Communication is one of the words or terms we frequently use in our day-today affairs. Communication in mass communication is not a new term for the media students and students in the academic discourse.  In the technological world thus Information Technology, Communication is not excluded since it’s an essential commodity in the advancement of technology. After all, computer experts and users use language through communication to give commands or make request to the computer.

In the market squares, at the business centers and other places where transactions are done each and every day, there is one common thing that aids these people at the respective places to transact successfully and that is Communication.

As you seek information about communication and you chance on this piece on google.com, I the writer begins to communicate with you through the written information provided. This indicates that communication is not always verbally done however it is sometimes non-verbally done. The core point or the core aim of communication is to provide meaning or comprehension.

Let’s dive into communication and compare if it’s the same communication we make use of on daily basis.

What is Communication?

Communication can be seen from a broader sense since it’s always part of us. There have been scholars who through their dictionaries, have provided different meanings to communication. Below are some of the definitions of communication by some famous dictionaries and scholars;

The Longman Dictionary defines Communication as “the process by which people exchange information or express their thoughts and feelings”.

Louis Allen also defined Communication as “the sum of all the things one person does when he wants to create understanding in the mind of another.”

Keith Davis defined communication as “a process of passing information and understanding from one person to another.”

The Cambridge Dictionary defines Communication as “the various methods of sending information between people and places, especially phones, computers, radio, etc.”

The Oxford Dictionary in 2019 defined Communication as “The transmission or exchange of information, knowledge, or ideas, by means of speech, writing, mechanical or electronic media.”

There are many of them, more of them that can’t be captured in this article. A lot of definitions were developed by many great scholars based on their observations on the communication on daily basis. Based o the few definitions provided above, it can be observed that most of the scholars talked about thoughts and feelings or understanding. Others also emphasized on the transmission which means transmission is always through a medium or channel. Communication always begins with a process and a source. As I am communicating with you through this article, the source here becomes me and the mode of transmission or channel becomes the phone, tablet, laptop or any electronic device you use in accessing this article. The fact that you read and understand this piece means you are the destination of the information being communicated to you. Let’s dive into the communication process;

The Communication Process 

One of the motives associated with communication is the motive that communication is a process. Communication is a process in the sense that it is done in a sequential format thus a step-y-step format. The fact that there is someone who starts a conversation, there is a medium that the conversation uses and an entity or someone who receives the information means that communication is a process. It is cyclic and sometimes there is a feedback. Communication is always in motion and not static. There are features that makes communication a process;

The Source/Sender

Every communication begins with a source or the sender. The source sometimes differs from names depending on the community or place such communication takes place. When a lecturer delivers information to university students, the former becomes the sender and in that discourse community the lecturer is known as the speaker. Imagine some instances in the church, at the bank, at the market places and think about the possible name to be given to the sources of communication at that setting.

The Message/Information

The source always deliver the message. The message can be symbols, sign and spoken words. In general terms, the message contains the verbal aspects of communication and the non-verbal aspects of communication. An information is said to be verbal when the message being delivered is spoken out and it is said to be non-verbal when the message being carried out contains gestures, symbols, signs and any form of communication that makes meaning without spoken words.

The Medium/Channel

Channel and medium are sometimes used interchangeably but they mean same thing. The medium becomes the means and ways through which the sender conveys the message to whoever it may concern. There are variety of mediums as compared to the olden days. In this modern world, electronic mediums are mostly used. Example of these electronic mediums are the telephones, laptops, tablets and any other device that conveys a message to a receiver. The biggest of them all is the mass media.

The Destination/Receiver

After the message has been conveyed by the sender through a successful medium, it finally gets to the destination and they are sometimes referred as the receiver. The receiver is the one who converts the information from the messenger into a meaning. A group of students at the seminar of a lecturer become the destination or the receiver of the message being conveyed by the lecturer at the seminar.

The Feedback/Reaction

Sometimes after the receiver has received the information or message, there is the need to give a feedback and this last process fulfills the cyclic feature of communication because the receiver also becomes the sender at this point and the then sender becomes the receiver or the destination and this completes the communication process.

This all about the introduction of communication and the process of communication. Communication is an essential ingredient in our day-to-day life and without communication, perhaps we would be not informed about the updates in the world. As the lesson progresses, we will get to know the communication aspect in the media known as the mass media.

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