„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Process
The second major component of the transactional model—and probably the least
understood—is process. Unfortunately, many people believe process to be linear and
describe it as “method,” “order,” or a “step-by-step” or “systematic” approach (Johnson
& Proctor, 1992). However, process is not linear. It implies ever-changing, flowing,
dynamic entities with no beginning and no end.
Two essential elements of process, ongoingness and simultaneity, are neither as
easy to construct nor as simple as the linear and interactional models. Instead of the
hypodermic-needle or billiard-ball analogy, a systemic view provides a new analogy for
the study of communication: the living organism. The human body never remains
constant. Neither does communication. Because of this inconstancy and the
interdependent nature of communication, the roles of encoder and decoder are
inseparable and interchangeable throughout the act of communication.
To increase effectiveness, trainers must monitor the impact of their interventions
constantly, as well as adjust their interaction, especially when facilitating activities that
generate much affect or emotional data. For example, when group feedback is focused
on a group member’s behavior, the trainer must constantly monitor nonverbals to ensure
that the person is not experiencing the feedback as a personal attack. Even while a
trainer is encouraging feedback regarding a group member’s behavior, he or she must be
sensitive to the receiver’s nonverbals (body language, skin tone, etc.) to ensure the
psychological safety of the recipient.
The encoding and decoding of messages are not mutually exclusive.
Communicators are both senders and receivers at the same time in the transaction. As
Sereno and Bodaken (1975, p. 8) state, there are “no periods of passive receptivity on
the part of any communicator . . . . At all times the participants are actively exchanging
either verbal responses (words, sentences) or nonverbal responses (gestures, glances,
shrugs or other cues of their reaction to the ongoing conversation).” The encoding and
decoding processes occur simultaneously, continuously, and multidirectionally (Berko,
Wolvin & Wolvin, 1992).
Perception
When using a theoretical model, one is forced to consciously simplify in graphic form a
piece of reality (McQuail & Windahl, 1993). Models are merely static snapshots that
capture separate pieces of a whole within moments of time, but never the whole. No one
snapshot can capture all that is going on. This also is true of the communication event.
No one view can capture all that has taken place; a person’s “view” can explain only
what that person perceived.
As Sereno and Bodaken (1975, p. 14) state, “When we speak of communication as
having ‘taken place’ or ‘occurred,’ we’re speaking figuratively of the arbitrary, fictional
freezing of the process.” A perceptual process helps “freeze” the communication event
and make sense of the surrounding world.
The Pfeiffer Library Volume 6, 2nd Edition. Copyright ©1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer ❚❘ 147