The term ‘communication’ is closely linked to the Latin term ‘commūnicāre’ which means sharing and collective participation. Communication is defined as the process of understanding and sharing meaning. Communication is the act of passing on meanings from one person or group to another person or group through words, signs, gestures or any other mutually understandable mechanism. ‘Communication’ generally means speaking or writing or sending a message to another person. Communication is not a single act but a process that depends on various factors. 

The key word in this definition is communication process. Communication is not a single event or activity but a chain of activities that is generally referred to as communication process. Contextually, the term communication process refers to the exchange of information or message between two or more people. 

Elements of Communication Process

The elements of communication process are various steps and activities. These elements are interconnected and occur to produce the outcome. These elements directly relate to who shares, what information and feeling, with whom and what tools are used in communication process. In order to better understand the communication process, we can break it down into a series of components:

  1. Source
  2. Encoding
  3. Message
  4. Channel
  5. Receiver
  6. Decoding
  7. Feedback
  8. Noises




Source - Source is also referred to as the sender. Source or sender is someone who needs to share information and ideas with another person or group. 

Encoding - Encoding is the step that translates information and ideas to form the message.

Message - The message or content is the information that the sender wants to share with the receiver.

Channel - The channel of communication process refers to media through which the
message is conveyed or transmitted to the receiver.

Receiver - The receiver is the person with whom the source intends to share the message.

Decoding - Decoding refers to the process of eliciting meaning or ideas from received message and it is the opposite of encoding. Decoding stands for the translation of the message into a form that can be meaningfully understood by the receiver. 

Feedback - Feedback refers to responses of the receiver that convey to the source.

Noises - Noise in communication process refers to any condition or occurrence that interferes with the delivery of the message.