DESCRIPTION OF INTERACTIVE

The formal Communications Process is often described as a 6 step procedure:

1. Sender - This is the person, individual, or group who intends to convey the message.  There is an intention here of passing information and/or ideas to others.  Sometimes this is also referred to as the communicator.
2. Message - This is the general idea or purpose of the communication. This is the actual subject matter of the communication - it might be an opinion, a view, a suggestion, an attitude, a feeling, an order, etc. A critical part of sending the message is how exactly that message is encoded. Encoding happens through the sender and the message. Most often this involves words, but could just as easily be actions, images, symbols, etc.
3. Medium and Method - This is how the message is actually communicated.  The sender must select the most appropriate medium to pass along the message. This might be a formal or informal channel. An informal medium or channel might be a personal conversation, a quick text, a phone conversation.  A formal channel/medium might be a written email sent to staff, an office memo, a formally written report, etc.
4. Noise - This relates to any potential distortions to the message. These are things/actions/perceptions that might get in the way of transferring the message to the intended party.  This might actually be noise (speaking to your staff at a staff meeting and many people are talking), or it could be other barriers, which we will explore in more detail momentarily.  A goal of the communication process is to reduce as many elements of noise and potential barriers as possible. Noise can really happen at, or during any stages of the communication process.
5. Receiver - This is the group or person who is receiving the message - the intended recipient of the message. This person has an obligation to try and understand the message in the best possible manner.  A natural process of the receiver is to decode the message. Decoding is the receiver’s interpretation and extraction of the message’s meaning. Just because a message is delivered, and heard, does not automatically mean that it is fully understood, or interpreted correctly.  
6. Feedback - Feedback refers to opportunities given to clarify understanding of the message. Feedback is an option and consideration for both the receiver and sender. The proper use of feedback can potentially alleviate any encoding and decoding issues during the communication process.

Think about each of the statements/scenarios and the corresponding step of the communications process.