Communication

Model – CMAPP
Week 2
 Simple Transactional Model
This model reflects the two-way nature of communication.
It works, in principle, for all types of oral and written communication.

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 Simple
Transactional
Model
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 Interference Transac
tional
Model
 Interference Transactional ModeL
✘ It is a complex model.
✘ It caters for interference that is there in real-world
communication.
✘ More suitable for verbal communication.

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 Characteristics of AnInterference
Transactional Model
✘ The sender has an idea that is put into anappropriate language
(encoding)
✘ The sender uses a transmission vehicle.
✘ When the receiver decodes, the transmission is susceptible to
misunderstanding of structure and differing interpretation of
words.
✘ Both sender and receiver may respond to feedback. Real-world
communication is always subject to interference (external/internal)

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 The CMAPP
Communication
Model
 The CMAPP Communication Model
✘ The CMAPP Communication Model is designed
specifically for technical communication.
✘ It consists of 5 Components:
Content
Message
Audience
Purpose
Product
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                      Thinking About Audience
Analysis
✘ We'll use the CMAPP model to think about a miscommunication and
figure out what went wrong and why?

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 Freewrite 
✘ To understand communication models and how to analyze an
audience, we're going to think back to a miscommunication. Think
of a miscommunication you experienced. It could be big or small.
Ideally, choose a situation where you were the sender of the message
that caused the misunderstanding. Write for 5 minutes on the topic
“Tell me about a time when you experienced a miscommunication
with someone. ” As you write, try to go into as much detail as
possible. How did you feel at the time? How did you react? Did the
situation get resolved? If so, how?
 CMAPP MODEL
✘  This model shows us that if we consider the context,
the message, the audience, and the purpose, we'll
understand what product to create. Let’s see if we can
use this model to figure out what went wrong in your
misunderstanding.

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 Context 
 (COVID-19 has definitely changed everything about our context and
we've had to learn new norms). You've had over a decade of schooling,
so you've absorbed a lot of ideas about school: online versus face-to-
face learning etc. Those experiences inform how you read this message.
Think about your environment. Are you reading on a desktop, a phone
or a tablet? Are you distracted? How would the experience be different
if you were learning this material in a face-to-face classroom? The more
we understand about the context and make all those unspoken norms
explicit, the easier our communication will be. 

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 Freewrite 
✘ Set a timer for 2 minutes and make a list of everything you know
about the context of your miscommunication. You might consider: 
✘  What was your context when the miscommunication happened?
What was your audience's context? Were they different? How much
do you know about your audience's context when they received your
message.

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In that freewrite, you might have realized that you don't
know a lot about your audience's context. For example,
let's say that you sent someone a joke through Whats.
App and they thought you were serious and got upset. If
you weren't with them when they got the message, you
might have missed out on important information about
their context. Maybe they'd had a bad day. Maybe they
glanced at your message while they were boarding a
bus and misinterpreted it. Maybe they were actually
upset with you for a different reason that they didn't
want to talk about. Because the context is often
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 Audience 
You may also have multiple audiences, or even audiences you didn't anticipate. For
example, maybe you posted a message online to friends that was commented on by
strangers. Analyzing your audience can be tricky because it's easy to make
assumptions or rely on stereotypes. We often confuse our own preferences with our
audience's preferences. For example, you might be someone who appreciates being
blunt with bad news, but your audience might appreciate a softer approach. Learning
about your audience can involve: • Drawing on experience. How has your audience
reacted in the past? • Asking your audience. • Doing research (surveys, focus groups,
etc). 

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 Freewrite
Set a timer for 2 minutes and write about how the audience
impacted your miscommunication. You might consider: •
How well did you think you understood your audience
before you sent the message? Were you right? • Did you
make any mistakes when analyzing your audience? • When
you sent your message, how much did you think about your
audience's needs?

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 Purpose 
In the workplace, you always have a reason to communicate. Your purpose could be
small, like getting someone to answer your email, or it could be big, like convincing
someone to give your company a big contract. Knowing why you're communicating
will help you know what to include in your message. Often, miscommunications occur
because either you don't have a clear purpose or your purpose isn't appropriate for
your audience. For example, sometimes people struggle to write cover letters because
they think the goal of a cover letter is to get you a job. In fact, the goal of a cover letter
is much smaller; it’s just to get you an interview. You don't have to lay out every detail
of your work experience at once. Understanding your purpose can help you craft a
more successful message.

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 Freewrite
Set a timer for 2 minutes and write about how the
purpose impacted your miscommunication. You might
consider: • What did you hope to achieve with your
miscommunication? • What purpose did you actually
achieve? • Did you think about your purpose
beforehand? • Did the message you sent match your
purpose?

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 Message
 Your message is what information you want to share with your audience. This includes
the words you chose, your tone, your details and much more. Sometimes, you can have
unspoken messages. For example, if you had a cooking blog, your messages might be
"here's how to cook a delicious veggie burger" but your unspoken messages might be
"this is easy and you can do it!" and "with the right flavours, eating healthy can be
delicious. ” It's worth noting that what you learned about the context, audience and
purpose will help you craft your message. For example, you might realize that your
initial idea wouldn't meet your audience's needs, or you didn't have a clear purpose.
That's why we consider the message towards the end of this model.

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 Freewrite
Set a timer for 2 minutes and write about how the message
influenced your miscommunication. You can consider:
 What was the tone of your message? Did you intend that tone?
How much detail did you include? What role did word choice play
in your miscommunication?

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 Product
According to the model we've studied, analyzing your context, audience, message,
and purpose will lead you to your product. Your product is what you create: a text
message, an Instagram post, a phone call etc. If you leap too quickly to the product,
you might get it wrong. Your audience analysis should help you choose an
appropriate product for the situation. For example, you might be tempted to break up
with someone you're casually dating over text message because it's quicker.
However, after talking with friends and considering your date's needs, you might
choose to do it in person or over the phone because it's more respectful.

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 Freewrite
 Set a timer for 2 minutes and write about how the product influenced your
miscommunication. You can consider: 
How did the audience expect to get your message? Was the product you sent the
same as what your audience received? For example, miscommunications sometimes
happen when an emoji looks very different on different phones. Looking back,
would a different product have been preferable?

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 Freewrite 
Set a timer for 3 minutes, then write on the
following topic: What is "good writing? " Where
did my ideas about good writing come from?

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 RECAPITULATION
 What did you learn? Was one part of the CMAPP model responsible for the
miscommunication, or did multiple parts play a role? What could you have done
differently? It's also worth noting that you don't need to conduct a thorough CMAPP
analysis for every email you send. In the workplace, you might use this model before
you tackle a big project, when you're sending a sensitive message or when you're just
starting out. With practice, you'll probably go through the steps without even
thinking about it. We'll build on what we learned in the next lecture when we think
about the tone of a message.

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