Communication is considered a process because it involves a series of interconnected steps and actions taken by the sender and receiver to successfully exchange information, ideas, or feelings. It is dynamic and continuous, involving the sender who conceptualizes and encodes a message, the transmission of the message through a chosen channel, the receiver who decodes and interprets the message, and finally the feedback from the receiver that allows the sender to know whether the message was understood correctly. This cycle repeats, making communication an ongoing process rather than a one-time event.
Key Elements of Communication as a Process
- Sender: Initiates the communication by developing an idea to share.
- Encoding: Sender transforms the idea into symbols or words that can be transmitted.
- Message: The encoded information to be conveyed.
- Channel: The medium used to send the message (e.g., spoken word, writing, body language).
- Receiver: The target who receives and interprets the message.
- Decoding: The receiver’s interpretation of the message.
- Feedback: The receiver’s response that informs the sender if the message was successfully understood.
Because each stage depends on the previous one and the effectiveness of the communication depends on feedback, communication is a dynamic and continuous process.
Why Communication is a Process
- It involves multiple steps beginning with idea formation and ending with feedback.
- It requires encoding and decoding, which are mental processes to convert ideas into communicable messages and interpret them back into ideas.
- It is cyclical and interactive, with feedback allowing for adjustments and ensuring the message’s accuracy.
- Communication adapts and evolves with context, participants, and medium, emphasizing its ongoing nature.
Thus, communication is not a single event but a complex, ongoing, and active process involving transmission, reception, understanding, and response.
