Introduction to Communication

Communication

A systematic process in which people send and receive messages through symbols to discover and interpret meanings

Fifth stage

Message feedback is transmitted through a channel

You're speaking with your friend, telling him about your plans for the weekend. You notice that his eyes narrow when you tell him about the birthday party. You suddenly realize that he hasn't been invited.

Symbolic nature of communication

You've been invited to give a two-minute speech to the school board explaining why your school needs additional funding for the yearbook. As you plan, you ask yourself: How should I begin? With a joke? What about an interesting statistic tied to last year's yearbook? How do I get their attention and keep it?

Systematic nature of communication

Third stage

A message is received, perceived, and decoded

Second stage

A message is transmitted through a channel

Message

An organized element of communication that includes meaning and symbols, encoding and decoding

Fourth stage

Feedback is encoded into a message

First stage

Meaning is encoded into a message

Sixth stage

Message feedback is received, perceived, and decoded

Which of the following are not parts of a message? Select all that apply

Noise and feedback

Systemic

Pertaining to a system or systems; pertaining to or affecting the entire body

You're talking to your grandmother over the cell phone. Your batteries are low, and at some point, the signal begins to cut out. Your grandmother keeps interrupting you with "What?" "I can't hear you." "Can you repeat that?"

Process-oriented nature of communication

Decoding

The process of transforming and interpreting another's message back into the receiver's own meaning

Encoding

The thinking process in which ideas and emotions are transformed into symbols and organized into a message

Interact

To act upon each other

Feedback

Verbal or nonverbal responses to a message