Understanding communication model and channels

Communication Model

In communication, there is always a sender and a receiver (maybe more than one in some cases). Both parties have their own experiences, their perceptions, their ideas, etc, hence they may experience, perceive, and interpret things differently. The same event will always be perceived a little different by each party.

A simple communication model in Figure 1 shows how the information travels from sender to receiver.

Figure 1

1.     Sender – Is an information source, who wants to initiate communication.

2.     Encode – Information is encoded into a message. Sender should make sure that he truly provides understandable information to another project team member. This means that sender must attempt to take the perspective and knowledge of the receiver into consideration and create and present a message that he or she is likely to interpret in the way intended.

3.     Medium – Messages may be sent using traditional mail, email, phone call, face-to-face or using gestures alone. Medium is the communication method used to transmit the message.

4.     Decode – Message is decoded to understand the information sent by sender. Sender uses his knowledge and understanding of the subject matter to decode this message, hence extra caution is required to interpret the message in right context (sender’s context).

5.     Receiver – The person to who the information is sent to.

6.     Feedback – Receiver sends a feedback to sender to acknowledge that the information is received and understood. Sender may have to act further to ensure that the receiver understood the message by eliciting feedback that helps sender to assess whether receiver interpreted the message as intended.

Sender may use symbols, signs, behavior, speech, writing, or signals to transfer the information in the message. The purpose is to ensure that both parties understand the perspective.

 

Communication channels

Communication will always involve more than one person. In the figure below, we can see the number of communication channels required to communicate with 5 team members in a team of 6.

Figure 2

The formula to calculate the total number of communication channels is: (n2- n)/2 or n (n-1)/2

n = total number of team members

Lets calculate the total number of communication channels for the figure above,

n = 6

6 (6 – 1)/2

6 (5)/2

30/2

Hence, there shall be 15 communication channels on this project of 6 people.

 

Success does not happen in isolation

There was a farmer who grew superior quality and award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won honor and prizes.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learn something interesting about how he grew it.

The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors'.

"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.

"Why sir, "said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior,

sub-standard and poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn."

The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor's corn also improves.

So it is in the other dimensions! Those who choose to be at harmony must help their neighbors and colleagues to be at peace. Those who choose to

live well must help others to live well.

The value of a life is measured by the lives it touches.

SUCCESS DOES NOT HAPPEN IN ISOLATION. IT IS VERY OFTEN A PARTICIPATIVE AND COLLECTIVE PROCESS.