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Communication diagrams
A number of authors conceived communication models that emphasize different
constituents of the model. Bühler, Lasswell, Shannon and Weaver, Jakobson, etc. They all
deserve full accounts.
Shannon and Weaver’s Communication Model
Inspired from Karen Reynolds
This is a model of communication as devised by Shannon and Weaver (1949).
It is a simple linear model which has five main parts:
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Information source - where the message is produced
Transmitter - where the message is encoded
Channel - where the signal is carried
Receiver - where the message is decoded
Destination - where the message ends up
There is also a sixth part which is noise. Noise is interference in the channel, and causes a
signal to be received that was not intended by the source. The advantages of Shannon and
Weaver's model are that it is in a simple, easily understood form; and that it is a general
model that can be applied to most types of communication. The five main parts are selfexplanatory; the only part that needs some description is the 'noise'.
One of the problems with transmission models is that the source is the decision maker and
that the destination is passive. The sender chooses a message to send, and the receiver
simply receives that message rather than actively participates in the communication process.
But communication is a two-way process, a complex system of signals passing back and
forth between the participants.
Transmission models are linear, suggesting that we simply receive a message as it is sent,
but we interpret the messages we receive bringing our own understanding to them. We do
not just absorb information, we analyse what we see and hear in order to make sense of it.
There is no exact meaning in any given message, what is meant by the sender may not be
the same as what is understood by the receiver. We create meaning according to our
personal experiences and our own understanding. So the same message may mean different
things to different people. Often there are several ways to interpret a message, and we
decide which is appropriate according to the situation at the time. For example, if the
receiver is in a bad mood they are more likely to interpret what is communicated in a
negative way, looking for meanings that could be construed as confrontational.
Another problem with the fact that the transmission model is linear is that it does not allow
for feedback. We rely on the response to a message in order to monitor how successfully we
are communicating, and to make necessary adjustments.
Another of the ways in which the basic transmission model fails to represent
communication is that it does not allow for context. We need a contextual frame in which to
make sense of things, whether it be social, historical, cultural, political or other.
Communications can break down because of a lack of cultural understanding, that which is
implicit within one culture may not be so in another. We make sense of what is said
according to the context in which it is said, and we have shared cultural understandings
which literally 'go without saying'. Problems arise when we try to communicate with others
from different cultures without allowing for the fact that they may not share our cultural
understanding.
The relationship between people is also important. The way in which we communicate is
influenced by the status of the person we are communicating with.
The transmission model does not consider the medium that is used. But the medium is not
neutral: it plays an important role in communication. The medium that we choose tells the
receiver something of our intention when sending the message, and there are many social
conventions that tell us which medium is appropriate.
In conclusion, the transmission model is not an accurate reflection of the complex nature of
communication. It fails to allow for the construction of meaning which is so vital to our
success in communicating with one another. The model does not allow for the context of the
communication, nor for the purpose; it does not consider the relationship between the
parties, and it does not allow for the influence of the chosen medium. Communication is a
complex, inter-active process which relies on the active participation of both sender and
receiver, and cannot be accurately represented by a linear system.