IPI AMANI YOUTH POLYTECHNIC CENTRE.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS
MODULE 1.
TOPIC 2.

COMMUNICATION PROCESS

Communication as a process is moving, continually changing, with no beginning or end. In our

definition, communication is a process—something that is continually changing. Individual words,
sentences, and gestures have no meaning in isolation. They make sense only when viewed as parts of an
on-going, dynamic process. To fully understand the process of communication, we must notice how what
we say and do influences and affects what the other person says and does. We must pay attention to the
changes we experience and how these changes influence and affect our perception, interpretation, and
interactions with others, from moment to moment, year to year, and decade to decade. Similarly, we
also need to be sensitive to the on-going changes in those we communicate with because they are
changing too. Communication is alive, and to fully appreciate it requires that we view it as a dynamic,
fluid, and continually changing process.

COMPONENTS OF THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION

There are seven elements or factors which make up the process of communication:

1. Source /Sender, is the one who initiates the action of communicating

2. Audience /Receiver is the person(s) for whom the communication is intended

3. Goal/Purpose is the sender's reason for communicating, the desired result of the communication

4. Message/ Content is the information conveyed

5. Medium /Channel is the means or method used for conveying the message

6. Feedback is the receiver's response to the communication as observed by the sender

7. Environment /Context is the background in which the communication takes place.

1. Source The source is the originator of the message. It is the person or persons who want to
communicate a message to another person or a group of people. The source of a message can be an
individual speaker addressing a group, a child asking for candy, a couple sending out invitations to a
family reunion, or a person writing a letter. Encoding Once the source has decided on a message to
communicate, he must encode or convert that idea, thought, or feeling into verbal and nonverbal
symbols that will be most effectively understood by the receiver. This encoding process can be extremely
creative because there are unlimited ways for the source to convert the idea or feeling into words and
behaviours.

2. Message The message is the idea, thought, or feeling that the source wants to communicate. This
message is encoded or converted into verbal and nonverbal symbols that will most likely be understood
by the receiver.

3. Receiver The receiver is the recipient of the message. The receiver can be an individual or a group of
people. Once the receiver hears the words and receives the nonverbal cues from the sender, she must
interpret or decode them if communication is to occur. Decoding Decoding is the process of making
sense out of the message received. The receiver must decipher the language and behaviours sent by the
source so they will have meaning. After the receiver decodes the message, the receiver (now the source)
can encode a return message and send it back to the other person.

4. Channel A channel is the medium by which the message is communicated. The source can utilize the
channels of sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. For instance, if you want to communicate affection for
another person, you can utilize a variety of channels or combination of channels. You can say, “I like you”
8 | P a g e (sound). You can give a hug (touch). You can wink an eye (sight). You can send cookies that you
baked (taste). Or you can deliver a dozen roses (smell). You can creatively select the channels of
communication to productively communicate your message.

5. Context/Environment All communication occurs within a certain context. The context is made up of
the physical surroundings, the occasion in which the communication occurs, the time, the number of
people present, noise level, and many other variables that can influence and affect the encoding and
decoding of messages. The context plays an important role in the communication process.

6. Feedback The receiver also feels a reaction to the message; this reaction may be conscious or
unconscious; it may cause some change in the receiver's facial expression. It definitely leads the receiver
to think. The receiver may take some action, if required. He may also reply to the message. The response
and/or reply is feedback. Receiver's functions complete one cycle of the process of communication.

7. Goal/Purpose is the sender's reason for communicating, the desired result of the communication
BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATI0N

Commination is not always successful. Several things can prevent the message from reaching ' the
intended recipient or from "having the desired effect on the recipient.

1. Physical Barriers Obstacles that prevent a message from reaching the intended recipient may be
outside and beyond the control of the persons concerned. Some can be controlled by the management;
some cannot be controlled because they are in the environment.

(a) Defects in the Medium Defects in the devices used for transmitting messages are external, and
usually not within the control of the parties engaged in communication. The telephone, the postal
system, the courier service, or electronic media may fail. Messages can get delayed, distorted and even
lost while being transmitted. A partial failure of the mechanical equipment is more harmful than a total
failure because a partial failure may carry an incomplete or distorted message. A fax message can be
wrongly delivered as a wrong number can get dialled on the telephone. The printout may not be clear at
all. It is advisable to call up and check that the fax has been received.

(b) Noise Noise is any disturbance which occurs in the transmission process. In face-to face
communication which is carried by air vibration, the air may be disturbed by noise such as traffic, factory
work, or people talking. In a factory, oral communication is very difficult because of the noise of the
machines. Organisations that can afford sound-proof rooms can overcome this barrier to some extent.
(c) Information Overload When there is too much information, some of it is blocked in transit and may
not reach the intended audience. Advertising and sales information is an example of overload; so much
communication about products floats through so many media that a good deal of it-does not reach the
potential buyer.

2. Semantic and Language Barriers Semantic means pertaining to or arising from the different meanings
of words or other symbols. First of all, many words have multiple meanings. Just look into a good
dictionary and see how many meanings you can find for some commonly used words like "charge",
"spring", "check", "suit", "ring". 9 | P a g e The meaning that comes to your mind first depends on your
occupation ("charge" may mean electrical charge to a engineering student, but fee/rent to a commerce
student). Words like "minute" and "wind" are pronounced in two different ways to mean two entirely
different things. Some words like "present", "transfer", "record" are used as verb and as noun with a
difference in stress in speaking, but no difference in spelling. A person may be present at a function and
receive a present (stress on pre-), and present (stress on -sent) some thoughts on the budget. Similar
sounding words like "access" and "excess", "flour" and "flower", "cite", "site" and "sight" can cause
misunderstanding in speech. Many people confuse "week" and "weak," "steal' and "steel" in writing.
Emotional and cultural attitudes towards something can evoke different responses in people; for
example, "dog" will evoke responses according to a person's past experience with the animal as well as
cultural attitudes towards the animal. Phrases can be tricky; 'a red and a blue carpet' signifies two
carpets: one red and one blue. 'A red and blue carpet' is one carpet in two colours. Sentences can convey
entirely different meanings depending on how they are spoken. Consider the sentence, "What can I do
for you?" It means something different with every shift of emphasis from one word to another in oral
communication. Technical terms can also be a barrier to communication when used with an audience
who are not members of that profession. Often, these words have other meanings in ordinary language,
and are differently understood by people who do not belong to that occupational group. Consider the
new meanings given to ordinary words by computer technology such as "mouse". More importantly,
semantic barriers arise because words mean different things to different persons. It is' said, "meaning is
in people, not in words." Age, profession, education, cultural background and many other factors
influence the meaning we give to words. A dialect for example would identify a person geographically
and identically certain slang would reveal the cultural or group orientation of the persons speaking it.
The same are then barriers, if spoken in situations and with people, who may not be able to relate to
them.

3. Organisational Barriers Editing and filtering: A great deal of loss of information occurs as a message
moves from senior management to lower levels. Each person through whom it passes edits it, filters it,
and simplifies it for the understanding and needs of the next person who is to receive it. Loss or
distortion of information as it moves downward may be caused by misinterpretation, lack of
understanding, and neglect of messages by some of the members of the organisation. Loss of
information also occurs as messages move from subordinates to higher levels of authority. Messages are
filtered at every level. There may be deliberate suppression of information out of selfinterest and
jealousy; a supervisor may suppress or change a good suggestion from a subordinate so as to take the
credit personally; a senior officer may prevent information about discontent in the department from
reaching the manager because it reflects on his/her human relations skills. Deliberate withholding of
information from peers who are perceived as rivals becomes a barrier in horizontal communication. A
common barrier to horizontal communication is organisational politics; one manager may withhold
information from another since possession of information usually has benefits and advantages. Over-
dependence on written communication: Too much dependence on written communication is one of the
reasons for communication gaps. Circulars, bulletins, notices and even letters are not always read
carefully. Many employees are unable to read and understand long messages. Even better 10 | P a g e
educated persons at higher levels do not always give proper attention to all written communication. Oral
communication has to be used to supplement written communication when the message is important.

4. Cultural Barriers When we join a group and wish to remain in it, sooner or later we need to adopt the
behaviour patterns of the group. These are the behaviours that the group accepts as signs of belonging.
The group rewards such behaviour through acts of recognition, approval, and inclusion. In groups which
are happy to accept you and where you are happy to conform, there is a mutuality of interests and a
high level of win-win contact. Where, however, there are barriers to your membership of a group, a high
level of game-playing replaces good communication.

5. Gender Barriers There are distinct differences between the speech patterns in a man and those in a
woman which may create misunderstanding between genders. Global studies suggest that a woman
speaks between 22,000 and 25,000 words a day whereas a man speaks between 7,000 and 10,000. In
childhood, girls speak earlier than boys and at the age of three, have a vocabulary twice that of boys.
The reason for this lies in the wiring of a man's and woman's brains. When a man talks, his speech is
located in the left side of the brain but in no specific area. When a woman talks, the speech is located in
both hemispheres and in two specific locations. Scientifically speaking, a man talks in a linear, logical and
compartmentalized way, which are the features of left-brain thinking; whereas a woman talks more
freely, mixing logic and emotion, features of both sides of the brain. It also explains why women talk for
much longer than men each day.

6. Socio-Psychological Barriers People have personal feelings, desires, fears and hopes, likes and dislikes,
attitudes, views and opinions. They form a sort of emotional filter around the mind, and influence the
way we respond to messages that we receive and to new experiences. Factors like the time, the place
and the circumstances of a particular communication also influence our understanding and response.
Problems of understanding, interpretation and response to communication arise partly from our socially-
learnt attributes and partly from our personal attributes. These are called socio-psychological barriers.
(a) Self-centred Attitudes: We tend to see and hear everything in the light of our own interests and needs
and desires. We pay attention to messages which are useful to us, and often do not pay enough
attention to those messages which do not interest us.

(b) Group Identification: Our values and opinions are influenced, in some matters, by the group to which
we belong, like family, the larger family of relatives, people of our locality or city, our religion or language
group, gender, age group, nationality, economic group and so on. We tend to reject an idea which goes
against the interests of the group.

(c) Self-Image: our idea about what we are, what we look like and what impression we make. It is quite
difficult to accept any idea which goes against it.

(d) Selective Perception: we see, read or hear selectively according to our own needs, interests and
experience may not perceive some of the aspects and information content of the message.

(e) Filtering: Filtering is the process of reducing the details or aspects of a message. Each person who
passes on a message reduces or colours a message according to his/her understanding of the situation.
(f) Status Block: A "boss" who is conscious of status finds it difficult to receive any suggestions from
subordinates as they feel that they know everything about how to run the business. They do not agree
that a junior may have some good ideas and many good ideas are wasted only because they come· from
junior employees who are considered to be too young and inexperienced. Social distance sometimes
makes workers too shy or frightened to speak to their senior bosses. 11 | P a g e

(g) Resistance to Change: Some people strongly resist new ideas which are against their established
opinions or traditions or social customs. They may avoid new ideas because they feel insecure or afraid
of changes in methods or situations.

(h) Closed Mind: Limited intellectual background, limited reading and narrow interests can cause a
person's mind to be narrow and limits the ability to take in new ideas. Young employees with bright
ideas and fresh approach feel frustrated by the closed mind of the senior people in an organisation.

(i) Poor Communication Skills: Lack of skill in writing and in speaking prevents a person from framing the
message properly. Oral communication can be handicapped by a number of problems; nervousness in
facing an audience may affect a person's clarity in speaking. Even excitement about an achievement or a
new idea may make a person's speech incoherent. Lack of skill in reading and in listening is also
common.

(j) State of Health: Pain or fever certainly makes a person disinclined to engage in communication; but
even if the general state of health is poor, communicating ability is reduced. The mind is not sufficiently
alert; there will be gaps in attention while reading or listening; there is lack of energy to think clearly and
to find the right words. Perception is low when the state of health is poor. Emotions, which play an
important part in successful communication, are easily disturbed.

(k) Experiential barriers The difficulty in understanding matters not personally experienced. Our past
experience may also negatively influence our perception and understanding related to those
experiences.

(l) Perceptual barriers The problem with communicating with others is that we all see the world
differently. The selectivity/exposure filters that are developed on the basis of experience or lack of it play
their part. A bad experience would perceptually block out unpleasant things. This could be in the shape
of avoiding it and if that is not possible by altering the behaviours i.e., response types in different ways.
Similarly, retention filters out things that feel good, and gives the tendency to forget those things that
are painful.

(m) Emotional barriers It is comprised mainly of fear, mistrust, and suspicion. The roots of our emotional
mistrust of others lie in our childhood and infancy when we were taught to be careful what we said to
others. "Don't speak until you're spoken to"; "Children should be seen and not heard". As a result, many
people hold back from communicating their thoughts and feelings to others because they feel
vulnerable. While some caution may be wise in certain relationships, excessive fear of what others might
think of us can stunt our development into effective communicators and our ability to form meaningful
relationships. Emotions influence both our speech and our listening. In many cases emotions may stop
us from saying many things and in other instance may make us say things that we never wanted to say.
(n) Hidden agendas Hidden Agendas serve two functions:

(i) Individual’s strategy for poor self-esteem. This is mostly in cases where the personality is a submissive
one. In such cases the communication can turn sly and manipulative as one does not have the courage to
communicate openly. This is particularly the case as one is always apprehensive of others differing point
of view and is fearful of annoying the other person, not being confident of handling a communication
situation if there was one requiring assertive handling.

(ii) Promote ulterior motives and needs. If a person is known to promote one’s ulterior motives and
needs either by being aggressive or by being covertly submissive; sooner or later it would become a
major communication barrier. It generally creates a win-lose situation and does not work in establishing
trust, which is a basic premise for effective and purposeful communication.

(o) Stereotypes Stereotypes are mental images and expectations. Stereotypes provide a shortcut to form
an opinion of someone. We tend to get opinionated sooner or later and it becomes difficult to 12 | P a g
e change opinions. Opinions give us a base to relate to others. Humans are very diverse by nature
whereas stereotyping them in categories with specific characteristics is very common and therefore it
also becomes one of the most common barriers to communication.

(p) Defensiveness: If we feel threatened by a message, we become defensive and respond in such ways
that reduce understanding. This is a particularly harmful barrier in handling complaints and grievances
and in resolving conflicts.