Effective Communication
Pamela Clark
CJS 304
April 30, 2012
Dr. Stephen A. Morreale

Communication is a two-way process that takes practice and time to be fully effective and is very important in every aspect our personal and professional lives. We communicate every day of our lives both verbally or nonverbally. The process of verbal communication is the exchanging information by transmitting an idea, send that idea, receive feedback, understand the idea and the feedback and provide feedback to the person who sent the message. The main components of communication are context, encoder, message, medium, decoder, and feedback. The context could be social, chronological, cultural, or physical. The individual sending the message will communicate within a context. The encoder is the sender of the message. The medium, or message, is the key idea in which the encoder is trying to communicate. The decoder is the target person or audience of the message. Feedback allows the encoder to ensure the accuracy of the message (Wallace & Roberson, 2009). Listening and hearing are two steps in communication. These two words do not have the same meaning but both are important to have effective communication. Hearing occurs when a person’s ear picks up sound waves and then transmits the message to the brain. Listening is the second part of this process and is an active process. An active listener evaluates the message before responding, and they are thinking of a response as the speaker relays a message to them. Listeners thought speed is much faster than the speaking speed, which could result in a delay between the two processes and could lead to daydreaming and not listening (Porter, 1969).To overcome day dreaming, a listener must concentrate on the message do that they may become an active listener and be successful in the communication process. I have heard, “When you are