Definition Elements and Models of Communication

English 1013
Purposive
Communication
II. Communicating Effectively in a
Multicultural World
Definition of Communication :
 Latin word “ communis”
= to make common
= to transmit
= to impart
= to share between two or
more persons or groups
 Communication is the natural aspect of
man’s life; a part of his existence.
 There is no society without communication

as it is the basis of all socio-economic;
political and cultural activities of men.
Definition of Communication from various
scholars :
 Newman and Sumer

“Communication is an exchange of facts,
ideas, opinions, or emotions by two or more
persons. “
This means that there is a transfer
of information or ideas between
individuals or groups. Something is
given and received by both parties.
 Little
“ Communication is the process by
which information is transmitted between
individual or organization so that an
understanding response results”
This means that there is a

series of actions through
which a certain information or
idea undergoes.
 Koontz and O’Donnell
“ Communication is a two-way activity.
There is a communicator and the receiver of
communication. Exchange implies reception
and response from the receiver to ideas,
emotions, and opinions of communicator”
This means that two particular actions are

involved in communication, thus it is two-way.
= the sender ( communicator) delivering
the message
= and the receiver ( target audience ) to
get the message and react on it.
 Tierney
“ Communication is a process which begins
when you have a message that you want to
deliver to an audience. Your audience receives
the message, reacts to it and then responds to
your message. That response prompts you to
react and give another message. This process
may then go on and on.”
This means that communication begins with the

message that the sender needs to relay to the person
concerned. As the receiver reacts and responds, the
exchange of reactions becomes a series.
Woods
“ Communication is a systematic process
which individuals interact with and through
symbols to create and interpret meanings.”
To Woods, communication has 4 important points to

remember
1. It is a process , meaning it is ongoing and always changing.
2. It is systematic or within systems of interrelated and
interacting parts.
3. It uses symbols to represent ideas.
4. It has meaning as both sender and receiver place significance
on it.
What then is purposive communication?
 Purposive Communication is an
intentional communication that happens
within the bounds of specific context.
 Context includes:
- settings or environment(family, school,
workplace, religious communities);
- social relations ( friends, husband and wife,

parent and child, colleagues/boos-subordinate
in the office)
 Context includes:
- scenes which includes place, time and
occasion ( business meeting, job interview,
social gathering-parties, weddings, etc)
- and culture ( history, tradition, beliefs,

norms, values)
Elements of Communication
Clearly as stated in the definition by various scholars,
communication has the following elements.
1.Sender – the source of information, ideas ,

feelings or message.
2. Receiver – the individual

who receives the message
from the sender and reacts
on it.
3. Message – the information,
ideas or feelings
the sender wants
to share with the
receiver.
4. Channel – the means or medium through

the message is transmitted.
5. Feedback – the response of the receiver to

the message sent to him/her.
Models of Communication
 Aristotle proposed
this model before
300 BC
 It is the widely
accepted and the
most common
model where the
sender sends the
information or a
message to the
 This model is a speaker – receiver to influence
centered model as the speaker them and make
has the most important role in it them respond and
and is the only one active. act accordingly.
Criticism on Aristotle’s
Model of Communication
1. There is no concept of feedback. It

is one way from speaker to
audience.
2. There is no concept of
communication failure like noise
and barriers.
3. This model can be used in public
speaking.
 David Berlo’s model
of communication
particularly
emphasizes the four
components in the
communication
process:
- the sender
- the message
- the channel
- the receiver
 This model focuses on encoding and decoding which

happens before sender sends the message and before the
receiver receives the message, respectively.
Criticism on Berlo’s Model of
Communication
1. No emphasis on feedback, so the

effect is not considered.
2. Noise or any kind of barriers in
communication process is
ignored.
3. Similar to Aristotle’s model, it is a
linear model of communication.
 Harold D. Laswell developed this model in 1948.
 It is also known as action model, and is regarded as
one of the most influential communication models.
 It has five components used as an analysis tool for
evaluating the communication process and
components.
 These components are the questions to be
asked to get the answers and keep
communication going. This model is used in
interpersonal communication or group
communication to disseminate message to
various groups in various situations.
 He brought the concept of effective

communication process and talked
about the relation between
presentation of the facts and how it
generates different effects.
Criticism on Lasswell’s Model of
Communication
1. It does not include feedback and

ignores the existence of noise.
2. The model is very general and
simplistic.
3. The model is more focused on the
outcome and generally used for
media persuasion.
 This is the commonly taught
and widely used model
proposed by Wilbur
Schramm in the late 1940’s
 It provides a straightforward
approach to communicating,
with sender and receiver
trading roles back and forth
in circular pattern.
 It views communication as a process that takes place

between a sender and a receiver which allows both parties
to contribute equally and share their feedbacks , which acts
as a confirmation that the message has been received and
decoded.
Criticism on Schramm’s Model of
Communication
1. This model is sometimes

impaired by semantic noise.
2. It relies on one-to-one
communication.
3. Misunderstanding can
cause a message to be
interpreted differently.
 Elwood Shannon and
Warren Weaver this in
1948 which consisted of
an information source :
the source’s message, a
transmitter,a signal;
and a receiver : the

receiver’s message, and
a destination.
 Eventually, the standard communication model featured

the source or encoder, who encodes a message by
translating an idea into a code in terms of bits.
Criticism on Shanon –Weaver’s Model of
Communication
1. It is applicable for interpersonal
communication than group
communication and mass
communication.
2. Sender plays the important part
in the communication process and
receiver is not emphasized.
3. Feedback is taken as less
important in comparison to the
messages sent by the sender.

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English 1013

 Latin word “ communis”

 There is no society without communication

 Newman and Sumer

This means that there is a

This means that two particular actions are

This means that communication begins with the

To Woods, communication has 4 important points to

- social relations ( friends, husband and wife,

- and culture ( history, tradition, beliefs,

1.Sender – the source of information, ideas ,

2. Receiver – the individual

4. Channel – the means or medium through

5. Feedback – the response of the receiver to

1. There is no concept of feedback. It

 This model focuses on encoding and decoding which

1. No emphasis on feedback, so the

 He brought the concept of effective

1. It does not include feedback and

 It views communication as a process that takes place

1. This model is sometimes

and a receiver : the

 Eventually, the standard communication model featured

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