The Communication Process and Models

What this unit covers

The unit is about how a message travels from one person to another, and how theorists have drawn that journey. Most of the material is mind maps, so you can see each idea laid out in a branching structure.

• The basic elements: the mind map Communication Basics lists sender, receiver, message, channel, context, feedback and interference.
• Obstacles: the mind map communication process separates noise, which interferes with a message temporarily, from barriers, which block it.
• Inner communication: Constructs of Reality looks at intrapersonal communication, the voice in your head that decodes information and gives it meaning.

Models to compare

Several resources focus on named models. You will find the Osgood/Schramm model, Laswell´s model of communication, GRONBECK et al's MODEL and the TRANSACTIVE MODEL, each as its own mind map. There is also a flowchart called Communication models. Look at a linear model first, then a transactive one, and note what each adds or leaves out.

Where to start

1. Begin with the mind map five key elements of communication, which walks through source, encoding and the rest in plain language.
2. Move to the flashcard deck the process of communication to fix terms such as encoding, symbols and rhetoric.
3. Open the model maps and compare them side by side.
4. Finish with the quiz Communication Process/ Flow to see what stuck.

Using maps and quizzes together

Read a map, close it, then answer the quiz from memory. Any question you miss points you back to the branch that covers it. Flashcards such as Communication Studies, which includes types of noise and factors that influence the sender, suit short, repeated sessions.

Where it sits

This unit belongs to the Foundations of Communication strand in Communication and journalism. It gives you the vocabulary that later topics build on. Pick a map that matches your level, work through it, then make your own version to keep.