The elements of communication are:
- issuer
- receiver
- Message
- Code
- Channel
- Referent
- Feedback
These elements are the factors that participate in the message transmission process. Without them, any kind of communication (such as the writing of this text you are reading, for example) would not be possible.
Every type of communication starts with a issuer, that is, one who sends a message to someone (your receiver). However, the existence of these two elements is not enough. For communication to occur, other elements have to be activated.
For this message to be sent, there must be a communication channel, that is, a support that carries out the transmission. To make sense, the message always refers to a reality context or situation (referent).
Furthermore, sender and receiver only understand if they share a code common (a certain language, for example). Finally, the feedback it is the response issued by the recipient of the message, confirming that the communication process has actually taken place.
However, we know, communication is not always perfect. There is
noises in the process, such as technical failures in the channel or cultural differences. Noise can happen at any stage of communication, limiting its efficiency.
issuer
The sender is who sends the message. In fact, the sender does more than that: before sending the message, he has the idea and transforms it into code, that is, into verbal or non-verbal signs that convey an idea. A person, company, group or institution can be message senders.
Sender Examples
Example 1
A teacher who teaches his class is an emitter. While speaking or writing on the board, he sends messages to his students (his recipients).
Example 2
Likewise, a journalist who writes an opinion piece in the newspaper is an issuer. Your readers are the recipients of that message.
Example 3
A company that wants to hire employees and makes an advertisement on the internet is using this means of communication to send a message. The company is, therefore, the issuer.
receiver
The receiver, also called the recipient or interlocutor, é to whom the message is sent. It is he who receives the message, whether or not he understands it.
receiver examples
Example 1
Students who are attending a class are, as listeners, receivers of the messages emitted by the teacher. They can become broadcasters at any time, as long as they ask a question or remark about the content of the class.
Example 2
Readers of an article published in the newspaper are recipients of the message written by the columnist.
Example 3
A worker who is looking for a job and reads an advertisement for a job on the internet is a recipient of the message prepared by a company's HR (sender).
Message
The message is what the sender transmits during a communication process. In other words: the message is the object of communication. It can be visual, auditory or audiovisual.
Message Examples
Example 1
In a class, while the teacher speaks (sender) and students listen (receivers), the message is the content of what the teacher says. For example, in a biology class, the message could be the structure of DNA molecules.
Example 2
A newspaper article, written by a journalist (sender), and read by readers (receivers), deals with the advantages and disadvantages of globalization. The journalist's opinion on this topic is the message.
Example 3
A worker looks for a job (receiver) and finds an advertisement for an advertising company (sender) on the internet. The content of this ad – “Vacation for graphic designer, with one year of experience…” – is the message.
Code
The code is the set of symbols and their combination according to certain rules. Every message is organized according to a code that may or may not be identified by the receiver. There are verbal codes (speech or texts, for example) and non-verbal codes (shapes, colors, images, body language etc.).
The process of preparing the message is called codification – that is, the act of converting a message into codes. The identification of this set of signs by the receiver is called decoding.
It can happen, however, that sender and receiver do not share the code. This happens, for example, when people of different nationalities and who do not share a language try to communicate. In this case, gestures can serve as a code and meet some communication needs.
Code Examples
Example 1
In the case of the biology teacher who teaches his class, the code used is the Portuguese language. The gestures he makes to convey an intention are also codes. The drawing he draws on the blackboard to represent the structure of the DNA molecule is also a code.
Example 2
The article published in the newspaper about the advantages and disadvantages of globalization, as it is intended for the public Brazilian, was written in Portuguese, in accordance with the cultured norm and grammatical rules - this is the code.
Example 3
In the case of a job vacancy advertisement on a website, the code is the Portuguese language. Let's suppose that there is in this ad, next to the text, a photo of a professional in the communication area working in front of the computer. This image is also code.
see the Meaning of Nonverbal Communication.
Channel
The communication channel is the via which the message is transmitted. It is the support or vehicle used for the message to reach its recipient. The channel can be natural (our voice, for example) or technological (radio, newspaper, internet, etc.).
Channel Examples
Example 1
In the example of the biology class, the teacher's voice ensures that the message reaches the students' ears. The blackboard on which the professor draws a representation of the structure of the DNA molecule is also a channel.
Example 2
Journalists who want to express their opinion on the globalization process use the newspaper channel to circulate their message and reach the greatest number of readers.
Example 3
An internet site is a channel used by a company that advertises a job vacancy. This channel, accessed by thousands of people daily, ensures contact between the sender (company) and the receivers (workers).
Referent
É the object or situation the message refers to. The referent is also called context, that is, a set of elements that help the receiver to understand the message.
There are two types of referents: situational and textual. The situational referent has to do with the situation or circumstance in which the sender and receiver are involved. The textual referent, on the other hand, has to do with the elements of the linguistic context.
Reference examples
Example 1
Suppose a biology teacher issues the following verbal message during class: "Pedro, come over here and write down the name of this piece of DNA."
We depend on the context to understand this message. The teacher refers to a spatial referent (here), uses the present tense (come and write) and refers to an element that is part of the situation (this one). Within the context, student Pedro knows that the teacher is calling him right now to go to the front of the room and write the name of a part of the DNA molecule represented on the blackboard.
Example 2
In an article about the globalization process, a journalist writes the following: “Like this, based for these reasons, I can say: globalization brings more harms than benefits to countries in development."
In this example, the referent consists of the cohesion element used in the sentence: “Thus, based on these reasons”. It is a textual referent, formed by elements that retake and replace for the reader (receiver) something that was mentioned previously in the text.
Example 3
In a job vacancy advertisement, there is the following sentence: "We intend to hire a person who fills all these requirements: training in the area, full availability, minimum of one year of experience and living in the city of São Paul."
This sentence contains a few items (all of these) that refer to things that will be said next. It is a type of textual referent, as there is a reference to elements contained in the text.
Feedback
O feedback or return is the information that guarantees the sender that his message was picked up by the receiver.
Feedback examples
Example 1
If students demonstrate, by body language or verbal, that they are understanding the messages issued by the teacher, this can be called feedback. Let's suppose that Pedro goes to the blackboard and fulfills the task requested by the teacher, demonstrating that he has understood the message - this is feedback.
Example 2
The newspaper's readers, enthusiastic about the journalist's article, write messages to the newspaper making comments and questions about the recently published article. These messages are feedback.
Example 3
The fact that people respond to a job advertisement by submitting their résumés can be seen as feedback.
Noise
Every communication process is subject to interference that can reduce its efficiency. Noise can occur at any stage of the process and are classified into different types: physical (eg, technical problems in the communication channel), psychological (ex.: lack of interest on the part of the receiver) or cultural (ex.: lack of knowledge of the code).
Noise Examples
Example 1
During a class, it is not uncommon for one or another student to get distracted at some point, causing the communication process not to take place fully. A moment of distraction can cause the message to be misunderstood.
Example 2
Suppose a French tourist, on vacation in Brazil, decides to leaf through the newspaper in the hotel lobby and comes across an article about globalization written by a journalist. As much as tourists are attentive and want to understand the content of the text, there are cultural issues that make the communication process practically impossible: the tourist does not speak the language Portuguese.
Example 3
Technical problems occur, and the job vacancy site is under maintenance. Thus, due to a noise in the channel, the message cannot reach its recipients (workers looking for a job).
See too:
- meaning of communication
- meaning of language
- Types of Language: Verbal, Nonverbal and Mixed
- Language Functions
- Visual communication
