The elements of communication , such as the message, the sender, the receiver or the context, are concepts that help us to understand the complexity of the communicative processes present in social interactions.

In this article we will see in detail which are the elements of communication that come into play where there are subjects exchanging information, and in what ways the variations in each of them can make the interpretation of the information received different.

What are the elements of communication?

By communication we mean the process by which an exchange of information between two subjects takes place . There is a debate about what the nature of these subjects involved in the communicative activity should be: whether they can only be human beings and some animals with high capacities for abstract thinking, or they can also be other living beings with less complex nervous systems, and even machines such as computers.

To what extent does a smartphone interpret the digital signals it receives from an antenna? Do bacteria communicate by capturing and emitting chemicals?

In any case, there is something that is independent of the type of subjects sharing information with each other: the elements of communication. These are concepts that help us to understand which are the phenomena that explain the communicative activities, and each one of them represents a piece in the process by which an information travels from a data interpretation system to another one that is located in a different place from the first one.

Although in communication there is no need for a physical body to move from one place to another, in practice communication is movement and dynamism, and that is why it cannot be explained as it could be with a static element. The elements of communication are the pieces that articulate with each other to generate different meanings in real time . Let’s see what they are.

1. Transmitter

The sender is the subject who triggers the communicative process by exposing information that can be interpreted by other subjects . In turn, the sender can emit coded information in a symbolic way, or through non-verbal language, which expresses sensations, attitudes and moods, and which is more spontaneous than the previous one.

On the other hand, establishing who the sender is is often very relative, because it is not always easy to know for sure which subject initiated the communication. For example, if someone meets his neighbor on the street and greets him with a “hello”, this could in turn be a reaction to the expression on the neighbor’s face, and in this case it would be the person who has not spoken who would have adopted the role of the sender in the first place.

It is precisely for this reason that it is assumed that the issuer is relative, establishing as a reference framework a single cycle for sending information. At one point, whoever was the sender becomes the receiver, and vice versa.

2. Receiver

The receiver is the subject who, voluntarily or involuntarily, receives the information emitted by the sender and interprets it, either using a system of symbols that establishes equivalences between signifiers and meanings, or without a system of symbols, obeying the sensations produced by what arrives through the senses.

As we have seen, there is an unresolved debate about whether a machine can be a receiver, but in practice signal reception systems are treated as real receivers, since not doing so would make it very difficult to understand how these devices work.

3. Message

The message is that which is used to transmit the information, that is, the literal existence of what is being said by the sender and what is being picked up by the receiver . Therefore, message is not equivalent to meaning, but is the phenomenon to be deciphered in order to obtain, from its interpretation, a meaning.

For example, a message may be “I wish you luck”, while the meaning of this word of letters (if read) or of phonemes (if heard) depends on other aspects: in some cases it is a sign of appreciation, while in others it is an indirect mockery used by means of sarcasm, if it is formulated by implying that the receiver lacks the necessary abilities to do something.

In practice, the message is inseparable from the rest of the elements of communication, because we can never get to know it and analyse it without a receiver, a transmitter, a channel, etc.

4. Noise

Noise is literally any phenomenon that interferes with the communicative process and modifies the message in any of its aspects . For example, the cuts in coverage that we sometimes experience when talking on a mobile phone, or a burst of seeing that deforms some phonemes.

Thus, noise is one of the most diverse elements of communication, because there are many different ways in which a message can be altered: both physical (electronic failure to pick up signals, wall material that keeps the sender and receiver separate) and symbolic (errors in typing, errors in word recognition in software, etc.).

The existence of noise is what has made many people look for communication channels capable of controlling very well the variables that come into play in the transmission of information. The message exchange programs used by chat systems, for example, pay a lot of attention to this.

On the other hand, we must not forget that noise does not always have to come from phenomena alien to the elements of communication ; sometimes, it comes from within. For example, if the receiver has a brain injury, this can generate noise by making it difficult to analyse what the sender is saying, generating alterations such as Wernicke’s aphasia.

5. Code

The code is the structured set of rules and signs that make it possible to express and emit complex messages . For this reason, it is associated with the ability to use language, or at least a type of language that is somewhat less developed than that of adult human beings.

There are different systems of codes, and they can be applied in speech or writing. On the other hand, the existence of the code implies that in order to communicate, the sender must carry out a coding process if he wants to emit a message of his authorship, and the receiver has to decode it in order to be able to interpret and understand it. For the communication to take place, sender and receiver have to use the same code.

6. Canal

The channel is the medium through which the message travels, passing from one place to another . In spoken language, the channel is usually the sound waves that travel through the air, while on the Internet, the channel may be a chat or a binary system for transmitting digital signals, depending on the level at which we place our unit of analysis of what is happening.

In practice, among the most frequent channels that are part of the daily life of this element of communication are air, paper, e-mails, telephone systems, and the light waves emitted by screens. Sometimes, two or more channels can be present at the same time.

7. Context

The context is the space-time environment in which communication takes place. It should not be forgotten that the where and the when have a great influence both on the emission of the message and on its reception and interpretation . Around the subjects that communicate, there is always a more general environment that conditions the whole process.

For example, it is not the same to talk to someone from one’s own team as to talk to someone from a rival team, and it is not the same to say something considered provocative in the 18th century as it is in a 21st century Western country. Our environment conditions not only how we say things, but even the content of what we plan to communicate.

8. Feedback

Feedback is the response given by the receiver when he has interpreted the message sent by the sender . Therefore, it may also be considered another of the elements of communication: the message given as the sender, given that it may be seen as that which is said to initiate another communicative process.

A dynamic information exchange process

As we have seen, communication is defined as a dynamic process, which cannot be captured in its entirety either from a static scheme or from a descriptive model of a linear type in which one element of communication produces the next, and this produces another, etc. When we communicate, everything arises at the same time, and we cannot separate each of these pieces and analyse them in an isolated way , separated from the rest.

Therefore, this outline of the elements of communication only serves as a guide, as a map that helps us to understand what is happening and through what means one or another information could be shared. At the end of the day, what really matters is the interpretation and conception of the messages, and these are always linked to a specific time and place.

Bibliographic references:

  • Berlok, K.D. (2008). The process of communication (introduction to theory and practice). Buenos Aires: El Ateneo.
  • Griffin, E.A. (1997). A first look at communication theory. 3rd edition, New York: McGraw-Hill.
  • Trenholm, S.; Jensen, A. (2013). Interpersonal Communication Seventh Edition. New York: Oxford University Press.