Lindo_OralComm_Sem1

 Home
 Lessons
 References

Communication Models
Competency 2: Differentiates the various models of communication.

Types of Communication Models

Communication models are graphic representations of the proposed elements
included in the communication process.

Models show the process metaphorically and in symbols. They form general
perspectives on communication by breaking communication from complex to
simple and keeps the components in order. Communication models can sometimes
encourage traditional thinking and stereotyping but can also omit some major
aspects of human communication.

Methods and channels of communication to be used and the purpose of

communication, must be considered before choosing a specific communication
model. Models are used by business companies and other firms to foster their
communication, explore their options and to evaluate their own situations. It is also
used to understand how the receivers will interpret the message.

There are three general types of communication models in which all other
communication models are mostly categorized.

Linear Model of Communication

Linear model of communication is a simple one way communication model. The

message flows in a straight line from sender to the receiver. There is no concept of
feedback. The only task that a receiver does here is to receive the message.
Different models that follow linear model of communication are:

§ Lasswell’s Model

§ Aristotle’s Model

§ Shannon Weaver Model

§ Berlo’s S-M-C-R Model

Transactional Model of Communication

In transactional model, senders and receivers both are known as communicators

and both play equally important role in communication. Transactional model
relates communication with social reality, cultural up-bringing and relational
context (relationships). Non-verbal feedback like gestures, body language, is also
considered as feedback in this model. Different models that follow transactional
model of communication are:

§ Barnlund’s Transactional Model

§ Helical Model

§ Becker’s Mosaic Model

Interactive Model of Communication

Interactive model or convergence model is similar to transactional model as they

are both two way communication model. But, interactive model is mostly used for
new media like internet. Here, people can respond to any mass communications
like videos, news, etc. People can exchange their views and ideas. Different models
that follow interactive model of communication are:

§ Schramm’s Interactive Model

Models of Communication

Dance’s Helical Spiral of Communication

In 1967, Dance made a communication model based on a helix known as helical

model. He explains how a child learns to communicate and the child grows up and
continues to communicate. Communication depends on previous experiences and
activities of the speaker according to this model.

Westley and MacLean’s Conceptual Model

Westley and MacLean’s model explains the difference between interpersonal and
mass communication as feedback. Feedback can be direct in interpersonal
communication whereas indirect in mass communication. According to this model,
communication starts from the environment and not when the message is spoken
or shown.

Berlo’s SMCR Model of Communication

Berlo’s SMCR Model of Communication represents the process of communication in

its simplest form. The acronym SMCR stands for Sender, Message, Channel, and
Receiver. Berlo’s SMCR Model of Communication describes the different
components that form the basic process of communication. Because this
communication tool also emphasises the coding and decoding of the message, it
can be used for more efficient communication.

As far back as ancient Greece, Aristotle already wrote about communication

processes. He described three primary aspects of all forms of communication: the
speaker, the subject, and the person who receives the message. He argued that it is
the listener who ultimately determines the meaning of any particular message.
Similar to modern theories on communication, Berlo’s SMCR Model of
Communication describes four components of communication.

In 1948, the Bell System Technical Journal published a mathematical model

developed by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver. This model was initially
developed to improve technical communication, but would later be applied in many
other fields. In 1960, David Berlo expanded on this linear communication model
and created the SMCR Model of Communication. Today, the sender-receiver
framework is often used in communication sciences. Lasswell’s communication
model, for example, consists of a similar framework.

Components of Berlo’s SMCR Model of Communication

Berlo’s SMCR Model of Communication includes four components that describe the
communication process. The different components in the model are influenced by
various factors.

Sender

The sender of the message is the source who creates and sends the message to the
receiver. The source is the start of the communication process and is the person
who encodes the message. Factors that may influence the sender are also
applicable to the receiver. Consider how the message is interpreted, for example.
Berlo’s SMCR Model of Communication identifies the following factors that affect
the source:

Communication skills

Communication skills include: reading, listening, speaking etc.

Attitude

One’s attitude in relationship to the audience, receiver and subject changes the
meaning and consequence of the message.

Knowledge

Familiarity with the subject of the message makes communication more effective.

Social systems

Values, beliefs, religion and rules influence the way in which the sender
communicates the message, alongside location and circumstances.

Culture

Cultural differences may result in the message being interpreted differently.

Message

The message is the package of information or meaning that is sent from sender to
receiver. The message can be sent in various forms, such as audio, speech, text,
video or other media. The sender of the messages always wants the receiver to
interpret the message in a certain way. The source’s intention is therefore
translated into a coded message. The receiver should understand the message with
reasonable accuracy. The message is influenced by:

Content

The content of the message from beginning to end.

Elements
Elements are (non)verbal aspects, such as gestures and signs, that may influence
the message. Albert Mehrabian’s communication model goes into this in more
detail.

Treatment

Treatment refers to the way in which the message is sent, the message’s packaging.

Structure

As the word suggests, the structure of the message refers to the way in which it is
structured.

Code

The code of the message is the form in which the message is sent. This may include
text, language, video, gestures, music, etc.

Channel

The channel is the medium used to send the message. The medium must be able to
be picked up by the sensory system of the receiver and may therefore involve
vision, sound, smell, taste or touch. Humans have the following senses:
 Hearing
 Seeing
 Touching
 Smelling
 Tasting

Mass communication always involves technical tools, such as phones, the Internet
and television. In these cases, the transmitted information is assimilated via vision
and sound.

Receiver
The receiver is the person who receives and subsequently decodes the coded
message. In a linear communication process, the receiver is always located at the
end. In order to make communication as effective and smooth as possible, Berlo’s
SMCR Model of Communication assumes the receiver’s thinking pattern must be in
accordance with that of the sender. The same factors therefore influence this
component in Berlo’s SMCR Model of Communication. After all, the receiver
decodes the message him/herself and gives it their own meaning.

A Disrupted Communication Process

In practice, communication is not nearly as smooth as described in Berlo’s linear

model. There are a number of factors that may lead to a disrupted communication
process. Examples of disruptions include:

Loss or distortion

The person sending the message must encode the message in such a way that the
full intention of the message is clear. He/she may choose to do this with words, but
it is very rare that the full intention is encoded in a message. In some cases, a
message may even barely contain the information the sender wants to convey.

Even if an additional channel is added to the communication process, the message

may become distorted. For example, consider the familiar team-building game
where a message is constantly passed on in a circle of people. The last person will
often hear a completely distorted or unrecognisable message. Every time the
message is conveyed by a different person, part of its initial intention is lost.

Noise

After the message is sent, noise may occur. This noise disrupts the source and
message and causes the receiver to only partially receive the message or not at all.
Internal noise refers to a state in which part of the communication process, the
receiver for example, is not feeling well, or not entirely focussed. As a result, the
receiver may miss out on certain parts of the message. External noise, on the other
hand, may be caused by background noise during a phone call, for example. This
also causes the receiver to potentially misunderstand certain parts of the message.

There may also be situations in which noise is caused intentionally. Non-intentional

noise is caused unintentionally and can, for example occur if sender uses difficult
words, which then makes it more difficult for the receiver to understand the
message..

To summarise Berlo’s SMCR Model

Berlo’s SMCR Model of Communication presents the communication process in its

simplest form. The model consists of four component that are each influenced by
different factors. To ensure the message is conveyed as effectively as possible, the
sender and the receiver must share some common ground. Communication skills
play a crucial role in this. Other factors, such as culture, knowledge and attitude are
also vital. What may be considered rude in some cultures, may be perfectly fine in
others. Communication doesn’t always go as smoothly as one would hope. Various
problems, such as disruptions, noise and an asynchronous process, may obstruct
proper communication.

Schramm’s Model of Communication

Wilber Schramm proposed the model of communication in 1954.

Information is of no use unless and until it is carefully put into words and conveyed
to others. Encoding plays a very important role because it initiates the process of
communication by converting the thought into content. When the information
reaches the recipient his prime responsibility is to understand what the speaker
intends to convey. Unless and until the second party is able to understand or
decode the information what the sender wants to communicate, the message is
actually of no use. Thus encoding and decoding are two most important factors of
an effective communication without which information can never flow between two
individuals. Schramm’s model also revolves around the above principle. According
to the Schramm’s model, coding and decoding are the two essential processes of
an effective communication.

He also emphasizes that the communication is incomplete unless and until the
sender receives a feedback from the recipient. Imagine a person sharing his
thoughts with his friend and his friend not responding to him. Is the
communication complete? NO.Schramm believed that communication is actually a
two way process between the first party and the second party.

Let us understand more with the help of an example

Jennifer to Sam -“Will you accompany me for a movie ?”

Sam kept mum and did not respond and hence the communication between Sam
and Jennifer was not complete. If Sam was not interested for the movie, he could
have responded or given the feedback to Jennifer about his unwillingness.
According to Schramm’s model, whenever the information reaches the recipient, it
becomes his responsibility to give the feedback and let him know if he has
downloaded the message in exactly the same manner the speaker wanted. If he is
not clear with anything or has any doubts, it must be cleared with the speaker. Thus
when the speaker conveys any message to the listener, the listener, decodes the
message and once again passes the message to the speaker after understanding it
and completing the full circle.

Sender

M↓ ↑M

Receiver

M - Stands for message

Schramm believed that an individual’s knowledge, experience and cultural

background also play an important role in communication. Individuals from diverse
cultures, religion or background tend to interpret the message in different ways.

Billy to Servant - “Please bring something hot for me to drink as I am suffering from
sore throat.”

The servant brought him a glass of lukewarm water but Billy actually wanted a cup
of hot chocolate coffee. Hence different interpretation by the servant. He was not
on the common grounds with Billy and failed to understand his master’s
information. It was neither Billy’s nor the servant’s fault but actually the differences
in both their backgrounds which was to blame.

Go through another example

John to Teddy -“I get late for my office, please buy me a clock”

Teddy went to a local market and gifted a clock to John and John was never late to
office after that. He could have also misinterpreted the message, then how come
he could understand his friend’s desire? A Clock is always a clock whether Teddy
has to bring it or any other individual has to bring it. A clock can never be confused
with a wrist watch or for that matter something else. There are some messages
which are more or less same for everyone. They are called as messages with
a Denotative meaning which are almost the same for all individuals and in such
cases chances of misinterpretation and misunderstanding gets nullified.

Please once again refer to the above situation of John and Teddy and slightly
modify the situation. When John wanted a clock, Teddy brought two clocks for him
as he was two concerned for John and didn’t want him to get late. In this case John
actually wanted a single clock but Teddy brought his emotional quotient and
personal affection in between. Such meanings are called Connotative
meaning which are affected by emotional factors. A message can also get distorted
due to wrong body movements, gestures, facial expressions and many other
factors.

To conclude according to this model of communication when a sender passes on

the information to the receiver, the receiver must interpret it in the desired form
the sender wants and give him the feedback or respond accordingly. Any
communication where the sender does not get the feedback, the communication is
not complete and thus ineffective.

Schramm’s Model of Communication

Harold Laswell’s Communication Model

Harold Dwight Lasswell (1902 1978) was a political scientist and communication
theorist who chose to be a multidisciplinary academic. He is known in the fields of
political science, psychology, and sociology but he did not adhere to the distinction
between these boundaries but instead erased the lines drawn to divide these
disciplines. His communication model is regarded by many scholars as “one of the
earliest and most influential communication models”.

Lasswell drafted his model of communication using the following questions:

Who?, Says What?, In Which Channel?, To Whom?, With What Effect?

The “Who" in this model refers to the communicator or the sender of the message.
He is the one who triggers the start of the communication process. The "Says
What" refers to the content of the message sent, “In Which Channel” refers to the
medium of transmission used by the sender. The "To Whom" refers to the receiver
who will decipher the message sent. The "With What Effect" refers to the
outcome of the message.

Harold Lasswell's Communication Model

Shannon & Weaver’s Model of Communication

Claude Elwood Shannon (1916 – 2001), a mathematician and Electronic engineer,

together with Warren Weaver, an American scientist, authored an article entitled "A
Mathematical Theory of Communication. Although this theory was not designed for
oral communication, it is known as "the mother of all communication models."

Shannon's model was designed to make the communication between the sender
and the receiver effective. In this model, "noise" was introduced. Noise may refer to
any physical distractions that occur during the process of communication resulting
to distortion of message or distraction of either sender or receiver.

Concepts like source, transmitter, noise, channel, message, receiver, and

destination were used in this model. Let us try to understand how this model
applies in real life situation.

Genina, a corporate manager, is accompanying her boss in a fashion show

event. The music in the event was loud and people near Genina are loudly
commenting on the designs.Her boss asked Genina to call her secretary
 because he needs to have the company's proposal document for a client.
Genina, using her mobile phone, called her secretary and asked her to bring
the documents to the event venue. When the secretary came, she was not
able to bring the correct documents.

What happened with the phone conversation of Genie her secretary?

Genina's secretary was not able to understand the message sent over the
mobile phone because of the loud music on the venue and the voices of the
commenting on the designs.

Shannon & Weaver's Model of Communication

Proverbs 18:13

teaches us that:

“To answer before listening – that is folly and shame.”

Activities

Assessment 2
Previous: Lesson 1

Next: Lesson 3