Communication – The term communication is derived from the Latin word “Communis” which means to share. Effective communication takes place when the message conveyed by the sender is understood by the receiver in exactly the same way as it was planned.

Communication Process & the Communication Model -

• The process of communication refers to the transmission or passage of information or message from the sender through a selected channel to the receiver overcoming barriers that affect its pace.

• The process of communication is a cyclic one as it begins with the sender and ends with the sender in the form of feedback. It takes place upward, downward and laterally throughout the organization.

• The process of communication as such must be a continuous and dynamic interaction, both affecting and being affected by many variables.

• Communication process consists of certain steps where each step constitutes the essential of an effective communication.

There are Eight Major Elements of a Communication Process :-

1. Sender: The sender or the communicator is the person who starts the conversation. He is the sender of the message which may be a thought, idea, a picture, symbol, report or an order and postures and gestures, even a momentary smile. The sender is therefore the initiator of the message that need to be transmitted. After having generated the idea, information etc. the sender encodes it in such a manner that can be well-understood by the receiver.

2. Encoding: The sender begins with the encoding process. The sender uses certain words or non-verbal methods such as symbols, signs, body gestures to form a message. Encoding is an important step in the communication process as wrong and inappropriate encoding may defeat the true intent of the communication process.

3. Message: Once the encoding is finished, the sender gets the message that she/he intends to convey. The message can be written, oral, or non-verbal. Message is the heart of communication. It is the content the sender wants to covey to the receiver. It can be verbal both written and spoken; or non-verbal i.e. pictorial or symbolic, etc.

4. Communication Channel: The Sender chooses the medium through which she/he wants to convey his message to the recipient/receiver. It must be selected carefully in order to make the message effective and correctly understood by the recipient. The choice of the medium depends on the interpersonal relationships between the sender and the receiver and also on the urgency of the message being sent. Oral, virtual, written, sound, gestures are some of the commonly used communication mediums.

5. Receiver: The receiver is the person for whom the message is intended or targeted. The receiver tries to comprehend/ understand and analyse the message. The receiver is as significant a factor in communication process as the sender is. It is the other end of the process. The receiver should be in fit condition to receive the message, that is, he/she should have channel of communication active and should not be preoccupied with other thoughts that might cause him/her to pay insufficient attention to the message.

6. Decoding: Here, the receiver interprets the sender’s message and tries to understand it in the best possible manner. An effective communication occurs only if the receiver understands the message in exactly the same way as it was planned by the sender.

7. Feedback: The Feedback is the final step of the process that ensures the receiver has received the message and interpreted it correctly.

   Types of Feedback : - Kevin Eujeberry, the world famous leadership exponent mentioned the four types of feedback. The types are as follows −

   • Negative Feedback or corrective comments about past behavior

   • Positive Feedback or affirming comments about future behavior

   • Negative feedforward or corrective comments about future behavior

   • Positive feedforward or affirming comments about future behavior

8. Noise: The Noise shows the barriers in communication process. It refers to the disturbances, distractions or misunderstandings in the communication process.

The process of communication, however, is not as smooth or barrier-free as it seems. From its transmission to receipt, the message may get interfered or disturbed with at any stage by many factors which are known as barriers to effective communication. One of the factors is poor choice of communication method. In addition to a poor choice of communication method, other barriers to effective communication include noise and other physical distractions, language problems, and failure to recognize nonverbal signals.