Introduction
to Communication Studies for Christian Ministry
Section 1: Meaning of
Communication
- A. Definitions and scope of communication
Definitions
The word communication is derived from the
Latin root word communis which means common and from the word
communicare which means ‘to share, to impart or to have something
in common.’ In everyday use, communication means making common or
sharing something by two or more persons or groups or persons.
McLaughlin: Communication is the sharing
of information for the purpose of affecting the receiver in some
predetermined way.
D.S. Dahiya: Communication literally
means sharing of ideas in common.
Joseph Devito: When we communicate, we
establish ‘commonness’ with someone.
As information dissemination
Reuben Ray: Communication is the
transfer of information, ideas, understanding or feelings among
people.
As sharing
Denis McQuail: Communication is a
process which increases commonality.
Scope:
The scope of communication can be evaluated and
analysed from different point of views.
The Social dimensions
Communication helps to ensure the social
enlightenment of the people. It really plays a vital role in the
determination of the social behaviour of the human being. It
motivates the people according to their own interest and makes them
aware of the hazards as well as beneficial things. It works as an
instructor and means of transformation in the fast changing society.
The educational dimensions
Communication system is the part and parcel in
educating the people. The various tools that we use in mass
communication work as instructors to the people who are in search of
knowledge. The educational objectives of modern communication system
are increasing day by day.
Organisational dimensions
Communication has a vital role in the
organisational structure of a system for the smooth functioning. All
the three levels of management- strategic, tactical, and operational-
depend on the transfer of messages done through the communicative
techniques.
Cultural dimensions
Communication provides an opportunity for the
promotion and preservation of culture and traditions. It makes the
people fulfill their creative urges. The cultural settings of a
particular society can be known to the public through communication.
Communication helps to spread the cultures into different areas.
Entertainment dimensions
Communication opens a wide possibility of
entertainment to the people. It begins from the interpersonal
communication to the vast ocean of mass communication. The scope of
films, drama, music, comedy etc is really wide in the entertaining
aspect of it.
Integrative dimensions
Communication is the one which connect people
from different parts of the world. It develops integration and
tolerance towards each other. The different cultures are merged
together through the medium of communication. It integrates different
people from the different background of the world. It works as a
source of persuasion.
B. Forms of communication
Verbal: face-to-face,
telephone, radio or television and other media.
Nonverbal:
body language, gestures, how we dress or act - even our scent.
2.
Different approaches to communication
a.
Communication as a process
Communication
is a social process like any other processes such as urbanization,
industrialization etc. It is an ongoing process in which people
engage themselves as individuals or as mass in sharing, creating,
sending and receiving meanings.
Frank
Dance: Communication
is a process by which sender and receivers of messages interact in a
given social context.
R.
Williams:
Communication is a process in which ideas, information and attitudes
are transmitted and received.
b.
Communication as ritual
The ritual view of communication is a
communications theory proposed by James
W. Carey, wherein communication–the construction
of a symbolic reality–represents, maintains, adapts, and shares the
beliefs of a society in time. In short, the ritual view conceives
communication as a process that enables and enacts societal
transformation.
Carey defines the ritual view particularly in
terms of sharing, participation, association, and fellowship. In
addition, Carey acknowledges that, commonness, communion, and
community, naturally correspond with the ritual view. In a similar
way, the term "ritual" holds religious connotations. For
Carey, this connection to religion helps to emphasize the concept of
shared beliefs and ceremony that are fundamental to the ritual view.
c. Communication as personal benefit
d. Communication as social, political and
cultural issues
3. Types of communication (Text book ah a um
vawng)
a. Intrapersonal communication
Communication within oneself – thinking,
calculating, planning, imagining, recollecting and other unconscious
activities. In Christian life: Personal prayer/meditation,
worship, preaching
b. Interpersonal communication
c. Group communication
d. Folk communication (folk media)
- Folk narratives
- Folk Speech/tales
4. Models of communication
a. Meaning of communication models
Models of communication are conceptual
models used to explain the human communication
process.
The first major model for communication came in 1949 and was
conceived by Claude
Elwood Shannon and Warren
Weaver for Bell
Laboratories. Following the basic
concept, communication is the process of sending
and receiving messages
or transferring information
from one part (sender) to another (receiver).
b. Types of Communication models
- Stimulus response model
This model is the most basic model in
communication. This is show communication as an action - reaction
process. This model think that verbal words, inverbal signs,
pictures, and actions will stimulate other people to give the
response in some ways. You can also say that this process is a moving
information or ideas. This process could be interactive and have a
lot of effect. Every single effect could change another act of
communication in the next level. This model ignore that communication
is a process. In other words, communication is considered as a static
thing.
- The Shannon-Weaver Mathematical model
In 1948, Shannon was an American mathematician,
Electronic engineer and Weaver was an American scientist both of them
join together to write an article in “Bell System Technical
Journal” called “A Mathematical Theory of Communication” and
also called as “Shannon-Weaver model of communication”
This model is specially designed to develop the
effective communication between sender and receiver. Also they find
factors which affecting the communication process called “Noise”.
At first the model was developed to improve the Technical
communication. Later it’s widely applied in the field of
Communication.
The model deals with various concepts like
Information source, transmitter, Noise, channel, message, receiver,
channel, information destination, encode and decode.
- Schramm’s interactive model
It is a Circular Model, so that communication
is something circular in nature
Encoder – Who does encoding or Sends the
message (message originates)
Decoder – Who receives the message
Interpreter – Person trying to understand
(analyses, perceive) or interpret
Note: From the message starting to ending,
there is an interpretation goes on. Based on this interpretation only
the message is received.
This model breaks the sender and receiver model
it seems communication in a practical way. It is not a traditional
model.
It can happen within our self or two people;
each person acts as both sender and receiver and hence use
interpretation. It is simultaneously take place e.g. encoding,
interpret and decoding.
Semantic noise is a concept introduced here it
occurs when sender and receiver apply different meaning to the same
message. It happens mostly because of words and phrases for e.g.
Technical Language, So certain words and phrases will cause you to
deviate from the actual meaning of the communication.
Note: When semantic noise takes place decoding
and interpretation becomes difficult and people get deviated from the
actual message.
- Berlo’s SMCR Model
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 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:
Content
One cannot show his grey matter to others to
let him know what he is thinking. A thought has to be put into words
and content has to be prepared. Content is actually the matter or the
script of the conversation. It is in simpler words, the backbone of
any communication.
Element
It has been observed that speech alone cannot
bring a difference in the communication. Keep on constantly speaking
and the listeners will definitely lose interest after some time. The
speech must be coupled with lots of hand movements, gestures,
postures, facial expressions, body movements to capture the attention
of the listeners and make the speech impressive. Hand movements,
gestures, postures, facial expressions, body movements, gestures all
come under the elements of the message.
Treatment
Treatment is actually the way one treats his
message and is conveys to the listeners. One must understand the
importance of the message and must know how to handle it. If a boss
wants to fire any of his employees, he has to be authoritative and
can’t express his message in a casual way. This is referred to as
the treatment of the message. One must understand how to present his
message so that the message is conveyed in the most accurate form.
Structure
A message cannot be expressed in one go. It has
to be properly structured in order to convey the message in the most
desired form.
Code
Enter a wrong code and the locks will never
open. Enter a wrong password, you will not be able to open your email
account. In the same way the code has to be correct in the
communication. Your body movements, your language, your expressions,
your gestures are actually the codes of the message and have to be
accurate otherwise the message gets distorted and the recipient will
never be able to decode the correct information.
C – Channel
Channel - Channel actually refers to the medium
how the information flows from the sender to the receiver.
How does one know what the other person is
speaking ? - Through Hearing.
How does one know whether the pasta he has
ordered is made in white sauce or not ? - Through Tasting.
How does one know that there is a diversion
ahead or it’s a no parking zone? - Through Seeing.
How will an individual come to know that the
food is fresh or stale ? How do we find out the fragrance of a
perfume? - Through Smelling.
How will you find out whether the milk is hot
or not ? - Through Touching.
All the five senses are the channels which help
human beings to communicate with each other.
R – Receiver
When the message reaches the receiver, he tries
to understand what the listener actually wants to convey and then
responds accordingly. This is also called as decoding.
The receiver should be on the same platform as
the speaker for smooth flow of information and better understanding
of the message. He should possess good communication skills to
understand what the speaker is trying to convey. He should have the
right attitude to understand the message in a positive way. His
knowledge should also be at par with the listener and must know about
the subject. He should also be from the same social and cultural
background just like the speaker.
There are several loopholes in the Berlo’s
model of communication. According to the berlo’s model of
communication, the speaker and the listener must be on a common
ground for smooth conversion which is sometimes not practical in the
real scenario.
- Gerbner’s Model
Mr. George Gerbner is one of the pioneers in
the field of communication research. His works are descriptive as
well as very easy to understand any other before. He is working as a
professor and head of the Annenberg School of Communications in the
University of Pennsylvania. In 1956, Gerbner attempted the
general purpose of communication models. He stressed the dynamic
nature of communication in his work and also the factor which
affecting the reliability of communication.
5. Barriers to communication and their
solutions (Text book ah a um)
1. Mechanical
Breakdown of equipments involving
communication. Defective equipments etc.
2. Environmental
When the community or environment we live do
not provide us with full freedom to exercise our rights.
3. Cultural
Difference in culture and traditions
4. Linguistic
Difference in language
5. Psychological
Attitudes
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