1 Introduction
Imagine you are on one side of a wall and the person you want to communicate with is on the other side of
the wall. But there’s more than the wall in the way. The wall is surrounded by a moat that is filled with
crocodiles and edged by quicksand. These barriers could be things like different cultures, different
expectations, different experiences, different perspectives, or different communication styles, to name just a few.
You might experience only one of these barriers at a time, or you might find yourself facing them all.
Imagine you are on one side of a wall and the person you want to communicate with is on the other side of
the wall. But there’s more than the wall in the way. The wall is surrounded by a moat that is filled with
crocodiles and edged by quicksand. These barriers could be things like different cultures, different
expectations, different experiences, different perspectives, or different communication styles, to name just a few.
You might experience only one of these barriers at a time, or you might find yourself facing them all.
Getting your message to the other person requires that you recognize these barriers exist between you, and that you then apply the proper tools, or communication skills, to remove those barriers preventing your message from getting through.
Of course, communication is a two-way street. The person on the other side of those barriers will also try to send messages back to you. Your ability to understand them clearly could be left to a dependence on their ability to use communication skills. But that’s leaving the success of the communication to chance. Instead, you can also use your own communication skills to ensure that you receive messages clearly as well.
Finally, there isn’t only one point in your communication with another person at which you have to watch out for barriers. To be successful at communicating, it’s important to recognize that these barriers to communication can occur at multiple points in the communication process.
2 The Communication Process
The communication process involves multiple parts and stages. These are:
Source
Message
Encoding
Channel
Decoding
Receiver
Feedback
Context
At each of these stages, there is the potential for barriers to be formed or problems to arise. The steps in the process are represented in Figure 1 and explained further in the following information.
SourceThe source of the communication is the sender, or for our purposes, you. In order to be a good source, you need to be clear about the message that you are sending. Do you know exactly what it is that you want to communicate? You’ll also want to be sure you know why it is that you are communicating. What result is it that you expect? If you cannot answer these questions, you will be starting the communication process with a high chance of failure.
Message The message is simply the information that you want to communicate. Without a message, there is no cause for communicating. If you cannot summarize the information that you need to share, you aren’t ready to begin the process of communication
Encoding Encoding is the process of taking your message and transferring it into a format that can be shared with another party. It’s sort of like how messages are sent via a fax. The information on the paper has to be encoded, or prepared, before it can be sent to the other party. It has to be sent in a format that the other party has the ability to decode or the message will not be delivered.
Of course, communication is a two-way street. The person on the other side of those barriers will also try to send messages back to you. Your ability to understand them clearly could be left to a dependence on their ability to use communication skills. But that’s leaving the success of the communication to chance. Instead, you can also use your own communication skills to ensure that you receive messages clearly as well.
Finally, there isn’t only one point in your communication with another person at which you have to watch out for barriers. To be successful at communicating, it’s important to recognize that these barriers to communication can occur at multiple points in the communication process.
2 The Communication Process
The communication process involves multiple parts and stages. These are:
Source
Message
Encoding
Channel
Decoding
Receiver
Feedback
Context
At each of these stages, there is the potential for barriers to be formed or problems to arise. The steps in the process are represented in Figure 1 and explained further in the following information.
SourceThe source of the communication is the sender, or for our purposes, you. In order to be a good source, you need to be clear about the message that you are sending. Do you know exactly what it is that you want to communicate? You’ll also want to be sure you know why it is that you are communicating. What result is it that you expect? If you cannot answer these questions, you will be starting the communication process with a high chance of failure.
Message The message is simply the information that you want to communicate. Without a message, there is no cause for communicating. If you cannot summarize the information that you need to share, you aren’t ready to begin the process of communication
Encoding Encoding is the process of taking your message and transferring it into a format that can be shared with another party. It’s sort of like how messages are sent via a fax. The information on the paper has to be encoded, or prepared, before it can be sent to the other party. It has to be sent in a format that the other party has the ability to decode or the message will not be delivered.
Encoding is the process of taking your message and transferring it into the proper format for sharing it with your audience. It requires knowing your audience and ensuring that your message provides all of the information that they need.
Of course, to encode a message properly, you have to know who your audience is. You need to have an understanding of what they know and what they need to know in order to send a complete message. You need to use language they will understand and a context that is familiar. One simple example of how you can do this is being sure to spell out acronyms. We sometimes forget that not everyone is familiar with the acronyms that we may use on a regular basis.
Channel
The channel is the method or methods that you use to convey your message. The type of message you have will help to determine the channel that you should use. Channels include face-to-face conversations, telephone calls or video conferences, and written communication like emails and memos.
Of course, to encode a message properly, you have to know who your audience is. You need to have an understanding of what they know and what they need to know in order to send a complete message. You need to use language they will understand and a context that is familiar. One simple example of how you can do this is being sure to spell out acronyms. We sometimes forget that not everyone is familiar with the acronyms that we may use on a regular basis.
Channel
The channel is the method or methods that you use to convey your message. The type of message you have will help to determine the channel that you should use. Channels include face-to-face conversations, telephone calls or video conferences, and written communication like emails and memos.
Each channel has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, you will find it difficult to give complex, technical information or instructions by using just the telephone. Or you may get bad results if you try to give criticism via email.
Decoding
Decoding happens when you receive the message that has been sent. The communication skills required to decode a message successfully include the ability to read and comprehend, listen actively, or ask clarifying questions when needed.
If the person you are attempting to communicate with seems to be lacking the skills to decode your message, you will need to either resend it in a different way or assist them in understanding it by supplying clarifying information.
Receiver Since you have thought out your message, you’ve certainly also thought about what you want the desired result to be on the part of your listener. But it’s important to realize that each person that receives your message will be listening to it through their own individual expectations, opinions, and perspectives. Their individual experiences will influence how your message is received.
While you can’t always address each person’s individual concerns in a message, part of planning for your communication is to think ahead of time about what some of their thoughts or experiences might be. For example, if you are releasing a new product and want to convince customers to try it, you would want to be certain to address the specific benefits to the customer, or what improvements have been made since the last version was released.
Feedback
No matter what channel you have used to convey your message, you can use feedback to help determine how successful your communication was. If you are face-to-face with your audience, you can read body language and ask questions to ensure understanding. If you have communicated via writing, you can gauge the success of your communication by the response that you get or by seeing if the result you wanted is delivered.
In any case, feedback is invaluable for helping you to improve your communication skills. You can learn what worked well and what didn’t so that you can be even more efficient the next time you communicate with that person or the next time you need to communicate a similar message.
Context The context is the situation in which you are communicating. It involves the environment that you are in and that in which your audience is in, the culture of your organization(s), and elements such as the relationship between you and your audience. You communication process will not look the same when you are communicating with your boss as it will when you are communicating with a friend. The context helps determine the tone and style of your communication.
3- Elements of Communication
What does it take to communicate with another person? How are we communicating even when we aren’t using words? When you begin studying communication, you’ll find that we communicate with much more than our words. In face-to-face communication, our words are only part of the message. The balance of the message, and in fact, the largest part of the message that we are sending to others is made up of non-
verbal information. It is composed of our body language and our tone of voice. Figure 2 below demonstrates this fact.
- Non-Verbal Communication (Tone of Voice & Body Language)
Albert Mehrabian’s work on verbal and non-verbal communication in the 1960’s and early 1970’s is still
considered a valid model today. He posed that the non-verbal aspects of communication such as tone of
voice and non-verbal gestures communicate a great deal more than the words that are spoken. He also
found that people are more likely to believe your non-verbal communication than your verbal
communication if the two are contradictory. In other words, you are most believable and most effectively
communicating when all three elements of face-to-face communication are aligned with each other.
According to Mehrabian, the tone of voice we use is responsible for about 35-40 percent of the message we are sending. Tone involves the volume you use, the level and type of emotion that you communicate and the emphasis that you place on the words that you choose. To see how this works, try saying the sentences
I didn’t say he borrowed my book.
I didn’t say he borrowed my book.
I didn’t say he borrowed my book.
I didn’t say he borrowed my book.
I didn’t say he borrowed my book.
I didn’t say he borrowed my book.
I didn’t say he borrowed my book.
Notice that the meaning of the sentence changes each time, even though the words are the same. The
emphasis you place on the word draws the listener’s attention, indicating that the word is important
somehow. In this case, the emphasis indicates that the word is an error. So in the first example, I didn’t
say he borrowed my book, the phrase includes the message that someone else said it. The implied
information continues to change in each sentence, despite the words remaining the same each time.
Another aspect of non-verbal communication is body language. The way we hold our body, move our
arms, our eyes, how close we stand to someone - all of this is a form of communicating subconsciously
with others.
Examples of body language include:
Facial expressions
The way they are standing or sitting
Any swaying or other movement
Gestures with their arms or hands
Eye contact (or lack thereof)
Breathing rate
Swallowing or coughing
Decoding
Decoding happens when you receive the message that has been sent. The communication skills required to decode a message successfully include the ability to read and comprehend, listen actively, or ask clarifying questions when needed.
If the person you are attempting to communicate with seems to be lacking the skills to decode your message, you will need to either resend it in a different way or assist them in understanding it by supplying clarifying information.
Receiver Since you have thought out your message, you’ve certainly also thought about what you want the desired result to be on the part of your listener. But it’s important to realize that each person that receives your message will be listening to it through their own individual expectations, opinions, and perspectives. Their individual experiences will influence how your message is received.
While you can’t always address each person’s individual concerns in a message, part of planning for your communication is to think ahead of time about what some of their thoughts or experiences might be. For example, if you are releasing a new product and want to convince customers to try it, you would want to be certain to address the specific benefits to the customer, or what improvements have been made since the last version was released.
Feedback
No matter what channel you have used to convey your message, you can use feedback to help determine how successful your communication was. If you are face-to-face with your audience, you can read body language and ask questions to ensure understanding. If you have communicated via writing, you can gauge the success of your communication by the response that you get or by seeing if the result you wanted is delivered.
In any case, feedback is invaluable for helping you to improve your communication skills. You can learn what worked well and what didn’t so that you can be even more efficient the next time you communicate with that person or the next time you need to communicate a similar message.
Context The context is the situation in which you are communicating. It involves the environment that you are in and that in which your audience is in, the culture of your organization(s), and elements such as the relationship between you and your audience. You communication process will not look the same when you are communicating with your boss as it will when you are communicating with a friend. The context helps determine the tone and style of your communication.
3- Elements of Communication
What does it take to communicate with another person? How are we communicating even when we aren’t using words? When you begin studying communication, you’ll find that we communicate with much more than our words. In face-to-face communication, our words are only part of the message. The balance of the message, and in fact, the largest part of the message that we are sending to others is made up of non-
verbal information. It is composed of our body language and our tone of voice. Figure 2 below demonstrates this fact.
- Non-Verbal Communication (Tone of Voice & Body Language)
Albert Mehrabian’s work on verbal and non-verbal communication in the 1960’s and early 1970’s is still
considered a valid model today. He posed that the non-verbal aspects of communication such as tone of
voice and non-verbal gestures communicate a great deal more than the words that are spoken. He also
found that people are more likely to believe your non-verbal communication than your verbal
communication if the two are contradictory. In other words, you are most believable and most effectively
communicating when all three elements of face-to-face communication are aligned with each other.
According to Mehrabian, the tone of voice we use is responsible for about 35-40 percent of the message we are sending. Tone involves the volume you use, the level and type of emotion that you communicate and the emphasis that you place on the words that you choose. To see how this works, try saying the sentences
I didn’t say he borrowed my book.
I didn’t say he borrowed my book.
I didn’t say he borrowed my book.
I didn’t say he borrowed my book.
I didn’t say he borrowed my book.
I didn’t say he borrowed my book.
I didn’t say he borrowed my book.
Notice that the meaning of the sentence changes each time, even though the words are the same. The
emphasis you place on the word draws the listener’s attention, indicating that the word is important
somehow. In this case, the emphasis indicates that the word is an error. So in the first example, I didn’t
say he borrowed my book, the phrase includes the message that someone else said it. The implied
information continues to change in each sentence, despite the words remaining the same each time.
Another aspect of non-verbal communication is body language. The way we hold our body, move our
arms, our eyes, how close we stand to someone - all of this is a form of communicating subconsciously
with others.
Examples of body language include:
Facial expressions
The way they are standing or sitting
Any swaying or other movement
Gestures with their arms or hands
Eye contact (or lack thereof)
Breathing rate
Swallowing or coughing
Blushing
Fidgeting
Basically, body language includes anything they are doing with their body besides speaking. We recognize this communication instinctively, without having to be told what it means. Read the following examples and you’ll have a good idea of what the person’s body language is telling you.
Mike is sitting with his arms crossed over his chest. His head is tilted down and away from you.
His finger is tapping his arm in a fast, erratic manner.
Jane is sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed behind her head. She is smiling at you and
nodding her head from time to time as you speak.
Dave is standing close to you at an angle. He is speaking just above a whisper and in a strained
voice. He makes quick, sharp movements with his hands.
Marci is presenting to the marketing team. She is swaying back and forth, her hands keep
changing positions, and she seems to keep absent-mindedly touching her hair.
Regina is sitting at the conference table in a meeting. Her legs are crossed and the leg that is on the floor is bouncing up and down at a rapid pace. She is sitting forward in her chair with her pen tapping on the table.
We can picture these people and their behaviors from the short description here and without hearing a word from them, we have a pretty good idea of how they are feeling about the situation or about what we are saying to them.
- Verbal Communication The third communication element is verbal communication. Believe it or not, it is actually the least impactful element in face-to-face communication. The old adage is true - it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it that counts.
Of course, this is a bit simplified. We do want to use verbal communications, the words we choose, to our best advantage. You would definitely make a different impression if you curse during your presentation than if you don’t. Choosing our words carefully is a way to enhance our message, but we should remember that it is not the most important part of the message. We should not neglect to pay attention to the non-verbal elements.
But what about when we are limited to using only verbal communication? Given that we know that faceto-face communication delivers the most complete message, we know that verbal communication alone can be challenging in creating effective communication.
Fidgeting
Basically, body language includes anything they are doing with their body besides speaking. We recognize this communication instinctively, without having to be told what it means. Read the following examples and you’ll have a good idea of what the person’s body language is telling you.
Mike is sitting with his arms crossed over his chest. His head is tilted down and away from you.
His finger is tapping his arm in a fast, erratic manner.
Jane is sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed behind her head. She is smiling at you and
nodding her head from time to time as you speak.
Dave is standing close to you at an angle. He is speaking just above a whisper and in a strained
voice. He makes quick, sharp movements with his hands.
Marci is presenting to the marketing team. She is swaying back and forth, her hands keep
changing positions, and she seems to keep absent-mindedly touching her hair.
Regina is sitting at the conference table in a meeting. Her legs are crossed and the leg that is on the floor is bouncing up and down at a rapid pace. She is sitting forward in her chair with her pen tapping on the table.
We can picture these people and their behaviors from the short description here and without hearing a word from them, we have a pretty good idea of how they are feeling about the situation or about what we are saying to them.
- Verbal Communication The third communication element is verbal communication. Believe it or not, it is actually the least impactful element in face-to-face communication. The old adage is true - it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it that counts.
Of course, this is a bit simplified. We do want to use verbal communications, the words we choose, to our best advantage. You would definitely make a different impression if you curse during your presentation than if you don’t. Choosing our words carefully is a way to enhance our message, but we should remember that it is not the most important part of the message. We should not neglect to pay attention to the non-verbal elements.
But what about when we are limited to using only verbal communication? Given that we know that faceto-face communication delivers the most complete message, we know that verbal communication alone can be challenging in creating effective communication.
You might think that talking on the telephone or sending off a quick email is an excellent time saver.
There are times when this is true. For example, when confirming specific facts or asking simple questions. But for many communication needs, verbal communication only will not suffice.
4-Taking Your Communication Skills to the Next Level
This chapter has given you a brief review of the communications process and the elements of communication. The remainder of the ebook will focus on ways to enhance your existing skills in these areas so that you will not just be able to communicate with another person, but you will be fully aware of the mechanics of what is happening during that communication process. You will then be able to make choices in how you communicate in order to help influence the direction that the communication takes, improve the depth and quality of communication, and improve your persuasion skills.
There are times when this is true. For example, when confirming specific facts or asking simple questions. But for many communication needs, verbal communication only will not suffice.
4-Taking Your Communication Skills to the Next Level
This chapter has given you a brief review of the communications process and the elements of communication. The remainder of the ebook will focus on ways to enhance your existing skills in these areas so that you will not just be able to communicate with another person, but you will be fully aware of the mechanics of what is happening during that communication process. You will then be able to make choices in how you communicate in order to help influence the direction that the communication takes, improve the depth and quality of communication, and improve your persuasion skills.
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