Communication is a process through which information is passed from the sender to the receiver through an appropriate medium of communication; for effective communication, the process should be effective and responsive to the needs of parties involved. Scholars have developed different communication models; they include a linear analytic model and a simultaneous transaction model. This paper utilizes the above two models of communication to analyze a conversation between Ken and Jobs.
Conversation
Ken: According to CNN news in the morning, Southern Sudan has become a new country in Africa.
Job: Have the results of the division been announced officially or the television station was giving provisional results?
Ken: Yes, they were officially announced yesterday and President Bashir has accepted defeat.
Segmentation of the communication above
Effective communication undergoes five stages. Let us analyze the above conversation in all the stages involved:
Sender
Ken heard the information from CNN news, at that point, the television station is the sender of the message in form of a report. When he comes to explain the case and the information gotten to Job, then he becomes the sender of information.
Receiver
When Ken heard the news, he was the receiver at that point; the news was floated to the public and Ken got a chance to listen to the news. When Job was updated on what is happening in Southern Sudan, he becomes the receiver of the message.
Message
In the two-staged conversation above, the information that is being transferred is the situation that Southern Sudan has taken. It informs the recognition of the state as an additional African country after a successful election.
Encoding
When the information is floated to an individual, it is in states that need to be encoded for proper understanding. It is the mental power to make sense of words, symbols, or letters. After Ken and Job got the information, his mental power was able to make sense out of the information.
Decoding
After getting the information to be conveyed, it is store in the brain memory; when Ken was telling Job, the decision that has been decided for Southern Sudan, he is decoding the information he had encoded so that he can present in a way that Job could understand.
Barriers to effective communication
For effective communication to take place, the message to be conveyed, need to be clear and in language well understood by the receiver. Encoding and decoding are crucial stages in communication since it determines how the message has been understood and spread respectively. When the two stages are not undergone, effectively they distort the message and the final role of the process is not attained.
Having a negative attitude towards a certain message, sender to the source of information affected the process of encoding and decoding. Attitude may be developed because of the language and the sender of the information as well as past experiences. In the above information, the communication was effective. Ken got the information right, encoded it, and later discarded it to Job in the right way.
Lesson learned
From the above conversation analysis, I have appreciated the importance of effective communication. I have realized for effective communication, all parties to the communication have a role to play. Encoding and decoding happen rather unconsciously but they are crucial stages in communication. Using an understandable communication language is important to facilitate understanding of the message conveyed (DeFleur, Patricia and Timothy 12-56).
Works Cited
DeFleur, Margret, Patricia Kearney, and Timothy Plax. Fundamentals of human communication: social science in everyday life. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill, 2004.Print.