Models of Communication

• According to Denis McQuail, “a model is a selective representation in verbal or diagrammatic form of some aspect of the dynamic process of mass communication.”  

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• Models of communication provide us with a visual representation of the different aspects of a communication situation.

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• Understanding communication models can help us:

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• Think about our communication situations more deliberately,
• Better prepare for future situations, and
• Learn from our previous experiences.

• There are 8 major models of communication, that can be divided into 3 categories:

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• Linear models — Only look at one-way communication. The most prominent linear models of communication are:
• Aristotle’s model of communication
• Laswell’s model
• The Shannon-Weaver model
• Berlo’s S-M-C-R model

• Interactive models — They look at two-way communication. These are the following:
• The Osgood-Schramm model
• The Westley and Maclean model

• Transactional models — They look at two-way communication where the message gets more complex as the communication event progresses. These include:
• Barnlund’s transactional model
• Dance’s helical model

• Linear models of communication suggest that communication takes place only in one direction.

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• The main elements in these models are:

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• The channel,
• The sender, and
• The receiver.

• Aristotle identified three elements that improve communication:

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• Ethos — defines the credibility of the speaker. Speaker gains credibility, authority, and power by being an expert in a field of their choice.
• Pathos — connects the speaker with the audience through different emotions (anger, sadness, happiness, etc.)
• Logos — an important element that signifies logic. It is not enough for the speech to be interesting — it needs to follow the rules of logic.

• Aristotle suggested that we look at five components of a communication situation to analyze the best way to communicate:

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• Speaker
• Speech
• Occasion
• Target audience
• Effect

• According to this model, communication is the transmission of a message with the effect as the result.

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• The effect is the measurable and obvious change in the receiver of the message, that is caused by the elements of communication. If any of the elements change, the effect also changes.

• Laswell’s model aims to answer the following 5 important questions regarding its elements:

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• Who created the message?
• What did they say?
• What channel did they use (TV, radio, blog)?
• To whom did they say it?
• What effect did it have on the receiver?

• The answers to these questions offer us the main components of this model:

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• Communicator
• Message
• Medium
• Audience/Receiver
• Effect

• Shannon and Weaver were the first to introduce the role of noise in the communication process. In his book Introduction to Communication Studies, John Fiske defines noise as “anything that is added to the signal between its transmission and reception that is not intended by the source.”

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• The noise appears in the form of mishearing a conversation, misspelling an email, or static on a radio broadcast.

• Components of the Shannon-Weaver model of communication

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• Sender
• Encoder
• Channel
• Decoder
• Receiver

• The source or the sender carefully puts their thoughts into words and transfers the message to the receiver. Sender transfer the information to the receiver with the help of:

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• Communication skills — source needs good communication skills to ensure the communication will be effective. The speaker should know when to pause, what to repeat, how to pronounce a word, etc.
• Attitude - source needs the right attitude.
• Knowledge — It refers to the clarity of the information which the source wants to transfer to the receiver.
• Social system — The source should be familiar with the social system in which the communication process takes place. That would help the source not to offend anyone.
• Culture —To achieve effective communication, the source needs to be acquainted with the culture in which the communication encounter is taking place.

• The speaker creates the message when they transform their thoughts into words.
• Content — Simply put, this is the script of the conversation.
• Elements —Elements like gestures, body language, facial expressions, etc.
• Treatment — the way the source treats the message.
• Structure — The source has to properly structure the message to ensure the receiver will understand it correctly.
• Code — All the elements, verbal and nonverbal, need to be accurate if you do not want your message to get distorted and misinterpreted.

• To get from the source to the receiver, the message goes through the channel.

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• All our senses are the channels that help us communicate with one another.

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• Our sense of hearing lets us know that someone is speaking to us.

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• Through our sense of taste, we gather information about the spiciness of a sauce we are eating.

• A receiver is a person the source is speaking to — the destination of the conveyed message.

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• To understand the message, the receiver should entail the same elements as the source. They should have similar communication skills, attitudes, and knowledge, and be acquainted with the social system and culture in which they communicate.