Communication
I feel that communication is important in our daily lives as we constantly need to get messages, regardless of what it is, across to the intended audience. You can’t get what you want and need by not communicating right? The notes I read about communication states “communication seems so natural and one generally assumes that there is no need of working on it.” I often go along communicating with people without realising that ‘good communication’ is not just skin deep. Simply because I often think that communication between humans is supposed to be natural? I often spend time constructing the message I want to get across, making sure that what I say is understood easily. Message need to be encoded properly, channel must be appropriate and message need to be decoded the way it was encoded. Simply said, I spend most of my time making sure that my message is easily understood and (in which I find important) does not hurt or offend anyone.
Interference cannot be avoided I must say. The state of mind of the messenger can influence the message. If I’m unwell, having a bad headache or my day is bombarded with bad luck the message conveyed by me might be misinterpreted by others. Of course the channel used to convey a message is as equally important. For example, the most common problem now, messages sent through SMS would be different from calling the other party. Message intended might be misinterpreted thus the message conveyed is not entirely effective. Simple missing (or adding/extra) words or punctuation in the SMS would change the way the message is conveyed. Calling by phone too has its disadvantages as there are missing factors such as facial expression and body language that is important for an effective communication between one another. Interference by physical noise, such as a background noise and poor reception will affect the message.
Basically, a good communicator is someone who is aware of all the steps in the communication process, and the numerous possibilities for interference at each important step for an effective communication. Being aware of Shannon’s Communication Model, I believe that communication is not just a natural affair but conveying a message effectively (as well as naturally) will ensure my messages are well received and understood.
