There are eight steps in communication, whether its face to face, machine assisted, or mass communication. Six of these are essential, one blocks communication, and one can be used to improve communication.
1) A sender
2) A process of encoding
3) A message
4) A channel
5) A process of decoding
6) A receiver
7) Feedback
8) Noise
7) Feedback
Is the communication effective?
Feedback can be Positive, Neutral, Negative, or Absent.
Each semester, I urge students to complete the course evaluations given at the end of the semester. I use this feedback in refreshing the course each semester.
Negative -
This class sucks.
When faced with negative feedback, either improve the encoding, change the channel, or change the message.
Positive -
This class doesn't suck.
Feedback can be immediate, delayed, or absent.
Immediate - Usually occurs in Face2Face communication. But it is a major goal in mass communications.
Delayed - Usually occurs in mass communications.
Absent (no feedback) - Can occur in any communication.
The purpose of feedback is to let you improve the process or alter the message.
The video below shows a failure in communication and immediate feedback.
Anything that distorts a message or interferes with its delivery.
Noise is one of the most critical elements in the communications process. Effective communication must minimize noise. To block the communication of others, increase the noise.
There are three basic types of noise - Environmental, Semantic, and Psychological
Environmental: This can be mechanical noise like static or busy signals or physical noise like alcohol or drug impairment.
Mechanical Noise - Out of Sync
This beer ad demonstrates the powerful noise effects of alcohol.
Semantic:
Errors in decoding caused by using unfamiliar language, slang, or jargon in encoding.
The "Yao" commercial on the previous page also illustrates the problem when messages are encoded in jargon.
These forms of noise are the most subtle, since we can't always see them at work. But, because of their "stealth" nature, they can be the most powerful.
1) Selective Exposure - We expose ourselves to information that reinforces what we believe. We reject or avoid information that doesn't support our preconceived notions.
2) Selective Perception - We see, hear, and believe what we want to see, hear, and believe. Even when exposed to differing ideas, we "tune them out" since they don't fit our preconceptions.
Most public service announcements fail because their target audience filters out the message. The most effective PSA's are either subtle, stealthily inserting the message, or use a gimmick to attract viewer attention.
3) Selective Retention - We remember those things which reinforce what we believe. Ideas that run counter to our preconceptions are not remembered.
In the marketing arena, psychological noise helps explain "brand loyalty." People tend to buy tomorrow what they bought yesterday. It also explains why people tend to purchase brands purchased by their parents.
In the arena of ideas, Noise helps explain why people cling to "facts" long after those facts have been discredited. Several studies have shown that a person will continue to believe information, even if they remember reading that the original information was incorrect.
It also explains why it is so difficult for people to change, in general, ideas and beliefs once embraced.
"What's going on? How can we have things so wrong, and be so sure that we're right? Part of the answer lies in the way our brains are wired. Generally, people
tend to seek consistency. There is a substantial body of psychological research showing that people tend to interpret information with an eye toward reinforcing their preexisting views."
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