The Process of Communication:

The word ‘comm.’ has its root in the

Latin word ‘communicare’, which
means ‘to share’, and this sharing is
of information, knowledge, and
thoughts. For sharing information,
you require two parties__the sender
and the receiver, without which
comm. Cannot take place; not only
that but also, there should be co-
operation and understanding
between them. They should have a
mutually accepted code of signals
making up a common language. So
comm. Can be defined as the
exchange of information, ideas, and
knowledge between sender &
 receiver through an accepted code
of symbols. It is termed effective
only when the receiver receives the
message inteded by the sender in
the same perspective; otherwise it is
miscommunication.

The comm. Cycle: Consider the comm.

process as shown below.
: Comm. Environment:
Sender→message encoded →sent
message→ receiver→channel →received
message→ message decoded→Response
Feedback
The transmission of the receiver’s
response to the sender is called feedback.
Feedback is essential as it is a barometer
of effective comm. If you are sending a
message to somebody, your comm. cycle
is complete only when you get a response
from the recipient of your message.
Otherwise, you need to resend the
message..

Comm. takes place in a well-defined set-

up. This is called the ‘Comm.
Environment’. A classroom is the comm.
environ. when a teacher delivers lectures
to students. Messages themselves are
transferred through a medium, the’
channel.’ In oral comm., the air or
telephone wires are commonly used
channels. Language is the tool we use
through channels to exchange
information. In short, the essentials of
effective comm. are :
➢ A common comm. environ.
➢ Cooperation between the
sender and the receiver
➢ Selection of an appropriate
channel
➢ Correct encoding and
decoding of the message
➢ Receipt of the desired
response and feedback.
General and Technical Comm.;
Comm. is important not only in an
organization but also in daily life. In
everyday life, you will find that comm.
occurs everywhere. It is an integral part
of daily activity. When your alarm clock
goes off, it is comm.through sound and
urges you to get out of bed. You watch
the morning news on TV_comm., you
say goodbye to your family as you leave
home_comm., you call for a taxi and tell
the driver to head for your
office__comm. At your workplace, all
the activities revolve around comm., be it
oral or written. Messages that are non-
technical or informal in nature are
categorized as
general purpose comm., whereas
messages pertaining to technical,
industrial, or business matters belong to
the category of technical or business
comm. Let’s look at the differences
between the two categories.

General Comm. Tech. Comm.

>Contains a > Contains a tech.

general message message
> Informal in style > Mostly formal
& approach
> No set pattern of > Follows a set
comm. pattern
> Mostly oral > Both oral &
written
> Not always for a > Always for a
specific audience special Audience
> Doesn’t involve > Frequently
the use of tech. involves jargon,
vocabulary or graphics etc.
graphics etc