The Communication Process

Context
• Physical – where communication takes place, the environment,
the distance between participants, seating, time of day • Social – the nature of the
relationship
• Historical – the background of previous communication
• Psychological – the moods and feelings
• Cultural – the set of beliefs, values, and norms that are shared by a large group of people
Participants
Sender: the individual, group, or organization that needs or wants to share information with another
individual, group, or organization to communicate
Receiver: the individual, group, or organization for which the information is intended
A sender might be a supervisor with instructions about performing a task and a receiver might be a new
worker.
Messages
The information the sender needs or wants to share with other people. Effective messages are clear and
complete. A message is clear if it is easily interpreted or understood. A message is complete if it contains the
information to achieve a common understanding between the sender and the receiver. If a sender is vague or
unsure about the message, communication is ineffective.
Encoding
“Translating the message into symbols or language that the receiver can understand”

A supervisor sends a message about policy changes to subordinates by encoding it in a memo.
Senders must have basic writing and oral communication skills, which many employees lack. A sender must
use words the receiver understands. Jargon, specialized language of members of a profession or occupation,
affects good communication. Although jargon facilitates communication because a single term describes a
complex idea, it leads to ineffective communication when receivers are outside the occupation or profession.