long. Then compare what you have written with the list we have generated below.
• Computers, laptops, tablets;
• Text messaging, email;
• Social media like Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr;
• Telephone (land line), mobile phone and smartphones;
• Blogs and podcasts;
• YouTube;
• Snapchat, Instagram, Kik and Gifboom;
• Satellite communications such as GPS and SatNav;
• Electronic records and online forms;
• Care documentation and care plans;
• Voicemail, pagers, bleeps and alarms;
• Radio waves, X-rays and scans.
This is by no means a comprehensive list and we are sure you can think of others, especially if you are information technology natives. Channels of communication are developing all the time and this requires us to be engaged in learning and developing our skills in communication throughout our lives.
CHOOSING YOUR APPROACH WHEN COMMUNICATING WITH OTHERS
When communicating directly with people, you first need to choose the mode or the approach that you are going to use and, to be effective in getting your message across, you need to consider some key issues.
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Imagine yourself in the workplace and being involved in communicating with a person or several people about future plans. What methods or channels of communication might you consider before engaging in that communication? Share your considerations with a colleague.
Your reflection and discussions may have involved you considering some of the following:
• Will the communication be face-to-face, written or using technology?
• Will you use letters, pictures or leaflets in the communication to help clarify what it is you are communicating?
• How much control do you have over the environment and how much control do you have over the timing of the communication?
• How many people are you communicating with and what level of understanding do they have?
• Are there any language or disability issues to consider?
• Do you want people to respond to you and, if so, how do you want them to respond to you?
• Do you want people to have the opportunity to ask questions and how much information do you need to get back from them?
• How detailed should the communication be and how important is this communication at this point?
When communicating with people in the workplace it is important that we think carefully about the channel of communication we use, so that we can make sure we pick the most effective method for them. People are individuals and what is satisfactory for one may be completely inappropriate for another. If you are working with families you may have to use several channels of communication, and to target individual members. A leaflet and a quick explanation may suffice in some circumstances but, in others, we need to employ a wide range of interpersonal and communication skills to ensure that what we do is effective for everyone concerned.
STUDYING COMMUNICATIONS THEORY
Studying communications theory can help us to understand how communication works and to determine the most effective communication channel to use. Knowing how communication works, we can then understand how, why and where communication goes wrong. When communication goes wrong in health and social care settings the consequences can be far-reaching. People and families can be misjudged, errors in decision-making can be made and care may be seriously compromised, leaving you and the people you care for at risk.
If we can identify how communication takes place and understand its process, we can develop strategies to ensure that communication is effective and meets the needs of all concerned. To help you understand communication we are first going to look at the key frameworks within which the theories and models of communication are set.
Frameworks of communication
There are four main frameworks for theories of communication. These are:
• Mechanistic – this framework was originally used by people working on radio and telephone communications and incorporates a transmission model of communication.
• Psychological – this framework concentrates far more on how we feel during a communication and our emotional responses.
• Social Constructionist – this framework is concerned with how we all construct different realities from the same experiences. The Symbolic Interaction Theory that we will be looking at is included in this framework.
• Systemic – this framework concentrates on the way that communication is part of a whole system and how, within that system, each part of the communication is repeatedly re-examined and reworked.
We are going to look at two models of communication within these frameworks. The first is a Transmission Model. This type of model is included in the Mechanistic Framework and is said to be linear in its process. It is a simple straightforward model that is easy to understand and can be very useful in helping analyse communication processes between people and organisations.
The second model we will look at is a Transactional Model that combines principles from the Psychological, Social Constructionist and Systemic frameworks. The Transactional Model is more complicated than the Mechanistic one and further explores the experience of shared meanings in our communications with others that we discussed earlier. We will then follow an example of a Transactional Model in practice by exploring the psychotherapeutic theory of Transactional Analysis in Chapter 4.
The Shannon and Weaver Transmission Model
One of the earliest, most basic and well-known communication models is that of Shannon and Weaver (1949). Their model is sometimes referred to as the ‘Mother of Communication Models’ and it provides a good starting point for anyone studying communication theory.
As you can see in Figure 1.1, the arrows that show transmission from the Information Source to the Destination point in only one direction, reflecting the belief that messages flow in only one direction at any given time. It is therefore a linear process.
The Shannon and Weaver model consists of five parts and what they term ‘noise’. In a face-to-face communication
1. the information would be the idea that you had in your head;
2. the transmitter would be you sending the message;
3. the channel would be your voice as you speak the idea;
