Channel

Channel - By which a message is transmitted (through one's senses).

Transmition through gestures.

The 5 Senses:

1. Sound

2. Sight

3. Smell

4. Touch

5. Taste

Taste

Tast is not usually used when one communicates with others unless the relationship between one and another is very great.  Kissing your girlfriend/boyfriend would be prime example in transmitting a message through taste.

Sight

As the watches the gestures and facial expressions, they are using their sight to help in interperting the message the sender is sending. 

Touch

Touching usually is used to show the relationship between one another or used to explain what the speaker is trying to say.

Sound

While listener listens to the speaker, they are, usually, receiving the message through the sense of sound. 

Smell

Smell is uncommon also in channel.  However, one may think differenly of the person they are communicating with if they smell bad.  Or they may think better of someone if they smell really good.

Internal and External Noise

Noise - Anything that interfers with a listener's ability to receive a message.

A telephone ringing may distract

Internal Noise

Internal noise is noise within yourself while speaking. Internal noise can be controlled however.  Ever heard that little voice inside your head telling you that something is good or bad, or what or what not to do? That is an example of internal noise.

External Noise

External noise on the other hand can not always be controlled.  External noise is the noise in your surroundings by other people and the enviroment.  An example of external noise would be giving a speech in class and someone would to sneeze in the middle of your speech messing up your internal thoughts.

Receiving and Decoding

One who intakes a message the sender says is called receiving, or being a receiver.  After the receiver receives the message from the sender, they must decode it.  Decoding a message is revealing what the message means either to yourself or relating it to memories or expierences.

For instance, if you were to attend a rock concert.  As the singer encodes and sends the messages from his/her song, you, the receiver, decode the messages or meanings you have and related them to yourself or to memories of yours.

Sending and Encoding

A sender is usually the speaker during and type of communication.  The speaker sends messages to the receiver during communication.  While the sender begins talking, they also encode their next messages as they speak.  Encoding is creating thoughts as you speak.  These thoughts are then said by the speaker and decoded by the reiciever.

Assume you are in a deep conversation with your parents.  You are discussing your future.  Your parents ask you about the college you want to attend and you begin to encode what you will say. You say, for example, the University of Iowa.  It was your turn to talk, therefor, you were the sender.  You came up with the answer, the University of Iowa, making you the encoder of your message.

Feedback

Example of Positive feedback.

Feedback - The verbal and nonverbal messages that tell speakers how they are being perceived.

Positive Feedback

Let's say, you are talking to someone and they respond to you either in a smile or a good, nonverbal, way or they say something positive.  Positive feeback tells you, the speaker, you are doing fine in your communication.

Negative Feedback

Let's say your still talking to that same person.  However, they respond to your conversation poorly, or in a way that you are able to tell they don't like what your talking about.  This is known as negative feedback.  This response helps you change your conversation to better it or the relationship between you two.

Self-Feedback

Self-feeedback is message you give yourself as you pay attention to your own behavior.  Let's say you are talking to that same person now and the conversation starts to die.  You then think to yourself that you must say something to keep the conversation going and not to make it awkward between you and the other you are communicating with.

Nonverbal Messages

Nonverbal Messages - Messages expressed without using words

There are 7 types of these:

1. Apperance

2. Facial Expressions

3. Eye Contact

4. Voice

5. Gestures

6. Posture and Walk

7. Space, Time, and Place

Apperance

Suppose you are in a city you are not familiar with.  Who would you ask for directions to a store: a old women with dirty, torn up clothes, who looks like she hasn't showered in a while, or a cute elderly couple walking in the nearest park next you? You would probably choose the elderly couple, right?  This is because clothes, body size, hairstyle, makeup, and other items, all show how one sees themselves.  Usually, due to apperance, you would choose the cute elderly couple walking in the park.

Facial Expressions

A man smiling, meaning he's happy.

Facial expressions usually describe the way one is feeling.  Although one can try to hide their emotions, you can usually see the way they are feeling through their facial expressions.  For example, you may be sitting in one of your hard classes and not understand a thing the teacher is trying to teach.  However, the teacher will notice your factial expression and assume you are completely lost.  They will usually then react to this expression and begin to explain, in a different way, the material again.

Eye Contact
While listening to a lecture or assembly at school, do you usually pay attention when someone is reading word for word off a notecard or paper and without even acknoweleging the audience?  Or do you pay more attention to the speaker who has eye contact?  This is an example of eye contact and the effects eye contact can have on the listener, or even the speaker.

Voice
Voice includes the pitch of one's voice, their volume, the vocal quality (tone or sound), and the rate of one's voice.  Through these, important nonverbal messages are delievered to the listener.  Suppose you may have to give a speech at school for a class.  You start to stumble over your words and your voice becomes shaky.  The audience will then interpert the nonverbal message of your nerves.

Gestures
Whenever your talking to someone, have you ever noticed using hand gestures describing the size or placement of what your talking about? The way people move their arms, hands, and fingers plays a part in nonverbal messages.  When using gestures, many speakers get the point acrossed more effectively.  It's proven that gestures relate the listener to their memories.

Different Posture Positions

Posture

When one uses good posture, such as sitting in a chair or simply walking, they send nonverbal messages to others as how they perceive themsevles, or how focused they actually are to the listener.  If you were sitting in class with your back slouched against the back of the chair, the teacher may think you aren't interested in learning or the topic, or they may suspect you are day dreaming.  Also the way your stand or sit creats a great view of your mood or feelings.

Space, Time, and Place

Space, time, and place are also known as your context.  Depending on how close you sit or stand next to someone explains a lot about the relationship between you two.  However, different settings an also shape the way you communicate with someone.  Such as, you may not talk to a friend in a public place about personal things, but you may talk about things in a more conservitive enviroment.  Along with the place and the space between you and your communicator, is also time.  The less time you have, the more rapid you speak.  This may show the peson your communicating with how much you are actually care abou the conversation between you two.

Context
The setting and the people that surround a message is known as context.  Context, a lot like space, time, and place, provides the background that helps reveal the message's real meaning.  The context is an essential element of communication that touches all the other elements, influencing the messages, people, feedback, and channels people use to communicate.

Verbal Messages

Verbal Message - Verbal Messages are spoken words one uses when communicating.

There are two types of verbal messages:
1. Differences in Meaning
2.Changes in Language

Differences in Meaning
Words have certian limitaions.  Not all words mean the same thing to people.  An example of this would be a bat and a bat.  A bat can either be a baseball bat or an amimal.  The diffenition one would find in a dictionary is called denotative meaning.  One can use the the dictionary to find the differences between a bat and a bat.  However, and emotion or person response to a word is called connotative meaning. Some examples of these kinds of words are home, friend, and anxious.

Changes in Language
Because language changes constantly, old words disappear entirely or their meanings change.  These types of words are known as slang words.  Some prime examples of slang words are cool, what's up, or to the extreme. As a communicator, one needs to be aware of the different meanings of words and how words change over time.  The more carefully one chooses their words, the more easily the listener is to relating to the message.