What do you call the response a receiver after receiving the message?

Since communication is a central factor and a major consideration for anyone entering today’s workforce, understanding the communication process can help you become a better communicator.

Just what is communication?

Communication is the transmission of information and meaning from one person or group to another.

Components of the Communication Process

The communication process is the steps we take that we might successfully communicate.

A process is a systematic series of actions directed towards a predefined goal.

Communication involves a two-way process in which there is an exchange and progression of ideas towards a mutually acceptable goal.

There are five components that describe the essential parts of the communication process. By analyzing them, we are better equipped to understand what happens when we communicate.

A model showing the communication process. The sender is the originator of the idea or message that is to be conveyed. The sender must choose the best way to convert the idea(s) or message(s) into words, diagrams, graphs, reports, and so on. This conversion process is known as encoding the message.

Before we delve in-depth into the five components of the communication process, let’s first examine the roles of the sender and receiver in the communication process.

Sender’s and Receiver’s Roles

The sender and the receiver have important responsibilities in the communication process. If both fulfill their roles, the communication will be conveyed successfully.

Sender’s Role

The communication process begins with the sender being the initiator of the message. The sender may be a writer, a speaker, or one who simply gestures. The sender’s role in the communication process includes:

Receiver's Role

The receiver is the listener, reader, or observer in the communication process. The receiver’s role includes:

• listening or reading carefully,
• being open to different types of senders and to new ideas,
• making notes when necessary,
• providing appropriate feedback to the sender, and
• asking questions to clarify the message.

Now, we will shed more light to give us in-depth understanding of the communication process

1.     Sender has Message

The process of communication begins when the sender or person with whom the communication originates has a message.

The message is the information that is being passed on during the communication process.

It is the knowledge, ideas, feelings or emotions sent from the sender to the receiver to achieve understanding.

For effective communication to be accomplished, sender should:

• clarify the idea
• contemplate and decide on purpose of message
• analyze the idea and how it can best be presented
• anticipate effect on receiver

2.     Sender Encodes Idea in Message

The next step in the communication process is encodingOpens in new window, done by the sender—person who creates and shares a message.

To encode is to turn a message into a series of meaningful words and codes.

Before the message can be sent to the receiver, the sender needs to encode the message.

Because it’s the sender who initiates the communication process, he/she is primarily responsible for its success or failure. Thus, choosing the appropriate words or signs is the first step to ensuring effective communication.

For effective communication to be accomplished, sender should:

• consider receiver’s background, communication skills, experience, culture, as well as context
• choose concrete words and appropriate symbols
• encourage feedback

3.     Message Travels Over Channel

The medium over which the message is physically transmitted is the channelOpens in new window.

To send messages, people speak and write. To receive messages, people listen and read.

Letters and reports are common channels for written messages. Face-to-face conversations and telephone calls are common channels for spoken messages.

E-mail and voice mail are common channels for written and spoken electronic messages. Nowadays messages are increasingly carried over digital networks with huge tendency for distraction and breakdown.

For effective communication to be accomplished, sender should:

• consider importance of message, getting feedback, interactivity
• choose a channel that the receiver prefers
• make effort to reduce channel noise and distractions by thinking possible ways to do so
• be aware of competing messages

4.     Receiver Decodes Message

The individual to whom the message is intended is the receiver. Translating the message from its sign format into meaning is what is called decodingOpens in new window.

Only when the receiver understands the meaning intended by the sender (i.e., successfully decodes the message) does communication take place. Such success is often difficult because factors such as education, opinions, and emotional states shape how a receiver interprets a message.

For effective communication to be accomplished, receiver should:

• avoid prejudging message
• strive to understand both verbal and nonverbal cues
• avoid distractions
• create receptive environment
• expect to learn

5.     Feedback Travels to Sender

Feedbacks, an important component in the communication, is the response of a receiver to a message. Feedback can be nonverbal (a smile or a nod of the head) or it can be verbal (a comment related to the message). Any response—even no response—is feedback.

Feedback is important because it helps the sender know that the message was received and understood. Senders can encourage feedback by asking questions such as “Am I making myself clear?” and “Is there anything you don’t understand?”

Senders can further improve feedback by timing the delivery appropriately and by providing only as much information as the receiver can handle.

Receivers improve the communication process by providing clear and complete feedback. In the business world, one of the best ways to advance understanding is to paraphrase the sender’s message with comments such as “Let me try to explain that in my own words.”

For effective communication to be accomplished, receiver should:

• craft clear and complete response that reveals comprehension of message meaning
• begin the cycle again when the receiver becomes the sender with the same concerns.

Working of the Communication Process

A.  One Way Process

1. The sender, based on his foundational knowledge, behavior patterns and intention, selects a message.
2. Thereafter, he encodes the message.
3. Then he transmits the message to the receiver through a suitable channel, which can be oral, verbal or nonverbal.
4. When the message gets delivered to the receiver, the receiver then decodes the message and offers an internal response to the message as understood. The response is not in relation to the actual content but rather to the understood content of the original message. This marks the completion of the first phase of the communication process.

A model showing the Working of Communication Process

B.  Two Way Process

The one-way communication process remains incomplete; for the sender does not come to know whether his message has been understood by the receiver or not. The process is complete only when the sender receives feedback from the receiver.

In the Two way communication process, the receiver makes his response known by putting it into message, encodes it and transmit it to the original sender—whom is now the receiver. This stage is referred to as providing feedback and is most crucial. If, the feedback is in tune with the original intent of the sender, communication can proceed without a hassle.

Note that in some cases, there could be slight distortion in the communication process as the receiver might not agree with the content of the message sent by the sender. In such a case, it doesn’t mean there is a breakdown in communication.

We can in such cases state that effective communication is distracted for the time being and would resume after subsequent attempt to continue communicating.

For effective communication to be accomplished, sender should:

• Create awareness in the receiver on the topic
• Propose his point of view with clarity and precision in order to avoid possibilities of confusion from interpretation of the receiver.
• Establish smooth flow of discussion through an observance of communication strategies.
• Reinforce or correct ideas in the mind of the receiver concerning the goal of communication.
• Achieve the goal of communication.