Real Communication An Introduction

Chapter 1  Communication: Essential Human Behavior 21

Feedback can be a verbal message (your friend invites you to a party
on Friday night, and you reply, “About nine?”), a nonverbal message (your
roommate is telling you about a movie, and you look up, smile, and nod while
you are listening), or both (you frown while saying, “I don’t think I under-
stand”). Through feedback, communicators in the interaction model are both
senders and receivers of messages.
Instant messaging is a good example of how the interaction model can be
applied in mediated situations; you get feedback, but it’s not in “real time.” For
example, while G-chatting, Melissa takes some time in composing her response
to Howard’s last comment; during the delay, Howard may log off, thinking that
Melissa has lost interest.

The Competent Communication Model

Though the linear and interaction models describe some communication proc-
esses, neither captures the complexity of competent communication that we
talked about in the preceding section (Wiemann & Backlund, 1980).
To illustrate this complex process, we developed a model of communica-
tion that shows effective and appropriate communication (see Figure 1.3). This
competent communication model not only includes feedback, but also it shows
communication as an ongoing, transactional process: the individuals (or groups
or organizations) are interdependent—their actions affect one another—and they
exchange irreversible messages.
In this model, arrows show the links between communication behaviors by
representing messages being sent and received. In face-to-face communication,
the behaviors of both communicators influence each individual at the same time.
For example, Cliff smiles and nods at Jalissa without saying anything as Jalissa
talks about the meeting she hosted for her book club. Through these behaviors,
Cliff is sending messages of encouragement while receiving her verbal messages.
Jalissa sends messages about the book she chose for that week’s discussion, as
well as the foods she selected and prepared for the get-together. But she is also
receiving messages from Cliff that she interprets as positive interest. Both Cliff

encode

decode

decode

encode

Sender Feedback Receiver

Channel for the message

Channel for the message

NOISE

FIGURE 1.2

INTERACTION MODEL