Models Of Communication PDF

ORAL COMMUNICATION Ross Alden A Bigtas Since 300BC, theorists have developed communication models in attempts to explain and understand how to improve communication and rhetoric. As time has passed, we have developed increasingly more complex models to explain how we communicate. Today, the main mo...

ORAL COMMUNICATION Ross Alden A Bigtas Since 300BC, theorists have developed communication models in attempts to explain and understand how to improve communication and rhetoric. As time has passed, we have developed increasingly more complex models to explain how we communicate. Today, the main models of communication are can be split into three categories: ▪ Linear models – only looks at one-way communication. ▪ Interactive models – looks at two-way communication. ▪ Transactional models – looks at two-way communication where the message gets more complex as the communication event (e.g. conversation) progresses. Linear models explain one directional communication processes. ▪ 1. Aristotle’s Model Aristotle’s model of communication is the oldest communication model, dating back to 300BC. The model was designed to examine how to become a better and more convincing communicator. Aristotle argues we should look at five elements of a communication event to analyze how best to communicate: speaker, speech, occasion, target audience and effect. He also identified three elements that will improve communication: ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion) and logos (logical argument). Aristotle’s model does not pay attention to the role of feedback in communication. ▪ 1. Lasswell’s Model Lasswell’s model of communication tries to understand a communication event by asking five important questions. It looks at who created the message (and what their bias may be), what they said, the channel they said it through (e.g. TV, radio, blog), who they said it to, and what effect it had on the receiver. This model is effective as it provides a very simple and practical way of critiquing a message and exploring five important elements that can help explain the event under analysis in more detail. Question Component How to Analyze Example of Component Who? Communicator Control Analysis Vacuum cleaner salesman Promotes his brand of vacuum as the best Says What? Message Content Analysis brand In Which Channel? Medium Media Analysis On television To Whom? Audience Audience Analysis To evening TV viewers in the United States Achieving brand awareness, promoting the With What Effect? Effect Effects Analysis belief that this is the best vacuum, leading to increased sales revenue ▪ 3. Shannon-Weaver Model The Shannon-Weaver model sees communication occurring in five key parts: sender, encoder, channel, decoder, receiver. It emphasizes the importance of encoding and decoding messages for them to be sent (e.g. turning them into written words, morse code, etc.). During the process of encoding, sending and decoding, ‘noise’ occurs that can disrupt or cloud a message. In the most traditional sense, this may be static on a radio broadcast, or even extend to mishearing a conversation or misspelling an email. This model was the first to introduce the role of noise in the communication process. The idea of feedback was retroactively introduced to this model. ▪ 4. Berlo’s S-M-C-R Model Berlo’s model of communication explains it in four steps: ▪ Source: Elements of the source include communication skills of the sender, their attitude and their culture. ▪ Message: Elements of the message include its content, structure and code. ▪ Channel: Elements of the channel include the senses of hearing, seeing, touching, smelling, etc. ▪ Receiver: Elements of the receiver include their attitude, knowledge and culture. Interactive models are best for explaining impersonal two-way communication processes.. ▪ 5. Osgood-Schramm Model The Osgood-Schramm model explores communication that is equal and reciprocal. It does not differentiate between the sender and receiver, but sees each as being in an equal position as message encoders and decoders. This model is best for explaining and examining personal synchronous communication where feedback is immediate (such as face-to-face discussions). As feedback is immediate, noise can be reduced through ongoing clarification of messages during the conversation. ▪ 6. The Westley And Maclean Model The Westley and Maclean model embraces the importance of feedback in communication. However, it also emphasizes the important role of environmental and cultural factors in influencing communication. It shows that the things we say and communicate are influenced by who we are, what our background is, and what perspective we are approaching issues from. The model takes into account the object of orientation (background, culture and beliefs) of the sender and receiver of messages. It also considers the message to have been received and sent within a broader social context that needs to be considered to know and understand the message. Transactional models explain direct personal communication processes where two-way feedback is immediate. ▪ 7. Barnlund’s Transactional Model Barnlund’s Transactional Model of Communication is a model that explores interpersonal, immediate-feedback communication. Central to this approach is the idea that feedback for the sender is the reply for the receiver. This model also highlights the role of ‘cues’ in impacting our messages. Barnlund highlights the role of public cues which are environmental cues, and private cues which are a person’s personal thoughts and background. With this emphasis on cues, Barnlund’s model highlights the factors that influence what we think and say. ▪ 8. Dance’s Helical Model Dance’s Helical Model builds on circular models by explaining how we improve our messages over time by using feedback. When we communicate with others, their feedback will influence our next statement. We become more knowledgeable with each cycle of communication, enabling up to ‘expand our circle’, as represented by the increasingly wider and wider circles. The movement up the spiral indicates that each communication practice is new and different from the previous, as communication does not ever perfectly repeat itself. There are many mass communication theories (see for example: media richness theory, relational dialectics theory, muted group theory, communication accommodation theory, and agenda setting theory). However, the 8 communication models listed in this article are central models of communication that highlight how communication occurs. They are theories that are necessary to know for communication studies students as they help you understand the key components that make up communication in the 21st Century. REFERENCE: Chris Drew, PhD. (Dr. Drew holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education.)  Model of Type of # Brief Description Communication Model Aristotle argues that we should look at five elements of a 1. Aristotle’s Model Linear communication event to analyze how best to communicate: speaker, speech, occasion, target audience and effect. Lasswell’s model is a basic framework for analyzing one-way 2. Lasswell’s Model Linear communication by asking five questions: Who, said what, through which channel, to whom, with what effects? The Shannon-Weaver model is the first to highlight the role of Shannon-Weaver 3. Linear ‘noise’ in communication, which can disrupt or alter a message Model between sender and receiver.  Model of Type of # Brief Description Communication Model Berlo’s S-M-C-R Berlo’s S-M-C-R model explains communication in four 4. Linear Model steps: Source, Message, Channel, and Receiver. The Osgood-Schramm model looks at reciprocal Osgood-Schramm 5. Interactive communication, showing how we have to encode, decode, and Model interpret information in real-time during a conversation. The Westley and Maclean model shows that our Westley and 6. Interactive communication is influenced by environmental, cultural and Maclean Model personal factors.  Model of Type of # Brief Description Communication Model Barnlund’s Barnlund’s Transactional Model of Communication highlights 7. Transactional Transactional the role of private and public cues that impact our messages. Model Dance’s Helical Model sees communication as a circular Dance’s Helical 8. Transactional process that gets more and more complex as communication Model occurs, which can be represented by a helical spiral.