Tools and Factors of

Communication
Course code:1119
Ms. AMNA ASLAM
What is Communication?

 The word has been derived from Latin words ‘communis’ and
‘communicare’. The meaning of the first word suggests to make
common and ‘communicare’ means to share or sharing.
 Communication is the process of expressing one’s ideas,
thoughts, feelings, expressions,
emotions, language, knowledge etc.
Tools of Communication

There are various tools that helps in the process of communication.

 SMS/Text Messaging
 Cell and Data Plans
 Video and Web Conferencing
 Social Networking Sites
 G-Suite and Microsoft 365/Office
 Online Collaboration/Productivity Tools
i) Language: The main function of each and every language is to communicate. It is
one of the foremost and important tool of communication. It is the most clear and
comfortable tool to use. Each and every individual uses this tools in the process of
communication. There are different
languages in this world. We need to have knowledge of a particular language in
order to communicate in that language.
ii) Script: This is a group of symbols used to express the language in the written
format. They are also highly essential useful tools of communication.
iii) Drawing/Painting/Sculpture/Visual art: Many individuals are blessed with
creativity. They use their creativity to communicate in an artistic manner. Their
art is well accepted in the society and gives them high regard. These artistic
creations reflect nothing else but communication. They express themselves with
the help of art. A small piece of art can convey thousands of sentences by its
form, size, color combination, shades etc.
iv) Body: Our body is one of the most important tools of communication. Whether
we
are using language or not it is always present in the process of communication.
Our words must be supported by proper actions reflected by the body. They may
be in the form of
gestures, postures, eye contact, spacing etc. This type of tool is otherwise known
as body language.
v) Silence: In particular situations silence can also act as an important tool for
communication. There are many instances where either we don’t use
language/words or we are not in a position to use those. In such situations
silence has the power to convey the message effectively. For instance the
silence inside an examination hall suggests discipline and law abiding.
vi) Dress/costume: This is also an important tool for communication.
Dress has been an integral part of every culture, tradition, custom and
practice. They give shape to our personality and individuality. Dress
also reflects culture and behavior. An individual’s behavior can always
be guessed by the kind dress one is wearing. It has the potential to
convey many things without the use of words. School uniform, mask,
traditional attire etc. can convey the purpose. We can identify an
individual from the dress.
vii) Surrounding/Environment: Many a times just by reflecting to the
environment we
get a lot of message. Many things are communicated by the
environment itself. We
need not engage in words to understand a particular situation or
context.
Factors that influence the
process of Communication:
There are various factors that influence the process of
communication. Without having a
proper understanding of the factors one cannot involve in the
process of communication
effectively. They control and regulate the process of
communication. These factors are
 Code
 Channel
 Topic
 Message
 Context
 Feedback
 Noise
 Barriers
 filters.
 Sender & receiver: They are the two participants essential for the
process of communication to take place. One is sender and other is
receiver.
 Code: It is a system of symbols used for the purpose of
communication. Language is the most
prominent code used by human beings. Each language uses various
symbols in the form of
letters which are represented by different script in different languages
for written
communication and different sounds for oral communication. For the
communication to be
complete both sender and receiver must be well versed with code
they use.
In case of non verbal communication we use gestures/body language as
code. “Code” is also a set of rules which we follow while using a
particular language. Each language has different rules e.g. Grammar,
sounds (phonetics) and syntax (sentence structure).
 Channel: It refers to the medium through which the information passes.
There are basically two
types of channels. a)
 Auditory channel: The message in the transmission is converted into
sounds and the sound wave passes through air to reach the receiver.
 Visual channel: In case
of written communication we read symbols with the help of vision. This
type of channel is also
used while sending or receiving non-verbal messages.
 Topic: The topic is the idea converted into a message. The topic should
suit both the sender and receiver. The topic can range from an event,
action, object, person, experience, feeling, emotion, subject, theory,
analysis, law, regulations, etc.
 Message: In verbal communication it is the form in which the
information is sent or received by the participants. It can be
words/group of words or sentences/group of sentences. In case of
non-verbal communication it depends on the situation or context. In
non-verbal communication the message becomes signal sent by
means of signs, symbols, gestures, postures etc.
 Context: It is the setting in which the communication takes place.
The context is dependent on factors like time of communication,
place, sender/receiver, channel, code and topic etc. For complete
communication to take place both the participants should be
sensitive towards the context or else the message may be wrongly
comprehended and the result can be disastrous. In case of written
communication the context is less visible.
 Noise: Any interference in the message sent and the message
received leads to the production
of ‘noise’. Noise doesn’t refer to the concept of sound but a break or
disturbance in the
communication process. If noise occurs because of technological
factors, it is not too much of a
problem as it can be removed or rectified by correcting the fault. But,
if it is a result of human
error, then both the participants should take corrective measures.
 Feedback: It is considered the reaction/response
to the message. The feedback is given by the receiver, but when the
receiver is giving the
feedback he/she becomes the sender and the sender becomes the
receiver. That’s why it is also
known as the reverse flow of communication. Feedback denotes
whether the receiver has
understood the message or not. The effectiveness of the process of
communication depends on feedback.
 Barriers: Barriers creates obstruction in the process of communication.
There can be
different types of barriers e.g. physical barriers and emotional barriers.
Physical barriers include
medium, crowd, physical object, distance, noise etc. Emotional barriers
include intrapersonal
behavior, interpersonal behavior, categorical (clear)thinking, wrong
assumptions etc.
 Filters: A filter is something that can delete, distort, or generalize
the message we're trying to share. And filters are in place for both
the sender and receiver in every single conversation.
 Filters are like barriers but the only differences is they filter the
process of
communication. They channelizes or cleans the process as a result
the message is not properly received by the receiver. It mainly
occurs at the psychological level or individual level. E.g. Social
status, skill, orthodox(beliefs) thinking, content, culture, gender etc.