Importance of a Communication Model

A model of communication is a medium through which information is enclosed in a package and passed or imparted by a sender to a receiver. Aristotle was the first theorists to take an initiative, in developing a communication model. He proposed the model before 300 B.C. Aristotle found the importance the participation of the audience, in a communication chain, in his communication model. Aristotle model of communication focuses more on public speaking rather than interpersonal speaking (Narula, 2006).

Aristotle’s model of communication has five basic elements. These include the speaker, speech, occasion, audience and effect. The speaker organizes information into speech and relays the information to an audience. The audience is the receiver of the information. The process of delivering the information or speech to an audience is referred to as occasion. The response that the speech elicits from the audience becomes the effect. According to Aristotle’s model of communication, the speaker has absolute charge of the communication process. The speaker prepares content where he organizes his thoughts into words with an aim of influencing the audience, to respond in a desired manner (Narula, 2006).

Communication is an essential factor in building relationships and understanding. However, several barriers to effective communication occur. They occur in different forms and interfere with effective communication in different ways. First, lack of the knowledge of the audience is a major communication barrier. When a speaker or sender of information fails to understand his audience, he may send a piece of information not intended, for that specific audience. This information may be offensive to that audience. Therefore, a speaker or sender ...

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...ns. Stakeholder groups may differ within themselves and with leaders, in organizations. They may resolve their differences or fail to solve those differences. This process uses communication, as its essential tool. Stakeholder groups and leader’s relationship, work and issues that arise from those relationships influence organizational politics. Politics could be positive or negative. Communication is a vital tool in looking at organizational politics, irrespective of its form (Dubrin, 2011).

In conclusion, communication has different models that take different form, for instance the Aristotle model. Certain barriers exist in communication processes. They negatively influence communication and affect responses. Effective communication requires that people understand interests of stakeholders and other participants, in organizational and societal contexts.