Effective Communication - Process

The process of communication refers to the transmission or passage of information or message from the
sender through a selected channel to the receiver overcoming barriers that affect its pace. The process
of communication is a cyclic one as it begins with the sender and ends with the sender in the form of
feedback. It takes place upward, downward and laterally throughout the organization.

Communication process consists of certain steps where each step constitutes the essential of an
effective communication.

Objectives of communication:

The main objective of communication is to ensure smooth flow of information from either between two
people or a group.

Purposes:

Communication serves five major purposes: to inform, to express feelings, to imagine, to influence, and
to meet social expectations.

The Different Elements in The Process of Communication:

Sender

The very foundation of communication process is laid by the person who transmits or sends the
message. He is the sender of the message which may be a thought, idea, a picture, symbol, report or an
order and postures and gestures, even a momentary smile. The sender is therefore the initiator of the
message that needs to be transmitted. After having generated the idea, information etc. the sender
encodes it in such a manner that can be well-understood by the receiver.

Message

Message is referred to as the information conveyed by words as in speech and write-ups, signs, pictures
or symbols depending upon the situation and the nature and importance of information desired to be
sent. Message is the heart of communication. It is the content the sender wants to covey to the receiver.
It can be verbal both written and spoken; or non-verbal i.e. pictorial or symbolic, etc.

Encoding

Encoding is putting the targeted message into appropriate medium which may be verbal or non-verbal
depending upon the situation, time, space and nature of the message to be sent. The sender puts the
message into a series of symbols, pictures or words which will be communicated to the intended
receiver. Encoding is an important step in the communication process as wrong and inappropriate
encoding may defeat the true intent of the communication process.
Channel

Channel(s) refers to the way or mode the message flows or is transmitted through. The message is
transmitted over a channel that links the sender with the receiver. The message may be oral or written
and it may be transmitted through a memorandum, a computer, telephone, cell phone, apps or
televisions.

Receiver

Receiver is the person or group who the message is meant for. He may be a listener, a reader or a
viewer. Any negligence on the part of the receiver may make the communication ineffective. The
receiver needs to comprehend the message sent in the best possible manner such that the true intent of
the communication is attained. The extent to which the receiver decodes the message depends on
his/her knowledge of the subject matter of the message, experience, trust and relationship with the
sender.

The receiver is as significant a factor in communication process as the sender is. It is the other end of the
process. The receiver should be in fit condition to receive the message, that is, he/she should have
channel of communication active and should not be preoccupied with other thoughts that might cause
him/her to pay insufficient attention to the message.

Decoding

Decoding refers to interpreting or converting the sent message into intelligible language. It simply
means comprehending the message. The receiver after receiving the message interprets it and tries to
understand it in the best possible manner.

Feedback

Feedback is the ultimate aspect of communication process. It refers to the response of the receiver as to
the message sent to him/her by the sender. Feedback is necessary to ensure that the message has been
effectively encoded, sent, decoded and comprehended.

It is the final step of the communication process and establishes that the receiver has received the
message in its letter and spirit. In other words, the receiver has correctly interpreted the message as it
was intended by the sender. It is instrumental to make communication effective and purposeful.

Consider the following points related to the feedback involved in the process of communication −

 It enhances the effectiveness of the communication as it permits the sender to know the efficacy
of his message.

 It enables the sender to know if his/her message has been properly comprehended.

 The analysis of feedbacks helps improve future messages. Feedback, like the message, can be
verbal or nonverbal and transmitted through carefully chosen channel of communication.
One to One Communication: One-to-one communication occurs when one person speaks with or
writes to another individual. This happens when a care professional meets with a person who has health
worries or personal concerns, such as during a doctor to patient appointment for example. One-to-one
communication also occurs when care professionals meet with and talk to each other or with partners,
relatives or friends of people receiving care.

Communication in one-to-one situations is most helpful when both people are relaxed and are able to
take turns at talking and listening. Effective communicators are good at:

 Beginning the one-to-one interaction with a friendly, relaxed greeting

 Focusing on the objective of the interaction

 Ending the interaction in a helpful and positive way.

Effective communication and interaction take part in an important role in the work of all health and
social care professionals. For example, care professionals need to be able to use a variety of
communication skills in order to: work with people of different ages and diverse backgrounds; respond
appropriately to the variety of care related problems and individual needs; enable people to feel relaxed
and secure enough to talk openly; establish trusting relationships with colleagues and service users;
obtain clear and accurate information about a person’s problems or concerns; give others information
about care related issues in a clear and confident way.

One-To-Many: is the type of communication commonly found in ‘old’ media such as print, radio, and
television. In this type of communication, a single source provides information to multiple receivers such
as a commercial on a nationwide (or local) news broadcast, a newspaper article, or a book just to name
a few examples.

Many-To-Many: in this model where information is generated from multiple sources and is received by
multiple sources. The Many-to-many information sharing is often found on modern networked
platforms such as social media and other internet-based forms of communication. An example of this
would be several different people speaking about a current event of cultural importance in social media
and these statements being shared and responded to by another different group of readers. Note that
there is no core singular source where this information sharing begins as several people start sharing
information (often the same information) wholly unaware and independent of others’ statements.

Many-to-One: is the reverse of one-to-many. In a many-to-one model, several different points of

information are received by a single reception. An example of this is would be a company sending out
surveys to its customers or reading feedback on their social media accounts. Many-to-one information
sharing is highly useful as a feedback tool and far easier to access in the modern world due to
networking allowing multiple real-time responses.