THEORIES OF COMMUNICATION

One of the earliest models of communication was developed to describe mass communication and can be seen in Figure 1. Essentially, it can be summed up as: who. . . says what. . . in what way. . . to whom. . . with what effect.

Figure 1: A model of communication 

In a similar approach, Shannon, a research scientist at Bell Telephone Company, developed another communication model to describe how the capacity of a telephone line might be improved without the signal being distorted. This model was then successfully adapted by Weaver to describe the concept of information loss during interpersonal communication. Figure 2 illustrates the communication process and is divided into a number of stages.

 Figure 2: The Shannon-Weaver model of communication

The information source might be an idea in our head that we wish to communicate, eg the fact that we feel dry and thirsty. We then put this idea into a message to be transmitted eg, ‘I’m going to make a cup of tea. Would you like one?’ Of course, this encoding of ideas in our head into language presupposes that the choice of language, in this case

English, will be understood by the receiver. The most likely channel for this signal is face-to-face, but it could be by telephone, le er, e-mail or some other means. The signal is received and the person understands it and responds, ‘Yes, I would like one, thanks.’ This transmission model of communication provides many insights into the communication process.

Figure 3 is a model of one-way communication in which the communicator has ideas or information they wish to impart. These ideas are encoded into words (either spoken or written) which are then conveyed through a medium or channel eg, the telephone or e-mail message. The message is then decoded and interpreted by the receiver. Types of one-way communication might be a message on a website, a television programme, an announcement at a railway station, etc.

 Figure 3: One-way communication

One-way communication is limited because it does not allow the receiver to respond and ask questions to clarify matters, the result of which is that messages may not be understood or be misinterpreted. More effective communication involves two-way communication, as shown in Figure 4, which has a feedback loop that allows the receiver to ask supplementary questions and so gain a better understanding of what the communicator really meant.

 Figure 4: Two-way communication