Professional Communication_notes: Definition, Means, Process

PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION_NOTES DEFINITION, MEANS, PROCESS

COMMUNICATION: DEFINITION & CONCEPT • Communication is the planned or unplanned process of transmitting information, ideas, emotions, skills or attitude from the sender to the receiver. • The purpose of communication is to influence with intent. • This process can use symbols, words, pictures, figures etc. in a given social context.

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION • The tools and technology used for exchanging information between people and organizations are called means of communication. • The means of communication play a vital role for the effective transfer of information. • They are classified into four categories.

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION_TYPES 1. Oral means:

• The process of exchanging message or information orally is called oral communication. • E.g. face-to-face conversations, group discussions, counselling, interview, radio, television, telephone calls etc. 2. Written means: • The process of exchanging message or information through written material is known as written communication. • E.g. fax, E-mail, Internet, Telegram etc.

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION_TYPES 3. Electronic means: • The process of exchanging message or information (conversation, image, sound, graphics, maps, interactive software etc.) using electronic media is known as electronic communication. • E.g. Internet, e-mail, mobile phones, internal communication links, voice mails etc. 4. Visual means: • The process of exchanging message or information using an image is called visual communication. • E.g. sign, poster, drawing, photograph, diagram, chart, map, television advertisement etc.

PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION • Communication process consists of some interrelated steps or components by which messages are sent from sender to receiver. • The process of communication begins with conceptualization of an idea or message by the sender, goes on to the transmission of the fact/ idea/ opinion/ other information to the receiver and ends with receiver’s feedback to the sender. • The process consists of the following steps: Ideation (by Sender) >> Encoding >> Message >> Medium >> Transmission >> Reception (by Receiver) >> Decoding >> Feedback

PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION 1. Ideation: Sender develops or conceptualizes an idea to be sent. Also known as the planning stage. 2. Encoding: Converting or translation the idea into a perceivable form that can be communicated to others. 3. Message: After encoding, the sender gets a message that can be transmitted to the receiver. The tool can be oral, written, symbolic or nonverbal language. For example, when people talk, speech is the message; when people write a letter, the words and sentences are the message. 4. Medium: Medium is the channel or means of transmitting the message to the receiver. The medium of communication can be speaking, writing, signaling, gesturing etc.

DIAGRAM COMMUNICATION ENVIRONMENT NOISE

IDEATION (SENDER)

ENCODING MESSAGE

MESSAGE SENT

MEDIUM & TRANSMISSION

FEEDBACK

MESSAGE RECEIVED

DECODING MESSAGE

RESPONSE (RECEIVER)

PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION 5. Transmission: Sender transmits the message through chosen medium. In the communication cycle, the task of the sender ends with the transmission of the message. 6. Reception: Reception of sender’s message by the receiver, in the form of hearing, seeing, feeling and so on. 7. Decoding: Receiver’s interpretation of the sender’s message. Receiver converts the message into thoughts and tries to analyze and understand it. Effective communication can occur only when both the sender and the receiver assign the same or similar meanings to the message. 8. Feedback: Final step of communication process. Feedback means receiver’s response to sender’s message. Feedback is the essence of two-way communication.

FEEDBACK & NOISE Feedback: Re-encoded response of Receiver sent back to Sender. If there is response, then the message has been communicated. a) Positive feedback – ‘Keep doing what you are doing’ b) Negative feedback – ‘Change what you are doing’ c) Immediate feedback – in oral communication (face to face, telephone, lecture, presentation) d) Delayed feedback – in written communication (letter, fax, e-mail) Noise: Any unplanned interference in communication which causes hindrance in transmission of the message. a) External: Interference in channel – static, mechanical failures, problems with volume, pitch, legibility of text etc. b) Internal: Interference or incompleteness in personal sphere – errors in the message, grammatical errors, wrong spellings, incorrect punctuation etc. c) Semantic: Interference in medium – ambiguity, wrong interpretation etc.