MGMT2100 Chap.1 Communication Models and Nonverbal Channels
Communication Models and Nonverbal Channels
This chapter builds the vocabulary the rest of the course relies on. Communication is defined as the transfer and understanding of meaning, so a message that is sent but misread has not been communicated. The transaction model, adapted from Shannon and Weaver, follows meaning from a sender who encodes it, through a channel exposed to noise, to a receiver who decodes it and returns feedback.
The chapter then separates intrapersonal, interpersonal, public and mass communication, sets out the seven nonverbal channels the lecture names, and shows the five ways nonverbal cues can repeat, contradict, substitute for, complement or accentuate words.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Communication as the transfer and understanding of meaning
- 02
Shannon and Weaver and the transaction model
- 03
Noise, feedback and who is responsible
- 04
Intrapersonal, interpersonal, public and mass communication
- 05
Kinesics, proxemics, haptics and chronemics
- 06
Artefacts, appearance and paralanguage
- 07
How nonverbal cues relate to spoken words
Worked example · free
Locate the breakdown in a clinic reminder system
- 1Name the model: the sender encodes meaning, sends it through a channel, the receiver decodes it and feedback should confirm understanding, while noise can distort it.
- 1Encoding failed: the abbreviated text omitted the time, date and clinic location, so patients decoded it through their own assumptions.
- 1Feedback failed: a reply of 'Y' confirmed receipt, not understanding, so the clinic could not detect the misreading.
- 1Fix encoding by stating the clinic name, date and time in full in every reminder.
- 1Fix feedback by asking patients to reply with the appointment time, or by calling anyone whose reply does not match.
Key terms
- Encoding
- Turning the meaning a sender intends into words, images or signals that can travel through a channel.
- Noise
- Anything that distorts meaning between sender and receiver, from jargon and distractions to the receiver's emotional state.
- Kinesics
- The use of body movement, posture and gesture to communicate.
- Proxemics
- The use of physical distance and spatial relationships to communicate.
- Paralanguage
- Vocal features other than words, such as rate, pitch and intonation, that shape how a message is heard.
Communication Models and Nonverbal Channels FAQ
What does the course mean by communication?
It uses the definition 'the transfer and understanding of meaning', credited on the slides to Robbins and Judge. The second half matters: a message that was delivered but misunderstood fails the definition, which is why feedback is part of every model the course uses.
How is the transaction model different from Shannon and Weaver's original?
The original described a signal travelling one way from a source to a destination, with noise able to corrupt it. The adaptation used in the course adds the receiver's feedback, so communication becomes a loop in which the sender can check whether the meaning arrived.
Which nonverbal channels should I be able to name?
The Week 1 lecture lists seven: kinesics, proxemics, haptics, chronemics, artefacts, personal physical factors and paralanguage. Naming the precise channel, for example paralanguage rather than tone, makes a closed-book answer more exact and easier to credit.
Why does contradiction between words and gestures matter so much?
When spoken words and nonverbal cues disagree, the cues carry heavy weight; the course cites Clarke's claim that visual components and voice account for most of a speaker's believability. A manager whose body language contradicts an open-door message has effectively sent the opposite message.
What are the four types of communication in the course?
Intrapersonal communication happens within yourself through thinking and feeling. Interpersonal communication is one to one or within a small group. Public communication reaches many receivers at once, such as a staff newsletter, and mass communication reaches a far larger audience through channels like advertising or social media. Choosing the wrong type for a message is a common cause of failure.
Exam move
Draw the transaction model from memory until you can label sender, encoding, channel, noise, decoding, receiver and feedback in under a minute. Then practise using it diagnostically: take any workplace mix-up you have seen and say at which stage meaning was lost and what evidence shows it.
Learn the seven nonverbal channels as a list with one workplace example each, and the five verbal and nonverbal relationships with a sentence for each. In answers, name the model once and spend your words on the case. Finish every diagnosis with a fix aimed at the stage that failed, because a recommendation that repairs the wrong stage earns little.
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