Developing Effective Communications

By Dick Lee
Extension and Agricultural Information

A summary from Yuhan Farah Maulida. Student of Faculty of Agriculture, Unversitas Gadjah Mada.

About 70-80% of Americans uses their time in communication. It means that communication hold the key for the success in extension world. Everyone believes that the need of communication is important to their lives.

But what is communication? Basically, the meaning of communication has a great variation. Most individuals have their own way to explain their definition. The origin word of communication comes from the Latin communis that means “common”. So in the process of communication we are trying to make a “commonness” with someone.

A sociologist describes communication as a mechanism through which human relations exist and develop. In the other side, a journalist said that communication is the process whereby one person tells another something through the written or spoken word.

Differ from both description, Carl Hovland, a well known psychologist said that communication is the process by the communicator that transmitting stimuli to modify the behavior of the other individuals. This description represents the aim of many extension worker. Yes, the aim of the extension workers is change the behavior of the objects. Generally, in communication people do not have the intention to modify behavior. But, in extension worker’s world the modification of behavior are very-very important.

To communicate effectively, we need to be aware with every factors in the communication process, so it will help us to analyzing situation, solving problems, and so on. Communication models come in a variety of forms, can be a summations or a diagrams to mathematical formulas. One model of the communication process reviewed is also one of the oldest.

Here are some communication models:

1. Aristotle’s Model

Aristotle called the study of communication as rhetoric and held forth of three elements within the process. The three elements are speaker, subject, and person addressed. Aristotle believed that the person at the end of the communication process holds the key to whether or not communication takes place. So this model emphasizes the long interest in communication.

2. Lasswell's model

Lasswell’s quote’s “Who says what in which channel to whom with what effect" has a meaning that there must be an "effect" if communication takes place. So there must be an effect or a motivation in communication. Lasswell's version has a four parts or elements withn the process- speaker (who), subject (what), person addressed (whom). Most modern-day theorists discuss the four parts of the communication process, but use different terms to designate them.

3. The Shannon and Weaver model

In 1949, Shannon and Weaver attempted to do two things. First, reduced the communication process to a set of mathematical formulas. Second, discussed problems that could be handled with the model. To formulate thier thoughts, they create a diagram of communication. The process are similar with Aristotle’s elements but the fourth component -transmitter- is included.

In this model, they were concerned with noise and then illustrated "semantic noise" that interferes with communication. Semantic noise is the problem connected with differences in meaning that people assign to words, to voice inflections in speech, to gestures and expressions and to other similar "noise" in writing.

Practically, the using of semantic noise is hard to be realized in developing of effective communication. In reality, people may have a different meaning to receive the message. So, we must be aware of semantic noises’s using especially in face-to-face verbal communication just as there is static noise.

4. Schramm's model

Schramm formulated that “If the source's and destination's fields of experience overlap, communication can take place”. For many years ago, there was a large overlap between the extension communicator and the middle-class audience. Yet, in the 1960s, a period of growing social awareness, many extension workers were challenged to work with a "disadvantaged" audience. Many of the middle-class extension workers found it difficult to communicate with them.

Extensions employs individuals from the target disadvantaged audience, training them, and in turn allowing them to provide the important communications linkage. Those employees are given such titles as leader aides, nutrition assistants, paraprofessionals, etc.

5. The Rileys' model

John W. and Matilda White Riley point out the importance of the sociological view in communication in another way. They said that such a view would fit together the many messages and individual reactions to them within an integrated social structure and process. The communicator sending messages in accordance with the expectations and actions of other persons and groups within the same social structure. receiver are also important in the communications process. The communication process is seen as a part of a larger social process, both affecting it and being in turn affected by it. So the model illustrates communication is a two-way proposition.

The important point of this model is receivers receive our messages as members of primary groups. Group references may be a positive reinforcement of our messages; at other times they may create a negative force.

6. Berlo's model

The last model is the SMCR model by David K. Berlo Berlo points out the importance of the psychological view in his communications model as source, message, channel, and receiver.

Several things determine how a source will operate in the communication process. There are abilities to think, write, draw, speak, attitudes toward audience, the subject matter, yourself, or toward any other factor pertinent to the situation.

To create a message, we must choose the code or language. We also need to make a content and organize it to meet acceptable treatment for the given audience. Channel are the method over which the message will be transmitted: telegraph, newspaper, radio, letter, poster or other media. At last, receiver becomes the final link in the communication process.

Last but not least, let's return again to the idea that successful communication depends upon the receiver. As a communications source, we can spend a lot of time preparing messages and in selecting channels, but if the receiver doesn't get the message, we haven't communicated.