Attributes of Communication

• Communication has four attributes or qualities;

• 1. Communication is unintentional as well as
intentional.
• We do not always convey exactly what we want
to; the targeted receiver may receive less or
more than what we intended to convey. A
casual observer (unintentional receiver) may
receive information or ideas which we did not
intend for him/her
• . Our non-verbal behaviour conveys
something about us; what we speak or write is
accompanied by non-verbal behaviour. We
cannot "not communicate"; even our
noncommunication in words communicates
something; for example, it may convey that
we wish to be left alone.
• Communication takes place even when we do
not plan it and when we are not conscious of
it; we may communicate something that we
had not intended to communicate.
• 2. Communication is a dynamic process.
• A process is an ongoing, non-static activity.
Communication is considered as a process to
emphasize that it is always changing, always in
motion. A process is a series of actions that
has neither beginning nor end.
• The notion of process involves a time
dimension; which means that the
characteristics, causes, and consequences of
an act of communication are subject to
change while the communication act takes
place. An important element in
communication is the concept of "change."
• Communication grows and develops; even if the
same two persons exchange the same ideas
again, the communication is not exactly the same
as it was the first time, because the two persons
have grown and developed and changed since
then. Every time we consciously engage in an act
of communication, we bring to it all our previous
experience, feelings, thoughts. attitudes which
have been formed by other communication
events
• 3. Communication is systemic.
• Every component of the process is affected by
every other component. The source, the
environment, the goal, the medium, the
nature of the message, the receiver, the
feedback, all affect one another.
• . If the audience is inattentive or uninterested,
the source is not able to speak! convey
effectively. If a wrong medium is chosen, a
particular message may fail to have the
intended result; if the goal is not clear, the
message will be confused. Disturbance at any
stage in the communication process affects
the entire process.
• 4. Communication is both interaction and
transaction.
• The two participants, the source and the
receiver, exchange ideas and information and
influence each other during the process of
communication. They also come to a shared
and common meaning as a result of the
communication. They share as well as
exchange thoughts and meanings.
 The RECEIVER
• The receiver becomes aware that a message
has arrived when he perceives it with his
senses (he may see, hear, feel, etc). The
receiver attends to the message and
interprets it. The process of translating the
symbols into ideas and interpreting the
message is called decoding.
• Interpreting is a complex activity; it involves
using knowledge of the symbols, drawing
upon previous knowledge of the subject
matter, ability to understand, attitudes and
values, in order to create meaning.
• The receiver understands and interprets the
message on the basis of earlier knowledge.
The meaning that a receiver gives to the
words and other symbols is influenced by
his/her knowledge, intelligence, past
experience and relation with the sender. If the
two have a common field of experience, the
receiver's understanding of the message will
be closer to what the sender intended.
• The receiver also feels a reaction to the
message; this reaction may be conscious or
unconscious; it may cause some change in the
receiver's facial expression. It • definitely
leads the receiver to think. The receiver may
take some action, if required. He may also
reply to the message. This response and/or
reply is feedback.
• Receiver's functions complete one cycle of the
process of communication. The functions of the
receiver are:
•
• 1 Attending to the received message, that is,
listening, reading or observing
• 2 Decoding the received message
• 3 Interpreting and understanding the meaning
of the message
• 4 Responding to the message
• 5 Giving feedback to the sender of the
message
• This is a simplified description of a single cycle in
the process of communication. Communication
really takes place in several cycles and the two
persons take turns and alternately carry out
functions of sender and receiver.
• Both, the sender and the receiver have
important functions in the communication
process; it can be successful only if both are
efficient and attentive.
• Each person's perception of things and
interpretation of messages is influenced by
hislher past experience and attitudes formed
by previous communication events. Each one
has a field of experience which is critically
important to the process of communication.
Unless there is an area of experience that is
shared by both, the message is not likely to be
communicated.
Communication environment
• Communication takes place in an
environment. Environment includes several
things. The most obvious is the place in which
the communication takes place; ifit is pleasant
and comfortable, the communication is
better. Ifit is hot, noisy and uncomfortable, it
is less effective. Noise or disturbance in the
environment usually hinders the flow of
communication.
• Another aspect of the environment is
circumstances. The circumstances of each
communicant, each one's position in the
organisation, the usual work that each one
does, and the present state of mind of each
one, can all influence the communication
procef!ls.
• The present relationship between the two is
another factor in the environment; it is
difficult for persons to communicate with
each other if their relationship is not good.
• The political, cultural, legal, technological
environment influences communication as
these factors may affect each one's situation
and opinion about the content of a message.
• Time as an element of the environment, has
three aspects:
• (a) The time of the communication (first thing
in the morning, just before or just after lunch,
when it is almost closing time) affects the
communication.
• (b) The length of time taken by a
communication event (how long the
presentation or the meeting or the
conversation goes on) influences the quality
of the communication. Too long can be tiring
and boring; too short may be inadequate and
one of them may feel that insufficient
attention was given by the other
• (c) There is a right time for giving some
information. If it is given too late, it may be
useless; if it is too early, receivers may not be
ready for it and may not understand it.
• Context is another aspect of environment.
Context is the set of circumstances that
surround an event and influence its
significance. A message may acquire a
different meaning in a changed context.
• It is the background of the content of the
message; if both have the same amount of
background information about the situation
and the issue, it is easier to communicate on
the topic. The context influences the sender's
encoding and the receiver's decoding, and
also each one's interpretation.