CMNS 101: Fundamentals of Communication - Chapter 1 Vocabulary

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, communication models, and fundamental concepts from Chapter 1 of CMNS 101.

Linear model

A communication model showing how a message can be sent one-way, from sender to receiver through a channel.

Transactional model

A communication model that highlights the interactive process between two or more people where messages and feedback are constantly switching.

Sender (Speaker)

The person who formulates a message based on thoughts, experience, and practice, and encodes it into words or symbols.

Receiver (Audience)

The person who hears or receives the words from the speaker and decodes the message in order to make meaning and sense of it.

Encoding

The thought process communicators go through when creating a message by translating thoughts into words and/or symbols.

Decoding

The thought process communicators go through when receiving messages to interpret the meaning of what is being received.

Channel

The means or medium through which a message is transmitted between a speaker and audience.

Noise

Also known as interference, it represents all forms of disruption in communication, including external environment factors and internal physical or mental distractions.

Feedback

The verbal and nonverbal meaning shared by those hearing a message based on their responses and cues.

Watzlawick, Beavin, and Jackson (1967)

The communication scholars who coined the phrase "One cannot not communicate" in the 1960s and 70s.

"One cannot not communicate"

A phrase highlighting that even if a person is not attempting to send meaning, others still interpret meaning based on their verbal, nonverbal behavior, or silence.

Scene (or Situation)

The physical, social, and cultural environment that builds context into a communicative act, giving meaning to actions, symbols, thoughts, and behaviors.

Mediated communication

Communication that takes place through media or technology channels, which affects both the meaning and effectiveness of the message.