BASIC COMPONENTS OF COMMUNICATION

Interpersonal communication includes at least the following elements:

1. A transmitter. Someone who wants to "send" a message verbally or non-verbally to someone else.
2. A receiver. Someone who will "receive" a message from another person.
3. A message. Information in some form.
4. Noise. Anything that interferes or causes the deletion, distortion or generalization of the exact replication of information being transmitted from the mind of the transmitter to the mind of the receiver.
5. Feedback. Both the sender and receiver constantly elicit verbal and nonverbal feedback to the other person.
6. Replication. The duplication of understanding in one person that is in the mind of another person. Replication is an approximate goal and philosophically not perfectly possible, though desired.
7. Understanding. An approximation of what the message means to the sender by the receiver.

Excellent communication is the ability to transmit a message by the sender to a receiver and have that message replicated in the receiver's mind. Excellent communication is the ability to receive a transmitted message by the sender and have the receiver be able to replicate the form and intent of the message in the receiver's mind. If the receiver is uncertain about some aspect of a communication, it is the responsibility of the receiver to clarify the communication through the artful use of questions. The transmitting communicator also accepts the responsibility for the result of a communication. This means the transmitter must be certain to code a communication so it is received in a manner that is understandable to the receiver.
All of this is of no consequence if a person is uncomfortable in the communication process to begin with.