Communication is an operation that occurs between two or more entities; people can communicate with other people, people can communicate with machines, machines can communicate with other machines, animals can communicate with other animals and also with people, and in all these cases the opposite is also true. The act of communication can be dissected into its component parts:
The Sender - This is essentially the encoder of information to be relayed.
The Message - This is the raw information that is being conveyed, to which meaning and/or understanding is later added.
The Channel - This is the means by which the raw information is expressed. This could include words, pictures, body language, sounds, involuntary biological happenings and smells among many others.
The Receiver - This is the intended target and decoder of the information sent.
Noise - This refers to anything that may interfere with the message being received, which may equate to physical noise such as loud music in a bar when trying to have a conversation. Psychological noise like preconceptions, stereotypes and prejudice. Noise would also encompass physiological noise i.e. When getting up to make a speech in front of a room full of people the sweating, blushing and a dry mouth would likely affect the performance of the speaker, while in turn the audience might make judgments on the speaker.
Feedback - The reactions from the decoder upon receiving the message, from full-blown arguments, to a raising of the eyebrow we offer feedback all the time, which the receiver will pick up on and react to themselves. A good communicator will be able to react early to subtle cues in feedback and modify their behavior to elicit the most favorable response from their communicant(s).
Influence - This relates to the influence of societal structures and conventions, beliefs and personal experience, as well as other factors that may impress upon the receiver to either intentionally, but more often than unintentionally assign a specific interpretation to the previously unprocessed message.
The Sender - This is essentially the encoder of information to be relayed.
The Message - This is the raw information that is being conveyed, to which meaning and/or understanding is later added.
The Channel - This is the means by which the raw information is expressed. This could include words, pictures, body language, sounds, involuntary biological happenings and smells among many others.
The Receiver - This is the intended target and decoder of the information sent.
Noise - This refers to anything that may interfere with the message being received, which may equate to physical noise such as loud music in a bar when trying to have a conversation. Psychological noise like preconceptions, stereotypes and prejudice. Noise would also encompass physiological noise i.e. When getting up to make a speech in front of a room full of people the sweating, blushing and a dry mouth would likely affect the performance of the speaker, while in turn the audience might make judgments on the speaker.
Feedback - The reactions from the decoder upon receiving the message, from full-blown arguments, to a raising of the eyebrow we offer feedback all the time, which the receiver will pick up on and react to themselves. A good communicator will be able to react early to subtle cues in feedback and modify their behavior to elicit the most favorable response from their communicant(s).
Influence - This relates to the influence of societal structures and conventions, beliefs and personal experience, as well as other factors that may impress upon the receiver to either intentionally, but more often than unintentionally assign a specific interpretation to the previously unprocessed message.
