the concept of the communicators’ “fields of experience.” Field of experience refers to the cultural background and other frames of reference that an individual may bring into the interaction. Schramm also took context into account. Context refers to the setting in which the communication situation takes place. Study Schramm’s model of communication in figure 1.3.

Fig. 1.3 Schramm’s model of communication

Communicators bring their respective fields of experience to the interaction. Their messages, as well as the way they send and interpret them, are influenced by their fields of experience. In order to communicate, the communicators’ fields of experience must overlap because this indicates they have common knowledge and experiences. The more they have in common, the more their fields of experience overlap. The bigger this overlapping field is, the more easily they interact with each other. The more they interact, the more they know about each other and the more experiences they share. Consequently, this enlarges their shared field of experience.

Consider the following situation. Your teacher asked you to pair off with a classmate and come up with a performance or project for the school program. In this instance, the context of the communication situation is a pair work for a school project. Given this context, you and your partner will exchange ideas on how to accomplish the given task. You talk, he or she reacts, and vice versa. The way you both speak and the ideas you both share reflect both of your cultural backgrounds, knowledge, and experiences.

The interactive model shows communication as a give-take-give interaction. You speak and the other person listens; in turn, the other person speaks and you listen. The path, therefore, is not linear but circular.

Transactional Model

The transactional model was developed by communication experts such as Dean Barnlund who considered the concept of noise and the characteristics of the source and receiver. In addition, this model gives emphasis on feedback. The transactional model presents communication as a two-way process in which communicators are constantly sending and receiving messages.

This model of communication is commonly observed in interpersonal communication or where one person communicates with another person. For example, observe how a buyer haggles with a vendor for the price of fish in a wet market. The buyer asks for the price, and the vendor responds. The buyer mentions a lower price, and the vendor either accepts or declines. The negotiation continues until the vendor accepts the buyer’s price or until the buyer either agrees to the final price set by the vendor or decides to buy somewhere else.

In the preceding example, the buyer and the vendor are both sources and receivers of messages. They construct messages based on their respective backgrounds. The buyer might ask for a lower price because he or she wants to stick to a budget, while the vendor would like to keep the selling price as high as possible in order to earn more profit. Moreover, the communication environment where the communication situation occurs must also be considered. There could be other people in the market bargaining for goods with other vendors or buyers. There could also be other people communicating with the same vendor. Thus, noise is present in the whole communication environment and affects the communication process. Figure 1.4 depicts the transactional model of communication.

Fig. 1.4 Transactional model of communication

According to Barnlund, people do not simply send and receive messages and send them back again. Instead, they send and receive messages simultaneously and build shared meanings during the interaction. Furthermore, the channel, the environment, the communicators themselves and their shared meanings, and even noise are not just elements involved in the communication process—they are part of the message.

In the transactional model, noise refers to more than just something that takes place in the channel. Instead, it is found or it occurs at any part of or any point in the process. Noise could be found in the source, the encoding process, the channel, the decoding process, the receiver, and the feedback, among others.

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Beyond Walls 1.1 Read and Answer

Communication Breakdown and Noise

Breakdowns in the communication process occur from time to time. A breakdown in communication occurs when the message or the feedback is not sent or received properly—at least in the way that the source intends—or is not received by the concerned party altogether. An example of communication breakdown is when your phone conversation with someone is cut off just as you are about to tell them the important details of your message. Another example of communication breakdown is when you cannot clearly understand the salient points of your teacher’s lecture because your seatmates are distracting you.

Many of the causes of communication breakdown can be classified as noise. Noise is the technical term used to refer to all the possible barriers to effective communication. Noise may be physical, psychological, physiological, or semantic.

Physical noise comes from the environment (e.g., extraneous noises, white noise or a hissing background sound, unbearable weather, a distracting visual aid, among others). Psychological noise originates from the emotional state, mental state, and psychological makeup of a person (e.g., depression, anger, suspicion, paranoia, biases, among others). Physiological noise pertains to bodily conditions that compromise the ability of a person to send or receive messages (e.g., hunger, stomachache, among others). Semantic noise refers to anything related to the meaning of words that distorts or masks a message and confuses the listener (e.g., a speaker’s use of a foreign language, a listener’s limited vocabulary, differing interpretations of the meaning of a word, among others).

Consider a classroom scenario in which you and your classmates are listening to a math lecture. Physical noise may be the voices of your seatmates chatting with one another; while psychological noise is the other things you think of while listening to the lecture such as your quiz in your next subject. Physiological noise is the bodily condition you feel that makes you lose concentration. This condition can be hunger, headache, body pain, and so on. Semantic noise refers to the language and how well you understand it. If the mathematical jargons are unfamiliar to you, it will be difficult for you to understand the lecture.

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Beyond Walls 1.2 Apply It in Real Life

Cultural Sensitivity in Communication

Cultural sensitivity is the awareness that people have varying cultures and that the similarities and differences of these cultures affect the values, behavior, and learning of people. Cultural sensitivity is something that helps people accept or tolerate one another despite varying beliefs, moral codes, and points of view. It also helps people live together in relative peace.

The lack of cultural sensitivity (or cultural insensitivity), therefore, leads to a misunderstanding or conflict. In communication, cultural insensitivity is a type of psychological noise that interferes with or distorts messages and causes communication breakdown. Take for instance a group discussion in which the participants have different nationalities and cultures. If one or two members of the group are culturally insensitive, there is a high probability that the participants will end up arguing against one another. In turn, this will lead to disagreements.

Pair off with a seatmate and think of two other instances when cultural insensitivity may cause a breakdown in communication. Share them in class.

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Beyond Walls 1.3 Apply It in Real Life

Verbal and Nonverbal Cues

Communication is carried out through verbal or nonverbal cues. Verbal cues refer to spoken words that are used to share messages between persons. Meanwhile, nonverbal cues are behavior and elements of speech that transmit meaning aside from the words themselves. Nonverbal cues include pitch, speed, tone, and volume of voice; gestures and facial expressions; posture and stance; proximity to the participants; eye movements and contact; and even clothing and appearance. Both verbal and nonverbal cues contribute to how the message will be interpreted by the receiver.

Observe two people having a conversation. How do you know if they are family, friends, coworkers, or acquaintances? You can look for many clues to deduce the level of their relationship. For instance, if they look very similar, they might be family. Friends would kiss each other on the cheek or give each other a high five or a fist bump. Coworkers or classmates might be wearing office or school uniforms. Mere acquaintances engage in a conversation while standing at an acceptable distance from each other. Deductions formed by observing gestures, behaviors, and similarity in physical appearance may apply to people in various types of relationships, so it is important that you consider the verbal exchange between those people in order to clearly establish their relationship.

For example, if you see a little girl kisses the hand or cheek of an adult woman, you may think that the adult woman is the little girl’s mother. You can also use their physical resemblance and apparent age difference as a basis for deducing their relationship. However, verbal cues or the actual conversation between the adult woman and the little girl can confirm their true relationship.

Consider two men having a conversation in a restaurant. Both are dressed in business attire and are friendly but not too familiar with each other. At one point, one of them shakes the hand of the other, and they say their thanks and go their separate ways. You probably hear one say, “So, it’s a deal. I look forward to doing this project.” You may conclude that a business transaction has just occurred.

Consider an author writing a novel. He may smile, frown, or clench his teeth in anger. His actions depend on his mood while typing his manuscript. Although he is alone, he gestures and makes facial expressions to convey his emotions.

The given examples describe verbal and nonverbal cues that accompany intrapersonal and interpersonal communication contexts. Depending on the situation, topic, activity, and persons involved, appropriate verbal and nonverbal cues are used to make the interaction clear and successful.

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