Communication Styles & Models Key Concepts

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering basic communication elements, linear, interactive, and transactional models, communication styles, listening stages, nonverbal techniques, workplace standards, and propaganda fallacies.

Communication

The exchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or behavior to create and convey a message that develops a shared understanding.

Sender

The individual or group who encodes and sends a message in the communication process.

Message

The thought, idea, or opinion which the sender has encoded and wants conveyed.

Channel

The portion or medium which carries the message to its desired location.

Receiver

The target individual or audience of the message.

Feedback

The receiver's response to the message, which serves as the final step of the communication process and increases communication effectiveness.

Thinking

The initial step in the communication process where the source generates primary or secondary information to be shared with others.

Encoding

The process of transforming a message into a transferable form by translating thoughts into verbal and nonverbal actions.

Transmitting

The step of selecting the appropriate channel of communication to deliver a message.

Decoding

The process a receiver uses to mentally process a message in order to understand the sender's meaning.

Linear Model of Communication

A one-way communication process where the sender is prominent, sends the message, and the receiver offers no feedback.

Aristotle’s Model of Communication

A speaker-centered linear model used in public speaking, persuasion, and propaganda consisting of five elements: speaker, speech, occasion, audience, and effect.

Shannon-Weaver Model of Communication

A linear model designed to mirror telephones or radio, incorporating an information source, transmitter, channel, noise, reception, destination, and feedback.

Berlo’s SMCR Model of Communication

A model developed from Shannon-Weaver detailing factors impacting the Source, Message, Channel, and Receiver; it does not account for noise, barriers, or feedback.

Interactive Model of Communication

Also known as the Convergence Model; depicts the non-simultaneous exchange of messages between source and receiver, often applied to human-machine communication like the internet.

Field of Experience

The culture, social behavior, education level, and knowledge possessed by a communicator that influences message formation and interpretation.

Transactional Model of Communication

An interpersonal model where communicators take turns sending and receiving messages, accounting for the communicators' environment, channels, and noise.

External Noise

Physical noises or environmental barriers, such as loud sounds, that interfere with the communication process.

Physiological Noise

Biological interference factors affecting communication, such as illness or fatigue.

Psychological Noise

Internal forces, such as personal feelings or an unwillingness to listen, that interfere with the reception of a message.

Assertive Communication

The healthiest and most effective communication style that attempts to reach a mutually agreed-upon solution; sometimes referred to as a "broken record."

Aggressive Communication

A communication style that excludes compromise and may rely on manipulation, guilt, or intimidation to achieve an end goal.

Passive Communication

A style based on avoiding confrontation, characterized by quietness, not standing up, and failing to voice opinions or feelings.

Passive-Aggressive Communication

The most common communication style, which avoids direct conflict while manipulating circumstances so the outcome favors the communicator.

Attending

A component of the receiving step of listening that involves identifying and interpreting sounds as words.

Understanding

The listening step through which a listener determines the context and meaning of words to comprehend the speaker's message.

Evaluating

The listening step where the listener assesses information received from the speaker to form an opinion.

Remembering

The listening step in which the listener categorizes and retains gathered information for recall during and after a speaker's delivery.

Responding

The listening step where the listener provides verbal or nonverbal reactions to the message.

Active Listening

A listening type requiring retention, feedback, and application of information, typically practiced in formal settings like school or an office.

Passive Listening

Absorbing information with little to no outward reaction, showing engagement mainly through body language and facial expressions in informal settings.

Proxemics

The nonverbal distance maintained between the speaker and the audience.

Paralanguage

Nonverbal vocal elements consisting of tone, pitch, rhythm, loudness, and inflection of voice.

Professional Communication

Methods used to convey information, ideas, decisions, and advice in workplace settings among colleagues, clients, and professional contacts.

Propaganda

Information presented in a deliberate manner to persuade people to think, feel, or act in a specific way about a subject, idea, or issue.

Bandwagon

A common propaganda technique, also referred to as "Keeping up with the Joneses," that urges individuals to adopt a belief or behavior because everyone else is doing so.

Glittering Generalities

A propaganda technique using important-sounding words such as "good," "fair," and "best" in general statements that lack true meaning and cannot be proved or disproved.

Either/or Fallacy

A propaganda technique known as "black-and-white thinking" that restricts choices to only two options (for or against) without room for compromise.

Bias

An inclination, feeling, opinion, or disproportionate weight held in favor of or against an idea or thing.

Outcomes of Communication

Observable results based on communication goals, measurable by testing audience understanding through Q&A, focus groups, interviews, and open-ended surveys.