GRACE MISSION COLLEGE

SPEECH AND THEATER ARTS

NOTES I

October 23. 2022

Basic Communication Concepts

"Communication is the process of sharing meaning through continuous flow

of symbolic messages." (Froemling 5)

Communicator (Sender/receiver) - the participants in communication.

Typically the roles reverse regularly.

Message - a single uninterrupted utterance. Verbal or nonverbal

Code - a system suitable for creating/carrying messages through a specific

medium
• encode (put into code) and
• decode (take out of code)

Channels (verbal, nonverbal, etc.) - the specific mechanism (“pipeline”) used

to transmit the message

Medium (face-to-face, television, web, phone, etc.) - form or technology of

transmission — determines kind of code used.

Noise - interference with message — external (physical), internal (mental) or

semantic (misunderstanding/reaction

Environment (part of context) - that which surrounds and provides a basis

for the meaning of a message:
• Physical (surroundings)
• Temporal (point in time)
• Relational (the existing relationship between communicators - friends,
strangers, etc.)
• Cultural (language and behavior community the communicator(s) come from)
• positive feedback - "keep doing what you’re doing"
• negative feedback - change what you’re doing.

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 Levels (contexts) of Communication

Communication Universals
1. You cannot not communicate
2. All Communication has content and relationship dimensions
• Content - Literal meaning, information
• Relationship - defines the relationship between sender and receiver.
• Features of relationship that get defined in message exchanges include:
- Liking
- Responsiveness (intensity),
- Control
- Trust
3. Communication is a series of punctuated events

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 4. Communication is irreversible and unrepeatable.
5. Communication is culture-specific.

Communication Models Aristotle

Model of Communication
Aristotle was the first to take an initiative and design the communication
model.

In this model, the speaker plays a key role in communication. He is

the one who takes complete charge of the communication. The sender first
prepares a content which he does by carefully putting his thoughts in words
with an objective of influencing the listeners or the recipients, who would then
respond in the sender’s desired way. No points in guessing that the content
has to be very impressive in this model for the audience or the receivers to
get convinced. The model says that the speaker communicates in such a way
that the listeners get influenced and responds accordingly.

Scenario:
One will definitely purchase the mobile handset from that store
where the sales man gives an impressive demo of the mobile. It
depends on the sales man what to speak and how to speak in a
manner to influence the listeners so that they respond to him in a
way he actually wants i.e. purchase the handset and increase his
billing.

Berlo’s Model of Communication

Berlo’s model of communication takes into account the emotional aspect of

the message. Berlo’s model of communication operates on the SMCR model.

In the SMCR model

• S - Stands for Source

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• M - Message
• C - Channel
• R – Receiver

S - Source

The source in other words also called the sender is the one from whom the
thought originates. He is the one who transfers the information to the receiver
after carefully putting his thoughts into words.

▪ Communication Skills- An individual must possess excellent communication

skills to make his communication effective and create an impact among the
listeners.
▪ Attitude- It is rightly said that if one has the right attitude, the whole world is
at his feet. There is actually no stopping for the person if he has the right
attitude.

▪ Knowledge- Here knowledge is not related to the educational qualification of

the speaker or the number of degrees he has in his portfolio.

▪ Social System- The displeasure of the listeners was simply because the
speaker ignored the social set up of the place where he was communicating.
He forgot the sentiments, cultural beliefs, religious feelings of the second
party.

▪ Culture- Culture refers to the cultural background of the community or the

listeners where the speaker is communicating or delivering his speech.
M – Message

When an individual converts his thoughts into words, a message

is created. The process is also called as Encoding.

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 Any message further comprises of the following elements:

▪ Content- Content is actually the matter or the script of the conversation. It is

in simpler words, the backbone of any communication.
▪ Element- The speech must be coupled with lots of hand movements,
gestures, postures, facial expressions, body movements to capture the
attention of the listeners and make the speech impressive.

▪ Treatment- Treatment is actually the way one treats his message and is
conveys to the listeners. One must understand how to present his message so
that the message is conveyed in the most accurate form.

▪ Structure- A message cannot be expressed in one go. It has to be properly

structured in order to convey the message in the most desired form.

▪ Code- Your body movements, your language, your expressions, your gestures
are actually the codes of the message and have to be accurate otherwise the
message gets distorted and the recipient will never be able to decode the
correct information.

C - Channel

All the five senses are the channels which help human beings to
communicate with each other.

R – Receiver

When the message reaches the receiver, he tries to understand what the
listener actually wants to convey and then responds accordingly. This is also
called as decoding.
The receiver should be on the same platform as the speaker for smooth flow
of information and better understanding of the message. He should possess
good communication skills to understand what the speaker is trying to
convey. He should have the right attitude to understand the message in a
positive way. His knowledge should also be at par with the listener and must
know about the subject. He should also be from the same social and cultural
background just like the speaker.

Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication

Shannon and Weaver model is the most popular model of communication and
is widely accepted all over the world.

Rea Jane F. Ornedo

 Shannon and weaver model simply proposes that a message actually
originates from the person who gets the thought or has the information. The
sender is also called the Source of information or the Information Source. The
information then gets transmitted from the brain to the mouth and comes out
as a signal which then reaches the recipient after joining hands with several
noises and other disturbances. The recipient then further passes on the
message to its final destination or other minds of other individuals.

Scenario:
Peter is working as Vice president - Marketing with a reputed
multinational firm. He is currently heading Mike who in turn is
taking care of a small team. Peter wanted Mike to prepare an
exhaustive report on marketing strategies which can be
employed to achieve the goals of the organization. He also
wanted a detailed study on the competitor’s activity by end of
the day. While he was speaking, the
company peon interrupted to take the lunch order. Finally when Mike got the
complete information, he in turn delegated the responsibility to his team
members. He tried his level best to convey what Peter actually expected his
team to prepare. At the end of the day, the team did prepare the report and
submitted to Peter but there were few errors which they rectified later on.

Shannon and Weaver Model of Communication

Shannon and Weaver model is the most popular model of communication and
is widely accepted all over the world.

Rea Jane F. Ornedo

 Shannon and weaver model simply proposes that a message actually
originates from the person who gets the thought or has the information. The
sender is also called the Source of information or the Information Source. The
information then gets transmitted from the brain to the mouth and comes out
as a signal which then reaches the recipient after joining hands with several
noises and other disturbances. The recipient then further passes on the
message to its final destination or other minds of other individuals.

Scenario:
Peter is working as Vice president - Marketing with a
reputed multinational firm. He is currently heading Mike
who in turn is taking care of a small team. Peter wanted
Mike to prepare an exhaustive report on marketing
strategies which can be employed to achieve the goals of
the organization. He also wanted a detailed study on the
competitor’s activity by end of the day. While he was
speaking, the
company peon interrupted to take the lunch order. Finally when Mike got the
complete information, he in turn delegated the responsibility to his team
members. He tried his level best to convey what Peter actually expected his
team to prepare. At the end of the day, the team did prepare the report and
submitted to Peter but there were few errors which they rectified later on.

Schramm’s Model of Communication

He emphasizes that the communication is incomplete unless and until the
sender receives a feedback from the recipient. Schramm believed that
communication is actually a two way process between the first party and the
second party.

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M - Stands for message

Schramm believed that an individual’s knowledge, experience and

cultural background also play an important role in communication. Individuals
from diverse cultures, religion or background tend to interpret the message in
different ways.

Scenario:
Billy to Servant - “Please bring something hot for me to drink as I
am suffering from sore throat.”

The servant brought him a glass of lukewarm water but Billy

actually wanted a cup of hot chocolate coffee. Hence different
interpretation by the servant. He was not on the common
grounds with Billy and failed
to understand his master’s information. It was neither Billy’s nor the servant’s
fault but actually the differences in both their backgrounds which was to
blame.

To conclude according to this model of communication when a sender

passes on the information to the receiver, the receiver must interpret it in the
desired form the sender wants and give him the feedback or respond
accordingly. Any communication where the sender does not get the feedback,
the communication is not complete and thus ineffective.

Helical Model of Communication

The Helical Model of communication was proposed by Frank Dance in 1967 to
throw some more light on communication process. Dance thought of
communication process similar to helix.

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What is a helix ?

A Helix is nothing but a smooth curve just like a spring which if goes upwards
also comes downwards. The Helical model of communication was designed by
Frank Dance keeping the simple Helix in mind.

According to the Helical model of communication, the process of

communication evolves from the very birth of an individual and continues till
the existing moment. All living entities start communicating from the very first
day of their origin. When seeds are planted, they convey the message to the
gardener that they need to be watered daily and should be treated well with
fertilizers and manure. When a plant emerges from the seed it also starts
communicating its need for water, sunlight, manure and fertilizers, thus
supporting the Helical model of communication. The same also applies for
animals, birds, fishes and all living creatures.

Scenario 1:
The way the child is communicating to his parents
that he is alive, absolutely hale and hearty and ready to
face the challenges of the world. As the child grows up, he
cries whenever he is hungry or expects something from his
parents and sometimes simply for his parent’s attention. It
is again a child’s own way of conveying his message to the
whole world. When the same child grows up and starts
going to school, he soon interacts with his parents,
teachers, friends in
the form of words. Now crying actually gets replaced by words or his speech
but one thing which is common is the process of communication which existed
since the child’s birth.

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 Scenario 2:
An individual in his elementary classes learns to pronounce
a particular word or react to a particular situation. It has
been observed that even though the child grows up, he
continues to pronounce that particular word in the same
way as he did during his growing up days or for that
matter, if the same situation arises again he would under
all circumstances react in the same way as he did in the
past. The fear of
the child when suddenly the light goes off at night resulting in a complete
blackout is present in his younger days as well as when he grows up.

Child (Day 1) communication evolves

↓
Communication continues
↓↑
(Communication depends on past activities)
↓
(Current day) communication continues with modifications

The above example again makes the Helical model of communication

clear. According to the Helical model as the process of communication moves
forward it also comes back and is largely dependant on the past behaviour of
the individual. The model believes that communication process is just like a
helix which moves forward as well as comes backward and is dependent on
the behaviour patterns of the past definitely with some modifications and
changes. As the child grows up, he does make slight changes in his past body
movements or past pronunciation or facial expressions. He makes certain
changes, modifications in his communication and tries to get rid of the
communication errors. An individual will definitely get less nervous in his
teenage days as compared to his childhood days, thus a slight change in his
behaviour.

The Helical model of communication understands communication in a

broader perspective and considers almost all the activities of an individual
from day one to till date. It cumulates all the activities occurring in the
complete span of an individual that affects the process of communication,
which in turn goes forward and also depends on the past activities.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the
world”- Aristotle

Study well!!!! <3

Rea Jane F. Ornedo