LESSON 4

MODELS OF COMMUNICATION

I. LINEAR MODEL OF COMMUNICATION

The linear model of communication is an early communication model created by

Shannon and Weaver which visualizes the transfer of information as an act being done
to the receiver by the sender.

1. Aristotelian’s Model
Although Aristotle focused on the Speaker and the Message, the most
important part in his model is the setting where the Listener is situated. It is the
setting that dictates the message. The three setting in Aristotle’s time were legal,
deliberative, and ceremonial.
 The legal setting meant the courts where ordinary people defend themselves
(there were no lawyers then).
 The deliberative setting meant the political assemblies, the highest of which
was the Roman Senate.
 The ceremonial setting meant the celebrations held when they won a war,
when they lost a leader or had a new one, and when they welcomed a visiting
leader from another kingdom or country. Such occasions called for speeches of
welcome, poems of tribute or of eulogies, and poems of lament.

(Message)
(Listener)
SPEECH
AUDIENCE

SPEAKER

2. Laswell’s Model
Representation of communication is a process which involves transmission of
information from one person to another. An important component of laswell’’s model
is the inclusion of channel.

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 3. Shannon - Weaver Model
Claude Shannon’s Mathematical Theory of communication, with an
expository summary and some heuristic suggestions for generalizing the Theory to
the Broad Problem of Social Communication by Warren Weaver resulted to
Shannon - Weaver Model known as the mother of all communication models.
The Shannon-Weaver model (1949) depicts communication as a linear or one-
way process consisting of five elements:
 a source (producer of message);
 a transmitter (encoder of message into signals);
 a channel (signals adapted for transmission);
 a receiver (decoder of message from the signal); and
 a destination.
This model, however, has been criticized for missing one essential element in
the communication process: feedback. Without feedback, the speaker will not know
whether the receiver understands the message or not.

Signal Signal Received

Information
Transmitter Channel Receiver Destination
Source

Message Noise Message

Source

4. Berlo’s Model
Communication transpires through four faction: source, message, channel,
and receiver.
S - Source
The source in other words also called the sender is the one from whom the
thought originates. He is the one who transfers the information to the receiver after
carefully putting his thoughts into words. How does the source or the sender transfer
his information to the recipient? It is done with the help of communication skills,
Attitude, Knowledge, Social System and Culture.

Communication Skills
An individual must possess excellent communication skills to make his
communication effective and create an impact among the listeners. The speaker must
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 know where to take pauses, where to repeat the sentences, how to speak a particular
sentence, how to pronounce a word and so on. The speaker must not go on and on.
He should also make a point to cross check with the recipients and listen to their
queries as well. An individual must take care of his accent while communicating. A
bad accent leads to a boring conversation.
Attitude
It is rightly said that if one has the right attitude, the whole world is at his feet.
There is actually no stopping for the person if he has the right attitude. A person
might be a very good speaker but if he doesn’t have the right attitude, he would never
emerge as a winner. The sender must have the right attitude to create a long-lasting
impression on the listeners. An individual must be an MBA from a reputed institute,
but he would be lost in the crowd without the right attitude.
Knowledge
Here knowledge is not related to the educational qualification of the speaker or
the number of degrees he has in his portfolio. Knowledge is actually the clarity of the
information which the speaker wants to convey to the second party. One must be
thorough in what he is speaking with complete in-depth knowledge of the subject.
Remember questions can pop up anytime and you have to be ready with your
answers. You need to be totally familiar with what you are speaking. Before delivering
any speech, read as much you can and prepare the subject completely without
ignoring even the smallest detail.
Social System
Imagine a politician delivering a speech where he proposes to construct a
temple in a Muslim dominated area. What would be the reaction of the listeners?
They would obviously be not interested. Was there any problem in the
communication skills of the leader or he didn’t have the right attitude? The
displeasure of the listeners was simply because the speaker ignored the social set up
of the place where he was communicating. He forgot the sentiments, cultural beliefs,
religious feelings of the second party. Had it been a Hindu dominated society, his
speech would have been very impressive.
Culture
Culture refers to the cultural background of the community or the listeners
where the speaker is communicating or delivering his speech.

M - Message
When an individual converts his thoughts into words, a message is created.
The process is also called as Encoding. Any message further comprises of the
following elements:
Channel
The medium or the means, such as personal or non-personal, verbal or
nonverbal, in which the encoded message is conveyed. Pathway through the message
travels. Signal or devices
Five channels:

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  ears (hearing),
 eyes (seeing),
 skin (touching),
 mouth (tasting) and
 nose (smelling).
Receiver
The recipient of the message, or someone who decodes the message. Receives,
analyzes, understands and interprets the message.

II. INTERACTIVE MODELS OF COMMUNICATION

Unlike linear model that shows one-way communication process; interactive
model of communication presents the importance of feedback in communication
process.

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 1. Schramm Model (1954) modified the Shannon-Weaver Model
What has Schramm added to the Shannon-Weaver Model? Is the new model
more comprehensive?
 Why do you think so?
 How is it different from or similar to the Transaction Model?

Field of Experience Field of Experience

__Sender__ Encoder _Signal__ Decoder____

____Receiver
_________ ____________ ____ ___________
______________
_________ _______ __
_

Noise
_________
Feedback
_________
_________
2. White’s Model _
This model tells us that communication is circular and continuous, without a
beginning or end. The cyclical model. He points out that although we can assume
that communication begins with thinking, communication can actually be observed
from any point in the circle.
He contributed the concept of Feedback to the field of communication. Feedback
is the perception by the speaker about the Response of the Listener. The Speaker can
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 only receive feedback if the Speaker I monitoring the listener. The speaker will know
what the listener’s response is only if he/ she is paying attention.

III. TRANSACTIONAL MODEL OF COMMUNICATION

The third model of communication assumes that people engage in transaction.

Another change you will notice in the transactional model is the overlap between each
communicator. This recognizes similarities between each communicator’s environments.
The model displays how communication becomes more difficult when communicators have
less in common.
In addition, this model recognizes how the type of channel can affect meaning. For
example, the words “I love you” have a much different meaning if they are said through a
billboard than through a voicemail.

1. Woods Transactional Model

The sender and receiver of the message are labeled as communicators, signifying
the active roles of each in constructing the meaning of the messages, as represented
by a double-headed arrows. Although it is important to listen and wait for someone’s
turn in speaking, it is important to speaking, a communicator simultaneously
receives information by interpreting the nonverbal gestures of the one listening to the

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 message. Both communicators are responsible for the outcome of the
communication.

IV. OTHER MODEL OF COMMUNICATION

1. Dance’s Helix Model
Developed by Frank Dance in 1967, Helix is compared with evolution of
communication of a human since birth to existence or existing moment. Helical
model gives geometrical testimony of communication. The model is linear as well as
circular combined and disagrees the concept of linearity and circularity individually.
Concept of Helical Model of Communication
Helical model of communication introduces the concept of time where
continuousness of the communication process and relational interactions are very
important. Communication is taken as a dynamic process in helical model of
communication and it progresses with age as our experience and vocabulary
increases.
At first, helical spring is small at the bottom and grows bigger as the
communication progresses. The same effect can be seen with communication of
humans, where you know nothing about a person at first and the knowledge grows
steadily as you know the person better. It considers all the activities of the person,
from the past and present.
It looks like a helix which shows that each interaction in a communication alters
each of the participants, and so has an effect on what follows.
A helix is a powerful metaphor in communication often associated with DNA
molecule with a helical shape, a spiral that looks like a coiled ladder. The diagram
gives us a vivid impression of openness in the communication process while in one
dimension, it has certain limitations. Its geometrical shape connotes that
communication, as it moves upward is somehow affected by the other factors as
symbolized
This model views communication as:
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 1. Cyclical,
2. Influenced by time and experience,
3. Continuous,
4. Non-repetitive, and
5. Accumulative (getting increasingly more complex and ‘knowledgeable’).

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