ELEMENTS OF

COMMUNICATION
Life Without Communication?
 “Therehas been more information
produced in the last 30 years than
during the previous 5,000 . . . The
information supply available to us
doubles every five years.” Richard
Saul Wurman
Life Without Communication?
 Have you ever considered what
life would be like without
communication?
◦ No reassuring smiles, no love
songs on the radio, no gripping
novels, no comforting hugs, no
friendly conversation.
Communication Defined
 Communication is the transfer or
exchange of thoughts,
information, ideas, and feelings
by speech, writing, or signals
between at least two people.
Interesting Info . . .
 “Onthe job, the average employee
spends about 45% of his
communication time listening,
about 30% speaking, about 16%
reading, and about 9% writing.”
George Bell
Five Elements of Communication
 The Situation
 The Sender
 The Receiver
 The Message
 The Purpose of the Message
The Situation
 The situation that requires
communication includes what is
happening and where it is
happening.
 As the situation changes, the

types of communication activities

may change too.
The Sender
 The sender is the person who is
speaking or writing.
 The background, experience,

attitudes, and skills of the sender

always affect the message.
The Receiver
 The receiver of the message could
be one person or thousands of
people.
 The receiver of the message is also

known as the audience.

 Audiences can be divided into two

groups: specialists and the

general audience.
Two Types of Audiences
 Specialists have interest, experience,
and knowledge in a particular technical
field.
 The general audience includes

everyone else: clients, customers,

patients, sales representatives,
suppliers, and the general public.
These people have little understanding
of the technical details associated with
your work.
The Message
 The message is the information and
ideas relayed by the sender to the
audience.
 Some examples: radio

announcements, memos, letters,

photographs, phone calls, speeches,
CDs, E-mail messages, facial
expressions, cartoons, maps, catalogs,
etc.
The Purpose
 Messages that are sent to both
specialists and general audiences can
have many purposes. The purpose
can be to:
◦ Socialize (small talk or inquiries about
personal interests)
◦ Inform (about a situation, need, problem,
or success)
◦ Persuade (to make a decision, revise an
opinion, or take an action)
Effect of the Message
 Communication is effective if
something happens as a result—but
not just any something. The
something that happens must
accomplish the sender’s purpose. If,
for example, you fax a letter to a
customer asking her to pay a bill
immediately, and a check arrives two
days later, you have communicated
effectively.
Effect of the Audience on the
Message
 Effective communication is an
interactive process—that is the sender
acts upon or affects the audience and
the audience in turn affects the
sender.
 Once the sender has determined the

content and purpose of the message,

the sender must consider how to
communicate effectively with his or
her particular audience.
Effect of the Audience on the
Message
 To do this, analyze (study) the audience and
then adapt (adjust) the message.
Culture and Communication
 In analyzing the audience, one important
consideration is the audience’s cultural
background.
 Many factors shape cultural backgrounds.
 Examples:

◦ The region of the country or world where raised

◦ Religion
◦ Race
◦ Gender
◦ Age, etc.
Adapt the Communication for the
Audience
 Ifa message can be understood in
more than one way, it is
ineffective.
 The writer or speaker must

analyze the audience and adapt

the message.
 Consider the questions on the

following slide.
Questions
 How will the audience use the
message?
 What vocabulary will the audience

understand?
 Will an illustration or another visual

help the reader understand?

 How can I convince the audience to do

what I want?