“Communication creates a common pool of ideas, strengthens the feelings of togetherness through the exchange of messages and translates thought into action.”
Communication is the arrangement of environment stimuli to produce desired behaviours on the part of the organism. Communication is a process that involves stimulus and response. The stimulus arises from the sender called encoder, and the decoder (receiver) responds accordingly.
Two-way process of communication which is called the cyclic process of communication. This is considered as the complete process of communication. The communication is thus, a continuous & step- by- step process.
This dynamic two- way ( transational) process can be broken into following phases:
1.Sender’s conception: The process begins with the encoder who is the sender, conceives an idea that is meant to be shared.
2. Encoding process: The encoding process proceeds where the idea is translated into a message that the decoder,i.e receiver will receive & conceive. Here the encoder decides upon the form of message(words, expression & gesture), length, organisation, tone and style. This all depends on the conception, audience, and the personal style/ mood of the sender.
3. Choice of Channel/ medium: The selection of a channel (verbal/non- verbal – spoken/ written) and a medium (telephone, email, report and face-to-face exchange) is decided to transmit the message to the receiver, the decoder.
4. Receiver- The decoder receives the message :The two-way process of communication occurs, only after the receiver gets the message. For example, an email is sent, which the receiver reads and decodes/ understands it. Other, when a speech is presented, the listener should be able to listen by paying complete attention.
5. Decoding process : The receiver decodes (understands/ absorbs) the message. This message is stored in the decoder’s mind, where it is interpreted correctly by assigning the same meaning of words that the encoder intended and responding in the desired way.
6. Feedback: Feedback is the response to the sender. This is very important as the effectiveness of communication is evaluated by the encoder. The cycle of communication completes only when the sender receives the feedback. The communication is said to be effective, successful and complete only when there is a response from the receiver.
The communication process is the guide towards completing an effective communication. It is through the communication process that the sharing of a common meaning between the sender and receiver takes place. Individuals who follow the communication process will have the chance to become successful in every walk of professional life because effective communication leads to understanding.
” The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place”