Chapter Two The Communication Process

CHAPTER TWO

2. THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

2.1 ELEMENTS OF THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

The process of communication involves five elements:

 sender-encoder
 message
 medium
 receiver-decoder
 feed back
The following figure illustrates how these factors interact in the communication process,
affected by various internal and external conditions and decisions.

Sender – Encoder Message Receiver - Decoder

Verbal, External Environment
External environment, Medium
nonverbal Internal stimuli
internal stimuli
(Experiences, attitudes,
(Experiences Attitudes,
skills) Receptor Mechanisms
skills), perception idea
Stimuli perception, decoding
encoding symbol
Idea interpretation
decisions sending
mechanisms

Feedback
Verbal
Non-verbal

Let us discuss now each element one by one:

Sender: the person who transmits, spreads, or communicates a massage or operates an

electronic device is the one who conceives and initiates the message with the purpose of
informing, persuading, influencing, and changing the attitude, opinion, or behaviour of the
receiver (audience listener). He /she decide the communication symbols, the channel, and the

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time for sending the message after carefully considering the total situation in which
communication takes place.

Ideas or Thoughts: the raw form of telling the ideas that the sender wants to share with a
receiver by changing them to messages using symbols.

Encoding: is changing the raw idea from its mental form into symbols, that is, patterns of
words, gestures, pictorial forms or signs (physical or sounds) of a specific visual /oral
language. The sender must choose certain words or non-verbal methods to send an intentional
message. This activity is called encoding. The words and channels that a communicator
chooses to deliver a message can make a tremendous difference in how that message is
received. Consider the simple act of a manager’s offering feedback to an employee whether
the words are respectful or abrupt and whether the message is delivered in person or in a
memo can make a big difference in how the feedback is received.

Message: It is the information, written, spoke or nonverbal, which is to be sent from one
person to another. Here, the word “person” stands for the two ends of a system, and may
represent an individual, or a group of individuals, or even electronic machines.

The most important characteristic of a message as an element of communication is that it is

organized, structured, shaped, and selective – a product & pre- writing or pre – speaking
stage. It exists in the mind of the sender (communicator)

Medium: is the carrier of the message such as written words, in the form of written
communication, and spoken words and gestures in the form of face-to-face discursion.

Channel: is the carrier of the medium like a memo or a letter, which carry the written words,
and air, radio, telephone, television etc. that carry the spoken words.

Receiver: is the targeted audience of the message. A receiver is any person who notices and
attachés some meaning to a message. In the best of circumstances, a message reaches its
intended receiver with no problems. In the confusing and imperfect world of business,
however, several problems can occur. The message may never get to the receiver. It might be
delivered but lie buried under a mountain of papers on the recipients desk. Even worse, a
message intended for one receiver might be intercepted by another one.

Decoding: This is the act of translating symbols of communication into their ordinary
meanings; however, the total meaning would consist of meanings of the words ( symbols)
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together with the tone and the attitude of the sender as treated by the structure of the message
and the choice of words used by him (the sender).

Feedback: This is the loop that connects the receiver in the communication process with the
sender, who, in turn, acts as a feedback receiver and, thus, gets to know that communication
has been accomplished. In communication, feedback plays an important role. It helps the
communicator know if there are any corrections or changes to be made in the proposed action.
It also ensures that the receiver has received the message and understood it as intended by the
sender failure to answer a letter or to return a phone call can suggest how the non-
communicative person feels about the sender.

2.2 THE PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION

Communication involves participants (a sender & a receiver), message to be sent a medium to

carry the communication signals & the environments in which the message is sent & received.
These elements act & interact in the five-step process. Whether you are speaking or writing,
listening or reading, communication is more than a single act. Instead, it is a chain of events
that can be broken in to five phases as:

 The sender has an idea.

 The idea becomes a message.
 The message is transmitted.
 The receiver gets the message.
 The receiver reacts & sends feedback to the sender.
2.3 BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION

No two persons are exactly alike mentally, physically, or emotionally. Thus the innumerable
human differences plus cultural, Social & environmental differences may cause problems in
conveying an intended message. Although all communication is subject to misunderstandings,
business communication is particularly different. Various characteristics of the sender,
receiver, & communication situation can create barriers to effective communication. The
major barriers of communication include the following:

1. Channel selection: Communication may be oral, written, visual or audio-visual. The

different communication channels can be personal barriers in that some individuals always
seem to incline toward a particular channel even though a more effective one exists. All the

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media have their relative merits and limitations. While a properly chosen medium can add to
the effectiveness of a communication, an unsuitable medium may act as a barrier to it.

Consider, for example, a superior who uses a written memo to let you know about the recent
denial of a promotion. The more effective channel in this case might have been face-to-face
meeting in which you can ask questions. An employee desirous of expressing his regrets for
his earlier misconduct with his supervisor should meet him personally. A manager using a
memo to complement an employee for a creditable achievement or to congratulate another
employee for a wedding is surely creating communication barrier through the wrong choice of
medium.

2. Physical barriers: these include noise, and time & distance.

a. Noise:

Anything that interferes with communication & distorts or blocks the message is noise. Noise
is quite often a barrier to communication. In factories oral communication could be difficult
by the loud noise of machines. Electronic noise like ear-splitting often interferes in
communication by telephone. The word “noise” is also used to refer to all kinds of physical
interference like illegible handwriting, smudged copies of duplicated typescript, poor
telephone connections, use of jargons (terms that have a precise meaning among specialists,
but are unfamiliar to others), distraction that prevents the receiver from paying attention, a
worn printer ribbon that makes a document hard to read, etc.

b. Time & Distance:

Time and distance also act as barriers of communication. Modern communication facilities
like fax, telephone and internet are not available everywhere. This is especially so in most
companies of our country. Even when these technologies are available, sometimes mechanical
breakdowns render these facilities ineffective. In such cases the distance between the
transmitter and the receiver becomes a barrier. There is a kind of communication gap between
persons working in different shifts of a factory. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to
send an urgent message to a business partner living in England if it had to be done through
postal mail?

3. Semantics: refer to the different uses & meanings of words and symbols. Words and
symbols may not have similar uses and meanings for different individuals from different

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cultural group, language and living style so it may create some barrier in the communication
process. Semantic barriers include:

A. Interpretations of words:

Do you remember a situation where you and your friend understood a word communicated
by somebody else in a different ways? The knowledge each have about a subject or word
affects the meaning we attach to it. Individuals have their own network of words & meanings
available for recall that overlap, but do not correspond exactly, with those of other individuals
using their own networks can attach different meanings to words. Receivers decode words &
phrases in conformity with their own network, while may be very different from those of
senders. Words are capable communicating a variety of meanings. It is quite possible that the
receiver do not assign the same meaning to a word as the sender has intended, that may lead
to miscommunication. For some, a successful career means having prestigious job title &
making lot of money; for others, it may mean having a job they really enjoy & plenty of
personal time to spend with family & friends. Different word interpretations especially,
noticeable in, “bypassed” instructions & in reactions to denotations, connotations and
euphemisms.

B. Bypassed instructions:

When the message sender & receiver attribute different meanings to the same words or use
different words though intending the same meaning, bypassing often occurs. Example: An
office manager handed to a new assistant a letter, with the instruction “Take it to our store
room and burn it” In the office manager’s mind (and in the firm’s jargon) the word “burn”
meant to make a copy on a photocopier. As the letter was extremely important, she wanted an
extra copy. However, the confused employee afraid to ask questions burned the letter and thus
destroyed the original existing copy! To avoid communication errors of bypassing, when you
give instructions or discuss issues, be sure your words & sentences will convey the intended
meaning to the recipient. Also, when you are the recipient of unclear instruction, before acting
on it, ask questions to determine the sender intended meaning.

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C. Denotations, Connotations, & Euphoniums:

Some of these communication problems may occur because words have both denotative and
connotative meanings, and the sender has not considered the receiver’s probable interpretation
and reactions.

Denotations: the denotative meaning is the meaning on which most people will probably
agree. It often is the dictionary definition. The word informs the receiver & it names objects,
people, or events without indicating positive or negative qualities. Such words are car, desk,
book, house, water conveys denotative meaning, provided, of course, that the communicators
understand the English language & provided that the receiver has a similar understanding of
the context in which the word is used.

Connotations: in addition to more literal denotative meanings, some words have connotative
meanings that arouse qualitative judgments & personal reactions. The term ‘meeting room’ is
denotative. Director’s lounge, executive suite, boardroom, though they each denote a meeting
place, also has connotative meanings. The word ‘student’ is denotative; bookworm, scholar,
dropout, are connotative.

The communicators’ different backgrounds & interests also affect the connotative meanings
for words. On hearing that a particular person is ‘cool’ members of one generation may take it
to mean the person is fun to be with, while members of earlier generation may believe it
means that the individual is unemotional & insensitive.

Euphemisms: tactful writer & speakers are euphemisms whenever possible to replace words
that might have blunt, painful, lowly, or distasteful connotations. Euphemisms are mild,
innovative expressions with which most people do not have negative associations.
Expressions like the following have obvious connotative advantage: maintenance worker or
staff member instead of janitor, slender instead of skinny; restroom instead of toilet. Instead
of saying an employee was fired, a communicator may use such euphemism as laid off,
terminated, or a victim of reorganization or staff cutbacks.

4. Perception of reality: The reality of an object, an event, or a person is different to different

people. Reality is not a fixed concept; it is complex, infinite and continually changing.
Besides, each human being has limited sensory perceptions-touch. Sight, hearings, smell, and
taste and each person’s mental filter are unique. People perceive reality in different ways. No

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two persons perceive reality in identical manners. We make various abstractions inferences
and evaluation of the world around us.

a. Abstracting:

It is the process of focusing on some details & omitting others. In countless instances,
abstracting is necessary and desirable – for both written and oral communications. Whether
you write a memo, letter or report or converse by telephone, you will be limited somewhat by
time, expense, space and purpose. You will need to select facts that are pertinent to
accomplish your purpose and to omit the rest. We often use abstracting while preparing
business reports & application letters.

Precise writing is nothing but the art of abstracting. Abstracting poses a grave barrier to
communication for details, which look pertinent to one reporter, may look insignificant or
trivial to another. You as a communicator must also anticipate the likelihood that others may
not be abstracting as you are. Their points may be as important as yours though they select
differently from the infinite details in reality. For example, when reporting on an event-a
football game or an accident, no two witnesses give exactly the same descriptions. The
participants will perceive different details than the observers, but all or several observers may
mention some parts of the whole. Juries often determine which witness’s details are the most
credible. Differences in abstracting occurs not only when persons describe events but also
when they describe people, equipment, project, or animals. We do not give allowances for
these differences, and misunderstandings arise. Very often we yield to the “allness” fallacy.

The allness-fallacy states that we believe that whatever we know or say about an object or
event is all that is worth knowing or saying about it. The more we delve into some subjects
the more we realize there is so much more to learn and to consider. And unfortunately the less
we know the more sure we feel that we know it all. Even experts on certain subjects admit
they don’t know all the answers; they continue to study all available facts, though they
sometimes disagree among themselves. Unfortunately, it is true of some people that the less
they know, the more sure they are that they know it all. Thus, it is best for us to avoid
assuming we know all about any subject or circumstances simply because we have a few
facts. Otherwise we may have an inadequate, erroneous impression of the whole.

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b. Inferring:

What we directly see, hear, feel, taste, smell or can immediately verify and confirm &
constitutes a fact. But the statements that go beyond the facts and the conclusions based on
facts are called inferences. These are conclusions made by reasoning from evidences or
premises. A very simple example of inferring is when we drop a letter in the post box, we
assume that it will be picked up by someone and be delivered to the destiny we desired. “If
enough rain fall during the summer, we can infer that the price of ‘teff’ will go down.” We
infer that the gas station attendant pumps gasoline (not water) into our car’s tank.

For business & professional persons inferences are essential & desirable in analyzing
materials, solving problems, & planning. Systems analysts, marketing specialists, advertisers,
architects, engineers, and designers are all required to draw inferences after they have
gathered as much factual data as possible. Also, as consumers in our daily activities, we may
make inferences that are necessary & usually fairly reliable. When we base our inferences on
direct observations or on reasonable evidence, they are likely to be quite dependable; but even
so, there are disappointing exceptions. Conclusions we make about things we have not
observed directly may be true or untrue.

As intelligent communicator we must avoid faulty inferences. We must realize that inferences
may be incorrect & unreliable & may cause miscommunication. We need to anticipate risks
before acting on the inferences. Consider this simple example. Suppose that a personnel
manager observes a particular new employee has been leaving the office one hour late every
day for the last two weeks. What can be inferred from this observation? The manager might
infer that the worker is:

 exceptionally conscientious;
 that he is incapable of doing the required work within the regular time;
 that he has been given more responsibility than should be expected of a new trainee; or

Even that he is searching for some secrets from confidential materials after others have left
the office.

Do you suppose the personnel manager should take an action based on any of the above –
mentioned inferences or any other possible inference that the manager could make? Before

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acting on any of these inferences, the manager should get more facts. A wrong inference can
surely be a barrier to communication.

c. Making frozen evaluation:

Another drawback of effective perception is the frozen evaluation- the stereotyped, static
impression that ignores significant differences or changes. Stereotyping is the tendency to
attribute characteristics of an individual on the basis of an assessment of the group to which
the individual belongs. The manager uses those perceived common characteristics to draw
conclusions about the characteristics of the individual, rather than acquiring information about
those characteristics more directly. It is often based on faulty inferences. To help you assure
that your comprehension of reality will be correct, you need to recognize that any person,
product, or event may be quite different from others in a group, or may have significant
differences today when compared with characteristics yesterday or some time ago. You
should recognize individual differences within groups & differences within time periods. In
all, we should remember to avoid frozen evaluation made on the basis of what was true for
one (for a group) at one time. Changes occur in everything.

5. Attitudes & Opinions: communication effectiveness is influenced also by the attitudes &
opinions the communicators have in their mental filters. People tend to react favourably when
the message they receive agrees with their views towards the information, the set of facts, &
the sender. In addition, sometimes unrelated circumstances affect their attitudes, & responses
like:

a. Emotional state:

Person’s ability to encode a message can become impaired when a person is feeling strong
emotions. For example, when you are angry, it is harder to consider the other person’s
viewpoint & to choose words carefully. Likewise, the receiver will have difficulty-decoding
message when her/his emotions are strong. For instance, a person who is elated at receiving
good news might not pay close attention to someone else’s words or body language. Someone
who is angry might pay attention but misinterpret a message in light of her/his anger.

b. Favourable or Unfavourable information:

Rejecting, distorting, & avoiding are three common undesirable, negative ways receivers react
to information they consider unfavourable. For example, if a change in the policy of an

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organization proves advantageous to employees, they welcome it as good; if it is contrary to

their beliefs or benefits, they may reject, or resent the company and their boss, perhaps falsely
accusing them of being unfair. Or they may instead, distort, the meaning and misinterpret the
true purpose of the policy change. Or they may avoid the message; situation or people by
putting of acceptance hoping that the delay will somehow prevent the change & protect them.

c. Closed mind:

Some people have a closed mind toward receiving new information. The closed-minded
person is one of the most difficult to communicate with. Typically this person has only
inadequate and mainly incorrect knowledge of the subject. Yet she/he refuses to consider any
new facts. Even from an expert who has made a long, careful study of the problem and the
proposed change. The closed minded person says in essence: “my mind is made up” “Don’t
bother me with facts” “I want what I want”. Closed – minded people stubbornly reject distort
or avoid a viewpoint before they know the facts.

d. Status consciousness:

People in the upper areas of organization’s hierarchy, those who have more status & power,
may be hesitant to listen to those individuals lower in the hierarchy, feeling for example, that
people of lower status & power do not possess any useful information. By the same token,
people of lower status & power may be reluctant to share information because they believe
that people with higher status & power will not listen. Subordinates are afraid of
communicating any unpleasant information to their managers. They may be afraid that they
might displease their superiors by telling them unpleasant facts. Or they may fear that
unfavourable communication may adversely reflect upon their own competence. The
subordinates also find it difficult to offer proposals for the improvement of the organization,
for such proposals are not usually encouraged.

e. Credibility:

People react more favourably when a communicator has credibility – when they respect, trust,
& believe in the communicator. A sender’s credibility plays an important role in how a
message is received & understood. If the receiver does not consider the sender trustworthy or
knowledgeable about the subject being communicated, she/he will most likely be reluctant
even to listen to the message. For example, if you may feel that she/he has little knowledge

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concerning the area of management &, thus, places little weight on anything she tells you
concerning the subject. Likewise, a sender may limit what she/he communicates to a receiver
who is not considered trustworthy. For instance, if an employee offers idea for a more
efficient way to perform a job & his supervisor takes credit for it, then the employee is more
likely to withhold future information from the supervisor, as he will probably not trust the
supervisor with such information.

6. Information overload: refers to the condition of having too much information to process.
The implication is that individuals can effectively process only certain amount of information.
An example would be if your professor gave you too much information, too quickly,
concerning a term paper’s requirements or if a manager gave an employee too much
information at one time about a report’s requirements. In either situation, the receiver
probably does not receive the entire message. Managers need to be aware of potential for
information overload & to make appropriate adjustments.

It is said that people remember:

 10 % of what they read

 20 % of what they hear

 30 % of what they see

 50 % of what they see and hear

 70 % of what they say

 90 % of what they say as they perform the task

2.4 GUIDELINES TO OVERCOME COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

Now having the knowledge of the barriers to effective communication, can you think of
alternative ways of avoiding them? The following are ways which are suggested so as to make
your communication in the work place as smooth and effective as possible.
There are six factors or themes that contribute to effective communication.
1. Fostering an open communication climate.
An organization’s communication climate is a reflection of its corporate culture: the mixture
of values, traditions and habits. It affects the quantity and quality of the information that

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passes through the pipeline. The following are the measures that can be taken to create an
open communication climate:
a) Modify the number of organizational levels.
One way to foster an open communication climate is to reduce the number of levels in the
organizations structure. The fewer the links in the communication chain, the less likely the
misunderstandings will occur.
b) Facilitate feedback
Giving the audience a chance to provide feedback is crucial to maintaining an open
communication climate.

2. Committing to ethical communication

Ethics are the principles of conduct that govern a person or a group. Ethical people are
generally trustworthy, fair and impartial, respecting the rights of others, and concerned about
the impact of their actions on society. Ethics plays a crucial role in communication. Ethical
communication includes all relevant information, is true in every sense and is not deceptive in
any way.
3. Understanding the difficulties involved in intercultural communication
More and more businesses are crossing national boundaries to compete on a global scale and
the makeup of the global and domestic work force is changing rapidly. Global companies
must understand the laws, customs and business practices of many countries, and they must
deal with business associates and employees.
4. Adopting an audience-centred approach to communication
Using an audience-centred approach means keeping the audience in mind all times when
communicating. Since audience is taken care of, every possible step is taken to get the
message across in a way that is meaningful to the audience. Empathizing with and being
sensitive to the audience’s feelings is the best way to overcome such communication barriers
as differences in perception and emotional interference.
5. Using technology wisely and responsibly to obtain and share information
In today’s world, information moves through an array of media at the speed of a neural
impulse. Technology has such an impact on business communication. When used wisely and
responsibly, technology helps to improve the effectiveness of business communication.

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6. Creating and processing messages effectively and efficiently.

The sixth guideline is to plan messages, generate ideas, organize the thoughts, and turn the
words into effective business messages. In order to create messages effectively and
efficiently, consider the following issues:
 Learn about the audience
 Adapt the message to the audience
 Develop and connect ideas
 Reduce the number of messages
 Choose the correct channel and medium
 Strengthen the communication skills

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