Communication Model
Suddenly Chicken Little declared, "What we have here is a communication problem!" All the other creatures began to snort, cluck, whinny and nod in agreement as they joined the parade to Nowhere.
What is the no-nonsense manager to do?
S/He instinctively knows the action could include analyzing, identifying, correcting and supervising a new discipline until it becomes a standard of behavior. How to explain that to others? We suggest the following model.
When someone wants to send a message to someone else, several factors come into play. This applies to casual conversations, advertising messages, company memos, broadcasting, web pages, emails, coffee chats or any media form.
This model allows you to analyze and identify where a problem occurred.
A Sender has an idea. To send this idea it must be developed into a clear thought. In other words, think about the consequences of the message
before putting your mouth in gear. If this process is ignored the entire communication process is flawed. This is where planning plays a key role in delivering
an important message or avoiding unpleasant reactions from the Receiver.
Encoding is selecting appropriate devices such as words, gestures, tone and timing that will translate your thoughts through a chosen media. Learn the effectiveness
of various media and something about the receiver's preferences.
At this point the sender determines the method of transmission so the words and symbols may be organized in a suitable fashion for the type of transmission. While these steps may be occurring within a few seconds, it is important to train yourself and develop a discipline that functions within any time span.
Eliminate the verb "to be" and discover what other verbs can do. Create your own personal thesaurus that is related to your regular activities and use it as a pocket reminder prior to or during your communications.
Speak as an adult rather than as a parent. This is especially so when communicating with young people.
Send your message by the chosen method. Consider such things as bypassing certain channels, the timing, frequency, receiver's disposition, overcoming expected barriers and
warning signals. Warning signals can be (a) calling a person's name and receiving a response, (b) announcing the subject or its priority much like a subject line in a memo
or email, (c) revealing your identity or other actions that ensure you have the receiver's attention. [see Donkey story below]
Barriers
Interference to your transmission can take on many forms. Distractions, noise, poor connection, location, interruptions, receiver's mood or disposition are but a few of the barriers the sender must anticipate or make preparations to avoid.
Transfer of Idea
If you prepared and sent your message properly the idea may have been transferred to the receiver. Your responsibility is finished. However, you should ask for and listen carefully to any feedback.
You can intersperse parts of your transmission with, "Am I making sense?" or "Have I made that clear?" or "Do you agree?" or "That's one point." or ask for permission to proceed.
While this may sound like a no-brainer, it is part of the process. You should know what is going on in the receiver's mind as part of your understanding of the entire nature of communication.
The receiver now must take the code you transmitted and translate it to their way of thinking. It is unfortunate the study of General Semantics has disappeared or never entered the curricula of our
educational systems. A word the sender used may not have the same meaning in the mind of the receiver.
Sometimes it is advisable to list a few words of similar meaning to safeguard against faulty translation.
Although some receivers may be uncooperative and may try to misunderstand, normally they make a genuine attempt to understand the intended message. Even with the best of intentions, a receiver may not understand exactly what the sender intended, because the perceptions of the two people are different. The more realistic goal in most situations is for understanding that is close enough for the communication to be called successful.
How do you know the message got through accurately and did it evoke the appropriate response? You can do a little verifying with a request for feedback much the same as someone reads back your credit card number.
Your request can take the form of a testing question, some action by the receiver or include a question within your message.
Understanding can occur only in a receiver's mind. A communicator may make others listen, but there is no way to make others understand. The receiver alone chooses whether to understand or not. Many employers overlook this fact when giving instructions or explanations. They think that telling someone is sufficient, but the communication is truly successful until there is understanding. This is known as "getting through" to a person. Communicators should ask themselves every day, "Am I getting through to other?"
If this were not true, advertisers could save a lot of money by not repeating a message over and over again.
Stories
Assume All Receivers Are Donkeys
A man received a letter from a relative's solicitor that stated he had inherited an abandoned gold mine. The letter included directions to the obscure location.
On his next vacation the man decided to visit the mine. He traveled by air, bus and taxi to reach the edge of civilization where he found a livery stable. The stable keeper advised him the only way to reach that location on the map was by using his donkey.
"A donkey," exclaimed the city slicker, "but I've heard they can be awfully stubborn and cantankerous."
"All you have to do is whisper in his ear and he'll obey any command," assured the livery keeper.
The man took off and soon came to the place where he was to cross small river as noted on the map. In midstream the donkey stopped. The man leaned over to whisper in the donkey's ear. The donkey remained motionless. Kicking, prodding and shouting didn't work either. So, the man climbed down, waded ashore and trudged the five miles back to the livery stable in his soggy boots. He explained the situation before they both rode to where the donkey was still standing in midstream.
The livery keeper picked up a log the size of a 2 x 4 and waded out to the donkey and struck the donkey on the head with the log. Then, he whispered something into his ear. The donkey immediately proceeded to the far shore.
"You said all I had to do was just whisper in his ear and he would obey my commands," yelled the city slicker.
"Aw," explained the livery keeper, "but you have to get his attention first!"
Outcomes
Your influence and power over others is commensurate with your ability to communicate.
Senders always need to communicate with care, because communication is a potent form of self-revelation to others. It tells something about the kind of people communicators are, the way they think and what their values are. It is, therefore, basic in all interpersonal and group relationships.
This model is not perfect but, it is pretty darn good! Rely on it until you find a better one.
How To Improve All Your Communications
- Study the model to the point where you understand all the ramifications for the meeting-of-the-minds.
- Commit it to memory. Copy & Paste the chart as a pocket reminder until it becomes a part of your style. It's all about the toughest of all actions – behavior modification!
- Use the chart for analyzing why communications went well or left you with a bad feeling.
- Review the chart periodically as a refresher.
- Use the chart for training others. This forces you to be a master. Also, s/he who teaches learns.
