12.2 The communication process
Attempts to improve communication generally revolve around explanations of the components of the communication process. In general, these components or elements (depends which textbook or article you are reading) include senders and receivers , channels , encoding and decoding . Communication variables include the relationship between the sender and the receiver, "noise" and background signals and the situation or the context. You will encounter these terms in most books on communication. Many theories and models of communication have been developed with the common idea that communication is a process by which messages are transmitted through people. You will cover communication in detail in the subject Business Communication , so we will focus our discussions on issues particularly relevant to the servicescape.
We will say that communication is effective when the customer and service provider have understood what was communicated exactly - without reading into the message or leaving out any important information or emotions; i.e. when the receiver has understood the message exactly as it is intended.
An aside: A new radio station for you
Next time you sit down with pen poised ready to write a letter or a speech, get a mental picture of your receiver in your mind. Imagine he or she has no eyes or ears but one of those spiral TV antenna things sticking out where the ears normally would be.
The antenna is tuned to a very special and selective frequency. It's so selective that if the message you broadcast is not on that frequency, the message will fall on deaf ears. Fortunately, the wavelength of that frequency is quite predictable so you can tune in. It's WII-FM.
Pease and Dunn, 1995
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