small business owner might want certain types of communications -- or instance, resource

requests or evaluations -- to always be in written form.

 Decoding
Decoding is the job of the receiver of the message. It involves interpreting the verbal and
nonverbal messages transmitted by the sender. For successful business communication, the
encoding and decoding processes must be in sync. This requires trust between the receiver
and the sender. Cultural differences often play a part in building this trust, especially in the
interpretation of nonverbal communications. For example, pointing with a finger is
acceptable in North America but considered rude in many parts of Asia.
 Receiver
The receiver of a business message may be a supervisor, subordinate, peer, group, customer
or supplier. Additionally, more than one audience might receive the communication. For
instance, a subordinate can send a proposal to a supervisor -- the primary recipient -- who
can forward it to his own manager -- the secondary recipient -- to solicit feedback.
Considering the message’s audience affects choices such as language and tone.
 Feedback
Receivers supply feedback when they respond to messages. Feedback lets the sender know
whether the receiver correctly interpreted the message and encourages further interaction.
For an owner fielding employee requests or complaints, a handy approach to providing
feedback is to summarize the message. As the authors of “Management: Meeting and
Exceeding Expectations” point out, if a receiver can’t restate a message, it’s a sure sign the
message wasn’t understood.
 Noise
Noise is any type of disruption that interferes with the transmission or interpretation of
information from the sender to the receiver. There are different types of noise, such as
physical noise, psychological noise, semantic noise, and of course, physiological noise.