Foundation for Communication course. It is useful to any student studying Communication topic in any field. Students are encouraged to use or find their own examples.

1. COMMUNICATION
Presentation by
CHRIS CHIMZIMU

2. The aim of this course
• to equip students with effective communication
skills for various academic and professional
situations they are to face ahead of them.
• to assist students to engage in successful
counselling sessions with clients.

3. THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
• We all engage ourselves in communication, but
most of us do not know what communication is.
• Communication is a (cyclic) process not a thing or a
state. It is not just a matter of nouns and verbs; it is
an extremely complex process involving human
senses, feelings, meanings, and cultural and/or past
experiences. When one step in a process is missing
the product changes all together similarly in
communication when one element misses
communication process is affected.

4. • In communication, the sender puts across non-
verbal, verbal (written or oral), electronic, visual
message to the receiver. The receiver is supposed
to get the message and get the meaning out of it.
[Usually when we communicate, we expect that the
person on the other end should get the meaning of
what we are communicating to them.]

5. DEFINITIONS OF
COMMUNICATION
• Communication has been defined by different
writers in different ways. Differences are in the
terminology used whilst the concept is the same.
• Communication is the exchange of information in
which the receiver understands the message that
was sent by the sender.
• Way of sharing or exchanging, passing on or
conveying information or views from a sender to
the receiver.

6. • Take note:
• In all these information is moving from one point to
another.
• Information would mean messages, signals etc.
• One receiving the information should understand or gain
or get the meaning out of the message sent. If the
receiver does not understand the message then there is
no communication at all. [If the message is not
understood then there is no communication].
• Communication can break down at any point in the
process.

7. ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION
• Elements stand for typical or important parts
• There are a number of elements that are important
in communication.

8. Sender
• Is the source of the message.
• The sender must have the will/impulse to
communicate for him/her to initiate the
communication process.
• The sender must be stimulated either internally or
externally before they send a message.

9. Encoding
• This is putting the message in a right form for easy
understanding when the receiver gets it.

10. Message
• The idea or the information being communicated.
• The message, which is sent by the information
source and received by the destination/target
audience.

11. Medium
• This is the form in which the message is put.
• The medium is the means of communication, such
as print, mass, electronic, and digital.

12. Channel
• This is the path through which the message will
pass in order to reach the receiver.

13. Receiver
• The one who is targeted to get the message, also
called the audience, recipient.

14. Decoding
• Is interpreting the message so as to get the idea
that it carries.

15. Feedback
• The response by the receiver of the message to the
sender.
• Feedback is more easily perceived in face-to-face
conversation.
• The receiver decodes or makes out the meaning of
the message.

16. Importance of feedback
• It completes the communication cycle, thereby
facilitating continuity of the communication
process.
• Assists the sender to know if the receiver is paying
attention when he speaks to them.
• It shows that message has reached the receiver.
• It helps the sender to modify his message.
• It helps in decision making, for instance in the
hospital, the physician would know of what to do to
a patient after getting feedback from the patient.

17. Barrier
• this is any impediment to the message

18. Sender
Feedback
Receiver
Messages
Channel
Encodin
g
Decodin
g

19. Barriers to communication
Barriers to communication are sometimes called
‘noise’.
Noise in communication is anything that disturbs
communication process
There are a number of barriers/noise.
Noise could either be
• psychological
• Physical
• Structural

20. PSYCHOLOGICAL
• This is when one is psychologically affected.
• Examples of noise under this could be,
Stress,
Tiredness,
Boredom,
Sickness

21. PHYSICAL
• This is the actual noise that go into our ears
• Examples could be:
Sound of that lawn mower,
Sound of a car passing nearby,
Noise from students or
children that could be playing

22. STRUCTURAL
This is how the message is put (structured)
Examples could be
information overload (too much of information in a
message)
information under load (too little information in a
message to make sense)
jargon/technical terms used to a lay person
(So many examples could be listed. Students are
encouraged to find some more examples)

23. Cultural

24. Distance

25. What are the barriers in this
scenario?
• Hospital setup

26. Any comments on this scenario?

27. What about technical barriers,
• social,
• ethical barriers
• language
• age differences
• sex differences
• personality
• education
• and physiological barriers?