The Communication Process

Communication

The interpersonal transfer of information and understanding from one person to another is communication. Links in this social process include sender, encoding, medium, decoding, receiver, and feedback. The communication process is only as strong as its weakest link.

The Basic Communication Process

 Encoding

Translating internal thought patterns into a language or code the intended receiver of the message will likely understand and/or pay attention to choice of words, gestures, or other symbols for encoding depends on the nature of the message.

—  Technical or nontechnical

—  Emotional or factual

—  Visual or auditory

—  Cultural diversity can create encoding challenges.

Selecting a Medium

•         Face-to-face conversations

•         Telephone calls

•         E-mails

•         Memos

•         Letters

•         Computer reports

•         Photographs

•         Bulletin boards

•         Meetings

•         Organizational publications

•         News releases

•         Press conferences

•         Advertising

•         Moving between low- and high-context cultures can create appropriate media selection problems.

•         In low-context cultures, the verbal content of the message is more important than the medium through which it is delivered.

•         In high-context cultures, the context (setting) in which the message is delivered is more important than the literal words of the message.

A Contingency Approach (Lengel and Daft)

Media richness: A given medium’s capacity to convey information and promote learning

Characteristics of rich mediums

—  Provide simultaneous multiple information cues

—  Facilitate immediate feedback

—  Have a personal focus

Characteristics of lean mediums

—  Convey limited information (few cues)

—  Provide no immediate feedback

—  Impersonal in nature

The Legal-Daft Contingency Model of Media Selection