in this video we'll discuss the definition of communication and a few of
the fundamental characteristics of communication will also explore it three
models of the communication process first let's address the question what is
communication
well the short answer is that communication is the process through
which we attempt to make meaning by sending and receiving messages
communication can take on a variety of forms first we use both verbal and
nonverbal channels to communicate verbal communication refers exclusively to the
words that we choose most languages are incredibly broad and diverse offering a
breadth of options in attempting to share an idea verbal communication is about
choosing the word that best communicates that idea everything else gestures
appearance vocal inflection the notion of personal space facial expressions
would all fall under the category of nonverbal communication
another important factor is whether the communication is taking place
face-to-face or via an electronically mediated channel face-to-face
communication is very channel rich meaning we can usually make use of all
kinds of verbal and nonverbal cues electronically mediated communication
like text messages email and social media however are more channel lean your
somewhat limited in that you can't see facial expressions or hear the person's
tone of voice in the way the you can in face-to-face communication one more
thing to keep in mind is that communication is irreversible once
something is expressed and received it cannot simply be erased or taken back
never had a comment slip out unintentionally or said something you
immediately wish you could take back while an apology or correction is nice
it doesn't wipe away the original comment or expression once it's out
there it's out there for good
nowhere is this principle related more absurdly than in the court of law
have you ever watched a TV show or movie where an attorney says something
prejudicial and inflammatory followed by the judge instructing the jury to
disregard the comment no such thing as possible and everyone there know
is it these explanations just begin to scratch the surface of understanding
communication will dig deeper over the course of this video and even further in
other videos over the years the study of communications developed through three
basic models of the communication process will take a look at each of
these models and see how our understanding of communication has
changed with each one the first model of communication that was developed was the
action model the action model of communication portrays communication as
a one-way process communication is something that one person does too or at
another person when the other person has a response the whole process flips
around and starts a new in the action model communication begins with the
sender quite simply the center is the person who has something they're
attempting to express the center and codes or packages a message using verbal
and or nonverbal communication to send it to a receiver the message refers to
what it is they are trying to communicate the message can be
communicated verbally non-verbally or a combination of both the message can also
be communicated intentionally or unintentionally the method through which
the message is communicated is called the channel if a message is the what
then the channel is the how
what are some channels that you use to communicate imagine you use your voice
and communicating face-to-face do you talk on the phone text post and social
media email write it on posted notes use smoke signals tap on the wall for morse
code all of these would represent a channel of communication when we
communicate we direct communication at a person or persons the person for whom
the communication is meant is called the receiver which is the fourth element in
the action model of communication
it is the responsibility of the receiver to decode the message that the center is
encoded and attempt to make sense of it
the fifth and final element in the action model is noise
noise refers to anything that interferes with the sending or receiving of a
message there are three basic categories of noise
the first is physical noise which refers to interference from the surrounding
environment physical noise could be audible such as loud or distracting
sounds that keep you from clearly hearing or paying attention to the
message physical noise could also come from other sources though such as a
room being too hot or too cold things flashing by the window and drawing your
attention elsewhere or having to sit in an uncomfortable chair another type of
noise is psychological noise those of you who are mentally making your grocery
list or thinking of other things you need to get done today instead of fully
paying attention to this lesson for example are experiencing psychological
noise
anytime that were daydreaming or mind is simply elsewhere while someone is
speaking to us we experienced psychological noise physiological noise
is the final category of noise as the name would suggest physiological noise
has to do with your body you ever have trouble paying attention when you're
hungry how about when you're sick or you have a headache
those are common sources of physiological noise hearing loss can be
another source of physiological noise so those five elements sender message
channel receiver and noise make up the action model of communication as
scholars continue to study communication in greater depth and detail however they
discovered that the action model didn't paint the full picture of what happens
during the communication process as a result they developed a new model the
interaction model the interaction model keeps all five of those original
elements center message channel receiver and noise and adds two more feedback and
context feedback as the response of the receiver to the message feedback can be
verbal or nonverbal intentional or unintentional and creates a sort of loop
within the communication process
where's the action model is a one-way street the recognition of feedback
creates a two-way process
think of it like a ping-pong game where the ball goes back and forth one player
sends the ball in this case the message across the net to the receiver the
receiver then sends the ball now in the form of feedback back across the net to
the first person the element of feedback allows all of this to happen as part of
one inclusive process the other new element in the interaction model is
context context sometimes called the environment or the situation refers to
the physical and psychological circumstances in which the communication
takes place communication does not take place in a vacuum it happens somewhere
it sometime between someone's you don't have the same conversation in the
produce section of the grocery store that you do overall mantic candlelight
dinner right
the topics are different the tone is different the volume is different
these things also very when you're having a conversation with your best
friend or someone you hardly know it all
this is the impact of context knowing what is appropriate in that situation
and with that person as you can see with the addition of feedback in context the
interaction model represents a leap forward in our understanding of the
communication process it was still really a work in progress though as
you'll see in the most current model of the communication process the
transactional model the transactional model of communication doesn't really
add or subtract any significant elements
it does however modify those elements to more accurately reflect the
communication process the first modification recognizes that there's not
just one Center and one receiver in the process rather the communicator on each
side of the process is both the sender and receiver as a result the
transactional model changes those labels from sender and receiver to communicator
a and communicator be both of whom send messages and feedback the other update
in the transactional model is the change from simple feedback to simultaneous
feedback communicators don't wait for the completion of the message to send
feed
back we signal all kinds of things while the message is still being sent
sometimes this is nonverbal such as facial expressions signaling shock anger
happiness disagreement or boredom
we also provide simultaneous verbal feedback when we interrupt someone who's
speaking or prompt them by saying things like uh huh and go on the essence of
both of these modifications changes our perception of communication
I compared the interaction model to a traditional ping-pong game where you
have one ball going back and forth so that one person is waiting for the other
to finish before sending feedback the transactional model however is more like
a ping-pong game where a hundred different ping-pong balls are going back
and forth all at once as we're constantly sending and receiving
messages so how does all of this applies specifically to public speaking
well you tell me take a moment to consider which of these models best
illustrates the communication between a speaker and his or her audience why is
that
give me your explanation go ahead I'll give you a moment
if you need more time to answer those questions feel free to pause the video
now otherwise let's continue in this video we discussed the definition of
communication and a few of the fundamental characteristics of
communication we also explored three models of the communication process
check out some of our other videos for more insight into the public speaking
process