Forms of communication vary in terms of participants, channels used, and

contexts.
Intrapersonal communication is communication with oneself using internal
vocalization or reflective thinking. Like other forms of communication, intrapersonal
communication is triggered by some internal or external stimulus. We may, for example,
communicate with our self about what we want to eat due to the internal stimulus of
hunger, or we may react intrapersonally to an event we witness. Unlike other forms of
communication, intrapersonal communication takes place only inside our heads.
Interpersonal communication is communication between people whose lives
mutually influence one another. Interpersonal communication builds, maintains, and ends
our relationships, and we spend more time engaged in interpersonal communication than
the other forms of communication. Interpersonal communication occurs in various
contexts and is addressed in subfields of study within communication studies such as
intercultural communication, organizational communication, health communication, and
computer-mediated communication.
Group communication is communication among three or more people interacting to
achieve a shared goal.
Public communication is a sender-focused form of communication in which one
person is typically responsible for conveying information to an audience.
It is precisely this formality and focus on the sender that makes many new and
experienced public speakers anxious at the thought of facing an audience. One way to
begin to manage anxiety toward public speaking is to begin to see connections between
public speaking and other forms of communication with which we are more familiar and
comfortable. Despite being formal, public speaking is very similar to the conversations
that we have in our daily interactions.
Public communication becomes mass communication when it is transmitted to
many people through print or electronic media. Print media such as newspapers and
magazines continue to be an important channel for mass communication, although they
have suffered much in the past decade due in part to the rise of electronic media.
Television, websites, blogs, and social media are mass communication channels that you
probably engage with regularly. Radio, podcasts, and books are other examples of mass
media.
MODELS

Linear Models
Originally developed by Shannon & Weaver in 1948, this model describes communication
as a linear process. (See Figure 1.1.) This model describes how a sender, or speaker,
transmits a message to a receiver, or listener. More specifically, the sender is the source of
the message. A message may consist of the sounds, words, or behaviours in a
communication interaction. The message itself is transmitted through a channel, the
pathway or route for communication, to a receiver, who is the target or recipient of the
message. There may be obstacles in the communication process, or noise. Noise refers to
any interference in the channel or distortion of the message. This is a fairly simple model
in which a message is simply passed from sender to receiver.
While the linear model was highly influential during the mid-20th century, this model is
perhaps too simple. Its limitations are easy to see if you pause to think about the beliefs
about communication, or assumptions, made in this model. First, this model assumes that
communication only goes in one direction. Here, a person can be a sender or receiver, but
not both. This is problematic because communication in action is more dynamic than the
linear model suggests.

Interactional Models
In the move to a more dynamic view of communication, interactional models follow
two channels in which communication and feedback flow between sender and
receiver. Feedback is simply a response that a receiver gives to a sender. (See Figure
1.2.) Feedback can be verbal (i.e. “yes”) or nonverbal (i.e. a nod or smile). Most
importantly, feedback indicates comprehension. It can help senders know if their message
was received and understood. By focusing on flow and feedback, interactional models
view communication as an ongoing process.
The final feature of this model is the field of experience. The field of
experience refers to how environment, experiences, culture, and even heredity can
influence how a sender constructs a message. Keep in mind that each person brings a
unique field of experience to an interaction. Likewise, each communication interaction is
unique. While the interactional model is more dynamic than the linear model, it still
contains some limitations. For instance, this model implies that while people can be both
senders and receivers, they cannot do so simultaneously. In lived communication, roles are
not quite so clear-cut and in fact are much more fluid.
 Transactional Models
The transactional is the most dynamic of communication models. One notable
feature of this model is the move from referring to people as senders and receivers to
referring to people as communicators. This implies that communication is achieved as
people both send and receive messages. (See Figure 1.3.) Fundamentally, this model views
communication as a transaction. In other words, communication is a cooperative action in
which communicators co-create the process, outcome and effectiveness of the interaction.
Unlike the linear model in which meaning is sent from one person to another, also unlike
the interactional model in which understanding is achieved through feedback, people
create shared meaning in a more dynamic process in the transactional model.
The transactional model forms the basis for much communication theory because
(1) people are viewed as dynamic communicators rather than simple senders or receivers,
(2) there must be some overlap in fields of experience in order to build shared meaning,
and (3) messages are interdependent.