What is the Communication Cycle?

Answer 1

Communication is a fundamental part of all of our lives. There are many different methods of communication and we are gaining more and more all the time. Communication ranges from a note stuck on the fridge door, to video conferencing and phoning. The communication cycle is a structure that was thought up about how we communicate.

It suggests that we 'Aim' what we want to say, how we'll say it, what we want the other person to do with the information. This is the stage in which we think particularly about how we will communicate the information and to who we wish to communicate with. Once we have organized what we want to say, who to say it to and how to say it, we have to consider social influences and other things that may 'change' what we want to say.

This is the 'Encoding' stage. We have to consider what language to say it in, what we assume of the receiver and are these assumptions correct? We also have to consider what the Receiver may be assuming about US. Their assumptions may hinder and change what we say. The next stage is vital in successful communication. This stage is the 'Transmission' stage. We need to be able to transmit the message that we wish to communicate in right format and at the correct time. We need to consider if there will be any distractions to hinder our communication attempt, if we need to summarize and if we can add anything to increase the clarity of what we are trying to say.

When we receive the information from someone, if they are speaking, we must take into account that we think 3 times faster than we speak, and therefore, it is much easier for a speaker's words to get muddled up with other thoughts and distractions. Reactions and questions must not happen until after the speaker has finished with what they were saying. This stage is called 'Receiving'. The next stage in the Communication Cycle is called 'Decoding'. This is the opposite of encoding. If the Sender has transmitted the information correctly and has given enough attention to what they are saying, including their body language and tone of voice, then you should be able to decode their message effectively.

We may sometimes feel that some Senders are not approachable in certain circumstances, but we must remember, the meaning of the message is the responsibility of the Sender and not the Receiver. The last stage in the Communication Cycle is 'Responding'. This gives the Receiver the chance to ask any questions and this also gives the Sender the chance to realize if they have missed out any stages in the Communication Cycle.

Answer 2

The "Communication Cycle" is the process of one person communicating with another to ensure the intended recipient clearly receives the message. It refers to the whole process of communication from the beginning of the message up to the recipient's response.