Understanding Communication Models: Key Characteristics & Components

Models of communication have been formally developed and studied for more than 2,000 years, with Aristotle being one of the first to delve into the subject. A model's characteristics are affected by the person who developed the model, the location he was from, as well as his scholarly focus.

Components

• Each model of communication will have several components that the theorist has decided come into play in a specific type of communication. For each model, these components will be different. For example, Aristotle's model involved a speaker, speech, occasion, audience and effect. Shannon and Weaver's model included a sender, encoder, channel, noise, reception and receiver. While some of the components in the two models may have similar roles, the whole of the components makes the models different.

Shape

• Most models of communication are expressed in a diagram that summarizes the interactions between the components. These diagrams make it easier for the flow of communication to be understood. Some models, like Aristotle's and Laswell's, are box-and-arrow models that show communication moving from one component to the other until the last component is reached. Other models, such as Osgood-Schramm's model, are circular. More complicated model shapes exist, including Frank Dance's helical-spiral model.

Perspective

• Different types of people have created models of communication, which has a profound effect on the perspective seen in the model. Aristotle was a philosopher of ancient Greece, where public speaking was of great importance, which is obvious in his model. Shannon and Weaver's model was developed by a mathematician and a scientist, making this model much more technical and scientific than other models of communication.

Scope

• Each model of communication has a specific scope. Some models, such as Lasswell's, are broad in scope. Its components are general enough that the model can refer to many different situations. It could describe a telephone conversation, a radio broadcast or a face-to-face conversation. Aristotle's model is much more specific and works best when describing situations where one individual is making a speech to an audience of many people.